1 00:00:00,280 --> 00:00:03,569 Hello, and welcome to the Middletown Baptist Church Podcast, 2 00:00:03,697 --> 00:00:06,593 where we are proclaiming the truth to the world. 3 00:00:06,689 --> 00:00:09,657 My name is Pastor Josh, and I want to thank you for listening to 4 00:00:09,681 --> 00:00:10,685 this podcast. 5 00:00:10,985 --> 00:00:14,625 I hope that this podcast can be a blessing to you and strengthen 6 00:00:14,665 --> 00:00:16,245 you in the word of God. 7 00:00:16,745 --> 00:00:17,577 Now, come along. 8 00:00:17,641 --> 00:00:21,765 Let's look into the Bible and see what God has for us here today. 9 00:00:23,545 --> 00:00:26,465 All right, we'll go ahead and get into our study here this evening. 10 00:00:26,505 --> 00:00:30,323 If you have your Bibles, turn to that classic passage in the book 11 00:00:30,339 --> 00:00:31,979 of Luke, Luke chapter two. 12 00:00:32,107 --> 00:00:33,187 We're going to take a break. 13 00:00:33,251 --> 00:00:33,923 Thank you, buddy. 14 00:00:34,019 --> 00:00:36,251 We're going to take a break from the Book of Acts here until 15 00:00:36,283 --> 00:00:37,003 the end of the year. 16 00:00:37,059 --> 00:00:41,051 And once we turn over our calendars into 25, we'll pick up 17 00:00:41,083 --> 00:00:42,655 in Acts chapter 17. 18 00:00:42,995 --> 00:00:43,427 I. 19 00:00:43,491 --> 00:00:46,251 I do know that Acts chapter 17 is one of my favorite passages of 20 00:00:46,283 --> 00:00:46,827 scripture. 21 00:00:46,931 --> 00:00:50,099 It speaks of the Bereans, and it talks about searching the Scriptures 22 00:00:50,147 --> 00:00:52,395 and, and thinking biblically, and I'm looking forward to getting 23 00:00:52,435 --> 00:00:52,755 to that. 24 00:00:52,795 --> 00:00:57,175 But here in the Christmas season, I do want to talk about some 25 00:00:57,215 --> 00:01:00,735 things that are important surrounding Jesus's birth. 26 00:01:00,775 --> 00:01:03,991 And, you know, as a pastor, sometimes the challenge is to tell 27 00:01:04,023 --> 00:01:06,279 that story over again and tell it anew. 28 00:01:06,407 --> 00:01:09,383 And I guess we don't need to tell it a new way because it's the 29 00:01:09,399 --> 00:01:10,759 greatest story ever told. 30 00:01:10,927 --> 00:01:14,079 But sometimes I think it's important to look at different elements 31 00:01:14,127 --> 00:01:15,055 of the story. 32 00:01:15,215 --> 00:01:17,431 We do know that Jesus was born in a manger. 33 00:01:17,503 --> 00:01:19,183 We do know that Jesus was born in Bethlehem. 34 00:01:19,239 --> 00:01:24,207 We do know they traveled from where they were at there in Nazareth 35 00:01:24,271 --> 00:01:28,727 and moved to Bethlehem and all that transpired, the angels, the 36 00:01:28,751 --> 00:01:31,103 shepherds, all that came to pass. 37 00:01:31,159 --> 00:01:34,639 But I do want to talk about a few individuals that encountered 38 00:01:34,687 --> 00:01:36,351 Jesus right after his birth. 39 00:01:36,543 --> 00:01:40,095 And we're going to talk about two individuals, one named Simeon 40 00:01:40,135 --> 00:01:41,039 and one named Anna. 41 00:01:41,087 --> 00:01:44,343 Now, this morning, I was very optimistic by saying we're going 42 00:01:44,359 --> 00:01:45,855 to talk about both Simeon and Anna. 43 00:01:45,895 --> 00:01:48,693 And as I was praying about it this afternoon, thinking about, I'm 44 00:01:48,709 --> 00:01:49,133 like, you know what? 45 00:01:49,149 --> 00:01:50,461 We're going to break this into two parts. 46 00:01:50,493 --> 00:01:53,221 And so this week we're going to try to cover Simeon as much as 47 00:01:53,253 --> 00:01:53,885 we can. 48 00:01:54,005 --> 00:01:57,781 And next week we will finish Simeon if we need to, and look at 49 00:01:57,813 --> 00:02:00,653 Anna and look at these two characters in Scripture, and I'm 50 00:02:00,749 --> 00:02:02,621 careful to call them characters because we didn't know 51 00:02:02,653 --> 00:02:05,045 these are real people in a real place. 52 00:02:05,165 --> 00:02:08,445 And so here In Luke chapter two, we're going to start in verse 53 00:02:08,485 --> 00:02:12,581 21 to set the scene, and then we're going to look at this fellow 54 00:02:12,613 --> 00:02:15,345 named Simeon and his response to Jesus. 55 00:02:15,665 --> 00:02:19,969 Verse 21 says, and when eight days were accomplished for the circumcising 56 00:02:20,017 --> 00:02:23,329 of the child, his name was called Jesus, which was so named 57 00:02:23,377 --> 00:02:25,905 of the angel before he was conceived in the womb. 58 00:02:26,025 --> 00:02:28,433 And when the days of her purification according to the law 59 00:02:28,449 --> 00:02:31,761 of Moses were accomplished, they brought him to Jerusalem to 60 00:02:31,793 --> 00:02:32,641 present him to the Lord. 61 00:02:32,673 --> 00:02:35,681 So this would have been customary for them to do verse 23. 62 00:02:35,713 --> 00:02:38,033 As it is written in the law of the Lord, every male that openeth 63 00:02:38,049 --> 00:02:40,305 the womb shall be called holy unto the Lord. 64 00:02:40,425 --> 00:02:43,209 And to offer sacrifice according to that which is said in 65 00:02:43,217 --> 00:02:44,113 the law of the Lord. 66 00:02:44,209 --> 00:02:46,769 A pair of turtle doves or two young pigeons. 67 00:02:46,937 --> 00:02:51,073 And so we see Mary, Joseph and Jesus traveling to Jerusalem, to 68 00:02:51,089 --> 00:02:54,977 the temple here, for this process that has been laid out to 69 00:02:55,001 --> 00:02:56,489 them in the law of the Lord. 70 00:02:56,657 --> 00:02:58,481 And we're going to see this fellow named Simeon. 71 00:02:58,513 --> 00:03:01,569 We're going to see Simeon's interaction with Mary, Joseph, and 72 00:03:01,657 --> 00:03:02,833 specifically Jesus. 73 00:03:02,969 --> 00:03:04,713 And I think there are some things that we can learn from the 74 00:03:04,729 --> 00:03:05,785 life of Simeon. 