Is anybody out there old? I don’t see any hands, oh, ok, one hand. How old do you think you would be if you didn't know your age? Everybody at all times faces two fateful possibilities: one is to grow older, the other is not to grow older. Either one will get you. Few of us know how to be old. We don’t even know what old is. I think you are getting old when the candles cost more than the cake. Leviticus chapter 19 verse 32 says something that we ought to take heed to. Especially if you’re planning on getting older someday. Some of you may not be planning on that. Verse 32. Show respect to the elderly, and honor older people. That’s my intent today. So if we have anybody here that is older, I want to honor you. Today is your day.
It’s not easy to be old. I used to think, well all these old people have it made. They each own two motor homes. They have a house in Minnesota, they’ve got one in Florida, and they live here. They have all kinds of money. I can hardly wait 'til I retire and get some of that money. But the Bible says it’s not easy to be old. Joshua, chapter 23 makes the statement and verse 2. Joshua said I am old and stricken in age. Stricken. It’s not easy to be stricken. Obviously, old age is not for sissies. It’s tough to face hip replacement. It’s tough to face knee replacement even when you’re not old. Loss of health, loss of eyesight, loss of memory and loss of your lifetime companion. All of this stuff is not easy. Birthdays are nice, but I’ll tell you, you get too many of them and they’ll kill you! Ecclesiastes chapter 12:1 says Remember thy Creator in the days of thy youth, before the days of trouble come. That’s Old Age. That’s just a synonym for old age. The days of trouble. Before the days of trouble come. And Ecclesiastes chapter 12 verse 6, Remember him before the silver cord is severed. Someday the silver cord is going to be severed. It’ll be no longer there. Old age is a time of trouble according to these verses.
And David himself said, you can look it up here in Psalm 90, come over here to the 90th Psalm. Psalm 90 verse 10 The length of our days is seventy years-- or eighty, if we have the strength; yet their span is but trouble and sorrow, for they quickly pass, and we fly away.
So old age is coming upon everybody. Believers though, have a promise for their older age, God has given them for their time when they get older. Psalm 37 verse 25, I was young and now I am old, yet I have never seen the righteous forsaken. God doesn’t forsake His people. His children, He stays with them.
David wrote in Psalm 71 verse 9 Cast me not off in the time of old age; forsake me not when my strength faileth. Somehow I think David was concerned that God was going to forsake him. Does God forsake older people, yes or no? 1 Chronicles 29:28 David died in a good old age, full of days, full of riches, full of honor. That’s the way to die.
Now I’ve noticed that we have a fair number of retired people in our church. You’ve worked hard, you became successful. And now you face the older years? Is it easy? Well, probably not. Like most people that I have known, David eventually became old. In Psalm 71 He equates old age with failure. That’s kind of a morbid outlook. Look at verse 18 of Psalm 71. Even when I am old and gray, do not forsake me, O God, till I declare your power to the next generation.
He was afraid God would forsake him. Imagine the David who slew Goliath with one stone, quaking in his boots afraid of some of these things. Imagine the David that killed all these enemies, that escaped the sword of Saul, and escaped his 70 mile an hour javelin that was hurled at him. Imagine him cringing with fear that God would forsake him when he became older. I know he had some sins. Well, maybe this sin with Bathsheeba, maybe God might forsake me because of some of my acts.
Why would David think that old age is sort of a bad time? Wouldn’t it be nice if right here the Bible elaborated a little bit? Well, actually I believe that God has specifically lifted the curtain on this verse, on this puzzle, because I read in the first volume page 422, “I was shown David entreating the Lord not to forsake him when he should be old, and what it was that called forth his earnest prayer.” Now here the curtain is lifted. Now, listen to what this says. “David saw that most of the aged around him were unhappy.” Most were unhappy, “and that unhappy traits of character increased especially with age.” That would be discouraging, wouldn’t it? And what he saw, that is ”If persons were naturally close and covetous, they were most disagreeably so in their old age.” What David saw is that “if they were jealous, fretful, and impatient, they were especially so when aged.”
