There are things, Young People, which we forget, but also things which we just cannot forget. There are things which we remember, and which, when we remember them, bring joy and gladness to our souls. And there are things which bring grief and sadness to our souls, because we forgot them. He forgot to check the oil in his automobile, and the engine was severely damaged, because it did not get the lubrication that it needed. She forgot to turn off the oven, and the food was badly burned.
There are people whom we remember, and there are people whom we do not even want to remember. There are people whom we love to think of; and there are people whom we want to forget. But tell me once, Young People, what, in your minds, is so extremely important to remember and never forget? What should you, as well as your parents and grandparents, remember and, in fact, have daily in your mind?
No, I am not asking what thing you should remember, although there are many things you must remember, such as the birth of our Savior, His cross and resurrection and ascension into heaven. You must remember that our God saved us through His Son. But there is something deeper than that, something which you must remember in order to enjoy the blessedness of those truths. As Solomon wrote in Ecclesiastes 12:1, “Remember now thy Creator in the days of thy youth.”
The awesome truth is that we cannot remember the salvation which God has prepared for us in His Son, if we forget Him as the Creator of heaven and earth and all that they contain. Forget that truth and you will forget that you are a sinner who needs that salvation. Every time that we sin, we act as though He is not the Creator of all things, and deny that we are using His possessions in hatred towards Him instead of in love. Not seeing that, we fail to see the need of Christ and His cross. We must remember that God is the Creator, and therefore the possessor of all things, and has the sovereign right to demand of us that we use absolutely everything and every moment of our lives in serving Him.
The truth that He is the Creator means that absolutely everything is His possession. Therefore it also means that we, His rational, moral creatures, must use everything that He brings to us, without any exception, in love to Him and in serving Him, since everything is His. That He is the Creator means that we also are His possession. We may call them our hands and feet, heart and mind, eyes and ears. They are ours in distinction from those of other people. But we must bear in mind and remember every step of our way that they are tools, instruments, gifts of God to us so that we may be able and be equipped to serve Him and to glorify Him.
In Matthew 22:36-40 Jesus tells you – and He never makes any mistakes – that you must “love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind.” The point is that we must use all that God gives us by serving Him in love. We, and the whole creation wherein He placed us are His possessions. We forget that so often. So often we see and feel the thing but do not remember God as the one Who made it and gave it to us, so that He might be served and glorified by us.
Now, remembering our Creator does not mean that we must always have Him consciously before our minds, and that we sin when we do not do so. He created us as creatures that must sleep. In fact, He created Eve in the way of putting Adam into a deep sleep. Genesis 2:21. For a time he did not have God in his thoughts and could not. While we are working a mathematical problem, or counting bills and coins in order to pay a bill, we cannot have consciously before us every split second that He is our Creator. But the point is that we must always be governed in what we do by the fact that all things are His and must be used by us to serve Him.
Yes, before we close our eyes, in order to get the rest of sleep, we must remember to pray to God and commit ourselves to His care. Before we do anything, whether it is with hand or mouth, with heart or mind, we must remember our Creator; and that all the things we are going to use were given us by Him, so that we could serve Him with them in love. Remembering our Creator means having the truth concerning Him stored securely in our minds. It means that we know and believe, and are thankful to Him for all that which He made and gave to us as tools for His service. It means that, before we do anything, we are motivated by love to Him to use all His creatures for the work which He wants us to do. And not only must this truth that He is the Creator of all things be securely stored in our minds, but it must be foremost in all our thought. It must move us to use all things in the way that is pleasing in His sight, because it serves His cause and glorifies Him.
Remember, Young People, that you must remember your Creator. You live in a time far more evil than the days were when we were your age. Sin is developing very, very fast! Years ago young people in the church did not dare to be caught coming out of the theatre, where the carnal deeds of the world are presented as entertainment for the unbeliever’s flesh. But now you can stay at home and watch the world’s filth—and even let it feast your flesh-on the television screen in your own home! In fact today we can even find churches recommending the works of the world in movies for the entertainment of the flesh, rather than for serving our God, the Creator of all things, for His own glory. The world is brought into the covenant home to make its members forget God and please Satan. Sin does not stand still. It is developing very rapidly today. And remember, Young People, that if you do not remember your Creator, and do pattern your life after the world’s way of life and entertainment, your children and grandchildren are going to take even bigger steps away from the truth, and from a walk that pleases and glorifies our God.
