Remember the Creator
Weekly Reading
Monday: Galatians 6, Ephesians 1
Tuesday: Deuteronomy 32, Ephesians 2
Wednesday: Ephesians 3-4
Thursday: Leviticus 22:26-23:44, Ephesians 5
Friday: Ephesians 6
Saturday: Psalm 108-109
Sunday: Ezekiel 5-13
Tuesday: Deuteronomy 32, Ephesians 2
Wednesday: Ephesians 3-4
Thursday: Leviticus 22:26-23:44, Ephesians 5
Friday: Ephesians 6
Saturday: Psalm 108-109
Sunday: Ezekiel 5-13
Sermon Notes
Key Passage: Ecclesiastes 12:1-9
Romans 3:23-26
2 Corinthians 9:6-8
Ecclesiastes 12:3-5 (The Message)
In old age, your body no longer serves you so well.
Muscles slacken, grip weakens, joints stiffen.
The shades are pulled down on the world.
You can’t come and go at will. Things grind to a halt.
The hum of the household fades away.
You are wakened now by bird-song.
Hikes to the mountains are a thing of the past.
Even a stroll down the road has its terrors.
Your hair turns apple-blossom white,
Adorning a fragile and impotent matchstick body.
Yes, you’re well on your way to eternal rest,
While your friends make plans for your funeral.
Rejoice (11:9)
Remove (11:10)
Remember (12:1)
Risk
Vexation - the state of being worried, frustrated, or annoyed
Things that cause vexation:
"A gift isn’t earned, it is given. When someone gives us a gift, we do not purchase it, we receive it. A gift is not deserved or obligated; it is bestowed out of the kindness and desire of the giver. We are prone to complain about the gifts someone gives us. Entitlement, discontentment, and ingratitude cause us publicly to mock it or to attempt to return it privately for something more desirable. But the Preacher reorients us. To taste the sweetness of ordinary joys, we learn to enter each day with a conviction about the givenness of all things. The Western idea that we should “seize the day” would change from “get out there, assert yourself, take it, make it happen” to something more like “open your hands, pay attention to what God is giving and what he is not, receive with humility what he gives as enough, thankfully pursue this, enjoy this.” - Zack Eswine, Recovering Eden
Corrie ten Boom, The Hiding Place, Chapter 13 “Ravensbruck” (pages 209-210) quote:
Suddenly I sat up, striking my head on the cross-slats above. Something had pinched my leg.
“Fleas!” I cried. “Betsie, the place is swarming with them!”
We scrambled across the intervening platforms, heads low to avoid another bump, dropped down to the aisle, and edged our way to a patch of light.
“Here! And here another one!” I wailed. “Betsie, how can we live in such a place?”
“Show us. Show us how.” It was said so matter of factly it took me a second to realize she was praying. More and more the distinction between prayer and the rest of life seemed to be vanishing for Betsie.
“Corrie!” she said excitedly. “He’s given us the answer! Before we asked, as He always does! In the Bible this morning. Where was it? Read that part again!”
I glanced down the long dim aisle to make sure no guard was in sight, then drew the Bible from its pouch. “It was in First Thessalonians,” I said. We were on our third complete reading of the New Testament since leaving Scheveningen. In the feeble light I turned the pages. “Here it is: ‘Comfort the frightened, help the weak, be patient with everyone. See that none of you repays evil for evil, but always seek to do good to one another and to all….’” It seemed written expressly to Ravensbruck.
“Go on,” said Betsie. “That wasn’t all.”
“Oh yes: ‘… to one another and to all. Rejoice always, pray constantly, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus –‘”
“That’s it, Corrie! That’s His answer. ‘Give thanks in all circumstances!’ That’s what we can do. We can start right now to thank God for every single thing about this new barracks!”
I stared at her, then around me at the dark, foul-aired room.
“Such as?” I said.
“Such as being assigned here together.”
I bit my lip. “Oh yes, Lord Jesus!”
“Such as what you’re holding in your hands.”
I looked down at the Bible. “Yes! Thank You, dear Lord, that there was no inspection when we entered here! Thank You for all the women, here in this room, who will meet You in these pages.”
“Yes,” said Betsie. “Thank You for the very crowding here. Since we’re packed so close, that many more will hear!” She looked at me expectantly. “Corrie!” she prodded.
“Oh, all right. Thank You for the jammed, crammed, stuffed, packed, suffocating crowds.”
“Thank You,” Betsie went on serenely, “for the fleas and for –“
The fleas! This was too much. “Betsie, there’s no way even God can make me grateful for a flea.”
“’Give thanks in all circumstances,’” she quoted. “It doesn’t say, ‘in pleasant circumstances.’ Fleas are part of this place where God has put us.”
And so we stood between piers of bunks and gave thanks for fleas. But this time I was sure Betsie was wrong.
Romans 3:23-26
2 Corinthians 9:6-8
Ecclesiastes 12:3-5 (The Message)
In old age, your body no longer serves you so well.
Muscles slacken, grip weakens, joints stiffen.
The shades are pulled down on the world.
You can’t come and go at will. Things grind to a halt.
