Video Transcript: Making the Most of Life

We're getting near the end of our series of studies in the book of Ecclesiastes. And we're  getting to the point where he's giving some positive guidance on how to make the most of  life. And the first thing that we want to say, today is just the fact that life seems risky. Just  about everything we get into involves a risk of trouble or failure. When you are young, and  you just want to say hi to somebody on the street or making new friends, there is a possibility  that you're not going to get along. Or if you go to their house, you're gonna have a fight,  there's always that risk. If you're a young man, and you're thinking of asking a girl, to start a  romantic relationship, there is a risk that the answer will be no. If you apply to a variety of  colleges, there is the risk that many, maybe all of them will say, No. When you apply for a job, you might not get the job. When you go through life, start a business, it might work and there  is a pretty good possibility that it won't. Life is a risk. And what do we make of that? Well, one  thing that we could do is just try to avoid all risks, and get paranoid about everything that  could go wrong. And we don't want to risk failure. There is one tiny problem with that  approach. If you won't risk failure, you guarantee failure, you have to do something, of  course, something might go wrong. But if you don't risk something going wrong, then you just make sure nothing goes. So we need to face that fact. And Ecclesiastes talks about those risks in life, cast your bread upon the waters, for after many days, you will find it again. Give  portions to seven yes to eight. For you do not know what disaster may come upon the land. If  clouds are full of water, they pour rain upon the earth, whether a tree falls to the south or to  the north, in the place where it falls, there will lie. Whoever watches the wind will not plant.  Whoever looks at the clouds will not read as you do not know the path of the wind or how the  body is formed in the mother's womb. So you cannot understand the work of God, the Maker  of all things. Sow your seed in the morning and an evening, Let not your hands be idle, for  you do not know which will succeed whether this or that, or whether both will do equally well.  Life is an adventure. And faith is risking boldly. Those are the facts that we're faced with. In  these words, in Ecclesiastes, you can't predict everything, you can't control everything. And  you're going to have to learn to deal with it, because that's the way life is and you can get  grumpy about it. Or you can say that makes life really interesting. I never quite know how  things are going to turn out until I get there. Some of you may be read books, and you won't  read it until you read the last few pages that kind of ruins a book or go watch a movie. But  first, you want to make sure you watch the last 10 minutes. So you know how it turns out.  Otherwise, you wouldn't want to watch the rest of the movie. Well, life is not a movie where  you get to watch the outcome before you take the adventure. When you hear those words  from Ecclesiastes, cast your bread upon the waters, you might think well the logical  conclusion is cast your bread upon the waters. And you'll get a mighty soggy loaf of bread.  Because that's just not a figure of speech that we use casting your bread. But what it's  referring to is people who would be in business and in commerce, and they load their ships  with grain. And that bread would be cast out on the waters and they'd haul it to some great  distance. And then they trade that grain for other kinds of goods. And then the ship brings  back those goods and trades them at a profit. And that's how you make money in commerce.  You buy low, you sell high, you ship it from where it's a little cheaper to where it's more  expensive, and you make some profit then on the back haul, you take some other stuff you  make some profit on that too. If your ship comes in, because it might go down to the bottom  of the drink. If there's a really big storm, there might be Pirates, there might be a variety of  things. And so there is the risk that it's not going to go well. But if you're in business, or if  you're a merchant, you cast your bread upon the waters, you send out that ship. And you  keep on doing that, in hopes that it's going to come back. Or if you're a farmer, you have to  plant every spring. And whenever you plant, you're risking failure. There could be an early  frost in the fall, or there could be a late frost in the spring, and that could ruin things. There  could be a shortage of rain, there could be too much rain. There could be all sorts, there could be blight, there could be insects, there could be what have you. And the farmer is not  guaranteed that when he spends money on that seed and puts that crop in the ground, that  it's all going to turn out great. But the farmer plants anyway. The reason there are risks is  there are so many things that we don't control. And so many things that we don't understand  some things you don't control. If the clouds are full of rain, they pour water on the earth. 

