Introduction to the book of Acts and the big idea of the message: there is no more convenient time than now to accept the gospel or to serve God faithfully because tomorrow is not guaranteed.

Introduction and Big Idea

Summary of the trial before Felix, including the accusers, false accusations, Paul's defense, and Felix's decision to wait for the Roman commander.

The Trial Before Felix

Paul's interaction with Felix, sharing his testimony, Felix's profile, and reasons for not releasing Paul.

Interaction with Felix

Exploration of the topics of righteousness, self-control, and judgment to come, emphasizing the need for understanding one's sinful condition and the importance of self-control and awareness of judgment.

Key Points: Righteousness, Self-Control, and Judgment

Felix's fear and response to Paul's message, emphasizing the importance of making a timely decision.

Felix's Fear and Judgment

Explanation of the great white throne judgment and the personal judgment, highlighting the significance of accountability before God.

Types of Judgment in the Bible

Discussion on Jesus Christ as the ultimate judge and the concept of the judgment seat of Christ for believers.

Jesus Christ as Judge

Elaboration on the judgment seat of Christ, emphasizing that it is a judgment onto commendation for believers.

Judgment Seat of Christ

Explanation of the judgment of commendation for believers and the assurance of salvation through Christ.

Judgment of Commendation

Encouragement to make timely decisions in response to the gospel and to prioritize spiritual goals.

Urgency of Decision-Making

Emphasis on the danger of delaying decisions related to faith and the call to respond to God's promptings without delay.

Avoiding Delayed Decisions

Encouragement to commit to serving God faithfully and to prioritize spiritual goals over personal desires.

Commitment to Faithfulness

- The speaker addresses online worshipers and discusses the book of Acts, chapter 24, focusing on the trial before Felix
- The big idea is that there is no more convenient time than now to accept the gospel or serve God faithfully, as tomorrow is not guaranteed
- The speaker provides context from chapters 21, 22, and 23, highlighting Paul's journey and encounters with opposition
- The message emphasizes the importance of sharing one's testimony and seizing opportunities to share the gospel
- The speaker draws parallels between Paul's experiences and those of Jesus Christ, emphasizing that all things work together for good according to Romans 8:28

- The speaker discusses the journey of believers in Christ and the idea that all things are working together for good
- The passage being examined involves Paul's trial and interaction with Felix, the governor
- Scene 1 involves false accusations against Paul by the high priest Ananias and Jewish elders
- Scene 2 involves Felix's curiosity about Paul's faith and his corrupt behavior
- Paul's fearless testimony to Felix and Drusilla is highlighted, despite the governor's corrupt nature and reluctance to release him from prison

- Paul spoke to the governor about righteousness, self-control, and judgment
- He emphasized the sinful nature of humans and the need for a savior
- Self-control was discussed as the root of all sins and a fruit of the spirit
- The topic of judgment was addressed, causing the governor to become afraid

- The speaker discusses how Felix was afraid when Paul talked about righteousness, self-control, and judgment
- There are different types of judgment in the Bible, including the great white throne judgment and the personal judgment
- Jesus Christ is the judge and believers will face the judgment seat of Christ for commendation, not condemnation
- The speaker encourages immediate decision-making when it comes to accepting the gospel and following God's call
- Delaying a decision about Jesus or God's call is deemed dangerous and there is no more convenient time than now to accept the gospel

The speaker asks the audience about their spiritual goals for the year and encourages them to prioritize seeking God's kingdom first. They also lead a prayer for those who want to give their life to Christ. The audience is urged to make a decision to serve God faithfully and not delay in following His word.

- The speaker discusses Acts 24, emphasizing the importance of accepting the gospel and serving God faithfully now
- Paul's trial before Felix is examined, highlighting his fearless testimony and the governor's reaction
- The message stresses the urgency of sharing the gospel and making immediate decisions for Christ
- The audience is encouraged to prioritize seeking God's kingdom and to make a decision to serve God faithfully without delay.

All right, good morning to our online worshipers as well.

So today we're going to be looking into the book of Acts, chapter 24.

So our title, just like we can see, is the trial before Felix.

So before I go into my big idea for today, Permit me to give this piece of advice.

