Scripture: Psalm 92 (cf. verse 14); 2 Timothy 4:7-8; Luke 12:25-31
Title: The Sappy Life
A sermon dedicated to those growing older finish well and live an abundant life. 4 steps on how to be found faithful to the end!
INTRO:
Grace and peace from God the Father, Son and Holy Spirit
Ted Engstrom who served as the Head of Youth for Christ and World Vision International made this pertinent statement:
“To know how to grow old is the masterpiece of wisdom and one of the most difficult chapters in the art of living.”
Ted was not saying those words off the top of his head. He died in 2006 at the age of 90. Ted knew what it took to make sure that the last chapters of his life here on this earth were meaningful, positive, full of vision and purpose.
It is said that maturing adults come in three different packages: the movers, the shakers and the quakers.
+The movers are those who are still being active, they keep their minds alert, the emotions in control and the bodies on the move. They are maturing chronologically but are still in the game of life.
+ The shakers are those who have decided to just slow down to a steady crawl. They desire only to sit on the sidelines and watch life go by. They are still engaged but only at a minimum level.
+ The last group of course are the quakers. The quakers are those who are overwhelmed with life and are merely waiting for the day that the flat line catches up with them. For them the best days are over and they are waiting for their going home ticket. They are no longer engaged and don’t desire to be either.
I want to talk to you today about maturing in the LORD. I want to talk to you today about what the Bible has to say to mature people; people commonly call senior adults or senior citizens.
Senior adults; those people that are near or beyond 60 years old who make up over 70 million people in our country and over 750 million people in the world. Pause for a moment and reflect on those numbers – over 70 million people in our country and over 750 million people in our world are currently over 60 years of age.
That means if you took everyone over 60 in the USA and created a country with just them, that new country would be almost as large as Germany and larger than both the nations of the United Kingdom and France. And of course, if you took everyone over 60 in the world and made a country with just them then only the only the countries of China and India would be larger.
It is just a fact that we human beings are living longer. We should rejoice in that fact. Did you know that there are over 35 million people in our country that are 70+ years old. Together they would make up the 2nd largest state in our country being only a little smaller than California.
And did you know that there are almost 13 million people over the age of 80 in our country? Think about that fact for a second or two this morning. 13 million people over 80 years of age. That is more people than live the countries of Belgium, Cuba, Greece or Israel. 13 million people is a lot of people.
And yet when we add all those numbers up and realize as we said that over 70 million people in our country are 60+ years of age there is a rather stark reality in the Church. Many churches do not have a specialized pastor or ministry dedicated for this demographic of people. In most places, seniors are either ignored or disregarded. They are not seen as a positive force but just a bunch of grey beards and old fogies.
There are almost 40 million children under the age of 10 in our nation and it is not unusual for many churches to have at least one children’s pastor. We do that because we want to help our children grow up and mature in the LORD. We want them to be able to learn about the Bible and to apply its principles in their lives.
We do the same with young people. There are over 42 million that are either pre-teen or teens in our nation. And many, many churches have taken the time and the resources to have one, two or more youth pastors to help them grow older, mature in the LORD and be able to live a life in Christ.
But what about the 70+ million over 60? Do we feel that they do not need any help? Do we feel that they can just make it on their own?
The Bible gives us the complete life story of about 100 people. We read about their births, their growing up years and their final years. But of that 100, only about one third ended well. Around 67% failed in their walk with the LORD in their golden years. Their spiritual lives did not end well. They foundered. They began walking away from the LORD. They compromised their beliefs. They became lukewarm. The final pages of their lives were full of confusion, doubt and disappointment. 67% - that is a large percentage.
No wonder Ted Engstrom made the statement that he did about growing old well. It is not an easy thing to mature well, physically, emotional and most importantly spiritually. It is not easy to end the back nine of your life well. To make sure that the 4th quarter of your life game is finished well and you come out victorious.