75 00:03:05,945 --> 00:03:09,639 I've entitled this the Snapshot of the Servant Simeon. 76 00:03:09,737 --> 00:03:12,491 And we don't get a lot of Simeon's life here. 77 00:03:12,523 --> 00:03:17,027 We only get a snapshot of who he was and what he did and what he 78 00:03:17,051 --> 00:03:17,651 believed. 79 00:03:17,763 --> 00:03:20,531 But I think that we can learn a lot from this passage of scripture. 80 00:03:20,563 --> 00:03:24,267 So verse 25 says, behold, there was a man in Jerusalem whose 81 00:03:24,291 --> 00:03:28,415 name was Simeon, and the same man was just and devout. 82 00:03:28,715 --> 00:03:31,299 So the Bible tells us what his testimony was. 83 00:03:31,387 --> 00:03:35,627 And this is important to know in his life what his testimony was. 84 00:03:35,651 --> 00:03:37,451 He was a just man or a righteous man. 85 00:03:37,483 --> 00:03:38,107 He was devout. 86 00:03:38,171 --> 00:03:40,389 He was dedicated to the Lord. 87 00:03:40,517 --> 00:03:42,269 I was having a conversation with someone recently. 88 00:03:42,317 --> 00:03:45,597 I said, you know, it's one thing to say something about yourself. 89 00:03:45,781 --> 00:03:48,505 It's another thing to hear what people have to say about you. 90 00:03:49,005 --> 00:03:52,957 I can say all I want about myself, but really my testimony is 91 00:03:52,981 --> 00:03:54,469 what other people say about me. 92 00:03:54,597 --> 00:03:57,205 My character is what I do when no one's watching. 93 00:03:57,245 --> 00:03:59,981 But my testimony is what people see and what they say about 94 00:04:00,013 --> 00:04:00,157 you. 95 00:04:00,181 --> 00:04:03,013 Now, we don't live a life so that people will praise us, but the 96 00:04:03,029 --> 00:04:04,781 truth is, is that people are going to observe us. 97 00:04:04,813 --> 00:04:07,827 And the observation here in the life of Simeon was that he was 98 00:04:07,851 --> 00:04:08,971 a man that was just. 99 00:04:09,083 --> 00:04:11,235 He was a man that loved God's righteousness. 100 00:04:11,275 --> 00:04:12,775 He was a man who was devout. 101 00:04:13,315 --> 00:04:16,075 And we see what he was doing in his life. 102 00:04:16,115 --> 00:04:20,315 He was waiting, as it says here, for the consolation of Israel. 103 00:04:20,355 --> 00:04:23,491 Now, that's an interesting phrase there, that word Consolation 104 00:04:23,643 --> 00:04:28,323 could also be understood as comfort, the comfort of Israel. 105 00:04:28,419 --> 00:04:32,571 And so Simeon was looking towards the Messiah to come. 106 00:04:32,603 --> 00:04:35,691 He was looking forward to Jesus coming now. 107 00:04:35,763 --> 00:04:38,083 Again, he didn't know how this was all going to play out, but he 108 00:04:38,099 --> 00:04:39,947 was looking forward to a Messiah. 109 00:04:40,091 --> 00:04:42,683 He was looking forward to the one who was going to bring peace 110 00:04:42,819 --> 00:04:44,655 and comfort to his people. 111 00:04:45,155 --> 00:04:48,387 And so he was longing to see his Savior. 112 00:04:48,531 --> 00:04:50,675 And I think that's important for us to understand in our lives. 113 00:04:50,755 --> 00:04:53,155 Do we long to see that comfort in our lives? 114 00:04:53,195 --> 00:04:55,459 Do we long to see the return of Christ? 115 00:04:55,627 --> 00:04:58,211 And so he says, he was waiting for the consolation of Israel and 116 00:04:58,243 --> 00:05:00,111 the Holy Ghost was upon him. 117 00:05:00,283 --> 00:05:04,679 So we see a man who was longing for his Savior, but we also 118 00:05:04,727 --> 00:05:07,115 see a man that was guided by the Spirit. 119 00:05:07,775 --> 00:05:10,911 We can't undersell the importance of being guided by the 120 00:05:10,943 --> 00:05:12,115 Spirit in our lives. 121 00:05:12,575 --> 00:05:15,615 There's a lot of things that can make us change past. 122 00:05:15,655 --> 00:05:18,247 There's a lot of things that can make us make decisions in our 123 00:05:18,271 --> 00:05:18,671 life. 124 00:05:18,783 --> 00:05:19,343 But I can. 125 00:05:19,399 --> 00:05:21,919 I can tell you, biblically speaking, the only thing that's going 126 00:05:21,927 --> 00:05:24,447 to steer us in the right direction is the guidance of the 127 00:05:24,471 --> 00:05:25,355 Holy Spirit. 128 00:05:25,665 --> 00:05:28,609 And I would tell you that there's nothing better than walking 129 00:05:28,657 --> 00:05:30,965 in stride with the obedience to the Spirit. 130 00:05:31,465 --> 00:05:34,929 And I hope that you as a believer understand that conviction, 131 00:05:34,977 --> 00:05:36,465 that comfort, that guidance. 132 00:05:36,585 --> 00:05:39,753 Now, sometimes God doesn't speak in miraculous things in the 133 00:05:39,769 --> 00:05:41,081 sky to tell us, don't go here. 134 00:05:41,113 --> 00:05:44,145 Or, you know, he doesn't speak with a loud voice over here. 135 00:05:44,185 --> 00:05:45,609 Sometimes it's that still small voice. 136 00:05:45,657 --> 00:05:47,689 It's that comfort of the Spirit. 137 00:05:47,737 --> 00:05:49,745 It's that circumstance that God has put in our path. 138 00:05:49,785 --> 00:05:52,641 But what we see here is that the Holy Ghost was upon him. 139 00:05:52,673 --> 00:05:55,321 He was led by the Spirit, verse 26. 140 00:05:55,353 --> 00:05:57,825 And it was revealed unto him by the Holy Ghost. 141 00:05:57,945 --> 00:05:59,417 So the Holy Ghost was speaking to him. 142 00:05:59,441 --> 00:06:03,565 The Holy Ghost said to him that he should not see death before 143 00:06:03,865 --> 00:06:05,685 he had seen the Lord Christ. 144 00:06:06,865 --> 00:06:10,617 And so he comes to the temple, led by the Spirit, knowing that the 145 00:06:10,641 --> 00:06:14,017 Spirit has promised him that he would not pass until he sees the 146 00:06:14,041 --> 00:06:16,249 Messiah, till he sees the Lord. 147 00:06:16,297 --> 00:06:17,795 The Christian verse 27. 