WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:11.540 So if you have a Bible, perhaps you can turn with me to the book of Ecclesiastes, 00:00:12.339 --> 00:00:19.600 chapter 11. It's on page 678 of the church Bibles. We've got two more weeks in the book 00:00:19.600 --> 00:00:24.199 of Ecclesiastes, and then we're going to think together for a number of weeks about the really 00:00:24.199 --> 00:00:32.140 important topic of Christian identity. So that's beginning the 17th of September. But here we are 00:00:32.140 --> 00:00:39.539 in God's Word in Ecclesiastes 11 from verse 7 into chapter 12. So let's hear God's Word together. 00:00:41.019 --> 00:00:48.159 Light is sweet, and it pleases the eyes to see the sun. However many years anyone may live, 00:00:48.159 --> 00:00:53.439 let them enjoy them all, but let them remember the days of darkness, for there will be many. 00:00:54.200 --> 00:01:00.080 Everything to come is meaningless. You who are young, be happy while you are young, 00:01:00.540 --> 00:01:05.680 and let your heart give you joy in the days of your youth. Follow the ways of your heart, 00:01:05.939 --> 00:01:12.120 and whatever your eyes see, but know that for all these things God will bring you into judgment. 00:01:12.300 --> 00:01:18.920 So then, banish anxiety from your heart, and cast off the troubles of your body, 00:01:18.920 --> 00:01:27.099 for youth and vigor are meaningless. Remember your Creator in the days of your youth, before the days 00:01:27.099 --> 00:01:33.240 of trouble come, and the years approach when you will say, I find no pleasure in them. Before the sun, 00:01:33.299 --> 00:01:38.719 and the light, and the moon, and the stars grow dark, and the clouds return after the rain. When the 00:01:38.719 --> 00:01:45.180 keepers of the house tremble, and the strong men stoop. When the grinders cease because they are few, 00:01:45.180 --> 00:01:51.240 and those looking through the windows grow dim. When the doors to the street are closed, and the sound 00:01:51.240 --> 00:01:58.040 of grinding fades. When people rise up at the sound of birds, but all their songs grow faint. When people 00:01:58.040 --> 00:02:03.960 are afraid of heights, and of dangers in the streets. When the almond tree blossoms, and the grasshopper 00:02:03.960 --> 00:02:10.659 drags itself along, and desire no longer is stirred. Then people go to their eternal home, 00:02:10.659 --> 00:02:18.859 and mourners go about the streets. Remember him. Before the silver cord is severed, and the golden 00:02:18.859 --> 00:02:25.560 bowl is broken. Before the pitcher is shattered at the spring, and the wheel broken at the well, 00:02:25.800 --> 00:02:32.099 and the dust returns to the ground it came from, and the Spirit returns to God who gave it. 00:02:32.900 --> 00:02:39.120 Meaningless, meaningless, says the teacher. Everything is meaningless. Amen. 00:02:39.120 --> 00:02:50.819 Okay, so this evening, remember your Creator, and rejoice. That's our theme for today. This is wisdom, 00:02:50.960 --> 00:02:57.099 the preacher says, for young people. In a sense, it's quite like the book of Proverbs. Wise advice 00:02:57.099 --> 00:03:06.939 to a young son. So who is it for? It can always be a tricky one, can't it? Who counts as young? Well, 00:03:06.939 --> 00:03:10.639 what I'm going to do, I'm going to be really generous. No, I'm not going to be generous, 00:03:10.699 --> 00:03:16.340 but I'm going to take the widest view possible. Because here it seems like you can consider 00:03:16.340 --> 00:03:23.439 yourself young if you don't yet experience all the troubles that come with old age. 00:03:24.360 --> 00:03:29.560 So if you haven't been called young for a while, you're welcome. You can be in this bracket at least 00:03:29.560 --> 00:03:36.140 for this evening. So we're going to find that for the young, and hopefully for all of us, 00:03:36.199 --> 00:03:44.259 there are these two pieces of advice. The first, remember your Creator. One of the great problems 00:03:44.259 --> 00:03:50.960 that you find as you go through the Old Testament is that Israel would keep forgetting their God, 00:03:50.960 --> 00:03:56.580 the God who saved them, the God who had saved them for relationship. They would keep forgetting, 00:03:56.580 --> 00:04:02.540 especially when they were settled in the land, when things were going well. That would be the