When I reached my 60th birthday,
I prepared a message to preach to our congregation on the subject,
Reflections of 60 Years. A few months ago, Doris found
that message in one of her secret hiding places, I guess, And she
brought it out and she said, why don't you try this on your
80th birthday? So I got the message and worked
it over and preached it on my 80th birthday. And a few people
thought it was a good message. And your pastor asked me a few
days ago if I would bring that message again. So I'm going to
preach This morning, the Lord willing, on reflections of 80
years, they go by so fast. But let's read four verses from
Psalm 39 before I begin the message. Psalm 39, verse 4. Lord, make
me to know my end, and the measure of my days, what it is, that
I may know how frail I really am. Behold, thou hast made my
days as a hand-breath, you know what a hand-breath is, you horse
lovers know, who made a hand on a horse, didn't I do it? My
life is but a hand-breath, and my age is nothing before thee. Barely every man at his best
state is altogether vanity. That word selah says, read that
again. Read that again. Say that with
emphasis. Every man at his best state is
altogether vanity. Surely every man walketh in a
vain show. Surely They're disquieted in
vain. He heapeth up riches, and knoweth
not who shall gather them. And now, Lord, what wait I for? My hope is in thee. Now, it's always profitable,
especially in our last days, it's profitable to reflect on
the passing years and determine what we have learned as we grow
old. What have we learned as we grow
old? Well, three things here. First of all, I'm thankful. I'm
really grateful. And I mean this. I'm thankful
that I've reached this age. Eighty-one years of age. Because,
number one, I'm nearer home than I was last year. I'm nearer home. Think of that. And I'm in a strait. I'll borrow these words from
the Apostle Paul and I mean them. I'm in a strait betwixt the two. Having a desire to depart and
be with Christ, which is far better. But here's the other
side. Nevertheless, to abide in the
flesh with you may be needful or helpful for somebody. But
I'm still between those two things. I have a desire to go be with
the Lord. But still, if the Lord is pleased to use us, we'll be
thankful. Secondly, I'm thankful not only
to reach this age, but I'm thankful to grow old. Really. In order to grow old, when you
grow old, you learn some things. we grow in grace and the knowledge
of our Lord Jesus Christ. And I'm thankful that maybe by
God's grace I've grown a little bit in patience. It takes a while
to acquire patience. Tribulation worketh patience. It takes a while to acquire temperance. It takes a while to acquire some
understanding of this world. It takes a lot of study, a lot
of thought. It takes a while for us to learn
to be more charitable with everybody else. A little charitable toward others. I see no fault in anyone else
now that I don't see it myself. Can you say that? I see no fault
in anyone else that I haven't in thought, word or deed felt
that very same thing. Oh, William J. went by John Newton's
study one day and walked in and he said to Mr. Newton, he said, good news. He said, Mr. Bowling from Bath
has been converted. And that old man's been converted,
and I'll tell you this, I'll tell you this, Mr. Newton, I'll
never despair of anybody else since that old man's been saved.
And you know what John Newton said? He said, Brother Jay, I've
never despaired of anyone since the Lord saved me. I give thanks that he was pleased
to call me. And here's the third thing. Remember
this, this scripture, we grow in grace and we get a little
more charitable and understanding of the knowledge of the Word
of God. But remember this, the Bible still says there are little
children, there are young men, and there are elders and fathers.
In Christ there are no shortcuts to being an elder and to being
a father. You've got to be a child first.
And children grow to be young men. And young men grow to be
fathers. And the God of all grace, the
God of all grace, will perfect you. He'll mature you. And He'll
establish you. And He'll strengthen you. And
after a while, He'll settle you down. Do you ever hear your father
say to you, just settle down, boy. Settle down. That's what
I want. I want to get settled down. in
him, in his love, in his grace. So, after 81 years and 57 years
in the ministry of God's sovereign grace, here are my reflections. I believe I've learned these
things. Number one, life is short. Number two, salvation is of the
Lord, 100%. Number three, Jesus Christ is
all and in all. Number four, God will provide. He always has and He always will.
And number five, we've got to die. And that'll be soon. Got to go. I'll be glad. All right, let's
go with number one. Turn to the book of James. James
chapter 4. James the fourth chapter, verse
13. Life is short. You know, you
hear old people say that all the time. Life is short? It really
is. It really is. I've discovered
that. They were telling the truth.
James chapter 4, verse 13. James 4, 13. Go to now. Come now. You that say today or tomorrow
will go into such a city and continue there a year and buy
and sell and get gain. Whereas you know not what shall
be tomorrow. What's your life? What is your
life? Why it's even a vapor? James says our life is a vapor. What's a vapor? Just a puff of
smoke. Just a puff of smoke. You go
out in a cold morning and breathe and let your breath out. There
it is. But it doesn't last long. It's
there for a moment and then it's gone. It's a vapor. It's a vapor. That's what your life is. It's
a vapor that appears for a little while and then it vanishes away. Job said this about life. James
says it's a vapor. It appears for just a second.