Thank you, Captain Obvious. When clouds are full of water, they pour rain upon the earth.  Why does the Bible tell us something so obvious? Well, because there are a lot of obvious  things in life that happen and you don't control them. Hey, we scheduled a basketball  afternoon for some boys to come over this week, this forecast was great two days out, looked  like 20% chance to rain, but the meteorologists have a habit of changing their forecast. So the next day, it was suddenly at 60%. And of course they have whoosh, down come down come  the rains. You read in Ecclesiastes, it says when clouds are full of water, they have rain, they  pour water on the earth. It just happens whether you wanted it to or not. And you don't  always even know when it's going to happen. Because it says well, nobody knows what  controls the weather. Nobody knows and controls how the wind is gonna blow this way or that. And you also don't know what goes on in the womb. And so you don't know what your maker  is doing. If you don't know the weather, and you don't know what's going on in the womb.  How are you going to predict God himself? That's the logic. And we might say, Well, yeah, but  that was written 3000 years ago. We now know the weather. Well, like I just said, with a 48  hour window, they still didn't know the weather from two days out, they do know the weather  100 years from now. And they're predicting the exact number of degrees, the planet will warm 50 degrees. You know, these things are very obvious. We know all that. But two days from  now, not so sure. And of course, we all will know about what goes on in the womb nowadays.  We have our ultrasounds we have our physicians, we have complete knowledge of that. That  is why my second child was ultrasounded as a boy and his named Maria. That's why my  youngest child was a boy and his named Bethany because we know everything that goes on  in the womb, we just know all that. Even in this day, when we have a lot better weather  models than we used to have, and a lot better ways of looking in the womb than we used to  have, we still have many things that we haven't figured out. And if you've spent a little time  with science, or even a lot of time with it, the more you know, in one sense, the more  mysteries open out to you in a different sense, because the more you study the body, the  more you get into the fact that we don't understand how all of that DNA works and how those  millions of lines of code that are embedded in each one of us work. There's just so much that  we do not know and that we do not control. And so because you don't know everything and  because you don't control everything, because you're not God, the Maker of all things. Life is  risky. Life is an adventure. And you're going to have to be able to deal with that. When clouds  are full of rain. They pour water on the earth when a tree falls in the place where it falls. There it lies. Another great truth when Captain Obvious. You know when the tree goes plunk, it goes  plunk Well, yeah. But then again, it's it's just a reminder so much we don't control that tree is  there. But if there's a nasty storm, you don't control that storm, and if it lands on a part of  your house and crunches it well, where it fell there fell if your car was parked under that tree  during the big wave, windstorm and branch came down on the roof of the car. Well, where it  fell it fell and these things happen, stuff happens. I suppose you could shorten those verses  up a little bit and just say stuff happens. And that theme comes up again and again. and  Ecclesiastes. And when you face those facts, then you can get really grumpy about it and say, I, any whatever I try, I don't control, you know, the race isn't to the Swift The battle isn't that  strong time and chance happened to him? Ah, that's what Ecclesiastes says, Why would I  venture out on something? Well, again, let me remind you, almost anything you do you risk  failure. But if you don't risk failure, you guarantee failure. If you're always watching the  forecast for perfect weather. That's what Ecclesiastes says, He who watches the clouds is  never going to plant us always looking for that perfect weather is never going to reach. Now,  there are ways you can kind of lessen the risk, a farmer who plants in the fall is not going to  do so well unless it happens to be a bit of winter wheat. And other than that, you do have to  have a certain sense of the right timing for doing certain things, you can't guarantee it's  going to succeed. But you can guarantee you can guarantee fair also by doing the wrong  thing at the wrong time pretty quickly. So you can't if you're a farmer, you just can't wait  always for the absolute ideal perfect weather conditions. Although you do know roughly when  you're supposed to plant and roughly when to expect to harvest. But you got to take that  adventure instead of being grouch about it, say, Hey, this is exciting, I am going to take my  risks, I'm going to take this adventure that God sends my way. And I'm going to make the 

most of it. The Lord Jesus takes that language of planting to a different level. He says, I tell  you the truth Unless a kernel of wheat falls to the ground and dies, it remains only a single  seed. But if it dies, it produces many seeds. The man who loves his life will lose it, while the  man who hates his life in this world will keep it for eternal life. Now, that doesn't mean you  hate yourself, or hate being alive. But it doesn't mean that you're willing to give up your life,  you're willing to risk your life, for the sake of something else, you're willing to bet your life on  the kingdom of God. And Jesus himself says this shortly before he lays down his own life, and  for laying down his own life claims millions of lives to be his. And he encourages us to, to be  willing to plant and to die to many things in order that we may live forever. Faith may seem  risky. But planting does turn out to pay off now, in facing this that life is an adventure and  faith means taking a risk, that doesn't mean that you're just a total knucklehead. As I  mentioned, a farmer does have to have a