Are y'all ready for the word did y'all miss me as much as I missed y'all I hope I hope y'all don't get sick of me I really hope you don't get sick of me it is the highest honor and the highest privilege to be able to share uh the word of God with you every single Sunday I don't know I've been gone a minute but I'm back today and uh I got a word I got a word I got a word I feel like it's Gonna bless you it's gonna bless you so go with me
to the book of Acts today Acts chapter 20. Acts chapter 20 and I want to look at verses 7 through 12. while you're looking for Acts or getting ready to look on the screen could I see your hand one last time and this is your first time here can I see your hand again first time here come on hey I'm glad you're here [Applause] How many this is your first time ever in church can I say your hand yeah they already left they're like these people are crazy oh yeah we are we are Acts chapter
20. and I just feel like you turn up everywhere else how come I can't turn up in church why not wanna Acts chapter 20. starting at verse number seven we'll go down to verse number 12 when you're Ready to read it to you need a little time to find it say give me a minute come on 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 he kept on talking until midnight there were many lamps in
the upstairs room where we were meeting and seated in a window was a young man Named uticus who was sinking into a deep sleep as Paul talked on and on it's a long sermon 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 ooh only a man of Faith could be looking at a corpse talking about it's all right don't be alarmed Said uh he's alive then he
went upstairs again and broke bread and ate and kept on preaching this is the longest recorded sermon in the Bible I was doing the math all the Sundays I was off I actually could preach till about midnight tonight just from The Sundays that I missed how many of y'all would stick around you lying you leave early before I dismissed stop stop And it says the people took the young man home alive and were greatly comforted can you say Amen what an unusual passage of scripture I am intrigued with this dude named uticus who made the
Bible got his name in the Bible euticus did not for what he said we have no clue what Utica has ever said all we know about him is that he fell asleep in church fill out the window died And then got resurrected that's all we know the feeling that if uticus was resurrected again and he could say something to us he would say the title of my message today he was just simply look at us and say didn't know fell asleep didn't know I fell a slave look at your neighbor for the Last time probably
not the last time but indulge me look at your neighbor one more time and say neighbor I didn't know I fell asleep look at your other neighbor your second option look at them right on their face say other neighbor this would be a terrible message for you to sleep in come on if you know God's gonna speak in the second service give him some praise While you're clapping help me thank God not just for the social Dallas Global family help me thank God for all the inmates that are watching this right now on the Pando
app all of our brothers and sisters we see you Lord speak to us today amen you can sit down go to sleep if you want I didn't know didn't know I fell Asleep social fam this text today triggered for me a memory that occurred during Taylor and I's first year of marriage something that I will never ever forget some of you know that before we planted this church two years ago that I was an evangelist and had an itinerant Ministry and I would travel from a city to City uh from place to place preaching from
Genesis all the Way to the maps in the back I did that for 16 years traveling and preaching I'll never forget it was our first year of marriage and this was a crazy week of ministry I think I was in a different city every single week it was scheduled to be in a different city and here I got my new bride with me and I was excited for her to go with me because I'm going to show her it's real in these Ministry streets you're gonna see what it's like they live out of a suitcase
go from City To city and preach she was like I can handle it let's go I'm excited I said okay you're gonna see we preached in a different city every week I'll never forget it culminated with a Sunday morning service it was in Midlothian Virginia shout out Midlothian Virginia that was the church we were at and I'll never forget it because we got a late Saturday night and the Pastor said we got three Sunday morning services and the first one starts at 8 A.M So I looked at my bride and I said my my new
bride I said hey you don't have to come to all three okay it's a lot we've been traveling a lot why don't you come to the second or maybe come to the third now keep in mind this is the first year of marriage okay if it was like today now come on we're about to celebrate 11 years in a few weeks so got double digits on the board so if it was today you know her reply would be like uh duh I wasn't coming all three Anyway I'll catch you out the last one or maybe
at lunch but when you at newlywed is just different she's like oh my goodness no I would never miss a service I'm gonna be at all three I got you I want to support you we can't be separated we have to stay connected I said okay all right it's gonna be early morning so we get up we go to this first service and I'm preaching there I will never forget it I'm preaching with everything I got and I'm about Two-thirds of my message I'm about to land the plane and as I'm preaching I notice in
my peripheral my bride who is on the front row of the church has her eyes closed and I'm telling immediately my initial thought was this I was like see I picked the right one she is praying for her man look at that I got a woman of prayer she is interceding she knows that this most important part of the entire message that you're about to respond to the Gospel and she's already preparing the atmosphere with intercessory prayer I said this is powerful I picked the right one kept on preaching also and I noticed she wasn't
