1 00:00:10,260 --> 00:00:13,970 Good afternoon congregation. Today we have the privilege of 2 00:00:13,980 --> 00:00:19,070 hearing a sermon titled Wisdom Means Remembering Your Creator. 3 00:00:19,300 --> 00:00:22,910 It is written by Doctor Wes Bredehoft and this sermon was 4 00:00:22,920 --> 00:00:26,320 first preached in the Free Reformed Church of Launceston, 5 00:00:26,400 --> 00:00:32,189 TAS in the year 2024. Beloved congregation of Christ. 6 00:00:32,680 --> 00:00:36,190 If you don't know him, Jordan Peterson is one of the most 7 00:00:36,200 --> 00:00:41,170 influential figures of our day. He's a Canadian psychologist 8 00:00:41,180 --> 00:00:44,730 known for speaking up against many of the present day trends. 9 00:00:45,320 --> 00:00:49,630 He's a conservative in many ways, but he is not a Christian. 10 00:00:50,700 --> 00:00:55,230 Maybe he will be someday, and we can pray for that, but for now, 11 00:00:55,280 --> 00:01:00,150 he is not yet a Christian. But Peterson was once asked 12 00:01:00,160 --> 00:01:04,209 about wisdom. How would you define wisdom? 13 00:01:04,260 --> 00:01:08,410 That is the question. And knowing Jordan Peterson, 14 00:01:10,510 --> 00:01:13,520 that was dramatically that. So he paused and thought for it 15 00:01:13,590 --> 00:01:17,780 for a moment and then he said, well, there is the Old Testament 16 00:01:17,790 --> 00:01:20,420 view that the fear of God is the beginning of wisdom. 17 00:01:21,150 --> 00:01:25,520 But then he went on to add more. He spoke of wisdom as the 18 00:01:25,530 --> 00:01:30,040 knowledge of your capacity for malevolence at Anupu Sabina. 19 00:01:30,050 --> 00:01:33,660 Malevolence. Malevolence means your ability 20 00:01:33,730 --> 00:01:37,600 to do something that is evil. And then he said also that 21 00:01:37,610 --> 00:01:41,390 wisdom is the knowledge of your limitations and a few more other 22 00:01:41,400 --> 00:01:44,720 things. But he didn't come back to the 23 00:01:44,790 --> 00:01:48,320 theme of the fear of God or even expound on that. 24 00:01:49,130 --> 00:01:52,550 Well, it's remarkable that he mentioned the fear of God at 25 00:01:52,560 --> 00:01:55,270 all, and we can give him credit for that. 26 00:01:55,740 --> 00:01:59,390 And we cannot expect much from someone who is not a Christian. 27 00:02:00,040 --> 00:02:04,150 Nonetheless, we should notice that apart from the first bit 28 00:02:04,160 --> 00:02:08,630 about the fear of God, the answer of Doctor Jordan Peterson 29 00:02:08,800 --> 00:02:11,590 is directed on the horizontal plane. 30 00:02:12,660 --> 00:02:15,410 The vertical dimension isn't taken into account. 31 00:02:15,780 --> 00:02:20,050 It's all about you and yourself and nothing to do with God. 32 00:02:20,760 --> 00:02:25,410 If we put it in terms of the author of Ecclesiastes, Jordan 33 00:02:25,420 --> 00:02:29,890 Peterson is speaking mostly about the life under the sun. 34 00:02:30,680 --> 00:02:34,680 And life under the sun is life considered apart from God. 35 00:02:35,170 --> 00:02:39,700 That's actually the opposite of having the fear of God. 36 00:02:40,550 --> 00:02:43,420 This afternoon we are going to learn about wisdom. 37 00:02:43,770 --> 00:02:48,660 Our catechism lesson in Lord's Day 9 teaches us that we have a 38 00:02:48,670 --> 00:02:51,360 heavenly Father who is our Creator. 39 00:02:51,890 --> 00:02:56,300 And Ecclesiastes 12/1 teaches us that wisdom means taking Him 40 00:02:56,310 --> 00:03:00,800 into account in our lives. So we will focus on that passage 41 00:03:00,810 --> 00:03:02,820 this afternoon as I preach to you. 42 00:03:02,830 --> 00:03:07,500 God's Word, wisdom means remembering your Creator. 43 00:03:08,050 --> 00:03:11,300 And this afternoon we will be learning about three things. 44 00:03:11,390 --> 00:03:16,000 First, when to do this. Second, how to do this. 45 00:03:16,070 --> 00:03:20,170 And lastly, why do this? But before that, let us go to 46 00:03:20,180 --> 00:03:25,170 the Lord in prayer. Other God, we thank you for your 47 00:03:25,180 --> 00:03:28,370 goodness and your faithfulness in our lives. 48 00:03:28,800 --> 00:03:33,750 Thank you for giving us life, our existence, our strength. 49 00:03:34,080 --> 00:03:38,020 You are the one who gives us blessing from the earliest stage 50 00:03:38,030 --> 00:03:42,170 of our life into our old age. And this afternoon as we 51 00:03:42,180 --> 00:03:47,370 meditate on your word, Father, help us remember you in the days 52 00:03:47,380 --> 00:03:52,840 of our youth and help us always take you into account as we live 53 00:03:52,850 --> 00:03:56,690 our lives here on earth. And please help me as I deliver 54 00:03:56,700 --> 00:04:00,570 your word this afternoon. May I speak with clarity and may 55 00:04:00,580 --> 00:04:04,900 you open our hearts and give us humility as we listen under the 56 00:04:04,910 --> 00:04:07,180 preaching of your word this afternoon. 