sense of when it's the right time to plant even  though he can't watch the perfect forecast. And be assured that everything is going to turn  out right. But you can do certain things. And when you're an investor, you can just go down to the casino and bet everything on a particular number. That's one form of I wouldn't call  investing. That's a form of risk taking, which is not very bright. But there are forms of risk  taking that are much more likely to be profitable. One thing to keep in mind always is avoid a  sure loser. If you had a tip that a company is going to be belly up by next month, would you  invest all you own in that company? Of course not. If you know for sure that something is a  sure loser, don't invest in it. Jesus takes that to a different level. He says Do not store up for  yourselves treasures on earth where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and  steal. But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moth and rust do not destroy  and where thieves do not break in and steal for where your where your treasure is there your  heart will be also. So he says if your heart is in the things of this earth, you have bet on a sure loser. Whatever else we don't know, we know this, we are going to die. And everything on this earth is going to perish by moth or rust or seeds. You know that. So if that's where you're  putting all your eggs, you are betting on a sure loser. So avoid a shore lose another aspect of  investing think long term when you're investing your money. If you want to get rich by next  week, I think you're going to have a greater likelihood of being poor by next week. People who are day traders on the stock market even the experts at it can lose a lot of money in a hurry.  We ordinary schmoes can really lose a lot of money trying to get rich in a week or less by  betting on things if you invest, invest in the long term. If you were investing in the stock  market, you're crazy if you're investing for next week or even next year, the stock market is  something where you have to think long term somewhere where you can park your money for 10, 15 years, and it may go down a lot before it goes up again. So if you think longer term,  then your risk is lessened somewhat. That's true in the realm of finance. It's true in the  spiritual realm. Jesus reminded us again of somebody He didn't think long term, he stored up  for himself more and more and more, and then he was going to tear down his barns and build  bigger ones. So he could have even more and more and more than taking early retirement  and, and live high on the hog. And God said to him, you fool tonight, your life will be required  of you. And then he was gonna get all this stuff, you pile up for yourself. The man didn't think  long term, you would not be very wise, if you just ignored the fact that at some point, you're  going to retire and you should have something saved up. But you'd be far more foolish if you  didn't invest in eternity. And the third thing about investing is you diversify. Okay, you don't  know exactly how things are going to turn out. But what does Ecclesiastes say? It says give  portions to seven yes to eight, because you don't know what disaster is going to come. If you  invest in one thing and disaster hits that you just lost it all. If you invest in seven or eight  different things, then one or two of them may go down. But the other five or six may do great, and you'll still come out ahead in the long run. Diversify. This is Sound Advice for just  conducting your financial affairs. Today, they have financial instruments like mutual funds,  where instead of putting all your money into one stock that you think is going to hit it big. You invest in something that covers 500 stocks, or 1000 stocks, and maybe three or four of those  stocks do lousy, others do great. And overall, you come out ahead, diversify is very important  in the world of investing, and finance and commerce. And here again, Jesus takes that  principle of diversifying that we find in business and here in Ecclesiastes, to a different level, 

he tells a really strange story about a crooked manager who is about to get fired by the owner of the outfit because the owner has heard that he's crooked. So he thinks okay, you're out of  here. But you know, you did have a bunch of accounts receivable, you clean those up first.  And then you're fired. You know, first you got to visit all these people who've had accounts  with you that owe money and collect that money for me and then come back to me bring me  the money and you're gone. Well, the manager says, This is bad. I am too weak to dig ditches. I'm an office boy. And I'm too proud to beg. So what am I going to do? I know what I'll do. And  he goes to the first guy that owes his master and he says, what? Well, did you buy from my  master again? What was that? And he brings out the bill? And he says, well, it says 1000  bushels a week. And the guy says that's 1000 and let's scratch that out. Make it 100 You pay  me 100 We'll call it good. He goes to the next one. What Joe? Oh, did it say 800 gallons of  olive oil. Let's change your bill just a little bit and make it 400 gallons of olive oil. You only got  to pay me for 400 and I'll scratch the bill and he goes down the whole list of people that owe  his master and he crookedly changes all their bills so that they don't have to pay nearly what  they owe. And then it says his boss had to admit that that manager was one shrewd dude,  because when he was fired, all of a sudden he had a whole bunch of buddies who owed him  one. And Jesus says Now, the crooks of this world are sometimes smarter than the children of  the light. He doesn't say go out and be a crook yourself. But he says, you know, when it  comes to money, those crooks they seem to know a little bit more than sometimes the godly? No, because one of the points of money as you're gonna lose your position, you're gonna lose  your profit. And so the only thing you're gonna be able to do then is how did you make some  friends for yourself after your profit in your position, we're gone. And Jesus, here's his punch  line, use worldly wealth, to make friends for yourself. So that when it is gone, you will have  someone to welcome you into eternal dwellings. Jesus is not saying go out and be crooked,  but he is say if you got money, invest it in this person, and that person, and in someone else,  invest what you have in other people, so that when all the money is gone, and you leave this  world, there are people whom you bless with what you had, you can't send anything on ahead of you in terms of money. But if you invest in the kingdom of God, and if you invest in blessing people, then you have people that are going to rejoice with you in eternal dwellings and in the way you spent the money of this world on them. That's smart investing. If give portions to  seven yes to eight, invest in other people's lives. And you will be investing very wisely.  