"WHEN I HAVE A CONVENIENT SEASON..."

Around the year 57 A.D., the Apostle Paul determined to go to Jerusalem.  He knew he would be arrested by the Jews, imprisoned, and possibly put to death as a result of that decision.  He knew this in his spirit, but also because a prophet by the name of Agabus had foretold it.  In Acts, chapter twenty-one, we read, “And as we tarried there many days, there came down from Judaea a certain prophet, named Agabus.  And when he was come unto us, he took Paul’s girdle, and bound his own hands and feet, and said, Thus saith the Holy Ghost, So shall the Jews at Jerusalem bind the man that owneth this girdle, and shall deliver him into the hands of the Gentiles.  And when we heard these things, both we, and they of that place, besought him not to go up to Jerusalem.  Then Paul answered, What mean ye to weep and to break mine heart? for I am ready not to be bound only, but also to die at Jerusalem for the name of the Lord Jesus.” (Acts 21:10-13).  Paul did indeed proceed to Jerusalem where he was arrested and imprisoned by the Jews.  While he was there, a plot against his life was uncovered, and he was transferred by a company of armed guards to the city of Caesarea, which was the provincial capital of Judea under the Roman Empire.  It was there that Paul was locked up to await judgment before Marcus Antonius Felix, the Procurator of Judea at the time.

 

“And after certain days, when Felix came with his wife Drusilla, which was a Jewess, he sent for Paul, and heard him concerning the faith in Christ.  And as he [Paul] 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.  He hoped also that money should have been given him of Paul, that he might loose him: wherefore he sent for him the oftener, and communed with him.  But after two years Porcius Festus came into Felix’ room: and Felix, willing to shew the Jews a pleasure, left Paul bound.” (Acts  24:24-27). 

 

Felix was a powerful and influential man in the Roman Empire and yet, it was he who trembled before Paul, and not the reverse.  Of course it wasn’t Paul that Felix feared, but the God whom Paul served and testified of.  Felix was familiar with the Jewish law, but he had never heard a sermon like the one that Paul preached that day!  Felix was so mightily moved and convicted by the power of that message that his body shook!  This Roman dignitary could have been converted to Christianity that very day.  He could have taken Paul aside and asked him, “What must I do to be saved?”  At the very least, he could have passed sentence on Paul right then and there and let him go free, but he didn’t do either one.  Instead, he told Paul, “Go thy way for this time; when I have a convenient season, I will call for thee.” 

 

Scripture reveals to us that the real motivating influences behind Felix’s decision not to respond to the Gospel message were the love of money and a desire to appease the Jews.  He hoped to receive a bribe from Paul so that he could then release him.  He kept Paul in prison for two more years waiting for Paul to offer him money!  Because of this, Felix brought Paul before him more often to talk with him.  You can be sure that Paul didn’t waste this time, but shared the Word of God every opportunity that he was given.  Each time, however, Felix’ heart became a little harder and a little harder until, at the end of the two years, Felix was replaced by a man by the name of Festus.  Even then, when he could easily have set Paul free, he didn’t, seeking influence and favor with the Jews who hated Paul instead.  Felix had been given the rare opportunity to receive one-on-one spiritual instruction for two years from one of the greatest Bible teachers of his time, and he squandered it away, using the excuse that he was waiting for a more convenient time!

 

How many of us have been given the opportunity to hear the Word of God, and to have His will revealed to us, only to use the same excuse as Felix?  We tell ourselves that we are waiting until we have “a convenient time” to respond to God.  God doesn’t consult our schedule or deal with us only at our convenience.  No, He often interrupts us at the “worst” times and confronts us with truth when we least expect it!  I had the opportunity to share the Gospel with a young man who was, at the time, not yet 20 years old.  That young man told me that he wasn’t ready to commit his life to Christ because he had too much living to do yet.  It was not a “convenient time” for him.  That young man is now inching toward 70 years old and still has not found a “convenient time” for Jesus in his life!  I was given the chance to speak to another man, who was a backslider, and who God had once blessed and used in the ministry.  The Lord gave me words of comfort and forgiveness for this man, but he refused to accept them and hear God’s call to repentance and restoration.  Both of these men made the decision to turn down the grace of God and counted themselves unworthy of eternal life.  I am still praying for the first man to accept the call to eternal life, but the second man has since passed away.  Sadly, I don’t know if he ever made his peace with the Lord.