148 00:06:17,835 --> 00:06:19,963 And he came by the Spirit to the temple. 149 00:06:20,139 --> 00:06:21,747 He wasn't led by rumors. 150 00:06:21,811 --> 00:06:25,315 He wasn't led by just a whim, his gut feeling. 151 00:06:25,355 --> 00:06:27,251 No, he was led by the Spirit to come to the temple. 152 00:06:27,283 --> 00:06:31,443 So not only is he sensitive to the Spirit's voice in his life, but 153 00:06:31,459 --> 00:06:33,859 he's also obedient to the Spirit. 154 00:06:33,987 --> 00:06:36,099 And I think that's one thing for us as Christians to understand. 155 00:06:36,187 --> 00:06:37,755 It's One thing to be. 156 00:06:37,915 --> 00:06:41,731 To be touched by the spirit, for the spirit to either convict 157 00:06:41,763 --> 00:06:43,355 us or comfort us or teach us something. 158 00:06:43,435 --> 00:06:45,855 It's another thing to be obedient to the spirit. 159 00:06:46,425 --> 00:06:49,505 I know that in my life I've asked the Lord to give me clarity, 160 00:06:49,545 --> 00:06:50,505 and he's given me clarity. 161 00:06:50,545 --> 00:06:52,753 But I didn't want to go that path that he was leading me. 162 00:06:52,889 --> 00:06:55,305 Okay, Lord, I'll give you an example. 163 00:06:55,345 --> 00:06:56,713 Lord, what should I say to this person? 164 00:06:56,769 --> 00:06:58,865 Lord, you know, I need to guide this person. 165 00:06:58,905 --> 00:07:00,673 The Lord very clearly tells me what I should say. 166 00:07:00,689 --> 00:07:03,217 And I said, but, Lord, I don't want to say that they might get upset 167 00:07:03,241 --> 00:07:03,925 with me. 168 00:07:04,265 --> 00:07:07,177 And so the truth is, it's one step to be sensitive to the Word 169 00:07:07,201 --> 00:07:07,665 of God. 170 00:07:07,745 --> 00:07:09,641 It's one thing to be sensitive to the guidance of the Spirit. 171 00:07:09,673 --> 00:07:11,587 It's another thing to be obedient to the Spirit. 172 00:07:11,681 --> 00:07:13,439 You'll go unto the Word of God. 173 00:07:13,527 --> 00:07:16,395 And so we see that Simeon was obedient to the Spirit. 174 00:07:16,735 --> 00:07:19,047 It was revealed unto him by the Holy Ghost that he should not 175 00:07:19,071 --> 00:07:22,151 see death and verse 27, so that he should go to the temple. 176 00:07:22,263 --> 00:07:25,439 And when the parents brought in the child Jesus to do for him 177 00:07:25,487 --> 00:07:30,727 after the custom of the law, then took he him up in his arms and 178 00:07:30,751 --> 00:07:36,495 blessed God and said, lord, now let us thou thy servant, depart 179 00:07:36,615 --> 00:07:38,995 in peace according to Thy Word. 180 00:07:40,295 --> 00:07:45,007 And so Simeon's prophecy was filled with love for his Savior. 181 00:07:45,151 --> 00:07:46,719 And he didn't even know Jesus. 182 00:07:46,767 --> 00:07:49,239 This is his first time seeing him, but this isn't his first time 183 00:07:49,327 --> 00:07:50,215 communion with God. 184 00:07:50,295 --> 00:07:53,847 We see a man who is devout, and this is that moment of culmination. 185 00:07:53,911 --> 00:07:56,711 This is the moment where God keeps His word. 186 00:07:56,903 --> 00:07:58,311 And that's that moment of fruit. 187 00:07:58,343 --> 00:08:00,055 Now there's going to be times in our life where we don't always 188 00:08:00,095 --> 00:08:00,567 see that fruit. 189 00:08:00,591 --> 00:08:02,351 There's going to be times in our life where we might not see the 190 00:08:02,383 --> 00:08:02,767 end. 191 00:08:02,871 --> 00:08:04,071 This is the end for Simeon. 192 00:08:04,103 --> 00:08:05,975 He understands this is what my life's all about. 193 00:08:06,055 --> 00:08:07,743 Seeing my Savior. 194 00:08:07,879 --> 00:08:12,343 He takes him up in his arms, and so he expresses his love to the 195 00:08:12,359 --> 00:08:12,575 Lord. 196 00:08:12,615 --> 00:08:16,431 But we also see that he expresses the love of God through 197 00:08:16,543 --> 00:08:17,671 the obedience to the Word. 198 00:08:17,703 --> 00:08:18,327 What does he say here? 199 00:08:18,351 --> 00:08:20,559 He says, according to your Word. 200 00:08:20,607 --> 00:08:24,367 He recognizes that this was a promise of God in accordance to His 201 00:08:24,391 --> 00:08:24,599 Word. 202 00:08:24,647 --> 00:08:28,595 Folks, to be a servant like Simeon, we have to trust God. 203 00:08:28,975 --> 00:08:30,783 We have to be guided by the Spirit. 204 00:08:30,879 --> 00:08:32,511 We have to be longing to see our Savior. 205 00:08:32,543 --> 00:08:34,671 And then what we see here is we have to be obedient to His Word. 206 00:08:34,703 --> 00:08:36,230 We have to cling to the Word. 207 00:08:36,262 --> 00:08:37,994 We have to cling to the promises. 208 00:08:38,414 --> 00:08:41,726 First Peter and Second Peter talk about these great promises, 209 00:08:41,790 --> 00:08:45,886 that we have a more sure word of prophecy, that this thing that 210 00:08:45,910 --> 00:08:48,766 we have in front of us, this Bible is more than just a guidebook. 211 00:08:48,830 --> 00:08:50,702 It's more than just a list of rules. 212 00:08:50,758 --> 00:08:52,430 This is God's Word to us. 213 00:08:52,462 --> 00:08:55,486 And so we should say everything is according to His Word. 214 00:08:55,630 --> 00:08:58,230 The decisions that we make according to your Word, the hope 215 00:08:58,262 --> 00:08:59,966 that we have according to the Word. 216 00:09:00,110 --> 00:09:03,270 And so Simeon is a man who is committed to the Word of God. 217 00:09:03,302 --> 00:09:05,755 He's committed to the obedience to the Word of God. 218 00:09:05,835 --> 00:09:07,083 He's committed to his Savior. 219 00:09:07,139 --> 00:09:08,867 Folks, I'm going to stay here this evening. 220 00:09:08,971 --> 00:09:10,731 And I don't think this is a big stretch. 