Spiritual Procrastination

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Amen.
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Well, take out your Bibles and remain standing and let's turn to Acts 24, and we're going to read two verses as our opening passage today.
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The words on the screen are wrong.
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That's from last week, so I apologize for that.
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I did the screens this morning so I can blame no one but myself.
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That was a mistake.
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But it's in your bulletin, and the title of today's message is Spiritual Procrastination.
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Spiritual Procrastination, and the text is Acts 24, verses 24 and 25.
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It says, After some days Felix came with his wife Drusilla, who was a Jewish, and he sent for Paul and heard him speak about faith in Christ Jesus.
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And as he reasoned about righteousness and self-control and the coming judgment, Felix was alarmed and said, Go away for the presence, and when I get an opportunity, I will summon you.
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Father in heaven, I thank you for your word.
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I look, Lord, at this text and I see a man willing to put off hearing the truth.
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A man willing to put off, until sometime in the future, having to face the truth.
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And I pray, Lord, as we deal today with that reality, that there are so many that continue to this very day with an attitude of procrastination when it comes to the things of the Gospel.
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I pray, O God, that you would open hearts, that you would break the stony heart of sin and that you would replace it, Lord, with a heart of flesh for those, Lord, who need to be regenerated in this place today.
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I pray that you keep me from error, Father, for I know that I am a fallible man, capable of preaching error, capable of being a false teacher, and I do not want to, Lord.
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I want to be faithful to your truth, and I pray that you would keep me faithful to it.
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And in all this, glorify yourself in the preaching of your word, in Jesus' name, amen.
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Amen.
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Some of you, especially those of you who have attended funeral services that I have led, have heard me talk about the rope to eternity.
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It's an illustration which I admit I did not come up with on my own.
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I first heard it from Francis Chan many years ago, and I still use it to this day when I am speaking at funeral services.
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But for those of you who haven't heard it, and as a reminder for those who have, I want to start with this illustration today.
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Imagine a rope that goes into a hole, and the hole itself is bottomless.
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It is absolutely without end.
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It's an eternal hole.
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And the rope also is eternal.
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It just goes on forever.
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Now we know that such a thing cannot exist.
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Such a thing does not exist.
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It's not in our universe anyway.
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But you can imagine a rope that just goes forever.
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You can pull, and pull, and pull, and pull, and never reach the end.
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Now imagine, as you're holding the end of that rope that goes forever, on the very end of the rope is a piece of vinyl tape.
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You know that stuff you use for electricity, they call it electrical tape? That little bit of tape wrapped around the end of that rope that goes forever.
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If you can imagine comparatively what this life is, and the life that is to come, in regard to simple breath, this life is like that piece of electrical tape compared to eternity, which goes on, and on, and on forever.
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Yet, for most people in this world, all they concern themselves with is that little piece of tape.
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All they focus on is that little half inch of vinyl, and they don't put an eye on the rope that goes forever.
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R.C.
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Sproul made a good point in a sermon I heard recently.
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He said, most of us prepare for a year from now.
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If you ask somebody, what do you think you'll be doing a year from now, well, we're moving, or we're getting a new job, or whatever, or hope my job gives me a promotion.
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When sometimes we even prepare for five years from now, and say, well, I'm going to go to college, and after college I'm going to get a job, and five years from now, and some of us may even prepare for 20 years in the future, I'm going to retire, and I'm going to go and spend my time in my RV.
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I'm looking at Jack and Shirley.
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But what about, as Dr.
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Sproul asked, what about 125 years from now? Because 125 years from now, we'll all be dead, and we'll either be in heaven or hell.
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In 125 years, you're all going to be dead.
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Are you prepared for that? As I said, today's message is about spiritual procrastination.
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It's about a man who heard the gospel.
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He heard about righteousness.
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He heard about Jesus, and he heard about the coming judgment, and you know what he said? He said, I will hear it on another season.
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I'll hear it at another time.
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Beloved, there is no tomorrow, and tomorrow never comes.