57 00:04:07,250 --> 00:04:09,800 Marami Salamat turning on and all of this we pray in Jesus 58 00:04:09,810 --> 00:04:14,880 name, Amen. So the author of Ecclesiastes 59 00:04:14,970 --> 00:04:19,720 calls himself the preacher. Some would think that it was 60 00:04:19,730 --> 00:04:25,080 King Solomon, the son of David. Others would look at the kind of 61 00:04:25,090 --> 00:04:28,480 language or the kind of Hebrew that was used in the book of 62 00:04:28,490 --> 00:04:32,550 Ecclesiastes and would think that the author must be someone 63 00:04:32,560 --> 00:04:36,430 who lived a few 100 years after King Solomon. 64 00:04:37,250 --> 00:04:40,750 Well, I think that's a question that we will not be able to 65 00:04:40,760 --> 00:04:44,870 resolve in our lifetime. And I also don't think that that 66 00:04:44,880 --> 00:04:49,080 is a question that we need to answer in order to understand 67 00:04:49,150 --> 00:04:54,410 the message of Ecclesiastes. But the overall message of the 68 00:04:54,420 --> 00:04:58,100 book is that life under the sun is vain. 69 00:04:59,000 --> 00:05:02,480 Life without taking God into account is pointless. 70 00:05:03,190 --> 00:05:08,600 When the preacher says vanity of vanities, all is vanity, he does 71 00:05:08,610 --> 00:05:12,540 not mean that as an absolute truth for each and every single 72 00:05:12,550 --> 00:05:17,680 person, but rather it is a truth that is only for those who don't 73 00:05:17,690 --> 00:05:23,630 take God seriously. Our passage occurs at the near 74 00:05:23,690 --> 00:05:28,820 end of the book of Ecclesiastes, and as the book concludes, the 75 00:05:28,830 --> 00:05:32,840 preacher speaks to the beginning and the end of human life. 76 00:05:33,760 --> 00:05:37,010 He speaks about youth and about old age. 77 00:05:37,220 --> 00:05:41,610 He speaks to how we should think wisely about this vastly 78 00:05:41,660 --> 00:05:46,610 different stages of our life. And that brings us to the 79 00:05:46,620 --> 00:05:50,980 command of our text. Remember also your Creator in 80 00:05:50,990 --> 00:05:54,950 the days of your youth. The first thing to notice is 81 00:05:54,960 --> 00:05:57,790 that all human beings have a Creator. 82 00:05:58,380 --> 00:06:02,840 As we confess in Lord's day nine, God created the heaven and 83 00:06:02,850 --> 00:06:07,790 the earth and everything in them, and he created it all out 84 00:06:07,800 --> 00:06:11,510 of nothing. At the beginning God spoke, and 85 00:06:11,520 --> 00:06:14,840 there was light. On the second day, God spoke and 86 00:06:14,850 --> 00:06:17,420 He created the heavens and the earth. 87 00:06:17,870 --> 00:06:21,340 And then on each of the following four days, God spoke 88 00:06:21,350 --> 00:06:25,820 and He created everything, that is including humanity. 89 00:06:26,630 --> 00:06:30,440 And the Bible teaches us that all this really happened within 90 00:06:30,450 --> 00:06:34,580 space and time. There really is a Creator who 91 00:06:34,590 --> 00:06:38,410 really did create the universe and everything in it. 92 00:06:39,730 --> 00:06:43,780 But as I'm sure you know, the world that we live in right now 93 00:06:43,790 --> 00:06:48,960 has a different story of origins because their version of the 94 00:06:48,970 --> 00:06:52,300 story of origin does not involve a creator. 95 00:06:53,170 --> 00:06:57,440 It involves nothing suddenly becoming something, and in a 96 00:06:57,450 --> 00:07:00,700 long, long story of that, something evolving into some 97 00:07:00,710 --> 00:07:06,320 other things until eventually a species called Homo sapiens 98 00:07:06,370 --> 00:07:11,560 appears in the scene. And sadly Mahati, even Doctor 99 00:07:11,570 --> 00:07:15,620 Jordan Peterson is one of those many people who holds on that 100 00:07:15,630 --> 00:07:20,750 story of origins. Yes, sometimes he will talk 101 00:07:20,760 --> 00:07:24,210 about the Bible story of creation, but he describes it as 102 00:07:24,220 --> 00:07:28,080 a myth or a story that reflects and shapes the human 103 00:07:28,090 --> 00:07:30,870 imaginations. He does not actually believe 104 00:07:30,880 --> 00:07:34,610 that the Bible story of creation is true and it he does not 105 00:07:34,620 --> 00:07:39,270 believe that the Bible's story of creation is real history. 106 00:07:40,060 --> 00:07:46,070 Utmost Doctor Jordan Peterson Kitna Idol Cushion Magsalita is 107 00:07:46,140 --> 00:07:49,090 one of those people that I really look up to when it comes 108 00:07:49,100 --> 00:07:53,030 to public speaking. He takes the same approach to 109 00:07:53,040 --> 00:07:54,690 the resurrection of Jesus Christ. 