Alright, catching up on our good friend the Apostle Paul this morning. We're going to be covering the entirety of Acts chapter 24 this morning, God willing. Remember a couple weeks ago we found Paul. He has come back to Jerusalem. He came back just to worship. For the most part he was just minding his own business. He was not, as usual, out and about confronting people with their need for Christ. He was just worshiping, come back to give good news to the elders and apostles. And we find him that they, having a dilemma with the Jews not really liking Paul, nor the message that Paul is bringing. They ask him to take part in the Nazirite vow and to pay for some others, and so that's what he does. He goes to do a seven-day purification process. In the midst of that seven days, he finds himself being dragged out of the temple and beaten. by the local Jews in a mob-type context. Soldiers are watching, not wanting things to get out of hand, they go down and rescue Paul. In their minds, they're going to find out what Paul has done so they can properly punish him. They take him before the Sanhedrin and the chief priest and Paul is again, he riles them up and he finds himself being struck and beaten and the Roman soldiers again take him out. There is a plot to kill Paul. This plot becomes known. It is told to the Romans And the Romans take him out in the middle of the night and take him down to Caesarea. And that's kind of where we find him this morning in chapter 24. So if you would, let's go ahead and read chapter 24 of Acts. And after five days, the high priest Ananias came down with some elders with an attorney named Tertullus. And they brought charges to the governor against Paul. And after Paul had been summoned, Tertullus began to accuse him, saying to the governor, since we have through you attained much peace, and since by your providence reforms are being carried out for this nation, we acknowledge this in every way and everywhere. Most excellent Felix, and with all thankfulness. But that I may not weary you any further, I beg you to grant us, by your kindness, a brief hearing. For we have found this man a real pest, and a fellow who stirs up dissension among all the Jews throughout the world. A ringleader of the sect of the Nazarenes, and even tried to desecrate the temple, and then we arrested him. We wanted to judge him according to our own law, but Lysas, the commander, came along and with much violence took him out of our hands, ordering his accusers to come before you. And by examining him yourself concerning all these matters, you will be able to ascertain the things of which we accuse him. And the Jews also joined in the attack, asserting that these things were so. And when the governor had nodded for him to speak, Paul responded. Knowing that for many years you have been a judge to this nation, I cheerfully make my defense. Since you can take note of the fact that no more than 12 days ago, I went to Jerusalem to worship. Neither in the temple, nor in the synagogues, nor in the city itself did they find me carrying on a discussion with anyone or causing a riot. Nor can they prove to you the charges of which they now accuse me. But this I admit to you, that according to the way, which they call the sect that I serve, the God of our fathers, believing everything that is in accordance with the law and that is written in the prophets. Having a hope in God, which these men cherish themselves, that there shall certainly be a resurrection of both the righteous and the wicked. In view of this, I also do my best to maintain always a blameless conscience before God and before men. Now after several years I came to bring alms to my nation and to present offerings in which they found me occupied in the temple having been purified without any crowd or uproar. But there were some Jews from Asia who ought to have been present before you to make accusation if they should have anything against or else let these men themselves tell what misdeed they found when I stood before the council. Other than this one statement, which I shouted out while standing among them, for the resurrection of the dead, I am on trial before you today." But Felix, having a more exact knowledge about the way, put them off, saying, when Lysas, the commander, comes down, I will decide your case. Then he gave orders to the centurion for him to be kept in custody and yet have some freedom and not to prevent any of his friends from ministering to him. But some days later, Felix arrived with Drusilla, his wife, who was a Jewish, and sent for Paul and heard him speak about faith in Christ Jesus. But as he was discussing righteousness, self-control, and judgment to come, Felix became frightened and said, Go away for the present, and when I find time, I will summon you." And at the same time, too, he was hoping that money would be given him by Paul. Therefore, he also used to send for him quite often and converse with him. But after two years had passed, Felix