The Danger of Procrastination | Acts 24 | Pastor Keith

Please open your Bibles to the book of Acts, Acts 24, Acts 24.

We covered some of it Wednesday, but we're going to delve a

little deeper. The title of this morning's

message is The Danger of Procrastination.

So I nearly wasn't going to come today.

I wasn't sure whether I do this or not.

You know, I hung about the church grounds for a while, and

I'll go. I'll hang in.

Paul is under arrest in Caesarea.

He will remain in this location for two years as Felix, the only

person in the Roman Empire who once was a slave and got his

freedom and now is a Roman governor living in Caesarea.

Caesarea is kind of like the Netherlands city.

It's more like the City Beach of Israel.

It's a beautiful beach area. It was the harbour then at the

time, but Paul's in prison there.

But the Roman governments, governors, Pilot lived there.

Felix lived there. There is a large contingent of

Roman soldiers there. You will remember back in Acts

10, it was where the Centurion lived, the Italian band,

remember, and the Holy Spirit fell.

That's the location. Felix is now the Roman governor

over all of Israel. He's the go between between

Israel and Rome, Caesar, and he's playing a cat and mouse

game with the imprisoned apostle because he knows he's innocent.

He's heard from the religious leaders already.

They're going to come again. He's done no crime.

But because Paul's a Roman, Felix is trying to just placate

his position and the Jews trying to keep everyone at rest.

His wife is a Jew as well, Jewess.

But as he's playing this cat and mouse game with the apostle

Paul, Felix is playing a cat and mouse game with God.

Dangerous. So let's read from verse 10.

Then Paul, after the governor had nodded to him to speak.

Anton, as much as I know that you have been for many years a

judge of this nation, Paul is saying to Felix, I do the more

cheerfully answer for myself, because you may ascertain that

it is no more than 12 days since I went up to Jerusalem to

worship. And those who are accusing me

neither found me in the temple, disputing with anyone, nor

inciting the crowd. I didn't do any of that either

in the synagogue or in the city, nor can they prove the things

which they now accuse me. But this I confess to you,

according to the way, and that is the way is called followers

of Christ. They're called the Way, which

they call a sect. So I worship the God of my

Father's, believing all things which are written in the Law and

in the prophets. It's the fulfilment of Jewish

religion. He says I'm following the

Messiah prophesied in the Law and the prophets.

I'm still Jewish. That's the problem that seems to

be here. Because I've done this, I have

hope in God, which they themselves accept that there

will be a resurrection of the dead, both of the just and the

unjust. This being so, I myself always

strive to have a conscience without offence toward God and

men. Now, after many years, I came to

bring arms and offerings to my nation.

The collection that Paul brought to the church in Jerusalem, in

the midst of which some Jews from Asia, they were from

Turkey, found me purified. He was going through the the

rite of Nazarene neither with a mob nor with tumult.

They ought to have been here before you to object if they had

anything against me. These Jews that said I was doing

the wrong thing in the temple, where are they?

They're not here. It should be.

Or else let those who are here themselves say if they found any

wrongdoing. OK, speak up.

If I've actually done something wrong, prove it.

Where's the evidence? Well, I stood before the

council. That's the Sanhedrin.

Unless it is for this one statement, which I cried out

standing among them concerning the resurrection of the dead.

I am being judged by you this day.

Verse 22 when Felix heard these things, having more accurate

knowledge of the way Paul has told him all about Jesus than

Nazarene told him about him being resurrected.

So Felix now has a full picture of the gospel because Paul's

given it to him. He adjourned the proceedings and

said when Lyceus, that's the commander of the Roman centurion

who brought Paul to Caesarea, comes down, I'll make a decision

on your case. So he commanded the centurion to

keep Paul and let him have liberty and told him not to

forbid any of his friends to provide or visit for him.

So he's in prison after some days when Felix came with his

wife Drusilla, who was Jewish. So Felix is going to know all

about the Jewish religion. His wife's a Jewess.

She he's going to have full understanding of what Judaism is

and also the connection that Paul is making with this guy

Jesus being the Messiah that has been long for especially by

every Jewish woman. He said for Paul and heard him

concerning the faith in Christ. So Paul, tell me more about the

faith, your faith in Christ. So it's a testimony now, as he

reasoned. Paul reasoned about

righteousness, self control and the judgement to come notice

what happened. Felix was afraid and answered.