110 00:07:55,520 --> 00:07:59,210 In other words, for Doctor Jordan Peterson, the 111 00:07:59,220 --> 00:08:03,510 resurrection of Jesus Christ is a myth and not history. 112 00:08:04,650 --> 00:08:08,980 But contrary to that, the Bible presents both the resurrection 113 00:08:08,990 --> 00:08:13,260 and creation as a real history that happened within space and 114 00:08:13,270 --> 00:08:16,140 time. There is a Creator who ought to 115 00:08:16,150 --> 00:08:20,700 be remembered, and he really did create in times past, and he 116 00:08:20,710 --> 00:08:24,390 continues to be involved with his creation even in the 117 00:08:24,400 --> 00:08:28,000 present. So our catechism speaks about 118 00:08:28,010 --> 00:08:32,900 his work of Providence briefly in Lord's Day nine, and we will 119 00:08:32,909 --> 00:08:35,780 look at Providence more fully in Lord's Day 10. 120 00:08:36,230 --> 00:08:40,559 But for now, we can note that God's Providence means that He 121 00:08:40,570 --> 00:08:45,220 is our Creator in a more direct and immediate way as well. 122 00:08:46,560 --> 00:08:50,670 Yes, my chapati, God created Adam and Eve at the beginning of 123 00:08:50,680 --> 00:08:55,410 history, but by His Providence, He also created each and 124 00:08:55,420 --> 00:08:57,970 everyone of us in our mother's wombs. 125 00:08:58,660 --> 00:09:02,090 Someone under 39 tells us that God is the one who need us 126 00:09:02,100 --> 00:09:06,530 together in our conception. He controls all the natural 127 00:09:06,540 --> 00:09:09,610 processes involved. And then he sensed the Holy 128 00:09:09,620 --> 00:09:14,050 Spirit, the Lord and Giver of life, to give us life. 129 00:09:14,220 --> 00:09:18,030 That's why every human being is physically, physically alive 130 00:09:18,080 --> 00:09:24,210 because of the Holy Spirit. As Paul says in Acts 17, it is 131 00:09:24,220 --> 00:09:29,580 in God that we live and move and have our being, and specifically 132 00:09:29,650 --> 00:09:32,040 through the work of God the Holy Spirit. 133 00:09:32,650 --> 00:09:39,510 So God is our Creator in a real and powerful way and we ought to 134 00:09:39,520 --> 00:09:43,570 remember him in the days of our youth as it says in Ecclesiastes 135 00:09:43,720 --> 00:09:46,640 12/1. Now you might read this and 136 00:09:46,650 --> 00:09:50,750 think that this is directly addressed to young people only, 137 00:09:51,130 --> 00:09:55,290 and yes it is, but it's not exclusively addressed to young 138 00:09:55,300 --> 00:09:59,460 people as in the preteens, the teenagers or those people in 139 00:09:59,470 --> 00:10:04,650 their early or mid 20s. It's not only for them because 140 00:10:04,660 --> 00:10:08,770 the word used for youth in the Hebrew text is speaks of a time 141 00:10:08,780 --> 00:10:13,810 of life when you are robust and have energy, you are able to 142 00:10:13,820 --> 00:10:18,190 work vigorously. And the following verses after 143 00:10:18,200 --> 00:10:23,340 that, he speaks of a time when there is no longer vigour or 144 00:10:23,350 --> 00:10:27,380 strength or where there is where that is no longer the case. 145 00:10:28,210 --> 00:10:32,340 So we know the saying, you're only as old as how you feel. 146 00:10:32,870 --> 00:10:36,630 There's something to that. Biblically speaking, you could 147 00:10:36,640 --> 00:10:40,600 be in your 50s and still be in the days of your youth because 148 00:10:40,610 --> 00:10:44,340 you are still strong, you still have your health and you are 149 00:10:44,350 --> 00:10:49,300 still in the prime of your life. And that could even be true even 150 00:10:49,310 --> 00:10:54,140 for someone who is still on his 60s or in his 70s. 151 00:10:55,490 --> 00:10:59,210 New Ibama, Hollywood stars Sienna, Brad Pitt, Sina, Tom 152 00:10:59,220 --> 00:11:06,040 Cruise and then 50-60 nylon. And even though in the Bible 153 00:11:06,050 --> 00:11:09,660 they are still considered at as people who are still in their 154 00:11:09,670 --> 00:11:13,510 youth. So you see, youth here isn't 155 00:11:13,520 --> 00:11:16,580 defined by the number of years that you have. 156 00:11:16,750 --> 00:11:20,260 It's not defined by the number of birthdays that you had. 157 00:11:20,710 --> 00:11:24,820 But youth here is defined by your health and your strength. 158 00:11:25,490 --> 00:11:29,010 And that is going to differ from one person to another person. 159 00:11:29,550 --> 00:11:31,660 Summing up, we need Doctor W Bredehoft. 160 00:11:31,770 --> 00:11:35,880 He has known people in his life who are already in their 80s who 161 00:11:35,890 --> 00:11:39,400 are far more strong and healthier than some people in 162 00:11:39,410 --> 00:11:42,560 their 50s. And mannequin Thorin Pusha 163 00:11:42,990 --> 00:11:46,360 Novata Pasha in the church where he grew up. 164 00:11:46,430 --> 00:11:51,050 One summer he worked for a man, an old man in his 80s, whose 165 00:11:51,060 --> 00:11:59,100 name is Mr. Bush. At Mr. Bush Mr. Bush is lifting 166 00:11:59,110 --> 00:12:03,360 up 90kg of concrete blocks with ease. 167 00:12:04,920 --> 00:12:09,990 Alan 3 kilograms of blocks. Parhaus, Dalawang kill. 168 00:12:10,000 --> 00:12:13,260 Unambiguous. I am buhatin. 