Lecture 7 There's Never Plenty of Time

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THERE’S NEVER PLENTY OF TIME I bet you didn’t know that there is a guy in the Bible named Felix. Marcus Antonius F-e-l-i-x, usually referred to simply as Felix. Interesting name. In Latin it means “lucky’ or “successful.” And on one hand the Felix you’ll find in Acts 24 certainly was. He was a freed slave, who in AD 52 became Procurator, think Governor, of Judea, which made him the first slave in history to become the Governor of a Roman Province. Felix was married three times, each time to a princess. The first was the granddaughter of Anthony and Cleopatra. The third, the daughter of Jewish King Agrippa, Drusilla was known for being a real hottie. To win her away from her husband, Felix employed the services of a Cyprian Magician by the name of Atomus. Not bad, in fact pretty successful, for a former slave. The first-century Roman historian Tacitus tells us that he was known for his savagery and for being unscrupulous.

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The reason we are talking about him this morning is because it was before Felix that Paul was tried after the Jews accused him of desecrating the Temple in Jerusalem. When Paul was being beaten by an angry mob, the Roman officials stopped the riot, and arrested Paul. When they discovered he was a Roman citizen, they sent him to Felix for protection and for further investigation. After several days had passed, Ananias, the high priest, some of the elders, and their legal counsel came to make their case against Paul to Felix. Bottom line: They charged him with sedition. Paul made his defense And Felix could see that Paul was not a political revolutionary, but wanting to avoid a confrontation with the high priest, he said he would consider these matters after the arresting commander had made his report. Something interesting happens afterwards. Acts 24.24-27: Several days later Felix 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, “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 two years had passed, Felix was succeeded by Porcius Festus …

Felix is recalled to Rome by Nero, and is thereafter lost to history.

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While Paul was in custody, Felix and his wife call for Paul to talk to him about what? Not about his defense. Felix had already decided that Paul was innocent. About what then? About spiritual matters. About Paul’s beliefs regarding the Messiah. And what did Paul tell them? Acts 24.24-25: … He spoke about faith in Christ Jesus. As Paul talked about righteousness, self-control and the judgment to come, Felix was afraid and said, “That’s enough for now! You may leave. When I find it convenient, I will send for you.” Felix has two reactions. The first is 1. Fear. Our translation says he was afraid. But the actual Greek word is better translated as “terrified.” Why afraid, why terrified? Because he realized that what Paul was saying might very well be true. You are not bothered, much less terrified, if you believe that what you are hearing is nothing more than mistaken myths and silly stories.

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You may be bemused that someone actually believes them. You may be irritated that someone is wasting your time with his fabricated fairy tales. But you react with fear only when you believe that what you’re hearing may in fact be true. Paul was preaching about righteousness and judgment. And Felix, in the language or past generations, was coming under conviction. Look at what Jesus had promised would occur after the Holy Spirit came into the world. John 16.8: And when he comes, he will convict the world of its sin, and of God’s righteousness, and of the coming judgment. The Spirit was convicting Felix in a powerful way. He was guilty of sin. He was not righteous. He was deserving of judgment. And he needed a Savior.

What Felix does next will determine his destiny in this world and in the world to come. His second reaction: 2. Procrastination. “Stop,” he says. “That’s enough.

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“We’ll talk more about these things later. When it’s more convenient for me.” Act on what Paul was telling him, and he would have to change his life. Give into the conviction of the Holy Spirit, and he could no longer be the brutal, lustful man he had become. And now’s not a good time, Felix decided; it’s not convenient at this moment for my life to be turned upside down and let God be in control. Maybe later. Maybe. What happens next is intriguing. Acts tells us that Felix sends for Paul and talks with him on many later occasions. But never again does it report that Felix came under conviction or felt terror over the peril that his soul was in. He had weathered the storm, never to be bothered by the Holy Spirit ever again. Ages ago, the tale is told, Satan called together the demons of hell to devise a plan that would destroy the human race. He asked his minions to put forth the greatest lie that, if propagated, would lead to humankind’s destruction. A repulsive creature stepped forward. “We should tell people that there is no heaven to live for.”