And then it's gone. And Job said this, life is a
shadow. What is a shadow? Well, there's
one right there. There it is. That's a shadow. He said that's our life. A shadow
is an empty thing. Nothing there. A shadow is an
empty thing, no substance. It's just there. And then a shadow
It doesn't last long. It's gone. It's gone now. And then thirdly, a shadow leaves
no mark where it's been. I read about folks leaving this
and leaving that. They left everything. Leave their
names on things, you know, it doesn't mean a thing. It's just
gone. Just a shadow. And then Job said
this, What is your life? A vapor, your life is a shadow,
and your life is a flower. What is a flower? Well, it comes
from the ground. Every flower comes from the ground.
That's where I came from, Adam, from the ground. And then a flower
comes from another flower. We're born of our parents, and
we're born just like them. And then a flower blooms, it's
beautiful, fair and lovely for a while, and it begins to wither
and die. And you know where it goes? Back
to the ground. That's what it is. What is your
life? Oh, God, teach me to number my
days, that I may apply my heart to Christ, to wisdom. Teach me. to number my days,
that I may apply my heart to wisdom." My friends, seek you
the Lord while he may be found. Call upon him while he's near.
And let me tell you this, the Bible doesn't say a man can't
seek the Lord. He won't. They will not, but
they should. They should. And God has given
this pledge. Come to the water. Seek ye the
Lord. Are you weary and heavy laden?
Come to me, I'll give you rest. Everyone that shall call on the
name of the Lord shall be saved. Seek the Lord. Seek the Lord. While it's day, the night cometh
when there won't be anyone seeking the Lord. Number two, turn to
Romans 8. Here is my second reflection.
Romans 8, verse 28. Romans 8, verse 28. And we know that all things work
together for good to them that love God, to them who are called
according to His purpose. for whom he did foreknow, he
also did predestinate to be conformed to the image of his Son, that
he might be the firstborn among many brethren. Moreover, whom
he did predestinate, them he called, and whom he called them
he also justified, and whom he justified them he also glorified."
I love this old song. Tis not that I did choose thee,
Lord, that could not be. This heart of mine would still
refuse thee, but thou hast chosen me. My heart owns none above
thee, for thy rich grace I thirst, this knowing. If I love thee,
you must love me first. God chose us, like the Apostle
Paul, Like the Apostle Paul, I have one thing in common with
him. And like many others of you who are here this morning,
I was in an empty false profession of religion. I came out of the
Navy. Doris and I got married. I started
a school, got a job in the steel mill. And then the Lord led me
to go to Ashton, Kentucky. And I went up there and worked
with the young people for about six months and realized I needed
more education, so I went back to Schuylkill and I pastored
a church. I was a 24-year-old pastor of
a Southern Baptist church that didn't even know the gospel.
That's exactly right. And so the church in Ashland
gave me an invitation to resign my church in Chattanooga. and
come to Ashland, Kentucky and work with that church again.
And the day I arrived, Ralph Barnard came into town to preach
a two-week meeting. A two-week meeting. You know,
Doris and I had gone through the Bible reading our devotions
at night and it came to the book of Romans. This is back some
time ago. It came to the book of Romans.
And I said, honey, let's just skip that book. I don't understand
that. What I was reading here, whom
he predestinated, I just skipped that. So Barnard got up to preach
that Tuesday morning. This is a fact. In this large
Southern Baptist church, I was sitting on the first row. I was
the song leader and the new assistant pastor. I was sitting there on
the second row. And he looked down at me. And
he said, why don't you quote Romans 8.28 for us? Why did he do that? I know why
he did that. I stood up and I said, and we know that all things work
together for good to them who love God. And I sat down, quiet. What's the rest of it? Don't
you know the rest of it? I said, I think I do, so I got
up again. I said, and we know that all
things work together for good to them who love God, who are
the call according to his purpose. Quiet again. He looked at me
as only he could look at man. He said, young man, Everything God does, He does
on purpose. And no accidents with God. Killed
me. Slew me. Doris hadn't moved up
there yet. I just got into town with the
new assistant pastor and she was down in Chattanooga getting
her things together. And I went to the pastor's house
and I sat down in his study and read the book of Romans. And I discovered something I
never knew before. I discovered, I saw the majesty
and lordship of Jesus Christ. I saw the fall and ruin of our
father Adam. I studied and learned that great
confession of faith. Paul wrote in Ephesians 1, Blessed
be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed
us with all spiritual blessing according as he chose us in Christ
before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy
and without blame before him in love, having predestinated
us unto the adoption of Jesus. I read that thing again, and
I saw it. And I learned how God can be
just and justify. I learned how God can be God
and save folks like us. And I learned this, I learned
that salvation is not an offer, it's a gift. I learned that salvation
is not by chance, that everybody ought to have a chance, they
did. But salvation is not by chance, it's by choice. And salvation
is not, I will if you will. Salvation is according to God's
will. But as many as received Him,
to them gave He the power to become sons of God, even to them
that believed on His name, which were born Not of the will of
the flesh, not of blood, not of the will of man, but born
of the will of God. I became a preacher then. I've
been playing religion for four years. And I learned the gospel. Alright, thirdly, turn to 2 Corinthians
5. 2 Corinthians chapter 5. 2 Corinthians
5 verse 17, Therefore, if any man be in Christ,
he is a new creation. Old things are passed away, behold,
all things in Christ are become new. And all things are of God,
who hath reconciled us to himself by Jesus Christ, and hath given
to us the ministry of reconciliation to wit, namely, that God was
in Christ reconciling the world unto himself, not imputing their
trespasses unto them, and hath committed unto us the word of
reconciliation. Now then, we are ambassadors
for Christ, as though God did beseech you by us, we pray you,
in Christ's name, be ye reconciled to God, for He hath made Him
to be sin for us. He knew no sin, but He was made
sin for us, that we might be made the righteousness of God
in Him. I hear people say, well, I came
to the doctrines of grace. I didn't. I came to Christ. There's
a difference, isn't there, Pat? There's a difference. I came
to Jesus as I was, weary and worn and sad. He, He, He has
made us a holy person in Christ. Weary and worn and sad. And I
found in Him a resting place. We didn't just learn a system
of theology. I didn't just learn a system
of theology. That's what scripture says, take
my yoke upon you and learn of me. And like Abraham of old, I didn't
any longer just believe there is a God. I believed him. Abraham didn't just believe there's
a God. The devil believes that and trembles. But Abraham believed him. How
do you know he believed him? He obeyed Him. That's how I know. If any man be in Christ, he's
a new creature. He's a new creation. And let
me tell you this. Remember this. He's not the old
man reformed. He's a new man. He's not the
old man with a new doctrine. He's a new man. He's not the
old man with a new lifestyle. He's a new man in Christ Jesus.
And he is now a new person, one who never lived before. Isn't
that true? The old man's lived a long time. I've lived 81 years as an old
man. Still got the old man. But I
have a new man when I was 24 years old, a new man. A new nature,
a new heart, a new spirit, a new life was begotten in me by the
power of God that day. A new creature. Turn to Ephesians
4. Ephesians chapter 4 verse 21.
Ephesians 4 verse 21. Listen to this. Ephesians 4 verse
21. If so be that you have heard
him, and been taught by him, as the truth is in Jesus, that
you put off concerning the former conversation, that old man which
is corrupt, as according to deceitful lusts, and be renewed in the
spirit in heart, in the spirit of your mind, that you put on
that new man, which after God is created. It's a new creation. It's created in righteousness
and holiness, true holiness. Jesus, listen, this is a hymn
where I wrote this, Jesus Christ, thy blood and righteousness,
my beauty are, My glorious dress, mid-flaming worlds in him arrayed,
with joy I lift up my hand. Bold I stand in that great day,
for who ought to my charge shall lay." A new creature. That old
man died, and one day we're going to bury him, be done with him. And that same new man that he
created in regeneration, in the new birth, and saved our soul,
that new man is going to be with the Lord. That's just so. Now here's my fourth reflection. Turn to Psalm 37. Psalm 37. Psalm
37 verse 23. Psalm 37 verse 23. The steps of a good man are ordered
by the Lord, and he delighteth in his way. Though he fall, he
will not be utterly cast down, for the Lord upholdeth him with
his hand. I have been young, and now I
am old, yet have I not seen the righteous forsaken, nor his seed
begging bread. God, I have learned this. He
will provide. He will provide. That first time,
when I got out of the Navy, I got a job at the steel mill, working
where my father worked and where Doris' dad worked. And Doris
worked at the church, church secretary. And when they invited
me, 21 years old, didn't know the gospel, but Southern Baptist
invited me to come up there and be a song leader and youth director.
And I went. What did we have? I quit my job. She quit hers. We lived with
my parents. We didn't have a stick of furniture.
Didn't have an automobile. And we went to Ashland, Kentucky.