Indeed, it may sound like a risk. But if you don't risk failure, you guarantee failure. Well, that's the first aspect and making the most have life view life and its uncertainties and the things  you don't control, not as just some defeatist. Oh, woe is me, I can't make everything turn out  the way I want all the time. But instead, Life is an adventure, I got to take some risks, I'm  going to take them as wisely as I can. And I'm going to risk above all in venturing on God and  His Kingdom. And I'm going to live that adventure with some enthusiasm, and with some  excitement. And secondly, life is a gift. And faith is receiving that gift. Gladly, then the third  and last thing we're gonna look at today is the fact that life is a relationship. And faith is  walking with God. Life is a gift. And faith is receiving that gift gladly. There is another  approach by which you can waste nearly your whole life on being miserable. And that is, the  grass is greener on the other side of the fence approach to life, where you're always looking  at what somebody else has. And if you could have that you would be happy. Or you're looking  to your own future. And you say, Well, I can't be happy. Yes, but if I had items A, B, and C, why then I would be happy. Now, that old proverb the grass is always greener on the other side of  the fence. Do you want to know why that is? Why is the grass always greener on the other  side of the fence? If you're a cow on this side of the fence, and you wish you could get out of  your own nice pasture to get into that one that's even greener. Here's a newsflash, the grass  on the other side of the fence is artificial turf. That's why it's so green. And if you ever did get  in there, you just find yourself chewing on plastic and getting a bellyache. The grass on the  other side of the fence isn't real, it's fake. It's not where you're at. You can't go through life  saying, Oh, if only if you're young, sometimes you're looking ahead. And it's always that next  thing that would make you happy if you could get it. You know, I'm seven years old. But if I  was a grown up and could do whatever I want, then I would be happy. But right now I got  mom and dad telling me what to do. If I could only be a star on such and such a team, then I 

would be happy. But until then, I'm going to be looking towards that and maybe be happy  some day. Yes, I could complete my school and be done with studies forever. Oh, would life be joy and bliss. But meanwhile, of course, I can't be happy yet. Because, hey,I've got to study  again tomorrow. I can't be happy now when I'm single. But if I could just meet the right  person, oh, life would truly be fulfilling then. And if I could marry the right person, then I'm  ready to be happy. But happiness is a single up No can do. Yeah, I'm here in the middle of  college. And once I'm done, you know, once I'm done being busy, then I'll be ready to be  happy again. And if I get my first job, and it's the right kind of job, then that green grass will  last be in my mouth and tastes so good. And then you'll get there. And you'll think boy, I used to think happiness was being married. Oh, would it be nice to be single again? Oh, I got that  job that I wanted. Man. Was it nice when I was in school and not have to worry about going to  work every day. And so you turn a corner, just been part of your life. Look into the future for  that moment when at last you're going to be happy. And then after you turn that corner, you  spend the rest of your life looking backward on that life when you were so happy back then.  Yeah, right. You know, Ecclesiastes says, Don't say, the old days were better than these. So  you can spend your whole life wishing for a future that hasn't yet arrived and then the rest of  your life wishing for a past that isn't coming back again. That's really right. Life is a gift. And  every season of life is a gift and every moment of life is a gift. And so receive it as such,  receive it gladly and enjoy it and make the most of it. Be positive, be realistic, be free, be  accountable. Those are four basics about receiving life as a gift that we find here in  Ecclesiastes. Light is sweet and it pleases the eyes to see the sun. However many years a  man may live let him enjoy them all. Be positive. When the sun shines enjoy the feeling of  that sun on your skin. When you have the opportunity to have fun. Enjoy it to the max light is  sweet it pleases the eyes to see the sun it might not last. But while you've got it, enjoy it. And then be realistic. Remember the days of darkness for they will be many everything but Tom is  meaningless. Again, as I mentioned before, meaningless is not always the best translation.  