Look on Dr. Stanley’s desk and you’ll find a sticky note that says, “You’re young and useful at any age, if you’re still planning for tomorrow.” It’s a principle that’s guided him through decades of productive service. Learn several other key principles to living a life marked by vitality and fruitfulness. Regardless of your age, it’s never too late to start trusting God and growing young.
as long as you and I alive we have the
responsibility of being fruitful all the
days of our life and I wonder sometimes
if some people shorten their life
because they’re not useful they come to
the opponent life and they say well I’m
55 and I’ve got 62 let’s see I got seven
more years to live and then I’m finished
let me tell you something when you tell
you about it that you have finished your
body begins to break down
[Music]
four decades ago we started in touch
ministries to lead people worldwide into
a growing relationship with Jesus Christ
throughout the years we’ve seen God’s
greatness his love and his blessings in
such awesome ways that we just want
everyone to know him so let’s open God’s
Word and seek Him together next on
InTouch how to stay young and useful all
your life
how does they young and useful all of
your life that’s what I want us to talk
about and somebody says well is that a
drink
no is it a pill no is it like course of
exercise no well what is it that’s what
I want to share with you and I want you
to turn to the 92nd song and in this 90
second song I think the Lord lays out
for us an idea of how we can indeed live
young and useful all of our life many
people just want to live long if you’re
not useful what’s the use of living long
how do you remain useful and young all
the days of your life well look at this
90-second Psalm and let’s begin in the
twelfth verse the scripture says the
righteous man will flourish like the
palm tree he will grow like a cedar in
Lebanon planted in the house of the Lord
they will flourish in the courts of our
God they will still yield fruit in old
age they shall be full of set and very
green to declare that the Lord is
upright now I believe in this passage of
Scripture is a key to being useful at
any age in our life and you’ll notice
how he begins this he says the righteous
man
not just anybody the righteous man will
flourish like the
three what does it mean by righteous
that is a person who is godly not just
anybody but a person who’s godly will
flourish that is will be abundant in
whatever’s going on in their life like
the palm tree like a cedar in Lebanon
now the palm trees that they were
talking about we’re date-palms and
they’ll go 50 or 60 or more feet high
and if you’ll think about a palm tree
that reduces dates it has fruit and they
use the leaves to bill fences that be
part of a house on the roof of the house
and so forth and then the Cedars of
Lebanon will grow and can grow up to 120
feet tall
30 feet around and all of their limbs
are straight out it’s a majestic sight
to see one of those trees so he says the
righteous man will flourish like a palm
tree grow like a cedar in Lebanon
planted in the house of the Lord they
will flourish in the courts of our God
that means there will be abundance
there’s something going on awesomely
going on they’ll still yield fruit in
old age and they shall be full of SAP
and very green they’re going to be
growing and they’re not going to look
all that old full of SAP and very green
speaking of strength and fruitfulness
and healthy to declare that the Lord is
upright so the question is how many of
you really believe that God expects you
to be useful all the days of your life
all right so how do we do that what I
want to do is I want to give you what I
believe is the key to making that
truthful so I want you to jot down these
simple phrases I’m going to give you and
I want you to think about them in your
own life so I don’t want you to think
about this is a sermon I want you to
think about it is a word of instruction
how you can live longer and be more
useful now I know that God is the one
who makes the fire
decision about how long we live and some
people not meant to live as long as
others but let’s just say you who you
are and you don’t know when you’re gonna
die and so as long as you’re in our life
we have the responsibility of being
fruitful all the days of our life and I
wonder sometimes if some people shorten
their life because they’re not useful
they come to the point in life and they
say well I’m 55 and I’ve got 62 let’s
say I got seven more years to live and
then I’m finished let me tell you
something when you tell you about it
that you have finished your body begins
to break down because your mind sends
your body a message in seven years I’m
finished finished doing what God created
you and me to be fruitful all the days
of our life ever how long that is and I
do believe that if you are fruitful it’s
gonna lengthen your life humanly
speaking so the question is what is
essential to making your life useful all
the days of your life and the first one
is very important that is keep learning
when you cease to learn you cease to
grow when you cease to learn you sort of
begin to decay a little bit you are to
learn to how to stay healthy and you say
well how do I do that it will the proper
diet and exercise and rest that’s part
of it there was we’re not healthy by
accident it’s by learning some key
