HOFC Sermon Archive: Ecclesiastes Part 10: Advice to the Young

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SERMON TIMELINE

1. Introduction & Prologue

2. The Search for Meaning I

3. The Search for Meaning II

4. Solomon’s Observations I

5. Solomon’s Observations II

6. Counsel for Better Living I

7. Counsel for Better Living II

8. Wisdom to Endure Life I

9. Wisdom to Endure Life II

10. Advice to the Young

Today is Sunday. December 29^th, 2024

SCRIPTURE REFERENCE - Ecclesiastes 11:9-12:7

Selected Readings; Ecclesiastes 10:1-3 “Dead flies make a perfumer’s oil stink, so a little simpleminded folly is weightier than wisdom and honor. 2 A wise man’s heart directs him toward the right, but the foolish man’s heart directs him toward the left. 3 Even when the simpleminded fool walks along the road, his heart lacks wisdom, and he says to all, that he is a simpleminded fool.”

In other words, living foolishly has more of an effect on your life than wisdom and honor. Only the impact is negative and magnified. Walking through life using the excuse that he is simple to justify his foolishness and lack of wisdom.

The truth is, those who live foolishly are lazy and do not seek the wisdom of God’s word nor put effort into living what the Word says. So they live like fools, using the excuse that they are just simple people, when in reality, they live foolishly because they are lazy when it comes to the oracles of God.

Oh, the tunes they sing when calamity hits, and their foolish living strikes back at them. They blame everything and everyone except themselves, which is the true guilty party.

Ecclesiastes 11:9-10 “{Sarcasm} 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. 10 So, remove resentment (vexation) from your heart and put away evil from your flesh because childhood and the prime of life are pride (vanity).”

INTRODUCTION

A we draw near the end of Ecclesiastes, we see and understand the vanity of life if we live selfishly, feeding the desires of our flesh which is never satisfied.

Sowing in the flesh leads to sorrow and grief and on judgment day, our destruction. But sowing in the Spirit leads to joyfulness and delight, and on judgment day when we have to give account for our life, sowing in the Spirit while alive, will mean we reap eternal life with the Lord in death.

Solomon tells us that thought we may choose to sow in the Spirit, dark days still come while we are here on earth. So we must prepare for them. If we live long enough, we may experience this more than once.

Can you imagine living during the Great Depression which lasted from 1929-1939, then in 1939, just when you start to recover from the Great Depression, September 1 of that year, World War II starts.

Because of these dark days being inevitable, we are told in scripture to remain heavenly minded so we do not lose sight. We should not give up in despair, rather remember that there is a bigger picture, and God is at work, even when we cannot see, or understand what it is He is doing.

Solomon warns, if we forget about God we may waste years running after things that will never satisfy, only bring grief and sorrow, and lead us astray.

I. REJOICE IN YOUR YOUTH WITH CAUTION

a. God wants us to enjoy our lives

i. He wants you to have joy, and to do things that are pleasing

1. Terri and I enjoy walks through the woods

2. I love sitting and reading with a cup of coffee in the morning

3. I also like building models

ii. There is nothing wrong with enjoying the life God gave us…as long as we don’t lose sight of why we are here.

b. Solomon says, “Don’t lose sight of the coming Judgment”

i. Meaning, we must keep our lives, and the things we do under our consideration for our purpose from God.

ii. Scripture makes plain that we have to give account for what we do.

iii. God will judge both the righteous and the wicked

1. Ecclesiastes 3:17; Ecclesiastes 12:14

iv. Therefore, be selective in what you choose to do in life

God has created us with talents, creativity, some are artistic, some musical, some have a mind for mathematics, talents for construction, woodworking, etc., the list goes on! When we are young, we explore all these things to find where we may fit.

God does not mind if you enjoy spending time painting, or wood carving, or whatever, He wants you to enjoy the life He gave you, as long as you channel your energies where they belong, do not lose sight of your purpose, because the purpose God has for you, is the meaning of your life.

We are not all Billy Graham, but we should all be sharing the gospel. We are not all missionaries, but we should be caring for the widows and orphans we do know. We are not all Preachers, but we should be sharing the truth of the gospel for salvation to our family. Don’t lose sight, or replace your purpose in life with distractions. Balance purpose and enjoyment, and if you can find purpose for God in your enjoyment, you are truly blessed!

