Ep 469 | Useful For Life - Jonathan Edwards 11/17/22

It's so good to be with you tonight.

I'm very thankful to have an opportunity to study the Bible

with you and excited to see some familiar faces from last night

and some new faces tonight. If this is your first time with

this, during the meeting, or in general, I guess I'd like to

give you my personal, welcome. And I'd also like to let you

know what's about to happen in case you, you're not familiar

with it, I actually Should be up here about 30 minutes now.

That's laughable because I'm going to say 30 minutes and it

could be 40 or you know ish but I'll do my best because it's a

school night and it's a work night.

I understand that maybe you had a long day today and maybe you

got a long day tomorrow. So we'll be together for give or

take 30 minutes studying different scriptures on this

idea of being useful for life and so I hope that it's a

helpful Bible study for you and I'm going to ask you if you have

a Pew Bible. Go ahead and get it out and

we're going to read some scriptures together, and we'll

make some points about how we should be useful for life.

I want you to go over to Ephesians the book of Ephesians

Ephesians 4 · chapter mention

chapter 4 and in the Pew Bible, that's going to be on page, 17,

94 1794 up at the top, you can see the page numbers there.

Now while you're turning over there to Ephesians chapter 4, I

Ephesians 4 · chapter mention

guess I'd like to give you kind of an outline of where I'll be

going tonight. We're going to be talking about

being useful in part 1 being useful, but specifically being

useful for life. And so I'm going to spend about

half the sermon or so talking about the different ways that

that God's people want to be useful and sadly, sometimes we

missed the mark in our usefulness.

And so, we'll read the scripture a little bit to explain that.

But then after that, I want to talk about a specific group of

people who are useful, but oftentimes in our culture

Society in general, our seniors are often, whenever you get to

those golden years, it's time to relax time to retire and let

others kind of take on the load, and they'll be more useful and

you can kind of take it easy and I want to challenge that.

So, if you are a senior, if you are retired, then this section

is speaking. Likely to you.

But even if you're not retired and you're not at that age,

where you're close to retirement friends, we're going to Lord

willing, get there someday. And let's have a mindset going

through life that we're going to be useful for life.

Now, Ephesians chapter 4 and verse 16.

Ephesians 4 · chapter mention

In fact, I'm going to read verse 15 and 16 it says, but speaking

the truth in love may we grow up in all things and to him who is

the head? Just from whom the whole body

joined and knit together by what every joint supplies, according

to the effective working by which every part does.

Its share causes growth of the Body for the edifying of itself

in love. What do we take away from that

scripture? Well, that through Jesus and

through teaching the truth in love, every single member of a

local church works together to make sure that all of us are I

taught and all of us grow. So, just as I'm up here, right

now speaking, you have a job and that is to listen and take the

message and follow on reading the scriptures.

And then together, we are teaching one another.

Now, that's just in this capacity but there's other

capacities as well. What stood out to me several

months ago as I was reading this was that we're knit together by

what every joint supplies. And as I'm getting a little

older, I do find that my joy. Don't work as well as they did

in the past. Some of you may have similar

experiences where it seems like whenever you bend over.

Well, 20 years ago, it was a lot easier to bend over and your

back didn't kind of scream at you.

The way that it does now or maybe you've got to do some

stretches in the morning before you start moving around.

Because when you get up you you shuffle a little bit before you

start moving. And as I thought about by what

every joint supplies, I thought about all the ways that I have

misused my joints and now, it seems to be coming back to

haunt. Wanting a little bit.

I've got to take a little bit of time to make sure that they're

used properly. And so I thought about how and

here on the board I have this I'm going to call it a triple

venn diagram and I don't know if that's a thing or not.

Maybe I just made it up. But anyway, we've got the middle

part. This target of, we want to be

useful right by what every joint supplies we're going to talk

about that last, but we're going to talk about three ways that we

misuse our joints, right? That is that we Use the members

of a local church and one way that we get misused is through

overuse, you know what I'm talking about.

