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Remember Your Creator (Ecclesiastes 11:7-12:8) - Pastor Kenneth Collins Maple · Fairview Presbyterian Church (PCA) Sermons

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Let's take our Bibles now and open them to Ecclesiastes.
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Once again to Ecclesiastes looking in verses
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or we'll say chapter 11 verse 7 and taking it
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through chapter 12 verse 8. And as we do that
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you can see that we are Coming towards the conclusion
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of this wonderful book, and even with this second
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to the last sermon in this series, we recognize
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how badly we need the Spirit's help in understanding
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what is here. Ancient Church Father Jerome said
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of what we're going to look at today, he said,
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this is the hardest section the hardest book.
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Now not to quibble with Jerome but I find many
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sections of Ecclesiastes very difficult but no
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doubt we do need the Spirit's help and so I'm
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gonna read Ecclesiastes 11, 7 and take it through
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12, 8. If you're still looking Ecclesiastes is
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located just past Proverbs which is just past
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Psalms If you get into the prophets of Isaiah
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and Jeremiah, Ezekiel, you've gone too far, but
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this is Ecclesiastes 11, 7 through 12, 8. Please
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give attention to the reading of God's word.
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Light is sweet, and it is pleasant for the eyes
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to see the sun. Okay, so far so good, not too
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hard yet. So if a person lives many years, Let
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him rejoice in them all, but let him remember
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that the days of darkness will be many. All that
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comes is vanity. Rejoice, oh young man, in your
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youth, and let your heart cheer you in the days
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of your youth. Walk in the ways of your heart
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and the sight of your eyes, but know that for
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all these things, God will bring you into judgment.
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Remove vexation from your heart and put away
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pain from your body, for youth and the dawn of
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life are vanity. Remember also your Creator in
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the days of your youth, before the evil days
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come and the years draw near of which you will
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say, I have no pleasure in them, before the sun
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and the light and the moon and the stars are
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darkened. and the clouds return after the rain.
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In the day when the keepers of the house tremble,
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and the strong men are bent, and the grinders
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cease because they are few, and those who look
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through the windows are dimmed, and the doors
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on the street are shut when the sound of the
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grinding is low, and one rises up at the sound
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of a bird, and all the daughters of song are
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brought low. They are afraid also of what is
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high. terrors are in the way the almond tree
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blossoms the grasshopper drags itself along and
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desire fails because man is going to his eternal
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home and the mourners go about the streets before
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the silver cord is snapped or the golden bowl
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is broken or the pitcher is shattered at the
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fountain or the wheel broken at the cistern and
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the dust returns to the earth as it was, and
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the spirit returns to God who gave it. Vanity
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of vanities, says the preacher. All is vanity.
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This is God's word. Let us pray. Holy Spirit,
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we give you thanks for this word and we ask that
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you would unfold it for us and that you would
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grant us understanding that from it we would
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grow in our faith and that we would leave from
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the sanctuary knowing Christ better because of
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this text, these things we ask in His name. Amen.
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For decades research has shown a depressing trend.
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Once teenagers finish high school, go off to
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college, maybe enter the workforce, a large percentage
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of them leave the church. Newfound freedom for
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young people, oftentimes the freedom to worship
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God or to not worship God. And for decades, roughly
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two -thirds of young people, when they have that
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freedom, They pull away from the church. Some
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leave never to return. Others leave intending
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to come back. They say, well, once I've graduated
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college or once I've got a real job, once I am
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married, once I have children, then I will return
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to the church as if faith in Jesus Christ is
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only for those over the age of 30. Recent trends,
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though, show a slight uptick, especially amongst
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young men. The Barna Research Group surveyed
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last year over 500 American Protestant pastors
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and found 40 % of them reporting greater involvement
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amongst young men between the ages of 18 and
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35. That sounds good, right? That's worth celebrating,
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isn't it? But hold on. Trends are not as positive
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amongst young women. And overall, what are we
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really talking about? But less than 30 % of the
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American population, less than 30 % participates
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regularly in worship. Now, why am I sharing these
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statistics with you? Am I preaching to the choir
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because you're here? Well, yes, I am. And the
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message for you is this. Remember your creator
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in the days of your youth. Remember your creator
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in the days of your youth. That's what we're
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talking about today. Additionally, we're also
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covering familiar territory again too. We're
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gonna talk about joy. Now when we began the book
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of Ecclesiastes, I wonder how many of you thought
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we would spend so much time on joy, but it's
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here in this book. And so just. Two main points
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for you, two verbs really for you this morning.
