NOT DONE YET
Psalm 71:18
S: Discipleship—Mentoring
Th: My Life as God’s Light
Pr: WE NEED OUR OLDER PEOPLE.
?: Why? For what?
KW: Purposes
TS: We will find in our study three purposes that demonstrate why we need our older people.
The ____ purpose is that our older people are to be…
I. PRIZED (Leviticus 19:32)
II. ENERGIZED (Joshua 14:12)
III. MOBILIZED (Psalm 71:18)
RMBC 04 November 01 AM
INTRODUCTION:
ILL Notebook: Aging (39 and holding)
A young child asked a woman how old she was. She answered, "39 and holding." The child thought for a moment, then said, "And how old would you be if you let go?"
We are all growing older, but not all are willing.
Accepting our age is not always an easy thing.
But, let’s take a test to see how old we really are this morning.
ILL Notebook: Aging (Age Barometer account)
This is an Age Barometer Count. Give yourself a point for each of these things you remember...
1. Blackjack chewing gum
2. Wax Coke-shaped bottles with colored sugar water
3. Candy cigarettes
4. Soda pop machines that dispensed bottles
5. Coffee shops with tableside jukeboxes
6. Home milk delivery in glass bottles with cardboard stoppers
7. Party lines
8. Newsreels before the movie
9. P.F. Flyers
10. Butch wax
11. Telephone numbers with a word prefix (Olive -6933)
12. Peashooters
13. Howdy Doody
14. 45 RPM records
15. S&H Green Stamps
16. Hi-fi’s
17. Metal ice trays with levers
18. Mimeograph paper
19. Blue flashbulbs
20. Beanie and Cecil
21. Roller skate keys
22. Cork popguns
23. Drive-in
24. Studebakers
25. Wash tub wringers
How many of you remembered 0-5?
You’re still young.
How many of you remembered 6-10?
You are getting older.
How many of you remembered 11-15?
Don’t tell your age.
How many of you remembered 16-25?
You’re older than dirt!
Believe it or not, I remembered and experienced 16 of those growing up.
I’m older than dirt.
Well, there are definite challenges to growing older.
We live in an age that idolizes the young and looking young.
It is a culture where fast is considered best, up-to-date a must and youth a big plus.
As a result, we find ourselves going slower and slower in a world that’s moving faster and faster.
And we become concerned that we are becoming marginalized and obsolete.
TRANSITION:
You know, I have come across seniors that believe that they have nothing left to offer.
And, as a result, they have headed to the proverbial corner to wait out the end—obsolete and useless.
But let me also confess to you that I have seen some seniors cash out of the church because they feel done.
They feel that they have finished.
They tell me, “Don’t ask me to help anymore…I’ve done my time.”
But let me ask this question…
1. As we grow older, do our responsibilities grow too?
You see, if you feel you are done, I want you to tell that to Abraham and Sarah who were way too old to start a family.
Or tell that to Moses who was assigned to lead Israel out of Egypt at the young age of 80.
Or tell it to Zechariah and Elizabeth who became a repeat of Abraham and Sarah.
These were all too old to be used by the Lord…right?
Au contraire…
You see, as we grow older, our responsibilities grow, not lessen.
There are no free passes in our old age.
We are even more responsible to testify to the Lord’s righteousness and power.
Why?
Because we have learned more…
We have had challenging moments and bitter experiences.
We have had times of testing and lived through huge, dark storms.
And, because of that…
2. We grow in our awareness of our absolute dependency on God.
When we are young, we like to think that we are in control.
But as we age, our dependence on God is less and less theoretical and more and more practical.
We know that we are absolutely dependent on God.
It happens to us because we are facing new challenges.
ILL Notebook: Aging (zip)
There was an elderly woman filling out an application for residency in a retirement village, and was very carefully answering the questions. After "Zip," she printed: "Normal for my age.”
Well, the body does slow down.
Illness does become more frequent.
And disappointingly, we make all too regular trips to the graveside as the ranks of family members, friends and acquaintances grow thinner.
