Old Men Do Not Seek the Lord

Q: What does the Bible say about seeking the Lord?

The Bible encourages everyone, regardless of age, to seek the Lord, especially in their youth. The Bible instructs us in Ecclesiastes 12:1 to 'Remember now thy Creator in the days of thy youth.' This verse emphasizes the importance of seeking God while we are capable and able to understand His grace. In many instances, older individuals who have spent their lives without a relationship with God often find themselves lacking interest or understanding at the end of their days. Hence, the call is to seek the Lord early, as these are the choicest and clearest days to encounter God and His redemptive grace.

Q: How do we know that God can save anyone?

The Bible affirms that the Lord is able to save to the uttermost all who come to Him through Christ. Hebrews 7:25 teaches us that our Lord is able to save to the uttermost them that come to God by Him. This assurance is critical as it emphasizes God's sovereign grace and His willingness to reach out and redeem those who acknowledge their need for Him. No one is beyond His reach, regardless of age or circumstance. The saving grace of God is depicted as universal—inviting both the old and the young to seek redemption through Christ. This promise brings hope that salvation is accessible to all who sincerely seek the Lord.

Q: Why is it important to remember our Creator in youth?

Remembering our Creator in youth is vital for establishing a strong spiritual foundation for life. Remembering our Creator in youth serves several key purposes: Firstly, it allows individuals to honor God with their best years. The firstfruits of one's life—the vibrant years filled with energy and mental clarity—should be devoted to pursuing God. Secondly, it is during these formative years that individuals have clearer minds and the ability to grasp the profound truths of Scripture. Finally, tomorrow is uncertain; by prioritizing God in youth, one can build a relationship with Him that lasts a lifetime, avoiding the regret of seeking Him only at life's end. Thus, the call is not just for remembrance but for total devotion during our most valuable years.

