When the Gifts Slip Away

Good morning, everyone. We will be reading out of the Old Testament scripture. We'll be reading out of Ecclesiastes. I'll be reading verses 1 through 11. Please stand in honor of God's word. The words of the preacher, the son of David, king in Jerusalem.

Vanity of vanities, says the preacher, vanity of vanities, all is vanity. What does man gain by all the toil at which he toils under the sun? A generation goes and a generation comes, but the earth remains forever. The sun rises and the sun goes down and hastens to the place where it rises. The wind blows to the south and goes around to the north. Around and around goes the wind, and on its currents the wind returns.

All streams run to the sea, but the sea is not full. To the place where the streams flow, and there they flow again. All things are full of weariness. A man cannot utter it. The eyes is not satisfied with seeing, nor the ears filled with hearing. where has been what has been will be and what has been done will be done again and there is nothing new under the sun is there a thing in which it is said see this is new it has been already in the ages before us there is no remembrance of former things nor will there be any remembrance of latter things yet to be among those who come after New Testament reading today is in Romans 8, verses 18 through 30.

For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory that is to be revealed to us. For the creation awaits with eager longing for the revealing of the sons of God. For the creation was subjected to futility, not willingly, but because of him who subjected it in hope. That the creation itself will be set free from its bondage to corruption and obtain the freedom of the glory of the children of God.

For we know that the whole creation has been groaning together in the pains of childbirth until now. And not only the creation, but we ourselves, who have the firstfruits of the Spirit. grown inwardly as we wait eagerly for adoption as sons, the redemption of our bodies. For in this hope we were saved. Now hope that is seen is not hope for who hopes for what he sees.

But if we hope for what we do not see, we wait for it with patience. Likewise, the Spirit helps us in our weakness. For we do not know what to pray for as we ought, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words. And he who searches hearts knows what is the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for the saints according to the will of God.

And we know that for those who love God, all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose. For those whom he foreknew, he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, in order that he might be the firstborn among many brothers. And those whom he predestined, he also called. And those whom he called, he also justified.

And those whom he justified, he also glorified. You may be seated. Let's pray together. Father, we come to you, the eternal God, thanking you for your goodness and grace to us in the Lord Jesus. We would not be here enjoying you, delighting in you, if it were not for the fact that you called us from our darkness and our sin. to see Jesus and to embrace him in faith, to find in him all that we need to be part of your family and now turn to you now as our Father, how we thank you for this.

How we thank you for the fact that you speak to us in your word, that as it's preached, we hear the voice of our Father. We thank you that we can gather here together for all of that. Father, we're reminded these last few days of how short our life is, It's but a vapor. It's but a mist. And yet, Father, you have appointed in that short time great times of joy.

You've appointed times of tragedy. And you've called us, Lord, nevertheless, to trust in you and your providences. You've called us to enjoy the life you've given us. you've told us that in Christ we can have joy that far supersedes all the difficulties of this life and we can find comfort in the fact that you have appointed all those times that they are beautiful in their time and so father we want to thank you for the great reminder you've given us this these last few days and the encouragement we have to look to you and enjoy the gift of life, no matter how short, and it is short no matter where we are from.

We thank you that you've called us to enjoy it and to realize again that you are good and gracious to us. Father, this day we pray for Redeemer Baptist Church. We thank you for the ministry you given that church where it is We thank you Father for the fact that they baptize five new believers What a delight that is what a joy that is to see that and to know that the gospel truly does call people to you We thank you, Father, for the people that are coming, for those that are attending their membership class and for their choir.

What a joy it is to see a church that's alive and seeing the gospel at work and rejoicing in their worship. We pray particularly, Lord, for Elisha. We pray, Father, that you would help him. We ask that you would help his family as they minister to him. And as they face the tragedy or at least the difficulty that you've appointed them, we pray, Father, that in that they would look to you, find comfort in the fact that you're not playing games with them, but have appointed this time for them, that they might draw near to you. give them joy as well in these difficulties.

Father, we pray for the gospel that was preached by Pastor Bill in a very difficult funeral. We pray, Lord, that it too, that it would also have its effect on those particular people that came at that particular funeral. Lord, we know that those are the times when the gospel must be clear and people must see that their life is a vapor. and that they must embrace Jesus.

And so, Lord, we thank you for this church, and we commit them to you. But, Lord, we also pray for Grace Church in Minden. We pray, Father, that as Brian is here ministering to us, that they would rejoice in the worship they're having today, and that the word would be preached to them with great effect. Now, Father, again, we thank you for the time that you've given us here today, at this time, in these moments.

