Spiritual Slumber

If you could please turn with me in your Bibles to the book of Acts 20. ******* The Bible is filled with stories of people and what happened to them. And in Acts 20:7-12, we find another one of these stories surrounding a young man named Eutychus. Beginning now with v. 7 of Acts 20, we read in the New International Version...

On the first day of the week we came together to break bread. (This is Luke writing and he goes on) Paul spoke to the people and, because he intended to leave the next day, kept on talking until midnight. 20:8 There were many lamps--There were many lamps in the upstairs room where we were meeting. 20:9 Seated in a window was a young man named Eutychus (Eutychus means "fortunate"--Open Bible 123)--Seated in a window was . . . Eutychus, who was sinking into a deep sleep as Paul talked on and on. When he (Eutychus) was sound asleep, he fell to the ground from the third story and was picked up dead. 20:10 Paul went down, threw himself on the young man and put his arms around him. "Don't be afraid," he said. "He's alive!" 20:11 Then he (Paul) went upstairs again and broke bread and ate. After talking until daylight, [Paul] left. (And finally) 20:12 The people took the young manhome alive and were greatly comforted (Acts 20:7-12; NIV).

My brothers and sisters, the story we have before us this morning is really, I was thinking --it's really a story about a person falling asleep in church. Isn't it? Isn't that what this story's all about when you get right down to it? ******* Those of you here today who are drowsy, beware. ******* Just kidding! ******* Sure our story this morning--sure it's about a person who dozed off in church. And since he (Eutychus) wasn't seated in the safest of places to catch some Z's in the middle of a sermon--well, he fell out a window.

And I was thinking--you know, the Holy Spirit has got a sense of humor. ******* I mean, if it weren't so tragic what happened in this story, it might be seen as rather funny. We all can relate to someone feeling tired in church, can't we? We might not like to say it, but maybe even we ourselves have taken a short snooze during a service before. Maybe even in the past three plus years. Go ahead, you can admit if you want to. Some of my sermons have put you to sleep. I won't take offense if you say that. I sometimes get tired preaching them. *******

And I'd like to direct your attention to that truth now as we begin to consider the passage and, first of all, the possible reasons why Eutychus fell asleep. ******* And the first possible reason--actually the first two possible reasons we can glean right from the story. Look at the last part of v. 7. Look at it where it says-- notice...

"Paul . . . kept on talking until midnight." Do you see that there in v. 7? ******* My friends, this is the first possible reason why Eutychus dozed off in church: because of a lengthy discourse by Paul. A lengthy discourse. ******* Now how many of you understand that preachers can--how should I put it?--preachers can be long-winded at times? How many of you understand that? ******* Probably right now one or two of them are coming to mind--preachers that you remember who tended to be long with what they had to say. Do you remember anybody like that in your past church experience? *******

I was working nights at the time. That's key! My shift began at 3:00 in the morning. It was a Sunday evening service. I believe it started at 6:00. And there was a guest speaker. And he got to preaching--oh, it must have been around quarter-after-seven or so. And then it was around quarter to nine or later--I know that might not seem too terribly long--an hour and a half--but this guy really didn't have much to say. Anybody know what I'm talking about--a preacher really not having much to say and yet he talks for a long, long time? ******* So this guy really didn't have much to say though he'd been preaching for an hour and a half or more. And that's about when he stated the following--he said something like: "In the good ol' days we used to stay 'til ten, eleven, twelve o'clock on a Sunday evening!" When I heard that I just about fell out of my chair. I thought to myself, "But you get to go home after the service and I have to go to work." Remember, I was working nights at the time. My shift began at 3:00 in the morning. ******* And it's not that I would have minded staying so much as it was this guy really wasn't saying anything though he was speaking long. And I'm even thinking right now, "I better get going or I'll be just like him." Can somebody say, "Keep it moving, Pastor"? ******* Thank you. I'll do that.

And the second possible reason he fell asleep--it's also conveyed in the last part of v. 7. Did you notice where it said, ". . . until midnight"? Did you notice that part of the verse? ******* It was simply getting late that night that Eutychus was in church, my brothers and sisters. And it goes without saying that people get tired when it gets late. Don't people? Don't they get tired when it gets late? Are you still awake out there anybody? ******* People get tired when it gets late--even in church. It's only natural. And so this is the second possible reason why Eutychus fell asleep in church--because it was late.