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There is only today, and this is why the Bible says today is the day of salvation.
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My fear today is that many people do follow in the footsteps of this man named Felix, and maybe many of you are here who are following in his footsteps.
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You have flirted with the message of the gospel, but you have procrastinated in your response.
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My wife used to work for the sheriff's office, and she worked with a lady who she would try to share the gospel with there in the office, at the sheriff's office, and the woman literally said, she said, I do plan to become a Christian one day, but right now I'm having too much fun.
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Beloved, we cannot play God for a fool.
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He is no fool.
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His judgment is sure, and some people think, I've got more time.
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I've got more time.
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I've got all the time in the world, but the Bible says seek the Lord while he may be found.
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Call upon him while he is near.
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The only time that is, is right now.
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There is no promise.
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What is your life? Is it not a vapor that appears and then vanishes away? So I want us to turn to Acts 24.
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I know we already read verses 24 and 25.
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I want us to look at the life of Felix and learn a little bit about him.
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See the situation, and this is in our ongoing study.
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I realize today is Palm Sunday, and I did pray about considering possibly doing a special Palm Sunday message, but I said no.
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This message is actually so, it's so appropriate for today, because if you think about what Palm Sunday is, Jesus rides into town on the back of a donkey, everybody's lauding him as king, holding up their palm branches, and within a week, instead of palm branches, they're holding up fists and calling out for his death.
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From Monday to Friday, they're calling out for his death, just to demonstrate the fact that those people didn't really believe in him.
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And I think about that today.
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How many of you came in today and you're playing the part, but you're putting Jesus off? You're saying maybe next week, or maybe next month, or maybe next year.
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So we're going to begin at the forefront.
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I want to remind you where we are.
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Paul had gone to Jerusalem to worship.
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He was worshiping in the temple, and he was brought out by a mob, and when he was brought out by a mob, the Roman soldier saved him.
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He asked to speak to the crowd, he spoke to the crowd, and after speaking to them, they took him to the Sanhedrin.
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The Sanhedrin heard what he had to say, and then after hearing what he had to say, they began to fight, because Paul says, well, I'm only here because of the resurrection, and the Pharisees and the Sadducees argued over whether or not that was the reason he was there and what the issue really was, and he got taken back to the barracks, and he was going to be beaten, but he said, no, I'm a Roman soldier.
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I'm a Roman citizen.
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You can't beat a Roman citizen, so they didn't beat him because of that, and then another young man, his nephew, comes and says, you're going to be attacked and killed.
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Forty men have said they want to kill you, and they've taken a vow not to eat until you're dead, so these guys are serious.
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So Paul takes that, he sends his nephew to the leader, and the leader says, well, we've got to get you out of Jerusalem, because these people are serious.
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They want to kill you.
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So they take him to Caesarea, and in Caesarea, there was a man there named Felix, Marcus Antonius Felix, the governor, and this is where our story begins in verse 24.
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It says, and after five days, the high priest Ananias came down with some elders and a spokesman, one Tertullius, by the way, that word spokesman there, in some of your Bibles, it may say attorney.
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That really is what it is.
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Tertullius is a professional orator, and he has been brought in by the Jewish people to stand before Felix and ensure Paul's demise.
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They brought in a ringer, as it were.
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This is the Johnny Cochran of the first century.
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This guy knows what he's doing, and he's going to have Paul brought up on charges.
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He is a, he is a, and you notice this, he said, they laid before the governor their case against Paul, and when he had been summoned, Tertullius began to accuse him, saying, since through you, he's speaking to Felix, since through you we enjoy much peace, and since by your foresight most excellent Felix reforms are being made for this nation in every way and everywhere, we accept this with all gratitude.
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And, by the way, if you're unfamiliar with flattery, that's what it looks like.
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Because Felix was not a good man.
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Felix was not a good governor, and he was a man at which the Jews were often, with which the Jews were often at odds.
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They did not like this man.
