WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:09.800 Bill Gates, in a public interview, allegedly, I don't know how accurate this story actually is, but it's a good story. 00:00:10.580 --> 00:00:14.780 He was asked what was the secret to his success. 00:00:18.379 --> 00:00:24.120 And he pulled out his checkbook and said to the lady interviewing him, how much would you like? 00:00:25.420 --> 00:00:28.480 She was a little bit embarrassed by that. She said, no, it's not what I meant. 00:00:28.480 --> 00:00:33.140 She said, what's the secret behind your success? 00:00:33.619 --> 00:00:40.340 So he started to write her name on the blank check, tore it out and handed it over to her. 00:00:40.460 --> 00:00:44.900 He said, put whatever, ever sum you like on that check right now. 00:00:45.600 --> 00:00:50.700 She batted the check away and tried to ask the question from a different angle. 00:00:51.780 --> 00:00:56.240 At which point Bill Gates apparently shrugged his shoulders, ripped up the check, 00:00:56.240 --> 00:01:04.460 said, the secret to my success is I'd never, ever pass up opportunities in the way that you just did. 00:01:07.219 --> 00:01:13.299 Now, I'm not sure whether that is a true story or if it is, there's lots of versions of it on the internet, 00:01:13.460 --> 00:01:14.719 which one is the most accurate. 00:01:15.060 --> 00:01:16.159 The point is this. 00:01:16.159 --> 00:01:21.239 It points us to something really fundamental about our human nature. 00:01:21.619 --> 00:01:22.019 And it's this. 00:01:22.099 --> 00:01:24.959 There's something in us that craves opportunity. 00:01:26.979 --> 00:01:30.079 It's as though we're hardwired to seek out opportunity. 00:01:31.140 --> 00:01:35.439 Now, we might not consider ourselves opportunists, 00:01:35.439 --> 00:01:41.120 but flip that truth claim on its head, 00:01:41.200 --> 00:01:46.700 what I've just said about there's been something in us about being opportunist. 00:01:46.959 --> 00:01:49.500 Flip that on its head and think of it the other way around. 00:01:51.079 --> 00:01:57.459 How often in your life have you either said or at least thought to yourself, 00:01:57.459 --> 00:02:00.299 if only I'd done that. 00:02:02.059 --> 00:02:02.839 If only. 00:02:04.119 --> 00:02:04.879 If only. 00:02:05.399 --> 00:02:10.519 Those two simple words that we either say or think to ourselves, 00:02:11.620 --> 00:02:13.759 which incidentally are pretty pointless words, 00:02:14.579 --> 00:02:22.799 and yet probably two of the most frequently said or thought words in our language, 00:02:22.800 --> 00:02:23.400 if only. 00:02:23.760 --> 00:02:28.640 We apply them to relationships, to financial decisions, to jobs, 00:02:28.920 --> 00:02:31.760 to all sorts of life choices, if only. 00:02:32.400 --> 00:02:34.740 Now, they are utterly pointless words, 00:02:35.280 --> 00:02:40.600 but every time those words pass our lips or pass through our minds, 00:02:41.620 --> 00:02:45.220 surely we are reminded of something deep within us 00:02:45.220 --> 00:02:50.340 that is always, always seeking out opportunity, 00:02:50.340 --> 00:02:52.380 because we don't like to miss it. 00:02:52.800 --> 00:02:58.380 So what are you opportunist about? 