These are hard changes and challenges.
But there is much to teach.
Because in spite of these challenges, God is still our Refuge.
God is still our Deliverer.
And God is still our Hope and our Sustainer.
As we age, we become an example of a the striving for a living relationship and a trusting dependence on the Faithful God.
As we age, we are testimony of a faith that grows deeper, bigger, and stronger.
In Psalm 92 [12-15] it says:
The righteous will flourish like a palm tree,
they will grow like a cedar of Lebanon;
planted in the house of the LORD,
they will flourish in the courts of our God.
They will still bear fruit in old age,
they will stay fresh and green,
proclaiming, "The LORD is upright;
he is my Rock, and there is no wickedness in him."
Note again what that text says.
The righteous continue to bear fruit in old age.
This means that we are to never be ashamed of the years God has given us.
God has given them to you because the church, the body of Christ, needs those years.
In fact…
3. WE NEED OUR OLDER PEOPLE.
I am a huge believer in ministry that integrates generationally.
This is why we do our worship that combines differing styles of music.
This is why I get excited about MOPS, because I see many of older members helping and serving the younger.
This is why I am getting excited about our Christian Service Brigade and Pioneer Girls, because we have men and women living the model of the elder passing on to the younger truths about life.
Throughout history, the elders have shined telling stories.
They have entertained the younger generations by sharing their lives.
They have captured the imagination of the next generation, encouraging them to follow their dreams.
So…
4. We will find in our study three purposes that demonstrate why we need our older people.
OUR STUDY:
I. The first purpose is that our older people are to be PRIZED (Leviticus 19:32).
Note what God says through the prophet Moses:
Rise in the presence of the aged, show respect for the elderly and revere your God. I am the LORD.
1. We are to give respect and honor to older people.
We are to have respectful postures when it comes to our older people.
We are to communicate respectful forms of address.
We are to give respectful deference in sitting and standing.
These tokens of respect and demonstrations of honor are customs that are rooted in God and the fear of God.
And according to this text, when we forget these courtesies, it is directly related to a small view of God and His design for the world.
You see, we need our older people.
They have value!
There is glory in the gray!
One senior citizen has put it this way, “You know, as I got older I realized that I was beginning to come up with some answers to questions of life that so long had stumped me. And just about then I realized that nobody was asking me the questions.”
This is telling for the church for we must not give in to the disposable mentality of today’s world—the mentality that says that old age is a nuisance.
The mentality that says they ought to sit down and be quiet because they have had their time.
The mentality that says they ought to move to Florida and stay there.
That thinking must not be found in the church, because…
2. We are to draw close to the resources that are available.
God has designed it that the church would have tremendous resources that would aid us in how to live life.
ILL Notebook: Discipleship (Sanders)
I like how Oswald Chambers challenges us…he says:
When you meet a man or woman who puts Jesus Christ first, knit that one to your soul.
Don’t let them get away!
You need them.
You need to sit at their feet and listen to every story they have to tell.
You are to extract every truth from them that God has for you.
II. The second purpose is that our older people are to be ENERGIZED (Joshua 14:10-12).
ILL Notebook: Courage (OK Mother!)
A storm was coming up as the cruise ship made its way into port. Because of the heavy seas, the regular gangway could not be used. Instead, a makeshift narrow gangway was substituted. It was so narrow it could accommodate only one passenger at a time. The going was treacherous as the swells caused the ship to sway and lurch. Nevertheless, each passenger slowly and cautiously made his or her way down.
Finally, a woman in her late 70s appeared at the top of the gangplank. Crewmembers stood motionless as she carefully edged her way down and, to everyone’s relief, stepped safely onto the dock.
Then she turned, looked back up towards the ship and called out, "It’s OK, Mother. You can come down now."
That story reminds me of one of my favorite moments in Scripture.
It is the story of an old Caleb as the children of Israel finally occupy the and promised forty years earlier.