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Satan responded, “That will never work. There is good in the human heart and beauty, as well as eternity itself. They will never believe you.” Another creature, more vile than the first, spoke up. “Then let’s tell them that there is no hell to fear.” Again, Satan shook his head. “Inherent within the human soul is a belief in justice. The idea that evil will never be punished is more than they can bear. They won’t believe you either.” Then out of the shadows, came a most repulsive figure. In a quiet but firm voice he sneered, “We simply need to convince them that there is always plenty of time.” “Yes,” the devil roared. “Yes, that they will believe and that will destroy them.” There’s always plenty of time to get right with God, change your life, and make your relationships right. It’s not convenient now. But later, at another time it will be. And there will always be another time.

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There’s a problem with that kind of thinking. Tomorrow’s not promised to anyone. But that’s not the lesson Felix teaches us. He had many tomorrows left in his life. Numerous other occasions to hear Paul speak about sin and judgment and righteousness. What we learn from Felix is this: When God convicts you and you fight it off, it will be easier to fight if off the next time. And the time after that will be easier still, until the Holy Spirit can move on you and you feel nothing, no conviction, no twinge of conscience no need to change. Every time you resist the power of God, it’s like being inoculated. Every time you fight if off, you become less sensitive to the conviction of the Holy Spirit. Every time you refuse to change -every time you say, “Not now; maybe later when it’s more convenient,” you build up a resistance that makes it harder to hear the voice of God or feel his presence. And you will be able to read his word or hear it preached or have the Spirit God speak to your heart, and it won’t bother you, won’t convict you, won’t cause you to fear for the safety of your soul.

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The lesson we learn from Felix is that no matter how many days you have left, there’s never plenty of time to respond to the voice of God in your life. It’s now or it may be never. For the rest of our time I want to talk with you about some changes that you may need to make. And that you may need to make right now. Trust me, I’m talking to myself, as well. We preachers are not immune from temptation or from settling in and getting comfortable when we should be pressing on, taking risks, and doing the hard things that are required to become more like Christ. So, when I say I’m talking to myself, trust me, I am. It’s possible that while I’m speaking, the Holy Spirit will convict you of some change you need to make. I don’t have any intentions of being emotional or dramatic here, but it’s possible that you will be impressed with some action you need to take. Or it’s possible that the Spirit will give you one last chance to go back and make something right he spoke to you about long ago but you decided it wasn’t convenient.

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Five areas, maybe they will all apply to you. Maybe none will. But many of us will need to make some changes in at least one of these areas. First, I would encourage you to SEIZE THE MOMENT TO 1. MAKE YOUR RELATIONSHIPS RIGHT One of the constant themes of the New Testament is that being right with God means that we must strive to be right with others. True spirituality is not simply a vertical alignment, where we get our lives right with God.. True spirituality has a horizontal component where we get our lives, the best we can, right with others. Look what Jesus taught. Matthew 5.23: … If you are offering your gift at the altar and there remember that your brother has something against you, leave your gift there in front of the altar. First go and be reconciled to your brother; then come and offer your gift. It’s easy to have a problem in a relationship, a misunderstanding, or even real harm and to ignore it – push it under the rug so we don’t deal with it, but it’s always there affecting every interaction we have with the other person. Or we let it push up apart, create anger and do further damage.

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And that’s not healthy. Even if you decide you can live without that relationship being right, it’s never healthy. Not for you or the other person. If our relationships with other people are the most important part of our lives, other than our relationship with God, we have to do all we can, how did Jesus put it – “to be reconciled to your brother.” Here’s what usually happens when people come to see me about a problem they’re having with a relationship, more often than not, it’s a marriage. They take a few minutes and tell me how they know they’re not perfect, and then they launch into all the ways their spouse has wronged them, been unreasonable, and makes their life hell. I’ve talked with two spouses separately and it’s like ships passing in the night. Both admit to having done, maybe a little bit to create disharmony in their relationship, but the other one has been irrational and abusive. They come primarily to figure out how I can help them – get their spouse to change. And rarely to get help on how they can change. Look, your responsibility in your relationships whether it’s with a spouse, a parent, a sibling, a business associate or a friend, is to clean up your side of the street. There’s something more important than getting your way or getting someone else to treat you better. It’s getting your soul right.