We pray, Father, that we would give ourselves to You in our song and give ourselves to You in listening and hearing the Word of God. And so we commit all this to You, thanking You for Your goodness and grace. In Jesus' name, Amen. Well, this is our last formal session in our Bible conference. Pastor Brian ministered to us Friday night, two times yesterday, and now today.

And will still be ministering to us after our meal today, informally. But we've had a great time as he's ministered the Word of God. I've been greatly encouraged by that ministry. giving us a perspective on life that God gives us and it's just been a delightful time to have Brian and Ariel here and Brian ministering the word oh I don't know in terms of the 32 Bible conferences we have top two, top three? and it's not a popularity contest but it may sound that way now Sorry.

But it's just been great. It's been great to get a biblical view of life. It's been good to get our lenses cleansed a little bit so we could see things a little bit clearer. So, Brian, why don't you come and minister the word? And we are so thankful for you being with us this week. It is a real pleasure to be with you and had a great time this weekend.

I didn't know you could actually have so much fun in LaRue, Ohio. Thanks to the elders for the warm invitation. I'd like you to take your Bibles and turn to Ecclesiastes chapter 12. now I will tell you that those that weren't here Friday night you're going to have to catch up quick because there are certain things about the book of Ecclesiastes that I've argued that you have to understand in order to understand the book rightly and one of those things and I'll just simply state it, and then if you want to go back to that first message, you can hear how I develop it and give evidence for it.

And that is that the word that's translated vanity, it's the Hebrew word havel. And that Hebrew word havel, half of its Old Testament uses are in the book of Ecclesiastes. and instead of translating that word hevel as vanity or futility or emptiness or meaninglessness we should retain its its fundamental meaning of breath or vapor so the way that that affects reading the book is that solomon's not agonizing over some so-called vanity of life he's actually agonizing over the brevity of life. And so we spent, I don't really know how long, Friday night, but that was basically given to trying to demonstrate that.

And the reason that's important is because if you take a negative view of the word Havel, vanity, futility, etc., any of those negative views actually then color the way that you to view the entire book for the simple reason that at the beginning of the book it says just pardon the expression but it says Havel of Havels Havel of Havels all is Havel If you take Havel to be a negative word then everything is seen through the cast of that negative perspective. By the way, we're going to see that that's the way that Solomon concludes the book. And so the book is about the brevity of life, not the emptiness or meaninglessness of life.

So that brings us to chapter 12. And if I had more time, we'd do all of chapter 12, but I only have so much time, and I don't want to overstay my welcome. So, Ecclesiastes chapter 12, starting at verse 1. I'll be reading from the New American Standard, so it might differ a little bit from your inferior ESVs. Just kidding. Remember also your Creator in the days of your youth, before the evil days come and the years draw near, when you will say, I have no delight in them, before the sun and the light, the moon and the stars are darkened and clouds return after the rain.

In the day that the watchmen of the house tremble and the mighty men stoop and the grinding ones stand idle because they are few and those who look through the windows grow dim and the door on the streets are shut as the sound of the grinding mill is low and one will arise at the sound of a bird and all the daughters of song will sing softly. Furthermore, men are afraid of a high place and of terrors on the road. The almond tree blossoms, the grasshopper drags himself along, and the caperberry is ineffective.

For man goes to his eternal home while mourners go about in the street. Remember him before the silver cord is broken and the golden bowl is crushed, the pitcher by the well is shattered, and the wheel at the cistern is crushed. Then the dust will return to the earth as it was, and the Spirit will return to God who gave it. Breath of breaths, says Kohelet, everything is a mere breath.

Well, let's pray and ask for God's help. Father, thank You for Your Word. Thank You for the songs that we've been able to sing, the prayers we've been able to offer. We now pray for the help of Your Holy Spirit in the proclamation of Your Holy Word. We pray that You would open our eyes, open our hearts, open our ears, and we pray that You would give us life through Your Word.

In Jesus' name, Amen. One of the things that we've been saying this whole entire weekend is that if you want to really live, if you want to really enjoy life, you have to actually stand by a graveside. You have to go to a funeral. And you have to go to a funeral and view your own life in light of your own end. Remember, Solomon actually tells us in chapter 7 and verse 2 that it is better to go to the house of mourning, that is a funeral, than to the house of feasting, that is a party, for this, the funeral, is the end of every man and the living should take it to heart.

