Sleeping For Christ

Disclaimer:

Due to the large amount of sermons and topics that appear on this site I feel it is necessary to post this disclaimer on all sermons posted. These sermons are original to the author and the leading of the Holy Spirit. While ideas and illustrations are often gleaned from many sources including those at Sermoncentral.com, any similarities and wording including sermon title, that may appear to be the same as any other sermon are purely coincidental. In instances where other minister’s wording is used, due recognition will be given. These sermons are not copyrighted and may be used or preached freely. May God richly bless you as you read these words. It is my sincere desire that all who read them may be enriched. All scriptures quoted in these sermons are copies and quoted from the Authorized King James Version of the Holy Bible.

Pastor James May

SLEEPING FOR CHRIST!

Acts 20:7-12, "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."

One Sunday morning, nearly 2000 years ago, the disciples and the newly formed body of Believers in Christ came together to observe the Lord’s Supper. They didn’t come for a big feast but to commemorate the death and resurrection of their friend and their savior.

As most ministers will do, the observance of communion is never given without first making it a point to explain what the Lord’s Supper is all about, including the seriousness of taking part and the dangers of taking part unworthily.

We aren’t going to do a Communion service this morning, even though we will in the near future, but the occasion of this service has a great deal to say to each of us if we will open our eyes. I pray that the Lord will open our understanding and help us to see what the Holy Spirit is trying to bring to us right now.

Along with the Communion service I’m sure that there was a time of worship and of prayer for I believe that the basic procedures for coming to together for worship services in the early church were not much different from our own, especially in those churches that still allow the Holy Spirit to guide them and aren’t caught up in programs and formalism.

After they had gathered together the Apostle Paul stood up and began to preach. He didn’t give a text for his sermon for his life was destined to be a “living text” for a large part of the New Testament that you and I are using this morning. Paul was preaching from personal experience and through the unction of the Holy Spirit as he began to expound the Word of God and the way of the Lord to those who were gathered.

The early church was hungry to hear God’s Word. The experience of salvation was still fresh upon their hearts and they had not yet had time to grow accustomed to the presence of the Lord.

I know that many of us get used to being Christians and we often find ourselves living and almost “hum drum life” as such. I know that we must mature in the Lord and come to the place where we are resting in the Lord but I long for the excitement that we felt when we were first saved. I think our problem is that we have lost a lot of that excitement, that zeal for the Word of God and that we don’t think we have a need to come together as much as we did in the beginning.

When people are first saved they can’t wait to get to church and see what will happen next. They come with an air of excitement and anticipation of seeing God moving in some great way and speaking to them through His Word. But it doesn’t take long until we start taking all of that for granted. The excitement wears off, the anticipation changes from seeing God moving to hearing the words “you’re dismissed” and running out the door to get on with our planned activities. We have a greater desire to hear the words of the radio, the boom box, the TV, the newspapers and other people, than for the Word of the Lord. May the Lord help us to get that excitement and commitment back once again.