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Rejoicing in verses seven through 10 and in remembering
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in chapter 12, one through eight. We are not
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to put off rejoicing and we are not to put off
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remembering God. You were made to do this right
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now. Let's look at rejoicing first in chapter
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11, seven through 10. This is obviously near
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the end of the book. And Solomon names his audience,
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doesn't he? He uses two different words to refer
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to youth. He talks about youth, but he also talks
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about young men or a young man. But even as he
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seems to direct this towards younger people,
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I think that we can all receive this. This kind
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of instruction is for all who are able to receive
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it. And so look at verse nine, rejoice. This
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is an imperative, meaning it's a command. How
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interesting it is that we need a command to rejoice,
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right? I think that tells us something about
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ourselves. David Gibson says here, enjoyment
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is not only permitted, it is commanded. It's
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not only an opportunity, it is a divine imperative.
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This is a reminder of God's good gifts. and a
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call for us to remember them and enjoy them.
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This is not to put off enjoyment. Both rejoicing
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and remembering as we will see are to be done
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right now. Don't put off enjoyment, friends.
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God has given you good gifts. And through Christ,
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he has given himself. We are to enjoy him and
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enjoy what he gives to us. Why? Because we're
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not promised tomorrow, are we? And secondly,
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we should recognize, as I'm sure you all do,
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there are dark days ahead. I've said it before.
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You're either coming out of trouble or you're
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in trouble. or you will soon be going into trouble.
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And so we need to rejoice right now while we
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can to enjoy God's gifts. That's a problem with
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many Christians. That's actually a problem with
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many men. If I can be open and honest with you,
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sometimes I think I'm a little bit grumpy at
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times. And perhaps some of you feel that way
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about yourselves. Friends, again, this is a command
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to enjoy God, to enjoy this, to enjoy one another,
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and again those good gifts that God gives to
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us. That's the first problem is we don't enjoy,
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but secondly sometimes we pervert. those good
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gifts that God gives to us. And this is a heinous
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crime that people take the good things that God
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gives and they ignore his commands about them.
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They ignore God's commands about marriage. They
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ignore God's commands about food and drink. They
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ignore God's commands about money. Friends, true
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enjoyment only occurs when we enjoy as God intends
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for us too. And yet, many people call themselves
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Christians, act like it's the Wild West out there.
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As long as I'm not hurting anybody, I can do
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whatever I want. But friends, that's a terrible
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idea. Because look towards the end of verse nine.
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But know that for all these things, God will
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bring you into judgment. And this is why I believe
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verse 10 calls us to remove anger, to remove
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vexation, to remove wickedness, to remove evil,
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whatever your translation says. This is a call
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to holy and joyous living while we still can.
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Because the reality, and it's a reality that
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we've seen all across the Ecclesiastes, is that
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we are living in fleeting times. in a fleeting
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world. Remember the word that appears throughout
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this whole book. You didn't think we could get
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away with the end of the book and not say, hevel,
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vanity, right? It's all fleeting. And because
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it's fleeting, we must do the second verb listed
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here. We must remember. our Creator. Look at
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verses 1 through 8 of chapter 12. Charles Bridges
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said here, many have remembered their Creator
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too late in life, but none too soon. There was
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a man, once who was on his deathbed, and he,
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for his whole life long, had ignored the gospel.
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and he had turned down opportunities to go to
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church and he had turned down opportunities to
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be involved in Bible studies. It's not that the
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man was adversarial towards these things, he
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just didn't care for them. He felt that he had
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better things to do with his time until he lay
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on his deathbed and a friend came and sat next
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to him and shared the gospel. and the dying man
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believed. He received Jesus Christ into his heart.
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He trusted in Christ before he breathed his last
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breath. There is something wonderful about that,
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obviously. And there is rejoicing in heaven over
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such a conversion. But have you ever thought
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about this? There's also a little bit of sadness
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there. A confession of a wasted life. The confession
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of missing out on a lifetime of true joy and
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true service. Now certainly God is sovereign
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over these times, but Solomon's point is that
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the time to remember your creator is right now.