If you've overused a specific joint, maybe you didn't lift

with your knees and all those years of just bending over and

lifting up with your back and you'll suddenly you couldn't do

it anymore because you overused a part of your body that you

weren't supposed to. But that's only one way that we

are not useful with our joints. Another way is when We're under

used, right and I've had several days where I know I'm supposed

to get up and move around a little bit, but I've got a lot

of clerical work to do and so in this office work I'm hunched

over. And I've got my mouth, my mouse

for my computer, and I'm just kind of working away and then I

get up at lunch and I try to move that wrist.

Oh man. What's going on?

I didn't use it at all and now it's stiff.

It's sore. But then finally, there's

another type of way. That we're not properly using

and that's through the misuse of our joints.

Several of you may have had surgery.

I've had surgery on my foot a couple of years ago because of

misuse and so I had to have surgery, I got a scar on my foot

about 2 inches long, wasn't able to walk on it for about three

months. And so, what did I do?

I leaned all of my weight onto the right side of my body, my

hip, my knee, my ankle took the whole weight and You know, after

three months, what happened to that side of my body?

It started to hurt even though that was the healthy side, it

was being misused. So consider some scriptures with

me because this is the should be more than a health lesson.

This has to be a Bible Lesson and consider what the scriptures

say about how sometimes spiritually, we overuse we

underuse, we misuse as we all I really do.

Think we are all trying to be useful and we want to be helpful

to one another The ward the sometimes we may get overzealous

and go too far or maybe not enough but let's just consider

some examples and then I'll try to encourage you about being

useful. And then briefly, we'll talk

about seniors serving in the kingdom and being useful for

life. Now the first set of scriptures,

if you're taking notes write down that we're going to talk

about being overused, we're going to be in the book of

Exodus and the book of Acts. So I invite you to flip over to

Exodus, chapter 18, It's towards the very beginning of the Bible

Exodus 18 · chapter mention

and an Exodus chapter 18 and we're going to be on, let's see

Exodus 18 · chapter mention

page 112 of the Bible. So while you're turning over to

page 112, let me briefly. Explain what happened in Exodus

Exodus 17 · chapter mention

chapter 17. I'll just summarize this real

quick. Moses, the leader of the

Israelites was leading his people.

The, the rear of the people were attacked by a treacherous

Nation. So Moses hikes up to a

Mountaintop and God says, lift up your staff and if you keep

your staff lifted up, then the Israelites will be victorious in

battle. But if you lower your staff,

then the Israelites will be defeated.

Now, this is a man who just hiked a mountain and I know you

all live in a region where that might seem like it's just every

other day, but for me, living in the flat Midwest, that's a day's

work in and of itself just getting the Mountaintop, I would

probably be dead. However, Moses climbs to the top

and he has to raise his. Arms, and, you know, from my

illustration sake, I'll only keep them up for like 10

seconds. It doesn't seem like it's that

hard but after a while things seem to get harder and Moses has

to lower, or he just lowering his arm.

And so what happens as the story continues to of his helpers

come, and they lift up his arms together, and he sits down and

keeps his arms above himself and he's able to keep them up in

Israel wins. Now, you would think that that

would teach this great man a lesson and that is You can't do

it yourself. You need help and yet the very

next chapter, this is where we're going to be reading in

Exodus chapter 18, verse 13 through 18, we find Moses doing

Exodus 18:13–18

some clerical, work some administrative work, he's being

a judge and there's probably between 1 to 3 million

Israelites, with one judge. Does it seem very efficient does

it? Now verse 13 says.

So it was on the next day that Moses sat down to judge the

people. And the people stood before

Moses from morning until evening.

So in Moses, father-in-law saw all that he did for the people.

He said, what is this that you're doing for the people?

Why do you alone? Sit and all the people stand

before you from morning until evening.

Now, there's some context here. Moses, father-in-law Jethro has

brought Moses wife and children back from a foreign land, Moses

left his family. He went to Chipped and then led

the Israelites out of slavery and now they're in the

wilderness. Wandering and Jethro brings his

family back to him. That should be a sign right

there. That Moses is being overused,

because he forgot about his family, he left them behind, and

there's a lesson for all of us that if we feel like the job's

not going to get done, unless I do it.

And you know if I'm not there to do this, then you know, it's

just going to fall apart. If we put all that pressure on

ourselves and sometimes rightly, so I get it, I've been there as

I've commonly said to people, I'm an overuse a holic.

It's very easy for me to try to take it all myself.

