Your Divine Appointment
By Pastor Jim May
This morning I want to draw your attention to some people in the Bible who had a choice to make. The choice that they would make would be influenced by so many things that it would be easy for them to make the wrong one. And the choices they would make, on that fateful day when the opportunity to hear the gospel came to them, would forever seal their eternal destiny.
My hope is that we all make the right choice this morning, for today you will have your chance to accept the gospel, or reject the gospel, just as the people in my examples.
Let me first say that you made a choice this morning when you decided to come to the House of God and hear the Word of the Lord. Some of you may have come only because of an invitation, or because you were almost coerced into coming, but you are still here. Many of us are here because we chose to come. To us, this gathering of people, to worship the Lord, is our favorite place to be. We love coming to God’s House and being around God’s people.
Whatever your reason, you are not here by accident. Today, all of us, and especially those who aren’t sure of their salvation, have come because of a Divine Appointment.
The Almighty, Eternal God of Heaven has determined that this day will be the day that you will have your chance to make a choice either to serve Him or reject Him.
I believe that every man has to face his own divine appointment with God.
2 Peter 3:9-10, "The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some men count slackness; but is longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance. But the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night;"
It is the will of God that every man, woman and child should be saved. He doesn’t want to see any of us miss out on Heaven, but God won’t make that choice for us. He gives that power of choice to you and I because He doesn’t want robots that obey His commands; He wants living people who will willingly love and serve Him because they want to.
One thing that all of us search for is companionship. Some seek that companionship by surrounding themselves with friends and family. They love the interaction with people. But there are some who find their companionship in the form of pets, like a dog or a cat. Some really get desperate and try to form a relationship with a boa constrictor, a turtle, goldfish or some exotic animals like tigers, llamas or some other animal.
But one of the strangest things that I’ve seen lately is that there are a lot of people buying robot pets. There is “Cybie”, the robotic dog. He barks, he runs around the house, his eyes light up and he does tricks. He learns as he moves around to avoid obstacles and to interact with his owner. And when you get tired of him, just turn him off and take out the batteries.
Or how about the new “I-Cat”? It just lays around on your furniture, listening to your radio or TV. Whenever the music starts she lights up to let you know what kind of mood she’s in. And if you scratch her nose you will hear the sound of a record being moved back and forth by a DJ.
But the one thing that these pets can’t do is choose to leave, or choose to love. They are robots.
God could have had all the robot pets He wanted, but He wants living human beings; people with the ability to think, to reason, to love and to choose to be God’s children because they love God.
Because God seeks after people who will willingly serve Him, He gives every man the opportunity to either accept or reject His love. God sent His only Son, Jesus Christ, to die on the cross for your sins and mine. But before those sins can be washed away, we have to do 3 things, all of which are very simple to do because God chose to make it easy and simple for us to serve Him if we want to.
I don’t have to do anything hard like bringing a bull or a calf to sacrifice upon an altar. I don’t have to bring all of the money I can scrape together to buy my way in. I don’t have to confess my sins before another man, embarrassing myself in the process for all the bad things I’ve done. I don’t have to crawl through broken glass for miles, or recite memorized prayers for hours. In fact, none of those things mean anything to God. He doesn’t want your sacrifices; he wants your service, given to him freely in love.
What are those three things that we need to do to be saved? Let me outline them quickly in the scriptures for you so you can see God’s perfect and simple plan for your salvation.
Romans 10:9, "That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved."
Acts 3:19, "Repent ye therefore, and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out, when the times of refreshing shall come from the presence of the Lord;"
So the three easy steps are:
1) Confess with your own mouth that Jesus Christ is God and that He died for you on the cross.
2) Believe in your heart that Jesus rose from the dead and is alive forever more, and that He will also give you eternal life.
3) Repent of your sinful life, and choose to live according to the Word of God and not the ways of the world.
None of these things are hard to do, especially when you realize that God wants you to do them and He will help you to do them because He wants you to be in Heaven with Him.
