Transcription downloaded from https://sermons.scalpay.freechurch.org/sermons/1833/eutychus/. Disclaimer: this is an automatically generated machine transcription - there may be small errors or mistranscriptions. Please refer to the original audio if you are in any doubt. [0:00] Now, as some of you will be aware, we began recently, or last Thursday, the fourth night ago, I beg your pardon, with case studies, resurrection case studies. [0:10] We're going to look at the instances of raising from the dead in Scripture. And we looked the fourth night ago at the first such instance in Scripture, which was that of Elijah raising the widow of Zarephath's son. [0:24] And that was the first recorded instance in the Bible of somebody being brought back to life. Who had been physically dead. And there are perhaps a surprising number of such instances throughout Scripture, but again, a limited number. [0:40] A thing we have to recollect, as we mentioned at that time, is that the scriptural record covers something like 4,000 years. And within that 4,000 years, the occasions of miracles are rare and extremely spaced out. [0:55] And all the rest of the witness of God's people is simply through ordinary faithfulness and obedience. Trusting in the Lord, praying to the Lord. Yes, He helps. [1:06] Yes, He gets involved in their lives. But so does He in our own lives. He helps. He delivers. He strengthens. He guides. If we were to write down all that the Lord has done in our lives, if we were to write down the number of times that we have prayed and God has answered, we would actually build up a picture of it. [1:26] Wow, this is an intensely God-involved life. But so often, you see, we don't. We don't ascribe to God the things that go right and go well. Even when we have prayed about it, we tend to just forget about it. [1:40] We tend to let it go from our memory. If we were to write down what we have asked and pray for God's guidance and write down the answer we get and the deliverance we receive, we would build up such a journal, such a testimony of a God-involved life and God-answering of prayer that it would seem to anybody reading it, you know, a couple of generations later, wow, they really walked with God in those days, didn't they? [2:06] But because we have the Bible in front of us and they record under the inspiration of God instances where men and women of God depend on him, ask for him and receive his help, it seemed like, wow, God's really active in their lives. [2:22] Why isn't he so active in ours? He is ready to be. He is ready to be involved. He is ready to deliver. He is ready to help. But that doesn't mean we will get spectacular signs and wonders the way that they did on those very few occasions when they happen. [2:39] As we mentioned a fortnight ago, and I've mentioned many times in the past, there are really only the three such instances in Scripture of signs and wonders and miraculous events. [2:50] And these are Moses and Joshua, the exodus from Egypt and the conquest of the promised land, Elijah and Elisha. They looked at Elijah and the raising of the widow of Zanaphat's son a fortnight ago, and then Christ and the apostles. [3:04] All the rest of the times in between, it's just ordinary faith in action, God answering, yes, God becoming involved, but not signs and wonders, just ordinary work of the saints and the Lord being involved. [3:18] So what we have here is the recognition then that things like raising the dead may happen, but there is a reason and they are a rarity. [3:30] There is a reason and they are a rarity. We have, I think it's correct to say, seven such instances throughout the course of Scripture between the Old Testament and the New. So that is, oh, sounds like a lot, but when you consider it's over the course of 4,000 years, it's not that many, and they are rare. [3:48] Rarities, there is a reason for them. And likewise, tonight, when we have, having looked at the very first such instance a fortnight ago with Elijah, so we look at what is the last recorded instance in Scripture of somebody being raised from death. [4:04] And that is the case of Eutychus that we have here in Acts chapter 20. Beyond that, we don't have any recorded instances of somebody being physically raised from the dead by the agency of another human being. [4:18] And so it's interesting how these are spread. You know, you've got the, you've got of the major Old Testament prophets where signs and wonders are involved. You've got one from Elijah, one from Elisha. [4:29] In the New Testament, the apostles, you've got one from Peter and one from Paul. And you've got three from our Lord himself in the New Testament accounts. So this is the last recorded such instance here in Acts chapter 20, and it is that of Eutychus. [4:45] So let's get the context here. When we began to read, after the uproar was ceased, this is the riot in Ephesus, where Demetrius and all the silversmiths have caused a riot because