And so you're not ready to live until you've reckoned with the fact that God has an appointed day for your death. And it is only in living in light of the view from your own graveside, as it were, that you're actually equipped to begin to embrace this short life as a gift. But, then here's the question, and this is where Ecclesiastes 12 comes in. So what happens then when we think about the process that then leads to the grave?

What about just growing old? Someone once said, I think it was R.C. Sproul, that it wasn't death that scares me, it's the thought of dying that scares me. David Gibson writes, he says, growing old leaves a person depressed at the disconnect between the mirror and the mind. We joke about getting old, but there comes a point where the jokes aren't funny anymore.

And so if life is a gift, then we dare not waste the prime of life. We dare not waste the best of our years, but if life is a gift, then what do we make of the aging process that actually brings us close to the end of life? What do we make about old age? And you can actually see, if you've been with us, why this ends up being a big question for Solomon, because if life is short and life is a gift, boy, then what happens when those gifts start to slip away?

I would argue, actually, that old age is a gift. When those gifts that God gives through this short life begin to slip away, it's sad, there is loss, there's a sense of loss. By the way, the older you get, the more aware you are that the gifts are slipping away. as this passage is going to teach us the things that we've often enjoyed start to lose their luster in the wake of old age.

And so once the gifts start to slip away, they slip through our fingers, they appear to be lost this too I going to argue is actually a gift from God Now the question is how is that a gift from God Because nobody actually celebrates yay, I broke my hip because my bones are brittle. Nobody actually celebrates the fact that they've lost all of their hair. And some of you have been in a state of mourning for some time now.

Um, nobody celebrates these things that mark old age, and so how in the world is old age a gift in this short, vaporous life? Well, in order to actually explain how it's a gift, I have to take just a little rabbit trail, all right? When you come to the Bible, you have, I'm just going to say, two kinds of texts, in terms of our consideration, two kinds of texts.

You have a set of texts that are called, by Joe Rigney, totalizing texts. Totalizing texts are texts that actually point to the fact that God and the Lord Jesus are our all in all, and a life lived of unreserved devotion to Him is a life that is lived well. God is everything. And so we have passages that teach us this. And they're all over the place, right?

And so even in Psalm 16, at your right hand are pleasures forevermore. In your presence is fullness of joy. So Asaph will say in Psalm 73, And this is a totalizing text. Whom have I in heaven but you? And besides you, I desire nothing on earth. And though my heart and flesh may fail, God is the strength of my heart and he's my inheritance forever.

That's a totalizing text. What's greater than to actually have God as your eternal inheritance? and even though this life may fall apart, to have God is to have everything. And we see texts like this in the New Testament all over the place. To live is Christ. To die is gain. That's a totalizing text.

And so those texts teach us that God in Christ is everything. Worthy to be lived for. But then there are other texts that we might call the things of earth texts, or we could call them life is a gift to be enjoyed texts, passages that teach us that God in his goodness has actually just created everything and he's given good gifts to us in this world.

So are children a gift from the Lord? Well, of course they are, right? Are they an eternal gift? No, actually they're on loan. right you have passages like this where Paul says instruct those who are rich in this present world not to be conceited or to fix their hope on the uncertainty of riches but on God so that's kind of a totalizing perspective then it says who richly supplies us with all things to enjoy which is sort of a things of earth perspective and so you have these two kinds of texts and you could summarize one the totalizing text in the words of Isaac Watts right were the whole realm of nature mine that were a present far too small love so amazing so divine demands my life my soul my all right totalizing and then everything is a gift from God if it's received with prayer and thanksgiving So, two kinds of text.

So then the question is, and this is still our rabbit trail, all right? So, the question then becomes, how do those two texts then fit together? And I want to say that we should fit them together in two different ways. One is a comparative way. Which one is greater? Totalizing texts or things of earth texts? totalizing very good you guys were more vocal yesterday and the day before so it's okay to talk in church i don't i don't know what pastor andrew tells you like don't talk in church but it's okay right now all right then next week when he's preaching you don't talk all right so so the totalizing texts are greater right why because the gift or the things of earth text deal with things that are temporary.

They're temporary. They're good. By the way, temporary doesn't mean bad. Temporary just means temporary. But those texts are temporary gifts, right? The totalizing text, comparatively speaking, is greater because God Himself is the greatest of all.