But even though God has made it so simple and easy to be saved, the vast majority of mankind will reject Him and choose to live forever in the pits of hell. Mankind would rather burn in the lake of fire forever, than to live in Heaven, just so that they can have their own way right now. We give up eternal life just for a few days of worldly pleasures in sin.
There were some people in the Bible who came to their divine appointment. Some refused to hear and today they are in the flames of hell. Others chose to listen and serve the Lord and today they are walking the streets of gold. What a contrast! Hell’s flames or the Paradise of Heaven, all because of one simple choice that we all must make.
Acts 24:24-26, "And after certain days, when Felix came with his wife Drusilla, which was a Jewess, he sent for Paul, and heard him concerning the faith in Christ. 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. He hoped also that money should have been given him of Paul, that he might loose him: wherefore he sent for him the oftener, and communed with him."
The first we will look at was a man who was the Roman Governor of Israel and Jerusalem. His name was Felix.
Felix met his divine appointment with his choice to either accept or reject the gospel message when a prisoner was brought before him to present his defense before the court. The whole city of Jerusalem had plotted against this prisoner and he had been falsely accused and sentenced to death. But he had appealed his case to Caesar in Rome and was being held in prison for a long time while waiting for extradition to Rome to stand trial before the highest court in the known world.
That prisoner’s name was Paul, and he was in prison for preaching the gospel to a nation of Jews who didn’t want to hear what he had to say. Every one of those people in Jerusalem who heard Paul preach had also met their divine appointment. But they had rejected the message and tried to kill the messenger. There is no doubt that today all of them are in the flames of hell with no hope of ever getting out. Their punishment has only just begun and will never end even though they have been burning for nearly 2000 years already.
Now it was Felix’s turn to keep his appointment. But Felix didn’t care what Paul had to say. His whole focus in life was on getting wealth and power. Nothing else seemed to matter much to Felix except his bank accounts and his worldly possessions and his position in society. He loved the praise of the crowds as he passed by. He loved the parties and the social life. He loved being the center of attention and having a good time.
He was a very rich and powerful party animal and that lifestyle meant more to him than anything else. He would do whatever it took to keep up that lifestyle, even if it cost him his very soul. Even his very name meant “Pleasure”, and that’s all he lived for. He lived a life of sin and depravity. Whatever could do to have a good time, that what he did.
He didn’t want to hear about repentance and salvation. The gospel message didn’t affect his heart at all. All he wanted to hear was how much Paul was willing to pay to be set free. Felix lost out on the most valuable treasure of life because he was looking for the corrupt wealth of the world.
Another person that I want you to notice is one that we’ve already mentioned but she never gets much attention because she’s the wife of a politician. She wasn’t in the limelight like Felix, but she also met her divine appointment right along with her husband.
Let’s look at Drusilla for a moment. She was a Jew. That tells me that she had hung around the temple from time to time and had been brought up in the knowledge of God. She had heard of the Great God of Heaven and the miracles He had done for His people. She had heard of the coming of a Messiah. No doubt, she already knew about the crucifixion and resurrection of Jesus. Perhaps she had family members or friends who were priests, and because of her position, I have no doubt that she knew the High Priest of Israel and most of the Sanhedrin Council members. She was no stranger to the ways of God, the Law of Moses and the Ten Commandments.
But she chose to leave all of that to live in the palace with Felix because she too, wanted the power, prestige and praise of being someone who was better than anyone else.
She chose the chariots of the palace, the clothing of a queen, the jewels of an earthly crown and the praise of the people, but she refused to take on the robes of righteousness and receive the Crown of Glory that God had for her. She chose the approval of man above the approval of God.
Drusilla represents so many of those who were raised in the church, right on the pews of the sanctuary, but who have chosen to live for the devil. There is no indication that Drusilla even sat around to hear what Paul had to say.
Those who once knew the Lord, and heard His Word, are often the hardest to reach. They have rejected the truth to believe a lie and unless God performs a miracle for them, most won’t make Heaven their home. They too will trade the pleasures of sin for a season for the eternal life in Heaven.
