Acts 24:25
“And as he reasoned of righteousness, temperance, and judgment
to come, Felix trembled, and answered, Go thy way for this time; when I
have a convenient season, I will call for thee.”
God never said that it would be convenient to serve Him. In fact, when Jesus called people to follow Him He said, “…If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow me.” (Luke 9:23)
Felix wouldn't get saved because it was inconvenient. He knew if he got
saved that there were some things that would change, and he surmised
that it would inconvenience his lifestyle. There were four things that
were inconvenient that stood in the way of him getting saved. It was not
that these things were necessary for salvation, but he understood that
God expected these things of a Christian. These four things that Felix
found inconvenient are the same four things that keep most Christians
from selling out for Christ. Let me show them to you.
First, righteous living is inconvenient. Felix “reasoned of righteousness.”
Doing right is not always a convenient thing to do. If the only time
you plan on doing right is when it is convenient, you are going to find
that serving God is laborious. When you look at doing right, it is
inconvenient at times. Going to church faithfully, soul winning,
tithing, dressing right, walking with God and loving people is not
always going to be convenient. There are times when these things and
more are very inconvenient. You have to come to the point in your life
when you don't do right because it is convenient, but you do right
because it is the right thing to do.
Second, practicing self-control in inconvenient. Felix didn't want
to get saved because he wanted to live his life in whatever way he
desired. You will find that being temperate with your desires and
actions won't be convenient. When you are in an atmosphere where the
pressure is to do wrong, you must make the inconvenient choice to do
right. When wrong things are around and immoral pleasures present
themselves, it is not always convenient to say, “No.” The inconvenient
thing to do is to tell your flesh that you are going to do right even
when it wants to do wrong.
Third, it is inconvenient to do right and turn down an opportunity
to make money. Felix wanted money to be paid for Paul’s freedom, which
tells us that he would rather live in sin and make money than get saved
and lose his wealth. You certainly don't have to be poor to get saved or
serve the LORD, but money cannot be your focus in life. If you are
going to successfully serve the LORD, there will be times when you must
inconveniently turn down financial opportunities because they will
interfere with your service to the LORD.
Fourth, timing is never convenient. Felix wanted to wait when he
should have immediately gotten saved. If you are waiting for a
convenient time to serve the LORD, then you will never find that time.
There is never a convenient time to step out by faith. Living by faith
is one of the most inconvenient acts you’ll do, but you will never
please the LORD without doing it.
Friend, these four things are necessary to pleasing the LORD. If
you wait for a convenient time to do them then you will never do them.
Serving the LORD is very inconvenient, but the blessings of being
inconvenienced are immeasurable. I challenge you to choose inconvenience
over convenience.