I want you to notice there in Psalm 90,
actually you know what, before we read Psalm 90,
let me just quickly read to you from Hebrews 11.
You say there in Psalm 90,
let me just quickly read to you from Hebrews 11.
Now last week I said, this passage in Hebrews 11,
I can create at least, I reckon I can create 10 sermons
just out of this one passage, okay?
So I did reflect on it last week,
and I'm also going to reflect on this passage again this week,
but the passage I'm referring to is Hebrews 11 verse 9.
By faith his sojourn, speaking of Abraham,
in the land of promise, as in a strange country,
dwelling in tabernacles with Isaac and Jacob,
the heirs with him of the same promise.
For he looked for a city which have foundations
whose builder and maker is God.
And of course I took that to start with the idea there
that you know we are to have a heavenly perspective.
We see Abraham, yes he's a sojourner,
he's passing through this earth,
but really his mindset, his eyes,
he's looking at heaven,
and he's looking at the earth from a heavenly perspective.
He knows he's just a sojourner, he's just passing through.
And yes, that's wonderful and that's great, okay?
But I do believe we need to now look at this sermon
to balance the one from last week as well,
because the last thing I want for any Christian,
I do see this in some Christians,
is this great hope and desire for the new heavens,
the new earth, new Jerusalem, which you ought to have,
but at the expense of the life that God has given you today.
Okay? Yes, we are passing through.
Yes, we are sojourners, okay?
But this life is still important.
If it wasn't important, you would not be breathing today, okay?
God has given you a life to live on this life,
and while we are hopeful for the future,
we are excited about the future,
we don't want to miss out on the moments, on the days,
on this journey that God has given us.
Look at Psalm 90, verse number 9.
Psalm 90, verse number 9, it says,
For all our days are passed away in thy wrath.
Now what we learned just in that little passage there,
that we can actually shorten our days
if we allow God to pour out His wrath upon us in a sense, right?
The more disobedient we are, the more sinful we are,
the more we face God's judgment and His wrath,
we can actually reduce our days by just being stupid,
by being idiots, right?
By living a sinful life,
we can really affect the number of days that God has for us,
but then it says this,
We spend our years as a tale that is told.
You know, our years, our life is just like a story,
it's just a tale, right?
And the idea there is, you know,
we can tell a story and, you know,
you might tell a tale and it starts and it ends, right?
I mean, I'm sure you've all read a novel,
you've all read a book,
that's kind of the idea of our life.
It starts and it ends.
It's not a very long time that we're given.
It's like a tale, it's like a story.
When we're in heaven, we're going to look back, man,
that time was just like a short little vapor
that we had on this earth.
But then it says this in verse number 10,
The days of our years are free-school years and 10,
of course, that's 70.
And if by reason of strength they be fore-school years,
that's 80 years,
yet is there strength, yet is there strength,
labor and sorrow,
for it is soon cut off and we fly away.
So the Bible's saying here, look,
on average people will live somewhere between 70 to 80 years.
You know, I think the average lifespan in Australia
is about 85, 86 years,
and the average lifespan just across the world
is about 75 or something along those lines, right?
And of course, depending on the development of each country,
that lifespan can be very different.
But basically the Bible's saying here,
if we've lived a good 80 years,
we've lived a good, a decent life.
But notice that it says,
yet is there strength, the strength of our years
is labor and sorrow, okay?
Now some people think they can just live a life
without any labor,
no hard efforts, no working hard, right, and no sorrow.
As soon as troubles come,
ah, I can't handle it.
As soon as it comes, requires labor and effort,
I don't want to do it.
That's not life.
You know, life is labor and sorrow, okay?
But look, it all serves a purpose.
It all serves a purpose so we can learn and experience
and grow thereby.
It says in verse number,
at the end of verse number 10,
for it is soon cut off,
life is short, soon cut off,
and we fly away.
Now what's wonderful about,
if you're a Christian, if you're saved,
that your soul, once you pass away,
it will fly away, it will fly upwards,
it will fly to heaven,
it will be with the Lord.
So drop down to verse number 12
in the same Psalm there.
Drop down to verse number 12.
It says, so teach us to number our days
that we may apply our hearts unto wisdom.
God wants us to number our days.
He wants us to understand
that the day we live today will not be returned, okay?
You know, the day you lived yesterday,
it's gone, all right?
The closer, every day that goes by,
the closer we are to perish,
to pass on, to fly away, to be with the Lord.
God wants us to be thinking about
the day that we're living,
you know, the day that God has given us,
and to use it, to use it as we grow
and we're true for the Lord's sake.
The title for the sermon this morning, brethren,
is Enjoy Life's Journey.
Enjoy life's journey, okay?
And this is a journey.
We are sojourners.
We are passing through.
We are pilgrims on this earth.
It is a journey.
And sometimes when we think about a journey,
we often think about the destination.
But God doesn't want us
to just be focused on the destination.
He wants us to number our days.
He wants us to think about
this journey that we're on.
And brethren, I'm 40 years old now.
I don't know.
Lord willing, I might be able to see
till I'm 80, okay?
I might be halfway.
I don't know.
Or my life could end tomorrow
and I'm at the end of my life.
We don't know.
But God has given me today,
and he wants me to apply it unto wisdom.
He wants the day to be profitable.
He wants it to be useful.
God has left us on this earth
for a reason.
And brethren, I want you
to enjoy life's journey, okay?
Sometimes people may decide
to just live in misery.
Oh, woe is me.
I'm cast down.
This life is horrible.
We've had COVID.
Now Russia's causing war.
Could it be World War III, right?
I mean, these are thoughts
that generally people
we're going to have,
the flooding, man.
It's like one thing
after another,
and that is life.
Life is problem after problem
after problem, okay?
It's COVID.
Russia, for you guys,
the flooding.
We've had a lot of rain
here in Sydney as well.
I mean, you can't escape problems.
That's why it's said
there in Psalm 90, 10.
It said,
Yet is there strength
for labor and sorrow?
This is life.
Get used to it.
This is life.
And yet God still wants us
to apply our life,
our years, our days unto wisdom, okay?
To enjoy this life
that God has given us.
Don't let it pass you by.
