Hitting The Target

Introduction

Acts 24:22–27 KJV 1900

22 And when Felix heard these things, having more perfect knowledge of that way, he deferred them, and said, When Lysias the chief captain shall come down, I will know the uttermost of your matter. 23 And he commanded a centurion to keep Paul, and to let him have liberty, and that he should forbid none of his acquaintance to minister or come unto him. 24 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. 25 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. 26 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. 27 But after two years Porcius Festus came into Felix’ room: and Felix, willing to shew the Jews a pleasure, left Paul bound.

To get some context of what we are reading here, Paul had just stood toe-to-toe with the council in Jerusalem with a “good conscience before God.” Many of the devout Jews hated Paul’s message because of its challenge to their orthodox system.

Thus, they had spread many slanderous rumors and accusations about Paul which caused the leaders to step in to investigate their claims. However, up to this point they could find nothing on Paul, because there was nothing to find.

Paul was guilty of nothing but preaching Christ, proclaiming Christ, presenting Christ, promoting Christ and pleasing Christ.

The council arranges for Paul to be sent to Caesarea to stand before Felix.

As Acts 24 unfolds, Annanias the high priest came down with Tertullus (ter-tul-lus) to inform “the governor against Paul.” Tertullus (ter-tul-lus) was the royal spokesman for the governor’s office.

Felix was the governor of the Roman province of Syria, which also included Judea. Through family connections and political manipulations, Felix was appointed governor. He was politically ambitious and morally bankrupt.

Felix was out to make a name for himself politically, and the apostle Paul would be a tremendous notch in his political belt. Paul is brought before Felix, and this is where we pickup our text today, we are reading of what happens next...

There are three things that I want to point out this morning that happened and preach on the thought of “Hitting The Target.”

I-A Sermon That Was Aimed

Acts 24:24–25 KJV 1900

24 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. 25 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.

We read here that after some time, Felix comes with his wife Drusilla, to hear Paul, and what was Paul going to do? He was going to preach! - Here’s some interesting facts concerning Drusilla...

Drusilla’s great-grandfather was the Herod that tried to kill the Lord Jesus—he ordered that all the male children up to two years old in Bethlehem be killed. (Matthew 2)

Her great uncle killed John the Baptist and mocked the Lord Jesus. (Luke 23:6–12)

Drusilla was the youngest daughter of Herod Agrippa I who was the king that had James murdered and who had Peter arrested and was about to kill Peter. (Acts 12:1–23)

I have already mentioned that Felix was morally bankrupt, he was a dirty politician, and now, we learn these facts about his wife, Drusilla, and I wanted to mentioned those things because when Paul gets an opportunity to speak before them, he preaches, and he didn’t pull any punches - he made a bee-line to the cross. He preached the gospel—the faith in Christ (v. 24)...

John Butler wrote, “There was absolutely no compromise in his message. Paul did not fear the one who had the keys to prison; he feared the One who had the keys to heaven.”

Hugh Latimer, the English Reformer, preached often before King Henry VIII. On one occasion Latimer offended the king with his bold message. So he was commanded to preach the following weekend and make an apology. On the next Sunday, after reading his text, Latimer addressed himself with these words:

“Hugh Latimer, dost thou know before whom thou art this day to speak? To the high and mighty monarch, the king’s most excellent majesty, who can take away thy life if thou offendest; therefore, take heed that thou speakest not a word that may displease; but then consider well, Hugh, dost thou not know from whence thou comest; upon whose message thou art sent? Even by the great and mighty God! Who is all-present, and who beholdeth all thy ways, and is able to cast thy soul in hell! Therefore, take care that thou deliverest thy message faithfully.”

Hugh Latimer then proceeded to give the same sermon he had preached the week before—this time with more fire and urgency!

That is the kind of preacher the Apostle Paul was! When opportunity knocks we need to take advantage of that opportunity.

Paul preached a three point sermon that day...

Acts 24:25 (KJV 1900)

25 And as he (Paul) reasoned of righteousness, temperance, and judgment to come...

He preached about righteousness.

Paul declared the righteous requirements of God—His perfect standard—which everyone has come short of! There was no righteousness and uprightness in character from Felix or Drusilla.

Romans 3:10 KJV 1900

10 As it is written, There is none righteous, no, not one:

When we talk with lost people they need to understand that God is holy and we are not—that He is righteous and we are sinners.

People no longer see themselves as sinful…We talk about mistakes, weaknesses, inherited tendencies, faults, and even errors; but we do not face up to the fact of sin. - we make all sorts of excuses…But a holy God demands righteousness, and He provides righteousness to those who trust in His only begotten son Jesus Christ!

We can never be saved by our own righteousness of good works. We can be saved only through Christ’s righteousness made available by His finished work of salvation on the cross.

He preached about temperance.

The word temperance is used four times in the New Testament. This word refers to having self-control…You know? Man can control almost everything but himself.