Moses was doing that. And Jethro sees this and he

goes, why are why are you doing this so Moses explains?

I'm the only one. They've got to come to me and

then I've got to explain to them what's going on.

Look at verse 17, Moses father-in-law said to him.

The thing that you do is not good, both you and these people

who are with, you will surely wear yourselves out for this

thing is too much for you. You are not able to perform it

by yourself. Friends the lesson, I want you

to take from this is that Moses was a great man.

A man of great faith who serve God Faithfully for years and

years and years. Didn't wonderful, things, but he

was overused, and because he stretched himself, so thin, he

wasn't as helpful as he could be.

So thankfully, he takes his father-in-law's advice, and he

gets helpers to help him in this.

Now, briefly in Acts chapter 6, verse 1 through 5, you can just

Acts 6:1–5

take these down as notes. I'll summarize it the Al's, this

is after Jesus died and buried and resurrected the churches

began and now the apostles are leading the church.

And in Acts chapter 6, it says that there were some people that

Acts 6 · chapter mention

were missing out on their daily ration of bread.

So they come to the apostles, the leaders.

And they're asking for this daily ration of bread.

You know what the apostles say, it's not good.

Hear me again. It's not good for us to leave

our ministry and wait tables that they had a job to do.

And so instead of them lumping it all on themselves, they

delegated and they found people who were ready to help and they

had those helpers do the work instead of them doing

everything. So, if you're the type of person

that you have a hard time asking for help, you'd rather do it all

yourself and you look at others with suspicion.

Whenever they want to volunteer, or you look at them with in such

a way thinking, I know, I would do a better job than you.

So I would just rather have this all myself.

If you're that type of follower, you're being overused.

You're being overused. Now, another type of followers.

One, who is underused, there's two types.

We're going to read one scripture, so I'll reference one

and then we'll read one. So, turn over to Matthew chapter

Matthew 20 · chapter mention

20, that's the one that we're going to read.

And that's going to be on page number.

Let's see, 15:22. That's the page.

You can turn to. Now while you're turning there

in Matthew 25, there is a type of person who is underused

because they don't want to be used that type of person is lazy

and wicked. Jesus says in the parable of the

talents that that person in this Parable was given a talent of

money from his master was supposed to go out and use it.

But instead he he buried it in the ground and the master comes

back later and says you Wicked and lazy servant.

So if friend, you find that there are things you could be

doing to help the Lord's people helping his cause but you're

just not interested. Somebody else can do it.

I don't want to I would rather do all the things I have fun

doing. You need to repent that type of

under uses one, that is repent oriented.

But you know, with the first time I ever gave this sermon,

that was the only scripture I have their under users are lazy

and they need to repent. You know you know what?

That's Really saying me as an over user.

That's me. Holding all of these good works

and looking at under users and just scoffing.

How dare you not help me right and afterwards, thankfully, I

had some very dear friends come to me, who were being underused

and sometimes people are being underused, not by choice, but

because the over users have gobbled up all the good works,

right? And so, that's what we're going

to read about in Matthew chapter 20.

Matthew 20 · chapter mention

Where we find this This parable of people that wanted to work

but nobody had hired them. So Matthew chapter 20 verse 14,

Matthew 20:14

the Kingdom of Heaven is like a landowner who went out early in

the morning to hire labourers for his Vineyard.

Now when he had agreed with the labourers for a Denarius a day,

he sent them into his Vineyard and he went out about the third

hour and saw others standing idle in the marketplace and said

to them you also go to the vineyard and whatever is, right?

I will give you so they went, you know, I haven't Is next, he

goes back every few hours, he finds more people that are just

standing around looking for work and he hires them and takes them

into the vineyard verse 6 and about the eleventh hour of the

day. And I want you guys to think

about it this way, if we get off work, you know, you work, 8 to

5, let's say it's 4:59 The eleventh hour, right?

This is the last possible minute in the work day.

He finds some standing idle and said, to them, why have you been

standing here? Idle, All Day verse 7 and they

said to him because no one hired us.

And he said to them, you also go into the vineyard and whatever

is, right? You will receive.

Now in this Parable, there were those being underused, but

they're not rebuked for it. They just hadn't been found and

when the master found them, he put them to work.

