Needs for a Convenient Season
Acts 24:1-6 and 25
And after five days Ananias the high priest orator named Tertullus, who informed the governor against Paul. And when he was called forth, Tertullus began to accuse him, saying, Seeing that by thee we enjoy great quietness, and that very worthy deeds are done unto this nation by thy providence, We accept it always, and in all places, most noble Felix, with all thankfulness. Notwithstanding, that I be not further tedious unto thee, I pray thee that thou wouldest hear us of thy clemency a few words. For we have found this man a pestilent fellow, and a mover of sedition among all the Jews throughout the world, and a ringleader of the sect of the Nazarenes: Who also hath gone about to profane the temple: whom we took, and would have judged according to our law.
Acts 24:25
And as he reasoned of righteousness, temperance, and judgment to come, Felix trembled, and answered, Go thy way for this time; when I have a convenient season, I will call for thee.
Summary:
Annanias and the Elders hired Tertullus, an orator, to being accusations against Paul. Note verses 5 and 6 for we have this man to be a pestilent fellow, and a mover of sedition among the Jews throughout the world, a ringleader of the sect of the Nazarene, who also hath gone about to profane the temple: whom we took and would have judged according to our law.
1. A pestilent fellow: What they are saying is He gets in our hair every time he preaches, he exposes our sins, he aggravates us, he makes us uncomfortable, irritates us, disturbs our little programs and generally upsets our applecarts. A preacher of the gospel …… a promoter of sedition ….. They stated he was leading a rebellion against the government, but on the contrary, Paul, was a good law abiding citizen as long as the government stood for God, but when the choice came for Paul to choose the government over God, God always came first. A Good Choice Every Time.
2. A profaner of the temple: Paul loved and gave himself for the church, he organized churches, he established churches, he rooted and grounded churches, what they spoke of was that Paul had ripped away the camouflage, did away with the ceremonialism, and told them that he was determine to know nothing among them save Jesus Christ and him crucified. ( I Corinthians 2:2). If that is profaning the temple, then the temple needed to be profaned. But, Felix wasn’t so gullible, he decided to talk to Paul. Paul got his chance to talk to Felix, notice in verse 25 what Paul related to Felix, he reasoned righteousness, temperance, and judgement to come, Felix trembled and answered, go thy way for this time and when I have a convenient season, I will call for thee. What makes a convenient season? Every person under the sound of my voice should be interested in this question. Sinners ought to understand when a convenient season is established so you might receive Jesus as Lord of their life. But on the other hand every born again, washed in the blood saint should be interested in the question so they might be able to recognize when a convenient season is present and able to utilize it to lead others to Christ. What is needed to make a convenient season?
I. A Sincere Messenger….
A. Characteristics of a sincere messenger.
1. Verse 10 …. One who is cheerful you may say how can I be cheerful where I live, or work, or with my husband, or wife, or neighbor that I have to live with. I don’t believe anyone here faced any greater troubles than that of the Apostle Paul.
a. They said he was a pestilent fellow, he said I am cheerful.
b. The said he was a promoter of sedition, he said I am cheerful.
c. They said he was a profaner of the temple, he said I am cheerful.
I can’t understand how someone who looks like they have been winged on lemon juice and washed in vinegar will ever be used of God to cause a convenient season, you come to church looking like you have a case of the colette and act like you are trying to pass a kidney stone or have a bout with the gout. If any should be cheerful, it should be a Christian, knowing joy unspeakable, full of glory, knowing our sins have been washed away.
2. A sincere messenger is one who has conviction notice in verse 14 and 15 But this I confess unto thee, that after the way which they call heresy, so worship I the God of my fathers, believing all things which are written in the law and in the prophets:
a. Settled conviction on the Bible….. Inspired, infallible, inerrant word of God anyone who does not believe the Bible is not qualified or justified to teach a Sunday School class, sing in the choir, play an instrument, or serve in any capacity in God’s Church.
