Ecclesiastes 12, verse number 1 says, Remember now thy creator in the days of thy youth,
while the evil days come not, nor the years draw nigh, when thou shalt say, I have no
pleasure in them.
You know what the Bible is saying there?
The Bible is saying that eventually you're going to get to a point where you are ready
to go, where you are ready to die, to where the years draw nigh, when thou shalt say,
I have no pleasure in them.
Have you ever met people who just tell you, I'm ready to go?
Right?
I mean, you run into people that are in their 80s, 90s, or even over 100, and some of them
are just, they're just like, I've had a bunch of, I'm just waiting for God to take me home.
It's like, all right, God, let's go.
I'm ready to go.
Let's go.
You know, because they're done.
And now those of us that are young, we're like, whoa, I want to stay here.
But that's what the Bible has just said.
The Bible said, you're not to that point yet where you'll say, I have no pleasure in the
years.
You know, when the, but eventually those years will draw nigh when thou shalt say, I have
no pleasure in them.
You know, when you get to be 99, 100 years old, you know, I hope you all live that long.
Where you're just like, okay, I'm done.
I've lived my life.
I'm ready to go.
It's over.
That day is coming for all of us.
Remember that you will die.
Look at verse number two, while the sun or the light or the moon or the stars be not
darkened.
You know, we can go outside right now and we can see the sun.
We can see the moon.
We can see the stars.
But you know what?
Elderly people don't go out on stargazing tours because a lot of times their vision
could be too blurred to see it.
You know, I've tried to go stargazing with someone whose eyesight wasn't very good and
it's like they don't, they can't see the stuff.
You've got to be able to see it.
He's talking about your eyes being dim with age so that you don't see these things.
In the day, verse three, when the keepers of the house shall tremble and the strong
men shall bow themselves and the grinders cease because they are few.
You know what the grinders are?
Your teeth.
Your molars.
Right?
And eventually you're going to lose your teeth.
No matter how good you take care of them, they will eventually be gone.
The grinders cease because they are few and those that look out of the windows be darkened.
Again, a reference to your eyesight failing.
And the doors shall be shut in the streets when the sound of the grinding is low and
he shall rise up at the voice of the bird.
Have you noticed that elderly people sleep much more lightly than young people do?
I mean, teenagers will just sleep for like 10 hours, 11 hours, they're just in a coma.
Sleep in real late.
But you know what?
Old people get up at three in the morning, four in the morning, five in the morning.
And even throughout the night, you know, when you're a kid, you pretty much just sleep through
the night.
The older you get, you start waking up multiple times throughout the night.
Waking up throughout the night.
Waking up and then, you know, you wake at the voice of the bird.
The first little bird starts cheeping and you're just like boing.
Teenagers are like.
Also when they shall be afraid of that which is high.
Your typical elderly person is not going to be doing a lot of zip lines and roller coasters
and things.
You have a fear of heights.
Fears shall be in the way and the almond tree shall flourish and the grasshopper shall be
a burden and desire shall fail.
Because man goeth to his long home and the mourners go about the streets.
Wherever the silver cord be loosed or the golden bowl be broken or the pitcher be broken
at the fountain or the wheel broken at the cistern, then shall the dust return to the
earth as it was and the spirit shall return unto God who gave it.
Vanity of vanities.
You know, this is reality, my friend.
You know, we're all going to get old.
We're all going to die.
We're all going to experience these things and if you think about women who their whole
life is just based on how they look, well, you know, you're going to have a real fun
time in your seventies, eighties and nineties if all you care about is just being scantily
clad and just how you look and you better get a little more depth of meaning in your
life.
You know, or maybe you're a young guy and you just live for sports.
It's all sports to you.
Okay, well, enjoy sports in your eighties.
It's not going to be the same.
It's not going to be as fun as it was.
You're going downhill.
The point is that when we're young, what does the Bible say in verse one?
Remember now thy creator in the days of thy youth.
You know, if you're smart, you young people would realize, you know what?
I'm going to die someday and none of this matters and I need to live for God.
I need to actually seek the Lord in the days of my youth.
Now, first of all, you young people should seek the Lord in your days of your youth anyway
because you're going to have a better rest of your life.
If you spend your teens and twenties seeking the Lord instead of your tens and twenties
seeking after booze and fornication and partying, then you're going to be having bad consequences
for the rest of your life, but not only is the rest of your life going to be better if
you actually love the Lord and care about the things of God now as a young person.
You know, what about the fact that we're all going to die one day anyway and the only thing
that matters is what we do for God.
So why don't you start sowing those seeds now?
Not the wild oats, but why don't you start sowing the seed now of serving the Lord, winning
people to Christ, reading your Bible, praying, and you're going to be able to enjoy that
for the rest of your life and you're going to be able to enjoy that all throughout eternity.