A large tribunal was gathered together in that city to listen to Paul’s defense and determine whether or not to ship him off to Rome. Festus, the governor, and Agrippa, the king, surrounded by an entourage of prominent people, pres-ided at the meeting, and gave Paul permission to speak. As recorded in the 26^th chapter of Acts by Luke, who was Paul’s physician and traveling companion, the apostle recounted how he had originally opposed and persecuted the followers of Jesus. But on the road to Damascus, said Paul, he had met the risen Christ face to face and through that transforming moment, the persecutor of Christianity was led to become a follower of the faith himself.

As he concluded his testimony, Paul turned to King Agrippa and declared: "...I am speaking the sober truth. For the king knows about these things, and to him I speak freely..."King Agrippa, do you believe in the prophets? I know that you believe." The king answered him, "Paul, in a short time you think to make me a Christian!" And Paul replied "Whether short or long, I would to God that not only you but all who hear me this day (might believe as well)." (Acts 26:25-29, paraphrase)

I’m wondering this morning if that’s the way it is supposed to be - call it "Short Order Christianity," whereby through a sudden conversion or a dramatic moment in time, we embrace the faith in Jesus Christ and receive salvation for all of eternity.

I know people, and perhaps so do you, who celebrate two birthdays every year. One is the day they were born and the other is the day they became a Christian. To some degree, I can identify with them, for at the age of nine, I went forward at a Billy Graham crusade in Madison Square Garden and committed my life to Jesus Christ. As the congregation sang "Just As I Am" and Dr. Graham extended the altar call, saying "The buses will wait," I felt compelled to walk down that aisle. And I remember as if it were yesterday, that something good and full of God’s grace, happened to me. However, I never referred to that day in 1956 as my "spiritual birthday" because the feeling of God’s presence gradually faded away. Eight years later, in 1964 as a junior at the Stony Brook School, I re-committed my life to the Lord. But by the time I arrived at the University of North Carolina, I wasn’t praying or going to church any more. And then, during the spring of 1969, I wandered back into a Presbyterian Church in Chapel Hill on a Sunday morning, heard a missionary from Brazil preach the gospel, and as I bowed my head at the close of the service, I asked God again to take control of my life. And three months later, I began to study for the ministry at Princeton Theological Seminary.

That was almost thirty one years ago, and this morning I stand before you to make a confession. Although I no longer worry about whether or not I have received God’s gift of salvation, at the age of 52, I am still "becoming" a Christian. Some believers can point to a moment in time when it happened for them, and I affirm the reality of that experience 100%. But my life has been more of a long spiritual journey, marked by many moments of joy and sorrow, faith and fear, times when I felt that God was far away and other times when I felt His presence very near.

I find it interesting and important that the apostle Paul, after his sudden encounter with the risen Lord on the road to Damascus, needed people like Ananias to help him understand what it meant to follow Jesus for the rest of his life. Moreover, the Bible tells us that Paul went off into the Arabian Desert for three years to think and pray about what God was calling him to do before he began his missionary work with the Gentiles. (Galatians 1:17)

Such was also the case with a man named Anthony who lived in Egypt between the third and fourth centuries A.D. When he was twenty years old, Anthony heard the words of Jesus in a sermon, saying Go, sell what you have and give to the poor...and come follow me (Matthew 19:21)

Soon thereafter, Anthony distributed all of his possessions to those who were in need and retreated into the desert where he lived in solitude for 20 years. According to his own writings, Anthony battled many temptations and confronted the fear and false pride that haunted his soul.

When he finally emerged from the desert, people could see on his face and perceive in his life a humility and love that came from Christ. Even the emperor Constantine sought Anthony’s advice on spiritual matters, and after he died at 105, the Catholic Church consecrated Anthony as a saint. Today he is remembered as the first Christian monk whose years of solitude and meditation have brought great wisdom and inspiration into the lives of others.

Now, for those who seek to follow Jesus, I don’t think it’s necessary for us to withdraw into the desert for three years or twenty years as did Paul and Anthony. But through their example and experience, let us realize that being and becoming a Christian isn’t accomplished all at once. King Agrippa’s response to Paul’s saying "In a short time you think to make me a Christian!" was and is an unrealistic expectation. It takes a long time, in fact, a lifetime to be a disciple of Jesus Christ. And if that is our desire, then I hope this prayer by Elizabeth Basset will help to point us in the right direction:

My God, I desire to love Thee perfectly,

With all my heart which Thou madest for Thyself

With all my mind, which only Thou canst satisfy

With all my soul, which feign would soar to Thee

With all my strength, my feeble strength, which shrinks before so great a task and yet can choose naught else but spend itself in loving Thee.

Claim Thou my heart,

Fill Thou my mind,

Uplift my soul and

Reinforce my strength,

That when I fail, Thou mayest succeed in me

And help me love Thee perfectly.

- From "Love Is My Meaning"

By Elizabeth Basset

The nineteen faithful men and women who launched this ship of faith on the 8^th day of January, 1848, were not large in number, they didn’t have a full-time pastor, neither did they have a lot of money nor even a sanctuary to call their own, for they worshiped in a log cabin building with other Christians from around the city. But what they did have was a God-given vision to create a Presbyterian congregation, and this was the declaration each one of them signed:

"We, therefore, whose names are hereunto subscribed, being by the providence of God assembled in this place, and desiring to enjoy the benefits, privileges and ordinances of the church of Christ, as received and administered in the Presbyterian Church in these United States, of which church we are all members and communicants, do agree to unite in the organization of a church to be known as ‘The Presbyterian Church of Atlanta.’"

As the thunderclouds of a civil war rolled off on the horizon, those Presbyterian pioneers, together with their stated supply pastor Dr. John Simpson Wilson, moved forward by faith, not knowing exactly where they were going but confident that the Lord would walk with them every step of the way.

Looking back over the past 152 years, we are here this morning to celebrate the amazing grace of God which has guided us and provided us with all that we have needed in the worship and work and witness of this church. And as we dedicate the archives room today, we acknowledge with grateful hearts that we are surrounded by the communion of saints, those faithful people who have gone before us and served the Lord with gladness in their time and in this place.

But at no single moment in time has anyone in our history been able to say "Now we have reached our final destination." Because, in each and every generation, God has renewed our vision and called us to build upon the foundations laid by our forbears as we embrace the hopes and dreams of the future.

God only knows what 2000 A.D. holds in store for us, but of this we can be absolutely certain: we are on a spiritual journey, my friends, each of us as Christians and all of us together in this great church. As we look to Jesus, who is the same yesterday, today and tomorrow (Hebrews 12:8), He will show us the way we are to go. And if we listen carefully, at the dawn of this new year, we can still hear His words which echo down through the ages, saying to all of us today: Be not afraid! Be not afraid! Be not afraid!

In the name of the Father, and the Son and the Holy Spirit. Amen.

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