Older people were, instead of getting ripe, they were getting rotten and David saw that and he said, “I don’t want to be that way.” It got worse as it got older. The covetous person got older and grew more greedy and more grabby. The critical person became even more crabby and gabby in older age. I am glad that we have changed from David’s time. Our older people are not crabby, they’re not grabby and they’re not gabby. They’re beautiful, they’re pleasant, they’re Christ-like. Don’t you see people like that? So, As the concrete begins to harden in your life, make sure it’s in the shape that you like. OK? A sour old dill pickle faced man is a monument to the Devil. But a sweet, Christ-like person is a monument to what Jesus Christ can do throughout our entire life. As we modern folk get older let’s get sweeter! Softer! More like Jesus. Is there any reason why the sunset should not be just as beautiful, or more beautiful, than the sunrise. It ought to be better!
Now for the unbeliever old age is tough. Old age is a time of trouble. But for the Christian, old age is the time of harvest. How do we know that? Well, come over here to Psalm 92
verse 12– The righteous shall flourish like a palm tree, He shall grow like a cedar in Lebanon.
13– Those who are planted in the house of the LORD Shall flourish in the courts of our God.
14 – They shall still bear fruit in old age; They’re still fruitful, still productive. That’s great.
That describes the advanced years of an older Saint. That is what an older saint is like. Let us respect our elderly saints. As a pastor I have seen children disrespectful to their elders. I think when we are around an older person, we need to say ‘yes sir’, ‘no sir’. Were you raised that way? Respect. And I have also seen as a pastor, and I’m sorry to say this, I have seen elderly people be disrespectful of their family. I have seen elderly people write their children out of their will and give their money to some stranger that has been calling lately, and change their will and the stranger gets it all. Isn’t that strange? Proverbs chapter 13 verse 22 says, A good man leaves an inheritance for his children's children.
In your personal will, you need to place God first. Now of course that’s what you do in your tithe envelope, you always place God first. So In your will, God needs to be first. Second needs to be your local Church, because this is your family too. This is you family. And then thirdly, you need to give something to your grandchildren, probably for their education. And then fourthly, you need to give something to your Christian children.
Old age can be a blessing or it can be a challenge. Somebody said many older people are sort of like the Liberty Bell. They’re old, they’re heavy, they’re slightly cracked, they might even fall apart if they would sing their music, the music is dead. The shine is gone, it’s dull. That’s not the modern old person. That’s not the Christian. As the Christian gets older the Christian gets better. The Christian gets brighter. Adding years to your life is great, but the Christian adds life to the years that are granted them.
David was fearful that God might cast him off. Did God cast him off? No. Does God cast off older people? No. Isaiah 46 verse 4 I will be your God throughout your lifetime— He promises, until your hair is white with age.
When you are young, I think, forty seems old, but when you’re old, fifty seems young. I’ve heard many people say, ‘Boy, I wish I was 60 again’, and yet to a kid, 60 is over the hill so far that you’re down in a cave. So I think we need to recognize that old age, it’s going to come on all of us. We just need to do it with Jesus. Turn your eyes off your problems and turn them on Jesus. And let Him change you and may you become riper as the years go by. Ripening up for Heaven.
Do you remember a fellow by the name of Adlai Albert Esteb? You remember that name? He wrote:
We’re young as our faith, as old as our doubt.I think that’s great. I think you’re going to see in our church some beautiful, beautiful older people. I think of that wedding we’re going to have tomorrow. Beautiful wedding coming up. And you’re all invited to the reception which follows afterwards. It’s in the bulletin. I’ve noticed that couple. They love each other, and they love the Lord. They’re beautiful.
We’re young as our smile, as old as our pout.
We’re old as our hate, as old as our fears.
We cease to be young when love disappears.The longer the fruit can grow on a tree,
The sweeter and better that fruit will be!
So we should be sweeter the longer we live,
Grow better, not bitter and learn to forgive.
When two boys have a fight in 10 minutes they’re back playing together. When two older men have a fight, they won’t even talk for 10 years. No wonder Jesus said: "I tell you the truth, unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven” Matt 18:3 We need to be forgiving.
As you get old, don’t lose your youth. You hold on to Jesus. Proverbs 16:31 says Gray hair is a crown of splendor; it is attained by a righteous life. Now, you don’t get gray hair from a righteous life, but it becomes your splendor when you have a righteous life. You understand the difference here?
