Five bits of wisdom from the Psalms

Some 215,000 brothers and sisters participated in a divine service for seniors on Sunday, 28 February 2016 that the Chief Apostle celebrated in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Alone in the church in Limete, where the Chief Apostle celebrated the service, there were 3,700 brothers and sisters. The others attended a transmission in their own congregations. The service was also broadcast on national television, allowing many more to follow it. The sermon was based on Psalm 71: 18: “Now also when I am old and grayheaded, O God, do not forsake me, until I declare Your strength to this generation, Your power to everyone who is to come.” The Chief Apostle was accompanied by District Apostles Michael Deppner (Congo West) and Tshitshi Tshisekedi (Congo South-East), District Apostle Mark Woll from Canada, and 34 Apostles from the hosting District Church.

This psalm is a source of instruction, the Chief Apostle said, and the psalmist is someone who has a lot of life experience. The Chief Apostle went on to explain the wisdom of this man of God and devised an agenda for our time today.

God’s blessing lies in salvation, not in a happy life.

“Many of us have been faithful to the Lord for many decades, yet they face great hardship.” But it is not a question of a happy, healthy, and painless life, he said. “The blessing which God has in store for the faithful is not the deliverance from the suffering in this world, but eternal life, the fellowship with Jesus Christ.”

We trust God, even if others think He has abandoned them.

Today we hear the same questions that were put to the psalmist at the time. “What benefits did you derive from serving the Lord? What use were your sacrifices?” Experience teaches us that Jesus is with us, the Chief Apostle said. “I cannot prove this to my neighbour, because this is something I feel in my heart. Jesus is there! I feel His presence in the services. I hear Him when He talks to me. I experience His presence during the celebration of Holy Communion. And I know He listens to me when I pray.” These experiences help us to withstand the spirit that asks, “Where is your God.”

We need God’s help even if we have gathered a wealth of experience over the years.

“Life has taught us many things. But we also know that if God were not to help us we could not be saved. No one can earn salvation,” the Chief Apostle said. “Even today, after 50, 60, or 70 years of faithfulness to God, we still depend on God’s help. Even with 80 years of age I still need the word of God. With 85 I still need Holy Communion, and I need my Priest, that young man there, who is active today.”

We need grace in order to be freed from the accusations of the evil one.

“No matter how old we are, what experiences we have made, what ministry we carry, no one, really, no one can be saved without the grace of the Lord Jesus. Blessed is the child of God, the minister who is able to preserve this humility in his heart and who humbly comes before God and tells Him, ‘God, please do not abandon me! Grant me Your grace!’”

Our current attitude is decisive for our salvation.

The focus is on today, the Chief Apostle said. Not our works of ten years ago decide over our salvation, but what we think and do today. “I am going to mention something that worries me a little. The one or the other may rest on his laurels, thinking, ‘I have done so much for the Lord over the years.’ But if the Lord were to return today, He will not look at what you did ten years ago. He will look at what is in your heart right now.”

The psalmist rose to the challenge; and Christians should do the same today. No one can really sit back and insist that he has done enough. Every one of us is here to serve the Lord and the neighbour, the Chief Apostle said, also the retired ministers, and every mother, every father. It is our task to

• praise God. “Let us teach by example and so familiarize others with Jesus Christ by what we say and do. The Lord has not sent us to tell others what we have done and what we are doing. The Lord expects from us that we speak about what He has done and is still doing. That is our task.”
• profess the victory of Christ. “It is pointless to trumpet this all over the place. But how can we then carry this message further? By proving that we trust God and that we carry peace and this quiet certitude in us.”
• reveal the effects of divine blessing. “Blessing means that you receive strength to prevail over your adversaries today. I am always deeply impressed when I meet elderly brothers and sisters who still manage to win the battle over themselves. They are prepared to call themselves into question.”
• testify of the grace of Jesus by forgiving. “Our whole life we were so happy that God forgave us our sins and granted us His grace. How can we demonstrate the effect this forgiveness has had on us? Simply by forgiving others. We forgive because Jesus forgave.”

This is how we can bear witness to the power of Jesus. And to whom should we declare this, Chief Apostle Schneider asked in conclusion. Let us declare His strength to our children and the youth. The Chief Apostle also made clear that we should not expect the young generation to lead the same life that we, the elder generation, led. “We are not the standard. Jesus is the standard. Let us not put them under the same restrictions that we were under. The times have changed.” And he emphasized: “Make a distinction between what is trivial and what is important. Important is that the children and the youth focus on their example Jesus Christ and put into practice the word inspired by the Spirit.”