"Remember Your Creator"

Well, good morning, church. It's good to see you all this morning. Would you turn with me again to the book of Ecclesiastes?

Today, we're nearing the end of the book, not quite the end. We'll do one more sermon after today, but we're near the end.

We're looking at chapter 11, verse 7, and we'll read through chapter 12, verse 7.

So, chapter 11, verse 7, chapter 12, verse 7.

So, let me pray for us, and then I'll read our text.

Father, as we come to your Word, we ask that you would give us ears to hear and hearts ready to receive what it is your Spirit is saying to us through these words.

Lord, lift our eyes to you by your Spirit. Help us to see Christ in His glory, that in beholding His glory, we might be changed more and more into His image as you intend us to be.

We pray this in His mighty name. Amen.

All right, Ecclesiastes 11, 7 through 12, 7.

It says this,

So, act one, scene three of Shakespeare's play Hamlet.

And at the climax of his speech to his son, Laertes, the character Polonius says this.

Do you remember what he says?

This above all, this above all, to thine own self be true.

Here's the sum of wisdom that Polonius wants to impart to his son.

Before his son leaves for the university, this father says,

This above all, to thine own self be true.

Now, as late moderns broaching the second quarter of the 21st century, this sort of life wisdom is the kind we've grown very accustomed to, right?

We love the sound of this.

To thine own self be true.

Who would argue with that today?

And isn't that the key to real flourishing, right?

Who wouldn't tell their son or their daughter leaving for college the same thing?

Be true to yourself.

Be authentic.

Don't let anyone tell you otherwise.

Now, the irony in Shakespeare's play is that these words come from Polonius.

Now, if you've read Hamlet, you know that Polonius is not the paragon of wisdom and a life well lived,

but he's a self-serving, meddling, and downright unpleasant bore.

You see, for Shakespeare, to thine own self be true, is actually the pompous, hypocritical, and empty advice of a man who ends up spying on his own children

and who dies hiding behind a curtain in order to eavesdrop on a private conversation.

Not exactly the sort of character from whom you want to take overarching life wisdom, right?

Now, consider how different that is.

Consider how different that is to what we've been considering this semester in the book of Ecclesiastes.

Unlike Polonius, the speaker of Ecclesiastes actually tried to live life to the fullest under the sun.

He actually pursued pleasure and wealth and wisdom and set his mind to build a lasting legacy.

He was true to himself in the deepest degree.

He lived the life most of us are telling ourselves we ought to be living.

Be authentic.

Live your truth.

To thine own self be true.

And for the most part, Ecclesiastes achieved that goal.

But what did he find?

He found that it was fleeting and it was empty.

The vanity of vanities.

And so, here, as Ecclesiastes nears the end of his exploration of life under the sun,

as he now begins to sum up the message he wants to pass on to the next generation,

the hard-earned wisdom he's won, the key to real flourishing,

his central message becomes this.

Remember your creator in the days of your youth.

It's not a message of self-centeredness or self-actualization or self-expression,

but God-centeredness.

That's the key.

Remember your creator in the days of your youth.

Now, with our time together, I want to meditate on why and how.

Why should we remember our creator in the days of our youth?

And how can we do that?

First, let's meditate on why.

Why should we remember our creator in the days of our youth?

And I think we can point to at least three reasons that Ecclesiastes has been putting up before us.

And the first is this.

Remembering our creator in the days of our youth is the only pathway to lasting joy in our youth.

And this message runs throughout the book of Ecclesiastes.

As Ecclesiastes has lived for wealth and for pleasure and for fame,

he found that it was all empty.

And then when he turned to base his life on earthly wisdom and earthly philosophy,

he found that that too couldn't provide the meaning and stability that his soul was looking for.

In fact, even the best human wisdom, which was certainly better than foolishness, of course,

but even the best of human wisdom was at the end of the day, fleeting.

It was vanity.

What does this mean?

It means that lasting joy can only be found not by living life exclusively for what's under the sun.

Instead, we must seek the one who created all these things.

Only in relationship with our creator will life have lasting meaning.

Too often we think,

I'll care about God when I'm older.

When I'm young,

I want to live.

But Ecclesiastes comes to us and says,

listen,

life apart from your creator isn't living.

It's chasing the wind.

It's chasing the wind.

Trust me.

I've tried it.

When Beth and I first moved to New Haven,

we would make regular trips to Ikea to get things for our apartment.

