church

INI
The Sunday after New Year
January 4, 2009
Ascension Lutheran Church, Tacoma WA
Paul Naumann, Pastor

A FEW MINUTES CAN CHANGE YOUR LIFE
Acts 9:1-9

Grace, mercy, and peace be with you from God the Father and from the Lord
Jesus Christ, the Son of the Father, Amen. The text we'll consider on this first
Sunday in the New Year comes from the Book of Acts, chapter nine, beginning
with the first verse, as follows:

Then Saul, still breathing threats and murder against the disciples of the Lord,
went to the high priest and asked letters from him to the synagogues of
Damascus, so that if he found any who were of the Way, whether men or
women, he might bring them bound to Jerusalem. As he journeyed he came near
Damascus, and suddenly a light shone around him from heaven. Then he fell to
the ground, and heard a voice saying to him, “Saul, Saul, why are you
persecuting Me?” And he said, “Who are You, Lord?” Then the Lord said, “I am
Jesus, whom you are persecuting. It is hard for you to kick against the goads.”
So he, trembling and astonished, said, “Lord, what do You want me to do?”
Then the Lord said to him, “Arise and go into the city, and you will be told
what you must do.” And the men who journeyed with him stood speechless,
hearing a voice but seeing no one. 8 Then Saul arose from the ground, and
when his eyes were opened he saw no one. But they led him by the hand and
brought him into Damascus. 9 And he was three days without sight, and neither
ate nor drank. So far the holy Word.

In Christ Jesus, Our Help in Ages Past, our Hope for Year to Come, Dear
Fellow Redeemed,

Have you got a few minutes?

-Yes, I think you do. In fact, you've got more than a few minutes. In the new
year of 2009 you've got over 525,000 minutes ahead of you. The Lord willing,
and if Judgment Day doesn't come first, you'll have to make decisions about
how you're going to spend those half-a-million minutes. And there are a lot of
people who'd like to influence your decisions - companies, for instance, who'd
like you to invest some of those minutes in their products. The back pages of
magazines are full of ads like this: "Learn to speak fluent French in only five
minutes a day with our amazing DVDs!" "Buy our fantastic ab machine - ten
minutes a day will give you a new body!" "Study medical transcription in your
own home - a few minutes with our program will change your whole life!"

Well, if=2 0you're like me, you may be a bit cynical about sales pitches like
those. But as we step into the new year of 2009, you probably are thinking
about the future. You're making resolutions about bad habits you want to
eliminate, and good habits you want to develop; deciding which of your
activities are a waste of time, and which are worth spending more time on. This
morning I'd like to steer you toward a good investment of your time - the
Gospel of Jesus Christ. I say it's a good investment, because a few minutes of
the Gospel really can change your life. It's no hoax. It's not a sales pitch. It's the
truth. As proof, we have before us the account of Saul on the way to Damascus.
It's real-life proof that, in the words of our theme,

A FEW MINUTES CAN CHANGE YOUR LIFE
I. -- Into a NEW life
II. -- Into a FULL life
III. -- Into ETERNAL life

I think most of your are pretty familiar with the life and work of the Apostle
Paul. Without a doubt, Paul was the greatest missionary the world has ever
seen. But do you remember what he was like before he became a missionary for
Christ? Perhaps you recall the shockingly hostile kind of life he led when his
name was still Saul! The beginning of our text describes it: Then Saul, still
breathing threats and murder against the disciples of the Lord, went to the high
priest and asked letters from him to the synagogues of Damascus, so that if he
found any who were of the Way, whether men or women, he might bring them
bound to Jerusalem. Saul was not what you’d call a friend of the Gospel. He
wasn’t even neutral toward (almost no one is – have you noticed that?) No,
before his conversion on the road to Damascus, this man was a
dyed-in-the-wool enemy of the Christian Church!

A week ago the world celebrated the birth of the Lord Jesus. What many
people don't know is that Saul was probably born about the same time. As Jesus
was growing up and learning the trade of carpentry from His step-father Joseph,
Saul was learning the trade of making tents. His father was a wealthy man. He
saw to it that his son received the best religious education available. Since his
father was a Pharisee, the school Saul attended was a school of Phariseeism.
His teacher's name was Gamaliel, and from him Saul obtained a solid
knowledge of the Old Testament. When he graduated he was so accomplished
at the religion of the Pharisees that he was given the title "rabbi," or teacher.
Saul of Tarsus, the man who we meet this morning on his way to Damascus,
was a scholar in every sense of the word. He was well-trained in the ways of the
Pharisees, and he was very enthusiastic about his religion!

Saul was on his way to Damascus for a specific purpose. He felt that the
greatest thing he could do for his religion - the Jewish religion - was to
exterminate everyone who confessed that Jesus was the Messiah. He had begun
a personal crusade to stamp out this little group of disciples, these people who
were stirring up the world with the message of the Gospel, the message he so
hated. If you'd have stopped him that morning and said, "Saul, in just a few
minutes you're going to change your mind - in only minutes, your life will be
completely different," he might have laughed in your face.

And yet, impossible as it may have seemed, that's exactly what happened. All
of a sudden the Lord Jesus appeared to Saul in a brilliant light from heaven, and
confronted him and his wicked plan. The whole rest of the New Testament is a
witness to the kind of change that overtook him after the Lord spoke to him.
From a self-righteous Pharisee, he became a confessing Christian. From relying
on his own good works for salvation, the Lord showed him the way of salvation
through faith in his Savior. In a few minutes, Saul had a whole NEW life!

