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.
When we look at verse 18, we see that David asked God not to cease from using him until he had spoken of the Lord’s goodness to his own generation; or rather, his entire generation. Right here, David was telling the Lord that he would serve Him until the very end of his days. He would never give up on trying to reach the people around him with the message of God’s salvation and goodness.
“A little boy was playing with his friends in the yard. His grandmother watched with enthusiasm as the little guys burned off energy. After a while her grandson came over and asked her to join his team. As a woman in her late sixties, she automatically said, ‘I’m too old to play those games now.’ Two-year-old Alan looked up at her and asked, ‘Grandma, when were you ever new?’”
Just like the elderly woman in this illustration, when some people are asked to participate in something, they reply with the answer that they’re too old; especially when it comes to service in God’s kingdom. However, as we’ve seen from King David, we’re never too old to serve the Lord, even if it’s something as simple as telling people about Jesus.
Caleb Battled in Old Age (Joshua 14:10-12a)
10 And now, behold, the Lord has kept me alive, as He said, these forty-five years, ever since the Lord spoke this word to Moses while Israel wandered in the wilderness; and now, here I am this day, eighty-five years old. 11 As yet I am as strong this day as on the day that Moses sent me; just as my strength was then, so now is my strength for war, both for going out and for coming in. 12 Now therefore, give me this mountain of which the Lord spoke in that day!
In Joshua chapter 14, we find some inspiring words spoken by a man named Caleb; but let me first give you a little background. Back in Numbers chapter 13, we read that when the Israelites approached the border of Canaan that the Lord sent twelve spies to check out the land that they might discover its bounty and inhabitants. When the men reported back, many of them brought negative news and were afraid to enter Canaan for fear of the giants in the land.
Caleb, however, had faith in God and he declared to the people, “Let us go up at once and take possession, for we are well able to overcome it” (Numbers 13:30); but the people were afraid and planned how they might return to Egypt; and because of their refusal to take possession of the land of Canaan, God allowed them to wander in the wilderness forty long years as punishment.
In Joshua 14:10-12, we read how the forty years of wandering were over and the people were once again standing at the border of Canaan. “Just as Caleb, we should be resolutely ambitious in our old age. Caleb did not allow the passing years to take an undue toll. Instead of showing his age, the time only increased his stature and enhanced his prestige. And as he came to his final years, he gave us the grand watchword of the aging Christian, ‘Give me this mountain!’”(7) In our old age we must strive to be like Caleb and tackle those mountains that God has called us to claim in His name.
Commentator Paul Decker said, “Caleb did not give in to the frustrations of life. He kept looking forward to seeing God’s hand on his life. In the same way we are not to concede to frustration, failure and bitterness. [There are] older people that are dominated by ‘What’s the use?’ They have not recovered from some setback or disappointment they experienced years ago. Or their attitudes have become so permanently soured by injustices done to them, that they are paralyzed from further ministry. But consider Caleb. He had to spend forty years in the wilderness waiting because of the [lack of] faithlessness of the people [around him]. But he did not concede to that frustration. At age 85, he lived Winston Churchill’s familiar line, ‘Never give up!’”(8)
Lessons Learned from History
Dr. James Dobson tells us, “The world seems to worship youth and is terrified of aging. But there was a time when getting older was associated with wisdom and experience. In fact, some of the greatest accomplishments in history came very late in life. Immanuel Kant wrote one of his best philosophical works at the age of 74. Verdi penned his classic ‘Ave Maria’ at age 85, Michelangelo was 87 when he completed ‘The Pietà,’ his greatest work of art . . . And Ronald Reagan was the most [influential] man in the world at age 75 . . . [Dobson tells us that] this notion that life should be winding down at 50 or 60 years of age is crazy.”(9)
The idea that we can grow too old to serve the Lord, and the notion that once we reach a certain age we have “served our time,” is crazy as well. “Someone has well said that as you grow older, don’t grow colder in the things of God. Take advantage of those golden years all the more to proclaim the glories of God to the generations [as David chose to do].”(10) Continue claiming those mountains for God just as Caleb did.