You know, there was a time
where I remember just
in my teenage years
being excited one day to just,
I couldn't wait to finish school.
I couldn't wait to grow up
and be an adult.
And then I was 20.
I was like, wow.
I'm 20 now.
I'm an adult, right?
And I kind of started
to miss my teenage years.
And I thought, man,
maybe I should have just enjoyed it
a little bit more.
And then before I know it,
I blink and then I'm 30.
I'm like, man, 30?
What happened to my 20?
I don't even remember my 20s.
It's a blur, right?
And now I'm 40, right?
And I'm thinking, wow, you know?
And the years just tick away.
And you don't necessarily notice it
with your own kids
because, you know,
we're with my kids everywhere.
Obviously, I notice my kids grow, okay?
But, you know,
you notice that when you go,
you know, for example,
when I was away in Sydney
and I couldn't travel to Queensland
and I went up there
and I looked at the young,
well, it used to be young children
and now they're growing up
and they're getting older
and you can see the developments.
And, you know,
you can see that time
just passes by very quickly.
It is like a tale being told.
Life is like this short story.
But you know what?
God wants us to be thinking
about this moment,
this day that He's given us
and to apply it unto wisdom.
Can you please turn
to 1 Corinthians chapter 13, please?
1 Corinthians chapter 13.
As I said to you,
the title for the sermon today
is Enjoy Life's Journey.
Enjoy this journey that you're on.
Enjoy every little experience
that you go through.
Enjoy your childhood, brethren.
Enjoy your teenage years.
Enjoy your 20s.
Enjoy your 30s.
Enjoy your 40s.
Enjoy every moment
that God has given you.
Yes, even enjoy your old age
when your body starts to deteriorate
and you know that your time is short.
But in 1 Corinthians 13, please,
verse 11,
1 Corinthians 13, verse 11,
it says here,
When I was a child,
I spake as a child,
I understood as a child,
I thought as a child.
Brethren, is there anything wrong
with being a child?
No.
What do we learn there?
When you're a child,
you're going to speak like a child,
you're going to understand,
you're going to think like a child.
You know, it's perfectly fine
to be a child.
Children, you don't have to be thinking,
man, I can't wait to be a grown-up.
Listen, yes, that future's going to come.
Yes, be excited that that day's going to come.
But don't miss out on your childhood.
Enjoy your childhood.
Enjoy thinking like a child.
Enjoy playing like a child.
Enjoy the few responsibilities
that you have as a child.
But then it keeps going in verse 11,
it says,
But when I became a man,
I put away childish things.
You see, there's a time to be a child.
There's a time to be a man.
And when you become a man,
the childhood years are gone.
You know, you can't return back
to being a child.
There's a time to be a child,
there's a time to be a man.
What we learn here is that
there are different stages in life.
And yes, when you're in that stage of life,
enjoy it.
Experience it, okay?
You know, don't be in a rush
to just fast forward.
I can't wait for that time to come.
That time will come, brethren.
But enjoy the time that you're in now,
regardless of what age you're in.
Enjoy the time that you're in now.
You know, there's nothing worse
than seeing adults, right?
And especially older, like,
you know, people in their 40s
or people in their 50s,
people in their 60s,
and they still dress like teenagers.
They still act like teenagers.
They still think like teenagers.
They still think they're going to have
the same kind of level of fun
and just hang out with the boys
and just, you know,
I'm still young now.
You know, it's time to grow up.
When you become a man,
you put away childish things.
You know, yes, that was a time
when you were a child
to enjoy childhood,
when you were a teenager
to enjoy your teenage years,
when you were in your 20s
to enjoy your 20s,
when you were in your 30s,
enjoy your 30s,
when you were in your 40s,
enjoy your 40s.
You know, you don't have to,
you know, there's that problem, right?
It's all the future, you know.
I can't wait till I'm older,
but then you look when you're older.
I can't wait.
I want to be a child again.
And you act like a child
and it's weird.
It's a strange, you know, situation
and it's extremely weird, right?
And so, you know,
when you think about,
I don't know,
I think about ladies
that might be in their 40s or 50s
and like they're just not dressed
for their age, right?
Or people, men,
like, you know,
I've started to get,
I've been getting white hairs
for a little while
and you start to worry,
oh man, it's a white hair.
It's aging.
You know, enjoy the white hairs.
You know, be thankful
that you had darker hair before
and now your hair's getting old.
Yes, you know,
there's a time to change.
There are different developments in life
and you need to appreciate
each part that God gives you,
you know.
And, you know,
sometimes it's funny to look at
older people that pretend
to be children or teenagers,
but also it's strange when children
want to be like adults
in the sense where,
you know,
and I've seen this, brethren,
I've seen this in churches,
parents are like so strict
on their children, okay?
And beyond, biblically strict.
But, you know,
a child can't move.
A child can't play.
A child can't laugh.
A child can't get a little bit,
you know, noisy or,
and, you know,
they're dressed like an adult
and they've got to act
and talk like an adult.
No, when you're a child,
that's when you speak like a child.
That's when you understand like a child.
That's when you think like a child.
God has allowed children to be young
and easily moldable
and they can learn and be sponges
and enjoy their childhood.
You know, it's all part of development.
And when you remove that part
of development for a child,
they're going to be miserable.
And, brethren, when you're older
and you act like a child,
you're going to be miserable as well
because you're not enjoying
your life as an adult.
You know, we've got to appreciate
all these stages that God has given us.
Can you please turn to
the Book of Ecclesiastes?
Please turn to the Book of Ecclesiastes,
chapter 12.
Ecclesiastes, chapter 12, please.
Ecclesiastes, chapter number 12.
Now, let me start off with the children,
okay, because I have children
and we still have some children
in our church.
Let me direct this to you, children.
You know, I want you to have
the best possible start to life.
You know, I really want you
to enjoy your childhood.
I want you to appreciate, you know,
the fact that you have
very little responsibilities,
little to none sometimes, right?
Because life is going to get
more challenging.
Life is going to get harder.
And so, appreciate the stage
that you're in today.
But if you want the best possible start,
well, you'll turn to Ecclesiastes 12.