Go away for now. When I've convenient time, I'll

call you back. Meanwhile, he also hoped that

money would be given him by Paul that he might release him.

He wanted to get a bribe, therefore he sent for him more

often and converse with him. But after two years, two years,

this happened. Porsche's Festus succeeded Felix

and Felix wanted to do the Jews a favour, left Paul in prison.

Felix hears the gospel of Jesus Christ from Paul.

The word of God lands in Caesarea to the Roman governor,

and it pierces Felix like a gladius.

A gladius was the Roman sword 2 edged.

It jabs him in Hebrews 412. The Bible says for the Word of

God is quick, that is means it's alive, powerful, sharper than

any 2 edged sword, sharper than any gladius, piercing even to

the dividing asunder of soul, spirit, joints, marrow, and it

is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.

The new living puts it this way, for the Word of God is alive and

powerful, sharper than any 2 edged sword, cutting between

soul and spirit, between joint and marrow.

It exposes our innermost thoughts and desires.

Elsewhere in the Bible. It also tells us that the Word

of God is a powerful sword. Ephesians 617 Take the harm of

helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is

the word of God. Now when you or I or anyone

hears the word of God, what happens?

It penetrates our innermost being.

I want to encourage you, when you have the little kids and

you're doing your devotional with them and they're playing

and they're laughing and they're giggling as you know you're

trying to have a family devotion and it's always someone starts

laughing or does something funky and you go, this is, is this,

are they listening to anything? If you're reading the Word of

God, it's going in, by the way. Also, you may be visiting a

relative who's in a coma, in intensive care, unconscious,

unable. You can't communicate.

You read the Word of God. You know why?

Because it bypasses these and it goes into the very spirit of the

person who's there. They're still there, just that

they their body won't let them communicate back to you and go,

I know you're here. I know you're reading to me.

So I encourage you when you go and visit someone in hospital

and they're out read the word of God, thou hear, and it's a

blessed hope that we have that they'll respond.

And so when we hear the word of God, it penetrates our innermost

being. Bible tells us that it reveals

the rawness of our heart. That's why many times you come

to church and go I wasn't happy today.

Why aren't you happy? I don't know.

I just what he said. I don't know.

I don't know what he said, but I was didn't like waste back

didn't like what he said. I've even had had a person, this

young lady come up to us many years ago and she went off at

me. I went, well, what's you just

spoke about me, didn't you? Who told you what?

What? It just went off and I went

Actually, no. And I think it's rather, I don't

know, selfish and proud to think that we would only deal with one

person, that you're the only person that this was for and

they went away because you see what happens.

That's why sometimes people come and they never come again.

Because even as we read the word of God and we speak the word of

God, it goes bang, we get unsettled.

And we don't like being unsettled.

We like things being calm. We don't like people poking into

our lives, into our into the privacy of our hearts and minds,

our thoughts. That's not what I think.

That's not what I'm thinking. That's not who I am.

And we have this facade that we carry around with us very well.

We practise it. We grow and grow and grow and we

have this facade that's, you know, I'm good.

No, everything's good. How you going?

Good. Used to have a friend I used to

work with. Every time someone says how you

going, he says pretty terrible. And he just keep walking because

he always wanted to know. He said you watch this, there

you go, pretty terrible. And we just keep walking with

him and they would never turn around there because they'd oh,

that's good because people just respond.

They don't listen. They're just saying it.

And he would say pretty terrible all the time.

And now I said, oh, you're terrible.

What was the problem? No.

Oh, that's good. Yeah, see you again.

Paul stood before Felix unashamed of the gospel of Jesus

Christ, and he gives Felix the word of God direct.

Paul spoke of three powerful things direct to Felix's soul in

verse 25, and he reasoned, and I like the old King James, the way

I put it, he reasoned of righteousness, temperance,

judgement to come, righteousness.

What is righteousness? Righteousness is being right

with God. We only made righteous by the

blood of Christ. That's the only way we become

righteous. This table is a table and the

only people that can come there are sinners saved by grace.

It's this table is not for good people.

Good people don't take communion.

Good people tell I don't need communion.

I'm a good person. I give to the charities.

I do the right thing by my neighbours so they don't take

communion. Communion is for sinners.

Sinners have been forgiven who? Not yet.

I'm a Sinner. I I need Christ.