time 00:04:02.540 --> 00:04:11.380 when they would typically forget their God. Maybe we too can find it easy to forget God as we go 00:04:11.380 --> 00:04:19.540 through life. We miss all the goodness, all the everyday good gifts that He gives. And so we're 00:04:19.540 --> 00:04:27.920 encouraged to remember our Creator. But more than that, we're also encouraged to rejoice. And we've 00:04:27.920 --> 00:04:35.600 heard this again and again in the book of Ecclesiastes. We are called to enjoy each day, to live in this 00:04:35.600 --> 00:04:44.860 good world that has been created by a good God. In the midst of all the kind of hard reality of the book 00:04:44.860 --> 00:04:53.259 Ecclesiastes, the preacher never loses this sense of joy. It really chimes with our hearts. In the 00:04:53.259 --> 00:05:00.400 midst of all the troubles that we find, we still want, we still look for, and by God's grace, we still 00:05:00.400 --> 00:05:08.300 know joy and happiness. And our preacher is going to say to us, rejoice. And as we remember our Creator, 00:05:08.300 --> 00:05:16.540 we'll understand that we know true and full joy when we know and enjoy the God who made us. 00:05:17.280 --> 00:05:24.639 It's very simple this evening. Wisdom for the youth. First advice, verses 7 and 8, rejoice 00:05:24.639 --> 00:05:34.639 in the goodness of life. Chapter 11, verse 7, light is sweet, and it pleases the eyes to see the sun. 00:05:34.639 --> 00:05:43.019 However many years anyone may live, let them enjoy them all. Live like an Australian magpie. 00:05:44.000 --> 00:05:48.500 I'm telling you that because I discovered my favorite fact of this week by the Australian 00:05:48.500 --> 00:05:54.459 magpie, my favorite fact about anything. You will find if you go to Australia, these magpies are a bit 00:05:54.459 --> 00:05:59.740 more aggressive than our magpies. But the one thing that they do that's really helpful for our purpose 00:05:59.740 --> 00:06:07.939 is that as the sun comes up, you will find them clustering together in little flocks to make a 00:06:07.939 --> 00:06:13.759 little choir. And so you'll find them for minutes singing together to welcome the sun. 00:06:15.100 --> 00:06:21.840 We should live like an Australian magpie. It's what the preacher is saying to us. We should enjoy 00:06:21.839 --> 00:06:32.379 the fact that we have life every day. We should allow a sense of wonder to enter in from the 00:06:32.379 --> 00:06:40.000 beginning of the day. So whether we are the sunrise people or not, whether we are the sit down and enjoy 00:06:40.000 --> 00:06:46.719 a wonderful breakfast people, whether we're the morning exercise people, we should recognize that 00:06:46.720 --> 00:06:53.320 there are so many gifts that come to us that should be enjoyed from the hand of our God. 00:06:55.280 --> 00:06:57.020 He says to us in verse 8, 00:06:58.620 --> 00:07:04.500 remember the days of darkness for there will be many. He says, remember you won't be young forever. 00:07:05.620 --> 00:07:11.000 And that's supposed to positively motivate to don't sit around wasting life today. 00:07:12.340 --> 00:07:16.580 It's really interesting that the preacher is going to keep going back to trouble, 00:07:16.720 --> 00:07:22.500 and ultimately to death. But he's not doing that to rain on our parade. He's not like, 00:07:22.760 --> 00:07:28.320 here's some joy and let me take it away from you. Rather, he's saying, be sure to live in the moment 00:07:28.320 --> 00:07:37.580 to pursue joy today while we have life. He says, there will be many days of darkness, 00:07:38.080 --> 00:07:46.060 and everything to come is meaningless or vanity. Life is short. And in this short life that we enjoy, 00:07:46.060 --> 00:07:53.339 we are to trust and to obey God, we are to enjoy His good gifts. Of course, all the while understanding 00:07:53.339 --> 00:08:03.980 that those gifts are not ultimate. In a sense, we can see Paul in the book of Acts chapter 17 saying 00:08:03.980 --> 00:08:09.680 something similar to the group that was gathered in Athens. He reminded them that there is a God who 00:08:09.680 --> 00:08:15.740 gives us all life, who gives us all life, who makes us who we are, gives us the situations and the 00:08:15.740 --> 00:08:23.400 opportunities that we find ourselves in. And in that setting, we all have our own individual life 00:08:23.400 --> 00:08:30.939 