It is safe to say that Peter’s deliverance from Herod’s prison was miraculous. That Peter was asleep under the circumstances was itself somewhat miraculous, but that is not the point. More literally, it was a miracle that one of God’s angels appeared in a locked cell deep within a well-guarded fortress. Then without any natural explanation, Peter’s chains fell off his wrists – his hands and feet were freed. Then hastily throwing on his clothes and putting on his sandals, the prisoner and his angelic guide passed through several doors unmolested, and Peter found gates opening of their own accord. It was miraculous.
But notice that in the midst of that series of miracles, the angel said, “Arise up quickly.” It makes me wonder what would have happened if Peter had hesitated; if he hadn’t moved right away. What if he said to himself – “Is this real? Should I obey this person, I’ve never met before?” Would God have voided His offer of freedom, leaving Peter in prison, if he had been dragging his feet?
With a little research I found that the word “now” is used more than 1300 times in the Bible. That is a lot of use. Not all of those verses speak about doing things immediately, but many of them do. And the word “quickly,” as we have it here in verse 7, is found about 40 times in the scriptures. Again, some of them don’t mean the same as what the angel means here, but many of them do. This evening I’d like to bring some of those “quickly’s” together, applying them and later summarizing them.
First, the time to REPAIR BROKEN RELATIONSHIPS is now, not tomorrow.
Matthew 5:25 – “Agree with thine adversary QUICKLY, whiles thou art in the way with him; lest at any time the adversary deliver thee to the judge, and the judge deliver thee to the officer, and thou be cast into prison.” Why has a disagreement arisen? What has caused this man to become your adversary? Did you offend him? Does he only think you have done something against him? The Lord Jesus tells us that it doesn’t matter either way. Whatever the cause, it is serious enough to make the man want to sue you before the judges. Or at the very least he wants to make a public scene out this. You say, but the charges are false. Don’t I have rights? Our Saviour doesn’t bring up the subject of “rights” or even “right and wrong.”
This commandment of the Saviour comes within His “Sermon on the Mount.” These 3 chapters contain some of the most radical, soul-stripping, rights-crushing verses in the Bible. This is the chapter which says, “Resist not evil; but whosoever shall smite thee on thy right cheek, turn to him the other” – verse 39. This is the chapter which says, “If any man will sue thee at the law, and take away thy coat, let him have thy cloke also. And whosoever shall compel thee to go a mile, go with him twain.”
To desire to demand our rights is a natural impulse, but WE are not supposed to be mere natural people. We are the children of God; children of the God who can restore deadened limbs and stolen property. The Lord Jesus teaches that it is not a matter of whether or not we are defrauded. We need to do whatever it takes to maintain the dignity of our Saviour before the lost. Jesus tells us to “agree with our adversary QUICKLY” – immediately, now. Don’t debate whether you should or not. Don’t even think about it. Do it. Repair the breech, before the flood pours in, or the enemy pushes through.
The time to repair broken relationships is now, because yesterday is past. Do it now, not tomorrow. By the very fact that this command is contrary to our nature, it proves its importance. Don’t delay, “Agree with thing adversary QUICKLY.”
Second, the time to ENCOURAGE the brethren is now, not an hour or a day from now.
The need that our brother or sister has is now, so the encouragement needs to be now. On the Sunday morning after the crucifixion of the Lord Jesus, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary went to the sepulchre. There they found another of God’s angels sitting on stone which had been the door to Jesus’ tomb. He said, “Fear not ye: for I know that ye seek Jesus, which was crucified. He is not here, for he is risen, as He said, Come see the place where he lay. And (now) go quickly, and tell his disciples that he is risen from the dead, and behold, he goeth before you into Galilee; there shall ye see him…” “Go QUICKLY,” ladies. There are people in need. There are grieving souls, who need the information you have been given.
