[0:00] me start with the question this morning. How do you know when you are old? How would you know if you are old or if you're an aged person? It's quite, I didn't expect you all to look around when I said that, all right? And how would you know when you're old? So I am at the age that when I was, when I was a kid, I thought this age right now that I'm at was old. But now that I'm here, I can certainly tell you it is not. It is not old, not even close to it, all right? And so I expect that what I think is old when I get to it, I might have to reevaluate and determine if that is truly old as well. Bob Hope said, the way that you know you're old is that when the candles cost more than the cake, when you spend too much money. And if you know who Bob Hope is, you may be old, all right? And so recently I read an article and I was shocked by this. As you know, I was a youth pastor some 15 years, so I was always reading about the growth of the youth in America. But I read recently that it's called the graying of America. Well, we are the oldest society in the history of the world.
[1:02] Doesn't mean America has been around longer. It means that we're the oldest, our population has, is the oldest in the history of the world. More people over 65 than there are teenagers.
[1:13] Some 23 million teenagers, some 35 million people over the age of 65. One out of every five people in America are over 65 and one out of every 10 are over the age of 80. Agatha Christie said she wanted to marry an archaeologist. That way, the older she got, the more interested he would be in her, all right? And so there are a substantial amount of people in our country that are older and we are grateful. There's a great blessing in our lives. As I considered and I pondered on this, I thought about some of the older people in my life that had great influence. And I've mentioned them to you before, but my grandparents who would wake me up early when I'd stay at their house to pick purple whole peas. I think they called them peak eye peas. I'm sure I'll get an email this week.
[2:01] I remind you I'm not a botanist, people, all right? I'm just making this up as I go, all right? But I remember they call them, I think they were purple whole peas. And I always wanted to know, why do we have to wake up early? It's not like they're going to leave, you know? They'll be there.
[2:13] But they would say, well, you want to get up early in the morning because it's hot in the middle of the day. And so you want to get your important work done early. I remember those lessons. Or Floyd Henson, who was in his late 70s, who would take me out on Saturday to visit the old people in the church, all right? Which I always thought was comical when he said, let's go visit the old people. And I'm thinking, I already am, all right? And Floyd Henson, great influence in my life. And then Ms. Verbal Collins, who were the first person that I ever read an entire book of the Bible to, who was born in 1899.
[2:49] And when I would go to the nursing home, I would read her a chapter of the Bible. And when I finished the book of Matthew, I said, I'm all done. And she said, no, there's plenty more to read, all right? And they had big influence in my life. And I'm so very grateful for them. They're needed. I knew that.
[3:05] But as I looked at this passage today, as I looked at it, God highlights that. And he makes it very clear. And they're not just needed in some kind of sentimental way, in which I just mentioned. They're needed in a very meaningful type of way. Here at our church, we are raising our own batch of old, of aged men and aged women, all right? When my friend Chuck Littlefield came, his kids were quite younger. Luke was just a middle schooler, and they're getting older, all right? And so we have a game plan where we are going to raise our own aged people among us. Here's a picture of Greg and I after Easter last year. And you can tell that I am doing my best to become aged and older.
[3:47] I think Tinsley said, why does Greg look so much younger than you? I'm like, because Greg is so much younger than me, and it will always be like that, all right? And please get rid of that, too. All right. And so inside of our church, and so I want to highlight, we're thankful, and I'll define here in a moment what I believe the Bible would have for the aged men and aged women. But besides those that God has gifted us with, we are headed there ourselves.
[4:10] And we need to make sure when we get there that we're not just our number is higher, our age, but we're also living out what the Bible would say, that the gospel should affect every life in here.
[4:22] The gospel should affect that whatever age you're at, there's a way in which you live it out as a testimony to those that are around you. And here at this church, we have placed a great emphasis upon youth, helping parents and family ministry disciple their children. You make room in our ministries and scoot over so young people, they don't have to leave the church because they think they're getting in the way, but they know that they're a vital part of this church at a young age. And we know that young people of this church are valued. And all God's people said, Amen. And so we have beat that drum and you know that, and I will continue to do so.
[4:58] But today I want to focus our time on the aged men and aged women and the role that they have in our church. We see several truths in this passage that I want to look at this morning and tonight. We see the attributes of how the gospel should be lived out, how it defines their lives in verses two through four. We also see the exhortation that not only are they supposed to live a certain way, but they're supposed to be involved in the teaching discipleship to the next generation in our church.
