Commissioned – What Time Is It? (Acts 24-26)

Oct 26, 2026

Devotional

Day 1: When the Locker Room Chant Becomes God’s Call

The rallying cry “What time is it?” isn’t just for athletes. It’s a spiritual wake-up call to recognize the urgency of God’s mission in the present moment. Like Paul chained yet undeterred, believers are called to live alert to opportunities for witness, not distracted by past regrets or future anxieties. This moment—between Christ’s ascension and return—is where eternity intersects daily choices. The Spirit empowers ordinary people to engage their cities, workplaces, and relationships with gospel intentionality. Stop waiting for a better season; this is the season. [05:21]

“But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.”
(Acts 1:8, ESV)

Reflection: Where have you been asking “What’s next?” instead of leaning into “What time is it?” How might your prayers shift if you saw today as the only day God has guaranteed for your mission?

Day 2: Two Years of Chains, One Moment of Surrender

Felix delayed obedience for two years, mistaking convenience for readiness. Procrastination hardens hearts. Paul’s imprisonment became a stage for relentless gospel witness, proving faithfulness isn’t about circumstances but surrender. Waiting on God means stewarding the “in-between” with vigilance, not stalling until ideal conditions. Every delay is a choice: chains can be excuses or amplifiers. [24:43]

“And as he reasoned about righteousness and self-control and the coming judgment, Felix was alarmed and said, ‘Go away for the present. When I get an opportunity I will summon you.’”
(Acts 24:25, ESV)

Reflection: What “alarm” from the Holy Spirit have you been soothing with “later”? How might your current limitations actually position you to testify to Christ’s sufficiency?

Day 3: The Goad You’ve Been Kicking

Agrippa’s family had generations of divine encounters they resisted. Paul’s question—“Why do you kick against the goads?”—exposes the futility of fighting God’s persistent pursuit. The Spirit’s promptings often feel inconvenient, like a farmer’s prod redirecting stubborn oxen. Our rebellion only bruises ourselves. God’s dialogue with others started long before our arrival; we simply join what He’s already orchestrating. [36:44]

“And when we had all fallen to the ground, I heard a voice saying to me in the Hebrew language, ‘Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me? It is hard for you to kick against the goads.’”
(Acts 26:14, ESV)

Reflection: Where have you sensed God’s “goads” redirecting you recently? What relationship or situation have you avoided that God might have been preparing long before you arrived?

Day 4: Crazy Enough to Believe a Dead Man Lives

Festus called Paul insane for believing the resurrection. Yet the gospel’s plausibility doesn’t hinge on human approval but historical reality. Living like the resurrection is true means risking ridicule to love boldly, forgive recklessly, and hope audaciously. Chains, canceled plans, or cultural opposition become proof of conviction, not obstacles to it. [42:17]

“But Paul said, ‘I am not out of my mind, most excellent Festus, but I am speaking true and rational words.’”
(Acts 26:25, ESV)

Reflection: What part of your life would look “crazy” to others if they didn’t believe in resurrection? How does Christ’s victory redefine what’s “rational” in your daily decisions?

Day 5: Your Chains Are Part of the Story

Paul’s imprisonment confused observers, but his shackles underscored the gospel’s worth. Suffering for Christ isn’t a detour—it’s the plot. Every setback that prioritizes eternal glory over earthly comfort becomes a microphone. The world doesn’t need perfect ambassadors, just faithful witnesses who let their scars point to His wounds. [51:03]

“And Paul said, ‘Whether short or long, I would to God that not only you but also all who hear me this day might become such as I am—except for these chains.’”
(Acts 26:29, ESV)

Reflection: What current limitation or frustration might God want to use as a platform for His glory? How could your obedience in this “chain” encourage someone watching your faith?

Sermon Summary

The present is the point where time touches eternity. The constant pull toward the next promotion, next house, or next season can turn good ambition into a performance mentality that misses what God is doing right now. Faithfulness begins with a different question: not what comes next, but what time it is in God’s story. Between Christ’s ascension and his return, it is game time.

Jesus answers the disciples’ questions about the future by commissioning them as witnesses through the power of the Holy Spirit. The church’s business is to share life in Christ, make disciples, and partner in the gospel wherever God has placed it. Kevin’s journey to faith, from spiritual curiosity to baptism in another city, shows how God joins churches together in work whose full fruit they may never see. An interim location or an unsettled season is not a sideline moment.

