Act Now

Introduction

Praise God for the wonderful day he has made. Amen? You open your Bibles to Acts chapter 16. And while you’re turning there, I will let you know that despite your excitement, and despite what the bulletin says, I am here, and you are stuck with me until I conclude this morning. In Acts chapter 16, we run into a character that we know pretty well, or some of us may. In Acts chapter 16, beginning in verse 25. At about midnight, Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God, and the prisoners were listening to them. And suddenly there was a great earthquake, so that the foundations of the prison were shaken, and immediately all the doors were opened, and everyone’s bonds were unfastened. When the jailer woke and saw that the prison doors were open, he drew his sword and was about to kill himself, supposing that the prisoners had escaped.

But Paul cried with a loud voice, Do not harm yourself, for we are all here. And the jailer called for lights and rushed in, and trembling with fear, he fell down before Paul and Silas. Then he brought them out and said, Sirs, what must I do to be saved? And they said, Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved, you and your household. And they spoke the word of the Lord to him and to all who were in his house, and he took them the same hour of the night, and washed their wounds, and he was baptized at once, he and all his family.

Now this morning we partook of the Lord’s supper, and that was a remembrance of the body and blood of Jesus. Without those two crucial elements, without the body and blood of Jesus, without his sacrifice, we have how much hope? A little bit. We got just a little bit if we do it all good and we try hard and we love others most of the time. We have no hope. There’s a 0% chance for mathematicians out there. Without Jesus, we have no hope. Without God’s plan of salvation, that was punctuated by, prophesied of, and fulfilled by Jesus’ crucifixion and resurrection from the dead, we have no hope. And let me tell you, until we partake of what God wants us to do, until we submit to Christ.

And likewise have no hope. Now, this story about the Philippian jailer is interesting. You know, in verse 25, you find Paul and Silas are in prison, and what are they doing? They’re singing. And then this great earthquake comes, and you know the jailer is scared, and you can tell that he was upset that they were going to have left. He was going to kill himself rather than face the wrath and the punishment for letting the prisoners go.

For we are all here.

Truly amazing. And he was humbled by it. Note in verse 30. Then he brought them out and said, Sirs, what must I do to be saved? There was something Paul and Silas had done, or something that they had said that this man knew they have the words of life. They know what I must do to be saved. Do you know what that implies about the jailer? He knew he was not. Now, this morning’s lesson is not focused on baptism, in case you’re thinking that. It’s not focused on the response in verse 31 believe in the Lord Jesus and you will be saved, you and your household. It’s focused rather, as the narrative unfolds in verse 33 and 34. Look again with me. And he took them the same hour of the night.

Now I have a question. How many of you are night owls? I am one of those. That’s why my hand is up. Raise your hand higher. Be proud. This is something maybe not to be proud of, but it’s funny anyway. For those of you who are mourning people, raise your hand. That’s too bad. For those of you who are mourning people, consider what it would be like to be awake. And about midnight, this was happening, and at this time of night, as the night would progress, as they would have been teaching, as these events would have unfolded, to go out and to immediately be baptized. Or perhaps if you’re a night owl like me, imagine waking up at four in the morning from your sleep of when you’ve just gone to bed just maybe a few hours prior and fulfilling all this.

1. The Time for Us to Act Is Now

Why would you do that? I can tell you, I don’t like to wake up early. If I am up at 4 o’clock, I either can’t sleep, something’s wrong with me, or I have something very important to do. Now it may not truly be important. It may be just something I really want to do, but I have prioritized that in my life. And so when we think about this narrative and we think, why did the Philippian jailer, he and all his family, be baptized that same hour of the night? You say, well, it makes sense. It goes back to his question, what must I do to be saved? He needed salvation. Without it, he was lost. The time to act was now. And I want to suggest this morning that the time for us to act is now.

This is the time. These are the moments we have to serve God with. And I don’t care how old you are, where you’ve been, or where you think you’re going, we have no assurances of how much time we have left. And that’s a threat in a way. That’s something that should keep us on our toes. But let me tell you, there’s so much more to obeying the gospel than doing it because the judgment day might come, as important as that is. 2 Corinthians chapter 5 and verse 10 says, we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ. That’s certainly crucial to our faith, important to our understanding, and perhaps our obedience. But no, we are to glorify God when.

That is it. That is why. So we think about the story in Acts chapter 16. The jailer obeyed immediately because he understood both what he needed and what he must do. There is that combination of things. There is a realization of a need. That is that he would be lost, that he did not have salvation, and that there was something for him to do. He sought out what it was to Paul and Silas. He got the answer, and when did he act on it? The same hour of the night. Why? He had sinned. And so he needed Jesus. It truly is that simple. But the catch is for us, we need Jesus too. Where is our urgency? When a kid gets a new toy, they love playing it with it, right?

