Wake Up!

that I got to warn you, has to be one of the weirdest, random, I'd even say most peculiar passages of Scripture in the entire New Testament is peculiar, y'all. But how many know God will often hide profound truth in peculiar places? So come on, let's go into it today. It's Acts chapter 20, we're going to look at verses seven through 12, Acts chapter 20, and it says, on the first day of the week, we came together to break bread. And Paul spoke to the people, and because he intended to leave the next day, kept on talking until midnight. How many of you would just stick around if I kept preaching until midnight? Anybody? (congregation cheering) Don't lie in church, come on, don't lie, don't lie. It says there were many lamps in the upstairs room. In fact, he intended to leave the next day, but he kept on talking to midnight, and there were many lamps in the upstairs room where they were meeting. Seated in a window was a young man named Uticus 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. Paul went down, threw himself on the young man, and put his arms around him.

Don't be alarmed, he said, he's alive. Then he went upstairs again and broke bread and ate. Hold up, Paul, you know you build different. When you go downstairs, raise somebody from the dead, and then come upstairs and don't wash your hands, and just break bread and start eating. Says, "Then the people took the young man home alive "and were greatly comforted." Huh? I am intrigued with this young man named Uticus, Life Church, because he made the Bible. He made the Bible, not for something he said. You cannot quote Uticus. He made the Bible for falling asleep in church, falling out of a window, dying, and coming back to life. And if Uticus could pull up the Life Church today, I think he would tell you the title of this message today. He would tell you this, "I didn't know, I fell asleep." "I didn't know, I fell." (audience laughing) "I sleep." This is gonna be good, this is gonna be good today. This text immediately triggered for me a memory that I will never forget. It's been our first year of marriage. I'm married to the beautiful Taylor Madu. And before we planted our church in Dallas, social Dallas, I traveled on the road for 16 years as an itinerant preacher.

For 16 years, I was preaching in different churches. I'm talking about preaching from Genesis all the way to the maps in the back. And when we first got married with newlyweds, I was so excited to take my new bride on the road with me. I wanted her to know, this is not vacation. I'm out here preaching the gospel and suffering for Jesus out here. And it was a big week. We were in a different city every single night of that week. We got ready for the weekend service. I'll never forget flying into, I believe it was Virginia, Saturday, late that night. The pastor picked us up and he said, "Hey, I just want you to know "that we have three Sunday morning services tomorrow. "And the first one starts at 8 a.m." So I looked at my new bride and I said, "Now babe, it's been a long week." I said, "You do not have to come to all three services." I said, "Why don't you just come to the last one "and then we'll go to lunch?" Now, keep in mind, we were newlyweds, okay? If that was today and I said that, we got 14 years in the game, she would tell me, I wasn't planning to come to all three. (congregation laughing) And I'll catch you at lunch. (congregation laughing)

But we're newlyweds, we're newlyweds. So she's like, "No, babe, I'm gonna come to all three. "We have to stay connected." I said, "Okay." And so I'll never forget it. We get up that morning, we go to church and it's the first service 8 a.m. And I'm preaching with all that I got. And I'm getting ready to land the plane of the message. And all of a sudden, I noticed out my peripheral, my wife who was on the front row, her eyes are closed. (congregation laughing) And I merely thought to myself, you see, I picked the right one. I picked the right one. She is praying for her man right now. She knows this is the most important part of the message that souls are gonna be safe. She is bombarding the atmosphere of heaven with the gift of intercession. I picked the right one. But then all of a sudden she started rocking like this and rocking real hard like this. And I was like, "Hold on, we've been a costo. "We've been a costo, what is happening right now?" And before you know it, she is sound asleep on the front row of the church. I notice him and then everybody around her starts noticing. And then I started getting nervous, I panicked. I didn't know what to do.

