Leaving a Legacy
Psalm 71:17-18
Rev. Brian Bill
6/1/08
Jeanne Calmert, at 120 years-old, was the oldest living human whose birth date could be authenticated. When asked to describe her vision for the future, she replied, “Very brief.” When a reporter asked what she liked best about being so old, she answered wryly: “Well, there’s no peer pressure.” I heard about an elderly man who was filling out an application for a retirement village. He very carefully and deliberately answered all the questions. After filling out his current address he came to the word “Zip” and printed: “Normal for my age.” A young child asked a woman how old she was. She answered, “39 and holding.” The child thought for a moment and then asked this question: “And how old would you be if you let go?”
I want to propose this morning that no matter how old you are, or whether or not you have much zip left, it’s not time to let go. If you’re in the golden years of life, you have more to give. As we grow older, our responsibilities grow with us. Listen to the words of Psalm 92:14: “They will still bear fruit in old age, they will stay fresh and green.” Or to say it another way: Before passing on, make sure you pass it on by leaving a legacy.
Pontiac has a lot parks and our family takes advantage of them on a regular basis. One of the most unique ones is called Dargan Park. Perhaps you’ve seen the three statues made out of iron. Below each one is a maxim set in a stone.
* Under the one that depicts youthfulness: As children, learn good manners; as young men, learn to control the passions.
* Under the one in the middle: In middle age, be just.
* And under the one that shows an older man: In old age, give good advice; then die without regret.
I like that. In old age, give good advice; then die without regret.
Aging in America
In a special aired on MSNBC a few years back, researchers found that “The most defining social change taking place is the aging of America.” Here are some stats that I’ve pulled together from the Census Bureau, the National Institute on Aging, and AARP (which I get to join in just two years).
* Someone turns 50 years of age every six seconds and people over 50 account for 43% of all U.S. households
* The over-85 age group is the fastest growing segment of the population and the number of citizens over 85 will double by 2030
* The U.S. population age 65 and over is expected to double in size within the next 25 years
* Life expectancy at the turn of the century was approximately 46 years; today it is approximately 76 years
According to the Reveal survey results, 44% of people at PBC are over the age of 50 which means that we are reflective of our culture. Several weeks ago I shared some stunning national statistics about how faith is not being passed from generation to generation. Let me refresh your memory.
Judges 2:10 paints a picture that may be prophetic of the state of the church today: “After that whole generation had been gathered to their fathers, another generation grew up, who knew neither the Lord nor what He had done for Israel.” These findings from Thom Ranier in his book The Bridger Generation, show the decline of evangelical Christianity among each successive generation. Here’s the percentage of born again believers in each generation:
* Builders (born 1927-1945) 65%
* Boomers (born 1946-1964) 35%
* Busters (born 1965-1976) 16%
* Bridgers (born 1977-1994) 4%
Here’s what strikes me about these numbers. If it’s true that many “Builders” and “Boomers” have a vibrant faith, then it’s imperative that the older generation look for ways to intentionally pass along their faith to “Busters” and “Bridgers.” Before passing on, make sure you pass it on by leaving a legacy.
Friends, the character of our children tomorrow depends on what we put in their hearts today. If we expect the younger generation to grow spiritually, those of us who are older must pass on what we possess. The pastoral staff and one of our elders participated in a conference call this week with Focus on the Family to hear about some things we can be doing to help reverse the spiritual decay in families today. We’re continuing to discuss how we can do a better job of connecting and equipping families by having a vision for the next 100 years whereby one generation tells the next which passes it on to the one not yet born.
A Psalm for the Aged
We live in a culture that promotes youthfulness and denigrates the elderly. The Bible calls us to instead honor the aged. Leviticus 19:32: “Rise in the presence of the aged, show respect for the elderly and revere your God. I am the LORD.” Did you know that there’s a passage of Scripture that’s referred to as a “psalm for the aged?” Please turn in your Bibles to Psalm 71. We’re not entirely certain who wrote these words but many believe it was David in the latter years of his life. Look at verse 9: “Do not cast me away when I am old; do not forsake me when my strength is gone.” He’s older now and weaker and yet he’s holding on to hope in verse 14: “But as for me, I will always have hope, I will praise you more and more.”
For our purposes today, we’re going to focus on verses 17-18: “Since my youth, O God, you have taught me, and to this day I declare your marvelous deeds. 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.” David recounts what God has done in the past: “You have taught me.” He then describes the present: “To this day I declare your marvelous deeds.” And he looks out into the future: “Even when I am old and gray, do not forsake me.” His overriding concern is that he wants to live long enough to “declare your power to the next generation, your might to all who are to come.” Do you see the stages of life here? He remembers his youth, then describes middle age and looks ahead to the golden years. I see two main lessons in these verses.
