Sidebar ("On Trial" series pt 4 )

We're continuing our study here at Cross Connection in the book of Acts. We are in Acts chapter 24, in a series called "On Trial." The Apostle Paul, in this passage, is sitting before the governor of Rome and Judea and his wife. There are some challenging things that we can learn and be encouraged by from this passage. So, open your Bible to Acts 24 and join us. God bless.

With that, would you open your Bibles to the book of Acts? Let's stand together. In fact, Acts chapter 24. Unlike many pastors, I'm not going to do a special Mother's Day passage or message today; we are going to continue in Acts 24. If you don't have a Bible, you can raise your hand, and one of our ushers will gladly bring you one. Acts 24 is where we are, where we left off last time. We are going to read a passage that we read last time and then go into the next section.

So, beginning at verse 10, Acts 24:10, we read: "Then Paul, after the governor had nodded to him to speak, answered, 'Inasmuch as I know that you have been for many years a judge of this nation, I do more cheerfully answer for myself, because you may ascertain that it was no more than twelve days since I went up to Jerusalem to worship. They neither found me in the temple disputing with anyone nor inciting a crowd, either in the synagogues or in the city. Nor can they prove the things which they now accuse me of. But this I confess, that according to the way which they call a sect, so I worship the God of my fathers, believing all things that are written in the Law and the Prophets. 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 offense toward God and men.

Now, after many years, I came up to bring alms and offerings to my nation, in the midst of which some of the Jews of Asia found me purified in the temple, neither with a mob nor with tumult. They ought to have been here before you to object if they had anything against me, or else those who are here themselves say if they found any wrongdoing in me while I stood before the council, 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.'

But when Felix, the governor, heard these things, having a more accurate knowledge..."

Of the way he adjourned the proceedings, he said, "When Lysias, the commander there in Jerusalem, comes down, I will make a decision on your case." He commanded the centurion to keep Paul and to let him have liberty. He told him not to forbid any of his friends to provide for him or visit him.

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. As Paul reasoned about righteousness, self-control, and the judgment to come, Felix was afraid. He answered, "Go away for now; when I have a convenient time, I'll call for you." Meanwhile, he also hoped that money would be given to him by Paul so that he might release him. Therefore, he sent for him more often and conversed with him.

After two years, Festus succeeded Felix. Felix, wanting to do the Jews a favor, left Paul bound.

Lord, as we stand here today, we ask that you would direct us, just as Jesus promised that you would. Give us the Spirit of Truth, who would guide us in all truth and teach us all things. Lord, we accept that your word is useful; it is useful for doctrine, for correction, for instruction in righteousness, that we, who are your people, would be ready for good works, the good things that you prepared beforehand that we should walk in.

So, God, as we stand here today and as we sit to study your word in a moment, would you, by your Spirit and by your living Word, transform us? Lord, make it possible for us to be bright, shining lights in a dark world as we go about our week this week. We ask this in Jesus' name, and all God's people agreed, saying, "Amen."

Amen. You can be seated.

But when Felix heard these things, the testimony that Paul now brings and gives before him there in Caesarea in about the year 58 AD, after hearing from the Jewish leaders, the high priest, and the Sanhedrin, from their chief counsel, a very good orator, after he hears from them and hears from Paul, it says he had a more...

Accurate knowledge of the way led Felix to adjourn the proceedings. He stated that when Lysias, the commander, comes down, he will make a decision on Paul's case. In verse 14, as Paul was giving his declaration before Governor Felix, he acknowledged and even confessed. In a courtroom scenario, when the defendant stands up and says, "I confess," you can be certain that everybody in the room is wondering what he is going to say. Paul said, "I confess that according to the way, which they call a sect in Judaism, I worship the God of my fathers."

