Ecclesiastes, Psalms, Proverbs, and then Ecclesiastes. The title of the message this
morning is, Remember Now. Remember Now. Ecclesiastes 12, verse 1. Remember now thy Creator in the
days of thy youth, while the evil days come not, nor the years
draw nigh, when thou shalt say, I have no pleasure in them. Remember now thy Creator in the
days of thy youth." Here we have the wisest man next to Christ
speaking to us at the end of his book concerning the vanity
of life, concerning all things that are under the sun. The preacher
says, vanity of vanity all is. Empty. All is empty. And the exhortation here is a
wise exhortation to remember now thy Creator when? In the
days of thy youth. This word remember means to consider. Consider. Consider the Lord your
Maker while you are in the days of your health, in the days of
your strength, Because the days of youth are fleeting. The days
of youth are fleeting. The Apostle Peter reminds us
that all flesh is as grass. How often do you think of grass?
How often except you have to mow it or weed it. But yet there
it is. When it's plush and beautiful
and green, everybody says, oh, what a lovely yard that is. What
a beautiful landscape you have. Oh, it's so precious. And then
as soon as the summer comes, what happens to the grass? It
burns up. It's gone. It's there for a day
and it's gone. All flesh is grass and the flower
of man is as the grass of the field. You think those flowers
that little children pick up, those little dandelions and things,
they look so precious to them. And then they grab them and they
pull them up and you give them to you and you pretend that you're
all happy. You pretend that you're excited for them. And what happens
to them? You either throw them away or
they die. They're gone in a moment, in a day. That's how fast time
goes by. It is fleeting. And if you're
young, do not follow the deception of many. Sweetheart, I need you
to pay attention, please. Yes, you. Thank you. Your days are going by too fast.
Your beauty will deteriorate. And what will happen to you?
What will happen to you? The Scriptures are very clear.
You be wise and you remember your Creator now in the days
of your youth before the evil days come. Before it's over! Don't be deceived to think you
have many days. None of us are assured of tomorrow. Because we live in such a time
of prosperity, such a time of medical advances, we think, foolishly,
we are taught in our youth to eat, drink, and be merry. Isn't
that what the youth is taught? Isn't that what young people
are taught today? How many were standing in line waiting for
the new phone, huh? How many young children, how
many foolish young children waiting for that stupid phone that is
going to be tomorrow old technology? When instead they should be taught
to labor, they should be taught to work, they should be taught
to earn their keep. Instead, they're being taught
that, hey, go get it while it's available. Hurry! Hurry! We've taken away from children
the reality of life in failing to make them responsible. We say, well, children are just
children. They need to play. They need
to have their leisure time. I'll tell you, we've taught children
that work is bad and leisure is good. That's what this generation's
taught their children. We have been taught that we deserve
a break, that we deserve to play. In our day, the parents are subject
to the children rather than the children being subject to their
parents. We have been taught that spanking
children is child abuse and letting them go and do what they please
is being a good parent. The scripture says, Woe unto
them that call evil good and good evil. Solomon tells us, He that spareth
the rod hateth his son. He that spareth the rod hateth
his son. Surely we are wise enough to
know that spanking is not what is here intended all the time.
When they're young, yes, it may work. But there's a time that
comes, that won't work. That won't work. But if we are
parents, if we should be diligent, we should find some form of punishment
for disobedience and defiance. And it should be clear. that we are abusing our children
if we deny them discipline. We are abusing their children. The best thing parents who are
believers in Christ can do is teach them what Solomon here
is teaching. We should teach our children
to remember thy creator now. Remember thy creator in the days
of thy youth. We should constantly be faithful
to point them to God. Train up your children in the
way they should go, in the nurture and admonition of the Lord. In
Proverbs 22. Proverbs 22 and verse 6. Train up a child in the way he
should go, and when he is old, he will not depart from it. Children are a precious thing. Children are a precious thing. Someone asked a pastor one time,
I have this written down, they'd ask a pastor, we know that our
children, we know that all are sinners and the Bible refers
to us as worms, but how do we give our children any self-worth
in light of this? Well, it's a settled fact that
we should teach our children they are sinners. You should teach them that. You
should train them up, teaching them the Scriptures that says
we all came forth from the womb speaking lies. We didn't have
to teach them how to lie or steal. They already innately got that
from us. We should teach them this concerning
the depravity of their nature, their condition before God, and
their need of righteousness. We should teach them they have
a need of righteousness. We should not teach them silly
things. Jesus loves me, this I know,
for the Bible tells me so. Because then children grow up
just thinking, Jesus loves me, oh well, everything's alright.