I just called the worship team back out and said, "Come back out, come back out." And everybody's staying, everybody's to everybody stand. (congregation laughing) She stood up and we went to the back and y'all, I was living. I said, "Babe, come on. "You're falling asleep while I'm preaching. "Did you not see yourself falling asleep?" And she said in that sweet voice, "Babe, no, I'm sorry. "I did no." (congregation laughing) I was falling asleep. Thinking upon that circumstance, I shouldn't have got mad 'cause, come on y'all, it's happened to the best of us, hasn't it? Come on, how many of you honest enough across every location to admit you've had a sleepy Sunday? Can I see your hand? All of us have had a sleepy Sunday. I'm not impressed with people telling me they've never fallen asleep in church. You're just telling me you don't come to church consistently. (congregation laughing) Of course you can stay awake if you only come on Easter and Christmas. Come on, those of us who've fallen asleep,

we're faithful, come on somebody. (congregation laughing) And so, I'm not here today to preach this message in life church, don't fall asleep in church, you might die. That is not why I came here today. But I do find myself asking this question, why is this in the Bible? I mean, think about that. Why in the world would Dr. Luke take time to tell us this story in the Bible? You understand that the book of Acts is giving you the birth of the church. It's the history of the first 30 years of the church. He's not telling you everything that happened. He's just telling you some of the things that happened as God breathed on the early church. And what started in the upper room spread from Jerusalem, Judea and Sumerian to the ends of the earth. Why do we need to know about Paul preaching and eutuchus sleeping? Like, why is this in the Bible? I don't understand. I'm getting known about Paul and Silas. I get Paul and Barnabas, but Paul and eutuchus, why do I need to know that this young dude fell asleep while Paul was preaching too long? Surely the message is not, hmm, don't preach a long sermon.

Oh, I come against that, no, no, no, no, no. Matter of fact, I had a seminary professor who said preach short, preach as short as you can, because the mind cannot retain what the seat cannot endure. I was like, you should preach short, you're boring. So I don't think that's the message of this text. I don't think the message of the text is that Paul was boring. Oh, no, no, because I believe the Bible would have told us that everybody was falling asleep. How do you know everybody wasn't falling asleep? Eutuchus was the only one that started dozing off, which leads me to believe that everybody else in the room who had expectation. Everybody else in the room was leaning in, saying, Paul, if you got more to say, we have the capacity to receive what you're trying to say. Paul, if you got enough content for the whole night, then guess what, we are with you. We're ready to receive what you've got all night. Oh, don't miss that. I don't want you to miss the power of the fact that Paul had enough content to pour into them, and they had enough capacity to receive what Paul was pouring into them. Often in life, we are asking God to pour more into us, but we don't have enough capacity to receive what God wants to pour in to us. And I just love that this room had enough capacity to say, Paul, if you're gonna preach all night,

I'm gonna say, a man all night. I'm gonna take notes all night. I am leaned in. I have the capacity to receive. Do you have the capacity to receive what God wants to pour out in your life? 'Cause some people say, God, pour out more. Please, I want more and you got a saucer. It's all about your capacity to receive. He wants to pour more in you, but if you are so full of yourself, how can God pour more into you? This room, they had capacity to receive what Paul had. Well, they had more of the capacity. They also had something else. They had expectation that was proven by their preparation. Expectation that was proven by their preparation. I believe that preparation should show me your expectation. Can you prove it in the passage? Absolutely. Acts chapter 20 verse eight, look at it. It's a detail that seems like it doesn't matter, but I think it does because it says, there were many lamps in the upstairs room where we were meeting. How many lamps? Many lamps. They were already in the room. Here's what I believe. I don't think Paul planned to preach long.

We never do. I think it just started getting good and he was preaching and they were responding and he kept on going. And I love that the room already had lamps set. So that said, if it goes through the night, we are prepared, Paul. We don't have to leave the room and go get some lamps and miss the atmosphere to make sure the room is lit. No, we prepared in advance because we had the strain suspicion that God might do something in this room. (audience applauding) I wanna know today. (audience applauding) Do you have any proof of your expectation? I think expectation should have some evidence for it because watch this. Faith prepares for what it's praying for. Faith prepares for what it's praying for. Are you preparing for what you're praying for? Show me the proof of your expectation. Somebody like, man, I'm just believing God for an increase in my finances. Great, are you tithing? Have you started giving? Do you have a budget? Are you acting your wage? (audience laughing) No, not really. I'm just believing God for increase.

