Sunday, July 14, 2002

Growing old is not for sissies

By DR. DAVID L. CHANCEY
Pastor

A man came in from his golf game and his wife asked, "How'd you do?"

"Well, I was hitting pretty well, but my eyesight's gotten so bad I couldn't see where the ball went."

"Well, you're 80 years old, Jack," the wife said, "why don't you take my brother along?"

"But he's 90 and doesn't even play golf any longer."

"But he's got perfect eyesight. He could watch your golf ball."

The next day Jack tried Edna's idea and took her brother along. He teed up, swung and the ball disappeared down the middle of the fairway.

"Do you see it?" asked Jack.

"Yup," Ronald answered.

"Where is it?" asked Jack, peering off into the distance.

"I forgot."

Whoever said growing old was easy? One guy described it this way: "I can live with my arthritis, my dentures fit me fine. I can see through my bifocals, but I sure do miss my mind."

The bumper sticker reads, "Growing old is not for sissies." Maybe you are among the crowd who gets winded playing checkers, or who needs a fire permit to light all of your birthday candles, and oxygen after blowing them all out.

A fruitful old age is the result of a lifetime of preparation. How can we be strong as we ease into our sunset years? Let's look at Abraham's example this morning as we turn to Gen. 12:1-4, 15:1-6; Hebrews 11:8, 9, 17-18.

Develop a friendship with God. Have you ever thought about friendship with God? Three times the Bible refers to Abraham's friendship with God. God said, "Abraham my friend" (Is. 41:8). King Jehoshaphat called Abraham "God's friend forever" (2 Chronicles 20:7). James 2:23 refers to Abraham as "friend of God." Abraham loved God and wanted a close relationship with God.

We look at Abraham's effectiveness as someone God used in a mighty way, and we see any success in life begins with our relationship with God. That's where friendship starts. Get right with God and receive eternal life and forgiveness by inviting Jesus Christ to come into your life. Give your life to Jesus. Have you done that?

How do you develop a friendship with someone? You have something in common, you share similar interests, you spend time together, you enjoy being together, the person accepts you warts and all, you feel comfortable with that person. You and Jesus share a similar interest in heaven. He wants you to spend time together, enjoy being together. He accepts you and wants to help you grow. He wants to be your friend. We used to sing "my best friend is Jesus." Is that true in your life?

Grow strong in your faith. We think of Abraham and we think of faith. Look at his life. In Gen. 12 Abraham was told to leave his homeland and go into the unknown. He stepped out without any idea of where he was going. He stepped beyond his comfort zone, left all that was familiar, and walked with God.

In Gen. 15:4-6, Abraham knew Sarah was beyond child-bearing years, yet he believed God would provide a child. He didn't know how God would do it, but he knew he could and would. He took God at his word. In Gen. 22, God tested Abraham. Abraham followed God's instruction to prepare Isaac for an offering of sacrifice. Who ever said following God would be easy?

Jesus said in Luke 9:23, "If anyone desires to come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross daily, and follow me."

Listen, following the Lord is the only pursuit that brings true happiness in life. And it takes a great and growing faith and commitment to stick with Jesus through all of your life. How do you grow stronger in your faith?

Several years ago Norman Vincent Peale found his father's diary. An entry from Sept. 1888 read, "I go to prayer meeting once a week, church every Sunday. I have discovered a great truth and it is this. If you stick with Jesus and have faith in him, He will see you through anything. You will have good success." All through his childhood, Peale's father would tell him, "Son, stick with Jesus."

When Billy Sunday was saved and joined the church, a fellow believer said, "Son, there are three simple rules I wish you'd practice. If you do, no one will ever write 'backslider' after your name. Take 15 minutes each day to let God talk to you; allow 15 minutes to talk to him; and then spend 15 minutes telling others about Jesus." Billy Sunday made these rules the pattern for his life. From that time forward, Sunday spent the first part of his morning reading God's word and meditating; then he spent the next moments in fervent prayer; then throughout the day, whenever he had opportunity, he told people about Jesus.

Do you have a growing faith? Do you have a stronger faith. That's the greatest legacy you can leave your children and grandchildren. When they look at your life, do they see fear, or faith? Worry and anxiety? Or peace and assurance? Do they see you simply trusting as the moments fly, simply trusting as the days go by? Do they see you walking with God?