I don't know if He loves you. That's not for me to tell. Hardest thing for me as a parent
is not to give my son comfort unless he knows Christ. I cannot give him any assurance
unless he knows Christ. Unless he believes on Christ.
Now, children are in need of self-worth. There's no doubt
about this. The children are worth something
to us. It's good if they're obedient.
We should praise them. If they're doing well, we should
lift them up, but not before God. We should not be telling
them they're doing well before God. They're doing well before
us. We love them. But truly, we must learn to commend and
approve our children for the things that they do, but we also
must point them to Jesus Christ, who is all righteousness, who
is their only salvation. Point your children to God, who
has written a law in their hearts that they are sinners. To disobey parents. If children
disobey parents, we should teach them that's not just against
us. That is against God. If they sin, it is against God
they sin. Some might say, well, it's too
late for me. You're preaching to just parents. I don't have
any children. My children are grown. There's
something. No, this is not just for little children. This is
for our children. This is for your children that
are grown. It's not too late. It may be
too late for you to discipline them. It may be too late for
you to correct their lifestyle. It may be too late for those
things, but it is not too late to tell them to remember now
thy Creator. Remember now. It's not too late
to walk faithfully in front of your children, is it? It's not too late to tell them
of God and his grace to save sinners. It's not too late. If
they're alive, it's not too late. In Titus chapter 2 and verse
1 through 15, it tells the church how they are to behave themselves,
how they conduct themselves. It tells the old men that they
are to be sober, that they are to be responsible, that they
are to be serious about the things of God. And as they are serious,
as they are faithful, they walk in front of my children. I tell
every one of you, you are witnesses to my children. And I know this for a fact. I'm
witnesses to yours. The elder women teach the younger
women how to love their husbands. How to love their children. The
younger men be sober. Flee youthful lusts. Otherwise,
you have a witness in front of these children. Youth here speaks not only of
children, but all who have ability to remember now. Remember now
thy Creator. Remember now thy God before the
evil days come. I'm going to give you an illustration,
and this is a real one. There is a lady that I know whose
husband has died, and now She has lost her ability
to remember. From what I can understand, she
has no love for the Lord Jesus Christ. And now she has no ability. Her mind is gone. The evil days are coming when
you shall say, I have no pleasure in this body. You that are older should witness
to those who are younger concerning the pains of growing older. Does it make it easier to worship
when you get older? No. Oh, it's much harder. Much more difficult to remember
things, isn't it? when you are older. How many
foolish youths say in their hearts, I'm too young to think about
these things. How many are deceived to say,
I will enjoy my pleasure. I will enjoy all my sin now.
I'll get all I can out of life right now while I've got my beauty. I'll get everything I can. And
then, then when I'm old, then when I've got nothing else to
have, then I'll come to, then I'll believe on Jesus Christ.
God said you're a fool. You're a fool to think such things.
