Dec. 24,2000
When God Came to Simeon and Anna.
Luke 2
By Ronald E.
George Jr. at the Fayetteville Baptist Church
Early
one Christmas morning the children jumped up early from their intermittent
slumber to run to the living room to see if Santa had been by that night.
Of course he had come. So,
they ran to the bedroom to awaken their parents.
Half asleep they all rushed to the Christmas tree.
After a quick shuffle through the gift-wrapped packages, all at once
they started to rip them open. Then
it happened. It was the loudest silence that has ever been heard.
Each one of the family members had received exactly the same thing.
Each of their gifts was empty! Quickly
they tore through the rest of the packages.
But, they soon discovered that there was nothing in all that was under
their tree. As they sat around
the tree in a stupor, there was a knock at the door.
The man at the door handed Dad an envelope and went on his way.
Inside was a Christmas card. The
card carried this message: This
is a picture of life without God and Christmas without Christ. It’s empty. A
modern day parable by Ron George Jr.
The following Scripture text shows the fulfillment that God can give.
It had been around 400 years since they had heard a word from the Lord
in the nation of Israel. A
prophet by the name of Simeon and a prophetess by the name Anna experienced
complete joy and fulfillment after the first Christmas.
Their lives had been empty without God.
So, they looked and they prayed for God to come.
And He Came! The Love,
Peace, Hope, and Joy of all humanity can be seen in this story of these two
righteous people.
Luke
2:25 (NIV) Now there was a man in Jerusalem called Simeon, who was righteous
and devout. He was waiting for the consolation of Israel, and the Holy
Spirit was upon him. 26 It had been revealed to him by the Holy Spirit that
he would not die before he had seen the Lord's Christ. 27 Moved by the
Spirit, he went into the temple courts. When the parents brought in the
child Jesus to do for him what the custom of the Law required, 28 Simeon
took him in his arms and praised God, saying: 29 "Sovereign Lord, as
you have promised, you now dismiss your servant in peace. 30 For my eyes
have seen your salvation, 31 which you have prepared in the sight of all
people, 32 a light for revelation to the Gentiles and for glory to your
people Israel." 33 The child's father and mother marveled at what was
said about him. 34 Then Simeon blessed them and said to Mary, his mother:
"This child is destined to cause the falling and rising of many in
Israel, and to be a sign that will be spoken against, 35 so that the
thoughts of many hearts will be revealed. And a sword will pierce your own
soul too." 36 There was also a prophetess, Anna, the daughter of
Phanuel, of the tribe of Asher. She was very old; she had lived with her
husband seven years after her marriage, 37 and then was a widow until she
was eighty-four. She never left
the temple but worshiped night and day, fasting and praying. 38 Coming up to
them at that very moment, she gave thanks to God and spoke about the child
to all who were looking forward to the redemption of Jerusalem. 39 When
Joseph and Mary had done everything required by the Law of the Lord, they
returned to Galilee to their own town of Nazareth.
Someone stole the
presents from the gifts of the family that we spoke about in the beginning,
just as sin stole the life out of living.
When sin came into the world then the true nature of life was gone.
Death and darkness ruled in the lives of people.
They would have to die. They
began to hate, kill, and despair. But,
then something happened to those packages.
Jesus came to put the life back into living.
1.
When God Came He brought all
of these (Love, Peace, Hope, and Joy)
to the lives of these two children of God. God
has seen our condition from the beginning and seeks to come to know us and
give us himself. When we receive
him as Simeon and as Anna did we receive the gifts that he brings. These are the result of his presence with and within us.
He gives us much more than we could ever bring him.
God came to fill up the empty boxes in life that sin brought.
He fills our lives with him. Here
is the result.
A.
Love that’s unconditional.
B.
Peace that passes all
understanding from the presence of God.
C.
Hope for tomorrow.
D.
Joy unspeakable and full of
glory.
2.
When God Came He filled the
void.
Without God what is there in this world?
The emptiness and void would soon overtake you.
The void of death and darkness was in the world of life, light, hope,
peace, joy, truth, and love. God
created this world for us and wants us to enjoy what he gives.
He gives us his only begotten Son.
3.
When God Came He fulfilled the
Law. The
Law brought punishment and death, but grace and truth came by Jesus Christ who
is salvation. Jesus completed all
of God’s requirements in our place. He
is our Savior.
4.
When God came he came to those
who were looking for him.
They were both looking and expecting a Savior. Through the eyes of faith they served, waited, and watched.
5.
When God came He is the light
that fills the darkness. Darkness
is the absence of truth, light, and grace.
6.
When God came He gave
salvation to all who would see and
believe. Simeon had seen
salvation. What is salvation? Salvation is Jesus.
7.
When God came some would rise
and some would fall. There
would be no neutral ground with the Lord.
He said you are either for me or against me.
If you believe then you will receive him, but if you don’t believe
then you won’t receive him.
8.
When God came He became
tangible. Simeon held him up in
his arms, Anna saw Him. God became touchable, tangible, real, and material.
So real that He became one of us so that we may have him.
He wants you do you want him? Don’t
be afraid of taking this child into your arms.
He grew to become a man who died in your place.
Take him as your very own.
God’s Salvation was the child himself. Have you seen Him? Have
you touched Him? Have you taken
Him into your arms and held him as your very own?