Sermon
#1329[1] Miscellaneous
Sermons
Title: Old People Seldom
Seek Him
Text: Ecclesiastes 12:1-7
Reading: Psalm
90:1-17
Subject: The Urgency Of Faith In
Christ
Date: Sunday Morning - November 22, 1998
Tape # U-96a
Introduction:
Ecclesiastes 12:1-7 "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; 2 While
the sun, or the light, or the moon, or the stars, be not darkened, nor the
clouds return after the rain: 3 In
the day when the keepers of the house shall tremble, and the strong men shall
bow themselves, and the grinders cease because they are few, and those that
look out of the windows be darkened, 4 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, and all the daughters of music
shall be brought low; 5 Also when they shall be afraid of that which is high, and 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: 6 Or ever 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. 7 Then
shall the dust return to the earth as it was: and the spirit shall return unto
God who gave it."
The
title of my message today will raise some eyebrows when I announce it. To many,
it will appear to be, at first consideration, both untrue and unkind. But I
hope you will hear what I have to say. My message today should arrest the
attention of every rational person. If God will enable me, I want to talk to
you about this fact that I have observed in preaching the gospel for more than
thirty years - Old People Seldom Seek
Him. Old people seldom seek the Lord. This fact has been driven home to
my heart in a most personal way in the last couple of weeks, with the sickness
and death of my own mother.
I am calling for faith in Christ. I
want you to know and trust the Lord Jesus Christ. I want you today, this very
hour, to call upon the name of the Lord and be saved.
1. Believe God’s testimony
concerning his Son.
2. Confess your sin to God.
3. Trust the Lord Jesus Christ
- His blood atonement - His perfect righteousness - His glorious intercession.
4. Commit yourself to Christ
the Lord.
Salvation does not come by your will. But you will
never be saved without, or against, your will. “Thy people shall be willing in the day of thy power.” May God make
you willing to trust his Son today! Salvation is not the result of a decision
you make. But you will never be saved without a willing, deliberate, voluntary
decision on your part. So I am saying to you, “Choose you this day whom ye will serve.”
And I give you this word of assurance from
God - The Lord our God is able and
willing to save to the uttermost any and all who come to him by faith in Christ.
His arm is not short that he cannot save. His ear is not heavy that he cannot
hear. If you trust Christ, you cannot be lost. If you trust Christ, God will
save you.
·
No Matter How Young You Are, Or How Old.
·
No Matter How Moral You Are, Or Immoral.
·
No Matter How Religious You Are, Or Irreligious.
If you seek the Lord you will find him. If you call
upon him, he will answer you, no matter what your condition, no matter what
your position is, no matter what your age is.
But I
know this also - Old men and women
seldom seek the Lord. I have been around and preached to a lot of old
people. When I was twenty-one years old, I became pastor of a congregation of
primarily older people. The average age was about 60-65. I visited in their
homes, preached to them, observed their religion and observed their
superstitions for nine years. Some of them are still alive. Many of them are
dead. But this I observed - Men and women usually die just like they have
lived. Those who spend a lifetime without Christ usually die without Christ.
Do not misunderstand me. I am not saying
that old people are not religious; they usually are very religious.
They are usually very sentimental, very superstitious, and very religious. But generally their religion is
confusion. They have no understanding or discernment in the things of
God.
Illustration: The old lady who
left $30,000 to Henry Mahan,
E. J. Daniels, and Jimmy Swaggart
Gurney Barker
NOTE: Those
who do have understanding and discernment in the things of God, for the most
part, got it when they were young.
I’ve
been in a lot of rest homes. But I have never seen a revival in a rest home. I
have yet to hear of a man being convicted of sin, of righteousness, and of
judgment in a convalescent center. I used to visit the sanitorium at Beckley,
WV regularly. But I never met a person there who was seeking the Lord. I have
never seen or heard of anyone being converted in a rest home.
This is what i am telling you, and my text will bear me out, old people
seldom seek the Lord. I did not say, “never.” I said, “seldom.” Old people
seldom seek him (Eccles. 12:1-7).
I. “REMEMBER NOW THY CREATOR.”
You can call this a command,
an admonition, or an exhortation. But it is a warning to young men and women,
those who still possess their faculties, to seek the Lord while they have
opportunity to do so. This warning is addressed to you and me. Some of us are
older and some are younger than others. But we are all yet in retention of our
mental faculties. So in the sense of our text, we are all here yet in our
youth, at least mentally.