Paul’s imprisonment brings that same reality into focus. Jesus has promised Rome, but two years pass in Caesarea. Paul keeps witnessing. Felix keeps postponing. The difference is not outward movement but the heart’s response to God: there is a difference between waiting on God and keeping God waiting. Delayed obedience allows convenience and greed to harden a heart already stirred by truth.

Agrippa’s family has encountered God’s work for generations. Paul enters a dialogue God has already been having, bringing his testimony to bear on their resistance. The image of kicking against the goads exposes the pain of fighting God’s direction.

Festus calls Paul mad, but Paul answers with truthful, rational words about a public resurrection. Christ’s victory changes life now, including priorities, relationships, and the use of civic rights. Political outcomes cannot carry Christian hope. Christ has already won through his cross and resurrection. Believers are called to stand for what is right with gentleness and respect, trusting the risen King rather than waiting for an easier season.

Key Takeaways

1. The Present Is Already Game Time. An unsettled season does not suspend the call to share life in Christ. God’s work is not waiting for a permanent building, a clearer plan, or fewer complications. The place that feels temporary may already be the place where another person encounters the risen Christ. [16:48]
2. Waiting On God Requires Present Obedience. Paul and Felix both remain in the same situation for two years, but their hearts move in opposite directions. Paul stays ready to testify, while Felix pushes conviction behind convenience and the hope of a bribe. Patient trust remains attentive to God; postponement makes room for an agenda that steadily hardens the heart. [25:19]
3. God Has Already Begun The Conversation. Paul does not approach Agrippa as though God has been silent until that moment. His testimony connects with a family history already marked by encounters with God’s truth and power. Christian witness calls for eyes that notice those earlier stirrings and faith that steps into the conversation without pretending to produce the growth. [34:38]
4. Resurrection Faith Is Not Irrational Faith. Paul answers the charge of madness with respectful, rational words, not an invitation to abandon reason. Christ’s resurrection was not done in a corner, and Paul stakes his life on its truth. Such faith rearranges present priorities so deeply that the watching world must reckon with the conviction behind the sacrifice. [43:10]
5. Political Outcomes Cannot Carry Christian Hope. Christ’s victory at the cross comes before any ballot is cast and remains secure after the result. Civic responsibility still matters, including attention to what Scripture says about life and marriage. Faithfulness means standing for what is right with gentleness and respect, without becoming what is wrong in the struggle. [45:11]

Youtube Chapters

[00:00] - Welcome
[03:36] - Beyond the Pull of What Comes Next
[06:20] - Commissioned Between Ascension and Return
[10:39] - Kevin’s Story of Faith and Baptism
[14:38] - Gospel Partnership and Unseen Fruit
[17:14] - Paul’s Interim Season Before Three Rulers
[20:18] - Felix: Delayed Obedience Is Disobedience
[25:19] - Waiting on God or Keeping God Waiting
[28:26] - Agrippa: Entering God’s Ongoing Dialogue
[36:05] - The Pain of Kicking Against the Goads
[41:52] - Festus: Living Like the Resurrection Is True
[45:11] - Civic Responsibility Under the Risen King
[48:39] - Christ’s Finished Victory and Eternal Life

Bible Study Guide

Bible Reading

Acts 1:7-8
“He said to them, 'It is not for you to know times or seasons that the Father has fixed by his own authority. But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.” [07:34]

Acts 26:14
“And when we had all fallen to the ground, I heard a voice saying to me in the Hebrew language, 'Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me? It is hard for you to kick against the goads.” [36:29]

Acts 26:25
“But Paul said, 'I am not out of my mind, most excellent Festus, but I am speaking true and rational words.” [43:01]

Observation questions

In Acts 1:7–8, what does Jesus leave in the Father’s hands, and what does he give the disciples to do? What will enable them to carry out that task? [07:34]
During Paul’s two years in Caesarea, how did Paul and Felix respond differently to their repeated conversations about faith in Christ? [24:06]
What is a goad, and how does that image help describe Paul’s resistance to Jesus in Acts 26:14? [36:29]
In Acts 26:25, how does Paul respond to Festus’s accusation that he is mad? What does Paul then point to about the public nature of the events he describes? [43:01]

