STRENGTH IN THE NEXT GENERATION

BIBLE PASSAGE: PSALM 71: 3-20

Picture taken from Google

Lesson Prepared by: Krisha of Solomon’s Wisdom FB page

Lesson ideas taken from: https://www.bible-studys.org/

NOVEMBER 15, 2020

 

MEMORY VERSE

Now also when I am old and greyheaded, O God, forsake me not; until I have shewed thy strength unto this generation, and thy power to every one that is to come.

PSALMS 71:18

  INTRODUCTION:

I have watched some of Charles Stanley’s devotional and sermons and one of the posts in his website is not about sermons but announcement. In a video announcement, long time pastor Charles Stanley announced his transition to another pastor. Pastor Stanley is grateful to God that he was allowed to serve as a pastor in First Baptist Church in Atlanta for more than 50 years. At 87, he still doesn’t believe in retirement in the ministry. He said that he would continue to preach the gospel as long as God allows. Why I said this? Have you come to a point in your life thinking what would be your ministry when you reach “old age”? We have in mind that when we get old, we just sit down and relax. I remember asking one of the Bible women in a certain spiritual event and I asked what would be the ministry of senior Christians in the church and she said, “Just pray”. To be honest, I was not satisfied with her answer but anyway, maybe that is what she saw in many churches. Don’t misquote me, I know the importance of Prayer Ministry. If you were asked, what would be possibilities of entering, still in the ministry during old age?

I watched a story of an old woman who wished to die because she said, “Maybe God has forgotten me. I’m too old and I want to die. My friends and love ones were already dead”. No matter how old you are, or whether or not you have much zip left, it’s not time to let go! If you’re in the golden years of life, you have more to give. As we grow older, our responsibilities grow with us. Listen to Psalm 92:14-15: “They shall still bring forth fruit in old age; they shall be fat and flourishing; To show that the LORD is upright: He is my rock, and there is no unrighteousness in Him.”

 

I want to ask the young people; who is the person you look up to the most? Do you look up to a person who is a drunkard, drug addict, has a bad mouth, not a church- goer or carnal person? We frequently heard from people, “walang pinagtandaan” excuse me for the word. These are harsh words but it happens for real. If we expect the younger generation to grow spiritually, those of us who are older must pass on what we possess. So, here’s a question: If you’re a grandparent, are you passive (inactive) or passionate about reaching and teaching the next generation? Cavin Harper states, “Grandparents are, hands down, the second most powerful influence in a child’s life and in many cases, the most significant influencer in their life.”

 

LESSON OUTLINE:

1.  KNOW GOD WHEN YOU’RE YOUNG BY LEARNING FROM HIM (PSALM 71:17A)

O God, thou hast taught me from my youth:

The young people should not say, “I have more time left for me, I’ll get serious studying the word of God when I’ll reach my adulthood”. Spiritual maturity is not seen in your age, do you agree? We see many adults who have no wisdom in decision making, they fail influencing their children to choose righteousness in this world and they show bad testimony as well. Why this happen? They lack wisdom from God- His words.  Look at verse 9: “Cast me not off in the time of old age; forsake me not when my strength faileth.” He’s older and weaker now and yet according to verse 14, he’s holding on to hope: “But I will hope continually, and will yet praise thee more and more.”

For our purposes today, we’re going to focus on verses 17-18: “O God, thou hast taught me from my youth: and hitherto have I declared thy wondrous works. Now also when I am old and greyheaded, O God, forsake me not; until I have shewed thy strength unto this generation, and thy power to every one that is to come.”

Notice the past, the present and the future…

• Past – “from my youth you have taught me...”

• Present – “and I still declare Your wondrous deeds...”

• Future – “so even to old age and gray hairs, O God, do not forsake me…”

His overriding concern is to live long enough to “declare God’s wondrous works to another generation.” Do you see the stages of life here? He remembers his youth, then describes middle age and looks ahead to the golden years.

David writes: “from my youth you have taught me.” The word “youth” refers to the early stages of life. Parents, it is never too early to teach your children about the Lord. I hope you’re taking every possible opportunity to intentionally introduce your kids to Jesus and that you are intentionally instructing them.

Sometimes we wonder what children can learn when they are young – it’s more than we think. Look back to verses 5-6: “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: my praise shall be continually of thee.”

Adults, one way we can support and honor what God is doing is to make sure we’re not looking down on the younger generation as 1 Timothy 4:12 states: “Let no man despise thy youth; but be thou an example of the believers, in word, in conversation, in charity, in spirit, in faith, in purity.” Instead of looking down, let’s come alongside and mentor them, even as they serve as examples to us. 