Sin does not stand still! Adam and Eve sinned and brought the curse upon the whole human race. Then sin developed tremendously and swiftly with the murder of Abel, and the deviltry that brought about the flood our God sent to save the church that had dwindled down to only eight souls. Since that day, and after the confusion of tongues for the church’s protection, every one of the ten commandments is being violated boldly and in an innumerable number of forms. Soon the whole world will be ruled by the antichrist: and the church will have no place to hide, or country to flee to for safety. All not having the mark of the beast will be tormented severely, and be threatened with death by starvation, because they will not be allowed to buy or to sell. That day is not far away as mankind is striving to unite the whole world into one kingdom, and therefore tries to put an end to all war.
One of the obvious deviltries in your day, Young People, is the awful dope and drug addiction, which our government will by billions of dollars try to stop in our country. These drugs come from plants which our God created, but not made as food for man, not brought forth for that which his body needs for life. Taking these drugs is forgetting our God as the Creator of all things, and it is seeking wicked enjoyment for the flesh.
Young People, flee from that devilishness. Listen; those drugs are as surely the fruit of a tree of knowledge of good and evil as the one was that Satan used to tempt Adam and Eve! They are made from the fruit of a plant which God told us we may not eat. Eating and drinking it in no way is remembering our Creator. It is turning our backs on Him.
Likewise, let me advise you, avoid that milder drug and dope; that tobacco which was not created for the nourishment of the human body, was not brought into being to be food for us, and is not something we need for life. It is something that can shorten and take away your life. Our government warns you of that fact. In cigarette advertisements in magazines you will find these words of warning sent out by our government: “SURGEON GENERAL’S WARNING: Cigarette Smoke Contains Carbon Monoxide.” Or again (and this is for you young ladies to consider): “SURGEON GENERAL’S WARNING: Smoking By Pregnant Women May Result in Fetal Injury, Premature Birth, and Low Birth Weight.” And if you young women begin to smoke now, you will find it very hard to stop after marriage. One more: “SURGEON GENERAL’S WARNING: Cigarette Smoke Causes Lung Cancer, Heart Disease, Emphysema, and May Complicate Pregnancy.”
Now I do not mean hereby that smoking is going to do this to everyone who smokes, or that particular cases of these afflictions are due to such smoking. Eleven years ago I had a serious heart disease; and I never smoked. One of my brothers died of Emphysema; and he never smoked. Nevertheless, this warning, which is not based by our government upon God’s call for us to remember our Creator, is very important and tells us that we are playing with fire, and therefore that this is not remembering our Creator.
Besides, since that smoke contains carbon monoxide—a poison to the human body—smoking presents the real danger of poisoning those who do not smoke but are where that poison is exhaled into the room. There is a good reason why our government ruled that all through our country airlines may not allow smoking by any of the passengers. We must remember our Creator, but we therefore must also remember our neighbors, and be concerned with their wellbeing.
All this, Young People, I write to you in love. There is not such a thing as a retired minister. He may be emeritated, because of age or physical disability which make it impossible for him to do all the work a pastor is required to do. But, even then, he must do all that he can, (remembering his Creator, as Solomon did) namely, teach the truth to our covenant seed.
One more thing yet. Remember your Creator when you look for a wife or husband. Remember Him when you go dating. Be sure you date one who will help you remember your Creator, and not lead you to forgetting Him. Remember that God created Eve to be an help meet, that is, suitable for Adam. Genesis 2:18-20. Satan made her forget her Creator, and she moved Adam to forget that He is our Creator. Let this be a warning to you. Be sure that he/she is one who will help you remember your Creator.