Keep sharing good news without ads.
Source: https://www.sermonindex.net/speakers/unknown-speaker/maturity-and-faith/
Prayer is a powerful thing, and in any person's life, as well as in the life of assemblies or a conference, the need of God is so great that even just to say, Lord, please be with us now, would be certainly appropriate in a prayer before a meeting.
And I hope that's on all of our hearts this time, is that we're ready to listen to God, not just to a few men that speak. In February, I was up in Grand Prairie, Alberta, for the funeral of Gordon Williams, who's a Newfoundlander, by the way, so I have to put that out there so everybody knows where we come from.
And Gordon was a very—we had the privilege of appointing his father to Christ, not too long before the father died. But Gordon had two and a half years of cancer. So if I'm speaking to anybody here, or any of the Lord's people that you know, sometimes those are very, very important times in the lives of God's people, those difficult times.
And sometimes that's when we need to say things, make sure that we keep up to date. He talked to his son-in-law, Kyle Fairfield, shortly before he died. And Kyle said to Brother Gordon Williams, he said, Brother Williams—or he said, call him Dad, but he said, what's been the most important thing to you?
What is really, really important to you? And he didn't hesitate. He said, living for the Lord. And he said, without the Bible, we have nothing. I thought that was pretty good to be remembered by. So here I am now, an older man.
And I haven't done conferences much. I've been involved in other things. But, I mean, as I get older, I'm thinking now, what can I pass on to those boys there, that probably some of you are Christians.
Are you teenagers? Are you older people here? As well as the young, as well as the older ones. So turn with me to the book of Hebrews chapter 11. See, I'm going to probably be speaking at this conference like a grandfather talks to his sons and daughters and grandchildren.
In fact, I'll probably be speaking to you basically about grandparents. Because my exercise about this conference, and I'll lay it out for you right at the beginning, so you know where I am intending to speak about and where I intend to go, is first of all, the impact of maturity.
And then secondly, the instruction of maturity. And then lastly, the influence of maturity. But here tonight, I'm in the porch. So listen to these words. Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.
For by it, the elders obtained a good report. Through faith we understand that the worlds were framed by the word of God, so that things which are seen were not made of things which do appear. Probably as I consider getting older, certain things rise to the forefront in my mind that you and I as older people will be remembered for.
And I read this, and I have asked God, I would like to be remembered for my faith. By it, the elders obtained a good report. See, you and I are leaving behind us certain tracks, certain paths that are worn well enough so that people can tell where we've been and where we're going.
Faith by its very nature, its basic nature, is being sure of what I hope for, being sure of what I live for, being sure of the end of the journey. It's the ground and the confidence that we as believers have when we live for the Lord, like Gordon Williams said to his son-in-law.
And when we have that faith, we come right to its basic nature. Are you positive that what you and I are, I'm speaking to you, I guess, but I'm speaking to myself in this too, that you and I are actually involved in what God wants us to be involved in at this moment and through the course of our life?
Or have there been things that we've avoided, words that we've never said, places we've never been, things we've never done that we should have? The basic nature of faith is being sure of whom we know, our Lord Jesus Christ, and what we believe.
Verse 2, our honor, its honor, the honor of our faith. It's the way we get a good report. If a person were to come home from a school, a child come home from a school with a, I guess it's over here now, with a report card that's pretty iffy, what does a father do?
He said, he might have said, did you do the best you can? And a kid can look around and say, oh, yeah. No, really. See, this is what happens for us who are elders. What kind of report card do we have for our father?
I wonder what he looks like, or what he looks at when he sees our report card for this year's living. Is it something that is a good report? Is there honor there? Is there something that's higher than normal?
Is there something that's real and has changed the student? That's what faith is. Our faith is one of those things that we have to pass on to those who are younger. And verse 3 is not only the basic nature of faith or the honor of faith, but the manner of faith.
It's the way we view the universe and the way we view our role in this world today. How do you see yourself in view of the dark days we're going into that are getting darker? I'm just going to mention to you, you'll have to pardon me because I am a senior citizen, and we tell stories.
But we were in Nepal, where those young men are now standing in trial. And Bhupal, one of those young men, came from the Sikkim part of India. And in his early life, he was a drug addict and an alcoholic.
