What is the secret to flourishing in old age?

Alexander Strauch explores the biblical insights on aging, emphasizing that those who are planted in the house of the Lord will flourish. Being part of the Lord's community provides security and growth, enabling believers to bear fruit even in their later years. Strauch shares his personal aspiration to remain fruitful as he ages, highlighting the importance of the Holy Spirit's presence in keeping one's spiritual life vibrant and alive.

Strauch also discusses the natural process of aging, noting that while the physical body may decline, the inner self is renewed daily through active engagement in the Lord's work. He reflects on the joy and personal growth experienced through ministering to others, particularly those nearing the end of life. For Strauch, staying rooted in the community of believers and serving others is key to maintaining spiritual vitality and bearing fruit throughout the aging process.

Isaiah 40:31 (NKJV): "But those who wait on the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings like eagles, they shall run and not be weary, they shall walk and not faint."

I have a couple key verses for aging. This is one of them here. But notice the secret. The secret is this. Those who are planted in the house of the Lord, that's where it starts.

You're with the Lord's people. You're in the Lord's house. And that's where you will get your security and it's the community in which you will grow up in. So he says here, "'Shall flourish in the courts of our God.'" But now listen to this, and This is one of my life verses for aging. They shall bear fruit in old age.

Now, over 75, they consider old age today. It's the newest study because age has moved up because people are living longer. After 75, you're old age. So I'm old. I don't admit it, but normally I won't admit it, but I will to you because you're such a nice person.

This is a verse I use for my aging. I wanna bear fruit in old age. I wanna bear more fruit in old age. But then he says something here which is not in this English version. They will flow with sap and be green.

In other words, a tree can't be green if the sap isn't flowing. So you want the sap of the Holy Spirit flowing in your life and you have leaves that are green and you're bearing fruit. You're alive, you're not dead, you're not brittle and broken at old age. So Caleb was 85 and he was strong for the Lord. So I love this verse because it tells us in the house of God Planted in the Lord's in among the Lord's people you have a much greater chance of aging properly and Of bearing fruit.

So My goal is to bear greater fruit in my years ahead. What do I have? 10 years, 15 the most, I wanna bear more fruit. I want the sap flowing in my life. But much of that comes in the house of God, planted in the house of the Lord with the Lord's people.

And the Lord's work gives me lots of things to do. So another one of my key verses for aging is 2 Corinthians 4.16. Although the outward person is fading away, if you're over 55, you know what that means, The inner man, the new man in Christ, is being renewed day by day. Not year by year, not month by month, day by day. That's another one of my verses.

So yes, I can't stop a lot of the outer decay. You can fight back and you should, but the inner man, because he's with the Lord, listening to sermons, going to prayer meetings, ministering to brothers and sisters, He's being renewed every day. So being busy in the Lord's work, serving the Lord's people, like just in the last week I visited two people who were dying, it's a wonderful thing to be by the side of a brother or sister. They know they've got a month, two months, one dying of cancer, one of just, body just breaking down in his 90s. So I'm ministering to these other people and in a sense it builds me up.