So that's what the table, it's a table of Thanksgiving where we

remember why we're here, why we can give thanks because of what

Christ did for us, righteousness being right with God.

Now this made the Roman governor Felix, who was a cruel man,

because when a slave came to the throne, man, he got his own

back. I've been a slave and so I've

been treated like a dog. Anyone comes to me, you're going

to get, you're going to get it like I had.

It's payback time. And he did.

He was an immoral man. This was his third wife and made

him look back over his life as Paul is speaking the word of God

about righteousness, his life, Felix life was staying with the

word as rapacity. It means greedy.

He was greedy. It was just for him.

It was it's one who lives by catching prey.

He's cunning. He's always shifty.

It's a life of ultimate cruelty. That was Felix.

He was the opposite to righteous temperance.

Temperance means a life of self control.

You see, when you get saved now God is in control.

You're no longer flying off the handle all the time.

You're no longer, you know, raging a raging idiot and doing

stupid things. Now you we're under the control

of the Holy Spirit and we walk in step with God.

Now it's been a change temperance.

But Felix, his life was one of wrong desires, no self control.

He had wicked passions. They dominated Felix's life.

It's the if it feels good, do it.

It's the Nike slogan, If it feels good, do it.

That's the opposite to temperance.

Judgement to come. Felix is married to the Jewess

Drusilla. They know there's judgement.

Jews know about judgement. This struck Felix to his core.

Because any man with any savvy knows, you know, at the end of

things, how I've lived, I'll face judgement.

A life that he knew that there was a great being that whom one

day he would have to stand accountable to.

You see, the gospel of Jesus Christ is the standard of divine

truth and truth is absolute. The world says, Oh no, there's

no things such things as absolute.

Yes there is jump off a building 10 storeys high.

Gravity is absolute. Romans 116 For I am not ashamed

of the gospel of Jesus Christ. It is the power of God unto

salvation. To everyone that believes, to

the Jew 1st and also to the Greek, for therein is the

righteousness of God revealed from faith to faith.

It's the truth as it is written. The just shall live by faith.

Humanity, mankind as a whole does not set the standard that

defines truth. And this is where people go,

well, I'm good with God, I'm OK. I used to think that before I

was saved. I mean, I, I grew up in a nice

family. You know, I went to Sunday

school when I was like, you know, I went to church and, you

know, I thought about God and thought I was right with God

until someone showed me the Bible.

I went, oh, I haven't done that. I didn't know I had to do that.

I didn't know I had to repent. I thought God and I were we were

OK. But no, we don't set the, the

standard. We don't worship God in our own

way. Can't your standard is no good

man's own conscience is not reliable to guide us.

The Bible tells us that Jeremiah 17/9.

The prophet says the heart that is our feelings, our emotions is

deceitful above all things desperately wicked.

Who can know it? Please deal with crimes of

passion people. You know when someone usually in

a marriage, someone kills someone in a marriage, who's the

first most likely person, the husband or the wife.

It's it's a it's but they're the ones that crime of passion.

The ones love them and then they kill them.

How quickly we can turn even King David man after God's own

heart said this Psalm 13923. He said to the Lord, Lord search

me, oh God, know my heart, try me and know my thoughts, see if

there'd be any wicked way in me and lead me in the way of

everlasting. One thing I realising even now

as I grow older in age and in my walk with God, there are times

when I come to myself and I go, man, I'm, I'm not pleasant, you

know, the way I've reacted, the something I've said and I go,

I'm disgusted with myself. Because you see, as I grow

closer, closer to the Lord, the more of myself is revealed by

the word of God and my walk with God and, and, and that's why we,

we had this constantly. I need to come to God and go, Oh

God, thank you for your mercy. It's what the Nazis cried out

and we went to Nuremberg, walked into the place where they had

the trial. I stood in the place where

Hitler stood and proclaimed the the Reich, the thousands,

hundreds of thousands of people gathered.

And then we went, as I said, to Nuremberg, to the courthouse.

Where the Nazis sat there and they were brought to judgement

for the crimes against humanity, the Nazis said we were just

doing what we were ordered no. And that's why it became known

as that statement, just doing what I was ordered to do, the

Nuremberg confession, because what you're doing was wrong, but

you just can't be. I wasn't.

There wasn't anything in it. That's the standard.

You see, humanity needs standards apart from our own.

They're called the 10 commandments.