The greatest treasure of all. There's nothing better than God and the Lord Jesus Christ and the blessed Holy Spirit. And so we have that comparative. What is greater? Well, then there's another sense in, well, then how do they fit together? So I know totalizing texts are greater than things of earth text, but then there's an integrative approach that says something like this.

God and his gifts are to be enjoyed together. In other words, God is enjoyed, worshipped, and glorified as I enjoy the temporary gifts. Now, that's what we did Friday night and yesterday as I demonstrated that. And I can just demonstrate it very quickly for you. And that is, is marriage a temporary gift? Yes.

You won't be married in heaven. married in heaven, but not to your current spouse. You will be the bride of the Lamb. Okay? And some of you are like, praise the Lord, it doesn't last forever. Okay? And some of you are like, shucks, I wish it lasted forever.

Okay? But it doesn't. It's a temporary gift. Can you glorify God by loving and enjoying your spouse? Yes. Let me say it differently. should you glorify God by loving and enjoying your spouse?

Yes, we talked about that yesterday. What about your kids? Do you just say, oh, little sons and daughters of Adam and Eve, rotten little vipers and diapers, I guess we've got to just put up with them until they get 18 and then we just send them out into this cold world and let them fend for themselves. Ha ha ha. No. No.

Well, at least not most days. you love your kids you love every moment with them you love every stage but one of these days they become adults and that gift of childhood is now no more it's gone can you glorify God by loving and enjoying your children although they're temporary gifts the answer is yes So, the integrative approach says, look at life as a breath, look at the gifts of God that He gives to us as actually vapors, just very short, temporary gifts, but we glorify God through enjoying the gifts that He gives us in this life. All right. So that integrative approach says you love God.

God is enjoyed through the gifts that he gives. So then here's the big question. So we're bringing it back now. How in the world is old age a gift? As the things of earth and the gifts of this life start to slip away, how is that a gift? Here is how that ends up being a gift.

As the things of earth, the gifts of life start to slip away, God actually begins to sharpen our focus on the totalizing texts in a way that surpasses anything that we could experience during the prime of life. Okay? And so, Joe Rigney, he says, What will we do when we're faced with the loss of all good things? What will we do when the reality of death lands on us?

The reality that we and all created delights we love are a vapor, they're breath, fading grass. What will we say and do when we're about to lose the created beams of glory that warm our hearts and bring us joy? in a greater delight in God's gifts know that Christ is the joy of all of our joys and the pleasure at the heart of every pleasure and that death simply opens up new vistas for knowing and enjoying Him. I would say not just death, but old age opens up new vistas for loving, knowing, and enjoying Him.

So in other words, when the gifts start to slip away, when the things that we've enjoyed in this life as God's gifts to us begin to slip away, then the question becomes this. Do we still love the one who gave us the gifts, even though the gifts are actually slipping away? Do we love him more than ever? Are our hearts so tuned to the one who's given us all things to enjoy that we more than ever long to finally be with Him and to enjoy Him?

Is it our Lord Jesus Christ that is the fountain of all joys so when all lesser joys begin to fade away, it's okay because we still have the fountain of joy and the fountain of life in our Lord Jesus Christ. and so when the gifts start to slip away during old age the heart is exposed old age can sometimes expose us either as true lovers of God or idolaters of the gifts that he's given and so old age can be a dangerous time can be a spiritually dangerous time Now, old age is relative, isn't it? Do you guys think I'm old? Okay, so there's one honest soul sitting here.

He's kind of grinning. Were you nodding your head slightly like, yeah, you're pretty old? No? Okay. So if I asked these guys and they were honest, they'd be like, yeah, you're kind of old. I mean, when I was their age, I thought someone that was 57 was near death's door.

But I want to look back and look at some other sections. Do you guys think I'm old? And there's a lot of you that are going to be like, nope, I'd give my left arm to be 57 again, right? So old age is sort of a relative thing, all right? But here's the truth, is that as we age, we do notice that those gifts start to slip away, and it's during that old age that we actually start to face moral and spiritual dangers.

Now here's the glorious thing about Ecclesiastes 12, is that it's not just about old age. Solomon says remember your creator in the days of your youth before the evil days come You know what the evil days are right Old age. He's going to give us a description, a vivid description of the evils of old age. But his message is, and it's really for young people, remember your Creator in the days of your youth.

In other words, there is this wonderful sense in which Solomon says, Listen, listen young people, one of these days you're going to be old. Remember God now before you get there. Now I'm going to tell you, young people, that the world will just tell you, forget God. God is irrelevant. Sin is fun. God is boring.

