Longevity - live long, but how long?

I believe the basic understanding for this comes from Gen. 6:3:

Whether one can claim this as a promise from God or not is at each individual's discretion. I don't see any way of disputing that this can be a promise. There is some reason why God had that statement recorded. It is up to the Bible student to find out why He had it recorded.

The problem is that those who are looking for a way to dispute it as a promise will certainly find evidence for it and those who want to claim it as a promise will find evidence for their position. One must weigh the evidence on both sides of this issue.

Nevertheless, I believe that a person can certainly live that long. You have unsaved people living that long. In Japan, many have lived this long. But it will take more than faith. The Japanese have (or had) very good eating and exercise habits.

Now, I do believe that we can claim a promise of long life on the earth (Psalm 91:16; Eph. 6:1-3). The number of years in that long life is the question. I personally believe that we are guaranteed at least 70 to 80 years (Psalm 90:10). Perhaps more if Gen. 6:3 can indeed be claimed as a promise.

Have I known any preacher of faith and divine healing to live that long? Not yet, but at least some of them are trying. It is better to aim for the bull's eye and get close than to never aim at all and miss the whole target.

Howdy Mr. Theo!

Thought I would supply some info for you on longevity teaching!

Gloria Copeland has been doing some teaching on Living Long and Living Strong, about our claiming the promise of 120 yrs. She just recently released an new teaching series with that title, in case you are interested in hearing what she is teaching. Also, alot of the anecdotal evidence she uses, she got from Bro. Keith Moore, who also has done a six tape series called Longevity on the same basis of 120 years.

Now, you also asked if we knew of anyone who was long lived that was still preaching....well how about this! http://hometown.aol.com/harvestpi/events.html
Please check out this page....it's about Mary "Momma" Jenkins who is now 95 or 96 yrs of age and as of the last Prayer Mtn. in Branson was there! If you want to hear some really amazing preaching that just might curl your hair , order the first nights tapes from Prayer Mtn. 2003, and the Sunday night service Nov 2 2003, when she preached! This lady was discipled by Smith Wigglesworth, and she has an awesome testimony of things in her life, that God has used her for! Oh, and by the way, she was the Pastor in the one church she was in! I guess God can use anyone He wants to.....to do anything He wants done....after all, if He can use a donkey, there's hope for us all!

May the Grace and Peace of our Lord Jesus be with you!

lovesblessing

Here is Bro. Keith's website: http://www.moorelife.org/Home.htm

www.kcm.org for Gloria's teaching, and www.billyebrim.org for the tapes from Prayer Mtn. 2003!

PS. For another look at the 120 years thing, used prophetically, Bro. Charles Capps has some interesting teaching using this number in his "End-Time Events" book and tapes.

Theophilus7 said:

Do you know anyone who has preached longevity - specifically, the rather extreme sort of longevity which assures us we can live to 100-120 or so, if we want - and has actually made it past 90? or 86?

What do you think? Do you really believe we can live up to 120 if we have enough faith?

I'd be interested to hear whether most of you go along with or reject this popular teaching.

Cheers,

T7

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Once again we point out it has nothing to do with "amount" as in "enough".
Faith is not like money: "if you have enough you can get anything you want."
Faith is like a seed. If you have one and plant one... you get one plant.
If you have a seed of faith that says "I will live to be 120".... you will.

Nor is faith "all purpose". You cannot plant a seed for salvation and get healing. This is why some people are very successful in some areas and not so much in others.

Faith is words. Not words of the mind as in: "if i concentrate real hard on this phrase and repeat it over and over again I will get what it says!"

Faith is of the spirit and comes in the form of words spoken into the heart directly by Christ. If He does (speak) and IF you act on those spirit words living in you... then they come to pass. WoF presents this "acting on them" as confession: or "saying the same thing" as what is in your spirit.

Those icons of resaon that rattle around in our heads have nothing to do with this. If anything they get in the way. You may have words in your spirit that have been spoken into you by Christ. RIGHT NOW! They are there. Alive and full of power. The noodle gets in the way by not allowing them to be spoken out. It balks at the concepts and possiblities. If people would just stop listening to all the logic and reason that says "we cannot have these things" and "this won't work" and just speak those words of life out of their spirit.... then their lives would be full of health, prosperity, and "long life".

We need to stop living in the "soulical" realm where death, depression, and poverty rule.

Jam 3
14 But if ye have bitter envying and strife in your hearts, glory not, and lie not against the truth.
15 This wisdom descendeth not from above, but [is] earthly, sensual*, devilish.