169 00:12:16,260 --> 00:12:20,760 Sorry. Sorry me speak Vegas, sing 170 00:12:20,770 --> 00:12:26,420 Buhatin Vegas, but Old Mr. Bush was as strong as an ox. 171 00:12:26,710 --> 00:12:31,840 And not only that, he's smart too, because in his age, 80 ish, 172 00:12:31,950 --> 00:12:36,510 he was able to learn the New Testament Greek because he does 173 00:12:36,520 --> 00:12:40,200 not have anything to do. Well Ashan Magawa so in Arizona, 174 00:12:40,210 --> 00:12:44,640 your New Testament Greek. So biblically speaking, Old Mr. 175 00:12:44,650 --> 00:12:47,910 Bush was still in the days of his youth. 176 00:12:49,030 --> 00:12:52,530 So the So this is being addressed not just to the young 177 00:12:52,540 --> 00:12:56,480 people, but to everyone who still has a good measure of 178 00:12:56,490 --> 00:13:00,120 health and strength. Now is the time to use that 179 00:13:00,130 --> 00:13:03,380 health and strength to remember our Creator. 180 00:13:04,330 --> 00:13:09,080 Because brothers and sisters, eventually decay does set in. 181 00:13:09,750 --> 00:13:13,400 You lose muscle mass, something called sarcopenia. 182 00:13:13,750 --> 00:13:18,300 You get weaker, we get arthritis, our bones get brittle 183 00:13:18,310 --> 00:13:22,780 and break more easily. And osteoporosis, your immune 184 00:13:22,790 --> 00:13:26,170 system isn't that strong. Madela scanning Nakakasakit, 185 00:13:26,430 --> 00:13:30,630 Your balance is not what it used to be and your mind is not as 186 00:13:30,640 --> 00:13:35,360 sharp anymore. And for some people, all that 187 00:13:35,420 --> 00:13:40,240 happens sooner rather than later and you just don't know when it 188 00:13:40,250 --> 00:13:44,260 will happen for you. You don't know God's Providence 189 00:13:44,330 --> 00:13:47,960 and what He has in store for you in terms of your health. 190 00:13:48,470 --> 00:13:51,720 So instead of using your youthful robustness and your 191 00:13:51,730 --> 00:13:56,660 vigour to pursue sinful things, we should give our best of our 192 00:13:56,670 --> 00:14:00,470 time and strength in remembering our Creator. 193 00:14:01,650 --> 00:14:04,680 The preacher tells us that this would be wisdom. 194 00:14:05,130 --> 00:14:09,430 So let us not waste the days of our youth, but let us remember 195 00:14:09,630 --> 00:14:13,360 our Creator. So I can just well imagine that 196 00:14:13,370 --> 00:14:17,940 some of our older members might be thinking, those members who 197 00:14:17,950 --> 00:14:23,120 are already well past their days of youth, and they must be 198 00:14:23,130 --> 00:14:27,220 thinking then what does this preaching have to do with me? 199 00:14:28,010 --> 00:14:31,880 Am I exempt from remembering my Creator in my old days? 200 00:14:31,890 --> 00:14:34,860 Dylan, upon health at Welland upon strength? 201 00:14:35,290 --> 00:14:39,440 Well, the answer to that is no, you are not exempt because even 202 00:14:39,450 --> 00:14:42,990 though you are in your old age, you still have some strength and 203 00:14:43,000 --> 00:14:45,880 energy left. You are still alive. 204 00:14:46,280 --> 00:14:49,710 You are responsible to use whatever strength and energy you 205 00:14:49,720 --> 00:14:54,870 have to remember your Creator even in your old age. 206 00:14:55,640 --> 00:14:59,500 And by doing that Marathi, we are setting example for those 207 00:14:59,510 --> 00:15:02,070 who are still in the days of their youth. 208 00:15:02,600 --> 00:15:07,910 That's why young or old God calls us to remember our 209 00:15:07,920 --> 00:15:11,980 Creator. Now let's look closer at how we 210 00:15:11,990 --> 00:15:14,880 can do this. And that is the second point 211 00:15:14,930 --> 00:15:19,400 that we have this afternoon. When we hear the word remember, 212 00:15:19,750 --> 00:15:23,720 we may think of it merely in terms of recalling in our mind. 213 00:15:24,230 --> 00:15:26,640 It's like remembering consignment, even your phone 214 00:15:26,650 --> 00:15:31,170 more or you remembering what is the PIN of your ATM card. 215 00:15:32,170 --> 00:15:36,700 But the Old Testament often, but the Old Testament often means 216 00:15:36,710 --> 00:15:40,480 much more than this with the Hebrew word for remember, 217 00:15:41,330 --> 00:15:46,140 because to remember is often used in context of the covenant 218 00:15:46,190 --> 00:15:50,120 of grace. The covenant of grace is God's 219 00:15:50,130 --> 00:15:52,650 special relationship with these people. 