00:03:00.320 --> 00:03:05.540 What sort of opportunities do you rise most readily for? 00:03:09.820 --> 00:03:11.560 The deeper we get into our lives, 00:03:11.620 --> 00:03:13.960 the further on we are on our journey through life, 00:03:14.460 --> 00:03:16.740 the more heightened perhaps that becomes, 00:03:16.740 --> 00:03:18.140 because time is running out. 00:03:18.139 --> 00:03:24.659 The average human being lives for about a thousand months. 00:03:26.199 --> 00:03:29.259 Now, bearing in mind a third of that we're asleep, 00:03:30.099 --> 00:03:32.279 takes it down to about six or seven hundred. 00:03:34.059 --> 00:03:36.519 Subtract from that the amount that you've already had, 00:03:36.659 --> 00:03:38.219 that's what you're left with. 00:03:38.219 --> 00:03:46.360 So even more sobering thought is to rewind what were you doing a week ago exactly. 00:03:48.520 --> 00:03:49.800 Because in that time, 00:03:50.800 --> 00:03:53.280 you've just lost, or used, however you want to look at it, 00:03:53.919 --> 00:03:55.719 1,080 minutes. 00:03:56.599 --> 00:03:58.659 Actually, it's probably slightly more because the clocks have changed, 00:03:58.659 --> 00:04:00.599 but you get the point. 00:04:01.639 --> 00:04:02.439 Time's running out. 00:04:03.079 --> 00:04:05.639 We only have a limited amount of time on this planet. 00:04:06.240 --> 00:04:07.240 And Paul knew that, 00:04:08.300 --> 00:04:10.759 which is why he really presses in on this question 00:04:10.759 --> 00:04:12.639 to his readership, 00:04:13.359 --> 00:04:14.460 the letter to the Colossians. 00:04:14.460 --> 00:04:20.680 Make the most of the time that you've got. 00:04:21.800 --> 00:04:23.620 Seize every opportunity 00:04:23.620 --> 00:04:27.620 to point towards that life 00:04:27.620 --> 00:04:29.400 where time will not run out. 00:04:31.460 --> 00:04:35.939 Take every opportunity to be ready to share the gospel of eternal life. 00:04:37.500 --> 00:04:37.939 Everywhere. 00:04:41.819 --> 00:04:43.579 Now, I hear you think to yourself, 00:04:43.579 --> 00:04:44.560 that's all very well, 00:04:44.620 --> 00:04:45.519 but Paul is Paul, 00:04:45.620 --> 00:04:47.099 and I'm not Paul, I'm me. 00:04:47.620 --> 00:04:49.579 It's all very well for Paul to talk about 00:04:49.579 --> 00:04:52.259 living your life poised for every single opportunity 00:04:52.259 --> 00:04:53.300 to point to eternity. 00:04:53.719 --> 00:04:56.339 But Paul's experience was a very different 00:04:56.339 --> 00:04:58.620 spiritual one from mine. 00:04:59.199 --> 00:05:01.339 After all, he met with the risen Jesus, 00:05:01.779 --> 00:05:03.819 literally on the road to Damascus. 00:05:04.120 --> 00:05:09.360 He had a whole range of spiritual experiences 00:05:09.360 --> 00:05:11.159 that I could never dream to have. 00:05:13.579 --> 00:05:17.120 But let's not be so ready to dismiss what Paul has to say. 00:05:18.240 --> 00:05:21.479 Because for all the experiences that Paul did have, 00:05:22.000 --> 00:05:24.560 life was no walk in the park for him as a Christian. 00:05:24.899 --> 00:05:26.579 Let's remember that these very words, 00:05:26.740 --> 00:05:29.199 along with many of the other letters that Paul wrote in the New Testament, 00:05:29.459 --> 00:05:32.439 were written from a place of being in chains. 00:05:33.120 --> 00:05:34.819 It was either under house arrest or in prison. 00:05:34.819 --> 00:05:41.279 Right at the end of his letter to the Colossians, 00:05:41.860 --> 00:05:43.639 Paul reels off a whole list of people 00:05:43.639 --> 00:05:46.019 that he's referring to by way of greeting. 