THE PRACTICE HANDBOOK FOR THE DISTRICT SERVING ONES
SERIES FOUR
SERVICES FOR SAINTS OF ALL AGES
Message Five
Elderly Saints Service
Num. 4:3 From thirty years old and upward even to fifty years old, all who enter into the service to perform the skilled work in the Tent of Meeting.
Titus 2:2 Exhort older men to be temperate, grave, of a sober mind, healthy in faith, in love, in endurance.
THE ELDERLY SAINTS BEING
THE MOST PRECIOUS ONES IN THE CHURCH LIFE
When we spend more time on the young people, this can easily create a situation in the church life in which people may think that we do not pay attention to the elderly ones. However, the fact is that the elderly saints are the most precious ones in the church life. If there are not that many elderly saints in a church, that church will surely give people a feeling that there is a lack, but if there is an adequate number of elderly saints in a church, people will feel that that church is weighty. Of course, if a local church were composed of all elderly saints, that would cause us to be downhearted. There must be some young people among the elderly saints. (CWWL, 1987, vol. 3, “Being Up-to-date for the Rebuilding of the Temple,” msg. 14)
SEEING ONESELF AS A FLOURISHING OLIVE TREE
One psalmist in the Bible says, “But I, like a flourishing olive tree / In the house of God” (Psa. 52:8). I believe that this psalm was written by an old, even very aged, psalmist. But although he was old, he did not yield to his oldness. Hymn #715 in the Chinese hymnal says, “The withering days of life are seemingly increasing but actually decreasing.” This means that man’s life is like withering days that are apparently increasing but are actually decreasing. Some Christians who are already over eighty have subtracted more than eighty years from their life and do not have many years left. However, they have the eternal life in them, and this eternal life renews their youth.
Even though the writer of Psalm 52 may have been aged, he saw himself as a flourishing olive tree that was growing in the house of Jehovah. I hope that all of us elderly saints would have the feeling that although we are aged, we still are flourishing olive trees. Instead of being weakened, as flourishing olive trees we have been planted in the house of Jehovah and are trusting in God’s lovingkindness forever and ever.
TWO ELDERLY SAINTS—SIMEON AND ANNA
In the New Testament Luke 2:25 and 36 mention two elderly saints—one brother and one sister. The brother is named Simeon and the sister is named Anna. Verses 25 through 32 are concerning Simeon. Although this passage is short, it mentions the Holy Spirit three times. The first time it says, “The Holy Spirit was upon him” (v. 25). The Holy Spirit was on Simeon. Today we elderly saints are more blessed than Simeon because the Holy Spirit is not only on us but in us. The second time it says, “It had been divinely communicated to him by the Holy Spirit” (v. 26). It was not through a dream or his thoughts but through his receiving the revelation from the Holy Spirit that Simeon knew that he would not see death before he had seen the consolation of God’s people. The Lord Jesus was the consolation of God’s people. The elderly Simeon not only had the Holy Spirit but also received revelation from the Holy Spirit. The revelation that he received was concerning Christ. We all should be like Simeon who received a revelation from the Holy Spirit that was not related to peace or prosperity but to Christ.
After the account concerning Simeon, the Gospel of Luke gives the record of an elderly sister named Anna who loved Christ very much and pursued Christ. Luke 2 mentions these two elderly saints, showing us that they both considered Christ. This is very precious. I want to ask the younger saints what you think about. Do you think about beautiful clothing, good food, and high positions? Most young people think about what to wear and how to adorn themselves whereas most elderly people do not think about these things. Rather, they think about their children. It is truly a blessing for some elderly saints that they do not have children. If you do not have children, you will be unoccupied. A person spends all his money for himself when he is young, but when he is old, he saves every penny for his children. The sisters are especially frugal and thrifty for their children. Hence, it is hard for elderly people to overcome their preoccupation with their children, and it is not easy for young people to overcome their preoccupation with adornment.
The elderly Simeon and Anna were not like this. Their hearts were on Christ. I have eight children, twenty-two grandchildren, and two great-grandchildren. When I am among them, listening to their stories, I really need the Lord to put the helmet of salvation upon me. I would like to tell the elderly people that our children are not our consolation. Only Christ is our consolation and our salvation. The more the elderly people are focused on Christ, the more blessed they will be. If we dream of Christ at night, think about Christ in the morning, talk about Christ all the time, and are full of Christ, we will be blessed. (CWWL, 1987, vol. 3, “Being Up-to-date for the Rebuilding of the Temple,” msg. 1)
THE YOUNG PEOPLE BEING ON THE FRONTIER FIGHTING,
BUT THE OLDER ONES BEING AT HOME
MAINTAINING THE TESTIMONY
Numbers 4:3 says, “From thirty years old and upward even to fifty years old, all who enter into the service to perform the skilled work in the Tent of Meeting.” When the tabernacle was set up, those in this age group maintained it. When the children of Israel were traveling, those in this group also carried the various parts of the tabernacle and its utensils. Hence, those between the ages of twenty and thirty were the fighting ones, and those between the ages of thirty and fifty were the ones to maintain and carry the tabernacle.
