Transcription
To follow it up a little bit. And so my message today is simply titled opportunity. Opportunity. The God of serendipity is also the God of opportunity. And in life, God is going to give us opportunities. Each one of us is going to have an opportunity to become what God wants us to be. He's going to give us the opportunity to learn the lessons that we want to learn. He's going to give us the opportunity to meet the people, people who will link us into our destiny. And in life, one of the important things you have to learn to take a, take hold of is an opportunity. An opportunity is simply a set of circumstances that make it possible to do something. A set of circumstances that make it possible to do something. And you're not going to have only one opportunity in life. You're going to have so many opportunities. Uh, and probably in a day, you have a thousand opportunities to, uh, do the right thing, to do the wrong thing, to make the right choice, to meet the right person, or not to do those things. And so opportunities will be presented to us. And the way we access opportunity will determine the outcomes of our lives.
Please stand with me in your Bibles to Ecclesiastes chapter 9 and we will read verse 11. Ecclesiastes chapter 9 and we read verse number 11. Ecclesiastes is just after Proverbs. Proverbs is just after the Psalms. So if you know where to find those, you will find Ecclesiastes, write somewhere in the middle of your Bible. Ecclesiastes chapter 9, verse 11. Are you there? All right. It says, "I returned and saw under the sun that the race is not to the swift, nor the battle to the strong, nor bread to the wise, nor riches to men of understanding, nor favor to men of skill, but time and chance happen to them all."
Time and chance. In this passage, we are introduced to some factors that all of us consider to be good factors. Factors such as strength, factors such as swiftness, factors such as being smart, being scholarly, or being skillful. If you would ask individuals what they consider to be crucial factors to make a person successful in life, I suppose these are the factors they would come up with. You have to be smart. You have to be skillful. You have to be swift. You have to be strong. You have to be scholarly. You have to go to school. You have to be wise. You have to have understanding. And, and all of these, these are factors that all of us aim for. We want to be strong. We want to be swift. We want to be able to respond quickly. We want to be fast. We want to be scholarly. We want to have understanding. We want to be wise. We want to be smart people. We want to be skillful people. And for these, we do a lot. We go to school. We train ourselves. And we prepare ourselves. However, the writer in Ecclesiastes says, as great as all these factors are, they don't always produce the results. He says the battle doesn't go to the strong. That there are strong people who lose the battle. They are swift people who lose the race of life. And we know that in life, there are people who start life in class one. They are top in the class. Class two, they are top in the class. They are swift. They are ahead of everybody. Then you check them out 40 years later, and it didn't work out. So what happened? Something happened in between their swiftness, their scholarliness, their smartness, and the outcomes of their lives. We find people who are very strong, athletic when they're young. Everybody hails them. Probably they're the greatest footballer or the, the best ampe jumper, uh, in the neighborhood. And, and we think they're going to turn out right. They, they, they are popular. And then you check them out 30 years later, and it didn't really work out well. So what happened?
Well, the writer gives us a clue. He says, "Time and chance happens to all." In other words, time and chance will happen to the strong, to the swift, to the wise, to the understanding, and to the skillful. In other words, the way you appropriate time and chance will determine whether the advantages you have in life will work to your advantage. Ultimately, that word "chance" is a troublesome word. Um, and, and I just need to give you a little clarification of, of it. The word chance, there, in other translations, is translated opportunity. Opportunity. It's an occurrence in life that we don't control. It's a situation you don't control, which will happen to you. Something is going to hit you in life that you didn't plan for. And whether you are strong, you are fast, you are swift, you are wise, whatever you are, when those things hit you, you have to learn to respond well. Because if you don't, then your skill, your strength, and whatever you have as an advantage will not work to your advantage.
So there are two thoughts you get from this, uh, verse in, in Ecclesiastes. Number one is that our natural abilities and professional training are not enough to guarantee success. Natural ability, professional training are not enough to guarantee success. And that is true. All of us have stories, maybe we are the story ourselves, of people with great natural ability and great professional training who somehow have not been able to put the pieces of life together. The second thought you get from that verse is that the way we respond to life's occurrences determines our success in life. The way we respond to life's occurrences determine our success in life. Life's occurrences, things happen in life, things you didn't plan for, things you didn't expect, things you wish would never happen, happen. And the way you respond to them will determine how things work out for you. God is at work with us in every season of life, through trials, through, through tragedy, through triumph. God is always with us. And in whatever circumstance we find ourselves, we must be assured that his presence is with us.
