Wisdom in Youth | Ecclesiastes 11:7-12:1a

Amen. Thank you, Jeff, and happy Father's Day

to all the dads out there. It's a joy to celebrate

on Father's Day the multiple children being dedicated,

really the families, right, dedicating their

lives to the Lord. It starts in our home. Now,

I know it's already seemed like a full service

so far, right? We could just pack up and go home,

but there is a lot more that Solomon has for

at least a couple lessons that Solomon has for

us this morning. So we're just going to jump.

Right back in. You guys know the outline. If

you haven't, take a picture of it. Last time

we were in Ecclesiastes chapter 11, verses 1

Ecclesiastes 11:1–6

through 6. We considered the wisdom of generosity.

Here are our takeaways. We are called to be generous

without limit. We're called to be generous without

expectation. And we are called to value eternal

hope over temporary gains. Now today, it might

seem like a pivot where we go as we continue

in chapter 11, but Solomon is going to elaborate

even further on the nature of generosity while

he turns our attention to think about youth and

about aging and how to pursue gladness and joy

in this life. So grab your Bibles, turn to Ecclesiastes

Ecclesiastes 11 · chapter mention

chapter 11. That was my tagline like Jeff. Did

you catch it? Every Sunday. Do you hear him say

that? It's like a Jeffism, you know? Isn't it

fun to... He called us to imitate last week,

you know, so some of you are awake this morning.

Okay, we only have four and a half verses today,

but there's a lot to explain. Let's go ahead

and stand for the reading of God's word as we

always do. I'm going to read the whole chapter,

actually. It's not very long. And then we're

going to finish with the first verse or first

half of the verse of chapter 12. So hear the

word of the Lord, Ecclesiastes chapter 11. Cast

Ecclesiastes 11 · chapter mention

your bread on the surface of the waters, for

you'll find it after many days. Divide your portion

to seven or even to eight, for you do not know

what calamity may occur on the earth. If the

clouds are full, they empty the rain upon the

earth. And whether a tree falls toward the south

or toward the north, wherever the tree falls,

there it lies. He who watches the wind will not

sow, and he who looks at the clouds will not

reap. Just as you do not know the path of the

wind and how bones are formed in the womb of

the pregnant woman, so you do not know the work

of God who works all things. Sow your seed in

the morning and do not put your hands down in

the evening, for you do not know whether morning

or evening sowing will succeed or whether both

of them alike will be good. And here we are today.

The light is sweet and it is good for the eyes

to see the sun. Indeed, if a man should live

many years, let him be glad in them all, and

let him remember the days of darkness, for they

will be many. Everything that is to come will

be vanity. Be glad, young man, during your childhood,

and let your heart be merry during the days of

young manhood. And walk in the ways of your heart

and in the sights of your eyes, yet know that

God will bring you to judgment for all these

things. So remove vexation from your heart. Put

away evil from your flesh. Because childhood

and the prime of life are vanity. Remember also

your creator in the days of your youth before

the evil days happen. You may be seated. Now

I want to ask a question that you don't have

to answer out loud. Just answer it in your heart.

Have you ever been guilty of the I'll get to

it later thinking? Yeah, I'm not asking for specifics

or the honey -do list. Wifey, please, don't let

anyone know. You know those things that you just

keep putting off. You know you need to do them,

but you keep putting them off. You know, like

getting the oil changed in the car. Lawn care.

Doing your taxes. Hopefully those are done. You

know, even if you filed for an extension, hopefully

you get that done. Simple tasks at work or home

that keep getting delayed. I know I have many

of those things. You know, as humans, We often

delay things that we know we should do because

we're focusing on things that right now seem

more important or they seem more enjoyable. You

know, some things do matter less and some things

do matter more. If you let your lawn get out

of hand because, you know, hey, it's World Cup

season. Maybe you're just watching a lot of,

you know, soccer. You found out we had a kickball

team as they're calling it in the South, right?

