#7 (The
“Remember” Series)
“REMEMBER YOUR CREATOR IN THE DAYS OF YOUR YOUTH!”
TEXT: Ecclesiastes
12:1-8, 13
INTRO: Have you
ever known someone who is always late for everything? They are always in a rush
just to catch up because they are always late. At times, this kind of habit can be
costly, they miss out on important things or information because of a late
arrival. How much better to be on
time and start early, this is precisely the idea behind this
passage.
ILLUS: LIKE THE
MAN WHO CAME RUSHING UP TO A FERRY HE NEEDED TO CATCH TO GET ACROSS A LAKE, HE
ARRIVED BREATHLESS AFTER RUNNING FULL STEAM TO GET THERE, BUT THE GATEMAN SHUT
THE DOOR IN HIS FACE, HE JUST MISSED THE BOAT! A BYSTANDER REMARKED TO HIM, “I GUESS YOU
DIDN’T RUN FAST ENOUGH!” THE DISAPPOINTED MAN ANSWERED, “I RAN FAST ENOUGH, BUT
I DIDN’T START ON TIME.” TO ACCOMPLISH THE MOST FOR GOD IN A LIFETIME YOU MUST
START EARLY ...“IN THE
DAYS OF YOUR YOUTH” Ecc. 12:1 – SOURCE
UNKNOWN
Statistically we know that the longer a
person goes without accepting Christ the less likely they are to find Him ...
the patterns of our life are set down in our youth. How important it is then to remember God
in our youth!
PROP.
SENT:
The Bible teaches us the importance of knowing God in our youth, this
sets patterns in our life that will help us through the rough points in life as
well as giving us the opportunity to be the most productive for His
kingdom.
I. FOUNDATION SET! 12:1
A. Patterns
12:la
1. The author (probably Solomon)
recognized how important it was to know the Lord as a young person, he is
writing here at the end of his life.
a. The significance of this principle
is born out by modern studies which show that with increasing age there is even
less of a chance of someone coming to Christ.
b. The percentages for a born again
experience decrease with age.
2. The reason for this is obvious; we
establish “patterns” in our youth that carry through the rest of our lives,
patterns change later with great difficulty.
a. This is why it is so critical that
we teach our youth about the Lord, both by word and by
example.
b. We are helping to set the
foundation for their lives; it is a big head start for them when they have been
raised to know the Lord.
3. This is precisely the meaning of
one of Solomon’s other statements: “train a child in the way he should go, and when he is old
he will not turn from it.” Prov.
22:6
a. Establishing in them a pattern of
righteousness will help them return even if they go through a rebellious
stage.
b. It is hard to escape those patterns
of youth, good or bad ones!
c. The rewards of walking with God
from youth not only come to those who walked with God, but even to those who
follow in their family!
ILLUS: BILL
GAITHER TELLS THE STORY OF HOW HE AND HIS WIFE GLORIA WERE ABLE TO PURCHASE A
PIECE OF LAND THEY DESIRED IN
4. Establishing these patterns before
the demands of adulthood come helps to frame the way we will respond the rest of
our life.
a. It is important to give attention
to those spiritual dynamics early in life.
b. This builds the frame of reference
that we will respond from.
B. Pressures! 12:lb
1. The author now explains the
meaning of his command to remember God in youth, because tougher days will come
that will be hard to deal with and only a frame of eternity can help us through
those temporal sufferings!
a. Inevitably our frailties will show,
not so much in youth, but later in life.
b. These
“breakdowns” will make it difficult to appreciate life unless we have a larger
frame of reference in which to place suffering, hence the importance of
remembering the good days of youth and our Creator.
2. It is important for those coping
mechanisms to be already in place before the tough times come, this is the
author’s point.
a. The course of growing older
includes greater pressures and less physical strength; therefore we need
something in our inner man to carry us through.
b. Forewarning here is the point; take
the time to be prepared spiritually when young!
ILLUS: LIKE THE
MIGHTY
3. We have only one chance to be
young, how critical for youth to recognize the importance of knowing God at this
stage of their life, they will later look back and thank God for the knowledge
of the Lord when young!
a. Remembering God while young will
also help you fight against the temptations of youth and thus avoid consequences
that can last a lifetime.
b. Many young people ruin their lives
or complicate them later by ignoring God’s laws when
young!
II. FRUSTRATING STRUGGLES 12:2-8
A. Physical
12:2-5
1. The author now launches into a
vivid picture of diminishing capacities as we age!
a. Poor
eyesight
b. Weakness
c. Hearing
problems
d. Sleep
problems
e. Graying hair and decreasing muscle
tone
f. Endurance
decreasing
g. Greater effort at doing little
things
2. This is the one positive thing
about aging and spiritual life, while our physical capacities decrease with age
our spiritual capacities can actually increase!
3. What we lose physically, we can
gain spiritually!
4. This picture is not intended to
discourage but to simply call attention to the importance of not neglecting God
while young, when it is much easier to set a foundation of spiritual dynamics in
our life.
a. As we
age more of our attention gets diverted to burdens and needs, this is where that
foundation really pays off, we have the strength to deal with them
then!
b. Those who keep God in their youth
never lose the inner strength, even when the outer strength is gone!