And his brother got saved, and ultimately, that would be the one that's married to Rachel Vance. And ultimately, he was able to win his own brother, something like. So when Bhupal, in Sikkim, they speak Nepal, Nepalese, I guess, or Nepali.
And so that part of India used to be a separate country, but we'll leave that. But Bhupal went down to that country, and all he had was a bicycle, a small bag that he hung over his shoulder with a change of underclothes, and a Bible.
And he began to preach the gospel. And he's not a powerful preacher, just a nice man. In his late 20s, early 30s now, he's in his 30s now. And we were able to visit with him, and he took us around to have meetings.
And we were at this house. There were eight people. That house, there was around 50. This house, all within an afternoon and an evening. And these people, many of them now have been saved, and there's an assembly of around 50 people.
And I thought to myself, what have I done? How would people know that I have a firm belief? How would they know? How do my children and grandchildren know that I'm really committed to what I believe? Do they hear it from my lips?
I think we need to speak to our families. And we can tell them, there are some things that I've learned in life that can be trusted. One of them is the Bible. Another is the Holy Spirit of God. Another is the fact that our Heavenly Father never leaves us alone.
And he has given us all that we need to be exactly what he wants us to be. Without faith, it's impossible to please him. But the elders obtained a good report in this way. Not only a firm belief, but there's a conviction involved with faith.
And that goes beyond just a matter of knowing that certain things can be trusted or firm belief. But it's taking a position that we know is true. And then there's a judgment involved in faith, and that's being able to make a wise decision.
So as we get older, we need to be known by our faith. Turn to Matthew chapter 28. Matthew chapter 28. And I'm just going to read verse 19. Go ye therefore and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Ghost, teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you.
And lo, I am with you always, even unto the end of the world. Amen. When do we stop carrying out our commission? What age? We were with an older servant two days ago. He's in his 90s. And he's not able to get around very far, but we visited.
And he's driving around one of these little electric carts in a care home. Everywhere we went, how are you? Everybody knew his name. And so they said to me, how do you know this man? I said, well, he was a preacher of the gospel.
I met in 1958. And I'm a preacher of the gospel, and so we hang together because we got the same father. And we got the same master. And we got the same work. And we got the same commission. And that is to tell people how they can go to heaven.
Well, she said, and this is one of the people that run the place, how can I go to heaven? Well, you talk about an open door. And when that was over, I said to that lady, this man, he's going to preach here sometime.
He's old, but he can preach. She said, if you preach, I'll be there. But then she tapped him on the shoulder, please pray for me. Now, do you have anybody like that in your life? Those of us who are older.
How about our children? Do you tell your grandchildren, I pray for you daily? Because you're making decisions now that you're going to live and die with. And you'll have them for eternity. One way or the other.
That we still have our commission. And probably the greatest part of our commission is in our families. Grandparents, we are not done. We're not done until we can't speak. And if you can't speak, maybe you can write like our brother.
He's got good books, by the way, if you want to read some good material. A couple of new ones just out. But the reason I'm mentioning this is because we owe it to our generation. The one behind us. The one behind them.
And the one behind them. Yes, there's that many alive that I'm obligated to connect with. That's why I get down on one knee sometimes and talk to little kids. Because the majority of them will get saved before they're 20.
Turn with me back to the book of Psalms. So we have, as we get older, our power is in our faith. It's in our commission that's been given to us by our Heavenly Father. Turn back to the book of Psalms 71.
Psalm 71. I want to read at verse 9. Cast me not off in the time of old age. Forsake me not when my strength faileth. That's a prayer. Notice in verse 18. Now also, when I'm old and gray-headed, O God, forsake me not until I have showed thy strength unto this generation and thy power to everyone that is to come.
How are they going to learn God? How are the young believers of our assemblies and the people to whom we communicate the gospel, how are they going to know our God through us? As long as the Lord chooses to preserve our lives, he has something for us older folks to do.
And the one coming behind it, we will work for their benefit as well. This generation, the one behind it, our grandchildren and then great-grandchildren will listen to people who have white hair or maybe even no hair.
And they will listen to mothers and grandmothers who will take their hand and hold it a little bit extra long and say, sit with me for a minute. I want to talk to you. You understand you're going to live forever up in heaven or down in hell.
Now, let me tell you how God worked with me so that you can understand how he can reach you. Because if you live this life and die without Christ, you will be lost forever. There are promises in old age.