Some of you got that. Okay, good. Now, it can

be annoying maybe to see weeds pop up in your

lawn or look unruly, but those consequences of

not caring for your lawn would be a lot less

severe than if you don't perform a needed oil

change for your vehicle in a reasonable amount

of time. One consequence is going to be very

different than the other, right? To ignore what's

needed, to prolong necessary responsibilities,

it could be seen as being short -sighted. Seeing

what's in front of you, not looking down the

road at what is coming next if you delay. All

of us wrestle with the reality of sight. For

some people, it may seem easier for them to look

down the road, for them to look at what's coming

next. I think for most people, it's more natural

to look at what's right in front of you, what's

right here and now. So our challenge then as

people is to see things clearly for what they

are, to see beyond the here and now to what will

be, to what will come, to know these present

realities, but to not be surprised by future

outcomes based on our responses today. If you

don't water your lawn, what is going to happen

in the Santa Clarita summers? Jeff will tell

you. He loves lawns. Go tell him happy birthday

and then you can ask him about his lawn care

regime. If you don't pay your taxes, what will

happen? If you don't worship God as creator,

as savior, what will happen? See, that is what

Solomon is getting at. Now our passage for today,

beginning in verse seven, it seems like it's

a hard shift from the instruction on generosity

that he gave just a few verses earlier. It seems

like he's pivoting to a different teaching about

youthfulness and gratitude. And like he's just

abandoning those previous thoughts of being generous.

But this is why studying God's word is so important.

We often will miss context. And especially for

us today, we missed ancient. Near East context.

We don't understand those things because our

culture today is very different. We speak different.

We think different. Even though we are humans

and we understand the human condition, the way

that we speak and relate is different across

cultures and time. You remember in the previous

passage where we were last time, the ships sailing

and the bread on the water, that didn't make

sense to us today based on our context. When

I walked us through, an ancient Near East understanding,

hopefully it did make sense. So now as you look

down to the text, as you look at Ecclesiastes

Ecclesiastes 11:7

chapter 11, verse 7, it begins with a qualitative

statement about light, that it is sweet. Now

for us today, we might think that just means

taste. You taste something that's sweet, like

a crumble cookie. You know, you've had one of

those? Maybe you're like, no, those are too expensive.

You should try one just for the experience. What

about a latte with full sugar? You guys like

half sugar people? I don't know. Maybe that's

pretty sweet, right? Now, some people don't prefer

sweet. Fair? Some of you might be like, yeah,

I'm more of a salty person. I like the savory

things, right? And so the meaning of this passage

then, it could be lost on you if you don't study

it. Now, let's think about Solomon's day. There

was no crumble cookie. There was no Starbucks.

There was no Henry's coffee. Shout out to the

real ones out there. There was no trophy coffee.

There was no cheesecake factory. There was no

dessert place or storefronts that specialized

in sweets. Life in the ancient Near East was

very different than ours today, even though that

human heart condition remained the same. There

were not endless choices of where to eat or what

to enjoy. You know, you ask a father, where are

you going to go on Father's Day? We have all

these lists of options that we could do. That

wasn't the case in the ancient Near East. For

most people, food was simply a staple. It was

not a luxury. So in that instance, it'd be more

like really impoverished context today. You know,

at Children's Hunger Fund, I visited families

who, they just survive on the staple products

like rice and cornmeal and beans. And now when

I do that, we make a point to bring sweets for

the kids. when we visit. We don't bring toys

often. We like to bring sweets. And you wouldn't

believe how their faces light up when we bring

just a little candy, whether it's a sour one

or a little chocolate. Even the parents, even

the parents want some when they see that. Because

in their context, sweets are a luxury. In their

context, it's a privilege to get a sweet. It's

not something that they expect. Now, make the

same connection with Solomon's day. Light is

a luxury, like sweet. It's not a right. Light

is sweet not just by taste, but by enjoyment

of what is not typical. Light is pleasant by

its nature. We ought to delight in it the way

we would delight in sweets if sweets were less

common for us. Because we don't always experience

the light. It is sweet when it comes. Now, if

you've ever witnessed a sunrise that took your

breath away, if you've ever seen God's creation

during the day and just marveled, you think about

the majesty of the Grand Canyon, the vastness

of the ocean, a striking peak or multiple peaks

of a mountain range. During the day, the light

allows you to see those things. Without light,

you don't get to experience. the full beauty

of God's creation. Without the light, it's just

dark. It could be there, but you don't know.