I know that I’ve always loved video games. If I were to get a new video game console, and if it’s the one I want and the game that I want, I’m gonna go play it, and I’m gonna play it, I’m gonna play it, and guess what I’m gonna do next? I’m gonna play it. Because it’s exciting. But you know, I’ve had several gaming systems throughout the year, but do you know how often I play the one I got when I was five or seven or however old I was? Not a lot. Why? When we’re excited about something, we get right to it. We do it. Now, there’s more to it to that example than I gave. But we know that when we’re excited about something, we love it.

Perhaps you’ve read a book and you just want to talk about the book. You want to see the movies that correspond with that book or that book series. You’re all about that because it’s in the moment, it’s a priority, it’s important to you. And we would tell someone, and I’m here to say this morning, if anyone ever wants to be baptized at any hour of the night, please call me. I will more than happily get out of bed at whatever time and come down and help you with that. And we stress that, don’t we? We say, you shouldn’t wait to be baptized. Why not? Because you need it. We don’t know how much time we have. You must obey God. Those forces work together. We need to act now.

But you know what else we have to do? Do you know what else we’re instructed to do? To love others. To serve. There’s examples of teaching the lost. There are all these things to do. Where is our urgency on those? Unless the Bible were to teach that baptism is the end all of the Christian faith, then we better keep teaching the rest of it too. Because if God says it, we must do it. We consider that the jailer’s example was great, but where is our urgency considering that we know our time is short? You know what James says in James chapter 4 and verses 13 and 14. Our life is but a vapor. We don’t know how long it will go. I could give stories that talk about people who are cut down at an area or age that we would call the prime of life.

I remember a not too distant funeral I attended, and I was standing out at the gravesite and I saw a tombstone. I don’t recall how old the person was, but it must have been, I think, between 18 and 22 years old. Now, as a 23-year-old married to a 20-year-old, I truly don’t consider that my life would have already ended, or that my wife’s life will end. But it sure is a possibility. We need to always be ready and watching. And there’s something about this that’s so important to understand. And I want you to think about this question. I want you to think about your last seven days. All the way back to when church ended last Sunday.

2. We Know We Need God

Would you like that judgment? We know the words that will judge us are the words of Christ. Look at John chapter 12 and verse 48. Where is our urgency? Have we served with the zeal that the Lord make becoming today? Have we put our the needs of others first? Because that’s what God would have me do. Where is the urgency? Our time is short. Consider secondly this morning. That we know we need God. What did God do that’s so great? Why do we need God? Just look at Genesis chapter 1 and verse 1. In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth. God is good. Amen? If for no other reason, if the Bible narrative began and ended with that sentence, who should we serve?

God. God is an all-powerful being. He created the heavens and the earth. And if you read just Genesis 1 and 2, you realize that He set it up for humans to have dominion. God desired for us to be like Him. He made us in His very image. We know we need God. But it goes beyond just His magnificent power. His omniscient knowledge, His omnipresent being. Look at Romans chapter 5 with me. In Romans chapter 5 and verse 6. Romans chapter 5 and verse 6. For while we were still weak, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly. For one will scarcely die for a righteous person, though perhaps for a good person one would dare even to die. But God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.

3. A True Faith Works

Since therefore we have been now been justified by his blood, much more shall we be saved by him from the wrath of God. Brothers and sisters, where were we without Christ? Nowhere. What were we in danger of having thrust upon us? The wrath of God. While we were still sinners, Christ died for us. Our hope without Jesus is nothing. Jesus gave us everything. When are we going to return what is due to Him? We need to consider the implications for our lives, but also the implication of our lives on others. Consider with me in James chapter 2. Look with me there in James chapter 2, a passage that you may have thought we might go to by looking at Acts chapter 16. But consider what James has to say.

Beginning in verse 14. What good is it, my brothers, if someone says he has faith but does not have works? Can that faith save him? If a brother or a sister is poorly clothed and lacking in daily food, and one of you says to them, Go in peace, be warm and filled without giving them the things needed for the body, what good is that? So also faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead. Why is that so? Why is faith without works dead? Because it doesn’t make any sense. A faith in God would work. Look at verse 15 again. If you have a brother or sister who’s poorly clothed and lacking in daily food, and you walk up to him in verse 16 and say, Go in peace, be warm and filled.

How good is that? What is the rhetorical question? Not very. How helpful is that? Not very. There’s some emotional encouragement there. What is the purpose of faith? If you have a faith that God exists, if you know that God is someone who we rely upon for our every need, if we know without Jesus that we have no hope, and we know that our time is short and that the judgment is coming. Wouldn’t that faith move us to work? Think for a moment with me. The commands of the scriptures. We’re told various things to have self-control, to be meek and gentle, to love our neighbor as ourself. The list continues. There are things that we are abstained from, there are things that we are to practice. Which of those do we not do?

