EUTYCHUS Acts 20:1-12

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Leonard Ramsey
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1 EUTYCHUS Acts 20:1-12 I find it interesting to sit in a congregation and watch! You see people doing all kinds of things. Well, in the twentieth chapter of the Book of Acts, we are introduced to a young man named Eutychus. Not much is known about him, except he was sitting on the window sill in a third story room, listening to the apostle Paul preach. Paul, being a good Baptist preacher, had little consideration for the clock, and he preached long into the night. Poor Eutychus tried his best to keep awake, but he couldn t help himself, and he fell asleep and then he fell out the window! The background to this visit was Paul on his third and final missionary journey. He wanted to make one more visit to the churches God had used him to establish throughout the region. His main purpose was to encourage and strengthen the saints so they would stand true to the Lord and be effective for Him as he wrote to the Corinthians, (II Cor. 11:28 that which cometh upon me daily, the care of all the churches.) His secondary purpose was to finish taking up the collection for the needy believers in Jerusalem. The men who accompanied him (Acts 20:4) were representatives of the churches, appointed to travel with Paul and help to handle the funds (II Cor. 8:18-24). Once again though, Paul had to change his plans because of a Jewish plot to try and kill him at sea (20:3). So, instead of sailing from Corinth, he travelled northwards through Achaia and up into the region of Macedonia, and then sailed the short distance from Philippi across to the western coastal city of Troas in Asia Minor. At Troas he was joined by his fellow-workers, including Luke (vv.5,6ff. us, we ). They remained there for a week (v.6). As we see developing in these early years of the New Testament church, the Christians were gathering on the first day of the week (v.7), - not on the Jewish Sabbath. This particular meeting in Troas was held in the evening, - since Sunday was like any other day and the people had to work. At that meeting, the church met together to break bread, and to listen to the preaching of the Word, Paul preached unto them.

2 D.G. 2 This was a great occasion for these people, and as Paul opened up the Scriptures and read and expounded God s living Word his preaching would have thrilled their souls and many of them would not have noticed that he continued his speech [lo,goj] until midnight [mesonu,ktion, middle of the night ]. Because the place where they were gathering was packed with believers many of those present had to make do with whatever seating arrangements they could find. One of those present was this man called Eutychus, - his name means Lucky, Fortunate! He probably had been hard-working that day, and he would have been tired and he fell asleep. What lessons can we take from this young man? IT WAS GOOD HE WAS THERE. Paul was the attraction! The people wanted to come and hear what he had to say. He always made an impression wherever he went! The people who came to meet him were not always particularly interested in what he had to say about Jesus and the grace of God in salvation, they merely wanted to experience hearing him preach. On the other hand, here was a young man who had been working hard all day, and he had come along to the meeting that night to listen to and to benefit from Paul preaching the Word of God. In the earlier part of the evening I m sure Eutychus took in every word. It was so good he was there, - he could have been out running about with his pals, for no doubt, many of his friends would have considered him odd being at such a meeting as this. So we have got to commend this young man! And he was sitting at the window, beside the fresh air. Indeed, I m sure he probably came to that meeting tired but he wanted to be there for there he knew he would hear the Word of God being expounded powerfully. I m certain too he would have tried to fight off the sleep that finally conquered him. I used to preach to a congregation that regularly had about five sleepers. I was greatly encouraged when we had guest speakers and I noticed these five sleepers also slept through the sermons of these preachers too! Yes, looking back on it, Eutychus has had many followers! But, nevertheless, it was good he was there to hear God s Word being expounded.

3 D.G. 3 And I know, - and I don t take for granted, - that many of you do be extremely busy during the week and it is so easy to be tired when you come into the stillness of the house of God, and you need to concentrate. It is good you are so faithful at coming into the house of God, and it was good that was where we find Eutychus also. Dr. James White is a very well-known American preacher that came to speak at our Glasgow Fraternal, - he is the Director of Alpha and Omega Ministries. I recently came across a little piece he wrote entitled top ten reasons not to join a church such as ours. One of the reasons he gave was that you don t get to leave every sermon feeling good about yourself because the Word might have spoken to you and you would have to sort yourself out with God. Another reason he said you shouldn t come is that you won t get entertained, - it s not like a show; instead you are coming to learn from God s Word how to be a better Christian. You will certainly not be lost in the crowd because there is never too many of us. Another couple of points he made was that you would be expected to apply the sermons, and to support the work of God among His people. Those were the kind of demands that would have been in operation in this church at Troas where the young man attended so, it was good he was there! It was the kind of church service that required a response from you, - it wasn t all take you had to give as well. And then, here is another thought while it was good he was there HE SHOULD HAVE KEPT AWAKE. I don t want to be hard on him, - because, really, I would say the majority of us have sometime or another almost fallen victim to the drooping of the eyelids. And I don t want to be too hard on him, but I wonder if he would have fallen asleep at his place of work. I wonder if he would have fallen asleep when he would have been out with his friends. I wonder if he would have dozed over if he had been anywhere else other than at that meeting. There is a spiritual condition that causes us to fall asleep and to relax to the point where we can switch off to our responsibilities of being Christians Now, like Eutychus, it mightn t be our intention, but it creeps in on us. And with the exception of the Lord Jesus what better preacher could you have had than Paul!