Someone
said, “Forty is the old age of youth. Fifty is the youth of old age.” Most of
us fall in there somewhere. But I am not talking about years. Solomon is warning us that the day will
soon come when we will not be able to remember our Creator. So, if we
are wise, we will do so now!
A. “Remember!”
The word remember means much
more than “call to mind”. It means, “Set your heart upon and never neglect,
forget, or fail to think upon thy Creator.” The word, “remember” is used like
this frequently in the Scriptures.
1. To the rich man in hell
Abraham said, “Son, remember that thou in
thy lifetime receivedst thy good things, and likewise Lazarus evil things: but
now he is comforted and thou art tormented” (Lk. 16:25).
2. The penitent thief cried out
to the Lord Jesus, as they were dying - “Lord,
remember me when thou comest into thy kingdom” (Lk. 23:42).
3. Our Savior says to you and
me, as we eat the bread and drink the wine of the Lord’s Table, “This do in remembrance of me” (1 Cor.
11:25). (Set your mind on me. Never forget me. Never neglect me. Remember me.)
B. “Remember now!”
“Now” is the time of
opportunity. “Now” is the time of grace. “Now” is the time of salvation. “Now is the accepted time.” “Behold, today
is the day of salvation!”
1. Now is the time when God is speaking
(Prov. 1:23-33).
Proverbs 1:23-33 "Turn you at my reproof: behold, I will
pour out my spirit unto you, I will make known my words unto you. 24 Because I have called, and ye
refused; I have stretched out my hand, and no man regarded; 25 But ye have set at nought all my counsel, and would none of my
reproof: 26 I also will laugh at your
calamity; I will mock when your fear cometh;
27 When your fear cometh as desolation, and your destruction cometh as a
whirlwind; when distress and anguish cometh upon you. 28 Then shall they call upon me, but I will not answer; they shall
seek me early, but they shall not find me:
29 For that they hated knowledge, and did not choose the fear of the LORD: 30 They would none of my counsel: they
despised all my reproof. 31 Therefore
shall they eat of the fruit of their own way, and be filled with their own
devices. 32 For the turning away of
the simple shall slay them, and the prosperity of fools shall destroy them. 33 But whoso hearkeneth unto me shall
dwell safely, and shall be quiet from fear of evil."
Illustration: “Jesus of Nazareth passeth
by!”
2. Now is the time we
have.
We
have no promise of tomorrow, much less of old age. So Solomon says, “Remember now!” Do not delay. Do not
neglect your soul. Do not neglect your God.
C. “Remember now thy Creator!”
The word “Creator” here is
really in the plural. It should read, “Remember now thy Creators,” clearly
expressing the foundational truth of Holy Scripture that the Lord our God is
one God in the Trinity of his sacred Persons. God who is one said, “Let us make man in our own image and after
our own likeness.”
We are Trinitarians! (1 John 5:7).
·
Malachi says, “Have we not all
one Father? Hath not one God created us?” (2:10).
·
And Isaiah says, “Thy Maker is
thine Husband: the LORD of hosts (God almighty) is his name...The God of the whole earth shall he be called” (Isa.
54:5).
·
Yet, in that same verse he says, “Thy
Maker is thy Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel.”
·
And in the Book of Job we read, “The
Spirit of God hath made me; and the breath of the Almighty hath given me life” (Elihu
- 33:4).
NOTE: As
all three of the Divine Persons are involved in the work of salvation (Eph.
1:3-14), all three were involved in the work of creation. The world, all things
in it, and you and I were created...
·
According to the purpose of God the Father.
·
Through the mediation of God the Son.
·
By the power of God the Spirit.
1. Remember that our Creator is God alone. There is no
God but him.
Allah
is not God any more than Bhudda is God or the Hindu’s cow is God. Jehovah is God,
great and glorious. He alone is omnipotent, omniscient, omnipresent, holy, just
and true. “He hath made us!” More
significantly, the weak, frustrated, helpless god of this apostate religious
age is not God. He alone is God who
possesses the attributes of God! If you worship a god who wants to do,
wills to do, or tries to do what he is not able, for any reason to accomplish,
you might just as well worship a rat with the Hindu.
2. Remember that God in Christ is love, mercy, and
grace, pardoning iniquity, transgression, and sin.