We all I believe want to be able to chime in with the Apostle Paul when he wrote these words:
7 I have fought the good fight, I have finished the course, I have kept the faith: 8 henceforth there is laid up for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, shall give to me at that day; and not to me only, but also to all them that have loved his appearing - 2 Timothy 4:7-8
We want Jesus to be able to say these words to us:
23 … Well done, good and faithful servant: you have been faithful over a few things, I will set you over many things; enter into the joy of your lord. – Matthew 25:23
The key is what we read this morning in Psalm 92:14
14 They shall still bring forth fruit in old age; They shall be full of sap and green:
That is what I would like for us to focus on this morning – how to make our lives sappy so to speak. How to make sure that as we reach and as we are living our lives in the senior years that we can still be full of sap, still be green and still be fruitful.
Now, I am fully aware that there are many here that are under 60 years of age. But like a vapor of mist it will not be long before you too will be ending the 3rd quarter of your life and starting the 4th. You too are either close to starting the back nine or have already started the back nine of your life. And if you are around 40 then whether you believe it or not you have already started the back nine to use a golf term this morning.
So, what we will be looking at this morning is helpful to all of us. For the words that John the Revelator wrote to the Church of Smyrna applies to us all –
“Be faithful unto death, and I will give you a crown of life.” – Revelation 2:10 c
We all want to be faithful unto death. We all want to grow well, sappy, green and fruitful. We all want to help others do the same.
So, how do we do it? Let’s look at four steps this morning that can help us.
1. We don’t become complacent - We stay passionate and engaged
It is easy to become complacent; lukewarm and out of touch. It’s easy to just decide to sit back and do nothing. To think that we have already done our part. To believe that it is up to someone else now to shoulder the burdens of prayer, of Bible reading, of attending worship, praising the LORD or being a vital member of a congregation.
We are tired. We are burned out. It is our time to relax. Our time to sit back and let other people do some things. Our time to come when we feel like and when we don’t to just stay home in bed watching TV or being on the internet.
And yes, it may be true that we don’t need to shoulder all the burdens and that we need to take things at a different pace but the fact is in the areas of Bible study, prayer, praise and worship our golden years should be our best years.
After all, who has more reason to praise the LORD than those who have walked with Him the longest? Who can better know the love, the peace and the joy that comes with walking with the LORD than those who have journeyed with Him the longest? Who best can praise the LORD for the infilling presence of His Holy Spirit than one who has enjoyed that presence for decades?
We may not be able to match the volume of others or stand the longest or even hear the best, but the truth is those who grow well are those who are able to be the best prayer warriors, Bible scholars, evangelists and praise people in their mature years.
Just because we are growing older doesn’t mean that we are dead or that we should act like we are dead. This is not the time to embrace the flat line either physically, emotionally or spiritually.
After all:
+Grandma Moses made up her mind at the age of 74 she was going to start painting. For the next 27 years of her life (she died at the age of 101) she painted several masterpieces. Today, we have a United States postage stamp of one of her paintings dedicated to her honor. In 2006 one of her paintings, Suggaring Off, sold for 1.2 million dollars.
One of Grandma Moses’ favorite sayings was:
“Life is what we make it, always has been, always will be.”
+Another great painter, Michelangelo was still painting and overseeing the work done on the ceilings of St. Peter’s cathedral at the age of 76.
+Agatha Christie was still writing her mystery novels in her 80’s.
+And according to Forbes Magazine 8 of the 10 richest people in the United States are currently over 62 years of age.
+The Eagles, Elton John and Aerosmith entertain thousands of people in sold out concerts each year and the youngest original member of any of those groups is over 67 years old. All the Eagles main singers are over 70 years of age.
Just because we have entered our 6th, 7th, 8th or even 9th decade doesn’t mean that we are to put ourselves on the shelf.
No, the Bible is full of examples of how God has worked through and with people of all ages.
The question is not how old we are but how much we have allowed the world to cause us to rust?
The question is - Are we becoming complacent; smug, lukewarm or self-satisfied?
