Alright, let's open our Bibles
to the book of Ecclesiastes, chapter 12. Well, it's been a while since
we've gotten into the book of Ecclesiastes, but let's just
see if we can pick up where we left off. Here in chapter 12,
beginning at verse 1, you read the words, Remember now thy Creator. And that's the title of tonight's
message. Remember now. thy creator. As you know, as we studied through
this book over the months, we've seen this Solomon, the wise man,
the king, who calls himself the preacher. The preacher sent of
God. The preacher who's been equipped
by God with the message of wisdom. Wisdom in Christ. the wisdom
that it took for him to write this book, Ecclesiastes, and
we know by inspiration of the Holy Spirit. And in this book,
he's spoken of his search for meaning in life. What does it
all mean? That's a question that everybody
at some time or another asks. And as a result of Solomon's
search for meaning in life under the sun, as he says, that's all
of his searches in an earthly way, in a natural way, he's come
to one conclusion throughout this whole book. And that's this,
all is vanity. All is worthless. Look at verse
8 of chapter 12. He says, vanity of vanities,
saith the preacher, all is vanity. That's how he started. And you
say, well, is that how he's going to end up? Well, not quite. But
you have to understand that what the message of this book is,
is this. That there is no eternal value
and certainly no eternal salvation to be found in the things of
this world. There is no hope of eternal life
and glory under the sun. Christ taught that when he spoke
to Nicodemus of the new birth. And he said, that which is flesh,
born of flesh, is flesh. That's all the flesh can produce.
The natural man receives not the things of the Spirit of God.
We're born dead in trespasses and sins. And he said this, he
said, no man has ascended unto heaven except he that come down
from heaven. And you know what he's saying
there? It's very simple. He's saying this, he's saying, you
can't get to heaven unless you come from heaven. That's why
the first man was of the earth, earthy. That's talking about
Adam. You can't get to heaven unless
you come from heaven. So how am I, a man of the earth,
born fallen in Adam, dead in trespasses and sin? How am I
gonna get to heaven? I didn't come from heaven. I
came from Adam. You did too. Well, there must
be somebody who will come from heaven and take me to heaven.
That's the only way. And Solomon recognized that.
And so when he's saying vanity of vanities, he's saying here,
you think about it, in all life's endeavors and searches and all
of our goals and all the things that we do in this life, ultimately
it's all vanity. Back in chapter 11, in verse
8, he made the point that even one who lives many joyful years
can still anticipate days of darkness and ultimately vanity. He says, while life under the
sun viewed purely from an earthly perspective is vanity, now that
doesn't mean that there is no hope and there's only despair.
And you know, one of the things that he kept dealing with throughout
this book is this, is the point that we can and should and are
to enjoy life here on this earth. There's nothing wrong with that.
There's nothing anti-Christian about enjoying the good things
that God has given us, but he puts it in perspective. He says
that we are to enjoy them, number one, as a gift from God. As a
gift from God. In other words, in humility,
not being lifted up in our pride as if we're the master of our
own fates, the captains of our own destiny, or as if that we
got these good things by our own power and for our own goodness
as if we deserve them because we don't. We don't deserve the
least of God's blessings either temporally and certainly not
eternally. That's what grace is all about. Everything is to
be enjoyed as a gift from God. Everything is to be enjoyed to
the glory of God. And therefore it cannot and must
not be abused. It must not turn us to idolatry
and turn us away from the living God and the worship of Him and
seeking Him and serving Him in Christ. Anything you enjoy in
this life that takes you away from glorifying God and everything
you think, say, and do is idolatry. Did you know that? You may not
be doing anything immoral or what the world calls sinful,
but my friend, anything we enjoy of the good things of this life,
even in a moderate way, that takes us away from seeking the
Lord, from trusting Him, from worshiping Him, from praying
to Him, from all these, that's idolatry. That's covetousness,
which is idolatry. What Paul called it in Colossians.
