SERMON OUTLINE:
• Theme #1: Develop a Knowledge of God.
• Theme #2: Develop Good Habits.
• Theme #3: Develop a Lifestyle of Serving God.
SERMON BODY:
Ill:
• Growing old has been described as the, ‘metallic age’.
• That is when you get silver in your hair, gold in your teeth and lead in your feet.
• They say the expression; “See no evil, hear no evil & speak no evil”
• Becomes even more true as you get old it
• “See no evil” because you’ve lost your glasses again!
• “Hear no evil” because you forgot to turn on your hearing aid”
• “Speak no evil” because you forgot to put your teeth in again!
• TRANSITION:
• To some people the prospect of growing old is not humorous but frightening:
• i.e. An aging body which is more susceptible to illness.
• i.e. Declining strength; feelings of uselessness (especially after retirement).
• i.e. The loss of friends and loved ones through death.
• i.e. The reality of one’s own death drawing nearer.
• i.e. Loneliness; feelings of alienation from one’s children and grandchildren,
• Who are busy with other interests and pursuits.
• i.e. And, very often, financial concerns due to dwindling income.
So, for some old age is a gloomy thought.
• This unnamed psalm explores the subject of ageing,
• And it explores it positively with great openness and honesty,
Psalm 71 is the Psalm of an old man (verses 9, 17 &18):
“Do not cast me away when I am old;
do not forsake me when my strength is gone.”
“Since my youth, God, you have taught me,
and to this day I declare your marvellous deeds.”
“Even when I am old and grey,
do not forsake me, my God,
till I declare your power to the next generation,
your mighty acts to all who are to come.”
Psalm 71 is the Psalm of an old man (verses 9, 17 &18):
• Quote:
• “The seven ages of man: spills, drills, thrills, bills, ills, pills, wills”.
• Quote: Someone has wisely said:
• “Don’t ever complain about growing old, so many people never get the chance”.
Note: According to Bible scholar H.G. Leupold.
• “No two commentators divide the psalm the same way”.
• Leupold splits it into two parts – verses 1 to 12 & 13 to 24.
• Some scholars divide it into four, five and even six parts.
• The N.I.V. Bible divides it up into six stanzas.
• (Verses 1 to 3, 4 to 6, 7 to 11, 12 to 16, 17 to 21, 22 to 24.)
• Now because it is a difficult psalm to divide up.
• I intend to look at its themes rather than its outline.
• I see three clear themes in this psalm.
Theme #1: Develop a Knowledge of God.
• The reason that the psalmist could handle his problems so well in his later years,
• Was because he had developed a walk with God in his younger years.
Notice: The Psalm is permeated with a deep knowledge of God.
• Just scan the psalm and you will see this.
• i.e. In verse 17 he tells us: He had been taught of God “from his youth”
• i.e. Verse 1 he testifies that he knew God as his “refuge”.
• In fact, in verse 7 he increases his description to “strong refuge,”
• i.e. Verse 2:
• He states that he knew God as “his righteous Saviour”.
• i.e. He also knew God’s faithfulness.
• The great Bible scholar John Calvin argues that God’s righteousness,
• Which is frequently mentioned in the Psalm (vs 2, 15, 16, 19, 24),
• Refers to God’s faithfulness to his own people in keeping his promises.
• i.e. Verse 3: He calls God his “rock” and his “fortress”.
• The King James Bible uses the phrase: “rock of habitation”.
• i.e. Verse 5: He declares that God is “his hope” and “confidence”.
• i.e. Verse 20: He realized that it was God who allowed troubles in his life.
• But it was God who delivered and restored him.
• i.e. Verse 21: He discovered God was his source of comfort in these trials.
• i.e. Verse 23: God was his deliverer.
• i.e. Verses 8, 22, 23 & 24: He could testify.
• That his mouth was filled with God’s praise and glory and righteousness all day long.
As you read this psalm you can only come to one conclusion:
• This man knew his God!