Why would he give you more if there's no proof of your expectation? Well, I'm believing God for my husband. I know there's a man or God out there for me. I'm believing. Are you getting in the atmosphere where there are men of God? Have you taken the hair rollers out of your hair and actually gone outside? Or you think it's going to be a door dash guy that comes in? (audience laughing) Are you preparing faith prepares for what it's praying for? I believe God's going to send me around the world to preach. Have you started in your school? Have you started in your neighborhood? Faith prepares for what it's praying for. I wasn't preparing for that water to start school. (audience laughing) But how many of you know I caught it? (audience laughing) I love that this room was full of lamps. Can you see this room? I can see it. I can see it clearly. I hate to brag about places that I've been, but I've been to this room. I've been to this room before. Sorry I didn't introduce myself properly at the beginning, but my name is Uticus. My friends call me E.

Yeah, I was in the room that day. As a matter of fact, I remember because I worked all day, that day. I remember my phone lit up and they said, "He's here." And I took it back and said, "Who?" And they said, "The Apostle Paul." I said, "Are you serious?" The Apostle Paul was going to be at Troas and we were going to hear this great man of God preach. It's one thing to hear about the stories. It's another thing to see him in the flesh. Y'all, I went straight from work to that upstairs room. I gotta be honest, I didn't even take a shower. I just went straight up all three flights of stairs and I was in that room and there I am standing in the room. And I wasn't the only one that didn't take a shower. It was a lot of people in the room that didn't take a shower. And I remember waiting for the Apostle Paul to walk into the room and I saw him. They say, "Don't meet your heroes." But it was amazing to see him that day, to listen to him preach. I could see in the room the scars on his body as he bore the marks in his body from preaching the gospel. Y'all, I was leaned in. I was leaned in all the way and I was with Paul and I was listening and we broke bread and I had food in my stomach and I was with him for the first hour. But then he kept going and he kept going.

Two hours in, I'm like, "Paul, I know you gotta keep going but I gotta go to the bathroom." I had to be out, I left, I went to the bathroom, I went to the bathroom and I came back and somebody took my spot in the room. I was gonna say something but Paul started looking at me in the room and I was like, "Oh Lord, what am I gonna do?" He keeps on going. He keeps on preaching on and on and on. And finally, I was like, "It's too hot." And they had the candles going. So I'm sorry, I just went by the window. I wanted to get some air in my tunic and I just aired it out. He is three and a half hours in the message. I'm like, "Paul, wrap this thing up." And then all of a sudden I was by the window getting air and I just said, "Maybe I could just sit in this window." And I started getting dark. (audience laughing) And then the lights from the lamps were flickering. My stomach was full from the chameleon. That's good, Paul preach! Oh, come on. Then I just started looking out the window 'cause he was just taking too long. And I'm like, "Come on, Paul, wrap this thing up." And I'm, hey, nice. I'm trying to show you that falling asleep in the natural and spiritually is never a moment.

It's gradual. Nobody plans to fall asleep. It just happens. You go from being engaged. This is good, Paul, to distracted, looking out the window, to tired, to asleep. From engaged, to distracted, to tired, and then asleep. I'm wondering if that's a picture of so many of our lives spiritually that we start off engaged. I love the church. I love like church. I love my community. This is great. I love the word. But then over time you get distracted and then tired and before you know it, you're asleep. My issue with Uticus is not so much his sleeping. My issue with him is where he is sitting because of all the places to sit. Why would you sit in an open window? Oh, come on, Uticus, I'm all the places in the room. Why in the world would you sit in an open window? My issue is with where he's sitting. Even the best of us gets sleepy, but you could have picked where you placed yourself in the room. Why would you sit in an open window? And I'll say to you what I wish I could have said to Uticus, if I was in the room, is that the best place for you to sit? I'm going to ask you today. Is that the best place for you to sit? Where are you positioning yourself right now in life? Are you sitting in an open window? Because to me, when you're sitting in an open window, I think one of the signs is you're