I'm going to read to you
from Ephesians 6, verse 1,
which says,
Children, obey your parents
in the Lord, for this is right.
You know, child, man,
I can't wait to be an adult.
Look, forget that.
You will become an adult.
You know what God expects
from you, children,
to obey your parents.
You know, if you want to do that
which is right,
you want to do that which pleases God,
the God who saved you,
that gave up his son,
that you would be saved,
all you're required to do, children,
is to obey your parents.
Okay?
Obey your parents.
Then it says in verse number 2,
Honor thy father and mother,
which is the first commandment
we've promised,
that it may be well with thee,
that thou mayest live long
on the earth.
Now, children,
life is hard.
We already saw that
it's full of sorrows and labor.
But if you want to have
the maximum life,
the maximum number of years,
and the maximum number of enjoyments
where things would go well for you,
where you won't have to deal
with unnecessary problems,
you have to start by just
obeying your parents,
by honoring your mother
and your father.
That is the best possible start.
And children,
I promise you this,
if you are disobedient,
if you do not honor your parents,
your life is going to be
more difficult in the years to come.
Okay?
More difficult.
You want the best start of life?
Just obey your parents.
Okay?
And God will look down upon you.
He'll bless you.
He'll reduce the problems.
He'll give you longer life.
What a wonderful start.
Okay?
Because this life is to be enjoyed.
You know?
I can't wait for heaven.
You'll get to heaven.
Okay?
I can't wait for the, you know,
look, we've got a life to live now.
Okay?
That future,
that new heaven, new earth,
is eternity.
It'll never end.
Okay?
It's not going anywhere.
It's a promise.
It's going to happen.
But God has given you life today.
Children,
obey your parents in the Lord.
You're there in Ecclesiastes chapter 12.
Look at this.
Ecclesiastes chapter 12, verse number 1.
How else can you have your best possible start?
Not only obey your parents,
but it says in verse number 1,
remember now thy creator
in the days of thy youth.
While you're young,
children, teenagers,
while you're young,
remember your creator.
Think about God.
Think about who he is.
Think, my creator,
he created you.
He created this earth.
He created this universe.
He created all these things
that you can enjoy life.
Okay?
He is your creator.
Think upon the Lord.
In other words,
don't think, well,
when I get older,
you know, I'll take the Bible seriously.
When I get older,
I'll pray more.
When I get older,
I'll read my Bible cover to cover.
When I get older,
I'll go soul-winning.
No, Brevin,
remember your creator now.
Start applying biblical principles.
Start thinking about,
what is it that God wants me to do?
Yes, obey your parents.
That's a great start, okay?
But also spend time with the Lord.
Pray unto him.
Don't be a child that is only dependent
on their parents.
Where I go to church
if my parents drag me out of church.
I pray if my parents make me pray.
I read my Bible
if my parents make me read the Bible.
No, you,
you remember your creator.
God has given you life
and God wants to bless you.
What does it say there
in Ecclesiastes 12.1?
Remember now thy creator
in the days of thy youth.
Look at this.
How the evil days come not.
You see, God is telling you,
your future into adulthood
are going to be evil days.
They're going to be harmful days.
They're going to be troubling days.
It says,
nor the years draw nigh
when thou shalt say,
I have no pleasure in them.
You see,
there's coming days
when you're going to find
that it's not always enjoyable.
It's not always easy.
In other words,
as a child, as a teenager,
your days are easy now, okay?
And as teenagers,
I understand you're going through
that change in your body.
You're going through the hormonal change.
Your mind,
you're changing.
I understand that.
But listen, you know,
and teenagers sometimes
they're burdened with sorrows
and concerns and again,
I understand all of that
because we were all teenagers before.
But listen,
your life is still very simple
and very easy, okay?
The days are coming
when they're evil
and you're going to say,
man, I just don't enjoy these days.
Those days are coming, okay?
In other words,
enjoy your life now.
Enjoy your childhood now.
Enjoy your teenage years now
because it's just going to get harder.
And listen,
when you do grow up
and they do get harder,
enjoy those years as well, okay?
Learn to enjoy.
Learn to find contentment
but start by remembering your Creator now.
If you remember your Creator now,
you spend time with the Lord now,
then when the days get harder,
you're already going to be in that habit
of turning to the Lord
for his comfort,
for his aid
as those harder years come.
What else did we learn there
in verse number,
actually drop down to verse number seven, please.
Drop down to verse number seven.
It says,
then shall the dust return to the earth
as it was
and the Spirit shall return unto God
who gave it.
So before you know it,
your body's going to turn to dust.
You're going to pass on.
You're going to be buried.
Hey, but your Spirit's going to go
to be with the Lord God, okay?
So enjoy your life now.
God has given you these years.
Number your days.
Think about what period of life
are you in today
and say, you know what?
Today I'm going to enjoy.
Tomorrow I'm going to enjoy.
I'm going to enjoy
everything that God has given me.
You know, I'm not going to look back
in my life and regret
not appreciating the years
that God has given me
and the years that I have now, okay?
Yes, be excited for the future
but don't lose sight of the present.
Now, if you can please turn to,
I'll get you to turn to the book of Psalms.
Turn to Psalm and Psalm 71, please.
Turn to Psalm 71
and while you're turning to Psalm 71,
I'll read to you from Isaiah 46.
You go to Psalm 71.
I'll read to you from Isaiah 46
and verse number 3.
I've spent a little bit of time
talking about childhood.
Enjoy it, okay? Enjoy it.
And then there's a transition.
Then we grow.
You can't stop it.
You can't stop.
You know, as my kids have birthdays
and especially my little ones,
I tell them, hey, stop growing up, right?
You know, I want you to stay at this age.
Obviously I'm joking, okay?
And my little ones say,
but I can't stop that.
That's right, you can't stop.
The years go on.
The years go on, all right?
But it says in Isaiah 46,
so there's a transition that takes place
as we keep going through life.
Isaiah 46, verse 3, it says,
Harken unto me, O house of Jacob.
These are the words of the Lord.
And all the remnant of the house of Israel,
look at this,
which are borne by me from the belly,
which are carried from the womb.
Now, God is speaking about the nation as a whole,
but let's apply it for each individual person.
