MISSING GOD’S OPPORTUNITIES
TEXT: NUMBERS 14:6-11
THEME: SEIZE THE OPPORTUNITY BEFORE YOU.
His name was David and he was the first Christian I ever really met. We became friends because his talk about God and Jesus fascinated me. We talked almost every day because we both had a break during the same time. This was the first time I remember in my life becoming interested with Christianity. There was something about his stories, or maybe the story that drew me in. His outlook on life was from a perspective that shocked me. He had a joy and a peace that was foreign to me. I remember after some time, he invited me over to his house. I really wanted to go, I liked the guy. But I was best with my friends and life. It was something that I wanted to do, but nothing that was too urgent at the time. So he asked a few times, and I declined a few times. After the semester, Dave and I stopped talking during our breaks. To this day, I wonder what would have happened if I went? Would I have become a Christian? If so, how would have this changed my life? It would be about another four years before I would give my life to Christ. But what if, I converted then?
Maybe you have wondered about missed opportunities. Maybe you have questioned that opportunity before you in the past that you missed. Maybe it was an education choice, a job offer, a move to a new area, or a girl you never asked to marry you. Maybe it was a time you felt like you needed to repent, but fought the feeling. Maybe it was an opportunity to serve as a deacon or elder or bible class teacher. Whatever the opportunity was, you have wondered how your life would have been different if you seized the opportunity. You missed out on something God intended you to have. You were meant to take that step, you were meant to conquer that goal, you were meant for something different. You missed the opportunity that the Lord had for you, and now your life is forever changed.
Have you ever wondered about God’s timing in your life? You know, about how God is working in your life. God is involved in this world. We believe in a God that is alive, not in a god of the deism, which I mean that God did not create the world and has left us on our own. We believe in a God that helps us in this work. That God has a plan and a time for us. God time and our time are interconnected. This is the mystery of providence. One may be tempted to conclude that providence simply means God’s foreknowledge of human affairs, but providence includes more than this partial definition. The point is not that God just looks “at” human affairs. The truth is that God looks “after” human affairs. He not only watches us, He watches over us. Providence is God’s behind-the-scenes involvement in the lives of His people. An illustration of this idea is seen when one mother says to another mother “Will you watch over my child?” This watching includes more than a visual connotation—it implies providing for the child’s welfare. But there are two participants in providence. This is where the idea of confluence comes into providence. The doctrine of providence can become confusing because of the interconnectedness of God’s will and man’s will. Through providence God never asserts His will over man’s will. Both God’s and man’s will’s work together to create a providential moment. To understand this idea, one must study the doctrine of confluence. The term confluence refers to the “flowing together” of two or more currents. To grasp the idea of confluence, picture two steams flowing together to create a river. Only when God and man are on the same wavelength can providence be created. When it comes to God’s timing in providence, man must be involved in the opportunity.
We see in this story an account of God’s people missing out on a God opportunity. We know the story well. It is the story of the spies reporting about the land of Canaan. God had delivered the people from Egyptian bondage and has led them through the desert. They are at the threshold of the promise land. Moses sends in 12 spies. But all of the spies except Joshua and Caleb are afraid to take the land because of the size of the people. But Joshua and Caleb realized this was one of God’s special timing events. God would give his people the victory over these heathen peoples. If only the people would not be afraid and have faith to enter into battle. But the people rejected the timing of the Lord. Numbers 14:1-4 “Then all the congregation lifted up their voices and cried, and the people wept that night. And all the sons of Israel grumbled against Moses and Aaron; and the whole congregation said to them, "Would that we had died in the land of Egypt! Or would that we had died in this wilderness! "And why is the LORD bringing us into this land, to fall by the sword? Our wives and our little ones will become plunder; would it not be better for us to return to Egypt?" So they said to one another, "Let us appoint a leader and return to Egypt."
But Caleb and Joshua knew that this was a special time. They had to walk through this door of opportunity. So they pleaded with the people to not reject the faith opportunity from God. They said in Numbers 14:6-9 “And Joshua the son of Nun and Caleb the son of Jephunneh, of those who had spied out the land, tore their clothes; and they spoke to all the congregation of the sons of Israel, saying, "The land which we passed through to spy out is an exceedingly good land. If the LORD is pleased with us, then He will bring us into this land, and give it to us-- a land which flows with milk and honey. Only do not rebel against the LORD; and do not fear the people of the land, for they shall be our prey. Their protection has been removed from them, and the LORD is with us; do not fear them."
