But it is more than just a man sleeping in this passage of scripture. This man named Eutychus was sitting on a window sill while Paul preached a very lengthy sermon, and he fell out the window and died.
• We ministers are indeed thankful for this passage of scripture, because when we see men and women sleeping in church, it makes us feel better to know they also slept when Paul preached.
• We ministers also are thankful for this passage because it took Paul five hours to put one man to sleep and today most ministers can put a half- dozen to sleep in a thirty minute sermon.
Sleeping in church seems to be an age old problem in church services.
Illus: A minister decided he was going to do something about a man that often slept during his sermons.
While the man was sleeping, the pastor said, “All who want to go to heaven, please rise.” Everyone stood up except the sleeper.
Then, he walked over to where the man was sleeping and SCREAMED OUT, “All who wish to go to hell, STAND UP NOW!”
Only the sleeper stood up. The sleeper looked around and saw he was the only one standing, he said “I don’t know what we’re voting on, Reverend, but it looks like you and me are the only ones for it’.”
Illus: Dr. Odell Belger was preaching one night and a man went to sleep during his sermon. His Nephew was sitting beside him, and when he went into a deep sleep, he poked him in the side to get him to quit snoring. The man thought the preacher had called on him to pray, so he stood up and closed the service in prayer. He was embarrassed when he discovered he had prayed in the middle of the sermon.
Paul also had to deal with sleepers during his sermons.
Sometimes we Christians sit around and talk about some unusual things that have happened in church services.
Illus: Dr. Odell Belger was preaching a graduation sermon for a Christian School in York, South Carolina. Dr. Wayne Smith is the pastor of this great church. They held the graduation in the gymnasium to hold the large crowd that came out for this special event. When Dr. Belger got about three-fourths of the way through the sermon, Dr. Wayne Smith began to jump around on the platform which seem to be unusual for the circumstances of a graduation program. Then he sat back down like everyone else. After the graduation service was over, Dr. Belger said to Dr. Smith, “You really enjoyed that sermon didn’t you?” (Referring to the little shouting spell he had on the platform) Dr. Smith said, “Yes, I did but I need to explain why I was jumping around on the platform. While you were preaching, a rat ran up my leg and I caught him at my knee, I was not going to let him turn the curve, so I caught him with my hand and I squeezed him to death and I threw him over there.”
Dr. Belger looked over in the corner and sure enough there was a dead rat on the floor.
All kinds of unusual things happen in church. Paul had a very unusual thing happen to him.
Let’s look at it in Acts 20:7-12, we read, “And upon the first day of the week, when the disciples came together to break bread, Paul preached unto them, ready to depart on the morrow; and continued his speech until midnight. And there were many lights in the upper chamber, where they were gathered together. And there sat in a window a certain young man named Eutychus, being fallen into a deep sleep: and as Paul was long preaching, he sunk down with sleep, and fell down from the third loft, and was taken up dead. And Paul went down, and fell on him, and embracing him said, Trouble not yourselves; for his life is in him. When he therefore was come up again, and had broken bread, and eaten, and talked a long while, even till break of day, so he departed. And they brought the young man alive, and were not a little comforted.”
After Paul had preached a five hour sermon, this man fell out of a third story window and it killed him. We do not know if he landed on his head or if it broke his neck! We do know that God used Paul to revive him and bring him back to life.
Illus: I guess Paul felt like the young boy that was sitting beside his dad and his dad went to sleep and started snoring. The preacher said to the young boy, “Son, wake your dad up!” The young boy said, “Sir, you put him to sleep, you wake him up.”
I guess since Paul was the reason he fell out of the window and died, he felt compelled to ask the Lord to raise him up.
• I am sure that as long as this man lived, folks talked about him falling out of that window.
• I am sure that the legacy he left after he died was that he was the man that died falling out of a window as Paul preached a five hour sermon, and God raised him back to life again.
When a person dies, the family of the deceased calls for a minister to preach the funeral.
But listen, we preachers do not really preach anyone’s funeral, WE ALL PREACH OUR OWN FUNERAL!
We all leave a legacy behind, EVERY ONE OF US! People know us for the life we have lived.