The hum of the household fades away.
You are wakened now by bird-song.
Hikes to the mountains are a thing of the past.
Even a stroll down the road has its terrors.
Your hair turns apple-blossom white,
Adorning a fragile and impotent matchstick body.
Yes, you’re well on your way to eternal rest,
While your friends make plans for your funeral.
Rejoice (11:9)
Remove (11:10)
Remember (12:1)
Risk
Vexation - the state of being worried, frustrated, or annoyed
Things that cause vexation:
- You want something and you don’t have it - physical possessions, health, relationships
- You want something - and someone else has it
- You want something - that you used to have
- You are worried about something in the future outside of your control
- You want something - more than you want to obey God - and he is not giving it to you
"A gift isn’t earned, it is given. When someone gives us a gift, we do not purchase it, we receive it. A gift is not deserved or obligated; it is bestowed out of the kindness and desire of the giver. We are prone to complain about the gifts someone gives us. Entitlement, discontentment, and ingratitude cause us publicly to mock it or to attempt to return it privately for something more desirable. But the Preacher reorients us. To taste the sweetness of ordinary joys, we learn to enter each day with a conviction about the givenness of all things. The Western idea that we should “seize the day” would change from “get out there, assert yourself, take it, make it happen” to something more like “open your hands, pay attention to what God is giving and what he is not, receive with humility what he gives as enough, thankfully pursue this, enjoy this.” - Zack Eswine, Recovering Eden
Corrie ten Boom, The Hiding Place, Chapter 13 “Ravensbruck” (pages 209-210) quote:
Suddenly I sat up, striking my head on the cross-slats above. Something had pinched my leg.
“Fleas!” I cried. “Betsie, the place is swarming with them!”
We scrambled across the intervening platforms, heads low to avoid another bump, dropped down to the aisle, and edged our way to a patch of light.
“Here! And here another one!” I wailed. “Betsie, how can we live in such a place?”
“Show us. Show us how.” It was said so matter of factly it took me a second to realize she was praying. More and more the distinction between prayer and the rest of life seemed to be vanishing for Betsie.
“Corrie!” she said excitedly. “He’s given us the answer! Before we asked, as He always does! In the Bible this morning. Where was it? Read that part again!”
I glanced down the long dim aisle to make sure no guard was in sight, then drew the Bible from its pouch. “It was in First Thessalonians,” I said. We were on our third complete reading of the New Testament since leaving Scheveningen. In the feeble light I turned the pages. “Here it is: ‘Comfort the frightened, help the weak, be patient with everyone. See that none of you repays evil for evil, but always seek to do good to one another and to all….’” It seemed written expressly to Ravensbruck.
“Go on,” said Betsie. “That wasn’t all.”
“Oh yes: ‘… to one another and to all. Rejoice always, pray constantly, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus –‘”
“That’s it, Corrie! That’s His answer. ‘Give thanks in all circumstances!’ That’s what we can do. We can start right now to thank God for every single thing about this new barracks!”
I stared at her, then around me at the dark, foul-aired room.
“Such as?” I said.
“Such as being assigned here together.”
I bit my lip. “Oh yes, Lord Jesus!”
“Such as what you’re holding in your hands.”
I looked down at the Bible. “Yes! Thank You, dear Lord, that there was no inspection when we entered here! Thank You for all the women, here in this room, who will meet You in these pages.”
“Yes,” said Betsie. “Thank You for the very crowding here. Since we’re packed so close, that many more will hear!” She looked at me expectantly. “Corrie!” she prodded.
“Oh, all right. Thank You for the jammed, crammed, stuffed, packed, suffocating crowds.”
“Thank You,” Betsie went on serenely, “for the fleas and for –“
The fleas! This was too much. “Betsie, there’s no way even God can make me grateful for a flea.”
“’Give thanks in all circumstances,’” she quoted. “It doesn’t say, ‘in pleasant circumstances.’ Fleas are part of this place where God has put us.”
And so we stood between piers of bunks and gave thanks for fleas. But this time I was sure Betsie was wrong.
Discussion Questions
1. What did the Holy Spirit highlight to you in the sermon or the passage?
2. The Three “R’s” in the sermon Rejoice (11:9), Remove (11:10), and Remember(12:1). What does it look like to Remember as it tell us in 12:1-5?
3. Reflect on your attitude to old age. How does Ecclesiastes challenge you?
4. If you are young, how can you “remember your Creator”?
5. If you are old, how can you rejoice in God’s gifts and be thankful for gifts past?
6. What does it look like to Remove vexation in verse 11:10? (Vexation definition: the state of being worried, frustrated, or annoyed)
2. The Three “R’s” in the sermon Rejoice (11:9), Remove (11:10), and Remember(12:1). What does it look like to Remember as it tell us in 12:1-5?
3. Reflect on your attitude to old age. How does Ecclesiastes challenge you?
4. If you are young, how can you “remember your Creator”?
5. If you are old, how can you rejoice in God’s gifts and be thankful for gifts past?
6. What does it look like to Remove vexation in verse 11:10? (Vexation definition: the state of being worried, frustrated, or annoyed)
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