-: This program is made possible by the giving
of the God called partners of Renner Ministries.
Get ready for a teaching that feeds your spirit
and your mind where the word is the anchor in
uncertain times
and doctrine doesn't bend to culture.
We keep it simple,
but dive deep revealing a truth that strengthens us,
a love that emboldens,
and a mission that touches the world.
Let's join Rick Renner.
-: Welcome to today's program.
My name is Rick Renner and my friend
today we're gonna rendezvous again around the series,
which is called, How to Flourish in Your Senior Years.
The subtitle of the series says - Proof that God wants
to use you mightily as you age and to mature.
You do not have to die old and sick.
God wants you to go out in ablaze of glory.
We're told in Psalm 84:7 - we're to go from strength
to strength - and you can flourish in your senior years.
And this comes with a great study guide. My friends,
this is teaching you really need
to get down deep inside you.
You need to renew your mind to the truth
that you can flourish as you get older.
And we're also offering you now my book,
which is called, A Life Ablaze:
10 Simple Keys to Living on Fire for God.
You're not supposed to be on fire for God when you're young
and then lose it as you get older.
You're to be A Life Ablaze to the end of your life.
And you need this book.
If you don't have yours already, why not?
This is a book you need to devour,
but you can order all these things by going online
or by giving us a call right now.
And when you reach out to us, we wanna pray for you.
So please just let us know how to pray.
Let us know what's going on.
Let us know what need you're facing
and we will scripturally pray with you.
We're told in 1 John 5:14
that if we ask anything according to his will,
his will is his word.
So we will pray scripturally.
And if we ask anything according to his will, he hears us.
Which means when you pray the word of God
and you pray scripturally, God's ears open
and the verse goes on to say,
and if he hears us, we know we have the petitions
that we ask of him.
So we'll pray scripturally with you, God will hear us
and Jesus will do exactly what needs
to be done in your life.
Say - Amen. But call us or send us an email.
And before I get into today's teaching,
I just wanna say partners, thank you.
You're so amazing.
You are truly our partners in the ministry.
We're told in Proverbs 10:21 that the lips
of the righteous feed many.
And I know that is my task to bring the trusted teaching
of the Bible to people all over the earth.
And there really are people all over the earth watching this
program because they're so hungry for the word of God
and I can do my part, but you also do your part.
That's why I call you my partner.
And together we are really impacting people's lives.
So today I just wanted to say partners, thank you
for everything that you do.
Okay, reach for your Bible.
We always use the Bible in this program.
And remember, we're believing for "A Revival
of the Bible" in the United States
and in the church. We need the verse by verse, word
by word teaching of the Bible.
But so far in this series,
we've been looking at older people in scripture
who really experienced the Golden Years in the
latter part of their life.
They were profitable all the way to the very end.
And we began with Enoch who lived
to be 365 years old when he had an experience with God
and God took him: what a great age
to have a new encounter with God.
Then we looked at Noah,
who really got his start when he was 500
years old.
That is amazing.
Then we moved to the example of Abraham
who had a life transforming encounter with God at the age
of 75.
75 is a great age for you
to have a life transforming encounter with God.
Then we looked at the example of Sarah
who was 90 years old when God told her she was
supernaturally going to conceive and give birth to a baby.
And she was actually 91 when she gave birth to that baby.
And by that time Abraham was 100 years old.
That is just amazing. That is amazing.
And then we saw the example of Caleb who at the age
of 85 was not ready to park on the couch.
He said, give me that mountain. I want one more assignment.
And the mountain that he asked for is a mountain
that was filled with the Nephilim.
It was filled with giants. He said, give me that one.
Give me the big assignment, I'm ready for it.
And he was ready. He'd been training his whole life
now at the age of 85.
He was really ready for the big assignment.
Then we saw the example of Daniel.
And Daniel served 9-kings
or 9-administrations.
That is amazing.
And it seems that Daniel died when he was near
a 100 years old.
He was sharp all the way to the end - my friends -
this scripture is just filled with people
who flourished in their senior years.
And today we're going to look at the example of Anna
who is a prophetess who is identified in Luke 2.
But first I want to say again that in Psalm 91:16,
we have this promise from the mouth of God -
With long life will I satisfy him
and show him my salvation.
