In this story, God calls on us to go beyond our borders! It’d be nice if we realized that our power and purpose do not lie solely within these walls! The church building is a funny building because its contradictory! All other buildings exist to keep out the bad elements! The church building oughta be trying to attract the bad element! What right do we have to vote somebody into the body of Christ? Jesus said “whosoever will…” When you think about it: the church is the only institution with borders. Doctors make housecalls. They have programs where you can take classes at home. Restaurants have takeout! Its time for the church to do takeout!
Morning service is not service! The service is in what we take out to the world! Service is going out into the streets praying for some folk! Service is going to the jails! Service is visiting the sick and shut-in! Service is mentoring that boy or girl who doesn’t have the greatest parental role models!
Yes God wants a church without borders! And he means that literally as in going outside of the building but he also means that figuratively. Some of us put borders around our worship! We just flat out declared how far we’d go when worshipping God! The problem with that is those are physical limitations and worship isn’t supposed to be physical in the first place! We don’t worship in the flesh but rather in spirit and in truth!
I can’t go limiting the spirit! Its impossible to limit the spirit and keep him in borders cause where the spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty! I’m free! Free to let go and let God have his way in me! When the spirit of the Lord comes upon my heart I’ll feel free to dance like David danced! When the spirit of the Lord comes upon my heart I’ll feel free to pray like David prayed! When the spirit of the Lord comes upon my heart I’ll feel free to shout like David shouted!… You sit and stare like bib lettuce if you want but I’ve made up in my mind to give my limitless God, limitless worship!
Paul had it right! He was on time! The faithful believer worshipped with believers wherever he was. He was in Troas on the oceanfront for seven days, which means he was there on Sunday. No doubt he was tired, exhausted, apparently having had no break for years. Instead of taking Sunday off and strolling on the beach, collecting seashells, he was in worship with other believers! Paul was faithful in worshipping on the first day of the week! He was faithful in observing the day the Lord arose! He was faithful in observing the Lord’s Supper! He was faithful in having fellowship with other believers no matter who they were or where they were nor how poor their facilities!
The faithful minister preached long and fervently. He grabbed every opportunity he could to preach despite fatigue and the need for rest! It says Paul preached until midnight! We’ve put borders on our worship! Physical borders! Time borders! I ain’t supposed to just keep it holy from 12:00 AM to 11:59 PM on Sundays! I’m not just on business for the King starting at 10:45 AM and ending around 1PM! He never sleeps; he never slumbers! I owe it to him to bless the Lord at all times…
In verse nine, we are introduced to a certain young man. I love how God uses these “certain young men.” Its not always about the Noahs, the Joshuas, the Davids but God uses ordinary people! He’s God! He could call on only the best but no! I’m glad he’s a God without borders! So there was this certain young man named Eutychus. Through him, we’re exposed to two critical issues facing believers. In the first place, he fell asleep in church! Eutychus was a hardworking slave! He worked day in and day out, just like Paul! But unlike Paul, when he got to the worship center, instead of getting into it, he feel into a deep sleep! They both had the same physical situation-they were both tired beyond belief! They both came to the same place, at the same time! But the anchor of the story comes from the choice that one of them made! Eutychus chose to fall into sleep!
The word sleep comes from the Modern English word slep from the Old English word slaep akin to the Greek word schlaf meaning “loose or lax.” It has the Indo European base slab which means “slack.” Some of us got our eyes open right now but are still sleep! While others are getting into the work of the Lord, you’re slacking! While others are studying the word, you’re slacking! While others are tithing and giving regularly, you’re slacking! While others are making a joyful noise unto the Lord, you’re slacking! While others are seeking the Lord while he may be found and calling upon him while he’s near! While they are forsaking their ways and returning to the Lord, you’re slacking! While they’re trusting in the Lord with all their heart and leaning not unto their own understanding, you’re slacking! An excerpt from an Arabian proverb that I love says “he that knows and knows not that he knows is asleep! Wake him!” I came today to tell you to wake up! You got talents to use! Wake up! You can sing in the choir! Wake up! You can usher on the usher board! Wake up! You can teach a Sunday school class!
There’s some Eutychuses in the house today! Not all of them are slacking though. Eutychus made another choice that we need to pay attention to: He went up to the third floor and sat on the window sill of an open window and as a result, when he fell asleep, he fell out of it. Sr. Braun, my high school Spanish teacher of three years had a banner in his room that said “Tu eres responsible para tus hechos” which is translated you are responsible for your own actions! Knowing this we still got believers who put themselves in dangerous places and situations!
Because we fail to realize that regardless of how saved and sanctified we are, we’re still weak! And we can’t rely on our own power and instincts be able to fight manfully onward, subdue dark passions! Shun evil companions! Disdain bad language! I know that I’ve got an impulse problem! I know I’m a shopaholic! So why in the world would I go hang out at the mall when I know I’m subject to running amuck and buying every shirt, pant, belt, and accessory at Express Men! I’m not the only one with an addiction! You’ve got to learn that there are some places you cannot go! There’s some people you cannot associate with! There’s some shows you cannot watch! There’s some things you cannot do! And if you do, you must be prepared to deal with the circumstances! Eutychus is a warning-like that loudly barking dog in the neighbor’s backyard. You know he’s there, you know he’s vicious! So if you go back there and get bit, its nobody’s fault but yours cause you know!
So now we’ve met Eutychus and we know his problems. I guess we can come back to Paul, our man without borders! The boy was taken up dead, so Paul went down and fell on him and embraced him! They said he was dead, lifeless, beyond help! And he went and fell on him and held him anyway! It’s the responsibility of the church to embrace the lost! Not to shoo them away, not to ignore them, not to talk about them but to embrace them! All they need is love! I don’t care what they tell you! I don’t care how good their family life at home sounds or looks! The fact of the matter is they ain’t been loved enough! You can never have enough love! What the world needs now is love! Spread love instead of spreading lies! Spread love instead of spreading hate! Spread love instead of spreading pain!
Reach out and touch somebody! Embrace the lost! And while you got em there breathe a word of life! Paul needed to remind the people and Eutychus that life was in him! Sometimes we just need a little reminder that Jesus came that we might have life and that we may have it more abundantly!
I also want to call your attention that even in the midst of this tragedy, the fellowship continued! I want to pose a question “what halts your worship?” What little things do we have that keep us from going back to worship! Little problems interrupt us! Little trials get in the way of our thinking! People come and people go! But I am persuaded that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature shall be able to separate us from the love of God! Nothing, no walls! No borders! NOTHING shall separate me!
I wanna be with Jesus all the way! One more thing. It says the boy and his family and the church were all comforted by the wonderful restoration of Eutychus! I wonder if anybody is comforted today by the restoration of Jesus!…
