2023-06-04 Getting Life in Focus

GETTING LIFE IN FOCUS (Acts 20:7-16) June 4, 2023 Read Acts 20:7-16 - Here's a modern mother: "I can't find my kid's birth certificate. But I have saved one for every Build-a-Bear in a special file because I'm insane." You have to admit, at least she has a point. She has some misplaced priorities. So do we all! God says, II Cor 4:18b: "For the things that are seen are transient, but the things that are unseen are eternal." Given that, is there some insanity going on in our lives as well? I love this passage bc it shows new believers refocusing their lives. They had to deal with real life, of course. We all do. But they are learning to look beyond just here and now to greater realities - which paradoxically helped them made better decisions about now. Their example shows us how to do the same - focus on eternity to live fruitful lives now. I. They Kept Focus on Fellowship 7 On the first day of the week, when we were gathered together to break bread." This is the first and clearest verse in the NT showing Sunday as the normal meeting day for the early church, a pattern we follow. I Cor 16:2: "On the first day of the week, each of you is to put something aside and store it up, as he may prosper, so that there will be no collecting when I come." It would have been unthinkable for devout Jews, like the disciples, to violate the Sabbath - that is unless something stupendous had happened to authorize such violation. And it had, of course, the resurrection of JC. They met on Sunday to celebrate their risen Lord. This practice is a subtle but critical indication of the truth of the resurrection. This also shows how highly they valued Xn fellowship. They gathered "to break bread". That could refer to a common meal or the Lord's Supper. Probably both are in mind here. These believers did life together. Their lives no longer centered in secular affairs. New life in Christ centered around fellowship with their brothers and sisters in Christ. We need each other for many reasons. First, it shows the world the wonder of Jesus. Jn 13:34-35: A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another: just as I have loved you, you also are to love one another. 35 By this all people will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another." We can't do that if we are not sharing life. To neglect fellowship with other believers is to shirk the primary way we share Christ. We also need each other to live like Xns. Heb 10: 24 And let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works, 25 not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the Day drawing near." He's saying, "You neglect church, and you'll fall. You'll fail in your God-given mission. After awhile, you won't even care. The world will have captured your mind and heart." The term "one another" is used 101 times in the NT, usually regarding some way we help and encourage faithfulness in each other. We are told to love one another, to live in harmony with one another, to outdo one another in showing honor, to welcome another, to greet one another, to care for one another, to comfort one another, agree with one another, live in peace with one another, bear one another's burdens, admonish one another, encourage one another, edify one another, exhort one another, confess to one another, serve one another, show hospitality to one another, and love, love, love one another. You can't do any of that if you are not with one another! John McCain survived for 5 years of torture as a POW in the Hanoi Hilton prison in solitary. How? Prisoners in neighboring cells created a language with tapping sounds. Over time they shared stories, songs, memories from their youth, passages of Scripture they knew. McCain says, "I'll never forget tapping to each other, and the leadership and inspiration I got from those people who were far better and stronger men than I am. We sustained each other." This is exactly why church matters. But we have to show up. This focus on fellowship will impart wisdom to our judgments, help us take the right way instead of the easy way and fortify us in time of deep trouble. They had it in Troas; and we can have it in Eaton. II. They Kept Focus on the Word Paul had been in Troas a couple years earlier. II Cor 2:12-13: "When I came to Troas to preach the gospel of Christ, even though a door was opened for me in the Lord, 13 my spirit was not at rest because I did not find my brother Titus there. So I took leave of them and went on to Macedonia." That earlier ministry was brief, but seemingly effective as he now finds a fledgling church there. But again, he's short on time. He wants to get to Jerusalem for Pentecost, "intending to depart on the next day." But he has a lot to say, and these folks are hungry to hear. They want the truth Paul can deliver. They listen diligently as Paul "prolonged his speech until midnight." They wanted the Word. Conditions weren't great. They were in an upper room probably at Carpus's home. Paul later writes: II Tim 4:13: "When you come, bring the cloak that I left with Carpus at Troas." Carpus must have had a spacious three-story home which is filled with people, and heavily lit. That sucked some of the oxygen out of the room, yet they lingered - eventually "until daybreak" (11b), so great was their desire to hear the Word of the Lord through Paul. We get antsy when the sermon hits 30 minutes, right? Not these folks. They knew the truth Jesus quoted to Satan, "Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God." They wanted that - truth to live by. What they wanted so badly is what we've got - leather-bound in 3 different English versions. But, how badly do we want it? Donald Barnhouse was a great Bible teacher in mid-20th century. As a youth in Watsonville, CA, he had a favorite Bible teacher named Tom who worked for "Xn Endeavor." He got to know Tom personally. One day Tom was coming through Watsonville, and invited DGB to meet him at the train to go to a meeting with him. As they settled in for the train ride, Tom pulled out his Bible and began to read. DGB pulled out his newspaper. Eventually, he glanced over at Tom, he said, "I sure wish I knew the Bible like you do, Tom!" Tom glanced over at my DGB and said, "Well, you'll never get to know it reading the newspaper!" Barnhouse said he put down his paper, pulled out his Bible, and "figuratively speaking, I never put it down." So, what are you