Christmas seems to come so slowly, especially for children, and then be over so quickly,
doesn't it?
All of that work that you went to preparing food for relatives, cleaning the house, wrapping
a few presents, and it's over just in a few minutes.
However, the spirit of Christmas lingers on.
That is the joy of knowing that Christ has come and has brought redemption for us as
his people.
And so does the sermon series linger on about the spirit of Christmas for one more week.
And today we're going to look in the Gospel of Luke to get started.
So look in Luke chapter 2 with me as we think about the joy of Simeon and Anna.
Last week you remember we talked about the joy of Mary.
Her joy was the joy of serving the will of God.
She said, Be it done to me, Lord, according to your word.
She saw herself as a servant of the Lord, and she had great joy in serving the will
of God.
We talked about the joy of the angels.
Their joy was that of speaking the word of God.
God commissioned them to go and to announce the birth of the Savior.
And just as they have that joy, so we have the joy of speaking God's word to others.
And we talked about the joy of the shepherds, their joy was that of seeing the work of God.
They were given insight into what was taking place in that little village nearby that nobody
else had, not a single person in the world besides those shepherds and Mary and Joseph.
They understood what was taking place.
And you and I also have the joy of seeing God at work in our world.
And not today as we look at Simeon and Anna, we're going to notice another joy.
It is the joy of sharing a walk with God.
We're going to pick up the story in verse 21, where it says, When eight days were completed
before his circumcision, his name was then called Jesus, the name given by the angel
before he was conceived in the womb.
And so according to the law of Moses, Jesus was circumcised on the eighth day.
And when the days for their purification according to the law of Moses were completed, that's
another 33 days.
So if you add that together, Jesus is now, as we move into the rest of the text, about
six weeks old.
He's not laying in a manger yet, folks.
That was probably the first night after that they undoubtedly found some place to stay
in Bethlehem, a womb, a home.
And it says that when that period of time was up, when Jesus was six weeks old about,
they brought him up to Jerusalem to present him to the Lord.
As it was written in the law of the Lord, every firstborn male that opens the womb shall
be called holy to the Lord.
And to offer a sacrifice according to what was said in the law of the Lord, a pair of
turtle doves or two young pigeons, actually a lamb, was the first thing to be said to
be brought for this act of purification.
But for those who could not afford it, for those who were poor, there was this alternative.
And so it gives us some insight into the social level, the financial level of Mary and Joseph.
They were not wealthy, they were poor.
And behold, there was a man in Jerusalem whose name was Simeon.
And this man was righteous and devout, looking for the consolation of Israel.
And the Holy Spirit was upon him.
We learn a lot about Simeon in those few words.
He was a man who was righteous.
It doesn't mean he was sinless, but according to the external, he was a righteous man.
People looked at him and counted him that way.
He was devout.
The idea is here that he was conscientious inwardly, not only outwardly, but inwardly.
He was a man who was careful in his life to please the Lord.
He was devoted to the Lord, we might say.
Not only that, he was a man who was looking.
He was looking for the consolation of Israel.
You'll notice in verse 38, it mentions Anna, whom we'll speak about in a moment, who went
to all of those who were looking for the redemption of Jerusalem, a very similar phrase.
There was this anticipation, not only in Simeon and in Anna, but in others who loved the Lord
God of Israel, that the Messiah was coming.
He is called here the consolation of Israel.
He is named the redemption of Jerusalem.
Now, those had particular contexts that were very meaningful to the people of Israel on
that day because they were under the heavy oppression of Rome.
They were looking for the Messiah of God to come, but their primary understanding of his
coming was that he would encourage and console Israel and redeem Israel from its oppression
under Rome.
The Simeon was among those faithful people who was looking for the Lord to come.
It says the Holy Spirit was upon him.
Now, remember, this is before Pentecost.
In other words, the Holy Spirit was upon Simeon for a particular reason.
He did not come upon all believers in the Old Testament.
But the Holy Spirit came upon certain people that God chose for certain purposes, Simeon
being among them.
And now we find out, really I think, why the Holy Spirit was upon him.
It had been revealed to him by the Holy Spirit that he would not see death before he had
seen the Lord's Christ, the Lord's Messiah, the promised one.
