Adapted from a sermon by Timo Martin
In this world, everything gets old. For a while, we are young and beautiful, and then we start aging. Our face, skin, and hair starts to show signs of getting old. We lose our memory, strength, and even the desire to live. We then become sick, and then it is all over. We die. This is the way of man. This is the way of the world. Everything is temporary; it exists just for a while and then is gone.
You buy fresh milk from the store, and leave it on the table. Soon it becomes sour and useless, and you throw it out. Fruits are so delicious; soon they start to show signs of decay. Even trees, which last much longer than most other living things, eventually get old and die, and fall to the ground. Everything here is made of the dust of the earth from the soil. Plants, flowers, trees, animals, birds, fish—even people. We are just made of a handful of dust, a few chemicals, and to that state, we will return. “And the LORD God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul.” Genesis 2:7
When I was a small child, I took clay and formed an image of a person out of the clay. Then I broke it later, and what did I have? Again, I had a handful of clay. This is how man was created, as a handful of dust—soil—soon to return to it.
“For the living know that they shall die: but the dead know not any thing, neither have they any more a reward; for the memory of them is forgotten. Also their love, and their hatred, and their envy, is now perished; neither have they any more a portion for ever in any thing that is done under the sun.” Ecclesiastes 9:5–6. When we die, suddenly our love, hatred, and envy perishes. Moreover, what is left? A handful of dust.
When we think of these things, how pitiful it is that any mortal man or woman starts thinking of himself or herself as important, that he is something great, looking down on others, despising others. Moreover, when these children of dust defy their maker, God, saying, who is God that I should obey Him? What is this old-fashioned word of God? We modern people are wiser, and know so much better than does God.
For this reason, God has cut our life short. For a while, we are young. For a while, we can be proud. For a while, we can hate. For a while, we can despise others. Then it is over, and God takes this person of clay, and crumbles him into dust again, where he came from.
“To every thing there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven: A time to be born, and a time to die; a time to plant, and a time to pluck up that which is planted; A time to kill, and a time to heal; a time to break down, and a time to build up; A time to weep, and a time to laugh; a time to mourn, and a time to dance; A time to cast away stones, and a time to gather stones together; a time to embrace, and a time to refrain from embracing; A time to get, and a time to lose; a time to keep, and a time to cast away; A time to rend, and a time to sew; a time to keep silence, and a time to speak; A time to love, and a time to hate; a time of war, and a time of peace.” Ecclesiastes 3:1–8
We have a little time for everything. The murderer has a little time to kill. The thief has a little time to steal. For a while we can hate, envy, hurt, and take advantage of others. Suddenly it will stop. Then there will be no more time!
There is an eternity behind us, and an eternity after our lives end. We have a very small lifespan, where we live, grow old, and then die. Getting old is the way of life, but many people do not like it. People spend billions of dollars in cosmetics, in beauty aids, in surgeries, just to look younger for a little while longer. There are many who think that we are just to live our life, enjoy our time here, and that is the end. How foolish!
“So teach us to number our days, that we may apply our hearts unto wisdom.” Psalm 90:12. It is wisdom to understand our time, how to spend our life, and the marvelous opportunities that are given to us. We must use wisdom in counting our days, and deciding on how to spend our short lifetime. In hate or in love, in peace or in war, in joy or in sorrow. Securing salvation or being lost.
“Yea, the stork in the heaven knoweth her appointed times; and the turtle and the crane and the swallow observe the time of their coming; but My people know not the judgment of the LORD.” Jeremiah 8:7. Animals are wiser than men. They use their short lifetime better, more usefully than man does.
When something gets old, it normally gets worse, it deteriorates. When something is young, it is beautiful, strong, and good. When something is old, it is decayed, sick, and ready to be thrown away.
Does this also happen in our Christian life? Is a young, newly born Christian spiritual, faithful, full of love, and with a missionary spirit? In addition, is the old Christian stale, lukewarm, complaining, self-righteous, proud of his many years of service? Is the Christian life like this? Does it have to be like this?
When the Prodigal Son returned home, his father was happy and rejoicing, and made a great feast. However, someone was not rejoicing. Who did not care if the younger brother returned or not?