That word salvation is a complete package.
It includes healing, soundness of mind,
which means even in your long life,
you can have soundness of mind.
You do not have to have dementia or memory problems.
You can have soundness of mind.
It includes healing, it includes preservation,
it includes wealth, it includes prosperity.
All of that is in the package of salvation.
And in Psalm 91:16, God says He wants
to show us his salvation.
He wants to demonstrate it to us in our life.
And the first part of the verse says, with long life,
will I satisfy him.
Say - Amen. The word, long, in the original Hebrew speaks
of length of days or longevity.
The word, life, is actually the word for days.
So you would translate it - with long, long days
or very long life will I satisfy him.
And the word, satisfy, in Hebrew means to have enough,
to have plenty of or to be fully satisfied
which means, according to this verse, you do not have
to leave life until you are satisfied.
And in Psalm 91:1, we find this promise belongs
to anyone who dwells in the shadow of the Almighty.
So if you're walking with the Lord
and you're walking in his shadow, you can lay claim
to Psalm 91:16 - with a long life will I satisfy him
and show him, marvelously
show him, everything about salvation.
My friends, God wants you to be a trophy
of his grace all the way to the end of your life.
And the blessings of a long life are promised
to us all over the scriptures.
We really covered many
of them in the 1st program in this series,
but I wanna give you these statistics again.
New studies show us that the most productive age is from 60
to 70 years of life.
Thus 2nd most productive age is from 70
to 80 years of life.
The 3rd most productive age is from 50 to 60, which is
what most people would think is the most productive.
But actually when you're 50
and 60, you're just getting ready
for the most productive years, which is 60 to 70.
The 2nd most productive years from 70 to 80.
And the average age
of Nobel Peace Prize winners is their late 60's,
their early 70's,
which means if they had given up earlier,
they would've never achieved that prize.
The average age of presidents
of large corporations is in their late 60's.
The average age of the pastors
of the world's largest churches is 71 years old.
The average age of popes when they become Pope is 78.
You talk about a big assignment at the age of 78,
that's a big assignment
and it means the best years
of your life are from 60 to 80.
Say that - the best years of my life are from 60 to 80.
So at 60 you begin to reach your potential
and it reaches all the way into your 80's
-: lay claim to that.
And if you're between 60
and 70, you are right now in the best mental
years of your life.
And if you're between 70
and 80, you're in the 2nd best mental years of your life.
And I say the first 30 years of our life,
we are learning; the 2nd 30 years of our life
we are doing; the 3rd 30 years of our life
we should spend our time imparting to others
and helping others get a good start.
But, today I want you
to tell you a story about my grandmothers.
When I was a child - are you ready for this -
I had 7-living grandmothers.
Alright, let me count them for you and just gimme a moment
because sometimes I forget one of them. First of all,
I had great-Grandmother Miller.
She was a faith healer
before the state of Oklahoma was ever a state.
She traveled, she cast out demons, she healed the sick.
That was great-Grandmother Miller.
Then we had Grandmother Cora, then we had Grandmother Joe,
then we had Grandmother Renner, we had Grandmother Faulkner,
we had Grandma Eddie and Grandma Bagley - there,
I got 'em - all 7 of them.
And all 7 of them, with the exception of one,
was mentally bright all the way to the end of their lives.
And most of them, with the exception of one, lived
to be in their late 80's or their 90's.
But I wanna tell you about Grandma Renner.
Grandma Renner was precious to me.
She just lived a little ways from us
when we were growing up.
And when I was a child, I loved to walk over
to see Grandpa and Grandma Renner.
I talk about them in my book, which is called Unlikely.
He was good with his hands.
He made all kinds of things and she was a seamstress
and she was a wonderful cook.
And ugh, she made amazing biscuits and gravy.
I can almost still taste them when I'm talking
to you about them. But when Grandma Renner got older,
she was pretty immobile.
She was brilliant, she was bright.
Nothing wrong with her mind,
but she didn't get around a lot.
There was really nothing wrong with her,
but she just kind of chose to sit still.
And when she chose to sit still, she lost her mobility.
And one day I went to see her
and I said, Grandma, you're such a blessing.
She said, ah, Ricky, I'm of no value to anybody.
She was in her 90's.
I said, Grandma, why would you say that?