The light allows you to see. Now, God brought

light into the world as something good. So it's

good for our eyes to see the sun. You know that

even the unbelieving world recognizes that? There's

a label that the unbelieving world has for those

who are impacted by missing the sun. Some of

you know it. Seasonal affective disorder. You

heard of it? You know what it is for a short?

Sad. Not trying to make fun of it. That's their

acronym. Now, people indeed are sad and they

struggle when they don't see the sun and it's

always gloomy. Now, we don't have that issue

in beautiful Southern California. It's sunny

here all the time. But if you've been far north

in the winter, you've experienced those short

days. And those long nights, have you not? Now,

the Pacific Northwest, they take that top rank

in the continental U .S. for the highest rate

of sad in the U .S. Alaska earns the top spot.

You can imagine why. Their annual cloud cover,

the average number of days that they experience

without the sun each year, it's high. So Solomon

says, light is sweet. It's good for us to see

the sun. How does that connect with being generous?

Now, the Hebrews, God's covenant people, of which

Solomon was, he was born into that, they knew

that light in life meant being generous in life.

Because the contrast of a light of life was a

selfish, dark life. They knew that intrinsic

connection. Now, how do I know this? I want you

to consider Matthew chapter six. I'll have it

up here for you. Jesus taught on this. In fact,

the whole chapter in the Sermon on the Mount

is where it comes from, is about giving to the

poor. It's about rightly valuing eternal things.

So Jesus says this, the eye is the lamp of the

body. So then if your eye is clear, your whole

body will be full of light. But if your eye is

bad, your whole body will be full. of darkness.

Jesus says your eyes matter, sight matters, and

how you see the world matters. If your eyes are

open, you're going to see the needs of others.

Your life will then be full of life and light.

If we carry that thinking, bad eyesight, selfish

eyes are full of darkness. Bad eyesight focuses

inward. Bad eyesight short -sighted, not looking

down the line. It's a person who lives in the

moment and forgets that their future choices

are going to catch up with them. You can forego

the lawn care today. It's not an imperative that

you need to take care of it. But if you keep

putting it off, one day it's going to become

an unmanageable mess. Now, if you connect this

here in verse 7 with the previous passage regarding

generosity, you see that the good eyesight focuses

outward to the need of others. Now, beyond that,

good eyes allow you to see what you have while

you have it. So you can look at verse eight in

the text. And here, Solomon calls the reader

to be glad in all their years, even if they live

a long time. And he says this, the reality of

living a long life is that there will be dark

times. Now, he noted in the previous verse, not

all the years are going to be full of light and

sweetness. The days of darkness will be many,

he says. I want you to think about what that

word day means. What that word day means to us,

and let's think about what it means in Hebrew.

Now, usually, typically, it implies a full 24

-hour period, right? When we say the day, we

don't just mean during the day, typically. We

mean the whole day. Day and night. Hours of light

and then hours of darkness. Now think about it.

Even during the daytime, the hours of sunlight,

there can still be dark times. A cancer diagnosis

does not respect the hour of the day. The grief

of losing a loved one does not only come around

at night. The bitterness of this world doesn't

wait to reveal itself until the night. Solomon's

cure for our consideration isn't to be just doom

and gloom. Oh, so there's so many dark days.

I'm just going to be sad. Rather, he tells us

this. Anticipate the difficult days. Anticipate

them. Know that they're coming. Know that many

days will be dark so you can appreciate the days

that are light. He says it's all going to be

over very soon. Everything that is to come will

be vanity is what he says. It's a breath. It's

wind. It's here today and gone tomorrow. So appreciate

what you have while you have it. Be generous

while you can be generous. connecting with the

previous passage. Because if you think that generosity

is for your old age, what if that old age never

comes? If you think you need a certain amount

of wealth to be generous, what if that day never

comes? What if you wait your whole life to be

generous later on, only to realize you never

cultivated the habit of generosity? And then

it's too late. So he says, don't be short -sighted.

