Seizing the Moment

 

March 21, 2004                                                         

Bryant Smith

 

The first step toward a defining moment is the ability to notice it, to identify the atomic possibilities that separate it from all the other atom sized moments that come our way. Simply recognizing it however, is not enough. If we’re going to tap into the defining potential of the moment we must, as the Latin phrase suggests…carpe diem…seize the day.

 

The Problem With Seizing

 

We miss the majority of our defining moments because we’re unable to see them, and too often we miss the impact of those we do see because we’re unwilling to seize them.

 

The single greatest reason that seizing is a problem is our perspective on risk.

 

The word itself is a little intimidating. Risk means the possibility of loss, injury, hazard or failure and those terms are not compatible with our contemporary view of Christianity.

 

Many Christians have bought into the dual myths of fail-safe faith.

 

Myth #1: Whenever God is in something, there is no chance it will fail.

 

Myth #2: Whenever God is in something, we are guaranteed to be safe.

 

Jesus actually presented a very different - very risky - perspective…

 

Luke 19:26 (Msg) “ Jesus said, ‘That's what I mean: Risk your life and get more than you ever dreamed of. Play it safe and end up holding the bag.’”

 

The Apostle Paul wouldn’t have understood the concept of risk-free, fail-safe faith…

 

2 Cor. 11:23-27 (Msg) “I've worked much harder, been jailed more often, beaten up more times than I can count, and at death's door time after time. I've been flogged five times with the Jews' thirty-nine lashes, beaten by Roman rods three times, pummeled with rocks once. I've been shipwrecked three times, and immersed in the open sea for a night and a day. In hard traveling year in and year out, I've had to ford rivers, fend off robbers, struggle with friends, struggle with foes. I've been at risk in the city, at risk in the country, endangered by desert sun and sea storm, and betrayed by those I thought were my brothers. I've known drudgery and hard labor, many a long and lonely night without sleep, many a missed meal, blasted by the cold, naked to the weather.”

 

These truths - even more than Paul’s grasp of complex theology – explain why God was able to use him to influence the world for Christ.

 

Paul understood that defining moments are seized only by reaching through the risk.

 

Seizing the Truth About Risk

 

1. The greater the moment’s potential, the greater the risk.

 

2. The greater the risk required, the greater the potential for failure.

 

3. The greater the potential for failure, the greater the need for God.

 

4. The greater the need for God, the greater the potential for miracles.

 

The Story of Jonathan and His Carpe Diem

 

Samuel 14:1-15 (Msg) “ Later that day, Jonathan, Saul's son, said to his armor bearer, "Come on, let's go over to the Philistine garrison patrol on the other side of the pass." But he didn't tell his father. Meanwhile, Saul was taking it easy under the pomegranate tree at the threshing floor on the edge of town at Geba (Gibeah). There were about six hundred men with him. Ahijah, wearing the priestly Ephod, was also there. (Ahijah was the son of Ahitub, brother of Ichabod, son of Phinehas, who was the son of Eli the priest of GOD at Shiloh.) No one there knew that Jonathan had gone off. The pass that Jonathan was planning to cross over to the Philistine garrison was flanked on either side by sharp rock outcroppings, cliffs named Bozez and Seneh. The cliff to the north faced Micmash; the cliff to the south faced Geba (Gibeah). Jonathan said to his armor bearer, "Come on now, let's go across to these uncircumcised pagans. Maybe GOD will work for us. There's no rule that says God can only deliver by using a big army. No one can stop GOD from saving when he sets his mind to it. " His armor bearer said, "Go ahead. Do what you think best. I'm with you all the way. " Jonathan said, "Here's what we'll do. We'll cross over the pass and let the men see we're there. If they say, 'Halt! Don't move until we check you out,' we'll stay put and not go up. But if they say, 'Come on up,' we'll go right up—and we'll know GOD has given them to us. That will be our sign." So they did it, the two of them. They stepped into the open where they could be seen by the Philistine garrison. The Philistines shouted out, "Look at that! The Hebrews are crawling out of their holes! " Then they yelled down to Jonathan and his armor bearer, "Come on up here! We've got a thing or two to show you!" Jonathan shouted to his armor bearer, "Up! Follow me! GOD has turned them over to Israel!" Jonathan scrambled up on all fours, his armor bearer right on his heels. When the Philistines came running up to them, he knocked them flat, his armor bearer right behind finishing them off, bashing their heads in with stones. In this first bloody encounter, Jonathan and his armor bearer killed about twenty men. That set off a terrific upheaval in both camp and field, the soldiers in the garrison and the raiding squad badly shaken up, the ground itself shuddering—panic like you've never seen before!”