When I was a Junior in High School, my last class of the day was Chemistry. By that time of the day, I was dragging. I needed a nap, or a candy bar or something to keep me awake. But I never had any of that – just chemistry. And chemistry could not keep me awake.
Now I know this has never, ever happened to any of the young people here, and I think it only happened to me once, but one day – I think it was a Friday – I fell asleep in Chemistry class.
It was Spring. It was one of those warm days when the sky is so blue. I walked into class, sat down, and rested my head on my hands.
And before long, I was asleep.
Suddenly, and without any warning to me, my chemistry teacher picked up a chemistry text book – which was pretty thick and heavy.
She slammed it on the desk and said, “WAKE UP!”
I was so stunned!
And so was the poor fellow behind me who not only woke up -- he shouted, “Who? Me?”
I’m sorry to say this was not the only time I had fallen asleep in class. It was a pattern of behavior that started when I was in elementary school.
My teacher would catch me sleeping or day dreaming and much to my dismay, she would put my name on the blackboard.
I hated that.
My name would stay up there all day long as a reminder that I had not done well in class.
My name was on the bulletin board as if to serve as a warning to all other students. “Don’t be like Maynard or your name will be put up there as well.”
Now pity poor Eutychus.
Here is a young man trying to stay awake in church.
And he’s listening to an old preacher. Paul – by this time Paul probably has a pot belly, probably has gray hair in his beard. And Paul doesn’t know when to stop.
I love the way the Book of Acts puts it: “Seated in a window was a young man named Eutychus, who was sinking into a deep sleep as Paul talked on and on.”
Poor Eutychus. He’s a young man trying to listen to the old preacher. He probably came to church right after school or work. Maybe he was one of these guys with a tattoo on his arm, maybe he had a pierced tongue, maybe he had orange hair – or whatever younger people did back then. He is a different generation from Paul.
He’s not lazy – he’s tired. He gets sleepy. And the poor guy falls asleep and it is worse than getting your name written up on the blackboard – his name is written in the Bible.
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.
Scholars have suggested that the reason why Eutychus is mentioned by name is because he eventually became a leader in the church.
Luke is telling a story about the old generation – led by Paul whose ministry would soon come to an end – and here is a young person Eutychus. The torch is about to be passed.
I look out at young people today, they dress different, their music is loud, their hair is pink or orange, they have tattoos and pierced tongues, and I think – they are the next generation of leaders in the church.
And I think – the church is in good hands!
Every generation has its own culture. Sometimes, the older generation puts the younger generation to sleep – well, I’m sure that doesn’t happen here, but it happens sometimes!
And sometimes the older generation is left a bit confused and bewildered by the younger generation.
But the church goes on – and on and on. From one generation to another.
And while every generation is different, some things always remain the same.
In the preaching that Paul does following the incident with young Eutychus falling asleep and falling out of a 3rd story window, we see some examples of things in Paul’s life that are things every generation of the church needs – things that should never change.
The Christian leaders of Paul’s day and the Christian leaders of Eutychus’ day, and the Christian leaders of our day – should all embrace these characteristics.
1. Enthusiasm
The first and most obvious characteristic of Paul is enthusiasm. I mean, look at the man. He is told by God, according to verses 22 and 23 of our reading that he was to follow the leading of the Holy Spirit to go to Jerusalem, and that he didn’t know what would happen to him there. But he did say this: “I only know that in every city the Holy Spirit warns me that prison and hardships are facing me.”
And what was Paul’s reaction to this? “Sounds good Lord! Prison? Hardship in every city? Sign me up!”
Today when the church looks for workers we usually tell them how great it will be. How much satisfaction they will have. How much joy will come into their lives. I’m not sure we ever approach a volunteer by telling them how hard it will be and how miserable the task will make them.
But Paul has so much enthusiasm for the Lord.
I mean, just look at the way he preaches in this passage. He can’t stop. He goes on and on. Not only does he put someone to sleep so he falls out the window – Paul stops preaching just long enough to raise him from the dead and then he keeps preaching until dawn.
That’s enthusiasm.
Are you that enthusiastic?
I hope you are.
Especially now, because we are approaching a great time in our church. The Forty Days of Purpose are right around the corner.
This program has great support, great leadership, and great potential. But it will only work if YOU are enthusiastic about it and will invite your friends and neighbors to this event.
Paul had enthusiasm.
We need it also!
2. Tenacity
Another characteristic of a Christian worker is that of TENACITY.
Paul says in his farewell to the Ephesian elders, “I consider my life worth nothing to me, if only I may finish the race and complete the task the Lord Jesus has given me-- the task of testifying to the gospel of God’s grace.”
I suppose that everyone watched at least a little bit of the Olympics a few weeks ago. I remember watching the Olympics years ago. I think it was in 1972. The marathon was being run and runners came in first, then second, then third. And after that people stopped paying attention to the marathon and turned their attention to other events.
But a long time after the first runner had crossed the finish line, the last runner came running toward the finish line. He was tired, exhausted. He was limping as in such a way that you knew he’d endured some sort of injury.
But he was representing his nation, and himself, and he was determined to finish the race.