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In fact, I think part of why they got Tertullius to come was they didn't want to say these words themselves.
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So, we figure we'll pay somebody to come and say all this syrupy nonsense about Felix.
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Oh, great Felix, we enjoy so much peace under you.
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You have so much foresight and all the reforms you've brought.
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Verse four, but to detain you no further, I beg you in your kindness to hear us briefly.
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Basically saying, well, we're not going to bother, we're not going to say any more about you.
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We've said enough.
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For we have found this man, speaking of Paul, a plague.
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By the way, some of your Bibles say a pest.
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I think pest is too small a word, but if you think of more like a pestilence, something that comes in and destroys, that's the way they saw Paul.
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They saw Paul as a plague, as a troublemaker, as a pestilence, one who was coming in and uprooting men from what they considered to be right Jewish faith.
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And he says, they said, one who stirs up riots among all the Jews throughout the world and is a ringleader of the sect of the Nazarenes.
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He even tried to profane the temple, but we seized him.
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Now I've spent a lot of time in years past talking about textual variance, so I'm not going to do it today for the lack of time, but if you have an ESV Bible, you'll notice there is no verse 7.
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It goes from verse 6 to verse 8.
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Some of you may have a Bible that has a verse 7 and it's in a bracket.
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Others may have a verse 7 and it has an asterisk that points down to something at the bottom of the page and probably reads to the effect that this verse is not in the most reliable manuscripts.
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And I would agree with that.
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But verse 7, if you, in the King James, because that is where, that is why the verse number is taken out, because why would you, why would you do it that way? Well, because in some Bibles there is a verse, and I didn't want to confuse for those who are going to be going back and forth, but verse 7 says, but the chief captain Lysias came upon us and with great violence took him away out of our hands.
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So really it just adds one more line to the story.
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Verse 8, by examining him yourself, you will be able to find out from him about everything of which we accuse him.
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The Jews also joined in the charge, affirming that all these things were so.
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So the accusation against Paul is simple.
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This man Paul is a pest.
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He is a pestilence.
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He is a plague.
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He's against Rome.
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He's stirring up mobs.
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He's against Israel.
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He's bringing Gentiles into the temple, which Paul didn't do, but they were making this accusation against him.
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And he's against God.
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He's a blasphemer.
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So he's being, as John MacArthur pointed out, he's being accused of being an enemy of the state, an enemy of the church, and an enemy of God, none of which were true.
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But these are the accusations against Paul.
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Verse 10, we see Paul's defense.
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It says, and when the governor had nodded to him to speak, Paul replied, knowing that for many years you have been judge over the nation, I cheerfully make my defense.
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Paul says, people ask, was Paul giving flattery? This is not flattery.
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This is a normal custom.
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More likely the fact, though, that he is happy to see Felix rather than the Sanhedrin.
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It's more likely, even as evil as Felix was, that he would get a more fair hearing before a man who did not have a theological ax to grind.
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He's not going to get a fair hearing before the Sanhedrin.
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He's not going to get a fair hearing before the Jews.
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So he's actually pleased to be before someone who might hear him justly.
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Paul says in verse 11, you can verify that it is not more than twelve days since I went up to Jerusalem to worship.
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See Paul came to Jerusalem and for seven days he was in the temple worshiping and doing nothing as far as any type of insurrection or mob violence.
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There was nothing.
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They didn't even know he was there.
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But when they recognized him, they went and drug him out.
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That's when the mobs started.
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Paul had been there seven days and from then until this day is five days.
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So all this we've been learning the last few weeks is really going on in a relatively short amount of time.
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The Sanhedrin, the flight to Caesarea and all this is happening in a very quick amount of time.
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Paul says, I've only been here twelve days.
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How can they say I'm an insurrectionist? I haven't been here long enough to be an insurrection.
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I haven't been here long enough to do anything.
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I've been here less than two weeks.
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Verse 12, and they did not find me disputing with anyone or stirring up a crowd either in the temple or in the synagogues of the city, neither can they prove to you what they now bring up against me.