And he came in the Spirit into the temple.
And when the parents brought in the child, Jesus, to carry out for him the custom of
the law, then he, Simeon, took him, Jesus, into his arms, and blessed God and said, Now,
Lord, thou dost let thy bond-servant depart in peace according to thy word.
For my eyes have seen thy salvation which thou hast prepared in the presence of all
peoples, a light of revelation to the Gentiles and the glory of thy people Israel.
And his father and mother were amazed at the things which were being said about him.
The word amazed here is one of Luke's favorite words.
He talks quite a bit about amazement.
He talks about John, or rather, Zechariah and Elizabeth being amazed at the impending
birth of John, their son.
He talks here about the amazement that Mary and Joseph had.
And he will use this term a number of times, perhaps 10 or 11 times in his gospel.
It means they were stunned by it.
It comes from a verb that means to be rigid.
And the idea is that they were just, you know, when you hear something that just so amazes
you, it overcomes you, you don't know what to do, how to respond.
That's how Mary and Joseph were.
Now there he knew what the angel had said to both of them regarding their son.
But what Simeon said was something more and it stunned them.
And Simeon blessed them and said to Mary, his mother, behold, this child is appointed
for the fall and rise of many in Israel.
They'll fall in the sense that when they reject him, they condemn themselves.
And their rise, when they believe on him, they're saved from sin.
And for a sire, he says, to be opposed, and a sword will pierce even your own soul, to
the end that thoughts from many hearts may be revealed.
And there was a prophetess, Anna, the daughter of Fanuel, of the tribe of Asher.
She was advanced in years, having lived with a husband seven years after her marriage and
then as a widow to the age of 84.
And she never left the temple, serving night and day with fastings and prayers.
The Herodian temple was surrounded with many rooms, store rooms and other kinds of cubicles
and places.
And apparently, Anna was given a place right there in the temple mount where she lived.
And she served God in that way through fasting and prayers.
And at that very moment, she came up and began giving thanks to God and continued to speak
of him to all those who were looking for the redemption of Jerusalem.
The joy that I see here in Simeon and Anna is the joy of sharing a walk with God.
Both of these individuals have some things in common.
First of all, they were both older people.
We don't know exactly how old Simeon was, but because of his statement, now I'm ready
to die, and he would not die until he had seen the Lord's Christ, we presume that he
was an older man.
And we're given some idea of the age of Anna.
The language is a little obscure.
She was either 84 or she was over 100.
It's one way or the other.
And so certainly she qualifies for being a senior saint, doesn't she?
And not far behind her was the Simeon.
So they were both older people.
Also, both of them were serving the Lord.
What a wonderful example they set for older people to keep on serving the Lord.
Now in our culture, we have what we call retirement, and I'm not sure that that's the best thing
in the world, but there are certain purposes that it's there.
And when we reach retirement, sometimes we have the idea we retire from God's work too.
Well, spiritually, there is no retirement in the Bible.
It just doesn't fit.
It's not there.
God doesn't ever speak about it.
God wants His people to keep their sandals on all the way to the time He calls them home.
And here we have a wonderful example for all of us who are getting older that when we are
in our elderly years, we want to keep serving the Lord in every way that the Lord would
have us do that.
We notice thirdly that these were both godly people.
We don't have a lot of language about that regarding Anna, but we can just see from what
she's doing.
And she is a woman who knows what it is to walk with God, and Simeon is a man who knows
what it is to walk with God.
We often see that because of that, they were directed by the Holy Spirit, both of them.
The Spirit of God led Simeon into the temple at that very moment that Joseph and Mary brought
Jesus in.
And he knew by the voice of the Holy Spirit inside, undoubtedly, this is the one he's
been looking for.
And likewise, Anna came into the temple just at that moment, not an accident.
The Spirit of God led them both, and finally they both recognized the blessing of this
child, and they gave thanks to God and spoke of Him.
And they were filled with joy because of it.
Joy that came because they shared a walk with God.
The fruit of the Spirit is love.
What's our second one?
Oh yes.
You see, when we walk with God, there is a joy in the heart.
That doesn't mean we're going to be jumping up and down like junior hires all day long,
filled with that kind of energy.
