00:00Hello everyone, my name is William Chambers. It's good to be here with you all.
00:04It's raining, it's about to rain, so I gotta speak quickly.
00:07But I know there's people out there that want to hear good words, so I just had to get on
00:11here.
00:12Even though it's about to rain, I hope I don't get caught in it.
00:14But that being said, today I want to talk about the measure of life is not its length, but its
00:24reach.
00:25Oh, it's not how many days you get to live which measures success in life, but it's how many people
00:35you reach with the good news of Christ Jesus.
00:40That's what we're talking about today, and that's what this text is talking about today.
00:44So I'm coming out of Psalm 71 verse 18, and it reads like this.
00:47Now also, when I am old and gray-headed, O God, forsake me not, until I have shown thy strength
00:56unto this generation, and thy power to everyone that is to come.
01:02This psalmist is saying, Lord, do not forsake me, don't leave me, until I've shown your strength to this generation,
01:10and the generation to come.
01:11I am about the mission of God, this psalmist says, and I pray that believers become about the mission.
01:20He's mission-oriented. He wanted to do what God had called him to do.
01:24He wanted to make God known. Oh, that is our job here.
01:28He said, Lord, I'm old and I'm gray-headed, but please don't forsake me.
01:33Please don't abandon me.
01:35What he's meaning is, don't strip me.
01:38Please, Lord, don't let old age strip me of my usefulness.
01:42Oh, sometimes old age should strip me of your usefulness.
01:45Meaning, in our culture, people don't want to listen to old people.
01:49Oh, the influence of old people is not as great, because society kind of throws old people away.
01:56Sadly, it throws people away.
01:58So he's saying, don't let old age strip me.
02:02Sometimes our health can fail.
02:04Oh, and it renders us, we can become too fragile to do the will of God.
02:10So this psalmist is saying, Lord, I want to complete your mission.
02:13Don't let my influence die out.
02:15Let there be people.
02:16Keep your favor on me, oh God, so that I can reach and be active,
02:21that I can be effective in my old age.
02:24That's what he's saying.
02:25I want to be effective.
02:27He's saying, in my old age, Lord, keep me faithful until your call in my life.
02:33Don't let old age, whether through weakness, whether through neglect, whether through society disregard me,
02:41don't let them remove me from my work of declaring your strength and your power.
02:48Oh God, the gospel contains the strength and the power of God to save men.
02:52Lord, let me declare your work all of my life.
02:57This psalmist knew that he is still needed.
03:03Believer, no matter who you are, you are still needed in the kingdom.
03:07You are still needed.
03:09This psalmist said, there's something that God has placed in me, that he ain't placed in anyone else.
03:15When God made me, he broke the mold.
03:18There will never, ever be someone like me in any time, in any place.
03:23And this time, what I have is needed for this culture.
03:27Oh, he said, Lord, let me impart that which you have given me.
03:32Because I have lived through things, I've been tested through things, I've been proven in life,
03:37and now I have things to show unto men about your glory.
03:41Things to show unto men about your faithfulness.
03:44Oh Lord, I am still needed.
03:47I want to tell you, if you have breath in your life, our God does not waste breath.
03:52You are still needed.
03:53There's something that you still need to transfer.
03:56Oh my, he's saying, this psalmist's saying, I'm still needed because this generation still needs to hear.
04:03I have to show this generation your power.
04:05He said, I have to show this generation your strength.
04:08And he's saying, the generation that is to come still needs to know.
04:12He's focused on the generation to come.
04:15Help us.
04:16Our life is not finished until our testimony of God.
04:21Oh, God has been delivered, has been deposited until the strength of God has been shown in this culture.
04:29My work is not done.
04:30I've still got work to do.
04:32People need to know about God.
04:34Look at all this work out here in our culture.
04:36People need to know about God.
04:39God's power, what he's saying, must be passed on.
04:45Oh, let me not dance too much.
04:47God's power must be passed on, passed on to the next generation and to the generation to come.
04:54God does not give you breath without giving you an assignment.
04:58God does not give you breath without giving you purpose.
05:02God does not give you, to give you breath without an assignment, without something to do, would be cruelty.
05:09And our God is not cruel.
05:11Anything that our God makes, anything that he makes has a purpose and an assignment.
05:16So, he's saying, Lord, I am not ready to go yet.
05:20He's saying, Lord, I am still needed.
05:22Your strength has not been fully shown yet.
05:25Oh, help us today.
05:28This psalmist is basically saying that the measure of life is not in its length of days, but it's in
05:35its reach.
05:36Lord, I'm trying to reach unto the next generation.
05:39This psalmist is not trying to cling to life.
05:41He's not asking for more life.
05:43He's trying to cling to its assignment.
05:45Lord, I'm trying to cling to what you called me to do.
05:48Oh, I'm not trying to cling to money, power, fame, but I'm trying to cling unto completing your mission.
05:56Jesus said, I must be about the Father's business.
06:00He said, I must be about it.
06:01Even in my old age, don't let it rob me.
06:04Oh, he's praying for God's presence, his sustaining power.
06:08Hold me in my old age, Lord, until I'm finished with your work.
06:11This psalmist is saying, a life is not complete when it's full.
06:14It's complete when it's poured out.
06:17Oh, let me be poured out, helping people to know you, oh God.
06:22Pouring my life out so that others are better.
06:24Pouring out.
06:25I must be poured out as a drink offering.
06:27I must be spent and be spent.
06:30Spend me, oh God, on your purposes.
06:32This should be the believer's mind.
06:34As they spend me on your purposes, oh God.
06:39This psalmist was asking God, let me be useful.
06:42Help me be faithful.
06:44Help me to be effective beyond myself.
06:48Help us to have this mindset right here.
06:51This text teaches us that life is a relay.
06:57Oh, you got the baton, you run.
07:01And then you pass that thing on.
07:04Oh, this life is not a possession.
07:06You're not supposed to hold on to that baton by yourself.
07:09Somebody else needs that salvation.
07:11Somebody else needs to know about what God has done into your life.
07:14You ain't supposed to hold on to everything God has done without telling other people.
07:18Oh, you ought to be loud about what God has done in your life.
07:23People should know it's a relay, it's a relay, it's a relay.
07:27In a nutshell, life means making God known.
07:35This psalmist says, before you call me home, Lord, let me make you known.
07:41Believe or I pray that we will say, God, before you call me home, let me make you known.
07:48Praise be unto our God.
07:50And it did not rain.
07:52Our God is good.
07:52Amen.
08:01Again, I want to thank everybody.
08:02I want to keep on thanking everybody who continues to support and watch this channel.
08:07Hello, YouTube family.
08:08Hello, all my watchers online.
08:11Let us build our lives on the word of God and keep on growing together.
08:16May God bless us all.
08:25May God bless you.
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