was succeeded by Porcius Festus, and wishing to do the Jews a favor, Felix left Paul imprisoned. Interesting chapter here. A lot going on and a lot to cover. We'll try to get through it this morning. But remember, we found Paul at our last meeting. He was imprisoned in the house of Felix. So he's staying in this palace. Not in the basement in a dungeon, but it would be supposed probably somewhere, you know, he was in one of the bedrooms. And, you know, probably didn't feel much like a prisoner. And 24 starts out saying, after five days had passed. Now this was five days after Paul had been delivered, the soldiers had gone back, and After five days then the elders, a group of the Sanhedrin and the high priest make their way down to Caesarea. Now it's a big thing for the high priest to make this trip. So this wasn't something that was taken lightly by the Jews. And notice they also brought with them a lawyer, somebody to stand in front of Felix. This was somebody who was well-versed in both the law and had a way of presenting the argument. We kind of see this today, we kind of liken it to maybe somebody who is making a presentation before the Supreme Court. Not any lawyer goes before the Supreme Court, but only someone who is pretty well-versed and knows how to present things in such a way that they get their point across. So this is what Tertullian, I have a hard time saying things this morning, Tertullius was, what his purpose was. And notice the way he talks. As Paul is summoned up, we have this great court hearing presentation, and Tertullius begins to speak. And he says, since we have through you attained much peace, And since by your providence reforms are being carried out for this nation, and what this guy is doing is he's just laying things on rather thick. He is being very, very flattering. And when I say he's being flattering, he's presenting things in such a way that he is, in essence, lying. He's trying to build up Felix here in such a way that he's not telling the truth. Felix was not this great guy. Felix, by reputation, was horrible. He was born a slave. And his brother, along with his brother who was also a slave, his brother became very good friends with the Caesar at this time. And through the relationship with his brother, Felix kind of rode his coattails and eventually got up to this position of governor of Judea. And he wasn't very well liked. He wasn't a nice guy, but here we have Tertullus just spewing all over about how great a guy he was. He says in verse three, we acknowledge this in every way and everywhere, most excellent Felix with all thankfulness. So here's Felix, he's sitting on his seat of judgment. all these people around, Tertullius just telling all these good things about him. And we almost get to the point, we almost get the feeling that it's overkill. And where it's covered here in about three verses, probably his speech went on much, much longer. Even in verse four it says, but then I may not weary you any further. You know, we kind of get the point that it's just way too much. He says, I beg you to grant us, by your kindness, a brief hearing. Well, that's what they're there for. They're there for a hearing. Here are the charges against Paul, and there's three of them. It says, number one, for we have found this man a real pest, and a fellow who's, okay, so first accusation is he's a pest. Second, who stirs up dissension among the Jews throughout the world. Okay, so he's a rabble rouser. He wants to kind of lay in the order of overthrowing the government, that kind of a charge. And he's a ringleader of the sect of the Nazarene. So he brings a personal charge, he brings a civil charge, and he brings a religious charge here against Paul before Felix. Verse six, and he even tried to desecrate the temple, and then we arrested him. All right, so it says Paul went in and he wanted to destroy the temple. Is that what happened? Paul was minding his own business. He was there to go through this process of purification, and the only desecration of the temple happened when the Jews came and grabbed him. So he says, he tried to, now notice in your Bibles, this is kind of a side note, if you notice in the middle of verse six to the middle of verse eight, If you're using an ESV this morning, that part of the verse is actually missing, and it's down at the bottom of your page. If you're using an NASB, as I am, this section is in there, but it's bracketed. What this means is that in some of the earliest manuscripts that we have, this portion is missing. And the only reason I bring this up is because some people may think, well, what does that mean? Is the Bible incomplete? Is the Bible an error? No, not at all. The translators here of the NASB, they chose to leave this in. Most translations will take it out and then put it as a side note. But when we look at things like this in the Bible, the Bible is better in all of our translations. It coincides with itself, it agrees with itself over 99% of the