You know, God is the one that has created us.
He's the one that has created us in our mother's womb.
He's the one that's given us life.
He's the one that's given us our personality.
And He's the one that has, you know,
a great plan for our future.
You know, He sent Christ to die for our sins.
He already knows these things.
And His desire is that we would come to a saving knowledge
and placing our faith on the finished work of Jesus Christ,
that we would be children of God
and spend eternity with Him.
And then it says in verse number 4,
And even to your old age I am He.
And even to whore hairs will I carry you.
The hoary hairs or whore hairs is the grain of your hair,
your white, grayish hair, right, as you get older.
He says, Will I carry you?
I have made and I will bear.
Even I will carry and will deliver you.
Okay?
So in a way, God has borne us.
He's given us life.
But God also says as life gets harder,
as you get older, God says,
I will also carry you into your old age.
You know, so what's wonderful about,
even though we transition,
as we get older, as the years go on,
the days go on, God never changes.
God is there with us every step of the way.
He's given us life and He's going to protect us.
He's going to give us our needs.
And He's going to carry us even into our old age.
You know, we can't forget the Lord.
Okay?
We can't forget the Lord.
But you see this transition.
God cares about our youth.
God cares about our older age as well.
Okay?
The elderly, you know,
you are important to God,
just as much as a young man is.
Okay?
You may not be able to accomplish
as much as a younger person,
but you still serve the same God.
The same God who will carry you
through your difficulties.
You're in Psalm 71.
Psalm 71 verse 17.
Psalm 71 verse 17, it says,
Oh God, thou hast taught me from my youth.
Now, for the young people, children, teenagers,
okay, is God teaching you?
You know, are you going to God's Word
and learning from Him?
Are you getting the wisdom of God?
You know, I'm glad if you're listening
to the sermon this morning,
I'm glad, you know, you can gain
some wisdom from God's Word.
You know, I hope you enjoy coming to church.
You say, well, I don't really enjoy coming to church.
Well, enjoy coming to church.
Okay?
What was the title?
Enjoy Life's Journey.
You know, New Life Baptist Church
is part of the life journey
that God wants for you.
Enjoy church.
You know, don't wait for Mom and Dad
to drag you out of bed on a Sunday.
You get ready.
You put on your clothes
and say, Mom and Dad,
don't forget church, all right?
Desire the wisdom of God.
Verse 17 again,
Oh God, thou hast taught me from my youth,
and hitherto have I declared
thy wondrous works.
And then it says in verse 18,
Now also, when I am old and grey-headed,
O God, forsake me not,
until I have showed thy strength
unto this generation
and thy power to everyone
that is to come.
You know what?
When we're young,
what do we ought to do?
Learn from God,
and then we declare
his wondrous works.
Brethren, one of the greatest works
he's done is to send his Son.
You know, we can be soul winners
even at a very young age.
Okay?
I mean, many of my children
have asked questions about salvation
and gotten saved
as initial results of the older children
speaking to them about heaven,
about hell, about these things,
and they're like,
Mom and Dad, can you tell us
I want to be sure how to go to heaven?
Because their older siblings
told them about the wondrous works of God.
And, you know,
God can use you in your youth.
In fact, you've got more energy,
you've got more stamina,
you've got more strength
to proclaim the wondrous works of God.
But notice, for the elderly,
as we transition,
as we get older, okay,
even when we're old,
God's not going to forsake us, right?
It says,
until I have showed thy strength
unto this generation.
God says,
Look, use me in this current generation
as much as you can,
for every day you've given me
as I get older,
I still want to be a positive influence.
I still want to proclaim
your wondrous works in this generation
and thy power to everyone
that is to come.
Because as we get older,
we start to see
the new generations come in, right?
Our children,
our children's children.
We see the new generations
and as we get older,
we can proclaim more.
We've got more experience.
We've got more knowledge.
We've got more wisdom.
I hope, anyway, right?
In the things of God,
we can affect the generations to come.
You know, God can use us in our youth
and God wants to use us
in our older age as well.
You know, the more older you are,
the more wisdom,
the more experience you have,
you know?
Please proclaim God's Word.
Teach people, you know,
so they don't make the same mistakes
that we've all made in life.
Sorry, brethren.
I'm just trying to find where I'm at.
It's up to you.
All right.
So we looked at the transition there
from youth to elderly, okay,
to the grain of hair.
And brethren, please don't freak out
when your hair goes gray,
when your hair goes white.
You know, I remember
when I first started
to get my first white hairs,
Isabel was much younger.
She'd get pluckers
and start to pluck out my white hairs, right?
I guess she wanted her dad
to look young or something,
but you know what?
It's something to appreciate.
You know, the hoary hair,
the gray hairs
is something to appreciate.
It shows your experience.
It also shows, you know,
other people that you are to be honored
when you allow yourself
to become gray-headed.
But you know,
the point that I'm trying
to draw to your attention, brethren,
is to enjoy every moment of your life.
God has allowed us
to experience childhood,
teenagers, the early 20s,
you know, the later 20s,
the 30s, the 40s, the 50s,
the 60s, 70s, 80s,
90s or 100s,
if God is willing to give you
that many years of life.
You know, every moment
is a time to enjoy,
be thankful for the experiences,
the journey that you're on.
Enjoy it.
You know, one of the nice things
about traveling between Sydney
and the Sunshine Coast,
even though it's 11 hours,
without stops,
it is a long journey.
And on the journey,
we are looking forward
to get to the finish line.
But one of the nice things,
especially if you're taking
the coastal roads,
is just be able to look outside
and enjoy the creation.
Enjoy, you know,
the ocean views sometimes.
Enjoy the changes of,
you can see the changes of the,
like even the trees.
The trees in Queensland
look different to the trees
in New South Wales.
Like, you start to see the vegetation
and, you know,
all the different effects
on the journey
and enjoying the journey, right?
You know, even the spending of time
with the family in the van,
we're all jammed in there,
and it's an experience, right?
I mean, yeah, the finish line
is the goal, but, you know,
the journey's also fun.
You can make it fun
or you can make it miserable,
and God wants us to enjoy the journey.
You know, as I said,
for children, enjoy playing.
