Topical Sermons - Executable Outlines

Mark A. Copeland
gracefully
2. I am sure that we have all known such people
3. I have been blessed to know a number of such people in my life
-- Yes, growing old gracefully is possible! When it occurs, it is beautiful to behold:
“When grace is joined with wrinkles, it is adorable. There is an unspeakable dawn
in happy old age.” - Victor Hugo
[Unfortunately, too often wrinkles are joined with grace. How can we who are young live today so as to
grow old gracefully, and not pathetically? There are several principles that when applied can ensure that
growing old will be a graceful experience...]
II. THE PRINCIPLES OF GROWING OLD GRACEFULLY
A. “WHATEVER A MAN SOWS, THAT HE WILL ALSO REAP...”
1. Stated more fully in Ga 6:7-8, this is true in all areas of life
a. For example, in the physical realm
1) Sow corn, you reap corn
2) Take good care of your body, and you enjoy good health
3) Disregard healthy habits, and the body will suffer for it
b. This is especially so in the spiritual realm
1) “Even as I have seen, Those who plow iniquity And sow trouble reap the same.”
- Job 4:8 (Eliphaz)
2) Much of the bitterness, discontent, and anger which characterizes many older
people is the result of “sowing to the flesh”
a) Note the works of the flesh (the result of sowing to the flesh) - Ga 5:19-21
b) Contrast the fruit of those who sow to the Spirit - Ga 5:22-23
3) How much better to do as Hosea says: “Sow with a view to righteousness, Reap in
accordance with kindness;” (NASB) - Hos 10:12
2. Yet the young often say: “I want to sow my wild oats while I am still young”
a. Then what? Hope for a crop failure? (Don’t count on it)
b. They fail to realize the harvest of trouble they will reap later in life
1) Abuse their body with sex and drugs, their health will be ruined
2) Engage in sexual immorality...they will ruin their reputation, and make it difficult to
have a normal family life and the joy it ought to bring
c. Consider the sad irony of it all...
1) Most young people do not realize that the popular lifestyle of “doing your own
thing” and “sowing your wild oats” is the very thing that produces the pathetic
mental and physical condition found in many older people!
2) So while they condemn the old for the way they wasted their lives and the way they
turned out, they are headed down the same path of corruption!
-- “He that would pass the latter part of life with honor and decency must, when he is
young, consider that he shall one day be old...” - Samuel Johnson
B. “MAN SHALL NOT LIVE BY BREAD ALONE...”
1. Quoted by Jesus in Mt 4:4, let’s focus our attention on two words:
a. Bread - involves more than just dough; includes all things of a material nature
b. Live - involves more than simple existence; includes living life in its fullest sense, i.e., an
abundant life
-- We must realize one does not find the good life in seeking and acquiring material things
Topical Sermons 180