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But this I confess to you that according to the way which they call a sect, I worship the God of our fathers, believing everything laid down by the law and written by the prophets.
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Hear you me.
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Paul never gave up being a Jew.
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You have to understand this.
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Paul believed that the full expression of Judaism was trusting in Christ.
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I'm going to talk about this on Thursday.
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I hope you guys come Thursday night.
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I hope you're signed up for the Seder, but my role Thursday night is to preach after the Seder.
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I'm going to preach on the blessing of the new covenant.
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I'm going to talk about the fact that if you are in Christ, you are part of the new covenant which makes you a son or daughter of Abraham.
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You are one of Abraham's children by faith in Jesus Christ.
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And Paul said, I haven't given up being a Jew, I'm the true Jew.
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They're the heretics, not me.
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I believe in what our forefathers prophesied.
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I believe in the fulfillment of the promise given to Abraham.
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The fulfillment of the promise given to Moses.
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The fulfillment of the promise given to David.
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I believe as they did.
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These men are the heretics, not me.
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So Paul didn't give up his Jewishness.
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He said to be a true, what does it say in Philippians? The true circumcision is that which is in Christ.
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No, really the Bible is not up for debate on this issue.
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Those who have faith are the offspring of Abraham, Galatians chapter 3.
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It's not really a debate, even though it's been debated, it's not a debate.
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It's there, it's so clear.
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And so verse 15, having a hope in God, which these men themselves accept, that there will be a resurrection of both the just and the unjust.
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And by the way, that is in the Old Testament.
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Go to Daniel 12 verse 2 and see that the Old Testament people believed in a resurrection.
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And they believed in the resurrection of the just and the unjust.
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And so he says, I'm believing what they believed, but I'm believing in the Messiah.
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So I always take pains to have a clear conscience towards both God and man.
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Now after several years, I came to bring alms to my nation and to present offerings.
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Here's where Paul is starting to make a good point legally.
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He's saying, I'm on trial and all I did was come to Jerusalem to give an offering.
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There are poor people in Jerusalem who are suffering.
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I went to Macedonia, collected an offering and brought it back and now I'm on trial.
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While I was doing this, they found me purified in the temple without any crowd or tumult.
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But some Jews from Asia, they ought to be here before you and to make an accusation should they have anything against me or else let these men themselves say what wrongdoing they have found when I stood before the council.
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Other than this one thing that I cried out while standing among them, it is respect to the resurrection of the dead that I am on trial before the state.
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Remember that's what he said before the Sanhedrin.
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He said, the only thing these guys could have against me is what I said the day they brought me before them and that was that I'm here because of the resurrection of the dead.
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And that's not something they could bring before me because these guys who are bringing me before you believe the same thing.
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And then we get to the judgment.
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And I know I'm going very quickly, but I want to make sure we get through this chapter to understand what's happening.
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Because we saw the accusations, verses 1 through 9.
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We see the defense, verses 10 through 21.
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Now we see the judgment.
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Felix, the judge, was the governor of Judea.
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We know he was the governor in 52 AD, so this gives us an idea of the time frame Paul is before him.
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Felix was known for his cruelty and greed during his rule and there were an increasing number of uprisings in Judea during his governorship which Felix dealt with ruthlessly.
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His third wife was a Jewish woman, her name was Drusilla, which we'll meet her in a minute.
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She was the daughter of Agrippa I and was only 19 years old at the time of her marriage to him.
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He had been married three times, she had been married twice, so only 19 years old.
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So this is an interesting sort of back story on these two.
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And I want to tell you something interesting about Felix.
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You know Felix, his corruption was so great that he was recalled.
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And you know who recalled him? Nero.
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When you're so bad, Nero calls you out.
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Now, in honesty, just to make sure I'm truthful, Nero didn't go crazy at the beginning.
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In the early part of his reign, he was a fairly fair ruler.
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It was only later that he began to go into his spiral of madness and attack Christians and everything else.
