Sermon on January 10, 2010
Ecclesiastes 12:1-7 Remember your Creator in the days of your youth, before the days of trouble come and the years approach when you will say, “I find no pleasure in them”— before the sun and the light and the moon and the stars grow dark, and the clouds return after the rain; when the keepers of the house tremble, and the strong men stoop, when the grinders cease because they are few, and those looking through the windows grow dim; when the doors to the street are closed and the sound of grinding fades; when men rise up at the sound of birds, but all their songs grow faint; when men are afraid of heights and of dangers in the streets; when the almond tree blossoms and the grasshopper drags himself along and desire no longer is stirred. Then man goes to his eternal home and mourners go about the streets. Remember him—before the silver cord is severed, or the golden bowl is broken; before the pitcher is shattered at the spring, or the wheel broken at the well, and the dust returns to the ground it came from, and the spirit returns to God who gave it. 1/10/10
In Christ Jesus Dear Friend,
It seems to me that one of the things that some people joke about most in life is aging. We also joke about growing old with the ever popular, “you know you’re old if” statements. You know you are old if most of your dreams are re-runs. You know you are old if your knees buckle but your belt won’t…or You know you are old if you try to straighten the wrinkles in your socks and you find you aren’t wearing any. Like it or not, all of us grow old. Some enjoy joking about aging, but deep down inside growing old is something many want to avoid. Millions of dollars worth of books and equipment, showing people how to avoid growing have been sold. Health food manufacturers have built huge businesses producing special foods that promise it. Genetic scientists are researching ways to prevent it. But age still happens and there is no avoiding it. The Lord’s message to you and me today is Remember your Creator in the days of your youth, before the days of trouble come. Don’t Wait Until You Are Old.
It isn’t a tragedy to grow old physically, but it’s inevitable. It is a normal part of life. All of our bodies grow old! Our text from Ecclesiastes says the same thing. Remember your Creator in the days of your youth, before the days of trouble come and the years approach when you will say, “I find no pleasure in them.” What the Lord is saying is that we are not to waste the days of your youth. The time is coming when you will not be able to do the things you are doing today. The days of trouble come and the years approach when you will say, “I find no pleasure in them.” You will get old. And you will find it difficult to enjoy life. An old man at the time of David says the same thing, 2 Samuel 19:35 I am now eighty years old. Can I tell the difference between what is good and what is not? Can your servant taste what he eats and drinks? Can I still hear the voices of men and women singers? Why should your servant be an added burden to my lord the king?
Our text goes on to list the characteristics of old growing old and it does it in a very picturesque way. Let’s look at the picture and notice how accurate a description it is of growing old. The time is coming when the sun and the light and the moon and the stars grow dark. The sun and light are pictures of the good times and the dark and the gloom are pictures of difficult times. Jeremiah says it like this Jeremiah 13:16 Give glory to the LORD your God before he brings the darkness, before your feet stumble on the darkening hills. You hope for light, but he will turn it to thick darkness and change it to deep gloom. For many growing old is not the best day of your life.
Old age carries with it more wonderful things and the clouds return after the rain; Usually after the rain comes the sunshine and a person feels better after the rain. In old age instead of the sunshine after the rain the clouds of depression return and after the difficult times and instead of the sunshine there are more tears of rain.
In old age The keepers of the house tremble. The Keepers of the house are a person’s hands and feet, his mind and his internal organs. The keepers of the house tremble. Our hands begin to tremble. Our feet shuffle. Our minds are not as sharp as before. And then our internal organs begin to wear out and we get sick more often. Our heart fails. It is not fun to grow old and recall how much we could do before and how little we can as we grow older.
Next in old age: The strong men stoop. Those who were The strong men now stoop. Once we were the strong men and women. Once we could lift a hundred pounds and now we can’t ever carry the groceies inside. Once we could run and now we need a cain or a walker to go somewhere. The older we get the less we can stand up straight. We try, but we stoop over. The strong men stoop.
Next in old age The grinders cease. Been to a dentist lately? I can still my mom and dad’s teeth sitting is a glass of water. And I can still see the look on my grandchilds face when mom took them out of the water and put them in her mouth. The grinders cease. It sure did change her diet and what foods she ate.
And those looking through the windows grow dim. Do you know where your glasses are? The time is coming when you will not be able to see like you used to. You will need glasses to read and then they will not be enough and you will need stronger glasses to read. And then perhaps the time will come when you need glasses to drive or to see at a distance. And the worst is yet to come, when you have to have your glasses on to find your glasses.
Next: when the doors to the street are closed. When are afaid to talk because we can’t remember if we already said that. When the door, our lips, are closed and we can’t remember the person’s name.