[5:22] And the end result in verse seven is they would show a pattern of good works and doctrine showing uncorruptness, gravity, and sincerity, living out the teaching of God's word in a clear to understand fashion. And so since chapter number one, we know that we need to get to a place where the mouth of the critics have been shut. And that's what we see here in Titus 1 11, whose mouths must be stopped because they subvert whole houses, teaching things which they ought not for filthy lucre's sake.
[5:51] In Titus chapter number two, we see older men teaching younger men how to live life in such a way that nobody has anything to say against you. It's the fulfillment of what we're aiming for in chapter number one, which is to silence the critics. So here's a reasonable question as we jump back in the chapter two. So who are the aged men and women according to the Bible? Last week when I asked you how many are young men and how many are old men and how many are so on, Thatcher said there wasn't many in here that raised their hand as being aged old man or old woman. And that's one because we would love to see more inside of our church, but it isn't defined. So he wanted me to give you a number the day, but I'm not able to, all right? Nor would I be brave enough to, all right? And, but the Bible doesn't give us a number and maybe it's influenced by situation in life or circumstances, but we do see that that group, that category is vital to the church when it comes to helping against the current of a bad culture or of a confused culture. And it's the first thing that's mentioned here in the chapter. So we heard what Bob Hope had to say about what it means to be old. Let's look in the scriptures and look chapter number one, verse 18. There's a man named Zacharias. And you remember when we looked at him so many, a couple of years ago, the father of John the Baptist. And his answer was, now that he is, I am old and my wife is well stricken in years, he's at a place where you would typically not have children. And because of that, he could refer to himself as an old or as an age man. Chapter two has five categories. You typically think about four categories, but I think there's really five categories, old woman or an old man, a young man or a young woman. And then there's children.
[7:38] Because it says that the young women are supposed to teach and they're supposed to love their children. So in this chapter, we're looking at really five different categories. We have children today studying in another room. And so we don't get an age, but the age could be influenced by several things. Pastor John MacArthur says that he believes it's at the, it would be around the age of 80. And I would have this as our working definition. It's past the age that is typical for raising children in your home. That is a new season of life. That is the season of life that you would move into that next category. Some of you are there and some of you will be there very soon. And God has an important work for you. And so they, who are these people? And these are people that should be treasured. God has told us to honor the older generation. Leviticus 19 32 says, Thou shalt rise up before the hoary head, a gray hair, and honor the face of the old man, and fear thy God. I am the Lord. There should be honor to those that have gray hair that are, that are older. As we fear God, we would show honor to them. A childhood pastor as a teenager, he would often teach, not as doctrine, but as preference. He would say that your women in the church should not dye their hair because gray is beautiful. It's how God designed it. And it's a beautiful thing. And it's honorable. I'm not brave enough to say that. All right. But I will say amen to the fact that it is beautiful and it is honorable, as God's scripture says. Job 12 12 says,
[9:16] With the ancient is wisdom and the length of days understanding that there's something that the length of days can do for us in the areas of understanding. Psalm 71 17, Oh God, thou has taught me from my youth and hitherto have I declared thy wondrous works towards the end of life, saying from my youth all these years, you have brought me along and you have taught me and guided me. So I want to share this with you, put this up on the screen. It's a major thought that I want you to consider here.
[9:48] Who are the best to teach us about who God is? And the answer is, those have walked with him the longest. Who is best to teach us about the character of God and who he is than those that have walked with us the longest? The older generation faces some challenges. Ecclesiastes chapter 12, one says, Remember the creator in the days of your youth, while the evil days come not, nor the years draw nigh, when they shall say I have no pleasure in them. There's years and days that are drawing nigh that could cause you to say there's no pleasure in them. And the description of being older in verses 6 and 7, it speaks about it coming as a rainstorm. There's seasons where there's light and joy and there's other times where there's gloom and darkness and you just never know what the forecast will be of your day in regards to those matters. Verse 3 talks about arms and legs and hands, they grow weak, begin to lose teeth, your windows, your eyes are darkened, you don't see them as well, maybe at night when you're driving.
[10:51] And then it talks about Ecclesiastes 12, 4 about how you get woken up early in the morning with just the smallest of sounds by birds, but the sounds during the day are grinding low and that they are hard to hear and that the music isn't as loud as it once was.
[11:09] And so those are descriptions and they're just telling things that are just factually true about what is going to happen physically. In this season of life when your years draw near, nigh, there's still you have a vital place in the role of this church. Life does not have to look bleak.