Interpretation questions

How does Jesus’ answer in Acts 1:7–8 challenge the idea that believers need a clear picture of the future before they can be faithful in the present? [07:56]
Paul and Felix remained in the same situation for two years. What distinguishes patient waiting on God from using delay to avoid obeying him? [25:19]
Why might Paul’s account of his own resistance to Jesus help Agrippa recognize his resistance? How can sharing a testimony open a conversation differently from trying to win an argument? [37:11]
What does Paul’s respectful, reasoned response to Festus reveal about the relationship between faith and reason? Why does his manner matter as much as his willingness to defend the truth? [43:01]

Application questions

What “next thing” most often draws your attention away from the people and opportunities God has placed before you? What would faithfulness look like in one ordinary part of your life this week? [05:11]
Is there an area where you have been saying, “I’ll obey when life settles down”—perhaps prayer, a habit, serving, or a difficult conversation? What small, honest step could you take now? [26:09]
Think of someone who may be spiritually curious. What questions or experiences have they shared that might help you notice where God is already at work? How could you listen well and gently share something of your own faith? [38:09]
Where might you be resisting God’s direction rather than trusting him? What could help you recognize that resistance, and who could walk alongside you as you respond? [39:32]
Jesus’ resurrection changes life now, not only life after death. Which part of your schedule, spending, or relationships would you like to bring more fully into line with that hope? What might that look like practically? [44:50]
When political conversations stir fear or anger in you, what helps you remember that Christ’s victory is secure? In a recent disagreement, what would it have looked like to stand for your convictions with gentleness and respect? [48:04]

Sermon Clips

29s

#LiveLikeItsTrue

“So if it's true, it changes everything right now, not later. Now, not in that next place, not in that next season, not when life slows down right now. It changes how we live. It changes how we pray. It changes how we treat people. It rearranges our priorities to the point that the watching world will probably say, you're out of your mind because you're living like the resurrection is true.”

32s

#ItIsFinished

“This is the victory that's already been won. That God became a man, and he lived the way we couldn't live, And he died to death. We all deserved to die. And he conquered death in the grave and the curse, that curse of sin that demands eternal condemnation. The only one with enough glory to pay for what every one of us owed. Paid it and paid it full. It's a... It is finished.”

38s

#ForSuchATimeAsThis

“And see, this is the world in which God has called you to serve for such a time as this, as the book of Esther played. For such a time as this, you and your children have been designed by God and strategically positioned and commissioned right now. Not just for something somewhere someday, but for this very moment in history here and now between Christ's ascension and his return is game time.”

43s

#ResurrectionHope

“But if it is true, will that change everything? Is that how you're living your life? Think about it. Like, if it's not true, are you like, well, I had a good life anyway? The way that Paul's operating is he's like, I'll stick everything on the resurrection of Christ. Everything. And if he's not real, then I've wasted my life. But it is true. I trust everything. That's a man living now with his eyes on Christ, the resurrected king.”

37s

#FaithOverFear

“He was a Roman citizen. And so that right, hered this, that's not a right toward comfort. What's fascinating here is that as he's appealing to Caesar, don't forget who Caesar was. It was Nero. By appealing to Caesar, he's appealing to the very man who would take his head. Okay? Don't forget that. So here here this, Paul's hope is not earthly rescue. It's eternal resurrection. My guy knows what time it is.”

31s

#GospelPartnership

“It's you that God is using. That's why I love the name of our movement is the collaborative movement because we are partnering together in the gospel. There's countless stories out there. Even in this room, many of you know some of these stories. Many of you don't, but you are playing a role in this, and you might not ever see the full fruit. But hear this. God does, and that's what it's about.”

28s

#EyesToSee

“Because God's already speaking and moving and working, and he's speaking and working and in people that you have been strategically positioned in front of, and he's also strategically moving and working in your own life. We just need the eyes to see it and the faith to step in. Such an important prayer. It's why I pray every week that God will speak prophetically through me.”

31s

#NewLifeInChrist

“And that is eternal life as he fills you with his holy spirit and he calls you as a child. No matter what your past, no matter what your struggles, he meets you right where you are. He did it for Felix. He did it for Festive. He did it for Agrippa. He did it for Kevin. He did it for everyone who won't vote like you this next week. He did for me and he did for you.”

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