SAVED TO SERVE: All of our life 1-22-23

SAVED TO SERVE: All of our life 1-22-23

 

We are saved to serve.

 

We are trusted servants of God.

 

We are to serve in whatever we do.

 

We are called to serve all of our life.

 

               This includes our golden years.

 

A study was done by Oregon State University on how older people are perceived in our society. It showed that “our society devalues old age in many ways, and this is particularly true in the United States, where individualism, self-reliance, and independence are highly valued… Almost every stereotype we associate with being elderly is something negative, from being [difficult to please or irritable] and unwilling to change” or pleased with the status quo.

 

"Old age is not a disease it is strength and survivorship, triumph over all kinds of vicissitudes and disappointments, trials and illnesses."

               Maggie Kuhn

 

Where serving God is concerned, age should be of no consequence. Even in our golden years, we can actively serve our Lord.  In Luke 2:36-38, we read of 84-year old Anna who was still fasting, praying and preaching in the temple daily despite her “great age.”

 

At age 85, Caleb’s vigor for the Lord was still as strong as it was when he was 40.

 

“I was forty years old when Moses the servant of the Lord sent me from Kadesh Barnea to explore the land. And I brought him back a report according to my convictions, but my fellow Israelites who went up with me made the hearts of the people melt in fear. I, however, followed the Lord my God wholeheartedly. So on that day Moses swore to me, ‘The land on which your feet have walked will be your inheritance and that of your children forever, because you have followed the Lord my God wholeheartedly.’ “Now then, just as the Lord promised, he has kept me alive for forty-five years since the time he said this to Moses, while Israel moved about in the wilderness. So here I am today, eighty-five years old! 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. Now give me this hill country that the Lord promised me that day. You yourself heard then that the Anakites were there and their cities were large and fortified, but, the Lord helping me, I will drive them out just as he said.””

               Joshua 14:7-12 NIV

 

Senior citizens (sounds better than old people) can be likened to cheese. In cheese making, aging is what gives cheese its unique flavour, aroma and texture.

 

“As a cheese is allowed to age, the enzymes inside the cheese break down the proteins into amino acids and fatty acids. Most cheese require an aging period of two weeks to two years to fully develop and mature its flavours.

 

Aged cheese has an intensity of flavour and aroma that is hard to find in fresh cheese like ricotta, cream cheese, and cottage cheese. The cheese that are aged are stored in cellars where the temperature and the humidity of the cellar is kept at a constant. These two factors, i.e., temperature and humidity play a very important role in determining the ultimate taste of the cheese.” 

                              Source: https://tastessence.com/aged-cheese

 

Like good cheese, senior citizens have gone through an aging process. They are endowed with wisdom that sets them apart from the young.

 

I.  WISDOM

 

Available to us is the work of Edward Gibbon who, in 1787, after 20 years of labor, completed his book The Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire. In it he attributed the fall of the Empire as being:

 

(1) The rapid increase of divorce; the undermining of the dignity and sanctity of the home, which is the basis of human society.

 

(2) Higher and higher taxes and the spending of public monies for free bread and circuses for the populace.

 

(3) The mad craze for pleasure; sports becoming every year more exciting and more brutal.

 

(4) The building of gigantic armaments when the real enemy was within, the decadence of the people.

 

(5) The decay of religion—faith fading into mere form, losing touch with life and becoming impotent to warn and guide the people.

 

           A.  Wisdom comes from experience.

 

Caleb - work smarter, not harder

 

“Is not wisdom found among the aged? Does not long life bring understanding?”

               Job 12:12 NIV

 

“I thought, ‘Age should speak; advanced years should teach wisdom.’”

               Job 32:7 NIV

 

Old age is like a plane flying through a storm. Once you’re aboard, there’s nothing you can do. You can’t stop the plane, you can’t stop the storm, you can’t stop time. So one might as well accept it calmly, wisely.

                              Golda Meir (1898-1978)

              

           B.  Wisdom comes from those who have experienced life.

 

“Teach the older men to be temperate, worthy of respect, self-controlled, and sound in faith, in love and in endurance. Likewise, teach the older women to be reverent in the way they live, not to be slanderers or addicted to much wine, but to teach what is good.”

               Titus 2:2-3 NIV

 

           C.  Wisdom can be taught.

 

“These commandments that I give you today are to be on your hearts. Impress them on your children. Talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up. Tie them as symbols on your hands and bind them on your foreheads. Write them on the doorframes of your houses and on your gates.”