So how does opportunity factor into the occurrences of life? There are three phases of opportunity. Opportunity doesn't look the same every time. It has three faces. And these three phases of opportunity present themselves at various times. The first phase of opportunity is the phase of chaos. When things are thrown out of their normal order. Opportunity doesn't come when, always when we are ready, and when we expected, and when we are prepared. Sometimes it's chaos that brings the opportunity. Many times we want to see the power of God. How do we see the power of God? We see the power of God in a storm. When there is chaos. The Apostle Peter learned that when he and his friends, his colleagues, were in a boat. The boat was tossed by the storms. They thought they were going to sink. And across the horizon, they saw a figure on the water approaching them. Normally, they knew that that figure couldn't be a human being because it was not possible for a human being singularly to walk on water. So their first record was to say, "It's a ghost." And then as the figure got closer, the figure spoke. That's not the kind of thing you want to hear when you think something is a ghost. You wanted to keep silent. But this figure spoke and says, "It is I, don't be afraid." Then they recognized it was Jesus. There is a storm. They are about to die. The boat is sinking. Jesus is out there. It is I. Then Peter saw opportunity. He says, "Lord, if it is you, bid me come to you." And Jesus said, "Come." Peter stepped on water. You want opportunity to step on water? Do you want to experience the power of God? You want to have testimony this year? They are going to be tests. Opportunity sometimes comes in the form of chaos. When everything is disorganized around you. The things which are normal are thrown out of gear. Something you depended on is gone. At that time, you have opportunity to see the power of God at work in your life. Opportunity. The first phase of opportunity is chaos. So when things get chaotic, don't despair because opportunity is knocking on your door.
The second phase of opportunity is challenge. Challenge is when you are severely tested to produce results. When pressure is put upon on you or placed upon you to produce results, and you feel stretched. You feel your capacity being too much demanded from. That is opportunity. How many of you wish that one day you will be a great person in Ghana? You want to be great in Ghana? You'll be remembered? Would you want to be remembered as the savior of Ghana? Wow. The history books will write about you and say, "In the year 2009, there was such and such a person, and he saved Ghana." But how are you going to do that? You're going to have opportunity. There's a lady in the Bible who had that opportunity. Her people were going to be destroyed. Her name is Esther. Her people were going to be destroyed. But she had a very comfortable life because she was in the palace as the queen of the king. And her people were servants in the kingdom, and they were going to be cleared out, decimated. And she thought she was comfortable until she had a challenge. To go tell the king about what is happening so that we'll be free. And she says, "It doesn't happen that way because if you go without invitation, you die." The second word that comes to her, "Don't think you'll be free if you don't go. Destruction will come and you will get it too. Or if God saves, he will save, but you, you would never enjoy it." So she says to the people, "I will go. I will do what is dangerous to do. And if I perish, perish." I perish. And she became a redeemer of a nation. Challenge. Bribery, corruption in your office. If you stand for the right, you will be dismissed. If you stand firm, you will lose your daily bread. But you say, "I want to be great." Well, it's a great opportunity for you to tell the people in your office, "I'm not going to take that bribe." And if I perish, I perish. Your desire to be a great person will not come to you already prepared. It will come through a challenging opportunity. How many of you want to make a mark in your life? You want to be remembered for something? Oh yes. Then you have to be ready to face challenges. Opportunity comes in the form of challenges. All the great people we celebrate today. Everybody talks about Nelson Mandela, the great Nelson Mandela. And we, we all wish we were Nelson Mandela. I'm sure when Nelson Mandela came out of prison, uh, so many years ago, and he was walking out with Winnie Mandela holding his hand, many ladies will wish, "I was the woman." But he had been in prison for 27 years. You want to be that woman? Get ready. You'll be given opportunity, but it comes with 27 years of imprisonment. The great things we desire, the great doors will be opened, but they don't always look pretty. Opportunity comes in the form of chaos. Opportunity comes in the form of a challenge. And opportunity number three comes in the form of a calling. A calling. When you find that life has prepared you to play a suit role. This is the opportunity most people are familiar with. When you are ready for something, and it happens. Jesus found that opportunity in Luke chapter 4. When he goes to his hometown, and he goes to the synagogue, and they give him the book of, of the scroll, and he opens to the book of Isaiah, and he finds the place where it is written, "The Spirit of God is upon me because he has anointed me," and so on and so forth. And he calls that scripture. He closes the scroll and he tells the people, "Today, this scripture is fulfilled in your eyes or in your ears." And he sat down. That's opportunity. People have heard about him. People were expecting something from him. He had been prepared for it. This was his mission, and he stepped into it. It's opportunity. Opportunity is recognizing your calling at a time in history when you know that "I have come to the kingdom for such a time as this." But opportunity, as we have heard, is not always comfortable. Opportunity is not always comfortable. And when the door of opportunity opens, we must be ready to act.