trying to see how close you can get to the edge of sin without it being sin. Why are you sitting in an open window, Uticus, pick a different seat? There he is, sitting in an open window. Across every location, look at somebody next to you and just say, "Watch where you sit." No, tell him, "Watch where you sit." Don't fight sleep in a window seat. Don't fight sleep in a window seat. It's already hard enough to fight sleep. Come on, how many have you ever been falling asleep and fighting it? You ever see how stupid you look? That's why I don't do long drives, because I'm telling you, when I am fighting sleep on a long drive, I will do anything to stay awake. No wonder you went by the window. That's what I do when I'm driving. I will open up the window. I'll sing songs, I ain't got no business singing, sit down and watch whatever it takes to keep me awake. Don't fight sleep in a window seat, because hear me falling asleep happens to the best of disciples. Falling asleep happens to disciples that have the best intentions. Interesting, the same Dr. Luke that records the book of Acts, look at what he writes in his Gospel, another moment in Luke 22 verses 45 through 46, it says, "When he rose," that's Jesus from prayer, and went back to the disciples. He found them asleep, pulling a euduchus, exhausted from sorrow, and he goes, "Why are you sleeping? Get up and pray so that you will not fall into temptation." Now think about that. Learn the world does sleeping in temptation have to do with each other. In another version you'll say the spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak. Why are you talking about sleep, Jesus, and talking about temptation?

I'm wondering if he's given us a picture that in the same way, when you're fighting to fall asleep and stay awake, that is the fight between your flesh and your spirit. And it is the fight of your life to stay spiritually awake, to stay attentive, because everything in our culture will try to put you to sleep. The Bible is replete with examples telling us to be alert, to be sober, to be vigilant, and children of the day. We do not belong to the night or to the darkness. So then let us not be like others who are asleep, but let us be awake and sober. And I feel like God sent me to Life Church today to tell somebody, wake up. Wake up. I wonder if you're dosing and you don't even know it. I wonder if you're spiritually asleep and you don't even know it, 'cause think about it. You don't know when you fall in the sleep. You don't know when you fell asleep last night. You don't know the time. You only know when somebody wakes you up. I wonder if it's the same spiritually. That often I don't even know I'm dosing until somebody says, wake up. This message today is a wake up call for somebody. Get out of your sleep. What are some signs, what are some blues clues that you're getting spiritually sleepy? It's not an exhaustive list, but I wrote some down. I think a loss of appetite for God's word. When you lose your appetite for God's word, it might be a sign you're dosing.

If you have a little or no desire to pray, that might be a sign you're getting sleepy. That's why you have to wake up the disciples. Wake up and pray. You know you're getting sleepy if things that used to convict you don't bother you anymore. You're just comfortable in it. There used to be a season you would walk out of a movie like that. There used to be a time there was no way you would entertain that type of gossip. Now you're feeling it? It's a sign you're getting spiritually sleepy. You know you're getting sleepy when you start avoiding accountability. Who are you to tell me how to live my life? I can do what I want. You know you're getting sleepy when you begin isolating yourself from Godly community. Isolating yourself from Godly community. And this is my indictment against the people that were in the room that day. Because how come nobody in the room said, "Eudicus, don't sit there. Eudicus, wake up. I know you're tired. I know you worked a long day." Eudicus, wake up. Look, I'm thankful that God can resurrect anybody. But how many know there is a power in community when you have people around you that will say, "Hey, you're dozing. You need to wake up. Hey, that's not a good place to sit. Hey, that's not a good crew for you to hang out with. Wake up.

How come nobody in the room went up to Eudicus? He was a young man, the Bible says. Was there nobody from the previous generation that came up and could say, "Eudicus, I know you're tired. I've been there." But lean on my shoulder. Stand on the wall. Don't sit in a window seat. That's a dangerous place. How come nobody went to Eudicus and said, "Wake up." We read this text and we laugh. But can you imagine sitting in a window, falling asleep, not even realizing it until your body is falling, hitting the crown? This is the tragedy of the church sometimes when we're so concerned with what God has for me that we don't look for the Eudicus who are sleeping in the window and they need somebody to tell them, "Wake up." Wake up. Hear me. Since I don't know when I'm falling asleep, I need community to wake me up. I need somebody who loves me enough to say, "Hey, first, don't sit there." But I see your doze in a little bit. You should wake. He falls out of the window. And what does the room do? It's not explicit in the text, but it's kind of hidden. I think they did what most church people do when we see somebody have a fall.