When it comes to generosity, don't waste the

prime of your life, your young years, being selfish

and missing opportunities to serve others. He

tells us to pursue a light of life, gazing upon

the sun. And if you catch the wordplay there,

right? He wrote this before the advent of Christ,

but now through the corridor of time and the

revelation of Jesus, now we can look at that

and say, wow. Yeah, if we're considering gazing

upon the Son, S -O -N, then we're going to consider

a life of service, a life of caring for others,

because we're pursuing a life that's full of

light. That's what it means to follow Jesus.

Now, Solomon continues to underscore that principle

into verse 9. He tells the young man or the young

person to be glad, literally to rejoice in the

days Solomon is not telling you to rejoice only

because of your youth. He's not saying that being

young in and of itself is a reason to rejoice,

that being fit or not having wrinkles or any

hair loss is a cause for joy in the Lord. Though

some of us may enjoy that, think about this.

Our American Hollywood -inspired culture would

have you think that that is what's most important.

You think about all of our efforts to preserve

youth, that the standards of beauty somehow only

exist between the ages of 20 and 35. That's what

the secular world teaches us. You know there's

a cult of youth in our society? Another society

that adopted this cult of youth is South Korea.

So much effort and industry and money is put

in to looking young. Now, followers of that way

of thinking would say that you absolutely should

rejoice in being young and fit and full of life.

But if Solomon isn't saying that, what is he

saying? What is he encouraging? Instead of rejoicing

in the fact of being young, Solomon is telling

us this. Rejoice while you are young. Rejoice

during the days of your youth. It's a massive

difference in terms of emphasis. See, if you're

to rejoice in your youth, then your joy is being

young. Your joy is youth itself. your source

of joy then is rooted in being young. Which,

if you carry that into old age, would mean that

once you're no longer young, you can't be joyful

anymore. Do you see the end of that? That kind

of thinking creates curmudgeons, love that word,

who don't appreciate life and light. That kind

of thinking cultivates a love for nostalgia.

rather than gratitude for God's kind gifts. A

wrong emphasis on youth shifts our joy and the

source of our joy from the creator himself, which

is outside of us, to the creation, to ourselves.

So instead, Solomon says rejoice while we are

young. And he says don't delay. Don't wait until

you're too old to have joy in this life. In the

same vein of his encouragement to not delay being

generous, he tells us don't miss or don't delay

the joy of life when you are young. Don't store

up your expectations for a better day here on

earth. Instead, be glad while you are young.

Why? Because it's a vapor. The prime of your

life, your youth, is but a breath. So is old

age. You know, the older we get, the faster that

breath disappears. So he says, cultivate joy

now, especially in youth, but no matter your

age, don't delay. Some of you may have seen those

memes. It says something, I can't remember exactly

who's on it. You might. It says something like,

when I was young, all I wanted was for people

to stop telling me what to do. Now that I'm older.

All I want is for somebody to tell me exactly

what to do. You know, life is like that. One

day, we're the authors of our best life now.

We take the bull by the horns, right? We decide

our fate and our destiny. And before we know

it, the pressures of being an adult, of providing

for others, become altogether overwhelming. complicated,

and we just want somebody to come and guide us

through the chaos of life. For that young person

who's taking the life by the horns and you don't

understand that meme this morning, for those

who are tempted by the cult of youth, Solomon's

antidote for you is to cultivate joy during youth.

Taken with those previous two verses, he's saying,

use your sight to see Light. Care for others

and don't be selfish or short -sighted. And do

this while you're young. Learn to appreciate

the days God gives you in your youth. Now that's

a great principle whether you're young or old.

Cultivate joy. Look out for others. Appreciate

what you have while you have it. That's not dependent

on age. Now the second half of verse 9 gives

a potentially troubling I want you to look at

your text, because I'm going to read mine, and

yours might look a little different. Ecclesiastes

Ecclesiastes 11:9

11, verse 9, part B says, Now, if you're reading

out of the NSB, it should read something like,

follow the impulses of your heart. Now, I often

don't swing at the NAS, but in this case, I don't

think that's a helpful rendering. Here's why.