of the threat to their trade, making silver shrines to Diana of the Ephesians. [5:04] And so they have the riot. And then after the uproar was ceased, Paul called on to the disciples, embraced them, ready to go into Macedonia. So in other words, he is in Ephesus, which is on the coast of what is now Western Turkey. [5:16] And he intends to sail into Northern Greece, Macedonia, Philippi, that sort of area. Now these are big journeys. You know, what we look at, if you've got maps at the back of your Bible, and they'll be quite small, you know, all the little sort of countries will look quite small, and the cities and the places, they'll seem very, very close together. [5:37] But when we look at, for example, at the distance, when he's talking between, coming, say, from Troas, down to where we leave him, for example, going to Assos, or down to Miritus, and so on. [5:53] You're looking at distance of like 300 miles down the coast of Western Turkey. When you're looking at travelling from Ephesus, across up to Macedonia, and then maybe down to Corinth, and then back across to Troas, it's not so much a case of going from, say, starting away to Wallapool, or down to Skye. [6:11] It's more a case of going, say, from Scotland across to Denmark, and then maybe up to Norway, and then down to France, and then back across to England. These are big distances, and big voyages, and a lot of travelling in between. [6:25] So during those times of travel, Paul and his companions, no doubt, would have had much time to be focused on prayer, and in building one another up, and in Christian discourse, and so on, but the actual events, of what happens, of what we've got recorded here. [6:43] So they go into Macedonia, when they've gone over those parts, they've given them much exhortation, they came into Greece, that is southern Greece now, so in other words, Achaia, it's referred to elsewhere in the scripture, Corinth, that sort of area, and there abode, three months, and when the Jews laid wait for him, as he was about to sail into Syria, he purposed to return through Macedonia. [7:05] In other words, instead of sailing from there, where they were lying in wait at the port, almost certainly Cancria, which is on the eastern isthmus, that Corinth is on, he instead went by land, back up into northern Greece, again, you know, hundreds of miles, again, by foot. [7:23] And notice how these distances, are just sort of, almost dismissed in a couple of words, he stayed there three months, 90 days, just, you know, nothing about what happened there, except he gave much exhortation in Macedonia, and no doubt gave much exhortation in Corinth, and so on, but, the thing that we would have to look again, and look ahead to recognize, is that, Paul realizes, what most of these churches, possibly do not realize, and that is that, as he is heading gradually, to Jerusalem, he knows that from there, he will not be free again, and that's clear in the later chapters, of the Acts of the Apostles, that he knows, as he is heading towards Jerusalem, that captivity, perhaps death, waits for him there, but he trusts and believes, he will be taken to Rome, but, he is not going to be free again, after this time, to preach, and teach these churches, where he is visiting, he's not going to be in Macedonia again, this time around, he's not going to be in Corinth again, he's not going to be in Troas again, he's not going to be in Ephesus again, which is why you've got this, later on in chapter 20, you've got this fond, detailed farewell, of the elders of Ephesus, there in chapter 20, and they wept, most of all, as it says, knowing that they would, they would never see, his face again, so we've got this fond farewell, we've got this recognition, that he knows, this is for the last time, they don't know, but he knows, so all these places, he is going to, he is going in the knowledge, that he may never have another chance, to preach to them, to speak to them, to give them the gospel, and so, we sailed away from Philippi, verse 6, after the days of unleavened bread, and came then unto them, to Troas, in five days, now okay, it's sailing ships, it's quite a distance, but even so, commentators say, that that means, the winds were contrary, in other words, it was stormy, or the winds were against them, because a normal time, for such a voyage, it would be two days, two days aboard the ship, and this took five days, more than twice as long, so the winds are against them, where we abode seven days, now we know of course, that this event, that we've got detailed, in the early part of chapter 20, is taking place on the Lord's day, the first day of the week, that's what we're told, and he was ready to depart, on the next day, on Monday, he was ready to leave on, and if they abode there seven days, it means they arrived on the Monday, so a full day, till Tuesday, [9:58] Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, Saturday, the Lord's day, meeting on the