settings. We are called to enjoy God, to enjoy the particular gifts that we receive from Him. 00:08:30.939 --> 00:08:39.600 The poet Gerard Manley Hopkins said that the earth is charged with the grandeur of God. 00:08:40.220 --> 00:08:47.759 There is glory to be seen. We need to train our eyes to see it. We need to train ourselves to rejoice 00:08:47.759 --> 00:08:54.000 in it. So whether that's a good meal, whether that's a walk in the sunshine, whether that's enjoying 00:08:54.000 --> 00:09:00.159 sport or the design of a butterfly, there are so many gifts to enjoy. And if we allow them, 00:09:00.159 --> 00:09:09.980 each one of them can take us up to enjoy God, our Creator. So we are to rejoice in the goodness of 00:09:09.980 --> 00:09:17.199 life. But he's not done with rejoicing. The second piece of related advice in verses 9 and 10 00:09:17.199 --> 00:09:24.439 is that we are called to rejoice in the days of your youth. Hear the strength of this language, 00:09:24.439 --> 00:09:29.740 you who are young, be happy while you are young, and let your heart give you joy in the days of your 00:09:29.740 --> 00:09:37.919 youth. Follow the ways of your heart and whatever your eyes see. Some ways this corrects a wrong 00:09:37.919 --> 00:09:48.440 stereotype that people can have about God. God is a mean God. God is out to spoil our fun. To be a 00:09:48.440 --> 00:09:57.360 Christian will mean missing out on joy in life. Well, here the preacher reminds us God doesn't just care 00:09:57.360 --> 00:10:05.539 about our happiness. God positively commands us to find joy, to pursue joy, 00:10:05.539 --> 00:10:15.180 to enjoy youth. It may not seem like it, but this is the time when you will have the least 00:10:15.180 --> 00:10:20.740 responsibility you'll ever have. You have as much time to play as as much time you do to work. 00:10:20.740 --> 00:10:27.779 Your bodies are as fit and healthy as they're going to be. And so the preacher says, don't waste it. 00:10:28.539 --> 00:10:36.740 Follow your heart as it seeks for joy. But hear his note of caution. As you're pursuing joy, know that 00:10:36.740 --> 00:10:42.740 for all these things, God will bring you into judgment. What's he saying to us there? He's not 00:10:42.740 --> 00:10:50.279 saying, don't live for joy. He's saying, be careful to find joy in the right places. He introduces God's 00:10:50.279 --> 00:10:57.180 judgment as a reminder to us that there are harmful pleasures. There are things that our hearts can seek 00:10:57.180 --> 00:11:04.799 after. There are lifestyles that we can pursue that would not be good for us. Again, God is not aiming to 00:11:04.799 --> 00:11:16.899 kill joy here. Rather, he is sounding a loving warning. Like a loving parent will warn a child about the dangers of 00:11:16.899 --> 00:11:25.759 addiction. So there are people who live with the guilt that they have because of bad mistakes made while choosing 00:11:25.759 --> 00:11:36.179 the wrong joy. And so God wants to save us from that. And so he does say, pursue joy, but be wise in how we do it. 00:11:38.019 --> 00:11:40.259 Ultimately, choose our joy in our God. 00:11:43.539 --> 00:11:49.980 Remember our Creator. That's what the preacher says. God is Creator. And part of that means that he knows 00:11:49.980 --> 00:11:59.480 how our lives are meant to work. He is our designer. And so as we think about the joy that we are to 00:11:59.480 --> 00:12:05.539 pursue, we need to be looking to God's Word for wisdom. We need to be looking to God in prayer for help 00:12:05.539 --> 00:12:12.940 to make sure that we're finding joy in the right places in the right way. Because God has given us 00:12:12.940 --> 00:12:18.920 this world to enjoy. And he commands us to enjoy it. 00:12:20.740 --> 00:12:24.860 Strikes me that this is something that our world needs to hear. It's actually something that our church 00:12:24.860 --> 00:12:31.580 needs to hear. We need to hear the words of Jesus. I have come that you might have 00:12:31.580 --> 00:12:37.740 life to the full. I wonder, do we really deep down believe that? Sometimes when we hear all these 00:12:37.740 --> 00:12:43.100 other messages, we might feel that life with Jesus is a little bit less. 00:12:45.080 --> 00:12:53.860 Jesus spoke to his disciples, telling them that his desire was that your joy may be complete. 