29, September 2002
Dakota Community Church
All The Kings Men
Part: 4 – Elders
Introduction:
You do not break Gods word – you break yourself on it!
Don’t be discouraged men this is the reward week – the beating is over – here now is the payoff!
Seriously do not take condemnation from anything - be challenged, encouraged – God is not asking you to do anything he has not equipped you to do!
Quote.
Wisdom doesn’t automatically come with old age. Nothing does -- except wrinkles. It’s true some wines improve with age, but only if the grapes were good in the first place. Abigail Van Buren, Chicago Tribute-New York News Syndicate, quoted in Reader’s Digest, May 1980.
1. MAINTAIN A YOUTHFUL HEART.
Psalm 92:12-15
12 The righteous will flourish like a palm tree, they will grow like a cedar of Lebanon; 13 planted in the house of the LORD, they will flourish in the courts of our God. 14 They will still bear fruit in old age, they will stay fresh and green, 15 proclaiming, "The LORD is upright; he is my Rock, and there is no wickedness in him."
2 Corinthians 4:16
16Therefore we do not lose heart. Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day.
This is all about attitude!
a) Stay teachable.
Ill.
Oliver Wendell Holmes, Jr. was and still is generally regarded as one of the most outstanding justices in the history of the U.S. Supreme Court. He was known as the Great Dissenter because he disagreed with the other judges so much. Holmes sat on the Supreme Court until he was 91. Two years later, President Roosevelt visited him and found him reading Plato. "Why?" FDR asked. "To improve my mind," Holmes answered.
b) Keep teaching.
Proverbs 20:15
15 Gold there is, and rubies in abundance, but lips that speak knowledge are a rare jewel.
c) Keep dreaming.
d) Keep seeking. (Pursuit)
Ill.
History records that many people made some of their greatest contributions to society after the age of 65. The Earl of Halsburg, for example, was 90 when he began preparing a 20- volume revision of English law. Goethe wrote Faust at 82. Galileo made his greatest discovery when he was 73. At 69, Hudson Taylor was still vigorously working on the mission field, opening up new territories in Indochina. And when Caleb was 85, he took the stronghold of the giants.
e) Keep fighting.
Joshua 14:6-14
6 Now the men of Judah approached Joshua at Gilgal, and Caleb son of Jephunneh the Kenizzite said to him, "You know what the LORD said to Moses the man of God at Kadesh Barnea about you and me. 7 I was forty years old when Moses the servant of the LORD sent me from Kadesh Barnea to explore the land. And I brought him back a report according to my convictions, 8 but my brothers who went up with me made the hearts of the people melt with fear. I, however, followed the LORD my God wholeheartedly. 9 So on that day Moses swore to me, ’The land on which your feet have walked will be your inheritance and that of your children forever, because you have followed the LORD my God wholeheartedly.’ [1]
10 "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! 11 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. 12 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."
13 Then Joshua blessed Caleb son of Jephunneh and gave him Hebron as his inheritance. 14 So Hebron has belonged to Caleb son of Jephunneh the Kenizzite ever since, because he followed the LORD, the God of Israel, wholeheartedly.
2. DETERMINE TO FINISH WELL.
Galatians 5:7-8
7You were running a good race. Who cut in on you and kept you from obeying the truth? 8That kind of persuasion does not come from the one who calls you.
Don’t Quit!
God never intends for us to retire from spiritual activity. The Bible says we can "still bring forth fruit in old age." Even as Jesus kept the "best wine" for the last at the wedding in Cana (John 2:10), so He seeks to gather the most luscious clusters of the fruit of the Spirit from the fully ripened harvest of our lives. You may be sure God wouldn’t keep you on this earth if He didn’t have a worthwhile ministry for you to accomplish. So keep on serving the Lord!
Galatians 4:8
8Formerly, when you did not know God, you were slaves to those who by nature are not gods. 9But now that you know God--or rather are known by God--how is it that you are turning back to those weak and miserable principles? Do you wish to be enslaved by them all over again?
Philippians 1:21-25
21For to me, to live is Christ and to die is gain. 22If I am to go on living in the body, this will mean fruitful labor for me. Yet what shall I choose? I do not know! 23I am torn between the two: I desire to depart and be with Christ, which is better by far; 24but it is more necessary for you that I remain in the body. 25Convinced of this, I know that I will remain, and I will continue with all of you for your progress and joy in the faith
2 Timothy 4:6-8
6For I am already being poured out like a drink offering, and the time has come for my departure. 7I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. 8Now there is in store for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will award to me on that day--and not only to me, but also to all who have longed for his appearing.
There is a high impact and wide ripple effect when heroes fall!
3. BE WORTHY OF DOUBLE HONOR.
1 Timothy 5:17
17The elders who direct the affairs of the church well are worthy of double honor
a.) Model mature leadership.
Old age can be a most rewarding period of life. For those who have found the satisfaction of a loving and close relationship with the Heavenly Father through faith in His Son, the "sunset years" can be more appropriately labeled the "golden years".
Quote.
Henry Durbanville felt that way. In his book The Best Is Yet To Be he wrote, "I feel so sorry for folks who don’t like to grow old...I revel in my years. They enrich me...I would not exchange...the abiding rest of soul, the measure of wisdom I have gained from the sweet and bitter and perplexing experiences of life; nor the confirmed faith I now have in the...love of God, for all the bright and uncertain hopes and tumultuous joys of youth. Indeed, I would not! These are the best years of my life...The way grows brighter; the birds sing sweeter; the winds blow softer; the sun shines more radiantly than ever before. I suppose ’my outward man’ is perishing, but ’my inward man’ is being joyously renewed day by day.
b.) Demonstrate depth of character.
Psalm 25:7
7 Remember not the sins of my youth and my rebellious ways; according to your love remember me, for you are good, O LORD.
Quote from John Maxwell.
I commit myself to being a person of character. Truth, reliability, honesty and confidentiality will be the pillars of my life. I will treat others as I expect to be treated and I will live according to the highest standards of integrity amid all of life’s circumstances.
c.) Share quiet wisdom.
Proverbs 17: 27-28
27 A man of knowledge uses words with restraint, and a man of understanding is even-tempered. 28 Even a fool is thought wise if he keeps silent, and discerning if he holds his tongue.
Proverbs 18: 2
2 A fool finds no pleasure in understanding but delights in airing his own opinions.
Conclusion:
Psalm 103:2-5
2 Praise the LORD, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits- 3 who forgives all your sins and heals all your diseases, 4 who redeems your life from the pit and crowns you with love and compassion, 5 who satisfies your desires with good things so that your youth is renewed like the eagle’s.
Quote.
Robertson McQuilkin wrote, "God planned the strength and beauty of youth to be physical. But the strength and beauty of age is spiritual. We gradually lose the strength and beauty that is temporary so we’ll be sure to concentrate on the strength and beauty that is forever."
