Never Too Old To Serve

Tyron Edwards stated, “Age does not depend upon years, but upon temperament and health. Some men are born old, and some never grow old.”(1) Sophia Loren said, “There is a fountain of youth: it is in your mind, your talents, and the creativity that you bring to your life and to the lives of the people you love. When you learn to tap this source, you will have truly defeated age.”(2) It’s been said that age is just a state of mind and that you’re only as young or old as you feel inside.

“Recent studies have been conducted by the insurance industry concerning retired military officers and businessmen who were looking forward to retiring and relaxing after thirty years of hard work. The results indicated that ‘just kicking back in retirement’ leads to a funeral in four to seven years. [It was discovered that] longevity requires a purposeful retirement with meaningful hobbies, ongoing relationships, and sustained involvement.”(3)

Maybe you happen to be someone who’s reached the age of retirement. You need to realize that accepting your age can lead to losing the best years of your life. Do not become inactive and resigned, but continue to live out your life through meaningful activities. And one of the best and most meaningful ways to spend those better years of your life is by serving the Lord in ministry.

Albert McDaniel said, “As you retire from your secular job, you need not retire from your spiritual job. You can stay in the forefront of the battle, working for the Master. Retirement may actually present you with the time and opportunity to be of greater service than ever before. Some might say, ‘But I am too old for that,’ but service in God’s army has no age limit. Moses was eighty years old when he began to lead Israel. Abraham was seventy-five years of age as he obeyed God’s command to leave Haran and serve Him in the land of Canaan.”(4)

We’re never too old to serve the Lord, and none of us have ever “served our time” when it comes to work in God’s kingdom. For those of you who desire to serve the Lord, and you fear that maybe you’re too old to serve Him, then you’ll find great encouragement this morning. As we look at the words of David, and as we look at some other biblical examples, we’re going to see that some of the characters in the Bible never felt too old to serve the Lord; and we’re going to see that David never considered himself as having retired from serving the Lord and telling people about the goodness of God.

David Preached in Old Age (Psalm 71:9, 14-18)

9 Do not cast me off in the time of old age; do not forsake me when my strength fails . . . 14 But I will hope continually, and will praise You yet more and more. 15 My mouth shall tell of Your righteousness and Your salvation all the day, for I do not know their limits. 16 I will go in the strength of the Lord God; I will make mention of Your righteousness, of Yours only. 17 O God, You have taught me from my youth; and to this day I declare Your wondrous works. 18 Now also when I am old and grayheaded, O God, do not forsake me, until I declare Your strength to this generation, Your power to everyone who is to come.

Matthew Henry tells us that “David penned this psalm in his old age,”(5) and it’s also been said of this passage that it is a Psalm for those who are aged.(6) This is easy to see when we look at verse 9, which says, “Do not cast me off in the time of old age.” David was in the latter years of his life when he spoke the words in this passage, and we read here that his strength was failing him; however, he pleaded that God not forsake him. When David made this plea, he didn’t doubt that God was with him. David was asking the Lord to continue showing His glory through him as he had previously done in the younger years of his life. Even though David was old, he still desired to be used by God.

In verses 14-18, we see that David never ceased from telling people about God’s righteousness and His salvation; which, when compared to us, relates to telling people about the salvation they can find in Jesus Christ. In verse 17, David said that he had been taught about God from the time of his youth, telling us that he had shared about the Lord for his entire life, and he was unwilling to give up even when old age was causing his strength to fail.