00:12:55.120 --> 00:13:03.899 Do we trust our Savior Jesus that following him is the path to true joy? So here is our Creator, 00:13:03.899 --> 00:13:14.559 and he is commanding us to joy. If you've ever given someone a present, and you've had that sense of 00:13:14.559 --> 00:13:21.240 disappointment when that present is put to one side and is never used, perhaps that gives us 00:13:21.240 --> 00:13:28.439 some way of thinking about how God feels. He wants us to enjoy this world as a gift, 00:13:28.440 --> 00:13:38.220 to live with that sense of wonder at his goodness, and especially to be thankful for the gift of his 00:13:38.220 --> 00:13:45.640 own Son, Jesus. He has given us salvation. He has given us eternal life. He has given us the way to 00:13:45.640 --> 00:13:54.300 know for all eternity communion, fellowship with our God. And so the preacher would say to us, 00:13:54.299 --> 00:14:02.500 if you have the New Testament, enjoy your youth with Jesus. Trust him today, live for him. This is never 00:14:02.500 --> 00:14:15.000 meaningless, to use the words of Ecclesiastes. Verse 10 says, so then, as you're pursuing joy, 00:14:15.000 --> 00:14:22.399 banish anxiety from your heart and cast off the troubles of your body. 00:14:24.299 --> 00:14:30.240 It's challenging. We live in a time when people have never had more comfort and wealth, 00:14:31.159 --> 00:14:37.519 but never had more struggles with anxiety. This instruction is so easy to say, 00:14:38.439 --> 00:14:49.620 you know, banish anxiety. It's really hard to do. But we're called to pursue joy and not give in to 00:14:49.620 --> 00:14:57.639 anxiety. It's why we read from the book of Philippians. We need to hear Jesus' reminder, 00:14:57.840 --> 00:15:01.899 do not worry, saying, what shall we eat or what shall we drink or what shall we wear? 00:15:02.860 --> 00:15:09.980 Seek first his kingdom and his righteousness. Do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry 00:15:09.980 --> 00:15:23.019 about itself. And so he's inviting us. Life is short. Youth is short. So enjoy life. Don't waste it. Enjoy 00:15:23.019 --> 00:15:34.700 life with God. Third piece of advice, remember your creator while you are young. Chapter 12, verse 1, 00:15:34.700 --> 00:15:41.800 remember your creator in the days of your youth before the days of trouble come and the years 00:15:41.800 --> 00:15:47.400 approach when you will say, I find no pleasure in them. Maybe one way to measure whether we're youth 00:15:47.400 --> 00:15:54.640 or not is when I talk about the British TV show, One Foot in the Grave. Yeah, that's a sure way to 00:15:54.640 --> 00:15:59.540 differentiate. Okay, then the main character in the TV show, One Foot in the Grave, was a man called 00:15:59.539 --> 00:16:06.459 Victor Meldrew, classic, stereotypical, grumpy old man, irritated by everything and everyone, 00:16:07.079 --> 00:16:17.620 forgotten how to enjoy life, consumed by the troubles of old age. Our preacher says, yes, the troubles of 00:16:17.620 --> 00:16:28.099 old age will likely come, but don't just give in to bitterness and despair. Rather, before this, 00:16:28.100 --> 00:16:37.460 remember your creator. Remember who God is. He is our creator, full of goodness, gives us gifts. 00:16:38.080 --> 00:16:46.040 Remember who we are. We are creatures and life is short. Remember how we should live before our 00:16:46.040 --> 00:16:53.860 creator. And what's he called us to? He's called us to aim for joy, the joy found in knowing him. 00:16:53.860 --> 00:17:04.039 Hear his wisdom. Remember our creator. Whatever age we are, that we would be thinking about our God 00:17:04.039 --> 00:17:12.099 each and every day. That we'd be talking to him each and every day in prayer. That we'd be 00:17:12.099 --> 00:17:19.480 worshiping him and saying thank you to him for all his kindness to us. That we would make him our number 00:17:19.480 --> 00:17:27.319 one priority. That we would live like God is watching. We'd live like God cares about our life 00:17:27.319 --> 00:17:38.140 because he is and he does. There's also that note of urgency. Remember your creator in the days of your 00:17:38.140 --> 00:17:46.039 youth before the days of trouble come. See, do it before it's too late, before the realities of pain and 00:17:46.039 --> 00:17:55.720 suffering and hardship can mean that's all that we can focus on. Choose to know and enjoy Jesus in the best 00:17:55.720 --> 00:18:06.819 years of your life, in your youth. And to help to drive home that sense of urgency, our preacher then uses 00:18:06.819 --> 00:18:13.099 two different pictures. Why should we choose to remember our creator in the days of our youth? 