Enjoy laughing.
Enjoy learning.
You can actually learn
a lot more as a child
because your brain is nice and new, okay?
It hasn't deteriorated too much.
You know, please don't spend
your time on television.
You know, if you just spend
your time watching,
what's on television?
I don't know.
Teletubbies, okay?
Uh, Teletubbies, uh.
Your brain's going to turn
too much, okay?
God has given your brain
to absorb things, all right?
God wants you to learn, you know?
Enjoy the fact that you have
little to no responsibilities.
Hey, that's all good, all right?
And as you transition
to a teenager, you know,
set your sights on God,
on God the Father.
You know when you become
a teenager, you're going to
start to notice the problems
in your parents.
You're going to notice
the inconsistencies.
You're going to notice
the cracks.
You're going to notice
their sin, all right?
And then, you know what?
But that's the time for you
to go, well, I know my parents
did the best they could.
I know they're sinners.
And this is why God is
ultimately my Heavenly Father.
Yes, God has given me
an earthly father and mother,
but really my sights
need to turn toward God, okay?
And God doesn't have cracks.
God does not sin.
God's not going to fail me, okay?
And you start to turn
your sights to God, okay,
because your parents
have failings.
You know, as a teenager,
that's your opportunity
to develop thick skin, all right?
You don't want every
little thing to, you know,
as a child, you take
a toy off a child.
Well, as a teenager,
you need to grow up.
If someone takes your toy,
you just got to toughen up, okay?
Instead of whining
like a little baby,
that time's over.
Enjoy the experiences.
This is time to grow up
as a teenager.
And also, as a teenager,
you need to learn to keep
yourself away from sin.
And from peer pressure.
You know, your parents
can have a lot of control
of you while your children
can protect you.
But as you become a teenager,
you start to develop
more freedoms, all right?
And sometimes, hey,
that freedom, you can use it
for profitable things,
or you can use that freedom
for sinful things.
And you need to learn
how to overcome temptations.
You need to learn to
not give in to peer pressure.
This is all part of developing
as a teenager.
And then we become an adult,
you know?
You're in your 20s
before you know it.
You're an adult.
And this is the time
to welcome challenges.
Life is going to get
more difficult, okay?
Life is going to get challenging.
Well, it's time to welcome
those challenges.
Bring it on!
Because this is the opportunity
that I have to grow,
to gain experience,
to gain more knowledge,
to become a more
well-rounded adult.
Enjoy the challenges.
Don't run away from them.
Please.
I know the generation
we live in.
They just want to run away
from all their problems.
It's crazy to me.
When God presents problems
as an opportunity of growth
and development and learning
and humility sometimes,
people just want to run away from it.
No.
You take on the challenge
and you'll be better
in the long run
and you're the challenge
that God gives you.
You know, when you're
in your adulthood,
you know, start thinking
about transitioning
from your existing family,
right, to a new family,
the desire to find a spouse
and to settle down
and to work and to save up
so you can be ready to provide,
especially for the men,
to provide for their own families
and be ready to see yourself
as directly responsible toward God.
You know, when you're
in your adulthood, stop, you know,
okay, your parents,
they've raised you, okay,
but now, hey, you're an adult.
You stand before God.
You can't hide behind
your parents anymore, okay?
You can't, you know,
just go on and sin
and make mistakes in your life
and think, wow,
you know, some of my parents
brought me up.
No, it's, okay, they may have
made mistakes bringing you up,
but now it's time for you
to stand up for what you've done, okay?
You are before God
and God looks at you directly
as you become an adult.
So start thinking about these things
as you learn and you grow
and you mature.
You know, as the years go by,
for those that are single,
you know, especially for those that,
you know, it's good to desire
to get married one day,
but, you know, don't get to the point
where you desire to find your spouse
and get married at the expense
of losing enjoyment as a single person.
Enjoy your years as a single
with the hope of getting married.
You know, enjoy your time as married.
Enjoy your time with a spouse.
With the hope of having a child, right?
It takes at least nine months
to have a child.
Enjoy that time with your spouse, okay?
Don't hang out with the boys.
You get married,
spend time with your wife.
You're not going to get those years alone
when the children come.
They're gone until they leave home completely.
By the time they leave home completely,
you're older now, okay?
Hey, enjoy the time with your spouse now.
Build a strong marriage now, okay?
With the hope of having a child.
And listen, when you have your child,
enjoy your time as a first-time parent.
The new experiences, the emotions,
the change that happens in your mindset
where you realize you no longer
and life is not about you anymore, right?
It's about your spouse.
It's about your children.
You know, enjoy that experience
of being a first-time parent
with the hope of giving that child
siblings in the future.
You know, enjoy your children.
When you have the children, enjoy them, okay?
With the hope of raising teenagers.
Don't be, don't have this attitude,
oh, well, yeah, you got kids now
and you got them under control.
Just wait till the teenagers, all right?
Just wait till those teenage years.
No, listen, that should be something exciting as well.
Hey, I can't wait to have teenagers.
I'm going to enjoy them while they're young
and I'm also going to look forward
to the time they become teenagers.
My children have become,
many of my children are teenagers now,
four of them.
You know what?
And I enjoy it.
I like it.
Is it challenging?
Absolutely.
Is it different?
Absolutely.
Do you get frustrated?
Yes.
But, you know, that's part of life.
That's part of life
and it's an experience that God has given us.
Okay?
Enjoy.
Yes, look forward to the time they become adults
and when you have teenagers,
enjoy your teenagers with the hope
that they will be outstanding adults,
that you've done the work and the labor
and the effort,
oh, bringing up children is hard.
Yes, it is.
But it's all going to pay off if you endure,
if you're faithful,
if you love your children,
if you raise them in the nurture
and the admonition of the Lord,
it's all going to pay off as they get older.
You know, enjoy it when your children get married
and they start their own families.
Is it going to be sad?
Absolutely, it's going to be sad.
I don't want to preach this
because I get emotional thinking about my children
leaving the house and making their own family
but they enjoy it as well.
Alright?
That's an exciting part
where they now step out of home
and they make a life for themselves.
You know, I'll be praying for my children every day
when they step out of my protection.