[11:26] You do not have to be highly mobile to have a holy and meaningful ministry among us. You don't have to be mobile to have a meaningful ministry among us. I'm going to end the day asking those of you that would to join me at the altar and to pray and to thank God for those that he has given us inside of our church, but also to ask God to give us more. A growing ministry with so many young people needs older people that know that they have a meaningful ministry in our lives.
[11:56] Two things. Young men and young women in here, which we'd say anybody that's still in the age of being raised or raising children in here, there will be a day when you will be restrained and all we will have are the memories of life that we lived in our youth and so we should live with integrity.
[12:13] There may come a day where we don't get to make new stories and we'll sit and we'll consider the stories of past. So make God honoring stories today so when those days come you will have those.
[12:24] Also, it's not time to decide there's no more pleasure in your days. Aged men and aged women, there is a work to be done and we need you. We need you to keep running as you pass the baton to us.
[12:38] I shared with you before, I was watching a pastor and he was talking about how the baton should be passed and he showed somebody walking this direction and then a younger generation walking this direction and he handed it off to him and I showed it to Kyle Shreve who ran in college and I said something about this this doesn't seem right. He said, yeah because that isn't how a baton is passed. They don't turn direction and walk and meet you in the middle that the runner keeps on running and the next runner runs beside them and it's handed. Older generation, keep on running. Don't stop, don't meet us in the middle, make us run beside you for a while as you hand this thing off to the next generation. The gospel is so wonderful. You know what the gospel says? Is that our best days are ahead of us and not behind us. For every one of you in here, no matter what age you are, no matter what physical condition you're in, your best days are ahead of you because of what Jesus Christ has done. There's always going to be a handing down of one generation to the next. You've seen it experientially in your family.
[13:40] You also see it as it's shared in God's Word. Some areas of life they are neutral. They're neither good or bad. There's certain recipes that you're given or hobbies or doing things or the way you vacation or whatever it is that was handed down to you from your family and you continue there and they're just neutral. They're not bad. They're not good. They're just simply that. But there's other things. There's an emptiness of life that is often handed down from a father to the son. 1 Peter 1.18, For as much as you know that you were not redeemed with corruptible things as silver and gold from your vain conversation received by tradition from your fathers. There's an empty life that is often handed down from one generation to another. Life isn't made up of the things that we receive.
[14:25] We're not people who just worry about what we're going to wear and what we're going to eat like the Gentiles that they would say the unbelieving people. In the book of Matthew, Jesus sharing with his disciples. But we're people that can pass down a meaningful life. Not an empty life but a meaningful one. So this older generation is to be cherished. But it doesn't mean that they're beyond the age of sinning. All right? Just because they're to be cherished doesn't mean that they're beyond the age of sinning. And if that's the case, 1 Timothy 5.1 says, Rebuke not an elder, but entreat him as a father and the younger men as brethren. That there's a way in which that a younger man should entreat an older man and he should do it with respect. But inside of the church, accountability should still be there. So accountable to what? Accountable in this passage to your manner of life. You should live out what the scripture says no matter what age you are.
[15:18] Also accountable to this. You should be involved and invest in young men and women. That you have a responsibility and a privilege. Those of you that have walked this road longer, you have a responsibility to those that are coming behind you. And so as a son to a father, I lovingly want to encourage you to don't check out of this place. To not leave us behind. To not consider that this church and any other church that you'll be part of. It's just for the young people. But you have a vital role in the life of this church. And if it's possible for a vain and empty life to be passed down from one generation to the next, it's also possible to pass down a full, meaningful life to the next generation. Verse 2, that the aged men be sober, grave, temperate, sound in faith and charity and impatience. Those characteristics that are found in the life of a believer should be passed down from generation to generation. And then lastly here, in that regard, I would say I want to remind you, though that older generation be cherished, they also still need Jesus. Regardless of age, you need
[16:30] Jesus. There's a good reason that we put much emphasis on sharing the gospel with young people. But there's many people in our community that have lived a long life, but they haven't lived a life where they've been encountered the gospel message of Jesus. And we need to be mindful of that. We ought to be reaching them. Or we ought to have a plan in our personal conversations of young and old that Jesus can make a difference in this life and the life to come. The older people need Jesus as well, and we need to tell them. So I learned about a story this week from an older friend in my life who shares his devotions with me, all right? And I never noticed this in the story, but it just works out. It's this perfect picture of what a person ought to be doing in their 80s. His name is Barzillai.
