Living Life Backwards Pt.9 - One Foot in the Grave

Good morning. Good morning to you in the parking lot, you hearty souls that have braved the cooler weather. Come out to enjoy this time of fellowship and teaching this morning. What a joy it is to be together.

It is a beautiful winter morning. This is one of the reasons we love Riverside so much is that the snow is up there and not down here. We love to look at it. And it's beautiful down here in the valley.

Welcome to you that are live streaming with us this morning. We hope that you are well, warm and cozy. And enjoying your time at home. In fellowship with us this morning.

Let's begin our time together in prayer this morning. Just bow with me if you would. Father God, what a privilege it is. To be together this morning in your spirit.

In fellowship live here on the parking lot at Bourne's, at church, and also live streaming, we give you the glory for this morning. We give you the glory for your word. We pray that Your Holy Spirit. would speak through me.

That your Holy Spirit would touch the hearts. Of those listening. We pray that you would do your work in us. That we would be attentive to your word.

That we would seize this day to your glory. We thank you again for this time of fellowship. And this time together in Jesus' name I pray. Amen.

If you don't know me, I'm Jonathan Jones. I serve here at Cornerstone as one of the elders. I've had that privilege for some years now. What a joy it is.

To serve and to be a part of this church family. I do want to give a special shout out this morning. To Pastor Mike Berry, our associate pastor, who was supposed to teach this morning, but Mike is at home under the weather. So we covet your prayers for him, for his healing, and that of his family.

we're missing him, this morning. As you'll recall last Sunday, Pastor Carlos Limtiaco taught from Ecclesiastes chapter 11, the 1st 6 verses, where he shared 11 guidelines for wise living. I commend that message to you. I commend that scripture to you.

If you would take that time, go to our YouTube channel, and you can listen to Pastor Carlos's 11 guidelines for wise living. If there's anything that you and I need in this day. is to be wise men and women of God. That we would press into him, press into the scripture.

And that we would not be led by the flesh, but that you and I would be led by the Spirit through His word. It's only in his. And only in His word will he be glorified. And will you and I live a life that we desire to live that brings glory to God.

This morning we'll continue looking. At what Solomon or the preacher, refers to, in Ecclesiastes chapter 11 starting at verse 7 and going through chapter 12 verse 8, we look at preachers' exhortation to seek God early. In your life because youth passes like a vapor. And we discover That we get Old too soon and smart too late, right?

I give an amen. We discover that we get old too soon and smart or wise too late. Take a look at the introduction on your handout this morning and fill in the first blank. With the word company, growing old makes a body and inner self part company as the body ages and the inner self stays relatively young or younger.

what statements and descriptions. Capture the decades of life. How would you describe the years between 10 years old and 20 years old? Well, I describe that as life is a dream.

That decade is Characterized by childhood, the teen years. Where you basically eat. Sleep, go to school, and socialize. The next decade, how would you describe years 21 through 30?

I've coined those years as the prime of life. You are finishing high school and college, you're developing your career, Lord willing, you'll get married, you'll have children, etc. That's 21 to 30, called the prime of life. The next decade, 31 to 40, how would you characterize those years?

I've coined it or termed it life is full. Life is full with family, travel, career growth, hobbies, and ministry. Then we get to 41 to 50 years old. How would you characterize those years?

I've called it. Quote, my whole body is falling apart. We get reading glasses, back issues, knee issues, weight, other health challenges during those years, years 51 to 60, I've coined those years. How did this happen?

I feel like I'm 45. We are doctor's appointments, multiple medical specialists, and most of us at least for pharmaceuticals. And then 61 to 70 years old, I've coined those years, Medicare is great. Walking, retirement, a recliner, and Lord willing, grandkids, and then 71 to 80 year old grandkids and walking, 81 plus, I've just written down every day is a gift.

Every day is a gift. Doesn't life fly? Doesn't life go quickly? I'm looking out and I'm seeing most of you nodding your heads.

Most of you in your 30s, 40s. And so on. But we find that here in America, according to the American Society for Plastic Surgery, Plastic surgeons perform more than 10 million. Procedures each year, almost none of them medically.

Necessary. One of the reigning idolatries of our modern times is the cult of youth, which is worshiped by the young. But also by the old alike. For people who know they're getting old, they're worshiping this god or goddess demands endless efforts to stay young.

But many young people worship this same deity rather than respecting elders. They look down on people and ideas. That seem old fashioned, they want everything new and trendy. They can't imagine that they will ever get old and given the choice, some would rather die first than grow old.