This lesson implies that whatever your age for now, we need to give our attention to learning about God. It’s not too early for young people to be serious in studying God’s word because you’ll use that in present, when you reach middle age and of course adulthood. For people in golden years (seniors), it’s not too late to study and learn about God and be a good example to the younger ones.

2.  GROW IN GOD NOW BY LIVING FOR HIM (PSALM 71:17B).

…and hitherto have I declared thy wondrous works.

In the second part of verse 17 we hear David say, “…and hitherto have I declared thy wondrous works.” The word “wondrous” refers to something extraordinary. David proclaimed God’s praises in the past and he’s still doing it in the present.

The temptation is to think we’ll get serious with God later and spend time with our families when we get older. Let’s read a song from a novel. After not being there for his son, this dad, who is now a grandpa, reaches out to his son when he sings:

 

I’ve long since retired and my son’s moved away

I called him up just the other day

I said, I’d like to see you if you don’t mind

He said, I’d love to, dad, if I could find the time

You see, my new job’s a hassle, and the kids have the flu

But it’s sure nice talking to you, dad

It’s been sure nice talking to you

And as I hung up the phone, it occurred to me

He’d grown up just like me

My boy was just like me

God’s way to grow old is to develop a walk with Him now…because you will be in the future what you are becoming in the present.

Notice how David is daily devoted to God as he uses the word “continually” three different times. This has the idea of “continuity” and “always.”

• “For thou art my Rock and fortress, I may continually resort.” (verse 3)

• “My praise shall be continually of thee.” (verse 6)

• “But I will hope continually and will praise you yet more and more.” (verse 14)

John Piper writes, “Getting old to the glory of God means getting old in a way that makes God look glorious.”

King David went through a lot of challenges, including friction and fractures in his own family when his son Absalom turned on him. Look at verse 20: “Thou, which hast shewed me great and sore troubles, shalt quicken me again, and shalt bring me up again from the depths of the earth.” (You who have made me see many troubles and calamities will revive me again)

David’s life is filled with troubles, but he can never remember a day the Lord failed him. Here’s something to think about. Those born at the turn of the 20th century lived through World War I, the Spanish Flu pandemic, a decade of the Great Depression and recession, severe drought causing the great Dust Bowl, World War II, the Korean War, the Vietnam War, and the Cold War.

Your kids and grandkids will hear stories from all of you/us about what it was like to live through COVID-19, high unemployment, economic uncertainty, cultural upheaval, and racial tension. Just as the older generation was marked by terrible times, this year is marking us. The question is, “In what ways are we trusting God during this turbulent time?” What lessons will we be able to pass along to the next generation?

When unbelievers look at followers of Christ during the times of upheaval and suffering that occur in every generation, let them not see people who are as anxious and as scared and as panicked as they are. Let them see those who confidently trust their sovereign and holy God come what may. Let them see a people who have the true peace of God that passes all understanding. Let them see us showing love to both God and neighbor as we remain faithful to the task to which God has called us. Let them see the Light in this darkness. Let them see Jesus.

3.  SHOW GOD IN YOUR YEARS BY LEAVING A LEGACY (PSALM 71:18)

 Now also when I am old and greyheaded, O God, forsake me not; until I have shewed thy strength unto this generation, and thy power to every one that is to come.

 

David not only looked back to God’s goodness and faithfulness since birth, he lived it out on a daily basis. When he looked to the future, he saw the work remaining to be done. We must first know God before we can show Him to others: “So even to old age and gray hairs, O God, do not forsake me, until I proclaim your might to another generation, your power to all those to come.”

David’s desire is to proclaim God’s power and might to the next generation. The word “proclaim” is used twice in this passage. Some synonyms include “declare, report, explain and tell.”

Let’s pull these ideas together. If you’ve witnessed the wonder and works of God, then proclaim God’s power to those who don’t know Him and do it with a sense of life-and-death urgency!

Before passing on, make sure you pass it on by leaving a legacy because when grandparents are intentional, they will make a grand impact on the next generation.

David is proclaiming God’s marvelous deeds, His power, and His might to the next generation. Because he knows he is going to pass on, he’s determined to pass along God’s actions and attributes. That’s exactly what we should be doing with intentional urgency – declaring who God is and all that He has done.

Psalm 9:1 says: “…I will shew forth all thy marvellous works.” Psalm 26:7 encourages us to not be quiet about it: “…publish with the voice of thanksgiving, and tell of all thy wondrous works.” In Psalm 66:16 we see how purposeful and personal this must be: “Come and hear, all ye that fear God, and I will declare what He hath done for my soul.”

Old age does not provide an “out” for David, nor does gray hair disqualify him. Actually, it’s just the opposite because the older we get, the greater the urgency we should feel to intentionally impact the next generation. God is greatly committed to those in their golden years as stated in Isaiah 46:4: “And even unto your old age I am He; and to hoar hairs will I carry you; I have made, and I will bear; even I will carry and will deliver you.”