just praying but uh Pentecostal we ain't that Pentecostal why why is her head rocking our kids or not I'm telling the truth and before you know it she has her head all the way back passed out and their mouth wide open on the front row while I'm preaching I panicked I painted I kept on Preaching but then I'll start noticing that everybody in the surface it wasn't that big of a church everybody is noticing her fall asleep in the service oh y'all I just landed the plane real quick I said worship team come on now
everybody's stand I said everybody stand then she woke up and stood up and all it was awkward in The Green Room afterwards because we were smiling there's all kinds of niceties and as soon as the pastor left I said babe are you serious On the front row you didn't notice everybody noticing you sleeping and she said what every person who was falling asleep said I couldn't help it I didn't know I didn't know fell asleep come on let's be honest today it has happened to the best of us because I don't care who you are
I promise you there has been a Sunday where you have those a little bit some of you I know because I see you I see you from up here you don't realize that I see you every single one of us has had a Sunday where we've dozed off it will get the best of us I don't care how much Faith you got I called my dad a couple of some days ago falling asleep falling asleep in church he's the most spiritual man I know in fact I wanted to put the picture of it in this
service to show you him falling asleep and I asked him I said dad can I put up your picture of you falling asleep that Mom got in The service he said absolutely not Over My Dead Body will you put that picture up welcome to my Nigerian dad life but it's gotten the best of us all of us have had a Sunday where we have fallen asleep the intent and the assignment of this message is not to shame those of you who have fallen asleep in service and matter of fact if you're watching this message it
Pandora app at home or in the room and you've never had a son that you ain't never had a Sunday that You've dozed off what you actually telling me is you don't go to church a lot because I promise you there's gonna be a Sunday where you just start to doze a little bit so I'm not here to shame those of you who've fallen asleep in church I guess what I'm trying to do today is ask what I've been asking of this text the entire week why is this story in the Bible why in the
world of all the stories that the physician Dr Luke when he put pen Into parchment to talk about the history of the early church why is this story of Paul preaching and utica's sleeping why did this one make the Bible come on Dr Luke of all the stories you could have talked about why would you put this story in the Bible understand that the book of Acts is chronicling the first 30 years of the history of the church it's letting you know that what God Said came to pass when he said that you would be
my witnesses to Jerusalem Judea Samaria And to the ends of the Earth I love the book of Acts because you get to watch and read almost In Living Color to see what began in an upper room with a hundred and twenty people in Jerusalem Indian gold ended up going all the way to Rome how is that that a gospel and an experience that started in the upper room with 120 people all of a sudden proliferated and went all the way to Rome that's why I don't despise Small Beginnings oh I'm telling you if the Holy
spirit is on that thing you can watch God take Small Beginnings and take small Beginnings around the world and to think that the gospel that was preached back then is still being declared around the world today I don't understand though Luke why would you write this story about Paul and utica's falling asleep why did this make the book we're just getting snapshots in the book of Acts why do we get this story I get why you wrote about Paul and Ananias oh I understand that interaction that's a good story to conclude to include because remember
Paul is the artist formerly known as Saul he was the one that was actually killing Christians he was on his way on Damascus to kill more Christians and all of a sudden a bright light shine out of nowhere and knocked Paul off of his high horse and a voice came from the light and said Saul Saul why are you persecuting me and look at what he said back who are you Lord he Knew that the power was not ordinary I love that I love that you're not too big for God to bring you down to
your knees I love that I don't care what you've done or where you've been you are not beyond the reach or the grace of God only God could take a murderer and turn him into a church planter still doing Miracles like that today be careful who you write off be careful who you say oh God can't use them God has the power because of his grace to turn People around and he blinded Paul oh only God will blind you so you can actually see here's Paul looking for ananias and ananias who was probably scared at
first that he was going to get killed lays hands on him so he can see I get Paul and ananias I get Paul and Barnabas I get why you write about that Dr Luke you need Paul and Barnabas I love that it was good to the early church and to the Holy Spirit to sin not just Paul by Himself on a missionary journey but he needed a companion he needed Barnabas to go with him so away with this notion that God's going to call you to do something by yourself anytime God is going to do
something in you and through you it will always be bigger than you and you need to start asking yourself God don't just give me the power give me the partner connect me with the person that's going to bring this promise in to pass so I Get Paul and Barnes I get Paul and Silas come on y'all what would a watch Night Service look like if we didn't have Paul and Silas in a prison at midnight praising God isn't that crazy how you can do the right thing and still end up in the wrong place and
then they are praising God at midnight I get Paul and silence because how many you know when life has put you in a dungeon and you've been whipped and beaten it feels a lot better when you got somebody with you Praise come on don't make me Praise by myself that's why you ought to do a road check when you come to church I don't want people on my road though when I'm lifting up my hands you sucking your teeth and rolling your eyes I want people in the room that when I say Halle they say