Whether we are young, old, or in between, Ecclesiastes can help us. Solomon or the preacher. Who wrote this book teaches us to celebrate the joys of life at any age. This is a consistent theme to the book of Ecclesiastes, seizing life, glorifying God, enjoying the gifts of every day that the Lord allows you to.

The preacher is also honest though about the troubles that come with growing old. We see that in today's scripture. By the wisdom of the Spirit, He gives us two urgent calls that will help us live well. The first call is to rejoice, and the second call is to remember.

If you look at your handout this morning. Fill in the blanks under 1, the urgent realism of rejoicing. Write down the word rejoicing because judgment is coming. What an interesting juxtaposition between rejoicing and judgment.

Let's take a look together. Open your Bibles if you would to Ecclesiastes chapter 11. Verses 7 and 8 and read with me. Truly, the light is sweet and it is pleasant for the eyes to behold the sun.

But if a man lives many years and enjoys them all, yet let him remember the days of darkness, for they will be many. All that is coming. Is vanity. Let me define vanity for you as preacher or Solomon uses this term often and we'll see it several times this morning.

Vanity does not when he's when Solomon says youth is vanity, he's not saying that youth is meaningless. But he is saying that youth is elusive. OK, we know what we mean by elusive that it, it, it, it quickly, it quickly loses our grasp. Alright, so keep that in mind as we read this word vanity throughout this scripture.

All that is coming is vanity. This first call is to rejoice in the goodness of life, even though we know that life is vanity or elusive. Youth in this passage is a relative term instructing us all who are not in the stage of life described in chapter 12, verses 3 through 8, which we will look at in a few minutes. Where body and mind are in decline to pursue enjoyment throughout all of life, the eventual return to dust is the reason to grab a hold of life with both hands while the opportunity still exists.

I repeat, the eventual return to dust is the reason that you and I are commanded in scripture. To seize life with both hands while we have the opportunity. We could make a long list of the joys of life that are so sweet. Think about the things in your life that are such a blessing, that are so sweet.

The softness of a baby's cheek. Hot coffee or hot chocolate in the morning. Or honey and butter on toasted sourdough. Yeah baby, yeah.

There we go. Think about those things in your life. They're small things, but they bring you such blessing. Name something sweet and wonderful that you celebrate every day.

Think about it. Give God the glory for it. Many of you have young children, special time with them, closeness, cuddles. Talked to our 3.5 year old granddaughter this week, FaceTime, asked her what she had been doing, and she said she'd been cuddling with Daddy.

That would be our eldest son. What a blessing that is. What a blessing that is. Many things are bright as we read in verse 7 and verse 8, a rainbow against a dark sky.

Think about these things that are bright, or a campfire on a summer night. There are dozens more. How sweet life is and how bright are the blessings. Long life is a joy and a blessing when we know Christ and have years to serve him in sowing, and in reaping and because we have more opportunity to enjoy the goodness of life.

The right way to respond is by rejoicing and praising. of life. May not a single day go by that you don't stop and give God the glory for breath in the morning. For a roof over your head, for warmth, for a car to drive, for family, but most of all, for his Holy Spirit.

And if him, if you're in Christ, that he has called you to him, that you belong to him. Yet as we rejoice and celebrate God's goodness to us in life, even if we live a long life, preacher says we are to remember that the days of darkness will be many from verse 8. Look at verse 8 in your Bibles this morning. This is a reference to old age, complete with grief, suffering, loss, disappointment, injustice and ultimately death.

Some commentators think that the preacher is confused here, giving contradictory advice on the one hand saying to enjoy life while remembering that you are going to die, but we say that this is not confusion, but this is clarity. This is clarity, what preacher says is a realistic view of life, to enjoy life to the fullest while at the same time being sober about its many coming sorrows. I speak to you young people who are in the prime of life. The prime of your youth, be sober.

About the coming sorrows, make wise choices. We'll talk more about that in a few minutes. We are not to complain about our problems as some are in the habit of doing, but to greet each day as the psalmist did, saying, this is the day the Lord has made. Let us rejoice and be glad in it from Psalm 118:24.

The call to rejoice is just not for the elderly, but also for the young. Go back to your Bibles with me and let's look at verses 9 and 10. Rejoice, oh man, in your youth, and let your heart cheer you in the days of your youth. Walk in the day, walk in the ways of your heart and in the sight of your eyes.

And know that for all these God will bring you into judgment. Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, what? What? Let's do that again.

Middle of verse 9. Walk in the ways of your heart and in the sight of your eyes and know that for all these, God will bring you into judgment. Wow. So this is serious.

Taking stock of every day, seizing life, bringing him glory, rejoicing in every day in every event. It is not only what he's recommending, he's commanding it. Why? Because we will be judged.