Monday, and so he gathered, it was a full day with them, full week with them, in Troas, and upon the first day, of the week, when the disciples, came together to eat bread, he preached unto them, knowing this will be, the last time, now Troas, Troas, is a place, from which, if you will remember, Paul had his vision, to go into Macedonia, and help them, the vision, of the man of Macedonia, where we read, in chapter 16, of the Acts of the Apostles, they, passing by Mysia, came down to Troas, which is on the coast, the western coast, of what is now Turkey, Paul had been prevented, by the spirit, from going into, various different parts, of what is now Turkey, in the interior, in the north, and so on, it's as if the Lord, was hedging him in, and pushing him, gradually into a corner, and then calling him, across the sea, into Macedonia, in other words, for our purposes, we recognize now, taking the gospel, from Asia, into Europe, where it had never been before, with apostolic authority, there would have been, [11:08] Christians, in Rome, and other places, who had first, heard the gospel, at Pentecost, and then taken it, home with them, but there hadn't been, an apostle, coming with the gospel, into Europe itself, so Troas, is very significant, for that, and we read, in chapter 16, of the Acts, they, passing by Mysia, came down to Troas, and a vision, appeared to Paul, in the night, for a student, of Macedonia, and freedom, saying, come over, into Macedonia, and help us, and after he had, seen the vision, immediately, we endeavored, to go into Macedonia, and assuredly, gathering, the Lord had called us, for to preach the gospel, unto them, therefore, loosing from Troas, we came with a straight course, to Thamathrasia, and the next day, to Neapolis, and from thence, to Philippi, which is the chief city, of the colony, now, what does that tell us, about what happened, in Troas, it tells us, that whatever else, Paul did in Troas, at the time, he didn't spend, time there, preaching the gospel, I'll say that again, he didn't, spend time, in Troas, preaching the gospel, on that occasion, he came down, to Troas, and then he got, his vision, of the man of Macedonia, and they left, immediately, so Paul, was not, proclaiming, the gospel, in Troas, at that time, but we read, in 2nd Corinthians, in chapter 2, at verse 12, says, furthermore, when I came to Troas, to preach, [12:31] Christ's gospel, this is obviously, a return visit, on a subsequent occasion, and a door, was opened, unto me, of the Lord, I had no rest, in my spirit, because I found, not Titus my brother, but taking my leave of them, I went from thence, to Macedonia, so this is, an additional, another visit, later on, where he's writing, to 2nd Corinthians, chapter 2, verse 12, he has come back, to Troas now, for the purpose, of preaching the gospel, another visit, where he's setting up, if you like, a church, or at least, planting the seeds, of the beginning, of a church, there in Troas, not the original occasion, because now, when he comes back, to Troas, there are disciples there, which clearly, there were not, on the first visit, so he is, having planted, the seed of the gospel, a door, had been opened, to him there, as we read, in 2nd Corinthians, chapter 2, verse 12, the first day, of the week, when the disciples, came together, to great prayer, there is a church now, in Troas, gathered, doesn't have a building, in which to eat, doesn't have a synagogue, or a church building, or anything like that, it meets in a house, and it meets, on the top floor, of a house, you know, perhaps, for safety purposes, perhaps, so as to keep themselves, from any sort of attacks, or any suspicion, or whatever, but the first day, of the week, when the disciples, came together, to break bread, in other words, this was their standard time, and again, 1st Corinthians, tells us that, chapter 16, and verse 2, when we read, upon the first day, of the week, let every one of you, lay by him, store as God, of prosperity, that there be no gatherings, for I come, this was when, the Christian church met, even in apostolic times, 1st day of the week, well, whilst the majority, of them were still Jews, they would probably, also keep the old, [14:17] Jewish Sabbath, but the Christian Sabbath, the 1st day of the week, would be the time, when the Christian church, met, and sanctified, and worshipped, so upon the 1st day, of the week, when the disciples, came together, to break bread, Paul preached unto them, ready to depart, on the morrow, and continued his speech, until midnight, so it's a long day, and it's late, and they're all together, the church is not just, having a service, and then all going home, they're gathering, for the day, they've brought food, and drink with them, they intend to share, in fellowship, and in a meal, they will have, the Lord's Supper, no doubt, breaking bread, together, and then they'll have, a meal, either before, or afterwards, or whichever it