One of them is in the 92nd Psalm. Well, I think I have it here and I just read it to you. I think it's Psalm 92. I got it here, but I have to find it. In Psalm 92, it says, those, in verse 13, those that be planted in the house of the Lord shall flourish in the courts of our God.
They shall still bring forth fruit in old age. They shall be fat. I'm not too sure about that part that I like very much, but flourishing to show that the Lord is upright. He is my rock and there is no unrighteousness in him.
Now, that kind of fat is not the kind we're trying to get rid of when we get older. That's the fat of the fatness that comes from the hand of God, the fullness of the work of the Spirit of God. There are promises of blessing, but you and I have to commit ourselves, as those who are older, to the fact that we still are here.
Because God intends us, intends us, to be still reaching out and still involved in divine things, in the work of the Lord. I talked to a lady of our assembly, she's over 100, and she can't keep everything in track all the way, but she talks with a southern drawl a bit like that, and she says, one thing I haven't forgot, that's how God saved me.
Now, she has some people in her family that are not believers, and one of them was her youngest brother, about 20 years younger than her, and she was at his funeral, and it didn't go the way she thought it should, because it wasn't a Christian funeral.
So can you imagine in your mind's eye, this older lady, 100 years old, getting up, walking up to the front and saying something, I've got to tell you something, this man who used to live in this body was my brother, but I'm going to tell you what happened to me, so that you'll know what needs to happen to you.
And that undertaker in parlor, that lady told her testimony, and not one person said boo, or quiet, or please be quiet. A lot of them cried, because most people know that they're not ready to meet God when they die.
There's a tendency, if we're not careful, for us to grow old and cold, and how do you keep that from happening? And older men, you know, we have a problem, we're told in Titus to be sober and grave and temperate.
That's not a cold, that's an aging voice box. And older women, there to be women of holiness, who commit themselves to teaching the younger. How many younger women have you taken aside and said, my dear, I appreciate you and your family, let me give you a little advice from a person that's been there and done that.
And you'd be surprised how many people will appreciate that. This is one of those things that we have to deal with in our lives. Our age, use it, it's a good lever. People kind of back off from their anger, and they show respect.
I can remember over there in Nepal, I wasn't as old then, it was just two or three or four years ago, but everybody practically bowed and scraped. Now, I didn't mind that either, but they all came and sat on the floor, and they brought out these chairs for the two honkies, the two old folks.
And here we are sitting up here high, and everybody's else down there, and I'm thinking, boy, this is embarrassing. And I thought, wait a minute now, they're showing respect. So I'm going to take advantage of the respect that people show me.
And they will show you respect. Don't try to be like the young people. You're wasting your time, and it's actually really obnoxious, if you really want to know. But if you are who you are, in fellowship with God, and you're experiencing God in your daily life, and God is speaking to you in his word, and you're responding to him in your prayer, and there's reality in your worship, then people will listen.
That's the advantage of old age. Use it. If I had muscles, I feel kind of flimsy now, compared to what I used to be, but I would use them. I try to work getting them back, but they just don't come back.
But there's something about our age, that we only get one kick at this, when we're at this age. Let's use it. All of us over older people. The reason I'm speaking about this here tonight, because that's basically, well, there's a handful of young folks, but basically, the older people are the ones that come to midweek meetings.
The ones you can count on, when nothing else is going on. I want to read one more. These two prayers, that one in verse 71, cast me not often times, but there's one more that I think I should read, before we leave the Psalms on this.
That's back in 37. Psalm 37. You probably have read all these things, but you'll have to pardon me, this is where I'm going this weekend. Verse 25. You know something? Us who are older, you young folks can listen in, and this will give you a little handle on what you can expect from us who are older, when we look you in the eye and say, how's it going?
Because I will be doing that. You girls too, when I meet you in the hallway. I'll be asking, you happy in the Lord? Tell me one thing you got an answer to prayer from. Something like that. Don't panic when I ask you that, because that's the way I'm going to talk to you during this conference.
I'm going to try and find as many as you can. Because I think, that you need to know that some of us are happy old people. And the reason it is, because we got it in order when we were your age. I was saved as a teenager.
