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Sleeping In Church

6/26/2017

 
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Have you ever fallen asleep in church?  I did on a recent trip to Ethiopia.  Overcome with jet lag, I fell sound asleep in the middle of a long and rather warm Sunday morning service.  I would have fallen out of my chair had it not been for the aid of two friends sitting on either side of me.​

The Bible tells of a young man who fell asleep in church.  His name was Eutychus which means fortunate one.  According to Acts 20:9-12 the young man lived up to his name.  Falling asleep during Paul’s lengthy sermon, Eutychus fell out of the third story window where he was sitting and hit the hard pavement below.  

Everyone in the upper room, including Paul, rushed down to the street where Eutychus lay perfectly still.  Luke records he was “taken up dead.”  That means Eutychus was really dead.  Being a physician, Luke was able to determine this.

Then Paul did something right out of the Old Testament.  As Elisha did for the Shunammite’s recently deceased son (2 Kings 4:34), Paul embraced Eutychus and the young man was restored to life.  Returning to the upper room, they continued with the service with Eutychus present, alive and well.

This is the first record we have of anyone sleeping in church.  True, three of Jesus’ disciples fell asleep repeatedly in prayer meeting (Mark 14:32-42), but that’s another article for another day.

Like Eutychus, there are many sound asleep in church today.  Some are asleep to the opportunities for service and ministry.  Like Jonah on the ship bound for Tarshish who slept while those on deck labored to keep the boat afloat, these attend but fail to engage in the work of the church.  Others are asleep to the opportunities for friendships that exist in the Body of Christ.  We miss out on a lot when we sleep in church.

And then there are those who are asleep to the great truths of God’s Word.  As eternal truths are declared from the pulpit, the response of some is nothing more than a stifled yawn.

One preacher noted, “It is easy to sleep away your chance of eternal life.  You need not go out and commit some great crime.  You need not consult the works of atheists and infidels and adopt their principles of unbelief.  All that is necessary to lose eternal life is to sleep.”

Don’t be like Samson who slept when he should have remained alert, only to awake to some very painful consequences.  Follow the advice of Paul, “So be on your guard, not asleep like the others.  Stay alert and be clearheaded” (1 Thessalonians 5:6).  

Remember Eutychus and do not sleep in church.

Pastor Todd Weston

Surrounded

6/19/2017

 
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Elisha was a wanted man!  Upon realizing that the Jewish prophet was revealing to the king of Israel his secret plans, Ben-hadad, the Syrian king, sent an army to capture Elisha.  All through the night the army of Syria marched to Elisha’ hometown.  Before the sun had risen, Dothan was completely surrounded by soldiers and chariots.

Early that morning, Elisha’s servant happened to glance out the window.  What he saw filled him with terror.  The city was surrounded by the dreaded Syrians.  Situated a few miles north of the capital city of Samaria, Dothan was not a strategic military center.  There was only one reason for the Syrian army’s presence in Dothan, and the servant knew it.  They were after Elisha.

Realizing the danger they were in, the servant cried out to Elisha, “Alas, my master! What shall we do?” (2 Kings 6:15).​

Have you ever found yourself in a similar situation?  Have you ever awakened to the fact that you are surrounded by a host of enemies?  Seemingly overnight threatening circumstances have come against you, and you feel like crying out, “Alas, my master! What shall we do?”

I am writing this article from the lobby of a place of business in our community.  The television is set to a national news network spewing out one negative report after another.  Elisha and his servant only had the Syrians to deal with.  America has a coalition of enemies coming against it.  If one does not succeed, a host of others stand ready to attack.  Listening to the national news, not to mention the world news, it doesn’t take long for a person to want to cry out, “Alas, my master! What shall we do?”

Calming the young man’s fears, Elisha answered, “Do not fear, for those who are with us are more than those who are with them” (2 Kings 6:16).  Seeing that his servant was having trouble processing that statement, Elisha prayed, “‘Lord, I pray, open his eyes that he may see.’  Then the Lord opened the eyes of the young man, and he saw.  And behold, the mountain was full of horses and chariots of fire all around Elisha” (2 Kings 6:17).

Like Elisha and his servant, we may find ourselves surrounded by a multiplicity of threatening situations.  But like them, we are also surrounded by the presence of mighty heavenly forces!  As Elisha calmed his servant, Isaiah calms our fears saying, “No weapon formed against you shall prosper” (Isaiah 54:17).  Paul encourages our hearts, “What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us?” (Romans 8:31).  And John reminds us, “You are of God, little children, and have overcome them, because He who is in you is greater than he who is in the world” (1 John 4:4).