We will be judged by him on how we respond. Verse 10, therefore remove sorrow from your heart, put away evil from your flesh, for childhood and youth are vanity. Here we are again. What does vanity mean?

Elusive, elusive, slipping away, right? The preacher, like a parent, encourages the young to go off and embrace life, but to remember the curfew and the limits. He certainly isn't encouraging, licentious living and wanton abandon to the lust of the heart, no he's not. This is a strong reminder that judgment awaits the pursuit of unwise and destructive pleasures.

Again, a strong reminder that judgment awaits the pursuit of unwise and destructive pleasures, so be careful how you party, be careful how you party. But, What I've just shared is probably not the best way to read this verse. What appears as a more accurate reading is that preacher is actually including our enjoyment of God's world, or the lack of it, as one of the things that God will call us to account for in the final reckoning or the final judgment. God will call us to account for in the final, our our enjoyment is a gift from God, and like all his gifts, we are responsible to God for what we do with it.

So rejoice responsibly, enjoy life's pleasures, but not in sinful ways. Celebrate the gift of youth, but at the same time follow God's command to flee youthful passions and pursue righteousness, faith, love, peace, along with those who call on the Lord from a pure heart. We see this in 2 Timothy chapter 2. Verse 22.

After his call for young and old to rejoice in verse 10, the preacher gives us a call to, what does it say in your Bible? Remove vexation from your heart and put away pain from your body for youth and the dawn of life are vanity. With these words, the preacher advises us to eliminate the bad things from our lives that trouble our hearts and souls. I wonder what that looks like.

I'll tell you what that looks like. If secular or any news these days is causing you stress, frustration to be vexed, then shut it off, put it away. I've heard of some who are political junkies who are addicted to news, that's a warning. Put it away, put it away because it's causing you to be vexed or frustrated, angry, depressed, helpless, etc.

A vexation is a problem that causes us to worry or be concerned that angers us, grieves us or irritates us. It is the bitterness provoked by a hard and disappointing world. What a great definition for vexation. The bitterness provoked by a hard and disappointing world.

We have no need to list vexations, for they are many and different for each of us. But we all agree that life is full of vexations as well as physical pain. Once again, the preacher is real and practical in acknowledging that life has physical and psychological troubles. We're told to remove pain and vexations from our lives because the preacher knows that we don't stay young forever, for childhood and youth are vanity.

They are elusive. We see this at the end of verse 10. We've already mentioned several times this definition of vanity, but it's so important, and I'll even add the word ephemeral that vanity is elusive, that youth is elusive and ephemeral. It's like smoke or mist that disappear into thin air.

One day we are young and strong, the next day without much notice, those days are gone. For me, just a very few years ago I was running 5 and 10k mud and obstacle course races, riding my bike from Corona to Huntington Beach and back, competing in sprint triathlons and climbing Half Dome in Yosemite with my, with my sons. Now at age 65. I walk the neighborhood with my sweetheart and swim slowly in my swimming pool in the summer, the hot months.

But I should have realized, I should have realized that these things were changing, that things were changing, shouldn't I, when. I remember the day just a few years ago where I was at the start line of a of a 10k obstacle course mud run with my middle son, and he and I are standing side by side and I'm thinking to myself how great it would be if I could just keep up with him, if we could just run this race together. So the gun goes off, we start off together, we're shoulder to shoulder.

He's, he's talking to me.

I'm not talking to him. I'm just trying to breathe. And I'm thinking, OK, this is going OK, this is going OK. So we go over a few obstacles, through a pond, over a couple of rails and walls.

OK, all right, this is going OK. So about 11 kilometer into the race, he puts his hand on my shoulder as we're running. And he looks at me and says, Dad, you OK? I go, yeah, I'm doing well.

He goes, OK, I'll see you at the finish line. And like that, he was gone. Around the corner, over a wall, he he was history. So I should have been warned, shouldn't I, that the days were changing, that how foolish of me to think that I could run a a 10K race, with my son who's much, much younger.

Everything that preacher has said to young people about rejoicing in life, about removing pain and vexation and about loving God rather than loving or living for youthful lust is well expressed in a majestic. Clarkson, let me read this to you. We worship you, Lord Christ, our savior and our King. To you, our youth and strength, adoringly we bring.

So fill our hearts. That all may view your life in us and turn to you. As we conclude chapter 11, we ask ourselves, is my future, check me on this, is my future shaping my life? Is the eventual future which is right around the corner.

Many of us in middle age and later is my future. Shaping my present. Take stock Ask yourself that question. Look at 2 in your handout this morning.