She said, I don't do anything but sit in this chair
and just pray for you.
That's all I do. I said, Grandma,
it's probably the most valuable thing you've ever done
with your life: sitting in that chair praying for me.
You have a part in what God is doing through our ministry.
And when we come today to the subject of Anna
who was a prophetess, I always think of Grandma Renner
who said, I'm not of any value to anybody
because all I do is pray.
When in fact when you get older, you are really primed
to pray for people more effectively than you have ever
prayed for people. My friends, grab hold of this
as the golden age of your life
and make every minute count to the very end.
And Anna, the prophetess, was a woman who refused
to acknowledge that the clock was ticking.
And when we come to Luke 2:36, we begin
to read the story of this Anna: and the Bible says
-: And there was one Anna, a prophetess -
so she was a prophet - the daughter of Phanuel,
of the tribe of Asher.
And the Bible says she was of great age -
and had lived with a husband 7-years from her virginity.
So in this verse, we find out several
things about this, Anna.
First, Luke identifies Anna as a prophetess.
So she was a mouthpiece for the spirit of God.
And God spoke through her and she spoke prophetically.
She was a prophetic individual through whom the spirit
of prophecy operated.
And she was well known in the city of Jerusalem.
But then when you come to Luke 2:37,
it goes on to say she - that is this, Anna was a widow
of about fourscore and four years, which is 84 years.
Well, a score is 20 years.
So....four score in four years would be
84 years of age.
However, the Greek text is not clear as
to whether she was 84 years old
or whether she had been a widow for 84 years.
But regardless, we know from this text,
she was quite elderly.
She was at least 84 years old.
And if she had been a widow for 84 years,
then it means probably she was closer to the age of 80
when we come to Luke 2:37,
but whatever the case, this, Anna was an older woman
who was recognized as an indisputable prophetess
of God in the city of Jerusalem.
She didn't move off the playing field just
because she was elderly,
she was recognized as a very accurate prophetess
of God in the city of Jerusalem.
Well, she ought to be accurate.
She's been walking with God for decades and decades.
And likewise, when you walk with God longer and longer
and longer, your spiritual ear becomes keener to hear
what God is really saying to you.
And this Anna, now, at least at the age of 84,
very clearly heard what God was saying.
Then in Luke 2:37 we read that - She departed not
from the temple, but served God with fastings
and prayer night and day.
Notice it says she departed not from the temple.
It means she was so devoted to the temple
and to the word that God had given her about the coming
of the Messiah, that she refused to leave the premises
of the temple and it implies she had living quarters
somewhere on the temple premises.
So she stayed very near because she had a word from God.
You have a word from God? Maybe you say - Well,
I'm getting old, I'm never gonna see it come to pass.
She was at least 84 years old,
maybe even close to a 100.
But she was not leaving the temple premises
because she had a word from God
that she would see the Messiah
and he would be revealed there near the temple.
So she never left the temple
because even in her old age she was holding out
for the promise of God to be fulfilled to her.
And the words, night and day,
depicts a nonstop life of prayer
and intercession.
She was praying, she was interceding.
This was a moment in her life when she had time to pray
and to intercede. As a prophetess who knew the voice
of the Holy Spirit,
Anna kept her spiritual sail hoisted
to catch the movement of the spirit
and she was waiting for
that moment when the Holy Spirit was going to move upon her
and tell her that the Messiah was there on the
temple premises.
She had prophetically heard
and proclaimed that the coming of the Messiah was near
and she was waiting to see his arrival with her own eyes.
And she had forecasted
that when he came he would bring redemption.
And the original text literally says she did not step away
from the temple grounds.
So think about it. She was so expected to see the Messiah
that she didn't take one step away from the temple grounds
lest she missed the long awaited moment.
Her faith was engaged
when she was at least 84 years old
and possibly close to a 100 years old.
So out of deep devotion,
she stayed on site at all times
and for decades as she waited with fastings
and prayer night and day.
And then we come to Luke 2:38, which says -
And she coming in in that instant - those words, in
that instant - means in that very hour,
and it is intended in the Greek, to show us
how synchronized she was in the way that she was led
by the Spirit into the temple where Jesus was at
that very moment; she was walking in such
harmony with the Holy Spirit
and in that synchronized moment,
she was coming in that instant.
