Resources > Bible Studies Grab Opportunity By The Mane-RISK: Seizing Moments Posted by Rev. Jeff Dixon-Senior Equipping Minister, CCC Ministries on Oct 9, 2007, 13:12

Grab Opportunity By The Mane

RISK: Seizing Moments

2 Samuel 23:20-21

These are the Bible Study notes that were used in the Celebration Worship experience of the same title which is a part of our continuning RISK themed series. As you read them remember they are not an article but merely the overview as it was used by Jeff Dixon as he taught. It might be helpful to print these out and keep them handy as you listen/watch the streaming media of the same title.

Benaiah son of Jehoiada was a valiant fighter from Kabzeel, who performed great exploits. He struck down two of Moab's best men. He also went down into a pit on a snowy day and killed a lion.  

And he struck down a huge Egyptian. Although the Egyptian had a spear in his hand, Benaiah went against him with a club. He snatched the spear from the Egyptian's hand and killed him with his own spear.

Such were the exploits of Benaiah son of Jehoiada; he too was as famous as the three mighty men.

He was held in greater honor than any of the Thirty, but he was not included among the Three. And David put him in charge of his bodyguard.

(ill) A couple sat in my office for premarital counseling and decided to get married. As the big day approached they each called with what they thought was going to be a major problem that they didn’t want their potential spouse to know about.

Or course, it put me in an awkward position, but I listened and gave the best advice that I could.

The man called deeply concerned about the success of his marriage.

He loved the girl of course, but his problem was smelly feet. He was afraid that she wouldn’t want to sleep in the same room with him.

My advice, never take your shoes off until just before bedtime and then make sure you put on clean socks and wear them to bed.

Good advice

Then the girl called, she too was worried, but for a different reason

She loved the man, but she was concerned because her morning breath was so awful…

Everyone has bad morning breath I assured her

But she explained that hers was so bad, that she was afraid her husband wouldn’t want to sleep in the same room with her.

My advice, never speak in the moring…

Get up early, brush your teeth before you speak

She said she thought of that but what if they get up at the same time

My reply…always have something else to do…if he gets to the bathroom sink before you do, then make coffee or something and that way in the early morning stumbling around you just aren’t a morning person

The were married

All was going well

They were using the good advice I had given

6 months later

The husband awoke one morning to find that one of his socks had slipped off during the night. Fearful of the consequences he began to frantically search the bed. This of course awakened his wife, her husband had gone wild searching, and startled blurted out…”What on earth are you doing?”

“oh no” he replied, “you swallowed my sock!”

We are all pretty good at living life when we have time to meticulously plan out the details of what we are going to do and when we are going to do it, but what happens when the unexpected moment comes along?

How do you react? What do you say? What do you do?

Do you take advantage of the opportunity and make the most out of it?

Or do you blow it miserably?

The biggest dreams often start out as the smallest opportunities

Our ultimate destiny is determined by whether or not we seize the God ordained opportunities or moments presented to us!

If we seize those opportunities it seems to set in motion a whole series of other things….if we don’t we stumble past the chance that God had given to us

Now…here is some good news

You don’t have to sweat or live in fear that you will miss the will of God

He loves us….and over the course of a lifetime I am convinced that we get opportunity after opportunity

The grace of God has no expiration date
BUT-I don’t want to live life and delay the process. Life is too precious and it is too short. I want to seize the opportunity the first time it is presented

The passage

Now lets put ourselves in Benaiah’s sandals

This story could have turned out differently

Benaiah sees lion, Benaiah runs away, Benaiah breaths a sigh of relief!

No harm, no foul….

Think Courageously

(v.20) Benaiah son of Jehoiada was a valiant fighter from Kabzeel, who performed great exploits.

Harvard Divinity School, Dr. Gardner Taylor, was a preaching professor as well as a pastor in New York City. I'll never forget those lectures. I remember him telling us a story from when he was preaching in Louisiana during the Depression. Electricity was just coming into that part of the country, and he was out in a rural, black church that had just one little light bulb hanging down from the ceiling to light up the whole sanctuary. He was preaching away, and in the middle of his sermon, all of a sudden, the electricity went out. The building went pitch black, and Dr. Taylor didn't know what to say, being a young preacher. He stumbled around until one of the elderly deacons sitting in the back of the church cried out, "Preach on, preacher! We can still see Jesus in the dark!"

Sometimes that's the only time we can see him—in the dark. And the good news of the gospel is that whether we can see him in the dark or not, he can see us in the dark.

Taken from Timothy George's sermon "Unseen Footprints," PreachingToday Audio

RUNNING AWAY FROM THE LION WOULD HAVE BEEN THE LOGICAL THING TO DO

Some would even go so far as to call it the prudent thing to do

But guess what?

If Benaiah runs he would have disappeared into the dust of history and been lost among the timid souls who shrank back in fear instead of stepping out in faith.