Many early Christians, especially in Judea, acknowledged or at least professed that they were followers of the way. We believe that this was connected to the words Jesus spoke in John 14:6 when He said to His disciples, "I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father but by Me." The Jewish individuals of the city of Jerusalem and the region of Judea labeled them "Nazarenes," saying they were followers of Jesus of Nazareth. Yet Paul and other apostles, other followers of Jesus, identified themselves as followers of the way.

Felix, upon hearing this, had a more accurate knowledge of the way and decided to adjourn the proceedings. This raises some interesting questions. How did Felix, this Roman man, come to have such knowledge? History tells us he was a Roman freedman, which means he was formerly a slave. Somehow, due to something he did, he and his twin brother were freed. Not only were they freed, but they were also given a position; perhaps as slaves, they served in some capacity within the Roman Empire. They earned a name for themselves to the point that Felix was set free and changed his name. His name was not originally Felix, but here this Roman former slave, now set free, becomes the governor of the region of Judea.

This is a pretty phenomenal story, if you ask me. He changed his name to Felix and began serving as governor in about AD 52, continuing until around AD 58 to 60. Historians do not know for certain, but here this Roman former slave had an accurate knowledge of the way.

Felix had an accurate knowledge of these things having to do with Jesus of Nazareth and those who followed Him, saying, "We are followers of the Way." The New Living Translation translates it this way: Felix, who was quite familiar with the Way. You wonder how this Roman former slave, now governor of Judea, became quite familiar with the Way. Somehow, in some way, he knew a substantial amount about the things of Jesus of Nazareth and about the followers of Jesus.

Maybe it had something to do with his wife, Drusilla, who we are told in this passage was a Jewish woman. History has some interesting things to say about Felix and Drusilla, which we will consider as we go through the text today. One of the key things we can note about Drusilla, who at this point in time was in her early twenties, is that she was the daughter of King Herod Agrippa I.

Now, that may not seem like much to you if you're not a student of the Bible, but King Herod is someone we know much about. In fact, there were many King Herods; the family of Herod continued to rule in Judea for a very long time. Drusilla was the daughter of King Herod Agrippa I, who is mentioned in the Book of Acts. He is actually mentioned in Acts 12.

If you will, turn there, because he had a very interesting occurrence take place in Acts 12, beginning in verse 1. Acts 12:1 tells us that this man, Herod, Drusilla's father, began to harass some who were in the church when she was only six years old. This was about the year 44 AD, and she was born in 38 AD. So, when she was six years old, she was in Jerusalem with her family and her father, King Herod Agrippa I.

We are told in Acts 12:1 that he began to harass the church, not only the followers of Jesus of Nazareth, those who were followers of the Way, but it says in verse 2 that he went so far as to take hold of James, the brother of John. You know James and John, fishermen from Galilee; their father was Zebedee. They had a close relationship with Jesus and were part of Jesus's core group: Peter, James, and John.

John recounts events that took place in Jerusalem. At some point, King Herod laid hands on James and had him put to death with the sword. When he saw that this pleased the Jews, he proceeded further.

Get the picture: they are in Jerusalem, and Drusilla is six years old. Her father is the king over that region of Judea, and there is a group of people within Judaism who are followers of Jesus of Nazareth, known as the Proclaimers of the Way. One of them is a man named James, who apparently was a thorn in the side of Herod. So, Herod takes hold of him and has him killed. The people he was ruling liked this action; in fact, it was politically advantageous for him. He thought, "If I kill these followers of the Way, the people I rule will like me better."

Thus, he decided to proceed further and seized Peter, the apparent leader of this group of followers and Proclaimers of the Way in Jerusalem. Drusilla, at six years old, was privy to these events. Herod captured Peter and put him in prison. Acts 12 tells us that in the middle of the night, while Peter was bound in prison, an angel of God showed up and had to poke him to wake him up. "Hey, Peter, wake up!" Peter woke up, and the angel said, "Come on, we're out of here." God miraculously sprung Peter from jail, and after he was freed from that cell, he went into hiding, as Acts 12 recounts.

