Not Done Yet

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.