220 00:15:53,100 --> 00:15:57,730 In this covenant, God makes beautiful gospel promises that 221 00:15:57,740 --> 00:16:02,970 are fulfilled in Jesus Christ. Here he promised to be our God, 222 00:16:03,060 --> 00:16:05,750 to be our faithful Father in heaven. 223 00:16:06,640 --> 00:16:10,150 But there's also something that God expects from us in this 224 00:16:10,160 --> 00:16:12,890 covenant, in this covenant of grace. 225 00:16:13,540 --> 00:16:17,370 In some places of the Old Testament, that expectation is 226 00:16:17,380 --> 00:16:21,170 defined in terms of remembering our God. 227 00:16:22,220 --> 00:16:26,090 So what is remembering our God? Remembering God is to 228 00:16:26,100 --> 00:16:29,310 acknowledge Him and intentionally live in that 229 00:16:29,320 --> 00:16:34,630 covenant relationship with Him. It is to remember God because it 230 00:16:34,640 --> 00:16:37,870 is to remember God, meaning you have to have faith. 231 00:16:37,920 --> 00:16:42,250 You have to have faith in Him first, you have to trust in Him, 232 00:16:42,300 --> 00:16:46,170 and also you have to follow Him with your whole heart. 233 00:16:47,740 --> 00:16:51,690 So what we have to keep in mind is that in this covenant of 234 00:16:51,700 --> 00:16:55,850 grace, it cannot function in a healthy way if it's just a 235 00:16:55,860 --> 00:17:01,710 matter between God and us, because we are all sinful. 236 00:17:02,020 --> 00:17:06,200 We are sinful people and no matter how hard we try that is 237 00:17:06,210 --> 00:17:10,940 not going to change. In this side of eternity we so 238 00:17:10,950 --> 00:17:15,180 often forget our Creator and the and we don't take Him seriously. 239 00:17:15,930 --> 00:17:19,099 We don't acknowledge Him and we don't follow Him the way we 240 00:17:19,109 --> 00:17:23,530 should. We are sinful people and God is 241 00:17:23,540 --> 00:17:28,930 a holy God and God's holiness means he can't and then he won't 242 00:17:28,940 --> 00:17:33,910 have anything to do with sin and that is non negotiable. 243 00:17:35,070 --> 00:17:39,390 This is why we need a mediator in this covenant of grace and 244 00:17:39,400 --> 00:17:43,710 that mediator is our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. 245 00:17:44,560 --> 00:17:49,110 He is the one who steps into the breach between God and us, and 246 00:17:49,120 --> 00:17:53,150 He brings us together. And He does that by virtue of 247 00:17:53,160 --> 00:17:57,490 His perfect obedience and His sacrifice on the cross. 248 00:17:59,190 --> 00:18:02,530 Christ always perfectly remembered the Creator 249 00:18:02,540 --> 00:18:06,760 throughout his life and even when all of His strength and 250 00:18:06,770 --> 00:18:11,540 energy was virtually gone, even when He is already on the cross, 251 00:18:11,810 --> 00:18:17,380 He still remembered the Creator and called out to Him and mark 252 00:18:17,390 --> 00:18:20,320 apatite he did that in our place. 253 00:18:21,190 --> 00:18:25,940 He presents his obedience to God and says to God here this 254 00:18:25,950 --> 00:18:32,060 obedience is for him or here this obedience is for her and 255 00:18:32,070 --> 00:18:38,100 God accepts that obedience for us and by dying on the cross on 256 00:18:38,110 --> 00:18:42,140 our place, Jesus has paid for every time we have forgotten our 257 00:18:42,150 --> 00:18:46,580 Creator, whether in the days of our youth or otherwise. 258 00:18:47,470 --> 00:18:51,420 If we look at the mediator of the covenant with faith, then we 259 00:18:51,430 --> 00:18:55,860 are forgiven. You are forgiven, and you can 260 00:18:55,870 --> 00:18:59,990 have a healthy and friendly relationship with your Creator 261 00:19:00,040 --> 00:19:05,000 through what Jesus Christ has done for us as our Mediator. 262 00:19:06,760 --> 00:19:11,040 Now, with that in mind, we can approach Ecclesiastes 12/1 from 263 00:19:11,050 --> 00:19:15,050 the perspective of a forgiven Christian who are thankful to 264 00:19:15,060 --> 00:19:18,910 God for their deliverance because we've been delivered by 265 00:19:18,920 --> 00:19:21,990 His grace. We want to remember our Creator 266 00:19:22,000 --> 00:19:26,250 in the days of our youth. We want to trust Him and obey 267 00:19:26,260 --> 00:19:32,080 Him, and the fact that He is our Creator reminds us how we have 268 00:19:32,090 --> 00:19:36,900 this obligation towards God. The Creator has claims on his 269 00:19:36,910 --> 00:19:40,350 creatures. If God is our Creator, then we 270 00:19:40,360 --> 00:19:43,420 owe Him our loyalty and our obedience. 271 00:19:43,930 --> 00:19:49,220 But further, if God is our Saviour to our Christ, to our 272 00:19:49,270 --> 00:19:53,560 Mediator Jesus Christ, then we want to give him our loyalty and 273 00:19:53,570 --> 00:19:57,040 obedience out of love and gratitude. 