The next morning, when Herod sent for Peter, he likely intended to have a very public execution, as this would be well-received. However, word came back to him that Peter was gone. Furious, Herod sent a search party to find Peter, but they could not locate him. As a result, he brought the guards who were watching over Peter and had them publicly executed for their failure.

Acts 12 continues, stating that Herod then went back down to his seaside home in Caesarea. If you go with us to Jerusalem in 2015, we will visit the ruins of Herod's Palace in that area of Caesarea, which is absolutely beautiful. After these events, including the killing of James and the harassment of the followers, Herod's story continues.

Christians, after he sought to persecute Peter, put on his royal garb, his good-looking clothes, and went out before the people of Caesarea. He sat down to give a great speech, and they were all there, anticipating his words. While he was sitting before them, they were chanting, "It's the voice of a God and not a man." In that moment, the Bible says that an angel from heaven came down and struck him, and he died. He died not long after that moment—died for blaspheming God, died for harassing the Church of Jesus Christ, died for persecuting those followers of the Way.

I wonder how that must have impacted or affected young six-year-old Drusilla. You see, she had some knowledge of the Way; she knew something about these things. So, on this day, a number of years later—14 years later—when she was married to Felix, the Roman governor of Judea, perhaps Felix came home after a long day at work. He walked in the door, and Drusilla asked, "How was work today, dear?"

"Oh, you know, same old, same old. The high priest came down from Jerusalem with some of the members of the Sanhedrin. They came again with some guy they have a problem with. His name is Saul of Tarsus. He's one of those followers of the Way, you know, that whole thing you used to tell me about."

"Really? A follower of the Way, you say? I think I'd like to hear from him."

We are told in this passage of Scripture that on a certain day, not many days after that, Felix called Paul in for a private hearing—a sidebar, if you will. This was not part of the normal proceedings of the hearing; it had nothing to do with what he was being charged with by the Jewish Sanhedrin. Felix wanted to know more about the Way.

Point number one on your sermon guide, if you have it handy in your bulletin, is that you can be acquainted with the Way and not know the Way. You can be well acquainted with and familiar with the Way and not actually know the Way. You can have family members who are followers of Jesus, and you can even attend a church and hear teaching on the Scriptures. You can be contented and...

Satisfied with your understanding and knowledge of these things, you may yet not actually know the way. The way is not just a body of information; it is not just a thing. The way is a person. In John 14:6, Jesus said, "I am the way."

You can know followers of Jesus; you can know how they live and what they believe. You may have some sayings of Jesus even filed away in your memory banks. You might even have an accurate picture of some of the things that took place in His life. However, at the end of the day, that is not sufficient. You can know all of those things and yet not know Him. Felix didn't know Jesus; he knew about Him, but he didn't know Jesus. He apparently felt comfortable with his knowledge about these things.

In Acts 24:23, it says that he commanded the Centurion to keep Paul and to let him have liberty so Paul could go in and out of the Roman praetorium in Caesarea. He had access to leave, but he was not allowed to leave the city of Caesarea because his trial still stood. He had one of those first-century ankle bracelets on to ensure he didn't escape. His friends, co-laborers, and companions were given the opportunity to come and visit him and provide for him, but Felix was comfortable. He was happy with his familiarity with the way.

Interestingly, Felix chose his name after he was set free as a former slave. Felix means "happy," so you could literally call him Mr. Happy. Mr. Happy was content with his position, and he commanded this follower of the way, Paul, to be held loosely at liberty until he could hear from the commander, Lysias. Apparently, Lysias never came down to share his view of what was happening with Saul of Tarsus, Paul the Apostle, while he was in Jerusalem.

After some days, verse 24 states that when Felix came with his wife Drusilla, who was Jewish, he sent for Paul. He heard him concerning the faith of Jesus.

Jesus, so Felix and Drusilla said, "We know some things about the Way, but we'd like to hear what this guy has to say about it. We want to hear what he has to say about this faith that Jesus of Nazareth is the Messiah." That's what the followers of the Way are saying, and so they sure would love to hear what he has to say privately.

