Luke 2:
25 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 on him. 26 It had been revealed to him by the Holy Spirit that he would not die before he had seen the Lord’s Messiah. 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 may now dismiss your servant in peace.
30 For my eyes have seen your salvation,
31 which you have prepared in the sight of all nations:
32 a light for revelation to the Gentiles, and the glory of 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.”
This morning I’d like to take a look at the primary function of two of God’s almost unknown servants, Simeon and Anna.
Simeon’s function was to wait, “He was waiting for the consolation of Israel” So the Holy Spirit had told him he would live until the Messiah came. The Holy Spirit was on him. The Holy Spirit moved him to the temple courts. And, it seems, Simeon’s grand calling was to wait.
He wasn’t the first to be called of God to wait.
Noah was told a flood was coming-it took one hundred years.
Abraham was told he’d have a son through Sarah-it was twenty-five years later the son was given-long after it was impossible for Abraham or Sarah.
Abraham was also promised he would inherit the land-four hundred years later his promise was realized.
Joseph was promised his brothers would bow down to him-it happened maybe twenty years later.
Moses was told to lead Israel to the promised land-they entered the promised land forty years later, after Moses was dead.
Caleb was promised the hill country, his inheritance came after he was eighty years old.
Samuel was sent to anoint David as king of Israel-he was not crowned till more than twenty years later.
Nathan told David there would be a king to sit on his throne forever. That king was born one thousand years later.
Simeon was part of a long and illustrious line of waiters.
What about you?
What are you waiting for?
When I looked up the topic of “Waiting on the Lord” on the internet, at least half of the hits were concerning waiting for one’s marriage partner.
God has given many great and precious promises in His word.
“My God shall supply all your need according to His riches in glory”. Are you waiting for His provision?
“Give, and it shall be given to you, pressed down, shaken together and overflowing . . .” Have you given to God, are you waiting for Him to give back, pressed down, shaken together-are you waiting for the overflowing abundance?
“Won’t the Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask?” Are you waiting on the Lord for the gifts, or some special gift, of the Holy Spirit?
Are you waiting for that uncle to be healed, that bill to be paid, the prodigal to return,
Jesus told His disciples to wait in Jerusalem for the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit was sent about forty days later.
If you want to experience God’s promises you have to be willing to wait.
John Milton wrote:
That murmur, soon replies: "God doth not need
Either man's work or his own gifts: who best
Bear his mild yoke, they serve him best. His state
Is kingly; thousands at his bidding speed
And post o'er land and ocean without rest:
They also serve who only stand and wait."
John Milton-On His Blindness
It seems Milton may have been waiting for restoration of his sight. By the time he completed this poem, likely by 1665, he was completely blind. Some might expect his career would have been over. Yet the works for which his is now best known were written after his blindness-Paradise Lost and Paradise Regained, the History of Britain, and “of True Religion” were all written after John Milton had entered a world of darkness. Perhaps he, better than most, understood “they also serve who only stand and wait”.
What are you going to do while you wait? I think Simeon, and our next consideration, Anna, both set a wondrous standard for us to strive toward.
READ TOGETHER
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.
She never left the temple
The Temple is the place of the presence of God-
16 Don’t you know that you yourselves are God’s temple and that God’s Spirit dwells in your midst? 17 If anyone destroys God’s temple, God will destroy that person; for God’s temple is sacred, and you together are that temple. 1 Corinthians 3:16-17
19 Do you not know that your bodies are temples of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own . . .” 1 Corinthians 6:19-20; also 1 Corinthians 3:16-17 & 1 Peter 2:5.
Sometimes we live our lives as if our bodies were garbage cans. We put garbage in our mouths and let garbage come out of our mouths. Our bodies are actually temples.
Anna never left the temple-she never left the place of God’s presence. She never allowed her heart and life to be less than God had designed. She maintained herself as a vessel of honor, and honored God with where she was.
Anna’s response to disappointment in life
What do you do when you’re disappointed? Anna may have been in her early teens when married. She was married only seven years, so was most likely in her early twenties when she was widowed. How would you respond-if you were twenty three years old and the marriage and life you’d dreamed of were taken away from you? Would you hide in a corner and feel sorry for yourself? Would you lose your discipline and live a loose life, become a party girl? Would you try to find a job in the IT sector to get your mind off of your failed dreams? Would you wallow in the mud of despair and self-pity? What would you do?
Anna would say to us today, “Why wallow when you can worship?”
She Worshiped night and day
Anna worshiped God day and night
This implies she did things other than singing-and prayer and fasting must be included in worship. So how do we define worship? It may be a bit easy to make a list of things that can be included in a list of what is NOT worship.
What worship is not: Complaining
Worrying
Murmuring
Gossiping
Wallowing
Fearing
Despairing
Indulging yourself
Pitying yourself
Boasting
Arrogant
Proud
Selfish
Negative.
So, What is Worship?
At the church I used to go to the bulletin looked like this:
We Worship in Song
We Worship in Prayer
We Worship in Song
We Worship in Giving (Offering)
Worship Opportunities Throughout the Week (Announcements/Calendar)
We Worship in Song
We Worship through the Study of God’s Word
The Bulletin was pretty consistent every Sunday, but the services never seemed boring. I think Anna’s life was not boring. She was a living Worship Service.
It may be difficult to define what worship is, though it is pretty easy to see what worship isn’t.
I would suggest that worship is any means of actively adoring God.
Fasting and praying.
If you are diabetic, I suggest you not follow Anna’s example. But if your health is ok and you don’t have any problems with blood sugar levels, why not follow her example, whatever our age?
I’m going to fast and pray one day this week-I’ll pray specifically for this church and God’s blessings and direction for this congregation. If you have any prayer concerns please let me know.
If you would like to join me this week, one day, please let me know. Let’s see if we can get at least one person fasting and praying every day of the week to come. And let’s see how God might answer.
This is a productive way to use your ‘wait’ time. Wait on the Lord, speak to Him, listen to Him, set aside the time you would normally invest in preparing and eating food and invest that time in your relationship with God-Let’s see what will happen.
And what better way to greet the new year?
So, Anna met her time of waiting for God’s will to be accomplished by Worshiping, Fasting and Praying. Maybe this is part of the reason she was still fruitful though she was old.
The righteous will flourish like a palm tree,
they will grow like a cedar of Lebanon;
13 planted in the house of the LORD,
they will flourish in the courts of our God.
14 They will still bear fruit in old age,
they will stay fresh and green,
15 proclaiming, “The LORD is upright;
he is my Rock, and there is no wickedness in him.” Psalm 92:12-15
Isaiah 46 4 Even to your old age and gray hairs
I am he, I am he who will sustain you.
I have made you and I will carry you;
I will sustain you and I will rescue you.
So, our lessons from Simeon and Anna?
Wait Patiently for God’s Will (Don’t Waste away)
Worship (Don’t Wallow)
In this way your life will be Fruitful, even when you are old
