Our Father in heaven,
We thank You for another day of life and for the opportunity to be together.
As we open Your Word this morning, help us to listen carefully. Help us to see what You have taught us about life, about growing older, and about the hope we have in Jesus Christ.
May our time together encourage us, and strengthen our faith.
We thank You for Your love, Your patience, and Your faithfulness through all the years of our lives.
In the name of Jesus, we pray.
Amen.
STILL BEARING FRUIT
Text: Psalm 92:12–15
Introduction — I've Been Thinking About Getting Older
I've been thinking quite a bit lately about getting older.
I suppose that's understandable. I've had a few years to experience it!
And I've discovered something interesting. When I was young, I didn't spend much time thinking about getting old. I was too busy living.
There were places to go, things to do, people to see, responsibilities to take care of.
I suppose I thought that getting old was something that happened to other people. I still do. !!!
Well, I've discovered that it happens to us, too!
And lately I've found myself asking questions I didn't ask when I was forty or fifty.
Why am I so interested in staying physically active?
Why do I still have so many things I want to accomplish?
Why do I sometimes get frustrated when I discover I can't do something as easily as I once did?
And what am I supposed to do with whatever time I still have?
I don't claim to have all the answers.
But I've been looking at some passages of Scripture, and I thought perhaps we could think about them together this morning.
Maybe you've asked some of the same questions.
And if you haven't, perhaps you can help me with mine!
1. Why Am I Suddenly So Interested in Staying Alive and Active?
Here's something I've been wondering about.
Why, at my age, have I become so interested in swimming and working out at the YMCA?
When I was younger, I wasn't particularly interested in spending my mornings going from one exercise machine to another.
But now?
I get up early and head for the Y.
I have eleven machines I like to use, and I try to get there before everybody else arrives.
Why?
Because I don't want somebody sitting on the next machine when I'm ready to use it!
I like to have the place almost to myself.
Now, why am I doing all that?
I've been asking myself that question.
And I've decided that I want to keep moving as long as I can move.
I want to keep using my mind as long as I have a mind that works.
I've even told my family, "When I lose my mind, just park me in my recliner and feed me ice cream three times a day!"
Of course, I'm joking.
Although I'm quite serious about the ice cream.
But there's something underneath that joke.
I know my body isn't going to last forever.
And I know that exercising doesn't guarantee I'll have another ten or twenty years.
It doesn't even guarantee I'll have tomorrow.
So why bother?
I've been thinking about something Paul wrote in 1 Timothy 4:8:
"For while bodily training is of some value, godliness is of value in every way, as it holds promise for the present life and also for the life to come."
Now, Paul wasn't telling Timothy to join the YMCA.
He was comparing physical training with spiritual training.
But notice that he didn't say physical exercise was worthless.
He said it has some value.
And I think that's a reasonable way to look at it.
I want to take care of the body God has given me.
Not because I expect to live forever in it.
But because it's the body I have to live in right now.
And as long as I'm able, I'd like to keep using it.
However, there's something else in Paul's words that deserves our attention.
Physical exercise has value for this life.
But godliness has value for this life and the life to come.
That's a rather important distinction, isn't it?
I can spend hours trying to keep my body working.
And perhaps I should spend some time doing that.
But what about the person living inside that body?
Am I still growing spiritually?
Am I still learning?
Am I still becoming more patient, more understanding, more loving?
Or am I spending all my energy trying to preserve a body that I know will eventually wear out?
I don't know about you, but that's a question worth asking myself.
Paul wrote in 2 Corinthians 4:16:
"So we do not lose heart. Though our outer self is wasting away, our inner self is being renewed day by day."
That's an interesting statement.
Paul doesn't deny that our bodies wear out.
He acknowledges it.
But he says something else can be happening at the same time.
While the outside is getting older, the inside can still be growing.
I like that thought.
Because no matter how much swimming I do, I cannot stop the clock.
But I can continue learning to trust God.
And perhaps that's more important than adding another few pounds to an exercise machine.
2. Why Does It Bother Me When I Can't Do What I Used to Do?
There's another question I've been asking myself.
Why do I sometimes get so frustrated when I discover I can't do something I once did without thinking?
Have you ever experienced that?
You see something that needs to be done.
You know exactly how to do it.
You've done it hundreds of times.
So you start doing it.
And suddenly your body reminds you that you're not forty years old anymore!
The mind remembers how easy it used to be.
The body has a different opinion.
And sometimes the body wins the argument.
Now, I don't particularly like that.
I suspect most of us don't.
There's something about losing abilities that troubles us.