They gathered together, and as they did, they sat Paul down. Perhaps it was in their own home; maybe it was just Felix, Drusilla, and Paul, along with some of Paul's companions like Luke, the author of the Book of Acts, who was with Paul while he was in Caesarea. Maybe Timothy was there as well. You can picture it in your mind as I do: they are gathered together, not in a formal courtroom hearing, but seated in their Roman home in the city of Caesarea to speak about the faith of Jesus.

They said to Paul, "We don't want to hear about the case. We don't want to hear what happened there in Jerusalem. We want to hear about this Jesus, Jesus of Nazareth, whom you believe is the Messiah."

Paul answered. As he reasoned about righteousness, self-control, and the judgment that is to come, he delivered a perfect three-point sermon. The Greek word for "reasoned" there is "dialami," from which we get our word "dialogue." So, as he sat down and spoke back and forth with these two individuals—Drusilla, a Jewish young lady who history tells us was ravishingly beautiful, and Felix, a former Roman slave who had risen through the ranks to become the governor of Judea—Paul engaged in a meaningful conversation.

It seemed like the perfect opportunity. They wanted him to share with them about the faith of Jesus Christ, and Paul said, "Okay, I want to talk with you. I want to dialogue with you about righteousness, self-control, and the judgment that is to come." You know, light dinner conversation: righteousness, self-control, and the judgment that is to come.

In fact, we are further told in Acts 24:26, just a few verses later, that this was not a one-time meeting. It seems that Felix heard from Paul a number of times over the next two years. He conversed with him often, even though his motive in conversing with him was not pure; it was not the best. He wanted to try and...

Felix sought to solicit a bribe from the Apostle Paul, hoping that he might release him. "Give me some money, and I'll let you go," was Felix's normal way of leadership in Judea. This was the first meeting of many that would occur over the next two-year period, as Paul sat in limbo waiting in the praetorium of the Roman city of Judea called Caesarea.

During this time, Paul, Felix, and Drusilla sat down to discuss righteousness, self-control, and the judgment that is to come. Paul knew that Felix would likely be interested in hearing about Jesus of Nazareth, but he chose to talk to him about righteousness instead. The reality was that Felix and Drusilla were not righteous people. This is not saying much, because as we sit here today, none of us are truly righteous. We know from Romans 3:10, a verse that Paul penned shortly before he would have sat with Drusilla and Felix, that there is none righteous, no, not one. Amen. We all have fallen short of the glory of God; we all have sinned.

For the couple sitting before Paul, it was manifestly evident that they were not righteous. How so? History helps us here. Drusilla was Felix's second wife. She became his wife when she was only about 15 years old, while he was in his early 40s. She was the talk of the town, no doubt. Felix was not Drusilla's first husband; she had been married before. At a young age, she left her first husband, a Jewish man, after Felix, captivated by her beauty, found a way to seduce her. He used a magician from the island of Cyprus named Simon to help him in this endeavor.

Simon seduced Drusilla into leaving her husband to marry a pagan governor of Rome, and she did. Now, a number of years later, they were married around 53 AD, and this meeting was taking place around 58 or 59 AD in the city of Caesarea. They had been married for a period of time, and the circumstances of their relationship were far from righteous.

Now, in her very early twenties, there they sit before Paul. He says, "I want to talk about righteousness. I want to talk about doing the right thing. Not just doing the right thing; I want to talk about self-control, which apparently you guys are lacking in." Don't you just love the Apostle Paul? I mean, he goes right for it here.

Every single one of us sitting here today has had an experience similar to this before. Maybe it's with a family member, a coworker, a neighbor, or someone with whom we're sitting down to have a meal. We know they are living in an openly immoral lifestyle, and yet, as we sit with them, the elephant in the room is their sin. The elephant in the room is their unrighteousness and their lack of self-control. We are so tempted to tiptoe around it, saying, "Oh, isn't the weather so nice today?" We can all identify with this in some way.

