The Word Made Plain

Guest (Male): Welcome to the Word Made Plain with Senior Pastor Tony Clark of Calvary Chapel Newport News in Virginia. Currently, Pastor Tony is teaching a study in the book of Acts. Please open your Bible to Acts chapter 24 verses 22 through 27.

Tony Clark: God bless you. Welcome to Calvary Chapel. We are thrilled to have you here with us to worship our Lord and to study the Word of God. And then we're going to talk about how to have a biblical response when it comes to elections. Many of y'all are going to be all in y'all's feelings. I'm going to bring you back down and get your head right.

We just want to get our heads right and make sure that we're responding in a biblical fashion, and that is my heart's desire to do just that. All right, let's dive into the Word of God together. Turn with me in your Bibles to the book of Acts chapter 24. We're going to be looking at verses 22 to 27 as we continue our verse-by-verse study through the book of Acts.

I am looking forward to within the next couple of weeks or so to get back to going through the Old Testament in the book of 1 Samuel. I am looking forward to that as well, and I believe God has a word for us today. Father, we pray that we would have ears to hear that word today, that You'll remove any distractions from us, oh God, that we might be able to receive with meekness the implanted word which is able to save our souls.

So God, I pray for these Your people here, those who are watching online. I pray that You would touch them as well with Your word. Lord, don't allow anything to hinder us from hearing Your word and doing Your word. In Jesus' name. Amen. Acts chapter 24, looking at verses 22 to 27. The title of this message is "The Nation of Procrastination." The Nation of Procrastination.

Now, I Googled the greatest nations in the world, and it listed the obvious ones: America, Canada, France, and Germany. But what shocked me was that Switzerland was listed as the number one best country to live in for the fourth year in a row. I say this is not right. Switzerland isn't the greatest nation. The greatest nation is procrastination.

That is the greatest nation. Procrastination is defined as the action of delaying or postponing something. We will be introduced to someone who is going to procrastinate after hearing the truths of Christianity. You will have to ask yourself whether you're procrastinating concerning things in your spiritual life, concerning your spiritual condition, concerning getting right with God.

I tell you, this pandemic has knocked everybody off kilter concerning their spiritual walk with God. There's no one who can say, "Well, during the pandemic, I've actually grown closer to God." I don't believe that. I've talked to pastors who have all struggled. So we have to ask ourselves: are we going to continue to procrastinate concerning our spiritual condition with God, concerning getting things right with God? This is what this message is going to be focusing on.

Now by way of background, in verses 10 through 21, we saw how Paul was brought before the Roman governor Felix. Ananias the high priest and the elders brought with them this hotshot lawyer named Tertullus to finally close the case on Paul. When it was time for Paul to speak up, he didn't even have a defense attorney because he was so sure that the case against him was bogus.

He answered each of the three accusations against him that left his accusers speechless. Now it's time for Felix to speak. He's heard both sides of the issue. He heard both Tertullus give his case and he heard Paul. Now it's time for Felix to speak. Look at verses 22 and 23. "But when Felix heard these things, having a more accurate knowledge of the Way, he adjourned the proceedings and said, 'When Lysias the commander comes down, I will make a decision on your case.'"

"So he commanded the centurion to keep Paul and to let him have liberty, and told him not to forbid any of his friends to provide for or visit him." After Felix heard Paul's side, I love it how Luke, the author, puts in verse 22 how Felix had a more accurate knowledge of the Way. This is probably through his wife Drusilla, who was Jewish according to verse 24.

No one at this time could claim ignorance of Christianity because by this time it had grown rapidly into the thousands. Perhaps even hundreds of thousands of people were brought to faith in Jesus Christ. Surely a group this size would alert the Roman authorities of its existence. Felix did have a more accurate knowledge of the Way.

According to verse 22, he adjourned the proceedings. The Greek word for adjourn is *anaballo*, and it was a legal term for dismissing a hearing. Felix could have made his decision on the case right then and there, but he knew that this could cause some unrest with the religious leaders that he was trying to impress. He delayed by saying that he would wait until Lysias the commander came down, then he would make his decision on the case.

Now, this wasn't true because Claudius Lysias already told him in a letter that he thought Paul was innocent in Acts 23 and verse 29. Felix used this excuse to stall on making a decision. Let me pause right here and say that there are many people who are pausing from making a decision concerning your spiritual walk and where you are spiritually with the Lord.

This is a part of the procrastination that I'm going to get into later on. There's always a pause: "Okay, I'm going to start reading my Bible in January." Now, here we are towards the end of the year and you still haven't picked it up. "Well, I promise I'm going to read through the New Testament by this day," or "I'm going to read through a book of the Bible this day," and there's always a delay in making that particular decision. It's part of the symptoms of procrastination.