II. REMOVE SORROW FROM YOUR HEART BY REMOVING EVIL FROM YOUR FLESH

a. Joy comes when sorrow is removed from us

i. Sorrow deprives us the of the joy we should have, especially when we are young

ii. Enough sorrow will come in this life without us adding to it

iii. Solomon warns that in our youth, if we lose sight of God and our purpose, we fill our lives with meaningless distractions and indiscretions which fill our flesh with sin

b. We must remove the evil from our flesh

i. The sin of our flesh brings much sorrow, not just to the Lord but us as well

1. Such as being with the wrong kind of companions (Proverbs 1:10-19)

2. Or succumbing to the enticements of the wicked (Proverbs 5:1-14)

ii. Childhood and youth is fleeting…it will be over before you realize it. Don’t waste that time on the things that will only bring you grief and sorrow in the end.

Youth, though short, can be a wonderful time of life. The key is to listen to the wisdom of God’s word concerning the coming judgement. When we remember that we have to give account for everything we have said and done in the flesh, it reminds us to measure the choices we make in life.

This is one of the reasons having parents is so important to a child. They need to be taught that there are not only rules, but that there is a consequence for everything we say and do. Do good, and we are rewarded, do bad and we are punished.

Ecclesiastes tells us, sow in the flesh, reap sorrow in life and punishment in judgment.

Sow in the Spirit, reap goodness in life, and reward in judgment of eternal life.

III. REMEMBER GOD IN YOUR YOUTH

a. Serving God in life is not just for the elderly

i. Great men of God have served Him in their youth!

1. Joseph, Samuel, David, Solomon, Daniel

ii. Jesus also provided a great example in Luke 2:41-52

1. Twelve years old and going to the Temple to spend time with God

iii. Timothy also, who had known the scriptures from childhood because of his mother and grandmother! And he was an example to others (2 Timothy 3:15; 1 Timothy 4:12)

b. Serving God will help you make the right choices

i. Even as it helped Joseph (probably in his late teens to early 20s because he was sold in to slavery at 17) (Genesis 39:7-12) when Potiphar’s wife tried sleeping with him. He literally had to break her grasp on him to escape!

ii. And it helped Daniel (Daniel 1:8) (he was between 13 and 18 as one of the “youths of Judah” chosen for training in the Babylonian court. He refused to defile himself with the delicacies and the wine in the king’s court.

Serving God in our youth will help us avoid many of the things that lead to evil in our flesh, which in turn brings sorrow, and it prepares us for the “days of darkness” (Ecclesiastes 11:8) that will come.

IV. REFLECT UPON THE COMING DAYS

a. Difficult days are ahead

i. Presuming you live long enough, you may even see difficult days more than once!

ii. Ecclesiastes 11:8 states that there will be many of them

1. There will be days in your life in which little pleasure will be found (Ecclesiastes 12:1)

b. There is a time when age and death catches up to us

i. Solomon uses allegory to describe the days in Ecclesiastes 12:3-7

ii. What do these allegories mean?

1. The keepers of the house tremble: you are weaker when you clean

2. The strong men bow down: your legs become frail

3. The grinders cease: your teeth fall out

4. Looking through the windows grow dim: your eyes begin to fail

5. Doors shut in the streets: it becomes hard to hear

6. Sound of the grinding is low: speech begins to mumble

7. Etc

iii. Our bodies slowly fail us in this world.

iv. This scripture is not to depress the reader, but to make them sober to the fact that they need be mindful of what is to come, and as they grow old, if they heed God’s word, and sow in the Spirit, they will in turn reap in the Spirit when their time here on earth is done.

CONCLUSION –

The challenges that the youth of today face are great.

The temptations before them are not only many, but many sinful things have become much easier for them to access.

This evil gets into their flesh, and brings with it depression and despair.

They need all the help they can get. As our verses today said, there is MUCH in life that can be enjoyed, provided we heed the words of knowledge and wisdom from the word of God.

Rejoice in our youth, remove sorrow by remove sorrow fro your life by removing evil from it. Remember God in your youth, and reflect on the days ahead.

Paul wrote a letter to the Galatians which we have record of in scripture. Listen to what he writes in Galatians 6:7-9

“Do not be deceived, God is not mocked, for whatever a man sows, this he will also reap. 8 For the one who sows to his own flesh will from the flesh reap corruption, but the one who sows to the Spirit will from the Spirit reap eternal life. 9 And let us not lose heart in doing good, for in due time we will reap if we do not grow weary. 10 So then, while we have opportunity, let us do good to all people, and especially to those who are of the household of the faith.”

Let us reap ever lasting life by sowing into the Spirit of God, which is done by walking in the Spirit rather than our flesh, (Galatians 5:16-23) and allow the fruit of the Spirit in our lives to produce the good things that we shall reap!

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Tuesday, December 31, 2024

Ecclesiastes Part 10: Advice to the Young

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