Now let's go back to our text. And I plead for your attention
and I plead for your indulgence and careful consideration of
some of the things I'm going to say this morning. The first of which is this, our
Lord is able to save to the uttermost them that come to God by him.
If there's a man in this congregation today who's 75 or 80 years of
age, and God has opened your heart, burdened you with your
guilt, and brought you to see your need of Christ Jesus, you
seek the Lord. Lay hold upon the Redeemer. If
there's a woman here who's 65, 70, 75 years of age, You've never heard the true gospel
of God's grace. I'm not talking about heaven
on my mind. I woke up this morning with heaven
on my mind. I'm talking about the gospel
of God's grace. God's mercy to you as a sinner. God's brought you low and stripped
you and emptied you and shut your mouth and given you a hunger
for Christ, a desire for Christ, to know Him. I say unto you,
seek the Lord. lay hold upon the Redeemer. Our
Lord is arms not short that it cannot save, his ears not heavy
that it cannot hear. Whether it's a feeble, frail
cry of an old person or the strong cry of a young person, our Lord
is able to save young and old, male and female, learned and
ignorant. All men, all men of any age ought
to seek the Lord. They ought to. They ought to. All men of all age, all women
of all ages ought to trust the Redeemer. They ought to receive
Him. But I'm not talking this morning about things that ought
to be. I'm talking about things as they
are. And usually I find this to be true. And the scripture
that I've chosen as my text will bear me up. I usually find that men who live
a lifetime without God usually die without God. That's just
so. Men and women who usually, who
live a lifetime without God, without love for Christ, without
love for the Word, usually die that way. I've been to a lot
of rest homes, but I've never in 34 years of preaching ever
seen a revival in a rest home. Never have. Have you? I never
have. Oh, I've seen them get religious.
Oh, yes, sir, like this dear old lady that came in the room
the other day and said, we had such a good service. The man
talked about the Lord. I just love to hear folks talk
about the Lord. They're awful religious. Nearly
all old people are religious. They're religious, but without
understanding. And what I find is this, they'll
say amen to about anything you say. I got a letter from a dear old
lady yesterday who's been listening to me for a while, and I want
you to listen to this comment. And I sympathize, my heart bleeds,
but that's the reason I'm trying to preach to some of you who
have not reached this state. She said in the letter, I watch
you on television, and I watch the Church of Christ preacher,
And y'all are saying exactly the same thing. Now you know
that's not so. To her it sounds like the same
thing. Because she doesn't have the capacity to separate it,
to divide it, to rightly divide the word of this. She doesn't
have the faculties, the understanding. There was a dear lady up in Ohio
who passed away. And she divided her estate four
ways. I want you to listen to this.
She divided her estate. When the TV came on on Sunday
morning, she turned it on, she watched the Church of Christ,
Jimmy Swaggart, E.J. Daniels, and me. And when she
died, she made out a will and left it to those four fellas.
Equally divided. It didn't work out that way.
Gave it over to her mother who was sick and in a rest home.
She needed it worse than me or Jimmy Swaggart either one. But
I want you to think about that. Now that's an elderly person
who cannot divide, who cannot separate the church of Christ
and the gospel of grace. Who can see no difference in
what Jimmy Swigert is saying, what I'm trying to say. There's
usually no revivals in rest homes, there's no conviction in convalescent
centers. And there's no seeking of the
Lord in sanatoriums. I've never found it to be true.
Old men and old women, usually, I'm saying usually, we've got
some here this morning that are bright as the sun. They're sharp-witted. Well, I'm saying to you, you
better seek the Lord before these days come. You better lay hold upon Christ.
But old people who have ignored the grace of God usually manifest
no interest in it towards the end. They're interested in religion,
and they're interested in heaven, and they're interested in getting
over their problems, and they're interested in meeting mother,
but they're not interested in the gospel of Christ, redeeming
grace, saving grace, cleansing power, atoning blood, justice
being satisfied, the law being honored, Christ being honored.
Take hold of those things. Church of Christ preacher and
I say Jesus and that's all she hears. We say salvation and that's
all she hears. We say heaven. We say don't go
to hell and that's all she hears. But they don't hear conviction
of sin, stripped by the holy law of God, laid bare by the
statutes of God, emptied of self, seeking mercy from the hand of
God, an atonement that satisfies, a redemption that redeems, a
salvation that saves, being made a new creature in Christ, yearning
and panting at the holiness, worshiping the Lord. Just can't
lay hold on this thing. Justification, sanctification,
righteousness imputed. Now let's look at the text and