We can enjoy the good things of this life as a gift from God
to the glory of God and in the grace of God, realizing, Lord,
thank you, thank you, thank you. I don't deserve the next breath
I take. let alone anything above and
beyond that. And then he says, live life in
view of impending judgment. Now listen to what he says here.
Look back at verse 9 of chapter 11. Actually, the thought that
he gives here about this, you know, he says in verse 1 of chapter
12, remember now thy creator in the days of thy youth. So
this is the greatest advice that we can give young people. This
is it. Remember now, not later, don't
put it off to later, but remember now thy creator in the days of
thy youth. But look up at verse 9 of chapter
11. He says, Rejoice, O young man, in thy youth. The young
have a great capacity to rejoice. And that's not bad. That's okay. That's fine. And he says, And
let thy heart cheer thee in the days of thy youth. and walk in
the ways of thine heart," talking about the rejoicing and the cheer.
He's not talking about the inclinations of the flesh there, because he
goes on, he says, "...and in the sight of thine eyes, but
know thou that for all these things God will bring thee into
judgment." There is a judgment to face. And the standard of
that judgment is the perfect law of God as viewed in the life
and obedience of the Lord Jesus Christ. How many times have you
heard me quote Acts 1731? That God has appointed a day
in the which he will judge the world in righteousness by that
man whom he hath ordained and that he hath given assurance
unto all men that he hath raised him from the dead. So as you're
enjoying life, young people, And this would apply to old people
too. What little we can enjoy life. He says, remember in light
of judgment, listen, every work is going to be judged. Whether
it's a work of grace by faith in Christ, or a work of self-righteousness,
or out and out rebellion. Am I in the Lord Jesus Christ? That's the issue of judgment
right there. That's what Paul wrote in Philippians
chapter 3 and there are so many other passages we could go to
to prove that. He said, all that I may know
him, all to be found in him. That's what salvation is all
about, to be in Christ. So what do we do? Well, we're
to look to Christ. We're to run to Christ. We're
to trust in Christ for all salvation, for all righteousness, for all
holiness, for all eternal life and glory. I have no other place
to go, no one else to go to but Christ. I was thinking about
this because Brother Tim James was preaching there. And I was
thinking about, you know, when God the Holy Spirit does His
work of grace in the heart of one of God's elect, He gives
that person, that sinner, in exposing our sin, convincing
us of sin, he gives us a hunger that can only be filled by the
bread of Christ, the bread of life, who is Christ. He gives
us a thirst that can only be quenched by the water of life,
which is Christ. And back over in, you remember
in Ecclesiastes 3, he talked about that void, how God has
set eternity in our hearts. He's given us an emptiness that
can only be filled by Christ and Him crucified and risen again.
And I'll guarantee you this, young people, middle-aged people,
old people, if your hunger, if your soul hunger, your heart
hunger, now I'm not talking about physical here, if your soul thirst,
your heart thirst, if your emptiness of soul and heart, if it can
be fed and quenched and filled with anyone or anything but Christ
and his blood and righteousness, it's not the Holy Spirit who
made you hungry, who made you thirsty, or who shown you your
emptiness. You see what I'm saying? And
that's what he says here, live life in light of that. Verse
10 of chapter 8, he says, therefore remove sorrow from thy heart
and put away evil from thy flesh for childhood and youth are vanity.
What he's talking about there, this sorrow, he says rejoice
in your youth but remove sorrow and evil from your youth. Enjoying life doesn't mean fulfilling
the lust of the flesh. In fact, this sorrow here, you
may have in your concordance in your Bibles the word anger.