What was true in the first century is still true in the 21st. There are people all
around us who are a lot like Saul was before his conversion. You know who I
mean: the folks who think that being a Christian - and getting into heaven -
means being a nice person and following a rulebook of do's and don'ts. "Stick to
the Golden Rule,” they say, “and you’re bound to come out alright in the end."
(Yeah, right – if only we could!) Some of the folks who think that way are very
religious - as religious as the young man Saul was -- but their eyes are as blind as
his were that day. The remarkable fact is that their lives too can be changed –
any one of them! – as quickly as Saul's was. Think of it – there are probably
many people you interact with every day who are not Christians, and any one of
them could become a Christian at any time. With God all things are possible.
Through the power of the Gospel, they too can be brought into the new life.
They too can learn to say , with us, "Nothing in my hand I bring / Simply to
Thy cross I cling!"

But the Book of Romans asks an important question - "How shall they believe
in Him of whom they have not heard?" Rom 10:14. There may be people you
know who are only a few minutes away from a new life of faith. But it won't
happen unless they hear the Gospel. How important it is to share your faith in
Jesus with others! A few minutes of your time talking to a friend; a few minutes
using your talents; a few dollars spent on mission work - can mean so much to
so many. Imagine: you can be the vessel God uses to change somebody's life
into a new life!

After the episode=2 0on the road to Damascus, Saul had a new life. But don't
think that those few minutes spent with Jesus that day were the last few
minutes he gave to the Lord. Oh, no! He had plenty of time to ponder the new
direction his life was taking. He was temporarily blinded, and had to be led by
the hand the rest of the way into Damascus. There, he sat in darkness for three
days, eating nothing, drinking nothing, just praying. Then the Lord sent a man
named Ananias to restore his sight. From that day forward, Saul became the
Apostle Paul, and he served the Lord full time. Suddenly, it seemed to Paul that
there weren't enough minutes in the day to tell others about the Savior.

What a change! From a life of empty hatred, Paul had come to a life filled with
purpose and20meaning. He became the Apostle who carried the Good News
throughout the world. He became the Apostle who wrote more Biblical epistles
than any other. He went through all kinds of hardships along the way, but even
so, his life was more full and rewarding to him than it could ever have been
otherwise. "Indeed," he said, "I also count all things loss for the excellence of
the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord!" Phil 3:8.

Lots of people in our day are looking for a more fulfilling life. They're looking
for a life with meaning and purpose. And where do most look? Sadly, most
people look to material things, to possessions, to the very things that most
quickly lose their charm as soon as we get our hands on them. "Seek first the
Kingdom of God," Jesus said. Today, just as back then, only the knowledge of
the Savior can bring lasting satisfaction in life.

Imagine you had an aged relative living nearby who was very wealthy, and
imagine that he had bequeathed you a million dollars in his will. I venture to say
you'd make it a point to cultivate that relationship, wouldn’t you? You'd stop by
to spend time with him to show how much you appreciated his generosity. Well,
Jesus Christ is your Savior, the one who gave His life on the cross to redeem
you. With His sacrifice, he has bequeathed to you the priceless gift of eternal
life. Now don’t you think it’s a good idea to cultivate that relationship? There
are 1440 minutes in the day – why not spend a few of them with your Savior?
Be sure to begin and end your day with prayer. Set aside a few minutes for
prayer at=2 0meal times. Take the time for family devotions. Dig into the
Scriptures with daily Bible study - even if it's only for a few brief minutes. By all
means take advantage of the 60 minutes we have to worship here on Sunday
mornings. Take a few minutes out of your busy schedule to help a friend who
needs it, or to share the comfort of God's Word with someone who's hurting.
You will be amazed at how these few minutes spent with the Lord change not
only your outlook on life -- but the very way you live your life!

Here's another thing to keep in mind: just a few minutes - perhaps split seconds
- can change your life into eternal life. Through death.

None of us knows the day or the hour of our own death. For some of us, it's
something we don't really think about very often. But the Apostle Paul thought
about it a lot after his meeting with the Lord on the road to Damascus. His
outlook on death took a sudden turn. Here was a man who had stood by
unflinchingly as the Pharisees stoned to death the first Christian martyr,
Stephen. But what a difference there is in his view of death after he was sent
out to preach the Good News. We know exactly how he felt about it, because
his letters and preaching are full of references to it.

For one thing, Paul was no longer afraid of death, even though he faced it
many times. On the contrary, Paul actually welcomed death! After meeting
Jesus face-to-face on the road to Damascus, it seemed as though he couldn't
wait to meet Him again in the heavenly mansions. He said, I am hard-pressed
between the two, having a desire to depart and be with Christ, which is far
better. In the meantime, though, he knew that there was work to do for Christ's
kingdom, and he wanted to get as much done as possible. His summary of life
and death was simple: "For to me," he said, "to live is Christ, and to die is
gain." Phil 1:21. What a good attitude! Today, the Lord calls on us to make that
our attitude toward life and death, as well. It will give a special sense of urgency
to our sharing of the faith with others. It will help put our life's priorities in the
proper order. And it will certainly help us keep an encouraging and comforting
perspective on the painful problems that crop up in our lives.

Sometime soon, you'll be flipping through the back pages of some magazine.
You'll come across one of those ads - you know: "The Cambridge Diet Can
Change Your Life!" Maybe that can be a reminder for you. W hen that happens,
I hope you'll think of a young man named Saul and his experience on the road
to Damascus. I hope you'll remember that the Gospel of Jesus Christ is a power
that really can change your life -- into a new life, into a full life, into eternal life!
In Jesus' name, AMEN.