We'll get more into that in a minute. According to verse 23, Felix told the centurion to keep Paul in custody but let him have liberty for the purpose of allowing his friends to take care of his needs. According to Acts 21 verses 8 through 14, Paul had a lot of friends in Caesarea, including Philip the evangelist. They were allowed to visit Paul, which also shows that Felix believed that Paul was innocent as well.

He didn't want to make trouble with the religious leaders. As we can see here, Felix knew a lot about Christianity and its teachings, but knowing about a subject doesn't equate to embracing that subject. In other words, knowing about the Bible doesn't equal to embracing and accepting what it says. It's one thing to know about Jesus, but it's totally a different thing to accept Him as Lord and Savior.

I'm reminded of in the Gospels, in Mark chapter 12 and verse 34, one of the scribes—scribes were considered experts in the law of Moses—asked Jesus what were the two greatest commandments. After Jesus told him to love God and to love people, he responded to Jesus by saying, "You have spoken well. To love God with everything within us and to love our neighbor as ourselves is more than all of the Old Testament burnt offerings and sacrifices."

Listen to what Jesus said. Jesus answered, "You are not far from the kingdom of God." Notice that He didn't say, "Great answer. You're in the kingdom of God because of your knowledge of God." No, He said, "You're not far from the kingdom of God." On another occasion in John chapter 13 and verse 17, for you note-takers, Jesus told His disciples, "It is one thing to know these things, but blessed are you if you do them."

James 1:22: "Be doers of the word and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves." Oh, please, dear people, don't miss this, especially online, don't miss this. We can deceive ourselves if we think that we are okay with God because we may come here to church, and especially online, and hear God's word taught and even embrace the teaching but don't obey what you hear. This is the condition of the Governor Felix's heart.

He had a more accurate knowledge of the Way, but it never moved him to embrace Christianity. Luke 12 and verse 48 is a powerful verse. He said, "To whom much is given, much more will be required. And to whom much has been committed, of him they will ask the more." We will be judged by and accountable to God by how much we know about Him and His word.

Not only what we know about Him intellectually, but how much of it that we lived out. John Maxwell talked about in one of his books. He said as Christians, we're already educated far beyond our level of obedience. Meaning that there are people who know a whole lot about the Bible, but they don't live up to that knowledge that they know of the Bible. So he said we're educated far beyond our level of obedience.

Felix will be judged harsher by having a more accurate knowledge of the Way. What about us? We too, especially here in America, will be held accountable for the knowledge we have about God and the Bible. Nowadays, it was understandable earlier on. No one could go to church. We just said, "Okay, all right, we just got to do what we got to do." But now churches are open. We don't have any excuse now, not a legitimate one.

Here it is: we're going to be held more accountable here in America. Churches are on every corner. We got TV, we got radio, we got Christians talking. America will be held more accountable for the knowledge we have about God and the Bible. Those of us who have a more accurate knowledge of the Way will be held to a higher standard. This is why James 3:1 says, "Let not many of you become teachers, knowing that you shall receive the stricter judgment."

So too it is with Felix. Look what he says there in verse 24. "And after some days, when Felix came with his wife Drusilla, who was—" I was going to say parliament funkadelic, but—Bootsy—I digress. Whenever I see Drusilla, I just think Bootsy. I digress. "And after some days when Felix came with his wife Drusilla, who was Jewish, he sent for Paul and heard him concerning the faith in Christ."

It is obvious that Paul left an impression on Felix because according to this verse, some days later Felix, this time with his wife Drusilla, sent for him and heard him concerning the faith in Christ. Now Drusilla was a very interesting young lady. I say young lady because she was approximately 16 years old when she became the third wife of Felix.

His first wife was the granddaughter of Marc Antony and Cleopatra. Felix and Drusilla had a son who was killed in the eruption of Mount Vesuvius on August 24, AD 79. You've heard of Pompeii? Her son was killed in that particular eruption. From manuscripts, it is believed that it was Drusilla who really wanted to hear more about Christianity, being Jewish like verse 24 says.

She urges her husband to meet with Paul. It is believed that Felix, struck by her renowned beauty, used a magician to lure Drusilla from her first husband, the king of Emesa, which was located in Syria. I debated whether to even mention this or not. She was known for her incredible beauty, even at 16 years old. Incredible beauty. Ladies, men will go after what they want.

He used some magician to lure her away. No doubt men were after her because of her incredible beauty. Ladies, men can get caught up, and you can use that incredible beauty that you have and your physical characteristics to lure any man away from his wife. Men, we have to be careful because of our power of persuasion with our words, and we can lure some woman away from her husband.

Women love to hear how they look. They love to hear how they're perceived. They love to hear good things about them. If you get some slick-talking brother or something, I'm telling you, he can lure you, it doesn't matter who you are. This woman, other manuscripts talked about how she knew her beauty and how men came after her because of that.

Just be very careful because no matter how strong you think you are, men, our weakness, our kryptonite, is women. You can think you are all that and a bag of chips, but I'm just going to tell you: are you stronger than David? David was a man after God's own heart. Show me anybody else in the Bible that that was said about. David was the man.