Applying this type to today’s situation, we see that the young people are on the frontier fighting, but the older ones are at home maintaining the testimony. Maintaining the Lord’s testimony is more important than fighting. If there is no testimony, the young people are fighting in vain. Therefore, let us rise up and keep the testimony. Then the warfare in which the young people are engaged will be meaningful. The testimony today is the church. The middle-aged brothers and sisters must be those who set up the testimony, maintain it, and carry it from place to place. What a responsibility this is! (CWWL, 1977, vol. 2, “All Ages for the Lord’s Testimony,” ch. 1)
The Older Ones Taking Direct Care of the Tent of Meeting
In the Lord’s recovery we need all ages…. All the saints are useful in the various sections of the church life. The young people are good for fighting, the new ones are good for keeping the tabernacle, and the older ones are good for taking direct care of the Tent of Meeting. Let us do everything we can for the Lord in the spirit but without a trace of independence or rebellion. Furthermore, we do not need to be unified or controlled by the eldership. All the brothers and sisters must move ahead to do their duty and to fulfill their responsibility.
The most important age group with respect to the tabernacle was the group between the ages of thirty and fifty. The burden of caring for the Tent of Meeting was directly upon them. It was those in this age group who carried the various parts of the tabernacle from place to place. In the church life we need those between twenty and thirty to fight the battle, those from one month to twenty to guard the Tent of Meeting, and those over thirty to care directly for the Tent of Meeting.
Helping Others out of Their Experience
According to the book of Numbers, those thirty and over carried the Ark, the table of the bread of the Presence, the lampstand, the incense altar, the bronze altar, and all the vessels and utensils. The children of Kohath took care of the vessels; the children of Gershon, the curtains, the hangings, and the coverings; and the children of Merari, the pillars, the boards, and the sockets. We may apply these types to today’s church life. We need many saints experienced in Christ to take care of different aspects of Christ for the constitution of the church life. We need a number of experienced saints to take care of Christ as the Ark, as the incense altar, as the table of the bread of the Presence, as the lampstand, and as the bronze altar. Those who have experienced Christ in these ways should convey these aspects of Christ to the new ones. Many are short of the experience of Christ as the Ark or as the incense altar. Thus, there is the need of the experienced ones to carry Christ to them in these ways.
Those who have experienced Christ in this way need to help others out of their experience. If this is our practice in the church life, then at the Lord’s table meeting many new ones will give testimonies full of reality. This is the proper church life. Such a church life, God’s testimony on earth, is God’s habitation. As we bear this kind of testimony, the young people should be on the frontier fighting the enemy and gaining ground, and the new ones should be keeping the tabernacle. May we have all three sections in the church life. (CWWL, 1977, vol. 2, “All Ages for the Lord’s Testimony,” msg. 2)
CONCERNING THE AGED MEN
In the three Epistles of 1 and 2 Timothy and Titus Paul emphasizes the importance of a proper humanity. In 2:2 Paul speaks to the aged men and says, “Aged men are to be temperate, grave, of a sober mind, healthy in faith, in love, in endurance.”
Temperate
According to this verse, the aged men are to be temperate. To be temperate is to have self-control and to be moderate. It is often easier for an elderly person to be offended or angered than it is for a young person to be bothered in this way. As an elderly person myself, I can testify that in a family it is usually the older ones who become irritated or impatient. Today I can be bothered by certain irritations or nuisances that did not affect me in the least fifty years ago. This indicates that, as an elderly man, I need Paul’s charge to be temperate. Of course, temperateness is a virtue needed by everyone in the church life.
Grave
Elderly men should also be grave. Gravity is a qualification of human character which is worthy of utmost respect. It implies dignity and it inspires honor and invites it. Gravity is a virtue which invites the respect of others.
