Fulfilling God's Purpose As Seniors

[00:00:00] I greet you this morning in the name of our wonderful Savior, our Lord Jesus Christ. I guess that this whole thing with that family that was killed in that accident, most of a family, I guess has really been on my heart since I heard about it and been following it some on the news and so on. and some may not be aware that there was one girl in that group that was not from that family. [00:00:35] She was writing with them and she was from the congregation, a lot of us here would know Mervyn and Lula. What's her last name? Hosteller, yeah. From the Auburn area there in Kentucky. and she was from, it was a girl that was from their congregation, from that congregation there so there was more than just the one family plus I think there was another fellow there that was engaged to one of the girls so we speak of it as a family but there was some others that would have been outside of that family too [00:01:10] and I just had to really think, you know, not only about that family but their church and the kind of hole that would leave in their congregation and the things that they must be going through. So we really need to remember them in prayer. This morning I realize it's Palm Sunday and I chose not to bring a message concerning directly that whole area of Palm Sunday. [00:01:45] But I'd like to think about this theme that we have as a congregation for this year. And that theme is the theme of fulfilling God's purpose for my life. And it's a theme that we as a leadership team came up with here some time ago and we shared it with you. And we want to, through the year, not every message, but occasionally, sort of bring messages that center around that. [00:02:24] And I was thinking about this, and as I thought about it, I thought, well, really, God's purpose in our life, and I believe that the main purpose for all of us, is to glorify God and to please Him. But as I was thinking about that, I thought, you know, the actual putting that into practice can sometimes change through life. How we do that as a child or as a young person, and how we do that as an older person, the actual doing of that can vary and it can be different. [00:03:04] Now, normally we think about a message like this as one that's often preached to young people, to youth. And that is finding God's purpose for your life and fulfilling that. But I want to start at the other end of that, and maybe sometime I'll have some others of different age groups, but I want to start at the other end of that and think about that as senior citizens. How do we do that? [00:03:36] I used to think that as I was younger and as I looked at older people, I used to have this idea that, you know, by the time you get that age, you've got it all together. And you probably don't have any temptations anymore. And you know all the answers. And you just got everything together. But I found that as I've had to admit now, officially I've become a senior citizen And the official age is 65 regardless, irregardless of what McDonald's says with their coffee [00:04:09] But I found that that's really not the case That, you know, when we get older we still, we still face difficulties We still face struggles, we still face temptations Temptations may be different, but they're still real. And so, I guess the challenge is this morning that to think of us as senior citizens, how do we fulfill God's purpose for our lives? [00:04:46] Now, I want young people, all of you, to listen, because you're all headed there. And it's a good idea to kind of see where you're headed. So, don't anyone think that, well, that doesn't apply to me this morning, but I want you all to listen to what you have coming. I'd like to go first of all to Ecclesiastes chapter 12. Ecclesiastes chapter 12 gives us a sort of a view of old age. [00:05:22] Now it does in some very colorful or figurative language. And sometimes you have to stop a little bit and figure out what it's saying. But I've come to appreciate this passage because it does give an accurate view of older years. He starts out in verse 1 and he does talk to youth about it. And he's telling the young people, now you start out well. Remember the Creator in the days of thy youth before these days come. [00:06:00] And it's true that when we begin with God in our younger years, there's a lot bigger chance of people knowing the Lord and so on, accepting the Christ in younger years than there is in older. It doesn't mean it can't happen, but it's just a lot better if we do that when we're younger, before those days come. Now, don't waste those years. I realize we can come to the Lord when we're young and older. And I'm glad for the Lord's mercy and grace that helps us. But don't waste those years if you can, if you can help it. [00:06:38] Remember now thy Creator in the days of thy youth, while the evil days come not. He calls them evil days. They can be some difficult days. Someone has said that getting old is not for the faint-hearted. But it can be some difficult days. It says, Nor the years draw nigh, when thou shalt say, I have no pleasure in them. While the sun, or the light, or the moon, or the stars be not darkened, nor the clouds return after the rain. It's just kind of a general tone there of life. [00:07:12] And I don't know if it talks a little bit later about eyesight, but even maybe things seem kind of dark at that time. The clouds return after the rain. Usually after a nice rainstorm goes