Next: and the sound of grinding fades; when men rise up at the sound of birds, but all their songs grow faint; How frustraing to wake when the rooster crows and not to be able to hear it. How frustrating to ask again and again,” What did you say? I’m sorry but could you repeat that? I can’t hear as well anymore and this hearing aid just doesn’t seem to work like it did before. What did you say?”
Next: when men are afraid of heights and of dangers in the streets; This refers to fear of risks in life, fear of challenges and new things. So, we are “old” when we want to keep things the same…to play it safe…when we are afraid to take chances …afraid of the future….afraid that tomorrow will be filled with dark days. Some old people look at life with anxiety and fear. Now it is certain that we are all going to grow old in body….but we do not have to grow old in spirit. I have known people in their 30’s who have all the mental characteristics of old age…they are crabby, bitter, hostile… Then there are others who are frail in body from the passing of years. But their attitudes are young, they are excited, optimistic, friendly.They are not old! They are not bored nor are they boring. They know that no matter what age they are the Lord is still with them.
Next: The almond tree blossoms. In the East the hair is mostly dark. The white head of the old among the dark-haired is like an almond tree, with its white blossoms, among the dark trees. The almond tree flowers on a leafless stock in winter while the other trees are flowerless. when the almond tree blossoms and the grasshopper drags himself along and desire no longer is stirred. When the stength is gone and he hobbles along and has no desire for any of the things of this world. When a person reaches this point in his or her life, it is almost over. All that remains is Then man goes to his eternal home and mourners go about the streets. All that remains is the funeral service.
Now what is the point of this picture of growing old? Look at the first verse of our text again. Remember your Creator in the days of your youth, before the days of trouble come.The time is coming for all of us that we will grow old. We are young and then we become old. And unless we die first we will all follow the same pattern that the writer of Ecclesiates did. His hair turned white or fell out. His hearing and eyesight got bad. He didn’t have the strentgth to do what he did before. His mind was not as sharp. All of his body and mind went down hill. The end of this section of Scripture picks up on the first section, Remember him—before the silver cord is severed, or the golden bowl is broken; before the pitcher is shattered at the spring, or the wheel broken at the well, All of these are pictures of death. And the dust returns to the ground it came from, and the spirit returns to God who gave it. I wonder if it would make a difference in our lives if we knew ahead of time when we die. Would we do things differently? I think it would. I am reminded of a ledgend of a man who asked God to let him know when his life was nearing its end and when he would send the angel of death to get the man. And God said, “OK I will do that.” Time when on and the man grew older and then one day he heard a knock on his door and he opened the door and there stood the angel of death ready to take the man out of this life. The man was really upset because God had promised to give him a warning before he send the angel. And he said,”But God promised. He promised.” And the angel said, “God kept His promise. Look at your hair, what color is it? Look at how slow you walk and move and how poorly you see and hear. Those were all God’s warning signs that the end of your life was near. God kept his promise. He warned you.”
My Friend, Don’t Wait Until You Are Old. The Lord gives you and me the same warning. Remember your Creator in the days of your youth, before the days of trouble come… Remember him—before the silver cord is severed, or the golden bowl is broken; before the pitcher is shattered at the spring. Why the warning? So we can be prepared for when He come back to get us. We need to realize that how you finish a race is more important than how you start it.
We must also know that There is no retirement from the Christian life.We will retire from our careers. And today I am announcing my retirement at the end of the year 2010 but we never retire from our main job in life which is to be a 7-day per week 24-hour per day employee of Heaven. We never retire from the Lord’s service. And the more we realize this, the younger we will be.
“They say I am growing old, I’ve heard them tell it times untold,
In languages plain and bold - But I’m NOT growing old,
This old shell in which I liveIs growing old, But I’m not the shell.
What if my hair is turning grey? Grey hair are honorable, they say.
What if my eyesight’s growing dim? I still can see to follow Him
Who sacrificed His life for me Upon the Cross of Calvary.
What should I care if Time’s old plough Has left furrows on my brow?
Another house, not made with hand, Awaits for me in the Glory Land.
My hearing may not be as keen As in the past it might have been,
I still, can hear my Savior say In whispers soft, “This is the way.”
The outward man, do what he can To lengthen out his life’s short span,
Shall perish, and return to dust, As everything in nature must.
The inward man, the Scriptures say, Is growing stronger every day.
Then how can I be growing old When safe within my Savior’s fold?
E’re long my soul shall fly away, And leave this tenement of clay.
This robe of flesh I’ll drop and rise To seize the ‘everlasting prize’ -
I’ll meet you on the Streets of Gold, And prove that I’m not growing old. “