follow it carefully. First of all, there's a warning.
Call it one of three things. Call it a warning, call it an
admonition, or call it a command. But the Word of God says, Remember
now thy Creator in the days of thy youth. Now the Creator here
is Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. The Lord God said in Genesis
1-26, let us make man in our own image. And the Trinity is
the very foundation of our redemption. That's right, the Trinity. Our
Lord Jesus Christ said, no man can know the Father but by the
Son. And no man can know the Son except the Holy Spirit reveal
Him. He shall take the things of mine
and show them to you. The Father chose us, decreed
our redemption, the Son purchased us, redeemed us by his blood,
and the Holy Spirit quickens us. A man who ridicules and makes
fun of the Trinity does not know God, does not have the Holy Spirit,
does not know the Scriptures, and probably is not saved. That's
so. Now remember now our Creator. Malachi says, have we not one
Father? One Father? Hath not one God
created us? One Father. Isaiah said, Thy
maker is thy husband. The Lord of hosts is his name.
Thy Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel, is thy maker. Christ
made us. Christ. All things were created
by our Lord Jesus Christ. Without him was not anything
made that was made. Alright, Job said, The Spirit of God hath
made me, the breath of the Almighty hath given me life, the Father,
the Son, the Holy Spirit. We have one Father. Have we not
one Father? Hath not one God created us? Thy Redeemer is thy Maker, and
the Holy Spirit of God hath made me and given me the breath of
life. There's no conflict in the Trinity.
There's no conflict for power or glory. There is one God, the
Lord our God, one God. But he's Father, Son, and Holy
Spirit. And we are to remember. Now what does the word remember
mean? This is important. Can I have your attention? Remember.
Remember. Remember now, right now, in the
days of your youth, your creator. Now the word remember implies
a whole lot more than just calling something to mind. I remember
I ate dinner the other day with a man who flies for American
Airlines down in Tennessee. And he said, I said, where did
you learn to fly? He said, World War II, Army Air
Force. I said, I remember that we took the 7th or the 5th Air
Force from the Philippines to Okinawa. You weren't in that
gang. He said, I was in the 5th Air Force. I remember. We said, that's just calling
something to mind. I haven't thought of that for 35 years.
Now this remember is a whole lot more than that. Remember. It's in this vein. Listen to
this. When our Lord gave the disciples the Lord's table. He
took the bread and the wine. He says, this do in remembrance
of me. That's a whole lot more than
just calling to mind once in a while an occasion, an event
that took place. Our Lord is saying this, set
your heart on me. Think on me. Consider me. Remember me. Or let me tell you
something else. I'll show you another example.
The thief on the cross hanging there, dying, turned to the Lord
Jesus and said, Remember me when you come into your kingdom. You
reckon that he was just saying that when you get to your kingdom,
would you just call to mind, say there was a thief down there?
No, that's not what he's saying. He's saying, Lord, set your heart
on me. When you come into your kingdom,
consider me. Lord God, I pray that you'll
think upon me. And I'll tell you something else.
That rich man in hell, Abraham said, Son, remember! Well, he wasn't saying, if it's
convenient, someday you might just call to mind what happened.
No, say it'll live with you forever. And this is what he's saying
here. You young people, you middle-aged people, you're still young. I'm
still young. I still got my faculties, most of them. Jay won't agree
with that, but I got most of them. But we're telling you,
you remember, you think, you think upon Christ. You consider
Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. You set your affections on Him
all the time. You remember your Creator. Remember Him. What about Him? Well, remember
this, remember that He is God. That He is God, glorious in all
His attributes. Holy, righteous, sovereign, love,
gracious, truth, just, He is. Remember that. Think on that. Set your affections on that.
Consider that. Remember that He hath made us
and not we ourselves. Remember the purpose for which
He made me, to glorify Him. Can you think about that? You
remember that. Remember that we're made from
dust. This ought to stay with you all time. And we're going
back to that same dust. Remember that. Think on it. Remember
that He has been gracious to purpose in His heart to redeem
us. I'm so glad that Jesus loves
me. I'm so glad that Jesus loves
me. I'm so glad that God in His grace
and mercy did not leave us like He did the angels who fell. But
He purposed to redeem us. I'm so glad. God has not forgotten
to be merciful, that he purposed to redeem a people. Remember
that he left heaven's glory and came to this earth made in the
likeness of sinful flesh and went to the cross of Calvary
and died for my sins. Remember that. Think on it. Consider it. Sit about and rejoice
in it. Read about it. Go hear people
preach about it. Hear Mike and Jack and these
others sing about it. I've been to Calvary, I can say