221 00:09:10,883 --> 00:09:14,755 If we are committed to God, we are committed to His Word. 222 00:09:14,915 --> 00:09:18,975 If we are committed to God in our love for him, we love His Word. 223 00:09:19,795 --> 00:09:20,995 There's no getting around that. 224 00:09:21,035 --> 00:09:23,131 Jesus says, if you love me, keep my commandments. 225 00:09:23,163 --> 00:09:25,255 Where do we find his commandments in His Word? 226 00:09:25,715 --> 00:09:29,699 The Bible says very clearly that we must understand that God 227 00:09:29,747 --> 00:09:33,795 has not just called us to live a life of the mundane, the apathetic. 228 00:09:33,835 --> 00:09:36,857 No, he's called us to live a life different and separated for 229 00:09:36,881 --> 00:09:38,089 the cause of the Gospel. 230 00:09:38,177 --> 00:09:42,201 And the way that we can do that is by living this book out in 231 00:09:42,233 --> 00:09:43,005 our lives. 232 00:09:44,305 --> 00:09:45,897 I was having a conversation with someone. 233 00:09:45,961 --> 00:09:49,633 I forget who it was recently, but I remember what I said. 234 00:09:49,649 --> 00:09:50,137 I said, you know what? 235 00:09:50,161 --> 00:09:53,369 There are some things in scriptures that I struggle with. 236 00:09:53,497 --> 00:09:54,329 Believe it or not. 237 00:09:54,417 --> 00:09:55,417 I think it was Brother Dan. 238 00:09:55,481 --> 00:09:56,369 All right, it was Brother Dan. 239 00:09:56,417 --> 00:09:58,345 I saw it was Brother Dan. 240 00:09:58,425 --> 00:10:00,273 There's things that I struggle with in the Bible. 241 00:10:00,329 --> 00:10:01,015 But you know what? 242 00:10:01,105 --> 00:10:02,987 It's not my job to say, you know what, I agree with this, or 243 00:10:03,011 --> 00:10:03,795 I don't agree with this. 244 00:10:03,835 --> 00:10:05,011 It's the word of God says this. 245 00:10:05,043 --> 00:10:05,955 I have to believe it. 246 00:10:06,035 --> 00:10:07,595 I'm not the one that came up with this. 247 00:10:07,715 --> 00:10:10,171 If I came up with the Word of God, I would probably change a few 248 00:10:10,203 --> 00:10:12,995 things, because the truth is, is that my flesh clings to other 249 00:10:13,035 --> 00:10:13,211 things. 250 00:10:13,243 --> 00:10:15,211 But what the Bible says is this is wrong. 251 00:10:15,403 --> 00:10:18,379 And so when we're standing for things that are true in this world, 252 00:10:18,467 --> 00:10:19,451 people might say, you know what? 253 00:10:19,483 --> 00:10:22,875 That's your opinion, or you're bigoted, or that that's hateful. 254 00:10:22,955 --> 00:10:25,571 The truth is, is that Scripture tells us what it says. 255 00:10:25,643 --> 00:10:27,515 And what we have to do is we have to live our lives by Scripture. 256 00:10:27,555 --> 00:10:30,129 Because if we don't live our lives by Scripture, what are we going 257 00:10:30,137 --> 00:10:30,817 to live our lives by? 258 00:10:30,841 --> 00:10:32,865 Well, we're going to live our lives by the whims of this world. 259 00:10:32,985 --> 00:10:34,793 We're going to live our lives by the culture. 260 00:10:34,889 --> 00:10:36,905 Now, 50 years ago, our culture was much different. 261 00:10:36,945 --> 00:10:40,905 Some of you that can remember, 50 years ago, America was much different. 262 00:10:41,065 --> 00:10:41,745 Right? 263 00:10:41,905 --> 00:10:44,285 What was the norm was much different. 264 00:10:45,145 --> 00:10:47,377 You know, Christmas was all about Jesus. 265 00:10:47,521 --> 00:10:49,321 Nowadays you walk around, what's Christmas all about? 266 00:10:49,353 --> 00:10:50,249 It's not about Jesus. 267 00:10:50,337 --> 00:10:51,289 It's about other stuff. 268 00:10:51,337 --> 00:10:52,777 Okay, and so what do we do? 269 00:10:52,801 --> 00:10:53,841 We say, well, cultures change. 270 00:10:53,873 --> 00:10:54,537 So we change. 271 00:10:54,601 --> 00:10:57,127 Well, the truth is, is that this Word of God, the Bible says 272 00:10:57,241 --> 00:10:59,627 that, that heaven and earth will pass away, but the Word of God 273 00:10:59,651 --> 00:11:00,667 will stand forever. 274 00:11:00,811 --> 00:11:03,787 The grass withereth and the flower fadeth, but the Word of God 275 00:11:03,811 --> 00:11:04,899 is going to stand forever. 276 00:11:05,027 --> 00:11:05,667 So what do we do? 277 00:11:05,691 --> 00:11:06,923 We base everything off the Word of God. 278 00:11:06,939 --> 00:11:07,707 And that's what Simeon did. 279 00:11:07,731 --> 00:11:08,739 Simeon says, I trust. 280 00:11:08,787 --> 00:11:11,695 I trusted that this would happen and it happened. 281 00:11:12,075 --> 00:11:14,227 So he is a man of the Word. 282 00:11:14,371 --> 00:11:16,735 We need to be people of the Word. 283 00:11:17,355 --> 00:11:20,803 So he goes on to say this, verse 30, for mine eyes have seen 284 00:11:20,859 --> 00:11:22,095 thy salvation. 285 00:11:22,485 --> 00:11:24,305 He's thankful for his salvation. 286 00:11:25,485 --> 00:11:29,453 It was as if Simeon was commanded by God to keep watch in 287 00:11:29,469 --> 00:11:31,621 the night until the sun would come up. 288 00:11:31,653 --> 00:11:34,165 And what happens here is this case is that this. 289 00:11:34,245 --> 00:11:35,325 He sees the sunrise. 290 00:11:35,365 --> 00:11:36,741 He sees the culmination of everything. 291 00:11:36,773 --> 00:11:38,645 And he says, this is my salvation. 292 00:11:38,765 --> 00:11:40,025 This is my hope. 293 00:11:40,325 --> 00:11:44,325 How often do we get so comfortable, we get so apathetic 294 00:11:44,365 --> 00:11:45,621 about what God has done for us. 295 00:11:45,653 --> 00:11:49,047 But we see here, he says, mine eyes have seen thy salvation which 296 00:11:49,071 --> 00:11:51,955 thou has prepared before the face of all people. 297 00:11:52,895 --> 00:11:54,847 And he's about to say something very interesting here. 298 00:11:54,911 --> 00:11:57,455 He's about to say something that would have been contrary to 299 00:11:57,495 --> 00:11:58,303 their culture. 