LUKE
12:13-21 (NIV)
Then someone called from the crowd, “Teacher, please tell my brother to divide our father’s estate with me.” Jesus replied, “Friend, who made me a judge over you to decide such things as that?” Then he said, “Beware! Guard against every kind of greed. Life is not measured by how much you own.” 16 And he told them this parable: “The ground of a certain rich man yielded an abundant harvest. He thought to himself, ‘What shall I do? I have no place to store my crops.’ “Then he said, ‘This is what I’ll do. I will tear down my barns and build bigger ones, and there I will store my surplus grain. And I’ll say to myself, “You have plenty of grain laid up for many years. Take life easy; eat, drink and be merry.”’ “But God said to him, ‘You fool! This very night your life will be demanded from you. Then who will get what you have prepared for yourself?’ “This is how it will be with whoever stores up things for themselves but is not rich toward God.”
ECCLESIASTES
9:10-12 (NKJV)
Whatever your hand finds to do, do it with your might; for there is no work or device or knowledge or wisdom in the grave where you are going.
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.
For man also does not know his time:
Like fish taken in a cruel net,
Like birds caught in a snare,
So the sons of men are snared in an evil time,
When it falls suddenly upon them.
Sometimes the reason we pray amiss is because imbedded in our request is a desire to have possession that we might find meaning and identity in it.
The sum total of our existence is not measured by the things we possess, but by who possesses us.
PICTURE THIS: THE STORY OF THE RICH MAN
Psalm 14:1 (NIV) The fool says in his heart, “There is no God.”…
Luke
12:31 (NLT)
Seek the Kingdom of God above all else, and he will give you everything you need.
The way in which we seek the Kingdom is determined by how we use our opportunities.
HOW TO MAKE THE MOST OF OPPORTUNITY
1 - Have Faith
Luke
22:31-32 (NKJV) - And the Lord said, “Simon, Simon! Indeed, Satan has asked for you, that he may sift you as wheat. But I have prayed for you, that your faith should not fail; and when you have returned to Me, strengthen your brethren.”
2 - Study
2 Timothy
2:15 (KJV) - Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.
3 - Sharpen the Saw
Ecclesiastes
10:10 (NLT) - Using a dull ax requires great strength, so sharpen the blade. That’s the value of wisdom; it helps you succeed.
4 - Always Work Unto the Lord
Colossians
3:23-24 (NIV) - Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for human masters, since you know that you will receive an inheritance from the Lord as a reward. It is the Lord Christ you are serving.
5 - Look for the Opportunity the Storm Brings
Acts
21:23 (NLT) - But he said, “Why all this weeping? You are breaking my heart! I am ready not only to be jailed at Jerusalem but even to die for the sake of the Lord Jesus.”
KINGDOM CONCEPT:
1 - SEE THE OPPORTUNITY
2 - SEIZE THE OPPORTUNITY