[17:16] And in 2 Samuel chapter number 19, verses number 31, I'm going to read for you this passage. And I want you to see what this man was doing in his 80s. And he'll show you some principles as you consider as someday, Lord willing, you may become 80. And what should life look like for you at that age?
[17:33] And Barzillai the Giladite came down from Rogalim and went over Jordan with the king to conduct him over Jordan. Now, Barzillai was a very aged man, even four score years old, 80. And he had provided the king of sustenance while he lay at Mehedonim, and for he was a very great man.
[17:51] So during his life, he produced something that was of value to the king. He did work in a respectable fashion. He produced something that was good for the community. It seems they did good, honest work.
[18:02] Verse 33, And the king said unto him, Come thou over with me, and I will feed thee with me in Jerusalem. He was showing him honor. He was showing him respect. And Barzillai said unto the king, How long have I to live that I should go up with the king unto Jerusalem? I am this day four scores years old. And can I discern between good and evil? Can the servant taste what I eat or what I drink?
[18:27] Can I hear any more? Can thy servant, referring to himself, taste what I eat or drink? Can I hear any more the voice of singing men and singing women? Wherefore then should thy servant be yet a burden unto my lord the king? Verse 36, Thy servant will go a little way over Jordan with the king, and why should the king recompense it with me such a reward? I will go with you a little bit farther, he said. Then this is what he wants to happen. Let thy servant, I pray thee, turn back again, that I may die in mine own house, city, and be buried by the grave of my father and my mother.
[19:01] But behold, thy servant, Shemam, let him go over with my lord the king, and do to him what shall seem good unto him. He had prepared somebody at his place that would continue after he went on to be buried with his fathers. Verse 38, And the king answered, Shemam shall go over with me, and I will do to him that which shall seem good unto thee. And whatsoever thou shall require of me, what will I do for thee? See that in verse number 36, thy servant will go a little way over Jordan with the king.
[19:33] Just go a little bit farther. At the age of 80, after living a life, being productive, doing a work that serves his community, he came to a time where honor and respect was going to be shown to him, and he said, I'm going to go with you a little bit farther. But then when I'm done, I'm going to have somebody coming behind me that will continue doing the work in which I have done. Thy servant, not talking about the servant unto the king, might have been his son, somebody in his life that would have continued in the work. And so that's what I'd like to ask of you in here, the older generation.
[20:06] Would you go with us a little more farther? Don't stop short. There's still life, there's still energy, there's still ministry to be done. Verse 7 says, in all things, showing thyself a pattern of good works. Showing thyself a pattern of good works. Older men, verse 2, that we will look at. So in going with us just a little bit farther, I want to look at the descriptions here of the older men and the older women. Verse 2, that the aged men be sober, grave temperate, sound in faith and charity and in patience. You know, as you get older, you tend to harden in your ways. Some of you are looking around now, I imagine, all right? As you get older, you harden in your ways. And this can be a good thing if you harden in the ways of faith, charity and patience. It can be a good thing. So this idea of sober, that aged men would be watchful, they'd be vigilant, they'd be ready and on attack. They wouldn't be carelessly playing when there's a war that we're involved in. They would have their eyes forward and looking. They have their priorities straight in life. And they live in a dignified fashion with right priorities and vigilant. Then it says grave. Grave doesn't mean boring.
[21:15] It just means that they're not shallow. They bring a gravity to life. Many of you have already, you've buried your parents. You've lost siblings. You've suffered loss. You know how to prioritize things in life. You know when something's not a big deal that the rest of us may think it's a big deal? And you may know when something is a big deal when the rest of us don't think it's a big deal.
[21:37] Hope I got that right. All right? You understand how to rightly evaluate a situation. Discernment, wisdom, understanding. Temperate means not in excess. Example of a person who doesn't overreact because he has seen so many things. As a person who has once accumulated things and now he values quality over quantity. My grandfather on my dad's side would always take me when I would stay with him down to the court square and they would trade pocket knives. And we would sit there and we would trade pocket knives back and forth. And I promise you every time we left, we left with the same pocket knife that he brought. All right? They all looked like the meme. And I just thought to my grandpa, like we go there and there's only like six pocket knives. Why don't you just buy all of them and be done with this? All right? But he was just, he said, well, I only need one pocket knife. I only need to carry one with me. He was just talking about quality over quantity. Not just taking everything that you can get, but making sure what you have, it matters. Because they know that things are limited. Money is limited. Time is limited. So how you spend it should matter. They set things aside that have no real value to it. Sound and faith, charity and patience. This means health. When we talk about sound, as I've told you before, speaking of words that refer to hygiene, that they're sound, that they're healthy. Faith in God, it's unwavering. They don't doubt God's word. They believe the gospel is effective to save. They've seen God do work and they believe him. And in charity, he is used to meet the needs of others. They're not bitter. They've learned to love when it's not returned.