Of a Sober Mind
In verse 2 Paul charges the aged men to be of a sober mind. He says the same concerning young women (v. 5) and younger men (v. 6). In 1 Timothy 3:2 Paul lists this among the qualifications of an overseer. To be of a sober mind is to be sensible and also discreet in understanding. No matter what our age may be, we all need a sober mind. If we are of a sober mind, we shall avoid the extremes of being too hot or too cold. On the one hand, we need to be burning in spirit; on the other hand, we need to be of a sober mind. If we would be a proper human being, we need this quality.
Healthy
In Faith
If we would be healthy in faith, we need daily to be under the transfusion which comes through the organic union between us and the Triune God. The word faith in verse 2 does not refer to the objective faith, to the things we believe, but to our activity of believing. In our daily living we need a faith which keeps us in the organic union. In order to be healthy in faith, we need to come to the Word and contact the Lord by praying in a living way with our spirit. Then we shall have faith, the infusion of the living God into us through our contact with the Word in the spirit. Faith, therefore, is a living Person infused into us. The more we remain in the organic union with this divine Person, the more healthy we shall be in faith.
In Love
If we are healthy in faith, we shall automatically be healthy in love. It is possible to love others too much or too little. In either case, our love is not healthy. Instead, we are somewhat sick in our love.
Why do you love a certain brother very much and another brother hardly at all? It is because you love others according to your own taste. In Philippians 2:2 Paul says that we should have the same love. This means that our love for all the saints should be on the same level. To have a different love for different saints is to be unhealthy in love. But to have the same love for all is to be healthy in love.
In Endurance
According to Titus 2:2, aged men should also be healthy in endurance. If we have adequate endurance, we shall be able to bear the things which bother us and trouble us. We have pointed out that it is rather easy for an elderly person to be bothered. The older we become, the greater is our need of endurance. In particular, the elders in a church need endurance. For example, sometimes telephone calls come late at night. To take care of such a call in a proper way requires endurance. (Life-study of Titus, msg. 3)
THE FUNCTION OF THE ELDERLY SAINTS IN THE NEW WAY
The Elderly Saints Being the Most Useful People in the Lord’s Body
I hope that all the elderly saints would see that when we go forward, they will be the most useful people in the Lord’s Body. Never think that because you are old, do not have much physical strength, and cannot be very active, that you cannot follow the new system. You must realize that in the new system there are other matters besides door-knocking, which occupies only five percent of the new system. We elderly saints can pray, and we also have spiritual knowledge. We need only to change our habit of not speaking and begin to speak at home and also to our friends and relatives and in the meetings. (CWWL, 1987, vol. 3, “Being Up-to-date for the Rebuilding of the Temple,” msg. 8)
Following in Their Spirit
According to our observation, the first function of the elderly saints is that they must follow in their spirit. In addition, they must also follow in their prayers and in their care.
Coordinating with the Young People
and Making Up Their Lack
There is also a practical need concerning the trainees that can be met by the elderly saints. Most of the trainees are around twenty-five years of age. Even though they are willing to pay the price to learn, they are still young. Among those whom they have gained through door-knocking, there are some who are successful and famous. Some of the ones whom they have gained are professors or businessmen who are in their middle age. They may be forty, fifty, or even sixty years old. Although the young people surprised them when they knocked on their doors and spoke something to them that convinced them, after the young people baptize these ones, they are not able to lead them on. The young people are unable to handle their problems regarding their family, finances, marriage, and children. If the elderly saints coordinate with the young people and occasionally go out with them, not every day but maybe once a week, accompanying the young people to visit the new ones in their homes, when the new ones raise questions related to human life, the elderly saints will be able to render help to them simply by speaking three to five sentences. At present, this is a desperate need.
According to the report from the training center, the thirty thousand baptized ones whom we gained through door-knocking in the communities came from knocking on the doors of over sixty thousand households. These families have a very good impression of us. The trainees are taking care of them and have built up a very good relationship with them. Thus, on the one hand, if we send the trainees away, we will miss many people; on the other hand, these young trainees are not able to meet all the needs. Hence, the elderly saints have to accompany them. They need only to speak a few sentences at crucial junctures, and by doing this the young ones will receive the needed help. In the church if the elderly saints coordinate with the younger saints and completely blend with them as one, this will give people a very good impression and will cause them to respect us, envy us, and sense that God is truly in our midst.
Taking Care of the Students
The church also has to spend some effort to bring in students. If students are to be brought in, however, they need more care than anyone else. Many college students are from the middle or the southern part of Taiwan. They have left their homes and have come alone to study in Taipei. If we can bring these students in, the elderly saints will be able to contact them in the meetings and invite them to their homes for meals so that the students can enjoy the warmth and taste of the family. This will be more helpful than speaking several messages to them. Moreover, some of these students may be weak physically, may have done something wrong, or may have encountered some frustrations. If the elderly saints take care of them, comfort them like fathers and mothers, and express the warmth of the church to them, these students surely will remain in the church life. All these aspects of caring for them are not easy for the young people to undertake.
