Remember Your Creator

Remember Your Creator

May 15,2005

Introduction

This morning, I wish to address our young people. We are at a great moment in the lives of three of our young people as they graduate: two from high school, and one from college. They’ve worked hard for twelve or 16 years to get to where they are today. The question is, what is this event? It’s their graduation, but what does that mean?

a graduate is a person who has been awarded a first academic degree, or (N. Amer.) a high-school diploma.

to graduate means to:

1 successfully complete a degree, course, or (N. Amer.) high school. Ø N. Amer. confer a degree or other academic qualification on.

2 (graduate to) move up to (something more advanced).

There is another word associated with graduation. It’s called commencement.

commencement

· n.

1 the beginning of something.

2 N. Amer. a ceremony in which degrees or diplomas are conferred.

So both of these words refer to the same event, but there is a slightly different meaning in the two. This morning, we want to focus our attention on the idea of commencement, or a new beginning. I like the idea of (graduate to) move up to (something more advanced), also.

Young people, make three great decisions. These decisions will directly affect your future success and happiness. Frank Sinatra died about seven years ago, but one of the songs he sang contained this statement, “But more, much more than this, I did it my way. This morning, I want to tell you that doing it “my way” is not the way to happiness. It is a sure way to misery. It is the devils lie. It’s what he told Eve in the garden. Let me paraphrase the devil’s statement, “Eve, don’t worry about God. Just do your own thing, and enjoy life to the full. That’s what life is all about. But let’s talk about your three great decisions. Like the greedy dog of Aesop’s Fables, who lost everything he had. Adam and Eve lost everything – not over a piece of meat – just over a piece of fruit.

But what are those three great decisions? They are: (1) What you will do about God, (2) Whom you will marry, and (3) How you will earn a living.

Body

I. You will decide what to do about your God.

A. Remember your creator in the days of your youth.

(Ecclesiastes 12:1 NKJV) "Remember now your Creator in the days of your youth, Before the difficult days come, And the years draw near when you say, "I have no pleasure in them":"

1. Before the difficult days come. -- But remember, the difficult days will come, especially if God is ignored.

2. God is the One Who made the rules. When His rules are ignored, all kinds of sorrow and headaches follow.

B. It is a time to choose whom you will serve. Joshua issued this challenge:

""Now therefore, fear the LORD, serve Him in sincerity and in truth, and put away the gods which your fathers served on the other side of the River and in Egypt. Serve the LORD! (15) "And if it seems evil to you to serve the LORD, choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve, whether the gods which your fathers served that were on the other side of the River, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land you dwell. But as for me and my house, we will serve the LORD."" (Joshua 24:14-15 NKJV)

C. The choice is not about whether or not we will serve, but instead about whom we will serve.

(Romans 6:16-18 NKJV) "Do you not know that to whom you present yourselves slaves to obey, you are that one's slaves whom you obey, whether of sin leading to death, or of obedience leading to righteousness? (17) But God be thanked that though you were slaves of sin, yet you obeyed from the heart that form of doctrine to which you were delivered. (18) And having been set free from sin, you became slaves of righteousness."

II. You will decide whom or if you will marry.

A. Today, we live in a time when many young people have decided to live with a young man or a young woman as if married when they are not.

(1 Corinthians 6:9-10 NKJV) "Do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived. Neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor homosexuals, nor sodomites, (10) nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor extortioners will inherit the kingdom of God."

1. Save yourself a world of head ache and heart ache to say nothing about the punishment of God for sin--Go by God’s laws. There are reasons a person doesn’t want to marry.

· It may be just rebellion against God’s laws.

· It may be not wanting to make a commitment.

· It may be he or she is not sure he wants you for life.

2. Don’t do it “my” way or her way--do it God’s way.--That provides a place of security for you, your companion, and your children.

B. Let’s talk about the best there is--God’s plan. It involves being married to one person for the rest of your life.

(Matthew 19:3-9 NKJV) "The Pharisees also came to Him, testing Him, and saying to Him, "Is it lawful for a man to divorce his wife for just any reason?" (4) And He answered and said to them, "Have you not read that He who made them at the beginning 'made them male and female,' (5) "and said, 'For this reason a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh'? (6) "So then, they are no longer two but one flesh. Therefore what God has joined together, let not man separate." (7) They said to Him, "Why then did Moses command to give a certificate of divorce, and to put her away?" (8) He said to them, "Moses, because of the hardness of your hearts, permitted you to divorce your wives, but from the beginning it was not so. (9) "And I say to you, whoever divorces his wife, except for sexual immorality, and marries another, commits adultery; and whoever marries her who is divorced commits adultery.""

1. That’s God’s plan. God did not make the laws to make your life miserable; He made the laws so that all of us can enjoy the best life possible here on this earth.

2. Remember, if you meet someone who disregards God’s laws, they will not be concerned about your desires or wishes for very long.

III. You will decide how you will earn a living.

A. Do something that is honorable!

For 34 years, I taught school in the state of Texas. When I was asked what I did for a living, I was never ashamed of being a teacher. The pay wasn’t the best, but it was honorable, and for the most part, it was something I enjoyed.

B. Do something that you enjoy, if possible.

C. Do something that will not interfere with your attending church with your family.

D. Work hard to plan in such a way that the lady of the house can be the lady of the house and be at home.

IV. Be very careful about the debts that you take on.

A. I’ve seen young people talk to us about buying a new home, and then walking away sadly because the mortgage company turned them down because of their indebtedness.

B. What your debts. Be a good steward of what God entrusts to your care.

Conclusion

Most of you have a clean slate.

· Use it wisely.

· Put God first in you life

· Choose a good Christian companion

· Choose a good job that will not interfere with your Christian life

· or your family life.

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