00:05:46.599 --> 00:05:47.719 Send my greeting to so-and-so, 00:05:47.819 --> 00:05:48.800 so-and-so sends their greeting. 00:05:48.899 --> 00:05:50.579 One of those people that he mentions, 00:05:50.860 --> 00:05:52.899 as a friend and a confidant, 00:05:54.399 --> 00:05:56.060 only later on in the New Testament, 00:05:56.219 --> 00:05:58.199 is listed as somebody who has betrayed him. 00:05:58.199 --> 00:06:02.180 Paul was no stranger to the nitty-gritty 00:06:02.180 --> 00:06:05.339 of hardship as a Christian. 00:06:08.360 --> 00:06:10.000 So when we read these words, 00:06:10.480 --> 00:06:13.519 as somebody who urges us to seize every opportunity 00:06:13.519 --> 00:06:14.439 to share the gospel, 00:06:14.560 --> 00:06:15.899 let's not think for one moment, 00:06:16.000 --> 00:06:17.199 this is somebody who had it easy, 00:06:17.480 --> 00:06:19.419 and therefore it is all very well for him to talk like that. 00:06:19.659 --> 00:06:20.480 Just the opposite. 00:06:20.480 --> 00:06:26.200 So what in practical terms can we do? 00:06:27.620 --> 00:06:29.000 Well, this is where Paul is really, 00:06:29.060 --> 00:06:30.939 really down to earth and very practical. 00:06:32.100 --> 00:06:33.500 And the advice he gives, 00:06:33.780 --> 00:06:35.560 in terms of how to be about, 00:06:35.800 --> 00:06:36.720 go about the business, 00:06:36.900 --> 00:06:39.379 of being on the lookout for every opportunity, 00:06:40.620 --> 00:06:43.660 is as profound and as powerful as it is simple. 00:06:46.640 --> 00:06:47.040 Pray. 00:06:47.040 --> 00:06:50.700 That's what he says. 00:06:52.180 --> 00:06:52.920 To pray. 00:06:54.360 --> 00:06:56.540 Those words are disarmingly simple. 00:06:59.600 --> 00:07:01.840 Yet, for all their simplicity, 00:07:02.879 --> 00:07:03.840 they're very powerful. 00:07:04.220 --> 00:07:07.259 Because it's not always easy. 00:07:08.560 --> 00:07:11.020 Sometimes the type of prayer that Paul is talking about 00:07:11.020 --> 00:07:13.000 takes a huge amount of effort and discipline. 00:07:14.240 --> 00:07:15.360 But it's very simple. 00:07:15.360 --> 00:07:17.360 Verse 2, he says, 00:07:17.460 --> 00:07:19.080 devote yourselves to prayer, 00:07:20.180 --> 00:07:23.000 being watchful and thankful. 00:07:25.740 --> 00:07:28.420 Now, the wider world would see prayer very often 00:07:28.420 --> 00:07:29.460 as quite pointless. 00:07:31.280 --> 00:07:32.360 People would say it's just a... 00:07:33.480 --> 00:07:34.540 Do it if it makes you feel good, 00:07:34.620 --> 00:07:36.699 but it doesn't really do that much. 00:07:38.100 --> 00:07:39.000 If you're a Christian, 00:07:39.120 --> 00:07:40.259 prayer is the most important thing. 00:07:41.400 --> 00:07:43.020 It's not just an isolated activity. 00:07:43.160 --> 00:07:44.040 It's a whole way of being. 00:07:44.040 --> 00:07:45.700 It's the way we live. 00:07:45.780 --> 00:07:47.340 It's the way we engage life. 00:07:47.680 --> 00:07:50.180 We do so knowing that there's this extra dimension, 00:07:50.500 --> 00:07:51.620 that we're not on our own. 00:07:53.120 --> 00:07:54.879 And that's what Paul points us towards. 00:07:55.260 --> 00:07:56.400 He said specifically, 00:07:57.400 --> 00:07:58.740 be watchful and thankful. 00:07:59.660 --> 00:08:00.939 Now, isn't it intriguing 00:08:00.939 --> 00:08:05.200 that Paul draws those two things together, 00:08:05.300 --> 00:08:06.600 being watchful and being thankful? 