What it's talking about is anger and grief and frustration. In literature, it's very common
for authors to, when they deal with youth, especially teenagers,
they'll have an angry young man or an angry young woman. They
call it the angst of youth. Don't go through your youth like
that. Being mad at the world, mad at mom and dad, mad at society. Don't do that. That's what he's
saying there. Look back over at Psalm 119 that Brother Aaron
read earlier. Listen to what he says here in
verse 9. This is why I had him read that
passage. Psalm 119 and verse 9. He says, wherewithal shall a
young man cleanse his way? Well, he says, by taking heed
thereto according to thy word, God's word, by listening to God. Now that's the same thing that
Solomon is saying here in verse 1 of chapter 12. Remember now
thy creator in the days of thy youth. What does God's word say?
How are you going to cleanse your way? How am I going to cleanse
my way? It's not by my works that we
can do that. God's Word doesn't say that.
In fact, God's Word says the opposite. God's Word says that
no flesh shall be justified in his sight by deeds of law. God's
Word says that we're saved by grace through faith and that
not of ourselves. It's not of works, lest any man should boast. So God's Word has never commanded
or encouraged or permitted any sinner, young, middle-aged or
old, to seek to cleanse his way by his works. How do you cleanse
your way? What does the Word of God say? You look to Christ,
who is the way. His blood washes me clean from
all my sins. His righteousness alone makes
me complete and accepted before God. It's in Him that my way
is cleansed, for He is the way. If His way is not your way, it's
not a clean way. It's a filthy way. It's a corrupt
way. It's the way of sinners. Look
back now at chapter 12, verse 1. He says, Now you know as well
as I do. You've heard this passage preached
on before. He's talking about old age there
as you grow older. He says, when thou shalt say,
I have no pleasure in them, remember now. Now this remembering here,
this word for remember is not just a fleeting thought that
passes through your brain. When He says, remember now, thy
Creator, He's not talking about just giving a passing fancy thought. Goes in one ear and out the other.
Well, every now and then I'll think of Him or I'll just think
of Him on Sunday. This remembering here is a lifetime. of remembrance. Think about the
Lord's Supper that we partook of Sunday night. He says, this
do in remembrance of me. And that is a continual supper.
That's not just a one-time thing, is it? And some people argue
about how often should we take the Lord's Supper. We take it
every quarter, about four times a year, sometimes five. And I
don't, you know, there's nothing set down in Scripture where you've
got to do this, but I know this, we're to do it often. Because
our whole life is to be spent remembering Christ and what He's
accomplished on Calvary for the salvation of our souls. Remembering
His broken body, remembering His blood, remembering His finished
work on the cross, His redemptive work. And that's what he's saying
here, remember now thy Creator in the days of thy youth. That
means seek the Lord continually. That means trust in Him continually. That means serve Him continually. That means worship Him continually. That means pray to Him continually. It's more than simply that there
is a God who is a Creator. When he says, remember now thy
Creator, it's more than just simply saying, well, I believe
there is a God. You know, James chapter 2 and
verse 19 says this, Thou believest there is one God, thou doest
well. The devils also believe and tremble.
Now you can say, I believe there is a God or I believe there's
one God and if that's the extent of your remembrance, all that
does is put you in fellowship with the devils. See that? You just lined up with them. He means take care and time to
think of and meditate on and follow and consider your creator. And I want to come back to that,
though. But now let's look on. He said, while the evil days
come not. Now, as we grow older, we will
be less able to enjoy life. You know that. Here he gives
a vivid description of the aging process and death. Why is that
so important that he do that? Is he just trying to rub it in
on us? No. It's a continual reminder
of this. What he says here about aging,
which ultimately comes to death, is a continual reminder to us,
even saved sinners now, that death is the just judgment against
sin. Listen, if you ever lose sight
of the fact that you're a sinner, if I ever lose sight of the fact
that I'm a sinner, just go right back here and read what it says
about the aging process. This body is dead because of
sin. The wages of sin is death. Death, when it finishes a person,
results in, or sin, when it finishes a person, results in death. Therefore,
this description of old age, growing older unto death, is
not just given to us to lead us to despair. It does show us
that we have no hope in ourselves. We have no holiness and righteousness
in ourselves. We have no salvation in ourselves. But it also shows us that we
must have Christ. We must have Christ. The body
is dead because of sin, but the spirit is life because of what?
