Stephen N. Collins
Millville – 9/21/08
Being the Church
The Worst Excuse Ever
Scriptures: Acts 24:10-27
Intro: The prophet Joel described life as a valley of decision, (Joel 3:14) “Multitudes, multitudes in the valley of decision! For the day of the LORD is near in the valley of decision.”
Icebreaker: “A farm boy accidentally overturned his wagonload of corn in the road. The farmer who lived nearby came to investigate. "Hey, Willis," he called out, "forget your troubles for a spell and come on in and have dinner with us. Then I’ll help you get the wagon up." "That’s mighty nice of you," Willis answered, "But I don’t think Pa would like me to." "Aw, come on, son!" the farmer insisted. "Well, okay," the boy finally agreed. "But Pa won’t like it." After a hearty dinner, Willis thanked his host. "I feel a lot better now, but I just know Pa is going to be real upset." "Don’t be foolish!" exclaimed the neighbor. "By the way, where is he?" "Under the wagon.".
Source Unknown.
-Some of you may be like the central character in the story that we are going to examine today. You are in the valley of decision, you are in the place that you need to make some decision or decisions that may effect how you will live the rest of your life. You would do well today to pay attention the story of Felix and the disastrous decision that he makes.
-Felix was a public official faced with a big spiritual decision, and he used the worst excuse ever…but many of us use the same excuse all the time.
-Let’s define the worst excuse ever. The worst excuse ever is, “Someday.”
Quote
“One of these days is none of these days.”
-18th Century British Publisher H.G. Bohn
(READ ACTS 24:10-27 AND PRAY)
The 2 Worst Things People Do
When Faced with Spiritual Decisions
1. Making no decision when they know the facts. (Vs. 22)
Illustration: I have always been a master at putting things off until the last minute. It always catches up to me, though. One time my sophomore year of college, I put off studying for all of my finals until finals week. I had gotten away with this before, only this time I was taking 21 credit hours instead of the usual 15. So I was forced to stay up all night finishing final projects and cramming for exams the week of finals. Everything went okay until the final day of exams. I was completely zonked. I went in to take my last final of the semester, and in the middle of the most important test for that course…fell asleep. The only way I finished the exam was because my friend next to me elbowed me when I started snoring.
Questions: Have you ever put off something important? Something you knew needed to be done? Have you ever known that you needed make a change in your life, but decided to put it off until later? How often do you actually follow through with making the change that you put off?
Main Point: As much pain as indecision and procrastination can cause us in the little things in life, when it comes to matters concerning us and God, it becomes life and death.
-And knowing this, many still make no decision even when they know the facts. Governor Felix did the same thing:
Scripture: Acts 24:22-23
“Then Felix, who was well acquainted with the Way, adjourned the proceedings. "When Lysias the commander comes," he said, "I will decide your case." 23He ordered the centurion to keep Paul under guard but to give him some freedom and permit his friends to take care of his needs.”
-Even this early in the story we see that Felix habitually postponed decision even when he knew what he knew he needed to do. He made the decision not to make a decision even though his mind was informed with the facts, the text says, “having more accurate knowledge of the Way,” Felix had a passing knowledge of the facts of the gospel.
-Felix could hardly find Paul guilty of any offense against Roman law, and since he was a Roman citizen, he had to at least make a pretense of protecting Paul’s rights. He should have released him, but by postponing a verdict he hoped to pacify the Jews and perhaps wrangle a bribe from Paul.
2. Making no decision even when their heart tells them to make one. (Vs. 25)
Illustration: When I was 7 years old, I felt that God was calling me into ministry. For the next 11 years, I ran from that call, using the excuse that preachers didn’t make enough money…even though in my heart, I knew that pursuing that call was what I needed to do. Time and time again, I chose to make no decision about yielding my life to God’s purpose for me. And when I got older and started to think about possible careers, I became increasingly frustrated, because it just didn’t seem like there was a job out there that would leave me fulfilled. Luckily for me, God put up with me until I finally gave in at age 18.
Questions: Have you ever heard someone say, “Follow your heart?” We generally think of that as pretty good advice. Why? Have you ever felt like God was leading you to make a decision for Him, but you made no decision instead? How does that leave you feeling?
Main Point: You see, the 2nd worst thing people do when faced with making a spiritual decision is to make no decision even when their heart tells them to make one.
-This is not a new problem. Look at what happened when Felix felt God nudging his heart to make a change:
Scripture: Acts 24:25
“As Paul discoursed on righteousness, self-control and the judgment to come, Felix was afraid and said, "That’s enough for now! You may leave. When I find it convenient, I will send for you.”
- I do not know of any words that are sadder or more pathetic than these. Felix said, “that is enough for now! You may leave. When I find it convenient, I will send for you!”
-Author R. Kent Hughes said that, “In a very real sense, his soul died at that moment – a tragedy of infinite proportions.”
-Felix did not say that he never wanted to hear the message of the Gospel again; he just made the potentially fatal error of procrastination.
-Doesn’t Felix’s attitude seem unbelievably foolish? He displayed a foolish attitude in his failure to act on what he had heard. He displayed a foolish attitude toward God’s word. Felix felt that he could “take or leave it” with the demands of Scripture. He also displayed a foolish attitude the conviction that he had felt toward his own sin.