• It is obvious that he had known him for years,
• And had proved God’s faithfulness again and again in numerous situations.
• This Psalm was not penned in a cosy office by an inexperienced poet,
• It is born out of experience.
• Quote proverb:
• “Experience is a comb which nature gives us when we are bald.”
• Quote: Ralph Waldo Emerson:
• “All I have seen teaches me to trust the Creator for all I have not seen.”
• (now, that is the attitude of this Psalmist!)
APPLICATION: Don’t waste the ‘NOW’ years- use them!
• e.g. Noah didn’t wait until it started raining before he started to build the ark!
• (Genesis chapter 6 to 8).
• e.g. Joseph built barns so that when the famine came his people would not go hungry.
• (Genesis chapter 41).
• How we live now as Christians,
• Will have a huge knock-on effect in our later years.
• So, don’t just grow old but grow up in your faith!
Theme #2: develop Good habits.
Ill:
• Fed up with seeing her elderly husband biting his nails,
• A wife decided she would help him quit this dirty habit.
• A few weeks later a friend asked her how she managed to cure him.
• It was simple she said, “I hide his teeth!”
• TRANSITION: Habits, good or bad, stick – hence the name!
• Habits are developed by frequent repetition over a period of time.
• Once a certain behaviour is in place, that habit becomes almost involuntary.
• e.g. Some people become habitual worriers.
• e.g. Some become habitual complainers.
• e.g. Some become habitually negative, pessimistic, and angry.
• e.g. Others become habitually cheerful and positive.
• The habits we develop in our younger years.
• Tend to take us further in that direction as we grow older.
Note: This man has formed good habits:
• i.e. Verse 5:
• “For you have been my hope, Sovereign Lord, my confidence SINCE MY YOUTH.”
• i.e. Verse 6:
• “FROM BIRTH I have relied on you; you brought me forth from my mother’s womb.”
• i.e. Verse 17:
• “SINCE MY YOUTH, God, you have taught me, and to this day I declare your marvellous deeds.
• TRANSITION: A habit, Good or bad,
• Is developed by frequent repetition over a period of time.
• Wise is the person who forms good habits in their youth.
Note:
• What he says in verse 14, “as for me,”
• Those words point to fixed intention.
• The idea seems to be, other people might not, but “as for me,”
• I am determined to have these three qualities as features in my life.
habit #1: trust (vs 3).
“Be my rock of refuge,
to which I can always go;
give the command to save me,
for you are my rock and my fortress. Be my rock of refuge,
to which I can always go;
give the command to save me,
for you are my rock and my fortress”.
• The Psalmists was in difficult circumstances,
• But his faith is sure and unwavering.
• That type of faith stems from a knowledge of God.
• And true knowledge dispels doubt and fear.
Ill:
• Coast Guards go out to sea in all types of stormy weather,
• They may face waves that are twenty to thirty feet high.
• You and I would be terrified,
• You and I might think we will capsize and drown at any moment.
• But the crew, while not relaxed, will not be afraid.
• They have taken that lifeboat out in many similar types of storms and gales.
• Their knowledge of the boat and the crews experience,
• Dispelled their fear.
• TRANSITION: Because the psalmist knew God:
• He had learned to trust God through some other tough times,
• And he knew therefore that God would see him through this time.
habit #2: praise (vs 6).
“From my birth I have relied on you;
you brought me forth from my mother’s womb.
I will ever praise you.”
• Praise is when we thank God for his blessings,
• e.g. Praise you Lord for a new day.
• e.g. Thank you, Lord, for food and water.
• e.g. Thank you, Lord, for family & friends.
• As we some people grow older, praise is not a natural habit,
• Some older people become ‘grumpy old men’ or ‘grumpy old women’
• Some older people find it easier to moan and find fault with everyone and everything.
• e.g. It scares me (a young man!) how many times I moan and groan each day!