1. Know God in your youth by learning from the Lord (verse 17a). David writes: “Since my youth, O God, you have taught me.” Parents, it is never too early to teach your children about the Lord. I hope you’re taking every possible opportunity to introduce your kids to Jesus and that you are intentionally instructing them. Sometimes we wonder what it is that they can learn when they are young – it’s more than we think. Look back to verses 5-6: “For you have been my hope, O Sovereign LORD, my confidence since my youth. From birth I have relied on you; you brought me forth from my mother’s womb. I will ever praise you.”
An older adult recently asked me how she should share her testimony because she doesn’t have a dramatic conversion story. She told me that as a young girl she trusted Christ and has believed in Him and followed Him her whole life. I suggested she answer this question: How would your life have been different if you didn’t know Jesus when you were young? She immediately shared with me several ways that Jesus has made a difference. I smiled and said, “That’s your story.”
One of the ways that we’re committed to helping kids come to Christ at an early age is through the ministry of 5-Day Clubs. We’re also making some resources available to parents and grandparents the next two Sundays in the Fellowship Hall. I encourage you to stop by and look at some children’s Bibles and devotionals that will help you pass along the faith to the next generation.
We celebrate what God is doing in the Student Ministry and want you to know about Wildside this summer. Student ministry doesn’t stop just because it gets hot. Wildside is our summer student program for 6th through 12 grade students on Sunday nights from 6-8. It combines three elements important to every teenager - fun, food, and faith. Touching on subjects like acceptance, fear, friends, and getting along with your parents, Wildside seeks to minister to teenagers wherever they are on their spiritual journey.
Next Sunday is the Luau and our starving students could use some food. I love watching what Pastor Jeff and his team are doing to connect kids to Jesus and then equip them to become growing and faithful followers. Are you aware that a group of teens and their parents cleaned about 400 chairs at the Vermillion Players Theater last Saturday? Adults, one way we can support and honor what God is doing is to first of all make sure we’re not looking down on them as 1 Timothy 4:12 states: “Don’t let anyone look down on you because you are young, but set an example for the believers in speech, in life, in love, in faith and in purity.” Instead of looking down, let’s come alongside and mentor them, even as they serve as examples to us in their speech, in their lifestyle, in their love, in their faith, and in purity.
2. Show God in your years by leaving a legacy (verses 17b-18). You must first know God before you can show Him to others: “…And to this day I declare your marvelous deeds. 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.” David is declaring God’s deeds and his desire is to proclaim God’s power to the next generation. Do you see that the word “declare” is used twice in these two verses? According to Vine’s Expository Dictionary, it’s a word that emphasizes three different things. Let’s unpack it.
* A person who has witnessed something and tells others about it
* A person reports about a matter of life-and-death importance
* A person explains something to someone who lacks knowledge of it
Let’s see if I can pull this together. If you’ve witnessed the wonder and works of God then proclaim God’s power to those who don’t know and do it with a sense of life-and-death urgency. Before passing on, make sure you pass it on by leaving a legacy. That’s what the word declare means.
David is declaring God’s marvelous deeds, His power, and His might to generation next. Because he knows he is going to pass on, he’s determined to pass along God’s actions and God’s attributes. That’s exactly what we should be doing with intentional urgency – declaring who God is and all that He has done. Psalm 9:1 says: “I will praise you, O LORD, with all my heart; I will tell of all your wonders” and Psalm 26:7 encourages us to not be quiet about it: “proclaiming aloud your praise and telling of all your wonderful deeds.” In Psalm 66:16 we see how purposeful and personal this must be: “Come and listen, all you who fear God; let me tell you what he has done for me.”
Old age does not provide an “out” for David, nor does gray hair disqualify him. Actually, it’s just the opposite because the older we get the greater the urgency we should feel to intentionally impact the next generation. Look back to our text in Psalm 71:18 where we see that David’s concern is that God not forget or forsake him. God is greatly committed to those in their golden years as stated in Isaiah 46:4: “Even to your old age and gray hairs I am he, I am he who will sustain you. I have made you and I will carry you; I will sustain you and I will rescue you.” Gray hair is a great honor according to Proverbs 16:31: “Gray hair is a crown of splendor; it is attained by a righteous life.” Proverbs 20:29 adds, “The glory of young men is their strength, gray hair the splendor of the old.”
The evangelist John Wesley served the Savior in his senior years. In his lifetime he rode 350,000 miles on horseback and preached some 40,000 different sermons. At the age of 83 he complained because he could only study for 15 hours a day. At the age of 86 he was concerned that he was becoming slothful because he was sleeping in until 5:00 a.m. At 87 he learned his eleventh foreign language. At 88 he was worried because he could only preach twice a day six days a week.