Have we decided that our time is over at the very time that the LORD says – “I finally have your time, I have worked on you for over 40 years and now is the best time for you to shine – to be a prayer warrior, to stand in the gap and to be one of my best lights for the world to see.”
This is not the time to be complacent – just the opposite – it is the time to be passionately engaged.
2. We don’t become inflexible – We work at being able to bend and flow
No generation has history has experience as many dramatic changes as we have and are still experiencing. Think of all the technological advances that we have witnessed – airplanes, space travels, cell phones, computers, smart TV’s and the like. All of those have brought about some very positive changes to our world but they have also brought a feeling of instability. While every generation experiences the winds of change one could feel that lately it feels more like a hurricane.
Now, not all the changes that have taken place have been good. Some of them have proven to be immoral, some wasteful and other impractical.
With all of that in mind however, the truth is the older we mature it is easy for us to lose our bend – to lose our willingness to go with the flow. We tend to resist change and want things to stay the same – to have the same parking spot, to have the same things on the same shelves when we go to the store, to be able to order all the same foods we have ordered for years and to enjoy the same songs, same programs and sit in the same seat we have for years.
To counter all of that we must remember passages like:
Ecclesiastes 7:10 The Message (MSG)
10 Don’t always be asking, “Where are the good old days?” Wise folks don’t ask questions like that.
The truth is life is going to change. We must accept that change in order to be able to contribute to progress. Abraham was 75 years of old when God told him – “Hey, get up and move west.” Moses was 80 when God told him – “Go back to Egypt and free My People.”
It is imperative that we stay flexible and be able to move and bend. The next generations of Christ followers don’t always do things the same way we are used to doing things.
For example:
+We normally have our lights turned bright when we worship – the trend today is to worship with the house lights off and bright lights being focused on a worship team.
+We normally sit and sing – the trend today is to get up on your feet and sing, and sing and sing.
+Our music is normally piano or pipe organ driven – the trend today is drums, guitars with other instruments
+We pass communion – the trend today is to have communion stations
+We pray alone and in silence during pastoral prayer time – the trend today is to have prayer partners praying with people in front
+We wear Sunday clothes – the trend today is to be more comfortable because you are going to move, you are going to praise and you are going to stand and the service is not going to be an hour but an hour and a half or two hours long
+We are usually reserved – the trend today is to worship what could be called King David style – hands raised, voices raise – “I Raise A Hallelujah”, “Oceans”, “Who You Say I Am” and “What A Beautiful Name”
Now, I don’t claim to understand all the trends that are going on but this I do know – the theology of holiness, of redemption, of salvation and sanctification have not change but the methodology has and that is okay. I enjoy watching the young people raising their hands in praise and watching them give their all in worship. To tell the truth I wish we had been taught a little more how to be expressive in our worship.
I don’t understand all the body art young people wear today but at the same time I have seen more people wearing scripture and praises to Jesus in the form of tattoos than I have at times heard my generation share with their voices.
The truth is we don’t have to understand. What we must do is be flexible – be able to bend and be able to move. Because the truth is some of us have turned into old wineskins and remember what the Bible says about old wineskins – they are unable to hold the new wine of the Holy Spirit.
What we must make sure is that we have new wineskins so that we can enjoy the fruit, the drink of the Holy Spirit today. We must make sure that we have new wineskins to hold the moving of the Holy Spirit in the 21st century – in the next decades to come so that we can be a part of God’s next move.
We don’t want to be so hard, so stuck in the mud that at the end of the day the Holy Spirit can no longer have freedom around us. We don’t want to be so set in our ways that we find ourselves outside of God’s coming revival. Let’s do our best to stay flexible, moveable and able to flow with God’s Holy Spirit. It’s our choice – isn’t it?
3. We don’t become critical – we want to stay affirming and positive
One of the greatest temptations we have to face as we mature is that of developing a critical; nitpicking, faultfinding, judgmental spirit.
It is true that at times our patience does over the years thin a little. We tend to gripe a little more about our life circumstances. We often feel a little loss of importance and influence and at times we use criticism as a way of getting back into the game. We criticize to gain a little attention and to remind people that our opinion matters.