There is always a time to be prudent (careful, cautious, practical)

There is also a time to be valiant (brave, courageous, noble, heroic, gallant, bold)

I know lots of prudent people

They pay their taxes on time, they never miss a bill payment, they always drive the speed limit, and they always pack an extra pair of underwear.

I respect them

But that level of respect doesn’t even compare with the respect I have for valiant people!

Benaiah could have done what was prudent and ran away from the lion

I’m sure there was a voice in the back of his head that said, “It wouldn’t be prudent” to chase the lion

But Scripture does not describe Benaiah as being prudent, it describes him as valiant!

Risk takers are not the most prudent people on the planet

Instead they are opportunists

Risk takers aren’t focused on avoiding problems

We have already examined how Risk takers begin to see problems as opportunities

Risk takers seize opportunities by the mane

Clutch Individually

(v.20b-21) He struck down two of Moab's best men. He also went down into a pit on a snowy day and killed a lion. And he struck down a huge Egyptian. Although the Egyptian had a spear in his hand, Benaiah went against him with a club. He snatched the spear from the Egyptian's hand and killed him with his own spear.

Benaiah had to prove himself like everyone else

He had to move through the ranks like others did

Benaiah became the man who lead David’s bodyguards

Later, Solomon, David’s son would promote Benaiah to commander over Israel’s entire army

How did he do it?

How did he fulfill his destiny ?

How did he climb the military chain of being a fighting man to the top of the  army

In the court of Solomon, he was the most powerful man of all, next to the King

How did he do it?

BY SEIZING ONE OPPORTUNITY AT A TIME

Nothing has changed in 3,000 years

Dreams are still achieved one opportunity and one moment at a time

So a bit of advice

Don’t settle for being prudent

Instead strive to be valiant

Make the call

Apply for the program

Send the e-mail

Hand in your resignation

Set up the meeting

Accept the position

Move Passionately

(v.22-23) Such were the exploits of Benaiah son of Jehoiada; he too was as famous as the three mighty men.  He was held in greater honor than any of the Thirty, but he was not included among the Three. And David put him in charge of his bodyguard

Reality Check for Risk Takers

The Egyptian had a spear and all Benaiah had was a club

Risk takers don’t look for excuses

They don’t focus on their disadvantages

They find a way to make the circumstances work

If they have to they put the Egyptian in a head lock and take his spear

ISN’T IT IRONIC THAT SOME PEOPLE WHO HAVE SO MUCH DO SO LITTLE … AND THOSE THAT HAVE SO LITTLE DO SO MUCH!?!

Risk takers don’t let what they can’t do keep them from doing what they can!

Think of every opportunity as a gift from God

What you do with that moment is your gift to God

The old adage is wrong. Opportunity doesn’t knock, it roars!

The two Moabites didn’t schedule an appointment with Benaiah’s assistant

The Egyptian didn’t knock on the door

The lion did not roll over and play dead

Here is the great irony about opportunity

They usually come disguised as insurmountable problems

They can look like 500-pound lions that want to eat you for lunch

Benaiah didn’t see a 500-pound problem, he saw a lion skin hanging on his wall

Risk takers will rise to the occasion

Risk takers are not intimidated by Moabites, Philistines, or….

Risk takers will fight for what they believe in and they have beliefs worth fighting for

They don’t live life rocking back on their heels

They live life waiting to see what God is going to do next

They are on their toes, alert, engaged, and ready to grab the next opportunity by the mane

The notion that "the first will be last" doesn't seem to bother some folks. When Apple's revolutionary iPhone hit the market in late June, 2007, it sold for $599. Ten weeks later the price went down to $399—a 33 percent reduction. While many who bought the iPhone at the original price were outraged, others would have paid any price to be among the first to own the new technology.

"If they told me at the outset the iPhone would be $200 cheaper the next day," one customer explained, "I would have thought about it for a second—and still bought it. It was $600, and that was the price I was willing to pay for it."

Early adopters—consumers who purchase new technology as soon as it becomes available—relish the prestige of taking home a new toy before anyone else.

Despite the fact that electronics often become more reliable in the second and third generations and retail prices for technology always decrease with time, early adopters are undeterred by the risks. The pleasure and joy of having a rare product far outweighs the financial sacrifice. In the words of one satisfied iPhone owner, "Even if it works one day, it's worth it."

There is a passion about the new product

For many, it's the not the technology itself but the distinction of being able to be a part of something that few have the chance to do, having the technology as a part of their lives first…

Now when I tell you that story some scoff…

You would never pay that much….

But if I could name the right thing

Give you the right opportunity

Give you a chance…you would move heaven and earth to make it happen

At whatever cost or sacrifice

The reason..I tapped into something you are passionate about

Concert tickets, show tickets, ball game tickets, a trip, an business investment, etc…

The question is…

Are you passionate about the things of God?

Are you passionate about the moments that He places in front of you?