Word of Salvation – Vol. 26 No. 19 – January 1981

 

Young People: Remember Your Creator

 

Sermon by Rev. John Westendorp on Ecclesiastes 12:1

Scripture Readings: Eccles. 11:7-12:14

Psalter Hymnal: 14; 380 after law; 374; 237; 304

 

At a recent nationwide church conference in Melbourne a well known author made the following startling claims: Between 1966 and 1981 nearly two million Australians stopped going to church. In the same 15 year period the percentage of the population which believes in the existence of God dropped from about 95% to about 76%. In other words a drop of 19%. Perhaps we could add that it seems that a great many of those two million who stopped going to church were young people – After all it is quite obvious that many churches have today only some elderly folk attending – and attendance at Sunday Schools has also declined over the years.

It would seem then that our nation desperately needs to hear the words of our text… and it desperately needs to act on those words: Remember your Creator in the days of your youth.

A) THE CREATOR WE ARE TO REMEMBER.

Two things stand out straight away in this verse:

In the first place that the Bible again and again calls our attention to the existence of an almighty Creator-God. It never tries to prove to us that He exists. It never argues with us in favour of such a possibility. It simply assumes that there is a Creator-God.

You see, the fact that 24% of the population no longer believe in Him and the fact that a further 50% don’t worship Him…. makes absolutely no difference to the fact that He exists. The fact of God’s existence is not determined by Gallup Polls. God Himself assures us that He who made heaven and earth IS…! He is there…. and He still would be even if only 5% believed. He exists … there is a Creator.

The second thing that stands out here is that God is specifically spoken of as the CREATOR. And then not just as the Creator of heaven and earth but our Creator…..your Creator. Perhaps that’s one of the reasons for the decline in the belief in God in the last 15 years or so. It has been drummed into us in these last years especially; That the idea of a Creator-God is no longer needed to explain why we are here. Evolution has all the answers; and who still needs God? Science and not Scripture has the most important answers.

And so we find that T.V. nature films simply assume that evolution is a FACT and not just a THEORY. Many teachers proclaim it as a DOGMA despite the fact that today some very reputable scientists are having second thoughts.

Perhaps it isn’t just a coincidence…. that since evolution has come to dominate our thinking…. that in those same years 2 million Australians left the church and another 19% of our nation stopped believing in God.

Actually that speaker at that conference made another interesting remark. He claimed that those figures did not at all indicate that Australians were becoming less religious…. or non-religious. It’s just that they are more and more following new religions. – Superstition and secularism. – “Psychiatrists, sociologists, psychologists and advertising men are the priests of the new religion.”

Man, you see, is incurably religious. He must worship something. And if the God in His life is NOT the God of the Bible …. then it will be the god of materialism…. or the god of technology….. or some other god. That’s also why this verse of the Bible calls us to focus on God: Because when all is said and done, life is rather empty without the God of the Bible….. and that is the whole theme of Ecclesiastes.

Vanity of vanities…. all is vanity. Or as our N.I.V. has it: Meaningless, meaningless; Everything is meaningless.

Take the Creator-God out of the picture and what are you left with? What is life all about anyway? What are we here for? And this chapter reminds us how frail life really is.

Well…. for our young people life may not seem so empty…. or so frail. When you are on the basketball court with the red blood pulsing through your veins and the sweat glands working overtime…..! Life is exciting. Life is rich and meaningful. Life seems as though it will go on forever.

But the verses after our text remind us that all too soon it ends, The day comes when we don’t find it so easy to run around the block. The time of old age comes surely and stealthily closer And what a picture the author gives us here of old age:

It is the time when the keepers of the house tremble – shaky hands. And strong men stoop – the bowed legs that move with difficulty. When the grinders cease because they are few…. the teeth are all gone and we make do with artificial grinders. And those looking out the window grow dim…. the eyes no longer see so clearly as before.

All too soon life is over: The body returns to the dust it was made from….. and the soul returns to God who gave it. And at the end? What do we have to show for it all?

That is why our writer here calls our attention to God. Because life only really makes sense when we see it in terms of God. God….. who made us…. made us for eternity. God…. who sent His Son to die for us so that as we believe in Him we might enjoy a life that never ends.

Remember the Creator. No! Remember YOUR Creator. You are not the product of blind chance. You are not the end result of the evolutionary process. There is a God who made you and made you for eternity. A God who through Jesus Christ makes life meaningful. So don’t be part of the 24% of Australians who don’t accept the reality of that God’s existence.

B) WHAT THIS REMEMBERING IMPLIES.

Let’s also ask ourselves what the writer means here by remembering? Does he simply mean that we shouldn’t be atheists? That we shouldn’t belong to that 24% who don’t believe in God? Well…. yes…… it does mean that…… but it also means much more.

Remember your Creator…..! That means a great deal more than getting up in the morning and saying: “Ah, yes! There IS a God who made us”.

Remember your Creator……! That means a great deal more than just making sure you have a time of devotions and Bible Study at (Cadets/Calvinettes/Youth Club). And it is more than just making sure you come to a special worship service such as this.

Remember your Creator…..! And it’s a pity that so many people think they have fulfilled that obligation by going to church for weddings and funerals and “christenings”. That does not end our obligation.

It is interesting that the word REMEMBER is the very first word in this chapter and if we want to find out what this REMEMBERING involves then we must go to the very end of this chapter. That’s where we read these words: “Now all has been heard; here is the conclusion of the matter: Fear God and keep his commandments, for this is the whole duty of man. For God will bring every deed into judgment including every hidden thing, whether good or evil.”