The next time you find yourself surrounded by troubles that threaten, may the Lord open your eyes of faith to see the all-encompassing spiritual forces of God.  Take comfort in the fact that the battle is the Lord’s.  Gazing at the heavenly forces and chariots of fire that stand ready to deliver us, we declare, “This was the Lord’s doing; it is marvelous in our eyes” (Psalm 118:23).

Pastor Todd Weston

WEAK MOMENTS

6/12/2017

 
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The hunter was about to walk into a trap.  After a successful day in the field, Esau was famished.  Approaching his father’s settlement, he caught the savory smell of food cooking over an open fire.  Drawn by the scent, Esau unknowingly walked into a snare set by his own brother. 

As Esau approached the campfire, there sat Jacob slowing stirring a pot of stew.  Strange.  What is Jacob doing preparing a meal out here in the field.  Jacob’s timing was perfect.  He knew his brother well.  Sure enough, Esau could not resist the savory stew.

Seizing the opportunity, Jacob was more than willing to share his dinner with Esau.  But there was one condition.  A bowl of stew in exchange for Esau’s birthright.  Jacob was cunning.  He saw the value of the birthright which included a double portion of the inheritance from the father, and the ceremonial blessing.  Unbeknownst to Jacob was the additional benefit of being included in the promises of God made to Abraham.

Sitting by the campfire, Esau cared nothing about the future.  All that mattered was immediate gratification.  The desire to satisfy his ravenous appetite clouded his better judgment.  Quickly agreeing to the terms, Esau ate while Jacob watched.  And in the words of the Hebrew writer, “traded his birthright as the firstborn son for a single meal” (Hebrews 12:16 NIV). 

Reflecting on this story, one writer noted, “This incident in the life of Esau reveals the danger of a person’s weak moments, and warns us of how much can be thrown away in a single moment, never again to be recovered.”​

The enemy knows our weak places, and that is where he focuses his attacks.  Satan did not tempt Jesus to turn the stones into bread on the first day of His fast, but on the fortieth day when Jesus was very hungry.  Jacob did not tempt Esau with the savory stew at the beginning of the hunt.  He waited until his brother had spent a day in the field and returned weak with hunger.

Watch out for the weak moments when the normal defenses are down.  Irreparable injury can be done in mere minutes.  The best defense is to stay close to Jesus Christ, the strong Son of God.  Trust in His strength, not your own.  He will keep and protect you as you lean wholly on Him. With Christ you will successfully overcome the weak moments of life declaring with Paul, “When I am weak, then I am strong.”

Pastor Todd Weston

Hidden Sorrows

6/5/2017

 
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Samaria was under siege.  For the purpose of forcing the city into surrender, the Syrian army created a blockade by surrounding the capital of the northern kingdom of Israel.  It didn’t take long for a severe food shortage to set in.  With famine came starvation.  With starvation came acts of desperation.  I will spare you the gory details, but it’s all recorded for your reading in the sixth chapter of 2 Kings. ​

Upon receiving an especially troubling report concerning the horrors taking place in the city, king Jehoram tore his clothes (a Jewish custom when under the stress of great emotion).  Up until that moment, the clothes which the people saw were garments of royalty.  But now, underneath the kingly attire, they saw the coarse material known as sackcloth.  

Sackcloth within!  The sign of hidden pain and sorrow.

The story of king Jehoram reminds us that underneath the beautiful garments are anxieties, heartaches, and burdens carried by people who, from an outside view, appear to be without them.   The temptation to break the tenth commandment and envy those who seem to have a carefree life comes upon us.  What we fail to see is the sackcloth within.

Everyone wears sackcloth at some time or another, so don’t envy.  As one preacher observed, “Envy, like Haman, hangs itself on the gallows which it erects for others.”

As you read through the Old Testament you learn that along with acknowledging some deep emotional pain, wearing the uncomfortable garment of sackcloth served as a sign of humility and repentance.  In this we find the answer to the sackcloth within.

Some of our deepest hurts come as a result of personal sin.  But through the act of repentance, sin is erased by forgiveness.  “If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness” (1 John 1:9).  Life’s burdens pose a threat to personal peace and emotional wellbeing.  But the Bible says humility is met with grace.  “God resists the proud, but gives grace to the humble” (James 4:6).

We are all acquainted with sackcloth.  The answer is to bring our sins and sorrows to the Lord who is able to give, “beauty for ashes, the oil of joy for mourning, the garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness” (Isaiah 61:3).  Then we can sing with David, “You have turned for me my mourning into dancing; You have put off my sackcloth and clothed me with gladness.”

Pastor Todd Weston

    Pastor Todd

    Lead Pastor
    River of Life
    Assembly of God

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