Some commentators have taken this advice right

here, second half of verse 9, to mean something

other than I think Solomon intends. So rather

than see this as an instruction, which we'll

get to in a moment, they look at this exhortation

as an encouragement. to do whatever the heart

wants as long as they remember God is going to

bring everything into judgment. I don't think

that makes much sense. Now, Solomon is authoring

this. He's penning it with his hand, but he's

inspired by who? The Holy Spirit. So God is writing

to us. So with that interpretation, it would

be like God telling us, Live however you want.

Sin, all you want, just know that judgment is

coming. Does that make any sense to you? Does

that seem consistent with God's character? Throughout

his work, Solomon has shown the futility of living

for yourself. The futility of living for the

moment. The foolishness of living for your flesh.

I'll show you up here on the screen. Going back

to even chapter three, he warned us that God

is gonna bring our deeds into judgment. I said

in my heart, God will judge both the righteous

man and the wicked man for a time for every matter

and for every work is there at the judgment seat.

He cautioned us from chapter five about hasty

words. He said, don't be hasty with your mouth

or impulsive in your heart. He says, don't be

impulsive with your heart. So that's my knock

on the NES. to bring up a matter in the presence

of God, for God is in heaven, but you are on

the earth. Therefore, let your words be few.

Be cautious. He gave us a proper understanding

of how to live in the world later on in chapter

five. He said, here's what I've seen to be good,

which is beautiful to eat, to drink, and to see

good in all one's labor in which he labors under

the sun during the few days of his life, the

vain days of his life, which God has given him.

This is his portion. In chapter seven, He even

taught us about our proclivity to sin. He taught

us about this, even though God made us upright.

He said, see, I found only this, that God made

men upright, but they have sought out many devices.

I can go on more. Chapter eight. He reiterated

the same advice earlier in chapter five, the

same principle. He said, so I laud gladness.

For there is nothing good for a man under the

sun except to eat, to drink, and to be merry,

and this will join with him in his labor throughout

the days of his life which God has given him

under the sun. Same encouragement. Chapter 9.

He reminds us that death is coming. He says calamities

can occur without explanation. He said, again,

I saw under the sun the race is not to the swift.

The battle is not to the mighty, and neither

is bread to the wise, nor riches to the discerning,

nor favor to men who know, for time and misfortune

overtake them all. Moreover, a man does not know

his time. Like a fish sees in an evil net, and

birds sees in a trap, so the sons of men are

ensnared at a time when it suddenly falls on

them. And even in the last chapter, Solomon taught

the leavening principle that Jesus will teach

on a thousand years later. He says just a little

foolishness is going to leaven the whole lump

or the whole loaf. Foolishness may start small,

but it will have a disastrous effect on your

life. He who digs a pit may fall into it, and

a serpent may bite him who breaks through a wall.

He who quarries stones may be hurt by them, and

he who splits logs may be endangered by them.

So now, in chapter 11, Solomon is not changing

course. Solomon's understanding of God and of

the heart of man is clear from the beginning

to the end of this work. Like a masterful storyteller,

he's woven instructions with stories and proverbs

and wounding statements to our back, but he's

not veered off course. He's constantly maintained

a testimony of honoring God in all things. So

here, in the second half of verse 9, He is not

encouraging a hedonistic lifestyle. What does

that mean? That's a lifestyle of want and desire.

Whatever you want, you give to yourself. It's

YOLO. You only live once. It's doing whatever

you want because your time is limited. It's the

wrong way of looking at it. Instead, Solomon

instructs us with the same foundation we've seen

this entire time. The same foundation is be glad,

young man. during your childhood. Let your heart

be merry during the days of young manhood and

walk in the ways of your heart and in the sights

of your eyes, yet know that God will bring you

to judgment for all these things. Now here's

a caution to those who might misunderstand this

wisdom. If you are morally ambiguous, you need

to remember that idolatry will bring judgment.