happens to be, but they'll be there, the whole day, and on to the night, and there were many lights, in the upper chamber, because obviously, it's nearly midnight, and that doesn't mean, electric light, obviously they didn't have it then, it means either candles, or naked torches, lamps, the heat, generated, from these lamps, would make the place, very, very warm, remember, it's the Mediterranean, remember, that it's, you know, it's, they've had the days, of unleavened bread, which means, that Passover, is over, so it's spring, moving on, into early summer, he wants to be, in Jerusalem, by Pentecost, the difference, between the days, of unleavened bread, in other words, [15:43] Easter, and Pentecost, well it's not, a huge amount of time, 40, 50 days, what have you, so it's, it's a small, a small window, of opportunity, a couple of months, that he's got, to get from, from Ephesus, or from Greece, all the way, to Jerusalem, so it's spring, and it's spring, in the Mediterranean, it's night time, there's lots of lights, in the place, it's hot, and so because, it's hot, and intense, and Paul is preaching, long, and so on, here's Eutychus, the only thing, we know about him, this is a young man, and we know his name, he might have been a slave, many of the early Christians, were slaves, the word that is translated, as young man, or sometimes as lad, can be used, for a slave, or a male slave, in that sense, we don't know, he was a slave, we don't know, he was free, we only know, he was young, he was male, and we know his name, and he was sitting, in a window, maybe for the coolness, maybe at the edge, of the crowd, maybe some commentators, have rather harshly, perhaps said, oh there he was, sitting at the edge, not really paying attention, falling asleep, others perhaps, more charitably have said, well if he was a slave, he would have already, had to work that day, so he would be tired, at the end of it, and so many lights, in the place, it's hot, he's trying to get some breeze, to the window, he begins to nod off, [17:06] Paul is preaching, until midnight, come on, what do you expect, so whether you take, a harsh view, or whether you take, a charitable view, it doesn't really matter, we've got the facts here, the facts are, he's sitting there, in the window, no glass of course, just out of the shutters, open, it would either be, facing into a central, courtyard, or out into the street, depending on which way, the windows were facing, and he falls down, from the third floor, now that's quite a height, it doesn't matter, you know, how comparatively small, or low the ceilings are, in that culture, in those places, in the days, you know, if you've got first, ground floor, first floor, second floor, third floor, the third loft, it doesn't matter, how tall, or short, or low the ceilings will be, third floor, is a big height, and if you're falling, you're slumped down, and then you keel over, you're going out, head first, it's no wonder, we read, he's taken up, dead, now, there he is, sitting in the window, and there, death is brought, into that gathering, now let's recap, what is significant, about this gathering, this gathering, is in Troas, the place, where Paul, had his call, to go into Europe, to plant the churches, in Philippi, and Corinth, and further afield, is a significant place, and it's a place, which Paul is visiting, for perhaps, the last time, he has already, preached to them, we don't have, the details, of what he preached to them, why don't we have, these details, [18:44] I would suggest to you, because Luke, who under the inspiration, of the Holy Spirit, is the human author, of the Acts of the Apostles, is not himself, present there, why do we say that, well we say that, because, if you look, for example, at chapter 16, at verse 17, where we read, for example, the same followed Paul, and us, and cried saying, these men are the servants, of the most high God, will show unto us, the way of salvation, this she did many days, Paul being returned, and said, I command you, come out of her, when her master, saw the hope of their gains, was that they caught, Paul and Silas, drew them, into the marketplace, now, in Acts chapter 16, you will notice, that Luke, has effectively, joined them, before, at Troas, before, they come down, to Mysia, they agreed, they said to go, to Bithynia, but the spirits, suffered them not, they passing by Mysia, came down to Troas, and a vision, appeared to Paul, in the night, stood a man, of Macedonia, after he had seen, the vision, immediately, we, endeavoured, to go, into Macedonia, so, at chapter 16, verse 10, [19:57] Luke then, becomes personal, for him, it becomes personal, it's then, we endeavoured, to go, into Macedonia, and a certain woman, a certain, seller of, worshipped God, heard us, whose heart, the Lord opens, she attended, out of the things, that were spoken, by Paul, she besought us, saying, if ye have judged me, to be faithful to the Lord, come to my