******* And the third possible reason--the text doesn't talk about it, but who knows what the young man had been up to that day? Who knows what Eutychus did for a living? ******* Maybe he had a physically demanding job--the kind that takes it out of a person. How many of you know what I mean when I say, "a job that takes it out of you"? ******* Eutychus very well may have had a job like that. And yet he wanted to hear Paul speak. He read the headline in the bulletin on Sunday morning: "Dynamic Preacher Coming To Town Next Friday Evening." So Eutychus made his plans, "I'm going to be in church that night no matter how tired I am after work." ******* But it caught up with him, my friends. Exhaustion caught up with the young man. His spirit was willing, but his flesh was weak. *******

Which brings us now to the fourth and final possible reason why Eutychus dozed off which is this. It may have been because it was a warm room with poor ventilation that the church was meeting in. ******* Look at v. 8. It's an interesting verse. At first I couldn't figure it out--the meaning of it, that is. Look at the verse--v. 8 says--notice...

"There were many lamps in the upstairs room . . . ." ******* Now this is an interesting verse to me because I believe it speaks about the potential that it was unusually warm in there. It was unusually warm in the church that night. And could that be the very reason why Eutychus chose to sit in the window in the first place? I think so. Which, in turn--Eutychus sitting in the window in turn, may be evidence of poor ventilation. I was thinking, "Might that have been the only window in the entire room?" *******

I was doing my college internship. And Benny Hinn came to town. So some buddies and I along with our pastor went to see him. The meeting took place in a sort of warehouse. And that wouldn't have been so bad except that the air conditioning was broken. And there were a lot of bodies in there. Bodies! And it was Minnesota in the middle of summer to boot! To say the least, the humidity was stifling. You could cut the air with a knife! And as takes place at times in many of Benny Hinn's meetings--some of you might understand what I'm talking about here--Hinn would declare something and throw up is arms and half the building would fall down--I'm talking about the crowd of people not the physical building. ******* And it's not that I don't think that people can be "slain in the Spirit" like that. But I couldn't help but wonder, at least in this instance, if somehow just maybe the warm room and poor ventilation might have aided in the falling down. I don't know.

The bottom line of it all is that he did fall asleep in church no matter what the reason was for it. Eutychus did fall asleep. And because he did, he fell out a window three stories to the ground and "was picked up dead" (v. 9e), the last part of Acts 20:9 states. The young man was picked up dead. ******* And again why did Eutychus end up that way? ******* Well, it was simply because he fell asleep in church.

Spiritual slumber, my brothers and sisters. That's what I want to talk to you about briefly today. Spiritual slumber. ******* There are simply some in the church in our day who are sleeping. They are sleeping spiritually. ******* And the potential reasons why they are may be likened to some of possible reasons Eutychus in our story was. First of all, remember, "Paul . . . kept on talking," Acts 20:7 says. "Paul . . . kept on talking."

in our day. There simply is poor preaching going on--whether it's the long-winded type or another kind that's more prevalent, sad to say. I'm talking about the kind of preaching that waters down the gospel message. How many of you know that we live in a time where that's happening--where the Word of God is being watered down? ******* And, my friends, where this is happening--where the Bible isn't being preached without compromise is the same place you'll find spiritual slumber among the hearers. I believe it with all my heart. ******* So maybe it's because of a poor preacher--maybe this is the reason why people in the church are falling asleep spiritually. *******

It was getting late that night Paul was speaking and, my friends, it's getting late--it's approaching the midnight hour in our day and age. And listen to what the Scripture says is going to happen near the midnight hour. In 2 Timothy 3, beginning with v. 1, it says--just listen...

But realize this, that in the last days, difficult times will come. For men will be lovers of self, lovers of money, boastful, arrogant, revilers, disobedient to parents, ungrateful, unholy, unloving, irreconciliable, malicious gossips, without self-control, brutal, haters of good, treacherous, reckless, conceited, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God; . . . (2 Tim. 3:1-4; NAS).