I know Louis said he talked about my appearance, so please don't get distracted by my appearance.

And I will encourage you in the next half an hour, 30 minutes that we've got together, probably 30 minutes odd, please try as much as possible to pay attention and not to get distracted by whatever, your phone, side talks, you know, because I believe God is gonna minister to each and every 1 of us this morning in the name of Jesus.

I need a little more direction in your mic.

So please give me your listening ears this morning.

And if there is 1 thing that you're going to take home with you today, 1 thing from today's message is actually the big idea, right?

It says there is no more convenient time than now to accept the gospel or to serve God faithfully because tomorrow is not guaranteed.

So if that's the only thing you're gonna take home today, let it keep pondering in your heart.

If your heart misses a beat as the message goes along, or it could be even outside the church today, if you hear a message, a preaching, somebody speaking, and your heart misses a bit, I will encourage you, don't ignore it.

Don't delay making a decision because delay is dangerous.

Or let me put it in another way, if a message passes through your heart or it cuts through your heart, do not ignore it.

Take the necessary action without delaying.

We're gonna come back to that big idea as we go along as well.

So Ebru chapter 3 verse 15 says, remember what it says, Today when you hear his voice, do not add in your heart, as Israel did when they rebelled.

So before we start uncovering our message today, let's have a brief rewind back to chapter 21, 22, and 23 for some context.

That's gonna help us to lay some foundation for today's message.

So in chapter 21, so Paul traveled from Ephesus to Jerusalem after his third missionary journey, which happened to be his final journey.

And of course, on his way back, he had several stops.

And interestingly, there is no coincidence when it comes to the things of God.

That's 1 of the, it's part of the message that we're gonna be talking about today.

It's part of the passage that Marie read for us.

And that's the same place where he had his trial.

So there was this prophet, Agabus, who came from Judea to Caesarea at that particular point in time.

And he saw Paul's belt, and he tied it to his own hands and his feet.

And this is what he said, the Holy Spirit says, in this way the Jewish leaders in Jerusalem will bind the owner of this belt and we hand him over to the Gentiles.

And when he got there, he was attacked by an angry mob who wanted to kill him, all because of, simply because he was preaching the gospel, the good news of salvation, through faith in Jesus Christ.

So he was later arrested for his safety and chained by the Roman soldiers.

So in chapter 22, while he was arrested, before they were taking him to the barracks, so he pleaded with the commander, please let me address these people.

And that's where he shared his testimony.

We heard about sharing our testimony, our story.

And you never know who is gonna be blessed or whose life is gonna be transformed by your testimony.

That's why it's very important, right, for us to share our testimony.

Paul, Unashamedly and fearlessly, he told his story.

How he encountered Jesus on his way to Damascus.

And that's what, if you look at his story of Paul, all through, he always makes sure that any opportunity that comes up for him to share the gospel, he jumps at it, he grabs it, he doesn't waste time.

I remember, I even remember in the book of Acts chapter 17, when he got to Athens, right?

He walked around and looked around as well, and he found an object of worship where there was an inscription to an unknown God.

So on that note, this is the key takeaway for us.

Grab it when opportunities come your way to share the gospel.

You never know the impact that you're making on that person.

So this is where Paul stood before this Sanhedrin and a commander.

So before he was taken back to Baraks, after another great opera, right, and that's where Jesus Christ appeared to him and told him that he should take courage, that as he has testified about him in Jerusalem, that he's gonna do the same in Rome.

And last week we heard about God, the way maker, the promise keeper.

So I believe all the events, all the encounters that Paul had, it's all, it's all part of the plan of God.

It's just, it's God putting together the, you know, the jigsaw puzzles, making sure that everything aligns?

And I could see some similarities in the life of Paul and Jesus Christ, our Lord as well, right?

There was a plot to kill Jesus Christ in Matthew chapter 26 verse 3.

Just like we read again last week, Paul, Acts chapter 23, 11 to 12 to 13, there are about 12 to 23.

Jesus Christ also stood before the Cyandrine and the governor.

In both cases, there was no evidence to prove them guilty, but Jesus Christ was eventually crucified because Pontius Pilate ordered it.