Furthermore, in the work with the students, matters related to marriage and making friends require the teaching and protection of the elderly saints. Today Taiwan is the same as America. Young males and females require proper protection and enlightening from parents. Now there are so many of these young students who have been baptized and are coming into the church. These ones really need the elderly saints to enlighten them and care for them like their parents. Most of the young people who come to study or work in factories are like children wandering around, without being properly cared for. It is not enough for them merely to come to a meeting. The elderly saints need to open their homes to receive them and care for them. (CWWL, 1987, vol. 3, “Being Up-to-date for the Rebuilding of the Temple,” msg. 14)
Praying for the Young People
It is difficult for the older ones to contact young people on the campuses. If I, an elderly person, were to go to the campuses, the young people would not be interested in talking to me. People gather together according to age. For example, it is difficult for a child of twelve to play with a child of five. The five-year-old would prefer to associate with those of his own age. The same is true of the twelve-year-old. For this reason, the older ones are not useful for going to the campus to contact young people. The Body, however, is not composed only of young ones. Although the older ones are not suitable for work on the campus, they are the ones to bear the burden to pray for the young people. However, it would be very difficult for the young people to stay home and pray, because they are eager to get on the campus and contact people. The matter of praying for the work on the campuses is a function of the older ones.
I use this one illustration to point out that the Body is not composed of just one class of people. On the contrary, it is a composition of many age groups. The young people should be strong and aggressive to work on the campuses. But the older ones need to be very exercised to pray for the young people. Furthermore, the older ones can invite all the young laborers to their homes for dinner. However, if the older ones gossip and complain about being useless, our situation will be pitiful, and we shall not have the Body. But I believe that many will say, “Praise the Lord for raising up so many young people! The Lord is using them for the work on the campuses. Let us pray for them and let us do certain practical things to help them.” If this is the situation, the whole Body will be moving toward the goal of gaining this generation. (CWWL, 1977, vol. 2, “The Spirit and the Body,” msg. 15)
Serving the Young People in the Living Room
Every young person who goes to the campus needs a home for his contacts. A young person who catches eighteen new ones should be able to bring all eighteen into the living rooms of the saints. We need living rooms to receive all these new contacts. All the ages can be used. No one is too old. The older saints can open up their homes to these new contacts. Even though the older saints have opened their homes, they can keep themselves in the background and invite some middle-aged saints to serve the new ones in the living room. This is coordination.
The younger you are, the more you should be in the front to take care of the new young ones. The older you are, the more you should be at the back. It would be good for the older ones to buy the groceries, cook the food, and wash the dishes to serve the young people and their contacts. The young ones should go to the campus, and the middle-aged saints should serve the young people in the living room. Our living rooms should be filled with the enjoyment of Christ, especially through singing and psalming. Such an atmosphere of enjoyment and mutuality requires a great deal of coordination.
The best fishing ponds for the Lord’s recovery are the college campuses. We should send our fishermen to the fishing ponds. Then the older saints can stay home to prepare snacks, refreshments, and the best dinners to gather the new contacts at least once every four weeks. The living rooms will catch them.
