HoHum:
Youth would be an ideal state if it came a little later in life.
WBTU:
From what I know Solomon wrote Ecclesiastes. Solomon was a man that in his childhood, in his youth, he loved the Lord. However, in Solomon’s time of manhood he forsook the Lord and followed his wives to other gods. Here in the book of Ecclesiastes he is talking about his life before he dies. In some ways he is like a grumpy old man and he gives us many warnings on how not to live life. Nay saying, saying how not to live life is important especially in our modern, materialistic, me-centered American culture. No! Wealth will not make us happy! No! The loss of our job is not the worst thing that could happen! There are worse! No! Downsizing or even losing our home does not mean failure and ruin! This could be a blessing! No! A rewarding career is not the guarantee of fulfillment. No! We can’t have it all – career, travel, 3 children, big house, hot car, hot body, freedom and friends, and independence! We all must make choices. No! All the promises of the world are false: success, sex, love, family, education, career, wealth and wisdom. None of them will give our souls joy. Only God can do that. And all this nay-saying from a man who had it all...Solomon!
Solomon’s (Preacher is meaning of Ecclesiastes) basic theme about his search for meaning in life is all vanity, meaningless. A life lived apart from God is a wasted lie.
In chapters 11 and 12, the Preacher is beginning to conclude his thoughts and he addresses much in the last section to young adults. He talks to the young because he knows that he has the greatest chance of reaching them. He knows that if things are to change it will be through the youth. He wants to talk to the young because he doesn’t want them wasting their years running after things that really do not satisfy.
Thesis: Advice for the young
For instances:
Rejoice in your youth (11:9)
God wants the young to have a good time.
“Be happy, young man, while you are young, and let your heart give you joy in the days of your youth.” That is, live life to the full while young. Do not be afraid of the natural exuberance of youth. Do not let anyone discourage from enjoying the abundance of physical vitality that is there. Use it! Take full advantage of the capacity for imagination and adventure. This is what the Bible says to me? Too many young people seem to feel the Bible tells them to fold their hands, curtail their impulses and act like old people, but it does not. It recognizes the love of romanticism in youth and it urges them to take full advantage of it while they can.
“Follow the ways of your heart and whatever your eyes see” Take life as it comes. Do not feel fretful and envious over the opportunities others have, but lay hold and use the opportunities that come to us in our youth.
“Know that for all these things God will bring you to judgment” Please do not misread that. That is uttered in the same spirit of encouragement to discover all that life has as the first two phrases. It is not meant as a threat. God is not saying, "All right, go ahead and enjoy yourself, but just wait, I'll get you in the end!" No, he is saying, "Remember, there is one more aspect of life that is very important, yet one more thing is necessary. Remember that as you do these other things, it is possible for you to go wrong. You need more than yourself. Life is too big for you to handle on your own. At the end, each of us in the human family must give an account of ourselves, and the certainty of that points up the need for a adequate guide right now." Who is that guide? Learn more in a little while.
Youth have the energy to enjoy life to its fullest. As long as that energy is directed in the right channels, youth is to be a time of great enjoyment!
Banish anxiety and cast off troubles (11:10)
Anxiety deprives us of the joy that we should have in our youth
“Banish anxiety, Cast off the troubles of the body.” These dumb moves contribute to anxiety:
1. “My son, if sinners entice you, do not give in to them.” Proverbs 1:10, NIV. Do not spend a lot of time with the wrong friends, people who encourage wrongdoing, who pressure the young to do things they are uncomfortable doing
2. “For the lips of an adulteress drip honey, and her speech is smoother than oil; but in the end she is bitter as gall, sharp as a double-edged sword.” Proverbs 5:3, 4, NIV. Many things seem fun but it is for a short season. Do not give into all kinds of sinful fun.
