REMEMBER THY CREATOR

Text: Ecclesiastes 11:9-12:14

Well, school has started. Today is billed as "Back To School Day" at Mt. Zion. I am sure that most of you have figured that out by now with all the youth and children leading in the service today.

It amazes me at all the instructions the kids come home with this time of year. There are instructions on bus policy, lunchroom rules, book rules, internet rules....and the list goes on. Well, today, I have some instructions for the children and young people that they (and the rest of us) would do well to listen to. I am not going to give out papers that you have to read and send back but I am going to ask you to listen carefully to the instructions. We find them in the book of Ecclesiastes in the eleventh and twelfth chapters. Turn with me to chapter 11, verse 9 as we read God's word together.

The words of the "Preacher" as he calls himself (probably Solomon) are especially for those who are "young" in the congregation today. However, none of us are off the hook because they are good counsel for anyone who would listen. Let's look at what the preacher says.

I. BE CHEERFUL AND ENJOY LIFE WHILE YOU ARE YOUNG (v. 9)

Ecclesiastes 11:9--Be cheerful and enjoy life while you are young! Do what you want and find pleasure in what you see. But don't forget that God will judge you for everything you do.*

Oh how I wish that young people would heed these words today. Let me condense this counsel down to its essence----enjoy being a kid.

It is so hard to do that in this day and age. There is so much pressure on our young people to look and act like adults. When I was young it was considerably easier to act my age. If someone told me to act my age I would have had to answer, "I am."

I will talk about the boundaries to the following statement in a minute but the "Preacher" is giving good counsel when he says, "Do what you want and find pleasure in what you see." I think a valid application of this is to not worry so much about what other people say when they point a finger at you and say stuff like, "Why don't you act your age!" A good answer to that (unless it is your Mom or Dad who are pointing their finger) is, "I am acting my age." Young ladies, if you want to get out your dolls and play with them do it. Young men, if you get a hankering for a game of army men have at it.

A few months ago I surprised Matthew when I sat down with him on the floor while he was playing with his army men. I a few minutes I was bombing his men and racking up victory after victory. Matthew said, "Dad, you play army men better than my friends." I'm glad he didn't say, "Why don't you act your age." I guess I would have had to say, "I am." So, go ahead and have fun.

The preacher also says to take pleasure in what you see. This is the art of seeing the world through a child's eyes. Oh how quickly we lose that gift. When Margaret was about three years old I took her squirrel hunting one evening. We did not get any squirrels but we had a wonderful time tromping through the woods together. As we sat on a ridge to watch the world go to sleep she pointed toward the fading light in the west and said, "Look daddy, a rainbow." It was nearly dark and there was not a cloud in sight so I said, "Where is it?". She pointed again and I saw her "rainbow". It was a small tree was bent over with its top touching the ground and the arch of its trunk formed a rainbow. My grownup eyes would have missed out on a rainbow if they had not been aided by the eyes of a child.

So, enjoy being a kid (there is no age limit on that term), do what you want and take pleasure in what you see. Now, for the boundaries.

II. DON'T FORGET THAT GOD WILL JUDGE YOU FOR EVERYTHING YOU DO

In other words, as you are enjoying being a kid and doing what you want and taking pleasure in what you see, remember that you need to live to please God. One day you will stand before Him and he will open a book that contains a record of everything we have done. We find this in Revelation 20:12.

Jesus said these words to us in Matthew 16:27--- For the Son of man shall come in the glory of his Father with his angels; and then he shall reward every man according to his works.

I hate to tell you young people this but most adults seem to forget what the Preacher of Ecclesiastes says. Somewhere along the line they forget that God will judge them for everything they do. I have to minister in a lot of hard situations and a lot of these situations are the result of grownups making wrong choices in life. They sinned against God and even in this life are having to pay a terrible price for their actions. Some of the lives God has placed in my path were damaged because of wrong decisions that were made while the people were young.

Don't forgot that God is watching and taking notes and one day the book will be open and read back to you and you will be judged accordingly.

III. RID YOURSELF OF ALL WORRY AND PAIN (v. 10)

Ecclesiastes 11:10--- Rid yourself of all worry and pain, because the wonderful moments of youth quickly disappear.