through, the sun comes back out. But it's saying sometimes when we're older, that doesn't happen. It seems like the clouds stay even after the rain. In the day when the keepers of the house shall tremble. What's that? What starts to tremble? The keepers of the house. Sometimes our hands begin to shake. [00:07:43] And the strong men shall bow themselves, stooped over, and once we stood up straight, our backs begin to bend. And people that once, when you knew them in their prime, very strong and very healthy, and yet the effects of age can stoop them over and become very weak. Can the grinders cease because there are few? Pretty obvious what that is, isn't it? Our teeth. Our teeth fall out and there are few. [00:08:15] And those that look out of the windows be darkened. What's that? Our eyes. We don't have the eyesight that we used to. And the doors shall be shut in the streets when the sound of the grinding is low. I think that's probably our hearing. I've experienced that. Not only because of age, but other reasons. And he shall rise up with the voice of the bird. Do you sleep better or not as good when you get older? You all know the answer to that. I see young people sometimes they can sleep for hours and hours and you think, how can they do that? [00:08:49] And you get older and it just don't happen that way usually. And all the daughters of the music shall be brought low. What happens to our voice? Changes, doesn't it, when we get older? And when they shall be afraid of that which is high Those of you that used to crawl around on roofs and so on and you get older What happens? Not for me anymore I want to keep my two feet on the ground And fear shall be in the way Do you enjoy going down the interstate at 80 miles [00:09:21] Well, 70 miles an hour 70 miles an hour The way you used to when you were younger, and all those cars are flying around all over, you know. No, things change, and there's a lot more fears than what there used to be. And the almond trees shall flourish. Well, if you have it on top, it's white. But, you know, almond trees shall flourish. The white hair. [00:09:53] The grasshopper shall be a burden. Just lifting things is not very easy anymore. And desire shall fail. Just the whole desire of life and so on, it just isn't there like it used to be. Because man goeth to his long home, and the mourners go about the streets. You know, it seems like lately, something Marjorie and I talked about, it seems like the last several weeks, we've had a funeral or viewing about every week. And it seemed like there had been a lot of them. [00:10:26] And my son told me recently, he said, Dad, all you do is go to funerals and viewings. Never home. But, you know, it's just as we get older, we notice that a lot more. We have a lot more of those to go to. And then these next verses, I'm not sure what all these mean, but I'm guessing it's referring to our internal organs, perhaps, and so on. Wherever the silver cord be loosed, or the golden bowl be broken, or the pitcher be broken at the fountain, or the wheel broken at the cistern [00:10:57] I just kind of liken that to our bodily organs And then shall the dust return to the earth as it was, and the spirit shall return unto God who gave it He says vanity of vanity, says the preacher, all is vanity That gives a picture of what is happening when we get older and how that affects us. You know, age kind of changes over the years and how long people can expect to live. [00:11:31] You know, what is old now a few years ago would have been extremely old. And, of course, if you live back in Genesis, in the first part of Genesis, people live hundreds of years. But even over time, ages kind of tend to fluctuate of the kind of age that people can expect to live. A table that I found says that if you were born in 1930, you could expect to live just a little bit less than 60 years old. [00:12:09] If things would have stayed the same as they were in 19, if I'm understanding this table right, if things would have stayed the same, if you were born in 1930, you could have only expected to live just a hair under 60 years old. But today, if a child is born now, the last year that I have is 2005, the average is 77.8, almost 78 years. And so you have roughly 18 years difference there from 1930 till now. [00:12:42] And so our life expectancy has changed over the last number of years. And of course that's changed a lot of things too. One thing has changed things financially. People used to be when they retired, I can remember when I was young, when I was a young boy, I'd hear people talk about retiring. And they said if you had $10,000 in the bank, you could easily retire and live the rest of your days out. Well, that's kind of a joke now, isn't it? And we know that that doesn't go very far. So financially it has affected a lot of things. [00:13:16] But also it's affected people health-wise. One reason why we have so much more Alzheimer's and dementia today is simply because people are living longer. and those things have a tendency to show up and other health problems are showing up that some cancers and that sort of thing that probably wouldn't have showed up as much when people were dying at a younger age and so there is a lot of different things that have a tendency to happen there [00:13:48] the Bible speaks about age and older age as a blessing And I know we kind of make jokes about it and we kind of, maybe in a way, kind of dread it. But you know the Bible talks about