Whenever my husband preaches, he holds a baseball in his hands. Not sure if it is for comfort, intended as a distraction, or just to keep him focused. Regardless, he always has one. My husband jokes about the baseball at the beginning of some of the services. He says that he might be forced to use it to awaken an unsuspecting sleeper. Lol. Based on a comment like that, one might think that it is dangerous to sleep in church when He is preaching. Lol. 😀
We see in Acts Chapter 20, that it truly is dangerous to sleep in church. In this chapter, we find the Apostle Paul preaching to a group of people who have gathered in a third-story room. This was a church service and it was incredibly lengthy because Paul planned to leave the next day. He spoke so long that one of the young men who was sitting on a window sill fell asleep.
It might be easy to criticize Eutychus (the young man who fell asleep). But who among us has not struggled with falling asleep during a church service at some point? When you combine his obvious fatigue with the fact that this room must have been large and filled with people (think of the heat), this is the recipe for sound slumber. But remember, it is dangerous to sleep in church.
Just for clarification, we assume that the room was large and filled with people because the scriptures say “the room was lighted with many flickering lamps.” The fact is that one could not (nor would they need to) place many lamps in a small room with few people.
Those circumstances, combined with Eutychus’ fatigue, soon caused him to realize how dangerous it really is to sleep in church. The scripture tells us that Eutychus fell sound asleep and dropped three stories to his death below.
“On the first day of the week we came together to break bread. Paul spoke to the people and, because he intended to leave the next day, kept on talking until midnight. 8There were many lamps in the upstairs room where we were meeting. 9Seated in a window was a young man named Eutychus, who was sinking into a deep sleep as Paul talked on and on. When he was sound asleep, he fell to the ground from the third story and was picked up dead.” Acts 20:7-9.
Because Paul was leaving the next day, he had a lot to share before his journey. And he had such an important message for these people that he spoke long into the evening. He was trying to equip them and make sure that they would continue to be strong and grow in the Lord. But Eutychus couldn’t fight the fatigue that he felt, the warmth of the room, and possibly the cool night air that was coming in through the open window. So, he fell asleep.
Through Paul, God was delivering a personalized message to everyone in that room, including Eutychus. And Paul was living out the great commission, sharing with this room full of people the things that God had commanded him to teach them. Yet, Eutychus slumbered.
“Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.” Matthew 28:19-20.
Despite the fact that the Holy Spirit showed up and was present and moving in that room, Eutychus slumbered. “For where two or three gather in my name, there am I with them” Matthew 18:20.
And, despite the fellowship that must have been taking place and the binding together of the body as they ate together, learned together, and spent time together, Eutychus slept.
That is part of the reason that it is dangerous for us all to fall asleep in church. Not because we will fall out of a window to our death, but because we will miss what God is doing! We will miss the message that He has for us personally and collectively as His body. We will miss seeing how the Holy Spirit moves in and through our time of gathering together. And we will miss the sweet fellowship of our brothers and sisters in the Lord.
God does mighty things when His people come together to worship Him, hear from Him, and fellowship as His people.
Unfortunately, even though our eyes may not be closed, we sleep through this holy and incredible experience and time. We let those around us distract us from the beautiful things that God wants to reveal to us. Or we let the struggles of life infiltrate our thoughts, keeping us from hearing and seeing what the Holy Spirit is saying/doing in the service and in our fellowship. We allow the busyness of the day to rush us out of church service and away from sweet fellowship with our siblings in the Lord. We might as well be sleeping in a third-story window.
Not only are we missing all that God has for us in the service, but there is grave danger in the potential fall. And if we keep that behavior up, there will be a fall. “So, if you think you are standing firm, be careful that you don’t fall!” 1 Corinthians 10:12 (NIV).
We need to hear the word that God wants to speak to us. We need to experience the Holy Spirit. And we also desperately need fellowship with our brothers and sisters in Christ. Without it, we will fall back into sin and despair.
Once we begin to “sleep” through church service, we have already stepped onto a slippery slope. We stop desiring God and what He has for us. Then, perhaps, we just stop going to church altogether. This is when we are slumbering perilously in that third-story window. We begin to think we don’t need God, church, or our church family. Then… we plummet. “Therefore let anyone who thinks that he stands take heed lest he fall.” 1 Corinthians 10:12.
The good news is that neither God nor Paul left Eutychus lying in the street below.
Paul went down, bent over him, and took him into his arms. “Don’t worry,” he said, “he’s alive!” Then they all went back upstairs, shared in the Lord’s Supper, and ate together. Paul continued talking to them until dawn, and then he left. Meanwhile, the young man was taken home alive and well, and everyone was greatly relieved” Acts 20:11-12.
God’s desire was not to leave Eutychus in death. So, when Paul took him in his arms, God restored his life. That is what God desires to do for all of us when we “fall asleep in church service”. When we begin to disregard the things of God and begin to drift from Him, God desires to restore us to full life. When we have faltered and fallen three stories, disregarding God and chasing after things that are not even what God would have for us, His desire is to restore us to a full life. “Repent therefore, and turn back, that your sins may be blotted out.” Acts 3:19.
It is dangerous to “sleep in church service”. It is dangerous to miss out on the message that God has for us, the leading and moving of the Holy Spirit, and the sweet fellowship of our siblings in Christ. Because it leads down a very slippery slope (out a third-floor window) and only God can restore our lives after that kind of fall. So, stay awake! “For anything that becomes visible is light. Therefore it says, “Awake, O sleeper, and arise from the dead, and Christ will shine on you.” Ephesians 5:14.
Father God, thank You for the blessing of gathering in corporate worship. Thank You for the way You move, speak, bless, and bind us together. Create in us a hunger to be in Your presence and to be fed spiritual food. Allow us to taste the sweet fellowship of our brothers and sisters in Christ. Help us to stay awake and keep the enemy from lulling us into spiritual slumber, Lord. We love You and pray these things in Your precious and Holy name, Jesus.
Do you know Jesus Christ as your personal Lord and Savior? God wants you to experience the joy of worshiping in a body of believers who love you. He wants to forgive you of your sins and restore you to a full spiritual life. As Paul spoke over Eutychus, God wants to speak over you and say, “Don’t worry, he/she is alive!” Awake! And go to our Life Preserver page (https://forgiven-n-loved.com/life-preserver/). On this page, you will find a prayer. Please pray this prayer from the bottom of your heart. God will awaken you to a new, deep, and loving relationship with Him. Awake!
Once you have prayed that prayer, please reach out to me at admin@Forgiven-N-Loved.com and let me know. I’d love to be in prayer with — and for — you.
Luv Ya!