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But early in his rule, he saw what Felix was doing as too much and he took him down.
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So it's a good example though of sort of the pot calling the kettle black.
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You got Nero saying you're out there and not just a few years later, he himself was out there.
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But this is the man who we're talking about here.
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He is not a man of kindness, says verse 22.
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But Felix, Marcus Antonius Felix, having a rather accurate knowledge of the way.
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Why do you think that is? Why do you think, just for stop for a second, why do you think he, you know, the way is how Christianity was defined in the first century.
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Why did he know? I think it's because his wife was Jewish.
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He knew about the Jewish religion through his wife and he knew about this, what was considered a sect of Judaism through that connection to the Jewish people.
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So he had an accurate, he had a rather accurate knowledge, according to scripture, a rather accurate knowledge of the way he knew who Jesus was, who he claimed to be and the situation.
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He says, but Felix, having a rather accurate knowledge of the way, put them off.
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And them there being the Jewish accusers, he put them off saying, when Lysias the Tribune comes down, I will decide your case.
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By the way, historically speaking, as far as I know, and as far as history shows, there is no, he didn't send for him.
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You know, he says, when Lysias the Tribune comes down to make his case, we'll continue this, but there's no sending for the guy.
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It's sort of, this is, this is Felix's way of being politically expedient.
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We'll continue this when we get our witness and we won't call for the witness.
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Then he gave orders to the centurion that he should be kept in custody, but have some liberty.
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Verse 23 is actually hugely important and that none of his friends should be prevented from attending to his needs.
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It's interesting that Felix sees Paul and he sees Paul as one who's been accused, but there's really no, there's really no accusation that can stick.
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He says, the only guy who could possibly bring an accusation isn't here.
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We're going to have to call for him and they never call for him.
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He said, but I tell you what I'll do, I'll put him into, I'll put him into house arrest.
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I'll put him in jail here.
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But while he's here, he's going to have access to his friends.
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He's going to have access to ministry, as it says, his friends will be able to attend to his needs.
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He's going to have some freedom.
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It's interesting how the Bible portrays the Roman leaders, you know, because we know these men are not good men in the sense of good, noble men.
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But think about how the Bible portrays Pontius Pilate as one who was manipulated by the Jewish people, as one who himself said, I washed my hands, I don't want any part of this.
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And here, Felix is sort of doing the same thing.
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I'm going to keep him in jail to satisfy you guys, but he's going to have a pretty good role, a pretty good go about it.
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And Paul is there for two years.
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Paul is in the house of Felix or in the jail of Felix, if you will, for two years.
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Relative safety, those 40 men who are out trying to, wanting him dead, well, they're still hungry somewhere, running around the countryside.
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They're still, they haven't gotten him and he's safe and comfortable.
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It's a blessing of God because Paul is on his way to Rome, and when he gets to Rome, he's going to lose his life.
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So here we have a gift of God, as you will.
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He's in jail.
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How's being in jail a gift? Being in jail can be a gift.
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If being free means you're at the danger of people coming after you to be killed.
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Verse 24, though, is really the part that I, oh, that was introduction.
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I don't want to focus now on verse 24 because he says, after some days Felix came with his wife, Drusilla, remember she was Jewish, and he sent for Paul and heard him speak about faith in Christ Jesus, and he reasoned about righteousness and self-control in the coming judgment, and Felix was alarmed.
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I think that is a understatement.
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I think Felix was scared to death because he says, go away for the present.
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When I get an opportunity, I'll summon you back.
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I don't know if this has ever happened to you, but I have shared the gospel with people, and it scared them.
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I remember multiple occasions, but one in particular, I mean, the person said, are you trying to scare me? And I said, we should be.
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We should be frightened at the prospect of dying without Christ.
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You know, as one old preacher said, if I could scare the hell out of you, I would.
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Because that's what you need.