the blessing of being older. And I think that we need to realize that. Let's just look at a few things. For one thing, I won't turn to this one, and we know this one pretty well. [00:14:18] But the fifth commandment out of the ten commandments says, Children, obey your parents and the Lord, for this is right. honor your father and your mother and then it gives a promise and that is that your days may be long upon the earth which the Lord your God has given you and that's a promise there that God has given that those that are obedient to their parents and so on can expect to live longer and that just makes sense doesn't it if we're obedient to our parents it's certainly going to keep us from getting into some of the foolish ways [00:14:51] and some of the things that can be very harmful to us that if we don't listen to them would happen to us and cause an early death. It's interesting over in Genesis chapter 47, we can turn to that one, and this is where Jacob comes after he finds out that Joseph is alive, and Joseph brings the family down to Egypt, and Joseph brings Jacob in to meet Pharaoh. And I notice that Pharaoh does something here that we often times do when we meet someone that is well up into years. [00:15:32] And Genesis 47 verse 10, it says, And Jacob brought in Jacob his father, and set him before Pharaoh. And Jacob blessed Pharaoh. It's interesting there, that as you read this account, you get the feeling of who is the greater here, Jacob or Pharaoh. And you get the feeling that Jacob is the one, but I believe it's because of his, one of the reasons is because of his age, not the only reason, but because of his age, and Pharaoh respected him. [00:16:14] But Pharaoh does something, and Pharaoh said unto him, Jacob, how old are you? Now I know we oftentimes want to ask somebody too, we see somebody that's a pretty good age. How old are you? And Jacob said unto Pharaoh, the days of the years of my pilgrimage are a hundred and thirty years. Few and evil have the days of the years of my life been, and have not attained unto the days of the years of the life of my fathers in the days of their pilgrimage. What's he referring to? He says, you know, I'm 130 years old, but he says, I'm not as old as what my father and grandfather were. [00:16:54] How old was Abraham? He died. 175 years old. How old was Isaac? I can't remember that right now. I remember Abraham, but I can't remember Isaac. But I think he was older, he evidently was older than this, and maybe 140 or something like that. But, so he's referring to that. But there was respect there to Jacob because of his great age that he had. [00:17:27] And it was a blessing from God that was there. Also we see Moses, if you go over into Deuteronomy 34. Moses comes to the end of his life and Deuteronomy 34 verse 7 it says and Moses was a hundred and twenty years old when he died and his eye was not dim nor his natural force abated and Moses was an exceptional senior citizen and it sounds like that his vitality and all about him just went right on up to [00:18:11] I think it was a special blessing from God. You know, I guess a thought just comes to me. Remember Moses was in the presence of God at different times? I had to wonder, did that really affect him, even physically? And given that vitality and so on that did not normally, that normally went away. Go to Proverbs 16, verse 31. Proverbs 16 verse 31 [00:18:48] It says, and here again there's a word that's used here in the King James that is a word we don't normally use very often but it says the hoary head is a crown of glory and that word hoary there means white. The white head is a crown of glory if it be found in the way of righteousness. And so the Bible speaks well and talks about the getting older and the blessings of it, [00:19:20] but it says, if it be found in the way of righteousness, and we know that that doesn't always happen, but we trust and we wanted this morning to talk about things that can help us that it can happen. When people can come to that time in life and still really glorify God. Well, how can I do that? Let's just look at some ways now that even as senior citizens, even as we get older, how can we glorify God? [00:19:56] Well, you say, you know, we're retired. No, we don't retire from that. That is something we never retire from because our purpose that God has called us to, the fact of pleasing Him and glorifying Him is something that goes on until we take our last breath. Then we have the opportunity to do it for eternity. But He wants us to keep on doing that and it is really important. We need to take it seriously. [00:20:29] Matthew 5, go to Matthew chapter 5. And this is a very familiar verse to us, very familiar verses to us, and yet I want us to look at it as all of life, not just when we're younger and so on, but as we get older. Matthew 5 verse 13, Ye are the salt of the earth, but if the salt have lost his savor, wherewith shall it be salted? It is thenceforth good for nothing but to be cast out and to be trodden under foot of men. [00:21:01] Ye are the light of the world. A city that is set on a hill cannot be hid. Neither do men light a candle and put it under a bushel, but on a candlestick, and it giveth light unto all that are in the house. Now notice verse 16. Let your light so shine before men that they may see your good works and glorify your Father which is in heaven. Now, as senior citizens, I believe that it's important that we take that verse to