Here's what that means. If you push the boundaries,

of right and wrong. If you test the limits of

what is good and permissible versus unwise, then

you welcome the judgment of the Almighty. What's

the other end of the spectrum? To the morally

uptight. You need to remember that God gives

life to be enjoyed, not to be despised. So if

you restrict yourself from all joy and light

and life, for irrational fears and perfectionism

and upsetness that things aren't going your way,

you will rightly be rebuked for not appreciating

the life that God gives. You are able to walk

in the ways of your heart and the sight of your

eyes if your eyes are full of light and life.

You remember, this is a call back then to verse

seven. the sweetness of life. And earlier I brought

up that quote from Jesus in the Sermon on the

Mount out of Matthew chapter six. The eye is

the lamp of the body. So then if your eye is

clear, your whole body will be full of light.

But if your eye is bad, your whole body will

be full of darkness. If then the light that is

in you is darkness, how great is the darkness.

Friends, here's the principle. If your eye is

clear, if your sight is clear, your whole body,

your whole condition will be full of light. But

if your eye is bad, you lead yourself toward

darkness. So don't be deceived. If your eye is

clear and full of light, you will be able to

walk in the ways of your heart. and the sight

of your eyes because you won't stumble. The heart

that is rooted in the fear of God can walk in

whatever way it desires. How about that? The

heart that is rooted in the fear of God can walk

in whatever way it desires because it will desire

what is right. Fearing God is actually the key

to enjoying this life. When that day comes then,

when judgment comes and God brings all things

to bear, you'll have no reason to be afraid.

That is wisdom. Here it is. Fearing God now means

you won't fear him later. Think about that. Fearing

him now means you won't fear him later. Don't

ask me for the nuance of that. It's a plain statement.

If you rightly fear him now, on that day, when

judgment comes, you'll rejoice. In verse 10,

Solomon underscores the principle of being wise

during our youth. So if you look at the text,

first he says, remove vexation from your heart.

Now earlier in verse 8, he warned about the many

days of darkness. And he's remaining consistent.

Is it not true? I don't know everyone's story

in here, everyone's testimony right now. I know

many. Aren't there so many things that trouble

us? So many difficulties of life? Hardships?

There's a lot. But what Solomon says is, let

it be put away from you. Remove it. You know

what that word vexed means? It means to be agitated,

like stirred up. So being easily vexed, it's

people who are hot -headed. They lose control

easily. Doesn't that describe young people? I'm

not being mean. Look at a toddler. They're really

good at it. Are they not? They go from zero to

100 like that. But those tantrums of the toddler

years. They turn into fits of rage as we age.

Do they not? Some people, they show their vexation

through raised voices, through tears, or through

even violence physically. Others try to hide

their vexation, even though it's still there

and it still shows. They avoid things. They're

dismissive. They have a disconnected approach

to people and to relationships. See, whether

it's seen or unseen, vexation rests where? In

the heart. So whether you're young or old, being

hot -headed or being vexed easily, it robs you

of joy in this life. You can't control when grief

and sorrow come. He's not saying remove all hardship

from your life. You can't control those things,

but you can put away vexation. You can put away

that. easy to agitate nature with God's help.

Now, you don't need to fret so much about the

future and your plans, do you? You don't need

to be so worried about the events of this world,

do you? You don't need to get so upset when your

friend or your boss does something you don't

agree with, do you? You don't need to be so bothered.

by everything you see on the news or social media,

do you? Do you really need to be so worked up

when the relationship ends poorly? Do you really

need to fret when life's hardships come your

way? Solomon says, beyond this, put away evil

from your flesh. It's what he says in verse 10.

Literally, he's telling the reader, Don't harm

your body. Don't do things against your body

that will rob you of joy. Now again, I'm going

to pick on the toddler first. Don't they do that?

When they have the tantrum, where do they throw

themselves? To the ground. Is that good? No.

We learn how to harm ourselves from a very young

age out of our anger, out of being vexed. Left

unchecked, where does that lead to when we get

older? Young people, they often think they're

invincible, do they not? You don't have to answer.