“Now his elder son was in the field: and as he came and drew nigh to the house, he heard musick and dancing. And he called one of the servants, and asked what these things meant. And he said unto him, Thy brother is come; and thy father hath killed the fatted calf, because he hath received him safe and sound. And he was angry, and would not go in: therefore came his father out, and intreated him. And he answering said to his father, Lo, these many years do I serve thee, neither transgressed I at any time thy commandment: and yet thou never gavest me a kid, that I might make merry with my friends: But as soon as this thy son was come, which hath devoured thy living with harlots, thou hast killed for him the fatted calf.” Luke 15:25–30
The older son was angry and refused to attend the feast. His father came out to intreat him. The older brother was jealous of the Prodigal Son who had returned. Why did Jesus use the example of the older brother? Often this is the case. Jesus said, “But many that are first shall be last; and the last shall be first.” Matthew 19:30
Jesus spoke another parable: “No man putteth a piece of new cloth unto an old garment, for that which is put in to fill it up taketh from the garment, and the rent is made worse. Neither do men put new wine into old bottles: else the bottles break, and the wine runneth out, and the bottles perish: but they put new wine into new bottles, and both are preserved.” Matthew 9:16–17
You cannot add something new to an old garment or bottle. The new teachings of Christ could not be put into the old professors of religious. The Scribes and Pharisees could not accept these new truths.
When two young men, AT Jones, and EJ Waggoner brought their message to the 1888 Conference, the old ministers and leaders opposed them, ridiculed them, and rejected their message. Are we old like this old garment or the old bottle? Often we have been Christians for many years. Nevertheless, do we have to grow old in our spiritual life? We cannot stop our physical body from aging. However, is it necessary for our spiritual life to age and die?
When our physical body gets older, we will lose our teeth, hair, strength, hearing, eyesight. In our spiritual life, what can we lose? “Nevertheless I have somewhat against thee, because thou hast left thy first love.” Revelation 2:4. Which love did they lose? They lost their love to God and to their fellow men. In marriage, we often see this. Does it have to happen? Is it necessary?
The first love gives us power and the desire to do all for God and for others. We want to talk to everyone about our wonderful experience. We read our Bible daily, we pray constantly. We would never miss a church meeting. We are willing to help clean the church, go canvassing, sacrifice our money to God’s cause and love everybody.
Then this fervent first love dies, it becomes cold, it becomes critical, condemning of others. We start to neglect Bible study, we start to read worldly books, we neglect prayer, and we rarely have morning and evening worship. Missionary work is neglected; we become so busy with other things. Church meetings are not so important to us anymore. We hardly give more than our tithes to the church. Even our love for our fellow man dies. We lose the idea of man’s value, that every person is worth more than the whole world, that each person is someone who has the possibility of salvation. Thus, our first love has died, and we are growing old and feeble spiritually.
“Ye are the salt of the earth: but if the salt have lost his savour, wherewith shall it be salted? it is thenceforth good for nothing, but to be cast out, and to be trodden under foot of men.” Matthew 5:13
Salt can lose it savour. Can it be salted again? No, it is impossible. The only thing left to do is to cast it out. A Christian can lose his savour; this is the same as a young person growing old. The grace that surrounded us has disappeared. Christian beauty is gone. We become formal, mechanical Christians, in name only. Hypocrites—having the appearance of salt, but no taste.
A person can come into our company, and feel no special Christian effect. It is the same as if they had met an unbeliever. Then we have no value to God or to the church.
What can we lose next in the growing-old process? “Cast not away therefore your confidence, which hath great recompence of reward.” Hebrews 10:35. We can lose our confidence, our trust, and our faith in God. A lukewarm careless Christian has no confidence in God. He trusts only in human power. In a time of trial and testing, he fails utterly. He cannot believe that God would take care of him, because he did not obey God faithfully.
“For this people’s heart is waxed gross, and their ears are dull of hearing, and their eyes they have closed; lest at any time they should see with their eyes and hear with their ears, and should understand with their heart, and should be converted, and I should heal them.” Matthew 13:15. They have ears but they do not hear; eyes, but they do not see. Is this not a sign of old age? They have ears and eyes, but they do not function anymore. The signs of the times tell us that the coming of Christ is very soon. Nevertheless, these people are so involved in worldly pursuits that they do not see or hear anything else. The solemn warnings, and appeals by the Holy Spirit, go to deaf ears and blind eyes.