And they paid me $40 a week to be a song leader and assistant
pastor. And Darsh got a job at the insurance
company. We lived in two rooms. Didn't
have a refrigerator. Put the butter and stuff on the
windowsill to keep it cool. But God provided. And I pastored
that Southern Baptist Church for four years, after the pastor
left and I became pastor. And preached grace, the grace
of God. And I've tried to pastor two
churches, one breathed grace and one breathed works and free
will. And I've preached for four years. And finally, on one Saturday
night, I got a bunch of men together and I said, I had all this I
can stand, all this fussing and quarreling and arguing. Let's
get out of here and go start a church. I got up the next morning,
Sunday morning, to resign. Doris was eight months pregnant
with yours truly over here. And we quit. Moved out of the
parsonage, rented a house. But I resigned that Sunday morning
knowing God will provide. And I resigned and when I stepped
down the pulpit, Lawrence Gilley, you knew him well, came walking
up. He's a truck driver. Drove a truck for Ashland, Auburn.
Years and years and years. Walked up to me and handed me
a check for $1,500. Back in 1955, that was a heap
of sheeple shekels. He handed me a check for $1,500. He said, now that's on the new
church. I handed it back to him. I said, Lawrence, it's too early.
I don't know whether we're going to have a church. I'm just not
going to pastor this one anymore. I'm not going to fight over grace
and works. I'm going somewhere where I can
preach. He said, take the check, preacher. If you get run out of town, you'll
need some gas to go home on. Well, he's purchased me gas ever
since. God will provide. He always has and He always will.
You found that out time and time again. Listen to this. Though troubles assail and dangers
affright, Though friends should all fail and foes all unite,
one thing assures us, whatever be time, his promise assures
us God will provide. The birds without barn or storehouse
are fed. From them let us learn to trust
God for our bread. His saints what is feeding would
never be denied as long as the word says God will provide. When life sinks apace and death
is in view, the word of His promise will comfort us through. Not
fearing, not doubting, with Christ as our guide, we hope to die
shouting, God will provide. He always has and He always will.
Here's my fifth one. Turn to Job 5. Job chapter 5. Job 5 verse 26. Job 5 verse 26
and 27. Listen to this. Job 5 verse 26. Just take it a phrase at a time.
Thou shalt come to thy grave. Thou shalt come to thy grave.
All of us got to come to the grave. All of us. All of us must die because it's
appointed unto man once to die. Got to go down there. Thou shalt
come to thy grave. You know the Lord said to that
unbeliever. He said the Lord requires your
soul this day. Remember that? Your soul will
be required of thee. Not the believer. His soul is
not just required. He comes to the grave willingly. He'll be glad when God calls
him home. That's right. When the time comes,
we go to be with the Lord. The way we go to Glover is the
way we came to Christ, willingly. The way we go to Glover is the
same way we came to Christ, willingly. And thou shalt come to thy grave
in a full age. When is that? Well, my son died
at 28, 20, 21. My daughter at 42. That's a full
age. Somebody said, I hate that your
son was killed, you know, so early in life. I said, God gave
him 21 years. That's all God gave him, took
him home. You see, my friends, Our bounds are set. The number
of our months are with God. He has determined when we'll
die. That's right. We're going to
come at a full age. A full age. A full age. Whatever the age is, in the fullness
of time. Now watch this. I shall come
to thy grave in a full age like a shock of corn cometh in in
its season. Somebody said one time, if corn
is harvested before it's ripe, it's no use. If corn stays in
the ground too long, it'll come to nothing. But when God's purpose
for us is fulfilled, and His church is fulfilled, we'll be
plucked from the field just at full age, just at the right time
for His glory and be seated with Him at that great marriage supper
of the Lamb plucked by God. It's tough, it's very tough,
but it's of God, so be it. So be it. It's of God. Alright,
verse 27. Lo, this, hear this, hear this,
we have searched it, we have studied it, and so it is. No
doubt about it. I don't know if you've been talking
about today. That's it. We've studied it, and we've searched
it, and so it is. Hear it, and know thou it. Boy, you're good. I believe I
got a hold of something here. That life is short, salvation
is of the Lord, Christ is all, and God will provide. That's
so. Study that. Oh, Roland Hill was
a great preacher over in England. And he was a great, great, like
your pastor, illustrations. Roland Hill was very, very, had
great ability to illustrate, make people understand things,
you know. And he said he dreamed he died. And he went to glory. And when
he got to glory, he said, I heard most beautiful singing, most
beautiful singing. And he said, I moved closer and
closer, and there was a great, wonderful choir. And they were
singing to the glory of God. And I moved up close, and I thought
to myself, I said, I'd sure like to sing with them. I'd sure like
to be part of that choir. And he said, I looked up and
there was a seat, empty seat, right up there. And he said,
I began to make my way to that seat. I wanted to sing with them
that song that they were singing. And he said, I made my way to
that seat and I looked and on that seat was a name, Roland
Hill. And he said, I sat down and I
started singing and he said, I never missed a note. Never
miss the work, because I've been singing that song for a long,
long time. Oh, that will be glory for me. Glory for me, glory for me. When by His grace I look on His
face, that's going to be glory for you and me. Thank you, Pastor. I'm saying that again, 505.