INTRODUCTION: What’s the most dangerous thing you’ve ever done? I know for me the most dangerous thing I’ve ever done was to go swimming in some of the most shark infested waters on earth! It was a total rush! Some people thrive on danger… the adrenaline junkies. Las Vegas has rides on top of the highest building in the city. The car goes to the edge of the building and over the edge! People scream and hold their heads in their hands. As soon as the ride is over – they want to go again! If you’re an adrenaline junkie, you’ll think its great fun, if not you’ll think it’s totally nuts!
BACKGROUND: The Bible is an amazing collection of stories, stories of adventure, and intrigue, and often times danger… stories like the 12 spies sent to Canaan, David and Goliath, and Esther, people who put their lives on the line for the benefit of others and ultimately the glory of God. But there is another “danger” to be found in the Bible and it’s found in a single word… the most “dangerous” of all words. The word is one of the easiest to speak, and one of the most fatal in its effect, it shines like a mirage in the desert, deceiving with a false promise… It’s the word that shines like a beacon, leading fools to their ultimate destruction; it’s without a doubt Satan’s favorite word… Tomorrow!
FELIX’S TOMORROW
• “Tomorrow” is without a doubt the most common reason people put off the start of a relationship with Christ!
• This is exactly what happened with a man of immense power and prestige when presented with the opportunity to embrace Jesus, his name is Felix, and we read his story in Acts 24:22-25
• Paul is known as a great preacher, and scripture records many of his great sermons, but the one he preaches to Felix and Drusilla has to be one of the best…
• He was preaching as all preachers must preach… “as a dying man to dying men.”
• History tells us about this couple, Drusilla, though named after Drusus, the sister of Caligula by her father Herod Agrippa I, was a Jew, who though married to another man, had shacked up with Felix
• Now living in such a situation, you would think the last person you’d want to hear from would be a preacher, but they call on Paul, to hear about the faith (vs. 24)
• His sermon had three points (after 2000 years some things never change) (1) righteousness, (2) temperance, and (3) the coming judgment
• Righteousness – undoubtedly their wicked past rose up to condemn them, and for Drusilla, no doubt the actions of her father, which led to his untimely, and agonizing demise (eaten by worms)
• Temperance - or what we would call self-control, this had to hit the couple hard, abandoning their spouses, and entering into an adulterous relationship, and then the thrilling climax…
• The coming Judgment – Paul didn’t leave that part out, which unfortunately so many preachers would today. If Felix and Drusilla were expecting 30 Minutes of feel-good entertainment, they were in for a rude awakening - Paul preached not only to the times but also to the eternities
• They now sat in judgment over others, but one day they would sit and be judged, by the ultimate authority – Christ himself at which we read that Felix was alarmed or “trembled”
• This pagan encountered the living God, and was in place were repentance and salvation was available but then we read his response (vs. 26-27) For Felix it was always tomorrow
• Then he “ran out of tomorrows” it’s a lesson for all of us. It’s never safe to say “tomorrow” when God says today!
THE RICH FOOL’S TOMORROW
• Our second character of the morning is a man of whom Jesus spoke about in a Parable (Luke 12:13-21) thought they are Parables this preacher believes them to be accounts of actual events…
• This person was materially blessed by God; his land “produced plentifully” (vs. 16) so much so that he announced that he had “many tomorrows,” years’ worth in fact, to enjoy his many things
• He paid no heed to the futility of tomorrow (James 4:13-17)
• The night passed and the tomorrow dawned, it was one of those tomorrows that the rich fool counted on so much, but all that his tomorrow brought to him was death… the end of tomorrow!
• He was going to be all he could be…tomorrow
• He was going to do all that he could do… tomorrow
• He was going to enjoy all that he could enjoy… tomorrow… how often do we say the same?
• Though we should plan and prepare for tomorrow, those tomorrows don’t negate out todays
• This man’s problem wasn’t his wealth it was his priorities – he equated possessions with eternal things… but his storehouses were built on the wrong side of eternity!
OUR TOMORROW
• Most of the time we as humans, and that includes us as Christians have the idea that we have a near-indefinite number of tomorrows
• Alexander the Great conquered the world by the time he was 30, and when asked how he had done it, he replied… “I never delayed.” – he didn’t wait until tomorrow
• Does this mean that we should always act… right now? NO, all issues call for proper discernment
• It’s not so much a matter of “time” as it is “priority,” some things may need some time to accomplish, but the more that we put something important off until tomorrow, the more apt we are to put it off to long, and thus miss our opportunity for action!
• There are great and eternal lessons to be learned from both Felix, and the Rich Fool… (1) Don’t put off till tomorrow what should be done today; (2) keep proper priorities for today may be all that you have! (Proverbs 27:1)
• See the problem with waiting until tomorrow is that when it finally arrives, it is called today, and then we treat it as such!
• In Mark 13:32-33, Jesus tells us that no one knows the time when He will return and that we are to take heed, watch and pray. – watch for opportunities
• But even when we “watch” we often miss, and by miss I mean, put off till tomorrow
• Why… possible conflict, fear of rejection, you name it we use it
• The great philosopher Pogo Possum - “Gentlemen, we are surrounded by insurmountable opportunities.”
• Too often what we perceive as obstacles, are God’s opportunities in disguise!
CONCLUSION: My friend Kevin and the letter that I carry in the back of my Bible… What will you do with Jesus today?
