THE ROAD TO LOST OPPORTUNITIES

THE ROAD TO LOST OPPORTUNITIES
Scripture: Luke 15:13-19
Topic: The Road To Lost Opportunities

"And he said, A certain man had two sons: And the younger of them said to his father, Father, give me the portion of goods that falleth to me. And he divided unto them his living.  And not many days after the younger son gathered all together, and took his journey into a far country, and there wasted his substance with riotous living. And when he had spent all, there arose a mighty famine in that land; and he began to be in want. And he went and joined himself to a citizen of that country; and he sent him into his fields to feed swine.  And he would fain have filled his belly with the husks that the swine did eat: and no man gave unto him.  And when he came to himself, he said, How many hired servants of my father's have bread enough and to spare, and I perish with hunger!  I will arise and go to my father, and will say unto him, Father, I have sinned against heaven, and before thee, And am no more worthy to be called thy son: make me as one of thy hired servants."

Luke 15:11-19

There are two cardinal mistakes, which make us lose every opportunity that comes our way... Anybody who makes these mistakes will definitely be denied the blessings of all God-given opportunities. I want to share these mistakes with you now:

The first mistake that leads to lost opportunities is separation from God or fellowship.

…and took his journey into a FAR country and there wasted his substance with riotous living.

Luke 15:13

The prodigal son knew that he could never waste his life away at home. He had to separate himself from the rest of the family, so that he could be on his own. Then he could do whatever he wanted to do. I have lived with people who once worshipped and served the Lord. Today, some of them fight against God. This happened because they were separated from fellowship.

I remember going to the home of a backsliding brother to counsel him. He took a cigarette, lit it and began smoking right in front of me. When I attempted to restrain him, he replied that his intention was to let me see him smoking. Then he showed me a picture of a scantily dressed girl lying on him. When I picked the Bible to talk to him he said, “Wait a minute. I know which verses you will quote at this time.” And he quoted the Scriptures one after the other. 

You see, there are certain sins a Christian can never commit when he is in fellowship with the brethren. Before he commits them he must keep himself apart, separating himself from God and the church. The prodigal son had to “journey into a far country”. He did not just go to any country, but to a far country, where there was no way any member of his family could communicate with him. There was no telephone, no fax, no airmail and no e-mail for communication. He was far away, where nobody could see him, and nobody knew him. Some people deliberately move from church to church in order to be where their history or background is not known. That is why the devil would like to keep you from coming to church.

Since I became a Christian, I have always been afraid to be alone, that is, to stay away from the fellowship of the brethren. I went to England to visit an uncle after my ‘O’ Level examinations. He had great plans for me to live in England. His intention was for me to continue my education and become a medical doctor in England. He even sent me to a local school to get me acquainted with the system. However, l decided not to stay in England, because I was then a new convert. I did not know of any vibrant “born again” church there. Moreover, I did not know any Christians I could fellowship with. I believe that it was a crucial turning point in my life. That was an important crossroads in my walk with God. If I had stayed on in that spiritually dry place, I would probably have backslidden by now.

Some people would grab this opportunity thinking it was a major breakthrough for them. They would claim God had opened a door for them. Chief, God does not lead you to backslide!!

"For what is a man profited, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul...?”

Matthew 16:26

When you are separated, you will not hear the voice of God or the right advice anymore. Instead, you will be exposed to all sorts of evil thoughts. This could be the reason why so many branch pastors rebel and waste their lives in sin. They separate themselves from sweet communion with other level-headed ministers. I try to have a lot of interaction with all pastors. Fellowship will keep us all in touch.

David said,

"...that l may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life, to behold the beauty of the Lord, and to inquire in his temple."

Psalm 27:4

When you come constantly to the house of the Lord, you will see the beauty of the Lord This will prevent you from living a wasteful life of sin.

The second mistake that leads to lost opportunities is Bad Company.

"...thy son...which hath devoured thy living WITH HARLOTS..."

Luke 15:30

The prodigal boy did not waste his money alone. There were harlots to help him do so. There will always be bad company to help you do bad things. When you are in a group, you have so much false confidence. You think everyone is just like you. This boy was surrounded by prostitutes who sucked all the money out of him, till he became penniless.

One translation of the Bible says, “Bad company ruins good morals.” Another translation also says:

"...Evil company corrupts good habits."

1 Corinthians 15:33 (New King James Version)

A born-again Christian should make friends with Christians. There are too many Christians whose friends are people of the world people who don’t believe in the things that they believe in. You must know that your friends affect you more than your church does. You go to church two or three times in a week but you see and communicate with your friends all through the week. Bad company will cause you to waste your life away. The prodigal boy wasted all his life by keeping company with bad people. Dear friend, what company do you keep? Who are your friends?

Beloved, receive the grace to stay connected to the sweet communion with the brethren and to dissociate from bad company.

Excerpt from;

Opportunities

Bishop Dag Heward-Mills