I've seen the Lord. I've been to Calvary through
the riches of His Word. Each day at Calvary, what a thrill,
what a thrill of love divine, just to think, just to remember
the Savior's mind. Remember that His grace is to
all that call upon Him. Remember that there's a life
to live, there's a death to die, there's a judgment to face, there's
an eternity to spend. Remember that Word It's a whole
lot more than ever Easter, put on your glad rags and buy your
corsage and run down to the church and let folks see you in your
nude bonnet. That's not what it's talking about. It's not
just to remember about every Christmas that somebody named
Jesus was born into the world. It's not just to remember once
a week on what we call the Sabbath day, to go to the house of God.
It's to consider, it's to think upon, it's to dwell upon, it's
to remember every waking moment. That every bite I take is by
His grace. Every breath I breathe is by
His grace. Every step I walk is by His power. Every moment I live is by His
grace, and if I have a heaven and an inheritance reserved for
me, that's through the love of His beloved Son. And when are you supposed to
do this? In the days of your youth. That's when. I'll give you three reasons for
that. Number one, these are the best days, the choicest days. in which to serve him, in which
to love him, in which to seek him. Watch it now. Him who claims
the firstfruits deserves the first years. The Lord God who
claims the firstborn deserves the choicest years. He doesn't
deserve my leavings. For me to give 50 or 60 years
myself and to this world and to the flesh, and then come bearing
on a platter these leavings to God. I want the firstfruits. When you go out and reap your
field, when you cut down the ale and the juiciest corn, that
firstfruit, that's His. That's what He said. The wheat,
I don't want that that you reap Those beans, you get down there
in October when they got more spots on them than they got beans
in them. I want the juiciest, I want the sweetest, I want the
first fruits. That's what he says in the Old
Testament. Read your Bible. The first sling of the flock,
the first calf that cow drops, that's mine, God said. And that's
what he's saying here in the days of your youth. Religions
for old women and somebody else. Somebody said one time, that's
where you're dead wrong, boy. Our God says the firstborn, the
firstfruits. That's right. That's right. The firstling of the flock. Isn't
that right, Charlie? You read the Old Testament. First, you
remembered God in your youth. That's the first reason. The
second reason is this. These are days when your mind
is clear. That's right. when the power and faculties
of the soul are capable of being enlarged, capable of being improved,
capable of laying hold upon the mysteries of God. I tell you, I know the idea is
that this Bible and the gospel and the things of God is something
that a fellow just in passing picks up. One of these days you're
going to find out different. You're going to find out that
the gospel is the most profound thing God ever presented to this
world. The most complex, mysterious,
impossible to understand apart from divine revelation. I promise
you that. Every Tom, Dick, and Harry, and
every jackleg thinks he's a master on the Bible. You've got a revelation
coming to you someday that's going to shock you. You didn't
know anything. You'll find that out. And the
fellow that thinks he knows anything doesn't know anything like he
ought to know it. We're not sufficient to think anything of ourselves.
I see proud, arrogant people sitting around measuring a preacher's
message by their little thimble of theology, and I want to throw
up. Boy, I tell you, we need the
diligence to make your calling and election sure. Examine yourselves,
whether you be in the faith. A study to show thyself a workman
that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of
truth. Lord, teach me and I'll be taught. Open this thick, dull,
darkened mind of mine and shine some light in it. Open this heart
of mine and give me some illumination. God help me, I'm stupid. That's
right. I am. And we need to seek the
Lord when we have the powers and faculty of mind to lay hold
upon mysteries that are beyond human understanding. A sharp
mind. And these, I'll tell you the
third reason why in the days of our youth, these are days
that we have. I have today. I don't have tomorrow,
Bill. I have today. Everybody doesn't
have an old age, but everybody's got a youth, everybody's anybody,
everybody's somebody, everybody's got a human body, got youth. But we don't all grow old. My
brother didn't grow old. He died at 48. My son didn't
grow old. He died at 21. But you have youth. You don't have tomorrow. He said,
don't you boast of tomorrow. No man can be sure that there's
going to be any old age. Well, when I get old and gray,
you may not, Bob. Who said God owed you anything?
Who said you was going to get old and gray? But you do have today. And the
Bible says now is the accepted time. You know what it says?
Today is the day of salvation, not tomorrow. Now, right now,
is the accepted time. Let's read on. Remember. Set your heart upon, consider,
think, now, thy Creator, Father, Son, Holy Spirit, in the days
of thy youth, in the days of the dew of the morning, in the