Joy is a deep subtleness in the heart that overflows with a contentment and a joy before
God.
And it goes right through the hard circumstances of life.
It penetrates the grieving times when we shed tears.
Right in the heart of that grief, there's a thread of joy that is maintained.
And we see that in these two.
There are a lot of things in common, and the thing that joined their hearts together was
their joy in their walk with God.
You know, to walk with God is to live a life of expectation.
Sinu and Anna were among those who were looking for God to do something.
So when one walks with God, there is a sense of expectation.
There is the sense of, well, what is next?
What's God going to do now?
What a great way to enter the new year.
To have that sense that God is going to do something in 1996.
What's he going to do?
I'm going to be looking for what God will do.
Walking with God involves a sense of anticipation and expectation.
And that's because we walk by faith, not by sight.
Faith has to do with expecting God to do something.
Something bigger than we are.
Something only God can do.
Something God sized.
We live and walk by faith when we walk with God.
Because of that our outlook, we're looking to him, changes our outlook.
I notice here at least three evidences of a walk with God in the lives of these two
people.
In the first place, the providence of God is revealed.
The providence of God is revealed in both what happens to Sinu and Anna.
I've already mentioned the fact that Sinu was directed by God into the temple.
He came in the spirit into the temple.
And when the parents brought the child Jesus, he took him in his arms.
And so he was there.
There was the providence of God revealed in this whole thing.
And we see the same thing with Anna.
She came into the temple at that very moment.
She was there.
She came up.
She saw what was taking place.
And her heart was filled with joy.
And you and I, when we walk with God, we'll see the providence of God revealed in our
lives too.
We'll see how God just causes things to happen.
Not by chance.
But by design.
Not by coincidence.
But by providence.
There is no such thing as chance.
God is a God of providence.
He rules.
He directs.
He is a shepherd.
And when you and I walk with God, we'll be able to see how God is putting things in place
in our lives too.
Now we may not recognize it at the moment, but later we look back and say, you know,
isn't it amazing that I met that person on that day?
Isn't it amazing that timing worked out the way that it did?
It's not an accident.
It's the providence of God.
And when you and I walk with God, the providence of God will be revealed to us.
We'll see what God is doing.
Secondly, another evidence of a walk with God is that the promises of God are realized.
The promises of God are realized.
Now God's promises are always valid, but sometimes we're not taking advantage of them.
When we're not walking with God, those promises are not going to be ours in experience.
When we walk with God, the promises of God are fulfilled in our lives.
And Simeon had a particular promise.
He had a life insurance policy.
Maybe I should say a life assurance policy.
He wasn't going to die until he had seen the promise of God fulfilled.
And that's what he talks about in this marvelous statement that Luke gives to us.
He says, Lord, now I'm ready to go because you have fulfilled your promise.
When you and I walk with God, the promises of God are realized in our lives.
Let's make 1996, the time when we're going to so walk with God that his promises will
be realized in our lives.
And then a third evidence of a walk with God is that the program of God is recognized.
The program of God is recognized.
I notice that Simeon says to Mary some amazing things regarding this child.
They knew that his name was to be called Jesus.
He will save his people from their sins.
They understood that.
But Simeon gives them more information.
It doesn't say here that Simeon is an Old Testament prophet, but he certainly functions
as one as he declares these facts about the Lord Jesus Christ.
And even the cross death is suggested by what he says to Mary, a sword will pierce even
your own soul.
And Mary remembered that statement.
And that's why Luke has it decades later, because she remembered that statement when
Jesus was on the cross and she stood there at that time or later she reflected that statement
from Simeon came back to her.
You see, Simeon recognized the program of God.
He understood what God was doing.
And when you and I walk with God, we also will know something about the program of God.
We will recognize what God is doing.
Well, as we enter a new year, may we understand the joy of walking with God and may the evidences
of walking with God be ours to enjoy in 1996.
Now I want us to go back to another text that deals with joy and the spirit of Christmas
and that is in Matthew, the second chapter.
I don't have time to read the full context of the coming of the Magi.
You remember that they were directed by a star to seek the King of the Jews and they
came to Jerusalem, which was the capital city of the Jews and they asked, where is he who
has been born King of the Jews?