heart. [00:21:36] And that is that we let, first of all, that we're salt, like it talks about there, but then that we also let our light shine. And we let it shine, why? So that people can see our good works. We are to continue to do things that are good. And we are to continue to do things that are right. We don't retire from those things. God intends for us to keep on doing those things. [00:22:07] Now they may change, some of the things may not be exactly like they used to, but He still wants us to do that. And the reason is so that people can see that and do what? See how good you are because of still being able to do those things when you're old? No. No. It's to glorify your Father which is in heaven. That's how we bring glory to God. We don't do these things to bring glory to ourselves. But we do these things in order to bring glory to God. [00:22:42] And that's one of the ways of fulfilling what God has for us and what he has called us to in life. Life is more than just saying I believe something and repeating some kind of a creed. But life is one, I believe, of living. Life is one of doing for the Lord. And life is just a life of living. You know, somebody said about a certain person, they said, you know, that person died at 60 and buried at 80. [00:23:19] Died at 60 and buried at 80. And you know, that's a sad kind of life when it comes to the end of life. That somehow we don't really live, we just simply exist. Another thing I believe that we can glorify God, or how we can glorify God, And that is that we can live life with either a positive attitude or a negative attitude. And I believe God would have us to live life with a positive attitude. I'd like to read a couple of quotes. [00:23:53] Have you ever felt this way as senior citizens? What is happening to our young people? They disrespect their elders. They disobey their parents. They ignore the law. They ride in the streets inflamed with wild notions. Their morals are decaying. What is to become of them? You ever feel that way? Here's another one. Children are now tyrants. They no longer rise when elders enter the room. [00:24:33] They contradict their parents, they chatter in front of company, they gobble up the dainties at the table, they cross their legs, and tyrannize over their teachers. Do you ever feel that way? The young people are going to the dogs. The first quote was by Plato. The second one was by Socrates. Quite a while back, wasn't it? [00:25:07] And you know, it's easy for us to develop a negative attitude. It's easy for us to look around and just say, everything is dark, everything is bad. We don't see anything good. And you know, I think we have a lot of young people that are serious about the Lord. And I think that, and I realize there's a lot of struggles that young people face, and they're facing a lot of difficult things today, things we never faced. [00:25:40] But you know, I think we need to have a positive attitude. I think we need to encourage them. I realize we can warn, and we can rebuke, and so on, but at the same time, we need to have a positive attitude about our youth and about our young people. and not just look at everything as just being all dark because that is not a good way. I don't believe it's a way that really glorifies God as we go through these years, these later years. [00:26:17] Now another thing we can do, and this is kind of related to this, but we can glorify God by encouraging, really being an encouragement to others. I touched on that, but I want to get a little more specific. We can glorify God by encouraging other people. Here again, we can't always do the things physically we used to do and so on, but we can encourage. And I think one of the things we can do is to listen. Really listen. And I know how easy it is that when somebody starts sharing something with us as an older person that right away we've got the answer. [00:26:53] Now I remember when that happened to me and we just, you know, we could just say a lot of words. But I think it's important that we listen and really hear where their heart is and really hear what they are saying. And I think that can be a lot of encouragement. I think our words sometimes need to be fewer, but make them count. And when we say something, make it worth something that we say. [00:27:26] I think we can be an example to those that are younger than us. And one of those examples, I believe, is in the example of forgiving. You know, sometimes we as older people can carry some real bitterness with us. Things have hurt over the years. We've had years where it can accumulate some real hurts and so on that have taken place in life. And sometimes older people can be very embittered about that. [00:27:58] And you don't have to talk with them very long until you can hear some of that coming through in what they're saying. I think we need to be an example. You know, Paul told Timothy, and Timothy was a young man when he said that, He said, be an example of the believer, of what a believer is. But I think that's really true as we get older, more so yet. And that is, we need to be an example of what a believer is. And one of those areas is that we can not let life become bitter and dark for us. [00:28:37] I'd like to read a poem. I've seen this poem now for a number of years. As a matter of fact, a number of years ago I read it in a message. But it's a poem that I've read often over the years. And written by a man by the name of McQuillam. And I understand he wrote