Illus: A preacher can get up and say nice things that are not true about a person, but in doing so, he loses credibility with the people, because those who know the deceased know what kind of life that person lived.
WHAT KIND OF A FUNERAL ARE YOU PREACHING?
Let me suggest four things we should do to leave behind a legacy that the Lord would be pleased with.
If we are going to live a life that the Lord is pleased with so we leave a good legacy behind-
I. WE MUST LEARN
There are all kinds of ways to learn. Eutychus, in our text, fell out of a window. I believe he learned from that experience and didn’t make the same mistake again.
Learning is essential in life. Learning is important because no one is born with the ability to function competently as an adult in society.
A child is born with the instinct to learn. This is why at an early age they begin to ask question after question, THEY WANT TO LEARN.
Adults also are constantly learning in this life:
• This is why many come to Sunday School every week. They want to learn more about God’s Word.
• This is why many go to college. They want to learn how they can be their best in this life.
• This is why many read books each day.
• This is why many read newspapers each day.
• This is why many watch the news each day.
Learning is a part of life.
One of the things that teaches us the most in life is OUR MISTAKES! For example, if a man touches a hot stove he immediately learns that this is something he should not do.
We have some people in this life that do things just as ridiculous, and they keep doing the same things over and over again. THEY CAN NOT LEARN FROM THEIR MISTAKES!
There are so many in the O.T. and N.T. that left legacys showing they could not learn from their mistakes.
King Saul should have had written on his tombstone, “I played the part of a fool!” because that is exactly what he did.
There were three foolish things he did.
(1) HE DISREGARDED THE TEACHINGS OF GOD’S WORD (1 Samuel 13:13)
When the Philistines were about to attack, he took it upon himself to offer up sacrifices. This is something that only the priest could do, but he chose to ignore God’s teaching and paid a price for doing so.
(2) HE LOST HIS RESPECT FOR AHIMELECH AND HAD HIM KILLED (1 Samuel 22)
Ahimelech was a man of God and very loyal to Saul. He was so eaten up with jealousy that he did not even know who his real friends were. When Ahimelech was trying to help David as he was fled from Saul, he thought he was doing Saul a favor.
(3) HE TURNED TO THE “WITCH OF ENDOR” FOR ADVICE (1 Samuel 28)
This man seemed incapable of learning. He kept doing things to bring misery to his life. But Saul is not the only one that could never learn from his mistakes.
We can not be an effective Christian if we keep making the same mistakes over and over again. If we are going to leave a good legacy, we have to learn what is THE RIGHT THING and what is the WRONG THING to do.
Illus: In Cherokee, North Carolina, they have a duck and a chicken in a cage. That duck and chicken have learned how to play the drum and piano.
• If you put a quarter in the slot, the duck runs over and pecks on the drum knowing that food will come sliding into his cage
• If you drop a quarter in the slot, the chicken knows if he goes over there and pecks on the piano keys that food will come sliding into his trough
This type of learning is called “conditioned reflex”. That is, a certain condition will cause a certain kind of reflex. But listen, we all know people that do not have the sense that duck and that chicken have. They keep making the same mistakes, never realizing certain mistakes will cause certain conditions.
Illus: They tell us that Thomas Edison is supposed to have been a genius, but I am not really convinced he was. Did you know it took him six thousand tries before he could make a light bulb work. Now if he had done that a dozen times and made it work I would concur he was a genius, but six thousand times, I am not sure.
But he was a very determined fellow.
On one occasion, a young journalist challenged Edison saying to him, "Mr. Edison, why do you keep trying to make light by using electricity when you have failed so many times? Don't you know that gas lights are with us to stay?"
To this Edison replied, "Young man, don't you realize that I have not failed but have successfully discovered six thousand ways that won't work!"
On October 21, 1879, after thirteen months of repeated failures, Edison finally succeeded in finding a filament that would work. While experimenting, the thought came to him, "Why not try a carbonized cotton fiber?"
After going through two spools of cotton, he eventually perfected a strand only to break it while trying to place it in a glass tube. He refused to give up and persevered with this idea for two more days and nights without sleep. Finally he succeeded in placing a carbonized thread into a vacuum-sealed bulb! Eureka! It worked.