And, you know, when they get married,
enjoy your son-in-law and your daughter-in-law.
You know, why fight?
Why argue?
They've started a new family.
Leave them alone.
You know, you've had the 20 plus years of their life
to influence them.
Now it's time for them to make a life for themselves.
Okay?
Don't fight their spouse.
Please, you're going to just hurt their marriage.
You know, they're still going to be clinging on to mum and dad
as their priority.
No, their spouse becomes their priority.
It's a new family.
Enjoy the fact that God has given you a new son,
a new daughter-in-law.
You know, and look forward to having grandchildren.
Yeah?
And then enjoy your grandchildren.
You know, be that source of wisdom.
You're much older now.
You've gone through a lot.
You've experienced things.
You know, start thinking,
hey, you know what?
I ought to be a source of wisdom.
You know, it's not, you know,
I'm not just here to be a buddy and a friend
and another just a teenager.
Like, no, now you're older.
Now you can give wisdom.
Now you can give direction.
You can be a source of stability
in the lives of your children and your grandchildren.
Be thankful for all the years that God has given you.
And then when you find yourself in your final years,
as your body breaks down and you get older,
and I feel my body breaking down,
all our bodies start to break down as the years go on.
And, you know, don't whine about,
oh, my body is getting old.
You know why your body gets old?
That you're reminded that God one day
will give you a new resurrected body.
Yes, you know, thank God for the body
that you have given me, Lord.
But now you can start setting your sights,
man, I can't wait.
I can't wait for that new body to come.
But you know what?
I'm going to enjoy these final years
that God has given me.
I'm going to be influenced to my children,
my children's children,
and the coming generations,
and I'm going to proclaim the works of God.
Enjoy every part of your life, brethren.
Enjoy every part.
Maybe you can say to me,
maybe you can say to me,
Pastor, you know,
I've not been enjoying my life.
You know, I look at the years that have gone by.
I look at COVID.
It's been just depressing
and cast down the wall now,
the pressure,
and now the floods in Queensland.
I just, man, is this life?
Enjoy it.
Enjoy the floods.
Enjoy the floods, okay?
It's an experience.
It's a challenge.
You know what?
It might cause even fear.
Well, you know what?
Let that fear draw you closer to God,
draw upon His strength,
draw upon His comfort.
You know, maybe that's why
God's allowed these things to happen,
so we can just have a greater fear of God,
that we can just draw closer to God.
It's an experience to have, okay?
You know, I mean,
if life was just the same every single day,
you know, eventually it just becomes mundane,
doesn't it?
You know, the challenges,
the problems that come,
God is teaching us something.
God wants to develop us.
God wants us to take the opportunity
that we're in today,
the problem that we're in today,
to develop something great in our lives,
that we'll just love the Lord
and see His mighty hand in our lives.
So be thankful for every year,
every development,
every type of development
that you have as you grow up.
Alright, please turn to Titus chapter 2.
Turn to Titus chapter 2, verse number 1.
Titus chapter 2, verse number 1.
It says here,
Titus is a pastor of a church, okay?
And he's been instructed
to teach sound doctrine to his church.
Now, who makes up his church?
Look at verse number 2.
That the aged men be sober,
grave, temperate, sound in faith,
in charity, in patience.
Now, listen, if you've got age on you,
you're no longer a youth,
you're no longer a teenager or a child,
or you're no longer even in your 20s anymore.
You know, sometimes in 20s,
I still kind of think of him
as a youth sometimes, okay?
You're no longer that.
Maybe you're an aged man.
What does God want from you?
What does He want you to learn?
To be sober, alright?
To be serious-minded.
To be grave, that's been serious, right?
No, the teenage years are gone.
The childhood years are gone, alright?
Grave, temperate.
That means your emotions are under control.
I mean, over the years,
you should have learned to control your emotions.
Sound in faith.
You remain faithful in charity.
You know, your opportunities of giving
and helping and loving others.
In patience.
You ought to have learned patience by now.
You say, man, I feel like I'm aged,
and I'm lacking in some of these things.
Well, then you need to learn them, okay?
This is the time to learn them, okay?
This is the time.
Look at verse number three.
The aged women likewise, in the same way,
that they be in behaviour as become of holiness,
not false accusers, not given to much wine,
teachers of good things.
Hey, yeah, use your years of experience
to help others.
Verse number four.
That they may teach, who?
The young women to be sober.
Look at this.
Teach the young women to mock their husbands,
to laugh at their husbands,
to disrespect their husbands.
Is that what it says?
No, to love their husbands.
To complain about their children.
Oh, kids, so much work.
Oh, man, I don't want any more kids.
Don't have any kids.
No, to love their children.
Aged women, if you're not doing this,
you haven't grown up.
You have to grow up, okay?
You have to be a positive influence
for the generations to come.
Teach the young women to honour,
to respect, to love their husbands,
to enjoy their children, okay?
I'm sick and tired of hearing women
complain about their families.
This is the responsibility that God has given you.
This is the journey that God has given you.
Enjoy the journey.
Stop whining about something
that is such a blessing.
Verse number five.
To be discreet, chase, keepers at home.
What should a woman be doing?
Be a keeper at home.
What a great responsibility
to bring forth a new generation
and to teach them great things,
to bring them into teenagers and to adulthood.
It says keepers at home good,
obedient to their own husbands.
Oh, obey your husbands.
That's so old-fashioned.
It's the Bible.
It's what God wants from you.
It's what's going to cause you to enjoy life.
Ladies, if you disrespect your husbands,
if you disobey them,
you're not going to be happy.
You might get your way,
but you're not going to be happy in the long run.
You'll get your way and you'll be miserable.
You're better off being happy
and not getting your way all the time.
And listen, if your husband loves you,
he's going to prioritize you anyway.
He's probably going to give you better things
than really that you thought about in the first place.
Obedience to your own husbands.
That the word of God be not blasphemed.
And then it's a young man.
Young men likewise exhort to be sober-minded.
Hey, stop being a child.
Start growing up.
Start bringing some maturity in your mindset.
Start preparing for your life.
Stop being a whiner.
Start taking life seriously.
Start enjoying the life that God has given you.