274 00:19:58,320 --> 00:20:01,680 Now, that's already one good reason to pursue the wisdom of 275 00:20:01,690 --> 00:20:06,890 remembering our Creator, but our passage speaks of another one, 276 00:20:07,300 --> 00:20:10,980 and that is the last thing that we will learn this afternoon. 277 00:20:12,740 --> 00:20:16,970 Our passage speaks of the normal progress of human life. 278 00:20:17,300 --> 00:20:20,210 Wisdom literature in the Bible often does that. 279 00:20:20,520 --> 00:20:24,040 It speaks in general terms of how things go. 280 00:20:24,520 --> 00:20:29,670 In general terms, someone is young, vivacious and energetic 281 00:20:29,740 --> 00:20:34,430 and then eventually one gets old and the associated decay and 282 00:20:34,440 --> 00:20:39,080 breakdown of the body comes in. Well, obviously there are 283 00:20:39,090 --> 00:20:42,290 exceptions to the rule. Alarm nothing Mama batang 284 00:20:42,300 --> 00:20:48,020 namatai Cilla and there are teenagers who died tragically in 285 00:20:48,030 --> 00:20:52,440 an accident or due to some illness, but those are 286 00:20:52,500 --> 00:20:57,260 exceptional circumstances. The normal course of things is 287 00:20:57,270 --> 00:21:01,820 what we found in the text that we will start as young at 288 00:21:01,830 --> 00:21:08,150 Mamamatay Tayo nang old and there are days of our youth and 289 00:21:08,160 --> 00:21:10,420 then there are evil days to come. 290 00:21:11,250 --> 00:21:14,980 So the word evil here is not used in the sense of something 291 00:21:14,990 --> 00:21:18,440 that is morally bad people, you know in an evil days. 292 00:21:18,630 --> 00:21:23,660 But evil days is used in a sense as something that we experience 293 00:21:23,710 --> 00:21:30,260 as being bad, bad days. These are the tough times and 294 00:21:30,270 --> 00:21:34,970 these are the hard days. And it speaks here for days 295 00:21:34,980 --> 00:21:37,810 which are shorter period of time. 296 00:21:38,520 --> 00:21:46,740 You know Bella Muhammad by 1/4. I makram Daman mahari Pokayo by 297 00:21:46,750 --> 00:21:50,340 saying that you have good days and you have bad days. 298 00:21:50,350 --> 00:21:57,750 Diploma many times 90. I'm snug and La La La La non 299 00:21:57,840 --> 00:21:59,970 GAAP. So that's how the decay 300 00:21:59,980 --> 00:22:02,810 associated with old age often begins. 301 00:22:03,240 --> 00:22:11,700 It starts with fits and it starts federal Valentina anti 302 00:22:11,710 --> 00:22:17,780 Buhari is that eventually young bad days it becomes bad years, 303 00:22:18,590 --> 00:22:23,720 the hard times become longer and eventually it becomes sustained. 304 00:22:24,550 --> 00:22:27,710 Decay and breakdown are obvious all the time. 305 00:22:28,530 --> 00:22:33,060 The following verses in chapter 12 speaks poetically about the 306 00:22:33,070 --> 00:22:36,170 experiences of many elderly people. 307 00:22:36,610 --> 00:22:39,820 And if you only have a good study Bible, it will explain to 308 00:22:39,830 --> 00:22:42,050 you all the different metaphors for you. 309 00:22:44,390 --> 00:22:49,130 Matalin, Hagan's Pananalita. But all of those point to the 310 00:22:49,140 --> 00:22:53,980 experience of an elderly person, so I will not go through them 311 00:22:54,030 --> 00:22:58,180 one by one. But suffice it is to say that 312 00:22:58,190 --> 00:23:02,860 the preacher knows how the elderly experience things like 313 00:23:03,030 --> 00:23:08,670 fading eyesight, dental problems, trouble in sleeping 314 00:23:08,900 --> 00:23:13,510 and other woes. And in verse 1, the preacher 315 00:23:13,520 --> 00:23:18,250 speaks of this year's as those of which people will say, I have 316 00:23:18,260 --> 00:23:22,840 no pleasure in them. There is no delight in those 317 00:23:22,850 --> 00:23:27,010 years human apanho mahina natayo at Marami tayong naramdaman 318 00:23:27,320 --> 00:23:32,830 masaket life becomes bitter and it becomes burdensome. 319 00:23:33,530 --> 00:23:38,550 And for some, sometimes debt becomes even more attractive to 320 00:23:38,560 --> 00:23:41,760 them. Now listen carefully. 321 00:23:42,470 --> 00:23:46,610 The point of the preacher, the point that the creature is 322 00:23:46,620 --> 00:23:49,840 trying to make, is that if you are waiting to take God 323 00:23:49,850 --> 00:23:54,460 seriously until old age, then the challenge of doing so is 324 00:23:54,470 --> 00:23:59,040 going to be much, much harder. People who haven't been 325 00:23:59,050 --> 00:24:02,160 remembering, who haven't been remembering their Creator in the 326 00:24:02,170 --> 00:24:05,880 days of their youth aren't suddenly going to find it easy 327 00:24:05,950 --> 00:24:09,090 to do that later in their old days. 328 00:24:10,710 --> 00:24:14,960 Cutting apple old age isn't the time to start taking God 329 00:24:14,970 --> 00:24:18,200 seriously. It is better to do that when 330 00:24:18,210 --> 00:24:22,520 you've got your youth or your health and your vigour on your 331 00:24:22,530 --> 00:24:25,800 side. Because if you've got the energy 332 00:24:25,810 --> 00:24:29,840 now, if you are in the days of your youth, so to speak, then we 333 00:24:29,850 --> 00:24:34,220 should make the best of it. When you get old, the challenges 334 00:24:34,230 --> 00:24:37,280 can make it harder to develop good habits. 