Forget God. By the way, you're just a cosmic accident anyway. and so you can be your own God. You don't need to look for some God that's greater than you. And here's Solomon's message. You, young people, remember your Creator in the days of your youth. Now notice it doesn't just say, remember God in the days of your youth.

It says, remember your Creator in the days of your youth. There's a reason why Solomon says creator and not just merely God. He wants to remind us that we have to remember the one who's made all things. He wants us to make sure that when we're young, we remember the fact that there is one who's made the world and he's made me. We actually heard it in Sunday school.

You, in the womb, fearfully, wonderfully made by a Creator. And the one who's made you is the one who's given you the gift of life. And the one who's given you the gift of life is the one who's given you all things to enjoy. Whether it's sports or the outdoors or good food, good friends. All of those things are a gift from your creator to you. But the one who made you is also the one who will hold you to account for the way that you live.

He's not only the life giver, he's the law giver. And as the law giver, one of these days will in fact be the judge. At the very end of Ecclesiastes, fear God. keep his commandments this is the sum for all humanity God's going to bring every work every act, every deed into judgment and so the God who is our creator who gifts us with life is also the God who is our law giver who tells us how to live and then he will one day be the judge who actually holds us to account for the way that we live remember your creator don't listen to the nonsense that you're just some sort of cosmic accident don't sit there and listen to the nonsense young person that somehow you were just the extraordinary product of billions and billions of positive mutations from some sort of protozoa.

You are made in the image and the likeness of God and your life has value and dignity because there is a God who has made you. And that life, therefore, has value and dignity. And so Solomon says, remember your Creator. Remember. Now, if I said, I'm assuming since you're wearing a wrestling sweatshirt that you wrestle. Is that right?

Is that a safe assumption? What's your name? What's that? Adnan? Adney. Adney.

Okay. Couldn't just pick the kid named John, right? All right. So if I say to Adney, hey, remember that last wrestling match? What am I doing when I say remember? All I'm doing is just asking him to recall something.

That's not what the Bible means when it says remember. It's not just like, hey, remember what we did last Friday, or remember that great burger at In-N-Out, or you guys don't even know what In-N-Out is, do you? So sad. Anyway, so it's not just recall something to mind. in the Bible to remember something is to bring it to heart in such a way that it compels you to action.

Now I don't know if any of you guys like history. Do you guys like history? Okay. Do you like history? Okay. So, I love history.

And in late April and early March of 1836, 187 Texians gathered in a mission from the plains of San Antonio, a place called Alabama. Okay? You guys remember this. Okay? And those 187 Texians actually defended and held off General San Antonio, whatever his name is, held off his army, 5,000 for three weeks. He was under siege in Santa Ana Santa Ana And then on the morning of March 6th 1836 Santa Ana's army of well over 5,000 attacked that little fort that was poorly defended, no way to get men on every corner of the wall.

And within an hour and a half, the battle was over. An hour and a half. No quarter was given by the Mexican army. And they killed them all, except a woman and her child, who they sent to go tell Sam Houston what had happened. Killed them all. Davy Crockett.

Sam Houston, or Jim Bowie. Colonel Barrett Travis. Killed them all. Slaughtered them. Then that same army went to a place called Goliad. Goliad lifted up the white flag to surrender to Santa Ana's troops, and they slaughtered all of them under the white flag.

At the end of April of 1836, Sam Houston finally rallied the Texians in a place called San Jacinto. And within 16 minutes, hundreds and hundreds of angry Texians descended upon the army of Santa Ana during their siesta and they slaughtered them and you know what they said as they slaughtered the army of Santa Ana some of you know they said this remember the Alamo remember Goliath they weren't just saying Hey, remember on March 6th, what they were saying is remember what's happened to our compadres. Remember what's happened to our compatriots.

Remember what's happened to our own brothers. And let that motivate you to press on and to fight with courage. And when the Bible summons us to remember and to remember our Creator, It's not just saying have nice recollections about God. It is saying, as it were, it is a call to summon something up inside of you to press on into that God who made you so that you're a different person.

You're not just a person with a good memory. You're a person who's motivated. You're a person who is encouraged. You're a person who is strengthened to do what? To look at the God who made you and to love Him and to follow Him and to obey Him. Remember your Creator in the days of your youth.

And so, for all the young people, you have to understand that is the message for you. In a message about old age, the message for you is while you're young, remember your Creator in the days of your youth. There is a God who loves you. There is a God who sent His Son for you. There is a God who sent His Son to die for your sins. And He raised Him up again to be a living Lord and a living Savior.