God says you are. Boast not thyself of tomorrow,
thou knowest not what a day brings forth. How many foolish teens
have went off into eternity in hell thinking, tomorrow, tomorrow,
tomorrow I'll believe, tomorrow after I get my sin, then I'll
come. No. No, you're deceived. Today is a day of salvation,
not tomorrow. Today. today, now. Remember now thy Creator before
the evil days come, before you have nobility. There are very
few God-saves in old age. Do you know that? There are very
few. In Acts, the apostle Paul was
preaching to a governor in Jerusalem named Felix. He preached the
gospel so well, so wonderfully, that Felix even trembled. He
was scared! And yet Felix said to Paul, Go
away! I won't hear you today, but tomorrow,
when it's more convenient for me, then I'll hear you. I'll
listen to Christ later." Do you know that never came? Festus
came, took Felix's position. Felix went away, never hearing
the gospel again, died in his sins, and went to hell. Why? He said, tomorrow, when it's
more convenient for me. Don't be so foolish. Remember
thy Creator now. When? Now. I'm going to give
you three things to remember about your Creator. Three things. First of all, your Creator is
holy. Your Creator is holy. What does
that mean? Your Creator is perfect. and is your judge. You see a young woman and she's
dressed scantily walking down the street. You know what crops
into my mind? That's a whorish woman. You judge, don't you? Do you
not have faculties to judge? You see a man walking down the
street and his pants are hanging all the way down with gold chains
on his neck. You think, gang member. I mean,
that's just what I think right off the top of my head. I don't
know anything about the man, but yet I make judgments and
you should make judgments. You should make wise judgments
about who you hang out with or your friends are. You should
make wise judgments. And then when you do, what do
people say? Well, how dare you judge? How dare you judge me? You don't know what's in my heart.
True enough. All right. I am not your judge. God is. And if you can't stand
my judgment, how will you stand his? How will you stand His judgment,
who is strict and holy, who will judge every thought that you
have had in your mind, every evil imagination that you have
had in your heart? How will you stand before Him
as holy? God judges the thoughts and the
intent of the heart, not just the outward man. Jesus said,
Accept your righteousness, exceed. the righteousness of the scribes
and Pharisees, you shall in no wise enter into the kingdom of
heaven." Remember, God will not judge
you as men do. When I judge you, when I look
at you, I allow for a lot of things, don't you? I kind of
overlook things. Why? Because I myself know what
it is to be a sinner. God will not overlook one thing. How will you fare in the day
when you appear before the holy God? I tell you, every one of us should
remember this. God is holy. Remember this, vanity of vanities,
all is vanity. There is nothing we can do to
merit God's forgiveness. Nothing. There is nothing that
we can do because we have sinned against God. Remember that all
your sin is against the Creator. It is not against me. It is not
against your parents. It is against your Creator, who
is holy. Remember Him. Remember also that your Creator
is a Savior. Your Creator is holy. Your Creator
is just and He will judge you, but He is also a Savior. Consider
how then you can be pardoned. Is that not a thought of interest? Is that not something that you
should consider? How it is that you can be pardoned? How it is
you can be forgiven? In Psalm 130, the psalmist says,
Out of the depths have I cried unto thee. Have you cried unto
God out of the depths? Have you cried, O Lord, hear
my voice, and let thine ears be attended to my supplication?