Righteousness. Whose? Christ. Not mine, not
yours, but His. This is God's way of reminding
us that we need salvation from sin. Continually. And the only salvation there
is from our sins is Christ. Look at verse 2. He says, While
the sun, or the light, or the moon, or the stars be not darkened,
nor the clouds return after the rain. What he's talking about
there is the fading of mental powers as we grow older. When
you're young, you know, life seems endless and slow. You can't
wait until you're You know, first of all, you can't wait till you
get your driver's license, then you can't wait till you get to
be 21, and then I don't know where you go from there, but
it's, you know, you just can't wait. Somebody said downhill? You know, I don't know. But as
you live day by day, life seems to go faster, doesn't it? It
does to me, and I know to some of you all, too. Man, it just
flies by, doesn't it? When I was young, I didn't think
I'd ever make it. to graduate from high school.
Now, I'm getting ready to go into my 40th reunion. And it
seems like, just like that. Something, isn't it? Very brief.
This life is, what Job called it, faster than a weaver's shuttle.
It's like a vapor. You begin to show the appearances
of aging. They come about. Someone said
just about the time your face clears up, your mind gets cloudy. The clouds return, he says here.
Somebody says like a return to childhood in old age. Mental
powers, the mind, and reasoning are described as light. They
fade as the light of the sun. The mind we begin with, you see,
is so vibrant and so absorbent. Not that way anymore. Think about
this, too. The mind we begin with is the
carnal mind, too. But now in salvation, by the
power of the Holy Spirit, we have the mind of Christ and that
never fades, even though this physical brain might dry up and
blow away. What's the remedy? Remember now
thy Creator in the days of thy youth. Come let us reason together,
God said. Though your sins be as scarlet,
they'll be as white as snow. Though they be red like crimson,
they'll be as wool. How is that possible? Not but
one way and that's to look to the crimson flow of the blood
of Christ from Calvary. It'll never cease to lose its
power. It'll never cease in its redemptive
power. All of these things. Set your
mind on things above, not on things below. You know, whenever
I see things like this about us remembering Christ, I always
remember this. Our memory of him is not what
saves us and holds us, it's his memory of us, he remembers us. Think about these, let me just
read you some scripture on that. Psalm 25 and verse 7, listen
to this. It says, remember not the sins
of my youth, nor my transgressions according to thy mercy, remember
thou me for thy goodness sake, oh Lord. Now where are you gonna
find God's goodness? In Christ. Remember me for Christ's
sake. And he does. Luke chapter 23
and verse 42, there was a thief on the cross hanging on the right
hand of our Lord, hanging on the right side of him. And he
spoke these words. He said unto Jesus, Lord, remember
me when thou comest into thy kingdom. Remember me. And what
did our Lord say? He said, today thou shalt be
with me in paradise. Listen to this one, Psalm 98
and verse 3. God hath remembered his mercy
and his truth toward the house of Israel. All the ends of the
earth have seen the salvation of our God. Why? Because he's remembered his mercy
and his truth. You know, he can't forget it
because God can't forget anything. God cannot change. And it's of
the Lord's mercies that we're not consumed. Psalm 105, listen
to this, verse 8. He hath remembered his covenant
forever, the word which he commanded to a thousand generations, and
then down in verse 42 of that same psalm it says, for he remembered
his holy promise, and Abraham his servant. But you see, here's
an amazing thing. And this is the scriptural language
that's used to accommodate our finite minds, our limited minds. In the book of Hebrews chapter
10 it says, He doth not remember our iniquities. Now what does
that mean? It means He doesn't hold them
against us. He doesn't charge them to us. And David wrote,
Blessed is the man to whom the Lord imputeth not iniquity. They'll
never be brought up again because He doesn't remember. And so when
we remember now our Creator, It's not just that God made the
heavens and the earth. That is an awesome thought and
it's an awesome truth and it must be believed and remembered. But we remembered as Isaiah the
prophet said one time, our creator is also our redeemer. And that's
an amazing thing. Now let's reflect upon what's
coming then. Now think about this. Here's
the reason. Look at it again. He says in
verse three, he says, in the days when the keepers of the
house shall tremble. Now as we go through these, you
know, somebody said one time, you can read these with a smile
on your face until you realize he's talking about you. And that's about the way it is. All
this is a metaphor. All this is symbolism. And he's
talking about old age, growing old. In the days when the keepers
of the house shall tremble, most people usually agree that that's
talking about the arms. And the strong men shall bow
themselves, that's the legs, they get weaker. The grinders,
the teeth, as most people believe, cease because they are few. And
those that look out of the windows be darkened, that's the eyesight.