luya when I say praise God they say Lord it feels better when there's an atmosphere that comes together in agreement to praise God [Music] Remember them remember when Paul got off a shipwreck and got bit by a snake and he healed his father that Governor's father in that crazy that the same hand that it got bit by a snake is the same hand that he laid hands on his dad and healed him oh be careful because God will use some wounded healers sometimes it's when you've been through some stuff that you got the power to
speak to some stuff lay hands on people I get Paul and pube this But I don't get Paul and uticus why do we need to know about Paul preaching and this young dude sleeping surely the message is not don't sleep in church that can't be the message I mean come on man I got to the place of my preaching if you sleep on me get your rest I'm secure enough in my communication you can go to sleep surely that's not the message and surely the message is not preach shorter sermons Oh I hope not because
Paul was preaching a long time and I've seen people even use this text to suggest that preachers should preach shorter I had a seminary Professor that said that the Mind cannot retain what the seed cannot endure so he said you ought to preach a little cute short messages and I guess that works in some contexts my problem with that if you're gonna put that on this text uh how come muticus was the only one that fell asleep The people the Bible don't tell us how many people are in that upper room but if all the
people that were in there let's say there was a hundred eunuchus is one out of the 99 that's dozing off oh you can't put this on Paul preaching long because although uticus fell asleep nobody else fell asleep otherwise you know Dr Luke he's thorough he would have said everybody in there fell asleep utica's just happened to be the one that Fell out the window so it's not that it was Paul preaching too long as a matter of fact that lets me know the atmosphere of expectation that was in the room because although utica's fell asleep
everybody else in the room had no problem with Paul preaching that long everybody else in the room was sitting on the edge of their sea saying Paul if you got the depth of content we've got the depth of capacity to receive it oh can I just pause right there and say Sometimes the issue is not the person that's pouring out sometimes the issue is the capacity of the person that's sitting there to receive uticas went to sleep but shout out to the other believers that were in that room they said Paul if you got more
content we got more capacity we can be here all night we ain't got nothing else to do we came with expectations to receive something oh I don't hear nobody I must have got a whole lot of you to kisses in here but There must be some people in here that said if you got something to pour out I came prepared my capacity is ready to receive what you got oh look at Paul Paul had the depth of content to pour out to the depth of capacity to the people that were in the room that is
a powerful principle to understand because many of us are crying out to God saying God give me more and God's saying I got a whole lot to give I got oceans to pour out problem is you coming to me with a little saucer and so you complaining about what you want me to pour out but I'm trying to check your capacity to see if you're ready to get what I want to give you oh I had a TV show flashback I had a TV show flashback some of y'all are too young to remember this commercial
you remember this commercial it was for hot dogs and they had this powerful phrase in the commercial it still preaches it Had this one line it said hunger gets what hunger wants remember that you know some of y'all now okay you too y'all it was for a hot dog it's the weirdest commercial because they'd just be sitting in the commercial I'm sudden their hands will come out the person's stomach and they grab the hot dog and just they eat the hot dog and they just in the commercial saying hunger gets what hunger wants oh that
thing gonna preach right there cause can I tell you sometimes it's not the preacher it's you sometimes it's not the church it's you but I wonder if there's anybody's spirit that says oh Hunger Games what hunger was if you got something you're gonna pour out I'm ready to receive I'm not here to fulfill a religious Duty I can't expect it to get a breakthrough I can't expect it to get a word from God and if you got expectation God will always meet you at The level of your expectation oh I need a 20-second praise break
for those that got some expectation I'm expecting him to do something I got capacity to receive oh what's your capacity what's your capacity huh had enough preaching to pour out and the Believers at troas had enough capacity to receive or if I could go back in time I would preach in that Upper Room in troas I wouldn't look at you to kiss but I would look at the rest of them and say oh y'all ready for the word and I'll pour out and there Paul is preaching to a room filled with nothing preparation is a
sign of your expectation see a lot of people are expecting things but they don't have what I call proof of expectation I'm expecting God to do something really Prove it anytime I used to shout when people just say I'm expecting big things now I'll go let me see the receipts let me see your proof of expectations because people today are crazy I'm expecting to get a house okay you tithing no but I'm expecting to get a house oh okay all right are you saving no but I'm expecting to get a house have you downloaded Zillow
no I don't know what that is but I'm expecting Expectation is not enough I want to know your proof of your expectation well I'm expecting God to send me around the world and preach okay you got a passport now but I got expectation because interesting when I studied the gospels almost every person that got a miracle from Jesus they had proof of expectation remember the one with the issue of blood she pressed her way through a crowd understand she is breaking every law she Is unclean she's not supposed to be in public but her pushing