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Not tomorrow. Not next week. Not when you're
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30. Not when you have your dream job or 2 .5
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children. The time to remember your Creator is
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right now. And so if you're sitting in here in
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this sanctuary and you're barely listening, if
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you're sitting here just longing for this all
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to be over, then I'm talking to you. Sit up and
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listen. Pay attention and remember your Creator.
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right now before it's too late. And indeed, that
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word remember is a very rich word. I'm in chapter
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12, verse one. Remember also your creator. This
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word remember is more than simply just recalling
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something. It's more than just saying, hey, do
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you remember that time that we did this or that?
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No, it's much more rich than that. This word
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here in Hebrew actually carries an idea of commitment
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because when God remembers his people, He acts
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upon His covenant. If I can, I want to read to
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you a few different texts here to show you what
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I mean. Leviticus chapter 26 verse 45 says, I
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am the Lord. But it's not just God remembering,
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actually we have numerous texts that speak of
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what it means for us to remember. And so let
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me give you another one. This one is Numbers
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chapter 15 verse 40. So you shall remember and
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do all my commandments and be holy to your God.
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I am the Lord your God who brought you out of
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the land of Egypt to be your God. I am the Lord,
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your God. And so there's this understanding of
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obedience that is here within this word, remember.
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But there's also an idea of trusting in God,
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calling out to him when we're in need through
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the word remember, for perhaps you remember Jonah,
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thrown overboard. And in chapter two, verse seven
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of that book, he says, when my life was fainting
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away, I remembered the Lord, and my prayer came
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to you into your holy temple. And I could go
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on and on, but what's all wrapped up in this
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word, remember, is obedience, it's trust, it's
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repentance all together. Indeed, remember, if
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I can use that word, remember what Jesus said
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to his disciples. Remember. I am with you always,
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even to the end of the age. And so that word
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remember also has this encouraging element to
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it. But it's more than that. Continuing in chapter
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12, verse one, not just examining the word remember,
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but also examining the word creator. For why
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doesn't the text just say, remember God? Wouldn't
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that be sufficient? Well, friends, if you were
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to look at this in Hebrew, you would actually
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see that the word creator here is written in
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the plural. And so I think that what Solomon
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is doing here is echoing Genesis, because he
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does that so many times. The creation, the count,
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let us make man in our image. Again, it's written
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in the plural. And so what this may be doing,
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is reflecting on the very fact that the entire
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Trinity, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, were all
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actively involved in creation. And so remembering
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is living before God, knowing he is our sovereign
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maker, and obediently seeking his glory, repenting
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of sin, and embracing Jesus. This kind of remembering
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our creator is a lifelong. endeavor. And yet
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far too many people call themselves Christians
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and just seem to attend to God later on in their
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lives. Sometimes we treat God like we're making
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out a will. At some point in your lives, if someone
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hasn't already done so, someone will tell you,
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hey, it's time to make out a will, right? And
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it's a good idea. It's a wise idea. But typically
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people don't tell teenagers or young people to
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make out of will. It's when you're older, you
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have money, you started a family. It's what mature
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people do. Well, friends, don't wait. Don't put
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off knowing you're a creator in this way. Remember
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the statistics. Young people expect that there
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will be a time to come back to God, to come back
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to the church. People act as if they'll live
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forever. But you don't have that promise of forever,
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not in this life. You don't have that promise
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of tomorrow. The time is right now. And the way
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this is written helps us to see that because
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in chapter 12, verses one through eight, you
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see the word before or something equivalent to
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it three different times. Remember your creator
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in the days of your youth before the evil days
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come. Solomon is telling us here, The clock is
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ticking. The clock is ticking. The days of youth
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will fade. And our bodies will start to break
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down. That's actually what this portion of the
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text is really getting at here. It's showing
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the signs of aging as we are moving further and
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further towards our death. Indeed, Jeff went.
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who is a wonderful pastor at Second, said of
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these passages, this is Solomon's ode to death.