3. Remember that this Lord God is our Creator.
·
He brought us into being.
·
He preserves us in life.
·
He favors us with the blessings of his providence.
·
He feeds us with our daily bread.
·
He owns us, rules over us, and disposes of us as he will.
4. Remember why God created you (Prov. 16:4).
Proverbs 16:4 "The LORD hath made all things for himself: yea, even the wicked
for the day of evil."
God
made you and me to glorify himself. And we will serve the purpose for which we
were made!
·
The Glory Of His Grace In Salvation.
·
The Glory Of His Power In Judgment.
5. Remember that you and I are not worthy to live
before the Lord God and we are not fit to die in our natural state.
·
We have transgressed God’s law.
·
We have despised his grace.
·
We have disregarded his gospel.
·
We have trampled under our feet the blood of his dear Son.
·
We deserve his wrath.
6. Remember what the Holy Lord God, our Creators, must
have done and have done to save such worthless sinners as we are.
a. We could never have been
saved if God the Father had not loved us with an everlasting love and chosen us
unto eternal salvation by his grace (2 Thess. 2:13-14).
b. We could never have been
saved had not God the Son, our Lord Jesus Christ come into this world in human
flesh, had he not lived for us, had he not died for us under the penalty of
God’s holy law as our Substitute (2 Cor. 5:21).
I’ve been to Calvary, and I
can say
“I’ve seen the Lord
I’ve been to Calvary through
the riches of His Word.
Each day at Calvary, what a
thrill of love Divine
Just to think - This Savior
is mine!
c. We could never have been
saved had not God the Spirit graciously revealed Christ in us by his grace.
7. Remember that God has not forgotten to be merciful -
He is good and gracious to all who call upon him.
a. He will receive you.
b. He will forgive you.
c. He will save you. For
Christ’s sake.
“Remember now thy Creator” - My daily bread comes from him. My breath I have
borrowed from him. My life is in him! My hope is in him! My salvation is in
him! My righteousness is in him! My soul, set your mind upon him! Never neglect
him! Remember him!
II. “REMEMBER NOW THY CREATOR IN THE DAYS OF
THY YOUTH!”
Solomon was the wisest man
who ever lived, other than the God-man, our Savior. He is now an old man. No
man knew more, experienced more, and understood more than Solomon. Young man if
you would be wise, hear Solomon. Young lady, if you would be wise, hear
Solomon. There is nothing in the world more valuable, beneficial, and necessary
than this - “Remember now thy Creator in
the days of thy youth.”
Many reasons might be given why we must
remember our Creator now, in the days of our youth. Let me just give you three.
A. First,
these are our best days.
As God claims the firstfruits of the field,
he deserves the best years of our lives. As the Lord God claims the firstborn
of the flock, he deserves the choicest years of our lives. Dare I take the
firstfruits for myself and bring God the leavings?
1. Remember your Creator now, while your mind is
capable of being enlarged and improved - Able by Divine revelation...
·
To lay hold of the things of God.
·
To apprehend the mysteries of the Godhead.
·
To grasp the deep wonders of the Gospel.
2. Remember your Creator now, while your body is strong
and in good health, to serve the interests of his kingdom.
B. Second,
these are the days we have.
Not
everybody will have old age. But everybody has youth. So remember your Creator
in the days you have. You may not have another day. “Today, while it is called Today, harden not your heart.”
C. Third, there is nothing in all the world so useful and beneficial to your
life.
Never was there a man who set his heart upon
God in his youth who in his old age regretted it. Many a man has cursed the day
of his birth. But never did a man curse the day of his new birth!
Without
exception, God’s ways are the “ways of
pleasantness and peace.”
III. “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.”
I assure you that the days will
soon come when you will wish you had sought the Lord your God in the days of
your youth. The “golden years” are not what they are cracked up to be. Life in
old age usually becomes uncomfortable and troublesome. Usually, the companions
of old age are affliction, pain, sorrow, weakness, loneliness and grief.
Illustration: Dick
P. about working -
“The alternatives is not very appealing.”
A. To some
these are days of joy.
The believer in his old age rejoices in his
knowledge of Christ and his hope in Christ. But the ground of his joy is not in
his present experience and knowledge so much as it is in what he learned and
experienced yesterday and hopes for tomorrow.
