The cost of retirement

Introduction

Retirement is not a biblical concept, it is Western concept built into the DNA of misunderstood purpose of work. The western thought is built on the idea work 30-50 years after having obtain a skill or in today’s world a college degree.

The purpose of your work is to build a security for your household and a nest egg to one day let you live our retirement years on the beach complaining about the woes of the world, while eating shrimp cocktail.

The world has stripped the purpose of work, the world has redefined rest, the world has stripped man of its Christian calling.

Today’s sermon is something I normally don’t do, and that is topical sermons. Yet I believe this is a sermon you need as a people of God as you embrace the next step of your Christian life.

I want to refine how you view retirement and hopefully remind you of what you once knew what the greatest calling of your life; to follow Christ.

Scripture Reading

Today we will look at the following verses; Luke 9:57-62

Luke 9:57–62 NKJV

Now it happened as they journeyed on the road, that someone said to Him, “Lord, I will follow You wherever You go.” And Jesus said to him, “Foxes have holes and birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay His head.” Then He said to another, “Follow Me.” But he said, “Lord, let me first go and bury my father.” Jesus said to him, “Let the dead bury their own dead, but you go and preach the kingdom of God.” And another also said, “Lord, I will follow You, but let me first go and bid them farewell who are at my house.” But Jesus said to him, “No one, having put his hand to the plow, and looking back, is fit for the kingdom of God.”

The temptation to bury the dead

Over a year ago I did my Grandfather’s funeral as many of you know. My grandfather was an officer in the military, an entrepreneur, and business leader.

This man while on oxygen and could barley move was still finding ways to serve until the day of his death. His final command to me was to care for my wife and his final command to the family was keep living.

I am respected every command that came out of my Grandfather and obeyed it.

Jesus far surpasses my Grandfather and maybe you had a person in your life that was like my Grandfather knew how how to live life till the day they died.

Jesus has given us the commands of how to live life until the day we die. It is to put your hand to the plow, don’t look back, and let the dead bury the dead.

Most Christians ignore the harsher words of Jesus, because the Western Church has built a fluffy Jesus that is your friend and not your God.

Many churches will choose to look back and bury the dead. They are not fit for the Kingdom of God. There is a commitment in the Christian life that calls for what the world will call a radical following of Christ.

Yet this is the very calling the Lord calls the church too.

The temptation

When a church grows older and is nearing her death the temptation is always remember the good days, or an older saint who can still do decides to sit on the porch stating remember the old days.

They are in essence burying the dead and looking back. It is not wrong to celebrate what was or have a season to mourn. But you can’t look back, you can’t stop, you can’t just stay stagnant you move keep your foot on the plow.

I hear stories of older saints who went on mission trips in their youth and they have not done a single thing since that has given them excitement to follow Jesus and they are well beyond the age of youth.

It is sad, because they end up being disgruntled church members, lazy church members, or just leave the church as a whole.

Or worse they are so reserved in following Christ, they never get to experience the joys and pains of picking up their cross. They really never experience Christ.

There are times when saints who know the truth of following Jesus, live in a state of fear those are the ones that never experience the cross and Christian you need to experience the cross of the pain it brings and the joy it brings.

The temptation is to bury the dead to stay in the past, never keep the foot on the plow of building the Kingdom of God.

Waughtown Baptist as much as I value your history you are a dead church with a prolonged death date. You are living in the Story . The church should close today and be adopted by New Friendship Baptist church whose congregation is adding members, is revitalizing, and will be here for another generation.

Your temptation because of some older saints in this very room is to hold on to the past with a prolong death date instead of moving the plow forward to be adopted by a healthy church to advance the Kingdom of God and His glory rather than your own.

My temptation was to come in here and try to build something and in reality I think there may have been a chance if we moved, if we took more steps in faith, and if we never sold our building to that which should have never been sold too. But that is the past, we must move on from it.

Let the dead bury the dead. There is a temptation among you who are fearful Christians to see what picking up the cross and death o self looks like.

Experiencing the cross

As one who follows Christ, let’s the dead bury the dead, it will come with a cross. Your own death to self, to sin, to everything that is comfortable.

I had a kid at Trail life who is as immature as a pre-teen is yet showed more faith than 80 year old saint. We were discussing the call of the Christian life and doing hard things.

They asked myself and another God fearing man with me how do we what you all do? How do we teach the next generation about Jesus? I kid you not this kid was asking about the next kids. I was stunned beyond words.

Our answer submit to Christ, do hard things, and show up.