"Well, Pastor Tony, I don't have to worry about that. I'm old now." David was 50 years old when he committed adultery with Bathsheba. "Well, I'm strong, Pastor Tony." So was Samson. See, Satan will always raise up a Delilah. He will always raise up a Bathsheba. He will always do that because he knows us. He's been at this thing for 6,000 years. He knows humankind.

We have to be very careful, ladies, how you accentuate your physical beauty because it can be a stumbling block. Now I'm not saying you got to go around with a potato sack on and looking like a hot mess. You can't help your beauty. But all I'm saying is just be very careful that you don't use that power that you have. There's a power that women have over men.

Guys, especially for those of you who have the gift of gab, don't use that to flatter a woman. A woman loves to hear how she looks. Y'all just got it bad when it comes to that. Y'all love it. It's like you heard the heavenly choir sing if someone says, "It looks like you lost weight." It's like you went to heaven for that moment. Losing weight, it's like you won the lottery.

Y'all just got that bad. Men, we just don't care. "So what? You're not a teenager anymore. So what you gained some L-Bs? So what? Like me, you got the COVID-19 pounds. Okay, so what? We don't care." You're depressed. "What's wrong with you?" "Oh, I gained all this weight and I just been feeling bad." Us men, we're just like, "Oh, we're so over that." We love you the way you are.

Some guys fool around and go like, "You going to eat that? Put on a couple of L-Bs there." That's something you never say, men. You're a terrible human being if you're saying stuff like that to your wife. We just got to be careful. Drusilla was a very beautiful woman and she knew how to use that beauty in a negative way. Look at verse 25.

"Now as he reasoned about righteousness, self-control, and judgment to come, Felix was afraid and answered, 'Go away for now; when I have a convenient time I will call for you.'" I want you to notice the aspects of the faith in Christ that Paul reasoned with them about. The Greek word for reasoned is *dialegomai*. It's where we get our English word "dialogue" from.

It means a discussion, a dialogue. It wasn't a sermon. He had a discussion with them about the Christian faith. A back-and-forth, a give-and-take, a Q and A about the Christian faith. When was the last time you reasoned with someone about the Christian faith? 1 Peter 3:15 says, "But sanctify the Lord God in your heart and always be ready to give every man an answer the reason of the hope that lies within you with meekness and fear."

This is what Paul was doing. Felix and Drusilla asked Paul for a reason of the hope of Christianity, and he had a dialogue with them. Are you ready to do this with those around you? What if at the job, and you're keeping social distancing, and you've got that mask on, and someone says, "You know what? I remember before the Rona you saying something about Christ. Tell me a little bit more about that."

Are you ready to reason with them, have a back-and-forth? So many people don't reason with people about the faith because they're afraid that they may ask something that they can't give an answer to. Just say, "You know what? That was a good one. Okay, I'm going to go get that answer and get back with you tomorrow's break." Or do you just not want to look stupid?

So now it's about you and how you look? I thought it was about Christ. We're not going to know all the answers. There's 31,102 verses in the Bible, or 31,173 depending upon what version you look at. 1,189 chapters. You're not going to know it all. You just keep reading, keep studying, and just say, "Okay, I'm going to get back with you tomorrow," and you go and get that answer and get back with them.

When was the last time you reasoned with someone? This is why we have evangelism classes, we had foundation classes, all this before the Rona. We try to do it online, but folks fool around. We're offering this stuff; you still got to take it. Every fourth Thursday of the month, Colonel Mason is taking a whole group of folks, and they're just going out on the street around our neighborhood right here.

Every time they go out, they are leading folks to Christ. They're talking to atheists, Muslims—you name it—agnostics. They're talking to all kind of folks, but because they know how to talk to people about the faith, they're leading these folks to Christ all the time, praying with folks. Now, God willing, November, they won't be doing it on the fourth because folks will be filling up on turkey fourth Thursday of the month, but they're going to do it on the third Thursday.

You can just go out and just see what they're doing, see how they do it. They're not going to go like, "Oh, we got a newbie here! Let's put them out there! Throw them to the wolves!" No, you can just listen to what they're saying, pray as they're talking. It's a great thing to do. But you need to know how to dialogue with people about the Christian faith.

What aspects of Christianity did Paul reason with them about? Notice the second part of verse 25. He says righteousness, self-control, and judgment to come. Now, this is the same thing Jesus said the Holy Spirit would come into the world to do in John 16 and verse 8 when He says, "And when He—" referring to the Holy Spirit—"has come, He will convict the world of sin, of righteousness, and of judgment."

Christianity is more than just some theological views and cute catchphrases—too blessed to be stressed and all these kind of little catchphrases. Christianity is more than just cute catchphrases and some theological views. Christianity confronts our lives and the way we're living them. Paul probably told them what he would later tell the Corinthian believers in 2 Corinthians 5:21. He says, "For He made Him who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him."

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