willing to put down to get in the Book? A little less TV, a little less internet, a little less newspaper? What would it take to get into the Word? How badly do you want it? All the wisdom of God is written out in black and white. But there it lies, largely ignored. Not for the folks in Troas. They were hungry for the Word. They knew they could only have focused lives by focus on the Word, which changes us from the inside. III. They Kept Focus on Priorities Now, poor Eutychus. He reminds us how easy it is to fall asleep when the sermon goes on so long! He's also a metaphor of the danger of falling asleep to the truth being presented. You could be wide awake and still miss the gospel thru boredom or outright rejection. Either could be spiritual fatal. Eutychus is trying, but the room is stuffy. He seeks fresh air at an open window. He is a παις = "youth" (9-14) or slave. Around midnight, 3 or 4 hours into the sermon, Eutychus could fight it no longer. He fell asleep and fell 3 stories to his death. Luke, the physician, tells us he was dead. Paul rushes down, bends over Eutychus and announces, 10b) "Do not be alarmed, for his life is in him." Some suggest he wasn't dead, just knocked out. But Dr. Luke says he was gone! So, Paul's apostolic powers come into play; the boy is resurrected, and Paul calmly announces, "He's alive." Imagine if a modern faith healer had been there. The theatrics would be thru the roof! And then the claim: "Look, folks. Look at this boy. Doc Luke - was this boy dead? Yes, he was. All life was gone. And now look! Take a walk around, boy. Let me see you jump. That's it. Praise Jesus!" You can see it, can't you? You say, "But what's wrong with that? If Jesus raised the boy, we'd all rejoice." Of course! But the point is, that's not the main event - then or now. When we make it that, we've lost focus. What is the main event? The teaching. Paul raised him, then got right back to preaching! I love that. 11 And when Paul had gone up and had broken bread and eaten, he conversed with them a long while, until daybreak, and so departed." Paul grabbed a sandwich, and kept right on. Why? He had his priorities right! The priority has always been the Word, not the miracle. Jesus knew that. He healed Peter's mother-in-law one Sabbath, and suddenly Mark 1:33-34: "And the whole city was gathered together at the door. 34 And he healed many who were sick with various diseases, and cast out many demons." The disciples were ecstatic. Next morning the crowds were back - but no Jesus! 36 And Simon and those who were with him searched for him, 37 and they found him and said to him, "Everyone is looking for you." They're saying, "Hey, Jesus. Pray later. The crowds are back. We're on our way! So come on. Let's strike while the iron is hot." Jesus' reaction? 38 And he said to them, "Let us go on to the next towns, that I may preach there also, for that is why I came out." 39 And he went throughout all Galilee, preaching in their synagogues and casting out demons." The miracles were always a sidelight, Beloved. Never the main attraction. They gave evidence that the message, which was the main attraction, was from God. But it was the preaching that mattered. Paul knew it; Jesus knew it, and we know it too. When God heals in answer to prayer, great! But it is the Word that matters, authenticated today in its final written form. That is our priority. IV. They Kept Focus on Worship After poor Eutychus (whose name means fortune, BTW - Lucky!) was healed, they went right back to their teaching and breaking bread -- taking the Lord's Supper. It was a night of worship. John Paton, missionary to the New Hebrides, tells how after many trials, some natives came to faith; they took their first Communion. He writes, "For years we have toiled and prayed and taught for this. The moment I put the bread and wine into those dark hands, once stained with the blood of cannibalism now stretched-out to partake the emblems of the Redeemer's love, I had a foretaste of the joy of glory that well-nigh broke my heart in pieces. I shall never taste a deeper bliss till I gaze on the glorified face of Jesus himself." What a privilege we experience each time we come to His table. But then, a strange thing. In vv. 13-16 Paul leaves for Caesarea and Jerusalem. He sends the others by ship to Assos, but he walks 20 miles to meet them there. Why? We're not told. Some think he stayed to make sure Eutychus was all right and then caught up (the ship had to go around a small peninsula, a day's journey; Paul could walk the 20 miles in 10 hours). But I think it most likely Paul wanted to have some time to himself with the Lord. He'd been busy. Time to regroup, spend some quality time with Jesus and worship of God. He had his focus right. Worship is an infinitely practical thing t. F. B. Meyer writes, "Unbelief puts circumstances between itself and Christ, so as not to see Him . . . Faith puts Christ between itself and circumstances, so that it cannot see them." This is exactly why the Lord's prayer begins: "Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name. 10) Your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven" (Mt 6:9-10). Worship first, then requests. That's how to pray; that's how to live. Circumstances diminish when we spend time with Him. Conc - So focus on the fellowship, on the Word, on right priorities and on worship. That's the message. Here's an example. Hannah Whitall Smith was famous for The Christian's Secret of a Happy Life. But most readers don't know her full story. Smith's husband struggled with what we now call bipolar disorder; he disavowed his faith. She lost three of her seven children in their childhood or youth. Her other children, influenced by the universities they attended, lost their faith. One deserted her husband and children, whom Hannah then raised. Another became the first wife of the atheist, Bertrand Russell, following his atheism. Another went insane at the end of his life. Hannah knew suffering. Yet, she wrote, "I am happy in Jesus; my soul is filled with a quiet calm and peaceful rest that cannot be described." Smith said of God, "He loves me, and I can leave it all to Him. It doesn't matter much anyhow how this life is passed; it must end sometime, and I can wait. And meanwhile I do find the knowledge of the fact that Jesus is mine and I am His is enough to make me happy." That's a great way to live. Let's pray. DONE 7