“I wish they would discipline that child. In my day …”
“I would be embarrassed if I went out in public dressed that way.”
“How much do you think they spent on this or that.”
“I think we should be a little more reverent and not allow all that jumping around.”
“I think things were a lot better 20 – 30 – 40 years ago.”
We must be careful in this area. The Bible shares with us the story of Sarah who had some trouble in the area of criticism. She got impatient with the LORD because she was not having the Promise Child as soon as she desired and she instructed Abraham to go ahead and have a child with her slave girl – Hagar. Then she criticized Abraham for fathering the child. Then she criticized Hagar for her attitude and finally criticized Ishmael for even speaking to her child Isaac after he was born.
The same thing almost happened to Naomi. She became so critical that she wanted to change her name (to Mara – bitterness), but Ruth rescued her and taught her that instead of becoming a person possessing a critical spirit she could be woman of affirmation and positivity.
The key to such balanced living can be found in Philippians 4:8 –
“Finally, brothers (and sisters) whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable – if anything is excellent or praiseworthy – think about such things.”
Some years ago, one of the greatest basketball coaches to ever live, John Wooden was asked to comment on how well a current UCLA basketball coach was doing right after his team had lost. John had the chance to really zing the next coach, but he smiled a very gentle smile and simple said, “Well, anything I would say would probably be constructed as criticism; therefore I think it would be wiser for me not to comment on the loss. I’m sure the coach is going to make adjustments as the season goes on.”
Now, that was a great answer, wasn’t it? We may not like things but that doesn’t give us a license to always criticize what is going on does it?
One of the best antidotes against having a critical spirit is to do the give birth to the exact opposite spirit; to work on praising others and staying positive.
It is not always easy but if we are going to end well, we must work on staying positive, uplifting and encouraging. We must focus on being a person who looks for the positive, who uplifts and encourages instead of becoming a person dedicated to criticizing each and everything people are saying and doing.
The other day I was looking on Facebook for a minute and an old colleague of mine was criticizing the next generation on their commitment to Christian values. And on one hand you might say that he was correct. But on the other hand, he was not. If you look around you will find hundreds and even thousands of young people doing all they can to be a vibrant witness for the LORD. They may not be doing it the same way we did it back in the day, but their passion, their commitment is just as deep if not deeper than ours was and perhaps is today. The key is to focus on the positive; to give constructive criticism if we are going to give any criticism and when we don’t understand to just go the LORD and put things in His hands.
4. Finally, we must not give ourselves over to a life of worry
– we must continue to put all our trust in the LORD and believe that in Christ all things will turn out for His Glory and Praise.
It seems for many people that one of the hardest things to do as we age is not to worry. For many people the older they get the more anxious they get and the more anxiety ridden they become. They begin to worry more about what is going to happen tomorrow or what is around the corner than being able to live an abundant life today.
Of course, there is some good reasons for this. The older we get the more we have seen, heard and experienced. And it is true that we must deal with more physical issues, emotional issues and even mental issues as we mature. But we can’t allow the Devil to get us all tied up in a life of worries and what ifs.
There seems to be more voices that are saying to us things like:
“Oh, I don’t feel so good. I wonder if this could be the big one”
“I don’t have enough money or insurance”
“I don’t know how I am going to make it the next few years”
“What happens when I can’t drive anymore?”
“Is it cancer – am I going to die?”
By the time we reach our 50’s and beyond we have seen a lot of people suffer from a great many things. We have heard more than our share of murders, thefts, car wrecks, disabilities and the like. But that still does not give us a license to turn our lives over to fear, worry and anxiety.
In a recent study it was found that the #1 concern that was on most mature people’s minds was the future of their children. The #2 concern was about the future of their grandchildren/great-grandchildren.