4 D.G. 4 Paul travelled and preached, and he had such great fervour for the Lord and if you had fallen asleep in his meetings the fault could not have been laid at his door! His preaching would have been Spirit-filled. But falling asleep spiritually is a real danger because it is on you before you realise it. Nevertheless, that is why we need to work hard sometimes at staying awake, spiritually-speaking. Think again of Eutychus. He made his way up those stairs, - he has to be commended after a busy day s work. He then goes over and sits at the window, so as to allow some of the older folk a more comfortable seat. He was sitting at the window What is another reason he would have been sitting there? Surely that would have been the best place to be sitting so as to kept awake with the fresh air coming in. No doubt about it, since he was tired, that was the best place to sit! He had a genuine interest, - otherwise he wouldn t have been there. And for certain, if he had been sitting inside the house, in the midst of all the heat of the other people, he would have been sleeping long before, but he was sitting at the window to try and keep awake for he was aware of his weakness. Then, also look at it from another perspective Sitting on the window ledge had its dangers and it was in your best interests to keep awake! What is it that keeps the believer awake? Let Job answer, Job 33:4 The spirit of God hath made me, and the breath of the Almighty hath given me life. Yes, it is the Spirit of God that keeps you alive and hence, Paul warned, I Thess. 5:19 Quench not the Spirit. In other words, neither put out nor let go out the fire of the Holy Spirit. Every Christian has like a fire burning, - spiritually, - inside them. The purpose of that fire is to burn as brightly for the Lord as it possibly can. The flames grow brighter when you apply the fuel of the Word of God, of prayer, and of Christian fellowship and practice. On the other hand, you put the flames out, - you dowse them, - by neglecting the Word of God, by staying away from the prayer meeting, and by cutting yourself off from the company of fellowbelievers meeting with the Lord. And here is this young man Eutychus and at first he was sitting at the window to feel the fresh air of God that s good but he started

5 D.G. 5 getting too used to it, taking it for granted and before he knew it he had fallen into a deep sleep (v.9) and he was no longer hearing God speak through His servant Paul. And he was no longer aware of the fellowship of believers he was privileged to have around him. Do you see what I am trying to get at? When we fall asleep, - spiritually speaking, - we miss out on so many necessities and enjoyments which belong to the people of God. And Eutychus is showing us how easy it is to fall asleep, - spiritually, - and miss out on what God is saying to us, even, - on this occasion, - when He was speaking through such a mighty servant as Paul. Eutychus should have remained awake. But before we leave this point, there is another thought here Shouldn t those sitting near Eutychus have seen him nodding over given him a wee nudge to waken him. Usually you can hear them making a wee noise or two! And if a wee nudge hadn t have been enough to waken them, maybe a good poke or a prod! You do notice when someone falls asleep beside you, - unless you are asleep yourself, that is, - but before they start snoring, or making strange noises it would only be right and proper to give them a wee nudge to start with. Was it not rather remiss that someone did not waken this young man? Hadn t they a responsibility to their brother, to do that? Is there someone who you have seen beginning to nod off (spiritually-speaking) and their interest is on the wane and they are not as enthusiastic in the Lord s work as once they were. It is not always the Pastor s job, - it wasn t up to Paul to waken him, - it was up to the men sitting nearby to Eutychus! If you would have been near Eutychus, what would you have done? You would have wakened him before he started snoring, you would have got up and gone over beside him and made sure he kept listening to hear what God was saying. So, while it was good he was there he should, though, have kept awake. What was the consequence of him falling asleep? HE FELL DOWN FROM THE THIRD LOFT, AND WAS TAKEN UP DEAD.

