I give credit to Rev. Dr. F. Bruce Williams for many of the thoughts of this message, not sure of the year.
TITLE: THE DANGER OF FALLING ASLEEP IN CHURCH
SCRIPTURE: ACTS 20:7-12
This is a very interesting text that presents many Preachers a challenge to apply real practical application. Preaching does not help if it does not connect with relevant practical application, that is to say, what is the text speaking to us today. I must admit this particular text is challenging to digest and place into proper context. Nevertheless, I want to lift from the pages of the Holy Writ, the following thought this morning – The Danger of Falling Asleep in Church.
Of all the things that Brother Luke could have selected to write about in this dynamic, fast paced book of Acts, he pauses to tell us about a young man by the name of Eutychus. Luke stops and choses to insert this narrative. Of all the things he could have told us in reference to the Apostle Paul – Luke tells about:
• The dramatic conversion experience on the Road to Damascus
• How he fell off his beast and encountered Jesus
• All the Churches Paul would start and Preach throughout Asia Minor
• Cast out of Cities
• Healed the Sick
• Island of Melita where he was bitten by poisonous serpent on the hand, waited for him to die
• Can I footnote and tell you wounded hands make the best hands
• Paul would be Stoned and left for dead
• Beaten with Rods
• Shipwrecked
• Night and Day spent in the deep
All the things that Paul had done - all the sacrifices he had made for the Kingdom - all that Luke could have told us about the Life and Ministry of Paul, he spends time to write about this boy named Eutychus who fell asleep and fell out of a 3rd Floor window. If you listen carefully this morning, there are some lessons in this text that will help us become better after the Benediction.
The text tells us Paul stops in TROAS and over time, begins to develop relationships. I don’t understand Pastors in this day and age that don’t take time to develop relationships with those in the community and Church. Talk about we have to be careful and can’t be around community, can’t be around everybody, we have to protect the anointing. Here is a newsflash, we can’t protect the Anointing, the anointing protects us. Paul spends time strengthening the Church and community by building relationships. After some time passed, they began to realize that Paul was planning on leaving them soon. Text makes it clear he would depart the next day. So they decide, if he is going to leave, let him deliver a final word, a final sermon.
• You don’t let a man like Paul in your midst and let him leave without delivering some Final Words
• So they set a meeting for Paul and the community and it would take place on the 3rd Floor in a house
Can I also call to your attention that they meet in the Evening on a Sunday. We can see the shift where they no longer worship on the Sabbath, but had now moved to the first day of the week. I respect SEVENTH (7TH) DAY ADVENTIST but they are all caught up and concerned over the wrong issue of Redemption and Remembering the Sabbath and Keeping it Holy without view and understanding of dispensations. Why the transition from Sabbath the last day of the Week to Sunday, the First Day of the Week?:
• Day Jesus rose early in the morning
• Rose with all Power in His Hand
• Day that Death Died
• It was early on a Sunday morning that a Shift took place
• Worship First Day of the Week to ensure we start the Week out right
• First Day of the Week that is so full of possibilities and expectations for what will follow during the week
• A Shift took place the day Jesus defeated Death
• Early on Sunday Morning
Did I tell you this was an evening service the leaders put together for Paul? It is important to understand this, so we can see the heart of those that were building this First Century Church. They had an evening service for Paul in an effort to ensure everyone could make this Final Word and Preaching event from Paul. There were some, perhaps many, in the community who did not have the flexibility in schedule to attend during the day. The leaders thought enough about the congregation to select a time where everyone could attend and hear the words of this Apostle. This was Evening Worship Service not 11:00 a.m. Sunday Morning.
• We think it is not Church unless it is 11am Sunday Morning
• We think God cannot move unless it is 11am Sunday Morning
• We think Preacher has not preached unless it is 11 am Sunday Morning
We need to be careful and not think that Sunday Morning is any holier than any other time of the week. EVERYDAY IS A DAY OF THANKSGIVING. Be careful not to compartmentalize 11am Sunday Morning.
