I preached this sermon when I was young. It means more to me now that I'm getting older. Wonderful things have been done for God by elderly adults. One should never think of himself/herself as too old. Neither should younger people count out the abilities and experience of the elderly.

1. Never to Old

2. Sooner or later you will have to
Face up to it
You’re Getting Older

3. Americans have become
Preoccupied with staying young.
• Weight lost pills
• Weight lost Diets
• Health Clubs
• Cosmetic Surgery
– Face lifts
– Hair implants
– Tummy tucks (bottom tucks)

4. Americans have become Preoccupied with
staying young.
• Specialty Products
– Face creams
– Hair restorer
– Hair color
• Nutritional Products
Problem is
Most of these are Cosmetic (external)
We Still Grow Old

5. We Have a Problem
We try to stop something that can’t
be Stopped
• Maybe the Real Problem Isn’t that we are Getting
Older
• Maybe the Real Problem is our Attitude about
Old Age.
• We Can’t change the fact that we are getting older,
• But we can change our attitude about age.

6. Our Culture has convinced us that the
Criteria for Happiness is physical health
and external beauty.
• But if this is true
As we age we loose both,
So, our pursuit of Happiness Fades with
age.

7. The Bible has a different view on Aging,
A view that can excite us about getting
older.
I. True happiness comes thru the inward
development of character…
II. Our Greatest Achievements can be Achieved
when we are older
III. Age encourages respect for older adults

8. I. True happiness comes thru the inward
development of character which is gained by
aging.
A. 1 Samuel 16:7 7
But the Lord said to Samuel,
“Don’t be impressed by his appearance or his
height, for I have rejected him. God does not view
things the way men do. People look on the
outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the
heart.”

9. I. True happiness comes thru the inward
development of character which is gained by
aging.
B. Positive Characteristics of getting older:
1. Patience - Romans 5:3 Not only this, but we also rejoice in
sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance,
2. Perseverance – working thru obstacles to accomplish goals.
3. Discipline – the ability to work with focus toward a given goal.
4. Humility – recognizing limitations and depending on someone
else.

10. I. True happiness comes thru the inward
development of character which is gained by
aging.
B. Positive Characteristics of getting older:
5. Contentment –learning to be satisfied with, and making the most
out of what we have (possessions, health, looks, intelligence,
etc.)
6. Self-Control
7. Skills
8. Knowledge
9. Wisdom and Discernment.

11. If you want happiness/joy, work at who
you are, not just at what you look like or
what you have.
These qualities are gained with time
and seldom found in youth.

12. Not only does society look at the
externals of beauty and health for
happiness, it also assumes that beauty
and youth are needed for
accomplishments.
Result – We often put
our greatest Resources
out to pasture.

13. II. Our greatest accomplishments can
be achieved late in life.
A. Biblical Examples:
1. Caleb
a. His past faithfulness and proven character demonstrated that
he qualified for what he asked for
b. His vision for the future was great even though he was 85
years old.
Joshua 14:6-14 (NET)
6
The men of Judah approached Joshua in Gilgal, and Caleb son of
Jephunneh the Kenizzite said to him, “You know what the Lord said about you
and me to Moses, the man of God, at Kadesh Barnea. 7
I was forty years old
when Moses, the Lord’s servant, sent me from Kadesh Barnea to spy on the
land and I brought back to him an honest report. 8
My countrymen who
accompanied me frightened the people, but I remained loyal to the Lord my
God. 9
That day Moses made this solemn promise: ‘Surely the land on which
you walked will belong to you and your descendants permanently, for you
remained loyal to the Lord your God.’ 10
So now, look, the Lord has preserved
my life, just as he promised, these past forty-five years since the Lord spoke
these words to Moses, during which Israel traveled through the wilderness.
Now look, I am today eighty-five years old.
11
Today I am still as strong as when
Moses sent me out. I can fight and
go about my daily activities with the
same energy I had then. 12
Now,
assign me this hill country which the
Lord promised me at that time! No
doubt you heard at that time that the
Anakites live there in large, fortified
cities. But, assuming the Lord is with
me, I will conquer them, as the Lord
promised.” 13
Joshua asked God to
empower Caleb son of Jephunneh
and assigned him Hebron. 14
So
Hebron remains the assigned land of
Caleb son of Jephunneh the
Kenizzite to this very day because he
remained loyal to the Lord God of
Israel.