Because they didn't say born to become the King of the Jews, they said he's right now
the King of the Jews.
And that certainly was a threat to Herod.
Herod had ruled since 37 BC.
Actually he was appointed in 40 BC, but there were several years when power was being consolidated
and his power was secure beginning in 37 BC.
Herod was a very shrewd man, he was a brilliant man.
Herod was a man who planned Caesarea by the sea.
Either he or some of his people were brilliant engineers in how they built that port that
is north of Tel Aviv in modern Israel.
He built fantastic structures throughout Israel.
He built Masada, that fortress that is on top of this peak along the Dead Sea, right
beside a trade route to protect it, but also to be a place where he could hide if anybody
was to seek him.
He built what's called a Herodium, where they think he was buried, but they've never found
anything in the evidence of that.
It may still be there hidden somewhere.
The Herodium was one of his castles.
And he built or rebuilt the temple in Jerusalem, so we speak of Herod's temple.
It was a Jewish temple that Herod built for them.
He poured vast sums of money to see that temple restored and rebuilt in Jerusalem, and that's
the temple that Jesus ministered in in his lifetime.
The Herod was also a man who was vicious and cruel.
And as he got older, he got more vicious, more paranoid.
He killed his own wife, Nehomni, his favorite wife.
He killed his two sons, whom he was afraid would follow him on the throne, his own sons.
He built palaces all over the place as well as these sanctuaries where he might flee if
anyone were to try to kill him.
And so he was a man who was paranoid, and that leads us to his mindset here near his
death in 4 BC.
He is now diseased.
He is dying, and he recognizes that.
He's angry about that.
He doesn't want anyone to follow him on the throne.
He is so angry about dying that he says, the day that I die, I want you to kill.
And he named hundreds of Jewish leaders.
He said, I want you to kill them.
And they did.
So that the nation of Israel would mourn that day because he knew otherwise they would rejoice
that he had died.
And so it's in that context that these people arrive from the east, the Nagi.
Now who are the Nagi?
Well, as you know, the scripture doesn't say there were three of them.
It doesn't say they were kings.
It calls them Nagi.
The Nagi were probably Babylonian priests.
They were pagans.
They were Gentiles.
They were as close to scientists as there were scientists in that day.
They leaned heavily upon astrology.
They watched the heavens, the things that would happen in the heavens, to give them
signs.
And something happened in the heavens.
A star was there, some sort of a phenomenon that they were not used to.
We don't know exactly what it was.
Some say it could have been a conjunction of planets or a supernova or lots of other
ideas, but we really don't know what it was.
But whatever it was, it was an indication to them that a king had been born in Israel.
It probably had to do with the signs of the zodiac and those signs as they apply to kings
and to nations.
And in those signs, they read this information that the king of the Jews had been born.
And so they come asking for him, and Herod was of course threatened.
And he asks the Jewish leaders, where is this child to be born?
And they respond, Bethlehem.
And so Herod then says secretly called the Nagi and asked between them the time the star
appeared.
You know why.
He wanted to know how old this child was.
And he sent them to Bethlehem and said, go and make careful search for the child.
He will do my work for me.
And when you found him, report to me that I may come and worship him.
Worship him.
And having heard the king, they went their way and lo, the star which they had seen in
the east went on before them.
Now, this is what makes it so difficult to identify what this star was.
Because in some way, this star again appeared.
And so there are some who say that this star they saw was actually the Shekinah, the glory
of God.
And that they saw it again in the sky and that it then rested over the place where this
child was.
And that's exactly what it says in verse 9.
It says, when they saw the star, they rejoiced exceedingly with great joy.
And so we have the spirit of joy again.
When they came into the house, we're just saying a wonderful hymn.
It said that they came to the manger, the crude manger.
They didn't come to the manger at all.
They came to a house and they saw the child with Mary his mother and they fell down and
worshiped him.
And opening their treasures, they presented to him gifts of gold and frankincense and
myrrh.
And having been warned by God in a dream, not returned to Herod, they departed for their
own country by another way.
Probably going south from Bethlehem and across the Dead Sea area back up to Parthia or to
Babylon.