00:18:13.099 --> 00:18:22.199 Now, and in verse 2, there's the picture of a storm that comes. And in verses 3 to 5, there's the picture 00:18:22.199 --> 00:18:33.559 of a ruined house. And they're both intended to be a reflection on the reality of old age. Now, he's not 00:18:33.559 --> 00:18:41.139 trying to insult older people. But what he is doing, we've seen him do this before, he's encouraging us 00:18:41.140 --> 00:18:50.240 to live life backwards. Okay, so if we know this point is coming, how should I live wisely 00:18:50.240 --> 00:18:57.340 knowing that old age and death is coming? And again, if our preacher had the New Testament, 00:18:57.480 --> 00:19:05.900 he would say, wisdom chooses Jesus today. But let's look at these pictures of old age and its troubles. 00:19:05.900 --> 00:19:13.759 Because he says, first, it's like being caught in a storm. These days of trouble, it's like before the 00:19:13.759 --> 00:19:20.300 sun and the light and the moon and the stars grow dark and the clouds return after the rain. It's a 00:19:20.300 --> 00:19:31.100 picture of a storm. The storm of frequent illnesses. Maybe the storm of many losses. 00:19:31.099 --> 00:19:41.139 The storm of troubles that come, perhaps particularly in older age. I still remember, 00:19:41.259 --> 00:19:47.639 we used to live just a couple of doors down from my grandpa. And pension day used to be one of the 00:19:47.639 --> 00:19:53.299 highlights of the week because him and his cronies would go and collect their money and then they would 00:19:53.299 --> 00:20:00.940 go for a drink. Well, over the years, all my grandpa's friends died and he was left alone. 00:20:02.339 --> 00:20:10.639 This is reality, the storms and the troubles of life. Remember our Creator while we have time. 00:20:11.339 --> 00:20:22.299 And then in verses 3 to 5, he compares old age and aging bodies with a house that is beginning to 00:20:22.299 --> 00:20:28.899 fall apart. And again, what we need to do is we need to put ourselves into the mindset of 00:20:28.899 --> 00:20:36.819 somebody writing long, long before the NHS or any kind of health care. So, let's just have a quick look 00:20:36.819 --> 00:20:46.799 at these pictures and see if we recognize what's going on. So, in verse 3, he talks about when the 00:20:46.799 --> 00:20:57.879 keepers of the house tremble. And most likely, this is a reference to those strong arms of youth that 00:20:57.879 --> 00:21:09.440 perhaps worked hard. Now, they find themselves weak and trembling. When the strong men stoop, 00:21:10.240 --> 00:21:16.000 that's likely a reference to a person's legs. Again, worked hard, walked miles, 00:21:16.000 --> 00:21:27.019 but now bent and aching. When the grinders cease because they are few. It's a way of speaking about 00:21:27.019 --> 00:21:33.319 our teeth. And maybe you've known some of that already. We can have false teeth, but in those days, 00:21:33.759 --> 00:21:40.160 of course, decay would make your teeth fall out. And those looking through the windows grow dim. 00:21:40.160 --> 00:21:46.759 It's a reminder. It's a reminder. If we don't already have glasses, old age typically brings 00:21:46.759 --> 00:21:54.440 dim vision. We don't see things as well. When the doors to the street are closed and the sound of 00:21:54.440 --> 00:22:03.080 grinding fades is a reminder that our hearing typically fades as we get older and we miss a lot 00:22:03.079 --> 00:22:12.879 and we perhaps don't always realize it. Verse 4, when people rise up at the sound of birds, 00:22:13.439 --> 00:22:20.199 but all their songs grow faint. Maybe we recognize how difficult it can be as we get older to get a 00:22:20.199 --> 00:22:26.939 good night's sleep. We find that our sleep is much more fitful and the slightest noise can wake us up. 00:22:26.940 --> 00:22:38.460 Verse 5, when people are afraid of heights and of dangers in the streets. Old age can do that. Maybe 00:22:38.460 --> 00:22:45.500 people that once climbed mountains now climbing the stairs. It is a really tough proposition. 