Some of you may be moved here this summer and have been to Ikea far more than you care to admit.

Right?

And if you've ever purchased furniture at Ikea,

you know that when you bring it home,

it doesn't look anything like it looks like on the showroom floor.

It comes in a flat brown cardboard box.

And when you open the box,

you don't find inside the box a nice piece of furniture all ready to go.

You basically find a bunch of pieces and parts.

It doesn't look anything like a sofa or a bookshelf.

You have to put it all together.

But thankfully,

as you shake out all the hardware and the particle board,

there's a set of instructions

with that weird nondescript guy there,

whatever his name is,

the Ikea guy.

Now,

does it make much sense

to look at that pile of parts

that you know you really want to become your sofa

and say,

who needs instructions?

When I'm young,

I want to live.

And just plunge headlong into the project.

How many hours will go by

before you realize

that you're just chasing the wind?

And come on,

in our town,

some of you are very mechanically adept

and very skilled.

But come on,

a lot of us are not that mechanically skilled,

right?

That's not what brought us to New Haven.

Wouldn't your time have been better spent

remembering

that this piece of furniture

was designed by someone

who in grace has showed you

how it all goes together?

And friends,

if that's true of a piece of furniture,

how much more true of a human life?

You have a designer

who wants to show you

how it all goes together,

who wants to show you

how life is meant to be lived

because He made it for you

as a gift.

Remember your Creator

in the days of your youth.

That's the path to joy.

But let's press this point a little deeper.

What if,

in the days of your youth,

you meet not just with success

or prosperity

and all the pieces fitting together,

but with failure

or adversity?

What about when trials come?

It's easy to think

that trials and hardships

are actually barriers

to believing in God.

That adversity makes it harder

to believe in God.

And the truth is

we never want to downplay

genuine questions

or genuine doubts, right?

Ecclesiastes is a book

that welcomes questions

and doubts.

And given the fact

that Ecclesiastes

is in the Bible,

that must mean that God

welcomes your genuine questions

and doubts too.

He's put a whole book in there

so that you can know,

you can bring your doubts

and questions to Him.

But when it comes to trials

and hardships,

Scripture doesn't come

and answer all of our questions,

but it does offer hope.

If you believe that life

is ultimately

a random series of accidents,

time and matter

and energy and chance

sort of just bouncing off

of one another,

then suffering really

is meaningless.

And you have very few resources

to face it.

And probably the best you can do

is avoid it

as long as you can.

But if there is a Creator

whose good and wise purposes

are being worked out

even in the midst of trials,

then even if you don't

and can't know

all the reasons,

you can know

that suffering

is not purposeless

or meaningless.

You see,

remembering your Creator

in the days of your youth,

it won't just save you

a lot of heartache,

it will also bring you

a lot of comfort

in the midst of heartache too.

But this is not just advice

for our younger years.

Why should we remember

our Creator

in the days of our youth?

It doesn't just bring joy

in our younger years,

but second,

remembering our Creator

in the days of our youth

is what brings peace

in old age.

Look again at verse 1

of chapter 12.

Remember also your Creator

in the days of your youth,

before the evil days come.

And that word evil there

can mean something like

before the trying

and troubling days come.

Before the evil days come

and the years draw near

of which you will say,

I have no pleasure in them.

And then,

in verses 2 through 6,

Ecclesiastes presents

this extended metaphor

of aging.

Look over those metaphors.

Don't you see there?

Our eyesight grows dim.

Our hands tremble.

Our hearing goes away.

Our hair turns gray.

If we have any,

our strength wanes.

Scan through these verses

for yourself.

Imagine how many of these images

of a household

are pictures of human aging.

Ecclesiastes is reminding us

that a day is coming

when the vigor of our youth

will pass

and old age will set in.

And we will find ourselves

beset with many limitations.

And friend,

as you begin to age,

what will keep you

from becoming increasingly bitter

or cynical

or afraid?

as all the things

that you used to be able

to do

and all the honor

and admiration

you used to receive

from others

begins to be lost.

Ecclesiastes says,

start practicing

now

what will be

your only hope

of peace then.

Start practicing

now,

young person.

Start practicing

now

what it means

to be a dependent

creature

before your

almighty creator.

Because the days

are swiftly coming

when you will be

dependent

whether you like it

or not.

And if you've learned

to lean

on your creator

in the days

of your youth,

then old age

will be

just one

more step

on the path

of learning

to rest

in God's goodness

and sovereignty.

