Welcome
 On behalf of the Session, YAF and Congregation of Hope Bible-Presbyterian Church, I would like to extend a very warm welcome to our new visitors, and current worshippers to this special evening, organised by our Young Adults Fellowship (YAF).  We have a very active, vibrant and strong YAF. The YAF members are tenaciously united in their belief in God and His Only-Begotten Son, our Lord Jesus Christ. One of their activities is the weekly Bible study where they learn the fundamental doctrines of the faith. They learn how to apply what they have learned into their lives and in their interaction with others. This is, of course, balanced by fun, singing and games, outings, camps, and other fellowship group activities where they encourage and build up the faith of one another. Wonderful, supportive, permanent and caring friendships are made through the YAF, and many have found that their experiences have enriched their lives.

Introduction
 I want to share very briefly with you a verse form the Holy Scriptures. It is taken from one of the Books of Wisdom, Ecclesiastes 12:1”Remember now thy Creator in the days of thy youth, while the evil days come not, nor the years draw nigh, when thou shalt say, I have no pleasure in them.”  What this verse means is this: “Remember seriously your God the Creator in the days of your youth, that you are not your own, but His, before the evil days approach, or the years draw near when you will say of physical pleasures, I have no pleasure in them”.’

 Some of you probably do not think much of God. He is not important in your lives, at least not yet. Many of you have questions about God, such as “Did God really created us? Or, is there such a thing as God? Or, who is Jesus Christ? Was there such a person?” Some of you may believe in evolution, and others believe that God created the universe and man in a literal 6 days. This is not what I am going to talk about this evening. If you want to have these questions answered or other questions that you may want answered, I would like to invite you to come to our YAF meetings to study and to learn about God and the Lord Jesus Christ.   

We are finite beings!
 We are finite human beings. From the day of our birth, we are destined to die. As we grow physically, emotionally, and spiritually, we are actually heading to our own physical end. No one has lived for ever. Death comes anytime and anywhere. It could be tonight, tomorrow or next week. When we were young we thought that people over 40 years of age were over the hill. Actually medical doctors have now stated that men start to age from 35 years old, and women from 40.  Young people seem to have so much energy, speed, strength, mobility, stamina, courage and intelligence. I want to give you something to think about. You may not agree with what I say or you may just ignore what I want to say, but it is my prayer and hope that, as you grow older and wiser, what I am going to say may ring true in your ears in the future.

 As we grow older, we learn to appreciate wisdom and the advice of older and senior people. The most common error that older teenagers and young adults commit is to believe that intelligence is a substitute for experience. On the other hand, older people also commit a serious error by believing that experience is a substitute for intelligence. As a result, young and old do not see eye-to-eye, giving rise to the generation gap! As you progress through your years, always remember this.
We are living in “The Last Days”!

 There has been a phenomenal and an exponential increase in the number of inventions, innovations, discoveries and advances in research, science and medicine over the last 10 years compared to the previous 25 years. As Christians, we believe that we are living in “The Last Days” when our Lord Jesus Christ will come again, known as The Second Coming. We do not know the date of The Second Coming, but we know He will come because He had said so (Acts 1:11). There are many signs pointing to The Second Coming of our Lord Jesus, such as the creation of Israel as a nation in 1948, increasing frequency and intensity of earthquakes, famines and pestilences, and other natural disasters of immense proportions, such as those caused by Hurricane Katrina on the City of New Orleans in 2005 and the Tsunami catastrophe on Acheh in 2004.
We travel and know a lot!

 The Bible also states that as The Second Coming of our Lord Jesus gets nearer, people in this world will travel alot and they will have increased knowledge. The prophetic Old Testament Book of Daniel 12:4 – “But thou, O Daniel, shut up the words, and seal the book, even to the time of the end: many shall run to and fro, and knowledge shall be increased.”

 The words “Many shall run to and fro” mean that there are many people travelling from place to place, across the world, and with the invention of fast vehicles such as planes, cars, ocean liners and trains, more and more people can travel from one nation to the next at a much lower cost when compared with people who lived in the centuries before the 20th Century, and at a much quicker time as well. Travelling is unique for people who live in the 20th and 21st centuries. It is no longer considered a luxury and a privilege of a few. Before the 1900s, very few people ventured outside their towns, cities or countries. These days, some people even travel hundreds of kilometres to work on a daily basis.

 With the inventions of electricity, computers, TV, radio, laser, telescopes, space travels, electronics, nuclear energy, etc….people in the 20th and 21st centuries have far more knowledge and understanding of science, medicine, and their environment than those who lived in the 19th Century and prior to that. We live in a world where everything is literally at our finger tips.