You know it. Young people like to live life to

the edge, to drive too fast. How many of us have

stories of experimenting with drugs and alcohol,

tobacco, fooling around with the wicked occult

when we're young because we think it's not going

to matter one day? Young people all too often

harm their bodies without considering the joy

that it's going to take from them. Sometimes

those risks can even end your life. And if they

don't, you'll live to regret doing those things

and you'll be robbed of joy because you're suffering

the harm of those choices. Smoking seems cool

until you're diagnosed with emphysema. Driving

fast was fun. Until you got in an accident and

hurt yourself and others. Solomon says, don't

let vexation and don't let personal choices steal

your joy. Why? Why would he say this? He tells

you. He says, because the years of youth are

fleeting. Now the LSB and the NAS, they render

youthfulness here as childhood. and the prime

of life. Now, if you're reading out of the ESV,

you're going to see youth and the dawn of life.

Now, technically, from the Hebrew, none of those

are literal translations. The Hebrew word for

prime of life or dawn of life is actually blackness.

And you may be scratching your head, and that's

exactly where you should go because you think

about hair. It's only used one time in the Bible.

Taken in context with the previous word for youth,

it's referring to the black hair that comes with

youth as opposed to the gray hair that comes

later in life. And he says all of this is fleeting.

It's vapor. It's soap bubbles. Here today and

gone tomorrow. Young people think they're invincible

today, but it's fleeting. And how do we know?

Just look around at the older folks and ask if

they thought any different when they were younger.

Every older person in here will say, yeah, I

did. I thought youth would last forever. I didn't

think about what would happen when I got older.

I was living one day at a time. Even if our life

is just a breath, even if it's a vapor, it can

still be enjoyed. We can still appreciate the

gift of life. We can still soak in the sunlight

and appreciate its sweetness. We can enjoy these

new experiences that we get to have as creatures

under this creation. So this is for young and

old, not just for young. Don't delay in living

for God. That's the principle. Live as somebody

who will stand before God one day. Now think

about this. is setting on this momentary life.

Before you know it, the dawn will turn to dusk.

That's reality for all of us. So for the young

people here today, heed Solomon's call. And verse

1a out of chapter 12 summarizes this. He says,

remember your creator in the days of your youth.

Submit to Christ while you're young. while you're

in your prime of life, while your hair is not

yet gray. And he says, he's telling us here that

following Jesus is not going to dampen your enjoyment

of this life. Living for Jesus is actually going

to redeem the time of your youth. It will clarify

your purpose. It will calm your fears. It will

give you joy through the hardest trials of your

life. Submitting to the Savior brings joy and

a perspective on eternity. If you follow Christ,

you will not waste your life. You won't waste

the breath that God has given as a gift. And

to the older folks here today, I pray you've

been listening as well. Though the majority of

this text is targeted at youth, there are timeless

principles for everyone to embrace. What would

have been good for you in your youth surely is

still good for you now. Next time we jump back

into Ecclesiastes, Solomon's gonna speak very

pointedly to those who are closer to the dusk

of their life than to the dawn. And there will

be some good encouragements there. But to the

older folks, I'd say, even if you've seen in

your own life these principles proven over time,

my prayer is that your eyes would continually

be full of light. that you keep removing vexation

from your heart. And the text literally tells

us to banish such anxieties, such vexations,

banish them, send them away. Don't let them bother

you. And so whether you came to Christ young

or old, whether you're suffering from choices

that you made in youthful foolishness, if you

have Christ, you have so much to rejoice over.

Now, that's where we all need to settle as we

close today. Now, often throughout this series

in Ecclesiastes, we finished with some pretty

heavy introspection. That's what wisdom literature

does. It points and it pokes and it prods. But

today, I want to help us to not only look at

our questions, we'll still get our questions

on the screen, but thematically, the text is

leaving us at this point. Remember your creator.

Lift your eyes to the Savior. to the one that

we rejoice in, the one who can make our hearts

glad, the one who brings the brightest light

into our darkest days. There's no better way

to do that than to read God's word. So here's

what we're going to do. You're welcome to listen.