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That means we look at ourselves: What have we said? What have we done? What damage have we inflicted? And then we try to make that right. Getting our relationships right often entails A. Apologizing Telling the other person, here’s what I did. I’m responsible and I’m sorry. Here’s a scene from Curb Your Enthusiasm when Larry David is convinced it would be advantageous to apologize even if he doesn’t think he needs to. By the way, this is an example of how not to apologize. Clip: Curb Your Enthusiasm We apologize because we’ve done wrong and we’re willing to own our stuff. Not begrudgingly or because it will help us get what we want. We do this not after the other person admits their part and not expecting the other person to apologize, even if he or she is more guilty than we are. I’m not responsible for his life. I’m responsible for my life. B. Making Amends

Our sins create wreckage in the lives of others. And the best we can, we need to make things right.

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Making amends begins with an apology to the person we harmed. We own what we did and we take responsibility. And then, the best we can, we make things right. Romans 13.8: Owe nothing to anyone – except for your obligation to love one another.

If we lied to someone, we owe him or her the truth. And if we lied about them to others, we owe them our telling the truth to others. If we stole, their money, their peace of mind, their reputation, we do our best to pay what we owe. If we neglected a wife or a child, we apologize for our selfishness, and we give time and attention in a way they will be able to receive. Whatever it is, we need to make things right. Making amends is important for two reasons: 1. Justice for the person we harmed demands it. 2. The integrity of our souls requires it. A moment ago I said that our sins create wreckage in the lives of others. But they also create wreckage in our lives and in our souls. You can be forgiven by God for what you did that was wrong, but the damage to your soul, often it means making amends to the person you harmed.

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Sometimes people will say, “Well, you don’t know him or her. It won’t do any good.” That’s not the point. The reason to do this is because it will do you good. “Well, we’ll just get into another fight. You won’t believe how unreasonable she is.” Ok, send a letter so she can react to your words instead of to the sight of you. And if she wants to fight and unload on you, listen, don’t defend yourself and say you’re sorry. This is about our taking care of our business, not how the other person responds, though often an apology and an attempt at amends is wonderfully healing for the other person. And often getting our relationships right means C. Forgiving Someone Who Hurt Us Forgiving someone who has hurt you can be incredibly difficult. But until you do, there will be a toxic mixture of anger and bitterness eating away at your soul. Ephesians 4.32: Instead, be kind to each other, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, just as God through Christ has forgiven you. There are many places in the New Testament, where we are told that forgiveness is a must for Christians. The Lord’s prayer, “forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us” is just one example.

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Forgiveness does not mean excusing what the person did, denying how badly we were hurt, or deciding we will get back into the same kind of relationship we had before. Forgiveness means letting go of our claim on the other person. It’s saying – you did me wrong, but I no longer require an apology or an explanation from you. I don’t need you to make amends. I let you go. I wish you well. Forgiving disloyalty and betrayal is never easy. But when you let the person who hurt you go, you discover that you’re the one who is free of the poison that has been harming your soul. We do not fix the pain in our hearts by fixing the person who put it there. We fix the pain in our hearts by forgiving the person who put it there. That’s the way out. Forgiveness is a spiritual decision that cancels the emotional debt someone owes us. The result is that our hearts are healed, our souls are cleansed, and our spirits are set free. Forgiveness is hard work. It”s often a process, sometimes done best with a counselor or a friend. But it’s always worth the effort. Getting our relationships right may not be easy or convenient. But it’s important. And we need to do it now.

