"Grab Opportunity By the Mane"

from the book “In A Pit With A Lion On A Snowy Day,” by Mark Batterson

Sunday, February 3, 2008/ Esther 4:12-16; Colossians 4:5

"Chase the Lion" Sermon Series

Introduction: Today is the end of our series, “Chase the Lion.” This series has been about how we can see our fears and failures as opportunities for God to work in and through us. This is because lion chasers don’t retreat. They attack. Lion chasers aren’t reactors. They are creators. Lion chasers refuse to live their lives in a defensive posture. They are actively looking for ways to make a difference.

One example of this is our culture. If you look around, there are many aspects of the culture I’m sure you don’t like. Even more, there are many aspects of the culture that God doesn’t approve of. As we see the culture, it is easy for us to criticize it. But instead of criticizing, we should try to do things that create a new culture; we should try and impact it in a way that changes it. We should try and come up with better alternatives; better schools; better businesses; better opportunities.

This morning I want to talk about the fear of missed opportunities. As the old saying goes: “Stop cursing the darkness and start lighting some candles!”

I. Seizing the Opportunity- (Esther 4:12-5:3)

a. Open doors- STORY: There is a true story of a lawyer named,

John, who lived in Washington D. C. He had a well established law practice and was making good money. But there was a problem; there was something nagging at him. He realized that he didn’t want to practice law anymore. Instead, he wanted to make movies. This wasn’t just a crazy whim or a mid-life crisis. He believed, it was put in his heart by God. So he went to talk to his pastor, and together they prayed for God to open a door of opportunity if this was what God wanted him to do.

A few months went by, when one day John was reading the Sunday paper. He came across an article about human trafficking in Uganda. The story told about how little girls were (and still are) being lured into a life of sexual slavery. John was moved to want to do something about this. He went to his computer and Googled “Uganda.” This Google search led him to a professor who was leading a trip to Uganda to shoot documentary films.

Now, at this point he could have thought it just a coincidence, and he could have left it all alone. But instead, he applied for this program, and even though he had no experience, he was accepted by this professor to go on the trip. This was not a coincidence. John could see God’s fingerprints all over the events.

But there is more. One week before he was to leave on his trip, he was invited to a film industry party. While at the party, he found out that the Ugandan ambassador to the U.S. was there. And not only did John get to meet the ambassador, but he found out that she was a Christian. As he talked with her about the documentary he wanted to make, she got so excited about it that she invited him to meet with her the next day at the Ugandan Embassy.

There is no way that John could have ever gotten an appointment with the Ugandan Ambassador on his own. But with God’s help, the ambassador was the one who initiated it. So John meets with the ambassador, and then heads off to Uganda. He was there three weeks shooting his documentary film, and then spent 3 months editing it. After that he premiered his film, titled “Sting.” From that premiere, he was able to get a movie deal for his film, and asked to be the assistant director and producer on this $20 million feature film!!

If God can turn fisherman into disciples and leaders, and turn shepherds into kings, God can turn a lawyer into a movie producer.

b. Being ready for the opportunity- The biggest dreams that God

gives to us often start as the smallest opportunities. John could have easily overlooked the newspaper article; John could have disregarded the trip to Uganda put on by the professor; John could have ignored many things, and made excuses why he shouldn’t have pursued this dream. But in the end, he recognized the opportunity, and seized it, letting God bring it to fruition.

Last week I talked about how our ultimate destiny is determined by whether or not we seize the God-ordained opportunities that God presents to us. If we seize the opportunities, it starts one domino falling, which creates another domino to fall, and then another, and then another. It creates a chain reaction of opportunities that allows us to fulfill the dream God places in our heart and mind.

EX. In the Old Testament, in the book of Esther, we have the story of Esther. Esther became the queen after her cousin Mordecai took advantage of an opportunity by recommending Esther to become the queen. By this suggestion, Esther was brought to the king, and ultimately made the queen. But then a man named Haman became the head of all the officials, and required everyone to bow down to him. Mordecai refused, because he was a Jew, and would only bow down to God. This angered Haman, and caused him to want to destroy the Jews. Mordecai found out about this plan, and told Esther that she needed to bring this to the king’s attention. But how was she to do this? Nobody could see the king without the king’s summoning them. So she asked Mordecai and all the Jews to pray for an opportunity. Sure enough, an opportunity arose. READ Esther 5:1-3.

“On the third day Esther put on her royal robes and stood in the inner court of the palace, in front of the king's hall. The king was sitting on his royal throne in the hall, facing the entrance. ² When he saw Queen Esther standing in the court, he was pleased with her and held out to her the gold scepter that was in his hand. So Esther approached and touched the tip of the scepter.

³ Then the king asked, ‘What is it, Queen Esther? What is your request? Even up to half the kingdom, it will be given you.’”…..Esther prayed to God for an opportunity. And Esther took advantage of the opportunity when it came.

BUT, if we miss those opportunities, we short-circuit God’s plan for our lives. And yet, we shouldn’t fret, because God gives us second chances; God can overcome our faults and failures. All you have to do is think about Moses, who had to flee because of his killing an Egyptian guard. God again opened the door of opportunity to Moses, and gave him a second chance.