things in life that really make a
difference and when we keep learning
something happens in our life for
example you’re not living in an age when
we’ve had to keep learning because when
I was born there were no computers that
I knew of in 1900 and 32 so we go back
and you look at your life and think
about all the things that you’ve had to
learn that your predecessors and your
church your parents didn’t have to learn
because they didn’t even exist so if you
if you’re gonna be useful all the days
of your life you’ve got to be willing to
keep learning so I would simply say that
a lazy brain
is an aging brain you don’t want to
learn what happens you start decaying
and so there’s something interesting and
exciting about learning things in life
no matter who you are and no matter what
your age might be so I would say at the
top of that list is learning the Word of
God
learning to quote a verse of scripture
if you can’t doing the better just to
learn this one jesus wept
if you can’t learn that what you can’t
learn anything so the first step this
remember we talk about remaining useful
all the days of your life number one
keep learning secondly keep loving love
is a very important part of our life and
in the Old Testament in Deuteronomy God
says commands us to love Him we can’t
wait to love God with all of our heart
all of our soul with all of our strength
and Jesus talked about loving one
another and I believe that the very
experience of loving someone it’s like a
flow that’s in your life and it’s like
loving isn’t it it’s an expression of
something on the inside of you that you
don’t ever want to stop for example if
there’s no love there’s bitterness
resentment hostility or hatred all of
which damaged a person’s emotional and
their mental life God made us to love
one another he made us to love him
loving is a very important part of
staying young all the days of your life
and of having the spirit that promotes a
good health then of course there is the
whole idea of keeping laughing there’s
somebody says what does that have to do
with being useful when a person is
laughing something’s going on on the
inside of them it’s like everything
flows and when you laugh for example you
just laugh from your belly hohohohoho
you laugh and laugh and laugh in what
happens if something happens to you and
when there’s laughter
and there’s love and there’s joy your
body is going to respond accordingly but
if you’re uptight and you you you you’re
not laughing
and if you’ll just think about what
happens to your whole nervous system
when you can’t laugh and somebody says
well I don’t have anything to laugh
about well yes you do if you think about
it you do
there are times we don’t feel like
laughing but there ought to be the joy
of the Lord in their life when you have
the joy of Jesus in your life you’ve got
a lot to laugh about in fact Christians
have more to laugh about and you think
about all the good things that God has
done in your life and is doing in your
life you can count some tough things but
there’s much to be laughed about but if
you can’t laugh but this way if you
can’t laugh I’m not too sure you’ve got
many friends who wants to be around a
grouch all the time always frowning
there’s always something wrong and when
you say well let me tell you something
good happen to me I’m not interested
well when people have that attitude I
believe your nervous system is affected
your whole system is affected I think
there’s some simple things God placed in
our life and the process of exercising
them will live longer
now you say can you prove that or so far
I can
so far I can and and one of the things I
love about my friends is we are always
jabbing each other and one of my friends
and all I think all of us sitting here
there’s more not all my friends but we
are always Japanese other bets on we’re
always laughing and I think that frees
up your nervous system so you may say
well I don’t have any laugh about well
make something get something going and
watch something that will help you laugh
and you find people sometimes who just
they just if it’s like they think it’s a
sin to laugh Christians ought to be the
happiest people in the world because
we’ve got more to be grateful for and
then there’s another one and let’s keep
leaving you say well leaving what that’s
very important keep leaving your cares
behind don’t drag yesterday’s problems
in today and don’t drag situations in
circumstances and conversations and
incidences that have been in your past I
can think of things in my life that
we’re not the most pleasant of all but
you don’t have to you don’t have to
think about it and I love what Peter
said in that first chapter of the fifth
chapter and the seventh verse in first
Peter he said for example cast all your
anxieties on him because he cares for
you in other words God says when you
have cares and burdens and heartaches or
whatever it might be he says cast them
up cast them upon the Lord in other
words just lay them down and so when we
talk about leaving there are people who
live with the rear view mirror in their
life well let me tell you what happened
they can always bring up something I
think often times they’re looking for
sympathy or whatever it might be
well back yonder all of us can bring up
some junk in our life but we had to live
everything with that behind us we don’t
have to think about that God doesn’t