I don't need to read anymore. Those were the first four verses of 2 Timothy 3. It's talking about, beloved, how people will be asleep in their morals in the last days prior to our Lord's return--people will be asleep morally. ******* My friends, the last days are a time where much "sleeping" will be taking place--even in the church. ******* So potentially this is the reason why people are spiritually slumbering in our day. Because the midnight hour is at hand in the overall scheme of things. *******

And then again maybe one more potential reason for it--it somewhat relates to the third possible reason Eutychus dozed off in our text today--another reason for spiritual slumber, I was thinking: maybe it's because our lives are so busy. ******* We're so busy these days, aren't we, my brothers and sisters, in this society? ******* We're so busy that sometimes we're too tired when it comes the things of God. We're so busy that sometimes we have no energy left for the Lord. Whether it's our jobs, our hobbies, our retirement--whatever it is--the things that we do can "take it out of us." They can make us have nothing left for God. ****** Yeah, I believe this, too, is a potential reason why some of us in the church are asleep today. Because we're so busy. *******

Now, beloved, no matter what the reason is for it--no matter what the reason is for spiritual slumber--the fact remains that those who are sleeping are in danger. They're in danger like Eutychus in our story this morning was in danger. ******* Destruction awaits the spiritual sleeper. That's what the text says. Destruction awaits. *******

This is the call of Scripture to all who are spiritually slumbering. "Wake up before it's too late." ******* Now maybe somebody here needs to hear that this morning. I don't know. Or maybe someone you know needs to hear it. If that's the case, let me say it again. God just may want you to deliver this message to them. "Wake up--Wake up from your spiritual slumber before it's too late." Receive the word of the Lord, my friends. *******

The first thing you can do to prevent spiritual sleepiness is this: Don't ever settle for anything except the gospel. ******* This relates to the point I was making a moment ago about poor preaching. ******* My friends, I don't know where you receive the bulk of your Christian teaching from--whether it's from the TV or radio or this very pulpit--but I want to say, this morning, wherever it comes from, it is your responsibility to make sure what you're receiving is the Word of God alone and not some cheapened version of it. I got to say it again today, "Is anybody still awake out there? Are you hearing me?" ******* Indeed, the saying remains true: You are what you eat. You are spiritually what you eat spiritually. ******* If you want to remain healthy--if you want to remain awake in Jesus Christ--you need to feed upon only that which will keep you healthy and awake. Too many people receive what they're being given of the Word of God without discernment and they're paying the price for it. They're not as awake as they ought to be. *******

And the second thing you can do is you can stay in the habit of feeding yourself--of feeding yourself spiritually. ******* Oh, why don't you go ahead and say it to the person next to you. Say, "Feed yourself." Go ahead, say it. "Feed yourself," to the person next to you. Indulge your pastor. ******* Beloved, I'm of the opinion that there are too many Christians that don't do this--they don't feed themselves. Rather, they rely solely on those over them in Christ for their spiritual nourishment. And it's not that we shouldn't be doing that, mind you, but that should never become the only means of our feeding. ******* So this is the second thing you can do to prevent spiritual sleepiness: stay in the habit of feeding yourself as a Christian.

And the third thing you can do is, as P. H. Welshimer, a preacher in the first half of the 20th century puts it, "Keep in the right mood for instruction." How many of you know there's a right mood for learning and then there's a wrong mood? ******* The wrong mood is the kind that doesn't engage attentively what a teacher is sharing. *******

And that's how I used to be in high school. I wasn't attentive. I wasn't in the right mood for learning most of the time. It so happened I wasn't Christian either so I didn't really have a reason to be in the right mood. ******* But when I got saved, my friends, and I went off to college, you better believe I was attentive to my instructors. You better believe I was actively engaged with what they were saying. Why? Well, I'll tell you why. Because I was serving the Lord Jesus Christ and I wanted to be all I could be for Him.

How many of you out there are serving the Lord Jesus Christ this morning? How many of you out there want to be all you can be for Him? ******* Then it goes without saying that you ought to be in the right mood every time you sit down for teaching in His Word. Can somebody say, "Amen"? ******* This is the third thing you can do, my brothers and sisters, that'll prevent spiritual sleepiness: keep in the right mood for instruction.