A very respected Christian leader, man I respect much, called Leonard Ravenhill, great revivalist, he made this statement about opportunity. And this is what he said: "The opportunity of a lifetime must be seized in the lifetime of that opportunity." The opportunity of a lifetime must be seized in the lifetime of that opportunity. In other words, every opportunity has a lifetime. Opportunities are not permanent. They are doors. They get open and they get shut. And when you don't access it at the time when it is open, you will not have it available when it is shut. An opportunity of a lifetime must be seized in the lifetime of that opportunity. Because the doors God opens for us will not remain permanently open. Whether they came through chaos, if, if Peter had not stepped into the water at that time, he would not have a second chance to step into the water, and we would never have known that Peter could walk on water. He sunk later on, but at least he walked. He took the opportunity. If Esther had not said, "Yes, if I perish, I perish," we would never have known what one woman could do to save a nation. She seized the opportunity in the lifetime of that opportunity. My friends, God is going to give you opportunity. It may come in the form of, of a chaos. It may come in the form of a challenge. It may come in the form of your calling. But when that door of opportunity opens, you must seize it in the lifetime of that opportunity. You cannot postpone opportunity. You cannot procrastinate about opportunity.
All of us can look back in our lives and remember missed opportunities. I think you can. I can. Missed opportunities. There are sometimes certain people come your way, you mistreat them. Then 20 years later, they become significant. And then you say, "Wow, if I knew there would be that, I should have treated them better." So in this day, they would have treated me better. But you missed the opportunity. There are people sitting by you, people in your life now, who 10 years from now will be very different from what you are seeing. You have no idea what people are going to be. 10 years ago, nobody knew that Barack Obama would be president of America. He was a nobody in political terms. Nobody. I'm sure there are people who are say, "If I knew this skinny guy who walks in front of my house, if I knew one day he'll be president, I would have given him food. I would have been nice. I would have chatted with him. I would have been nice to his children." But they never knew. You have no idea the destiny of the people God brings into your life. That's why the Bible says, "Cast your bread on many waters, and you will find it after many days." It says, "So in the morning, so in the evening." And the Bible says, "Don't be weary in well-doing, for in due season you shall reap if you faint not." Many of you have been disappointed by people, so you stop doing good. But do you know that probably you stop on the story of the person who will change your life? Don't be weary. If you want to smile to people, smile because you don't know which smile will be the beneficial smile 20 years from now. You can't treat people like rubbish and hope that the future will smile upon you. Because the opportunity of a lifetime must be seized in the lifetime of that opportunity.