You, as a believer, as a child of the King – have the ability to comfort people. You have the Word of God which contains what others desperately need. Don’t dawdle around the empty tomb. As you can see, Jesus is gone. He has work to do in Heaven. But He’ll meet you all in Galilee. Go spread this good news. Probably more often than not, the more quickly we can comfort, encourage and bless people, the more effective our help to them will be. The time to encourage the brethren is now, not tomorrow.
My third point is linked to this second point. The TIME to OBEY God is now not later.
Matthew 28:7 – As ordered, the Marys “departed QUICKLY from the sepulchre with fear and great joy; and did run to bring his disciples word.” 9 times out of 10; or perhaps 99 times out of 100, the time to obey is NOW, not when we get around to it. When mother says to her son, “Go, clean your room,” she means now, not next Saturday. And when the Holy Spirit says, “repent of this thy wickedness,” He means now. There is no room for one more dip of snuff with a promise of quitting tomorrow. God means now. The Lord doesn’t say, “Go ahead with one more burst of profanity; after that I order you to stop.”
When those ladies were ordered to “go quickly,” they obeyed, leaving immediately and ran quickly.
The GOSPEL is to be SHARED with lost souls quickly, consistently and constantly.
In the Lord’s parable of the Great Supper, the host sent his servant to the invited guests saying, “Come; for all things are now ready.” But the invitees all found excuses not to comply. Then the master of the house, being frustrated and angry, said to his servant: “Go out QUICKLY into the streets and lanes of the city, and bring in hither the poor, and the maimed, and the halt, and the blind.” I know that this was one of the Lord’s parables, but it had a point. The Saviour has a feast of eternal blessings which He has prepared. He has a feast of salvation, which He first offered to the Jews. Then when Israel rejected their Messiah, the gospel was delivered to unworthy gentiles.
Continuing with that application, consider the condition of those newly invited people. They were poor, maimed and blind. Between the first and second groups – the first invited and the rest – who were in the greater need? Who were nearer to death and eternity? Wasn’t it, generally speaking, the sick and wounded? “Go out QUICKLY into the streets and lanes of the city…” and bring in the most desperate people. One or two of these potential diners might have passed away that night without the gospel meal. They were all diseased and disabled; they were dying; they needed God’s grace. “Go out quickly into the streets and lanes of the city..”
“Now,” is a very evangelical word. “Behold, NOW is the accepted time, behold NOW is the day of salvation.” Tomorrow may be too late. If now is the best time to be saved, “now” is also the best time to take the gospel to them.
In another case, LAZARUS had died, and his sisters were grieving.
The Lord Jesus delayed His arrival until after His friend’s death and even after the funeral. But Christ was there, and He had every intention of comforting those two sisters, whom He loved fervently. When Martha heard that Jesus was nearby she went to him, and then she returned to her sister, whispering… Mary, “the Master is come, and calleth for thee.” Then, “as soon as she heard that, she arose QUICKLY, and came unto Him.”
This point could be expanded into a dozen messages. But the gist of them would be: you who need the Lord Jesus, must not delay going to Him. Of course there is a gospel application, but we’d have to say Mary and Martha were already saints of God. But even God’s saints need the Lord’s comfort from time to time. The application is: don’t look for comfort anywhere else. Arise quickly and go to Jesus. And of course, we need wisdom to know how to deal with every new problem in our lives. We can consult with doctors, financial advisors, plumbers and electricians. But our first consult should be with the Lord. Run quickly to Him. “Do not pass ‘go’ do not collect $200.00.”
Then in addition to PETER’S escape from prison, we have another ESCAPE in Acts 22:19.