• If we are not careful we will be HOLY on Sunday and HELLISH on Monday
• If we are not careful we will be nothing more than Sunday Saints
Eutycus was at the Evening Service for the same reason as everyone else, to hear the Word. He sat down and made up his mind to hear the Word. After all it was the Apostle Paul; he was not going to miss this. I can imagine Eutycus hung on to every Word that Paul spoke. Bible says Paul went on and on and on. He was trying to pour into the Church because he did not know when he would have the opportunity to return and visit them again. For Eutycus:
• Day had been long
• Belly was full
• Body tired
• Place was packed
• Atmosphere was Warm
• Candles had Hypnotic Glow
• He shook it off
• He wanted to hear Paul
Paul had been preaching now a long time. Did I say a long time? We like to say that the attention span is only 14 minutes so we should not preach longer than that. We can’t hold the congregations attention longer than 20 minutes max. I have even heard Seasoned Saints suggest if the Preacher can’t say it in less than 20 minutes, it does not need to be said.
• Did you turn the Super Bowl off after 20 minutes?
• Did you walk out of the Thunder Game after 20 minutes?
• Do you walk off your Job Monday morning after 20 minutes?
• Did you turn off Scandal or How To Get Away With Murder 20 minutes into program?
• Did you walk out the Movie Theatre after first 20 minutes?
• Seems like our attention span is only short on Sunday Morning
Can you place yourself in the text with me, up on the 3rd Floor and see Eutycus as he does his best to shake sleep off. His eyes begin to grow heavy. He now shifts his position. He decides to shift positions by perching preciously in window of 3rd Floor where the wind could blow and keep him awake. But -
• His eyes grow heavier
• Shoulders start to Slump
• Head starts to Boob
• You know how we do trying to Fight Sleep Off
• Sleep gets the best of him
• Falls into a Deep Satisfying Sleep
Someone begins to shout as they see him falling out of the window. It is hard for us to read about Eutycus without some of us having some flashbacks to a time in our own life when we too have been in Church –
• With the very best of intentions
• Tried to stay awake
• But found ourselves Fighting Sleep
• Yes, in the Church
• We tried moving around in our seat
• We fought the heaviness of our eyes
• We heard the words of Grandma in our Spirit saying “Church Ain’t Nowhere to Fall Asleep”
• At the very least this boy, Eutycus was in the Church
• Some members are awake this morning and not even here
• This boy in our text may have been sleep, but at least he was in the right place
SOMETIMES PEOPLE DON’T FALL ASLEEP IN THE CHURCH, THEY ARE PUT TO SLEEP BY THE CHURCH. Attend a Dull and Drab Church and look like they want to be somewhere else. Attend a Cold, Uninviting Church that Puts you to Sleep.
• Pastor not prepared and full of Clichés
• Ushers don’t have a smile on their face
• Singing same old songs for past 40 years
• Choir no longer rehearses
• Sunday School teachers don’t know what the lesson is about
• Move through the Morning Bulletin with no excitement or sense of life
• Sit in the Pews, can’t wait for Service to end so you can go home
• Yes, Put to Sleep By The Church
EVEN BOREDOM CAN BE CONTAGIOUS. SOMETIMES WHOLE COMMUNITIES ARE PUT TO SLEEP BY THE CHURCH.
• Only concerned about them
• No longer concerned about the community
• Social Club for the Saved
• No Longer a Hospital for the Sin Sick
• 50 Ministries but don’t go outside the four walls of the Church
• More concerned about Worship then you are about Service
• If we are not careful we will Worship, Worship instead of Worshipping the Lord
Parishioners must take on some of this responsibility. We must maximize the Worship experience and make a difference after the Benediction. We must understand preparation. Anything worth doing is worth preparing for –
• Prepare for Work
• Prepare for College
• Prepare for Travel
• Prepare for Promotion
• Don’t take time to Prepare for Worship
• How many came in this morning Prepared for Worship
• Doesn’t make difference how many are here – Worship
• Doesn’t make difference what songs are being sung - Worship
Maximize the Worship Experience we must Prepare. We must Prepare at home for Worship.
• Don’t need Choir to Sing you Up
• Don’t need Preacher to Preach you Happy
• Don’t need Pastor to Shout you Silly
• Too many people come to Church expecting the Church to Fire them up
• You need to Prepare at Home
• I Was Glad When They Said Unto Me, Let Us Go To The House of the Lord
• I didn’t get Glad when I arrived
• I didn’t get Glad after Choir sang my favorite song
• I prepared at home and was Glad when someone made the suggestion we should go to Church
It is not only about Preparation when you get here, it is also about participation. It’s like having a bank account. You only get out of it what you put in. Primary purpose is to come to Church and bless God. Worship is not about you, it is about Him. You have to get involved.