God brings people in your life. Sometimes they are ordinary orphans, boys have no money, troublesome people who are disruptive of your life. But those people are destined for greatness. And God brings them into your life for a short period. And in that short period, you must leave an imprint on the life of that person. Because one day they will remember you. And one day they will tell a story for you. Joseph was in prison. He had been falsely accused. His dreams were shuted. One day he gets up in prison. Two men have dreams and they are troubled. If you were a bitter, cynical person, you would have looked at those people and rubbish their dream because your own dream hasn't come to pass. You would have said, "Oh, forget about dreams. They don't happen anyway." You could have said, "I have no time for dreams. Nobody has helped me. Why should I help you?" But these two people come. And Joseph has no idea. No idea the consequences of what he's about to do that morning. He can't predict. Because opportunity doesn't show you its outcome. It just shows you a door. And you have to be bold to step into that door because you have no idea what is behind the door. Joseph had no idea. But he interprets a dream for a, a man, a butler. The dream comes true, and he is forgotten. But two years later, he is remembered. And that singular act that morning brings to pass the dream he had years ago, which he thought had been abandoned. One day he is moved from a slave, a prisoner, to become a prime minister in 24 hours. How did it happen? One morning, he had an opportunity to interpret somebody's dream. Sometimes you work in an office. You have no idea whose letter you are signing and what that person would be. Somebody brings a file to you, and you have no idea this person one day probably will be the richest man in Ghana. You have no idea. Today he's struggling. And he says, "Sir, please help me." And you say, "I can't help you." He says, "Please help me." And everybody's trying to collect bribe from him. But you go ahead and you say, "You know what? I will do it free. Take it." You have sown a seed. It's an opportunity. You say, "God, let somebody do me good." Good. That was the opportunity. You are sowing a seed to something you will become in the future. You have to understand, opportunity does not come dressed in nice clothing. Opportunity sometimes comes dressed in filthy garments. But you have to recognize this is opportunity. And since you can't tell which one is opportunity, which one is not opportunity, the Bible says, "Cast your bread upon many waters." In other words, you do good all the time. You sow it all the time. You are nice all the time. You are generous all the time. Because you have no idea which one is going to turn out right for you. Many of the outcomes of our lives are determined by simple things we do in the course of life. Not because you are strong, or you educated, or you went to school, or you have degrees. But something little you did opens the door. And something little you did shut the door. There are certain people you offend them, and 30 years it comes back to bite you. And when you were insulting them, they were nothing. But at a certain time, they are something now. Then you wish you would hide. Oh, opportunity is coming your way. You ask me, "Pastor, where's opportunity?" It's in the face of the person sitting next to you. Tell the person next to you, "You are my opportunity." Yes. Who knows? Who knows? Look at that person. Who do you know what will happen 5 years from now? Do you know where they will be? Do you know who they will become? You have no idea. One day that person may be the one who speaks favor for you before the king. One day that person may be the one who holds your hand and guides you. One day that person may be the one who comes to help you when you are in trouble. One day that person may be the doctor who saves your life. You have no idea. That's why in life, since we can't predict the outcomes of what we do, we give every opportunity in life our best shot. You can't tell whom to treat well and whom not to treat well. Because in life, the one who is rich today will be poor tomorrow. The one who is poor today will be rich tomorrow. There's opportunity staring you in the face tomorrow. When you go to work, opportunity is there everywhere. A customer who comes to you who doesn't seem to be impressive. You have no idea whom he is related to. Because everybody is related to somebody. And sometimes you treat somebody well, but you don't know who he is related to. And where he would tell that story. He leaves your presence and goes to tell somebody, "Oh, I went to that shop. Oh, those people are great." And that's the testimony. It's better than advertising in Daily Graphic. It's better than advertising in, in, in, in the newspapers or, or going on, on, on radio. It's better because that one person can speak for you at the strategic place. It's like that. What the butler did. What kind of public PR situation could have helped Joseph to, to move? Nothing. It's just one person. Joshua. Joseph. H. Positioned strategically. Who tells the king, "You know, years ago, when I was in prison, I met this guy, you know, and he interpreted my dream, and, and it came to pass." The king says, "Go get him." What kind of consultant can get you that result? You can pay consultants millions, they won't get you that result. But that one de. I just want to encourage you. Tomorrow you will meet somebody. You have no idea who they will become. So a seed with your opportunity and your destiny in mind. Be kind. Be nice. Be generous. Be good. Be patient. Be understanding. Give people a chance. Give them a break. Give them a second chance. Forgive them. Because you have no idea the seed you are sold.