Caleb says to his friend Joshua…
"Now then, just as the LORD promised, he has kept me alive for forty-five years since the time he said this to Moses, while Israel moved about in the desert. So here I am today, eighty-five years old! I am still as strong today as the day Moses sent me out; I’m just as vigorous to go out to battle now as I was then. Now give me this hill country that the LORD promised me that day. You yourself heard then that the Anakites were there and their cities were large and fortified, but, the LORD helping me, I will drive them out just as he said."
Just as Caleb…
1. We are to be resolutely ambitious.
Caleb never stopped growing.
He did not allow the passing years to take an undue toll.
Instead of showing his gradual eclipse, the time only increased his stature and enhanced his prestige.
And as he came to his final years, he gave us the grand watchword of the aging Christian, “Give me this mountain!”
I must admit…I want to be like Caleb.
I want the last part of my race to be the best part of my race.
I want to run with perseverance the race that is marked out for me.
I want people to say, “He keeps getting better with time.”
I want my ending years to be characterized by being fully and wholly energized by the Holy Spirit.
This is how I view Caleb.
He did not give in to the frustrations of life.
He kept looking forward to seeing God’s hand on his life.
In the same way…
2. We are not to concede to frustration, failure and bitterness.
I have met older people that are dominated by “What’s the use?”
They have not recovered from some setback or disappointment they experienced years ago.
Or their attitudes have become so permanently soured by injustices done to them, that they are paralyzed from further ministry.
But consider Caleb…
He had to spend 40 years in the wilderness waiting because of the faithlessness of the people.
But he did not concede to that frustration.
At age 85, he lived Winston Churchill’s familiar line, “Never give up!”
Now…let me share why you must never give up…for…
III. The third purpose is that our older people are to be MOBILIZED (Psalm 71:18).
The psalmist says…
Even when I am old and gray, do not forsake me, O God, till I declare your power to the next generation, your might to all who are to come.
The verse here is a great challenge to us, because…
1. We do not lose our spiritual gifts as we get older.
Do you know that there are no age limitations to ministry?
There is no mandatory retirement age in the church.
And the gifting you possess is not withdrawn at a certain chronological age.
As we get older, we are not to let go and do nothing.
For we are all called to minister.
And the more time we have free, the more ministry we are called to do.
Now, let me add this…
2. There is no retirement from proclaiming the message.
ILL Personal
Josh Tsujimoto lives this. At 80 years old, this unassuming man is our modern-day Caleb. He has dedicated his life to proclaiming the message. He spends a portion of each year in an overseas situation, seeing the churches in Bangladesh prosper in the midst of persecution.
And now, once again, he has said, “Give me that mountain,” regarding Ethiopia. He senses God’s call to take on a new ministry, using his agricultural background to proclaim the message.
Bob Wahlen lives this. He took an early retirement last year and moved to North Carolina. Doesn’t sound that special does it...until you realize that he is living off his pension and gone to work for Wycliffe Bible Translators for free, directing their computer department. Almost daily, he speaks with missionaries from around the world, helping them fix their computer problems so that they can translate the words of God in native languages—the languages of the heart.
Ruthie Schneider lived this. When Ruthie was dying last year, she shared the philosophy of ministry that she and Ray shared. They were going to burn out, not rust out. I dare say she burned out, don’t you? She served the Lord and this church until she no longer had the strength to do so. Not only that, she showed us how to live by showing us how to die.
There is no retirement from proclaiming the message.
So don’t give up!
We need you!
APPLICATION:
For those of you that are older, let me share some practical ways that you can help us as a church.
1. We need grandparenting (II Timothy 1:5).
ILL Notebook: Grandparent (least complicated)
It has been said…
The bond between a child and a grandparent is the purest, least psychologically complicated form of human love.
I have come to realize that grandparents get away with saying things that parents can not.
If you are a grandparent today, you have an awesome responsibility, for you have disciples to make out of your grandchildren.
Note how Paul demonstrates this example about Timothy:
I have been reminded of your sincere faith, which first lived in your grandmother Lois and in your mother Eunice and, I am persuaded, now lives in you also.