Now, that's not the end of the parable.

The end of the parable is about the justice and the fairness of

each one of them getting a Denarius, the same reward for

their labor. But for our purposes and for

this congregation, you'll know each other better than I know

you I'm bringing this sermon in without maybe knowing the

context of this particular church.

But the idea is if there are people if they're our brothers

and sisters who are being underused, A lot of times it's

easy for people like me to look at them and say, wow, well,

they're just, they're just lazy. And a lot of times they just

haven't been asked. They haven't been tasked.

And I challenged the congregation to put her members

to work finally. Let's talk about the misused

before we go into that Target zone of what we all want to be

which is useful. And to be misused, we could

consider Romans chapter 12 Verses 4 through 8 or there's

Romans 12:4–8

lots of talents and people have lots of gifts and God has given

graciously to us. You are naturally good at

certain things and maybe there's other things that you're not as

naturally gifted at right. You know, I was so thankful that

Marissa agreed to marry me for a number of reasons, but one of

the reasons that I'm glad that she married me, was that I was

an extrovert Right. Who really?

It was my way or the highway and I Married an introvert.

I married. Somebody that wasn't like me.

And here I was trying to be everything, and that's one thing

I couldn't be was quiet. And over the years, I have

learned the power of those who are quiet, and how God has

graciously, given them that ability.

Because Marissa sees a whole lot, more than IC versus able to

read people whole lot better than I can read people.

I'm thankful in my marriage that I have that.

So these different talents in the Lord's church, we can be

thankful that we all have different gifts, different

abilities and what we shouldn't be like.

Like in Acts chapter 8, verse 18 and 19 is Simon the Sorcerer.

Acts 8:18

Simon. The Sorcerer as he's known was a

man, who was at one time, practicing this Pagan idolatry,

he's converted, he's baptized for the remission of sins.

He becomes a Christian, then he sees the apostles, and he sees

that they have something that he doesn't have.

They have the ability to give miraculous gifts Right?

So they're kind of like the king makers of who gets what so to

speak and Simon. The Sorcerer desperately wants

that and so he takes money to them and says please give me

that gift also Now, Peters response tells it all Simon

would have misused it and so he says your money perish with you.

He rebukes him. Why?

Because he knew that Simon would misuse this Talent.

So friends there may be times when you look at others and you

say man, I really wish I had what they have.

I wish I could do what they can do.

And who am I? The Lord can't use me because I

have nothing. I don't even have the 110.

Don't I have the zero Talent. What am I supposed to be?

What am I supposed to do? Whereas brother so-and-so or

sister? So, and so they're like the

gazillion Talent person. I want to challenge that first.

God made you special and God thinks you are enough because he

made you that way. But second think about how God

uses those who consider themselves as weak, right?

So flip over with me to Second Corinthians 12, verses 7 through

2 Corinthians 12:7–10

10. And second Corinthians, 12,

2 Corinthians 12:7

verse 7, through 10, which is Page 1782 and the Pew Bible.

If you want to flip over there with me and second Corinthians,

12 verse, 7, through 10, Paul is given an agent of Satan as it is

or a thorn in the flesh. And he pleads that, the Lord

would take this away. Verse 8 says, concerning this

thing. I pleaded with the Lord three

times. Times that it might depart from

me. And he said, to me, my grace is

sufficient for you for my strength is made perfect in

weakness there. For most gladly, I would rather

boast in my infirmities, that the power of Christ May rest

upon me. Therefore, I take pleasure in

infirmities in reproaches in needs and persecutions in

distresses for Christ's sake. For when I am weak, then I am

strong. Don't misuse.

The talents that God gave you don't look enviously on what

others have. But rather praise God, for what

he's given you and use them properly in order to be useful.

Okay, let's look at these two scriptures on what we all should

be trying to be, and that is useful.

So, look over with me in second, Timothy Chapter 2 and this is on

page 18, 22 of your Pew Bibles. Second Timothy 2:20, I've used

2 Timothy 2:20

that word a lot useful. Useful useful.

And I have this scripture here just to emphasize that this

isn't a Jonathan word, like, I didn't make it up because it was

a nice sermon. But rather the scriptures,

Challenge us to be useful and here's the one for it.