ILLUS: IN JUNE OF
1955 WINSTON CHURCHILL WAS NEARING HIS DEATH. HE WAS ASKED IF HE COULD GIVE ONE MORE
PUBLIC SPEECH TO A
5. You will need something to carry
you through the years of decline, which will be the patterns you established in
youth ... “remember your creator in the days of your
youth!”
B. Perspective 12:6-8
1. Now the author adds, “Remember Him
before the silver cord is severed.”
a. When death starts to close in, the
most vivid memories that we keep are those of our
youth!
b. The last things to leave us are our
oldest memories, this demonstrates why it is therefore important to remember God
while young; this will be some of the longest memories for us to hang on
to!
c. While the elderly may sometimes
forget the things of the recent past, they retain vivid memories of the distant
past.
2. This provides then a shelter for
older age, when death is not far away!
a. These
memories of serving God in youth will bring a sense of joy and satisfaction even
at a time when the physical decline would bring
discouragement!
b. The ability to look back and feel
good about your life is established by the patterns of our
youth!
3. There will be nothing more
satisfying in old age than to be able to look back and see the hand of God from
your youth to your death!
a. This will help us put our life in
perspective.
b. It will give great meaning and
wealth to our life if we have walked with God through it
all!
c. The lifetime of walking with God
will enable us to be masters of our fate!
ILLUS: A WOMAN
HAPPENED TO RUN INTO THE FAMOUS PAINTER PICASSO AT A RESTAURANT, AND SO BOLDLY
SHE APPROACHED THE MASTER AND ASKED HIM IF HE WOULD PLEASE JUST SCRIBBLE
SOMETHING ON HER NAPKIN, SAYING SHE WOULD BE HAPPY TO PAY HIM WHATEVER HE FELT
THE QUICK DRAWING WOULD BE WORTH. PICASSO TOOK HER NAPKIN AND DREW
SOMETHING AND HANDED IT TO HER ADDING, “THAT MY FINE LADY WILL BE $10,000
DOLLARS!” THE STUNNED WOMAN THEN SAID, “BUT YOU DID THAT DRAWING IN BARELY 30
SECONDS!” PICASSO ANSWERED, “NO, IT
HAS TAKEN ME 4O YEARS TO DO THAT!” – SOURCE
UNKNOWN
4. The seeming “easy” faith of those
who are older did not come so easy, it was the lifetime discipline of
serving God from their youth onward, their faith may appear to come easy only
because it has been practiced so long.
The foundation of youth was established on God!
a. Those who grow up without God get
more and more despondent as they age, for all they know is loss and the soon
approaching death, life loses meaning for them as they age, they dread time
as it marches on!
b. But for believers, we know that
death is not the end, thus for those who have lived for God, they find meaning
in old age, satisfaction that reward awaits them, they can look back satisfied,
and not fear the future!
c. This is the perspective of those
who remember God in their youth, and carry their faith throughout their
life!
III. FAITH & SURVIVAL
A. Personal
12:13a
1. “Fear
God” ... a personal call.
a. This kind of fear means “respect”
or “honor!”
b. The bottom line to the whole book
of Ecclesiastes is found in this verse, a call to personalize our relationship
with the Creator God!
2. To “fear
God” in such a way that you are too afraid to let go of the
Lord!
a. It may be hard to serve the Lord
but have you ever considered the alternative? It is much harder not
too!
b. God offers us safety for our soul;
the alternative is to lose that soul!
c. “Hanging on” is not a bad option,
“letting go” of God may prove to be more dangerous!
ILLUS: LIKE A MAN
NAMED HENRY DEMPSEY WHO WAS TAKING A COMMUTER FLIGHT FROM
3. It is better to fear God more than
fearing this world!
B. Plan 12:13b
1. “...keep His
commandments, for this is the whole duty of
man.”
a. This is the bottom line to all of
the arguments presented throughout the book of
Ecclesiastes!
b. This again points back to verse 1:
“Remember your
creator in the days of your youth” ... those who do will obey God’s
commands all their lives!
2. What we lay down as our foundation
for life in our youth is what will drive us throughout our
lifetime!
3. Those who remember God in their
youth are likely to make His commandments their rule for
living!
a. This will bring a harvest of
spiritual fruit and thus satisfaction in old age.
b. This will enable us to handle life
from an eternal perspective which is a much broader frame of mind than just the
here and now!
4. Our plans will be built on whatever
foundation we set in youth, remembering our Creator God will ensure that our
plans include Him throughout our life, and His
commands.
a. It is our duty to obey God’s ways
if we want the best here and now, as well as then!
b. If you have forgotten your creator
in your youth you are not likely to remember Him in your old age. It is never too late however, just tear
down the bad foundation and start building the right one now, it is never too
late, but how much better to do this in youth!
CONCLUSION:
Every house has a
foundation, without one it could not be stable or stay standing for long. It will have to stand against storms,
earthquakes, weathering. Etc. The
better the foundation, the more durable the house, the same is true in life, if
we establish an early foundation based on a relationship with God we will
more easily endure the storms of life.
The patterns of our life are set in youth, so set them in Christ! This is what it means to “REMEMBER YOUR
CREATOR IN THE DAYS OF YOUR
YOUTH!”