See when it comes to God’s timing in our lives, we must seize the moment. We must take the leap of faith. God in his providence and timing has set before us opportunities. He cannot force us to take them, he cannot force us to walk by faith. We are always working with God to create our lives. But when those moments arrive, we must seize the opportunities. I do not know how many opportunities I have missed. I am not sure, but I know I probably have missed a few. But here is a story about a big opportunity that I seized. The biggest choice I ever made in my life was not becoming a Christian, or giving married, or going to school. It was going to move a family down to Texas. This was the moment of testing. It would have been easy to say no and not go. It was difficult to go, but somehow I seized the opportunity. While I was living in Nova Scotia, the mission family asked me to help move the family down to Texas. It would be my job to help drive the family van down to the states. First of all, I was scared to drive through New York, Boston, and all the big cities. I grew up in a small town, where the biggest highway was two lanes. I had to leave work for four weeks, four weeks without pay was a major blow to the pocket book. I had a girlfriend at the time telling me if I went the relation was over. I had no faith or experience with the Lord. I had no idea of the magnitude of this decision in my life at the time. I had everything against me to take this trip. Would I go and would I stay. It did not seem to be a life changing choice at the time. But it was a God given test. Because I choose to go, and on that trip I became a Christian. I was baptized in Texas on this trip. I wanted to serve the Lord from this trip. That trip changed my life. And I know for sure that my life would have been completely different if I did not take this trip. It was a promise land moment. If a was afraid I would have been left behind. For I feel that I would never have done what I have in life if I never traveled to Texas. It started everything in motion on this trip. If I missed this opportunity, my whole life would have been changed.
The people that Moses was leading missed their opportunity and everything changed for them. In fact, God was so upset with the people that he wanted to destroy them, but in the end he punished them with making the present generation suffer in the wilderness. Everyone in that present generation died outside of the promise land. Look at what God says in Numbers 14:33-35 “’And your sons shall be shepherds for forty years in the wilderness, and they shall suffer for your unfaithfulness, until your corpses lie in the wilderness. According to the number of days which you spied out the land, forty days, for every day you shall bear your guilt a year, even forty years, and you shall know My opposition. ’I, the LORD, have spoken, surely this I will do to all this evil congregation who are gathered together against Me. In this wilderness they shall be destroyed, and there they shall die.’" God is clear in life. He has given us all opportunities before us. We have been given blessings in life. But if we do not seize these blessings, God will take them from us. When it comes to God’s timing, we have to be on the same page. We have to participate with God. We have to seize the opportunity before it is too late. Or it may never come around again.
We are people who do not want regret the past. If this is the case, we need to be people who can seize the God given opportunities. So this week, I want you to go home. I want you to reflect on your past, not to pull up negative memorizes, but to learn from the past. Ask questions like, why did I not launch out, why did fear stand in the way, or why did I not have enough faith. Ask these questions to learn from the past so that the next opportunity that faces you. You will not be defeated by fear. You will overcome the test. You will seize the opportunity. And if you are facing a test now, pray for direction. And step out in faith. Because with God’s timing, you might only have one chance. Do not let the chance past by. You can do it.
Howard Schultz was faced with a living changing choice. He was presented with the opportunity to purchase a small chain of coffee shops called starbucks. The price tag was four million dollars. He believed there was no way to come up with the money. But he says in his autobiography “This is my moment, if I don’t sieze the opportunity, if I don’t step out of my comfort zone and risk is all, if I let too much time tick on, my moment will pass. I know that if I didn’t take advantage of this opportunity, I would replay it in my mind for my whole life, wondering: what if? He did, the rest is history. In fact on June 26, 1992, Starbucks went public, and at the end of the day, the stock was worth 273 million dollars. Not bad for a 4 million day investment.
All of us will have these moments, the God given opportunities or blessings. God is in charge of the timing, we are in charge of the participating. So instead of looking bad and wondering what if, seize the moment. Glad the gift that the Lord has given.