335 00:24:38,110 --> 00:24:41,840 Let's take for example the habit of Bible reading. 336 00:24:42,610 --> 00:24:47,460 Para pulsating maga bata bata APA one hirap mag develop na 337 00:24:47,470 --> 00:24:50,600 habit of Bible reading. How much more capable than 338 00:24:50,610 --> 00:24:57,070 Darana Deepu Bama's Mahirap Mag develop nang habitation? 339 00:24:57,720 --> 00:25:01,470 But if you've developed a habit of Bible reading while you are 340 00:25:01,480 --> 00:25:06,910 still young or youngish, when you still got the energy, that 341 00:25:06,920 --> 00:25:10,030 habit will travel with you into your old age. 342 00:25:10,660 --> 00:25:14,340 That even though your old age might be tough kite, marami 343 00:25:14,650 --> 00:25:18,810 saket, that habit will encourage you and strengthen you with 344 00:25:18,820 --> 00:25:23,230 God's Word. Or let's take also the example 345 00:25:23,240 --> 00:25:29,010 of memorization of Bible verses. It is a proven fact that as you 346 00:25:29,020 --> 00:25:32,410 grow old, it becomes more difficult for your brain to 347 00:25:32,420 --> 00:25:35,160 process and retain new information. 348 00:25:35,410 --> 00:25:40,540 Must nagiging Mahakali or must they hear up on the pussy? 349 00:25:40,870 --> 00:25:46,620 Take in information so your memories can get cluttered in 350 00:25:46,630 --> 00:25:49,270 your mind. It takes longer to learn and 351 00:25:49,280 --> 00:25:53,370 remember new things, but if you've spent time memorising 352 00:25:53,380 --> 00:25:57,170 scriptures while you are still young, or while you are still in 353 00:25:57,180 --> 00:26:01,670 the days of your youth when your mind is still fresh, then those 354 00:26:01,680 --> 00:26:05,690 memorise scriptures will often still be there in your sunset 355 00:26:05,700 --> 00:26:09,620 years. But the time donating is a point 356 00:26:09,660 --> 00:26:15,250 now. Scriptures that sovereign amata. 357 00:26:15,720 --> 00:26:19,670 But if we have stored away scripture in our heart because 358 00:26:19,680 --> 00:26:25,010 we have memorised them in our young age, then we will have a 359 00:26:25,020 --> 00:26:30,010 lot of reassurance and comfort from those memorised passages. 360 00:26:30,840 --> 00:26:34,870 Yes, it takes time and work, but you've got the ability to do it 361 00:26:34,880 --> 00:26:37,600 now. So take advantage of it and 362 00:26:37,610 --> 00:26:41,270 you'll find rich dividends further down the track. 363 00:26:42,900 --> 00:26:45,690 And of course, remembering your creator in the days of your 364 00:26:45,700 --> 00:26:49,790 youth also speaks of so many other parts of our lives. 365 00:26:50,580 --> 00:26:57,080 Kumausap kunatin elderly people, we will find out that they that 366 00:26:57,300 --> 00:26:59,630 what they regret about the days of their youth. 367 00:26:59,680 --> 00:27:02,550 Meron silang manga regrets vagina. 368 00:27:04,560 --> 00:27:09,530 I doubt it, but you know really that one of the one of them will 369 00:27:09,540 --> 00:27:13,180 tell you now. C Anila is Uma Tensilon Lord's 370 00:27:13,190 --> 00:27:19,520 Day twice every Sunday or I doubt someone will tell you now 371 00:27:21,260 --> 00:27:25,240 Horsham Park attending Bible study Kasami Mahima brothers and 372 00:27:25,250 --> 00:27:30,060 sisters in Christ, or no one will tell you that I regret that 373 00:27:30,070 --> 00:27:33,960 I choose to follow Christ and did not engage in sex before 374 00:27:33,970 --> 00:27:37,080 marriage. Because when we talk about 375 00:27:37,090 --> 00:27:42,580 regrets, regret is often related to ways in which we did not 376 00:27:42,590 --> 00:27:46,080 remember our Creator in the days of our youth. 377 00:27:47,600 --> 00:27:51,080 Loved ones, you don't want to have those kinds of regrets 378 00:27:52,030 --> 00:27:54,790 right now. If you have got the vim and the 379 00:27:54,800 --> 00:27:58,280 vigour of your youth, it doesn't matter how old you are. 380 00:27:58,590 --> 00:28:01,810 Now is the time to remember our Creator. 381 00:28:02,870 --> 00:28:06,530 Now is the time to take God seriously in our life, to take 382 00:28:06,540 --> 00:28:11,080 His words seriously, or to be serious in being a disciple of 383 00:28:11,090 --> 00:28:15,930 Jesus Christ, because not doing so is a foolish thing. 