Title: Learn From Elders
Memorize: Hearken now unto my voice, I will give thee counsel, and God shall be with thee: Be thou for the people to God-ward, that thou mayest bring the causes unto God:. Exodus 18:19
Bible Reading: Exodus 18:1-24
1 And the Lord appeared unto him in the plains of Mamre: and he sat in the tent door in the heat of the day;
2 And he lift up his eyes and looked, and, lo, three men stood by him: and when he saw them, he ran to meet them from the tent door, and bowed himself toward the ground,
3 And said, My Lord, if now I have found favour in thy sight, pass not away, I pray thee, from thy servant:
4 Let a little water, I pray you, be fetched, and wash your feet, and rest yourselves under the tree:
5 And I will fetch a morsel of bread, and comfort ye your hearts; after that ye shall pass on: for therefore are ye come to your servant. And they said, So do, as thou hast said.
6 And Abraham hastened into the tent unto Sarah, and said, Make ready quickly three measures of fine meal, knead it, and make cakes upon the hearth.
7 And Abraham ran unto the herd, and fetcht a calf tender and good, and gave it unto a young man; and he hasted to dress it.
8 And he took butter, and milk, and the calf which he had dressed, and set it before them; and he stood by them under the tree, and they did eat.
9 And they said unto him, Where is Sarah thy wife? And he said, Behold, in the tent.
10 And he said, I will certainly return unto thee according to the time of life; and, lo, Sarah thy wife shall have a son. And Sarah heard it in the tent door, which was behind him.
11 Now Abraham and Sarah were old and well stricken in age; and it ceased to be with Sarah after the manner of women.
12 Therefore Sarah laughed within herself, saying, After I am waxed old shall I have pleasure, my lord being old also?
13 And the Lord said unto Abraham, Wherefore did Sarah laugh, saying, Shall I of a surety bear a child, which am old?
14 Is any thing too hard for the Lord? At the time appointed I will return unto thee, according to the time of life, and Sarah shall have a son.
15 Then Sarah denied, saying, I laughed not; for she was afraid. And he said, Nay; but thou didst laugh.
16 And the men rose up from thence, and looked toward Sodom: and Abraham went with them to bring them on the way.
17 And the Lord said, Shall I hide from Abraham that thing which I do;
18 Seeing that Abraham shall surely become a great and mighty nation, and all the nations of the earth shall be blessed in him?
19 For I know him, that he will command his children and his household after him, and they shall keep the way of the Lord, to do justice and judgment; that the Lord may bring upon Abraham that which he hath spoken of him.
20 And the Lord said, Because the cry of Sodom and Gomorrah is great, and because their sin is very grievous;
21 I will go down now, and see whether they have done altogether according to the cry of it, which is come unto me; and if not, I will know.
22 And the men turned their faces from thence, and went toward Sodom: but Abraham stood yet before the Lord.
23 And Abraham drew near, and said, Wilt thou also destroy the righteous with the wicked?
24 Peradventure there be fifty righteous within the city: wilt thou also destroy and not spare the place for the fifty righteous that are therein?
Message:
There is a popular saying in Africa that what an elder sees while sitting on a chair, a child cannot see it, even if that child climbs an Iroko tree. I learnt a lot from late Pa S.G Elton, even though there were bits of advice he gave me that I thought were wrong at the time. Today, I now know that he was totally right; thank God I listened to him.
Beloved, there are things about yourself that you don’t know and cannot see. However, an elder will see them and advise you appropriately (Proverbs 30:12). Don’t think that your talent, knowledge, access to information through the internet, and technology are enough to make you Successful. These things are helpful, but they might not be enough to get you to the top and keep you there.
Elders can see what you cannot see; hence, if an elder points your attention to a character flaw, you must get rid of it if you really want to be successful. Don’t neglect the advice of your parents, grandparents, uncles, aunties, teachers, and guardians. With the help of the Holy Spirit, you will be able to put all their pieces of advice to use. This will give you an unparalleled advantage over your peers in the journey of life.
Key Point:
Even if you have the internet, you cannot have the wealth of experience that elders have.
Hymn 61 – Take The Name Of Jesus With You
1 Take the name of Jesus with you,
Child of sorrow and of woe.
It will joy and comfort give you,
Take it then where’er you go.
Chorus:
Precious name, O how sweet!
Hope of earth and joy of heaven;
Precious name, O how sweet!
Hope of earth and joy of heaven.
2 Take the name of Jesus ever
As a shield from evr’y snare;
If temptations ’round you gather,
Breathe that holy name in prayer.
3 Oh, the precious name of Jesus,
How it thrills our souls with joy,
When His loving arms receive us,
And His songs Our tongues employ!
4 At the name of Jesus bowing,
Falling prostrate at His feet
King of kings, in heaven we’ll crown Him
When our journey is complete.
Bible In One Year: Numbers 26:1-51, Luke 2:36-52