To Remember Them By
Ecclesiastes 12:1-7
1 Remember now thy Creator in the days of thy youth, while the evil days come not, nor the years draw nigh, when thou shalt say, I have no pleasure in them;
2 While the sun, or the light, or the moon, or the stars, be not darkened, nor the clouds return after the rain:
3 In the day when the keepers of the house shall tremble, and the strong men shall bow themselves, and the grinders cease because they are few, and those that look out of the windows be darkened, {the grinders...: or, the grinders fail, because they grind little}
4 And the doors shall be shut in the streets, when the sound of the grinding is low, and he shall rise up at the voice of the bird, and all the daughters of musick shall be brought low;
5 Also when they shall be afraid of that which is high, and fears shall be in the way, and the almond tree shall flourish, and the grasshopper shall be a burden, and desire shall fail: because man goeth to his long home, and the mourners go about the streets:
6 Or ever the silver cord be loosed, or the golden bowl be broken, or the pitcher be broken at the fountain, or the wheel broken at the cistern.
7 Then shall the dust return to the earth as it was: and the spirit shall return unto God who gave it.
I have entitled this today: “To Remember Them By”
Proverbs 22:6 tells me that I am to Train up a child in the way he should go: and when he is old, he will not depart from it.
How can one be expected to remember our Creator in the days of our youth if they have not been trained up to know?
There are a lot of people, that when they were younger, they have heard and maybe even have known who God was, but somewhere down the line, they have taken their eyes off of the Master and they have fallen along the wayside.
When I was younger, I was made to go to Church. The older generation did not put up with the nonsense of letting things come before the things of God.
Young people, you need to know God is alive you need to know that God can still do things today just like He has done in days past.
Parents and Grandparents you have a responsibility to train your kids up in the fear of the Lord.
Pr 1:7 The fear of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge: but fools despise wisdom and instruction.
If you want your young people to have knowledge, teach them to fear the Lord.
The problem with a lot of parents is they don’t fear the Lord themselves.
When we are young, life appears bright. If there is rain, then sunshine quickly follows.
It is not so with old age. Clouds seem to return after the rain, the mind loses it’s power of recovery and cheerfulness.
Whether we like this or not, we are all going to get older and die unless the Rapture of the church takes place first.
When I remember the God of my youth, I thank God that I had someone in my life who was going to be willing to pay the price, someone who was willing to lay down the Law of the Lord.
Whether Minnie and Junior know it or not, they taught me to fear the Lord.
How many know that we are going to face God and the books will be opened?
Re 20:12 And I saw the dead, small and great, stand before God; and the books were opened: and another book was opened, which is the book of life: and the dead were judged out of those things which were written in the books, according to their works.
When we die, we will stand before God and the books will be opened: and the dead were judged out of those things which were written in the books, according to their works.
What kind of works are you doing?
What kind of faith are we installing in our young people?
When I face God, I want God to look at me and tell me that I have done a great job.
I would be nervous if I knew that what I had been doing was wrong or that the Holy Spirit had been convicting me of something and I did not listen.
Do I really fear God or am I just gong through the motions of acting like I do?
God knows what is on the inside of me, and whether I like it or not, He wants me to listen and apply His Word to my life.
Ecclesiastes 12:7
7 Then shall the dust return to the earth as it was: and the spirit shall return unto God who gave it.
The human body is made of dust and goes back to dust at death, but the human Spirit then becomes the property of God.
If it is redeemed, then it will go to Heaven.
I have entitled this today: “To Remember Them By”
Here is the reason why:
I dreamed that we were at my stepmother’s coffin. I remember how beautiful she looked and how peaceful she seemed. I wanted everyone to get a look at her. I went and got a camera and I took her picture to remember her by. I knew that she was in Heaven. I gave everyone a chance to see her.
Interpretation
It seems lately that death seems to be my theme for dreams.
My stepmother accepted Jesus one day before she had a massive stroke.
Donna, before this, went to a small country Baptist Church when she was younger.
She knew the Creator in the days of her youth.
As I looked at the coffin, I saw how beautiful she was, and how peaceful she seemed.