Not the Apostle Paul. He went right for it. "Yep, I know that you guys are the talk of the town. Yes, I know, Felix, you seduced this young, beautiful lady to be your wife, leaving her husband. I know you're an adulterer. I recognize that you're cruel in your leadership, cavalier in your personality, and carnal in your morality. I recognize that's the case."

So, as we sit down today and you want me to tell you a little bit about Jesus, let me start just a few pages before the whole story about Jesus coming and dying on a cross. Let's talk about righteousness. Let's talk about self-control. Let's talk about the coming judgment.

Previous to this event, Felix had heard the prisoner Paul standing before him just a few days before as he declared to Felix, the chief priest, the Sanhedrin, and their chief counselor Tertullus. As Paul stands there, he says, "These people that are trying me, these people that are accusing me, we believe the same thing. We accept that there will be a resurrection." Acts 24:15 states there will be a resurrection of the dead. There is coming a day when all of us will die, but there will be something that comes after that: a resurrection. Paul says there will be the just and the unjust, the righteous and the unrighteous.

Come that day, this being so, Paul says in verse 16 of Acts chapter 24, "Because I believe that there is coming a day when the just and the unjust will stand before God after this life." This being so, I myself always strive to have a conscience that is pure before God and man.

When Paul said those words in that room, the religious leaders, the chief priests, and the Sanhedrin, probably every single one of them thought, "Yeah, we believe in a coming resurrection. We have a pure conscience before men as well." Religiously, they lived a good life. However, for that Roman governor sitting in Caesarea, when Paul said, "I strive to live with a pure conscience before God and men," that man had no pure conscience whatsoever.

A few days later, Paul sits down with him and says, "I want to talk with you about righteousness. I want to talk with you about self-control, and I want to talk with you about the fact that there is a coming judgment." There is a day coming when the just and the unjust will appear before God, essentially asking this man, "Are you ready for that?"

Felix and Drusilla knew nothing about these things—righteousness and self-control. If we're honest today, if we're willing to accurately look at ourselves in the mirrors of God's Word, we would say that we also are lacking in the area of righteousness and self-control. You see, apart from God, we would have no righteousness. Apart from Him working in us, we would have no self-control.

The Bible says that you and I, as Christians and followers of Jesus, have been clothed in a righteousness that is not our own. We could not stand before God in our own good works because we would be obliterated for our sinfulness. Yet, Jesus, as 2 Corinthians 5 tells us, who knew no sin, became sin for us that we might be the righteousness of God in Christ. As we are clothed in Him, we have His righteousness upon us.

So, if we look at ourselves introspectively or in the mirror of God's Word, we must acknowledge that we don't have any righteousness. Therefore, we trust in and hope in His righteousness accounted to us. From the earliest time, we have seen that this has been the case, as back in Genesis 15:6 it says, "Abraham believed God, and it was accounted to him for righteousness."

Righteousness and self-control are crucial topics. The fact is, none of us, in and of ourselves, in our fallen state, have any self-control. We are at the total whim of all our bodily desires and appetites, always led about, slaves to those things. Paul says in the Book of Romans that if it were not for the work of the Spirit of God in our lives, we would have no self-control.

How do we know this? Galatians 5 states that one of the fruits of the Spirit, one of the evidences of God's Spirit being in us, is self-control. Paul says to Felix and Drusilla, "I want to talk with you about righteousness. I want to talk with you about self-control because I need to talk with you about the coming judgment."

Point number two on your outline is that you can hear the truth of the Word and not know the Word of Truth. John's Gospel informs us in the opening verses, John 1:1-4, that Jesus is the Word of God; He is the Logos of God. In John 1:14, it says, "The Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory as of the only begotten of the Father." Not only is Jesus the Word, but John 14:6 says He is the way and the truth.