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We are all like automobiles, driven off the lot
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and beginning to depreciate. And we might be
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coming into the prime of our lives, but soon
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we'll need a tune -up. And soon those parts will
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start to wear out. Indeed, many have looked at
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this very closely as if to say that all of the
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different statements, the verses in here are
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referring to specific body parts that do wear
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out. And we could certainly do that, but I want
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us to get the big picture here. Friends, we are
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all moving towards our death. We will either
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die or the Lord Jesus will come back for us.
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But as Solomon is writing here, he is writing
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under the assumption that we will all die. And
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so look at some of these pictures. I don't have
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time to go over all of them, but verses three
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through five. This is kind of a picture of a
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once glorious house. But now it's in ruin. Or
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what comes next in verse five, it talks about
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the almond tree blossoming. There again, verse
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five. This is the picture of an older person
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with beautiful, a beautiful head of white hair,
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a symbol of old age. And then what comes immediately
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next is this mention of a grasshopper who drags
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himself along. What's going on there? That grasshopper
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no longer has the hop in him, does he? This is
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all showing us that life is heavy. Life is fading.
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Indeed, look in verse two. Before the sun and
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the light and the moon and the stars are darkened
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and the clouds return after the rain, over 30
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times within the book of Ecclesiastes, the sun
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is mentioned. But now, in the last chapter, the
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sun goes dark. God turns off the lights. Indeed,
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I believe that there's more going on than just
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speaking personally, just speaking individually
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about our own deaths. Actually, this text has
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this kind of eschatological bent to it. Benjamin
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Shaw, Professor Benjamin Shaw sees two eschatons
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here. The individual eschaton referring to the
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last days of one person's life, but secondly,
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the last days of the world. Philip Riken says
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here, our end time is like the end time. And
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that's what makes this text so difficult. You
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want to make a text challenging? Just make it
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sound like Daniel or Ezekiel or Revelation, right?
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Indeed, Ezekiel 32, seven and eight sounds like
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this. I will cover the sun with a cloud and the
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moon shall not give its light. All the bright
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lights of heaven will I make dark over you. and
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put darkness on your land, declares the Lord
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God. Friends, that is judgmental language. That
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sounds like day of the Lord type of language.
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Now, Solomon has not been giving us a full doctrine
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of last things here, but as he speaks here of
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our end, I think he is speaking of the end of
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this world as we know it, because our creator
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has ordained a time when all that is truly heathen,
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will really be Heavile. Our bodies break down
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over time, but God has also appointed a time
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for the end of our present age. Theologians call
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this the Church Age that will continue on all
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the way until Jesus returns. And so the time,
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friends, the time to know Christ is right now.
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Either because of our own aging, toward the grave
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or because Christ will come like a thief in the
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night. You don't know the time. Your present
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age in the world will be met with an appearance
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before God. Indeed, look again at verse five.
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There's this kind of picture, and I think it's
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verse five, this picture of a funeral procession
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going through with mourners on the sides of the
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road here. Again. It's showing us that it's time
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to remember your creator is right now, not when
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you're in the coffin. Indeed, he kind of pauses
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with the metaphors for a second, and he says,
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he mentions your eternal home. Very literally,
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eternal home is the long home. It's what happens
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after this life. And then he uses more imagery
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here in verse six, the silver cord, the golden
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bowl. These are things of value that once brought
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light and now it shows these things are smashed.
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Or what's next, the pitcher shattered and the
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wheel broken. This is a picture of no more water,
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things that we need for life, such that we can
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say right along with Solomon here, the return.
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to the dust. He is remembering Genesis 3 .9.
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For you are dust, and to dust you shall return.
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He is showing us that life dries up. And so friends,
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what happens after that? Where is this all going?