******* And a fourth and final thing, this morning, you can do that'll prevent spiritual sleepiness, I'm convinced, is this: stay around people that are excited about the things of God. ******* And I was thinking, maybe even moreso than that, you yourself ought to be a person that's excited about the things of God that others will want to stay around. You ought to be a person that's excited. Are you excited about the Lord, this morning, and who He is, what He's done, and what He can do for other people, my friends? Are you excited? You ought to be. You ought to be excited. ******* Beloved, you serve an exciting God with exciting plans and exciting purposes. As his son or daughter, you simply ought to be excited with Him. Too many Christians aren't and because they aren't, they're that much closer to falling asleep. *******


	From Our Heart To Yours \| home Christmas \| Death Of Christ \| Easter \| End Times \| Gambling \| Godly Living \| Hell \| Memorials \| Spiritual Slumber \| The Cross ARE YOU AWAKE OR ASLEEP? (Sermon: April 2, 2000) If you could please turn with me in your Bibles to the book of Acts 20. ***** The Bible is filled with stories of people and what happened to them. And in Acts 20:7-12, we find another one of these stories surrounding a young man named Eutychus. Beginning now with v. 7 of Acts 20, we read in the New International Version... On the first day of the week we came together to break bread. (This is Luke writing and he goes on) Paul spoke to the people and, because he intended to leave the next day, kept on talking until midnight. 20:8 There were many lamps--There were many lamps in the upstairs room where we were meeting. 20:9 Seated in a window was a young man named Eutychus (Eutychus means "fortunate"--Open Bible 123)--Seated in a window was . . . Eutychus, who was sinking into a deep sleep as Paul talked on and on. When he (Eutychus) was sound asleep, he fell to the ground from the third story and was picked up dead. 20:10 Paul went down, threw himself on the young man and put his arms around him. "Don't be afraid," he said. "He's alive!" 20:11 Then he (Paul) went upstairs again and broke bread and ate. After talking until daylight, [Paul] left. (And finally) 20:12 The people took the young manhome alive and were greatly comforted (Acts 20:7-12; NIV). Shall we pray? My brothers and sisters, the story we have before us this morning is really, I was thinking --it's really a story about a person falling asleep in church. Isn't it? Isn't that what this story's all about when you get right down to it? *** Those of you here today who are drowsy, beware. *** Just kidding! *** Sure our story this morning--sure it's about a person who dozed off in church. And since he (Eutychus) wasn't seated in the safest of places to catch some Z's in the middle of a sermon--well, he fell out a window. And I was thinking--you know, the Holy Spirit has got a sense of humor. *** I mean, if it weren't so tragic what happened in this story, it might be seen as rather funny. We all can relate to someone feeling tired in church, can't we? We might not like to say it, but maybe even we ourselves have taken a short snooze during a service before. Maybe even in the past three plus years. Go ahead, you can admit if you want to. Some of my sermons have put you to sleep. I won't take offense if you say that. I sometimes get tired preaching them. *** So this story about Eutychus falling asleep in church might be seen as rather funny. And yet despite it's potential hilarity, the story does indeed point to some truth I'm convinced we need to hear today (maybe some of us more than others). I. Possible Reasons Why Eutychus Fell Asleep In Church. And I'd like to direct your attention to that truth now as we begin to consider the passage and, first of all, the possible reasons why Eutychus fell asleep. *** And the first possible reason--actually the first two possible reasons we can glean right from the story. Look at the last part of v. 7. Look at it where it says-- notice... Paul spoke to the people and, because he intended to leave the next day, kept on talking until midnight (v. 7b). "Paul . . . kept on talking until midnight." Do you see that there in v. 7? *** My friends, this is the first possible reason why Eutychus dozed off in church: because of a lengthy discourse by Paul. A lengthy discourse. *** Now how many of you understand that preachers can--how should I put it?