If in the days

of your youth

you've already

come to grips

with the fact

that your life

is not your own

but a gift

from God

that you don't

belong to yourself

but you belong

to your creator

who made you,

then old age

won't steal

your dignity

or your hope

or your peace

because you've

already learned

that your dignity

and your hope

don't come

from your independence

or your productive

capacities.

peace.

They come from

being a creature

made in God's image

bearing the image

of a holy,

good,

loving,

and excellent

creator.

And so you can face

old age

with peace

because you've already

learned

where your true

dignity

comes from.

And old age

far from stealing

it away

makes it shine

all the more.

But what if you've

already come

to the brink

of old age

and maybe you're

starting to realize

that you haven't

lived your younger

years remembering

your creator?

What if all of this

is just now

coming into view

for you?

Is it too late

to begin?

Not at all.

Ecclesiastes

aims his words

at the young

but there's good

reason to think

that he speaks

as an old man.

He came to

his realization

late in life

and so can you.

You don't need

to face

your latter years

apart from the

truth that there

is a God

who created

all things

and who created

us human beings

in his own image

to love

and know

and serve him.

It is not

too late

to come

to the deep

realization

that your life

is not

a meaningless

blip

in a silent

cosmos

but your life

is the gift

of a loving

and good God

who calls you

to himself

to know him

and to love him

and to worship him

with as many days

as you have left

and to turn

to him

in hope

that as a creature

made in his image

you were created

to live forever

in his presence.

The end of our passage

says

the dust returns

to the earth

as it was

and the spirit

returns to God

who gave it.

And this brings us

to the third reason

why we must remember

our creator

in the days

of our youth.

It's not just about

joy in our younger years

and peace

in our older years.

It's also about hope

when our years

come to an end.

You see

verses 2 through 6

aren't just

an allegory

of old age.

They are

at the same time

deeply apocalyptic

imagery

of God's

final judgment

and reckoning

of creation.

When the sun

and the moon

and the stars

are darkened

and all the earth

is silenced

before the creator

when he comes

to judge the earth

in perfect justice

see in those images

and hear in those images

resonance

of what the prophets

spoke of.

When in deeply

symbolic language

they talked about

the creator

coming back

to his creation

and his glory

being so weighty

that even the stars

fall from the sky

and we stand

before the one

who is awesome

in holiness.

Friend,

imagine facing

that day

having lived

your whole life

for wealth

or pleasure

or fame.

Imagine facing

that day

having lived

your whole life

for wisdom

or knowledge.

Imagine facing

that day

having lived

your whole life

even for morality

and good works

but not having

lived them

for God

your creator.

Imagine facing

that day

when the creator

finally calls

creation to account

and realizing

that you've

lived your whole

life

using God's

good gifts

but having

given no thought

to him

the giver

but instead

having

functionally

rejected him

in your heart.

What will you

and I bring

to God

on that day

when he calls

our lives

to account?

Remember

your creator

in the days

of your youth

before the sun

and moon

and stars

give way

and before

the picture

is shattered

of the fountain

before the creator

returns

to reclaim

his creation

in perfect

judgment.

As C.S. Lewis

said in that

memorable part

of mere Christianity

he said

that won't be

the day

for choosing

sides

it will be

the day

when it is

revealed

whose side

you are

truly on

and on that

day it will

be no use

saying that

you choose

to bow

before God

when in fact

you are

unable

to stand.

But how

can a creature

stand

before the creator?

Because after all

we humans

are not just

creatures

are we?

Beautiful

in his image

yes

but we are

not just

creatures

we are

sinners.

In light

of that

how

how should

we remember

our creator?

we have seen

why we need

to do it

but now

we need

to consider

how

how do

we remember

our creator?