We need a young army that can be sent to the campuses to bring in more young people, but all the older and middle-aged saints are also needed. We should not be discouraged that we may be too old to go to the campus. The church’s gospel preaching needs all the saints. Because the local churches in the Lord’s recovery are standing on the genuine ground of oneness, we can have a very good coordination. We all need to learn so that we can have the best coordination. (CWWL, 1977, vol. 3, “Preaching the Gospel on the College Campuses,” ch. 1)
Passing on the Lessons They Have Learned in the Lord
throughout the Years to the Younger Saints
If the older saints in the church can pass on the lessons they have learned in the Lord throughout the years to the younger saints, regardless of whether it is a burden for the gospel, knowledge of the truth, or a portion in the service, this would be wonderful. In this way the older saints can rest and sleep in peace, the young people can function appropriately in the church, and the teenagers and children can grow up healthily in the church. (CWWL, 1953, vol. 1, “Knowing Life and the Church,” msg. 9)
Spending the Time and Effort to Teach the Children
In the past the children’s meeting was always held in the meeting hall and was mostly led by the young people. Now the gospel work on the college campuses and at the junior high and high schools is very active, and the young people all have specific services in this work. Thus, they cannot take care of the children anymore. Hence, we need to rely on the elderly saints to spend the time and effort to teach the children. We may divide the children into two or three levels. Some saints will need to work on the lesson materials, and some need to tell the stories. Children ages four through six may be on the first level. With these ones you only need to sing hymns with them and tell them stories. Children ages seven through nine may be on the second level. With these ones you need to teach them something, which may require some lesson materials. Children ages ten through twelve may be on the third level. With them you need lesson materials to help teach them something deeper. The elderly saints may use their homes. After the children get off from school, the elderly saints may open their homes and prepare some snacks to welcome them. Then they may sing with the children, tell them stories, and lead them to know God. (CWWL, 1987, vol. 3, “Being Up-to-date for the Rebuilding of the Temple,” msg. 3)
THE ELDERLY FULL-TIMERS
The church in every locality should produce three kinds of full-timers. The church should produce some who will serve full time their whole life; young ones who, after graduating from college and before getting a job, will set aside three to five years to serve full time; and older saints who will serve full time after retirement. There is a need for some who will give themselves to serve full time their entire life. It would be valuable also for young saints, after graduating from college, to set aside a period of time to serve full time before they begin working. It would also be very precious for retired saints whose children are grown to give the rest of their lives to serve the Lord since they have many experiences in life. The churches must promote and encourage the saints to produce these three kinds of full-timers. (CWWL, 1985, vol. 2, “The Vision, Living, and Work of the Lord’s Serving Ones,” msg. 13)
Many older brothers and sisters have been serving full time for many years, because after they retired, they consecrated their remaining days to the Lord’s use. This is a good thing. There are also older sisters whose children are grown and married. These sisters can consecrate themselves and serve full time with the approval of the church. (CWWL, 1984, vol. 4, “Crucial Words of Leading in the Lord’s Recovery, Book 3: The Future of the Lord’s Recovery and the Building Up of the Organic Service,” msg. 15)
Being Able to Participate in Many Matters
There may be an older sister who lives in an apartment building and is burdened to serve full time. She should first care for the people living in her building. She should not advertise what she is doing, because this will close people. She can discreetly find out who lives in each apartment, their occupation, whether they are young or old, and their schedules. She should be clear concerning these matters.
Then once a week she can distribute gospel tracts to every home, giving a different tract each week. This is the principle. In the beginning, we should not knock on our neighbors’ doors but rather place a tract in their mailboxes. One of our neighbors might be an older lady who stays at home to look after children. After two or three weeks of distributing tracts, we can find a morning suitable to knock on her door and visit her. When the older lady opens the door, we can gracefully and politely inquire if she has seen the tracts that were in her mailbox. We should be as bold and thick-skinned as a salesman but also polite and keen. After talking with her for a while, we can ask to enter into the home and chat with her. We can use this simple method in every apartment building in Taiwan. After we cover the building we live in, we can go on to the next building. If we would continue in this way for one or two years, all the people in the apartment buildings will know that we love Jesus. They will like us as their neighbor, and they will welcome us if we visit them again. Most of the older sisters can consecrate their time to preach the gospel in this way if they are retired and do not have grandchildren to care for.
The older sisters can also participate in distributing tracts, booklets, Bibles, audiotapes, and videotapes. These can be distributed gradually over time. Our main burden is for the leading ones to encourage the working saints to open their homes and invite their fellow workers to hear the gospel. At the same time, the leading ones should teach the saints how to preach the gospel. Furthermore, the full-timers and part-timers over thirty years of age should participate in the community gospel by visiting families and distributing gospel tracts.
Taking the Lead to Open Their Homes
All the full-timers and part-timers over thirty years old should take the lead to open their homes. Since you serve full time, this is your occupation. This can be compared to owning a store; you cannot work only once a week. To “open your store” is to preach the gospel. If the church assigns the older sisters who are full time to preach the gospel, they should first pray for people, then go and distribute tracts to their homes, and then visit them. In addition, they should open their own homes to preach the gospel to their neighbors. At least four days a week we should work in our store.
If all the older brothers and sisters could preach the gospel full time after their retirement, they would save at least three to five people in one year. Is such a thought not enough to make all the older brothers and sisters happy? (CWWL, 1985, vol. 1, “Crucial Words of Leading in the Lord’s Recovery, Book 5: Concerning Various Aspects of Church Service,” msg. 5)
Discussion:
1. How to take care of elderly saints (in their spiritual life and daily life)?
2. How to encourage elderly saints to take care of young people?
3. How to usher elderly saints to participate in the practical service?