300 00:11:58,399 --> 00:12:01,783 He says, yes, we see the Savior who's coming for all people, 301 00:12:01,879 --> 00:12:08,143 a light to lighten the Gentiles and the glory of thy people, 302 00:12:08,199 --> 00:12:08,915 Israel. 303 00:12:09,255 --> 00:12:12,351 So what Simeon says is that Jesus, the Messiah is not just coming 304 00:12:12,383 --> 00:12:14,261 for Israel, though He is coming for Israel. 305 00:12:14,383 --> 00:12:16,777 He is coming to exalt them and his people. 306 00:12:16,881 --> 00:12:18,409 He's coming for everyone. 307 00:12:18,497 --> 00:12:19,881 That includes the Gentiles. 308 00:12:19,993 --> 00:12:22,153 And the people at that time would have been like, what's that 309 00:12:22,169 --> 00:12:22,925 all about? 310 00:12:23,425 --> 00:12:24,521 He's not here for the Gentiles. 311 00:12:24,553 --> 00:12:25,645 He's here for us. 312 00:12:26,025 --> 00:12:31,969 And so that's why many people in Israel today reject Jesus as Messiah, 313 00:12:32,017 --> 00:12:35,049 because it didn't come in the way that they thought it would come. 314 00:12:35,177 --> 00:12:37,121 He came differently than what they were expecting. 315 00:12:37,153 --> 00:12:40,547 So therefore they reject Jesus because Jesus is not the King that 316 00:12:40,571 --> 00:12:43,091 they were expecting or the King that they were wanting. 317 00:12:43,283 --> 00:12:47,043 And what we can see here today is that Jesus came not just for the 318 00:12:47,059 --> 00:12:47,627 people of Israel. 319 00:12:47,651 --> 00:12:51,627 He came to the Gentiles, to the Jew first, and also to the Greek. 320 00:12:51,771 --> 00:12:53,175 That's the book of Romans. 321 00:12:53,915 --> 00:12:57,587 All of us here tonight, I believe, would be lumped into that 322 00:12:57,611 --> 00:12:58,571 idea of being a Gentile. 323 00:12:58,603 --> 00:13:01,975 Aren't we thankful that the gospel message is open to all? 324 00:13:02,555 --> 00:13:04,619 It's not just people of certain status. 325 00:13:04,667 --> 00:13:07,395 It's not just people from certain countries or certain cultures. 326 00:13:07,515 --> 00:13:09,195 The gospel is for all people. 327 00:13:09,355 --> 00:13:11,251 And that's the beauty of this, of our Savior. 328 00:13:11,283 --> 00:13:13,195 And so Simeon recognized that. 329 00:13:13,315 --> 00:13:18,211 Simeon recognized the broad scope of the gospel message to all 330 00:13:18,243 --> 00:13:18,975 the world. 331 00:13:19,915 --> 00:13:20,715 That's the gospel. 332 00:13:20,755 --> 00:13:21,851 And so what is he doing here? 333 00:13:21,883 --> 00:13:23,695 He's proclaiming the gospel. 334 00:13:23,995 --> 00:13:24,355 So. 335 00:13:24,395 --> 00:13:27,843 So we see a guy, Simeon, that he's longing to see his Savior. 336 00:13:27,939 --> 00:13:31,203 We see a guy named Simeon, who is led by the Spirit, obedient to 337 00:13:31,219 --> 00:13:34,885 the Spirit, loving the word of God, loving his Savior, and then 338 00:13:34,925 --> 00:13:37,741 ultimately proclaiming the gospel message to the world that 339 00:13:37,773 --> 00:13:38,301 he was. 340 00:13:38,413 --> 00:13:39,317 He was in. 341 00:13:39,461 --> 00:13:41,301 He proclaimed it to all those in the temple. 342 00:13:41,373 --> 00:13:43,173 This is the Savior of the world. 343 00:13:43,229 --> 00:13:45,485 This is the one that's going to light the light for the Gentiles 344 00:13:45,525 --> 00:13:46,637 and for Israel. 345 00:13:46,821 --> 00:13:48,813 And we see Joseph and Mary's reaction. 346 00:13:48,909 --> 00:13:51,821 And Joseph and his mother marveled at those things which were 347 00:13:51,853 --> 00:13:52,865 spoken of him. 348 00:13:53,725 --> 00:13:56,989 And Simeon blessed them and said unto Mary, his mother, behold, 349 00:13:57,037 --> 00:14:02,025 this child is set for the fall and the rising again of many in Israel. 350 00:14:02,355 --> 00:14:03,815 You say, what does that mean? 351 00:14:04,235 --> 00:14:09,547 Well, I believe that Simeon's speaking to the great blessings that 352 00:14:09,571 --> 00:14:11,443 Jesus would bring to certain people in salvation. 353 00:14:11,499 --> 00:14:13,259 But also he's a stumbling block. 354 00:14:13,307 --> 00:14:14,947 Jesus is an offense to many. 355 00:14:15,051 --> 00:14:16,971 And so there are going to be many people that fall. 356 00:14:17,083 --> 00:14:20,323 I think of the contrast between Peter and Judas, right? 357 00:14:20,459 --> 00:14:24,427 For Peter, Jesus was the one who would raise him up and save him. 358 00:14:24,451 --> 00:14:27,403 Then you see people like Judas, and that would be his destruction. 359 00:14:27,459 --> 00:14:29,637 Jesus was the opposition for him. 360 00:14:29,661 --> 00:14:31,741 And so what we can see here is that there's going to be great blessing 361 00:14:31,773 --> 00:14:33,745 with Jesus, but there's going to be great judgment. 362 00:14:34,085 --> 00:14:39,397 The rising and falling of many in Israel, and for a sign which shall 363 00:14:39,421 --> 00:14:40,585 be spoken against. 364 00:14:41,005 --> 00:14:44,045 And then he says something very interesting to Mary here says, 365 00:14:44,085 --> 00:14:47,465 yea, a sword shall pierce through thine own soul also. 366 00:14:48,165 --> 00:14:48,501 So. 367 00:14:48,533 --> 00:14:53,837 So we know that obviously Mary, as Jesus's mother, went through 368 00:14:53,861 --> 00:14:56,867 great pain and torment watching her son go through that 369 00:14:56,891 --> 00:14:57,739 pain and torment. 370 00:14:57,867 --> 00:15:03,139 And I know there's a lot of heresy with Mary, okay, We have to 371 00:15:03,147 --> 00:15:04,475 be very careful with that. 372 00:15:04,635 --> 00:15:08,227 We have to see Mary for what the Bible says about Mary, Mary was 373 00:15:08,251 --> 00:15:09,939 a godly woman. 