They're written in stone. And the first of them says, you

are to love the Lord your God with all your heart, mind, soul

and strength. And it tells us about how to to,

to deal with one another, what we shouldn't do, how we should

live. They're the standards.

When Felix heard the gospel spoken by Paul, he's agreeing

with it and said, well, I hear what you're saying.

Let's stop talking now and I'll hear some more of this.

He heard it, but it did nothing. He didn't do anything about it.

James chapter 2 verse 19 James says you believe that there is

James 2:19

one God Oh yeah, many Australians see there is one

God. Yeah, you do.

Well, the devils also believe and tremble.

They tremble as well. Doesn't make them righteous.

Doesn't make them holy. You know, we have this funny

thing, You know, I've heard people when we try and be nice

to people, say, well, I was talking to someone about

something and they said they were spiritual.

And when I mentioned God, they said we have a fear of God and

it means nothing. But we're trying to kind of

like, I think they're Christian. No, you can sit in the church

and agree with all that is preached.

You can nod yes. Amen.

But it is what you do with the truth of the gospel, what you do

with it. James goes on to say.

I'll show you my faith by my life, by my works.

I'll show you my faith by my life.

God's truth, God's Word probed into Felix's soul, stabbed it.

When we sit under God's word, the truth of God probes into

hidden wounds of our spirit that need healing.

That's why we get upset, because we, we pack those things away.

We don't want to bring them out. They hurt too much.

I don't want to go back there. I, I, I, I've hidden that away.

No one needs to know about that. God says.

I know about it. When we hear God's word, like

Felix, the word tears the scab off the the callous scar is

removed and it reveals the raw tissue of who we are, and it

reveals this. We are all sinners lost.

That's what Christ came. Romans 323 says that all have

sinned and come short of the glory of God.

In this room, we're all guilty before God.

The difference is, if you sit here today, whether you've

accepted the pardon or not, if you haven't accepted the pardon,

you sit here still guilty before God.

God's arrow fired through the lips of his servant Paul to

Felix, empowered by his Holy Spirit and the sort of sword of

God, plunged into the sinful soul of Felix with the mighty

force that truth brings. That old saying, it's pretty

true. Truth hurts.

Truth hurts Felix. You're the man, you know the

things you've done, you're not righteous, you're not tempering,

you're going to be judged. You know that there will be

judgement awaiting you. Paul didn't say that to him.

He just gave the word of God. It's the word of God that does

it. Jesus said when the Holy Spirit

comes, what will he do? Convict.

When you sit here and you get that uncomfortable feeling,

there's a difference between condemnation and conviction.

Condemnation says you're useless, you're no good, you'll

never come up to anything. Conviction is yes, you're a

Sinner, but there's hope. Change Jesus is the answer.

There's hope. That's conviction.

Do you know the difference between conviction and

condemnation? No wonder it says Felix

trembled. He literally, physically

trembled. In Daniel chapter 5, The Last

Daniel 5 · chapter mention

Night of Life for a Man called Belshazzar, grandson of

Nebuchadnezzar, The writing appears on the wall.

Many, many tackle you fasten. You've been weighed and you've

been found wanting. Your life is short.

You've mocked the God that you're drinking wine and

celebrating in and of the vessels of the God that we that

are used by the Jews to worship back in Israel.

And you're you're making a mockery of the God in whose

hands your very breath sits, Daniel said.

It's said when Belshazzar saw the writing on the wall, the

word of God, the King's countenance changed.

Daniel 5, verse 6. His thoughts troubled him.

Daniel 5:6

He knows he's guilty. His knees knocked together.

It says that his hips dislocated.

Felix trembled, answered. Go your way for this time, Paul.

When I have a convenient season, I'll call you again.

Not now. Isn't that often the response

when we're trying to witness to someone?

And let's not talk about that now.

Convenient. The word convenient in the Greek

here means a fixed and definite time, a seasonable time, the

right time, a limited period of time.

What Felix did is he procrastinated.

He said let's talk about this another time at a more

convenient time, Paul, another date.

Felix is really uncomfortable as Paul is simply sharing his faith

in Christ. Remember, Paul hasn't come up

and said you, you, you, this, you're this.

He's just sharing the gospel. You see, the Word of God does

the convicting and terror flows now through Felix, every part

causing him to physically tremble.

This is the conviction, as I said, of the Spirit of God

through the Word of God penetrating into his soul.