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Second, I would tell you to Seize the Moment and 2. CHANGE HOW YOU USE YOUR TIME

All of us receive the same amount of time every year. 8760 hours. Seems like a lot. But, and I’m being conservative here: The average person will sleep about 2800 of those hours. Work and travel to work … hmm, say: 2400 hours. Eat: 500 hours. Bathe, dress and shave: 200 hours. Shop, pay bills and do household chores: 200 hours. That’s already 6100 hours – 70% of your life every year – and we haven’t even talked about getting the car serviced, going to the doctor, vacations with the family, playing poker or whatever your lame hobby is, and getting our hair done. ϑ If you have kids, there’s helping with homework, going to school productions, ball games, swim meets, band and choir concerts. Your time, your discretionary time, there’s not nearly as much of it as there seems to be. That means the time we have that we are absolutely free to control, is precious. It’s the time we have to develop our friendships and our marriage and to devote to our educational, physical, emotional and spiritual growth and health.

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And that means we need to be intentional about what we do with that time. It’s so easy to get into patterns in how we use our time that don’t serve us well. Messing around on the computer with no real purpose. Sitting down in front of the television set and two hours later wondering where the evening went. Viewing people’s updated status on Facebook that you haven’t seen in years, don’t really care about and will never speak to for the rest of your life. Two hours a day spent on the computer or watching TV, that’s 30 days out of the year. One month out of twelve will be spent looking at a screen that often adds little value to our lives if we that’s the habit, the pattern, we get into. So, here’s the question: Is your daily routine, the pattern of how you use your time – is it helping you grow or is it insuring that you stagnate? Are you reading good material – Christian or otherwise? Are you in a small group? Have you found a way to serve? Are you exercising? Do you want to grow as a person, spiritually and intellectually? If so, are the patterns of your life helping or hindering you from reaching those goals?

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My advice: Make a change. A change. You don’t have to change everything. But make one change with what you do with your time, exchange one time waster with something that will help you grow. Time is life – literally. Be wise in how you use it. Next, 3. CHANGE HOW YOU HANDLE YOUR STRESS Many of us are worriers by nature. And many of us are in very difficult situations that place us under great pressure and stress. And because we are men when we feel like we might not be good enough, might be inadequate, might not perform well, it strikes at our sense of self and that’s stressful. It’s crazy, but even after years of success, guys can be stressed out and anxious about not being enough or about failing to perform and somehow being exposed. Tom Hanks, winner of 2 Oscars, makes between 10 and 20 million dollars per movie. Here’s what he said in an NPR interview a couple of years ago.

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Tom Hanks: No matter what we've done, there comes a point where you think, 'How did I get here? When are they going to discover that I am, in fact, a fraud and take everything away from me? There are days when I know that 3 o'clock tomorrow afternoon I am going to have to deliver some degree of emotional goods, and if I can't do it, that means I'm going to have to fake it. If I fake it, that means they might catch me at faking it, and if they catch me at faking it, well, then it's just doomsday. Just for fun, let me show you an incredible piece of acting that takes place at the end of “Captain Phillips” when the character Tom Hanks plays has been rescued by Navy Seals after being taken hostage and terrorized by Somali pirates. Clip: Captain Phillips What’s amazing is that scene was not scripted or even planned. On the spur of the moment, they decided let’s use the ship’s real crew, and go through it like it might really happen. Lights, camera, Tom Hanks – give the performance of a lifetime. Go. And he does. Someone who can do that – does he need to worry about being seen as a fraud about not performing? But he does. And that’s stressful and stress is painful. And people will do almost anything to get out of pain.

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All that is to say, it’s when we are stressed and anxious and full of self-doubt that we often make big mistakes. And one of the mistakes we make is in how we try to relieve our stress. Some typical patterns are Drinking too much or becoming dependent on drugs, prescription or otherwise. Eating too much, or eating the wrong things, what we sometimes refer to as comfort food. Looking at pornography to change how we feel or to an affair. Spending money on foolish things. Sitting in front of the TV, shutting down emotionally, and becoming unavailable to our wives and children. What’s your pattern? For years, and I haven’t ever told y’all about this, to relieve my stress and anxiety, I used to drink wine. at night. Started with a glass or two and then it got to be much more than that. It became a crutch. Something I depended on. I tell people except that I drank too much, too often, and for the wrong reasons, it wasn’t a problem. But it was a problem. I felt guilty and ashamed. I felt like a hypocrite.