374 00:15:10,107 --> 00:15:11,571 Mary was obedient to the Lord. 375 00:15:11,603 --> 00:15:12,731 She loved the Lord. 376 00:15:12,843 --> 00:15:14,475 Mary was not perfect. 377 00:15:14,555 --> 00:15:16,335 Mary sinned, okay? 378 00:15:17,195 --> 00:15:19,715 And I need to be very clear about that, because the Bible says, 379 00:15:19,755 --> 00:15:21,747 for all have sinned and come short of the glory of God, the only 380 00:15:21,771 --> 00:15:23,575 one who knew no sin was Jesus Christ. 381 00:15:23,985 --> 00:15:26,161 So there's a lot of false teachings out there about Mary. 382 00:15:26,193 --> 00:15:26,417 But what. 383 00:15:26,441 --> 00:15:28,385 And Mary's in the news right now? 384 00:15:28,465 --> 00:15:28,785 I didn't. 385 00:15:28,825 --> 00:15:31,873 I haven't watched the movie, but there was a new Mary movie. 386 00:15:32,049 --> 00:15:33,361 I can't vouch for it, okay? 387 00:15:33,393 --> 00:15:34,393 All I know is that it's out there. 388 00:15:34,409 --> 00:15:37,593 I would be cautious if it's coming through some outlets, but 389 00:15:37,609 --> 00:15:40,465 what I would say is just be very cautious about exalting Mary 390 00:15:40,505 --> 00:15:42,465 above what the Bible says. 391 00:15:42,505 --> 00:15:45,473 But also don't downplay Mary either, because there's a lot of 392 00:15:45,489 --> 00:15:48,449 people out there so fearful of exalting Mary too high that we kind 393 00:15:48,457 --> 00:15:49,225 of push her to the side. 394 00:15:49,265 --> 00:15:53,769 Mary was a godly woman and a great example for us as well. 395 00:15:53,857 --> 00:15:55,081 But what we see here is that. 396 00:15:55,153 --> 00:15:56,833 And I think sometimes we forget about this. 397 00:15:56,929 --> 00:15:59,577 The torment that Mary would have gone through, the struggle that 398 00:15:59,601 --> 00:16:01,885 Mary would have gone through to see her son rejected. 399 00:16:02,345 --> 00:16:05,201 Eventually, Simeon obviously prophesying about the physical pain 400 00:16:05,233 --> 00:16:06,513 that Jesus would face. 401 00:16:06,689 --> 00:16:09,337 And so that not only would Jesus be pierced, but as it says 402 00:16:09,361 --> 00:16:12,129 here, Mary would be pierced through her own soul as well, and 403 00:16:12,137 --> 00:16:14,645 the thoughts of many hearts may be revealed. 404 00:16:16,035 --> 00:16:21,335 And so obviously here Simeon is giving a word of prophecy. 405 00:16:22,275 --> 00:16:24,531 And so he's explaining to Mary that, hey, you know what? 406 00:16:24,563 --> 00:16:28,131 Mothering Jesus would not always be easy. 407 00:16:28,163 --> 00:16:29,891 It would not always be smooth. 408 00:16:30,003 --> 00:16:32,375 It was a privilege, but it was also a burden. 409 00:16:33,275 --> 00:16:37,395 And I would venture to say that no other human being at that 410 00:16:37,435 --> 00:16:40,611 time, at that place, would have gone through so much pain as 411 00:16:40,643 --> 00:16:44,181 Mary did through Jesus's rejection and suffering at the end 412 00:16:44,213 --> 00:16:45,237 of his life. 413 00:16:45,421 --> 00:16:47,381 The love of a mother is a wonderful thing. 414 00:16:47,413 --> 00:16:49,069 I mean, I can't understand it. 415 00:16:49,117 --> 00:16:49,661 I. 416 00:16:49,813 --> 00:16:52,165 You know, I understand love. 417 00:16:52,205 --> 00:16:53,765 I understand loving my children, but there's. 418 00:16:53,805 --> 00:16:56,037 There's a love of the mother that's different, and that's what 419 00:16:56,061 --> 00:16:56,773 that's talking about here. 420 00:16:56,789 --> 00:17:02,309 So Simeon's not only receiving a blessing from Jesus, but he's also 421 00:17:02,357 --> 00:17:04,013 turning around and blessing Mary here. 422 00:17:04,029 --> 00:17:07,149 In this case, he's trying to encourage her and give a prophecy 423 00:17:07,277 --> 00:17:09,065 towards her life as well. 424 00:17:09,375 --> 00:17:09,815 And so. 425 00:17:09,855 --> 00:17:11,999 So I think about a few different things here with. 426 00:17:12,087 --> 00:17:12,887 With Simeon. 427 00:17:12,911 --> 00:17:13,071 What. 428 00:17:13,103 --> 00:17:14,319 What can we learn? 429 00:17:14,487 --> 00:17:18,215 Well, I think that Simeon was a man who loved God. 430 00:17:18,375 --> 00:17:19,207 We know that. 431 00:17:19,311 --> 00:17:20,839 And it's very clear that he did. 432 00:17:20,967 --> 00:17:24,271 We see Simeon was a man who allowed the Holy Spirit to guide 433 00:17:24,303 --> 00:17:24,495 him. 434 00:17:24,535 --> 00:17:29,195 We see that through his obedience there to going to the temple, 435 00:17:29,655 --> 00:17:32,795 we see that Simeon was a man who loved the word of God. 436 00:17:33,175 --> 00:17:33,535 He. 437 00:17:33,575 --> 00:17:35,595 He desired to follow the word of God. 438 00:17:36,425 --> 00:17:40,721 He professed that Jesus would be the savior of the world, not just 439 00:17:40,753 --> 00:17:43,005 for the Jews, but also for the Gentiles. 440 00:17:43,385 --> 00:17:47,369 He would preach the truth not only to the people that wanted to 441 00:17:47,377 --> 00:17:49,005 hear, but everyone that was there. 442 00:17:49,425 --> 00:17:52,913 He preached that Jesus would bring glory upon the people of Israel. 443 00:17:52,969 --> 00:17:55,685 Yes, but also to the people of the world. 444 00:17:56,425 --> 00:17:59,001 And so I think that there's a lot of things that we can learn from 445 00:17:59,033 --> 00:17:59,845 Simeon. 446 00:18:00,225 --> 00:18:05,195 We can learn that he longed for the consolation, the comfort, 447 00:18:05,615 --> 00:18:09,275 and he longed for the day of the coming of Christ. 448 00:18:09,855 --> 00:18:12,287 And I think too, that can be something that we can do. 449 00:18:12,311 --> 00:18:15,839 We can long for the day of the coming of Christ, but not as he came 450 00:18:15,887 --> 00:18:20,447 as a baby, but as I mentioned this morning, as he comes as a victor. 