When our love is completely gone, we begin to have heart troubles, which is a serious spiritual sickness. We have lost the taste, the savour of the salt; our confidence in God is gone, we have weak feet, ready to fall, our hearing and seeing is lost. What comes next?
“And unto the angel of the church in Sardis write; These things saith He that hath the seven Spirits of God, and the seven stars; I know thy works, that thou hast a name that thou livest, and art dead.” Revelation 3:1. You have a name that you are alive, you are a church member, but you are dead. Nature took its toll, and from a long spiritual sickness, a person finally dies. He is now in a lost condition.
Can we stop this aging process? Do we have to grow old spiritually? Paul writes, “Till we all come in the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, unto a perfect man, unto the measure of the stature of the fulness of Christ: … But speaking the truth in love, may grow up into Him in all things, which is the head, even Christ.” Ephesians 4: 13, 15. How are we to grow? Into a perfect man—not into a weak, sickly old person.
What is the first thing that we must do in order that we do not grow old, but to have eternal youth spiritually?
“Purge out therefore the old leaven, that ye may be a new lump, as ye are unleavened. For even as Christ our Passover is sacrificed for us; Therefore let us keep the feast, not with old leaven, neither with the leaven of malice and wickedness; but with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth.” 1 Corinthians 5:7–8. This little leaven can spoil the happiness and salvation of the whole person, and affect others.
“But they that wait upon the LORD shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; and they shall walk, and not faint.” Isaiah 40:31. If we wait on the Lord, it is a fountain of youth and strength. How magnificent a sight it is to see an eagle with wings spread out, soaring through the sky, without weariness or fainting.
Wait upon the Lord. Look to Him for guidance and help, follow Him all the way, and you will not be tired and weary, you will not grow old.
“Create in me a clean heart, O God; and renew a right spirit within me.” Psalm 51:10. The old heart is removed and a heart transplant takes place. The old heart with all its troubles, loveless, cold, hardened like a stone, is removed, and a new heart given us. We will then have the right spirit, fervent, full of zeal.
“And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.” Romans 12:2. The old mind, full of doubting, a confused mind, with poor memory is put away and we will receive a new mind, clear and keen to understand truth. Only God can renew our mind if it has grown old and feeble.
“For which cause we faint not; but though our outward man perish, yet the inward man is renewed day by day.” 2 Corinthians 4:16. Our body may grow old, but our inward man is renewed daily, made strong, young, with a keen understanding.
“Not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to His mercy He saved us, by the washing of regeneration, and the renewing of the Holy Ghost.” Titus 3:5. When we receive the renewing of the Holy Spirit, we grow younger and stronger. The aging process reverses.
Finally, what happens? “Jesus answered and said unto him, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.” John 3:3. When we ae born again, all is new, and the old man is gone. Paul says that we become new creatures. We have a new first love, spirit, mind, zeal, understanding and faith. We are to be born again daily.
Dear readers, we do not need to grow spiritually old. We do not need to lose our first love, nor our savour, taste, or our confidence. We do not need to lose our spiritual hearing and seeing. Our mind does not need to lose memory or strength.
According to the laws of nature in our world, everything grows old, except a faithful child of God. In Him, the aging process is reversed. We have no reason or excuse for spiritual sickness, no excuse for growing old and dying spiritually. We do not need to become an old garment or an old bottle, like the Jews and the Pharisees.
The fountain of youth guarantees us eternal health and strength. What is this fountain of youth? Is it not the living water that Jesus alone can give us? Jesus is the fountain of living water. If we drink of Him, we will never thirst again, and we will never grow old.
Our love will not grow cold. Our missionary spirit will not die. Our prayer life will be strong. Our Bible study will be daily. We hear every word the Lord speaks. We see Him with the eyes of faith, which have not grown dim. We clearly recognize the truth, the church that God leads. As time passes, our first love grows stronger and stronger, until it is stronger than death. We would rather die than sin against God, whom we love. We learn to love all mankind, even the greatest sinner.
May we all remain young in Christ and never grow old.
Amen.