If, Lord, thou shouldest mark iniquity, who should stand? Have you considered that? That
if God was to mark your sins, how could you stand? How could
you appear before God? You children get demerits or
something like that, marks against you. How many marks of sin do
you have against you? How many? Can you count them? I can't count mine. Consider that Jesus Christ is
the Savior. Let Israel hope in the Lord,
for with the Lord there is mercy. Remember, thy Creator is merciful. Remember, thy Creator is merciful,
and he shall redeem Israel from all his iniquities. The hope
of Israel is the hope of every sinner that God would be merciful. that
God would redeem us from our sins. This is a faithful saying. This is a faithful saying and
worthy of all acceptation that Jesus Christ came into the world
to save sinners. The wonderful thing about preaching
is I'm always preaching to sinners. Whether you know it or not, that
doesn't matter, you are. And I've got a message for sinners
from God Himself. Jesus Christ came to save sinners. Remember now, thy Creator, that
He came to save sinners. Jesus, who was rich, for your
sakes became poor, that through His poverty you might be made
rich. How rich is Jesus? How rich was He? Can you imagine the riches that
my Savior has? He has only fed the world for
6,000 years, and He's still not any less rich. He's made the heavens and the
earth, and He is not any less rich. I tell you that He is even more
rich in righteousness. You need righteousness. Isn't
that what we're to train our children? Yes. To teach them
they're sinners and need righteousness. And then I point them to the
Savior who is all righteous. Jesus Christ who is rich in righteousness. You need righteousness? You should
go to the One who is rich in righteousness. Jesus Christ. He has it all. He's provided
a righteousness. The righteousness of God He's
obtained with His own works. Seek first. the kingdom of God
and His righteousness. What are you seeking? What are
you wanting? If it's anything more than righteousness,
you've chosen vanity. Seek first the righteousness
of God. Don't worry about these other
things. They're empty. He's full of righteousness. And He's rich in redemption.
You need someone to pay for your sins. You need someone to die
in your stead. And I tell you, Jesus has already
died. He's already shed His blood.
He's rich in redemption. He's the only one that can buy
you out from under the justice of God. we owe by our sins eternal death. The soul that sinneth, it shall surely die." Jesus came for the purpose of
dying. in our stead. To die in the place of sinners. To suffer eternal justice that we owe to God. This is how
wonderful He is. Remember now the beauty of thy
Creator, thy Maker, who is also thy Savior. God said, this is
my beloved Son in whom I am well pleased. And thirdly, consider
that your Creator is holy, that your Creator is the Savior, and
that your Creator is risen from the dead. He who died for sin
was accepted by God. How do I know that? How can I
be sure that He died for my sin? Because He's risen again from
the dead. He's the only one that is risen
from the dead, that God has accepted. His sacrifice. God accepted His
sacrifice. And now, the Savior has sent
His Word by me to you. Come unto me, all you that labor
and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. salvation. Come. Come to Christ now while there's
still hope. While there's still hope. Solomon said, better is a living
dog than a dead lion. Is that not true? Yes, why? Is it true? Because
in life, there's hope. If you're living, there's hope.
There's hope. But there's coming a day that
you won't be living. There's coming a day that you
will die. I know that God has an elect
people, and I know that Christ died for them, and I know this,
He'll bring them But I also know this, that whosoever
will may come. I know that sinners in need of
mercy may come to Christ now. Now. Come as you are. Come as a sinner. remembering
your Judge and your Savior. Come, ye sinners, poor and wretched,
weak and wounded, sick and sore. Jesus, ready, stands to save
you, full of pity, joined with power. Come ye needy, come and welcome.
God's free bounty glorified. True belief and true repentance. Every grace that brings you nigh.
Come ye weary, heavy laden, bruised and broken by the fall. If you
tarry till you're better, you'll never come at all. What are you
waiting for? What are you waiting for? Are
you waiting for a better day? Are you waiting for a more convenient
day to come? No. Come now. There is no more
better day, is there? Who supposes tomorrow will be
better? You're deceiving yourself. Jesus said, sufficient is the
day for the evil thereof. In other words, we're only going
to see more trouble as we grow older, isn't it? We're only going
to see more trouble. Let not conscience make you linger.
What, do you think you can't come? You think you're too sinful? Oh, no. Jesus says, come as you are.
Come empty. Nothing. Come with nothing. Believe on Christ and you'll
go away full. Full of salvation. full of real
life, not this fake life, not this facade that the world gives
you. Real life. When? When should you come? Now. Come now. You who believe in Christ, is
it not your witness that you even come now? I believe now. I believe now. And now? And now? Why? Because He gives me faith now. May God, by His grace, give you
faith now. Come, remember now thy Creator
before the evil days come when you're not able. May God, by
His grace, use the Word. Let's ask the Lord's blessing
on this.