And she gave thanks likewise unto the Lord
and spoke of him to all them that looked
for redemption in Jerusalem.
And that moment when she came in, there was Jesus
with Joseph and Mary
and Simeon, who was also prophesying over Jesus
at that very moment.
And she was so synchronized in being led by the Holy Spirit
that she came in in that very hour, in that very moment,
just in time to see Jesus manifest.
She'd been waiting for decades.
And now she saw the salvation of God with her own eyes.
She was holding on to the promise of God, still at the age
of 84 or possibly close to 100 years old.
And verse 38 says that arising from her prophetic spirit.
Anna spake of him to all them that looked for redemption
in Jerusalem. And the word, looked, carries the idea
of a holy expectation.
She, along with others, were waiting
to see the manifestation of the Messiah.
And she was bound and determined
she wasn't finished with life
until she would see the promise of what God had said to her.
She embraced the revelation that God had given
to her about the coming of the Messiah.
And when Anna saw Jesus, she immediately perceived
that he was the Messiah.
And that what she had heard or saw
and knew had finally come to pass,
she was seeing it with her own eyes and with Joseph Mary
and the Christ child
and Simeon nearby watching, she prophetically began
to prophesy over little Jesus who indeed was the Messiah,
who was going to bring redemption to everyone in Jerusalem
and to all of Israel and to the rest of the world.
And the Holy Spirit let her know
that she would see the coming of the Messiah.
She embraced that divine revelation.
She released her faith for it
and she experienced precisely
what the Holy Spirit had communicated to her.
And in spite of her elderly age,
she was spiritually vital.
Her faith was engaged.
She was full of faith, she was active,
she was robust in her spiritual life, she refused
to surrender to the age
and she did not have her eyes on the clock
and was determined she would see the fulfillment
of everything that God had promised to her.
Now that is amazing.
She was 84 years old, at least possibly close
to a 100 years old,
and she refused to leave the temple premises.
She departed, not but was fasting and praying night
and day listening to the Holy Spirit.
And now at least at 84 years of age,
her spirit has become so sensitized
that she's synchronized to the moving of the Holy Spirit
and he blows upon her and moves her.
And she comes onto the temple premises right at the time
that Jesus was being dedicated in the temple when Simeon
was prophesying.
And now she comes in, she sees
with her own eyes the salvation of the Lord.
This was a woman who refused to stop living just
because she was getting older.
And my friends, just
because you may be a little older doesn't mean you gotta
park on the couch and do nothing.
This is time for you to pray.
It's like my Grandma Renner, she said, oh,
I can't do anything but just sit here and pray for you.
What a great opportunity.
This is a moment for you to embrace a life of prayer: seize
what is in front of you, do what you can do. My friends,
these should be the Golden Years of your life.
Just like Anna, you should have been listening to the spirit
of God for so many years
that now you're synchronized in your movement with him.
That can be true of you.
So rather than say, well, I'm just so old
and I'm just not any good to anybody: you need to say - Oh,
these are my senior years, these are my Golden Years.
I can hear God better than I've ever heard God.
I'm gonna seize the moment. I'm gonna pray night and day.
These are gonna be the Golden Years of my life.
Hey, God is not a respecter of persons.
And if that could be true of Anna the prophetess,
then you can lay claim to it.
And it can be true about you too
because God's not a respecter of persons.
And if he did it for her, God will also do it
for you - my friends -
it is God's plan for you
to flourish in your senior years.
Well, I've got more to say to you
and then I'll be right back.
-: The Lord promises to satisfy us with long life
and salvation so we can rest assured,
aging is not something to dread.
If you're not satisfied with your life,
your life is not over.
God will speak to you and use you at any age.
So don't throw in the towel.
Learn how to live a long, satisfying life with Rick's series
-: How To Flourish In Your Senior Years.
This series teaches what God's promise
of longevity really means
and takes a closer look at the lives of Enoch - who was taken
by God at 365 years of age.
Noah - who started building the ark at 500 years of age.
Sarah - who became a mother at 90 years of age.
Moses - who launched into ministry at 80 years of age.
John the Apostle
who received new revelation at more than 90 years
of age and many more.
This encouraging, 10-part series is available in digital
or physical format, starting at just $20.