want us thinking about all the
difficulties and hardships there may be
times when
word of testimony about how God’s
brought you through that but you don’t
drag it along with you so I’m asking a
question is is there something in your
past that you that you drag with you if
you do it slows you down it affects your
attitude it affects your whole emotional
system and I believe it affects your
health God intended for us to leave our
burdens behind then of course not only
keep leaving you but keep longing what
in the world do you mean by that well
simply this you got to keep dreaming a
person who doesn’t know how to dream
it’s not gonna enjoy life very long
you’ve got to keep dreaming that is
about the future and never stop somebody
says well you know at this point in my
life I don’t see anything to dream about
we’ll start thinking about it it’s a
matter of attitude nobody can keep you
from dreaming and you say well I just
don’t think I can do this and so well
why don’t you stop thinking about that
and thinking about the things you can do
and it’s not a matter of just having a
positive attitude it’s a matter of being
watch this a child of God you would
agree with that amen and you’re in
trouble the Holy Spirit amen
so all power exists within you amen so
don’t live in the past thinking about
what you can’t do you can do anything
God called you to do and don’t
underestimate God if you agree that the
Holy Spirit is living within you if you
agree that God is within you
then don’t chalk cut off as to what he
can’t do because he can do anything and
everything that it is his will for you
of somebody says well that’s not the
will of God for my life how do you know
it’s not have you asked him now around
my computer I have all these little
sayings that have impressed me and
affected me and and I count them everday
and had 25 well here’s one of them
you are young and useful listen that
you’re young and useful at any
if you’re still planning for tomorrow
you know write that down yeah listen
you’re young and useful at any age if
you’re still planning for tomorrow
because that means you’re dreaming that
means you’re planning it means you’re
looking ahead and so whatever the ages
don’t give up don’t stop don’t quit
just think about what what would I like
to do what what do I believe God would
have me to do so you keep longing and
then keep looking well you say what
looking at what will look your best
you’ve heard me say they look your best
do you best be your best I think that in
other words watch this if you think you
look your best you are going to act
differently right ladies is that true or
not absolutely do you think your hands
just right and you’ve got them just
right you’re looking just right you’re
gonna act differently so you look your
best do you best be your best then of
course keep laboring that is keep
working and one of my favorite the
seminary professors was teaching in his
night early 90s I loved it my first time
I saw the men I loved him and because he
just kept going now he didn’t run he’d
walk slowly but he was an awesome man
III godly man and here he was at that
point in his life and I remember Bertha
Smith who was a missionary to China for
40 years when she was in her late 90s
she heard a head on her calendar times
that she was gonna speak up to the age
of a hundred and five and I know that to
be absolutely true I tell people that
shouldn’t retire if that means you stop
doing nothing had changed something in
the Bible only the priest could retire
they started 25 and that 50 that
whatever they’re finished but the Bible
doesn’t teach retirement the Bible
teaches us to be fruitfulness we said
all the days of our life and life if our
life is to be counting for something in
somebody’s life and so we keep laboring
when you say
in your mind and you think it and you
say well that’s it I quit no more work
I’m just gonna have you send your body a
message and that message is it’s all
over I don’t need to function the way
I’ve been functioning that’s not of God
we’re to live it out through the last
day of our life and so keep laboring is
a very important part and if you’ll
think think about this the longer you
live if faith should be greater that
confidence should be stronger the things
that we do we would do may be better
than we’ve ever done before so laboring
keep laboring and then of course keep
leaning and we lean on the Lord which
means we rely upon him which we trust in
him he answers our prayer he answers
their needs we keep leaning on him that
is we should live every day trusting him
depending upon him and acknowledging the
fact Lord I’m trusting you for today
what you’re saying is I’m leaning on you
to give me wisdom and direction for my
life and guidance and so when I when I
think about that and think about what
the Bible says in the 37th Psalm three
times fret not fret not fret not as
believers we have Christ living within
us through the Holy Spirit we do lean on
him we do rely upon him we do trust him
so that’s what God wants us to do he
wants us to lean upon him he wants us to
rely upon him he wants us to trust in
him he wants us to come to him
acknowledging that we had depended upon
him because he wants to be everything
for us that we need in their life and
then of course keep listening and this
is one of the most important ones keep
listening learn
listen to God and many people go through