and breaking protocol is what proof of expectation no wonder he stopped in the middle of the crowd and said somebody touched me and the disciples said you crazy everybody's touching you said no they touching me but they're not touching me with proof of expectation that is a woman that's got proof of expectation and I'm not taking another step till I see her it's proof proof of expectation remember the Friends that had the lame dude that they wanted to get healed and there was a big old crowd crowded like it is in here today and they
didn't think that the crowd was to stop them from their friend getting a breakthrough now they went upside the house tore a hole in the roof you know what they were doing they were saying I got proof of expectation tearing the roof is on me healing his legs is on Jesus but I'm showing you my proof I feel like preaching can I preach like I've been out of my Pulpit for a while you better have some proof of expectation I ain't got the job but I got the suit proof of expectation I ain't got the
credit score but I'm still looking proof on expectation I ain't got the church building yet but I'm still looking on every single app saying God just open up a building big enough I gotta have some proof Expectation you expected proven prove it so so this room this room had proof of expectation how do you know Pastor Robert give a scripture I'm so glad you asked it was in the text right there I think it's verse number eight yeah see y'all read past that gotta read the Bible slow there were many lamps in the upstairs room
where they were meeting Paul ended up preaching until midnight I don't think it was his intent to preach to midnight but when you got a room full of expectation things will happen he ended up preaching till midnight but it just so happened that the room Was already prepared not with one lamp put it back up there how many do you realize that means before Paul walked up the stairs to preach somebody in that room I said get a bunch of lamps because you know how Paula is and we might be here all night and I'm
not about to have this man of God preaching in the dark he about to write the Bible Put as many lamps out that's proof of expectation there is no electricity all they had was a bunch of lamps oh come here Matthew chapter 25. remember Matthew chapter 25 when Jesus tells a parable and it's ten Bridesmaids fiber wise Viber foolish and all of them ended up like utica's falling asleep and when the master the bridegroom came all of them had lamps all of them fell asleep oh wait a minute but only five the ones that were
wise Have what oil see first service I just shouted about the lamps but this second service and God still preaches while I'm still preparing to preach and I just want to shout that they have some oil too then it is have enough lamps they had enough oil for the lamps because if they just brought lands that didn't have the oil they would have been just like those five foolish bridesmaids but you know You got expectation well you didn't just bring the lamp oh but I got some oil I got some anointing I got some stuff
that's gonna last in the darkness that's around me oh somebody will give God some praise like you brought some oil I'm not gonna settle just for the lamp I gotta be wise in this dark age in which we live I need some oil Jesus I feel like preaching today do you have oil they weren't prepared This is proof of expectation they were not expecting it would have started getting dark and then somebody would have had to leave the room he said oh wait let me go get the lamp somebody to record what Paul's saying let
me go get the lamps but no I prepared beforehand so I got expectation so I'm gonna ask you in a practical sense are you are you Preparing for a move of God are you preparing for what he wants to do in your life are you prepared and if you want to let me see the proof of the expectation and there they are in Upper Room full of lamps and listening to Paul preach I've been gone for a minute so I have to tell you where I traveled to I went to this room I went to
this Upper Room I went up there oh it was powerful experience I didn't go to Israel but I went up to that room I didn't go to church but I went up to this room in my exegetical imagination I went up there no I'm for real I went up there y'all know I'm crazy I went I went a stood on the shore of true ass smelt the sea water What's there it's there I worked all day as would have been the custom in that time working all day but the work seemed to go by fast
because I had eager expectations for the meeting that was happening that night powerful because it was the first day of the week you know normally they would gather on the Sabbath the Saturday in the synagogue but everything changed because Jesus has now risen from the Grave and this is the first recorded meeting on a Sunday in the Bible this is the first recorded Gathering that they got together on a Sunday night that y'all I was there in the room after working all day and everybody was excited the expectation was palpable in the room I climbed
up three flights of stairs I got all the way up in that room and oh you should have seen it it was packed with people who not everybody Showered I could smell the rule and there I was watching all the candles as they flickered it hadn't quite and gotten dark yet and I was up there in the room I was there I was there when they brought out the food to break and the breaking bread and just having fellowship and everybody was eating I was hungry too because I missed my lunch break and I was
eating in the upper room I was eating I saw even before Paul got there that we broke bread we had Communion and we remembered his body that was we remembered his blood that was shared I was there in the room when Paul walked in and everybody was like he's here he's here and a hush ensued the room as this powerful apostle that we had heard about all he had done he had just caused the riot in Ephesus and here he is in our midst and we sat there and Paul perhaps the greatest most profound Prolific
thinker and preacher I listened to Paul preach I listened to him preach for 30 minutes I listen to him preach for an hour I listened to him preach for an hour and 15 minutes about an hour and a half I was like all right Paul gonna wrap this thing up if I listen to him preach for two hours realized he wasn't going to keep on Going I just you know had a lot of food they had food in the room and it was sitting in my stomach so I just I just sat down to get