Drusilla is still burning this morning. Right now, she would give anything to be free from the flames, but she has nothing to give. When she left this world, she left all of her wealth, fame and power behind. In hell she is just another burning soul, tormented by the devil and forever doomed. She met her divine appointment with salvation and refused to hear what God had to say. Now she will never hear from Him again except when he pronounces her final judgment for sin and sentences her for eternal death, then casts her right back into the flames forever.
Another person I want you to see is another political figure. He, and his wife, are the next in line to meet their divine appointment with God. This man is a king, a man among men, ruler of a nation. He carries the power of life and death over anyone who comes before him, and now Paul must come to present his case once more.
Paul told Agrippa and Bernice the story of the gospel. He did his best to explain to them the way of salvation and how that Jesus died for their sins. His sermon and testimony of God’s power and love was compelling.
King Agrippa was right on the edge. Just one small step and he would have eternal life. But he wouldn’t make that step.
He reminds me of those who hear the gospel in church but who won’t respond. They will stand in the audience with their hands gripping the chair or the pew in front of them, white knuckled because they refuse to let go and get to the altar.
How many have I seen in Agrippa’s shoes? Satan has them blinded and they refuse to remove the blindfold. They choose to continue in sin rather than accept Jesus as Lord.
Acts 26:28, "Then Agrippa said unto Paul, Almost thou persuadest me to be a Christian." In chapter 25 we can also see that his wife, Bernice was with him.
Almost persuaded – those are some terrible words when they apply to being saved or lost. Salvation isn’t like horseshoes or hand grenades. You can’t get close and that’s good enough. With Jesus its all or nothing. Close doesn’t count except to condemn you even more.
Agrippa was just a step away from the Gates of Heaven, but he chose to turn around and leave, to wait for a better time that would never come. He is burning today and after 2000 years he has come to realize that he will never have another chance. He had his divine appointment but refused to hear, and now he will pay the price forever.
Agrippa is a prime example of those who procrastinate. Always waiting for a better time and place to surrender their hearts and lives to Jesus, but that better time never comes. You will never find a more convenient time to be saved than right now, at this very moment in time.
Right now is the time of your divine appointment with Jesus Christ. Will you hear His word, or will you turn and walk away. I can promise you no more appointments. I can’t tell you whether you will ever hear another message, or have another chance to get right with God and serve Him. There is no promise of tomorrow.
2 Corinthians 6:2, "… behold, now is the accepted time; behold, now is the day of salvation."
Isaiah 55:6-7, "Seek ye the LORD while he may be found, call ye upon him while he is near: Let the wicked forsake his way, and the unrighteous man his thoughts: and let him return unto the LORD, and he will have mercy upon him; and to our God, for he will abundantly pardon."
Today, this morning, October 15, 2006, is the time of your divine appointment. Will you hear the Word of the Lord and come to Christ. Will you take those three simple steps and make Heaven your home? Or will you choose to walk away and take the chance on being in the flames right next to Felix, Drusilla, Agrippa and Bernice? The choice is yours.
But before we close, I want to remind you that you will have one other divine appointment. One day we shall have to stand before God and answer for what we did in this life. There will be no excuses for having rejected salvation. No reasons or excuses will hold water in the courts of Heaven.
When you stand before God, will it be to receive your eternal reward in Heaven, or will it be to hear God pronounce execution upon your soul?
Those who choose to accept Christ will face Him at the Judgment Seat of Christ where we will be judged for our works but will be rewarded according to our faithfulness. There will be no sinners at this judgment. We will all enter Heaven’s gates.
Those who reject Jesus will face the wrath of Almighty God at the Great White Throne Judgment. There will be no Christians there. Everyone will be a sinner and everyone will be there only for final sentencing and execution.
Today is the day when you can make the choice which judge you will face. Do you want to face a judge who will show you love, mercy, compassion, grace and who will give you eternal life, or do you want to face a judge who shows no mercy and will give you exactly what you deserve? The choice is yours. This is your divine appointment with destiny. Will you come?