--preachers can be long-winded at times? How many of you understand that? *** Probably right now one or two of them are coming to mind--preachers that you remember who tended to be long with what they had to say. Do you remember anybody like that in your past church experience? *** I was working nights at the time. That's key! My shift began at 3:00 in the morning. It was a Sunday evening service. I believe it started at 6:00. And there was a guest speaker. And he got to preaching--oh, it must have been around quarter-after-seven or so. And then it was around quarter to nine or later--I know that might not seem too terribly long--an hour and a half--but this guy really didn't have much to say. Anybody know what I'm talking about--a preacher really not having much to say and yet he talks for a long, long time? *** So this guy really didn't have much to say though he'd been preaching for an hour and a half or more. And that's about when he stated the following--he said something like: "In the good ol' days we used to stay 'til ten, eleven, twelve o'clock on a Sunday evening!" When I heard that I just about fell out of my chair. I thought to myself, "But you get to go home after the service and I have to go to work." Remember, I was working nights at the time. My shift began at 3:00 in the morning. *** And it's not that I would have minded staying so much as it was this guy really wasn't saying anything though he was speaking long. And I'm even thinking right now, "I better get going or I'll be just like him." Can somebody say, "Keep it moving, Pastor"? *** Thank you. I'll do that. Again, it was because of a lengthy discourse by Paul--this was the first possible reason why Eutychus fell asleep in church. *** And the second possible reason he fell asleep--it's also conveyed in the last part of v. 7. Did you notice where it said, ". . . until midnight"? Did you notice that part of the verse? *** It was simply getting late that night that Eutychus was in church, my brothers and sisters. And it goes without saying that people get tired when it gets late. Don't people? Don't they get tired when it gets late? Are you still awake out there anybody? *** People get tired when it gets late--even in church. It's only natural. And so this is the second possible reason why Eutychus fell asleep in church--because it was late. *** And the third possible reason--the text doesn't talk about it, but who knows what the young man had been up to that day? Who knows what Eutychus did for a living? *** Maybe he had a physically demanding job--the kind that takes it out of a person. How many of you know what I mean when I say, "a job that takes it out of you"? *** Eutychus very well may have had a job like that. And yet he wanted to hear Paul speak. He read the headline in the bulletin on Sunday morning: "Dynamic Preacher Coming To Town Next Friday Evening." So Eutychus made his plans, "I'm going to be in church that night no matter how tired I am after work." *** But it caught up with him, my friends. Exhaustion caught up with the young man. His spirit was willing, but his flesh was weak. *** So this is the third possible reason why Eutychus fell asleep in church--because he quite simply was tired after a hard day's work. *** And, by the way, in case you were wondering, it's not a sin to be tired in church. Can somebody say, "Amen"? *** Which brings us now to the fourth and final possible reason why Eutychus dozed off which is this. It may have been because it was a warm room with poor ventilation that the church was meeting in. *** Look at v. 8. It's an interesting verse. At first I couldn't figure it out--the meaning of it, that is. Look at the verse--v. 8 says--notice... There were many lamps in the upstairs room where they were meeting (v. 8). "There were many lamps in the upstairs room . . . ." *** Now this is an interesting verse to me because I believe it speaks about the potential that it was unusually warm in there. It was unusually warm in the church that night. And could that be the very reason why Eutychus chose to sit in the window in the first place? I think so. Which, in turn--Eutychus sitting in the window in turn, may be evidence of poor ventilation. I was thinking, "Might that have been the only window in the entire room?" *** I was doing my college internship. And Benny Hinn came to town. So some buddies and I along with our pastor went to see him. The meeting took place in a sort of warehouse. And that wouldn't have been so bad except that the air conditioning was broken. And there were a lot of bodies in there. Bodies! And it was Minnesota in the middle of summer to boot! To say the least, the humidity was stifling. You could cut the air with a knife! And as takes place at times in many of Benny Hinn's meetings--some of you might understand what I'm talking about here--Hinn would declare something and throw up is arms and half the building would fall down--I'm talking about the crowd of people not the physical building. *** And it's not that I don't think that people can be "slain in the Spirit" like that. But I couldn't help but wonder, at least in this instance, if somehow just maybe the warm room and poor ventilation might have aided in the falling down. I don't know. Whatever the case, the fourth possible reason why the young man in our story fell asleep in church is because he was in a warm room with poor ventilation. *** The bottom line of it all is that he did fall asleep in church no matter what the reason was for it. Eutychus did fall asleep. And because he did, he fell out a window three stories to the ground and "was picked up dead" (v. 9e), the last part of Acts 20:9 states. The