time. Most of the time that there's any kind of disagreement or error, it's in a problem with maybe a single article. maybe a word that is capitalized where it shouldn't be or should be capitalized and it's not. And very, very rarely, but in some occasions like today, a whole section or a whole line is in dispute. Well, what does that mean? Well, let's look at this passage and see what the difference means. Because we can come to two different conclusions, one by leaving it in, one by taking it out. So let's look at it. The disputed passage says, we wanted to judge him according to our own law, but Lysas the commander came along and with much violence took him out of our hands, ordering his accusers to come before you. So if this passage were not in there, if it were not supposed to be in here, how it would read, beginning in verse six, would be, and he even tried to desecrate the temple and then we arrested him. then down to verse eight, by examining him yourself concerning all these matters, you will be able to ascertain the things which we accuse him. Okay, so we arrested him, and so if you want to examine him, the him being Paul, then you may be free to do so, and Paul himself will give you, you'll come to the same conclusion from talking to him. Okay, so that's one way of reading. With the passage in there, we wanted to judge him according to our own law, but Lysas the commander came along, and with much violence, took him out of our hands, ordering his accusers to come before you. And by examining him yourself concerning all these matters, you will be able to ascertain the things of which we accuse him. In that case, by leaving this in, The hymn of verse 8 then becomes licious. If you wish to ascertain from licious, then he will be able to collaborate everything that has been said. Doesn't make much of a difference. Is our doctrinal integrity in any way hindered whether this one verse is in or out? No, it's not. Well, then what should it be? Should the verse be in there? Should it be out of there? And I think by reading the entire passage as a whole, I think we see that it probably should be in, just like it is in the NASB. And I say that for this reason. Because if by examining Paul, Tertullius is saying that if you examine him, Paul will then come and tell you exactly what I'm telling you. That's not a true statement. Because Paul's gonna tell him the exact opposite. But by making it to Lysias, then he's causing a couple things to happen. Number one, Lysias is going to have to come down and actually speak here in Caesarea. And as we see from this passage, after two years, Lysias doesn't do that. So it makes more sense being that he's talking to Lysias. I'm not going to die on this. But the thing I want to concentrate on, though, is that the Bible itself, doctrinal points that we believe, is not hindered because whether this one verse should be in and should not be. So that's kind of the gist of that. So Tertullius says, go ahead and get Lysas, bring him down, he'll tell you everything that we're telling you. And the Jews also joined in the attack, asserting that these things were so. So basically, after Tertullius got done spewing what he spewed, each one of the Jews that were there, you know, probably took the witness stand, you know, do you swear to tell the truth, the whole truth, nothing but the truth? Yes, and they would get up and in succession, they would say exactly the same thing that Tertullius just said. You know, Paul is a rabble rouser. He wants to destroy not only Caesar and his empire, but he wants to also destroy, you know, the religious faith that he grew up in. And that's the basis of their accusations. That's the basis. of their charges. And poor Paul has to sit through this entire dissertation. And we don't see any point here where Paul's yelling objection. And here's poor Paul. I imagine he didn't have any clue as to even what was going to be going on that day. He knew he was probably going to have to make a defense, but he gets into court and there he is faced with Perry Mason. He's got one of the best people that the high priest and the Jews could get in all the land making these accusations. Accusations that were completely false. And unfortunately, even when an accusation is false, it can sound true under the right circumstances. And I can imagine Paul just kind of sitting here just shaking his head saying, maybe in essence even saying, oh, I wonder if I am guilty. And they get done. And each one of the Jews gets up and says the same thing. Then it comes Paul's turn. Verse 10 says, and when the governor had nodded for him to speak, Paul responded. Now, Paul's going to respond to these accusations. And one of the only things that Paul really has going for him is his character of who he is. I mean, Paul throughout his entire life with maybe the exception of a couple weeks ago when he stood in front of the Sanhedrin, never really even shows a loss of temper. Paul is upstanding in who he