First a rather second Timothy chapter 2 verse 20.

2 Timothy 2:20

But in a great house there are not only vessels of gold and

silver but also wooden clay, some for honor and some for

dishonor. Here's a question real quick,

what is Paul wanting us? To want to be, does he want us

to be the gold and silver or the wooden clay?

It's a rhetorical question, one has more value than the other.

We're supposed to want to be that, which is Honorable Right?

So if we're supposed to strive to be these honorable vessels,

How do we do it verse 21? Therefore, if anyone cleanses

himself from the ladder, he will be a vessel for Honor Sanctified

and useful for the master prepared.

For every good work. Useful is a Biblical concept and

you and I should desire to be useful to be helpful and there

is a wrong way to go about About it where we think we're the only

one who can do it or maybe we think that we can never do it or

we just wish we had what everybody else had no rather we

focus on what God has given us. What has blessed us with and we

desire to be useful Ephesians chapter 2 verses 8 through 10

Ephesians 2:8–10

briefly please and then we'll move into that second part of

the study and this is on page, 1792 in your queue Bible,

Ephesians 2:8. Eight, for by Grace, you have

Ephesians 2:8

been saved through faith and not of yourselves.

It is a gift of God and not of Works, lest anyone should boast.

So on the one hand salvation is not works oriented where I could

somehow Merit or earn my way into heaven, right?

We talked a little bit about this last night.

It's impossible, if you did 100 Deeds, if you just did 51, good

and 49 bad, you have just enough, you can't demand to be

let in all of us who are of that age have fallen short of the

glory of God. We cannot be saved by our works.

And yet look at verse 10, For we are his workmanship created in

Christ Jesus for good works which God prepared beforehand

that we should walk in them. So even though I'm not going to

try to save myself, I'm going to rely on God's grace through

faith. Once I've obeyed the gospel

once, I've been baptized, I'm going to prepare myself to be

his workmanship. Because there's a good works

that God has prepared for us to do.

So I challenge you all to consider how you can be useful

because you've been called to be useful.

Now, let's consider part 2, which is being useful for life.

And this is a special part of the study for me for a couple of

reasons. Number one, I will Tell you that

the the author of this original study is a very precious and

dear friend of mine. And I imagine many of you know

him as well brother LG Butler Brother LG Butler passed away a

couple of years ago and he was a preacher and an English

professor and lived a full life and he lived this content out.

We got to see it. Firsthand the congregation that

I work with is a young congressman.

Aggregation. We don't have very many retired,

aged people, and older, most of our families are in our 30s, 40s

50s because of that, I guess. Youthful skew, brother LG and a

few others that have joined the congregation since then, we

looked at them with awe and reverence because we didn't have

those who are older to kind of be that example for time.

So I was Asked to write an article for the Christian

Expositor about young people serving in the kingdom, and LG

wrote, the article seniors serving in the Kingdom.

So, we collaborated and put that article out several years ago.

I can also remember anything about what mine said, it's just

it was gone right? And we do focus a lot on our

youth. We want our young people to be

involved. We want to ground and root and

establish the faith of young people.

I don't want to Discount you at all you folks.

But our LG's article was eye-opening for me because it

was helpful to show that we should be useful for life.

I had the privilege as well to do an internship at an ALS

clinic in Dallas last year. So for part of my therapy

training was to do family therapy at an ALS Clinic.

Lou Gehrig's disease where people who are diagnosed with

this typically have two to five years, Ears of life, it's a

slow-moving paralysis across the body.

It happens differently to each person but it generally happens

to people who are older in years.

So the average patient that we have was in their late 60s, 70s

80s, and one of the things that I saw again and again and again

with these families that would come in a lot of times it was

bent, it was men, the struggled with this, but Women struggled

with it as will and that was as their hands started to not be

used anymore. Maybe they couldn't walk

anymore, maybe they couldn't speak anymore.

Their most desperate plea. Was just to be useful.

They hated that that was taken from them and that their

partner, they didn't want them to be there Nurse.

They didn't want this person to have to change them brush their

teeth. Help them get dressed, they

them. And these simple things that,

and what we would do in Family Therapy, a lot of times is give

both parties, the opportunity to speak from the heart.