comfortable to listen to Paul preach I listened to him preach for two hours and 15 minutes and about that point I was like Paul you gotta land this thing homie I'm just thieves because you know the lights are flickering and it's getting dark and I just ate food too and I'm trying to pay Attention upon and had two hours and 30 minutes in this fool gonna talk about any questions I said Paul are you serious don't ask them for questions and as they're taking questions going on and all you know people ask stupid questions you
already know the answer to come on and they're asking all these questions I said it's my opportunity I gotta go to the bathroom so I went to the bathroom I said oh you got to wake up and I came back in the room somebody took my seat I Said man I smashed up so I stood on the wall but Paul is three hours in this message and I'm trying I'm trying to pay attention in this moment the lights are flickering in my eyes I'm getting heavy and I have food in my stomach pay attention then
it's hot it's hot in this room is I just need to get a little air so I just went by the window started airing out my tunic just to see if I could stop from go ahead a little bit menopause airing out my tunic I said Well let me go it's sit in this in the window of field and so I'm sitting in the window sitting fall is three hours and 35 minutes into this message I ain't gonna be honest I got ADT so I'm listening I'm looking out the window too I'm like what is
going on it's the longest summer I have ever heard when are you gonna land this planet sure attention to him and he started looking at me I was like oh look now he's staring I don't want to to say that I Was sleeping on pause no no stay away stay away window s four hours in now oh you're asking questions again see I'm showing you the progression because my issue with you to kiss is not his sleep my issue is with his seat Issue with you to kiss is not that he's sleeping it's where he
is sitting why in the world would you sit in an open window of all the places in the room to set why would you sit in an open window my issue is not with his sleep is where he's sitting that is a dangerous place to slip him all of us have had some Sundays If we're honest if we dozed a little bit and we got a little sick but why would you position yourself in this scene I get that sleep overcame you you Probably couldn't help that it was a long day and plus it's midnight
you're supposed to be sleeping at midnight that was just came on you but how many know you choosing to sit in that seat you choosing to put yourself in that place of danger that was on you why would you sit right here it's a dangerous place in an open window I want to talk to some of y'all who are in the church but you got to open the window I want to talk to you you love Jesus Oh you love him you in the church you also concerned with what's going on outside I'm talking to
some of y'all who God has spoken to you to cut off the relationship and you cut off the relationship but they still in your phone because you just he said open it's an open I'm talking to those you who are in the church but you got an open window just In case Jessica I love you Jesus I'm here I'm here shout out to you to kiss he's in the church but some people can be in the church but still have an open window God I'm gonna trust you and step out but God I got my
backup plan just in case I need to escape and it's a dangerous thing to have one foot in and one foot out it's a dangerous thing to have an open window and my question to you is Not as while you're sleeping the question is is that a good place to sit it's not a good place is that a good place to sit I know you're in the church but just because you're in the church don't mean everybody in the church is following Jesus so I want to is that a good person to hang out with
but I met him at Social so Is that a good dude today because I have seen some dudes do some good fake worship they will serve while they praying on who they can break their heart next I know you I have seen some atheists come to church because they trying to holla I know you're you're cause I'm glad you're here I just want to ask you is that a good place that's it Uticus has an open window and it's sitting in a dangerous place and some of you are just like uticus and that you haven't
fallen yet and you're dozing but I just want to ask you why would you sit there you know you got to open window when you're asking questions how far can I go before it's in like what is cheating exactly you know it's it's it's minimal Moral relativity it's just I just how how close rather than saying God how much can you use me in how much can your goodness flow through my life it's no how close can I get to the edge and I just want to say you the kids why why would you sit
there dangerous dangerous place to send there is uticus he's sitting And he's dozing you ever been there before you ever been biting sleep don't talk about naturally no Fred you ever been there I'm telling my way it's coming on you stronger in the crowd how stupid you look when you fight and sleep I'll give you my let me give you mine when I'm driving I'm pretty good in church when I'm driving down the highway My wife will have tested this she gets nervous when I drive don't let it be more than a three hour drive
something about the Drone of the engine and just when it's dark I mean when you should see out I do the dumbest [Music] I'll get nervous I get nervous some of y'all gonna see me when I'm driving it's a long drive because I do the dumbest stuff hitting myself in the head no Wonder they came to the window that's why I do I open all the windows and the sun room ah just try not to die while I'm turning up the radio go through every playlist and I start listening to stuff I don't even really
listen to all the time so I got a heads up staying in my tires so I don't even sing just trying to stay awake since you'll be good you ever been there just try Not to crash your car you're on the side of the road coming back it's real it overcomes you shout out to you just it's a fight to stay awake and no wonder Luke when he pins not just the book of Acts but his own Gospel in addition to this he brings up like the other gospel Writers at the moment with the disciples