451 00:18:20,591 --> 00:18:24,035 I want you to see a passage of Scripture in the book of Philippians, 452 00:18:24,455 --> 00:18:26,115 Philippians, chapter three. 453 00:18:27,815 --> 00:18:30,035 This is Paul speaking here. 454 00:18:33,585 --> 00:18:34,041 And. 455 00:18:34,113 --> 00:18:34,377 And I. 456 00:18:34,401 --> 00:18:38,577 And I think that this is interesting for us as well, because 457 00:18:38,721 --> 00:18:43,361 just as Simeon was longing for the coming of the Messiah on the 458 00:18:43,393 --> 00:18:47,289 front end, we as Christians like Paul should be longing for that 459 00:18:47,337 --> 00:18:49,245 coming of the Messiah as well. 460 00:18:50,065 --> 00:18:54,305 But not coming in the sense of a baby, but coming as a conqueror. 461 00:18:54,345 --> 00:18:57,315 It says here in verse number 13 of Philippians, chapter four, 462 00:18:57,425 --> 00:19:00,607 Brethren, I count not myself to have apprehended, but this one 463 00:19:00,631 --> 00:19:02,895 thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind and reaching 464 00:19:02,935 --> 00:19:05,671 forth under those things which are before, I press toward the mark 465 00:19:05,703 --> 00:19:08,255 for the prize of the high calling in Christ Jesus. 466 00:19:08,295 --> 00:19:11,927 Let us therefore, as many as perfect, be thus minded. 467 00:19:12,031 --> 00:19:15,071 And if anything, ye be otherwise minded, God shall reveal 468 00:19:15,103 --> 00:19:16,455 even this unto you, meaning this. 469 00:19:16,535 --> 00:19:19,743 Hey, keep pushing forward, keep longing to see Jesus. 470 00:19:19,799 --> 00:19:20,647 Keep saying that. 471 00:19:20,671 --> 00:19:21,031 You know what? 472 00:19:21,063 --> 00:19:24,807 I'm going to press for the call that God has for my life. 473 00:19:24,831 --> 00:19:27,383 But then there's another passage of scripture that we need 474 00:19:27,399 --> 00:19:29,375 to be aware of, and that's two Timothy. 475 00:19:29,535 --> 00:19:32,435 Second Timothy is essentially Paul's. 476 00:19:34,335 --> 00:19:36,395 We would call it Paul's last words. 477 00:19:38,255 --> 00:19:44,623 And I know that for many of us, at least for me, Paul is one 478 00:19:44,639 --> 00:19:45,635 of my heroes. 479 00:19:46,175 --> 00:19:48,303 Paul is one of those guys in Scripture that I look at, and I'm 480 00:19:48,319 --> 00:19:50,169 like, man, if I could be just a. 481 00:19:50,217 --> 00:19:56,405 Just a percent of his faithfulness, I would be happy. 482 00:19:56,785 --> 00:19:57,193 But. 483 00:19:57,249 --> 00:20:02,905 But he comes to the end here, and I think that hopefully, hopefully 484 00:20:02,945 --> 00:20:06,545 all of us can say this as a testimony, but second Timothy, chapter 485 00:20:06,585 --> 00:20:09,945 four, verse number seven, Paul. 486 00:20:10,065 --> 00:20:11,725 We'll look at verse number six. 487 00:20:12,025 --> 00:20:15,721 He says, for I am now ready to be offered and the time of my departure 488 00:20:15,753 --> 00:20:16,723 is at hand. 489 00:20:16,889 --> 00:20:18,439 I have fought a good fight. 490 00:20:18,607 --> 00:20:19,671 I have finished my course. 491 00:20:19,703 --> 00:20:20,911 I have kept the faith. 492 00:20:21,063 --> 00:20:25,431 Henceforth there is laid up for me a crown of righteousness which 493 00:20:25,463 --> 00:20:28,391 the Lord the righteous Judge shall give me at that day. 494 00:20:28,503 --> 00:20:35,143 And not to me only, but unto all them also that love his appearing. 495 00:20:35,319 --> 00:20:36,167 So what's he saying here? 496 00:20:36,191 --> 00:20:39,119 He's saying there's a crown of righteousness for all of us that 497 00:20:39,167 --> 00:20:41,555 long and look for the day of the Lord's coming. 498 00:20:42,225 --> 00:20:44,753 And so, just as Simeon was like man, I'm longing for that day 499 00:20:44,769 --> 00:20:45,897 that the Messiah comes. 500 00:20:46,001 --> 00:20:47,625 We should as Christians be like this. 501 00:20:47,705 --> 00:20:49,697 I'm longing for the day that Jesus is coming back. 502 00:20:49,721 --> 00:20:52,881 I'm longing for that day that all things are going to be made right. 503 00:20:52,953 --> 00:20:56,481 I'm longing for that day that I can see him face to face. 504 00:20:56,673 --> 00:21:00,449 I had a tough conversation with, with Micah here recently and 505 00:21:00,537 --> 00:21:04,605 I was, it caught me really, really in the core. 506 00:21:05,025 --> 00:21:10,655 We were talking about something and he, he said we were 507 00:21:10,695 --> 00:21:11,399 trying to do something. 508 00:21:11,447 --> 00:21:13,191 He's like, dad, I'm never going to do this. 509 00:21:13,303 --> 00:21:14,927 I'm not going to tell you what it is because I don't want to embarrass 510 00:21:14,951 --> 00:21:15,039 him. 511 00:21:15,047 --> 00:21:16,103 But he's trying to get something done. 512 00:21:16,119 --> 00:21:17,559 He's like, dad, I want to do this. 513 00:21:17,727 --> 00:21:19,631 I said, son, it's going to happen sooner or later. 514 00:21:19,703 --> 00:21:20,647 You're going to figure this out. 515 00:21:20,671 --> 00:21:23,555 And he said, yeah, but what if Jesus comes back? 516 00:21:24,015 --> 00:21:24,967 And I said, well, here. 517 00:21:25,031 --> 00:21:27,591 And I understood what he was trying to say, right? 518 00:21:27,623 --> 00:21:30,543 We all went there, like, I want to experience this on this side 519 00:21:30,559 --> 00:21:31,191 of heaven. 520 00:21:31,303 --> 00:21:32,887 I want to do this thing. 521 00:21:33,031 --> 00:21:34,463 But what if Jesus comes back? 522 00:21:34,519 --> 00:21:38,377 And obviously that's, that's a very small minded idea. 523 00:21:38,441 --> 00:21:41,393 But, but I was there, Lord, I just want to, I just want to get 524 00:21:41,409 --> 00:21:42,225 my driver's license. 