Opportunity Is Knocking Series
Gtcotr/ss121403
You may wish to turn in your bibles to the beginning of the New Testament, in what is commonly called ‘The Gospels’, to:
The Book of Mark
Key Scripture: Mark 4:20 "But these are the ones sown on good ground, those who hear the word, accept it, and bear fruit: some thirtyfold, some sixty, and some a hundred." (NKJV)
It has only been a month since we concluded our ‘Examining The Foundation’ series.
In that series we examined scriptures concerning:
Salvation; Water Baptism; Prayer; The Authority & Integrity of God’s Word; Tithes & Offerings and God’s Master Plan.
Remember God’s Master Plan … we found it was God’s desire that we:
Be Godly
Be Healthy
Be Productive
Both tapes and notes covering all those topics are available through our information desk in the foyer.
Then on Sunday, November the 9th, we summed up what we had learned and felt that we, as individuals, families and a church body, were now ready to begin a new adventure in Christ.
The adventure of building on our solid foundation.
That Sunday morning I began with:
Point #224 Peace comes from realizing that the purpose outweighs the pain.
The following Sunday Morning, November 16th, we began the ‘Opportunity Is Knocking’ series.
This series was based on ‘Three Great Truths’
1. God has a plan.
2. He will succeed.
3. You have an opportunity to participate.
We established from the scriptures that:
* The players may change but God’s plan won’t change.
* God is going to succeed even if it cost Him your life.
* Many are invited to participate but only a few are chosen.
Perhaps it’s because the road tends to be lonely, costly and narrow, and few spend the time necessary to sufficiently prepare themselves.
That brought us to:
Point #79 Although many are willing to be used, few are willing to be prepared for use.
That next Sunday, November 23rd, we surveyed ‘The First Steps’ we can take to prepare ourselves for use by God.
Some of us needed God to:
1. Show us what He wanted us to do.
2. Get us ready to do it.
3. Open a door so we can do it.
I shared;
Point #188 What we do while we are waiting on God can determine how long we wait.
Point #179 It’s not what we are going through, but what we are going to that matters most.
Point #38 What you are going through may not be punishment for the past, but positioning for the future.
We found that two important steps each person should take in preparing themselves for greater use by God are:
1. Decide To Be Godly … It’s A Choice
2. Learn To Be Content
On Sunday, November 30th, we continued in the ‘Opportunity Is Knocking’ series with scriptures surrounding the life of Joseph.
We were encouraged to realize that:
God does not call you where His grace cannot keep you.
And that we should all learn to:
Bloom where we are planted.
Then, last Sunday, December 7th, Pearl Harbor Day, I shared:
Point #44 If it’s bad, most likely God is not finished yet.
We saw Peter, after denying Jesus and returning to the same place and occupation he was in before Christ, was again faced with having fished all night and caught nothing. (Luke 5:5 & John 21:3)
We realized through surveying both Old Testament and New Testament scriptures that when God’s chosen people are going in circles around themselves and getting nowhere, and perhaps had rather just be left alone …
… Wouldn’t You Know It …
Here Comes Jesus Again!
He’s got another chance for us to participate.
Our summation last week was that truly:
God has a plan
He will succeed
We can participate
He will make room for us again and again
And that so
We can be fruitful
In God’s Place
In God’s Time
I also, by way of apology, informed the congregation last week, that I had one more message in this series before we could conclude and move on. This morning, I have prepared that message:
So without further explanation I give you:
Opportunity Is Knocking …
The Conclusion
Have You Found Our Text Yet?: Mark 4 (NIV)
26 He also said, "This is what the kingdom of God is like. A man scatters seed on the ground.
27 Night and day, whether he sleeps or gets up, the seed sprouts and grows, though he does not know how.
28 All by itself the soil produces corn—first the stalk, then the ear, then the full grain in the ear.
29 As soon as the grain is ripe, he puts the sickle to it, because the harvest has come."
You know:
Timing is critical, and timing is often determined by things so beyond our control.
I. In Order To Serve God Fruitfully, We Need Some Vital Information
A. What Does God Want Done
B. How Does God Want To Do It
C. When Should It Begin
II. The Three Stages Of A Kingdom Opportunity
A. First The Stalk
What Does God Want Done
1. God’s Hope
2. God’s Purpose
3. God’s Vision
* In this scenario God intends the seed sown be multiplied
* The seed is the Word of God sown in a person’s heart. (Luke 8:11)
> It produces first the stalk. (The KJV says, “first the blade”)
> The first evidence of life, even though it may not be fully recognizable … A Vision; A Dream; An Inspired Idea; God’s Purpose
B. The Word From God Produces: First The Stalk, Then The Ear
1. First the vision
2. Then the Vehicle
3. First: What God Wants Done?
4. Then, How He Wants To Do It?
5. First the Purpose
6. Then the Plan
*Note: It is not enough to just know what God wants to do, we must also know how He wants it done. The Word will manifest both.
* About 1656 years after God created Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden, He had a desire, a vision, a passion and purpose, to destroy all living creatures wherein there was the breath of life from off of the face of the earth except one man Noah, his family and a certain few animals. Knowing this would not just spontaneously happen, …
> God developed a plan to accommodate His purpose
> God told Noah to build a boat, it’s going to rain.
^ This Word from God gave Noah a vision and told Noah what God wanted him to do.
^ However, acting on this alone would have been disastrous … Noah also needed to know how to build this boat.
* A purpose without a plan is just a pretense, it’s pitiful, it’s pointless.
* A purpose without a plan is like a promise without a proposal.
> Most likely the boat Noah would have built by his own design would not have accomplished the goal, weathered the storm or stood the test of time.
But it doesn’t end there!
* First the stalk, then the ear, then:
C. The Full Grain In The Ear
1. AV says - the full corn in the ear
2. The Full Grain Speaks Of
* Fulfillment Of The Promise
* Fruit for the Master’s pleasure
* I love it when a plan comes together.
> The Purpose
> The Plan
> The Product
* Only God can measure the finished product.
* It was God who determined when the ark was ready to launch.
* Even when considering the end of time, Jesus reported in:
Mark 13:32 "But of that day and hour no one knows, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father.
* God makes all things beautiful in His time.
Ecclesiastes 3:11 ¶ God has made everything beautiful for its own time. He has planted eternity in the human heart, but even so, people cannot see the whole scope of God’s work from beginning to end.
As we conclude this series, lets continually
Remember & Rehearse To Ourselves and To Others:
God has a plan,
He will succeed,