• Hear many people say, “They just don’t feel it”
• Hear many people say they don’t feel like Worshipping right now
• You Don’t Feel Your Way Into Worship
• You Worship Your Way Into Feeling
• I Will Bless The Lord At All Times, His Praise Will Continuously Be In My Mouth
IT IS POSSIBLE TO BE WALKING WITH EYES WIDE OPEN AND STILL BE SLEEP. This is no time for the Church to be Sleep. The World needs the Church to be wide awake and engaged.
• Hell is Too Hot
• Heaven is Too Real
• Poverty is Still Hurting Folks
• Prisons Still Being Filled Up
• Babies Still Having Babies
• Crime is Still on the Rise
• Sinners are Still Lost
• Church is Still Asleep
I can imagine being there were Eutycus was seated and watching him. I can imagine myself sitting in the back, I mean all the way in the back of the Church in the last Pew watching Eutycus. I am watching the young man, I am not listening to Paul preach, I have already heard him before. I am watching Eutycus as he is moving around and finally decides to sit on the window ledge. As he is seated there, I can’t help but wonder if anyone else sees him. WHAT IN THE WORLD IS THE CHURCH DOING AS HE SITS ON THIS LEDGE? Is anyone going to tell him, it is probably too dangerous to be seated like that in the Window Sill?
• Church busy doing everything else no one watches him as he sits on Window Sill
• We can be so busy doing busy stuff – we forget about the Lord’s stuff
• So busy Climbing Corporate Ladder
• So busy with Praise and Worship
• So busy making that next Dollar
• So busy pursuing that Next Degree
• So busy keeping up with the Jones, Smiths, Browns and everybody else
• Missing out on Best Stuff
• Our Children placing themselves in harm’s way
• Placing themselves dangerously close in window
• And No One Is Watching
• Because we are too busy with Church Stuff
Bible says, He fell, he did not Jump. He Fell, He Died. He did not intend to end up dead in the streets. He did not mean to do it. HE WAS TRYING TO DEAL WITH AN ATMOSPHERE HE DID NOT CREATE.
• People all around us trying to Cope with Atmosphere they did not create
• Boy with Paints Sagging, just trying to survive in atmosphere he did not create
• Girl Sleeping Around, she is just trying to Cope with the atmosphere she was raised
• Another Child Drops out of High School, they are just trying to Cope with the hand they have been dealt
• You don’t know what they have been putting up with at home
• People all around us just trying to Cope with Environment they did not create
• Falling out the Window all around us
• Tragedy is, we leave them there dead and dying
A lot of people are sitting on the Ledge just trying to cope with atmosphere they did not create. Luke said this boy fell out the 3rd Floor window and was dead. Luke should know the boy was dead, after all he was a Physician. The boy fell to his death from the 3rd Floor window and the Bible says, the CHURCH STOPPED HAVING CHURCH AND STARTED BEING THE CHURCH. I am not sure you see it in the text at first glance, but it is there.
• They did not run to the window when the young man fell out
• Church spends too much time running to the window
• Stand at Window and Criticize
• Do you believe she is pregnant again
• Do you believe he dropped out of college wasted potential
• Do you believe they getting divorced after all this time
• Did you hear why he lost his job
• That baby does not look anything like him
• Did you hear she got arrested again
• Do you see that boy, his parents are probably rolling over in the grave
• We go to the window and criticize
• Church members spend a lot of time at the Window
• And we act like we never did anything wrong
Bible says Paul and the Church went to the door. Door gives you access to someone that has fallen. We are having so much Church that we have stopped being the Church. Church has to be more than Worship, it must also be work. WORK HAPPENS, NOT AT THE WINDOW, BUT AT THE DOOR.
• Worship and Work must be working right
--We need to stop having Church long enough to go see about a boy that has fallen
--We need to stop having Church long enough to go see about a mother that has fallen
--We need to stop having Church long enough to go see about those hurt by the Church
--Paul took time like the Prophet Elijah stretched his body over that dead boy
--I don’t know what Paul said to him or if he spoke at all
--All I know the boy that was once dead was revived
--Because Worship went to Work
--Let’s go through the Door and Revive Dead Dreams
--Let’s go through the Door and Revive Lost Potential
--Let’s go through the Door and Revive Wounded Spirits
--Let’s go through the Door and Revive a Lost Generation
--Let’s go through the Door and Show the Love of God
--Let’s go through the Door and Really Help Those In Need
--Let’s go through the Door and say Lord Help Me Be A Blessing To Someone Else
--The Danger of Falling Asleep in Church