14. II. Our greatest accomplishments can
be achieved late in life.
A. Biblical Examples:
2. Joshua was 80 years old when he started leading
Israel.
3. Moses was 80 years old when he started his ministry
and went to Egypt.
4. Abraham was 75 when he left Haran. He was 100
when he fathered Isaac.
5. Daniel served under four Kings.

15. II. Our greatest accomplishments can
be achieved late in life.
B. Examples outside the Bible.
Winston Churchill was 77 when
he entered his second term as
prime Minister of England and
served until he was 81. He
remained politically active until
he was 91.

16. II. Our greatest accomplishments can
be achieved late in life.
B. Examples outside the Bible.
Benjamin Franklin was 75
when he negotiated peace with
Great Britain. He was 81
when he effected the compromise
which resulted in the US
constitution.

17. II. Our greatest accomplishments can
be achieved late in life.
B. Examples outside the Bible.
Michelangelo was 71 when
appointed chief architect of St.
Peter’s in Rome. He died at
89 still creating frescos on the
walls of the Pauline Chapel.

18. II. Our greatest accomplishments can
be achieved late in life.
B. Examples outside the
Bible.
Marion Rice hart
completed a solo
transatlantic flight in a
single-engine Beech craft
Bonanza when she was
84.

19. II. Our greatest accomplishments can
be achieved late in life.
B. Examples outside the
Bible.
Frank Lloyd Wright
(America’s greatest
architect) was 91 when he
completed New York’s
Guggenheim Museum.

20. II. Our greatest accomplishments can
be achieved late in life.
B. Examples outside the Bible.
Yitzhak Shamir became Prime
Minister of Israel when he was
76 (1983). In 1991(84) the
Shamir government took part
in the Madrid peace talks and
ordered the rescue of thousands
of Ethiopian Jews, known as
Operation Solomon.

21. II. Our greatest accomplishments can
be achieved late in life.
B. Examples outside the
Bible.
Mother Teresa – was still
ministering in Calcutta and
traveling around the world
when she died at 87.

22. II. Our greatest accomplishments can
be achieved late in life.
B. Examples outside the Bible.
Others: Albert Schweitzer, Florence Nightingale,
Alexander Eifel, Billy Graham, Vance havner,
Dr. Criswell.
People I’ve known: Golf Committee with FCA,
Chaplain Ray, Bernie Meltzer.

23. II. Our greatest accomplishments can
be achieved late in life.
B. So what? Application for our Older Adults
1. Don’t stop dreaming big dreams for God (Be a Caleb).
2. Don’t allow others to convince you that you’re past your
usefulness (don’t sell yourself short).
3. Don’t retire from living because you’ve retired from a job. If
God has given you another day to breath, give God another
day of service.
4. Believe you have something worth contributing to the next
generation – whether they know it or not, they need you.

24. II. Our greatest accomplishments can
be achieved late in life.
B. So what? Application for our Older Adults
5. Rededication, recommitment is not just for the young.
6. Be teachable. You’re not too old to learn. Ecclesiastes
4:13 13
A poor but wise youth is better than an old and
foolish king who no longer knows how to receive
advice.

25. A Lesson to Young Adults

26. III. Have a Biblical attitude about
older adults.
I’ve Heard said in previous churches:
Youth say, “I don’t like old people.”
Young Adults say, “we are becoming a younger
church”, implying, “younger is healthier”.
But, there are some lessons for younger adults.

27. III. Have a Biblical attitude about
older adults.
A. Learn from older Adults.
1. Joshua spent 40 years under tutor of Moses (40-80 years of
age). He lead Israel 30 years.
2. Put yourself under the tutor of an older adult (In Seminary I
studied my teachers as much as I did the subject matter).
3. Read Biographies from men/women that have been where you
want to go. Some principles transcend generations. Learn from
the mistakes as well as the successes. Be careful of Fades.

28. III. Have a Biblical attitude about
older adults.
A. Learn from older Adults.
4. Give older adults a chance to serve. Don’t sell them
short. They have allot to give.
5. Show respect for their experiences. Treat their age as
a God given gift, not a burden.
6. Age with Grace. Consider it a trade: Physical health
and beauty for inward character, experience and
wisdom.

29. Proverbs 20:29
The glory of young men is their
strength, and the splendor of old men is
gray hair.

30. Don’t be fooled by the world’s standards of
external happiness and it’s opinion on aging.
If your older, don’t die early by allowing
your goals and dreams to die. Live life while
you have it.
If you’re young, honor old age and you
will be honored in your old age.