00:08:06.800 --> 00:08:09.040 It's not the only place in the New Testament 00:08:09.040 --> 00:08:10.460 where Paul says that. 00:08:11.700 --> 00:08:14.860 To be watchful and to be thankful go hand in hand. 00:08:15.180 --> 00:08:16.840 Thankfulness takes us to a place 00:08:16.840 --> 00:08:20.600 where our sensitivities are more heightened spiritually. 00:08:21.740 --> 00:08:23.060 We're more poised 00:08:23.060 --> 00:08:27.379 to spot the opportunity if we are thankful. 00:08:27.379 --> 00:08:32.679 If we're mindful and heartful 00:08:32.679 --> 00:08:34.259 of what God is doing in our lives, 00:08:35.259 --> 00:08:39.200 if our first thought is not what we haven't got, 00:08:39.259 --> 00:08:40.059 but what we have got, 00:08:41.179 --> 00:08:43.379 if our thoughts all the time are caught up with, 00:08:43.460 --> 00:08:44.299 this is what God's doing, 00:08:44.379 --> 00:08:45.059 I see it's there, 00:08:45.120 --> 00:08:46.500 I didn't know that God was going to do that, 00:08:46.559 --> 00:08:47.320 but he has done it. 00:08:47.519 --> 00:08:49.000 If our minds are in that place, 00:08:49.379 --> 00:08:50.659 we will be poised 00:08:50.659 --> 00:08:55.299 in a place of watchfulness 00:08:55.299 --> 00:09:00.120 and ready to grab opportunity with confidence. 00:09:02.659 --> 00:09:04.819 But, and here's the big but, 00:09:06.319 --> 00:09:08.779 that mindset of ever thankfulness 00:09:08.779 --> 00:09:10.480 takes an awful lot of hard work. 00:09:11.199 --> 00:09:12.039 It's not easy. 00:09:13.299 --> 00:09:14.519 And that's where we're called, 00:09:14.860 --> 00:09:15.860 to be disciplined. 00:09:18.379 --> 00:09:19.299 One last story, 00:09:19.379 --> 00:09:20.459 just to illustrate that point. 00:09:20.659 --> 00:09:23.899 There's a really old story about a king 00:09:23.899 --> 00:09:25.839 who lived many, many years ago 00:09:25.839 --> 00:09:28.860 in a country very, very, very far from here. 00:09:29.459 --> 00:09:31.539 He was out hunting one day with his friend. 00:09:31.679 --> 00:09:35.299 As he was firing an arrow, 00:09:36.019 --> 00:09:37.120 his thumb came off. 00:09:40.399 --> 00:09:43.399 His friend said immediately, 00:09:43.939 --> 00:09:44.740 praise God. 00:09:46.039 --> 00:09:47.159 The king looked at his friend. 00:09:47.279 --> 00:09:48.879 He said, what are you talking about? 00:09:48.879 --> 00:09:52.120 He said, praise God for being in control 00:09:52.120 --> 00:09:54.019 and looking after us. 00:09:55.720 --> 00:09:57.100 The king was furious. 00:09:58.100 --> 00:09:59.299 He had him thrown into prison. 00:10:02.519 --> 00:10:03.759 A long time later, 00:10:04.759 --> 00:10:06.820 after the king had forgotten about his friend, 00:10:07.220 --> 00:10:08.340 he was out hunting again. 00:10:08.399 --> 00:10:09.559 This time he was on his own. 00:10:09.860 --> 00:10:10.840 He went a long way, 00:10:10.840 --> 00:10:14.700 away from his territory. 00:10:14.700 --> 00:10:18.080 He found himself surrounded by cannibals. 00:10:20.480 --> 00:10:21.520 They took him, 00:10:21.660 --> 00:10:22.340 they bound him. 00:10:22.900 --> 00:10:24.520 They were about to kill and eat him. 00:10:26.180 --> 00:10:28.160 When one of their number noticed 00:10:28.160 --> 00:10:30.080 that this king 00:10:30.080 --> 00:10:32.720 was missing one thumb. 