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It made me unavailable to my wife. And eventually it didn’t work. My anxiety only increased, along with depression. Over 18 years ago I decided that I would never drink again. I’ve had one glass of wine since that time. And only because I was bullied into it by a couple of octogenarian Italian Fascists. That’s actually a true story. If, by God’s grace, I had not changed that pattern, my marriage would be in trouble or over, and all that God has been kind enough to use me to do, including Quest, would have never happened. I was on a road to self-destruction. Not really because of stress but because of how I was handling it. I don’t know what God has in mind for you for the future, but he wants to use you for something important and good. And you will not be available to him if you handle your stress in ways that are destructive and inauthentic. There are better ways. 1. Prayer 2. Memorizing and contemplating God’s promises like the ones I provided for you last week 3. Talking to someone about what you’re going through 4. Exercising – find some form of exercise you enjoy and do it. 5. Serving others

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If you’ve gotten into a bad pattern with how you handle your stress, because I care about you, I need to tell you: change your pattern and change it today. If you need help, come see me. You’ll find only grace, understanding and encouragement. And you’ll find someone who cares enough to tell you, there’s not plenty of time to change how you handle your stress. The longer you wait, the more difficult and the less likely it will be for you to change. 4. BEGIN HAVING A DAILY TIME WITH GOD Short, here but important, if you’re not having a daily time with God, start. I get that reading the Bible can be difficult. It’s not the world’s easiest book. That’s why I have Jeff Wells’ book on the table that you can purchase today. Jeff is the senior pastor at Woodesdge; he was a friend of mine when we were at Rice together. His book is: The Great Verses, 365 Verses to Learn, to Love, to Live. There’s a verse and a brief devotional for each day of the year. It’s an easy way to start your day in touch with God. Read it, think about it and say a prayer based on it. 10 minutes max. But it will get your head right as you go out to face the world.

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Honestly, don’t you want to be able to say before you die that you were a man who met daily with his God? That can begin today. 5. ACCEPT CHRIST Back to where we began. When Felix heard Paul preach, the Holy Spirit convicted him that he was a sinner and he needed a Savior. And he understood that if he accepted Jesus, he would have to change. He would no longer be in charge of his life. Christ would be. He could no longer live for pleasure or position. He would have to live for God’s Kingdom. He would no longer be a free agent, but he would become God’s servant. From every indication, he believed what Paul was saying was true. That’s why he was afraid, terrified, in fact. Not willing to change, but not willing to admit that he would not live by the truth, he decided he would delay making a decision; he would wait until it was more convenient to accept Christ and change his life. Never again does he come under conviction, as far as we can tell. Never does he get right with God.

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And Felix, the lucky one, the successful slave who became a governor and married princesses, disappears from history and his legacy is nothing more than providing a lesson for others that procrastination is folly and that denying the voice of the Spirit in our lives leads to destruction. You are on this planet for a short time. It’s too short to play games with the truth or to put off life’s most important decision. If the Holy Spirit should speak to you in the future, or if he speaks to you now, there is never plenty of time to respond. The Bible says you were created to be in a relationship with God. It says you are guilty of sin. Romans 3.9,23: No one is righteous – not even one. … For everyone has sinned; we all fall short of God’s glorious standard.

Your sin has broken your relationship with God. Isaiah 59.2: Your iniquities have separated you and your God, and your sins have hidden his face from you.

The result of your sin will be death. Romans 6.23: The wages of sin is death. Pysical death in this world and eternal death in the world to come.

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God in his mercy has provided a substitute, an atoning sacrifice for your sins his only Son who lived a sinless life so he has no sin of his own to pay for. 2 Corinthians 5.21: For God made Christ, who never sinned, to be the offering for our sin, so that we could be made right with God through Christ.

And it is faith in him, not good works, not religions deeds, not a moral life that will make you right with him. Ephesians 2.8-9: For by grace are you saved through faith … It is the gift of God not by works. And your eternal destiny will be determined by whether or not you accept this gift by trusting in Christ as your Lord and Savior. Why I entered the ministry.