And here

the Bible

gives a

somewhat

surprising

answer

because you

know the

natural human

response

seems to be

well if we are

going to

remember our

creator

then we have

to lift

our thoughts

up to God

we have to

somehow

seek

God above

we have to

climb up

out of our

mundane existence

somehow

someway

get to God

and many

religions will

offer you a

path for

achieving some

sort of

transcendent

connection

some kind of

path that you

can climb

but Christianity

is very

different

Christianity

says you can't

actually climb

your way to

God

not through

moral efforts

not through

spiritual

practices

you and I

are creatures

finite

limited

we can't

traverse the

distance

between our

finite existence

and God's

infinitely

holy

presence

but more

than that

we're sinners

we're flawed

and fallen

there's no

way we can

get from us

to God

the only

hope

we have

of remembering

our creator

and being in

relationship with

our creator

is if the

creator comes

down to us

only if the

creator

remembers us

will we have

any hope of

remembering him

and that

friends is

exactly

what the

earliest

Christians

believed

and proclaimed

had happened

in the

person of

Jesus Christ

the creator

had come

to us

listen to

what the

apostle Paul

wrote about

Jesus

during the

lifetime

of the

eyewitnesses

of Jesus

ministry

Paul writes

this

when there

were plenty

of people

around

who lived

with Jesus

and knew

Jesus

and walked

with him

and could

testify to

him

Paul writes

this

he says

Jesus

Christ

is the

image

of the

invisible

God

and the

rightful

owner

of all

creation

because

by him

all things

were created

in heaven

and on

earth

visible

and invisible

whether

thrones

or dominions

or rulers

or authorities

all things

were created

through him

and for

him

and he's

before all

things

and in him

all things

hold together

what did

the eyewitnesses

of Jesus's

ministry

see

they saw him

heal the

sick

and they saw

him restore

sight to the

blind

and they saw

him cause

the weak

to walk

again

and they

saw him

calm storms

and cast

out demons

and they saw

him even

raise the

dead to

life

who could

do such

a thing

who could

exercise

such complete

control

over the

material

of the

created

order

both seen

and unseen

friends

it was not

without

evidence

that the

earliest

Christians

proclaimed

Jesus

to be

one

with

God

the very

creator

of all

things

the one

through whom

and by whom

all things

exist

but look

again

at that

evidence

and what

do you

see

you see

the broken

made whole

and you see

chaos

restored

to order

you see

frightened

fishermen

brought peace

in the midst

of a storm

you see

death

pushed back

and life

restored

you see

these mighty

deeds

that Jesus

did

were not

just

evidence

that Jesus

was the

creator

although

certainly

that

but that

he was also

the redeemer

that he had

come to

heal

the broken

creation

he'd come

to reconcile

sinners

to himself

and to

do

supremely

what only

God

could do

forgive

sins

and how

would the

creator

forgive

the sins

of his

creatures

this way

on the cross

Jesus

underwent

that divine

judgment

that sinners

deserved

so that we

sinners could

receive the

perfect righteousness

that Jesus

deserved

and so this

really is

the only

way

to remember

your creator

rightly

and fully

we must

look

upon the

face of

Jesus Christ

crucified

and risen

for in

Jesus Christ

our creator

lived among

us and we

have seen

his glory

glory as

of the only

son from

the father

full of

grace and

truth

and in

Jesus Christ

crucified

and risen

our sins

can be

forgiven

only in

his work

can we

face

death

and judgment

with hope

because he

died and

faced that

judgment

for all

who turn

from sin

and trust

in him

you see

friends

the good

news

of the

gospel

is that

when we

had rejected

and forgotten

our creator

our creator

remembered

us

and he

came and

he lived

among us

accomplishing

everything

necessary

so that

we might

repent

and be

reconciled

to him

and so

now

remember

your creator

and your

redeemer

Jesus Christ

the Lord

remember

him

now

live for

him

now

why would

you chase

after the

wind

when the

one who

commands

the wind

and the

waves

calls you

to follow

himself

with as

many years

as you

have left

whether you

have many

earthly years

ahead of you

or whether you

have more

earthly years

behind you

the reality

is there is

an eternity

to come

so remember

your creator

don't live

another day

without making

him

the center

of your

thoughts

and your

affections

and your

desires

and your

goals

live for him

with all

your strength

and when

your strength

then begins

to wane

and when

your years

in this

earthly

pilgrimage

come to

an end

then may

we hear

well done

good and

faithful servant

enter into

the kingdom

of your

father

let's pray

holy spirit

we pray

that you

would come

and help

us to do

what this

passage

is saying

we must do

to turn

our hearts

to our

creator

lord

there's so

many things

that crowd

our minds

and our hearts

so many fears

so many

distractions

so many

worries

jesus

come and be

the prince of

peace in our

midst

open our

eyes to see

you as the

only trustworthy

one

that we might

follow you

and live our

days knowing

that we've been

forgiven

and that we

might know

the joy

and the peace

of following

you

in our

young age

and in our

old age

pray this in

jesus name

amen