The Next Five Minutes

We are going to set up the title of this message by going through a scenario. Imagine with me that there is a knock at the door, we go over to it, open it up, and in walks a man with a beautiful Armani suit, a fedora hat, and big smile on. “I have great news for you,” he says. “I am willing to give you 5 million dollars for 5 minutes of your time.”

Immediately some questions jump to the forefront;

What do I have to do? - Whatever I ask you to do, but I promise that you will keep your integrity and you will not have to break any laws.

Is the money guaranteed? - Yes, It’s right here in this briefcase

Will I be safe? - No, it won’t be safe, it could cost you everything. But in 5 minutes you will have 5 million reasons to be happy

What 5 minutes do you need? - The Next 5 minutes.

Who here would be willing to make the deal?

Your first thought might be, what could happen in 5 minutes that I couldn’t recover from. Even you are in excruciating pain, its only for 5 minutes. And then you have a lifetime to enjoy 5 million dollars.

It’s an interesting scenario to consider for a few reasons. The reason that we are going to consider today is God’s call on our life in light of eternity.

When Jesus calls a person, he demands everything. Jesus says you must be willing to die to every single thing in this life, so that you can really live in Christ. You must be willing to do anything that God puts in front of you.

Salvation is free, but following Jesus will cost you everything.

Our time here on earth is only but the blink of an eye when compared to the in-exhaustive expanse of eternity that awaits us who are Christians.

And so, if we are willing to do anything, and endure anything for a 5 minute span to gain only 5 million dollars. How much more sense does it make to live this life with complete surrender to God when he has promised us an eternity with Him in the life to come.

It’s about keeping the right perspective in life. It’s so easy to get caught up in the challenges of this world that really don’t make any impact on eternity. And so it is wisdom to keep our thoughts grounded in the word of God.

Philipians 3:12-21 talks about this perspective in 3 different sections.

Press On Towards the Goal

Warnings Against Deception

Our Hope

12 I don’t mean to say that I have already achieved these things or that I have already reached perfection. But I press on to possess that perfection for which Christ Jesus first possessed me. 13 No, dear brothers and sisters, I have not achieved it,* but I focus on this one thing: Forgetting the past and looking forward to what lies ahead, 14 I press on to reach the end of the race and receive the heavenly prize for which God, through Christ Jesus, is calling us.

15 Let all who are spiritually mature agree on these things. If you disagree on some point, I believe God will make it plain to you. 16 But we must hold on to the progress we have already made.

17 Dear brothers and sisters, pattern your lives after mine, and learn from those who follow our example. 18 For I have told you often before, and I say it again with tears in my eyes, that there are many whose conduct shows they are really enemies of the cross of Christ. 19 They are headed for destruction. Their god is their appetite, they brag about shameful things, and they think only about this life here on earth. 20 But we are citizens of heaven, where the Lord Jesus Christ lives. And we are eagerly waiting for him to return as our Savior. 21 He will take our weak mortal bodies and change them into glorious bodies like his own, using the same power with which he will bring everything under his control.

The apostle Paul uses the language of “Pressing On”.

It’s stronger than just following after God,

its more urgent than general obedience,

Paul is saying that he is putting all his strength and effort into this goal of reaching the end of his race to receive the heavenly prize for that which God is calling him to.

With what sort of urgency are you living your life? What effort do you put into reaching the end of your race?

I hope that realize that as a Christian you live on earth, but your citizenship is in heaven.

What do you think heaven is like? What do you believe will happen to you after you die? What or who is waiting for you in the life to come?