                     Deuteronomy 6:6-9 NIV

 

George, age 92 and Edith, age 89 are all excited about their decision to get married. They go for a stroll to discuss the wedding and on the way, they pass a drugstore. George suggests they go in and he addresses the man behind the counter.

 

"Are you the owner? "

 

The pharmacist answers, "Yes".  

 

"Well, we are about to get married. Do you sell heart medication?"

 

"Of course, we do."

 

"How about support hose for circulation?"

 

"Definitely."

 

"What about medicine for rheumatism, osteoporosis and arthritis?"

 

"All kinds."

 

"How about waterproof furniture pads and Depends?"

 

"Yes, sir."

 

"Hearing aide, denture supplies, sleeping pills, Geritol and Ensure?"

 

"Absolutely."

 

"You sell wheelchairs, walkers and canes?"

 

"All kinds and sizes. Why all the questions?"

 

George smiles and replies to the pharmacist, "You see, we'd like to use your store for our Bridal Registry."

 

II.  FRUITFUL

 

An old saying goes like this, "A sure sign of old age is when you hear snap, crackle, and pop, and it isn't your cereal."

 

               A.  A basic principle

 

“Blessed is the one who does not walk in step with the wicked or stand in the way that sinners take or sit in the company of mockers, but whose delight is in the law of the Lord, and who meditates on his law day and night. That person is like a tree planted by streams of water, which yields its fruit in season and whose leaf does not wither— whatever they do prospers.”

               Psalm 1:1-3 NIV

 

                              1.  Lie down with dogs and you are gonna catch fleas.

                            2.  Blessed are those whose delight is in the law of the Lord and who meditates on his law day and night.

                              3.  Plants bear fruit when they are properly nourished.

 

               B.  A specific reality

 

“The righteous will flourish like a palm tree, they will grow like a cedar of Lebanon; planted in the house of the Lord, they will flourish in the courts of our God. They will still bear fruit in old age, they will stay fresh and green, proclaiming, “The Lord is upright; he is my Rock, and there is no wickedness in him.””

               Psalm 92:12-15 NIV

 

                       1.  Unusually long life

                       2.  Unusually long production

                           3.  Unusual source

 

III.  IMPACTFUL

 

It has been said, “In youth we want to change the world; in old age we want to change youth.”

 

"Profundity of thought belongs to youth, clarity of thought to old age."

                              Friedrich Nietzsche

 

“Since my youth, 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, my God, till I declare your power to the next generation, your mighty acts to all who are to come.”

               Psalm 71:17-18 NIV

 

Preparation for old age should begin not later than ones teens. A life which is empty of purpose until 65 will not suddenly become filled on retirement.

 

A.  Declare His marvelous deeds.

            B.  Declare His power.

            C.  Declare His mighty acts.

 

FOOD BAGS

 

CONCLUSION

 

Do Not Go Gentle Into That Good Night by Dylan Thomas

 

Do not go gentle into that good night,
Old age should burn and rave at close of day;
Rage, rage against the dying of the light.

Though wise men at their end know dark is right,
Because their words had forked no lightning they
Do not go gentle into that good night.

Good men, the last wave by, crying how bright
Their frail deeds might have danced in a green bay,
Rage, rage against the dying of the light.

Wild men who caught and sang the sun in flight,
And learn, too late, they grieved it on its way,
Do not go gentle into that good night.

Grave men, near death, who see with blinding sight
Blind eyes could blaze like meteors and be gay,
Rage, rage against the dying of the light.

And you, my father, there on the sad height,
Curse, bless, me now with your fierce tears, I pray.
Do not go gentle into that good night.
Rage, rage against the dying of the light.

 

We are called to serve all of our life.  We can demonstrate wisdom.  We can be fruitful.  We can make an impact all the days of our lives.

 

INVITATION

 

It is our custom to offer an "invitation" following the preaching of the Word.  You may want to follow Jesus.  You may want to proclaim your faith.  You may want to repent (stop doing ungodly things and start doing Godly things).  Perhaps you want to be baptized for the forgiveness of your sins and receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.  Possibly, if you have already responded to God’s call in these ways, you would like to become a member of Kenwood Church.  If you have been moved by the Holy Spirit to make a decision in your life, you can come forward now.  If you would like, I would be honored to speak with you following the service about what God is doing in your life.