00:22:46.340 --> 00:22:51.039 Whereas before people would go through life without a care in the world, now there's any fall, 00:22:51.039 --> 00:23:02.379 any mishap could lead to terrible consequences. The imagery continues when the almond tree blossoms, 00:23:03.839 --> 00:23:13.940 when our hair begins to turn white as a sign of wisdom, and the grasshopper drags itself along. 00:23:13.940 --> 00:23:25.299 No longer as agile and as spry as we used to be. It's more hobbling than hopping. And desire no longer 00:23:25.299 --> 00:23:31.680 is stirred. Maybe the loss of appetite. Maybe the loss of interest in discovering new things in new 00:23:31.680 --> 00:23:39.160 places. Maybe the loss of joy. And then there's the reminder at the end, then people go to their 00:23:39.160 --> 00:23:45.779 eternal home and mourners. And mourners go about the streets. There is that sense of here is a person 00:23:45.779 --> 00:23:53.880 who is living with one foot in the grave. Now again, why is the preacher painting this picture for us? 00:23:54.620 --> 00:24:05.860 He's encouraging us to remember our Creator today. To be right with God today. To use our time wisely 00:24:05.859 --> 00:24:15.179 today. And that advice becomes even more pressing as we get to his fourth piece of advice. Remember 00:24:15.179 --> 00:24:23.319 your Creator. Because death is coming. The book of Ecclesiastes is never far away from the reality of 00:24:23.319 --> 00:24:30.000 death. Remember he's speaking to the young? When you're young, it's easy to imagine that we'll live 00:24:30.000 --> 00:24:39.640 forever. Growing old seems a million miles away. Death seems even further. I had a conversation with 00:24:39.640 --> 00:24:45.279 a man who was cutting a hedge this week. He was cutting the local Bowling Green hedge. I was walking 00:24:45.279 --> 00:24:50.079 past it again today. Did a very fine job. Must have been about 15 meters long, this hedge. I was chatting 00:24:50.079 --> 00:24:57.480 to him. He was keen for a break. I was asking him how long it took him to cut this hedge. And he became 00:24:57.480 --> 00:25:02.039 somewhat nostalgic and wistful. He said, well, I used to. Back in the day, I used to do it really 00:25:02.039 --> 00:25:10.579 quickly. Now it seems to take forever. Where did life go? That's what our preacher is saying to us 00:25:10.579 --> 00:25:17.120 and reminding us of. And ultimately in verses 6 to 8, he's reminding us of the reality of death. 00:25:17.120 --> 00:25:26.360 But again, he's doing that not to make us miserable. He's doing that so that we will enjoy the gift of life 00:25:26.359 --> 00:25:37.479 while we have it. Because life will end one day. Verse 6, remember him before the silver cord is 00:25:37.479 --> 00:25:45.179 severed and the golden rule is broken. So picture a precious lamp hanging on a silver thread. If that 00:25:45.179 --> 00:25:54.679 thread breaks, the lamp falls and smashes. What happens? The light goes out. Before the picture is 00:25:54.680 --> 00:26:03.960 shattered at the spring and the wheel broken at the well. Picture a smashed jar that can't hold water. 00:26:04.740 --> 00:26:13.860 The life pours out. And the dust returns to the ground it came from. And the Spirit returns to God 00:26:13.860 --> 00:26:22.500 who gave it. Life is a gift, but we won't have it forever. One day the Spirit will return 00:26:22.500 --> 00:26:33.920 to the God who made us. So again, he says to us, your life is short. So remember your Creator and be 00:26:33.920 --> 00:26:44.099 ready. Are you and I ready for that day? Are we ready to meet with our God? How do we be ready? 00:26:44.099 --> 00:26:55.980 We get ready by trusting in Jesus as Lord and Savior today? Because Jesus is the one who guarantees for us 00:26:55.980 --> 00:27:06.299 eternal joy and eternal life beyond death because of his death and resurrection, and he gives real joy 00:27:06.299 --> 00:27:14.559 while we live. Because he comes to be present with us. So our preacher says to us, if you want to live 00:27:14.559 --> 00:27:22.339 well, you need to remember your Creator, the one who gives us every good thing, and the one who gave us 00:27:22.339 --> 00:27:29.319 Jesus as the way back to life with him. And we need to learn to rejoice in the good gift of life, 00:27:29.319 --> 00:27:37.179 making the most of each day, making the most of each day that God gives to us. Let's pray that this wisdom 00:27:37.179 --> 00:27:38.179 would be ours. Let's pray.