Here were Felix and Drusilla, prime illustrations of lack of self-control. She divorced her husband to become Felix’s third wife, and though a Jewess, she lived as though God had never given the Ten Commandments at Sinai. Felix was a morally bankrupt official who did not hesitate to lie, or even to murder, in order to get rid of his enemies and promote himself.

Self-control was something neither of them knew much about.

Paul was bringing a hard message to the governor and his wife.

He preached about judgment.

This was where he was bringing his message around third base and was closing in on home plate.

Faith in Christ concerns judgment to come.

If either ruler knew anything about a judgment before God, they apparently had never given much thought to the fact.

Felix was an unjust judge; now he was hearing that he must stand before God some day and give an account of his life and labor upon earth.

Hebrews 9:27 KJV 1900

27 And as it is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment:

We need to impress on the lost that life is short, death is sure, and judgment is coming!

John Phillips wrote, “What were a few fleeting years of sin and self-indulgence compared with the eternity of woe that awaited the unrepentant? The great white throne lay ahead. There was no escape, except by way of Calvary. They might be able to flout and manipulate, scorn or evade the judgment of men, but there awaited them the judgment of God. There remained the Supreme Court of the universe and Jesus, who must be faced—if not as Savior, then certainly as Judge.”

We have a sermon that was aimed! And then, we have...

II-A Man That Was Hit

Acts 24:25 (KJV 1900)

25 And as he reasoned of righteousness, temperance, and judgment to come, Felix trembled...

The Holy Spirit never misses! The sermon that was aimed hit Felix so hard that he trembled physically. It had such a spiritual impact that it affected Felix’s body. “Trembled” means literally that he was “alarmed and terrified.”

The Spirit of God brought conviction of sin, righteousness, and judgment. Many people respond differently when conviction comes on their lives—some respond in faith and repentance while others respond with fear and rejection.

Felix found himself on trial before the Lord and His messenger! He was found guilty in the court of heaven and conviction of his sin was upon his soul!

Roman leaders prided themselves in their ability to be indifferent and restrain their emotions under all circumstances, but a conviction from God gripped Felix’s heart, and he could not hide it. Paul had diagnosed the case and offered the remedy. It was up to Felix to receive it.

I think it’s important for us to see here that having an emotional experience at church is not what saves a person. Being under conviction is not salvation!

Felix trembled—he was hit, but he only trembled, he did not trust.

This leads us to the third point this morning and that is...

III-An Opportunity That Was Missed

Acts 24:25 (KJV 1900)

25 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.

Felix was under conviction and terrified, but he responded the wrong way - what did he do? He procrastinated…He put off for tomorrow what he could have and should have right then! When God is dealing with your soul it is then the time to get right—we should not procrastinate.

2 Corinthians 6:2 (KJV 1900)

2 (For he saith, I have heard thee in a time accepted, and in the day of salvation have I succoured (helped) thee: behold, now is the accepted time; behold, now is the day of salvation.)

Felix’s name means, “Happy;” but, he rejected the only pathway that leads to true happiness. He was interested in treasure, but he let go of the treasure of the gospel. He sat in judgment of Paul, but in reality Paul was sitting in judgment of him.

The governor’s mind was enlightened, his emotions were stirred, but his will would not yield. He tried to gain the world, but, as far as we know, he lost his soul. He procrastinated himself into hell.

Procrastination is one of Satan’s most effective tools to use on men and women!

The great expositor, Clarence MacArtney told a story about a meeting that took place in hell. Satan called his 4 leading demons together and commanded them to devise a plan that would keep more people from being saved.

One demon said, “I’ve got it! I’ll go to earth and tell people that there is no God.” Satan said, “It will never work. People can look all around them and see that there is a God.”

Another demon suggested, “I’ll go to earth and tell them there is no Heaven.” Satan replied, “Everybody knows that there is life after death and everyone wants to go to Heaven.”

A third demon suggested, “Let’s tell them there is no hell.” Satan said, “No, conscience tells them that their sins will be judged.” Finally, the last demon spoke up and said, “I’ve got it! I’ll go to earth and tell people that there is a God, there is a Heaven, and there is a hell, but there’s no hurry, because they have plenty of time.”

Apparently that lie has worked, because thousand upon thousand of people slide into hell everyday all because they were waiting, like Felix, for a more “convenient season.”

We see an opportunity that was missed...

Conclusion

The sermon was aimed, the target was hit, but the opportunity was missed...

He was going to be all that a mortal could be:

TOMORROW

No one would be kinder or braver than he:

TOMORROW.

A friend who was troubled and weary, he knew;

Who’d be glad of a lift, and he needed it too;

On him he would call and see what he could do:

TOMORROW.

But the fact is he died and faded from view,

And all that was left when living was through

Was a mountain of things he intended to do:

TOMORROW!

WHAT IF TOMORROW NEVER COMES!?

If you are here today, under the sound of my voice, and the Holy Spirit convicts your heart through the preaching of the truth of God’s Word, He wants to save you now, because tomorrow may not come.

The best time to trust Jesus Christ is—now!

And the best time to tell others the Good News of the Gospel is—now!