And fill in the blanks, the calm realism of remembering that life. Is for living. Let's read together 8 verses in Ecclesiastes chapter 12. So open your Bibles with me.

We'll go there together. Chapter 12 verse 1. Remember also your creator in the days of your youth. Once again, here's this exhortation.

Remember 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 the clouds return after the rain. In the day that the watchmen of the house tremble, the mighty men stoop, the grinding ones stand idle because they are few, and those who look through the windows grow dim, and the doors on the street are shut as the sound of the grinding mill is low.

And one will rise at the sound of the 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 itself along, and the keeper berry is ineffective. For a man goes to his eternal home while mourners go about in the street. Verse 6, remember him before the silver cord is broken.

And the golden bowl is crushed, and 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 vanity of vanity, says preacher, all is vanity. What an incredible passage of scripture. What a beautiful poem.

Let's unpack it together a little bit this morning. There's a lot here Again we go back to verse one and we see preacher's last instruction to the young, although maybe the people who understand it best are older, it is a call to remembrance. Remember also the creator in the days of your youth, before the evil days come and the years draw near for which you will say I have no pleasure in them. This verse, this first verse exhorts us to live a God-centered life, making the God who made the universe our first and highest priority.

This first verse is the key to all the other things we are called to do in this passage. The best remedy for our pains and vexations is to cast them upon the one who made and knows all about us. Everything that preacher says in this passage assumes and requires the close presence of God. To remember God is to live our whole lives for Him.

It is to be mindful of him in every circumstance, in all our plans, praising Him for all our blessings and praying to him through all of our troubles. This requires that we drop our pretense, beloved, of self-sufficiency and commit ourselves to Him. I don't want to just brush over that too quickly. In all of our plans, we must praise Him for all of our blessings and praying to Him through all of our troubles.

What's the prerequisite? What's the condition? This requires that we drop our pretense of self-sufficiency and commit ourselves to Him. How soon in your life will be, will you be on your face before the Lord, crying out saying, I can't do this.

I give up. I give up. I surrender. How many years will it take?

Of vexations. And stresses for you to be on your face before the Lord, surrendering, asking him to take over, asking him. To rule and reign, may he forgive us for our pretense of self-sufficiency. Yeah, I got this, yeah, no problem.

Really Really? The earlier, beloved, the better that you and I are on our face before the Lord, surrendering. Our pretense of self-sufficiency and committing ourselves to Him. Of course, the best time to do this.

Is when you're in high school, when you're in college. When you're young enough to devote your whole life to God's service. Don't wait until you are advanced in years when you have little energy, inclination or desire, because life has lost its pleasure. To make this point, the preacher gives us one of the most memorable poems in the Bible.

The poem is about the reality of mortality. The poem is verses 2 through 5. Look at that in your Bible with me. And I commend it to you to reread.

We won't take time to reread that right now. But look at it with me if you will. Verse 2 compares the troubles of old age to a gathering storm. Both night and day are darkened by clouds, and after the rain falls, the storm clouds gather again.

Then we go to verses 3 through 5. These verses compare an elderly person to a house that's slowly crumbling with decay. It's very practical and direct. Let's take a look.

You see there where it talks about the keepers of the house? What is that? That's a person's arms that start to tremble. OK, think about this house or our bodies that are decaying, becoming decrepit, and losing its function.

The keepers are the house that Solomon refers to are a person's arms which start to tremble. They're the strong men, are one's legs that become bent and bowed with age. The grinders, What would they be? Their teeth, of course.

Their teeth If there are any left. The windows that preacher refers to are our eyes, which become dimmed with cataracts or general vision loss. The doors. Our ears that become deaf or hard of hearing.

The sound of grinding of grain was a cheerful indication of the youth going about their daily lives, but the elderly find themselves shut off from the hum of daily life. The Daughters of Song, what would that be a reference to? The daughters of song are our vocal cords. Which have lost their elasticity and strength to make beautiful music.

Pressing on the pale almond tree blossoms refer to gray or white hair. Fortunately, the pale almond blossoms are much more attractive. But it is a reference to the inevitable gray or white hair. According to verse 4, they have trouble sleeping, and are up with the first songbirds before dawn, and according to verse 5, they're afraid of falling or being attacked on the road.

They also suffer from diminished desire. Which includes the desire for intimacy but also for life in general. Turn if you will, with me to 2 Samuel. Chapter 19.

Let's go to verse 34 through 37. 2 Samuel. Chapter 19 verse 3437, which speaks of the 80 year old Brasilia's response to King David's invitation to the royal palace. So get the scene here.

King David has asked the octogenarian, the 80-year old Brasilia, to come to the palace. And let's see what Brasilia's response is. In 2 Samuel, go to verse 34, but Brasilia said to the king, How long? Have I yet to live?