He barely made it over the finish line before he collapsed.
I can’t remember who won the gold, silver or bronze, but I remember the tenacity of that single runner who was determined to finish the race no matter the pain.
And that was Paul – he was determined to finish the task before him.
We always like to see people win.
But we also like to see people who just plain finish the race! We love to see people stick with it, no matter what.
Sixty-four years ago, the Great Britain was fighting for its survival in a war against Nazi Germany. In 1940, the British army suffered defeat and retreated from Flanders. Winston Churchill gave a dramatic speech to the House of Commons.
“We shall not flag nor fail. We shall go on to the end. We shall fight in France and on the seas and oceans; we shall fight with growing confidence and growing strength in the air. We shall defend our island whatever the cost may be; we shall fight on beaches, landing grounds, in fields, in streets and on the hills. We shall never surrender.”
That needs to be the attitude of the Christian – we don’t give up! We never surrender. We hang in there and we finish the race! We do the work of God.
3. Humility
Another characteristic is humility.
In our New Testament lesson, Paul said, “You know how I lived the whole time I was with you, from the first day I came into the province of Asia. I served the Lord with great humility.”
We live in an age of arrogance, but Christ calls us to be humble.
A truly humble person is hard to find, yet God delights to honor such selfless people.
Booker T. Washington, the renowned black educator, was an outstanding example of this truth. Shortly after he took over the presidency of Tuskegee Institute in Alabama, he was walking in an exclusive section of town when he was stopped by a wealthy white woman. Not knowing the famous Mr. Washington by sight, she asked if he would like to earn a few dollars by chopping wood for her. Because he had no pressing business at the moment, Professor Washington smiled, rolled up his sleeves, and proceeded to do the humble chore she had requested. When he was finished, he carried the logs into the house and stacked them by the fireplace. A little girl recognized him and later revealed his identity to the lady.
The next morning the embarrassed woman went to see Mr. Washington in his office at the Institute and apologized profusely. "It’s perfectly all right, Madam," he replied. "Occasionally I enjoy a little manual labor. Besides, it’s always a delight to do something for a friend." She shook his hand warmly and assured him that his meek and gracious attitude had endeared him and his work to her heart. Not long afterward she showed her admiration by persuading some wealthy acquaintances to join her in donating thousands of dollars to the Tuskegee Institute. (Our Daily Bread)
A preacher from years ago, D.L.Moody, once said, “Be humble or you’ll stumble.”
In the summer of 1986, two ships collided in the Black Sea off the coast of Russia. Hundreds of passengers died as they were hurled into the icy waters below. News of the disaster was further darkened when an investigation revealed the cause of the accident. It wasn’t a technology problem like radar malfunction--or even thick fog. The cause was human stubbornness. Each captain was aware of the other ship’s presence nearby. Both could have steered clear, but according to news reports, neither captain wanted to give way to the other. Each was too proud to yield first. By the time they came to their senses, it was too late. (Closer Walk, December, 1991.)
“Be humble or you’ll stumble.”
The Christian worker must be humble, not arrogant or proud.
4. Generosity
Another characteristic is that of generosity. Paul said, “In everything I did, I showed you that by this kind of hard work we must help the weak, remembering the words the Lord Jesus himself said: ’It is more blessed to give than to receive.’"
That is an interesting passage, because it is the only quotation of Jesus Christ that is not found in the four Gospels. But Paul heard that Jesus had taught this and it was burned into his soul – “It is more blessed to give than to receive.”
That is contrary to what many of us believe. We want to receive, not give.
In 1873, 10-year old Willie Anderson, an orphan, gave a donation of 50 cents to his church in Clinton, SC. It was the first donation in a project that was being started by the boy’s church -- First Presbyterian Church in Clinton. This ten year old’s generosity was followed by the generation of others and two years later the church started what is now known as Thornwell Home and School for Children -- one of the great ministries of the Presbyterian Church. It started as an orphanage for children whose families had been torn apart by the Civil War. Now, more than a century and 37,000 children later, Thornwell continues to bring God’s renewing message of love and hope, not only to children and youth, but also to families whose lives have been broken and are in desperate need of restoration.
But it started with the generosity of one person, ten year old Willie Anderson.
Paul was generous. He remembered the words of our Lord Jesus Christ, who said, it is more blessed to give than to receive.
All Christians need to demonstrate the characteristic of generosity.
Conclusion
Some things change all the time.
I remember when I was a young teenager, I had a father who was furious when I told him I wanted to go to the store to buy some records of Elvis Pressly and of the Beatles. He believed that was the devil’s music and he insisted that Al Jolson was good enough for his generation and therefore good enough for me!
Now my son’s favorite musician is Tupac. I listen to it. I can appreciate the skill of the musicians and the poetry of the lyrics – but I have to tell you, I don’t like the music! I try to tell my son, the Beatles were good enough for me, they should be good enough for him!
Every generation dresses differently, talks differently, enjoys its own unique art and music. But some things remain the same. These are values and marks of a noble character – they were good enough for Paul’s generation, and for the generation of Eutychus – and for every generation yet to come.
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Written by Maynard Pittendreigh
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