Luke
2:25-38 (KJV) – “And, behold, there was a man in Jerusalem, whose name was Simeon; and
the same man was just and devout, waiting for the consolation of Israel: and
the Holy Ghost was upon him. And it was revealed unto him by the Holy Ghost,
that he should not see death, before he had seen the Lord's Christ. And he came
by the Spirit into the temple: and when the parents brought in the child Jesus,
to do for him after the custom of the law, Then took he him up in his arms, and
blessed God, and said, Lord, now lettest thou thy servant depart in peace,
according to thy word:
For mine eyes have seen thy salvation, Which thou hast prepared before the face of all people; A light to lighten the Gentiles, and the glory of thy people Israel. And Joseph and his mother marvelled at those things which were spoken of him. And Simeon blessed them, and said unto Mary his mother, Behold, this child is set for the fall and rising again of many in Israel; and for a sign which shall be spoken against; (Yea, a sword shall pierce through thy own soul also,) that the thoughts of many hearts may be revealed.
For mine eyes have seen thy salvation, Which thou hast prepared before the face of all people; A light to lighten the Gentiles, and the glory of thy people Israel. And Joseph and his mother marvelled at those things which were spoken of him. And Simeon blessed them, and said unto Mary his mother, Behold, this child is set for the fall and rising again of many in Israel; and for a sign which shall be spoken against; (Yea, a sword shall pierce through thy own soul also,) that the thoughts of many hearts may be revealed.
And there was one Anna, a prophetess, the daughter of Phanuel, of the
tribe of Aser: she was of a great age, and had lived with a husband seven years
from her virginity; And she was a widow of about fourscore and four years,
which departed not from the temple, but served God with fasting and prayers
night and day. And she coming in that instant gave thanks likewise unto the
Lord, and spake of him to all them that looked for redemption in Jerusalem.”
1
Corinthians 1:18 (KJV) – “For the preaching of the cross is to
them that perish foolishness; but unto
us which are saved it is the power of God.”
How can we share the good news of
Jesus Christ with them, whether in health or sickness?
·
They need the complete Gospel.
·
Lots of beliefs and doctrine have been sown in
their hearts through the years.
· A lot of them are seeking the truth and for some,
out of seeking the truth have found themselves in the wrong place.
What do we need to do?
What do we need to do?
·
Pray and ask the Lord for wisdom.
·
Follow the nudging of the Holy Spirit.
·
Don’t criticize or attack what they are doing.
·
Need to befriend them.
·
Ask them question about the scripture.
·
Be consistent and committed.
·
Never delay every opportunity to preach the Gospel
to them.
·
Must listen and let them express themselves.
·
Use the opportunity you have to preach.
·
Be sensitive to cultural shifts in language usage.
Prayers
Prayer for those ministering to them.
Luke
2:46-47 (KJV) – “And it came to pass, that after three days they found him in the temple,
sitting in the midst of the doctors, both hearing them, and asking them
questions. And all that
heard him were astonished at his understanding and answers.”
· Lord,
we thank You for this labour. We pray for multiplication of the seed that has
been sown.
·
Lord,
open the heart of the elderly to us by Your mercy.
· Father, as Jesus was able to minister to the older
people with wisdom, please grant us the wisdom to bring the Gospel to them.
·
Lord, give us the heart of patience and tolerance
to be able to relate to them.
·
Father, help us to be consistent and committed to
the end.
·
Help us to preach the complete Gospel and not error.
· Let the Holy Spirit grant to us the right language
to speak that they will understand.
·
Lord, help us not to miss any opportunity to lead
them to Calvary.
Prayer for the Elderly
· Thank the Lord because it is not His will that
anyone should perish but that all (includes our elderly) should come to
repentance.
· Father, in the name of Jesus, give unto them the
spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of Jesus Christ.
· Lord, open their eyes of understanding and remove
the veil (2 Corinthians 4:4) that will not allow them to see all that
Jesus did on the cross.
2
Corinthians 10:3-5 (NLT) – “We are human, but we don’t wage war as
humans do. We use God’s mighty weapons, not worldly weapons, to knock down
the strongholds of human reasoning and to destroy false arguments. We
destroy every proud obstacle that keeps people from knowing God. We capture
their rebellious thoughts and teach them to obey Christ.”
· Let every stronghold of the enemy barricading their
mind from receiving the Lord be pulled down, in the name of Jesus (2 Corinthians
10:3-5).
· In the name of Jesus, we bind the strongholds
attached to their minds that are keeping them from receiving Jesus Christ as
their Lord and saviour.
·
Lord, rid them of religion, traditions and doctrines
of men that makes the word of God of no effect (Mark 7:1-9) NLT.
·
Father, let Your word be open to them by Your
Spirit.
· Let all hindrances coming between their heart and
the Gospel be melted away by the fire of the Holy Spirit, in the name of Jesus.
· Father, take away the stony heart and give them a
heart of flesh (Ezekiel 36:26).
· Father, all the wrong seeds that have been sown in
their hearts, rid it and let the seed of Your Word (complete Gospel) take deep
root and be embedded in their new hearts in Jesus name.
· Lord, let Your mercy and Your grace overwhelm them
so that they may be saved.
· Lord, may they not die until they have received
Christ (Psalms 116:15).
· Lord, take away the fear of death from them; let
them realise that to be absent from the body is to be present with the Lord (2 Corinthians
5:8).
· Father, make them the Annas and Simeons of their
generation who knew and saw the salvation of God, that they will see the glorified
Jesus.
· May they behold the cross and say they are
crucified with Christ and it’s no longer them living but Jesus living in them.
· Father, raise those who are in Christ as disciples
and let discipleship multiply within our elderly (John 19:26-27).
· Thank the Lord for answering our prayers.
Prayer For Elderly Home Ministry
·
Faithful Friends of Nursing Home Ministry.
·
Elderly people’s homes.