• We ought to be positive people, people of praise!
Ill:
• In regions of Mexico hot springs and cold springs are found side by side,
• And because of the convenience of this natural phenomenon.
• The local women often bring their laundry,
• Boil their clothes in the hot springs, and then rinse them in the cold springs.
• A tourist watching this procedure commented to his Mexican guide:
• "They must think Mother nature is generous.
• To freely supply such ample, clean hot and cold water."
• The guide replied,
• "No senor, there is much grumbling because she supplies no soap."
• TRANSITION:
• Tough question: Are you a grumbler and complainer by nature.
God wants us to be people of praise.
• Even when difficult times come, God wants us to learn to praise Him.
• The psalmist had deliberately developed that habit.
• Verse 8:
• “My mouth is filled with your praise, declaring your splendour all day long.”
• Verse 14:
• “As for me, I will always have hope; I will praise you more and more.”
• Verses 22-24:
• “I will praise you with the harp for your faithfulness, my God.
• I will sing praise to you with the lyre, Holy One of Israel.
• Verse 23:
• “My lips will shout for joy when I sing praise to you— I whom you have delivered.”
• Verse 24:
• My tongue will tell of your righteous acts all day long, for those who wanted to harm me
• have been put to shame and confusion.”
• Application:
• If you are struggling to praise God, the solution is always twofold:
• First: concentrate on getting to know who God is.
• A God who is generous in his dealings with people.
• Second: review what God has already done for you.
• As the old hymn says, “Count your blessings name them one by one”
Habit #3: hope (vs 14).
As for me, I will always have hope;
I will praise you more and more.
• Biblical hope is built upon trust in God and his faithfulness.
• Believers should be people who have a habit of hope,
• Because we are building our lives on the promises of God.
Ill:
• Adoniram (ad-a-near-um) Judson.
• Was one of the first missionaries sent abroad by nonconformist churches.
• He was only 25 years old when he went.
• He arrived in India in 1813 and settled in Rangoon, Burma.
• (Today it is called, Union of Myanmar in Southeast Asia)
• When Judson was there war broke out between Burma,
• And the English Government of India.
• Judson was arrested and put in prison and accused of being a spy.
• He then spent the next seventeen months in prison.
• Seventeen months in a filthy jail with chains on his ankles,
• And with his feet bound to a bamboo pole.
• Another prisoner realising, he was a missionary,
• Started to mock him, he said,
• “Dr. Judson, what about the prospect of the conversion of the heathen?”
• Judson’s reply was instant,
• “The prospects are just as bright as the promises of God.”
• No matter how dark and stormy life may be for me,
• God does not change and neither does his word,
• So, Judson kept on trusting!
When Adoniram (ad-a-near-um) Judson was released from prison:
• And he went on to achieve an incredible amount in his life.
• Serving God for a total of forty years in Burma,
• During that time, he translated the Bible in Burmese,
• He produced the very first Burmese dictionary.
• And left a Christian community of about half a million people.
• “Dr. Judson, what about the prospect of the conversion of the heather?”
• “The prospects are just as bright as the promises of God.”
• TRANSITION: Notice what the Psalmist says:
• Verse 5: “For you have been my hope”
• Verse 14: “As for me, I will always have hope; I will praise you more and more.”
• Because he knew his God in a personal, practical, proven way in the past,
• He is confident that he will know him again in the present and the future.
• The Hebrew word translated into English as ‘Hope’ means,
• ‘A long and patient waiting despite delays and disappointments”.
• The psalmist was in good stead in his old age,
• Because he had developed a deep knowledge of God,
• And he had developed the godly habits of trust, praise, and hope.
• Application: Those three words, trust, praise, and hope.
• Are constantly in our hymns and songs, we are very familiar with them.
• But we need to experience and apply them and not just sing about them!
Theme #3: Develop a Lifestyle Serving God.
15“My mouth will tell of your righteous deeds,
of your saving acts all day long –
though I know not how to relate them all.