But probably the one spiritual experience in my life that changed me even more, as far as life is concerned, than getting saved, was when I was 18. It's kind of like Peter. There was a time he chose between heaven and hell.
But then came the time when he had to choose between heaven and earth. And that's what changes your life as a believer. Really? Who are you going to live for? Well, I'm going to go back one little thing here that I, I see that my time is almost over.
But I'm going to go back to one little thing here that I want to read and tell you, talk to you about. If I can find my note. Yeah, that's one of the things us old people do. We use notes. The reason is, I have a job remembering.
But I can't do much with too many other families. But I want to pass this on to you who are raising children and who are in families. God is involved in family life. This all came to head in my life when our first grandchild was born.
I thought, hey, I'm done with the family stuff. I'll just, you know, play with the kids and I'll just play with the grandchildren. I'll try and spoil them if I can. And that's the way I thought you were supposed to do it.
Until I'm looking at this grandchild in my hand, young boy, little baby boy. And I started to cry. Not a sad cry, it was a happy one. Because I'm looking in the face of this little child and I'm realizing this is like me starting all over again.
But I didn't know what to do as a grandfather. So I thought, well, I got him in my arms and the mother and father were there. It's our first grandchild. So I said, close your eyes and I'm going to pray.
And I prayed over that child. Now you might call that a sanctifying thing. I don't know about that, but I did pray over that boy and everyone since. And the reason is, I wanted the mother and father to realize who they had been given by God.
God is involved in our family life. Second thing, family life is important to God. And you'll find that in Exodus chapter 12. Well, family life important to God, you can see that right from the beginning.
God created them male and female and told them to increase and multiply and plenish the earth. But when those children say, what mean ye by this service? Now, I would love for my grandchildren to be like me, right?
Or would I? Would I want my family to be like me? Rubber stamps of me? No. I want them to be what God wants. And so, when your children or grandchildren come to say to you, why do you wear a hat on Sunday morning?
Tell them from the Bible. And why is there this seat in the back of the hall where we have to sit? Because we're not saved. Tell them. When they say, what means by this service at a baptism? Tell them.
When they say, how come you hold the Bible in your hand when you preach? I tell them, I have respect for this book and the God who wrote it is my Heavenly Father. The Spirit of God moved and I'm holding in my hands the words of the living God.
This is not something we trivialize. But not only that, if we were to read in Deuteronomy chapter 11, we would find that family life, not just God is involved in it, and not just that it's important to God, but the future of our children is important to God.
That's when he says, teach these words to your children or these commandments to your children that your day may be multiplied and the days of your children. Would you like your children to be like you?
Spend their vacations like you? Talk like you? Listen to the things you say? Go with your friends? Could you introduce them? I learned that one day when my father said, son, put on your tie and white shirt.
And we went down to the bank. He was going to borrow some money from the banker to buy a machine. And I'm not going to hold the story, but he introduced me to the banker. And the banker put his hand out and shook my hand.
I was about 15. I thought, whoa. When father went back to pay off the loan, three months later after the harvest came in, he said, put on your tie and shirt and come with me. We went back to the banker and father, he said, Mr. Goff, we trust your word.
We know you. He said, look, I gave you my word, and here's the money that I borrowed. And that banker took it, shook my father's hand, and then he shook mine. He said, son, if you grow up to be half the man your father is, you'll be a good man, and we'll do business with you too.
Now, the reason I'm saying that, the future of our children comes and is learned not in the big stuff, in all the little stuff that we do in our life. And the faith of the parents and grandparents of our children is their greatest asset.
I don't know whether Amram and Jacobed's parents were alive when Moses was born, but the mother and father realized that there is something unique about that child, and I hope everybody here has come to this conference expecting to hear something that is going to change us, in our mind maybe, maybe in our heart or in our enthusiasm for who we are and why we're in this world.
I'm a grandparent. My grandchildren don't do all the things I wish they would do, but I'm not giving up on them, and I'm going to seek, by God's help, to be as consistent as I can until the day I die.
And the things that I write to them aren't fairy tales. I write to them my essays and poems that I write and things, and they may not read them all, but they get them, and they know that there's somebody in their lives that believes, that believes.
And the faith that I have is in God. That's what I would like to see, one of the results of this conference. When we're all done, we walk away strong in faith, strong in holiness, strong in commitment, strong in vision, that God will be glorified.