or with Jesus In The Garden of Gethsemane hide and sleep remember that moment fighting it with cheese the physical Jesus took them on a private trip just y'all three and here they are wake them up just say wake up which would have sufficed Be careful watch that you don't fall into temptation classic Jesus what does me sleeping have to do with temptation sir I'm confused I said be careful he says the spirit is willing bless you're so weak in other words when your God and my god when your savior My Savior got ready to articulate
the metaphor About the fight between your flesh and your spirit he said it's just like those moments when sleep it's coming after you and you are trying your best to stay awake that is what the fight is between your flesh your spirit no wonder Paul when he writes a letters to churches feels the need to tell them about staying alert being vigilant because he's letting you Know that everything in our current culture is trying to put you to sleep this culture is not designed to keep you alert to keep you awake to keep you leaning
to the things of God no it is designed to lull you in to sleep come on that's why tick tock tick tock tick tock tick tock lulling you to sleep that is the fight of our life look at what he says into this church in Thessalonica let's look at it real quick it's just one of the many verses he says you are children of the light and Children of the day we do not belong to the night or to the darkness so then let us not be like the others who are asleep be awake and
sober what he said to the church at thessalonica he says to the church at Rome look at what he says to them in Romans chapter number 13 verse 11 and 12 and do this understanding the present Time the hour has already come for you to wake up from your Slumber because our Salvation is nearer now than when we first believe the night is nearly over the day is almost here so let us put aside the Deeds of darkness and put on the armor of light Peter does the same thing look at what Peter says in
First Peter chapter 5 verse 8 he says be alert and of sober mind your enemy the devil prowls around like A roaring lion looking for somebody that he can devour who is he going to Devour the people who are awake no the ones who are falling asleep it hit my heart today I feel like it was incumbent upon me to let somebody know that even the disciples with the most sincerest of hearts get sleepy So away with this notion that if you were really saved you wouldn't be drowsy please even the disciples with the most
tear of intention get tired get sleepy come on can we give utica's credit at least he was in the room he had good intentions I wish intentions were enough problem is intention will get you in the Room but your attention will keep you in the room so it is the trick of the enemy get you into space but to get you to go to sleep I'm telling you the disciples with the most sincerest of emotions fall asleep you know why they fell asleep in the Garden of Gethsemane we read that text and we're so focused
On Jesus sorrow we miss that it says that the disciples were sorrowful too sometimes sorrow because you've been through so much you've gone through so much pain that is like God Lord I want to pray but I but I believe for that last year God I'm here I'm here I'm in church but you I've been praying for this family member's Deliverance for years Lord I'm just I'm here sorrow can make you sleep Luke is the only one to write A peculiar thing in that Paramount moment do you remember when the same three took the Garden
of Gethsemane he took to a Mountaintop when Jesus was transfigured before them the one time in scripture where he allowed his deity the essence of his Glory to come through his physical body he is on a mountain glowing and Moses and Elijah show up look I don't have some encounters with God but Moses and Elijah never showed up and I've never seen the physical Jesus glowing but here's my thought process if I saw that I would be wide awake oh nothing would put me to sleep if Jesus Jesus starts glowing and it's just me and
him on a mountain and people from the Old Testament show up yo I am wide Awake not just wide awake with my phone just right here just trying to record it saying oh wait till we come off this mountain these disciples about to be hating on this can you believe this say something Moses you would think you would be alert I miss this Luke chapter 9 it says Peter and his companions were very sleepy I bet they were they just hiked the mountain But when they became fully awake they saw his glory in the two
men standing beside him so don't tell me that just because you've been coming to church for years and you know more scriptures than anybody else and you had communion for breakfast that you've never had a moment where your flesh has overcome your spirit got sleepy it happens to the best of us so I want To comfort you with that but I also want to say this that might scare you because my title is I didn't know fell asleep and that is the Cry of every person who has ever fallen asleep didn't know so if in
the physical I don't know when I fell asleep I'm wondering is it possible be right on the edge spiritually And I'm about to fall into Danger could it be possible that the window that I'm sitting in that I think is a window of opportunity is actually the window that is going to be a window of death for me and I'm numb to it because I'm physical bodies tell us something in the spirit that you can be falling asleep spiritually and not even know it I made a list of some things Some signs this isn't an
exhaustive list but I'd like to share with you you're wondering am I getting sleep because in the same way you got signs in the physical I think there's some signs in the spiritual that you're getting sleepy I'd love to give it to you is that cool you know you might be getting spiritually sleepy when you have little or no desire to pray notice in both of those instances Jesus Is doing what praying with his disciples tell them to watch and pray the son of the Living God often got up and would withdraw to a Solitude