 

Whether it is a call to salvation to those who are lost, a call to deliverance to those who are bound, or the Holy Spirit’s call to yield ourselves in obedience in a new area of our life; we must be ready to recognize the voice of our Father when He speaks and respond to Him immediately.  Scripture tells us, “Behold, I will send My messenger, and he shall prepare the way before Me: and the Lord, Whom ye seek, shall suddenly come to His temple, even the Messenger of the covenant [Jesus Christ], Whom ye delight in: behold, He shall come, saith the LORD of hosts.” (Malachi 3:1).  The Apostle Paul also wrote, “We then, as workers together with Him [Christ], beseech you also that ye receive not the grace of God in vain.  (For He saith, I have heard thee in a time accepted, and in the day of salvation have I succoured thee: behold, now is the accepted time; behold, now is the day of salvation).” (2 Corinthians 6:1, 2).  Each time that God speaks to us through one of His servants, through our Bible reading, or while in prayer, we are given an opportunity to grow a little closer to our Lord and take another step toward spiritual maturity if we will choose to follow Him.  When we refuse, however, we suffer loss spiritually, and may even retard our growth altogether from that point until we return and accept the Lord’s will. 

 

Christ’s call to follow Him is never convenient: it is meant to interrupt our selfish lives!  Like Paul’s conversion on the road to Damascus, it is intended to knock us to the ground, stop us from pursuing our own course, and momentarily blind us with the brilliance of God’s holy presence.  One day James and John were doing what they did every day - helping their father with the fish business – when Jesus walked by and said, “Follow Me, and I will make you fishers of men.”  Their response was not, “Well, we’ve got all these nets to clean; could You come back later?”  No, they dropped the nets, left their father and the business, and followed the Lord!  Matthew was sitting at his desk and collecting taxes from his fellow citizens when Jesus said to him, “Follow Me.”  Matthew simply obeyed the call rather than make excuses.  All of these men were faced with sudden choices in their lives that required a deliberate decision to respond to God, or not; to follow, or be left in the dust.  The essential thing for us to learn is not to blindly follow what somebody else is doing to serve God, but to learn to hear what God is asking us to do.

 

“To every thing there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven.” (Ecclesiastes 3:1).  Everything has its proper season.  We are enjoying the fruits of our vegetable garden currently because it is the proper season for the things that I planted there to grow.  Try as I may, I will never be able to set tomato plants out in November and expect to see them survive through the harsh Ohio winter.  It’s the wrong season for that.  Everything that God does has purpose, and each purpose of God is linked to a proper time or season.  When we miss that season through our own stubbornness or disobedience, we miss the purpose that God had planned for that time in our life.  God will still fulfill His purpose, but it may be through someone else; and we will miss the opportunity completely.  Each act of disobedience can produce heartache in our lives that we could avoid if we just say “yes” to our Father in heaven in the first place.  We may have to reap the fruit of some of those bad decisions for the rest of our lives.  However, God is very merciful and will forgive us if we humbly acknowledge our error and accept His plan for us.  It takes some time to learn to recognize the Holy Spirit’s voice as He speaks to us to reveal the Father’s will.  As the Apostle James wrote, “Behold, the Husbandman waiteth for the precious fruit of the earth, and hath long patience for it, until He receive the early and latter rain.” (James 5:7).  Each day provides us with new lessons for spiritual growth and new opportunities for Christian maturity.  Even our failures can be stepping stones to greater understanding of God’s ways, and more effective service to our Master and King.

Felix made a tragic mistake when he decided to ignore Paul’s invitation into the Kingdom of God.  There is no indication in the Bible or in historical records that Felix ever changed course and accepted salvation.  We can be sure of one thing, however: Felix eventually ran out of excuses and was placed in the grave.  One day he will stand before the Judge of the whole earth and be forced to give an account for his decisions and his excuses.  Paul followed the path that God had called him to and was eventually sent to Rome and given the opportunity to testify before Caesar himself.  His entrance into heaven was a glorious one for sure!  Let’s be careful to follow Paul’s example, not making excuses for why it isn’t convenient to accept God’s will right now.  We must quickly respond to our heavenly Father and follow the Lamb wherever He leads us. 

At one point in Jesus’ ministry, after He had taught some very difficult truths to His disciples, scripture records that some of them said that these were “hard sayings,” and they walked away from the Lord to follow Him no longer.  When Jesus asked the Twelve if they would walk away also, Peter spoke up for the group and said, “Lord, to whom shall we go?  Thou hast the words of eternal life.  And we believe and are sure that Thou art that Christ, the Son of the living God.” (John 6:68, 69).  That, to me, defines the true disciple of Christ.  When we come to realize that there is no other place that we can go except to Jesus to hear the Words of eternal life, and that those Words have the power to transform our selfish lives, then we have reached the real starting point of this race that we are called to run.  Jesus is the Christ and the Son of the Living God!  Whether He speaks comforting words to us, or hard sayings, we know that there is no other source in heaven or on earth for the truth that breathes eternal life into these dry bones!  Let’s not make excuses, or put God off until things are more convenient for us – let’s rise up and follow the Captain of our faith!