Saul of Tarsus had been saved by God’s grace outside the city of Damascus, Syria. Ananias was sent by God to baptize him, and he brought the new convert to church, where he began to learn the things of the Lord at the place God established for that purpose. Then eventually Saul returned to his old stomping grounds in Jerusalem and was presented to the congregation which he had earlier persecuted. I’m sure he was hoping he’d have the opportunity to minister the gospel to the Jews who used to know him. Perhaps he was expecting to have a profitable ministry among them. But it was not meant to be. One day, while in prayer in the temple, the Lord spoke to him saying, “Make haste, and get thee QUICKLY out of Jerusalem, for they will not receive thy testimony concerning me” – Acts 22:18. Saul argued with the Lord just a little, pointing out that as a former persecutor of the saints, he would make a good witness in their defense. But the Lord replied, “Depart: for I will send thee far hence unto the Gentiles.” The Holy Spirit said to Saul, “Make haste, and get thee QUICKLY out of Jerusalem.”
Again I ask, what might have happened if Saul had not immediately left the city? We know that he did return, and in doing so he was nearly murdered, before being sent to Rome in chains. Between those two visits, because he “quickly” left the city, his life and liberty were spared, and he was used of the Lord to lead thousands of Gentile souls to the Jewish Saviour. Apparently once again, his immediate obedience was important. Delay in obeying the Lord is not only sinful, but it dangerous.
With these examples in mind, lets make a couple of points of summary.
First, DO those things which MUST be DONE, and don’t DELAY in doing them. What must be done, must be done. And if it must be done, there is no point in putting it off. This could be applied to a hundred different situations. If you need to apologize to a brother or sister for some offense, real or perceived, there is no reason to delay. Do it quickly. If there is a sin you need to cut out of your life, do it now; do it quickly. The damage of delay may exacerbate or solidify the problem. If there is someone whom the Lord has laid on your heart for a gospel witness, don’t wait. It could be that person may not be alive or available in another week’s time. Obedience delayed is hardly obedience at all. What Jesus said to Judas, He says to us more positively – “that thou doest, do quickly.”
Second, not only do opportunities quickly disappear, but so do the means of meeting those opportunities. When Paul was writing to the Christians in the Corinthian church, he said, “We then, as workers together with him, beseech you also that ye receive not the grace of God in vain.” Paul wasn’t talking about a lost man hearing the gospel for the last time; he was talking about ministry. Let’s say the Lord has brought you into a period of trouble, or given you a blessing to share, or put you into circumstances which might never be duplicated. It is by God’s will and wisdom that you are there, and He has given you grace for that particular hour. Perhaps He has given you special strength, or faith, or moved your heart about something. In some way He has made you fit for that particular situation. If you don’t act quickly, not only will the opportunity evaporate, but so will the grace He has given you for that opportunity. God’s grace flows toward us constantly. It can’t be stored or hoarded. It must be used in the moment – or it will be gone.
Peter says in chapter 5 of his first epistle: “above all things have fervent charity among yourselves: for charity shall cover the multitude of sins. Use hospitality one to another without grudging. As every man hath received the gift, even so minister the same one to another, as good stewards of the manifold grace of God. If any man speak, let him speak as the oracles of God; if any man minister, let him do it as of the ability which God giveth: that God in all things may be glorified through Jesus Christ, to whom be praise and dominion for ever and ever. Amen.” What I hear in these words is “have love for one another,” and employ it. “If you can, be hospitable to one another, be hospitable right now, because you might not be able later.” “As each of you have been given gifts, even so minister the same to one another as good stewards.” Good stewards don’t hoard their gifts or bury their talents.
I’ll close with one more point: The “Sermon on the Mount” basically says, “Pour out all that you have as the situation requires, and then trust the Lord for whatever your next need is going to be.” You don’t need big bank account and an abundant retirement fund. You need to give what you have while you have it – and then trust that the Lord will meet tomorrow’s need.
In other words, “Do it NOW,” whatever that “it” might be. Do what the Lord would have you to do, and do it quickly. You don’t even have to let your left hand know what your right hand is doing. Just do it. The person who is living by faith will be quick to carry out his responsibilities. The person who is living by faith will be living in the moment – in the “now” – trusting the Lord for tomorrow, and even later today.
We can safely say that in almost every circumstance, “NOW is the accepted time.”