[Applause]
Philippians chapter 1, verse 12-4. This is what the Apostle Paul said about his own life. Now, if you know anything about Paul, no, nobody has suffered or had more calamities happened to him repeatedly like Paul. From one trouble to the other. One moment he's being whipped, next moment being jailed, next moment he's being stoned, next moment he has a shipwreck, next moment people are betraying him. I mean, he's going from one problem to the other. He gets thrown into jail. He's unjustly, uh, accused, unjustly punished. And he gets into jail. And listen to how Paul saw the circumstance of his life. He says, "But I want you to know, brethren, that the things which happened to me have actually turned out for the furtherance of the gospel, so that it has become evident to the whole palace, God, and to all the rest, that my chains are in Christ. And most of the brethren in the Lord, having become confident by my chains, are much more bold to speak the word without fear." When, when, when God called Paul, when Paul was on the way to Damascus, he had a prophetic word. If you remember, Jesus spoke to him and said, "I will bring you before kings. I will bring you before kings to tell the gospel, to, to bring light to the Gentiles." The question is, how will Paul ever get the opportunity to take the gospel before King? The greatest king at that time was Caesar. He was in Rome. Paul was in Jerusalem. And if you know anything about the stories at that time, there, there was no way a Jewish preacher was ever going to end up in Rome to preach to the Caesar. So Paul is preaching, and I'm sure he's wondering, "When will this prophecy come to pass? When will this prophecy come to pass? When will this prophecy come to pass?" And most of us, "Oh, God, let the prophecy come to pass." So why, one day he's, he's preaching, and he's arrested. This is the, the beginning of the prophecy being fulfilled. He's arrested. You said, "Where, where is the link between my arrest and the prophecy?" I have a prophecy. I'm now in prison. So he's arrested by the Jews. And, uh, and then later he gets to know that the Jews actually want to kill him. So he's brought before the judgment seat. And he knows that they're trying to, to take him to Jerusalem to, to kill him. And he says, "No, no, no, no. I, I stand before Caesar, and I appeal to Caesar." It was just a simple appeal, a court appeal. They said, "Well, if you've appealed to Caesar, we can do nothing." So they have to bundle him up to go to Rome. He didn't go there because he was going to preach, but he's going there to try and tell the gospel, uh, um, try and, and defend himself. On the road, he gets a shipwreck. He's rescued. All kinds of trouble. But eventually he gets to Rome, and he goes to prison in Rome. And now he has, he's now telling the Philippian Christian, he says, "All the things which happened to me, my arrest, the weeping, and all the unjust accusations, it has now turned out to my advantage because it has brought me to where God said he was going to take me from the beginning." But look at how the, the route God used. So he says, "Now the guards are hearing the gospel. And he says, all over the prison, people are getting saved. Roman soldiers are getting saved. The Gentiles are coming to the light. And other Christians who have seen the effect of my ministry in prison are getting bold to preach more and more." Eventually, Paul gets his day. He gets to Caesar, and he preaches the gospel to him. God fulfilled what he said he was going to do with Paul from day one. "I will bring you before kings." Yes, he came before the great governors, before Felix, before Festus, before Herod, and before Caesar himself. How did it come to pass? It didn't come to pass by nice doors opening, diplomatic pass, diplomatic. No, no, no. It came through chaos. But that was opportunity.
Let me tell you, what God says he's going to do in your life is not always going to be fulfilled in the way you've imagined it. Most of you would expect, if God says you'll bring it before kings, that one day you are there and you receive a word from the king, "We have heard about your good works, and now a chariot is waiting to transport you to the palace." Then we'll say, "Jehovah, the Lord is good." No, no, no, no. I mean, that's how we would wish that prophecy to be fulfilled. But it comes through imprisonment, threats, accusations. And then when he gets to know the people are lying in wait to kill him, he has no recourse but to say, "I appeal to Caesar." That was not his original plan. It was something he said to protect his life. But that eventually leads him to his destiny. The opportunities of God sometimes through come through crisis, through chaos, through challenge, through trouble, through tragedy, through test, through trial, through fears, through danger. But in all those circumstances, you will see God opening a door. You enter danger, but you don't die. You enter trouble, but you don't die. You enter what kills people, it doesn't kill you. Something must tell you there is something greater working on your behalf than just an occurrence of life. People go through it, they don't survive. But you seem to be surviving. And that's what was happening to Paul. He's beaten, he doesn't die. They stone him and they think he's dead. Next time he gets up and preaches. He's going to Rome. He gets a shipwreck, and he's supposed to die, but he doesn't die. And then when he gets to the island of Patmos, and he's trying to prepare fire, a snake comes and bites his hand, and everybody thinks he's going to die. He doesn't die. Why is the man not dying? Because something is guiding him. It looks like trouble. It looks like danger. It looks like chaos. But God is bringing him to the place he has appointed for him. I'm here just to tell you, my friends, maybe you're going through tragedy. You're going through trouble after trouble after trouble, and nothing seems to work. You have no idea the opportunity God is creating for you. He says, "The things which happened to me have now turned out to my advantage." I, I just pray that you can look at your life and you can say, "The things which happened to me have turned out to my advantage." You can look at life and you would see that God was there all the time.