But there are those who have done the same wrong thing thousands of times and they have not come close to realizing they were DOING THE WRONG THING! THEY SEEM TO BE INCAPABLE OF LEARNING!
One of the best ways to learn is to learn from our mistakes. Eutychus made the dreadful mistake of falling out of that church window. We can only hope he was smart enough to learn from that experience and not repeat that mistake again, especially if Paul was going to preach a five hour sermon. If he did make that mistake again, he left behind a legacy that he could not learn from his mistakes.
When the preacher preaches your funeral, will it be said that you LEARNED from your mistakes?
If we are going to be able to achieve our full potential, WE MUST LEARN and -
II. WE MUST LEAN
We must all LEARN TO LEAN on the Lord Jesus. Every one of us is LEANING on something, but God wants to teach us to LEARN TO LEAN ON JESUS.
I know folks whose lives reveal that they are leaning ON THEMSELVES, not on the LORD JESUS!
We must learn to lean on the everlasting arms of the Lord Jesus. Those who trust in their own power and wealth are going to be disappointed one day.
Illus: The Roman emperor Charlemagne has an interesting story surrounding his burial. He requested THREE things:
• He asked to be entombed sitting upright on his throne
• He asked that his crown be placed on his head and his scepter in his hand
• He requested that the royal cape be draped around his shoulders and an open book be placed in his lap. That was A.D. 814.
Nearly two hundred years later, Emperor Othello determined to see if the burial request had been carried out. He allegedly sent a team of men to open the tomb and make a report. They found the body just as Charlemagne had requested. Only now, nearly two centuries later, the scene was gruesome.
• The crown was tilted, the mantle moth-eaten, the body disfigured.
• But open, on the skeletal thighs, was the book Charlemagne had requested – the Bible. One bony finger pointed to Matthew 16:26: “For what is a man profited, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul?…”
(Encyclopedia of 7700 Illustrations (Rockville, MD: Assurance Publishers, 1979)
Look at Acts 20:7-12, we read, “And upon the first day of the week, when the disciples came together to break bread, Paul preached unto them, ready to depart on the morrow; and continued his speech until midnight. And there were many lights in the upper chamber, where they were gathered together. And there sat in a window a certain young man named Eutychus, being fallen into a deep sleep: and as Paul was long preaching, he sunk down with sleep, and fell down from the third loft, and was taken up dead. And Paul went down, and fell on him, and embracing him said, Trouble not yourselves; for his life is in him. When he therefore was come up again, and had broken bread, and eaten, and talked a long while, even till break of day, so he departed. And they brought the young man alive, and were not a little comforted.”
What happened in this passage of scripture is something that most of us have never experienced in a church service.
WHAT HAPPENED?
• They did not have electric lights as we have today in our evening service, they used lanterns to be able to see.
• The church building was packed and some had to sit on the window sills.
• Paul was going to leave them the next day, so he decided he would share everything he wanted to tell them.
Paul probably set a record for the Guinness book of records that evening. He preached from around 6 0’clock until midnight. That’s a five hour sermon, and you think my sermons are long! After he raised Eutychus from the dead, they had a communion service, and the Bible tells us he preached until the crack of dawn and he departed.
Illus: A pastor, known for his lengthy sermons, noticed a man get up and leave during the middle of his message. The man returned just before the conclusion of the service. Afterwards the pastor asked the man where he had gone. "I went to get a haircut," was the reply. "But," said the pastor, "why didn't you do that before the service?" He said, “I didn’t need one before service!”
Eutychus fell out of a three story building during a church service and it killed him, but God used Paul to bring him back to life.
It would have been interesting to see what was placed on his tombstone when he died later. Why would it be interesting? Because sometimes a man’s whole life can be written on his tombstone.
Illus: These things were actually found written on tombstones:
• A man had written on his tombstone, "I made a lot of good deals in my lifetime, but I sure went in the hole on this one."
• Another man had written, "On the twenty-second of June, Jonathan Fiddle went out of tune."
• Another man had written, "Here lies William Yeast. Pardon me for not rising."
• Another man wrote, "He died at a public gathering when the platform suddenly gave way."
But what about Eutyhcus, what could be placed on this man’s tombstone when he died? Maybe something like, “Going once, Going twice….”