Trust Him while you're young. Don't just assume because you're raised in a good church and you have believing parents and you do family worship and you have Bibles and Bible story books all over your house that somehow you are going to be just fine. The fact is that you, individually, you must actually seek the Lord Jesus Christ while He may be found.

And oh my goodness, what a wonderful, merciful Savior. how many could testify I know God's timing is perfect but oh if I could have only found the Lord Jesus sooner oh the agony and the pain that he would have saved me from but thanks be to God I'm still saved remember you will not regret one day the following Jesus when you're young I was saved when I was 13 years old. You know what that did? That made me a weirdo in high school.

So this is the early 1980s. Guess what everybody's doing in the early 1980s in high school? Those were wild times. I think everybody lived through wild times, but the early 80s had different, you know, better living through chemistry kind of times. And so guess what? I didn't go to the parties.

I didn't go and get drunk. I didn't go and hang out or connect or hang up, not hang up, whatever you call what you do with girls. Didn't do that. Hook up, that's right. You're like, see, I knew he was old. And I never look back and go, man, I missed out.

I look back and I say, thank you, Lord Jesus, for sparing me. So, remember your creator in the days of your youth. Now, that's for the young people. Now this is for the old people, but it's still for the young people because this is what you have to look forward to, which is why you should repent today and not wait until you're old. Notice this language, these descriptions of old age, they're terrible.

Before the sun and the light and the moon and the stars are darkened and the clouds return after the rain So the idea of the luminaries being darkened is the idea that your capacity so in Ecclesiastes to be able to see the sun is to actually have the capacity to enjoy life. And so as those luminaries begin to diminish, the idea is the capacity to enjoy life diminishes. And so it's getting dark.

And the idea is that instead of the sun coming out after a big storm, you just have one storm that's followed by another. And so in youth, sickness oftentimes passes relatively quickly, but in old age, one rain cloud is followed by another, by another. In other words, sorrow after sorrow, sickness after sickness, and Grief after grief is what begins to mark old age.

I'll call my dad, who's 80 years old. He's in wonderful health. He's a wonderful Christian man. And I'll say, so what did you do today? Went to the doctor. I just talked to you on Tuesday.

You went to the doctor on Tuesday. Yeah, I went to the doctor on Tuesday. I'll be going to the doctor back next Tuesday, right? So what is old age? Old age is actually filled with all kinds of activity called doctor's appointments. then he says, in that day the watchman of the house will tremble. The watchman of the house, probably the hands and the arms, once actually strong and sturdy, now shake with age.

We had a man in our church who died at 87 years old, and it really wasn't until the last couple of years of life that I thought he was old. His name was Tom, and he was a Marine, and he was tough, and he was strong, and he was a do-it-yourself, fix-it-yourself, whether you knew what you were doing or not kind of guy, and he usually figured it out pretty quick. And the thing that always struck me about Tom, even though he was slight of stature, was his arms and his hands just strong.

Ariel and I go to visit him and his hands just shook and his arms seemed so tiny. That's what happens. That's what happens. The mighty men's stoop, that's probably the idea of the legs that are now weakened and bent with age. We visited a 94-year-old lady yesterday, way out in the middle of nowhere. Of course, we're already in the middle of nowhere, but this is like more the middle of nowhere.

And 94 years old, and you know, she said, I'm sorry, I can't stand up. My legs aren't working that well anymore. Well, here's one that you'll like. The grinding ones stand idle because they're few. So the idea is the tooth population is declining rapidly, and the remaining survivors are less active. Those who look through the windows grow dim.

This is the idea of the eyesight losing its strength. Now there's a word for this. It's called presbyopia, and it has nothing to do with baptizing babies. Okay? Presbyopia is the gradual loss of your eyes' abilities to focus on nearby objects. Hence, right?

It's a natural, often annoying part of aging. Amen? Presbyopia usually becomes noticeable in your early to mid-forties. And then worsens until around the age 65 when you can't see anything. When you get glaucoma or cataracts, right? This is just a part of life, right?

There comes a point where if you're not wearing these, your arms aren't long enough to read anything. The doors on the streets are shut as the sound of the grinding mill is low. The debated imagery here goes on forever. But I think it's just probably the idea of the loss of hearing. The doors being the ears, they're now shut. They can barely hear the grinding sound that was produced by the mill that was always annoying.