I believe it is God’s design that grandparents communicate powerfully.
They advise how to fear and set hope in God.
They declare the importance of keeping God’s commands.
Not only that, they realize that the real sermons we preach, the really effective ones, are the ones we live.
Now perhaps you are one today that is not a grandparent, but you are old enough to be one.
Do you realize that there are all kinds of grandchildren here in this church that need a grandparent’s touch?
Perhaps they do not have grandparents or the ones they have are not living for the Lord…they need a godly example…they need someone that will invest in them and love them unconditionally.
We need you, because you have a remarkable ability to instill courage in younger people by expressing the hope that you hold deep in your heart.
If you are around me enough, you will often hear me recite these words from the musical, “Bye, Bye, Birdie.”
What’s the matter with kids these days?
Why can’t they be like were?
Perfect in every way.
Sometimes, we unduly criticize our youth.
And I want to ask you to do this instead…
Get involved with those that are younger than you.
They really need you.
Don’t write off the youth and talk down about them.
Don’t avoid them or allow yourself to constantly criticize them.
Instead build relationships.
Look for and share moments as God provides.
We also need you because…
2. We require mentoring (I Kings 19:19).
There are great examples of mentoring relationships in Scripture…
…Moses and Joshua
…Naomi and Ruth
…Elizabeth and Mary
…Barnabas and Mark
…Paul with Timothy and Titus
and…Elijah and Elisha.
So Elijah went from there and found Elisha son of Shaphat. He was plowing with twelve yoke of oxen, and he himself was driving the twelfth pair. Elijah went up to him and threw his cloak around him.
We need to keep the cycle of disciple-making going.
This is what we see in the relationship between Elijah and Elisha.
When Elijah threw his cloak around Elisha, Elisha became a disciple of Elijah.
Elijah gave him the greatest gift…his time and his life.
He saw the potential in Elisha.
He provided the example and shared the stories.
He taught Elisha how to live life as God’s prophet.
And then, he gave him his blessing.
He said, “You can take it from here!”
Do you realize how powerful that is?
It is the power of a vision for the future!
And it is what true mentors do for the next generation.
ILL Notebook: Vision (shipload)
About 380 years ago a shipload of travelers landed on the northeast coast of America. The first year they established a town site.
The next year they elected a town government.
The third year the town government planned to build a road five miles westward into the wilderness.
In the fourth year the people tried to impeach their town government because they thought it was a waste of public funds to build a road five miles westward into a wilderness. Who needed to go there anyway?
Here were people who had vision to see three thousand miles across an ocean and overcome great hardships to get there. But in just a few years they were not able to see even five miles out of town. They had lost their pioneering vision.
In the same way…
3. We long for our older people to be dreaming (Acts 2:17).
In the last days, God says, I will pour out my Spirit on all people. Your sons and daughters will prophesy, your young men will see visions, your old men will dream dreams.
We need our older people to capture our imagination.
You have what we do not…history.
So apply it to our situation.
Excite us.
Take what you have lived and tell us what God can do in our midst.
Pass on the torch and particularly the flame of faith.
Give witness to God’s fidelity, care, intervention, miracles and salvation and point the way for us.
And tell us the mountain we need to take.
But for heaven’s sake…let’s not sit here.
Dream dreams.
Give us a vision for the future.
Don’t let up.
Never give up.
We need you.
Retiring Offering
BENEDICTION: [Counselors are ]
Let’s prize the older members of our church family…we need them more than ever, for God has given them to us to be valued and honored.
Never give up, instead be energized by the Holy Spirit…see what God wants to do through you today, there are more hills, territory and mountains yet to conquer.
Proclaim the beautiful message…let us not be satisfied until all we know know the truth; so let us mobilize and not let up.
Now…May God himself, the God of peace, sanctify you through and through. May your whole spirit, soul and body be kept blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. The One who calls you is faithful and He will do it. Amen.