house, and she constrained, us, and so, when it came to pass, as we went to prayer, a certain damsel, possessed, for the spirit, of divination, met us, but at that point, then, it changes, then, into the third person, after verse 17, of Acts 16, and it continues, that way, Paul called, now into chapter 20, then, Paul called the disciples, embraced them, when he got over those parts, they are both three months, when the Jews laid wait for him, he was about to sail, that accompanied him, into Asia, Socrates of Berea, the Thessalonians, Aristarchus, and so on, these going before, tarry for us, at Troas, so now, it's back, we sailed away, from Philippi, the days of unleavened bread, came unto them, to Troas, in five days, where we abode, seven days, so here, now, is Luke, here is Luke, with the details, of eyewitness account, the details here, of what is happening, to Uticus, this is a significant, significant place, [21:21] Troas, and it is, Paul's, last occasion, it is Paul's, last occasion there, so that means, that you would expect, all the detail, of what he says, and what he preaches, to be written down, just like, you've got the farewell speech, to the elders of Ephesus, written down here, but we don't have that, why don't we have that, I would suggest to you, because, this event, with Uticus, has dominated, everything else, now, the devil, desires, to destroy, the work of God, he would desire, to take, the significance, of this place, at Troas, and the significance, of Paul's, final speech, and just destroy it, we read, remember how, Uticus is sitting, there in the window, Jeremiah tells us, chapter 9, verse 21, where he says, for death, is come up, into our windows, and is entered, into our palaces, to cut off, the children, from without, and the young men, from the streets, here is death, come up, into the windows, where Uticus, is sitting, in the window, where Paul, is speaking, and preaching, and can you imagine, if Uticus, had simply died, and that was it, what would be, the only thing, that anyone, remembered, or anyone, thought about, on Paul's, final visit, to Troas, oh yes, that was the day, the young man died, that was the day, [22:46] Uticus died, he fell out, the window, he crashed, to his death, Paul was preaching, too long, Paul just went on, too long, it was too hot, that night, nobody, he understood, nobody cared for him, so much for the love, of these Christians, and all the pagans, round about, oh yeah, you go to those meetings, you end up dead, and all the kind, of reproach, that would fall, upon the believers, that would fall, upon Paul, all that they would, remember, all they would, think about, instead of the apostles, farewell, would be the tragedy, of that night, death, coming to our windows, as Jeremiah says, and this, I would suggest to you, is the devil's attempt, to destroy, and disrupt, that which Paul, is speaking to them of, he is preaching to them, giving them his farewell sermon, he's spending time, with them, he's trying to give them, his input, his final teaching, his parting shots, and so on, but the fact that, Sitticus falls to his death, and if it stays like that, that is the only imprint, that would ever be made, on that night, the death, of this young man, and that is what the devil, seeks to do, to imprint, death, onto that, which would have been life, in all its fullness, now, of course, there will be plenty, we'll say, from the third loft, he was taken up dead, [24:07] Paul went down, and left, and fell on him, and embraced him, and said, trouble not yourselves, for his life is in him, oh, that's good, eh, he's not dead, after all, but he was, dead, when Paul, falls on him, and embraces him, you know, the sense is, he says, covers him, with his own body, and embraces him, with his arms, there's a sense of, not dissimilar, to what we have described, of Elijah, and Elisha, raising the two boys, to life, in the Old Testament there, here's another young boy, a young man, here, in the New Testament, Paul, and Paul, falling on him, and says, you know, trouble not yourselves, for his life is in him, it doesn't mean, ah, don't worry about it, like that, probably, probably, when people saw, that he was dead, and had fallen, then, they would have begun, to shrieg, begun to scream, and lament, and wail, because, his family are probably there too, maybe his mother, has seen him fall, to his death, and everything, is going to be, seriously upset, and distressed, so it is, some people think, [25:12] Paul is saying, calm down, be quiet, stop screaming, stop shrieking, his life is in him, does that mean, he wasn't dead after all, I would suggest, not, why do we think, that it's not actually this, well if you think about, if somebody's not actually dead, then the scripture says, they're not actually dead, if you think in terms of Acts 14, when Paul is stoned, at this point, and we read of how, they dragged him out of the city, and how they stoned him, but these