Maybe they looked out of the window and was like, "Ooh, did you all see that?" Shh man, shouldn't have been sitting there. (audience laughing) I can't, man, look at that. Oh, let me take somebody and tell them, girl, you ain't gonna believe. You two get fella out of the window in this church, sir. I don't know if that's what they did. I do know that the whole community didn't go down there. Isn't that what we do sometimes? When somebody's fallen, sometimes it's safer and easier just to look at them from a distance and maybe even judge them a little bit and say, "Oh, glad they fella and I didn't, I was awake." But I love what the Bible says about the Apostle Paul. It says that Paul went down. Everybody else in the room might have looked down, but Paul said, "No, no, no, no, I can't just look down. "I gotta go down there." And can I tell you what ministry looks like? Ministry is not looking down your nose on other people who have fallen and who are hurting and who are broken and who made mistakes. Real ministry is when you say, "I'm gonna go down to where you are." Oh, look at what Paul did. He didn't just go down. He threw himself on that young man. I need somebody when I'm falling, I messed up.

Not to look down on me, but can you get in the mud with me and help me? And look at what Paul says, he says, "It's not over. "I know you think there's no life in them, "but there is still life in this young man." And that's a word for somebody watching today. Maybe people have told you you messed up, your life is over, but how many are thankful? It's not over until God says it's over. There's still life in that marriage. There's still life in that young person. There's still life in your business. There's still life in that school. There's still life in your community. (audience applauding) Paul, Paul said, "I'm not just gonna look down. "I'm gonna go down and throw his body on him." And that young man came to life. Ooh, I'm thankful for somebody that's willing to go down when I've made a mistake and I've fallen. And isn't that what our gospel is? How many of you know when we were stuck in our sins, when we fell, I'm grateful for God, who did not try to redeem us from the lofty pinnacle of heaven. But he came down, put on human skin, lived the life that you and I were supposed to live in, died the death that you and I were supposed to die. And when everybody else said there's no hope for humanity, he says there's still life,

because I'm gonna give mine for them. (audience applauding) This is our gospel, this is our message. (audience applauding) And I'm on assignment today to wake somebody up. You don't know you fall in the sleep until somebody says wake up. And I believe today is a wake-up call. I believe somebody needs to get out of the window seat, find another place to stand and be awake and alert to what God has for you, because he has greater in front of you than what's been behind you. Would you bow your head, Father, thank you for your word? Thank you that you love us enough to wake us up. Lord, even the best of us gets sleepy. Even the best of us get weary. The spirit is willing, but the flesh is so weak. Oh, God, thank you for your resurrection power. Thank you for your word that awakens us, that you love us enough to not let us stay where we are so we can wake up and walk in all you have for us. In Jesus' name, amen, amen. (audience applauding) - Come on, church, tell Pastor Robert, thank you for what is special worth. And I am, man, I can just, I can just sense that the Holy Spirit is speaking to so many people today as he's speaking to me. Let's just continue in an attitude.

A prayer, Father, thank you for the word. Thank you for the wake-up call. God, we receive it. Church, as you take a moment and just reflect on what God wants to say to you. I wonder how many of you would just be really, really, really honest and acknowledge. It's so easy, it happens to all of us at times. We just, we drift, we get distracted. And we don't even know when we're starting to fall asleep. If you recognize that God sent a man today to bring a spiritual wake-up call to you, don't hesitate, don't think about it. God's speaking to you. He's starting with you. He lifts up your hands right now and says, "Yes, it's a wake-up call for me." Type in the comment section. It's a wake-up call for me at all of our churches today. I pray, God, that the Holy Spirit would start within us, God, that you would wake us up, get us off the window so you'd get us in the game, get us off the legend, down into the lives of people who need the gospel, who need salvation, God. Bring us to life, God, with passion for those that are hurting, passion for those who need you, God, passion for your word. Open to accountability, God, desiring to be in your presence as your church to do the will of God on earth, as it is, and heaven, God, wake us up.

