Seek God now!

In Ecclesiates chapter 12, it reads: "Remember now thy creator in the days of thy youth"

This is a good message for young people. Don't wait till you are old, don't think you are still too young or that you will wait till you are old before you serve God. The time you should be serving the Lord is right now. When we are worshipping God in songs, you also must concentrate on the Lord, and let your mind be on the Lord Jesus.

When we are praying, or singing, don't kid around! The bible says, remember your creator while you are still young. I will read from the International Children's bible.

"Remember your Creator while you are young.

Your old age is coming when you will have many troubles." (Eccl.12:1).

People sometimes say, when they are older, then they will give their life to Christ and serve God. Don't wait till then! Serve God now. The bible is saying that in your old age there will be troubles. The old age Solomon was talking about is the retirement age, when folks thought they should have time , now that they are retired, to serve God. Solomon said, the troubles of old age will not permit you to serve as much as you ought at that time. Serve God while you are still young.

We know senior citizens who will love to attend church or prayer meetings, but due to old age, they cannot drive a vehicle. When you are young, remember your creator. When you have the youthful strength, that is when you should serve God.

"When that time comes, you won't have much to enjoy.

When you become old, the light from the sun, moon and stars will seem dark to you.

It will seem as if the rain clouds never go away." (v.2)

Why is that? It's because, the eye-sight will begin to fade. Remember the story of Isaac in the bible. Due to old age, he couldn't see clearly anymore and could not distinguish his son Esau from Jacob, though he suspected the voice difference. Jacob was able to deceive Issac, just because of old age. This is what the book of Ecclesiastes is referring to. If you live long enough on this earth, those aging process will begin to take its toll. The eyes-sight will begin to fade, the muscles will begin to get weak, and the joints will begin to loose. It says, the sun will seem dark, though you are standing under a bright sunlight, it will seem dark because of the poor sight. The light will no more be bright enough.

"At that time, your arms will lose their strength" (v.3)

Those thick arm muscles now will be weak and helpless. You may look at some folks with large bicep muscles when they are young. But at old age, those muscles will droop down and be helpless. Don't wait till then to serve God. Serve God now! In fact, people that serve God and walk with God from youth closely as the Lord Jesus prescribed, (Jn.8:51), can overcome those troubles at old age.

That is, if you serve God right from now while you are young, and walk with God, He can teach you the secret of aging, so that you will overcome all the troubles Solomon described here in ecclesiastes. The bible said, Moses was 120 years old, and his eyes did not grow dim .

"And Moses was an hundred and twenty years old when he died: his eye was not dim,

nor his natural force abated." (Deut. 34:7).

That is the power of God. God has the secret and he can reveal to an individual how to live and please the Lord and also overcome old age. The Lord Jesus said, "Verily, verily, I say unto you. If a man keep my saying, he shall never see death" (Jn.8:51). The Lord said this statement; he surely has the power to also keep a man young forever. Moses walked with God, and the light of God upon him, from the mountain, must have kept him strong. We believe by walking with the Lord, we can come close to him and get enough anointing to obtain all these promises. It might take a long process of walking with the Lord to attain to such height. Therefore, young people, you better start early! Multitudes never reach such height in their walk with the Lord, and for this purpose, Solomon described the old age troubles.

"Your strong legs will become weak and bent."

Not because of sickness nor disease, but because of old age, at 80 years old, 85 years old and up. The KJV bible put it this way:

"When the keepers of the house shall tremble, and the strong men shall bow themselves".

Some of you, young people should visit retirement homes, and see some old people, then you will understand what Ecclesiastes is talking about. Serve God now while you are still young! You can even beat the troubles supernaturally if you come close enough to the ancient of days, who never grow old. In the days of Adam, they lived for over 900 years. Do you think they were not mobile from 200th to 900th years of their life? I don't think so. We know that as time goes by, God cut the days short.

However, God allows exceptions. Just like in death. God allowed exceptions in Enoch, in Elijah, to show mankind something: God leaves room for exceptions. This is the core of my message! Enoch was taken away like that, by walking with God to please God, he disappeared that he should not see death. People think death is a must. But God has shown that he leaves room for exceptions.