And why is that? Where is our urgency if all of those factors are true? It’s like what it comes down to. This is the very same analogy with faith. If faith without works is dead, it’s because that faith is not based in truth. If you have a faith that God exists and that God loves you and has offered his son to die on the cross for you and your sins, you would believe him, and you would be changed by that belief. Any other faith is a cheap knockoff imitation. And so we see what James says in verse 17 is true, but keep reading, beginning in verse 18. But someone will say, You have faith, and I have works. Show me your faith apart from your works, and I will show you my faith by my works.

You believe that God is one, you do well. Even the demons believe and shudder. Do you want to be shown, you foolish person, that faith apart from works is useless? Was not Abraham our father justified by works when he offered up his son Isaac on the altar? You see that faith was active along with his works, and faith was completed by his works. And the scripture was fulfilled that says, Abraham believed God, and it was counted to him as righteousness. And he was called a friend of God. Look at verse 24 with me in your Bibles. You see that a person is justified by works and not by faith alone. A true faith works. A faith that saves is a faith that obeys, as I believe Brother Bob would say.

4. Who Are We Willing to Lose?

So consider what does this mean? It means we must act now. I considered having people stand up. I got a few eyeballs. But I want to I want you to just think in your minds as I name some individuals. Brother David Duncan, Brother Tim Caldwell, Kashka, Trey, Brother Angelo, Miss Nancy. April. Jim, Cody, and Lindy. Who are we willing to lose? Whose soul are we willing to let go of? To cut off, and not care about. I hope the answer is none. But you know what can happen? Our faith impacts others. And do you know when that happens? Today? Now, the way I talk to people, the way I greet people, the way I check on people, that influences people’s faith. And it does it in the moment.

It does it now. We may have an opportunity and not even see it if we aren’t looking. That is no excuse, brothers and sisters. We must act now. Our faith is to be what, according to Matthew chapter 5? A light unto the world. Why? So that people will see our good works and glorify our God who is in heaven. Who are we willing to lose? Who am I unwilling to help? To aid. To be the Christian example that I am. Fathers, think in your home of the example. If you just don’t obey one part of Scripture that very day, think about the influence it has on your wife and the example it sets for your kids. Mothers, think the same. Children, consider your influence with your brothers and sisters.

Teenagers, consider your influence at school. Preachers, consider our influence in front of others. Elders, consider your responsibility in shepherding. Just because people think something doesn’t make it so.

5. Who Are You Unwilling to Win?

And that is not just about baptism. What we need to realize is that God has done everything for us. Where were we without God? We were stuck in our sins. We had no hope. We had nothing. Yes, I’m coming back to it. Because this is everything. Look in 1 Corinthians chapter 15. What are the first elements of our faith? What is crucial to our understanding in verse 3? 1 Corinthians chapter 15 and verse 3. For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received. That Christ died for our sins in accordance with the scriptures, that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day in accordance with the scriptures, and that he appeared to see fashion to the twelve. And we see in verse 17, and if Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile, and you are still in your sins.

That’s where we are without Jesus. But here’s the rub. That’s where everyone is without Jesus. And that means when you look around the church building, sure, a bunch of these people who are smiling and nice and happy may know that. They may have acted on that faith. They may have a true faith in God the Almighty and Jesus the Christ that he was resurrected from the dead. But what about everyone else? I asked you a moment ago, who would you be willing to lose? But here’s a stronger question for you. Who are you unwilling to win? Think about that for a moment. We think all the time about our impact as fathers and mothers and husbands and wives and as people in a congregation, in particular of younger kids.

But our influence matters. But if we needed Jesus that bad, because of our sin, and all of sin and fall short of the glory of God. What does that mean for everyone else? According to a Wikipedia article, the Orlando City proper population in 2010 was 238,300. The Orlando, I believe, metropolitan area in 2010 was 2,134,411. Now, I understand there are Christians in different areas, but if we set Bumbi’s membership around 200, of the Orlando City proper, Christians make up.08% of Orlando City proper, if we were to all qualify for that. And of the Orlando metropolitan area, we stand as about 0.009%.

Those aren’t numbers, brothers and sisters. Those are souls. Those are people lost. And you never know. That one checkout that you have at Walmart or at McDonald’s or with your waiter or waitress at a restaurant may be the only Christian in all of Orlando that that person ever comes into contact with.

It’s not just about your soul. It’s about the souls of others. Why do we wait? That’s the question, isn’t it? Where is our urgency? It gets beat down by time passing. That’s what happens, isn’t it? Just like the kid who enjoys the toy as new things come along, other things catch our interest, our calendars fill up with things that are perfectly fine and dandy on their own when they don’t take away from the work of the Lord. We get distracted and we don’t even think about it. We don’t even consider that I must serve others. Why? Not to be a good, to be in good standing at South Bumby Church of Christ, but to obey and glorify God. Who are we unwilling to win? That must be our motto.