We are no nearer to God!
 With all these developments, we are no nearer to God. In fact, we are further from God. We seem to think that we do not need God any longer. Church attendances are down. Man has become arrogant. Truth is diluted. Sometimes we do not know what truth is and what is false. Deception is rising, and with the internet readily available, the dissemination of false information becomes rife. Crime is on the increase. Fraud is a problem. The world is getting increasingly unsafe. The use of illicit drugs is getting more widespread. All these are due to man turning away from The True Living God!

 There are many areas in this world which are still not perfect. We are imperfect people living in an imperfect world. When you are young, upon graduation, and going into business or employment, you would want to change the world, and to perfect it. There is one thing we must learn to accept and that is, man will never be perfect. However, we can aim for perfection, but we will never get there. No matter how hard we try, how many checks and balances we dream up, we will continue to make mistakes.
We must remember God!

 As you enjoy your life, grow older and going through university, and when you work and have a family, I advise you not to forget or forsake God. Do not think that progress eliminates God. Do not think that God is not needed. God is very important in your life. He is real. He will guide us through our lives.

 Coming back to the verse in Ecclesiastes 12:1”Remember now thy Creator in the days of thy youth, while the evil days come not, nor the years draw nigh, when thou shalt say, I have no pleasure in them;” I call upon all the young people, in age and heart, to think of God in whatever you are doing - in your study, recreation, relationships, and your work. In fact, remember Him in all circumstances. Be careful, take note of your duty to Him and obey Him. Remember that the great things in life – wealth, power and position, parties, extended recreation, indulgences in sensual activities, glamour, drugs and alcohol – are only for a moment, but the consequences can be awful, and irreversible. Many of you would regret in the future for the things that you have done, things that you should not do or get involved in but you did it anyway. Many of you may think that what you would like to do is due to your imagination, your creative mind, but I can assure you that anything you have dreamed about has been done before. “There is no new thing under the sun” is what is declared to us in the last part of Ecclesiastes 1:9.

 Consider that God who had created you and provided you the means that you are now enjoying. Give Him the reverence and worship due to Him. Avoid temptation and not yield to it. Know and follow the truth and the correct path to righteousness. That is when we “remember thy Creator”. The “industrial modern space” age saves us a lot of time, but is also killing us off and taking us away from God through technology, equipment, and many other labour-saving activities. With time saved by these modern conveniences we should have plenty of time to spend with God, by reading His Holy Book, meditating on His Word, and do the work that He wants us to do. Instead, we work longer hours and make more money.

We must serve God now!
 The part of the verse “while the evil days come not, nor the years draw nigh, when thou shalt say, I have no pleasure in them;” means that if we want to serve and please God, do not delay but do it now. We can serve God even when we are busy with our studies and work. We can share the message of God’s Good News with our friends; we can serve Him by visiting the sick, the lonely and dejected. We do not have to be Bible College students or ministers to do so. However, I must urge you to do it for God before sickness, age and death come – these are “the days of evil” which will come sooner or later. We do not know our future, whether we live a few years from now, or die tomorrow. The future is not guaranteed. If death is delayed, and we grow into old age, then we will say “I have no pleasure in them.” There is no pleasure when you are old, with chronic sickness, and afflicted with dementia, disability and complications, waiting to die in a nursing home. It seems so long away, but I can surely tell you that 10 years, 20 years, or 50 years is not a long time. Before you realise what has happened, you will find yourself either right with God or on the wrong side of God. The choice is yours. Serve God while you are young and healthy.

Conclusion
Let me urge you all to spend your time wisely because time lost is not redeemable. Our Holy Scriptures say in Ephesians 5:15-17, “15 See then that ye walk circumspectly, not as fools, but as wise, 16 Redeeming the time, because the days are evil. 17 Wherefore be ye not unwise, but understanding what the will of the Lord is.”  With each passing day, you are getting older, nearer to the grave, and the days ahead are increasingly evil. May I suggest that you make God your partner in all the things that you do, let Him take control of your life, and “walk circumspectly, not as fools, but as wise, redeeming the time”. Use your precious time to discipline yourselves to study and balanced it with God’s work. Aim for good results in your life. Know God, and live according to His Will, so that your days may be blessed. The YAF is providing a useful avenue for you to be involved while at the same time you do your university study, or work, and indulge in any worthwhile activity. Let the LORD Jesus Christ be in your heart. If you want to know about God and the Lord Jesus, and would like to be involved in His work, please come and join us at the YAF, and be a worshipper in our church.

Let me finish with this verse for your consideration, from James 4:14 “Whereas ye know not what shall be on the morrow. For what is your life? It is even a vapour, that appeareth for a little time, and then vanisheth away”. Amen.

More Lively Hope

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