6 D.G. 6 Look what is recorded, v.9 he sunk down with sleep. Yes, Eutychus was so very, very tired. He was sitting there on that window sill, his head drooped, his eyes closed and he was in a deep sleep. He didn t hear the points Paul was emphasising from God s Word and how he, - Eutychus, - was to take it upon his heart. And then, on that window ledge, he began to cowpe, and he fell from that third-storey room. When you read through the Acts of the Apostles you will see there is not much that stops Paul in his full flow when he is preaching but he took a break when this happened and rushed down three flights of stairs and outside to this young man lying in the street. Eutychus was dead, - there wasn t a breath in his body! The young fellow had come into the meeting that evening, and there wasn t a thing wrong with him, then he fell asleep, and he fell out the window, and he ended up dead! He went from being a fit and healthy believer to a tired one to a dead one! He went from being interested in what Paul was saying, to being less interested, - for he fell asleep, - and then he ended up dead. Really, it was gradual. It didn t come on him all of a sudden but look where it took him, - out the window and onto the street! Out of the fellowship!! That is what can happen When you, - or anyone, - becomes spiritually drowsy, and you are not keeping up with your brothers and sisters, you start to lag. And the next thing that happens is you become spiritually dormant. After that, you become as good as dead for you are no longer any use! The way this young man was, he was of no use to the fellowship or the Lord! He went up the stairs, but he fell out the window! He had learned from some of what Paul had been preaching, but he fell asleep during the rest of it and then he fell out the window! As far as the things of God and His work are concerned, is there a danger you could fall asleep? Of course, there is, - that s what you and I have to watch out for! What if you were like Eutychus and you became spiritually speaking - sunk down with sleep (v.9)? You know, it could do you irreparable spiritual damage for many have fallen asleep and they don t want to be wakened They are not interested anymore! They have lost the passion they had for following Christ! Yes, they might blame the pastor, the church services, other Christians but when they

7 D.G. 7 stand before the judgment throne of God, they are going to have to answer for themselves! So, if you don t want to be pulled up then, examine yourself today. If the Word of God does not excite you like it used to you need to waken out of your sleep before you fall out the window, spiritually-speaking If the victory Christ won for you at Calvary doesn t thrill you any longer, - like it used to, - into faithful service, then it is time to awaken out of your sleep. Eutychus didn t mean to fall asleep but he did The story continues, and we read that Paul went down to this young man splad out on the street below. He worked a miracle late into that night or in the early hours of the next morning and Eutychus was brought up again, - restored, - to life and also into the assembly of God s people. Tremendous, Lord! Great! But, look at it like this too Tremendous and all it was that the young man was brought back to life, the work was interrupted for a time. It didn t need to be if Eutychus had stayed awake. You see, there is our responsibility not to waste time and precious resources in the Lord s work?! It was completely unnecessary for Eutychus to fall asleep, - nobody else in the meeting did We need to guard against it! We need to be careful we are not spiritual time-wasters In the Old Testament, a whole generation of the children of Israel wasted forty years dandering aimlessly about the wilderness, when they could have been in the land of Canaan or think of Jonah running away the opposite direction to which he should have taken, and the Lord having to use up resources bringing him back again. It is far better to do the Lord s work without hesitation, rather than testing His patience and putting ourselves through so much unnecessary trouble! There is another type of sleep we could loosely tie in with this story, - it is the sleep of the unsaved. The psalmist said, Ps. 13:3 Consider and hear me, O LORD my God: lighten mine eyes, lest I sleep the sleep of death. It is an awful thing not to notice the Word of God being preached, and to fidget and to look at your watch and wonder when the preacher is going to finish, and what he is talking about. It is an awful thing not to experience the power of the Word of God being applied to your soul.

8 D.G. 8 If you are not saved, it is a sleep you need to awaken out of because it causes you to be numb and insensitive to God. You could fall out the window, and there would be nobody there with the Gospel to bring you back to life and you would be eternally lost in your sin. You know, when Eutychus was lying on that street a corpse, and when Paul as the Bible says (v.10) - went down, and fell on him, and embrac[ed] him, the first person Eutychus saw was the man who had brought him back to life, Paul. The describes the sinner as being dead in trespasses and in sins (Eph. 2:1), and there is only one way that death can be overcome and here is how Eph. 2:4 But God, who is rich in mercy, for his great love wherewith he loved us, 5 Even when we were dead in sins, hath quickened us together with Christ, (by grace ye are saved) And when you are made alive by the grace of God, the first one you recognise is Jesus, and His power to save for He is the only One Who can waken you out of your sleep and bring you life. He said on one occasion, I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly. Conclusion. So Eutychus has much to teach us Yes, it was good he was there at the meeting He should, though, have remained awake. And even though he fell out of the window he was brought back again to a new life, and also in among God s people. Take great care in being a Christian. Be careful not to allow influences to enter your life that makes you spiritually tired and in danger of falling out the window. It is good Paul was there that evening but if he hadn t that young man would have stayed dead! Consider how Luke concludes the matter, 12 And they brought the young man alive, and were not a little comforted. In other words, you could not have described their joy! They were overwhelmed in the Lord s presence. How many times has the Lord been gracious onto us when we didn t deserve it? Yet, He sent someone along to bring us back from the brink. God never loses those who are His But save ourselves the unnecessary and learn from Eutychus to stay awake and not to fall asleep in the work of our Lord. Amen.

Eutychus Falls from a Window

Eutychus Falls from a Window (A church met in an upstairs room. When Paul preached a very long sermon a young man who was sitting on a window sill went to sleep and fell from the window. Paul raised him