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You need to understand you're headed towards hell, and if speaking to you in a way that brings your heart to realize your predicament, you know, a doctor goes into somebody who has cancer and sits down and says, you have cancer.
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They're not trying to scare you.
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They're trying to tell you the truth, but it's still scary.
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And when I tell you about hell, I'm not necessarily trying to scare you, but I'm telling you the truth, and it's a scary reality.
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You are going to be judged according to the righteousness of God, and you on your own will fall short, and there is no salvation outside of the substitute Jesus Christ who provided for you an atonement that covers you on the day of judgment.
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And that's what Paul is saying.
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And if you think about it, there's a threefold thing that he says here.
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He says, it says he reasoned about righteousness, self-control, and judgment.
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He's talking to a governor.
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He's talking to a man in authority, a man who knows what judgment is, a man who's supposed to know what righteousness is, and a man who has had to stand over other men and condemn them for their lack of self-control.
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And so he comes before him, and I've heard, I met some preachers who could have got Felix saved, because in a lot of people's minds, all you've got to do to get somebody saved is just get them to pray a prayer.
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And I know one guy specifically, he said, you give me five minutes with anybody, and I'll lead them to Jesus.
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That's nonsense.
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Paul had two years with Felix, and as far as we know, he died dead, lost.
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But my point is to simply say this, when Paul went to him, he went with him with the truth of the whole gospel, not just a sinner's prayer.
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He went with the principle of law and grace.
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By the way, if you look on either side of me, you'll notice we have our banners back up, law and grace.
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Law to the proud, grace to the humble.
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And how does somebody become humble? When they understand their predicament under the law.
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Law to the proud, grace to the humble.
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And that's what Paul's doing.
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He's proclaiming Felix's unrighteousness, lack of self-control, and the terrible way he will fare when judgment comes.
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And Felix is alarmed.
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But verse 26 does tell us something more about the character of Felix, though it says, at the same time he hoped that money would be given him by Paul.
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I don't know why he thought Paul had money.
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Maybe it was all the collections he did in Macedonia.
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But he was one willing to take a bribe.
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So part of that two-year stint in Felix's prison was the hope that maybe at some point Paul would come off of some of that money he's got hidden somewhere.
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So there's a little something about the character of the man we're talking about.
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So he sent for him often and conversed with him.
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And when two years had elapsed, Felix was succeeded by Porcius Festus, who we're going to meet after Resurrection Sunday.
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I have a different message next week.
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But in two weeks, we'll meet Porcius Festus, and we'll see his interaction with the Apostle Paul.
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So I want to do this.
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I want to finish today by giving an application.
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It's only two points of application, but I want to apply this text in two ways.
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I've already mentioned some of it, but I want to give you things to carry from here as thoughts for the day.
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Number one, I just mentioned this.
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When we are proclaiming the gospel, our proclamation should include a balance of law and grace.
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When we are proclaiming the gospel, it should include a balance of law and grace.
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And oftentimes what I find is people are imbalanced on one side or the other.
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Either they will be a person who gives all law, and thus they are preaching a works righteousness.
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Well, what you got to do to follow Jesus is you got to do this, and you got to do this, and you got to do this, and you got to do this, and you do that.
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And they establish all of these things that you have to do to be a follower of Jesus.
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Or a person comes in with only grace.
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And you know what happens when you give someone only grace? They don't understand why they need it.
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That's right.
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When a man is not convinced of his own unrighteousness, he will not seek a remedy.
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And when a man has presented grace without the need for grace, he will not appreciate it.
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Ray Comfort says it like this.
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He said, if a man walked up to you and he said, I paid your speeding ticket for you.
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You'd say, I didn't have a speeding ticket.
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What are you? What are you, a fool? I didn't do anything wrong.
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He said, but if a man walked up and said, look, earlier today you were caught on a camera speeding through an intersection, not stopping at the stop sign, going well above the posted limit, and you were a danger to yourself and the people around you.
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You've been caught, and you have a $5,000 fine, but I paid it for you.
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So everything changes then.