You can know about these things that are written in the Bible. You can even hear them preached week in and week out, as Felix did, because he had an expert preacher by the name of Paul the Apostle—the guy who wrote Romans, Ephesians, Colossians, Philippians, 1 and 2 Thessalonians, 1 and 2 Timothy, Titus, and so on. Paul was Felix's personal pastor for two years.

So, you can know and hear the truth but never come to an actual relationship and experiential knowledge of the Word and Truth that is Jesus. Paul sat down with Felix and Drusilla, wrapping up the truth about righteousness and self-control, and he put a beautiful bow on top of it regarding the judgment that is to come.

What was Felix's response? What was his reaction? Well, look at it there if you will again; it says Felix was...

Felix was afraid, and he answered, "Go away for now. When I have a convenient time, I will call for you." This teaches us point number three on your outline: you can be afraid of God and not fear the Lord. The fact is, there are a lot of people in churches all over this nation and throughout the world who are afraid of God. In fact, that's one of the reasons that compels them to want to go to church. They feel that if they go to church, maybe they will appease Him so that on that day when they stand before Him, everything will be okay. They are afraid to stand before a holy God.

Eighty-one percent of Americans, as I mentioned last week and a couple of weeks before that, said in a 2003 poll that they believe there is some life after this. They believe in something called the resurrection. Many of those eighty-one percent of Americans who say they believe in these things are actually afraid of God. As Paul talked about the coming day of judgment, Felix, a former slave who had pulled himself up to great privilege and position, was a carnal man who lacked righteousness and self-control. When he hears about the coming judgment that will come in the next life, this judge is afraid. Yet, his fear did not compel him to bend the knee in reverence toward the Lord Jesus Christ.

So, you can be afraid of God and not fear the Lord. Felix says to Paul, "Go away. When I have a convenient time, I'll call for you to finish this hearing." Paul is taken from the proceeding.

You see, number four on your outline: you can be the judge of a nation, but you will one day be judged. When we stand before God on that day of judgment, our privileged position in this life will matter very little. You can be in an awesome position, but it will not save you from the judgment to come.

Positioning oneself can lead to moving through the ranks of success, from being at the bottom of the barrel as a slave in the Roman Empire to reaching the top as the governor of Judea. Yet, on the day of Christ Jesus, when one stands before Him, even if they held that position their entire life, it will be meaningless.

Felix, the judge of the nation of the Jews in the region of Judea, held power and authority over them. At his word, one's life could be taken. He hears from Paul, a representative of the Judge of Judges, who gives testimony about righteousness, self-control, and the coming judgment. Felix becomes fearful and says to Paul, "Go away. When I have a convenient time, I'll call for you."

As far as we can tell from both the Scriptures and history, a convenient time never came for Felix or for Drusilla. In fact, we are told in the last verse of this chapter that Paul was kept as a captive in Caesarea for two years until Felix was replaced by Festus, another governor. Paul will appear before Festus in our next passage of Scripture, but we are not given the details of that meeting.

Secular history fills in some of the gaps, revealing that the Roman Emperor Nero had heard so much bad news about Felix and his terrible leadership over Judea that about two years after his initial meeting with the Apostle Paul, he was removed from his post. He was recalled to Rome to stand trial before Nero, an earthly judge.

We are told in the last verse that Felix did not release Paul because he wanted to procure the favor of the Jews. Why did he want to do that? He knew that he had treated the Jews of Judea poorly, and now he was going to stand before the Roman Emperor Nero. He hoped to receive a good testimony from them, despite having ruled poorly for about eight years. Thus, he decided it was politically advantageous to keep Paul in prison, even though he had done nothing wrong.

A convenient time never came for his wife, Drusilla. Almost exactly twenty years after this meeting with the Apostle Paul, where he spoke about righteousness, self-control, and the coming judgment, the story continues.