To be a lion chaser is to be an opportunist. To be a lion chaser is to be focused on God-ordained opportunities, not on the problems. Lion chasers don’t look for excuses of why not to do it, or on the disadvantages. They find a way of making circumstances work in their favor, because they know that God is at work in and around them, helping these circumstances come to be. LION CHASERS GRAP THE LION BY THE MANE!

But the challenge is that opportunities often come disguised as insurmountable problems. They look like 500 pound lions. They appear to be the kind of problems that you run away from, not opportunities that you seize. So we need God to put courage in us so that we won’t be intimidated by these problems; which are actually opportunities.

II. Prayer Mode vs. Survival Mode- (Psalm 5:3; Jeremiah 46:17; Colossians 4:5)

a. Expectations- In Psalm 5:3 we see the way King David started his

day: “In the morning, O Lord, you hear my voice; in the morning I lay my requests before you and wait in expectation.” David comes to the Lord in expectation. David lays his requests before the Lord, and waits to hear God’s response. This is important, because too often we have low expectations on our life.

The truth is, low expectations are a byproduct of prayerlessness. Now, you may say, “But pastor, I pray.” Yes, you may pray, but are you praying with faith? Are you praying in a way that would be acceptable to God, or are you praying in a very selfish way? Are you praying with God-sized expectations? The more you pray, the higher your expectations should be.

If you want to make the most of every opportunity, then you have got to “devote yourselves to prayer, and being watchful.” When you devote yourselves to prayer, you put yourself in a place, and in a state of being that allows you to be more attentive to what God has for you. You also are reminding yourself to be watchful of what opportunities are brought to you by God, and what are opportunities would not be supported by God.

When we devote ourselves to prayer, we really take the pressure off ourselves. We don’t have to manufacture the opportunities. It is God’s job to manufacture the opportunities for us. And prayer allows us to be more attuned to God’s working around us. God is preparing the good works in advance. God is leading us down the road to our destiny.

The key is to understanding that God’s timing is perfect. There is so much that we want in life. Some of what we want wouldn’t be best for us, and wouldn’t fit into the destiny God has for us. But even the wants we have that are supported by God doesn’t always fit into the right time frame. We usually want everything NOW.

If you were to look back on your life, you would discover that the greatest breakthroughs have happened because you had been in prayer with God. When you try to think of what you need to do, there will be times when you come up with some “good” ideas. But when you are in regular prayer, listening to God, and talking to God, you will be led to “God” ideas. I don’t know about you, but I would rather have one “God” idea, than a thousand good ideas!

b. Discernment- Jeremiah 46:17 is a very sad verse. It says:

“Pharaoh, king of Egypt, is only a loud noise; he has missed his opportunity.” This pharaoh ruled over one of the most advanced ancient civilizations on earth. Think about the wealth he had. Think about the resources; an entire kingdom was at his disposal. But he missed his moment. The opportunity came and went.

You may not have heard the name of Howard Schultz. In August of 1987, Howard Schultz had a big opportunity. It was the biggest decision of his life. He was presented with the opportunity to purchase a small chain of coffee shops. But the price tag was $4 million. In his autobiography, Pour Your Heart Into It, he reflects on his decision: “This is my moment.. If I don’t seize the opportunity, if I don’t step out of my comfort zone and risk it all, if I let too much time tick on, my moment will pass….” He decided to buy the chain of coffee shops. The name of the chain? STARBUCKS. And as they say, the rest is history.

Colossians 4:5 tells us: “Be wise in the way you act toward outsiders; make the most of every opportunity.” We are told to be wise in how we act. This might remind us of the concept of righteousness. We often think of righteousness as “doing nothing wrong.” But even more, righteousness is “doing something right.” Righteousness isn’t just running away from sin. Righteousness is chasing lions; it is deciding to take advantage of the God-given opportunity that is before you.

Being a lion chaser, is knowing when to be cautious, and when to throw caution to the wind. To do this, we need discernment. Discernment is that gift from God that helps you to know the difference between holding back, and moving forward. Discernment is the understanding that the conditions will never be perfect, and there is a right time to move, even if things don’t seem to be all lined up.

So here’s an important question: What dream has God given you, and why are you waiting to pursue it?

EX. You may have heard of Mark Burnett. He is the creator of the shows “Survivor” and “Apprentice.” He recently wrote a book titled “Jump In!” In this book he outlines his philosophy of business. He says: “Nothing will ever be …perfect, and nothing can be totally planned. The best you can hope for is to be about half certain of your plan and know that you and the team you’ve assembled are willing to work hard enough to overcome the inevitable problems as they arrive. And arrive they will. The only thing you can be certain of in business is that the problems you have not thought of will eventually crop up—and always at the worst times.”

Conclusion: Did you know that the average college graduate will change jobs ten times? It is also true that they will change career paths 3-5 times. This reminds us that you don’t always have to get it right the first time. But you do have to start somewhere. With this in mind, some good advice would be to try lots of different things. As you feel God’s leading in your life, move forward. If it’s not what God wants you to do, I believe it will be an opportunity that God can use to continue to direct you in the right way.

I don’t know what dream God is calling you to pursue. But I do know this, as you respond to the opportunities God puts in front of you, God will make your dream a reality. Like Esther, she put herself in the place to take advantage of an opportunity, and trusted God to open the door. LISTEN to God. TAKE ADVANTAGE of the God-given opportunities. PRAY for a discerning heart and mind. TRUST God to do great work in and through you. CHASE THE LION. Amen.