Perhaps it's because those abilities have been part of our lives for so long.
We've been accustomed to taking care of ourselves.
We've been accustomed to helping others.
We've been accustomed to making decisions and getting things done.
And then, little by little, some of those things become more difficult.
Sometimes we need help.
And sometimes accepting help is harder than giving it.
I've been thinking about that, too.
The Bible has a rather realistic description of growing older.
In Ecclesiastes 12, Solomon uses the picture of a house growing old.
The keepers of the house tremble.
The strong men bend.
The grinders become few.
Those looking through the windows grow dim.
It's poetry, but we recognize what he's describing.
Our hands may tremble.
Our strength decreases.
Our teeth give us trouble.
Our eyesight changes.
And if Solomon had lived in our day, perhaps he would have mentioned hearing aids, too!
The Bible doesn't pretend that getting older is always pleasant.
But here's something I've been learning.
Losing an ability is not the same thing as losing our value.
Think about that for a moment.
When we were babies, we couldn't do much of anything.
Somebody had to feed us.
Somebody had to dress us.
Somebody had to carry us.
We were completely dependent on other people.
But did that make us worthless?
Of course not.
And if we reach an age when we once again need help with ordinary things, does that make us worthless?
Of course not.
Our value before God was never based on how much physical work we could accomplish.
I find that encouraging.
Because the day may come when I cannot swim.
The day may come when I cannot go to the YMCA.
The day may come when I cannot write another Bible study.
But none of those things determines whether I matter to God.
Listen to Isaiah 46:4:
"Even to your old age I am he, and to gray hairs I will carry you. I have made, and I will bear; I will carry and will save."
God was speaking to His people Israel, reminding them that He had carried them throughout their history and would continue to do so.
I don't want to take that promise out of its setting.
But I do think it reveals something important about God's character.
He does not abandon His people simply because they become weak.
In fact, Scripture repeatedly reminds us that our strength has never been the foundation of our relationship with Him.
His faithfulness is.
And perhaps one of the hardest lessons of growing older is learning that we don't always have to be the strong one.
Sometimes we need to let someone else help.
Sometimes we need to admit that we can't do something.
And sometimes we need to accept that life has changed.
That isn't always easy.
At least it isn't for me.
But perhaps learning to accept help graciously is another way we can continue growing.
3. Am I Still Supposed to Be Doing Something?
Now we come to the passage I especially wanted us to consider.
Psalm 92:12–15.
Listen to these words:
"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, to declare that the LORD is upright; he is my rock, and there is no unrighteousness in him."
Did you notice that statement?
"They still bear fruit in old age."
I've been thinking about that.
What does it mean to bear fruit when we're old?
Surely it doesn't mean we can do everything we did when we were young.
The Bible itself tells us that our physical strength declines.
So what kind of fruit is the psalmist talking about?
Notice the final verse.
He says the purpose is:
"To declare that the LORD is upright; he is my rock, and there is no unrighteousness in him."
That helps answer the question.
The psalmist is describing people whose lives continue to testify to the goodness and faithfulness of God.
And that doesn't necessarily require physical strength.
Let me illustrate.
Think about an old fruit tree.
Perhaps you've seen one that has stood in somebody's yard for fifty or sixty years.
Its trunk is crooked.
Some of its branches have been broken by storms.
It doesn't look nearly as impressive as the young trees at the nursery.
But every year, it still produces fruit.
Maybe not as much as it once did.
But it's still fruit.
And nobody complains that an apple came from an old tree!
I've been thinking about that picture.
Perhaps there are things I can no longer do.
But are there still things I can give?
Can I encourage somebody?
Can I help somebody understand a passage of Scripture?
Can I listen to someone who needs a friend?
Can I share something I've learned from living all these years?
Can I pray for someone?
Can I show patience when life doesn't go the way I want?
And perhaps most importantly, can my life still demonstrate that God is faithful?
Those are questions I need to ask myself.
And perhaps some of you have been thinking about them, too.
Now, I realize that some people reach an age when they can do very little physically.
Some cannot leave their homes.
Some have difficulty speaking.
Some are dealing with serious memory problems.
I don't want anyone to imagine that their lives have less value because they cannot do what others can.
The psalmist isn't telling us that we must remain productive by the world's standards.
He's reminding us that a life rooted in God is not made meaningless by age.
And I find that a comforting thought.
4. Why Do I Still Have So Many Things I Want to Accomplish?
Here's another thing I've noticed about myself.
I'm getting older, but I haven't run out of things I want to do!
