The Needed Example Of Older Saints

As we prepare to engage the text in Titus this morning, I want to give some consideration to the reality of the passage of time.

James 4:14 What is your life? For you are a mist that appears for a little time and then vanishes.

Just as the steam rising from a boiling pot reaches a point where it vanishes, so does your life. You are here for a brief blip of time, and then **snap**, it’s over.

Crowder - DASH

There's a day we're born Day we pass In between there's just a dash What on earth am I doing What on earth am I doing Yeah I got time But time goes fast Yeah that line is all I have What on earth am I doing What on earth am I doing

What’s wild to think about in that consideration is how much we have to endure in such a brief amount of time… especially as we get older.

Read Ecclesiastes 12:1-5

Solomon uses an illustration of a household to convey the truth of growing old:

v. 1-2: know and enjoy God while you are young, because as you get older, it will get harder

when the keepers of the house tremble refers to the arms and the hands, which in youth are vigorous—they’re strong, they’re active, they’re able—but often, with increasing age, they’re just not as strong as they once were, and indeed, they shake and they jiggle.

the strong men are bent refers to the legs that are no longer upright, but they have begun to arc, they have begun to stoop.

the grinders cease because they are few refers to the teeth, which can no longer chew because they are few in number.

those who look through the windows are dimmed refers to eyesight that is beginning to fail.

the sound of the grinding is low because we are growing deaf.

one rises up at the sound of a bird = insomnia! Can’t sleep because the bird 50 yards away tweeting in the tree.

afraid of what is high because of instability and the worry of falling

the almond tree blossoms referring to the white blossoms on an almond tree, means the hair grows white.

the grasshopper drags itself along means that the pace changes. You used to move along with a little more pep in your step, and now all of a sudden you're dragging and shuffling.

The bottom line is that getting old is no fun. Everything wears down and fails until you finally go to your eternal home.

Bob Hope You know you’re old when the candles cost more than the cake.

All this focus on getting old brings us to the topic we are looking at in Titus.

“How does it apply?”

Because as we get older we become creatures of habits.  And the longer we do them, the harder they are to deal with.

Sometimes we get a little bit obstinate and stubborn

Sometimes we think we know more than we do

The fact is that all these trials that are faced as we get older, and how we choose to respond to them, will directly influence the character we possess.

The character of a believer is a major focus in Titus:

Chapter 1 focused on the character of the leadership of the church

Chapter 2 focuses on the character of the people of the church

This chapter kicked off in verse 1 with The Importance Of Sound Doctrine and it continues with the focus on living that doctrine out.

Charles Ryrie All doctrine is practical, and all practice must be based on sound doctrine.

J. Gresham Machan Christianity is…a way of life founded upon a doctrine.

John Stott Good conduct arises out of good doctrine.

Thus, we must be insatiable in our appetite for sound doctrine. We must seek it, learn it, and live it.

Read Titus 2:1-10.

This section of Paul’s letter to Titus reveal three reasons why our walk must be be consistent with sound doctrine:

v. 5 - that the word of God may not be reviled

v. 8 - that an opponent may be put to shame, having nothing evil to say about us

v. 10 - in everything [we] may adorn the doctrine of God our Savior

As we consider these ends for the believer, it is important to recognize the role that older saints play in bringing this about in the church.

The spotlight shines on the older saints as they are given the expectation to train the younger ones

Throughout Scripture, God makes it clear that we are to revere those who are older.

Leviticus 19:32 You shall stand up before the gray head and honor the face of an old man, and you shall fear your God: I am the Lord.

Job 12:12 Wisdom is with the aged, and understanding in length of days.

The gray head is a crown of glory if it be found in the way of righteousness. 

Somebody old who has walked a long time in the path of righteousness is a treasure:

a treasure of wisdom

a treasure of experience

a treasure of understanding

A triumphant Christian who has fought the battle over and over and over and been victorious; who has experienced everything that the young are waiting to experience, become a great treasure to the church.

As a pastor, one of the hardest conversations that I have had to have is with a young family who has young kids and they are moving on to a different church.

We love you and your preaching

We love the church and their kindness/love/support

We just want to go to a church with more kids so our son/daughter can have some friends

That is such a wrong perspective when it comes to church.

We should want our kids around older saints.

Older saints should want to have kids around

We do not learn from our peers the same way we learn from our elders.

1 Kings 12:8 [Rehoboam] abandoned the counsel that the old men gave him and took counsel with the young men who had grown up with him and stood before him.

Rehoboam took counsel from his friends instead of the elders in the land

Result: the Kingdom of Israel was divided into two nations with two kings

Friends are great to have, but they will not push you to maturity as a believer unless they are pointing you toward someone older and wiser.

Those who can best declare the character of God are those who have walked with Him the longest. They bring:

Spiritual experience

Spiritual strength

Spiritual endurance

Spiritual wisdom

There is no value in being old if you are not a godly example for others.

Psalm 71:17–18 O God, from my youth you have taught me, and I still proclaim your wondrous deeds. So even to old age and gray hairs, O God, do not forsake me, until I proclaim your might to another generation, your power to all those to come.

Psalm 92:12–14 The righteous flourish like the palm tree and grow like a cedar in Lebanon. They are planted in the house of the Lord; they flourish in the courts of our God. They still bear fruit in old age; they are ever full of sap and green.

Many times, unfortunately, as one person has put it, “Old age is that time of life when you know all the answers and nobody asks you the questions.”

That should never be in the church. FBS should have a dynamic relationship between the young and old.

We have been richly blessed by the support our older saints give to the youth ministries over the years (i.e. Soup-Chili-Chowder Cookoff)

The biggest support that can happen is when an older saint bonds with a younger one.

This is the very core of the Great Commission.

Matthew 28:19 Go therefore and make disciples of all nations

Eugene Peterson Discipleship is anything that causes what is believed in the heart to have demonstrable consequences in our daily life.

Anonymous Discipleship is more than getting to now what the teacher knows. It is getting to be what he is.

CONCLUSION

So, believer, where are you at today?

Are you an older saint who is full of experience and wisdom, ready to be passed on to the next generation?

Are you a young person with a life full of these experiences ahead of you?

Whatever the case may be, I want to encourage you to reach out and reach up.

Proverbs 27:17 Iron sharpens iron, and one man sharpens another.

Every church is better because of the older saints that are part of it. Don’t ignore the opportunities that exist today, because you are not promised tomorrow.

Only God knows when your vapor trail has run its course.