young man was picked up dead. *** And again why did Eutychus end up that way? *** Well, it was simply because he fell asleep in church. II. Potential Reasons Why People Are Spiritually Slumbering. Spiritual slumber, my brothers and sisters. That's what I want to talk to you about briefly today. Spiritual slumber. *** There are simply some in the church in our day who are sleeping. They are sleeping spiritually. *** And the potential reasons why they are may be likened to some of possible reasons Eutychus in our story was. First of all, remember, "Paul . . . kept on talking," Acts 20:7 says. "Paul . . . kept on talking." And it's not that this was the case with Paul, but certainly it's the case in some churches in our day. There simply is poor preaching going on--whether it's the long-winded type or another kind that's more prevalent, sad to say. I'm talking about the kind of preaching that waters down the gospel message. How many of you know that we live in a time where that's happening--where the Word of God is being watered down? *** And, my friends, where this is happening--where the Bible isn't being preached without compromise is the same place you'll find spiritual slumber among the hearers. I believe it with all my heart. *** So maybe it's because of a poor preacher--maybe this is the reason why people in the church are falling asleep spiritually. *** And then again, maybe it's simply because it's getting late. It's getting late in the overall scheme of things--in God's timetable. Again Acts 20:7 says... Paul . . . kept on talking until midnight" (v. 7b). It was getting late that night Paul was speaking and, my friends, it's getting late--it's approaching the midnight hour in our day and age. And listen to what the Scripture says is going to happen near the midnight hour. In 2 Timothy 3, beginning with v. 1, it says--just listen... But realize this, that in the last days, difficult times will come. For men will be lovers of self, lovers of money, boastful, arrogant, revilers, disobedient to parents, ungrateful, unholy, unloving, irreconciliable, malicious gossips, without self-control, brutal, haters of good, treacherous, reckless, conceited, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God; . . . (2 Tim. 3:1-4; NAS). I don't need to read anymore. Those were the first four verses of 2 Timothy 3. It's talking about, beloved, how people will be asleep in their morals in the last days prior to our Lord's return--people will be asleep morally. *** My friends, the last days are a time where much "sleeping" will be taking place--even in the church. *** So potentially this is the reason why people are spiritually slumbering in our day. Because the midnight hour is at hand in the overall scheme of things. *** And then again maybe one more potential reason for it--it somewhat relates to the third possible reason Eutychus dozed off in our text today--another reason for spiritual slumber, I was thinking: maybe it's because our lives are so busy. *** We're so busy these days, aren't we, my brothers and sisters, in this society? *** We're so busy that sometimes we're too tired when it comes the things of God. We're so busy that sometimes we have no energy left for the Lord. Whether it's our jobs, our hobbies, our retirement--whatever it is--the things that we do can "take it out of us." They can make us have nothing left for God. ** Yeah, I believe this, too, is a potential reason why some of us in the church are asleep today. Because we're so busy. *** Now, beloved, no matter what the reason is for it--no matter what the reason is for spiritual slumber--the fact remains that those who are sleeping are in danger. They're in danger like Eutychus in our story this morning was in danger. *** Destruction awaits the spiritual sleeper. That's what the text says. Destruction awaits. *** III. The Call Of Scripture To All Who Are Asleep. And so the call of Scripture goes out to all who are asleep. The call of Scripture goes out. Because how many of you know that God wants no person to be destroyed? Amen? God wants no person to be destroyed. The Bible says that... [God] is . . . not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance (2 Pet. 3:9c; KJV). And in another place... . . ."'As I live!' declares the Lord . . ., 'I take no pleasure in the death of the wicked, but rather that the wicked turn from his way and live'" (Ezek. 33:11bcd; NAS). *** So God wants no person to be destroyed. He wills that no man, woman, or child end up perishing. And that's why the call of Scripture goes out to all who are asleep. In Ephesians 5:14, the call goes out... "Awake, sleeper--Awake, sleeper, And arise from the dead, And Christ will shine on you" (Eph. 5:14bcd). This is the call of Scripture to all who are spiritually slumbering. "Wake up before it's too late." *** Now maybe somebody here needs to hear that this morning. I don't know. Or maybe someone you know needs to hear it. If that's the case, let me say it again. God just may want you to deliver this message to them. "Wake up--Wake up from