NOTE: Paul
the aged - 2 Timothy 4:6-8. Old men rejoice in a well spent life, the lives
they have touched, and the generations to follow them.
2 Timothy 4:6-8 "For I am now ready to be offered, and
the time of my departure is at hand. 7 I
have fought a good fight, I have finished my
course, I have kept the faith: 8 Henceforth
there is laid up for me a crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous
judge, shall give me at that day: and not to me only, but unto all them also
that love his appearing."
Illustration: Barzillai
- 2 Samuel 19:33-37.
2 Samuel 19:33-37 "And the king said unto Barzillai, Come
thou over with me, and I will feed thee with me in Jerusalem. 34 And Barzillai said unto the king,
How long have I to live, that I should go up with the king unto Jerusalem? 35 I am this day fourscore years old: and can I discern between good and evil? can thy servant taste what
I eat or what I drink? can I hear any more the voice of singing men and singing
women? wherefore then should thy servant be yet a burden unto my lord the king? 36 Thy servant will go a little way
over Jordan with the king: and why should the king recompense it me with such a
reward? 37 Let thy servant, I pray
thee, turn back again, that I may die in mine own city, and be buried by the grave of my father and of my mother. But
behold thy servant Chimham; let him go over with my lord the king; and do to
him what shall seem good unto thee."
B. To all these are days of weakness and trouble.
Those things that young men and women rejoice
in afford little, or no pleasure to old men and women - The world, the flesh,
riches, lands, children, grandchildren. The days will come when you will say, “I have no pleasure in them...” There
are few exceptions.
If
you and I live long enough, this is what is going to happen to us. It has been
happening this way for six thousand years. And it will be this way unto the end
of time.
1. Our minds are going to get
weak (v. 2). “ The sun, the light, the
moon, the stars...” all light will be darkened.
2. Troubles will come like
constant rainfall (v. 2). They will be like rain followed by clouds
foreshadowing more rain. - “The clouds
return after the rain.”
3. Our arms, “the keepers of the house,” will get
feeble (v. 3).
4. Our legs, “the strong men,” will begin to weaken
(v. 3).
5. Our teeth, “the grinders,” will begin to fall out
(v. 3).
6. Our eyes, “those that look out the windows,” will
grow dim (v. 3).
7. Our lips, “the doors,” shall be shut (v. 4) In
eating - No teeth. In talking. - The
sound of grinding is low.”
8. Our sleep will be easily
disturbed (v. 4). “Rise up at the voice
of the bird.”
9. Our voices will begin to
crack (v. 4) - “The daughters of music
shall be brought low.’
10. We will begin to fear
falling, because our bodies will not mend - So we will just stay home, and not
go out (v. 5). “Also when they shall be
afraid of that which is high, and fears shall be in the way.”
11. When our hair is white like
the almond tree in winter, the slightest trouble, the noise of a grasshopper,
will be a great burden to us (v. 5). “The
almond tree shall flourish, and th grasshopper shall be a burden.”
12. Our desires, all that the
flesh desires and seeks, shall be failure and frustration (v. 5). “His desire shall fail.”
What
on earth am I talking about? I am talking about old age, the decay of the body,
the fruit of sin - Dying! “Man goeth to
his long home” (vv. 5-7).
Ecclesiastes 12:5-7 "Man goeth to his long home, and the
mourners go about the streets: 6 Or
ever 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. 7 Then shall the dust return to the earth as it was: and the
spirit shall return unto God who gave it."
·
The silver cord that holds body and soul together will break.
·
The golden bowl, the head, the brain, will break and congeal.
·
The fountain of life, the heart, shall cease to flow.
·
This dust will return to the earth.
·
Then this spirit shall return to God who gave it.
What is old age? To some, to
believers, these are days of joy. To all these are days of weakness.
C. And to
most, to the unbelieving, these are days of evil.
If we come to old age not knowing Christ, our
last days on earth will indeed be evil days, because then the possibility of
knowing him will be very slim. Old men and women who refused to remember their
Creator in the days of their youth usually have nothing left in old age but
evil days.
1. Evil Days Of Sickness.
2. Evil Days Of Loneliness.
3. Evil Days Of Reprobation.
4. Evil Days Of Misery.
5. An Evil Day Of Death.
6. An Evil Day Of Judgment.
7. And Evil Days Forever In
Hell.
“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."
AMEN.