it as his wife was facing Alzheimer's and so on, back in the 1980s. But this poem I think has a real message to us. And talking about these later years [00:29:11] It's sundown, Lord The shadows of my life stretch back Into the dimness of the years long spent I fear not death For that grim foe betrays himself at last Thrusting me forever into life Life with you, unspoiled and free But I do fear [00:29:42] I fear the dark specter may come too soon Or do I mean too late That I should end before I finish Or finish, but not well That I should stain your honor Honor, shame your name, grieve your loving heart. Few, they tell me, finish well. Lord, let me get home before dark. [00:30:19] The darkness of the spirit grow mean and small. Fruit shriveled on the vine, bitter to the taste of my companions. Burdened to be borne by those brave few who love me still No, Lord, let the fruit grow lush and sweet A joy to all who taste Spirit sign of God at work [00:30:54] Stronger, fuller, brighter at the end Lord, let me get home before dark. The darkness of tattered gifts, rust-locked, half-spent or ill-spent, a life that once was used of God now set aside, grief for memories gone or fretting for a task God never gave, Mourning in the hollow chambers of memory [00:31:25] Gazing on the faded banners of victories long gone Cannot I run well unto the end? Lord, let me get home before dark The outer me decays I do not ask, or I do not fret or ask reprieve Giving strength but weans me from mother earth and grows up for heaven I do not cling to shadows cast by immortality [00:31:58] I do not patch the scaffold length to build the real eternal me I do not clutch about me my cocoon vainly struggling to hold hostage a free spirit pressing to be born But I will reach the gate in lingering pain Body distorted? Grotesque. Or will it be a mind wandering untethered among life's fantasies or grim terrors? Or of your grace, Lord, I humbly ask, let me get home before dark. [00:32:34] And I think that can be a real prayer of every one of us. That as we face older years, that we can do it in really glorifying our Lord. Another thing we can do, and I believe that is glorifying our Lord through following His Word. You know, that doesn't stop. And you go over to the book of Titus there, and those first four verses, I'm not going to take the time to read it, but those first four verses in Titus chapter 2, where it talks about aged men and aged women, [00:33:08] and the things that they are to do, and the things they are to follow. I believe that it's important for us. It's important for us to continue to pray and to worship, just like we have been throughout all of our life. Two good examples of that is Simeon and Anna there in Luke chapter 2, where they spent that time in the temple, and especially it talks about Anna, that she spent a lot of time in the temple praying and so on. [00:33:44] And they were two senior citizens that fulfilled what God had called them to. Another thing I think we need to know, and we can use this, I believe, to glorify the Lord, and that is to know our limitations. Now, maybe we don't stop and think about that so much, but know our limitations. I'd like to take us over to a story in 2 Samuel. I know our time is getting away here, but just to take and go over to 2 Samuel, and this was really an interesting account. [00:34:21] Remember the story of where David fled from Absalom, and when he went over across the Jordan, one of the men that lived in that area was a man by the name of, let's see, Basilio, I think his name was called, and he was an old man but he was a wealthy man and he sent and gave a lot of help to David there as he was as he had to flee for his life and so on [00:34:53] he was a big help to him and now in 2 Samuel 19 verse 34 we have David going back to Jerusalem and verse 33 And he's going back. The war has been won. He's headed back to Jerusalem to take over his kingship again. And the king said unto Bezalel, Come, thou over with me, and I will feed thee with me in Jerusalem. I want you to come back with me. You've done so much for me. [00:35:24] He's saying, I want you to come back with me. And Bezalel said unto the king, How long have I to live that I should go up with the king unto Jerusalem? I am this day fourscore years old, and can I discern between good and evil? Can thy servant taste what I eat or what I drink? Can I hear any more the voice of singing men and singing women? Wherefore then should thy servant be yet a burden unto my lord the king? He's saying, you know, David, I'd love to go with you, but I am old and I can't enjoy the things that you would have me to enjoy and so on. [00:35:58] He says, I can't do that. But he says, here's what I'm going to do. And he says, here's what I'd like to do. He says, I'll go with you a little way over Jordan. And then he says in verse 37, Let thy servant, I pray thee, turn back again, that I may die in mine own city, and be buried by the grave of my father and my mother. But behold thy servant, Chehem, I think it was his son, let him go over with my lord the king, and do to him what seems good unto him. [00:36:29] And he's saying, David, I can't, I'm limited, my age and so on, I can't do the things that you would enjoy doing for me. But he says, take my son and let him serve you. And I guess as I thought about that, I thought, you know, I think there's a real lesson there for senior citizens, for older people. And it is sometimes we have to