We see this same type of concern in the Bible – James and John’s mom was greatly concerned about her boy’s future. Even though they had their own business and were grown she still worried about them. She wanted to make sure that if they were going to follow Jesus that Jesus had big plans for them. She wanted Jesus to make her sons would become his #1 and #2 disciples. She wanted her boys to be the best and if it took her badgering Jesus then she was up to the task. She didn’t want to have to worry about their futures.
Jesus gently reminded her that we all are under God’s Care and Control. That she didn’t need to be worried about anything. James and John were in God’s hands. Whatever would bring God the most glory and praise would be what would happen in their lives.
It is natural for us to be concerned about our children and grandchildren. But being concerned is different than being paralyzed by worry. We need to listen to our LORD Jesus and remind ourselves that He is the LORD of LORDS and King of Kings and that His Heavenly Father is still on the Throne and is in Control.
With that being said, it is still is very easy to become a worrier as we age. However, when we look at it most of the time all we are doing is wasting our time. Jesus tells us plainly that worrying doesn’t do us any good.
Luke 12:25-31 New International Version (NIV)
25 Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to your life? 26 Since you cannot do this very little thing, why do you worry about the rest?
27 “Consider how the wild flowers grow. They do not labor or spin. Yet I tell you, not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of these. 28 If that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today, and tomorrow is thrown into the fire, how much more will he clothe you—you of little faith! 29 And do not set your heart on what you will eat or drink; do not worry about it. 30 For the pagan world runs after all such things, and your Father knows that you need them. 31 But seek his kingdom, and these things will be given to you as well.
I read recently that worrying is a great deal like bowling. People walk up to the lane, release the ball and then do all kinds of strange things. They contort their bodies, they speak to the ball, the move their hands, they hop on one foot or make a face thinking that it will help. But the fact is none of those things change the ball. All they can do is watch it roll down the lane and hopefully it hits the pins.
In many ways worry is just like that. It accomplishes nothing but make our hair grey or come out, create more wrinkles, cause our blood pressure to go up, and cause us to lose sleep and get more irritable.
The letter to the Philippians helps us out again in this matter:
“Do not be anxious (don’t worry) about anything, but in everything by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.” – Philippians 4:6-7
But again, this is not easy. The famous Thomas Carlyle complained to his neighbor about his rooster. He felt like the rooster’s crowing was keeping him up all night long making it impossible for him to get some sleep. His neighbor replied by telling him that he listened all night as well and his rooster only crowed three times. “Yes”, Carlyle said, “but if you knew how I suffer, just lying there waiting for him to crow.”
If we are not careful worry will take over our days. One of the greatest things about maturing is that you learn how to budget your time better. You find ways to have more free time. One of the dangers is to use most of that free time in worry. Worrying about tomorrow. Worrying about your children, grandchildren or spouse. Worrying if your health is going to go bad. Worrying about politics, the weather or some other thing that we don’t have any control over.
One of the things that can often help us is to focus on something funny as well as remind ourselves how much we can trust God.
When we find ourselves worrying, we need to focus on something funny. Read some jokes or watch something funny.
One day an elderly gentleman went to see his doctor about a problem he was experiencing. The doctor examined the man, ran some tests and came back with some rather grim news. He informed the man that he was going to have to take out part of his colon. With a twinkle in his eye the elderly man said, “Well, doc, I expect a semicolon is better than a period.”
See it helps to have a sense of humor.
It also helps to remind ourselves that we serve a Big God – A God who loves us and watches over us, our children and grandchildren.
This morning we are all growing older. If you are not on the back nine you soon will be. If you are then let’s make sure that we play our best. Let’s do our best to:
+Be passionately engaged
+To be flexible and moveable – to be making new wineskins so we can enjoy the newest fruit of God’s Holy Spirit
+To be positive and affirming
+To rest in God’s care – to trust in God and know that all things are in His Hands
Closing Song –
Traditional – Turn Your Eyes Upon Jesus
Contemporary - "Trust in You"-Lauren Daigle
(I am indebted to Bob Russell for his sermon on this topic: https://www.preaching.com/sermons/fatal-temptations-seniors-face/)