And one was desperately trying to say, I want to help you.

It's a privilege to help you and the other is saying, I wish I

could just be useful. So some of these things impacted

me and I want to maybe share some of the information with

you. I believe I have five minutes

and according to the 30-minute you know time that I gave you at

the beginning, I'll be honest, it's going to take more than

five minutes to get through this.

So I don't make any apologies about it.

I'm just letting you know that. I'll take my own Our own

confession in the invitation when I said 30 minutes and then

I guess I deceived us all now. I'd like to begin with the story

in the 1992, Summer Olympic Games.

Maybe some of you watch this happen.

Derek Redmond was training to run the 400 meter dash, and in

front of 65,000, Spectators after the gun went off, and the

runners started sprinting, he immediately clutched.

T', his hamstring and started to hobble.

He tore this part of his body in the worst time possible and he

was determined to finish the race.

Now what's so precious and you can go on YouTube you can look

up, Derek Redmond 400 meter dash 92 Olympics and you'll see this

man courageously trying to get to the finish line and just

unable to do it and suddenly someone from the crowd jumps

over and down. Runs over and puts an arm around

him. And it's his father as father,

who helped him train for the event and the two of them

together. Slowly jogged, the Finish Line,

Derek Redmond may or may not have won a medal.

I don't know what he was as far as in the world standing, but

he'll never be forgotten because of that race.

In fact, it was that Amount of strength that went with him for

the rest of his life as he went from place to place, giving

speeches on finishing strong. So the early years of life are

typically characterized by growth, physical Vigor,

education, the middle years are devoted to family and work.

And the senior years, as I mentioned earlier, are typically

viewed as Retirement and time for leisure trending downwards

physically and health ultimate leading leading.

Death and this is intended intended to be something that is

darker gloomy, but is a natural part of life that life cycle

from birth to death. And yet, even though there are

three point six, five million persons, who can according to

this statistic are in the retirement years that is 65 and

older statistics. Also show that there are several

years after that age. In which these people will

continue to be useful in their life.

So, what I'd like to Simply do is help us rethink this part of

our age. For example, Bible seniors,

Abraham was 75 when he was called to leave his native land.

And travel, Sarah was 90 years old when she was called to give

birth to a child. Moses was 80 years old when he

was called to lead the Israelites out of the Promised

Land. The Bible just says, Eli was

very old. We don't know how old that is

but he was very old. When he helped young, Samuel

become the next Prophet, or the last prophet and the early days

of Israel. And then barzilai was 80 years

old when King David was on the run and barzillai whipped

together, food and different items of Aid to help David while

he was on the run. And you could even write down

zakhar, Zacharias and Elizabeth, who said they were both well,

advanced years when God called them to bear and rear John the

Baptist and so When the scriptures in 1st Corinthians

chapter 12 verse 21, say those members of the body, which seem

weaker are necessary. I think this is a good

application of that. Where instead of the cultures

view of when we reach retirement, then we get to kind

of take it easy and let the Next Generation take over in the

church, we should be calling all members to be useful.

So whether you're young or whether you're young at heart

and you're older, Two years then the scriptures in 1st

Corinthians 12 call you to be useful.

Ephesians 4 verse 16 says, every part must do its share and the

Ephesians 4:16

whole body is joined together by what every joint supplies.

Now the four phases of service that I'd like to talk about

briefly. So take that number that 37

million. I believe that what we talked

about earlier and that 37 million can be divided into four

basic groups, 50% of that. New 7 million population is in

basically good health. 40% of that 37 million is in moderately

ill health. And so that's the majority of

people in the retirement age, basically healthy to moderately

ill. There is the 10% who are

severely ill, which 50 and 40 and 10 make 100 right?

So what's left? Well I know that mathematically

maybe that doesn't make sense but we will also put that there

will be Be a fourth phase of service and yes I'm going to

call it service. And if you've never thought

about dying as service, then I want you to pay attention to

this part of the study because 100% of US unless Jesus comes

back, 100% of us are going to die at one point or another

generally speaking. This happens later in life later

in years. None of us know when that time

will come and so I will speak about it from that generation.

General point of view. According to the National

Institute of Health, fifty percent of seniors are basically

healthy in that 65 or older category.