day of the sharpness of the mind, in the day when God deserves
to be remembered, while the evil days come not. These are called evil days, not
because any more evil than any other days, but perhaps because
of the infirmities and afflictions and sufferings that go with these
days. But because certainly life in
these days becomes uncomfortable and troublesome, and because
these are evil days if we do not know Christ, because the
possibility of our knowing him is very slim. Now, if you are,
let me say this, There's some men here in their late years,
and they've loved Christ for a long time. There's some women
here who've loved Christ for a long time. And you really don't
regard old age as evil days, do you? Because you've got so
much to rejoice in. You have, haven't you? You've
got so much to rejoice in. You rejoice in Christ. You rejoice
in the gospel. You rejoice, but let me tell
you something. You're not rejoicing over particularly what you're
learning today. You're rejoicing over what God
taught you back there. That's right. If it was shut
up to you learning it all today, you know what you'd do? You'd
throw up your hands. That's right. Let me show you
that. Turn to 2 Samuel 19. Now listen to this. 2 Samuel
19. David, you know, I'm not going
to tell this whole story. I'd have to preach another sermon.
But David had come back from exile. And this man, in 2 Samuel
19.33, Barzalea, Barzalei, this man had been true to David, loved
him. He was 80 years old. Are you with me? 2 Samuel 19.33. And the king wanted him to come
over Jordan. The king wanted him to to enter into the palace
with him, to rule with him, to not rule, you know, as a king
or anything, but just to enjoy his presence. And the king said,
Barzalea, verse 33, 2 Samuel 19, come thou over with me. I'll
feed you with me in Jerusalem. Sit at my table. And Barzalea
said to the king, how long do I have to live that I should
go up with the king to Jerusalem? I'm this day eighty years old,
King David. Can I discern between good and
evil? Can your servant taste what I eat or what I drink? Can
I hear any more the singing, the voices singing, men and women?
Wherefore then should thy servant be yet a burden unto the Lord
my King? No, I'll stay here. I'll go on
back and die with my people. Take a young man with you, King.
Now let me say something to you. If you're already with the King,
by His grace, in these young years, you come to a knowledge
of Him, and a love for Him, old age, evil days, when the youth
is gone, you're going to have some memories, some reminiscence,
some precious memories, some feasting on Christ. But brother,
if you haven't up till this time known Him, let me show you something. Now look at verse 2. You remember
your Creator in the days of your youth, while these evil days
don't come upon you. Verse 2, while the sun, the light,
the moon, the stars, that's the mind, the understanding, the
judgment, the faculties be not darkened. Verse 3, the day when
the keepers of the house shall tremble, that's the arms. The
arms begin to tremble. They used to be strong, used
to do for you, and now somebody else has to do for you. They're
trembling. And the strong men, the legs
shall bow themselves, and the grinders, the teeth, cease, because
they're few. You can't eat the things you
used to eat. You can't chew that beef and corn on the cob and
things like that. And they that look out of the
windows be darkened. The eyes are getting dim. You
don't see as well. And the doors shall be shut in
the streets. That's the lips. An older person doesn't have
as much to say. He's got a tightly, thinly drawn
mouth. His mouth is closed. The sound
of the grinding is low. He rises up at the voice of a
bird. He's awake early in the morning.
All the daughters of music shall be brought low. He can't sing
like he used to. One of these days that clear
cut melodious voice of Mike's will be, you, well, it won't
be pretty like it is now. That's right. That's right. Just
sing while you can. And when they shall be afraid
of that which is high, terror of high places, fears in the
way, the almond tree shall flourish. Almond tree in the spring is
snow white. That's white hair. The grasshopper
will be a wearisome burden. Desire shall fail. You just don't
have that burning passion of youth. And what's happening?
Man's going to his long home. The mourners go about the street
and the silver cord is loose. That's the bond between the soul
and the body. The golden bowl is broken, the
brain, the picture is broken at the fountain, the heart. Then
shall the dust return to the earth. Brethren, these days,
these days can be days of joy. I'm looking for them to be. And
for some of you, they are. Some of you older folks, they're
days of joy. Why? Because you have a refuge
in Christ. You have a resting place in Christ.
Back in your early days, you laid hold upon Christ. But now
you bring a person into this congregation who hasn't heard
the gospel in this condition, and he doesn't know what I'm
saying, Joe. He just doesn't know. There's
no pleasure in the flesh. Look at this word in verse 1.
When you shall say, I have no pleasure in them. I have no pleasure.
You got no pleasure in the flesh? That's right, that's gone. You've
got no pleasure in your fields and gardens. I never will forget