Remember what Romans 8, 28 says, we know that all things work together for our good.

It may look as if things are not working the way we expect it.

It may look as if the journey is rough, the road is rough, but brothers and sisters, believers in Christ, all things are working together for our good, just like we also see in the case of Paul.

Let's say a short prayer before we continue.

Father, we want to thank you this morning for this great opportunity to come before you.

Father, I pray that the entrance of your word this morning will give us light and understanding.

And I pray that we all live here blessed in the name of Jesus.

Thank you, Lord, for in Jesus' name we pray.

All right, so moving on to today's passage.

We're gonna examine a couple of scenes in our text.

That was when Paul had an interaction with with Felix, the governor.

So that's gonna be my main focus today and that's where the big idea actually emanates from.

So there are actually 3 key players in scene 1.

Just like we normally have in today's court where we're gonna have the plaintiff, and we have the defendant, and there is a judge.

So that's exactly the similar situation here.

So in this case, the plaintiff or the accusers was the high priest Ananias and some Jewish elders, and they are represented by a man called Tutulos.

Right, so Ananias was the name, again coincidentally, if you remember in the book of Acts chapter 9, when Paul was on his way to Damascus and he got blinded.

The man that God sent to him for his healing, for him to receive his sight, his name was also Ananias.

So now, a different Ananias is coming up right here.

But on this case, he was accusing Paul because of him preaching the gospel.

So If you look at chapter, verse 2 of chapter 24, the way Tetulah presented his case before Felix, it's very obvious that he was just trying to make, Basically everything he said was false, lies upon lie.

He said, we have enjoyed a long period of peace under you and your foresight has brought about reforms in this nation.

And he went for that to say that everywhere and in every way, most excellent philics, we acknowledge this with profound gratitude, which again was totally false.

So they accused him for being a troublemaker, stirring up riots among the Jews all over the world.

And they claim that he was also a ringleader of a Nazarene sect.

Christianity is being referred to as Nazarene sect right here.

Again that gives it some kind of negative connotation.

And the last 1 they said he tried to desecrate the temple but all these accusations are baseless.

There are no evidence, there are nothing to prove that he did any of this.

He basically said they have no proof to the charges that they are making against him.

And the other thing he mentioned, he said there will be a resurrection of both the righteous and the wicked.

So right here he was trying to make a connection to the specific truth, trust he has in the resurrection of Jesus Christ, which was the foundation of everything that Paul believes on.

So Felix, who was, the Bible says, was well acquainted with the way.

By the way, the word the way, or the phrase the way, basically means that was what The Christians, right back in the days, right, that was the time they used for them.

The Christian movement, you know, the way people following, you know, is the way of life.

That's what Christianity is all about anyway, is the way of life.

So That's what they are regarded as back in the days.

So Felix actually had enough evidence before him to make a decision about Paul, but he didn't.

But he made an excuse that he's gonna wait for the Roman commander last to come, last year to come.

However, there are probably many other reasons why he didn't make a decision at that point in time, which we're gonna look into as well.

I believe Paul's defense probably triggered some curiosities in Felix, right?

Paul shared a bit of his story, his testimony, his belief during the defense.

He talked about the way, so again, remember, Never underestimate the power of testimony.

You never know the life that you're gonna be touching.

So his full name is actually Tiberius Claudius Felix, and he was a governor from AD 52 to probably AD 59 and 60.

So the way he actually achieved his citizenship was quite unique or different.

So his brother, his brother was called Pallas, he happened to be a good friend of the Emperor then, Emperor Claudius.

So he was able to secure his brother that opportunity.

And he also married to 3 princesses in his lifetime.

And Drusilla also happened to be the daughter of King Agrippa.

And just like I mentioned earlier on, Felix was a corrupt man.

He actually was expecting bribe from poor.

Not that alone, there was in history, that there was bloody massacre during his reign, during his period, and there was repression.

He actually ordered the killing of probably over thousands of Jews during his time, and he took their possession, their property, and he gave them to Roman people.

I'm gonna read the passage, chapter 24 from 24 to 26 again, before we now look into some of the key points for our big idea today.

So from 24, several days later, Phyllis came with his wife, Drusilla, who was Jewish.