Remember your Creator…..! No the author does NOT mean that it’s OK to do that once a year. Or to do that on some special occasion. Or just for some club devotional exercises. No it means: Fear God….. respect Him…….. worship Him. And it means: Keep His commandments….. do His will. And do that in the whole of your life.

I don’t know why some 2 million Australians stopped going to church. But maybe it’s because in the last 15 years some have come to the conclusion that the Christian faith is only something for special occasions…. for church….. and for when we die. And since He doesn’t have too much to do with everyday life…..! Well…… we’ll give it all away.

But you see, the God of the Bible isn’t like that. He wants us totally. He lays His claim on the whole of our life. Remember your Creator….. means living in day a day by day relationship with Him….. in everything you do….. everywhere you go.

Remember your Creator – not only as you sit here in church today. Remember Him also when you decide on that business deal tomorrow. Remember Him when you decide what kind of movie to see this week. Let the knowledge that He is there mould and shape your conduct. Let it be seen in your life…. in kindness…. fairness…. compassion.

Some of you may say: Well, doesn’t that take the fun out of life? Remember your Creator-God when you want to live it up. Remember Him when you want to have a ball, paint the town red. Isn’t that a bit of a drag…. a wet blanket on our fun?

Yes! It certainly would be if…. if after this life there is nothing. If there was only this life and nothing more to live for…. then why not live it up and forget God. But when the body returns to the dust of the earth…. then the Spirit returns to God who gave it…. and by the time THAT happens we had better make sure that we have been remembering the God of the Bible. The God who sent Jesus to be our brother, friend and Saviour.

There’s just one other thing that REMEMBERING INVOLVES and that is KNOWLEDGE. You cannot remember something you don’t know about. And maybe that’s another reason why 19% of the population have given up believing in God. Because they don’t know anything about God anymore. There was a time when most Primary schools were still taught Scripture. Today that is changing and there is an appalling lack of knowledge. We can be thankful that also in our Youth Movements there is a place for promoting the knowledge of God so that people CAN remember.

C) WHY WE ARE CALLED TO DO THIS IN YOUTH.

Perhaps you are wondering when I am going to come to those last few words in our text – after all they are the most important words because they show us that this call is addressed to a very special group of people.

– Isn’t this addressed to young people?

– And isn’t this a service in which we focus also especially a group of young people and on a youth movement?

Let’s not think though for a moment that these words don’t apply to Mums and Dads. It is NOT OK for the older generation to ignore this. The call to remember the Creator is extended to every generation. And there are plenty of other Bible passages that make that very clear. Yet it is true that this message is directed at YOUTH ESPECIALLY. Why? Well there are several good reasons for that.

First of all it’s because we ought to get into good habits when we are young. It is much easier to be remembering one’s Creator in old age when one has been doing that ever since one was a child.

There is a saying that you can’t teach an old dog new tricks. Sometimes older people use that as an excuse not to do something. Well, in relationship to God that’s not quite true. When the Lord Jesus Christ comes into someone’s life and begins to work there with His Holy Spirit…. then even an old dog can do new tricks. But at the same time we must remember that it is easier and better to get to know God and His ways when we are young…. so much easier then to go on in that way when we are older.

A second reason why this is especially important for young people is because they often have so much to distract them from doing this. So much more to do and see when we are young. So many exciting events to plan and participate in. And so there’s often not much time left for God. Studies keep us busy…. so busy. And our sport is so very important. And there just isn’t any time left for remembering our Creator. Little time for getting to know Him…. to worship Him.

Of course it’s not only our teenagers who live such busy lives. Sometimes our older folk have a problem there too. When their work becomes so demanding, then they don’t keep their priorities straight anymore.

Our relationship with God can suffer because of our long hours. But then the writer didn’t spell out what he meant by youth either, of course he means the 16-year-olds. But the 26-year-olds often feel pretty young still too. And many a 36-year-old is still young at heart. You see the real contrast is to those days of old age. When we can’t get up and about anymore…..! Then we do have time for a relationship with God. And so young people…. busy people….. people with the restless blood of youth pulsing in their veins need this reminder especially in their busy active lives.

But that brings me also to a third reason why this is addressed to young people because they often tend to put things like this off. While life is fresh and vital…. when we can still enjoy a game of squash… a run around the block…. then don’t worry too much about your Creator. After all you’ve still got the whole of your life ahead of you. You can take the time to get to know God when you get old….. when you retire.

But can you really do that?

Just underneath the Batman Bridge in Northern Tasmania is one of the oldest historic churches in the state and – beside it – a cemetery. Walking through that cemetery it is rather striking how many old tombstones indicate the grave of a young person… many were teenagers. Perhaps an outbreak of disease at some time in the early years.

But you know, each one of those tombstones is a reminder of the importance of our text….. for young people. You don’t know how much time you have to get to know God….. to remember your Creator.

Some people have the strange idea that they can take a crash course in getting to know God when they are 50 or 60. Leave it till there is a serious illness….! Postpone it till the time you need a walking stick to get around. And the point that this chapter makes is this: Not only may you perhaps not get to that time….. but even if you do you may no longer be in any condition for a crash course in “Knowing God”. The light will have gone out of your life. There may be too much bitterness and too many disappointments. Or there may be senility…. and it is too late.

I think it’s a great pity that we live in a society that believes that religion is something just for very little children or for very old people…. and at best, maybe also for sick or crippled young people.

What a beautiful thought then that God calls to Himself those who are in the prime of life, in the full flower of youth. Remember your Creator in the days of your youth.

Amen.

(Author’s note: This sermon was prepared for a church service in which the local Brownies and Girl Guides were special guests. It has been adapted for use with our own youth groups.

The Church Conference was the Evangelical Anglican Congress at Monash University in May 1981. The author of the statement was Bruce Wilson. J.W.W.)