Appreciate every aspect of your life,
whether you consider yourself to be a youth,
whether you consider yourself to be aged.
One of the titles I wanted to have for this sermon was
Act Your Age.
I didn't want to call it Act Your Age
because some people don't know how their age ought to act.
It'll just cause confusion.
But you can see here that, yeah, God expects us to act our age.
In accordance to his word, though.
In accordance to his word.
Can you please turn to Leviticus 19, please.
Leviticus 19 and verse number 32.
Leviticus 19, 32, please.
Now, as we get older, isn't that the great fear of life,
getting older?
You know what?
The more honor you get, the more honor you should get in life.
That's what God actually wants.
God wants the elderly to be respected, to be honored.
Unfortunately, in Australia, I don't know what the issue is,
but that respect for the elderly just doesn't seem to exist.
I know in other countries, definitely,
especially in Asian countries, they definitely respect their elderly.
I think I preached this once.
One of my friends from high school would come over to my house
and when he'd come into my house, he'd bow his head when he saw my mum and dad.
He had a Thai slash Laos background.
So, yeah, he'd see my mum and dad and he'd bow as he walked past them.
And my parents would say, look, you don't have to bow.
But what I liked about it, obviously it's not our custom.
But even from a biblical perspective, we are to honor the elderly.
And it says here in Leviticus 19, 32, it says,
Thou shall rise up before the hoary head and honor the face of the old man
and fear thy God, I am the Lord.
You know what? If you're on a bus and every seat's taken
and someone that is elderly walks on the bus, you get up and you offer them your seat.
You know, that's what I got taught when I was going,
because I had to catch a train to go to high school.
And we got taught, you know, it was required not just by my parents but by my school.
Take a seat. Hey, if there's other people on there, a pregnant woman, elderly people,
disabled people, you get up and you move.
And you give respect to those that are elderly.
And, yeah, you know, that's what we did.
But you know what? I've caught the train several times over the last, say, five years,
especially when I was traveling down to Sydney.
I catch a train from the airport to Fairfield.
And there's the young people, right, there's the school kids,
sitting on the seats, legs up on the other seats.
Elderly people standing, you know, pregnant women standing,
and just no respect for the elderly.
No getting off the seat and saying, hey, come and sit here, right?
But God says, no, we are to rise up, we are to respect the elderly.
Right, look, rise up before the hoary head,
before again, that's the gray hair, okay?
Please don't be ashamed of your gray hair.
There is something innate in a person, okay,
that when they see someone with a hoary hair, with gray and white hair,
where just innate within us, we give respect and honor toward that person.
We're more careful with that person, okay?
There's just something about that color of hair, okay,
where God's put it within us to give respect and honor
and be careful, be gentle with people that have lived a longer life, okay?
And, you know, appreciate the experiences that they've gone through.
Can you please go to Proverbs 16, go to Proverbs 16, verse 6.
Proverbs 16 and verse number 6.
Proverbs 16, sorry, 17 please, Proverbs 17 and verse 6.
Proverbs 17 and verse 6.
The Bible says, children's children, so what's children's children?
Hey, that was the grandchildren, okay?
Children's children are the crown of old men
and the glory of children are their fathers.
I just want you to notice that, you know,
children's children are the crown of old men.
You know, again, there's something within us that when you see grandkids,
I haven't got any grandkids, so I haven't gone for this,
I haven't gone for that process yet, but I know, I see it with my parents,
when they're with their grandchildren, the joy that they have,
the satisfaction, the contentment, okay, that they receive by just seeing,
by spending time, by speaking to their grandchildren.
It's like just seeing your lineage, you know,
your descendants and knowing that, you know,
you've brought forth a generation, you know.
There's something about that that gives great honor,
a crown as it were, like a king being crowned,
the glory, the honor, the wealth that goes with that is like his grandchildren.
This is why I don't believe it's wise to prevent your parents
from seeing your children, okay?
You say, but my mother, she swears, you know,
she's got a horrible mouth and my father is ungodly
and I don't want him to be affected by their actions.
Well, I completely understand that, I completely understand.
Obviously, you don't want your children to be affected in a negative way
in that sense, but at the same time, you can actually affect your children
in a negative way as well when you withhold them from their grandparents,
you know, and you can cause damage to your parents, you know.
We have to honor our mother and father.
And, you know, if you have a situation where obviously you are concerned
about the influence with your children and their grandparent,
you know, just limit how much they spend time, right, or be there.
You don't have to necessarily leave your children with your parents
if you have concerns, you know, supervise that scenario,
but make sure you give some level of access, right, to the grandparents
because it gives them a fulfillment in life
and you don't want to rob that from somebody, okay?
Please go to Proverbs 16, Proverbs 16 verse 31.
Proverbs 16 verse 31.
The Bible says the hoary head, again, the white hair, the gray hair,
is a crown of glory.
Hey, even that color, it's a crown of glory.
Again, I'm getting a few of them.
All right, cool, a little bit of glory is coming through, okay?
Amen.
But is it a crown of glory for every single person?
No, it says here, if, okay, if it be found in the way of righteousness.
So what's it saying here?
If you're getting older, you get the white hairs, okay,
and you walk the paths of righteousness, okay,
you're going to be honored, you're going to be respected,
it's a crown of glory.
But listen, if you just live for this world,
if you're just like, just this wicked, you know,
you just don't walk in the paths of God, you know,
and you have your hoary head, it's just a shame.
It's like, this guy hasn't grown up.
This guy's still a young person.
This guy's still a teenager.
This guy, why doesn't he mature?
What is wrong with this guy?
He's still in his old sins, right?
I mean, why isn't he walking in the paths of righteousness?
Has he learned nothing from his experiences of life?
And so the hoary head, yeah, it's a crown of glory,
but as long as you're walking in the way of righteousness.
And can you please now turn to Psalm 92.
Turn to Psalm 92 verse 13.
Psalm 92 verse number 13.
Psalm 92 verse number 13, I love this passage, it says,
Those that be planted in the house of the Lord
shall flourish in the courts of our God.
Brethren, how will you flourish in life?
You need to be planted in the house of the Lord.
And Brethren, the house of the Lord for you is New Life Baptist Church.