All of these things in the physical realm, going, going, gone. Verse four, he talks about The
doors shall be shut in the streets, and the sound of the grinding
is low, and he shall rise up at the voice of the bird, and
all the daughters of the music shall be brought low." What he's
talking about there is that the least noise will wake you up,
but your hearing gets worse. Think about that. Isn't that
the way it is? I mean, the least noise will wake you out of a
sleep, but you can't hear when somebody's just directly talking
to you. Also, the voice fades. The doors are shut in the street,
that means the ears become hard of hearing, the sound of the
grinding is low, the mouth and the speech become unintelligible.
Even the sound of a bird will wake you up. Look at verse 5,
he says, And when they shall be afraid of that which is high,
and fear shall be in the way, and the almond trees shall flourish,
that's a symbol of old age, the grasshopper shall be a burden
dragging along, not hopping, and desire shall fail, the ability
to fulfill our fleshly desires, because man goeth to his long
home and the mourners go about the streets. All of these things.
Fears increase, the hair turns white, the grasshopper drags
itself along, that means decreased energy and fervor. All these
descriptions. He said, because man goeth to
his long home. That's death. But the grave is
not the end. Yes, there's a life to live and
there's a death to die, but there's a judgment to face and an eternity
to spend. Verse 6, he says, wherever the
silver cord be loose, the silver cord is a symbol of that which
binds us to this life. When that's broken, that's death.
The golden bowl be broken. Some people believe that that
refers to the brain, the mind going. Or the pitcher be broken
at the fountain, some people say that's the heart, that makes
sense. Or the wheel broken at the cistern,
the broken at the well. Then, verse seven, then shall
the dust return to the earth as it was, and the spirit shall
return unto God who gave it. So there Solomon makes it clear
that he understands that this is not the end. Look there, then
shall the dust return to the earth as it was, and the spirit
shall return unto God who gave it. So there is a day of reckoning. What's the answer? Remember now
thy creator in the days of thy youth. Let me give you a few
things just in light of that. First of all, turn to Hebrews
chapter 11. Hebrews chapter 11. Now the issue here is this, and
I would say this to all who hear what I preach. Not just young
people, but it is a special and a fervent message for young people.
And that's this, seek the Lord. Seek him. Don't be satisfied
with anything less. than the revelation of God given
in his word through and by the Lord Jesus Christ. And I'm afraid
that's what happens to some people when they, either in their youth,
they don't think about it, or if they do, at what point in
time they think about it, and they get serious about religion,
or they get serious about preparing for death, is in their search,
they settle too soon for less than that which glorifies God.
For less than that which puts us in our rightful place as sinners
who deserve damnation, who are in need of mercy. Look at what
Hebrews 11 and verse 6 says. It says, but without faith it
is impossible to please God. That's what it's talking about.