Let Mom and Dad take care of things. When you have a problem, when something is bothering you talk with your parents about it and certainly with your heavenly Father.

Philippians 4:6-7--- 6 Don't worry about anything, but pray about everything. With thankful hearts offer up your prayers and requests to God. 7 Then, because you belong to Christ Jesus, God will bless you with peace that no one can completely understand. And this peace will control the way you think and feel.

Learn to do this while you are young. It will help establish a pattern that will serve you well when you are old. The old hymn puts it very well:

Have we trial and temptations? Is there trouble anywhere?
We should never be discouraged, Take it to the Lord in prayer:
Can we find a friend so faithful, Who will all our sorrows share?
Jesus Knows our every weakness, Take it to the Lord in prayer.

The cares of this world will descend on you soon enough. The Preacher says, "The wonderful moments of youth quickly disappear." So learn early on to cast all your cares on God because He cares for you (I Peter 5:7).

IV. BEGIN NOW, WHILE YOU ARE YOUNG, TO KEEP GOD ON YOUR MIND AT ALL TIMES.

Ecclesiastes 12:1--- Keep your Creator in mind while you are young! In years to come, you will be burdened down with troubles and say, "I don't enjoy life anymore."

Life is going to get harder. I don't like being the one to tell you that but it is true. The Preacher paints a pretty hard picture of life. Let me read it to you from the Contemporary English Version:

Ecclesiastes 12:2-14--- 2 Someday the light of the sun and the moon and the stars will all seem dim to you. Rain clouds will remain over your head. 3 Your body will grow feeble, your teeth will decay, and your eyesight fail. 4 The noisy grinding of grain will be shut out by your deaf ears, but even the song of a bird will keep you awake. 5 You will be afraid to climb up a hill or walk down a road. Your hair will turn as white as almond blossoms. You will feel lifeless and drag along like an old grasshopper. We each go to our eternal home, and the streets are filled with those who mourn. 6 The silver cord snaps, the golden bowl breaks; the water pitcher is smashed, and the pulley at the well is shattered. 7 So our bodies return to the earth, and the life-giving breath returns to God. 8 Nothing makes sense. I have seen it all—nothing makes sense. 9 I was a wise teacher with much understanding, and I collected a number of proverbs that I had carefully studied. 10 Then I tried to explain these things in the best and most accurate way. 11 Words of wisdom are like the stick a farmer uses to make animals move. These sayings come from God, our only shepherd, and they are like nails that fasten things together. 12 My child, I warn you to stay away from any teachings except these. There is no end to books, and too much study will wear you out. 13 Everything you were taught can be put into a few words: Respect and obey God! This is what life is all about. 14 God will judge everything we do, even what is done in secret, whether good or bad.

Children, young people--- hang onto God. The road ahead is going to get pretty rough. Respect Him and obey Him. This is what life is all about.

V. MAKE SURE YOUR ETERNAL HOME IS GOING TO BE WITH GOD.

The writer of Ecclesiastes says in verse 5 that one day we will each go to our eternal home. You are going to go somewhere when you die. It is going to be either heaven or hell. The only way to heaven is through Jesus Christ who said, "I am the way, the truth, and the life!" Jesus answered. "Without me, no one can go to the Father."

Without Jesus life is going to be very hard and will not even make sense but eternity is going to be much harder without Him. Hell is a horrible place and it is forever. Jesus died for you so that you can have joy in this life and heaven in the next life.

Remember what the Preacher said, "Everything you were taught can be put into a few words: Respect and obey God! This is what life is all about." God does not want anyone to go to hell, He wants everyone to be in heaven with Him (2 Peter 3:9). To obey Him fully is to give your life to Jesus and let Him take control.

The words of the Preacher of Ecclesiastes were directed primarily toward the young today but they are good words for all of us:

Be cheerful and enjoy life, don't forget that God will judge us for everything we do,
leave all your cares at the feet of Jesus, keep God on your mind at all time, and make sure that your eternal home is going to be with God in heaven. I cannot think of any better counsel than that.

*Note: All scripture in italics is copied from The Contemporary English [computer file], electronic ed., Logos Library System, (Nashville: Thomas Nelson) 1997, c1995 by the American Bible Society