<%@LANGUAGE="JAVASCRIPT" CODEPAGE="1252"%> Untitled Document • How The Elderly Can Bear Fruit For God
• We should never consider ourselves washed up or retired from the service of the Lord.

• Introduction
• A goal for many people in life is a happy retirement...
• They spend years saving and planning for the time in which they retire
• They look forward to the free time to do what interests them

• Introduction
• But is the concept of "retirement" applicable to the kingdom of God?
• We may rightly retire from secular jobs, what about our service in the church?
• Granted, physical infirmities may sometimes be a hindrance, but is such a valid reason for retiring from the work of the church?

• Psalm 92:12-15
• The righteous man will flourish like the palm tree, he will grow like a cedar in Lebanon. Planted in the house of the LORD, They will flourish in the courts of our God. They will still yield fruit in old age; They shall be full of sap and very green, To declare that the LORD is upright; He is my rock, and there is no unrighteousness in Him”.

• How The Elderly Can Bear Fruit
• THERE IS ALWAYS A NEED FOR "ELDERS"...
• Did God not design the local church to be overseen by elders? Acts 14:23; Titus 1:5-9
• Men who were older, capable of teaching and leading the flock?
• Men who were to serve as overseers and examples of God's flock? - 1 Peter 5:1-4

• How The Elderly Can Bear Fruit
• Yet many male members seem to retire from active service in the church about the same time they retire from secular work!
• Around age 65, which is rather young compared to others!
• Just when they might be useful to the Lord, they are retiring!
• If unqualified to serve, why not spend a few years growing and developing the necessary qualifications (if possible), and then serve?
• Many young men who want to preach prepare themselves in just a couple of years, why can't older men do the same?

• How The Elderly Can Bear Fruit
• THERE IS ALWAYS A NEED FOR OLDER WOMEN...
• Who will do what Paul commanded in Titus 2:3-5
• To be "teachers of good things", especially to teach the younger women how to love their husbands, love their children, be good wives and homemakers
• Sadly, many women stop teaching when they reach the age they are commanded to teach!
• Don't feel qualified to teach? Then prepare yourself!
• Commit yourselves to study and learning God's word, and in a short time you will be more than prepared!

• How The Elderly Can Bear Fruit
• THERE IS ALWAYS A NEED FOR SERVICE THE ELDERLY CAN PROVIDE...
• Some examples:
• Hospitality and benevolence - many elderly are financially secure, able to do what many younger families cannot
• Edification and evangelism - with so much time on their hands, why not use it to study with others?
• Even the most infirm can do things like:
• Send cards, make phone calls

• How The Elderly Can Bear Fruit
• Spend time in prayer and fasting - cf. Luke 2:37; 1 Timothy 5:5
• From our text we see what else the elderly can and should do:
• "To declare the that the Lord is upright; He is my rock, and there is no unrighteousness in Him" - Psalm 92:15
• To proclaim God's strength to the next generation - cf. Psalm 71:17-18
• To recount God's mighty works to the next generation - cf. Psalm 78:1-8

• Philippians 3:12-15
• “Not that I have already attained, or am already perfected; but I press on, that I may lay hold of that for which Christ Jesus has also laid hold of me. Brethren, I do not count myself to have apprehended; but one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind and reaching forward to those things which are ahead, I press toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus. Therefore let us, as many as are mature, have this mind; and if in anything you think otherwise, God will reveal even this to you”.

• The Elderly Have A Use
• God can certainly use people of all ages...
• Who are willing to prepare themselves to be of service to Him
• Who are willing to present themselves in service to Him
• We may retire from secular jobs, but not from our service to the Lord!

• The Elderly Have A Use
• Certainly physical infirmities may limit what we can do
• But only death can stop us from doing what we can!
• Is the problem really one of physical infirmities, or spiritual laziness?
• We can't stop the aging process
• But we can be renewed inwardly daily! - cf. 2 Corinthians 4:16

• The Elderly Have A Use
• Our problem may be related to our youth-oriented culture...
• Where the wisdom and experience of the elderly is not respected
• Where our society is too quick to put the elderly "out to pasture"
• Other cultures reflect the scriptural norm...
• Where the elderly are revered, their wisdom and experience appreciated

• CONCLUSION
• Where the elderly continue in roles of influence and leadership, even to death I believe the righteous can and should "still bear fruit in old age".
• I hope that this lesson will encourage the elderly to re-examine their usefulness to the Lord and His church.

By Carey Scott from an outline by Mark Copeland

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