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Well, again, look back at chapter 11, verse nine,
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the end of that verse, as he mentions the judgment
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here. The book of Hebrews says it is appointed
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once for man to die and then the judgment. This
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is not reflected in the ESV. It might be reflected
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in your translation, but Hebrew manuscripts typically
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carry a definite article there in Ecclesiastes
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11 .9, such that we're not talking about a generic
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judgment. We are talking about the judgment,
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the day of judgment, which I believe fits with
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the apocalyptic nature. of this passage. And
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so what is the judgment? From Westminster Confession
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of Faith 33, God hath appointed a day wherein
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he will judge the world in righteousness by Jesus
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Christ, to whom all power and judgment is given
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of the Father, in which day not only the apostate
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angels shall be judged, but likewise all persons
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that have lived on the earth shall appear. before
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the tribunal of Christ to give account of their
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thoughts, their words, and their deeds, and to
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receive according to what they have done in the
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body, whether good or evil. Friends, that's all
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persons. There is a mistaken thought amongst
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Christians that Christians won't have to be at
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the judgment. That's wrong. We all will. And
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we will all have to give an account for how we
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have lived. And what that means is that what
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you do right now, the way you spend your time,
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the way you spend your money, the way you spend
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your talents and your gifts, the way that you
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serve other people, the way that you love other
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people, all of that matters for eternity. Because
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all things will be called into judgment. all
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things. Now we're not saved by these things.
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Jesus does that. But these things, the way that
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we live, testify to our saving faith. And so
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you see, friends, you know this about yourselves.
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We are all sinful. We all fall short of the glory
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of God. And therefore, the only way to stand
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in the judgment is to fall at the feet of Jesus.
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That's the only way. The only way to stand on
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the judgment is to fall at the feet of Jesus
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now. He took the full punishment of your sin
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upon the tree. His substitutionary atonement
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for all who believe in which we receive his righteousness
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and he takes upon himself our sin. And we get
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the good news. John 5 24, whoever hears my word
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and believes him who sent me has eternal life.
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He does not come into judgment, but he has passed
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from death to life. That's the good news for
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the believer. You don't get that good news if
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you're not a believer. For the unbeliever. The
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one who has not remembered the creator. The one
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who has not given heed to the son in faith. This
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is a terrifying and eternal reality. Judgment
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that doesn't let up. Judgment that doesn't get
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better. Judgment that is not hevel. It doesn't
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pass away. Because unlike this life, eternal
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life is not fleeting. And as there is no heaven
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in eternal judgment, there is no heaven in eternal
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life with Christ. Think about this section, especially
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one through eight of chapter 12. Think about
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all of the dark imagery that is in here. The
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days of darkness, the vexation, the evil days,
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the darkened skies, the clouds, the house falling
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in, the terrors, the mourners, the funeral, and
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the vanity of it all. This is life. under the
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sun. But what God promises to you right now is
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life with the sun, such that you can leave behind
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your evil and sinful ways and be reconciled to
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your creator now by believing in Jesus. Remember
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the befores of this passage. Young people, don't
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step away from the church thinking, I'll come
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back to it when it suits my schedule. An older
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crowd, don't lose heart. If I can, let me read
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this to you. Don't lose heart from 2 Corinthians
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4, 16 through 18. We do not lose heart. Though
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our outer self is wasting away, our inner self
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is being renewed day by day. For this light momentary
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affliction is preparing for us an eternal weight
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of glory beyond all comparison. As we look not
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to the things that are seen, but to the things
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that are unseen. For the things that are seen
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are transient, but the things that are unseen
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are eternal. And so congregation, hear me out.
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Don't put off Christ. The one who isn't ready
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says, come Lord Jesus, just not yet. I have a
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few things to take care of. But for the believer,
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we should be living in such a constant state
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of repentance and love for God and obedience
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to the scriptures that we would pray that second
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to the last line of the Bible. Come Lord Jesus.
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If I can be overly simplistic and yet use scripture,
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at the end of the days, at the final judgment,
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you're gonna hear one of two things. Depart from
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me, for I never knew you. Or, well done, good
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and faithful servant. And so Christian, press
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on, rejoicing in God your creator, remembering
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him. and giving praise for what he has done in
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Christ Jesus. Let's pray. Our Lord and our God,
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we thank you that you have looked on us with
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such mercy and compassion and kindness that you
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have saved us from what we deserve. You've given
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us Jesus Christ and I ask Lord that if there
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be any within this sanctuary who have not remembered
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you, who do not know Jesus, that you would fill
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their hearts with your spirit and turn those
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hearts to knowing Jesus Christ, who went through
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it all for us. Father, as we wait for Jesus'
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return, I ask you would help us at all times
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to remember you, to not put off faith, But instead,
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Lord, would you sanctify us more and more that
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we would give ourselves to your worship, to your
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study, and to your service? These things we ask
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in Christ's name. Amen.