16 I will come and proclaim your mighty acts, Sovereign Lord;
I will proclaim your righteous deeds, yours alone.
17 Since my youth, God, you have taught me,
and to this day I declare your marvellous deeds.
18 Even when I am old and grey,
do not forsake me, my God,
till I declare your power to the next generation,
your mighty acts to all who are to come.”
24“My tongue will tell of your righteous acts
all day long,
for those who wanted to harm me
have been put to shame and confusion.”
• Although the psalmist was old in years,
• We don’t read of him saying to God: “I have done my bit, I deserve some rest,”
• Of course, his ministry would change with age,
• But the point is this, he is not redundant, he is still active,
• Telling others of God’s faithfulness and power
Notice:
• We like to be delivered from his problems and his enemies,
• So that he could play golf or go fishing or watch the football every day.
• Don’t miss hear me, we can enjoy those things – but be balanced!
• They don’t replace our service for God they complement it!
• The psalmist wanted to be delivered from his problems and his enemies,
• So that he could proclaim God’s power to the next generation.
• He wasn’t shaking his head at them, saying, “It wasn’t like that in my day”
• Rather he had a vision to hand on the baton to the younger generation.
• He saw a longer life as an opportunity for extended ministry.
Ill:
• Years ago, the Bible teacher John Piper spoke at a big youth event in the USA.
• (The Passion One Day conference in Memphis Tennessee back in May 2000).
• He spoke to 40,000 students and he was a bit of a fish-out-of-water.
• An excellent Bible teacher but not a youth speaker,
• And, the style of youth event was not his natural habitat.
• God used him in an incredible way that day,
• With many thousands young people testifying that it was a turning point in their lives.
• He finished his message with a simple illustration,
• That really. ‘hit the nail on the head’,
• And that message was used by God to raise up hundreds to the mission field.
• Now before this simple illustration, he sets up a contrast.
• He tells about two elderly sisters of his church, both in their 80’s,
• That had been killed in a car accident while serving overseas as missionaries.
• He asks the question, is this a tragedy?
• Now the obvious answer resounding from the crowd is, no.
• Because they died in the service of Jesus!
• That's when he shows them what a true tragedy looks like.
• He pulls out an article from Readers Digest and he begins to read.
“The title of the article, Start Now, Retire Early. February 1998.
Bob and Penny took early retirement from their jobs in the northeast five years ago when he was 59 and she was 51. Now they live in Punta Gorda, Florida, where they cruise on their 30-foot trawler, play softball and collect shells.”
John Piper then says.
“That's a tragedy. That's a tragedy. And there are people in this country that are spending billions of dollars to get you to buy it. And I get 40 minutes to plead with you, don't buy it. With all my heart I plead with you, don't buy that dream. The American dream. A nice house, a nice car, a nice job, a nice family, a nice retirement, collecting shells as the last chapter before you stand before the Creator of the universe to give an account with what you did. Here it is, Lord, my shell collection. Look, Lord, my shell collection. And I've got a good swing. And look at my boat. “
• Piper holds up the American dream,
• And he tests it against the light of eternity and the judgment seat of Christ.
• And he reminds them of C.T. Stud.
• "Only one life, twill soon be past. Only what's done for Christ will last."
• Here is the illustration.
• YouTube short version: https://youtu.be/UFe3awzCh6k
• YouTube long version: https://youtu.be/mfpmbmsvu3A
• Full explanation: Why John Piper’s “Shells” Illustration Transformed a Generation
• YouTube: https://youtu.be/85WqrnEVB0k
• Quote: C.T. Stud.
• "Only one life, twill soon be past. Only what's done for Christ will last."
SERMON AUDIO:
https://surf.pxwave.com/wl/?id=igWShFggaVA8Vsq30SANLmzTz3g7dHlL
SERMON VIDEO:
https://youtu.be/WnfcHkoifnY