Grow in obedience to God's Word. Faith and obedience go hand in hand. Abraham not only had faith, but also he used faith and put faith into practice. A true love for God and a growing faith in God will always prompt obedience. Jesus said in John 14:15, "if you love me, then keep my commandments." See Proverbs 3:1-2.

Look at Abraham. He did what God said to do, even when he didn't understand it. When God called Abraham, Abraham moved out "to a land that I will show you" and obeyed God. When God commanded Abraham to sacrifice the son of promise, he was willing to do so, knowing that somehow God would provide.

If you're going to obey God's Word, then you must know and rely on God's word. I heard about a newspaper boy who was standing on the corner with a stack of papers, yelling, "Read all about it. Fifty people swindled! Fifty people swindled!"

Curious, a man walked over, bought a paper, and checked the front page. Finding nothing, the man said, "there's nothing in here about fifty people being swindled."

The newsboy ignored him and went on, "Read all about it. Fifty-one people swindled."

Listen, when you read God's word, there will always be something in there that speaks to your life, stirs your heart, feeds your soul, challenges you to grow. It will never lead you astray. Read God's word, hide it in your heart, apply it to your life. Obey it daily. What is your plan for reading and knowing?

Stay active in service to God. You may be retired from full-time employment, but never retire from serving the Lord. Never fold your hands and say, "I've done my time. Now it's someone else's turn." You are a resource for wisdom and ministry. Never quit when God can still use you. You are never too old to serve and make a valuable contribution to God's work through your church and through your everyday life. Age has never been a factor in achievement.

For example, Margaret Thatcher became the first female prime minister of England at 53. Winston Churchill became British prime minister for the first time at 65. Golda Meir was prime minister of Israel at 71. Benjamin Franklin was negotiating international treaties at 76. Handel was composing at 66. Michelangelo was working on Roman temples at 89. Stay at it. Help build up the body of Christ. Jesus said in John 15:8, "By this my father is glorified that you bear much fruit, so you will be my disciples."

How are you bearing fruit? How are you serving God? What can you do?

Make prayer a priority. Prayer unleashes the power of heaven. Ask God to pour his power down on your life and on our church. We can do nothing of eternal significance without God's power.

Be generous and plan your giving. Be generous with God's work. You can't take it with you. Have you thought about leaving a tithe of your estate to Christian causes? To your church?

Go and serve in short-term missions if you are physically able. Several of our seniors are actively serving: Bill and Sue Slagle are going to Maine to do a light construction project; Gene and Judy Conway are working with migrant workers in south Georgia among other projects this summer and Fall; Mark Staples just got back from a World Changers trip to West Virginia. You can go. Love to see other senior adult mission trips develop. Not just far away. Our Palmetto campus of the children's home has a long list.

Make today count. Life is short enough as it is, so we need to make the most of it. We should not spend our time fretting, fussing, anxious, stressed out or put out. James reminds us that life is a vapor, here for awhile and then it disappears. That should motivate us to live a full life of following God, serving God, walking closely day by day.

Ephesians 5:16, "make the most of the time." Paul uses a business term, "redeem." Means to buy back, take off the market. NIV: "make the most of every opportunity." He urges us to grab the moment lest we waste it and it slip away unused and unfulfilled. He urges us to make every moment count, to invest time wisely.

"Only one life to live, this soon will pass,

Only what is done for Christ will last."

How do you invest time wisely? Invest it in your own spiritual growth. Invest it serving Christ by helping people. Invest it in helping people come to know Jesus. One of the best ways to do that is to commit to 14 weeks of FAITH, and learn how to share your faith. Invest yourself in mission projects. Invest yourself in building a strong family. Life is too short and time is of essence. Don't be playing around with life when there are so many needs.

The steamship Californian passed only ten miles from the sinking Titanic, but a friend of the radio operator was playing with the set, and no messages were heard. When the Titanic struck that ice burg on April 15, 1912, 1,517 lives were lost. The SS Carpathia was a far greater distance from the sinking Titanic than was the Californian. But no one in the wireless room was playing with the set. The SS Carpathia answered the distress call and came in time to save several hundred lives. The Californian, only 10 miles away, became aware of the tragic loss only after it was too late.

In these critical days, we must not be caught playing with the gospel or playing with our relationship with Jesus. Too much is at stake.

Another way to use time wisely is to make a decision now. Don't procrastinate, don't make excuses. Are you living life to the fullest? Jesus said, "I have come that they might have life, and have it more abundantly." Are you making the most of the time? What do you need to do today that to not do it would be disobedience?

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