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No longer is the gracious act the foolish act, because you understand the context in which it's given.
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I know many preachers, again, who never preach the law.
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They never preach man's sin.
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And people go out and share the gospel, and they never mention the predicament that we are in.
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You need to trust in Jesus.
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Why? Because apart from Christ, your sins are an affront to a holy God.
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But I can't tell them that.
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That will offend them.
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It might.
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But know this, no man will reach for that which he believes he does not need.
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Let me say it again.
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No man will reach for that which he believes he does not need.
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And why would any man reach out for the grace of God if he didn't think he needed it? Beloved, Felix was a lost man, and Paul was telling him about righteousness and self-control, because those were the areas that he lacked so much.
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And he was telling him about judgment, because he was saying, Felix, on the day of judgment, you will fall short.
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You who have sat in the judge's seat, you who have men before you and have condemned them, will yourself be condemned.
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Felix, don't you know that you of all men need God's grace? And it is only found in Christ.
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Beloved, when we proclaim the gospel, it must be a balance of law and grace.
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Second point of application, maybe a little simpler point.
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Procrastination, and you all know what that is, right? If you don't, I introduce you to my children and myself.
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Procrastination is putting off, putting something off that you need to do now.
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Procrastination regarding the gospel is spiritual, spiritually deadly.
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We all understand the temptation to procrastination.
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We know something should be dealt with now, but in our desire to not have to face the issue, we put it off.
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And sometimes it means we lose opportunities or we miss out on blessings, and that happens often.
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But there is no more dangerous thing to procrastinate with than the gospel.
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People say, I know I need to seek the Lord, I know I need to seek the Lord, and I will someday.
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But then someday never comes.
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And then one day, death comes knocking, and it is too late.
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You know, death is relentless, and it's the ultimate statistic.
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Ten out of every ten die.
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It comes to the palace and to the dungeon, to the good and to the bad, to the old and to the young.
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Royal doors can't block its entrance, and wealth can't bribe it away.
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And when you put off coming to Christ, you are gambling with your soul that tomorrow I'll have another day.
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And I know I'm reformed.
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I know that ultimately God is sovereign, and He's the one who brings us in.
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But I look at it like this.
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On this side of heaven, I don't know who the elect are.
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And I'm going to call every one of you to repentance.
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I don't know who God is going to so choose to change your heart, but I'll tell you this.
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The sign above heaven says, whoever will may come, whoever will may come.
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And that's the way we have to consider it.
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Now, when you go on the other side, that same sign says predestined before the foundation of the world, just so you know.
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But when we're standing on this side, whoever will come, come.
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The Spirit and the Bride say, come.
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Revelation 21, come.
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And not tomorrow, and not next week, but come.
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Hebrews 3, today, if you hear His voice, do not harden your hearts as in the rebellion.
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There is only one sure time, and it is now.
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And as I said, I'm not simply trying to scare anyone.
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I'm appealing to you as an ambassador for Christ.
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As the Apostle Paul tells us, as an ambassador for Christ, we appeal to you, be reconciled to God.
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If you are here, and you remain away from God, I urge you, I plead with you, repent and believe the Gospel.
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Your sin deserves God's punishment, but He has provided a covering for the sin of everyone who believes.
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And He said, those who come to Me, I will in no way cast out.
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Father in Heaven, I thank you for your Word.
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I pray that today that it has been heard, and I pray that you would move on hearts to receive it.
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I pray that if there are those today that have been putting you off, that today might be the day that you would strike with the hammer of your Spirit on the stone of their heart, and break it to pieces, and give them a heart of flesh.
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I pray, Lord, that we would see a move of the Spirit, not for the sake of celebrating ourselves, but for the sake of knowing that, Lord, your Word tells us that there is rejoicing among the angels of Heaven, when even one sinner comes to repentance.
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So I pray, Lord, that today you might move on our hearts, and that we might see lives changed through the Gospel.
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In Jesus' name, Amen.
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Let's stand and sing.