*Sensual(psuchikos) - English has no word that translates correctly. I use "soulical" because the Greek structure is like the word "spiritual" except with the root word "soul".

pneumatikos = spiritual (see 1 Cor 12:1)
psuchikos = soulical

Information derived via the sensual and mental processes is inappropriate behavior with animals and natural. Beasts do not natually live to long lives. The physical "beast" or body of man has an average life span of 70 or so years in the developed counties. Logic and reason would be happy if the beast made it to 90. Faith says lets go on to 120.

Why stop at 120? Pslams 91 says that we will be satisfied with long life.

Psa 91:16 With long life will I satisfy him, and shew him my salvation.

If we are not happy with the 120... He will let us live until we are satisfied!
Like Abraham:
Genesis 25:8
8 Then Abraham gave up the ghost, and died in a good old age, an old man, and full [of years]; and was gathered to his people.

Personally.... I am tired and would like to go home. Not tired as in weary. But tired as in rested. I feel in some ways I am finished. But I believe I will hang around for a while. My wife, children, and grand kids would benefit from me being around. And I am still working on my Charismatic/WoF Reference NT. At present I am only getting a few verses done a day. It will take a few years at this rate.

I ramble.
But yes... we can live as long as we have faith to live... and Christ will speak the words of long life into us if we ask Him to. I do see where they are automatic.

Dids

didaskalos said:

And I am still working on my Charismatic/WoF Reference NT. At present I am only getting a few verses done a day. It will take a few years at this rate.

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Don't you dare go to Heaven until you get that done.

I want a copy.

I am salivating already

Theophilus7 said:

Yup. It may simply mean that 120 years was all mankind had left until the flood of Noah, of course. However, even if one does see it as a rough upper boundary on our lifespans, does that make it a promise?

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Well, the Word is profitable ... 2 Tim. 3:16. It's possible to look at it as a promise.

Agreed - there are a few freaks out there that do make it that long. I guess they've just learned to keep breathing and have kept nice and slim. Seriously, though, how do we get from the bare fact of a possibility to the absolutism of promise that can be claimed by anyone, anywhere, by faith?

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Firstly, even if we can claim Gen. 6:3 as a promise, we cannot just live like pigs and presume upon God. For example, Satan quoted a genuine promise of God to Jesus in the wildreness. But for Jesus to just JUMP would have negated the promise.

I believe in divine healing, but that does not mean that I go out in the snow without protection and I should certainly take my vitamins.

Long life is not just a matter of "claiming" God's promises but we must also follow His laws of health. We must exercise those bodies and feed them properly. I question the Christian who eats like a pig, and unhealthy at that, never exercises, but still claims "120 years or more."

Surely God's will is that we live a good long life - in general. But what about James' rebuke?: "For you ought to say, "If the Lord wills, we will both live, and do this or that" (Jam. 4:15).

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T7, we must keep this passage in context. Reading it in conjunction with verses 13 and 14 we see that this is in reference to people who make plans without consulting the Lord. It has nothing to do with claiming legitimate promises that the Lord has made which already reveal His will and purposes for us.

T7

I strongly disagree with how you are interpretting that verse (and I have not read Farah's book though I have heard about it for years). That whole passage, including the part about we will live, and do this or that" Should be kept within the range of James teaching on making plans without God's guidance.

I don't see how this ONE passage is supposed to make claiming the several other passages a "presumption." Is God going to throw away his integrity after having made the promise to the obedient child that he would live long upon the earth (Eph. 6:1-3)? Is God all of a sudden going to throw away his promise of long life in Psalm 91:16? Should we also expect Him to no longer show us His salvation? It is within the same passage.

If God is going to negate several promises because of one statement He made concerning a certain situation, then how are we to trust any portion of His Word? One portion of the Word should not be made to contradict another and create alleged discrepancies. When one thing stated in Scripture seems contradicting to another then it is best for us to look at why they seem contradicting (because God does not contradict Himself).

An example: Why is it that God says in one place that all believers can speak in tongues (Mark 16) but in another place "that not all speak in tongues." (1 Cor. 12). This is an easily settled subject if 1 Cor. 12 is taken in context with the operations of the Spirit. then there is no contradiction. This same rule of thumb can be applied to your use of James 4.

Hello" My GrandMa will be 99 nov.16,I'm sure someone could live that long
if it be God's Will: Take care:& God Bless