Major Keys

2 Tim.3:16-17 “All Scripture is inspired by God and is useful to teach us what is true and to make us realize what is wrong in our lives. It corrects us when we are wrong and teaches us to do what is right. God uses it to prepare and equip his people to do every good work.”

One major key when it comes to being able to say no so that you can say yes is, you need to determine what is not worth your while. Just because something is good does not mean you should do it. Just because the market for coconut oil is in bloom and everybody is selling coconut oil does not mean you should sell coconut oil. By the time we are done, God will give you the grace to know what to chase and what not to chase. 1Cor.7:35 “I want you to do whatever will help you serve the Lord best, with as few distractions as possible.” Some opportunities are just distractions. You cannot be a great person if you get distracted from the main thing. The first thing is that You must be able to say NO so that you can say YES. 

The second thing about opportunities is, Every Opportunity Must Be Evaluated. This is where sifting comes in because you have to evaluate every single opportunity. In Numbers 13 (please read), God had promised to give the children of Israel the Promised Land. But the Bible says in, Num.13:1-2 (AMPC) “And the Lord said to Moses, Send men to explore and scout out (for yourselves) the land of Canaan, which I give to the Israelites…” Moses followed God’s instructions and sent out twelve spies to evaluate the land. God Himself initiated the evaluation because that is how things work. You have to evaluate opportunities as they come. 1 Thes.5:21 “Test everything, and keep only what is good.” Not one thing, not many things, God says, ‘test everything!’  

People come to me with things they feel we should be doing just because another church is doing it. Praise God for that church, but we cannot do everything. We will do what God has called us to do. You have to make up your mind to do only want God has called you to do. The question now is how – how do we sift, how do we test, how do we sieve, how do we sort, how do we evaluate opportunities? There are five questions I ask. This is not original; I must have derived it from a combination of books I read. However, they work for me and they help me, so I am going to share them with you. Five questions to sift opportunities; First, what do I need to know and who knows it? Second, what might be the unintended consequences of this? Third, what is my motivation? Fourth, does this fit my purpose and calling? Fifth, is this the best use of my time and energy? 

Prayer: Father, thank You for opening my eyes to Your heart concerning opportunities. Help me apply these truths I have learnt today, in Jesus Name. Amen!