In fact, sometimes I think my list of things to accomplish is getting longer instead of shorter.
And that seems a little unreasonable, doesn't it?
At an age when I ought to be slowing down, I keep thinking of new things I'd like to do.
One of those things is writing Bible studies.
I've been putting them on a website.
And sometimes I wonder how many people are actually reading them.
But I have a hope.
I'd like to think that twenty years from now, somebody might come across one of those studies, open a Bible, and begin examining what Scripture says.
I probably won't be around to know whether that happens.
But I'd like to think that something I'm doing today might still be useful to somebody years from now.
Now, that's just one example from my life.
I'm sure each of us has things we've done that we hope will continue to matter.
Perhaps you've raised children.
Perhaps you've taught Bible classes.
Perhaps you've helped someone through a difficult time.
Perhaps you've shown kindness to a person who had nobody else.
Perhaps you've encouraged someone who was ready to give up.
And perhaps you have no idea whether any of those things made a lasting difference.
I've been thinking about something Paul wrote in 1 Corinthians 3:6:
"I planted, Apollos watered, but God gave the growth."
Paul was talking about his work and Apollos's work in teaching the gospel.
But there's a principle there worth considering.
We don't always see the results of what we do.
Sometimes we plant.
Someone else waters.
And God gives the growth.
I like to think about that.
Because I suspect there are people whose lives have been influenced by something we said or did many years ago.
And we may never know about it.
Think about the people who influenced your own life.
Perhaps a parent.
A grandparent.
A Bible teacher.
A preacher.
A friend.
Someone who said something that helped you understand Scripture.
Someone who encouraged you when you were discouraged.
Someone who demonstrated what faithfulness looks like.
That person may have forgotten the conversation entirely.
But you haven't.
And perhaps the same thing is happening through our lives.
We may be planting seeds that someone else will harvest.
And we may never see the harvest.
Does that make the planting unimportant?
I don't think so.
Paul wrote in 1 Corinthians 15:58:
"Therefore, my beloved brothers, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that in the Lord your labor is not in vain."
"Your labor is not in vain."
I like those words.
Because sometimes I wonder whether the things I'm doing are accomplishing anything.
And perhaps you do, too.
But Paul reminds us that faithful work done for the Lord is not meaningless simply because we cannot see the results.
That's worth remembering.
5. What If My Life Becomes Much Smaller Than It Is Today?
There's another possibility I've been thinking about.
What if the day comes when I can't go where I want?
What if I can't drive?
What if I can't read as well as I do now?
What if my world becomes smaller?
That's a real possibility.
And I suspect some of you have already experienced it.
There was a time when your world included a job, a home full of children, friends, activities, responsibilities, and places to go.
Then retirement came.
The children grew up.
Some friends moved away.
Others died.
Health problems developed.
And the world that once seemed so large became smaller.
That can be difficult.
And I don't think we ought to pretend otherwise.
But I've been thinking about the apostle Paul.
There was a time when Paul traveled from city to city.
He preached in synagogues.
He taught in homes.
He crossed seas.
He established congregations.
Then he found himself in prison.
His world became much smaller.
He couldn't travel where he wanted.
He couldn't visit the people he wanted to see.
He couldn't carry on his work the way he once had.
But he continued serving Christ in the circumstances he had.
He encouraged others.
He prayed.
He wrote letters.
And those letters have continued helping Christians for nearly two thousand years.
Now, our circumstances are not the same as Paul's.
But his example reminds me that a change in circumstances doesn't necessarily mean the end of a meaningful life.
Sometimes the form of our service changes.
Sometimes the opportunities become fewer.
Sometimes what we can do seems very small.
But small doesn't mean unimportant.
Think about Anna in Luke 2.
She was an elderly widow who worshiped God with fasting and prayer.
When Mary and Joseph brought Jesus to the temple, Anna gave thanks to God and spoke about Him to those who were waiting for Jerusalem's redemption.
Luke doesn't tell us about great journeys she made.
He doesn't tell us about books she wrote.
He tells us about an elderly woman who remained faithful and recognized what God was doing.
And here we are, almost two thousand years later, still talking about her.
I find that remarkable.
Perhaps our world will become smaller.
But our faith doesn't have to become smaller with it.
And perhaps our influence will continue in ways we cannot imagine.
6. What Am I Really Trying to Hold On To?
I want to return for a moment to that question about swimming and exercise.
Why am I doing it?
Why do I get up so early?
Why do I want to keep moving?
I think part of the answer is that I don't want to lose the abilities I still have.
And I don't think there's anything wrong with that.
But I've also been asking myself another question.