Literally, it's just vapor. It's vapor, it's here, and then it's gone. And that's the way those good  seasons those happy seasons of life are, they're here. And then they're not. And you can  spend the time when they're here, thinking oh, no, but they're going to be gone. Yeah, they  are going to be gone. But you might as well enjoy it while you got it. Okay, enjoy it while you  have it. And don't hold on to it too tightly. You can say, Oh, I always wish every day was my  birthday. Oh, if only every day was Christmas, until you ruined your whole Christmas Day,  wishing all the other days were that. No, enjoy Christmas while it's there. And then comes the  day after Christmas. Enjoy your birthday, and all those presents, and then realize next week,  I'm not gonna be the big cheese. Not everyone's gonna be looking and singing for me and  giving me presents. But today's my birthday, I'm going to enjoy it. So when you're going  through life, as you can say life is a vapor, there are these things that we get to enjoy for a  season, then they're gone. So enjoy them while you have them. And be realistic about the  fact that they won't last forever. And be free. Be happy young man while you're young. And  let your heart give you joy in the days of your youth follow the ways of your heart. And  whatever your eyes see, this is such a vital aspect of making the most of life and of receiving  it as a gift from God. Be happy while you're young and follow the ways of your heart, the ways of your heart who God designed you to be. And there will be the people looking down their  noses and with over their spectacles and deciding what you must do, and putting pressure on  you to do this and that. And then there'll be the knuckleheads in your life or who are wanting  you to go to parties that you don't even want to go to, but you go there because the  knuckleheads are doing it. There's a lot of different ways that what you really want in your  own heart gets pressured out of you. And you can spend a good deal of your years trying to  do what other people are trying to get you to do. And as I said, that may be the people in your life who are pressuring you to be prim and proper and well behaved and never do anything  they wouldn't do and so forth. Or it may be the party animals who are trying to get you to  mess up as badly as they've messed up. Follow the ways in your heart, do the things that you  were designed to do. And that makes you happy. Because you can't spend your whole life  trying to please somebody else. I'm not saying to be a selfish pig. And we'll get to a little bit  more of that in the next principle. But just remember the old cartoon of a little boy, looking at 

a parent who says Mom, I'm not an underachiever, you're an over expecter. Now, you can feel your whole life like an underachiever. If there are people putting certain amounts of pressure  on you. Follow the way of your heart, let your heart give you joy in the days of your youth.  And then, as always, with the words of Ecclesiastes, there's balance but know that for all  these things, God will bring you into judgment you are going to answer someday. And that's  bad news. And it's good news. I guess, in a sense, it's bad news if you don't want to have to  answer to anybody. But it's good news that there's only one that you have to answer to.  Because you don't have to answer to everybody else who's trying to tell you who you are, or  what you must do, or what you must be. The apostle Paul wrote, I don't let anybody judge me. I don't even judge myself. He says because, you know, although my conscience is clear, just  because I judge myself and take them, okay, that would make me okay. So I don't let other  people judge me. I don't even spend much time looking at my own navel and judging myself,  I, I let God be my judge. Know that for these things. God brings you to judgment. So the  question to ask about anything is what what does God think of it? Not? What is so and so  think of it, because that will cloud your judgment very badly. Follow the way of your heart but  a heart that is aware of God and seeking to be in tune with him. So then banish anxiety from  your heart, cast off the troubles of your body, for youth and vigor are meaningless. So life is  this gift that God gives you. Those good times are like vapor, they'll be here for a bit and then  there'll be gone. But enjoy them while you can be positive. Be realistic about the fact that  they pass. Be free. Follow your heart in your heart. Sometimes when the Bible says guard  your heart for out of it comes all of life. We think oh, that means that's because the heart is  always bad and terrible and we've got to stifle it. But t he Bible says that if you're born again  by the Holy Spirit of God, you have a good and noble heart, and out of a good heart, good  things come. So there is such a thing as having a transformed heart that God gives you and  then guarding it. And then following the ways of that heart with joy and with enthusiasm and  with excitement and knowing that the life God gives you is a gift, a free gift of blessing, and  receiving that gift, gladly, and of course supremely eternal life is a gift, not an achievement.  And that is one gift that you don't have to in a sense, be realistic about the fact that it's going  to go away, because it's not it lasts forever. It's a gift you can receive, and that can never be  taken away again. So, faith is receiving. And so much of life is spent trying to get get get get  when instead of going for that artificial turf, on the other side of the fence, enjoy the green  pastures, that God has put you in the places where he restores your soul, and your heart. And then thirdly, life is not only an adventure, and a gift, but life is a relationship that comes  through very clearly in those first words of Ecclesiastes 12, remember, your Creator in the  days of your youth, God created you for relationship with Himself. God created you, to be  loved, and to love and to walk through life and companionship with him. And to enjoy him  every step of the way. And to relate to him. So much of Ecclesiastes is about the frustration of life under the sun, where God is a factor, but not a friend or a father. And you do not want  God just as a factor. But as a friend and as a father, one whom you walk with one whom you  remember, and remember does not mean Oh, yeah, I think there is some being called God  that is not remembering your Creator, remembering is focusing on your Creator, and relating  to him, not just the fact that he's out there somewhere. So life is a relationship. And faith is  walking with God and enjoying life with God and realizing that this adventure is one you're not on alone. You're doing it with him. This gift is not just