Don't just be a visitor, plant yourself.
What's the idea of planting?
That your roots go deep, you know, that you're unmovable.
This is my church, and I'm going to serve my church,
New Life Baptist Church, okay?
Look at verse number 14.
If you do this, brethren, if you say planted in the house of the Lord,
verse number 14, it says,
They shall still bring forth fruits in old age.
They shall be fat and flourishing to show that the Lord is upright.
He is my rock, and there is no unrighteousness in Him.
Do you want to flourish as you get older?
Do you want to continue bringing forth fruits,
still being able to accomplish great works for God,
seeing souls saved, living a righteous life as you get older?
Well, you can only do it if you plant yourself in the house of the Lord.
Be thankful that God has given you New Life Baptist Church.
Is that a perfect church?
There is no perfect church, okay?
Is my past perfect?
Your past is not perfect.
I'm working toward it, okay?
One day, one day, I'll get there.
One day, the new resurrected body, the new heavens in you,
we'll get there at the same time, brethren, okay?
But we're all on a journey, aren't we?
We're all on a journey as we develop through life.
But please make the house of the Lord a priority.
I want you to be planted. I want you to be fruitful.
I want God to be able to accomplish great things in your life.
I want you to enjoy life, every aspect of your life,
but get yourself planted in God's house.
All right, we're going to turn to one more passage.
Please turn to Ephesians 4.
Turn to Ephesians 4, verse 11.
Ephesians 4, verse 11.
I've spent most of this time speaking about our physical growth,
our ages, our years as we go by.
But don't forget, if you're saved,
not only do you have a physical growth that you can't stop,
but you do have another growth, and that's your spiritual growth, okay?
When you're saved, you become a child of God.
It's like you've been born. You're born again.
Born like a little baby.
And the difference with the spiritual growth
is you can actually control your growth, okay?
You can't control your physical growth,
but you can control your spiritual growth.
If you don't spend time in the Lord,
you don't spend your time in spiritual matters,
you are not going to grow.
If you don't spend time in church,
if you don't spend time in God's Word,
you are not going to grow.
You'll grow very, very slowly, okay?
But we have this other life that God has given us,
this spiritual growth.
And before I read Ephesians 4.11,
I'll just quickly read to you a familiar passage.
First Peter, chapter 2, verse 1.
Wherefore, laying aside all malice and all guile
and hypocrisies and envies and evil speaking,
as newborn babes, desire the sincere milk of the Word,
that ye may grow thereby.
If so, be ye have tasted that the Lord is gracious.
Brethren, when you're newly saved,
a babe in Christ, desire the sincere milk of the Word.
The fundamental doctrines, the basic things in life.
Learn those things. Learn them well.
Because if you learn them well, then you'll be able to grow.
Unfortunately, there are people that go to church,
there are people that have been saved for decades,
for years, you know, 40 years, 50 years, 60 years,
and they're still babes in Christ.
Why? Because they never desire the sincere milk of the Word of God.
You know, they never got themselves planted in the church,
and they've remained babes in Christ.
Ephesians 4.11, it says,
And he gave some apostles and some prophets and some evangelists
and some pastors and teachers
for the perfecting of the saints,
for the work of the ministry,
for the edifying of the body of Christ,
till we all come in the unity of the faith
and of the knowledge of the Son of God
unto a perfect man.
That's the perfect man series that we're going through, right?
And to the measure, look at this,
of the stature of the fullness of Christ.
So we are growing.
The goal is that we will grow to the stature
of the fullness of Christ.
Again, it's not going to happen in these bodies,
but that's the growth process.
That's what we're working toward.
As we perfect ourselves,
as we mature ourselves in the Lord,
the goal is to be more Christ-like.
Hey, but enjoy being a babe.
Enjoy the milk of God's Word.
Enjoy being a teenager in the spiritual realm
as you develop and grow and mature
and looking forward to that destination
of being like Christ.
It says in verse number 14,
That we henceforth be no more children
tossed to and fro and carried about
with every wind of doctrine
by the sleight of men in cunning craftiness
whereby they lie in wait to deceive.
But, speaking the truth in love,
may grow up into Him,
grow up into Him in all things
which is the head, even Christ.
But as I said there in verse number 14,
that we henceforth be no more children.
Brethren, if you're an adult,
your childhood years are behind you now.
You can't be a child anymore.
And brethren, when it comes to the spiritual growth,
okay, we need to, yes, enjoy being a child.
Enjoy being a babe in Christ.
But then develop, grow, mature, okay?
When you become well-grounded as a Christian,
you are no more children, all right?
It's the babe in Christ that gets deceived,
that gets carried away by the sleight of hand of man,
by the winds of doctrines.
Brethren, we ought to mature and grow,
gain knowledge, be grounded in God's Word.
But it's so important that we give time
not just to enjoy our physical growth
that God has given us,
but that we spend time in the spiritual growth,
that we grow up and our destination ultimately
will be to be like Jesus Christ.
All right, brethren, that's it for the sermon, really.
But I just want to leave you with this thought.
Are you enjoying your life?
When you look back at the years that have gone by,
have you enjoyed it?
Have you appreciated the experiences?
Maybe you haven't.
Maybe if you have the right mindset,
you can look back at the years that have gone by
that you didn't appreciate,
and maybe you can learn to appreciate them
a little more now,
that God has allowed you to go through the challenges,
that He's allowed you to go through the chastisement,
the judgments, the consequences of sin,
the problems, the fightings, the conflicts,
okay, to make you who you are today.
And, brethren, please stop.
Where are you in life?
Are you a single person hoping to get married?
Enjoy being a single.
Are you married?
Enjoy your spouse.
Spend time with your spouse.
Do you have children?
Appreciate them.
They're going to grow up.
They're going to be gone one day, all right?
Do you have in-laws?
Appreciate your in-laws, okay?
Are you elderly?
Then appreciate your poory head.
You know, understand the honour that God has for you.
Get yourself planted in God's house
and make sure you pass down the wisdom, the knowledge,
the experiences that you've gone through
to the coming generations.
All right, brethren, please enjoy the journey as well.
God has given us a life to enjoy.
Okay, let's pray.