place to pray ER is our connection and whenever that desire is dwindle I know I'm getting sleepy you know you might be getting spiritually sleepy if you have a loss of appetite for the word of God The word is food it feeds you have you ever noticed that you eat what you crave and you crave what you eat you eat what you crave and you crave what you eat like if I just start eating crumble cookies like every day hypothetical the more crumble cookies I eat the more crumble cookies do it I'm gonna eat that
nasty kale salad you start eating it and it's gross nothing tastes good but you say I'm Gonna do it again you do it again you do it again before you know it huh because you made a decision to eat something different get you on a Friday afternoon talking about hey gonna order that kale for me yeah extra Ranch but don't order that kale because you eat what you crave and you crave what you eat your loss of appetite for the word of God is a sign You might be getting spiritually sleepy if you no longer
get convicted of willful sin stuff used to be convicted about you can just do so easily now it's a sign you're getting sleepy you know you're getting sleepy if you desire to be served rather than serving others remember when you used to be just so excited whatever you want social I'm here Give me the movement chair let's go I'll move it remember that you're just so happy God has done something in your life whatever you need I'm here now it's like they don't even see what I do in this church I'm sick of this church
they don't ever acknowledge me I hadn't got the microphone yet you know you're getting sleepy when you desire to be served rather than serve you know you're getting sleepy When you're easily offended you ever notice when you're sleepy everything agitates you when you are tired everything annoys you can y'all stop breathing breathing is getting on my nerves my bad every little thing annoys you now why you're sleepy you know you're getting sleepy if you're consistently comparing yourself to others it's a sign because you counting sheep I don't have what they have to get the opportunity
they got you know you're getting sleepy when you're spreading or entertaining gossip that's why some of y'all sleep with your mouth open I am in the spirit start gossiping and if you're not spreading you're like oh tell me more it's a sign that you're off assignment you're not doing what he's called you to do You know you're getting sleepy when you isolate yourself from community from The Community of Faith Community of Believers that's a sign you're getting sleepy which brings an indictment to this room hear me I'm glad eudicus is in the room I'm so
glad he's there I'm so glad that they were ready and had the lamps in the room excited about it but I have an indictment against this Room I want to know why is it that when uticus started sitting in that windowsill and started falling asleep how come nobody in that Upper Room said yo Yoda kiss don't sit there that's not a good place to sit how come nobody in that room when he was dozing off said utica's wake up wake up just to get into the good part Paul is talking real good right here how
Come nobody woke him up this is why you need a Community of Faith this is why the enemy tries to keep you in isolation since I don't know when I'm falling asleep you know what I mean I need somebody that I have enough compassion and authority to tell me wake up you are those that wake up you got too much purpose to be dating them wake up you're about to throw in the towel on the promise you know God gave you wake up and I'm proud to be your alarm clock Today to tell somebody God
is calling you the more wake up wake up out of your Slumber wake up out of your sleep wake up out of your apathy wake up out of your complacency wake up out of the pain of your past wake up I know I can't tell when I'm falling asleep but I know somebody can tell me when I need to wake up this is why I need the church I need somebody to tell me hey bro you Drooling hey bro your head is bobbing back and forth somebody that doesn't do it with judgment if it actually
has compassion it says I know you're tired up and tired too I know you've been working all day man I've been there too but come on man you gotta wake up you gotta wake up hear this message from the heart of the father that's telling Somebody to wake up today I need Believers why didn't anybody wake you to kiss up my next question is I wonder when they noticed he fell were they still mesmerized by Paul's preaching since nobody woke him up I wonder when they noticed he fell or were they so honed in on
the pontificating of Paul that they didn't even notice their brother this young boy had fallen out of the window they didn't Even notice and I wonder sometimes are we so consumed with me myself and I and my blessing that we're oblivious to the people that are sitting right next to you in this service that are going through pain and is anybody gonna look past that little plastic I'm good just say no no no no no you're not good I haven't even seen you in church in a while is anybody gonna notice that Utica is missing
how long did it take for them to realize that it's falling away do you Know how many people are out there that should be in here but they're waiting for somebody to even notice that they fell out the window sometimes how the church is sometimes it's not until the drama outside of the four walls happens that it gets our attention to realize wait a wait a minute uticus gone at some point they notice I don't know when At some point they noticed and here's the other thing that broke my heart it's not the prognosis that
came from the bottom that said he was dead seems as though from the text everybody was content to watch from the window [Music] he's falling out and everybody's on the inside just looking at them Some of you have been on the other end of that where you're falling away and the people of the church are just what can you believe that you shouldn't have been sitting there anyway oh that's what it gets got the nerve to be texting other people saying did you see did you hear what happened most of them sat in the room
but thank God for Paul verse number 10 is what changed my life verse number 10 is what Brought hope to the text because why everybody else seemingly stayed at the top do you see what it says in verse number 10 Paul went down Paul went to I started having church just on the fact that Paul went down some preachers would have kept on preaching but not Paul Paul said I got to come down y'all can stay in the room if you want but there comes a time where you gotta stop the preacher and come down