Fear flows through his heart. He cuts off the exchange with

Paul sharply. Go away for this time.

Stop. Come back another time when it's

more convenient. I'll call for you.

You see, Paul had diagnosed Felix's heart and offered him

the remedy. What's the remedy?

He'd spoken of him. Jesus resurrected.

It was up to Felix to receive him.

You see, procrastination is the thief of time.

And time, as I've gotten older, I found, is probably the most

precious thing that you and I have.

We can talk about money and other sorts of things, but time,

when it's gone, it's gone. If you miss one child's

birthday, you can't go back to when they're six or seven or

four and you've missed it. You can't go back and get it

again. You can't recycle and go back

over and go, well, I should have been there that time, let's do

it again. You can't.

You can't do that. We can't go back.

Time is precious and procrastination is the great

thief of your time. One of these days is none of

these days. Procrastination is the thief of

souls. The Bible itself declares 2

Corinthians 6. Two, now is the acceptable time.

Behold, and it repeats. Now is the day of salvation.

Felix had a foolish attitude towards God, toward God's Word,

thinking that, well, let's talk about it at a later date.

That's very Australian, isn't it?

Yeah, I know, I know. You go to church, we'll talk

about it some other time, but let's not talk about it now.

We've got other things to do. It's very Australian, but God

says in Acts 1730, but it says God in time Pass winked at the

way that people lived. I covered it.

But then Acts 1730 goes on to say but now commands.

Notice but now commands. That's not a suggestion.

All men everywhere to repent all means all men where everywhere

to do what? To repent.

That's a command. Felix knew he was a Sinner, yet

he refused to break with his sins and obey the Lord.

He had a foolish attitude towards God's grace.

Take a step back from this for a moment and look at the scenario.

Is this Roman governor the greatest teacher on earth at the

time? Bible teacher there two years.

How gracious is God with Felix? I mean, you got the greatest

Bible teacher, expounder, one who's seen Christ himself coming

for you back and forth, back and forth.

Isn't God trying to save Felix the soul?

I think he is. You see, God is not willing.

The Bible says that any should perish, but that all should

come. How long suffering was God

toward this Roman? Yet Felix would not surrender.

Felix had no idea of another day's life to be lived.

He didn't know when he was going to live or die, yet he

procrastinated. Proverbs 27 One says, boast not

yourself of tomorrow, for you know not what a day may bring

forth. Isn't that true?

40 People who are alive today in West Australia will be dead by

tomorrow. 40 a day die. 40 alive today will be in the morgue by

tomorrow. Procrastinated or

procrastination, is a dangerous game to play.

It's Russian roulette with your soul.

Russian roulette for those you don't know.

You get a gun, put one bullet it, you spin it around and you

click, spin it again, click. How in contrast, do we see feel

as compared with perhaps the Philippian gaoler who also

trembled back in the book of Acts Acts 16 verse 27 earthquake

Acts 16:27

hits the prison doors are open. The keeper of the prison

awakened and have his sleep. Seeing the prison doors open, he

drew out his sword is going to kill himself.

Supposing that all the prisoners had fled, but Paul cried out

with a loud voice saying don't do yourself any harm.

We're all here, Paul, Silas. They've been singing at

midnight. Then he called for a light and

sprang in and came, came trembling.

So the gaoler comes in, he's trembling.

He falls down before God and Silas.

And he brought them out and said, sirs, what must I do to be

saved? There's the difference.

This is the choice that all humanity will face.

Procrastination will cause you great harm, Eternal damnation,

if you continue to defer and to defer, yet knowing the truth and

constantly rejecting it. The trouble is when I talk to

people about the gospel and they know what I'm saying is true and

they hear it and they go, I know what you're saying is true.

They've said that back, but they don't do anything about it.

It's dangerous. It's so dangerous.

The Bible writes about this that during the last days, when the

Antichrist, the world leader, takes position upon the throne,

Second Thessalonians chapter 2, verse 9, this man, the

2 Thessalonians 2:9

Antichrist, will come to do the work of Satan with counterfeit

power, signs and miracles. He will use every kind of evil

deception to fool those on their way to destruction because why

they refuse? It's a choice to love and accept

the truth. They know the truth that would

save them not interested. So God will cause them to be

greatly deceived and they will believe these lies.

Then they will be condemned for enjoying evil rather than

believing the truth. Choice.