If you want to follow along the screen, I'll

have some phrases presented and words highlighted

that connect with our passage from today, but

it's not going to be the whole thing. But like

we normally do to our call to worship, I'm going

to ask you to stand. I want you to stand for

the reading of God's word because we're gonna

wrap up our preaching with reading. So hear the

word of the Lord. This is out of Colossians chapter

one, beginning in verse nine. For this reason

also, since the day we heard, we've not ceased

to pray for you and to ask that you may be filled

with the full knowledge of his will in all spiritual

wisdom and understanding. so that you may walk

in a manner worthy of the Lord to please him

in all respects, bearing fruit in every good

work and multiplying in the full knowledge of

God, being strengthened with all power according

to his glorious might for the attaining of all

steadfastness and patience, joyously giving thanks

to the Father, who's qualified us to share in

the inheritance of the saints in light. who rescued

us from the authority of darkness and transferred

us to the kingdom of the Son of his love, in

whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins,

who is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn

of all creation. For in him all things were created,

both in the heavens and on earth, visible and

invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers

or authorities, all things have been created

through him and for him. And he's before all

things. And in him all things hold together.

And he is the head of the body, the church, who

is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead,

so that he himself will come to have the first

place in everything. For in him all the fullness

of God was pleased to dwell. And through him

to reconcile all things to himself, having made

peace through the blood of his cross. through

him, whether things on earth or things in heaven.

And although you were formerly alienated and

enemies in mind and in evil deeds, but now he

reconciled you in the body of his flesh through

death in order to present you before him holy

and blameless and beyond reproach. If indeed

you continue in the faith, firmly grounded and

steadfast and not moved away from the hope of

the gospel. which you have heard, which was proclaimed

in all creation under heaven. Amen? Friends,

you can have a seat as we wrap. I'm going to

give you the briefest summary. God, the one who

created all things, rescues people from darkness

and transfers them to light. Jesus, God in the

flesh, the image of the invisible God, redeems

people from their sins, Because he received the

judgment reserved for sinners, even though he

was without sin. And God, through Christ, reconciles

sinners, makes them saints, and prepares them

to stand before him without the judgment that

they deserve. That is who Solomon is calling

you to remember. Remember your creator. Remember

your savior. Remember your king. And especially

for the young people, but whether you're young

or old or somewhere in between, remember him.

Don't be confused about who made this world.

Don't be confused about who can save from this

world into the next. And I'll close with this.

More than just knowing facts about God or reciting

truth about the gospel in your daily life, the

call here, is to know God personally through

his son. Yes, the gospel saves, but be persuaded

by it. Let it be personal for you. Then when

you submit to Christ as Lord, you're not submitting

to an idea. You're submitting to a savior who

loved you, who died for you, who gave his life

for you so that you don't need to fear. in that

final day. Lord God, we come to you after so

much this morning from child dedications and

being reminded of those early dawns of life to

the encouragement about fatherhood. Men as they

age, passing on what they've learned about you,

honoring you in their homes, desiring to see

the next generation follow. And then the wisdom

from Solomon to look at life and light and see

good things. There's been so much for us to consider

today. So may our prayer be simple. Help us see

the sweetness of light. Help us enjoy the goodness

of this life. Help us to banish those vexations

that rob us of joy. Help us to know and remember

that choices today impact our lives in the future.

Above all of that, or perhaps as the foundation

for all of that, help us to remember you, our

creator, our savior, and our king. Help us to

see the light of Christ, to know him, to know

his gospel, but to be personally impacted by

the truth of your word. So almighty God, we ask

you this morning, help us. Help us lift our eyes

to the wonderful mercy that you display in Christ.

And we praise your name because you offer redemption.

You offer salvation to sinners like us. Our greatest

need met by you. In light of that, as we sing

praises to your name and respond to your word,

help us to do so with joy, not simply out of

obligation, not out of a responsibility, though

surely those are in view, but help us to see

the light and life that you give that allows

us to enjoy the goodness here and now amidst

the dark days. The light is sweet because we

don't always get it, not yet, but we can long

for and look for that day when Christ, you will

be the everlasting light of an eternal kingdom

without darkness. That's what we long for. So

give us eyes to see. Lift our hearts to praise

your name this morning. We pray this in Jesus.