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Sermon Illustrations: Opportunity

If opportunity doesn't knock, build a door. Milton Berle - comedian

Opportunities drop in your lap if you have your lap where opportunities drop. Herbert V Procknow.

Henry Ford said, "Problems only exist for solutions." Cervantes wrote Don Quixote while in jail. John Bunyon wrote Pilgrim's Progress while in jail. When Thomas Edison invented the phonograph, he was almost completely deaf. It used to amuse him that other people had to shout to talk to him, saying, "A man who has to shout can never tell a lie."

Early 20th century London newspaper ad by famous South Pole explorer Sir Ernest Shackleton: Men wanted for hazardous journey. Small wages, bitter cold, long months of complete darkness, constant danger. Safe return doubtful." The response was so overwhelming that Shackleton wrote later, "It seemed as though all the men in Great Britain were determined to accompany us." How many have the courage, and are just waiting for the opportunity and a leader with a vision?

Allowing our own feelings to rob us of opportunities to encourage: A famous singer was to perform at the Grand Opera House. The concert hall was packed. Suddenly the house manager announced, "Ladies and gentlemen I regret that due to illness our special guest will be unable to perform this evening. But we've found another singer, an equally great talent, so would you please give her a warm welcome." The crowd groaned so loudly that nobody even heard the singer's name. You could feel the disappointment everywhere. The stand-in singer gave it everything she had, but when it was over all she got was brief scattered applause followed by uncomfortable silence. Suddenly in the balcony a child stood up and shouted, "Mommy, I think you're wonderful!" Realising what had happened, the crowd jumped to their feet and gave her a standing ovation that lasted for several minutes. Word for Today 9-1-08

One evening a friend visiting Peter Lord's home told him he could hear no fewer than 18 different kinds of crickets in his garden. Peter was amazed - he'd lived there for years and never heard one. The difference was, this man was a professor of entomology and he had learned to distinguish over 200 different cricket calls with his natural ear. Imagine learning to listen to crickets! Looking back, Peter wrote, "I suddenly understood that a person must want to hear, and learn to hear, and there were many sounds I was not hearing." Word for Today 15-6-08