Believed in the bodily resurrection …… Verse 15 And have hope toward God, which they themselves also allow, that there shall be a resurrection of the dead, both of the just and unjust. Let’s examine the graves of Jesus and Lazarus. John 11:12-46 goes to the grave of Lazarus. (Turns to John 11:12-46 and John 20:1-5) Then said his disciples, Lord, if he sleep, he shall do well. Howbeit Jesus spake of his death: but they thought that he had spoken of taking of rest in sleep. Then said Jesus unto them plainly, Lazarus is dead. And I am glad for your sakes that I was not there, to the intent ye may believe; nevertheless let us go unto him. Then said Thomas, which is called Didymus, unto his fellowdisciples, Let us also go, that we may die with him. Then when Jesus came, he found that he had lain in the grave four days already. Now Bethany was nigh unto Jerusalem, about fifteen furlongs off: And many of the Jews came to Martha and Mary, to comfort them concerning their brother. Then Martha, as soon as she heard that Jesus was coming, went and met him: but Mary sat still in the house. Then said Martha unto Jesus, Lord, if thou hadst been here, my brother had not died. But I know, that even now, whatsoever thou wilt ask of God, God will give it thee. Jesus saith unto her, Thy brother shall rise again. Martha saith unto him, I know that he shall rise again in the resurrection at the last day. Jesus said unto her, I am the resurrection, and the life: he that believeth in me, though he were dead, yet shall he live: And whosoever liveth and believeth in me shall never die. Believest thou this? She saith unto him, Yea, Lord: I believe that thou art the Christ, the Son of God, which should come into the world. And when she had so said, she went her way, and called Mary her sister secretly, saying, The Master is come, and calleth for thee. As soon as she heard that, she arose quickly, and came unto him. Now Jesus was not yet come into the town, but was in that place where Martha met him. The Jews then which were with her in the house, and comforted her, when they saw Mary, that she rose up hastily and went out, followed her, saying, She goeth unto the grave to weep there. Then when Mary was come where Jesus was, and saw him, she fell down at his feet, saying unto him, Lord, if thou hadst been here, my brother had not died. When Jesus therefore saw her weeping, and the Jews also weeping which came with her, he groaned in the spirit, and was troubled, And said, Where have ye laid him? They said unto him, Lord, come and see. Jesus wept. Then said the Jews, Behold how he loved him! And some of them said, Could not this man, which opened the eyes of the blind, have caused that even this man should not have died? Jesus therefore again groaning in himself cometh to the grave. It was a cave, and a stone lay upon it. Jesus said, Take ye away the stone. Martha, the sister of him that was dead, saith unto him, Lord, by this time he stinketh: for he hath been dead four days. Jesus saith unto her, Said I not unto thee, that, if thou wouldest believe, thou shouldest see the glory of God? Then they took away the stone from the place where the dead was laid. And Jesus lifted up his eyes, and said, Father, I thank thee that thou hast heard me. And I knew that thou hearest me always: but because of the people which stand by I said it, that they may believe that thou hast sent me. And when he thus had spoken, he cried with a loud voice, Lazarus, come forth. And he that was dead came forth, bound hand and foot with graveclothes: and his face was bound about with a napkin. Jesus saith unto them, Loose him, and let him go.
Now look at the grave of Jesus. The first day of the week cometh Mary Magdalene early, when it was yet dark, unto the sepulchre, and seeth the stone taken away from the sepulchre. Then she runneth, and cometh to Simon Peter, and to the other disciple, whom Jesus loved, and saith unto them, They have taken away the Lord out of the sepulchre, and we know not where they have laid him. Peter therefore went forth, and that other disciple, and came to the sepulchre. So they ran both together: and the other disciple did outrun Peter, and came first to the sepulchre. And he stooping down, and looking in, saw the linen clothes lying; yet went he not in.
At the grave of Jesus the stone was not rolled away to let Jesus out, he was already gone. The stone was rolled away to let the disciples look in to see the grave clothes left behind. But Lazarus took his with him because he would use them again, but not Jesus, once to Bethlehem, once to Golgotha, once to a borrowed tomb, once he arose, once he ascended, once and for all born and died and raised himself for all.
Up from the grave he arose, a mighty triumph over his foes, he arose a victor from the dark domain and he lives forever with his saints to reign, He arose, He arose, Hallelujah! Christ arose…..
b. One who is cheerful, one who has conviction and a sincere messenger should be one that is clean.
Paul here invited his enemies to find any wrong in him, and here was a good place for evil to surface when you have critics on every side. What’s choking the visitation programs in our churches today, I believe one of the big reasons is that we don’t want to see our neighbors, because they see us and how we live Monday through Saturday.
Filthy, unholy ungodly lives full of lying, cheating, and backbiting. We don’t want to see these people who see us walk and talk and live outside the church everyday, what are the needs for a convenient season? A sincere messenger, who is cheerful, and on that has convictions and thirdly one that, is clean.
II. A Sound Message ……. Verse 25
And he reasoned, notice this is a legal term, in a legal sense he was presenting the facts to call for a verdict.
A. He reasoned righteousness, It has a dual meaning he is stating that you must be straight up, horizontally right with man and you must be straight up vertically right with God, you cannot have one without the other. In Matthew 5:20 For I say unto you, That except your righteousness shall exceed the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees, ye shall in no case enter into the kingdom of heaven.