So how do we take advantage of opportunities? Number one, we have to recognize God's sovereignty over, over life's occurrences. We have to recognize God's sovereignty over life's occurrences. There are occurrences in life which you don't have control over. A shipwreck, a storm, a famine, people mistreating you, false accusation, imprisonment. There are things which happen. Occurrences. Time and chance happens to everybody. Things happen. Things will hit you, you didn't plan for. Things will hit you, you didn't expect. But when those things happen, recognize that there is one who rules in the affairs of men. His name is Jehovah. Recognize his sovereignty over life's occurrences. Things are not just happening. God rules in the midst of the storm. Secondly, see your life in the light of God's larger purposes. Your life is not just being lived for yourself. I like what Paul says. He says, "These things have turned out for the advancement of the gospel." I have served. I've been thrown in jail. I've gone through problems. But Paul says, "I see a greater advantage." The greater advantage is that the gospel is being preached. People are hearing the word of God. And people are being encouraged to preach the word of God. See the way your story works out into God's larger purpose. Sometimes God allows your story to be an encouragement to somebody else. There are people who are reading your life. They are reading your life. And they see the way you are handling your trouble. And they see the way you are handling your difficulty. And they see the way you, you, you deal with something that is so difficult to deal with. And as they see your life, they see Christ in you. And people are led to Christ because the Christian, the child of God, knows how to handle difficulty. Your life is a testimony. It's a testament to somebody. God is working out a larger purpose. And see your life not only from what happens to you, but the greater purpose of God. Number three, be open to any new lessons that God wants you to learn. When you go through chaos, challenging situations, what is God teaching you? What is God teaching you? Paul says, "But I want you to know, brethren, that the things which happened to me have actually turned out for the furtherance of the gospel." What Paul is saying is, "I've come to recognize that God uses things like these to advance his purpose." The gospel is being preached. Is there a lesson for you to learn from what you're going through? Fourth, allow God to use what you are going through to his glory. Allow him to use what you are going through to his glory, to bring glory to his name, for his glory. You have to say, "Lord, be glorified in what I'm going through. Be glorified in my life." All of us can look back at some situations in our lives that at the time we were going through, where the most horrible experiences of our lives, but God turned it out for good. See the larger picture. Life is not just about today and what you're going through. It's about what God is working out and where he has bring, he's bringing you to. And when you know the will of God, respond to his will in faith. When you know what, what he's doing, then you respond to everything by faith. You are courageous. You are bold. Because you know God is at work, and God is the one who rules in this situation. When you are sure of God's will, respond to it in faith.
A dear woman of God called Helen Keller. Helen Keller was born in a very, very precarious situation. She was born blind, deaf, and as a result, mute. Couldn't speak. Blind, deaf, mute. One girl. And, uh, when she was born, there was no way to teach her anything. Because if you're going to teach people children, they have to hear something, or they have to see it. She can't see. She can't hear. She can't talk. How do you teach her? She will seem to be a liability. Her parents tried all they could to treat, to train her. She was a very violent girl when she was young, very violent, always fighting because she didn't understand. Couldn't do anything. You couldn't appeal to her. You couldn't teach her. You couldn't instruct her. You couldn't tell her anything. Eventually, the parents found another woman who was almost blind, who was a teacher of blind people. But she hadn't taught blind and deaf. So Helen Keller was going to be an experiment for her. So she tried and tried and tried and tried and tried, and she was frustrated because she couldn't teach this young girl anything. Until one day, they were playing, and they opened the tap, and the water fell on the hands of the girl. And the lady teacher recognized that she noticed something different. And so she, she signed in her palm words to mean "water." And somehow, the girl got to connect that what was pouring on her hand and the sign in her palm were connected. So the sign in her palm was the name for what was happening or falling on her hand. And that is how the door was opened. So through signwriting in her palm, she started to learn words and the meaning of words. Eventually, the teacher taught her how to know, uh, how to recognize all of these things. Helen Keller eventually became a great writer, a phenomenal writer. And, uh, it would be good to read some of her books. And this is something she said, a quote from Helen Keller, and I think it will help you about opportunity. She says, "When one door of happiness closes, another opens. But often we look so long at the closed door that we do not see the one which has been opened for us." Helen Keller. Now, if Helen Keller can advise you, I don't think you have any excuse. When one door of happiness closes, another opens. But