And without faith there means without Christ. Without looking
to Christ, without resting in Christ, Without settling in Christ,
trusting, following Him, loving Him, without Christ it's impossible
to please God. For he that cometh to God must
believe that he is God. Now when he says that God is,
he means more than simply God exists. So that when you think
about remember now thy creator, it's not just saying there is
a God. What he means is this, for he
that cometh to God, and this coming to God is approaching
God for salvation. It's approaching God for acceptance. It's approaching God in praise
and in prayer. And so he that cometh to God
must believe that God is as God says He is, or as God reveals
Himself. Now, any time in the Old Testament,
you go back to right after the fall, God set it down how sinners
were to seek Him, and to approach Him, and come to Him, and call
upon Him. And you know how it was set down?
Through the sacrifice of animals. And it wasn't physical animal
blood that took care of the problem. The blood of bulls and goats
can never take away sin. What was it? It was an object
lesson. It was a picture. It was a type
of how sinners throughout all the ages could seek God, find
God, be saved by God, approach God, worship God, pray to God. How? Through the blood of a substitute. Through the blood of God's appointed
Messiah. Through the Lord Jesus Christ.
And He says it here in verse 6 of Hebrews 11, and that He
is a rewarder of them that diligently seek Him. How's God going to
reward any sinner with anything but condemnation? Which we deserve
and have earned. The only way God can reward any
sinner is by His grace through the Lord Jesus Christ. So that
when you remember now your Creator, You remember Him in this way.
Turn to 2 Timothy chapter 2. Remember now your Creator by
seeking the Lord. Seek Him who created you and
seek Him as the Savior of sinners, the Redeemer through Christ.
Look at 2 Timothy chapter 3. Secondly, love and follow His
Word. Now, Psalm 19 is a beautiful
psalm. You read that sometime on your
own. It starts off, it talks about how the heavens declare
the glory of God. And it talks about, in I think
the first five or six verses, how the created universe is an
apparent, obvious declaration of how great and how wise and
how powerful and how good God is. But you're not going to see
the redemptive glory of God by looking at the created universe,
by looking at the stars and the sun and the oceans, as great
as they are. And I'll tell you, it's a travesty
and blasphemy that scientists will study these things and look
at these things and come out on the other side of their search
and their seeking denying God. Actually, it's stupidity. It
really is. If you think about it, the fool
hath said in his heart, there is no God. So there's enough
revelation in creation to show a person the greatness and the
glory and the wisdom and the goodness and the power of God.
But if you want to seek the Lord in salvation, if the young man
wants to cleanse his way, seek him in his word. Look at 2 Timothy chapter 3 and
verse 14. Paul writes to Timothy, he says,
But continue thou, Timothy, in the things which thou hast learned,
and hast been assured of, knowing of whom thou hast learned them,
and that from a child thou hast known the holy scriptures, the
written word of God. You remember what Christ said
about the written word in John chapter 5 and verse 39. Search
the scriptures, for in them you think you have eternal life,
for they are they which testify of me." And he says, which are
able to make thee wise. Solomon's talking about wisdom
in Ecclesiastes. But not just wisdom on how to
get along down here. The wisdom that lasts into eternity.
Wise unto salvation. How? Through faith which is in
Christ Jesus. Who is our wisdom? Who is our
salvation? All scripture is given by inspiration
of God. You know what that means. It
means it's God-breathed, verbally inspired, profitable for doctrine,
reproof, correction, instruction in righteousness, that the man
of God may be perfect or complete, thoroughly furnished unto all
good works. Remember thy Creator by loving
and following His Word. And then look back at Ecclesiastes
chapter 12. And we started off Ecclesiastes
by reading the last two verses. We kind of began at the end.
Look at verse 13 and 14. Fear and worship the Lord, your
creator. Verse 13, let us hear the conclusion
of the whole matter. Fear God. That means worship
God. Now, that doesn't mean legal fear. That doesn't mean run from
God and hide from God. Remember what Adam did after
the fall, Adam and Eve? They tried to hide from God.
Tried to hide from Him in two ways. Actually, tried to hide
from His view, which was silly because you can't hide from God's
view. He's, what is it, omniscient? Omnipresent, that's right. He's
everywhere. And they tried to hide from God.