the year before my father died. He always had a garden. Loved
his garden. Loved his yard. Kept this churchyard
out here immaculately trimmed. Last year he didn't even want
a garden. He was all stiff. Just didn't have any interest
in the garden. There's no pleasure in nations and men. I hear men,
and I'm foreboding in all these things, but I'm telling you,
one of these days you won't go and grab that newspaper and pull
over all the things that capitalists and communists and Confucius
and everything else are doing. That's right, it just won't matter
to you. That man who's lying there dying or in old age sitting
in the rest home, you know, looking at his hands, what does he care
whether communists or capitalists, either one are in Washington?
The thing that ought to be concerning him is whether his name's written
in the Lamb's Book of Life. But see, he never thought about
that. He never considered that. He was more interested in the
government. He was more interested in the
John Birch Society. He was more interested in the
Republicans or Democrats. He spent his whole youth interested
in that stuff. And now he's ready to meet God,
and he hasn't got the faculties to lay hold upon the things of
God. I don't have any pleasure in nations and rulers, I don't
have any, like the old lady said, well who's honey, who is the
president? It didn't make any difference
to her. I tell you the only pleasure,
now listen to me, like somebody said, it ain't like it ought
to be, it's like it is I'm talking about, like somebody's always
saying where the rubber hits the road, that's where I am this
morning, I'm talking about this. If you're going to do any seeking
of the Lord, you better do it while you can. Seek the Lord
while He may be found. Call upon Him while He's near.
While you can think. Give that old man a Bible to
read and, well, he's not really interested. Give him a tape to
listen to. Hand him a tape and say, listen,
my pastor teaches on the truth of justification. and the means
of sanctification. He said, Honey, I can't keep
still that long. I'm not interested. Get him to
come to the house of God and worship. Well, he'll go to a
funeral, or he'll go to a potluck supper, or he'll go to some other
kind of celebration, but he's not going to a Bible study. That's
right. I have no pleasure in them. I
have no pleasure. So, warning, admonition, or command,
take it like you will. But there'll be a day when you'll
say, thank God that that preacher, in God's grace and mercy, told
me the truth that Sunday morning, 1981. Remember now, thy Creator,
in the days of thy youth. Because the evil days are coming.
They're coming. They're slipping up slowly, and
you know what? Wake up one morning, they're going to be here. You're
going to wake up one morning, Jay, and be an old man. You're
going to wake up one morning, that's right Bill, you don't
believe that now, that's true, and be an old man. Yes, certainly. And you won't have the capacity
to lay hold upon anything here. Now like I'm telling you, they're
all religious. I never met an old person that wasn't religious.
I never met an old person in a rest home or convalescent center
or sanatorium that didn't expect to go to heaven. But I can ask
them, what is the foundation of your hope? And they don't
even know. They don't even know. Remember now. Our Father in heaven, Lord, If anything is to be done for
us, any mercy, any truth, any grace to be shed abroad in these
hearts of Ireland, it will have to be by thy power,
because we are going to go like the old creek following the line
of least resistance. We are going to be like the tree
that just bends with any wind that blows. We are going to be
like the foolish man that It considers a bird in the hand
worth any kind of promise. Lord, stop us like you did Saul
of Tarsus. Arrest us. Strip us. Bring us low. Put us in the dust.
Turn our eyes to look upon the Son of Righteousness right now.
These young people do a mighty work of grace in every heart.
These mothers and dads, it's not too late for some of us.
For some it is. They just can't comprehend. Lord
God, we thank you for the happy, blessed truth that many of our
folks have found Christ in early days, and they're resting, quietly
resting. And as I preached this morning,
they could say, thank you, Lord. You didn't leave me to myself.
Thank you, Lord, that while I could think, you gave me Christ to
think upon. While I could put things together,
you put them together in my heart by your Spirit. You enable me
to lay hold upon your Word. But Lord, these young people,
do something for them. Life is Christ. To have Christ
is to have life. To have not Christ is to have
not life. Speak to us through this day,
we pray in the name which is above every name, the name of
our Lord Jesus Christ.

Old Men Do Not Seek the Lord

What does the Bible say about seeking the Lord?

How do we know that God can save anyone?

Why is it important to remember our Creator in youth?

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Old Men Do Not Seek the Lord

What does the Bible say about seeking the Lord?

How do we know that God can save anyone?

Why is it important to remember our Creator in youth?

Sermon Transcript

About Henry Mahan

Comments

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