00:10:32.720 --> 00:10:39.200 said, you're not perfect. 00:10:39.980 --> 00:10:41.080 We can't eat you. 00:10:42.180 --> 00:10:43.180 And released him. 00:10:46.940 --> 00:10:48.740 Well, the king then remembered his friend 00:10:48.740 --> 00:10:51.759 and his comments about how God 00:10:51.759 --> 00:10:53.860 was in control and was looking after him. 00:10:53.899 --> 00:10:54.600 So he went back, 00:10:55.100 --> 00:10:55.960 released him from prison 00:10:55.960 --> 00:10:57.340 and apologised profoundly, 00:10:57.340 --> 00:11:00.879 having told him the story. 00:11:01.019 --> 00:11:02.100 And the friend said to him, 00:11:02.220 --> 00:11:02.940 praise the Lord, 00:11:03.060 --> 00:11:03.800 thank you God, 00:11:04.200 --> 00:11:05.820 that I've been in prison for so long. 00:11:07.780 --> 00:11:08.220 The king said, 00:11:08.259 --> 00:11:09.320 how can you possibly, 00:11:09.440 --> 00:11:11.340 possibly be so thankful about that? 00:11:14.019 --> 00:11:14.540 He said, 00:11:14.560 --> 00:11:15.660 if you'd not put me in prison 00:11:15.660 --> 00:11:16.519 and left me in prison, 00:11:16.639 --> 00:11:18.180 I probably would have been out with you 00:11:18.180 --> 00:11:19.100 hunting that day. 00:11:19.519 --> 00:11:19.940 And look, 00:11:19.940 --> 00:11:20.639 two thumbs. 00:11:20.639 --> 00:11:28.460 Thankfulness takes a lot of effort at times. 00:11:29.720 --> 00:11:31.519 Sometimes we've really got to dig deep 00:11:31.519 --> 00:11:32.539 because it's not obvious. 00:11:32.659 --> 00:11:33.879 The things that are obvious 00:11:33.879 --> 00:11:35.120 are the things that are going wrong, 00:11:35.199 --> 00:11:36.279 the things that we're worrying about, 00:11:36.360 --> 00:11:37.919 the things that make us anxious and stressed. 00:11:38.379 --> 00:11:41.059 Those are the things that absorb and consume us, 00:11:41.259 --> 00:11:42.480 that take our interest. 00:11:43.220 --> 00:11:44.740 And yet Paul urges us 00:11:44.740 --> 00:11:47.000 at all times to be thankful. 00:11:47.580 --> 00:11:47.919 Why? 00:11:48.039 --> 00:11:49.240 Because when we are thankful, 00:11:49.519 --> 00:11:50.200 it connects, 00:11:50.200 --> 00:11:52.020 it places in that place, 00:11:52.100 --> 00:11:53.520 that position of being connected, 00:11:55.640 --> 00:11:57.120 of being attuned spiritually. 00:11:58.580 --> 00:11:59.060 Sometimes, 00:11:59.280 --> 00:12:01.379 sometimes we've got to work hard. 00:12:05.100 --> 00:12:06.900 Martin Lloyd-Jones once said that 00:12:06.900 --> 00:12:09.960 we spend too much time listening to ourselves 00:12:09.960 --> 00:12:11.379 and we need to spend more time 00:12:11.379 --> 00:12:12.620 talking to ourselves, 00:12:13.160 --> 00:12:14.640 preaching to ourselves, 00:12:15.460 --> 00:12:16.860 telling ourselves these truths, 00:12:17.000 --> 00:12:17.780 reminding ourselves, 00:12:17.879 --> 00:12:19.100 giving ourselves a wake-up call. 00:12:19.100 --> 00:12:20.600 Look, see what God's doing. 00:12:20.720 --> 00:12:21.240 He is there. 00:12:21.360 --> 00:12:21.899 He is there. 00:12:21.960 --> 00:12:23.800 It might not feel like it at all times. 00:12:23.860 --> 00:12:24.720 It might not be apparent. 