SENIOR MOMENTS!
2 Corinthians 4:15-18 (KJV) "For all things are for your sakes, that the abundant grace might through the thanksgiving of many redound to the glory of God. For which cause we faint not; but though our outward man perish, yet the inward man is renewed day by day. For our light affliction, which is but for a moment, worketh for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory; While we look not at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen: for the things which are seen are temporal; but the things which are not seen are eternal.
INTRODUCTION
Next Saturday afternoon, from 12 to 4, we're having a fellowship time and meal for all those over 50
And in light of that, and in honor of our seniors here at West Road, I want to speak for a few moments on SENIOR MOMENTS
Now, this message is for everyone, because if you're not a senior this morning, and if the Lord tarries and you live long enough, you will be
Now you see, we all know what we mean when we talk about “Senior Moments”
It’s when you try to do something, or think of something, and you’re totally without a clue
You can’t remember where you put your bifocals
• You know you’re getting older when the only thing you want for your birthday is not to be reminded of it.
• One Senior said: “When the doctor asked what I did for exercise, I said pushing ninety is exercise enough!”
• Another Senior said: “There are four advantages to getting old and forgetful: One, you meet new friends every day; two, every joke you hear is new; three, you can hide your own Easter eggs; and I forget the fourth thing.”
Now, I know some people are very sensitive about their age
One precious lady said as she was being interviewed and was asked: “I see your birthday is April 12. What year?” Her simple reply was, “Every year.”
I don’t know why they call those “Senior Moments” because at 33, I have a lot of “Senior Moments”
But Paul in our text here, gives us something very powerful
He says that though the outward man perishes – that’s the “Senior Moment”
Yet the inward man is renewed day by day – that’s the “God-filled Senior Moments!”
• Proverbs 4:18 18But the path of the just is as the shining light, that shineth more and more unto the perfect day.
• 2 Corinthians 4:7 7But we have this treasure in earthen vessels, that the excellency of the power may be of God, and not of us.
The truth of the matter is that while we
--move on
--progress
--age
We ought not to be “giving out” but “gearing up”
And the reason is because “its an inside job”
Darnell and I heard on the News the other day about how somebody cut the wires to the fence at the place where they stored stolen goods that they have recovered, and stole several bicycles
I told Darnell that it had to be "an inside job"
And that's they way it is when we talk about getting older
It's not what is happening on the outside, but what God is doing on the inside
For years, I've read that scripture in Matthew 8:1-4 when Jesus healed that leper and told him to show himself to the priest
And I always wondered why Jesus, after healing the man, would then instruct him to go show himself to the priest
And then it dawned on me: The greatest miracle is not what happens to your body, but the greatest miracle is when you obey Him!
Why? Because this body will eventually get sick and die
But John said…
1 John 2:17 (KJV) "…he that doeth the will of God abideth for ever."
It’s not what’s done on the outside, but what’s done on the inside
And that’s what we’re talking about when we mention GOD-FILLED SENIOR MOMENTS
And when you look throughout the Word of God, you see that some of the most powerful people that God ever used was seniors
And I want you first of all to consider…
1. ABRAHAM
It was not until Abraham was 75 years old that God even begin to call Abraham
It was not until he was a senior that he…
Hebrews 11:8-10 (KJV) "…went out, not knowing whither he went…[looking] for a city whose builder and maker is God."
And you know that story…God promised Abraham and Sarah a son, and it wasn't until Abraham was 100 and Sarah was 90 that they finally had their promised child
Romans put it like this…
Romans 4:19-21 (KJV) 19And being not weak in faith, he considered not his own body now dead, when he was about an hundred years old, neither yet the deadness of Sarah’s womb: 20He staggered not at the promise of God through unbelief; but was strong in faith, giving glory to God; 21And being fully persuaded that, what he had promised, he was able also to perform.
Even though the body was dead, yet they had a God-filled Senior Moment
AND HERE'S THE POINT: Sometimes the enemy will tell you that you can’t produce, that you can’t contribute
And see, understand that there was another older couple who couldn’t have a child
John the Baptist mother and father, Elizabeth and Zechariahs
Luke 1:7 (KJV) "And they had no child, because that Elisabeth was barren, and they both were now well stricken in years."
But they produced the forerunner of Christ
And seniors can produce
--revival
--praise
--worship
--an atmosphere
But with God, nothing is impossible – IS ANYTHING TOO HARD FOR THE LORD (Genesis 18:14)
And note that the word ISAAC meant “Laughter”
And one of the most frustrating things that I see is people who get saved, lose joy rather than gain joy
And something is wrong with that picture
You can’t tell me that the longer we serve Him
As you and I…
--unfold more of his glories
--discover more of His knowledge
--see more and more miracles
There should be joy
Paul said that this was the way he wanted to finish out his life…
Acts 20:24 But none of these things move me, neither count I my life dear unto myself, so that I might finish my course with joy, and the ministry, which I have received of the Lord Jesus, to testify the gospel of the grace of God.
