"Restless" Walk to Remember

Ecclesiastes 12:1-8 A Walk to Remember

Questions for Community Groups
1. What is your biggest fear about getting old?
2. What is in your life now that when you are old you will look back and be ashamed of?
3. What is in you life now that you will look back and be pleased with?
4. Whne you evaluate all that you learned from the book of Ecclesiastes, what impacted your Christian walk the most?

A major cause of a restless life is forgetting about Jesus when you are young and regretting it when you are old.

Tonight we are going to look at what this passage says the negatives are of getting old, then we will look at how and what we are to remember now when we are young.

As Bob Dylan said “It’s Not dark yet but its getting there”
To the old: The things described here can be very discouraging, but your call as a believer in Christ is to finish well. When you look at your life can you say that it was a “Walk to Remember”. When all the hardships and troubles of old age come if you remembered Jesus when you were young the time you spend as an older person will not be as discouraging.

Lets look at what we are up against…
Vrs 1b-2 I am getting old and life is still going on around me I am not finding much pleasure
So now at Eccl. 12 Solomon is old and he gives a poem about old age.
Vrs 3 KEEPERS OF THE HOUSE TREMBLE: The hands
THE STRONG MEN: The legs
THE GRINDERS: The Teeth
THOSE WHO LOOK OUT THE WINDOWS: The eyes

Vrs 4 THE DOORS: The ears
SOUND OF GRINDING LOW: Because of the lack of teeth, you can only eat soft foods
RISE UP AT THE VOICE OF BIRDS: Rising up early as do the old, not able to sleep late.
DAUGHTERS OF MUSIC BROUGHT LOW: Hard of hearing

Vrs 5 AFRAID OF THAT WHICH IS HIGH & TERRORS: Fear of falling and becoming afraid of things that you were not afraid of before.
ALMOND TREE: White blossoms, the white hair
GRASSHOPPER A BURDEN: To weak to carry a burden
DESIRE SHALL FAIL: Things that you used to find pleasure in no longer appeal to you.

In age when one physical aliment is resolved another comes in. “its always something” you don’t hear 8 year old saying that.

If you are not a believer…those aches and pains should tell you there is a problem…death is coming. Are you prepared? GOSPEL

ETERNAL HOME: Death
Solomon draws these pictures for us to motivate us to realize that we might spend our lifetimes being “Restless” and come to death's door realizing we could have had so much more if we had only depended upon God.

Vrs 6 Two Pictures of Death.
1. A Silver Cord holding a Golden Bowl in a light burns. A lamp in the Ancient world. Some have supposed that this type of lamp was common in Solomon's palace.

The cord breaks, the bowl is shattered, the light goes out. Death occurs.

2. The pitcher which holds the water is shattered, water=life

The wheel by which water is drawn is broken. This could refer to the heart pumping the blood through the body. It no longer works, it is broken, death occurs.

In the final picture of death Solomon goes back to creation.
Vrs 7 Parallel to creation account Genesis 2:7 Then the Lord God formed man of dust from the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living being.

The body returns to the earth from which it was made and the spirit, here the life of man, returns to God who gave it.

Problem of the young: forgetting about Jesus
Vrs 1
Two ways we can look at this …

1. Remember what Solomon and (God your Creator) taught in this book. You won’t be restless if…

-Find Significance in your standing in Jesus rather then the things of this world
-Look up for the answers of life’s questions, rather then looking in, out or away.
-Don’t try to escape the issues and problems of life with substance abuse
-Focus on Building Jesus’ Kingdom and not our own
-Strive to leave a Godly Legacy through, obedience, integrity, wisdom, working for the Lord and prayer.
-Realize that there is season for everything and we have to know What that Time Is and deal with it accordingly.
-find Rest in our mission, faith, obedience and God’s sovereignty (Jesus is in control)
-stand up for the Oppressed and don’t fall into the trap of oppressing others.
-Be the type of Friend (with real benefits) that draws people to youselve.
-have a Teachable spirit
-if we Don’t Trip in corporate worship (going to church) and in life worship (your actions and dealings in everyday life should be pleasing to Jesus)
- realize the (Most) Toys (possessions) that God blesses us with are to enjoy, a reward of work, thank God for them, do good with them and be a good steward of those things.
-Realize that “Being Good” is applying the Gospel to your life situation ---use the name you make for yourself to promote The Growing Name of Jesus
-Understand that Jesus’ Politics was to do good and fight death.
-Remember your Response to Grace, Common and Saving Grace
-live Under the Rock of Jesus and His wisdom
-make wise Investments to prepare for the future of this life and the next.

2. Remember what Jesus did for us. You may say how can I remember my creator when He has forgotten about me? But He has not GOSPEL

When you are old…
Do you want to look back at your life and say many of my accomplishments and good times were based upon sin.

Or “my accomplishments and good times are based on the things that Jesus created me to live for”

Matthew Henry Said “It is the greatest absurdity and ingratitude imaginable to give the cream and the flower of our days to the devil, and reserve the bran and the refuse, the dregs of them for God”

Don’t be “Restless” “Remember now your Creator (Jesus) in the days of your youth”