Now, not only is this group in basically good health but here's

some really important things to remember about this age is

usefulness. Number one more time.

Can be devoted to the Lord's work.

If one doesn't have to work and I know it doesn't always work

out that way but if one doesn't have to work as much as they did

in their youth, that's more time.

Number two, more resources can be devoted to the Lord's work.

Once they start drawing, retirement benefits, and number

three. And I think most importantly a

wealth of accumulated wisdom can be given to the Lord's work.

And so this perspective that are older members provide Helps

minimize repeating mistakes in the Next Generation by helping

train us to do. What is right and what is good.

Titus Chapter 2 verses 3 through 5, the older women likewise are

Titus 2:3–5

to be reverent in Behavior, not Slanders, not given to much wine

teaching of good things that they may admonish the younger

women to love their husbands, to love their children to be

discreet. Chaste Homemakers good, obedient

to their own husband's. That the word of God may not be

blasphemed. So it is the older teaching the

younger in this category. First Timothy, 3:1 and Titus 2

Titus 2:2

verse 2. The older men have

responsibilities as well. LG and his article, I'm going to

try to ring a few of these and then I can share the article

with you later if you're interested in and just reading

it in its entirety. I think he does a great job of

expressing how seniors can help the church.

For example retired teachers can volunteer to assist

homeschooling parents and Killin development teaching their

children. The Bible, anybody with one good

eye and a heart of compassion could volunteer to help monitor.

The care of someone who is a set as shut in or at a nursing home.

Especially being alert to the evidence of elder abuse retired.

Accountants can provide free tax preparation or assistance in the

bookkeeping of others who may need help in that couples are

individuals with parenting skills can volunteer to babysit

for a Young couple at church who may be severely strapped for

cash and but may need a date night retired, professors with

any good language skill. Could share their expertise by

editing articles booklets for preachers.

Let's see. Again, I'm trying to maybe skip

some of these anyone with the ability to read scriptures can

read to people in nursing homes or elsewhere, or to people who

have lost their vision and this could be done over the phone,

just be alert to the opportunities.

He goes on the retired. Carpenters, retired mechanics

retired, all varieties of jobs. And so I give those for you to

be thinking about, though the skills that once developed

across a lifetime. Okay.

Briefly there is a 40% group of those who are moderately ill but

can still be serving in the Kingdom.

He gives the following examples preachers who are not are no

longer able to travel or Do the work they once did may need to

redefine their role and responsibility.

I'm reminded of the Apostle Paul.

When he was not able to travel, many came to his lodging and I

like that, the idea of adapting one's work where if you're not

able to get out as much that inviting people to come to you a

sister in the congregation and Lubbock Texas, dealing with

significant health challenges herself, regularly asks, brother

LG the time of writing for the names of persons to she can Pray

for via the Internet. So she prays and sends cards to

them regularly, what a Ministry for this woman.

One of the residents of the nursing home which LG

volunteered a retired music, teacher frequently played the

piano for the residents who were there as well.

So as one's Health starts to diminish maybe once the body is

not able to move as it was continuing to use abilities is

helpful. My brother LG talks about the

severely ill, category from personal experience.

Many of you may have known his wife Priscilla, she had

Parkinson's disease. So I'd like to Simply share

Share this single narrative here but it goes well with with those

who had ALS and other conditions where physically they feel as

though they have nothing to offer, but I want you to listen

to this story. I think it's powerful.

His wife by the incidentally, at this time, had been in a nursing

home for several years on one occasion.

When I went to visit my wife Priscilla, she was not where I

expected at that time, her Parkinson's disease had Advanced

to the point that she was confined to a wheelchair.

She was not able to talk clear enough to be understood.

Will her vision was so affected that she could no longer read.

I found her. On the other side of the

dividing room, she had somehow managed to get into her

wheelchair and worked the wheelchair around the room

divider and moved up beside the bed of a Dying roommate.

Priscilla, had her hand on the roommates arm comforting her

later. That night her roommate passed

away. Not only did my dear wife

comfort her friend but she taught me.

Volumes about unselfish love compassion, courage and how we

might Advance the kingdom for such a time as this as powerful

isn't it. that this woman who wasn't able to speak, barely

able to move and yet used What God had given her and that was a

keen awareness that somebody was about to go from this life to

the next. And instead of that roommate

dying alone, she got to die with somebody holding her hand during

the last few years of life at the same nursing home.