is. He has a reputation of being truthful and honest and righteous. And this will go a long way with him before Felix. And it can go a long way before us as we face this world. For if we're known as people of good character, it's gonna be a lot harder for any kind of accusations against us to stick. But if we're flawed in our character, even in a single area, that leads a stronghold of doubt. I'm very hard on my children when it comes to lying. We do not like lying at all. Because you see, once you're lied to, then that trust is gone. And the next time something is said, it's a lot harder to believe it. And if there's a pattern in this, then it's very hard to believe. And I can remember back with some of my children who are now grown, and when I would sit in front of them and I would say, well, how am I to believe this? Because of the pattern of how you've acted in the past. And they would shoot back, they'd say, well, it's been almost two weeks since I did such and such. Guys, remember this. Your integrity means more in front of other people than anything else. Even to the fact, when you go to proclaim the gospel of Jesus Christ, If your character does not support the message that you're proclaiming, people will not listen. Be young men and young women, and old men and old women of character. That's one of the only things that got Paul through this trial. So the governor nods to Paul, and Paul's gonna answer only three or two of the three accusations. The accusation of Paul being a pest, you know, against his personal character, Paul's not going to mess with. That's inconsequential. You know, it doesn't matter what people think of Paul, it matters what Paul is. So verse 10 then, knowing that for many years you have been a judge to this nation, I cheerfully make my defense. Okay, so here's Paul's introduction. No great flattery. He just acknowledges Felix as the judge of the nation. He knows things about Felix, which will be brought out here in a little bit. He knows Felix's knowledge of the Jews, which is pretty great. And so he says, I know who you are. And all I'm doing is I'm basically saying I'm throwing myself on the mercy of the court, recognizing that you do have the ability to tell what is right and what is wrong. Verse 11, since you can take note of the fact that no more than 12 days ago, I went up to Jerusalem to worship. Okay, so now let's look at the timeline here. I mean, we've been in it for a good four or five weeks, so it seems like maybe this is drawn out. It's not. Paul's saying 12 days ago, I arrived in Jerusalem. Five of those 12 days, I've been here with you. Two of those 12 days, I was in the custody of Lysas and being beaten by the Jews. So there was five days that I was in Jerusalem before being arrested. And in those five days, he says, I was just worshiping in the temple. I was minding my own business. He says, neither in the temple, nor in the synagogues, nor in the city itself did they find me carrying on any discussion with anyone causing a riot. I was minding my own business. I wasn't even proselytizing Jesus Christ. I wasn't doing anything. He says, nor can they prove you the charges of which they now accuse me. He says, they can't prove it because number one, they're not true. Number two, they're not even the people that were witnesses. Verse 14, but this I admit to you, that according to the way which they call a sect that I do serve, the God of their fathers, believing everything that is in accordance with the law, and that is written in the prophets, having a hope in God, which these men cherish themselves, that there certainly shall be a resurrection of both the righteous and the wicked. They accused me of being part of this sect, which is a way, and this was a way of getting through to the Romans because no, only religions that were approved by Caesar were allowed to exist. Okay, and basically, no religions were really allowed to exist unless they worshiped Caesar also. The Jewish religion was the only religion in the whole Roman Empire that had an exclusion to be free of worshiping Caesar. But even within Judaism itself, there were certain sects. There were Pharisees and Sadducees So they weren't limited themselves, and they accused Paul of having another sect, this sect called the Way, which we've discussed previously, which is basically Christianity. And Paul says, Felix, look, yes, I do follow this way, but this way is not a far-out sect. The way worships the God of our fathers. We hold to the things, the traditions, and the ways of our ancestors. And he says, well, where the way differs is the way culminates in the Messiah. We believe that the Messiah that was predicted in Isaiah is the person of Jesus Christ. And I was reading something this week, and I'm not 100% that this is true, because I didn't go that far into it, but in the modern scriptures for the Jews today, Isaiah 53 is left out. because the correlation between who Jesus was predicted in the Old Testament and who He