For All Those Who Fall Asleep in Church
Acts 20:7-12
Church sleepers beware.
If you think you can get away with sleeping in church then watch out! “A man who went to Church with his wife always fell asleep during the sermon. The wife decided to do something about this and one Sunday she took a long hatpin along with her to poke him with it every time he would doze off. As the preacher got to a part in the sermon where he asked, ‘and who created the universe in six days and rested on the seventh?,’ she poked her husband, who came flying out of the pew and screamed ‘Good God almighty’.”
“A man liked to sleep frequently in church, so the pastor devised a plan. During one service the pastor asked his congregation while the man was sleeping, ‘All who want to go to heaven, please rise.’ Everyone stood up except the sleeper. Then, at the top of his voice, he bellowed, ‘All who wish to go to hell, stand up now!’ Only the sleeper stood up. The sleeper looked around and said, ‘I don’t know what we’re voting on, Reverend, but it looks like you and me are the only ones for it’.”
Have you ever
fallen asleep
in church?
Some folk must really get into their Sunday School lesson because they are so worn out by the time the sermon rolls around that they just can’t help but fall asleep! Or maybe they have worked up such a sweat during the music that they are plumb tuckered out! Perhaps those taking forty winks during the sermon are resting up so they won’t doze off on the long drive home after service. Or they are simply getting ready for the energy they will expend buffet-ing their stomachs at Ryan’s after church.
Please don’t think I’m complaining about folks who fall asleep in church. I understand some people can’t help it. I am convinced that some people fall asleep in church during the sermon because their have a physical ailment. Some folk must have a snooze button attached at the appropriate place so that it is activated everytime the preacher says, “Please turn in your Bibles...”, and sets the alarm off when the preacher says, “Please stand…”!
It doesn’t really bother me when people fall asleep in church. It doesn’t even bother me if they snore during the sermon as long as it sounds like, “AHH-men”!
I confess to you today that I have fallen asleep during a sermon, or two, or twenty. I really haven’t kept track, but I must tell you that I have done something worse than falling asleep during a sermon. I once fell asleep standing up holding a hymnal and singing a congregational song! Were it not for the stiletto elbowing of the person holding the other side of the hymnbook, I might have been awakened by the floor!
Sleeping in church could be a good thing. Did you know if you came to church every Sunday and slept for 20 minutes during the sermon every week, you would have slept over 2 days in only 3 years!
On the other hand, the Bible records several bad things that happened to folks who fell asleep:
• Adam fell asleep and woke up married and missing a rib!
• Samson fell asleep and woke up bald and beaten!
• Jonah fell asleep in the boat and woke up wet!
• Eutychus fell asleep and woke up dead!
Proverbs 6:10-11
10 A little sleep, a little slumber, a little folding of the hands to rest--
11 and poverty will come on you like a bandit and scarcity like an armed man.
(NIV)
Acts 20:7-9
7 On the first day of the week we came together to break bread. Paul spoke to the people and, because he intended to leave the next day, kept on talking until midnight.
8 There were many lamps in the upstairs room where we were meeting.
9 Seated in a window was a young man named Eutychus, who was sinking into a deep sleep as Paul talked on and on. When he was sound asleep, he fell to the ground from the third story and was picked up dead.
(NIV)
This passage of scripture is the earliest clear reference to the Christian practice of observing Sunday as a day of worship. The O.T. Jews met on the Sabbath or 7th day of the week, which was Saturday to commemorate the fact that God created the universe & everything in it in 6 days, & then on the 7th day He rested. So to the Jews, Sunday was to be a day of rest & worship. So those Jews who became Christians they continued to observe the Sabbath as well as the first day of the week. Early Christians began to meet on the first day of the week as a weekly celebration of the resurrection of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ from the dead.
Eutychus means “fortunate.” The Latin name for Eutychus is Fortunatus. But Eutychus is not very fortunate on this Sunday night. He definitely didn’t get away with sleeping in church. And this is the only mention of Eutychus in all of Scripture! Imagine looking down on earth from heaven and knowing that the ONLY thing for which you are remembered is that you fell asleep in church. By the way – let that be a warning to any of you who might be thinking of nodding off during today’s sermon…
It is interesting that Eutychus is not only remembered for this, his story mentions him by name.
Luke could have told this story and said, “One day Paul was preaching and going on and on, and someone fell asleep and fell right out of the window.”
But nooo. Luke calls him by name.
This is a tragic story! This boy went to church to worship God, and look what happened – he died! How would you feel if this happened to someone in a church service that you were attending? Would you say to yourself that no one could survive a fall from that height? Would you then become angry with God because you knew that the person would not have been dead if he had not been in that church service worshipping God? Some of us would react this way. Probably the boy’s parents and relatives felt this way, and they were very angry with God.
Why didn’t God pinch Eutychus and wake him up before he fell out of the window? Why didn’t God cause someone to notice that Eutychus was in trouble and in a precarious position?
Why doesn’t God stop bad things from happening to good people?
Do you ever feel like
God has gone
to sleep?
Psalm 121:2-4
2 My help comes from the LORD, the Maker of heaven and earth.
3 He will not let your foot slip-- he who watches over you will not slumber;
4 indeed, he who watches over Israel will neither slumber nor sleep.
(NIV)
What do you think the people though when they realized Eutychus is no longer sitting in the window? Can you hear Eutychus’s mama scream: “Where’s my baby?” Can you feel the panic that spread through the room when someone looked out the window where Eutychus was and cried: “He’s down there!”
I would think that someone falling out of their pew or perch during church would wake more than a few people up! In fact, I think church would be over at that point!
Do you think that you could trust God or his Son Jesus in a situation like this?
The Apostle Paul did. He put his faith on the line.
Acts 20:10-12
10 Paul went down, threw himself on the young man and put his arms around him. "Don’t be alarmed," he said. "He’s alive!"
11 Then he went upstairs again and broke bread and ate. After talking until daylight, he left.
12 The people took the young man home alive and were greatly comforted.
(NIV)
Paul had never raised anyone from the dead. He had never seen anyone raised from the dead. But he believed.
The real question is not “Why did God let Eutychus fall asleep?” The real question is: “Was anyone but the Apostle Paul awake?”
Had Eutychus not fallen asleep, we would not have this miracle in the Bible. We might even be tempted to believe that God does not care.
The truth of the matter is that God can wake us up when we get lulled to sleep in the things of God.
Galatians 6:9
9 So don’t get tired of doing what is good.
Don’t get discouraged and give up, for we will reap a harvest of blessing at the appropriate time.
(NLT)
If you find yourself weary in the things of God, WAKE UP!!! If you find that the bed that you have made for yourself is uncomfortable, God may be telling you to WAKE UP!!! You are not supposed to be under that covering. You may say, “Well, under the circumstances, what else can I expect?” God says to you today; What are you doing “under the circumstances?” WAKE UP!!!!
Do you think that you could trust God or his Son Jesus in a situation like yours?
For all those who have fallen asleep in church,
wake up,
Romans 13:11
11 …The hour has come for you to wake up from your slumber,
because our salvation is nearer now than when we first believed.
(NIV)
Ephesians 5:14-16
14 …This is why it is said:
"Wake up, O sleeper,
rise from the dead, and Christ will shine on you."
15 Be very careful, then, how you live-- not as unwise but as wise,
16 making the most of every opportunity, because the days are evil.
(NIV)
WAKE UP!!!!