your spiritual slumber before it's too late." Receive the word of the Lord, my friends. *** IV. Things You Can Do To Prevent Spiritual Sleepiness. Which brings me to what I really want to close with today and that is I want to share with you some things you can do that'll help prevent spiritual sleepiness. They're really things that go without saying, but I'm going to say them anyway. The first thing you can do to prevent spiritual sleepiness is this: Don't ever settle for anything except the gospel. *** This relates to the point I was making a moment ago about poor preaching. *** My friends, I don't know where you receive the bulk of your Christian teaching from--whether it's from the TV or radio or this very pulpit--but I want to say, this morning, wherever it comes from, it is your responsibility to make sure what you're receiving is the Word of God alone and not some cheapened version of it. I got to say it again today, "Is anybody still awake out there? Are you hearing me?" *** Indeed, the saying remains true: You are what you eat. You are spiritually what you eat spiritually. *** If you want to remain healthy--if you want to remain awake in Jesus Christ--you need to feed upon only that which will keep you healthy and awake. Too many people receive what they're being given of the Word of God without discernment and they're paying the price for it. They're not as awake as they ought to be. *** So this is the first thing you can do to prevent spiritual sleepiness: Don't ever settle for anything except the gospel from your source of Christian instruction. *** And the second thing you can do is you can stay in the habit of feeding yourself--of feeding yourself spiritually. *** Oh, why don't you go ahead and say it to the person next to you. Say, "Feed yourself." Go ahead, say it. "Feed yourself," to the person next to you. Indulge your pastor. *** Beloved, I'm of the opinion that there are too many Christians that don't do this--they don't feed themselves. Rather, they rely solely on those over them in Christ for their spiritual nourishment. And it's not that we shouldn't be doing that, mind you, but that should never become the only means of our feeding. *** So this is the second thing you can do to prevent spiritual sleepiness: stay in the habit of feeding yourself as a Christian. And the third thing you can do is, as P. H. Welshimer, a preacher in the first half of the 20th century puts it, "Keep in the right mood for instruction." How many of you know there's a right mood for learning and then there's a wrong mood? *** The wrong mood is the kind that doesn't engage attentively what a teacher is sharing. *** And that's how I used to be in high school. I wasn't attentive. I wasn't in the right mood for learning most of the time. It so happened I wasn't Christian either so I didn't really have a reason to be in the right mood. *** But when I got saved, my friends, and I went off to college, you better believe I was attentive to my instructors. You better believe I was actively engaged with what they were saying. Why? Well, I'll tell you why. Because I was serving the Lord Jesus Christ and I wanted to be all I could be for Him. How many of you out there are serving the Lord Jesus Christ this morning? How many of you out there want to be all you can be for Him? *** Then it goes without saying that you ought to be in the right mood every time you sit down for teaching in His Word. Can somebody say, "Amen"? *** This is the third thing you can do, my brothers and sisters, that'll prevent spiritual sleepiness: keep in the right mood for instruction. *** And a fourth and final thing, this morning, you can do that'll prevent spiritual sleepiness, I'm convinced, is this: stay around people that are excited about the things of God. *** And I was thinking, maybe even moreso than that, you yourself ought to be a person that's excited about the things of God that others will want to stay around. You ought to be a person that's excited. Are you excited about the Lord, this morning, and who He is, what He's done, and what He can do for other people, my friends? Are you excited? You ought to be. You ought to be excited. *** Beloved, you serve an exciting God with exciting plans and exciting purposes. As his son or daughter, you simply ought to be excited with Him. Too many Christians aren't and because they aren't, they're that much closer to falling asleep. *** So, real quickly again, in summary, the things you can do that'll prevent spiritual sleepiness: (1) Don't ever settle for anything except the gospel, (2) Stay in the habit of feeding yourself spiritually, (3) Keep in the right mood for instruction, and (4) Stay around people that are excited about the things of God. By doing these things I'm convinced you'll keep yourself from being among those who are asleep in the church. Please stand with me in closing.** This message is partly adapted from P. H. Welshimer's sermon outline, "Asleep in the Church," in the book entitled: "Sermon Outlines: Soul Winning! Church Building!" (pg. 51-52).