We said that you must exceed, not catch up to or trot along side. He said to surpass and exceed. Pharisees were noted for five things in particular.
1. Regular Church Attendance
2. Some kind of prayer daily.
3. Some kind of daily scripture reading
4. Some kind of fasting.
5. Titheing
We have people in our churches today who can’t ever catch up with the Pharisees much less surpass them. We can’t even be first class Pharisees. Preacher would I go to Hell if I don’t:
1. Attend Church regularly
2. Prayer daily
3. Read my Bible everyday
4. Deny the carnal man in some way
5. Tithe to my church on a regular basis
If you are saved by grace you won’t go to Hell, but the sad tragedy is that multiplied thousands of thousands of others my go the Hell because we didn’t! Now based upon that there is one thing the scribe and Pharisees didn’t know, about be saved, being born again by the spirit of God. The only way for us to exceed the righteousness of the scribes and pharisees is to be wrapped in the divine robe of righteousness, then it’s the righteousness of Christ Jesus who imputed and imparted to us his righteousness. Based on these statements could you imagine claiming the saving grace of God being against regular church attendance, or some kind of daily prayer, or some kind of daily scripture study, or some kind of self denial, or some kind of regular giving and not worrying whether its gross or net.
A sound message meant being right with God and then a sound message deals with temperance, there are several kinds of temperance, for example the kind that deals with appetite, me, I’m and appetite with a skin wrapped around it. In the past years, I’ve lost 500 lbs. The same 5 lbs. a hundred times. But that’s not the type of temperance that Paul is talking about here. There is a temperance that deals with alcoholism. I do not believe anybody can be a social drinker and be right with God and if you have to stagger into your pharmacist to get your prescription filled, you had better change doctors, because you are going to a quack and if you are a Nyquil addict you need to control your intake, because that stuff is full of alcohol. It reminds me of the little boy with a cold, he said it didn’t get rid of the cold, but it makes you forget that you had one. But this is not the type of temperance that Paul is taking about. He was speaking of the temperance where God takes control of your life. He is talking about dethroning self and enthroning God. Then thirdly, this sound message dealt with judgement to come. If you are a sincere messenger, sharing a sound message, God will cause a Spiritual magnetism.
III. Spiritual Magnetism…
I’m glad it’s not the ability of man but the availability of God that furnishes a spiritual magnetism. What takes place when there is spiritual magnetism.
A. With Spiritual Magnetism we find there is always conviction notice in verse 25 Felix trembled and answered…… In the scriptures trembling is always associated with conviction in Acts 9:6 And he trembling and astonished said, Lord, what wilt thou have me to do? And the Lord said unto him, Arise, and go into the city, and it shall be told thee what thou must do. When the sincere messenger, presents the sound message, there will be a spiritual magnetism.
With that conviction comes a choice which is essential. Felix said go, what if he had said come, share with me, show me, lead me, it would have been the difference between Heaven and Hell. Your Pastor can’t make your choice, your parents can’t make that choice for you, you have to make that choice. Some say I’ll get saved when I get ready…… No! You want! That’s like saying I’ll pick tomatoes when I get ready, or I’ll pick cotton when I get ready, or I’ll pick apples when I get ready! The ground must be plowed, the seed must be planted, then the sun and the rain, and then the Harvest Season. You work toward the harvest season and the Bible tells us that if the Father does not draw us, it does not good to come. John 6:44 No man can come to me, except the Father which hath sent me draw him: We can run up and down these isles till we wear ruts in the floor and we can water this altar with our tears, but unless the Holy Spirit is drawing us it will do not good.
That way, if there is one single person in this place who is troubled in their soul and the Spirit of God had been working in your heart, you had better not turn and leave this place, the most intelligent thing for you to do is to come and give your life to Jesus Christ. Then there is a third and final thing that takes place in Spiritual magnetism, there will be conviction and then there will be a choice, which is essential. Then the convenient season could end! God gives a space for salvation, do you remember in Revelation2: 21 And I gave her space to repent of her fornication; and she repented not. Who knows if there is one in this congregation who is within the space allotted for repentance and may get up and walk out that door and miss heaven. Have you ever heard some say what a shame it was that Felix missed his convenient season, if that’s what you believe you’ve missed the whole point. Aren’t you so glad, that a messenger has been sent, and a sound message given, and God has provided a spiritual magnetism. It’s so sad to realize that there are those like Felix, who have their convenient season and will say one time to many, to go, and will say one time to many, NO!