384 00:28:16,830 --> 00:28:20,350 It is foolish to ignore and forget about your Creator when 385 00:28:20,360 --> 00:28:24,060 you are youthful. It is foolish to put God aside 386 00:28:24,070 --> 00:28:28,720 and think you can do without Him in this life, or perhaps that 387 00:28:28,730 --> 00:28:31,970 you'll have the time later on kapag matanda kana to work out 388 00:28:31,980 --> 00:28:36,380 your relationship with God and chapati. 389 00:28:36,390 --> 00:28:42,220 That is foolish for two reasons. First, nations adding passage. 390 00:28:42,450 --> 00:28:46,280 It is the fact that old age makes it hard to break old 391 00:28:46,290 --> 00:28:51,550 habits or patterns of thinking. And then second, who in the 392 00:28:51,560 --> 00:29:03,600 world told us Nahayi guaranteed dadating so old age I I tatenda. 393 00:29:03,910 --> 00:29:07,410 We simply don't know what God has planned for our lives. 394 00:29:08,390 --> 00:29:13,480 That's why in Asia 55 eight it was said, seek the Lord while he 395 00:29:13,490 --> 00:29:17,300 may be found. Call upon him while he is near. 396 00:29:17,930 --> 00:29:21,040 Seek the Lord while you are still in the days of your youth 397 00:29:21,110 --> 00:29:24,270 and don't delay it. Don't put it off. 398 00:29:25,830 --> 00:29:30,920 So wisdom means so many things, but at its most basic level, it 399 00:29:30,930 --> 00:29:35,100 does means remembering our Creator while we still can. 400 00:29:35,890 --> 00:29:39,580 So wisdom means trusting in God's promises in Christ. 401 00:29:39,810 --> 00:29:43,820 It is acknowledging Him in all our ways and aiming to live for 402 00:29:43,830 --> 00:29:49,010 Him more consistently. And those who do this aren't 403 00:29:49,020 --> 00:29:52,450 promised that suddenly old age will go easy for them. 404 00:29:53,360 --> 00:29:57,210 There are many elderly faithful Christians who have long been 405 00:29:57,220 --> 00:30:02,090 remembering their Creator but still do experience the decay 406 00:30:02,100 --> 00:30:07,160 and the harshness of old age SE-12. 407 00:30:08,400 --> 00:30:12,820 But wisdom enables them to face this hardship in a God 408 00:30:12,830 --> 00:30:17,900 glorifying way. Wisdom enables them to say with 409 00:30:17,910 --> 00:30:22,630 the old man who wrote Psalm 71, Ohh God, from my youth you have 410 00:30:22,640 --> 00:30:26,350 taught me and I still proclaim your wondrous deeds. 411 00:30:26,820 --> 00:30:30,710 You have made me see many troubles and calamities, and you 412 00:30:30,720 --> 00:30:33,630 will revive me again from the depths of the earth. 413 00:30:33,640 --> 00:30:36,550 You will bring me up again. In the end. 414 00:30:36,600 --> 00:30:41,610 That kind of wisdom is the wisdom that gives us comfort and 415 00:30:41,620 --> 00:30:42,990 hope. Amen. 416 00:30:43,260 --> 00:30:45,770 Let's all go to the Lord in prayer. 417 00:30:47,620 --> 00:30:50,110 Ohh. God Almighty our Father, we 418 00:30:50,120 --> 00:30:54,120 worship you as our Creator. In six days You made everything 419 00:30:54,130 --> 00:30:57,070 that is out of nothing and that amazes us. 420 00:30:57,560 --> 00:31:01,010 We adore you for your handiwork, especially with humanity. 421 00:31:01,560 --> 00:31:05,320 You created us to remember you, to acknowledge you, to trust 422 00:31:05,330 --> 00:31:08,990 you, and to follow you. We confess that so many times 423 00:31:09,000 --> 00:31:12,230 we've failed to do that. We appeal to the perfect 424 00:31:12,240 --> 00:31:14,360 obedience of Christ took over for us. 425 00:31:15,280 --> 00:31:18,710 We appeal to the sacrifice He made on the cross in our place 426 00:31:19,560 --> 00:31:22,030 because of what Christ did in our place. 427 00:31:22,140 --> 00:31:25,030 Please forgive us for not remembering you in the days of 428 00:31:25,040 --> 00:31:28,230 our youth. We ask you to please help us 429 00:31:28,320 --> 00:31:32,250 with your Holy Spirit to more consistently remember you while 430 00:31:32,260 --> 00:31:34,280 we have the youthful strength to do so. 431 00:31:35,030 --> 00:31:38,870 We especially pray to you this afternoon for our children and 432 00:31:38,880 --> 00:31:42,260 our young people. Help them to take advantage of 433 00:31:42,270 --> 00:31:46,320 their youth to develop godly habits that will serve them well 434 00:31:46,330 --> 00:31:50,540 throughout their life. We pray for our elderly members 435 00:31:50,590 --> 00:31:53,520 as well and all the challenges that they deal. 436 00:31:54,370 --> 00:31:56,780 Please be their help and strength. 437 00:31:56,910 --> 00:31:58,840 Be please be their help and strength. 438 00:31:58,850 --> 00:32:03,090 And please help them continue growing as disciple of Christ 439 00:32:03,310 --> 00:32:07,300 even with the challenges that come with old, with old age. 440 00:32:07,350 --> 00:32:10,470 And all of this we pray in Jesus name, Amen.