Demographers have recently identified a new life-stage between adulthood and true old age that is referred to as “the third age,” “midcourse” or “my time.” I’d like to suggest another term and call it “prime time for proclamation.” Biblically understood, a longer life is an opportunity for extended ministry.
Would you notice that David is requesting that God would sustain him long enough so that he could leave a legacy for the next generation, to all who are to still to come? He’s not just thinking about himself or his ease. He’s determined to declare his faith to those who will follow him. This theme of one generation passing along a legacy of faith to the next is found throughout Scripture. Listen to Psalm 78:4-6: “We will not hide them from their children; we will tell the next generation the praiseworthy deeds of the LORD, his power, and the wonders he has done. He decreed statutes for Jacob and established the law in Israel, which he commanded our forefathers to teach their children, so the next generation would know them, even the children yet to be born, and they in turn would tell their children.”
What More Does God Have For You?
Acts 13:36 says this about David: “For when David had served God’s purpose in his own generation, he fell asleep; he was buried with his fathers and his body decayed.” Are you serving God’s purpose in your generation? In Psalm 71:18 David wants to stay alive long enough to leave a legacy: “…till I declare your power.” How would you complete this sentence? God. allow me to stay alive until I . What is it that you still want to do? Fill in the blank. Acts 2:17 says that in the last days, “old men would dream dreams.”
Are there any Caleb’s here today? He was one of the spies who went into the Promised Land and believed they could conquer the land because God was bigger than the giants who lived there. Unfortunately, he was outvoted and as a result God’s people wandered in the wilderness for 40 years until that entire generation died. In Joshua 14, we read that Caleb continued to follow the Lord wholeheartedly and now, at the age of 85 they are once again at the border of Canaan, and he says in verse 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.” I love what he says next in verse 12: “Now give me this hill country that the Lord promised me that day…”
Referring to the enemies who lived there, he declares: “…but, the Lord helping me, I will drive them out just as He said.” His concern was not having a condo at Shalom Acres; instead he wanted another whack at the hill country. He was up for a new challenge. What “hill country” do you need to claim? What mountain does God want you to climb? Fill in the blank: God, allow me to stay alive until I .
1. If you’re younger, seek out the wisdom of the older. One senior citizen summed up what many feel today: “You know, as I got older I realized 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.” If you have an older person of faith in your family, intentionally ask him or her to share what they have learned. If you don’t, then find someone in this family of faith and get together with him or her.
2. If you’re older, seek out the younger. Have you done everything you can do in your family to declare God’s deeds to the next generation? What plan do you have to do this? Moses taught Joshua, Elijah impacted Elisha, Naomi taught Ruth about God, Elizabeth mentored Mary, Barnabas believed in Mark, Paul poured into Timothy and Titus. If you’re still alive it’s not too late to leave a legacy. Before passing on, make sure you pass it on by leaving a legacy. Be a legacy leaver.
Consider Yourself “Asked”
According to a report from “America’s Senior Volunteers,” just 17% of adults age 55 and over who were not directly asked to volunteer actually end up volunteering. Among those who were asked, however, 84%--or more than four times as many—volunteered. If you’re a senior saint, consider yourself “asked” by the Almighty to serve God’s purposes in our generation as you pass it along to the next.
As a way to put some feet to this sermon I want to interview a couple who still have a lot of “zip” in them. When I asked Jon and Judy Dewald to do this they both said “no” but then they said they would do so if it would be helpful.
1. Judy: tell us about some of the ways our children’s ministry is partnering with parents to connect and equip their kids to be growing and faithful followers?
2. Jon and Judy: Could you share with us some intentional things you are doing to leave a legacy to your children and your grandchildren?
I close with a charge from Charles Spurgeon. If you are over the age of 50, would you please stand as you are able: “If, like David, you have slain the lion and the bear and the Philistine when you were young, up, man, and do another deed of daring, for the Lord liveth still, and his people have need of you. Though your joints are rather rusty, and your limbs can hardly bear you to the battlefield, yet limp to the conflict, for the lame to take the prey. He who helped you when you were but a youth and ruddy, will help you now though you are old and infirm, who knoweth what you may do yet? Oh, my honored brethren, revered for your years, show us your metal. Let the young ones see how victories are won…and let us see how he who is washed in the blood of Jesus would not hesitate to shed his own blood in the Redeemer’s cause. Your zeal will stimulate us, your courage nerve us, and we, too, will be valiant for the Lord God of Israel. So may God’s spirit work in you and in us. Amen.” (“The Old Man’s Sermon,” www.spurgeon.org).