We're also offering you Rick's book, A Life Ablaze.
With this book, you will learn how to keep the fire
of God alive in your life as well as what the condition
of your spiritual life is right now. In it,
Rick teaches about 10 different kinds of fuel you need
to stay spiritually ablaze for years to come.
This life changing book can be yours for just $25.
Don't miss this bundle of the series, How
To Flourish In Your Senior Years and the book A Life Ablaze.
Call the number on your screen or scan the QR code to order.
Call or go online today.
-: Hey, this is Rick Renner and I am in Tulsa.
And look who's with me.
This is part of our Tulsa staff. Around the whole world,
we have about 300 employees that work in this ministry
and that is amazing to me.
Just look what the Lord has done
and we're reaching people all over the world in our various
offices, but this is the Tulsa team and they are heroes
and they work every day in this building to minister to you
by sending you resources,
taking your calls, praying for you.
And we're praying people, aren't we?
Yes, we really are praying people,
but God gave us this facility
and we're trying to pay it off.
And now we've already paid off 87%.
We call it the Ministry Expansion Project
because once we're finished paying this debt off,
it's gonna free finances so we can take the trusted teaching
to the Bible even further to the ends of the earth.
And that's our call.
And if you're already a member of the Giving Team
to help us retire the debt on this building, I just want
to say thank you and we all say thank you to you.
And if you're not a part of the Giving Team yet,
I invite you today to join our Giving Team
to help us retire the debt.
It's really not about retiring the debt,
it's about releasing finances
so we can take the trusted teaching of the Bible
to more people that are crying out for it.
So thank you for being a part of the team
and please pray about joining our ministry team
to retire the debt on this facility.
Well, today we've been looking at the example of Anna,
the prophetess who was at least 84 years old,
possibly even close
to a 100 when she saw the manifestation of God's promise
to her come to pass.
What if she had given up and just gone home?
She would've missed it.
But she kept her faith engaged even though she was
of great age
and she was spiritually vital to the end of her life
and ended up in the pages of the Bible
because she refused to stop just
because the clock was ticking.
And my friends don't stop just
because the calendar is turning or
because the clock is ticking.
These should be the Golden Years of your life.
Amen. But hey, please order the series which is called, How
to Flourish in Your Senior Years.
Remember that it comes with a study guide.
You need to renew your mind
to the truth about your senior years.
And we're also offering you my book,
which is called A Life Ablaze: 10 Simple Keys
to Living on Fire for God.
You can order these things by going online
or by giving us a call.
And when you reach out to us, let us know how to pray
for you because we're waiting for the phone
to ring right now.
Just call the number on the screen or send us an email
and the moment your email shows up,
we're gonna release our faith.
And Jesus is going
to do something just spectacular in your life.
We're gonna pray with you and God is going to move
and I'm gonna pray for you right now.
So put your hand on your heart.
Father, I thank you that you want the senior years
to be the best years: Lord, we know more,
we've lived enough to know what's right, what's wrong, what
to do, what not to do,
and rather than just park on the couch
and quit, help us to embrace life
and help us to use what we have to be vital
to the very end, in Jesus' name -
Amen. Well, we got one more program in this series
and tomorrow is really going to be good.
So don't miss it. But until then,
remember Ecclesiastes 8:4,
it says, "Where the word of a king is, there is power."
If you've never received Jesus as your Savior
and Lord, now is the time for you to experience a new life
Jesus has to give you.
Pray this prayer with me right now. Lord, I repent of my sin
and receive you as my Savior and Lord. Wash away my sin
and make me completely new.
I thank you that my sin is removed
and Satan no longer has any right to lay claim on me.
I faithfully promise that I will serve you as my Lord
for the rest of my life. Amen.
-: If you just prayed the prayer of salvation with us,
would you please let us know by going
to renner.org/salvation?
We would love to connect with you.
Renner Ministries is proclaiming the Gospel of Jesus Christ
through every available media avenue
to the uttermost parts of the earth.
Discover the many ways you can help us make a difference in
lives around the world with the word of God.
We invite you to partner with us in teaching, strengthening
and rescuing lives for the glory of God.
Together we can make a difference
that will last throughout eternity.
This program was made possible by the giving
of the God called partners of Renner Ministries.