Now...!

[AI translation] There is a small word in the Word, but it is a very important word. It is now. Now is but a very brief moment, yet what a lot can depend on it in a man's life! On this "now" may depend the eternal life of a man! It depends, of course, on what he does now, how he uses this now. This now may be the occasion for a final decision. It is a moment from which a man's life will either rise to shining heights or sink downwards into some dark abyss from which there is no rising. For Felix and Drusilla, this now means that on the thin wire of the next few minutes hangs for them salvation or damnation, whether they will be saved for eternity or lost? The question is, which will they choose?Now! - Every man has his now! Sometimes more than once in a lifetime. You have it, I have it. For Felix and Drusilla, it was when they were listening to Paul. These two young souls are standing at the great, decisive dividing line of their lives. What a great nowan God gives them here! Full of grace, warning, life-opportunity. But alas... they miss the decisive moment, they let it slip through their hands and miss the great now of their lives! Felix says to Paul: Now... go! When I have the chance, I'll call you to me.
To better understand the situation, let me briefly tell you who these two men were. Felix had risen from enslavement to a higher and higher position. At the time of our story, he was governor of Judea, like Pilate in his day. He lived in great splendour in Herod's royal palace at Caesarea. Being of a cruel, selfish, licentious nature, he was for many years a veritable scourge on the unhappy country. Drusilla, a Jewish woman, was Felix's third wife. She was of royal blood. The granddaughter of Herod the Great and daughter of King Herod Agrippa. At the time of our story she was about 17 or 18 years old, but she had a long life behind her. She was a notorious beauty. The young Jewish princess was now living as the wife of the governor in her father's palace, to the great consternation of her people. So one was a pagan, the other religious. but not really a worshipper. Both were basically people who cared little for what God said, for whom it was more a question of the lust of the eyes, and the lusts of the flesh, and the life. These two men have got the "now of God's grace" here!
It is strange how sometimes God gets in the way of one man or another. A man just lives, lives, lives according to his own head, according to his own best judgment, without a thought. He doesn't bother himself, he goes on his way, on his way... And suddenly there is God! Here it is, here it happens. On a certain day, 70 Roman cavalry soldiers march into Caesarea. They came from Jerusalem. They brought with them a bound prisoner. There was nothing strange about it. It was a common occurrence. Why did Felix care about a Jew prisoner? And yet, this strange prisoner not only finds his way into Felix's barracks, but somehow he also troubles Felix's conscience. So much so that one fine day he says to his wife, "Listen, this morning a prisoner named Paul was brought from Jerusalem, where there has been so much unrest. This is a very strange man. I must say frankly that I am at a loss to understand him. He goes on and on about Jesus of Nazareth who, you know, was crucified in Pilate's time. People in Jerusalem say he is dead, and this Paul says he is alive!
Even Drusilla, who lives for pleasure, notices this. She wants to be there for the prisoner's interrogation. Why? Who can say? Perhaps old religious memories have stirred in him. So he could not, it seems, tear himself away from what he had brought from home, however little it was. Sometimes the religious memories of childhood come back to life and ask for a word! It is not in vain to pray the Bible story one learned in childhood. Behold, Drusilla also wanted to hear the words of this strange prisoner of whom so much was said. What strange belief could it be, about this Jesus of Nazareth? It must be interesting!
"After a few days, after that" it happens. Paul is called. Not for a trial, but just for a private conversation. They're in a threesome, in Felix's private suite. Drusilla is probably comfortably reclining on a couch, listening to Paul. And Paul is talking to this haughty, cold Roman governor and rude princess. He talks - about Jesus! Literally, "From faith in Christ." And then comes that certain, that fateful "now" for Felix and Drusilla! What Paul might have told these two men about "faith in Christ" is hinted at in these words: he spoke of righteousness, abstinence and the judgment to come. Quite a dangerous subject at this point. Why not instead talk about God's forgiving grace, love and mercy? After all, Paul's fate - humanly speaking - is in Felix's hands! Yes, but Paul knows what these two men do not: that their fate is in the hands of Satan. When Paul stands before them and contemplates their lives, he sees that these two men, with all their pomp, luxury and pleasure, are hurtling towards destruction. Then he cannot remain silent, he forgets that he is standing before his earthly judge, he only sees that these two men are rushing to their doom. He tries to restrain them like runaway horses, even if he himself is run over. He tries to shake them hard. He plunges the knife of the Word deep into the ulcers of these two men's lives, spurting pus from them. Before he speaks of God's forgiving grace and love, he speaks harsh words of justice, abstinence and judgment to come. For there is never grace until a man knows that he is in need of grace! There is no forgiveness for anyone until he becomes aware of what God forgives him!