Am I trying to hold on to life itself, or am I trying to make good use of the life I have?
There's a difference.
No matter how hard I exercise, I cannot prevent death.
None of us can.
Hebrews 9:27 reminds us that death is appointed for mankind.
That's not a particularly cheerful thought!
But it's a realistic one.
And the Bible doesn't leave us there.
Jesus said in John 11:25:
"I am the resurrection and the life. Whoever believes in me, though he die, yet shall he live."
That's the Christian's hope.
Not that our bodies will never grow old.
Not that we will never become sick.
Not that we can somehow exercise enough to escape death.
Our hope is in Jesus Christ.
And that changes the way we think about the years we have left.
I don't have to pretend that I will live forever in this body.
I don't have to pretend that growing older is always enjoyable.
I can acknowledge the difficulties.
I can laugh about some of them.
I can be honest about the things that trouble me.
And at the same time, I can trust that my future is in God's hands.
Paul wrote in Philippians 1:21:
"For to me to live is Christ, and to die is gain."
Paul wasn't saying he wanted to abandon his responsibilities.
He was expressing confidence in Christ, whether he continued living or faced death.
I find that a challenging thought.
Because I still have things I want to do.
I still have plans.
I still have people I care about.
I still have questions I want to study.
And I'd like to be around a while longer!
But I also know that my ultimate hope cannot be in how many years I have left.
It must be in the One who has promised life beyond this one.
And perhaps that's one of the most important lessons we can learn as we grow older.
Conclusion — Perhaps We're Not Finished Yet
Well, those are some of the things I've been thinking about.
I don't know whether you've been asking yourself the same questions.
Perhaps you have.
Perhaps your questions are different.
But I suspect most of us have discovered that growing older brings changes we didn't expect.
Some are amusing.
Some are frustrating.
Some are painful.
And some make us think more seriously about life than we did when we were young.
I still intend to go swimming.
I still intend to work those eleven machines at the YMCA as long as I'm able.
And I still intend to get there early enough that nobody is sitting on the next one I want to use!
I still have Bible studies I want to write.
I still have things I want to learn.
I still have people I want to encourage.
And I hope that some of what I do will be useful to somebody long after I'm gone.
But I'm also trying to learn something else.
My value before God doesn't depend on how many laps I swim.
It doesn't depend on how many Bible studies I write.
It doesn't depend on whether I can still drive, travel, or do the things I once enjoyed.
My hope rests in Jesus Christ.
And as long as God gives me life, I want to keep learning what it means to trust Him.
Let me read those words from Psalm 92 one more time:
"They still bear fruit in old age."
I like that.
Not because it promises that we'll always be strong.
It doesn't.
Not because it promises that we'll never become dependent on others.
It doesn't promise that, either.
But because it reminds us that a life rooted in God can continue to have meaning, even when everything around us is changing.
And perhaps that's what I most want to remember.
I may not be able to do everything I used to do.
I may not accomplish everything I still want to accomplish.
I may never know whether some of the seeds I've planted have produced anything.
But I can continue trusting God.
I can continue learning.
I can continue loving people.
And I can continue looking forward to the life Christ has promised.
So perhaps the question isn't simply, "How much longer will I live?"
Perhaps a better question is:
"With whatever life God gives me, how can I continue bearing fruit?"
That's a question I'm still working on.
And perhaps we can keep working on it together.
Pray with me.
Our Father in heaven,
Thank You for the promises we have read in Your Word today.
Thank You for reminding us that even as we grow older, our lives can continue to have meaning and purpose.
Father, You know each of us. You know the things we can still do, and You know the things we can no longer do. You know our disappointments, our concerns, and sometimes even our fears about what lies ahead.
Help us to accept the changes that come with age without losing our trust in You.
Give us wisdom to make good use of whatever time You give us. Help us to encourage others, to share what we have learned, and to continue growing in faith and love.
And Father, when our strength becomes less, help us remember that Your faithfulness has not changed.
We thank You for the people who have influenced our lives, and we pray that something in our own lives may be a blessing to those who come after us.
Most of all, we thank You for Jesus Christ, for His sacrifice, His resurrection, and the hope of eternal life that we have through Him.
Help us to live whatever days remain with gratitude rather than fear, with faith rather than discouragement, and with love for You and for one another.
And when our earthly lives come to an end, may we be found faithful in Christ.
In His name we pray.
Amen.
Prise God from all blessings flow
Praise him all creatures here below
Praise him above ye heavenly hosts
Praise Father, Son and Holy Ghost. amen
Go with God and have a great week.