saints, scarce restrained they the people, they had not done sacrifice unto them, verse 19 of Acts 14, there came thither, certain Jews, from Antioch and Iconium, who persuaded the people, and having stoned Paul, drew him out of the city, supposing he had been dead, now nowhere does the Bible say, Paul was dead, but the Lord raised him to life again, no they supposed, he had been dead, they had left him for dead, outside the city, how be it, as the disciples stood round about him, he rose up, and came into the city, doesn't say, he was dead, but he miraculously, came back to life, but rather, they thought he was dead, but he wasn't actually dead, but what we read here, is that Eutychus was taken up, dead, verse 9, and Paul went down, and fell on him, and embraced him, and said, trouble not yourselves, for his life is in him, is Paul lying? [26:41] Well, clearly not, does it mean he wasn't really dead? Well, clearly not, if we compare with what, you know, another instance that we have, with Jesus, and the raising of Jairus' daughter, Luke chapter 8, verses 52, and 53, they all wept, and bewailed her, but he, that is Jesus said, weep not, she is not dead, but sleepeth, and they laughed him to scorn, knowing that she was dead, so when Jesus says, oh, don't worry, she's not dead, but sleeping, it's not that they've got it wrong, that she wasn't really dead, but rather, she was dead, but Jesus is saying, she's only sleeping, in other words, she's going to wake, from this sleep of death, they laughed him to scorn, knowing, that she, was dead, and if we look, also, in Mark's account of the gospel, the same incident, we're in chapter 5, verse 35, where Jairus and Jesus, are coming to the house, and people send their head, to them say, thy daughter is dead, why, troublest thou the master, any further, but Jesus says, of course, the wile will be, she's not dead, but she's sleeping, [27:51] Matthew, chapter 9, verse 18, Jairus comes to Jesus, and says, my daughter is even now dead, but come and lay thy hands upon her, and she shall live, and of course, she does, it is the restoration, the life, by Jesus himself, but he himself says, oh, she's not dead, she's only sleeping, does that mean she's not dead, of course, she's dead, she's well and truly dead, everybody knows she's dead, everybody says she's dead, and the infallible word of scripture, says here, Eutychus was taken up, dead, ah yes, but Paul says, his life is in him, does that mean he's not dead, so which one is qualifying which, is he actually dead, Paul says, well no, he's not dead, or does Paul just say, well his life is in him, but he's made a mistake, because he actually is dead, but he says, no, his life is in him, in other words, Paul goes down, Paul falls upon him, embraces him, and says, no, don't be alarmed, trouble you, not to shut, his life is in him, his life is back in him, it is restored to him, when he therefore was come up again, [28:54] Paul, and had broken bread, and eaten, and talked a long while, even till break of day, so he departed, and they brought the young man alive, and were not a little comforted, so in other words, when it comes to Paul finally departing, everybody comes to see him often, now it's Eutychus as well, now the fact that it says, they brought the young man alive, probably implies, that despite the fact, he is now alive, he probably has some fairly serious injuries, or he needs some help, or at least, he needs to be brought, as opposed to just turning up himself, in the peak of health, but he is at least, back from the dead, Paul has, or God has under the agency, of Paul restored him, from the dead, he was picking up dead, Paul went down, following him, embracing him, said, trouble not yourselves, for his life is in him, now the devil has sought, to use death, to distract, from Paul's message, his work, his speech, his preaching, to the disciples, that throw us on, his last visit there, that which they ought, to be enabled, to remember, that which ought, to stay with them, and abide with them, and to sink, into their minds, so that when Paul, is no longer with them, they will remember, what he has taught them, but this would have, overshadowed everything else, but having raised, into life then, [30:16] Paul goes back upstairs, and when he had, broken bread, and eaten, and talked a long while, even till break of day, so he departed, back again, to the business at hand, now it doesn't say, that how he was now, preaching, it says that, they were sharing, fellowship, eating, and drinking, and talking, no doubt about, good Christian things, and so on, but carrying on, till break of day, you could even take it, that it's Eutychus, that was come back again, but I think it's Paul, when it says, go back upstairs, and had broken bread, and eaten, and talked a long while, so he departed, and they brought, the young man alive, and were not, a little comforted, so this, which would have, overshadowed everything, now in a