their life saying well y’all never said
anything to me yes I did you may not
have listened you may not have obeyed he
did not speak to you audibly but God
speaks to us and he wants us to listen
to him for example how do you find the
will of God you have to listen to him
how do you know what to do in making
critical decisions in your life or
simple decisions you listen to him and
how do you listen to him you be quiet
how do you listen to him you get in the
word and you ask God to speak to your
heart and I think it’s the most
important lesson in the Christian life
is learning how to listen to God and
know that you get a direction for your
life the confidence to know what to do
next learning to listen to him is
absolutely essential to living a godly
life a useful life a profitable life
listening to him and I’ve reached a
number of sermons about that and if I
should ask you do you know how to listen
to God you can know some of these other
things but learning to listen to him
what is God saying how is he giving me
direction for my life at this point
learning to listen to him and so if I’m
gonna stay on the right path I bet watch
this if I’m gonna walk in the will of
God I gotta listen to him if I’m gonna
make wise decisions I gotta listen to it
if I’m gonna have right relationships
with other people I’m gonna listen to
him if I’m going to if I’m going to
avoid yielding the temptation I’m gonna
listen to him if I’m gonna have my needs
met I’m gonna listen to him you can ask
any question you want to but learning to
listen to God is absolutely the basic
one of all how you going to be saved
you’re gonna be saved by listening to
the conviction of the Holy Spirit who
convicted you of your sin and said that
if you die without Christ you’re gonna
be lost you listen you got saved you you
listen to him when it came to convicting
you about your sin and you want to go to
heaven when you
well we listen to him about everything
and when you start the day off every
morning you should be listening to him
Lord speak to my heart give me guidance
whether they make me sensitive today
that what’s going around me make me
sensitive Lord to the people I meet how
to respond if there’s a need it’s
something I can sell do Lord help me
know how to listen so that some things I
need to avoid learning to listen to him
is absolutely essential because you see
you don’t have a discerning spirit
really unless you know how to listen to
him should I do this or should or not
listening to him and so we’re talking
about being useful all the days of your
life
learning to listen to God is absolutely
essential because what happens well for
example let’s say you’re married how you
going to build an intimate relationship
with your wife or your husband you learn
to listen to them how you want to raise
godly children you learn to listen to
them and teach them to listen to you and
teach them to listen to God
listening is essential to every single
aspect of our life and certainly if
we’re going to be useful all the days of
our life we’re going to learn to listen
to God because he’s gonna tell us what
to do and what not to do what to avoid
and what to pursue God is always
speaking to his children and in light of
what we said look at this verse the
righteous man will flourish like the
palm tree date-palms grow grow strong
like a cedar in Lebanon planted in the
house of the Lord they will flourish in
the courts of our God they will still
yield fruit in old age they shall be
full of SAP and very green that is
strong and fruitful and healthy to
declare that the Lord is upright and
I’ve simply said to you today I do
believe this is the way you stay strong
and healthy as possible
and useful all the days of your life it
doesn’t make a difference where you are
now you can start today and ask God Lord
I want you to I want you to make me
sensitive every day to all of these
attitudes because that’s what I want in
my life it’s a decision you make and it
begins with trusting Jesus Christ as
your personal Savior that’s the
beginning that’s when you start learning
to listen right then and if you’ve never
trusted him as your Savior you probably
not even going to attempt what I share
with you this morning
but asking the Lord Jesus Christ to
forgive you of your sins surrendering
your life to Him and then saying Lord I
want my life to count every day I want
to be useful all the days of my life
show me how to do that and I trust that
if you’ve never trusted him as your
Savior
you’ll be wise enough to make a decision
this morning Jesus forgives all sin he
will take you right where you are and if
you will trust him as your personal
Savior today and listen begin with this
list today your life will change
beginning today if you’re willing to
allow him to work it in your life amen
and father how grateful we are that
you’re more than willing they give us
your best I pray that every person who
hears this message will remember
carefully listening to you and obeying
you that’s the key to life and it’s very
best no matter who we are
so we want to say we love you and praise
you for being patient with us for
guiding us for helping us but providing
for us and giving us this awesome
indescribable gift of eternal life we
say bless your holy name Jesus amen if
you’ve been blessed by today’s program
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