The devil called a meeting, things weren't going well.

He's angry he got 5 fallen angels to come before him,

demons and he offered a prize with the winning suggestion how

to keep people from getting saved.

So the devil opened the meeting and said we need a new strategy

to keep people away from Christ. Knowing God the creator, Demon

one put his hand up. Simple, let's tell him there is

no God. That'll work.

The devil looked at him and then responded.

I'd be an idiot. People only have to look at the

wonders of creation, birth of a new child, glance up at the

heavens, see the stars, the sun, the moon, how the seasons come

and go. That won't work at all.

Demon 2 put his hand up. Well, how?

How about we tell them there's no such thing as evil?

Will that work? They can simply just believe as

they like. The devil responded.

That won't work either. They just have to look at the

world around them, watch the news, the broken lives

everywhere. I think again, Demon Three put

his hand up. What if we tell them churches

aren't relevant, that they're old fashioned, antiquated, out

of touch, and they just after their money and the devil

responded, They already think that that way anyway.

Don't need to do any more about that.

That's not new, Demon Four. Well, my suggestion is

foolproof. This will work.

Get the mortals addicted to TV. I can watch it until they just

fall asleep. Just waste their lives away.

Not bad, the devil responded, and they'll eventually lose

interest in TV. They might start to think for

themselves. I'll watch podcasts all the time

now. I do church in their own lounge

room, coffee in hand, but it's not enough.

I need something more better. And the last demon stumbled and

stammered. The devil shouted.

Speak up, you've got something to say.

I'm not sure, but what? What if we told them that they

have plenty of time and that there's no hurry?

The devil was silent for a moment, jumped to his feet and

shouted. Excellent prize is yours, now go

to it. And that's how it is.

We wait till we go to the funeral and then we hear those

words. They're down, up there, down

looking at us. They're now with sunset.

And we rattle off all the names of everyone that's died and

they're there. And it's so sad because of the

cross, says Heaven is not default for every person,

otherwise there'd be no cross. The reason that he came is that

there is no man comes under the Father, but by me I am the way,

the truth and the life. Alexander the Great was asked at

the age of 33 how he had conquered the world.

He replied by not delaying did it straight away.

Hebrews chapter 2 verse 3 says this.

Hebrews 2:3

How shall we escape if we neglect that's defer so great

salvation, which at the first began to be spoken by the Lord

the Word, and then was confirmed unto us by them that heard Him,

the apostles. Atheism has claimed its many,

many souls. Vice immorality claim many more,

but procrastination has claimed millions of lost souls.

Those who know the truth of the Gospel of Jesus Christ and yet

procrastinate on receiving it and obey are spoken of by Paul

in Romans chapter 1 and God says in Romans 118.

Romans 1 · chapter mention

But God shows his anger from heaven against all sinful,

wicked people who suppress the truth by their wickedness.

In other words, they know the truth, push it away, push it

away, push it away. They know the truth about God

because He has made it obvious to them forever since the world

was created. People have seen the earth and

sky through everything God made. They can clearly see his

invisible qualities, his eternal power and divine nature.

So they have no excuse for not knowing God when the second

resurrection occurs and they stand before Christ.

It's not a judgement, it's a sentencing and people go, well I

see God, I got a few things you want to say to him.

He won't say a word by book of Romans says you won't say a

word. You are not a word because you

know you are completely guilty as you stand before he who came

as a saviour. But now is your judge.

Have you been procrastinating? Are you now procrastinating?

You come, yet you've not surrendered.

You're walking in a dangerous path that grows more threatening

each day. For each day you procrastinate

is like taking a shot of religion in the arm, just enough

each time to keep you immune from the faith.

Felix had opportunity. Time after time, Paul's two

years of captivity, Felix had the chance to hear and obey the

gospel of Jesus Christ. Felix's procrastination over

those two years grew to be a powerful force within him.

At first, he trembled. He wasn't at the end of those

two years. For it binds those who hear the

gospel, reject it, know it's true, and yet its conviction is

set aside. In Exodus Chapter 7, verse 13,

Exodus 7:13

it says this. Pharaoh's heart, however,

remained hard. He still refused choice to

listen, just as the Lord had predicted.

You know Pharaoh had seven times that.

God gave Pharaoh the opportunity to surrender to the God of

Israel. Let my people go.