positive way, becomes the shining light, which now, emphasizes, and now stands out, in this particular incident, unusually, perhaps, for Luke, he does not, itemize, what Paul says, on this occasion, he does, the farewell message, to the Ephesian elders, later on the chapter, but he doesn't go into detail, about what Paul writes, at Troas, or what Paul says, at Troas, what he does, recant, is the incident, with Luticus, because this, now, dominates, that last week, it now, dominates, [31:37] Paul's final visit there, dominates, his final night, this restoration, to life, overshadows, or rather, overshines, everything else, nobody now, has a record, in scripture, of what Paul said, the Troas disciples, no doubt, would remember it, but more than that, he would remember, that death, visited them, but life, overcame, Christ, overcame, Paul, under Christ, overcame, the devil, shot his best shot, death itself, and it wasn't enough, to destroy, the work, of the apostle, as we said previously, can you imagine, if Eutychus, had stayed dead, that is the only thing, anyone would remember, about Paul's visit, control us, that would have, overshadowed, it would have, darkened, everything, that was, done, and said there, on that occasion, and for the entire week, but because, he is raised to life, because, having died, having the Lord, having allowed death, to visit them, in that way, so that he could, overcome death, and show that he still, had the power, over death, he still had the power, over the devil, that even though, the Lord Jesus, had ascended into heaven, and was no longer, physically with his disciples, the power of Christ, and the power of his spirit, was still there, this is the incident, now, that dominates, everything else, life, from the dead, now of course, that is ultimately, what the gospel is about, it is about, life from the dead, it is about, how our ordinary, life without Christ, is simply, of living death, until, we become, in Christ, who we were meant to be, like we were saying, this morning, looking at, you know, our real identity, put, take the idol, down from the throne, put Christ, on the throne, deny the old, idol self, and become, the person, that the Lord, intended you to be, life from the dead, life from the old, existence, that is what, the gospel is about, that is what, the new life, in Christ, is about, the good news, the forgiveness, of sin, and it is, demonstrated, here, by restoration, from physical death, into physical life, because just as, you know, the strides, and fantasies, you know, to issue with Jesus, where he said, you know, your sins are forgiven you, you know, go in peace, and go to your own home, to the man, who had been paralyzed, and they say, well, who can forgive sins, but go on the Lord, he said, look, which is easier to say, either your sins, are forgiven you, or to say, you know, take up your bed, and walk, and go home, he says, but, you know, so you don't have the power, to forgive sins, take up your bed, and walk, and go home, and he did it, because where the spiritual, is healed, and restored, physical blessing, will follow, lives will be transformed, not only spiritually, but the spiritual transformation, will have physical effects, now it doesn't, of course, always mean, that somebody's a paraplegic, in a wheelchair, and they accept Christ, or suddenly, you're going to spring out, a wheelchair, with all their arms, and legs, and everything functioning, that the Lord can do that, could do that, if he wanted, but most of the time, he won't, his acts of such signs, and wonders, are rarities, and they are for reasons, and the reason here, in Proos, is to demonstrate, that even when death, attacks, the church of Christ, and the work of the apostle, still the Lord, is able to bring life, over and above, that death, notice the way it works, we would like to think, that God would simply, insulate us, and insure us, against any attacks, we would like to think, that God really loves us, nothing bad should happen, we should be encased, in spiritual cotton wool, we should be protected, from anything bad happening, but how the Lord, will often work, is that he will allow, the attack to come, he will allow, the disaster to fall, he will allow, the bad thing to happen, so that he can demonstrate, say like, now look, it has happened, now see, what I will do, just as he allowed, the Egyptians, to oppress his people, worse and worse, before the Exodus, and then said, now you will see my power, over Pharaoh, far more, than if, [36:08] Pharaoh had just said, okay, fair enough, you know, off you go, three days, journey in the wilderness, worship your God there, in fact, you know, I've been giving the Hebrews, quite a hard time, for the last couple of hundred years, so, I'm just going to set you all free, so off you go, and God bless you, and that might have been very, very much more pleasant for them, but, it didn't glorify God's name, the way that his mighty deliverance, was