Now they can't even hear it. And yet one will arise at the sound of the bird. So despite loss of hearing, the picture here is, some of you are like shaking your head. Like I know what he's going to say. Light sleeper. So awakens at the sound of a tiny bird, but you can't hear the mill grinding down the street.

And then all the daughters of song will sing softly. and so although the chirping bird wakes them up the uh the fact is is they can no longer hear the beautiful tones and notes in the music and the song furthermore men are afraid of a high place and terror is on the road so the older you get the the the more afraid you are of of heights and in fact we have a had a guy in our church in his 80s and he he fell off a ladder and i'm like George, you shouldn't get on ladders anymore. You're in your 80s. And after he fell, he realized, I'm in my 80s.

I shouldn't get on a ladder anymore. And so when you get older, no more ladders, no more stairs, no more escalators, afraid to travel. My dad drove for UPS for 38 years. Now he doesn't like driving over the Sierra Nevadas to our house, which is only two and a half hours away, because he doesn't like the mountain roads. At one time in his life, he could drive those roads as well as anybody, but now it's like no.

And I remember as a kid, my grandfather raised pigs. And when they would come and visit, they lived about 40 minutes away. And my grandfather had a code for its time to leave. And it was this, Beatrice, I've got to go home and feed the pigs. Okay? Now, that worked for several years.

And then one day he said, Beatrice, we need to go home. I've got to feed the pigs. And I said, well, hold on a second, Grandpa. You don't have any more pigs. He just didn't want to drive home in the dark anymore. Right?

And so, some of you are smiling because you know the almond trees blossom. That is, white hair overtakes the once black hair of the primate. No one around here is suffering from that yet. The grasshopper drags himself along. So, Walt Kaiser says that the grasshopper dragging himself along describes the halting gait of the elderly as they move along with their canes.

The next one, the caperberry is ineffective. So, just to put it politely, the caperberry was seen to be an aphrodisiac and now things are so past functioning that not even the caperberry works. And then it says this, For man goes to his eternal home while mourners go about in the street. So here's the reality, is that old age culminates in death, and man goes to his eternal home.

And so man goes to his eternal home, the mourners are in the street, perhaps the family is actually gathered around the deathbed, but death has come and taken another victim. old age actually then terminates and it terminates in death the body which had been deteriorating finally has given out and again do not miss the echo for the young old age is coming and with old age death is coming so remember your creator now before death knocks at your door I'd be negligent if I didn't tell you you don't have to be old to die we had a young man in our church 19 years old died of a freak accident you don't have to be old to die remember your creator certainly before old age but definitely remember your creator before you breathe your last. And so Solomon brings this into perspective for us and reminds us one of these days, the same thing awaits all of us. We're all going to die.

And one of my favorite places to visit is Tombstone, Arizona. And I love the Earps and Doc Holliday and the Clantons and all of them. and there's a cemetery, graveyard outside of Tombstone and there is a grave marker. You know what they call their graveyard? It's Boot Hill. I'm assuming that that's what a lot of Old West graveyards were called, Boot Hill.

And there's a grave marker and it says this, As you pass by, remember me. because as you are, I once was. But as I am, you soon shall be. Remember me. So, death is what awaits all of us. And so here's the reality. You better be ready for it.

You're not only not ready to die if you're not ready to die. You're not ready to live if you're not ready to die. Verses 6 and 7, we'll do this quickly, more anatomical puzzles. Some commentators think well these are kind of difficult and they are difficult so we don know exactly what they mean Others take a little stab so I take a little stab at them So remember him so that the reiteration of verse 1 Before the silver cord is broken and the golden bowl is crushed, some think it's the spine and the brain that actually then cease working, and then the pitcher by the well is shattered.

Now, if you love the Puritans, you'll love this one, because Puritan William Bridge actually suggested that the pitcher by the well is shattered. And he says in very Puritan style, he says, the pitcher by the well is the bladder by which it doth hold thy urine, which in old age doth insensibly pass away. the wheel at the cistern is crushed probably the pulmonary system or the nervous system but whatever the the images exactly are it's actually not all that important because the main point is clear that which functioned at one time your brain your spine your liver whatever at one time it served a purpose it was beneficial it worked properly but now it's gone now it's crushed it shattered it's worthless and the body then is given over to death and then Solomon says and then the dust and then the dust will return to the earth as it was by the way where does that come from the book of Genesis chapter 3 by the way the book of Ecclesiastes is infused with Genesis chapter 3 and the curse and so the curse remains and Solomon reminds us that these bodies are but dust and they will return to the earth from where they came. God has promised, Genesis 3.19, for you are dust and to dust you shall return.