something that came out of nowhere, it  came from the giver of every good and perfect gift to the Father of life. And he has sent His  Son to be reconciled to us what's reconciled means it just means he wants to bring us back  into relationship with him again, that we could enjoy His love and love him in response, life is  a relationship. And faith is walking with the one who made you and redeemed you through  Jesus Christ. And that relationship is such that the sooner it begins, the better remember your Creator in the days your youth remember him while you're young and healthy, because you're not going to be young and healthy forever. And it's in many respects easier to see that life is a good gift and an enjoyable one. While you're young and in great health and having lots of  positive experiences than when you're old and struggling with some of the hardships that  come from aging. Remember your Creator in the days of your youth before the days of trouble come and the years approach when you will say I find no pleasure in them. Again, I turned to 

one of the great theologians to explain this. To Dr. Seuss. “You're only old once” a book for  obsolete children. One of the last books he wrote he wrote it at age 82 one day you will read  in the National Geographic of a faraway land with no smelly bad traffic in those green  pastured mountains of father fuzzy everybody feels fine at 103 because the air that they  breathe is potassium free. And because they do not from the top tree this gives strength to  their teeth. It gives links to their hair, and they live without doctors with Nary a care. And you  will find yourself wishing that you were out there in fata fuzzy and not here in this chair in the  golden years clinic on century square for spleen readjustment in muffler repair. So you're  reading in the National Geographic about this fabulous land where even not their oldest  people are as healthy as can be. And you're sitting there reading National Geographic in the  doctor's office or in the medical clinic waiting for a checkup. Well, just Why are you here,  you're not feeling your best. You've come in for an eye sight and solvency test the eye test is  Have you any idea how much money these tests are costing you. That's your eyesight and  your solvency test whether you've got enough money to deal with this. And then of course  there's the questionnaires. The quiz Doc's will catch you they'll start questionnaire and they'll  ask you point blank how your parts are all faring and your grandfather's parts and please try  to recall if your grandma hurt most in the spring or the fall and then Dr. Seuss goes on with a  long list of all the people they're going to ask you about and all their various woes and health  problems. Your escape plans have melted you haven't a chance for the next thing you know,  both your socks and your pants and your drawers and your shoes have been lost for the day.  The oglers have blossomed like roses in May and silently grimly they Oh go away. It's not the  most dignified thing with when the doctors are giving you a real thorough checkup. And they  get various tasks and he goes in I won't even give them all they test you with noises from  foreign from near and you get a black mark for the ones you can't hear. Then they'll say My  dear fellow you're deaf or the most but there's hope because you're not quite as deaf as a  post. Then it's on to the next room. You must see Dr. Pollen on our allergy whiz who knows  every sniffling itch that there is Dr. Pollen will find as he works on your case. If the face  powder is wrong and your stepsisters face and then gives all kinds of other stuff that you  couldn't be allergic to and Dr. Pollen will find those out too. Then you go to the dietitian  dietitian but hyphal controls the watch whisperer our diet, devising computerized sniffer on  which you just simply lie down and repose and sniff that good food as it goes past your nose  and he lists a bunch of those foods. And when that guy finds out what you like you can bet it  won't be on your diet from here on Forget it. For your pill drill you go to room 663 word voice  will instruct you repeat after me. This small white pill is what I munch at breakfast and right  after lunch I take the pill that's kelly green before each meal and in between these loganberry colored pills I take for early morning chills I take the pill the zebra stripes during my early  evening gripes these orange tinted ones of course, I take the took care of my charley horse to take three blues at half past eight to slow my exhalation rate and alternate Nights at 9pm I  swallow pinkies for them. The Reds which make my eyebrows strong. I like popcorn all day  long. The speckled browns are what I keep up right beside my bed to help me sleep this long  flat one is what I take If I should die before I wake. So those of you who are in your senior  years or have parents or friends who are you know how the lineup of pills on the counter gets  longer and longer. And it takes a genius just to know which one to take when anyway, that's  what happens. When at last we are sure you've been properly pilled then a few paper forms  must be properly filled so that you and your errors may be properly billed. And he has a  picture of a very long conveyor belt with 1000s of forms to sign. And then when that's all over and you'll know once your neck ties back under your chin, you're in pretty good shape for the  shape you're in. Well, Dr. Seuss always has a little bit of fun with everything, including even  the troubles of old age but Ecclesiastes 12 also has a Hebrew poem on aging. Remember your Creator in the days of your youth, before the days of trouble come and the years approach  when you will say I find no pleasure in them before the sun and the light and the moon and  the stars grow dark. And the clouds return after the rain. Things are going dark you can't quite see the way you used to. You may have to have cataract surgery, you may need bifocals, or  trifocals. The clouds return after the rain you go to one friend's funeral or one family  member's funeral and it seems like not too long later, you're at another one. And it's a hard 