is today is so, it'd be eye-opening. So I'm not going to step on it. I read that. I didn't check my facts on it. But if that's true, that's horrible. So, that's what Paul was saying. He's saying, I'm not preaching something different. I'm preaching what always has been and what is now fulfilled. The God of the resurrection. Verse 16, and in this view I also do my best to maintain always a blameless conscience before God and before men. Remember last time Paul said that he maintained a blameless conscience, he was hit across the side of the mouth. He says, now after several years I came to bring alms. I've been gone, I've been out, I've been traveling, I've been proclaiming this way up until recently, he says, but just recently I came bringing alms to my nation to present as offerings in which they found me occupied in the temple having been purified without any crowd or uproar. I was minding my own business. I was by myself. I was in this process of purification. But there were some Jews from Asia. He says, well, there's this group of Jews that came from Asia. And Paul says, and if you're gonna be making any accusations against me, it should be these men, because they're the ones that started it. But where are they? They're not here. who ought to have been present before you to make accusations, if they should have anything against me. Or else let these men themselves tell what misdeed they found when I stood before the council. Other than that, this one account, or this one statement that I shouted while standing among them, for the resurrection of the dead, I am on trial before you today." Paul says that's about the only claim that they have that they could possibly bring against me, that's not really... Half the people there that day, remember, the Pharisees of that day, they agreed with Paul. Remember, we kind of had that tug of war with Paul in the middle, between the Sadducees and the Pharisees. Paul says, you know, if you want to accuse me of something, accuse me of that. And that's kind of where Paul ends his defense. Verse 22, but Felix, having a more excellent knowledge about the way, put them off. So Felix knew somewhat what was going on. He had a pretty good picture. In all his travels, he'd been governor here the last seven, eight years. He knew the disagreements between the Jews and the Christians. He put them off. And he said, when Lysas the commander comes down, I will decide your case. Now this is a little bit different than what we found with Jesus, when Jesus stood before Pilate. On one hand, Felix wants to please the Jews. Okay, because he doesn't want any unrest, he doesn't want any civil disobedience, he doesn't want people out carrying picket signs, You know, saying, kill Paul, kill Paul. He wants things peaceful so Rome doesn't become aware of anything. So he wants to appease the Jews on one hand. And that's what Pilate wanted to do. He wanted to appease the Jews. So he killed Jesus. Felix doesn't really have that pleasure. Because Felix knows that Paul, unlike Jesus, is a Roman citizen. And with that citizenship, it carries rights in Rome. So if Felix was to make a decision and say, okay, Jews, I agree with you, let's put him to death, all Paul has to do is make a formal motion of appeal to take it up to the next level. That's his right as a Roman. So if Paul is killed outside of his rights, then Felix can lose his position and possibly even his life for going against the law. And as we'll see, after a few years being stuck where Paul stuck, Paul does make that appeal to Rome, and that's how Paul gets there. So Felix appeases the Jews by keeping Paul under arrest, but by not making any judgment. He says, well, I'll wait for Lysas to come down. He already knows what Lysas is going to say. He's got within his possession a letter from Lysas. And Lysas says, I don't find any guilt in the guy. So he's not in any real hurry to bring Lysas down either, because if Lysas was to come down and say, you know, I don't find anything wrong with him, he'd have to let him go. and then this unrest can happen. So he's keeping the unrest at bay while at the same time just prolonging things. Verse 23, then he gave orders to the centurion for him to be kept in custody and yet have some freedom and not prevent any of his friends from ministering to him. So he's under arrest, but he's not under arrest. His freedom is curtailed, but not completely taken away. Friends can come and see him, which he has many here in Caesarea. Philip the Evangelist is one of them. So people can come and minister to Paul and meet with Paul. And some scholars say it's during this period here, because Paul will be under this type of arrest for two years. They say it's during this period here that Luke actually writes the Gospel of Luke. and acts up until this point. Gathering his facts, and you know, because most people think the way Luke writes, that Mary, the mother of Jesus, he writes it as she was an actual eyewitness. So he had conversation