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Good morning my “Walking with Jesus” Friends on this Friday January 24.
Did you know approximately 10,000 people are turning age 65 everyday in America? Think about that just a few seconds.
The world’s elderly population is rapidly growing in number and they are living longer. Those two realities are affecting our societies in huge ways as major segments of our economies are increasingly shaped by the needs of those beyond normal retirement age. Look around your community. Any Senior Care facilities been built recently? Notice how many drug commercials for retirement age folks are on TV? Look into your own extended family, how many people over retirement age?
Does God have anything to say to us about these remarkable trends? Oh YES!
How many great Bible heroes can you name, who accomplished very significant things in their older years? I’ll help you get started: Abraham was 75 when he STARTED his journey of following God, moving to a new land, and he was 100 when his son Isaac was born! Moses was 80 when he encountered God at the burning bush, and finally 120 years old when he said farewell to the people and handed leadership to Joshua as they prepared to cross the Jordan and enter the Promised Land! Daniel was probably in his 80’s when he was thrown into the lion’s den! Zechariah and Elizabeth were very old when they became pregnant with and mentored John the Baptist. Both Simeon and Anna were old yet had a privileged role in Christmas story when young Joseph and Mary brought infant Jesus to the Temple for dedication. John the Apostle may have been near 90, incarcerated on Patmos Island, when he wrote the Revelation, the last book of the Bible!
Our Scripture reading today is Titus chapter 2, listen to Paul’s advice to Titus regarding the ageing population: “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. Then they can train the younger women to love their husbands and children, to be self controlled and pure, to be busy at home, to be kind, and to be subject to their husbands, so that no one will malign the word of God.” (Titus 2:2-5) If you are in your 70’s, 80’s or 90’s, can I ask how your heart responds to these words from Paul?
Now let’s add wisdom from 3000 year ago, from Psalm 71 “Since my youth, O 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 O God, till I declare Your power to the next generation, Your might to all who are to come… as for me, I will always have hope; I will praise You more and more, My mouth will tell of Your righteousness, of Your salvation all day long… I will proclaim Your might acts O Sovereign LORD, I will proclaim Your righteousness…” (Psalm 71:17,18,15,16)
Would you agree God’s design for the human race is that we honor and even treasure the oldest ones among us, and care for them, as they cared for us when we were very young and needed their care? Would you consider the seniors among us have much wisdom gained through long life and we, the generations which follow them, would be foolish not to do all we can to glean as much of that wisdom from them as possible? So let’s stop right here for a moment and consider this. . .
If you are the oldest in your family, you are extremely valuable and God holds you responsible for three things at least:
First, keep nurturing your spiritual life. Immerse yourself in God’s Word as much as you can. You’ve got time to do that now, so you have wisdom from God to pass to your family.
Second, develop your prayer life in these years, spending much time talking with God about each of your family members and friends, and listening to what the Spirit of God tells you about them.
Third, watch for opportunities to share the wisdom you’ve learned in your long life, with the generations that are following you.
And lastly, can I add another? FINISH WELL! Age with dignity and integrity and model for us who are following you, how to prepare for heaven! Do you see this is how Paul was instructing Titus to encourage the senior population of his day?
If you are the son or daughter of the oldest in your family, oh you have a very important role! Lead your family in honoring the oldest ones in your family. Learn all you can from your parents before they are unable to share the wisdom they have. Integrate into your life what you learn from them, and be sure to pass it on to the generations which follow you! Do you see this what Paul wrote to Titus: “Similarly encourage the young men to be self-controlled. In everything set them an example by doing what is good. In your teaching show integrity, seriousness and soundness of speech that cannot be condemned…” (Titus 2:6-8)
Now, over all this, do you see Paul’s very first verse in Titus 2? “You must teach was is in accord with sound doctrine.” That challenge is for all ages, right? Whoever we are, whatever our age, when we open our mouths to pass along wisdom, it must be ‘sound doctrine’. It must be TRUE, and God honoring if it is classified as ‘wisdom’! Do you agree with that my friends?