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That same night another kid asked how do you submit to Christ?

Death to self and when you really become born again that will be the day in which you have the answer.

Christian even in your retirement the Kingdom of God is advancing. If a pre-teen is asking questions about the next generation and building the Kingdom of God; about death to self and submission to Christ. It begs the question one must ask of their self; why I am not asking those questions?

To experience the Kingdom of God, to truly know Christ is to pick up the cross. The cross brings the pain of death and the joy of salvation. To experience Christ you must pick up the cross.

Plowing the Kingdom of God

Jesus was always about the Kingdom of God as upon his coming to earth the Kingdom of God is at hand, upon his establishing the church the Kingdom of God is at hand.

Both on earth and in Heaven.

The Church in her broad sense and the church in the local sense is the call to advance the Kingdom of God as a people of God.

There is one thing very clear in scripture and that is the calling of the church. The last letter of the Bible are letters of judgement to seven churches which teaches us to this very day.

Christ the King has a command for His people, plow for the Kingdom of God is at hand.

What does that look like?

A. The fellowship of the saints

B. The prayers of the saints

C. The preaching of the gospel

D. The sacraments being had (The Lord’s supper and Baptism)

E. The work of ministry among the saints to make disciples where they live, work, and play.

In your retirement you have more opportunities than a man working 40-45 hours a week. Because you don’t have to clock in at 9 and out at 5 and then off to families duties. Your dining room table that sits empty is the greatest opportunity of an older saints that is underused.

Let’s be fully honest it’s more comfortable visiting a shut in then going next door to the young family and investing in them by having them over, learning what they like and perhaps even learning to enjoy the new music.

It’s more comfortable to believe a false narrative that the hymns are inspired then appreciate modern hymns that speak truth to the next generation. (Believe me I understand the argument of worship. I’ve studied it far deeper than most Christians in a pew.)

It’s more comfortable to be grouchy old saint thinking the next generation is filled with sin than looking at your sin of pride of selfishness believing your the best generation when at one point you too were the pain in society.

It’s more comfortable to stay in dying church than hand over the reigns to new ideas , young leaders or a church that is growing. Because it may shake up what was culturally normal in your day, not based on scripture but culture. That is not the culture today.

Older saint, your retirement if used for the Kingdom of God is a blessing, but if used to stay in a church that is dead, if used to keep your house empty instead of investing in the next generation to know Christ. You have wasted every day and opportunity to experience Christ.

The question going forward is will you die to self and keep plowing for the Kingdom of God, the glory of Christ?

To follow wherever He goes

Christian I ask you this question; will you follow Christ wherever He goes? If it cost you this church (which at this point the church is gone) If he it cost you your comfort? If it cost you your leadership influence? If it cost you your life?

The call of a Christian is death to self and life of the cross. The pains and the joys. Many Christians here this questions O yes wherever He goes.

Then it challenges you to die to self and you won’t go because of fear, because you will loose your position of leadership, your job, or comfort.

If you want to follow Christ, you must die to yourself. If you want to experience christ, you must pick up the cross.

Keeping your eyes on Christ

Christian you will never follow Christ if you place yourself first, if you place tradition before Christ, if you place other before Christ.

You must die to yourself, let the dead bury the dead, and always be moving forward.

Conclusion

In the great game of hockey, the game is won in the first and the third period. The first period everything is set up, the tone of the game. If the first period is off a small chance you can get back into game but it’s highly unlikely.

The second period; is management and adjustments.

The third period is you put everything on the line and win the game.

Some of us in this room are in the second period, and some of you are in the last period. How will you finish the game? Or the words of Paul will you finish the race well.

How does a person who has followed Christ finish well; by giving everything they have for Christ.

Last hockey analogy for you; There are great players in the NHL many of whom are retiring within the next one to two years. They understand the next generation of hockey players needs to learn the game, so they teach them the game so the team when the greats of this generation are gone, the next kids to take over the team win championships.

You can do this by giving to the next generation Christ. Don’t hold the church you planted or been a member of for years; give it everything you have because this is last period of hockey a new generation is behind you to carry Christ.

Will you vote no to a young a Pastor who comes with fresh and challenging ideas only to face a closure within 8 months of saying no.

The chief end of your life as is it mine, is to glorify God and enjoying Him. That requires death to self; and I mean with respect sometimes it’s the older generation who won’t die to self because the young kids do things different.

Our ways, not Christ. Don’t waste your third period for selfish gain, give Christ your everything by giving the next generation the foundation to build for the glory of Christ.