God, wake us up. God, for anyone today who's drifted, fallen away, fallen short. God, we thank you though, a righteous person falls. He rises again. God, help us to rise, to love you, to serve you, and to make you known. God, wake us up. Wake us up, God, wake us up, God. As you keep praying today, it's interesting, you think about Eutuchus, he fell and he died, and there's a metaphor that Scripture says over and over again, it's actually even more than a metaphor. It's true that some people are spiritually dead. We're dead to the things of God. And the Bible tells us that we can be made alive in Christ. How are we made alive? Well, who is Jesus? He is the Son of God, the sinless, perfect Son of God, who came to earth not for those who are perfect, but came for broken people, sinful people. And Jesus was the perfect sacrifice who died for our sins in our place on a cross and was raised from the dead so that anyone, doesn't matter who you are, what you've done, who calls on his name. You're made alive in Christ. You're born again, not physically. You're born spiritually anew. The old is gone, you're forgiven. You're made alive today if there are those of you today.

If you were really honest, if we could just sit down and have a conversation and say, how are you spiritually? Some would say, there's nothing there. I'm hungry for more, I'm searching for more. I wanna be right with God, but I know I'm not right with God. You cannot get there on your own. The only way you're made right with God is by grace through faith in the perfect work of Jesus. And when you call on the name that is above every name, your sins are forgiven and you are made alive new in Christ. Born again, not better, but new. Today at all of our churches, there are those of you in online, God brought you here for this moment. Wake up, wake up, there's more to life. His name is Jesus. Step away from your sins, step into faith. He'll forgive your sins, he'll make you new. You're born into his kingdom to know his heart and to do his will. All of our churches you recognize, that's you. I need his grace, I need salvation today. I trust Jesus to be the Savior. And the Lord of my life is your prayer, lift your hands high right now, all of our churches and say yes. That's my prayer, praise God for you. All right, Dr. Others today saying yes. At all of our churches, we celebrate online, type in the comments section. I'm surrendering my life to Christ.

Just type that in, I'm surrendering my life to Christ. And we're gonna pray together, pray a lot, pray heavenly Father. Forgive all my sins, wake me up. Make me new. Fill me with your spirit so I could know you and serve you. My life is not my own. I give all of it to you. Thank you for new life. You have mine. In Jesus' name I pray. Could a very awake church give God some praise today, celebrate new life in Christ. (congregation applauding) Hey, it's Pastor Craig at Amy Groeschel with Life Church. And if you just made the decision to give your life to Christ, this is the most important and life-changing decision that you'll ever make. And all of heaven is celebrating right now because of your decision and we're celebrating with you too. That's right. And we want you to know that God sees you. He's with you and he loves you. He has a purpose for your life. And incarceration, it doesn't define you. It doesn't confine you 'cause you are free in Christ. You are new in him, chains have been broken today.

- And so as a follower of Jesus, God wants us to be on this journey together. And I want you to know you don't have to do this alone. And that's why we as your church family, we're here for you and we want to help you grow in your faith and find your next steps. So first of all, just keep joining us for church every single week and worshiping through the Pando app. We're so thankful that you're here. When we draw close to God, He draws near to us. And so I would also encourage you, read God's word if it's available to you. And as you do, just start to pray and invite God into every single aspect of your life. And then if you feel led, you might even share your decision with somebody else. and your spiritual journey. We'd love to hear it as well. And you can send us a letter if you'd like to. The address is on your screen and our team will write back to you and help you grow in your faith with Jesus. And so we'd love to mail you some content about who Jesus is and help you grow in your relationship with him now that you've chosen to follow Jesus. - That's right and God's plan for your life. It's greater than anything that you could ever imagine. In fact, Ephesians 3.20 says, God is able to do abundantly more than we could ask or imagine. Trust him with your whole life.

You will see him work in ways you have never thought possible. Congratulations on this decision. We are your family and you're part of the family of God. (upbeat music) (upbeat music) (upbeat music) (upbeat music) (upbeat music) (upbeat music) (upbeat music) (upbeat music) (upbeat music) (upbeat music) [BLANK_AUDIO]