seen to be, not the work of men, but the work exclusively of God, now, although he uses Moses, and Aaron, and so on, it is God's mighty work, and although he uses Paul here, it is God's mighty work, to restore Eutychus, to life, from death, so it is under the hand, of God's providence, that Eutychus, is permitted, to fall into this deep sleep, permitted to fall head first, from the third floor, onto either the courtyard, or the street, either way, onto a fatally hard surface, and to be taken up, dead, and once he is dead, and all the attendant, terror, and shrieking, and misery, and distress, and sorrow, and broken heartedness, that would attend, upon that, with the Christian church there, [37:25] Paul went down, fell on him, embracing him, said, trouble not yourselves, for his life is in him, and so he is restored, and when he goes, they brought the young man alive, and were all a little comforted, in the meantime, what happens, it doesn't become, it doesn't become, all about Eutychus, it doesn't become, all about, we all attended, around his bed, and he prayed over him, and he made sure, he had water, and food, and so on, it was all about, nursing him back, to help again, it's not all about Eutychus, and it's not all about, you and me, even if we were raised, to life itself, it wouldn't still be, all about us, physically, if you and I, one of us had died, and the Lord raised us, back to life, we think, wow, that's the big story, no, that's not the big story, the big story, that's almost, a passing incident, as this here, it's almost, a passing incident, if you read it, why would they make more of it, because the thing is not, oh, look, Eutychus raised to life, the thing is, Paul came to trust, he spent time, with the apostles, he spoke to them, he preached to them, he gave them the gospel, somebody died, he raised them to life, and then he got back again, with the work, that's the sense of it here, he got back again, with the gospel, the good news, is too important, to be distracted, even by the death, and raising to life again, of one individual, [38:46] God is not going to get, not going to allow, even death, to get in the way, of his great message, of salvation, even this incident, it's almost, it's mentioned, it's swept aside, and there it is, back on with the work, and on with the journey, but if it had not happened, it would have been, the only thing, anybody spoke about, because it has happened, it is done, it is overcome, and the gospel, steamrollers on, you see, we look for signs, and wonders, sometimes, and we wish, they happened, in our lives, but even if they happened, in our lives, we'd still have to, go on with life, what happens, with Jairus's daughter, after she's raised, to life at the age of 12, we trust and believe, she goes on, to live a full and happy, and long life, but we don't know that, we don't know, what happens, in any of the other incidents, after the people, the 5,000 are fed, well they go home, they get on with their lives, that meal does them, for the same amount of time, as a normal meal will do, and they're looking hungry again, yes it's great, it's wonderful, for a brief time, but it is a purpose, there is a reason, and it is a reality, if God in his mercy, has provided, in the ordinary way of things, for our food, and drink, for life, and health, for a comparatively long life, and health, and strength, and all the things, isn't that what we want from them, isn't that what we normally ask, and say oh Lord, keep us from all this suffering, keep us, for the most part, we are kept, from suffering, and difficulty, yeah we all have problems, but for the most part, the Lord, looks after us, cares for us, provides for us, gives us everything, does that make us more grateful, or less, does it make us more thankful, that he is the source, of all our goodness, or more forgetful, well we all know the answer to that, but here is it, when the devil attacks, here is it, when death comes in, and it comes into the windows, and it takes the life, of the young man, but Paul under God, overcomes it, and this man, is raised, from the dead, it is a rarity, and there is a reason, and what is the reason, so that even death itself, will not be able, to distract, from the ongoing work, and witness, of the gospel, of Jesus Christ, and that is the most important message, that has ever come to this world, it is the most important message, friend, that you will ever hear, it is that, which alone, is able to give you life, not out of falling, out of a window, and physical death, but life from the dead, for all eternity, and that must not, be allowed, to be interrupted, by lesser incidents, even incidents, of life, and death, we are talking, eternal life, and eternal death, this isn't about Paul, it certainly isn't about Eutychus, to an extent, it's about you and me, but most of all, it is about Christ, who said, [41:51] I am the resurrection, and the life, that is my name, Amen.