Each time Pharaoh rejected the offer, his heart hardened until

God said it. That's it.

In Exodus 7 three times, Exodus 81 time, Exodus 9 twice, and

Exodus 10 the last time in Hebrews chapter 3, the writer of

Hebrews 3 · chapter mention

Hebrews says, and we are God's house speaking to the church if

we keep our courage and remain confident in our hope in Christ.

That is why the Holy Spirit says today when you hear his voice,

don't harden your hearts as Israel did when they rebelled,

when they tested me in the wilderness.

Verse 12 of Hebrews says three says be careful.

Therefore, dear brothers and sisters, speaking to the church,

make sure that your own hearts are not evil and unbelieving.

Turning your way from the living God.

You must warn each other every day while it is still today, so

that none of you will be deceived by sin and hardened

against God. Procrastinate, For if we are

faithful to the end, trusting God as firmly as when we first

believed, we will share. And all that belongs to Christ.

Remember what it says today. And he repeats when you hear his

voice. Don't harden your hearts as

Israel did when they rebelled. Habitual procrastination, never

done that. How many jobs are in the house

are not quite finished? How many projects we we've

begun, we'll get to, you know, guy's going to do up a car, it's

in the garage still projects around the house.

We're going to reshape this and change that.

You see, habitual procrastination makes response

harder and harder as God convicts you, but you

continually ignore his conviction and you don't act

upon it. What happens is then the

conviction grows fainter, Not God on God's end, but on your

end, on your ability to receive it.

Your receptivism to this is a minimism until this scarcely at

all. Finally, a procrastinator

becomes familiar with evil, sin hardened, gospel hardened.

Paul warned us that this would come in the last days on Timothy

41. Now the Holy Spirit tells us

clearly that in the last times some will turn away from the

true faith. They will follow deceptive

spirits and teachings that come from demons.

You got time. These people are hypocrites and

liars and their consciences are dead, speaking lies in

hypocrisy, having their conscience seared with a hot

iron, procrastinated. Paul tells us that in the last

days some will abandoned the faith, follow false teachers,

their hearts so hardened now by putting off the truth, ignoring

it, that their hearts and conscience, that truth is

abandoned, their conscience is deadened.

Each time we procrastinate, the word seared means cauterised,

burnt. It creates the scar so there's

no longer sensitivity. Branded without feeling two men,

Paul and Felix 2 alternatives. We are all given death.

That means separation from God means hell, life eternal with

God, heaven. In Deuteronomy chapter 30, Moses

Deuteronomy 30 · chapter mention

makes his great proclamation, verse 19, he says, I call heaven

and earth to record this day against you, speaking to Israel,

that I have set before you life and death, choice, blessing, and

cursing. Therefore choose life, that both

you and your seed may live, that you May 1.

Love the Lord your God, and that you may obey his voice, 2 and

that you may cleave to him 3 for his life four and length of days

five. Felix the Apostle Paul, you and

I have been created in God's image.

We have minds to think with, hearts to feel with, and I will

to decide with. And God calls us to make right

decisions today, not tomorrow. We're not machines.

We can hear God's word, as did Felix.

We can learn God's will and decide today whether we're going

to obey it or disobey it. It's a choice.

Jesus said he that believes on the Son has everlasting life.

He that believes not the Son shall not see life, but the

wrath of God abides on him. Today.

Choose life. Perhaps you're already a

Christian, but you keep putting off God's call on your life to

serve Him. You know He's called you.

You know there are ministries that you could do that where you

could serve in that God is often impressed upon your heart, but

you keep putting them off. You get uncomfortable.

It's uncomfortable to leave your world and start to live in His

will completely. It means change.

You have all the excuses, that's why you procrastinate, and God

knows each and every one of them.

But you do not want to leave this world with jobs left

undone, regrets, lives left untouched before it's too late.

Will you finally stop today, putting off God's call on your

heart? You can't go back in time, You

can't go forward in time, but today you can surrender to God

fully. Let's pray, Father, as sure as

your words spoke to Felix, your word and you do not change.

And Father, wherever your sword has pierced souls today,

wherever you have delved deep, deep into our lives, I pray that

we do not respond like Felix and set aside your conviction to a

more convenient time. I pray, Lord, move by your Holy

Spirit amongst all gathered here today, that today is the day

they surrender and walk with you.

This we pray in Jesus name. Amen.

Just to know you.