History records that this woman, Drusilla, in her 40s now, twenty years after this event, was in a Gaya in an Italian city with her son. It was there, in August of 79 AD, we know the exact date, August 24th, that Drusilla was one of only three individuals given a name who were in the city of Pompeii on the day that a rumbling was felt from a great volcano called Vesuvius. She, along with hundreds of other people, was encapsulated in this pyroclastic blast of ash and superheated gas, frozen in time. You can see the pictures of the casts that have been made of the people who were frozen. Has anyone ever seen the pictures of the frozen casts from Pompeii? One of those is Drusilla.

Literally, a convenient time never came. For a period of time, she and her husband had a private meeting with the Apostle who penned the Gospel of Grace, the Book of Romans. Yet, it seems as though they only stopped at the fear of God, afraid of standing before Him one day, and never really had a chance to do what they ought to have done.

You see, we are not always presented with convenient times. There are plenty of people who go to churches and never really bend the knee to the lordship of Jesus Christ. They may be looking for a future time, thinking, "I'm not quite ready yet; I'll wait for a convenient time." But the convenient time never comes.

This story challenges us with four important realities. First, we can be well acquainted with the way; we can know a lot about the Bible and yet never know Jesus. Secondly, we can hear the truth of the Word of God week in and week out from an expert orator like Paul. I’m not equating myself to him, but we can hear it constantly preached to us and yet never fully come to the place where we know the Word of Truth, Jesus Christ. Thirdly, we can be afraid of God and never bend the knee in reverence towards Him, acknowledging Him as Lord. Lastly, we can hold a privileged position.

In this life, that won't matter much on the day of judgment. I realize this is not your typical Mother's Day message, but I think it's an important thing for us to hear. Perhaps today you realize that you don't actually know the way, the truth, and the life. You may know about it; you might have even memorized that verse. However, the words that precede it are where Jesus tells His disciples, "Let not your heart be troubled."

You might say today, "My heart is troubled," but Jesus said, "Let not your heart be troubled. You believe in God; believe also in Me. In My Father's house are many mansions. Were it not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you, and if I go, I will return one day to receive you to Myself, that where I am, there you may be also."

One of His disciples said, "Lord, we don't know what you're talking about. Where are You going?" Jesus replied, "You know where I'm going, and you know the way." Thomas said, "We don't know the way." Jesus answered, "I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father but by Me."

Perhaps you would say today that you know about these things, but you don't know Him. You don't know Jesus. Maybe you would confess that you're afraid to stand before God as judge one day, but you have not yet bent the knee to the lordship of Jesus Christ. Might I encourage you to do what Drusilla and Felix apparently never did on this day?

I'm going to ask Rich and the worship band to come back up. I invite you to stand with me as we close in prayer and conclude with a song. I ask that you take a moment to reflect: Have I bent the knee to the lordship of Jesus Christ, or am I just afraid to one day meet Him? It may be that today is your convenient time.

Let's pray. Father, we thank You for the opportunity to come before Your Word, which is living and powerful. It cuts deep and reveals the thoughts and intents of our hearts—perhaps things that we don't expose to other people. Your Word reveals and lays those things bare and open before You, the One to whom we will one day give an account. So, Lord, I pray as we stand here, if there's anyone in that place...

That they realize and acknowledge for the first time that they know about who You are, but they don't know You. They've never entered into a relationship with You; they've never asked You to be their Lord. Would You draw them by Your Spirit?

If that's you today and you recognize that this is the convenient time, the Scriptures encourage you and me to confess our sins, to believe that Jesus died and that He rose again. He did that to pay for your sins and my sins on the cross. The Scriptures tell us to repent, which means to turn from our sins and to follow Him.

If that's you today, I want to give you a chance to do that. You can just acknowledge that by praying along with me. You can do so out loud if you'd like, simply saying this:

"Dear Jesus, I know that I'm a sinner. I believe that You died in my place. I believe that You rose from the dead. Please come into my heart, be my Lord and my Savior. Help me to turn from my sin and to turn to You in faith. Save me from my sin. In Jesus' name."