[23:15] They love to serve other people. They love out a principle and not emotion. Galatians 6.2, bury one another's burdens. So fulfill the law of Christ. They've understood that charity is giving self-sacrificially and not looking for return. And then patience. They know how to persevere.
[23:35] They know how to continue. They know how to wake up the next day and do the right thing, regardless of what happened the day before. As I read this and think about it, I think there's some younger men in here that say, I want that in my life. I want to grow into that type of person.
[23:50] And I would like to have a meaningful relationship with a friendship with an older generation that is doing that. To the older women, the aged women, likewise, your behavior becometh holiness, not false accusers, not giving them much wine, teachers of good things, that you may teach the young women to be sober, to love their husbands, to love their children, to be discreet, chaste, keepers at home, good, obedient to their own husbands, that the word of God be not blasphemed.
[24:14] A call to the younger or to the older women here. And in the same manner, in 1 Timothy, it says that the elder women as mothers, the younger sisters with all purity, that we should be kind and gentle when we call upon the older generation to live according to God's word.
[24:30] We saw Paul in the book of Philippians chapter number three. He is dealing with some women there as they labored in the gospel with him and Clement also, and with other fellow laborers, whose names are in the book of life. And there's a disagreement between some women, and he calls for some help among them, help those women which labored among them. I want you to see here that at this stage in life, that these women are actively involved in the work of the Lord, that there's something that they are to be doing. Pastor Callen, I wish I would have brought some pictures today as I think about your church who has done, that does millions of scriptures every day, and is done typically by the older generation at his church, who says there's still a place for me at this place, and God's not done with me. And they show up. There's a role for the older women in the ministries of this church, and we're so very grateful for that. And their behavior ought to become one of holiness. They should be setting an example. They're not giving away the vain things, whether they're engaged in meaningful, eternal activities. The older generation, they're not outdated, but they're eternal. They're living for something that matters that is greater than a current trend. They're not out of style, but they're conforming to the Word of God. They're not keeping up with cultural trends because they know they come and they pass. And so they're anchoring their lives in the Word of God. And so if you're looking for somebody to pray for you, there should be somebody of the older generation that you know that you could go to, and that would respond with a seriousness, a soberness, where they would hear you and pray with you. And they move past all those other things in life. 1 Timothy 2.9, in like manner also, that the women adorn themselves in modest apparel, with shamefacedness and sobriety, not with broaded hair or gold or pearls or costly away. Because just like with the aged men, they begin, they realize what really matters in life. They know whom they want to please, and it's the God of heaven. And so there's two unique challenges given here concerning the aged women. One is that they're given to wine. I thought about that and I considered, what might it be? And it might be because of a lack of purpose. It might believe that they don't believe that they have a place in society and where they're at. Or it might become from loneliness. Or maybe it comes from a coping mechanism of not dealing with the hurts in their lives that they have developed. And so it's a sign of an unhealthy life where you don't feel like you need to be involved in activities of your community, where you're not dealing with them in a spiritual manner. That would be an indicator of it. Then it also says don't be malicious in your gossip. Don't be involved in slander. This word is used 34 times as a word used for Satan. He is the accuser of the brothers and of the sisters. And so if God has given you more time in this season, then don't use it just to give a commentary on the problems of the world, but get involved and serve with us. We need you. You're vital to the work that we are doing as a church. And it says they need to be teaching. Who and what? They teach the young, verse 4, they teach young women to be sober, to love their husband, to love their children. The young women in here today would say they would welcome, if they were spiritual, and I believe they are, they would welcome somebody that would come in and to teach them these things. A teacher of good things. Older women are to the young women in their lives.
[28:01] Maybe you have daughters. Maybe you have daughter-in-laws. And I promise you that there's many people in here that want and needs you in their lives. To teach good things. Chase, discreet, keepers of home, good, obedient, the word of God, be not blasphemed. Many of the influence of this world are directed at conforming women into the image of this world. The ladies in our church, this world wants to either objectify you or tell you that you're not enough. One extreme or another. That you're all that matters in the world or you don't matter at all. And try to keep you dizzy in confusion and trying to figure out which one that it is. Go from arrogance to going to completely feeling worthless. And in that confusion, they take advantage of people and they conform them to their image. The younger women in our church need older women in the church that will help them know how to live a godly life as they enter the next season. And then get wisdom. Proverbs 4, 7. Wisdom is the principal thing.