The great evangelist John Wesley is a good example of serving God in one’s senior years. “In Wesley’s life, he rode 350,000 miles on horseback, preaching the gospel of Jesus Christ. He preached some 40,000 different sermons. And as he grew older, at the age of 83 he complained because he could only study for fifteen hours a day. At the age of 86 he became concerned about his spiritual state because he felt that he had become slothful by sleeping in until 5 a.m. At 87 he learned his eleventh foreign language. And at 88 he was worried because he could only preach twice a day, every day, six days a week.”(11)
Another great evangelist, George Muller, is said to have traveled 200,000 miles in the 1800’s, using his linguistic ability to preach in several different languages to an estimated three million people around the world. However, Muller’s statistics only began after his seventieth birthday and continued for the next 17 years! Take it from these guys: You are never too old to be of service to the Lord.
The great preacher Henry Ward Beecher said, “Be you young until you die, so far as energy, persistence, ambition, and augmentation of resources are concerned. There are some things that curl over easily in the autumn. Their leaves become sere and yellow, and fall to the ground before there are any signs of frost in the air. I do not like such vegetables; I do not have them in my garden. Others carry their green leaves clean down into freezing before they give up. These I like. And I like to see men that can look at God’s frosts and not be blighted, but remain green and succulent and growing, even into the edges of winter.”(12)
Remember that as you age, you’re actually fruit growing sweeter and wine gaining value. You’re not milk getting sour. Therefore, choose to be as one of those vegetables and fruits that hang on and remain green even into the cold of winter.
If you feel that you’re not physically capable of serving the Lord in your senior years, then please do not feel down. All you really need is a willing heart and the knowledge that God loves you, and that He sent His one and only Son to save you and give you eternal life. “The writer of ‘Amazing Grace,’ John Newton, had great difficulty with his memory. In the later days of his life a friend asked him if he still had a bad memory. Newton replied, ‘Yes, I do, but I remember two things: I am a great sinner and I have a great Savior; and I don’t suppose an old slave trader needs to remember much more than that’.”(13)
As John Newton wrote in the hymn “Amazing Grace,” and as the blind man said in John 9:25: “One thing I know: that though I was blind, now I see.” The only ability you really need in order to be of service to God is to know that Jesus Christ saved you, and be willing to declare this knowledge to all whom you meet; just as David, when he asked that he might tell of God’s salvation all the day (Psalm 71:15).
Time of Reflection
I want to encourage you this morning by letting you know that if you’re a senior citizen that you’re still of great benefit to the Lord, and He still wants to use you for His glory. Like David, you too can tell of God’s salvation to all whom you meet. I also want to caution some of you and let you know that if you’ve given up on serving God, and you feel that you’ve already “served your time” in His kingdom, that not only is God disappointed, but this poor attitude is possibly shortening your life span.
No Christian is exempt from telling people about Jesus Christ and serving in God’s kingdom, for the Great Commission is given to each and every one of us. We can take breaks from ministry, for even God rested on the seventh day and Jesus retreated onto a mountain to get away from the large crowds of people; however, no one can ever completely retire from serving the Lord. You’re never too old to serve.
There’s something else that you’re never too old to do; and that’s confess Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord. Some people don’t believe in deathbed repentance, or even repentance in old age; however, I believe the Lord can save a person at any point in their life. Just consider “The Parable of the Workers in the Vineyard,” found in Matthew 20:1-16. If the Lord is speaking to your heart this morning about having a personal relationship with Him through His Son, Jesus Christ, then please do not hesitate, but respond to His voice today.
NOTES
(1) Tyron Edwards, quoted in Webster’s Twenty-first Century Book of Quotations (Nashville: Thomas Nelson, 1992), p. 8.
(2) Sophia Loren, Ibid., p. 9.
(3) Denis Waitley, The Psychology of Winning (1984), p. 111.
(4) Albert S. McDaniel, “Retirees Can Be Christian Soldiers Too,” taken from the Internet August 2003 at http://www.msop.org/pages/retiree.html.
(5) Matthew Henry, Matthew Henry’s Commentary on the Bible (Peabody: Hendrickson, 1997) taken from Logos 2.1 on CD-ROM.
(6) Taken from the Internet August 2003 at http://calvarychapel.com/whitemountains /Ps%2071.html.
(7) Paul Decker, “Not Done Yet,” a sermon taken from the Internet August 2003 at http://www.sermoncentral.com.
(8) Ibid.
(9) James Dobson, Coming Home (Tyndale, 1998).
(10) Taken from the Internet August 2003 at http://calvarychapel.com/whitemountains /Ps%2071.html.
(11) Taken from the Internet August 2003 at http://calvarychapel.com/whitemountains /Ps%2071.html.
(12) Stories for Preachers and Teachers on CD-ROM.
(13) Ibid.