Gray hair is a great honor according to Proverbs 16:31: “The hoary head is a crown of glory, if it be found in the way of righteousness.” Proverbs 20:29 adds, “The glory of young men is their strength, but the beauty of old men is the grey head.”

The evangelist John Wesley served the Savior in his senior years. In his lifetime he rode 350,000 miles on horseback and preached some 40,000 different sermons. At the age of 83 he complained because he could only study for 15 hours a day. At the age of 86 he was concerned that he was becoming slothful because he was sleeping in until 5am. At 87, he learned his 11th foreign language. At 88, he was worried because he could only preach twice a day six days a week.

Demographers have recently identified a new life-stage between adulthood and becoming elderly. They call it “the third age,” “midcourse” or “my time.” I’d like to suggest another term and call it “prime time for proclamation.” Biblically understood, a longer life is an opportunity for extended ministry impact (Ptr. Brian Bill)

Would you notice David is requesting God would sustain him long enough so that he could leave a legacy of faith for the next generation, to all who are to still to come? He’s not just thinking about himself or his ease. He’s determined to declare his faith to those who will follow him.

We often look at the younger generation as our future, but let’s not forget our future is also in the past because grandparents are uniquely qualified to pass on biblical values and a vibrant faith to the next generation.

This theme of one generation passing along a legacy of faith to the next is found throughout Scripture. God set it up that way. Before passing on, make sure you pass it on by leaving a legacy because when grandparents are intentional, they will give strength on the next generation.

• Deuteronomy 4:9: “Only take heed to thyself, and keep thy soul diligently, lest thou forget the things which thine eyes have seen, and lest they depart from thy heart all the days of thy life: but teach them thy sons, and thy sons' sons.” The word “only” is the idea of being exclusive – we’re to be careful to protect our own soul so we don’t lose our love for the Lord and then we’re to pass along that love to our children and grandchildren. The phrase “make known” means to “know relationally and experientially.”

• Deuteronomy 6:2: “That thou mightest fear the Lord thy God, to keep all his statutes and his commandments, which I command thee, thou, and thy son, and thy son's son, all the days of thy life; and that thy days may be prolonged.”

• Psalm 33:11: “The counsel of the Lord standeth for ever, the thoughts of his heart to all generations.”

• Psalm 78:4-7a: “We will not hide them from their children, shewing to the generation to come the praises of the Lord, and his strength, and his wonderful works that he hath done. For he established a testimony in Jacob, and appointed a law in Israel, which he commanded our fathers, that they should make them known to their children: That the generation to come might know them, even the children which should be born; who should arise and declare them to their children: That they might set their hope in God, and not forget the works of God, but keep his commandments:”

The word “that” and the words “so that” can be translated as, “because of” or “in order to” and express purpose or result. Fathers are to teach their children so that the next generation might know, and when they grow up, they are to tell their children so that their offspring can set their hope in God. That’s the purpose of parenting and grandparenting.

• Proverbs 17:6: “Children's children are the crown of old men; and the glory of children are their fathers!”

• 2 Timothy 1:5: “When I call to remembrance the unfeigned faith that is in thee, which dwelt first in thy grandmother Lois, and thy mother Eunice; and I am persuaded that in thee also.” Grandma Lois possessed sincere faith and passed it along to tiny Tim before passing on.

CONLUSION:

Unfortunately, Judges 2:10 paints a picture that may be prophetic of the state of the church today: “And all that generation also were gathered to their fathers. And there arose another generation after them who did not know the LORD or the work that He had done for Israel.”

 

 

Parenting in Committed Christian Households

In Christian households, where parents are committed to each other, the results are much more encouraging. These statistics are gathered from Joe White, director of Christian camps in Missouri which draw more than 5,000 kids from more than 40 states.

·         95% of the boys say their fathers regularly tell them, “I love you.”

·         98% of the girls say their mothers tell them regularly, “I’m proud of you” or “You’re doing a great job.”

·         91% of the kids say their parents play games with them.

·         94% say their fathers attend their athletic events.

·         97% of the boys say they get hugs from their dads.

·         100% of the girls say they get hugs from their moms and dads.

·         Recalling their childhood, 100% of the girls remember having stories read to them by their mothers. 85% of the boys recall having stories read to them by their dads.

·         89% of the boys say their fathers have taken them fishing.

·         100% of the girls say their parents have taken them to Sunday school.

Taken from Orphans at Home by Joe White; Copyright 1988, Questar: Phoenix, quoted in The Promise Keeper, Mar./Apr., 1998, p. 6.