And then comes that fateful "now" for Felix and Drusilla. For now they finally hear what they have never heard from anyone, what no one has ever dared to tell them: the truth! The truth about themselves and about God. Now, at last, what has never happened before: they see their own life and behind it, God's judgment. How strange: the roles are reversed, the prisoner Paul is the accuser, and the judge Felix sits in the dock, with the trembling Drusilla beside him. As if Paul were saying: Felix and Drusilla, do what you will, but remember that God lives and judges the earth! "It is finished, that men should die once, and after that comes judgment" (Heb 9:27) What a powerful sermon that must have been in Felix's room! What a deadly silence must have fallen when the threat of judgment was uttered, before the grace could be pronounced by Paul! What must have been going on in the souls of these two men when Paul, in his usual passionate words, could say to them: Felix and Drusilla, I beseech you for Christ's sake, as God beseeches you through me, be reconciled to God! Believe in Jesus, trust in Him, and all will be well! Come also to the Saviour, in His blood there is salvation for you too!
Now the question is, what did Felix and Drusilla do with this "now"? With the immense grace that this nowan meant for them? This is how we read the report. And Drusilla is silent. Perhaps this means that Paul's poignant words had no effect on this beautiful woman? Perhaps! It still happens today that two people are sitting next to each other in church, both listening to the same sermon, and one feels found to the depths of her soul, while the other is left cold. It means nothing to him. So Felix could not get over the Word so easily, he was terrified. Felix not only received an interesting sermon, but also a blessing from it, a blessing of shock, of unease. The blessing of fear. Something stirred in him. At last! The lightning of God's Word struck this man's hard, cold heart. He was terrified. That's the good thing about sitting in church like this, taking the sermon on yourself, feeling found. What's next? Nothing! Alas, it was not that the frightened Felix fell to his knees and cried out, "Lord, have mercy on me, a sinner," or "What shall I do to be saved?" like the Philippian jailer. If only he had done so! If only he had taken hold of the lifeline God had just thrown him! Now, now is the moment for Felix to become truly human, a child of God! A redeemed life! But alas, the shock becomes a confused excuse! So he does not cynically reject Paul's words. He doesn't bang his fist on the table, he doesn't protest against the words of "justice, abstinence and judgment". He has one objection, and one objection only: he has an objection to "now". God, and faith in Jesus, and repentance from sin, comes to him 'now' at an inconvenient time, not now - tomorrow, or perhaps the day after tomorrow. When I have the opportunity, I will call you to me...!
Meanwhile, someone is laughing! Do you know who? Satan! He can't deceive the human soul any more than that! He likes that. Much better than a harsh rejection. It's the best way to make the most dangerous sermon harmless. For with it, "Tomorrow, when I have a chance," the over-excited conscience is quieted. One can thus convince oneself that I am not such an indifferent soul after all. Yes, yes, there is some truth in that conversion... only... not yet! God, have a little more patience with me. I really want to take what you said seriously, just not right now... I will! Oh, it happens to so many people! We don't want to give up our religion or our church. It's good to listen to a good sermon sometimes and be moved by it. But... then nothing happens, everything remains the same, because we ourselves remain the same. When God urges us with His "now": - "Well, now then, make up your mind, who do you want to serve, who do you want to belong to? Now is the time to decide who you want to serve, who you want to serve, who you want to serve! We realise that our life train is not running in the right direction, that there will be another problem, another fatal collision, another misfortune, that we have to change - but not yet. Then...
But, my brethren, this story shows us that "not yet" always means "never". Felix called Paul even afterwards, several times, but the great "now", the "now of grace", had already passed for him. Forever! After that "nowan", his heart closed again. More than it had ever been before. And it always does. He who misses the great "nowan" of his life may never get it back! The word of God, under the influence of which our hearts are not broken, hardens our hearts even more. To listen to the Word of God - a perilous thing! That is why God warns us in the Old Testament: - Today, when you hear His word, do not harden your hearts! Today! Now!
My brethren! God is preparing such a "now" for us in the coming week. A great "now" of His forgiving grace, of His love that strengthens our faith. Everything can be postponed, but our return to God, our coming to terms with our sins, cannot! Plugging the terrible leak that is sinking the ship of life, removing the terrible time bomb that could explode at any moment: that cannot be postponed! Why not be happy right now? Why not have peace in your heart, peace of mind, joy in your heart? Nor should you take a single step further with God's judgment over your head! Say not: Thou shalt have no more or better opportunity than thou hast now! Or at least you don't know if you ever will? There's only one thing you can be sure of, and that's "now". And to postpone the now to another time: playing with eternity.
So in the week of evangelisation and faith deepening that is coming up, or even at this very moment, the now is here for us! What an opportunity there is in this! It's like an open door through which the Father hurries with open arms to meet his prodigal son who is about to come. Do not delay! Seize the opportunity! Felix and Drusilla, pagan and religious, come, all of you! All come to Jesus! Let this day and this week be for you the great "now" after which, at last, a truly new life begins: a useful, blessed, victorious Christian life. A life in Christ!
Amen.
Date: 21 June 1964.