Make the Most of Every Opportunity

Introduction

Target and missed opportunities

One thing about Tuscaloosa is we have good football

Football players who I didn’t talk to when David could’ve been a bridge

Two things about Tuscaloosa are good football and bad charger theft (apparently)

Guy who helped me get a charger week one and I didn’t invite him

I missed my opportunity

Naturally, Milton emailed me about talking about this. Neil said ignore emails, so I skimmed and thought “miss the most of every opportunity”…I can do that

Read Colossians 4:2-6

Explanation

What does it mean? Some versions say “make the most”, others “redeem the time” Is it more general or more specific? Yes. Typically like to spend more time in context and let the main point of the passage speak for itself, spend little time on practically, but since everyone else has framed it so well, at the risk of being the novice who misses opportunities I want to get practical. How do we do this? Recognize and respond.

Exhortation — General

Recognize the importance of emerging adulthood.

Don’t need to belabor the point when it’s why all of us are in campus ministry (but go ahead and belabor it a bit)

Respond by unapologetically focusing on the mission

If you aren’t crystal clear on your mission, get clear right now.

What is our mission? Make disciples

All 5 great commissions and the early church’s response

Why I think many of our churches are missing it—missio Dei and it’s easier

It does little eternal good to feed the hungry and leave them hungering for the Bread of Life.

It does little eternal good to clothe the naked unless they are also clothed in Christ

It does little eternal good to care for creation unless that care involves reconciling sinners to their Creator.

How are we doing?

At evangelism, if this is the most spiritually receptive time

I’m not sure that we’re all not seeing more fruit because we’re Jeremiahs. I want to make sure if I’m not seeing fruit it’s not because I’m a Jonah.

At discipleship, if this is the most crucial decision making season?

At mobilization, if God delights in using young adults for the Great Commission

Is everything we do focused on the mission?

Excerpt from Campus Journal almost 50 years ago

“Whatever else is involved in campus ministry the basic purpose of our efforts is to bring the Good News of Jesus Christ to young men and women who do not know Him as Sovereign Lord. An effective ministry in a college setting will be doing many things. However, nothing will be more important than the making of disciples, and any attempt to minister to a campus that does not include serious and disciplined effort to bring new ones into the kingdom is found wanting by New Testament standards. For various reasons it is easier to evangelize on some campuses than it is on others, but all of us who claim to serve the college community must struggle in our own situation to find ways to bring others into full fellowship with the Father.”

Do you believe that to be true?

Want to encourage you to be unapologetically focused on making disciples of our Lord Jesus Christ

Exhortation — Specific

Specifically, recognize and respond to evangelistic opportunities.

The context (v. 6) is about non-believers after all.

Recognize by…

my experience from waiting to being proactive

from assuming that every door was closed unless the non-Christian opened it to assuming every door was open unless the non-Christian closed it

if I’ve been asking God (v. 3) why would I assume he didn’t answer?

not “how will they hear unless they ask someone” (Romans 10)

going to need to counter here or under the next point the feeling that goes with decline theology that people just don’t want to hear about Jesus today

apparently my non-Christian friends haven’t gotten the memo that they should be uninterested. Didn’t my seminary classmates get the word out?

obviously some aren’t interested (parable of the soils), but the other half is that some are!

I get my cues from Scripture, not statistics or sociologists, so I know the harvest is plentiful.

Speaking of… how do we recognize? by having spiritual conversations and proclaiming the Kingdom (Luke 10)

talk about using “thermometer questions” to gauge spiritual temperature (Luke 24)

F.I.R.E.

somebody showing up once gives you immediate permission (as if Scripture didn’t already) to share the Gospel

For every 1 person who gets to Jesus in a conversation too fast, I’ve seen 100 who get there too slowly or not at all

Respond by…boldly sharing the Gospel and inviting a response

To make the most of every opportunity on a campus of 38,000 it means that I have to be selective

In order to make the most of every opportunity, sometimes I have to lovingly move on from someone who’s not giving me an opportunity to help them come to Christ.

Conclusion

D.L. Moody and the Great Chicago Fire

I’m not D.L. Moody in the sense that I’ve led loads of people to Christ, but I am D.L. Moody in that I’ve missed opportunities before but I’m resolving not to miss any more & I want to invite you to join me.