with her. So it would be kind of during this time that he'd be able to get all of that kind of stuff together. So, it says after some days, Felix arrived with Drusilla, his wife, who was a Jewish. Now, we were talking about how Felix's character, what kind of man he was. Drusilla, she had been married at about the age of 13 or 14 to the king of Syria. And Felix, having met her at some point, about 16 or 17, fell in love with her beauty. She was known as a very beautiful woman. And so he stole Drusilla from the king of Syria. That's the kind of man that he is. But Drusilla is a Jewish. She was Jewish herself. And they sent for Paul and heard him speak about faith in Christ Jesus. What an opportunity. Here, number one, here's what looks like two receiving ear, two sets of receiving ears. They invite Paul and ask him to explain to them the things of Christ. They have the Apostle Paul to speak to them, to tell them. What better way for the Spirit to be able to work? Notice what Paul talks to them about. But as he was discussing righteousness, self-control, and the judgment to come, Paul was giving Felix what he needed to live. He was talking to him about righteousness. In essence, he was talking to Felix about sin and how not to sin. And it's sad today, because I feel that sin is no longer preached or proclaimed from the pulpits of America. We don't ever hear about sin or how we should live. And I wanna just take a couple minutes today and you're gonna hear from this pulpit what sin is and what we're not supposed to be doing. And I'm not going to give you my opinion. I am not going to go into all the minor little facets of what men tend to do today. But let's go back to the Old Testament. Let's go back to Exodus and see what God set up as His moral code and just where we are in that. God talking to Moses, he said, I am the Lord your God who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery. Number one, you shall have no other God before me. No other God before me. Anything that we put in place of God is sin. Number two, you shall not make for yourself an idol or any likeness of what is in heaven above or on earth beneath or in the water or under the earth. You shall not worship them or serve them, for I, the Lord your God, am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children, on the third and fourth generations of those who hate me, but showing loving kindness to thousands, to those who love me and keep my commandment. Today, for the most part in our world, and there are a few exceptions, but we don't bow down to a statue in worship. Some people would go as far as saying the cross hanging on the wall is a graven image. I don't worship the cross. I love the cross for what it means. But today, what we do worship, what we do put before God, is ourselves. And man has become the God of this world. And the more we worship ourselves and the less we worship God, we are in sin. Remember the Sabbath day to keep it holy. Six days you shall labor and do all your work, but the seventh day is the Sabbath of the Lord your God. In it you shall do any work, your son and your daughter, nor your male or female servant. For in six days the Lord made the heavens and the earth, the sea and all that is in it, and rested on the seventh day. Therefore the Lord blessed the Sabbath and made it holy." The Sabbath today, as we discussed last week, we as believers now meet on the first day of the week, Resurrection Day, because Christ has conquered death. But we should have a day that we focus in on God. We've lost that in our society. We really have. We need to have a day set apart for God and for the things of Him. Next, honor your father and your mother that your days may be prolonged in the land which the Lord your God gives you. Kids, I know for the most part you believe your mom and dad don't know a whole lot. I realize God has made you at 12 to 18 the most knowledgeable people on the face of the earth. Realize one thing. God has given you one set of parents. They're all you will have. The Bible gives us a command to honor them. If we don't, we're in sin. I don't care if your old man is as crazy as I am. Give them the honor that they deserve as your parents. And this is a commandment with a promise. If you honor your father and mother, the Bible says, God says, your days will be long upon this earth. Do not commit murder. You say, well, I don't commit murder. I've never killed anybody in my life. Well, Jesus kind of redefined that. If we look on someone and hate them, we've committed murder. So let's couple this with the last one. Kids, don't murder your parents. Shall not commit adultery. This is something we really can't talk about in church. Guys, we need to be committed to our spouses. We need to be committed in our sexual lifestyles. Jesus taught that if we look upon another person to lust after them, we have committed adultery in our hearts. And adultery itself, in this context, it encompasses all forms of sexual sin. And