I wanted everyone to get a look at her.
I went and got a camera. I took her picture to remember her by. I knew she was in Heaven. I gave everyone a chance to see her.
Susan and I were the ones who led her to Christ, so in a sense that is why I took the picture to remember her by.
I wasn’t going to use this today, but I changed my mind.
Dream 1-18-09
I dreamed that we, the family, were at Dad’s casket. A stranger had put a red gift, charm-like stone over the inside of the casket. I knew that the gift was going with him. I was hurting. I knew that I should know the stranger. We were now getting ready to say goodbye when I looked at the stranger, and I realized that the stranger was not a stranger, but Jesus and He had given dad the gift of eternal life.
The interpretation is self explanatory, Jesus gave Dad eternal life.
We are saved by grace, but again it was because the family prayed and did not give up on Dad.
Re 20:12 And I saw the dead, small and great, stand before God; and the books were opened: and another book was opened, which is the book of life: and the dead were judged out of those things which were written in the books, according to their works.
Another great book was opened, which is the book of life.
God might go over Dad’s life with him, but the good news is he has eternal life.
Ecclesiastes 12:13-14
13 Let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter: Fear God, and keep his commandments: for this is the whole duty of man. {Let...: or, The end of the matter, even all that hath been heard, is}
14 For God shall bring every work into judgment, with every secret thing, whether it be good, or whether it be evil.
Let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter: Fear God, and keep his commandments: for this is the whole duty of man.
We need to fear God and do what His Word says to do.
God shall bring every work into judgment, with every secret thing, whether it be good, or whether it be evil.
We need to remember what we have been taught and get back to the basis of our faith.
Fear God and keep His word!
Deuteronomy 29:29
29 The secret things belong unto the LORD our God: but those things which are revealed belong unto us and to our children for ever, that we may do all the words of this law.
Are we training up the generation to come that God is still on the Throne?
Are we training up the generation to come that the prayers of righteous people availeth much?
Are we training the generation coming up that what God reveals belongs to us and our children as long as we do what Jesus says to do?
Sometimes I think we think like Gideon thought.
Jg 6:13 And Gideon said unto him, Oh my Lord, if the LORD be with us, why then is all this befallen us? and where be all his miracles which our fathers told us of, saying, Did not the LORD bring us up from Egypt? but now the LORD hath forsaken us, and delivered us into the hands of the Midianites.
Where be all His miracles which our fathers told us of?
Can I ask you a question this morning? Where is your faith?
Where is your obedience to the Word?
Ro 10:17 So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.
How can our young people hear from us when we are not hearing ourselves?
Where be all the Miracles that we have heard of?
I have entitled this today: “To Remember Them By”
I remember the Word that they accepted at the end and the Word that the Lord gave me about both of them.
Ecclesiastes 12:13-14
13 Let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter: Fear God, and keep his commandments: for this is the whole duty of man. {Let...: or, The end of the matter, even all that hath been heard, is}
14 For God shall bring every work into judgment, with every secret thing, whether it be good, or whether it be evil.
Let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter: Fear God, and keep his commandments: for this is the whole duty of man.
We need to fear God and do what His Word says to do.
God shall bring every work into judgment, with every secret thing, whether it be good, or whether it be evil.
We need to remember what we have been taught and get back to the basis of our faith.
Fear God and keep His word!
Closing
Acts 2:14-17
14 But Peter, standing up with the eleven, lifted up his voice, and said unto them, Ye men of Judaea, and all ye that dwell at Jerusalem, be this known unto you, and hearken to my words:
15 For these are not drunken, as ye suppose, seeing it is but the third hour of the day.
16 But this is that which was spoken by the prophet Joel;
17 And it shall come to pass in the last days, saith God, I will pour out of my Spirit upon all flesh: and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, and your young men shall see visions, and your old men shall dream dreams:
We, as Pentecostals know the first 4 verses well, but this is that which was spoken by the Prophet Joel.
To Remember Them By
If you are interested in seeing some God given dreams given to me and others in our church go to:
http://www.ourchurch.com/member/w/windoffaithdrea/
Go to the new text page for the God given dreams.