Everyone needs Christ. If I need him, if I believe that’s true, what does that say when I’m indifferent to everyone whom I’m around? It says that I don’t care whether we say it on purpose or not. Whether I say out loud that I don’t care, if I’m unwilling to even hand a card, or invite someone to church or to a study, or in any way, shape, or form, take action. What does that say about my faith and my care for others?

Not everyone is qualified to teach. Everyone could be with study. That’s not necessarily the best use of the whole body, though. Everyone has a role. Whether you are to invite people to church, put a little card on the table, tell someone you’ve had your sins forgiven, and you can have that too. Praying for the works that those who are laboring are doing. Brother Brent Hunter and I believe Washington was mentioned this morning. Praying. Make a list of people to invite. Invite them. Teach them if you can. And if you don’t think you can do those things, get yourself trained. Act now. You see, that’s the rub. We think that there are things we can’t do. There are things that we’re not ready for. So start getting prepared.

The time is being spent. The question is, is our work going to God to count? Or to the alternative? Where will we spend our eternity? Is based on how we spend God’s time. Go back to the Philippian jailer with me, please, in Acts chapter 16. There’s something powerful in the text that we may have overread. In verse 27, when the jailer woke and saw that the prison doors were open, he drew his sword and was about to kill himself, supposing that the prisoners had escaped. But Paul cried with a loud voice, do not harm yourself, for we are all here. How did that jailer know that Paul and Silas would have the answer to his salvation problem? You could look at the text and see several things.

In verse 25, Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns. In verse 26, there was an earthquake. Perhaps that got the man’s attention. And in verse 27, we see that he was upset. He was about to kill himself because he supposed the prisoners had escaped, and yet they didn’t. Paul and Silas were still there. He knew because of what they had said and done. He knew Paul and Silas were different. And he did know that because they acted then. They didn’t wait till later. They didn’t wait till they could escape, and they could talk to him on the side. They acted in the moment. We are not promised any more time, brothers and sisters. We must act now. Now is the time to save souls, because this is the time that we have.

6. How Can I Maintain My Zeal?

Because your life will show works that prove it. Is it your job? Is it your kids? Is it anything but God? Your life will prove it. The time is now. So, one more question to consider this morning before we wrap up is how can I maintain my zeal? I’ve lost it. Because I was excited. I was on fire when I was baptized. Because I had this great feeling that my sins were washed away. I wanted to give all to Christ. I was talking about it all the time. How does it get beaten down? How do I regain that zeal? First of all, do what we did this morning. Remember what God has done for you. Remember that without Jesus, we have no hope. And each and every day we need the grace of God.

Not one time. Not every couple days. We must embrace and live in the grace of God, brothers and sisters. That’s an everyday thing. Remember our need and who we are. And if we remember that, that’ll teach us the second thing is to remember the urgency of obeying the gospel. That applies to ourselves and others. And how do we remember these things? Start with a daily word of prayer. Thank God for what he has done for us. We serve a great God. Amen. What a wonderful God who has made the provisions of salvation available to us, who has revealed his word to us. And if prayer either you have more time for or it’s not your thing in the morning. Read your Bible. Read Romans 5. Read the crucifixion scene of Jesus and either any of the gospels that you choose to read it from.

Conclusion

Remember the agony and the sacrifice that Jesus made. Remember the promises that God so lovingly offered to us. Remember that new covenant in Jeremiah 31 and verse 34, where our iniquities can be forgiven and our sin can be remembered no more. To act now, in short, we must remember what has been done. Consider if your life were to end today, would it have been a life full of good intentions? Or a life consumed with a faith that worked to please and glorify God. In 1989, there was a flight on United Airlines. Flight 232, I believe, had 185 survivors and 11 non-survivors. Can you imagine with a plane going down what you would be thinking? Do you think that any of those numbers are correct, just counting of the survivors and non-survivors, the 296 plane passengers?

Do you think that any of them for even a moment thought as they get on that plane, it would be the last times of their life. Good intentions never built a house. Intentions with a plan and with work finished the house that we live in. Would I be responsible? Would I be willing to own up to what I’ve done the past week and base my salvation on it? If not, it’s time to remember. It’s time to consider. And above all, brothers and sisters, it’s time to act now. If you are here this morning and you have not been baptized, recognize that the forgiveness of your sins is awaiting. Not because of special water, but because Jesus said it so. Because Jesus, who left the form of God into our form in a physical way.

He died on the cross for our sins. He gave up his body, he shed his blood on the cross so that we could have the forgiveness of our sins, and you can have that too. But act now. Act now while we can, while the moment is here, and touch as many others as you can.

If there’s any way that we can help you this morning, come forward right now as we stand and as we sing.