Paul will actually expand on that in Romans and Galatians. So we're gonna talk about sin this morning. Let's talk about where our eyes go and where our minds go. And let's be pure. both to the spouses that God has given us, to the future spouses that God will give us, and to our God. Thou shall not steal. I mean, we can justify just about any kind of sin, but I think stealing, in our view, can be justified so much easier. One of my kids, take something that's not theirs. And we ask them why. In essence, the reason is because I wanted it. They weren't using it. I needed it. That is sin. Thou shall not bear false witness against your neighbor. Lying is sin. No matter how small, no matter how much we can justify it, no matter whether I do it to protect somebody's feelings, whether I do it to keep myself out of trouble. Lying is sin. Don't covet your neighbor's house, don't covet your neighbor's wife, nor his male servant, nor his female servant, his ox or his donkey, or anything that belongs to your neighbor. God says, be content with what I've given you. Don't covet that which is not yours. For if you do, that is sin. Now, you could say, well, Dan, you missed a whole lot of sins. Dan, there's piercings and drinking and tattoos and everything else. Those things are not necessarily sin unless they take the place of God in your life. If it's more important for you to drink than to worship God, it is sin. And that goes for everything else that comes into our mind. There are things that are probably that are permissible Let me rephrase. There are things that are permissible, that are not laid out as sin, that could be sin for us because we put them before God. That's when things become sin. And that's what Paul tells Felix. He lays this all out for him. And what does Felix do? He says, Felix became frightened. Because Paul says, If you sin, if you do not seek righteousness, if you do not repent and fall on your knees before Jesus Christ, there is a judgment to come. But Felix became frightened and said, go away for the present. And when I find time, I will summon you again. Guys, Paul would say it this way, now is the time for salvation. And you almost get a hint here of the Holy Spirit possibly tugging on Felix's heart. I mean, he's got the Apostle Paul telling him the truth of the gospel. And Felix says, I can't take it anymore. He says, go away. And I believe that if there was any chance for Felix to be saved, it would have been this day, here and now. And never again do we hear anything of Felix in any kind of a response to the gospel. But rather, it says, At the same time, too, he was hoping that money would be given to him by Paul. Therefore, he used to send for him quite often and converse with him. If Paul had wanted his complete freedom, all Paul would have had to do was to slide Felix a bribe. And I believe he would have been free. Paul didn't do that. You know why? He says, but, he says, therefore, Paul also used to, or Felix used to send for him quite often to converse with him. So for two years, Paul had an audience with Felix to continue giving him the message of the gospel. But after two years had passed, Felix was succeeded by Portius Festus. And wishing to do the Jews a favor, Felix left Paul imprisoned. Felix did not respond to the truth of the gospel during any of his visits with Paul. And in order to do a favor to the Jews, he left him imprisoned. Guys, we never know what today holds. We're not promised tomorrow. I mean, the Bible tells us there's a day for each and every one of us where we are appointed to die. And after this, the judgment. If you don't know Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior, if any part of you within you is saying, you know, I need to respond to this, respond today. Because you don't know if that draw will be there tomorrow. And you, like Felix, could find yourself in an eternity without Christ. And I wanna tell you this. You may leave this place today and not remember a thing that I have said, but if you end up in an eternity without God, If you end up in eternity in a place that was designed for Satan and his demons, you will remember this message and any other message that included the gospel of Jesus Christ perfectly and for eternity. And you will say to yourself, forever and ever in torment. Why did I not listen? Father, we thank you for your word. Father, keep your people from sin. Lord, it is so easy to justify just about anything today. Make your people holy. as you are holy. Father, I thank you for your body that you've gathered here. Father, asking that you will continue to cultivate us, to grow us, to mold us into the image of your Son. That, Father, our lives may reflect the God that we serve, and the God that we serve may be reflected in our life. I thank You for Your love. I thank You for Your kindness. I thank You for Your mercy and Your grace. And I ask that You continue to work on our hearts and minds even today. Fortunately, in Your name we pray.