I want to ask you a personal question. What could be placed on your tombstone that would appropriately represent your life?
Illus: Men that have served their term in the high office of President of the United States, leave a LEGACY BEHIND!
• Isenhower was known for his love of golf.
• Nixon was known for Watergate
• Kennedy was known for his steadfastness in dealing with Russia
• Ford was known for being a former football player who played to much with his helmet off
• Jimmy Carter is known for the American hostages held in Iran
• Ronald Reagan is known for ending the cold war
• George Herbert Bush is known for lying when he said “Read My Lips!”
• Bill Clinton is known for Monica Lewinski and impeachment
• It is yet to be told what George W. Bush’s legacy the war in Iraq.
However, it is not only Presidents who leave behind a legacy, SO DO WE! In the previous message, we saw that to leave a good legacy behind –
I. WE MUST LEARN
II. WE MUST LEAN
Also -
III. WE MUST LOOK
WHAT SHOULD WE LOOK FOR? We should look for the truth.
John 8:32 “And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.”
The world in which we live is filled with lies and deceptions. Many are falling for these lies, hook, line, and sinker! They are building their lives on these lies and deceptions.
Illus: Because some have joined a church, they think they are going to heaven when they die. No wonder they are going to be surprised on the judgment day, when the Lord says to them, “Depart from me, I never knew you.”
People fail to LOOK FOR THE TRUTH, and instead, they place their faith in the LIES AND DECEPTIONS this world offers them. It is only the TRUTH THAT CAN SET THEM FREE!
WHAT KEEPS THEM FROM THE TRUTH?
Many folks today do not know the WHOLE TRUTH, nor do they really want to know it. Why? Because the whole truth can sometimes be very alarming!
Listen, people do not mind you making angels out of them, they will sit there and smile and agree with everything you say. But when you start telling the raw truth about their sins, they do not like it, IT IS EMBARASSING!
Illus: At school, Little Tommy was told by a classmate that most adults are hiding at least one dark secret, and that this makes it very easy to blackmail them by saying, "I know the whole truth."
Little Tommy decided to go home and try it out.
• He went home, and as he was greeted by his mother he said, "I know the whole truth." His mother quickly handed him $20 and said, "Just don’t tell your father."
• Quite pleased, the boy waited for his father to get home from work, and greeted him with, "I know the whole truth." Tommy’s father promptly handed him $50 and said, "Please don’t say a word to your mother!"
• Very pleased, the boy was on his way to school the next day when he saw the mailman at his front door. Little Tommy greeted him by saying, "I know the whole truth." The mailman immediately dropped the mail, opened his arms saying, "Then come give your daddy a big hug."
God knows the WHOLE TRUTH about mankind.
I do not know the whole truth about your lives, but let’s say I do. Let’s say that I have a “rap sheet” and it contains a list of every sin you’ve ever committed, and that list is now posted in the back of the church:
• Would you rush to the back of the church and destroy that list before anyone can see it?
• Would you run out of the church in shame?
One thing is certain, WE ALL WOULD BE ASHAMED!
Illus: A pastor (Dr. Odell Belger) tells that years ago a young lady that worked for the Shoney’s restaurant attended his church. She worked for them when the waitresses wore these green wraparound skirts. Shoney’s liked these skirts because they were made to fit all sizes of waitresses. One day the restaurant was full and she was going down the center aisle. She had a tray full of food, and she had to carry it with two hands. As she was walking down the center aisle, the green wraparound skirt came untied and hit the floor. There she was, standing in the middle of Shoney’s with a tray full of food in her hands, in her underclothes.
Dr. Belger asked her what she did. She said, “I just kept walking, I placed that tray full of food on a table by the front door, walked out the door and never went back, even for my paycheck.”
None of us like to be embarrassed, NONE OF US!
But many are in bondage to these secret sins, and the only thing they can do to be set free is to LOOK TO THE SON OF GOD AND HE WILL SET THEM FREE!
1 John 1:9, says we are to, “Confess our sins and he is faithful and just to forgive us and to cleanse us from all unrighteouness.”
When a person KNOWS THE TRUTH about themselves, then they can turn to Christ and He will SET THEM FREE!