That I should go up with the king to Jerusalem. I am now 80 years old. Can I distinguish between good and bad? Or can your servant taste?

What I eat or what I drink, or can I hear any more the voice of singing men and women. Why then should your servant be an added burden to my lord the King? Your servant would merely cross over the Jordan with the king. Why should the king compensate me with this reward?

Please let your servant return that I may die in my own city near the grave of my father and my mother. Wow. How clear. How clear can that be?

Oh King David, thank you for the honor and the blessing of inviting me to the palace. But I am old and in a word, I have lost the the zeal for life. Allow me to stay home and die. Incredible.

Then one day, this crumbling house. That preacher describes for us, will collapse. Preacher prepares us for this in verse 5, when he refers to a grasshopper that normally springs up in the air, but when it scrapes along the ground, It's a goner. It's a goner.

This fate, beloved, awaits us all. Not just old age, but the dust of death. This too is reason to remember our Creator and our Savior while we can. Because we are going to our eternal home.

And the mourners will go about the streets. Before the silver cord is snapped or the broken bowl is broken. Or the pitcher is shattered at the fountain, or the wheel is broken at the cistern, and the dust returns to the earth as it was, and the spirit returns to God who gave it. Wow, what a beautiful, poignant.

So essential that you and I take this to heart, that our hearts be changed, that our lives be changed, that we would take stock. My wife Julie and I right now are in a season, if you will, of cleaning out our garage. Putting cardboard boxes. Putting decades of stuff from cardboard boxes, throwing stuff away, selling stuff, taking stuff to a thrift store, and also reorganizing, looking at decades of God's faithfulness to our family.

But we're taking stock, we're talking about 40 years of marriage. On our walk yesterday, we talked about cremation versus burial. We talked about internment. We talked about, I talked about my funeral.

Talked about don't you dare cry a tear for me. Gather the family together and have a party. Have a party, have a bunch of New Zealand S spring lamb. Many other things that I enjoy.

Fate awaits us all, not just old age, but the dust of death. These are memorable descriptions of death. To die is to go to our eternal home. What else can we say about death?

To die is to return to dust, the curse that God pronounced on Adam and Eve, and all of our sin in Genesis chapter 3, verse 19. This is the same curse that Jesus suffered on the cross in our stead. The preacher's call is to remember our creator now, to cling to him. Ecclesiastes has become one of our favorite books of the Bible, hasn't it?

Because it's about a character who's a character, Solomon. It's about a character who wants to find out why he is alive and why he was created. What does he try? He tries everything.

He tries knowledge, he tries wealth, he tries experience. He tries everything. And we hurry to the end of the book to find out why. And it says, what does it say?

Remember your creator. This is the last chapter. This is the end of the story. Go back to the beginning of Ecclesiastes, Ecclesiastes 1, Ecclesiastes 2, and read about all Solomon did, all he had, all the pleasures, all the pleasures that a person could imagine, he did not deny himself.

And his conclusion, all is vanity. All is vanity And he says, finally, remember your Creator. I exhort you, I plead with you, get over yourself soon. Get over yourself, this myth of self-reliance, of self-dependency.

Go to your face, dedicate yourself to him, worship him, remember your creator. What a gift. This command is for the young while you still can. This command is for those in middle age and for those in advanced years as well.

Don't be discouraged men and women, this is, this is not a book to be discouraged about, even though the depictions of death are real. They are real, but that's a gift of love, that the Lord gives us through his word. Don't be discouraged or depressed, rejoice. Be encouraged by the beauty of the poem.

By the fact that your creator remembers you, even if you are not even if you do not always remember him. By the promise of the resurrection, that those who die in Christ will live again and will live forever. We'll live forever. Let's close in prayer together.

Father God, in Jesus' name, we uplift, praise and thanksgiving to you for this, this blessed word from the scripture this morning. Thank you for loving us. So much that you gave us your word. Thank you for its power.

Thank you for its truth. I pray that in Jesus' name, each of us here this morning and live streaming, that their lives would be changed forever. That they would seize this day to bring you glory. And that they would be mindful of the coming judgment, that they would flee immorality, that they would flee youthful lusts, that they would devote themselves to you and to living for you and to glorifying you.

We ask your blessing upon the rest of this morning and the afternoon as we gather together. For our service. I ask your anointing upon Pastor Milton as he preaches this morning. And then our annual vision meeting, I ask your blessing.

Upon that time together, we thank you for the joy we have of being together and bringing you glory. In Jesus' name I pray. Amen. Amen.

Thank you.