Now the cause for their inquiry was this star.
The byproduct of the inquiry was it caused a lot of consternation in Jerusalem.
It upset Herod especially.
And the crisis of it all seemed to be that they got to Jerusalem and they didn't know
how to go from there.
But then God gave them more direction.
And with great joy, they came to where Jesus the child was and they worshiped him.
They worshiped him.
In her most recent newsletter, Elizabeth Elliott shares a little poem that was sent to her,
it looks like 44 years ago, by an aunt.
The source of this is unknown, I quoted from her newsletter.
The simply says, it's entitled, The Nativity.
Out of the dusk, a promise.
Out of the dark, a star.
Out of the world, a maiden.
Out of the night afar, resounds the angels' message, which shepherds heard them sing.
Out of the dawn, redemption.
And into the world, a king.
The wise men, these Magi, recognized that this one was the king of the Jews.
Now we see some parallels here between the Magi and the searchers of all the ages.
In the first place, whenever a person truly seeks after the truth of God, that search
is the result of God's work in his heart.
You mark it down.
The Bible says there is none that seeks after God.
There is none righteous, no, not one.
And there are people who seek after spiritual truth or ideas, but they go to other sources.
When someone seeks after God, the true God, it is because God has done some stirring and
some directing in that heart.
Jesus said, all that the Father gives me will come to me.
You see, the Father is stirring the heart before the heart knows what it is to believe.
So when a searcher begins his search, it is because God has done something in that heart
by his grace, and he had done that with his Magi.
Secondly, searchers may find that their search will trouble other people.
I don't know what the Magi expected when they got to Jerusalem.
Maybe they thought that everybody would have known the King of the Jews had been born.
But when they got there, they caused a problem.
They caused a problem ultimately for a lot of people in Bethlehem, too.
And there are people today who are searching because God has stirred their hearts, who
in the midst of that search find out that that search will trouble other people.
For as they begin to speak about their search for God, or to speak about the fact they found
him, it will upset some family members who will not understand.
And mom or dad will reply, well, you've always been a Christian.
What do you mean you've been saved?
Well, you were baptized when you were a little baby.
How can you say that you want to be baptized now as an adult?
Whenever anyone searches after God, there will be those who will be upset about it.
Maybe people at work who don't like the change they see.
It brings discomfort, in other words, conviction to the atheist scene.
Because now there's somebody there who doesn't fit in, and it troubles them.
It is not unusual when someone is searching after God, and when they find God, that there
are those who are troubled by that.
The third observation I make is this, that God will not stop giving direction as long
as the heart of the searcher desires more.
God will continue to give direction until that person comes to Christ.
I do believe that the heathen of the world who have never heard the gospel are lost in
their sin, but I also believe this, that if there be one out there somewhere who desires
to hear the truth, and remember he will do that because God has stirred his heart, but
if there be one out there who desires to hear the truth, God will get the truth to him.
The fourth observation I make is that the end of the search is Jesus Christ.
And if today you are searching for some spiritual reality, you are looking for something more
to life than you have known in the past, if you're looking for some fulfillment, some
relief from your sin and guilt, the end of your search is Jesus Christ.
He is the one you're searching for, and you may come to him today in faith and receive
him and find what your heart has longed for these years.
The final observation I make is that finding him will create great joy, and it will demand
of you your very best.
The Magi were filled with joy that they found the child that they had been looking for,
and they brought to him their richest gifts.
And so when you come to Jesus Christ, your heart too will be filled with joy, knowing
him that he will demand of you your best because he deserves to be Lord of your life.
The joy of the Magi is the joy of savoring the worship of God.
Savoring the worship of God.
They had experienced it for themselves.
Their hearts were drawn, and God brought them to the place where they could worship him.
I hope that 1996 will be that for you and for me.
A year when we will not only walk with God, but we will savor the worship of God.
We will understand what a blessed thing it is to know him and to offer him our very best.
Whether it be in our private worship with God sometime during the day, or it be our
corporate worship when we come together, we will long for that.
We will look forward to those opportunities to be in his presence.
And being in his presence will give him our very best.
The spirit of Christmas.
Now there were other attitudes that were part of Christmas too.