Paul of course was speaking here especially of Spiritual truth when he uses the phrase “doctrine”, but my friends, ‘doctrine’ encompasses all of life. And since God designed human life and sustains our lives, then God has designed the foundational doctrines that enable us to live life to the fullest, as God designed life to be lived! Isn’t that right, friends? Our priority should therefore be to learn those essential life doctrines in every area of life… math, science, geography, but also human relationships, marriage & family, business dealings, and in today’s focus, the matter of dealing with the inevitable ageing process everyone of us is even now experiencing.
I wonder if anyone listening to my voice is celebrating TODAY the anniversary of your miraculous entry into our world… your birth? Birthdays are special and wonderful. They remind us of God, for no birth happens without God’s direct involvement! Birthdays remind us of how God has sustained our lives for another year. Birthdays call us to reflect on what we’ve learned so far in our lives that can help us going forward into however much life we have out ahead of us.
Oh dear older people reading this or listening to my voice, please don’t cheat the rest of us by NOT sharing the wisdom God has given you, which you have gained in the experiences of decades of living. This is especially true for you older folks who have walked with Jesus a long, long time. The wisdom you’ve gained in your spiritual journey is the most valuable wisdom of all, and we need to hear it!
I’m a “Boomer”, born in 1951. My father is the oldest in our extended family born in 1927, do the math. He’ll be 93 in February!
While his eyesight is dim now, his mind is sharp, the well of his wisdom deep. We live 1200 miles apart, but the telephone line between us is not dormant many consecutive days. My father has an audio Bible since he can no longer read, and he uses an iPad or tablet to bring in his favorite Bible teachers, right into his apartment every morning. David Jeremiah, Chuck Swindoll, Ravi Zacharias and others. At 92 my father is absorbing more Scripture teaching every day than at any previous time in his life and I deeply respect him for this. As you can imagine we often have phone chats where he says “Oh Doug I just have to share with you this great insight from God’s Word which I heard just this week…” Some of what I share with you in “Walking with Jesus”, I have learned from him as he “walks with Jesus”.
You know what my friends? I was going to go into some other verses in Titus 2 today, but I sense the Holy Spirit saying… stop right there and ‘SELAH’. You remember that little word from the Psalms, right? It means ‘pause for reflection’. So I ask us all… how is Titus 2:1-8 working in your life my friends? Do you see yourself in one of the various types of people Paul describes in these verses? May I invite us each and all to spend some time asking the Holy Spirit to help us understand our important role in our family and our network of friends.
What would Jesus like you to start doing that would encourage the older folks in your life, or deepen your spiritual wisdom well, or more effectively pass along your wisdom to the generations which follow you? Or what about your friends who are not on the “Walking with Jesus” journey, how can you help them understand their fit in Titus 2:1-8? In fact, might it be helpful to them if they joined our “Walking with Jesus” journey?
Please pass along “Walking with Jesus” to any person the Holy Spirit shows you would benefit from it! You can do it so easily by simply forwarding the email to them or giving them the QR code now that we have APP’s for both Android & Apple devices.
And I urge us all to celebrate our age today. . . whatever it is, for in God’s plan HE has enabled you to live this long primarily so you can enjoy the journey of life with HIM, learn and pass along the wisdom in life God is teaching you, and allow Jesus to work through you touching other people in the way Jesus would, if He were in your shoes and situations.
Oh Lord Jesus… thank you for these wonderful 8 verses in Titus 2 and how they compel all of us to maximize the stage of life in which we are, TODAY, for your Glory!
Have a comment or question about today’s chapter? I’m ready to hear from you, contact me here.
Pastor Doug Anderson 262.441.8785
“Let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us, with our eyes fixed on Jesus…” (Heb. 12:1,2)
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