-There’s an important principle that comes into play when pass on the invitation to respond to God. Although you may hear the Gospel again and you may feel God leading you to respond to Him again, it will not have same effect.
-Conviction that is passed over leaves a scar and the next time you feel conviction about something in your life, you are not as sensitive to the things of God. Putting off a spiritual decision is always a fatal error.
-Although Felix called for Paul and talked with him “often” there is no evidence that he ever trembled again. That is the danger that people don’t know Jesus face when they are confronted with the reality of the claims of Christ and choose to do nothing. Their hearts are hardened. It’s also the danger that Christians face when they feel God leading them to do something and choose to do nothing.
The 2 Dire Consequences of Delaying A Spiritual Decision
1. Delaying the decision clutters your mind with lesser issues. (Vs. 26)
Illustration: In June of 2008, Ed Defreitas caused a three-vehicle accident in Toms River, New Jersey because he was drunk. His actions injured four people, two of which were paramedics in an ambulance who had to be sent to the hospital. When police officers addressed Defreitas, he acknowledged he had been drinking and explained his position. The 36-year-old man said he did not want to go home drunk so he had decided he would drive around until he sobered up. It sounds bizarre, yet such rationale mimics the theology of many. Their thinking is, "in due time I will be ok."
Examiner, 8/1/8, p.51A
Questions:
Main Point: One of the consequences of delaying a spiritual decision is that, somehow, our minds become cluttered with lesser issues, instead of focusing on the most important issue at hand.
-For Felix, as soon as he had conveniently shifted the spiritual issue of the back burner, another less important matter came forward – money.
Scripture: Acts 24:26
“At the same time he was hoping that Paul would offer him a bribe, so he sent for him frequently and talked with him.”
-This is not uncommon. When we delay spiritual decisions, some other trivial matters will occupy our thoughts and attention.
-Could I ask you something? In your life, have you pushed aside a spiritual concern and let other things fill your view? Maybe, like, Felix, it’s concern over money. In the current state of our economy, that wouldn’t be surprising. But could it be that there are some deeper, more important issues that you need to deal with first?
2. Delaying the decision causes your heart to slowly callous. (Vs. 27)
Illustration: Even with escalating gas prices, Ward still took his family for a long trek out to California and up the Pacific coast. When he returned, friends were eager to hear how it turned out. Ward couldn’t have been more pleased. He said they made it all the way to Los Angeles before a tow truck picked them up. His buddies sighed as if they were feeling his pain. Ward quickly replied, "Oh, there wasn’t anything wrong with the car. It was just cheaper to get towed than pay for gas." Adapted from Reader’s Digest, November 2005, p.130
Questions: Do you remember a few years ago when gas first hit $2 per gallon? Remember our shock? Remember how much we felt it? Remember how much it hurt? Gas has doubled since then, but it’s not such a shock to us anymore, is it? We have an amazing ability to get used to things, don’t we?
Main Point: It’s much the same way when we put off putting off a decision for God. We get used to hearing the Gospel. We get used to feeling His Spirit convict us of the sin in our lives. We get used to the pastor giving an altar call and leading a prayer for response at the end of his sermon.
-And we put it off. And put it off. And put it off. And over time, it gets a little bit easier and easier to delay making a decision for God. It gets a little easier to not respond the next time. It gets a little easier to not respond.
-You know why? Because delaying a decision for God causes your heart to slowly callous.
Quote: The 1st time you quit, it’s hard. The 2nd time you quite, it’s a little easier. The 3rd time, you don’t even have to think about it. – Bear Bryant
When you feel God leading you to do something, DO IT immediately.
Conclusion/Invitation
-What did Felix gain by rejecting Christ? History tells us he died a miserable man. A few years after this event in our text, he committed suicide, drowning himself in a lake. His “someday” never came.
-Why wait? Why waste your life away using “someday” as your excuse for not making a decision for Jesus?
-You know what you lose by doing this? You lose today. I’ve heard Christians say to their unsaved friends, “get saved, you might die!”
-I’ve heard preachers ask people to respond to the Gospel by asking them, “If you died tonight, do you know for sure you’d go to Heaven?” I want to suggest something a little different to you this morning.
-If you’re here today and you’re not a Christian, I want you to know that you don’t need to accept Jesus into your life today just because you may die tonight. You need to accept Jesus into your life today because, more likely than not, you have to live tomorrow.
-And in life or in death, “tomorrow” with Jesus is always better than “someday” without Him.
-The Bible says to “seek the Lord while He may be found.” Today you can find Him. We’re going to sing a song today called, “Change My Heart, Oh God.” If that’s really the prayer of your heart today, I want you to sing it like you mean it. And then, I want to invite you to pray with me in just moment to invite Jesus into your life, to be your savior, ruler, and friend. You can pray here at an altar or right where you are.
-If you’re here this morning and you are a Christian, I want to challenge you to come to an altar of prayer first this morning. You know, it’s hard when you’re a not a follower of Jesus to come to an altar when no one else has come. Why don’t you come first to pray so that our non-Christian friends who want to make their decision to follow Jesus today won’t feel so alone?
-Has God been leading you to do something for Him lately? Will you make the decision today to follow after what it is He wants from you?
-Let’s just have a little extended time of prayer together this morning. Some of us need to make decisions for the first time to follow Jesus. Some of us need to make decisions to submit to what God is calling us to do. Whatever the decision is that you need to make, I challenge you: Make it today.