to where people are Paul went down And it got ugly and he laid on top of you to kiss and he said I believe that the same power that raised Christ from the dead can raise you from the dead too is there anybody in the church that's not just gonna stay in the four walls and preach the gospel but it's not afraid to roll up your cities and get down with people who everybody else has written off and said the marriage is dead oh don't believe in that person they're dead look at their history their
Statistics Paul said no he's still got life on the inside of him and I'll come to where he is oh I want to thank Paul for coming down he came down three stories to reach him and I came to tell somebody today that's exactly what your savior did for you that's what it did for me I am uticus I am euticus I have every good intention I want to do the right thing but sometimes I get distracted sometimes I sit in the wrong place sometimes I get too close to the edge and I've fallen and
I'm so thankful that when everybody else would have said I'm dead and counted me out aren't you glad that your savior oh he didn't come down three stories he did come down through 42 generations and put on human skin he said I can't redeem them from Heaven I gotta put on human skin and live the Life they were supposed to live and die to death that they were supposed to die come on how many are thankful that on the first Sunday where they celebrated the resurrection they got a real life Resurrection they didn't know you
to kiss was gonna get up from the grave but it had to happen to let the church know that he still can resurrect every bad circumstance I don't care how long it's been dead [Music] You can resurrect it he can resurrect it there's been a theme over this service he's more than able [Music] when did you start to believe that it was over utica's when did you start to believe that it was over for you I serve a god who will come down to where you are not afraid to get in the dirt with you
And that when everybody else said it's over he says no still life in them everybody else says the marriage is done no there's still life everybody say your family this runs in your family God says there's still life in her I know you've been gone for a while some of y'all know who this is for You've been gone from church a long time but you showed up today why because God says you're not there is still life in you gotta wake up wake up you've been looking for a son here it is your wake-up call
she been asleep you didn't even ask every person that can to stand to your feet unless everybody to respect This moment nobody leaving I believe this is not a cute message this is a word for our church God's calling us to go deeper that's our word this year but some of us have fallen into a deep sleep and I'm not here to debate the reason why some of you it's just sorrow it's pain my heart empathizes with that but nevertheless even though the sorrow has lulled you to sleep you still gotta Wake up gotta wake
up I'm talking to some father calling you to wake up your son your daughter is looking at you your wife is waiting for the man that will wake up talking to some mother gotta wake up somebody who's been in a dangerous place and maybe you've gone in that relationship because you were lonely and you just wanted somebody to love you and You know that it's a day place to sit and God's saying wake up get off the ledge don't sit in that open window I didn't know I fell asleep and no this is your wake-up
call today to wake up wake up out of apathy God wants to bring you back to that place where you used to worship and not look At the clock where he used to talk to him calling you back to that place come back to your first love found this place today with unwear and what anybody thinks of you say hey Pastor Robert I know this is for me I I've got an area that I need to wake up maybe you say I'm I'm in the room but I'm going through The motions I'm sitting in the
wrong seat you're on the edge but you know this message is a wake-up call for you if that's you would you just lift up your hand high enough long enough as a sign to say God I hear you I hear you I hear you wow thank you Jesus thank you God lord wake us up wake us up God falling asleep we don't want to fall down So wake up the church Jesus Jesus wake up the church wake me up God wake me up oh don't ever let me be content to just have service and God
wake me up come back to my first love [Music] if you know you need to wake up and this is your wake-up call and you lift up your head or you should have I know it was a lot of people but I just think it's worth it today would you just get out of your seat and just come find a place at this altar get as close as you can maybe you can only make it to the aisle that's fun I just want you to leave your seat where you are because I want you to
physically move to say God I'm I'm tired of being in this lull of apathy I'm tired of being lethargic tired of going through the motions if we're going To be in the room we may as well wake up you the kids if you're gonna be in the room why won't you wake up intention will get you in the room but attention will keep you in it and I don't know who this is for God is getting your attention I'm telling you that you wouldn't even be in church somebody that's why you're here today you wouldn't
even be in church but for some reason you came today it is God getting your attention to wake up wake Up you are on the ledge get as close to this altar as you can get as close to this altar as you can come on press in press in press in thank you Jesus thank you Jesus come on the worship team is going to lead us and I just want you to lift up your hands in worship and I believe we're just going to come through and I'm gonna lay hands I'm gonna pray our prayer
team will pray forgot to move some of the chairs we'll move some of the chairs but I just Believe this is somebody's wake-up call but before anybody prays come on I just want you to give him your attention your attention that's what he wants your attention your focus your focus [Music] I gotta wake up
