Strike While The Iron Is Hot

Larry Brincefield

larkayb@earthlink.net

Title: Strike While the Iron Is Hot

Text: Mark 10:46-52

Introduction

1. There is an old proverb: "Strike while the iron is hot".

A. That proverb basically has the meaning that when the time is right...

i. you had better act...

ii. or you will miss out on your opportunity.

B. The metaphor is taken from a blacksmith working a piece of iron into shape.

i. That piece of iron must be struck with the hammer while the iron is red-hot

ii. if you wait too long, the iron will cool and you won’t be able to mold it into shape.

2. Another proverb that has a similar meaning is: "You better make hay while the sun still shines".

A. This proverb speaks about a farmer who cuts a field of hay...

B. the hay has to dry in the sun....

C. if the farmer waits until the sun has set...

D. it may very well rain;

E. and he will be unable to bail the hay.

3. Salespeople know this. I was reading an article written by Pat Zaby, a nationally known Real Estate speaker

4. He says, " Over a weekend last spring, I told a friend that I was thinking of buying a convertible....

A. I get on the Internet web site CarPoint.com first thing Monday morning.

B. I picked out the car I wanted,

i. the color,

ii. the interior

iii. and all of the accessories.

C. In moments, CarPoint gave me the completed sticker price and dealer invoice.

D. Fun over, I left it at that and started my workday.

E. Later that morning, I got a call. "This is Owen Evans with Autobahn Motor Cars in Ft. Worth and we have your auto," the voice said.

F. "WHAT?" I responded.

G. Evan reminded me that I had been on the Internet earlier and had been looking for a particular car.

H. I said, "Yes, but I wasn’t serious."

I. "That’s o.k., we have the model and color of car that you requested and wondered if you would like to see it?" Evans persisted.

J. I told him that he was in Ft. Worth and I was in Dallas and that maybe I’d get by some time that week.

K. "You don’t understand," he said. "I’ll drive it right over to your office and you can see it now"

L. I am sure you know what happened. I’m the proud owner of a Carnival Red Jaguar XK8 convertible.

M. I was sending out buying signals and this sales professional "struck" while the iron was hot.

N. I just read some interesting statistics reported in a speech that Steve Ballmer, President of Microsoft, made regarding a survey from dealers that are members of Carpoint, the Microsoft web site devoted to purchasing or selling cars.

O. Mr. Ballmer said that the participating dealers close

i. 35% of the leads if they respond to an e-mail contact in eight hours.

ii. If they wait 24 hours, the close rate falls to 20-25%.

iii. If they wait 48 hours, the close rate falls to 8%.

P. The results are obvious: the faster you respond to a customer, the better the results.

Q. (source: http://realestateprofiles.com/rep/columnists/patzaby/patzaby_01.phtml)

5. You can find the same thing in Scripture.

A. In John 5:3-4 "sick people, blind, lame, paralyzed, waiting for the moving of the water. For an angel went down at a certain time into the pool and stirred up the water; then whoever stepped in first, after the stirring of the water, was made well of whatever disease he had".

i. They had to strike while the iron was hot.

ii. They had to make their move while the angel was there...

iii. or they would miss out.

B. In Mark 2:1-2 "And again He entered Capernaum after some days, and it was heard that He was in the house. Immediately many gathered together, so that there was no longer room to receive them, not even near the door. And He preached the word to them" Mark 2:1-2 (NKJV)

i. That’s when the 4 friends brought the paralyzed man and lowered him through the roof,

ii. into the presence of Jesus...

iii. They had to strike while the iron was hot...

iv. They had to act while Jesus was there,

v. or their friend would miss out!

C. In Luke 17:11-13 "Now on his way to Jerusalem, Jesus traveled along the border between Samaria and Galilee. As he was going into a village, ten men who had leprosy met him. They stood at a distance and called out in a loud voice, "Jesus, Master, have pity on us" Luke 17:11-13 (NIV)

i. And Jesus healed the 10 lepers.

ii. They had to strike while the iron was hot...

iii. They had to act while Jesus was passing by...