Childhood and youth are fleeting. Don’t waste them on things that only bring much grief and sorrow and trouble. Youth need freedom, the freedom of Jesus Christ. “It is for freedom that Christ has set us free. Stand firm, then, and do not let yourselves be burdened again by a yoke of slavery.” Galatians 5:1, NIV. Christ wants youth to be really free.
Remember God in your youth (12:1)
Serving God is just for the older folks. Where do we think most of these older folks started?
We need to be concerned for our children, youth. Why?
1. Almost all decisions for Jesus Christ occur before a person’s 25th birthday.
I have been at baptisms of people past retirement age. Bud Grace age 88.
Dave Stone tells about a man that he baptized years back in the early 1980’s. The man was 84 years of age. He had a hard time getting around. Dave had to help him every step – up and down, in and out – of the baptistery. As they walked into the baptistery, the man opened up and shared about all the years he had spent living for himself and doing things he shouldn’t have done.When Dave immersed him and then brought him up, he quoted 2 Cor. 5:17 – “…if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come!” Dave helped him back out of the baptistery down the stairway. The old man sat down and began to dry off. He also began to cry. He seemed happy and relieved but Dave could tell these were not tears of joy. Dave asked, “Is anything wrong?” The old man replied, “I just wish I would have done it a whole lot sooner.” Dave answered, “But that doesn’t matter now. You did it. That’s the important thing, and I’m so proud of you.” And still the old man replied, “Yes – but I wish I would have done it sooner.”
The younger a child accepts Jesus Christ, the more beautiful the product. Whatever the church does, may we always be concerned about the children, youth.
If we are evangelistic, and we try to work on the older people, we will be frustrated. Hospice chaplain- The 2nd best time to reach people with the gospel is around the death of a loved one. But by far the best time to reach people with the gospel is when they are young.
Motivations are stronger in youth.
2. “I will show them. I can do it. I can change. I can conquer the world.”
Vs. 1 says that I find no pleasure in them. Many people know their problems and sins but they have little motivation to change. “I have been this way for years and I might as well stay this way.” One of the signs of aging is the resistance to change, the resistance to new ideas and new ways of thinking. It is difficult to teach an old dog new tricks.
This verse is saying seek God while we have some get up and go, some gumption, some initiative, some energy.
Serving God in youth will help avoid many of the things that bring anxiety, and prepare us for the days of darkness (11:8), and the days of trouble (12:1).
KVJ and NASB calls it the evil days in 12:1. Chuck Swindoll states, “But the flesh will answer back, ‘Aw what’s the rush? Why not wait until you have sown a few wild oats? Why not wait thirty or forty years until you’ve had a pile of fun doing things your own way then turn to God? I mean, you get the best of both worlds that way.’ Solomon doesn’t waste time answering that kind of reasoning ‘remember Him…before the evil days come.’ Let that sink in. You see, it isn’t just ‘fun and games’ days, Solomon calls them ‘evil’ days.
“making the most of every opportunity, because the days are evil.” Ephesians 5:16, NIV.
The evil is the progression of days and the aging process that are described in vs. 2- 7. Vs. 7 ends with death and what then? The spirit returns to God. What then? Vs. 8
Conclusion and invitation:
The 4 Calls:
The Spirit came in childhood and pleaded, “Let me in,” But oh! the door was bolted by thoughtlessness and sin; “I am too young,” the child replied, “I will not yield today; There’s time enough tomorrow.” The Spirit went away.
Again He came and pleaded in youth’s bright happy hour; He came but heard no answer, for lured by Satan’s power The youth lay dreaming then and saying, “Not today, Not till I’ve tried earth’s pleasures.” The Spirit went away.
Again He called in mercy in manhood’s vigorous prime, But still He found no welcome, the merchant had no time; No time for true repentance, no time to think or pray, And so, repulsed and saddened, the Spirit went away.
Once more He called and waited, the man was old and ill, And scarcely heard the whisper, his heart was cold and still; “Go leave me; when I need thee, I’ll call for thee,” he cried; Then sinking on his pillow, without a hope, he died!