There was a man who was asked by heat rather, he asked his

children and grandchildren every time they came to visit him.

Why do you think I'm still here? To which his children responded.

You're still here because you're teaching us so much.

His daughter graciously shared with me that he helped her learn

how to face death at his own initiative, he'd given up his

driver's license when he was 92, he willingly went into assisted

living. When he was 96 following a

stroke later, he and his wife gave up their home and

distributed all of their personal effects, and moved

into, a nursing home with Grace and contentment.

Ain't he had taught his family, he Advance the kingdom through a

teaching example. Finally, let's consider very

briefly about how we glorify God in the service when we die and

again, in our culture we don't talk about this a lot.

When we were in Cambodia, they handle death of a bit

differently than we do and most cultures do handle it in their

own way because we have a culture that is very medically

driven that wants to save the ADI at all costs.

A lot of times we don't want to talk about dying.

Well there is a scripture however that I'd like for you to

consider with me and I like you to look at John chapter 21,

John 21:18

verse 18, so go ahead and get your Bibles.

This will be one of the last ones that we look at.

In John chapter 21 verse. 18 and 19.

John 21 · chapter mention

I'll go ahead and flip my open to and read it out of the Bible

instead of the notes. In this passage, Jesus is

talking to the Apostle Peter And he says, three times.

Do you love me? Peter says, you know, I love

you. And he says, feed my sheep

Peters upset about this, and there's reasons that he is

upset. But look at Verse 18.

Most assuredly, Jesus says, I say to you, when you were

younger, you girded yourself and walk where you wished.

But when you are old, you will stretch out your hand, another

will gird you and carry you, where you do not wish.

This, he spoke signifying by what death.

He would glorify God. And when he had spoken this, he

said to him, he said to him, follow me.

You know, that is very subtle and it happens very fast, but

Peter was going to glorify God and death.

Brothers and sisters. I want to say that to you as

well, that we will glorify God and death as well.

We have an opportunity if we're given time to make things well

with our family with friends. And if we're not given time, If

it's sudden and it's our life and our Legacy that will carry

on and will glorify God with that.

And the same way that Peter had that opportunity, I want to

challenge each of you to think about that.

And about the Legacy that you're leaving.

Will you be glorifying God? I certainly think we have the

opportunity to do so. Jacob in Genesis chapter 48 and

Genesis 48 · chapter mention

49 was aware of his death. And so he used that time to

speak individually to his sons before he died.

David in Second Kings one and two on his deathbed was aiming

Solomon, his son and lifting him up and encouraging him about

being a king for the Next Generation.

Finally, in Psalm chapter 71 verse 18, the Bible says now

Psalms 71:18

also, when I am old and grey-headed, oh God, do not

forsake me until I declare your strength to this generation and

your power to everyone who is to come.

So, this psalmist. In his latter years, wanted to

use that opportunity to glorify God and I challenge you to do

the same. So whether you may be a senior

now or senior in the future, I hope that you're willing to look

past yourself and whatever ways that you're being misused and be

useful. And be useful for life.

That's our Bible study tonight. I hope it's helpful and

encouraging. I look forward to some good

conversations that we can have about it, but we don't want to

close without offering a gospel invitation.

So if someone's here who's not a Christian, we want you to know

that. As the scripture said in

Ephesians 2 verses 8 through 10. The you can be saved by grace

Ephesians 2:8–10

through faith and that faith means to hear the word and

believe in the message of Jesus Christ to repent of your sins

confess that he's a son of God and be baptized for the

remission of sins. Brothers sisters, if anybody

needs prayers of the church, this is a time for you as well.

Please come as we stand and sing a song.

We thank you for listening to our podcast, put on by the

Church of Christ at 22:15 plans. Road in Bakersfield, if you

would like any additional information or you would like to

receive a free Bible correspondence, course by mail.

Please email us at info at True Church of Christ.

Bakersfield.com. Our service times are on Sundays

at 10:30 a.m. and 5 p.m. and Wednesdays at 7:30 p.m. please,

make plans to join us. We would love for you to be our

honored guest