Sabbath 7/16/16 Seventh Day Baptist Daytona Pastor Wray sermon �God�s Model for Old Age�

Posted : 16 Jul, 2016 01:37 PM

Sabbath 7/16/16 Seventh Day Baptist Daytona Pastor Wray sermon �God�s Model for Old Age� Luke 2:36-38

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The gospel of Luke tells us the most about elderly people. Today in our text, Anna is the person of interest. There are questions about her age�was she 84yrs old or had she been a widow for that long? Anna gave thanks to God for baby Jesus and spoke of the coming salvation. At the beginning of the gospel of Luke, we hear about the elderly couple that gave birth to John the Baptist: Zacharias and Elizabeth.



Anna was probably like most girls, 14yr old when she got married. So she may have been 105 yrs. old when she was in the temple. In verse 36, Luke says Anna was very old. 85 yrs is old but 105 yrs is very old. Anna is a model for senior citizens as to what they should shoot for and try to be like. Starting at an early age and making proper life decisions, will help decide what you will be doing at an older age.



*** Model for Old Age Folk ***



1) Have No Bitterness:

Anna had known sorrow but had not grown bitter. She has been widowed in her 20�s but had not gotten bitter. She lived through her widowhood in her 30�s, 40�s, and 50�s and so on. Anna missed out on having any children as well. She saw all her friends and family having children but she could not. Yet even though she suffered these losses, she was not bitter. When most of us go through severe traumas, we get bitter. Anna did not and we should follow her example. She knew she couldn�t reverse the loss of her husband. The only thing she and you can change is your perception of the trauma. You then go on living your life.



Living your life in bitterness will not change the loss. Bitterness toward God or others will only corrode our own life and effect all of our relationships. Have you ever known a bitter person? Their bitterness effects those around them and you don�t want to be with them too long. Anna gave thanks to God and she has no bitterness. Don�t let bad experiences embitter you. God is still in control!



2) Reaching Out to God:

Sometimes when we go through trauma, we withdraw into a shell. We don�t trust people and don�t want to have relationships with others. Anna didn�t withdraw into herself. She was a prophetess and had a ministry of the Word of God. Anna encouraged and strengthened people. You have to be in the Word of God yourself before you can counsel others. Anna probably had the Word of God in scrolls hanging on her walls in her apartment. The Word had helped bring Anna out of herself and she was able to reach out to God and others. The Big Things in our lives gradually diminish as we get older. Don�t let bad experiences embitter you.



3) Remember that God is Still in Control:

In the midst of our trouble and hardships, God is still in control. Don�t let bad experiences and traumas embitter you. God is still in control. Prayer changes things. The prayers of the little old ladies sustain the church. Don�t discount these little old ladies. It is the Anna�s that keep the Word of God alive. God has a high opinion of them and that�s why we know about Anna. Some people in the church may have just thought of her as another little old lady but Anna was known to God.



4) Hope:

Anna had come to the end of her years but had not come to the end of her hope. There are many different kinds of hope but the hope that Anna had is reality hope. She had hope in God. She knew and was sure that because God had promised it, then that was that! God would redeem and save his people. Anna was locked in on what God was doing and about to do.



Like Anna, we place our hope in God. This is the only way to live. Anna was old and at the end of her years but she never came to the end of her hope. She believed God. She had hope in God. She trusted God�s Word. In God�s grace we can stand and be like Anna. We can have confidence in God. God is working everything out for the good in our life.



AMEN

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