[29:02] Therefore, get wisdom. And with all thy getting, get understanding. The young women in the church, I would call upon you and all the things that you're accomplishing and all the to-do lists that you like to have, make sure that you have get wisdom on that list. And a wonderful place to get wisdom is with somebody who's been walking with Jesus longer than you and listening to them.
[29:23] In that article, they called it Gray Power. The organized influence exhorted by elderly people as a group. It's the reason all of our tennis courts are turning in the pickleball courts. All right? The older generation has gray power. And I want to say inside this church that there ought to be the power of God demonstrated by the older generation. And so the older generation, we need you to show us a pattern of good works and to show us how to live a life of doctrine with uncorruptness, gravity, and sincerity. And I'm going to ask that the younger generation respond in here with me today. If the musicians will go ahead and come, and I want to speak to them, how I'd like to encourage you to respond as musicians will play just here in a moment.
[30:06] But we live in a confused culture. And in God's Word, when we get to chapter number two, the first response to a confused culture is that an older generation would be leading the way in teaching and discipling and modeling what it means to live out the gospel.
[30:23] And as we close, I want you to do something. Older generation, Titus 2.13, Lord willing, we'll see this next week, looking for that blessed hope and the glorious appearing of the great God and our Savior, Jesus Christ. Because the younger generation, we're so busy raising our children and chasing our dreams that our eyes are often not where they should be. And when we look to you, we ought to see you looking to the heavens and reminding us that Jesus is coming back.
[30:51] And we need that from you. We need your example. And so when we look at you, when we find the example of you looking for Jesus's return, I don't know that I've ever said it, taken as long to say it, but this church desperately needs an older generation of Christians to be involved in the life of our church. We are blessed with so many young people. We have just been blessed from the beginning of this church with so many young people, but we need the older generation. So two things, I'm going to ask the younger generation or whoever wants to, you put yourself in that category, but those that will here in a moment to join me at an altar and pray for two things. I want to thank God for the older generation in our lives that have been an example. Maybe they're in this room here today, or there may be there back in Fair Dealing, Kentucky, where those in my life come from, but we ought to take a moment and recognize how important that they were. And I also want us to respond and say that one day we will be there. And when we get there, will we get there with wisdom or without it? It's not promised to be there just because we get older. And then lastly, I want us to pray.
[31:58] I want us to pray that God would give us the blessing to have older people inside of our church, that they know that they are welcomed. They can come to us by accepting Jesus Christ, and they could come because they're just displaced in our community, and they don't know that there's a church that would treasure them. And so we pray for them. We're not going to put a newspaper out in the magazine, in the newspaper, say church seeking older generation for partnership and friendship.
[32:23] All right, it might be a little bit weird, but what we will do, which is more powerful, is we're going to ask the God of heaven and say, God, would you bless us with an older generation that will come in here and help us to raise our children and to help us at this important time of our lives. And we're going to ask him to do that, and we'll rejoice as it happens.
[32:43] So those that will, let's all stand together. And those that will, join me at the altar at a time of prayer, and then I will end this with a word of praying at the pulpit, and then we'll sing together before we leave. But all those that will, come and pray with me, and thank God for the older generation.
[32:59] Jesus, thank God.
[33:14] Jesus, thank God. Jesus, thank God. Jesus, thank God.
[33:25] Jesus, thank God. Thank you.
[33:57] Thank you.
[34:27] Heavenly Father, I come to you in this moment on behalf of Vision Baptist Church, and I want to say thank you. I want to say thank you for all those in the older generation that have had great positive gospel-saturated influence upon the people inside of this church.
[34:47] Lord, an older generation that's found all over this country and around this world that had influence upon my friends today. I want to say thank you for the Floyd Henson's and the Larry Logsons and the Johnny Nelson's, Lord, and our lives, Father, that you had placed.
[35:05] And Father, I come to you today as an opportunity, getting to be the pastor of such a wonderful church family and congregation. Father, I share with you the desire of our heart.
[35:17] We ask that you would give us the blessing of having an older generation come and join us here in this ministry. We need them, Father. They're vital to the work. We need them for discipleship.
[35:27] We need them to show us how to live out the truth of your word and power. So, Father, we come to you today humbly and sincerely asking this of you.
[35:40] In Jesus' most precious name I pray. Amen.