thing when you're losing many of your friends and dear ones. When the keepers of the house  tremble. Your hands are shaking more and more. And the strong men stoop your shoulders  and your back which was once straight and strong begins to go like this as you get older and  older and you just You're the strong man who could want to do such immense feats of  strength or stooping now, the grinders cease because they are few Your teeth are in trouble  and you may need dentures. Those looking through the windows go down again a picture of  your eyes. When the doors to the street are closed and the sound of grinding fades. You just  can't hear things the way you're used to. When men rise up the sound of birds can't hear  anymore, but somehow you still hear that little bird early in the morning and wake up and  can't get back to sleep again. All their songs grow faint when men are afraid of heights and of  dangers in the streets. It used to be brave and bold and do all kinds of stuff. Now you go very  carefully through life shuffling so that you don't fall down. Very cautious. The almond tree  blossoms you get white all over on top. The drought as the grasshopper drags himself along  and desire is no longer stirred the appetites that you once had whether for food or for the  opposite sex or whatever seems to be getting dimmer and then man goes to his eternal home and mourners go about the streets. Remember your Creator before all that happens? Because it will happen you You're either going to get old and die, or you're going to die young. Those  are your two options. Remember him before the silver cord is severed, or the Golden Bowl is  broken, before the pitcher is shattered at the spring or the wheel broken at the well, and the  dust returns to the ground that came from. And the spirit returns to God who gave it. The  vapor vapor says the teacher, everything is vapor. So you have this creator to remember. And you have a relationship that needs to start now in the days of your youth. And if you're not  young anymore, remember him now because you're not getting any younger. Those various  woes that come upon the body and old age and the things that you can't enjoy the way you  used to. Do you think it's good? If you're young? Do you think it's going to be easier to rejoice  in God and trust him? When you're at your friend's funerals? And when your own body is  getting creakier and struggling? No. It doesn't mean nobody has ever converted to God and  old age or learns to start living afresh for him and in relationship to him. But it does mean it's  harder. And so remember him as soon as you can. Now is the best time when you're young.  And as I said, if you're not young, you're not getting any younger. Now, if you are a little older, take heart I remember a man who used to work for our family on the ranch, he'd drive the  combine and tractor and do some other work. And he was old man. By the time he worked for us, he would just work part time in the summers because he was already retirement age. And  he would say how sad he was that he had not become a Christian until he was 62 years old.  Because he had wasted most of his life without the Lord. Well, when I was the pallbearer at  his funeral, he was 103. So he did have a little more life left here on this earth yet than he  thought he had when he came to the Lord so late in life. So you know when you're 62, and  you might be a relative youth yet, you never know. But whatever it is, and whatever stage or  age you are, now is the time to remember your Creator, to enter into relationship with Him, to rejoice in him to take stock of your life and to say, Now is the time if I hadn't before, to rejoice  in life, and in the goodness that God has given me now's the time to take the risks he calls me to take now's the time to live in relationship with him. And I've mentioned from Dr. Seuss and  from Ecclesiastes, some of the indignities and difficulties of getting older. But that's not all the Bible has to say about it. It also has this to say in light of the gospel of Christ, therefore we do  not lose heart, Though outwardly we're wasting away. Yeah, inwardly we're being renewed  day by day for our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us and eternal glory that  far outweighs them all. We know that if the earthly tent we live in is destroyed, we have a  building from God and eternal house in heaven, not built by human hands. And that new  house in heaven and a new body that God's in tears for us will not need muffler repair and  spleen readjustment. It is a perfect body that God gives us, and that will last forever because  it's exactly like Jesus resurrection body. And in the meantime, as this body grows weaker, the  spirit can grow stronger, because the spirit is held in the hands of God and the Spirit of Christ  Himself, is living and dwelling in us. That's how we can age gracefully, literally gracefully,  because we live by God's grace. Grace is the key to doing anything gracefully. Life is an  adventure, faith is risking boldly taking that adventure as your opportunity from God like 

Abraham, the father of believers, your call out of where you were to, you know, not where,  but you know who you're going with, and you're on that adventure with him and faith is  risking boldly because he has called you. Life is a gift. And faith is receiving it gladly, and  being positive and realistic, free and accountable, but ultimately realizing that no, the wages  of sin is death, the free gift of God is eternal life, the free gift of God, all these other little  goodies and gifts he sends us are meant to whet our appetite for the free gift of eternal life  for life abundant and unending. And life them is not just a adventure and a gift but it is indeed a relationship of talking to God listening to him. That's why we emphasize Bible reading and  prayer not so you got one more thing you got to do, and that somebody else can judge you  for not doing but rather because life is a relationship and you want to hear from God each  day. You want to talk with him each day. You want to remember your creator, you