Secondly, consider…
2. DAVID
Now, I don't understand the theological implications of this text, but there's a point here I want to make…
Notice what it says about David when he got old…
1 Kings 1:1-4 (KJV) Now king David was old and stricken in years; and they covered him with clothes, but he gat no heat. Wherefore his servants said unto him, Let there be sought for my lord the king a young virgin: and let her stand before the king, and let her cherish him, and let her lie in thy bosom, that my lord the king may get heat. So they sought for a fair damsel throughout all the coasts of Israel, and found Abishag a Shunammite, and brought her to the king. And the damsel was very fair, and cherished the king, and ministered to him: but the king knew her not.
I mean, this is old
They asked old Uncle Morty who at the age of 89 was still a bachelor “Morty, you old codger, can you remember the first girl you ever kissed?” Morty gave a hollow laugh. “Frankly” he remarked dryly, “I can’t even remember the last one.”
But news came of the Kingdom
One of his sons, Adonijah was about to take the throne, and that was not the one God had intended
And so they came before David and look what happened
1 Kings 1:32-33 (KJV) And king David said, Call me Zadok the priest, and Nathan the prophet, and Benaiah the son of Jehoiada. And they came before the king. The king also said unto them, Take with you the servants of your lord, and cause Solomon my son to ride upon mine own mule, and bring him down to Gihon:
He had a God-filled senior moment!
What stirred his soul
What stirred his spirit was the Kingdom
I'm reminded of Aunt Beulah as the Holy Spirit would move upon her
God give us some senior moments!
Then, thirdly, consider…
3. MOSES
It was not until he was 80 that he stood before the burning bush!
In Exodus 3, he had a SENIOR MOMENT!
And God took this senior, and used him mightily
Don't ever think that God hasn't got a call on your lives!
And don't ever think that it's too late!
A 60 year old woman wrote Dear Abby and asked her advice on going back to college and getting her degree. She wrote to Abby and said, "When I get finished, I'll be 64!"
Abby wrote back and asked her, "Well how old will you be if you don't get the degree?"
Consider…
4. CALEB
Joshua 14:10-12 (KJV) "And now, behold, the LORD hath kept me alive…and now, lo, I am this day fourscore and five years old. (11) As yet I am as strong this day as I was in the day that Moses sent me: as my strength was then, even so is my strength now, for war, both to go out, and to come in. (12) Now therefore give me this mountain, whereof the LORD spake in that day; for thou heardest in that day how the Anakims were there, and that the cities were great and fenced: if so be the LORD will be with me, then I shall be able to drive them out, as the LORD said."
Notice he said that if the Lord is with me, I can drive out the giants from my life!
Now, I'm here to tell you that we need some seniors that will claim some things for God
2 Samuel 5:7 7Nevertheless David took the strong hold of Zion: the same is the city of David
In other words David just took it! He just claimed it
We need some seniors who will claim…
--the promises
--their children
--the power of God in the church of God
Napoleon and his soldiers overcame an island in the Mediterranean Sea. They had fought for many days to take the island and finally succeeded. After the capture of the island at the price of many lives, Napoleon and his generals gathered for a celebration. As they were sitting around a great table, talking about the victory, they were interrupted by a young officer.
Napoleon looked at him and said, 'What do you want?'
The young man looked at Napoleon and said, 'Give me this island!'
The generals began to laugh. They could not believe he was forward enough to ask Napoleon for the island that they had fought so hard to win.
They thought to themselves. Who does he think he is? Anyone with the audacity to make such a request of Napoleon was certainly putting his own life at risk.
But then Napoleon turned to one of his aides and asked for a pen and paper. He wrote out a deed to the island, signed it, and gave it to the young man, leaving his generals stunned and amazed.
'How could you do it?' one of the generals asked Napoleon. 'What made him worthy to receive this great island?'
'I gave him this island,' Napoleon replied, 'because he honored me by the magnitude of his request.
God give us some seniors who will have some SENIOR MOMENTS!!!
IN CLOSING
Listen, your life will be judged not by how you start, but how you finished
When Vincent Foster, adviser to President Clinton, committed suicide in 1993, Clinton said, "It would be wrong to define a life like Vincent Foster's in terms only of how it ended." Nonetheless, that's how Foster will be remembered—by how he finished the race.
There are some who've come down to the last and have made a ship wreck
1 Timothy 1:19 (KJV) "…which some having put away concerning faith have made shipwreck:"
It's not how you start, but how you finish that counts!
At the 1968 Olympics, an hour after the marathon's winner crossed the finish line, Tanzania's John Stephen Akhwari limped across the finish line, injured in a fall early in the race. Asked why he didn't quit, he said, "My country did not send me 7,000 miles to start this race. My country sent me to finish."
Billy Sunday said…
I'm against the devil. I'll kick him as long as I've got a foot, and I'll fight him as long as I've got a fist. I'll butt him as long as I've got a head. I'll bite him as long as I've got a tooth. And when I'm old and fistless and footless and toothless, I'll gum him till I go home to Glory and he goes home to perdition!
How many of you want to leave like Elijah – in a flame of fire