Many preachers still preach death, even on radio. They will say, "we all must die". I always reply: "Not me! because God gave a promise: if a man keep my saying, he shall never see death". That is the way I want to walk with God to be like Enoch of old. The just shall live by faith! Elijah was taken away like that. It was an exception. God can make exceptions in things that look like all must go through.

Serve God when you are young. Start early so that you can become very close to God as the old age comes. You want to get close to the Lord to get the power from him to beat death or old age. It's a long process (the walk is long) to get to the level of Enoch. If you have that ambition therefore, you have got to start early!

Ecclesiastes went further :

"Your teeth will fall out so you cannot chew.

Your eyes will not see clearly.

Your ears will be deaf to the noise in the streets.

You will barely hear singing."

All those small organs which were sharp when you are young, sharp eyes, sharp ears: they will begin to fade away.

"The sound of the millstone grinding your grain will seem very quiet.

But you'll wake up when a bird first starts singing!"

That means, sleep will be unpleasant, and interruptive, because all the chemistry of the body is changing or decaying. It's like this:: when one is a little baby, one wets the bed. When one becomes adult, one doesn't wet the bed anymore. Do you know that old people wet the bed again? Yes. When they are into 80's and 90's, they wet the bed again, either because they are so weak and cannot jump up to go to the bathroom, or the organ which normally bites, to signal a full bladder, does not bite anymore. By the time of old age, the alarm clock, which bites people to go urinate when the bladder is full, will go weak also. It doesn't bite anymore. Everything is getting old. Don't wait till that time. Serve God vigorously and grow to be like Enoch or Moses and you can overcome all those troubles.

God gives exceptions for things that look like general. Moses is an example of one who overcomes these old age troubles. Caleb also gave his testimony. (Joshua 14:10-11). Caleb said:

"And now, behold, the Lord hath kept me alive, as he said, these forty and five years, even since the Lord spake this word unto Moses, while the children of Israel wandered in the wilderness: and now, lo, I am this day fourscore and five years old. As yet I am as strong this day as I was in the day that Moses sent me: as my strength was then, even so is my strength now, for war, both to go out, and to come in."

God has the power to keep men alive and strong for ever, if we will seek him seriously.

It is written, "Even the youths shall faint and be weary, and the young men shall utterly fall: But they that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; and they shall walk, and not faint." (Isa. 40:30-31).

Ecclesiastes said further:

"You will fear high places, and you will be afraid to go for a walk

because you may fall."

Ask an aged woman to climb the stairs, and she has to be held like you will hold a 1 year old, because they may fall. An old woman told me that twice, her knee had been re-assembled, becasue they simply fell apart. Old people can fall down easily. They do fall down like babies and will have bruises. I remember the case where a woman who was taking care of old people in those homes was accused of mistreating her clients. An old man said he was beaten with bruises on his face by the matron, but the matron said the old man fell down. They do fall down and may bruise their noses or faces just like babies.

"Remember God before your life is snapped like a silver chain.

Remember God before your life is broken like a golden bowl.

It will be as useless as a broken bucket at the spring.

It will be no good. like a broken wheel at a water well.

Your body will become part of the dust of the earth again.

But your spirit will return to God who gave it. "

While we are young and have the strength, let's serve God and get the power from him to defeat the old-age troubles. We that are young, we are thinking of the rapture to go away like Elijah. But we have to begin to believe God for that. I am believing God that, even if the rapture is not now, I want the Lord to pick me up single-handedly like he translated Elijah away, or that I will stay around and be strong till he comes even if the rapture is yet 100 years ahead.

"Let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter: Fear God and keep his commandments: for this is the whole duty of man. For God shall bring every work into judgment, with every secret thing, whether it be good, or whether it be evil" (Eccl.12:13-14).

For someone to get to the level of Enoch spiritually to defeat death, or to get the anointing like Moses to beat old age, there is a long process of spiritual growth necessary. Enoch walked with God, 300 years. (Gen.5:22). Therefore begin to seek God while you are young, so that the power can be resident in you before the middle age sets in.

I pray that the Lord pour out his anointing upon us, so that we can grow spiritually into the level that can overcome old age and death, like the Lord Jesus said , "if a man keep my saying, he shall never see death." We can get that exception from death and old age. Let's start seeking after God while we are still young.

Amen!.

Bro. Julius Adewumi

Gospel Distribution Ministry