When the preacher preaches your funeral, will he be able to say, “Here is a man that LOOKED FOR THE TRUTH and THE TRUTH SET HIM FREE?”
When the Word of God showed them they were sinners, they repented and asked the Lord for forgiveness.
Will you leave a legacy behind that you spent your life LOOKING AT THE FAULTS AND SINS OF OTHERS, BUT YOU COULD NEVER SEE YOUR OWN?
WE MUST LOOK, but also-
IV. WE MUST LIVE
How must we live?
Illus: Someone said, “When you were born, everyone else was smiling and you were crying. Live so that when you die, everyone else is crying and you are smiling.”
Listen, as a pastor I have preached many funerals:
• Sometimes when the deceased was no longer in the church, it did not affect the church one iota
• Sometimes precious saints of God died, and left a vacuum in the church that was astounding
We must all learn to live for the Lord if we are going to leave a good legacy behind.
Illus: Sometimes you hear folks talk about their parents. They might say something like this; “I had good godly parents that loved the Lord. They did not just say they loved the Lord, they loved the Lord. And when the church doors were open they were there every time.”
ISN’T THAT A WONDERFUL LEGACY FOR PARENTS TO LEAVE BEHIND FOR THEIR CHILDREN?
When the preacher is preaching your funeral, what can he truthfully say good about the way you lived your life?
When they are piling the dirt on your casket after it has been lowered into the ground, what will people be thinking about you as they walk away from that graveside to get into their cars?
We all leave some kind of legacy behind, EVERY ONE OF US!
Illus: Dr. Odell Belger, was called upon to preach a funeral for a family that occasionally visited his church. He did not know the family that well, because they were not really church people.
They had a graveside service for the father, and the son walked up to him and said, “Preacher, make it short and sweet, there is not much good you can say about him!”
Isn’t it sad that a father would live his life in such a way that his only son would say, “…There is not much good you can say about him.”
Will you leave a LEGACY that you were a man of God that LIVED FOR THE LORD?
WE MUST LIVE each precious moment in such a way that when the man of God preaches our funeral, he can say, “Here is a man that lived for the Lord!”
• He did not live for the Lord for six months and then go back to living the way he lived before
• He did not live for the Lord just on Sunday, but seven days a week
God wants us to take the days he gives us and use them wisely, BECAUSE ONE DAY SOME PREACHER IS GOING TO PREACH YOUR FUNERAL, and you will want him to say, “HERE IS A MAN THAT LIVED FOR THE LORD.”
Conclusion:
We are all going to leave a LEGACY behind.
God wants to help us to live our life to our full potential. When this life is over, we want to say with Paul:
• I have fought a good fight
• I have kept the faith
• I am now going to be with the Lord and be rewarded with my eternal rewards
Some preacher will preach our funeral one day, but the fact is, we PREACH OUR OWN FUNERAL each day of our lives.
To live a godly life:
# 1
I. WE MUST LEARN
II. WE MUST LEAN
# 2
III. WE MUST LOOK
IV. WE MUST LIVE
Conclusion:
HOW WILL YOU BE REMEMBERED?
• In the New Testament Peter is remembered for walking on water
• Paul is remembered for his love of souls and the preaching of the gospel
• Moses is remembered for his leadership and dedication of leading God’s people out of bondage
• Stephen is remembered for the stoning he took as he preached the gospel
Throughout the ages of time, great men and women have made their mark on the society in which they lived.
But the question today is, “How will you be remembered?” Will you be remembered as one:
• Who put God first in your time.
• Who put God first in your money, you appreciated God blessing you with a good job, good health and you wanted to make sure He got His tithes and love offerings.
• Who put God first in your conversation. You did not just talk about God on Sundays but you talked about Him seven days a week.
• Who built their life around GOD, not the things of the world.
What legacy will you leave behind?
Build your life on Jesus Christ and you will never be disappointed, and those who know you will be sorry to see you go. Amen.
To live a godly life:
I. WE MUST LEARN
II. WE MUST LEAN
III. WE MUST LOOK
IV. WE MUST LIVE
Note: You can hear Dr. Odell Belger preach some of these sermons on youtube,. Type Youtube Lykesland