accept our limitations And accept that we can't do some of the things that we used to do [00:37:02] But, maybe we can make it possible for somebody else to do it You know, we're not, we aren't to be selfish We can, you know, as senior citizens, we can become selfish and self-centered And think everything revolves around me But we need to remember, maybe we can bless some other people. Maybe we can invest in some younger people and help them to do some of the things that I would like to be doing but can't. [00:37:34] I think that's a real lesson there for us. That even as older people, while we may not be able to do some things ourselves, maybe we can help some others to be able to do them. Maybe we can help them financially. Help them and give them encouragement and direction and so on. But I just wanted to encourage us in that, that those are some of the things that we can do. Can we even bring glory to God in our death? [00:38:11] Now, usually we think about our lives bringing glory to God and fulfilling what God has done for us. But can we do that in our death? I'm not going to say a lot about that, but just stop and think about that. And that is, I believe that we can also glorify God even in the way that we die. And how we can be an encouragement to others. And how we can prepare for death. I think it's important to prepare for death. [00:38:43] I think we need to have a will. But more than that, I think we need to be able to speak to our families and those around us and face death. Sometimes people don't want to face it. They refuse to talk about it. But you go back and you read some of the accounts of Abraham and some of those. They talked about dying. And I think we need to face that, that it's going to happen. And so I think it's important that we can even glorify God in our death. [00:39:17] I think we can do that. In closing, I'd like to read. I'd like for us to take and turn to Psalm 71. I'd just like to read that in closing. And it's a prayer. It's a prayer that I've made, that I've claimed for my life, and I hope you can for yours. The Psalm 71. Let's stand together and take your Bibles and let's read. [00:39:53] I'm going to read the Psalm, but follow along and pay attention to it. In thee, O Lord, do I put my trust. Let me never be put to confusion. Deliver me in thy righteousness, and cause me to escape. Incline thy ear unto me, and save me. Be thou my strong habitation, whereunto I may continually resort. Thou hast given commandment to save me, for thou art my rock and my fortress. [00:40:25] Deliver me, O my God, out of the hand of the wicked, out of the hand of the unrighteous and cruel man. For thou art my hope, O Lord God, thou art my trust from my youth. By thee have I been holden up from the womb. Thou art he that took me out of my mother's bowels, and my praise shall be continually of thee. I am as a wonder unto many, but thou art my strong refuge. Let my mouth be filled with thy praise and with thy honor all the day. [00:40:58] Cast me not off in the time of old age. Forsake me not when my strength faileth. For mine enemies speak against me. And they that lay wait for my soul take counsel together, saying, God hath forsaken him, persecute and take him. For there is none to deliver him. O God, be not far from me. O my God, make haste for my help. Let them be confounded and consumed that are adversaries to my soul, and let them be covered with reproach and dishonor that seek my hurt. [00:41:32] But I will hope continually and will yet praise thee more and more. Thy mouth shall show forth thy righteousness and thy salvation all the day, for I know not the numbers thereof. I will go in the strength of the Lord God, and I will make mention of thy righteousness, even of thine only. O God, thou hast taught me from my youth, and hitherto have I declared thy wondrous works. Now also when I am old and gray-headed, O God, forsake me not, until I have showed thy strength unto this generation, and thy power to every one that is to come. [00:42:09] Thy righteousness also, O God, is very high. Who has done great things, O God, and who is like unto Thee? Thou which hast showed me great and sore troubles shall quicken me again, and shall bring me up again from the depths of the earth. Thou shalt increase my greatness and comfort me on every side. I will also praise Thee with the psaltery, even Thy truth. O my God, unto Thee will I sing with the harp. O thou holy one of Israel, my lips shall greatly rejoice when I sing unto thee, and my soul which thou hast redeemed, and my tongue also shall talk of thy righteousness all the day long, for they are confounded, for they are brought unto shame that seek my hurt. [00:42:57] Let's pray. Father, I thank you so much. Lord, I thank you that you are the sovereign God. Lord, I thank you, Lord, that no matter what our age is, Lord, you love us and you care for us. But Father, I pray that you would help us, each one of us, whatever our age is, that we can seek to honor and to glorify you. And that we can fulfill the purpose that you have called us to. [00:43:29] Lord, I think especially of those that are older here today Lord, I ask that we might be faithful and that we can look to you, continue to look to you for every bit of guidance and strength that we need, Lord We just pray for that Lord, we ask for your wisdom, your direction And Lord, we just want to honor you in everything that we do and praise you Thank you so much In Jesus' name we pray. Amen.