00:12:25.019 --> 00:12:25.879 There will be other things 00:12:25.879 --> 00:12:28.120 that will threaten to draw our attention away. 00:12:31.220 --> 00:12:32.200 But be watchful 00:12:32.200 --> 00:12:33.740 and thankful, 00:12:33.920 --> 00:12:34.399 Paul says. 00:12:34.399 --> 00:12:39.360 let's be in that place 00:12:39.360 --> 00:12:40.620 of thankfulness, 00:12:40.620 --> 00:12:42.600 of watchfulness, 00:12:43.319 --> 00:12:45.699 of confidence, 00:12:46.699 --> 00:12:49.240 poised and ready 00:12:49.240 --> 00:12:50.620 to seize every opportunity. 00:12:52.519 --> 00:12:53.720 Time here is limited, 00:12:54.840 --> 00:12:57.159 but the gospel points us to a life 00:12:57.159 --> 00:12:58.039 which begins now, 00:12:58.100 --> 00:12:59.000 but which lasts forever. 00:12:59.000 --> 00:13:01.799 and we're called to point others 00:13:01.799 --> 00:13:02.820 towards that life. 00:13:04.960 --> 00:13:05.679 Let's pray. 00:13:14.519 --> 00:13:15.779 Lord, thank you 00:13:15.779 --> 00:13:17.120 that you want us to live 00:13:17.120 --> 00:13:18.679 as people who are confident. 00:13:18.679 --> 00:13:24.479 as we've been thinking about 00:13:24.479 --> 00:13:26.279 what the letter to the Colossians 00:13:26.279 --> 00:13:27.519 says about confidence 00:13:27.519 --> 00:13:29.179 over these last few weeks. 00:13:29.379 --> 00:13:29.919 Thank you. 00:13:30.639 --> 00:13:32.599 Thank you that we can find confidence 00:13:32.599 --> 00:13:33.539 in you. 00:13:37.259 --> 00:13:38.359 Lord, help us 00:13:38.359 --> 00:13:39.879 when that confidence 00:13:39.879 --> 00:13:41.079 feels low. 00:13:42.019 --> 00:13:43.539 Help us to be filled 00:13:43.539 --> 00:13:44.339 and renewed 00:13:44.339 --> 00:13:45.379 in that confidence 00:13:45.379 --> 00:13:46.439 in you. 00:13:46.440 --> 00:13:50.620 thank you 00:13:50.620 --> 00:13:51.440 that you give us 00:13:51.440 --> 00:13:52.220 opportunities 00:13:52.220 --> 00:13:54.800 to share 00:13:54.800 --> 00:13:57.080 our eternal hope 00:13:57.080 --> 00:13:57.660 with others. 00:14:00.660 --> 00:14:01.500 Forgive us 00:14:01.500 --> 00:14:02.460 for when we take 00:14:02.460 --> 00:14:03.580 our eye off the ball 00:14:03.580 --> 00:14:04.640 and overlook 00:14:04.640 --> 00:14:05.880 those opportunities. 00:14:11.620 --> 00:14:13.340 Help us to be tuned in 00:14:13.340 --> 00:14:14.420 to the opportunities 00:14:14.420 --> 00:14:15.880 that you open up 00:14:15.879 --> 00:14:17.340 each day. 00:14:22.159 --> 00:14:23.240 Opportunities to share 00:14:23.240 --> 00:14:24.159 hope with others. 00:14:25.259 --> 00:14:26.539 Help us to be 00:14:26.539 --> 00:14:27.679 ever more 00:14:27.679 --> 00:14:30.600 prayerfully watchful. 00:14:32.500 --> 00:14:34.059 Help us to be thankful 00:14:34.059 --> 00:14:35.059 in our prayers 00:14:35.059 --> 00:14:36.779 and in our outlook 00:14:36.779 --> 00:14:38.980 so that we might 00:14:38.980 --> 00:14:40.559 always be expectant 00:14:40.559 --> 00:14:41.740 and on the lookout 00:14:41.740 --> 00:14:43.720 ready to seize 00:14:43.720 --> 00:14:45.000 every opportunity 00:14:45.000 --> 00:14:45.820 to point 00:14:45.820 --> 00:14:46.779 and lead 00:14:46.779 --> 00:14:47.779 others to you. 00:14:53.419 --> 00:14:54.659 In Jesus' name. 00:14:56.320 --> 00:14:56.879 Amen. 00:14:56.879 --> 00:14:57.000 Amen. 00:14:57.000 --> 00:15:07.080 Amen. 00:15:15.500 --> 00:15:17.440 Amen. 00:15:17.500 --> 00:15:19.460 Amen. 00:15:19.460 --> 00:15:19.539 Amen. 00:15:19.539 --> 00:15:19.720 Amen. 00:15:19.740 --> 00:15:20.000 Amen. 00:15:20.440 --> 00:15:21.019 Amen. 00:15:21.100 --> 00:15:25.620 Amen.