When people retire, they very soon die. Did you know that? They have done studies of people. When you retire and you just simply sit back in the rocking chair, the statistics show that you will have your funeral in four to seven years. You’ll be gone. So when you retire, longevity requires a purposeful goal, something to keep busy. Meaningful hobbies, ongoing relationships, and sustained involvement with other people. So immerse yourself in the kaleidoscope of serving others. Go on Maranatha trips, go on mission trips. Do something for the Lord and keep active.
Wonderful, wonderful things can happen in older age. Michelangelo was painting the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel, climbed up there on his back painting that on that high scaffold when he was 90 years old, he did his greatest work. George Bernard Shaw wrote some of his finest pieces at the age of 80. Titian completed his painting of the Last Supper at the age of 80. John Wesley at the age of 83 was annoyed that he could not write more than 15 hours a day without his eyes hurting. Disappointed in himself. And John Wesley at the age of 86 admitted that there was an increasing tendency to lie in bed in the morning till 5:30.
What is the secret of longevity? I don’t know. I’m not there yet. I’ve asked some older folk. I’m not sure anybody knows. There was a man named Francisco Hongo born in 1587. He was not sick one day in his long life. Not even one day. He was the father of 49 children through 5 marriages. His hair turned black again at the age of 100. At the age of 116 two new teeth erupted from his gums. He walked 8 miles every day up until the very day that he died. He walked eight miles and died at the age of 117.
I don’t know what the secret is, but I think more people would live to a ripe old age if they did it with Jesus, I think the Lord blesses His children.
You need to put life into each passing year. Always do your best. Nobody is old as long as they are seeking worthwhile goals. As long as they’re teaming up their life with God’s plans for their life.
So you see God’s plan is for the older generation to teach and train the younger generation. Back in the early days of the Bible, in Moses time, how did they continue religion? Did the parents say, ‘well just read the Bible’? They didn’t have a Bible, they didn’t have scriptures back in the very early days. They had to pass it on. The faith was passed on to the children, and that’s the way it ought to be today. Pass on your wisdom. Tell family stories. And pass on your faith in Jesus Christ. Do your best to pass on to your children a viable relationship with Jesus Christ. It’ll mean so much.
General Douglas MacArthur said: People grow old by deserting their ideals. You are as young as your faith, as old as your doubt; as young as your self-confidence, as old as your fear, he said. As young as your hope as old as your despair. In the central place of every heart there is a recording chamber, said Douglas MacArthur. So long as it receives messages of beauty, of hope, of cheer and courage, so long you are young. And when your heart is covered with the snows of pessimism and the ice of cynicism, then you have grown old. And then, as the ballad says, you just fade away.
So keep positive about life. Keep a smile on your face. Be happy. Be one of Jesus’ children. If you're over the hill, then enjoy the view from the hill. Be optimistic about that. Psalm 90 verse 12, Teach us to number our days aright, that we may gain a heart of wisdom.
You know, God made all faces round, don’t let old age make yours long.
As a white candle is In a holy place, So is the beauty Of an aged face. Joseph Campbell
And finally, Leviticus 19:32, Thou shalt rise up before the hoary head, and honor the face of the old man.
I used to enjoy looking at my dad’s face. He passed away November 11 and I miss my father. He was a saint, and I miss his face. I saw Jesus in his face. Let people see Jesus in your face. As you get older, make your goal an eternal goal. To be like Jesus. To be what Jesus wants you to do, not what you want to do. As you young people look at older people, I think you will see Jesus in their life. In their face. Respect them. Help them. Call on them. Come to their house, and pray with them. And let’s all grow up to where we will say, “How old are you?”. “Well, I’m about 2 billion years old now, I guess, give or take a million years”. Let’s get to that point. That’s what God intended for all of us. Everybody in heaven some day will be oldsters. But we’ll be youngsters at the same time. It’ll be beautiful. Let’s be there. Be faithful. Let’s sing our closing hymn and may this be the goal of your life. “Live Out Thy Life Within Me”. Not just here in Collegedale, but all through eternity.
Hymn of Praise: #619, Lead On, O King Eternal Scripture: Psalms 33:18-22 Hymn of Response: #316, Live Out Thy Life Within Me
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Transcribed 3/12/07 by Steve Foster.