THERE’S NO TIME LIKE THE PRESENT
Text: Acts 24:24, 25
Introduction:
o In this short scripture, we have a request, a response, and a result
I. The Request (v. 24)
• Paul had finished his third missionary journey and was led to Jerusalem by the Holy Spirit
• Stays with Philip the Evangelist
• Meets with James and the elders of the church at Jerusalem to give report and to deliver offering for the poor at the church
• Captured by Jews at the temple and almost beaten to death; saved by Roman soldiers who took him into custody
• Speaks before the Sanhedrin
• Romans take him to Caesarea to plead his case before Felix
• Felix hears case and decides no action should be taken until witnesses could be found; Paul remains in custody
• Felix and his wife Drusilla go on a short trip, and when they return, request that Paul come before them and explain Christianity
• Paul jumps at the chance
• 1 Peter 3:15 “…be ready always to give an answer to every man that asketh you a reason of the hope that is in you with meekness and fear;”
• We should follow Paul’s example and always be ready to witness for the Lord
o We will learn about what to say in upcoming series “Becoming a Contagious Christian”
o Jesus told disciples to trust the Holy Spirit to tell them what to say
o Witnessing is like any other thing we try to do for the Lord; we prepare as best we can and let God use what we have and make something wonderful out of it
o My Bible: “Trust God as if everything depends on Him, but work as if everything depends on me.”
o Jesus said “without me ye can do nothing”, but the Bible completes that thought by saying “I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me.”
II. The Response (v. 25a)
• Paul’s sermon had three points:
A. “Righteousness”
Paul exposed the sins of Felix and his wife
o Felix
1. Governor of Judea from 52 – 59 AD
2. Former slave, obtained his position through his brother’s influence
3. Not well regarded among the Romans; hated by the Jews
4. Accomplished little during his reign
5. Acquainted with Jewish laws, customs, and beliefs
6. Felt that he was above the law and that he could do anything he wanted because his brother was friends with the emperor
7. Greedy
8. Grossly lacking in morals and self control
9. Lied and murdered to get rid of enemies and to promote himself
o Drusilla
1. Youngest daughter of Agrippa I
a. Killed the apostle James
b. Was so arrogant and proud that he was eaten by worms before a crowd at the ampitheatre in Caesarea (Acts 12)
2. Sister of Agrippa II
a. Paul was brought before him in Acts 26
3. Great Granddaughter of Herod the Great
a. Ordered the slaughter of infants in an attempt to kill the Christ child
4. Great niece of Herod Antipas
a. Beheaded John the Baptist and played a minor part in the crucifixion of Christ
5. Felix’s third wife
6. 19 years old and interested in the occult
7. Year before this she had been married to an Assyrian King but a sorcerer hired by Felix convinced her to divorce and marry him instead
o Neither of them were liked by the people they ruled, and they were not trusted by their slaves, servants, or friends
o Sound like really bad characters, but remember what Paul wrote to the Romans:
o Romans 3:10, 23 “As it is written, There is none righteous, no, not one: For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God;”
o You may not have lied and murdered or played around with the occult like Felix and his wife, but you are still guilty of sin
o Even at your best, you are still sinful
o Isaiah 64:6 “But we are all as an unclean thing, and all our righteousnesses are as filthy rags;”
o Felix and Drusilla were guilty, and you are too
B. “Temperance”
After exposing their sins, Paul proceeded to tell them that they were powerless to do anything about them
o Romans 7:18, 19, 21 “For I know that in me (that is, my flesh,) dwelleth no good thing: for to will is present with me; but how to perform that which is good I find not. For the good that I would I do not: but the evil which I would not, that I do. I find then a law, that, when I would do good, evil is present with me.”
o Paul told them about the hope in dying out to their sins and living in the Spirit through Jesus Christ
o Romans 5:6, 8, 9 “For when we were yet without strength, in due time Christ died for the ungodly. But God commendeth (demonstrated) his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. Much more then, being now justified by his blood, we shall be saved from wrath through him.”
o Jesus’ death on the cross paid the price of sin
o Romans 6:23 “For the wages (result) of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.”
o Jesus died for Paul, Felix, and Drusilla; he died for you too
C. “Judgment to come”
Paul explained that salvation was bought and paid for by Christ, and that it was offered freely to anyone who wanted it, but that there would be consequences to rejecting the offer
o Hebrews 9:27 “And as it is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment:”
o Hebrews 2:3 “How shall we escape, if we neglect so great salvation;”
o Revelation 20:11 – 15
o Revelation 21:8 “But the fearful, and unbelieving, and the abominable, and murderers, and whoremongers, and sorcerers, and idolaters, and all liars, shall have their part in the lake which burneth with fire and brimstone: which is the second death.”
o Right now you have the opportunity to have your sins forgiven, but if you choose not to, one day you will be punished, and you will suffer your punishment throughout eternity
Conclusion:
III. The Result (v. 25b)
o Felix and Drusilla had the invitation of a lifetime and they chose to wait for a “better time”
o Two years after this, a riot broke out between the Greeks and the Jews
o The Greeks were victorious, and Felix ordered them to beat to death all Jewish men, rape all the Jewish women, and to confiscate all Jewish possessions
o The Jews complained to the emperor, who removed him from his position and brought him to Rome
o He may have been executed if not for the influence of his brother
o He lived the rest of his days in disgrace in Rome, and there is no record that he ever gave his life to Christ
o Twenty years after this, Drusilla went on a shopping trip to Europe and died when Mount Vesuvius erupted
o She was trapped and was engulfed by the volcano’s lava
o There is no record that she ever became a Christian
o Learn a lesson from these two: The time to be saved is now
o 2 Corinthians 6:2 “Behold, now is the accepted time; behold, now is the day of salvation.”
o You may think that you can wait for a better time, but you don’t know how much time you have left
o James 4:13, 14 “Go to now, ye that say, Today or to morrow we will go into such a city, and continue there a year, and buy and sell, and get gain: Whereas ye know not what shall be on the morrow. For what is your life? It is even a vapour, that appeareth for a little time, and then vanisheth away.”
o In other words, if you are going to do something, do it now
o Hell is filled with people who waited for a better time
o Don’t be one of them