There was Herod's hostility, that's part of the Christmas scene.
Yet today, there are those who are hostile toward God.
I heard this morning on the radio of the Butterfly McQueen, this black actress who was in Gone
with the Wind, and who made that famous statement, and I can't even remember it right now, but
it's so famous.
She had a real squeaky voice, if you've ever seen the film, Miss Charlotte.
Miss Charlotte, isn't that it?
What is it?
Miss Scarlet.
She died.
And this morning in the news they announced that she left a big portion of her estate
to the Freedom from Religion Foundation.
All her life she's been an atheist.
She knows better now, but all her life she's been an atheist.
You see there are people who are hostile toward God, yet today, like Herod was hostile, that's
part of Christmas.
We recognize that.
Perhaps the saddest attitude that's a part of the spirit of Christmas is the spirit that
was in Jerusalem, which is basically indifference and ignorance.
They don't know.
They didn't care.
Two great phrases in late 20th century America, I don't know and I don't care.
And people are that way toward Jesus Christ.
How sad.
But that too is a part of the spirit of Christmas.
But I want to close with one thought as we head into 1996 regarding joy, and to do that
I'd like you to go with me to Romans chapter 5, but we just look at one quick thought.
Therefore, having been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus
Christ.
That's our first blessing.
Through whom we have obtained our introduction by faith into this grace, where in we stand,
that's our second blessing.
And our third blessing is we exhort or we rejoice in hope of the glory of God.
Folks, as we head into 1996.
Let us rejoice, for the word exalt means to rejoice exuberantly and confidently.
Let us rejoice that we're headed for the glory of God.
I don't know what 96 is going to hold, but I know that ultimately it's going to work
out to the glory of God.
And I know that someday, someday the glory of God is going to be realized in the return
of the Lord Jesus Christ.
He's coming back.
This Jesus that we've talked about coming and being born in Bethlehem is going to return
to the earth.
So I want to close with a poem that was given to me.
It's actually, and somebody's built and boarded work a couple of weeks ago and she passed
along a copy to me.
You may recognize the idea behind it.
It was the night before Jesus came and all through the house, not a creature was praying,
not one in the house.
The Bibles were laying on the shelf without care in hopes that Jesus would not come there.
The children were dressing to crawl on the bed, not once over kneeling or bowing ahead.
The mom in a rocker with baby on her lap was watching the late show while I took a nap.
When out of the east there arose such a clatter, I sprang to my feet to see what was the matter.
Away to the window I flew like a flash, tore open the shutters and threw up the sash.
When not to my wondering eyes should appear but angels proclaiming that Jesus was here.
With a light like the sun sending forth a bright ray, I knew in a moment this must be
the day.
The light of his face made me cover my head.
It was Jesus returning just like he said.
And though I possessed worldly wisdom and wealth, I cried when I saw him in spite of
myself.
In the book of life which he held in his hand was written the name of every saved man.
He spoke not a word as he searched for my name when he said, it's not here.
My head hung in shame.
The people whose names had been written with love he gathered to take to his father above.
With those who were ready he rose without sound while all the rest were left standing
around.
I fell to my knees but it was too late.
I had waited too long and thus sealed my fate.
I stood and I cried as they rose out of sight, oh if only I had been ready tonight.
In the words of this poem the meaning is clear, the coming of Jesus is drawing near.
There's only one life and when comes the last call we'll find that the Bible was true after
all.
My friend, Jesus Christ is coming soon.
I hope that this poem, which isn't great theology necessarily, but which certainly communicates
the truth will not be something that you'll remember and regret, that if you don't know
him, you're not ready for his coming, but you will make yourself ready today by trusting
him.
Let's pray.
Father, when Jesus comes I pray that all of us will be ready and that we will be glad
we have served him well, that we have walked with him and known that joy and worshiped
him and known that joy.
We rejoice today in the hope of the glory of God in the return of the Lord Jesus.
Until that time that he comes, whether it be this afternoon or it be beyond our own
lifetimes, I pray that we will be watching and like Anna and like Simeon we'll be looking
with eager anticipation for the coming of Christ.
In his name I pray, amen.
I'd like you to take your hymnal and turn with me to 441, a hymnal I think is...