Wednesday, May 13th

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Wednesday, May 13

Acts 21:37 - Acts 22:21

As Paul was about to be brought into the barracks, he said to the tribune, "May I say something to you?" And he said, "Do you know Greek? Are you not the Egyptian, then, who recently stirred up a revolt and led the four thousand men of the Assassins out into the wilderness?" Paul replied, "I am a Jew, from Tarsus in Cilicia, a citizen of no obscure city. I beg you, permit me to speak to the people." And when he had given him permission, Paul, standing on the steps, motioned with his hand to the people. And when there was a great hush, he addressed them in the Hebrew language, saying:

"Brothers and fathers, hear the defense that I now make before you." And when they heard that he was addressing them in the Hebrew language, they became even more quiet. And he said: "I am a Jew, born in Tarsus in Cilicia, but brought up in this city, educated at the feet of Gamaliel according to the strict manner of the law of our fathers, being zealous for God as all of you are this day. I persecuted this Way to the death, binding and delivering to prison both men and women, as the high priest and the whole council of elders can bear me witness. From them I received letters to the brothers, and I journeyed toward Damascus to take those also who were there and bring them in bonds to Jerusalem to be punished. 6 "As I was on my way and drew near to Damascus, about noon a great light from heaven suddenly shone around me. And I fell to the ground and heard a voice saying to me, 'Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me?' And I answered, 'Who are you, Lord?' And he said to me, 'I am Jesus of Nazareth, whom you are persecuting.' Now those who were with me saw the light but did not understand the voice of the one who was speaking to me. And I said, 'What shall I do, Lord?' And the Lord said to me, 'Rise, and go into Damascus, and there you will be told all that is appointed for you to do.' And since I could not see because of the brightness of that light, I was led by the hand by those who were with me, and came into Damascus. "And one Ananias, a devout man according to the law, well spoken of by all the Jews who lived there, came to me, and standing by me said to me, 'Brother Saul, receive your sight.' And at that very hour I received my sight and saw him. And he said, 'The God of our fathers appointed you to know his will, to see the Righteous One and to hear a voice from his mouth; for you will be a witness for him to everyone of what you have seen and heard. And now why do you wait? Rise and be baptized and wash away your sins, calling on his name.' "When I had returned to Jerusalem and was praying in the temple, I fell into a trance and saw him saying to me, 'Make haste and get out of Jerusalem quickly, because they will not accept your testimony about me.' And I said, 'Lord, they themselves know that in one synagogue after another I imprisoned and beat those who believed in you. And when the blood of Stephen your witness was being shed, I myself was standing by and approving and watching over the garments of those who killed him.' And he said to me, 'Go, for I will send you far away to the Gentiles.'"

Several of us were in a leadership meeting a few days ago  and the question was asked: “If you knew you only had 30 days left to accomplish your mission, how would your ministries change?”

The question, while hypothetical, prompted some good discussion. We fairly quickly came to the conclusion that if we only had 30 days left as a church, we probably wouldn’t try to start any new programs, or build any more buildings, or do any planning at all. Instead, we thought we would probably just mobilize as many people as we could to go out and share the gospel of Jesus with as many people in as many ways as we could. If we had 30 days, we agreed, we would proclaim the transforming power of the gospel with every resource at our disposal.

What, then, if we reduced the time remaining to 30 minutes instead of 30 days? Or, perhaps even to 3 minutes! What would you say in 3 minutes that could change the world?

This is what Paul does: he tells his story. In about 3 minutes Paul explains who and what he was before meeting Christ; then how he met Christ; and finally how Christ turned his life in a completely new direction.

He doesn’t start with insisting that his listeners believe certain doctrines. He doesn’t start by telling them they are sinners and need to repent. He just tells his story.

I think we can learn something from Paul.

While there is a time and a place for sound theology and doctrine; and a time to address sinful or destructive attitudes and behavior; the best place to start is with a personal story of life change.

Have you ever tried to write out your own story so that you could share it with someone in three minutes?

Here’s an outline:

I.    This is who I was, what I believed, how I lived before meeting Jesus.
II.   This is how I met Jesus; how I came to understand who he is and what he did for me.

III.  This is the difference he has made in my life.

I like to call this a “faith-story” or a “gospel-story.” I have heard hundreds of these stories over the years and have noticed two things. First, every story is different. Gospel stories are like fingerprints, each story is different and God is infinitely creative in how he draws people to himself. Second, each story is ultimately the same. That is, sooner or later every gospel-story is about Jesus; who he is and what he has done.

Take some time this week to sit down and write out your own gospel-story. You never know when it might come in handy!

Pastor Brian Coffey