And that is something all of us need to remember. And then Solomon says for the second time in this context, the spirit will return to God who gave it. And so although the perspective on the afterlife in Ecclesiastes is not fully developed, there is an affirmation that the soul or the spirit separated from the body at death returns to the God who gave it.

And then Solomon gives the verdict on old age and death in verse 8. Breath of breaths. Vapor of vapors. Everything is a vapor. So you know what that means. He not only ends the book as he began it, but he reminds us that everything is temporary.

Youth is a vapor. Old age is a vapor. Sickness is a vapor. Life is a vapor. And so this life, which is a gift, will be over before we know it. And that is true.

And the only way to enjoy this life while we have it is to actually see it as a gift, not as an achievement and understand it as a vapor and view it from the perspective of the grave that one of these days I will in fact breathe my last. But for the old people, older, the mature people, as the gift slips away realize something I absolutely despise the Los Angeles Dodgers. Satan is the majority owner of the Dodgers.

But the Dodgers had a guy that called their games for 67 seasons. The legendary Vin Scully. He wasn't technically a Dodger, so I like Vin. After 67 seasons, he retired. And at his retirement, he said something that I think is absolutely consistent with Solomon's message. He said, don't cry that it's over.

Smile that it happened. I think Solomon would give a hearty amen to that. If you embrace life as a gift and you know that it is short, then when it comes to the end, don't weep that it's almost over. Smile because it happened. You know you can apply that to a lot of things. Some of you can't stand the thought that your children are going to grow up.

You do know it's God's plan for them to become adults, don't you? You can't keep them. You can't keep them at that cute age. And you bemoan the fact that they're no longer playing with dinosaurs. And what I want to say is look at that childhood as a gift. And don't cry.

When it's over, smile that it happened. You know one of the ways to ruin the gift is to try to cling to it harder and get more out of it than God ever intended. And so, two applications and then we're done. Number one, old age can be a dangerous time. These are evil days. there's not only the physical infirmities of old age but there are also moral and spiritual infirmities and William Bridge again in this little book called Word to the Aged says the elderly are apt to be too covetous and tenacious for the things of this world.

He says as wantonness is the young man's vice so covetousness can be the old man's sin. Often times they think that they know more than they do and therefore become unteachable. Sometimes they're hard to please, full of complaints. Am I describing anybody that you know? He says, apt are they also to think and speak of their sins of their youth with delight and so to commit them again by thought and word, which they cannot come by at their own action They can become suspicious fearful fretting And so old age is actually fraught with dangers and it is the one who actually keeps his eyes on that ever increasing focused totalizing perspective that actually will be free from those sins.

But old age is going to test our commitments to those totalizing texts and the things of earth. So if you're getting old and you have a lot of resentment and even anger at being old. Maybe it's because you're coveting your younger years and not realizing that this stage too is a gift from God. Realize this. As the gift slips away, and as you get closer to death, death will take away our earthly delights, but the resurrection will restore them. in spades.

There is coming a day when in fact you will breathe your last and if you are in Christ Jesus when you breathe your last you will leave the land of the dying and you will finally enter the land of the living. If you are in Christ Jesus and you go through those tough years of old age and you finally get to that place where you can say I've loved you in life. I've loved you in death.

I've loved you as long as you lendest me breath. And say when the death do, lies cold on my brow, if ever I love thee, my Jesus tis now. If you can say that while you're struggling for your final breaths, it is the grace of God that has sustained you. And it's the grace of God that's getting you over that finish line. And there will be joy unspeakable full of glory in the presence of Christ like you have never known.

And so it will be then that the things of earth will actually grow strangely dim. And everything will become so bright and glorious in the presence of the risen Christ who has conquered sin and conquered death and has won for you a righteousness that no one can take away. And you enter into His presence and then you will realize that death was simply that threshold through which you graduated into the presence of the King.

And so, live your life in such a way that you're prepared to die, which means make sure that you're right with God through Christ today, and live your life in such a way that when it comes time to die, all you have to do is die. Let's pray. Father, thank you for our Lord Jesus Christ, who is the resurrection and the life. Thank you for these short lives that you've given us.

We pray, Father, that we would live them for your glory. We would enjoy you through the gifts that you've given. And Father, as we draw closer and closer to that final day, we pray that you would give us dying grace that we might finish well. In Jesus' name, amen. Amen.