And then they tried to hide their nakedness, their shame from God
by covering themselves with their own way, which was the fig leaf
apron, representing their own way. But see, you cannot hide
from God's view because He is everywhere. He knows all. And
you cannot hide your shame and nakedness from God, your sinfulness,
your deservedness of condemnation and wrath by your own way, your
own religion, your own philosophy, your own theology. It can only
be God's way. And so when he says fear God,
he means respect God, revere God, trust God, seek God, fear
God. And then he says, keep and listen,
look here. He says, fear God and keep his commandments. What
are his commandments? All his command, now God, listen.
God issued more than one commandment. All right? There's a lot of command,
I mean, even in the New Testament, there are commandments. Now don't
deny that. Were you baptized? What did the preacher say when
you were baptized? In obedience to the what? the command of our
Savior. He commanded you to be baptized.
Do you take the Lord's Supper? He said, this do in remembrance
of me. There are a lot of commandments,
but all the commandments that God gives to his people in each
time, whether it's the old covenant or the new covenant, all are
centered around one commandment, and that's believe in the Lord
Jesus Christ and you shall be saved. That's right. And therefore no
commandment is to be followed that would deny, renounce, or
rival, or add to the finished work of Christ for all my salvation. If I get baptized in order to
make myself holy and righteous, that's not following God's commandments,
that's denying Christ. Do you understand that? If I
take the Lord's Supper, if I assemble with you in worship in order
to save myself or to make myself holy, that's not what God commands,
that's denying Christ. So that's why He says, fear God
and keep the commandment. Keep His commandments. This is
the whole duty of man. Remember now thy Creator. One
more, serve the Lord. Serve the Lord. Psalm 100 verse
2 says, serve the Lord with gladness. How can you do that? By being
a willing and loving bond slave of Christ. Romans chapter 7 and
verse 6 speaks of serving the Lord in newness of spirit. What is that newness of spirit?
It's serving Him as a sinner saved by grace through the Lord
Jesus Christ, motivated by that grace and by love and by gratitude. not as a mercenary trying to
earn your way into God's favor and blessings, not as a legalist
trying to earn your way out of hell, but because you love him. As the Apostle Paul wrote to
the believers in Galatia, he said this, he said, you know
what you sow, so shall you reap. It's pretty simple. You can theologize
it and discuss it and cuss it and whatever you want to do,
but it's pretty simple. What you sow, so shall you reap.
When he says back here, remember now thy creator in the days of
thy youth, he's simply saying this, if you want to reap everlasting
life, then look to Christ. Trust him, rest in him, serve
him. If you want to reap vanity, Then
just go your own way. Go your own way. Trust Christ,
worship and serve Him in the days of your youth before your
life of vanity utterly hardens your heart. And it can do that,
can't it? You know, I believe God is able
to save anybody. I've got a... I didn't put it
in my Bible, but... Scott Richardson, I don't know
if I had him last week's bulletin or this week's, Pat. Scott Richardson
had a little saying about what is a true preacher. He said,
a true preacher is a nobody preaching about somebody who can save anybody. The true preacher is the nobody.
The somebody is Christ. And anybody is any sinner who
comes to him for salvation. I believe God can save anybody.
One thing the Scripture teaches us is that there are people who
go past the point of no return. Past the point of no return.
You take a person who goes through their life in the vanity of this
life, never seeking the Lord, never seeking Christ, never even
considering these things, and then all of a sudden their mind's
gone. There's no hope for them, is there? No hope. And that's
why Solomon, in his wisdom, instructs the youth here. He says, remember
your creator in the days of your youth before your life of vanity
hardens your heart. Seek him while he may be found
in the days of your youth because, sad to say, you know, the older
who hadn't sought him before rarely seek him. I'm not saying
it doesn't happen or can't happen, but it rarely does. So think
about these things, all right.