often we look so long at the closed door that we do not see the one which has been opened for us. And that's how come we can't see opportunity. Because we keep looking at what used to be. "If it had been so, if it had not happened, if that had not happened, if my husband had not left me, oh, if my father had not done that, if my wife had not done that, if my mother had not done that, if my teacher had not done, if only I had gone to school, if only I had not abandoned school, if only my parents had paid my school fees, if only I had had the capital, if only I had not been stupid to destroy, if only I, if only that, if only that, if only that, if only that." Anytime you say, "If only, if only, if only," you know what you're doing? You are looking at the closed door. It's closed. The door is shut. But the good news is, another one has opened. For Helen Keller, the door for sight was shut. The door for speaking was shut. The door for hearing was shut. But God opened another one. And it was reading through her palm, words, writings in her palm. That's how she learned. It may have been a small door, but it was a door. And that door turned this woman into a worldwide motivational person, a prolific author, and a writer. A person whose life inspires many people. Even after she's dead, she continues to inspire people. Several films have been done about her. I have her film. People talking about what happened to her. She says, "If one door opens, God opens another." The only thing is, we keep looking at the closed door and not the open door. I don't know what you've been looking at, my friends. What have you been looking at? It's gone. It's gone. It's gone. Turn around. Something else has opened. You can't go through life complaining. "If only, if only it had been so. If only it had happened that." It didn't happen. Get used to it. It's gone. It's broken. You can't fix it. Ah, if, if only, if the boy had been kind. If only he had been nice. He wasn't nice. Get used to it. If only, if only he had given me the money. He didn't give you the money. Get used to it. If only, if only I had a strong body. You don't have a strong body. Get used to it. If only, if only I had gone to school in primary 4. You didn't go to primary 4, and you can't go to primary 4 now. You're too old for that. You're older than the teacher and the head teacher himself. But there is another door open. You know, sometimes one person leaves your life. God brings another person. But we are so bitter about what left that we can't embrace what is coming. Sometimes an opportunity is shut, and we are so angry that new things are coming to our lives, but we are angry against the new things too. Somebody hurt you, and you are hurt, and you are angry. But new people are coming, they are kind. But you are still hurt, and you're still fighting them. That's how come sometimes we stay in the same place. Not because God is not faithful. God is faithful. He says, "No temptation will overcome your way that you not able to overcome, but with every temptation, he will open a way of escape." My friend, open your eyes. There is a way of escape. There's another door. There's another opportunity. Don't pack your life at the bus stop. Don't stay at the workshop with your tires removed, with your engine removed, with your windows removed, with your wipers removed, just sitting on cement blocks because somebody was insensitive to you. Get off with your life. I said, get off with your life. God has a new door for you. He has a new opportunity for you. His mercies are new every morning. His faithfulness never ceases. What he did yesterday, he can do today. If he takes one out, he can bring 10 your way. No human being is indispensable. Those who have left, let them go. But there are those who are coming. Don't let those who are coming go. Let those who are going go, and let those who are coming come. God will open a door. It may not come the way you want it, but he will open the door. It may come through chaos. It may come through calamity. It may come through a challenge. It may come through your calling. But God will open a door. God will open a door. Because life is full of so many people, good people, sometimes intelligent, gone to school, gone to school, got brains, degrees, but somebody disappointed them, and they couldn't shut the door. They couldn't walk away, and they are stuck. Some are angry. You talk to people sometimes today, they are angry and talking so angry about something that happened 20 years ago. Move on. With your brains, can't you move on? They sacked you from that job. Can't you get another job? Why do you sit there and complain about the job they took from you? Can't God give you another job? That's why he says, "The race is not to the swift." There are swift people who can take advantage of opportunity. There are strong people who miss the opportunity. There are wise people who miss the opportunity. There are people of understanding who missed the opportunity. But you, child of God, take charge of your life. Open your eyes and take advantage of the new opportunity. We serve a God of opportunity, and he will not leave us behind.
I want us to pray. And I just want you to talk to God. And I want you to pray and ask God to open your eyes to the new opportunity he's bringing your way. Why don't you just talk to him for a moment? Let's pray. Let's pray. Let's pray. Let's pray. Let's pray. It may be opportunities in your work area, in your family life, wherever one door is shut, and you've been crying and crying and crying. God says, "The tears are over, but he's opened the new door." Why don't you just say...