He sent for Paul and listened to him as he spoke about faith in Christ Jesus.

As Paul talked about righteousness, self-control, and the judgment to come, Felix was afraid and said, there is enough, that's enough for now, you may leave.

When I find it convenient, I will send for you.

At the same time, he was hoping that Paul would offer him a bribe.

So he sent for him frequently and talked with him.

When 2 years had passed, Felix was succeeded by Paul Kiel's first wife.

But because Felix wanted to grant a favor to the Jews, he left Paul in prison.

In the passage, we could see a couple of reasons why he didn't actually also release Paul.

He was expecting bribe for him, and at the same time he wanted to grant favor to the Jews.

Again, remember, there is no more convenient time than now to accept the gospel or to serve God faithfully.

So there are what I call 3 point sermon from Paul to Felix and Drusilla.

Paul, he was actually a very fearless man.

The governor was somebody whose, basically his life was in the hand of the governor and here was Paul talking to the governor about probably 3 unpopular topics.

Righteousness, self-control, and judgment.

This is somebody who can make a decision whether he lives or dies.

So let's dive into those 3 topics, righteousness.

So why Did Paul talk about righteousness among many other topics that he could have chosen?

God evaluates and assess human conditions differently.

And Felix and Dusila needed to understand this.

Likewise, we all need to understand this, that the way God evaluates us, the way he assesses us is different.

So basically we can say we are messed up, if I'm allowed to use that term.

Surely I was sinful at birth, sinful from the time my mother conceived me.

Right from the moment that we are conceived from the womb, we become sinners.

And this is what Romans chapter 3 verse 10 says as well.

As it is written, there is no 1 righteous, not even 1.

And this is very important for Paul to lay that foundation.

And if you have to look at Old Testament, that was actually a very harsh statement.

This is what he says in Isaiah chapter 64 verse 6.

All of us have become like 1 who is unclean and all our righteous acts are like feeding rags.

All our righteous acts are like filthy rags.

So if we do not understand the depravity of our own souls, We'll never understand our need for a savior.

You need to know that yes, you're human as human, your condition, when your condition, your heart, is sinful.

Regardless of your good deeds, regardless of how perfect you may look, to people out there.

It's just like, you know, you have a medical problem and you go to see a doctor, right, before they can talk to you about the cure, there must be a diagnosis first.

So this was exactly what Paul was trying to do here.

He needed to talk to them about what the diagnosis is first, before they can know what the cure is.

So in this case, the diagnosis is actually that we are sinful, they are sinful, we are not righteous.

John 3, 16 says, For God so loved the world, and he gave his only begotten Son.

God loved us, even when we are sinful and deprived.

And that's why he sent his only begotten son to die for us.

The innocent and perfect son died for us.

He took upon himself our own unrighteousness and he gave us his righteousness.

So that's the only way you can be righteous.

So righteousness does not come by obeying the law.

God the Father in his providence decided that his only begotten son would take on the sins of the human race, and that anyone who put his faith in him, who put his trust in him, and the sacrifice that his son made, would be made righteous by faith in what Christ did.

So that's what righteousness is all about.

So basically Paul was telling Felix and his wife, you are not going to understand your need for Jesus until you understand that you are not right with God.

And the only way you can be made right with God is through faith in the righteous 1 who died for the sins of the whole world.

To understand Jesus first, To understand Jesus, you first need to understand and recognize and accept your sinful condition.

So we now went on to talk about self-control.

Again, why did we talk about self-control?

Perhaps maybe that's why he talked about self-control.

I actually, I strongly believe that's 1 of the reasons why I talked about self-control.

But before we go into that, I will give 2 reasons.

Number 1, I see self-control as the basis behind every sin.

The sin we commit today, it's because of lack of self-control.

Adultery, fornication, drunkenness, stealing, lying, name it.

We can put all sins under this category, self-control.

And of course, look at Paul and Drusilla.

They needed to hear a lesson on self-control, considering Drusilla, she was married.

However, Felix was able to lure her, or to seduce her, to leave her husband, and come to him.

And Felix was famous for immorality, name it, corruption, bribery, we've said it.

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