want to lift  your heart to things above where Christ is seated at the right hand of God and relate to him  and all of that, just remember that now is the best time not later. Not when things are getting  harder. If you're at that point, you're like, well, that's better late than never. But now is really  the best time. I know for some young people, and maybe even for some older ones, the  adventure is not one day want to do if they're not sure. But you can't wait until all risk is  gone. For some, even following the Lord in the first place has got to wait. Because there's  questions you have about the Bible. You got to figure all those out. There are things you're not quite sure about, you got to get all that straightened out. And then someday, when all your  questions about the Bible are gone. And when all those difficulties and doubts that you might  have have been banished, then you'll be about ready to get around to that adventure of faith. Well, now, that's not quite how it works. If you don't risk failure, you guarantee it. Life is an  adventure and faith is risking boldly. Now. Maybe one way of picturing it is if you're on the  second or third story of a burning building. And there are some fire personnel down below.  And they've got one of these big nets for you to jump into or a sort of trampoline that they  prepare there. And they say you got to jump. And you say, well, you're blinded by smoke up  where you are, and you can't see them very well. You can't see what's going on. And they're  telling you to jump. You said, Well, I can't see you. They might yell back, but we can see you.  And we've got it right where you need it. Now jump. Your own difficulties are kind of like that  smoke in your eyes. And you can wait until you see I'm not going to jump until the smoke  clears up. I'll wait till I can see perfectly clearly what's down there. Well, if you wait until then  you will perish in a burning building because you are waiting for something that's not going to happen. When you jump you will find out that they were right all along. They had it in the  exact proper location, and in trusting and risking you save your life. One of the famous  Christian authors who writes about this is Pascal and Pascal has this famous wager, where he  says, Now this God is real and the Savior is real and you wager on him. You win everything.  And if you wager, then he turned out not to have been real, what would you have lost? That  you didn't lose anyway. means that's not the whole gospel. But it is a way to think about  these things and say, well, he's no fool, who gives up what he cannot keep, to gain what he  cannot lose. I'm not going to wait till my eyes are absolutely clear and all risk has been  removed, I am going to cast my lot with the Lord Jesus Christ, and risked my life on him. Life  is a gift faith is receiving it gladly. And the sooner you realize that you don't have to live for all the other judges in your life and all the other pressures in their life in your life and that you  live with God as the giver. And as the one you're seeking to please, your life is going to be a  lot more joyful and life is a relationship. I remember when I was an intern pastor, I've  mentioned this to you before there was a lady in our church, very wealthy, her husband was  one of the richest car dealers in that particular area of Canada. And she had everything that  money could buy. And then she got cancer. And she was going to the treatments and those  treatments were very hard. Even if you're not old, you'll get old age in a hurry from the kinds  of treatments that they devised for cancer. And so she's going through all of that. And she  says to her pastor, not me, but the senior pastor of that church. I don't feel like I have  anything to live for. And he said, You're right. You don't even live into the wrong thing your  whole life. That was real sweet. But he knew her well. And he was telling her the truth. And  she was a church going lady, I think even I think she was a real Christian even. But she may  live in for a lot of other stuff. And he told it to her straight. And the last year of her life was the

most joyful year of her life because it was at last when she was close to God. And when she  knew what her life was really about the whole time. Make the most of life. Now pr never I  remember camping as a young boy and you know we we want to sleep outside under the  stars. Because real men do not wimp out and sleep in tents. So we slept outside under the  stars near the campfire. And when they woke up early in the morning, I glanced over at my  friend and I noticed the fire was pretty low, and a little bit of smoke coming from it. But I also  thought I saw some smoke coming from his sleeping bag. So I said the Cal is your sleeping  bag on fire. It's anything when I'm sleeping. I said, Cal, I think you're sleeping bags on fire.  And he said, I know. You're sleeping bags on fire. And he shot out of that thing. And he  dragged it down to the creek and put out the fire and he was totally unheard least until he got home and showed it to his parents. But we can hear the message of the Lord, remember your  Creator in the days of your use. You've got to walk with Him now life is walking with him. And  all right, no, no. Remember your Creator in the days of your youth before the evil days calm  and you say I have no pleasure and then walk with him now. Live for him now receive His gift.  Now, not later. Now. Dear Lord we pray that you will indeed guide us by your spirit that we  may make the most of the life you have given us. We thank you Lord Jesus for your promise  that whatever we give up in this life for your sake, we will receive back already in this life,  multiplied many times and in the age to come eternal life. So, Lord, help us to receive from  you as your great gift to the life that really is life. To hear your call to enjoy the adventure of  living for you and serving you, seeking first the Kingdom of God and your righteousness and  help us Lord to rejoice in you each day as we are yours and you are ours in an eternal  relationship of love. We pray in Jesus name, Amen.