525 00:21:42,265 --> 00:21:43,633 Then you can come back, okay? 526 00:21:43,729 --> 00:21:45,473 I just want to get married and come out. 527 00:21:45,489 --> 00:21:46,521 I just want to have a child, right? 528 00:21:46,593 --> 00:21:47,657 There's all these things in our life. 529 00:21:47,721 --> 00:21:53,241 And the reason why we are that way is because we love this world 530 00:21:53,313 --> 00:21:54,793 as much as we don't want to admit it. 531 00:21:54,809 --> 00:21:57,193 There are things in this world that we think are the peak, the pinnacle. 532 00:21:57,249 --> 00:21:58,073 Like, that's it. 533 00:21:58,129 --> 00:21:59,201 That's all I want in my life. 534 00:21:59,233 --> 00:22:02,625 But the more we start to understand how fleeting this world 535 00:22:02,665 --> 00:22:05,937 is and how great heaven is going to be and how wonderful the 536 00:22:05,961 --> 00:22:07,609 victory is in Christ, we say, you know what? 537 00:22:07,697 --> 00:22:09,805 These are all great, but God has something better. 538 00:22:10,225 --> 00:22:11,801 And when he returns, there's going to be. 539 00:22:11,833 --> 00:22:12,537 It's going to be all right. 540 00:22:12,561 --> 00:22:14,697 And some people say, well, how can heaven be better than this? 541 00:22:14,721 --> 00:22:15,465 I can tell you. 542 00:22:15,585 --> 00:22:17,713 Just look around, okay, it's going to be a lot better than this. 543 00:22:17,769 --> 00:22:18,937 Infinitely better than this. 544 00:22:19,041 --> 00:22:20,945 And some people say, well, what is heaven like? 545 00:22:20,985 --> 00:22:23,617 I don't know, but it's infinitely better than what we're 546 00:22:23,641 --> 00:22:24,777 dealing with right now. 547 00:22:24,961 --> 00:22:26,241 Eternally better. 548 00:22:26,393 --> 00:22:28,617 And I can't even describe to you what heaven's going to be like, 549 00:22:28,641 --> 00:22:30,867 but it's the greatest thing that we could ever imagine. 550 00:22:31,001 --> 00:22:33,871 What I would say is, that's all of us, as Christians should. 551 00:22:33,983 --> 00:22:36,967 If we longed for that day, we would be living differently. 552 00:22:37,151 --> 00:22:40,607 If I truly was longing for that day, I'd be a lot more busy 553 00:22:40,631 --> 00:22:42,343 about the work that I had for the Lord. 554 00:22:42,479 --> 00:22:44,895 Instead, I'm more busy about the things that I have to do today. 555 00:22:44,935 --> 00:22:46,343 I gotta get this done and this done. 556 00:22:46,399 --> 00:22:49,183 You know what the truth is, is that none of that one day when we 557 00:22:49,199 --> 00:22:51,595 get to the end, none of that's gonna matter. 558 00:22:52,255 --> 00:22:55,087 None of these things on this earth are gonna matter except for 559 00:22:55,111 --> 00:22:56,435 what we do for Christ. 560 00:22:56,735 --> 00:23:00,031 And so just as Simeon's like, I want to see that Messiah, I'm longing 561 00:23:00,063 --> 00:23:00,719 to see him. 562 00:23:00,807 --> 00:23:01,967 We should all say the same thing. 563 00:23:01,991 --> 00:23:03,415 I'm longing to see my Savior. 564 00:23:03,495 --> 00:23:05,431 I'm longing for that day that he returns. 565 00:23:05,543 --> 00:23:06,663 Lord, let it be now. 566 00:23:06,759 --> 00:23:08,575 And it's a lot easier as we get older, right? 567 00:23:08,615 --> 00:23:10,967 It's a lot easier when we go through more pain and suffering because 568 00:23:10,991 --> 00:23:14,263 we start to see how painful this world is and how wonderful it 569 00:23:14,279 --> 00:23:15,887 will be to be with him one day. 570 00:23:16,071 --> 00:23:18,135 So I want you to think about that here tonight. 571 00:23:18,175 --> 00:23:20,839 Are we those types of people like Simeon that are looking forward 572 00:23:20,887 --> 00:23:22,607 to that day, longing for that day? 573 00:23:22,631 --> 00:23:24,395 Or do we love this world too much? 574 00:23:24,835 --> 00:23:27,955 Simeon was in the minority. 575 00:23:28,075 --> 00:23:30,523 There wasn't a ton of people lining up at the temple looking for 576 00:23:30,539 --> 00:23:31,403 the Messiah. 577 00:23:31,539 --> 00:23:32,811 They were expecting something else. 578 00:23:32,843 --> 00:23:37,147 They were expecting someone to come in a great throne room and come 579 00:23:37,171 --> 00:23:37,451 in. 580 00:23:37,523 --> 00:23:40,675 And we know that because ultimately, at the very end, right, 581 00:23:40,715 --> 00:23:45,147 Jesus was coming in, and they were waving palm branches and throwing 582 00:23:45,171 --> 00:23:47,171 their clothes out on the street and saying, hey, he's coming 583 00:23:47,203 --> 00:23:47,323 in. 584 00:23:47,339 --> 00:23:48,395 He's about to take over Rome. 585 00:23:48,435 --> 00:23:50,747 And when Jesus didn't do what they were expecting, they were like, 586 00:23:50,771 --> 00:23:51,291 wait. 587 00:23:51,443 --> 00:23:54,163 The same people that were praising him were yelling out, crucify 588 00:23:54,219 --> 00:23:54,411 him. 589 00:23:54,443 --> 00:23:54,779 Right? 590 00:23:54,867 --> 00:23:58,331 And that's the idea is sometimes when Jesus is not what 591 00:23:58,363 --> 00:23:59,835 we expect him to be. 592 00:23:59,995 --> 00:24:04,235 Sometimes when Christianity is not what we are told it should be, 593 00:24:04,275 --> 00:24:07,755 we start to doubt whether or not it's worth continuing on in this 594 00:24:07,795 --> 00:24:08,415 path. 595 00:24:08,835 --> 00:24:10,635 Sometimes we don't long for that. 596 00:24:10,675 --> 00:24:14,515 Sometimes we don't strive, as Paul says, for the prize of the high 597 00:24:14,555 --> 00:24:15,163 calling. 598 00:24:15,299 --> 00:24:17,409 So what I would encourage you to do is I want you to think about, 599 00:24:17,507 --> 00:24:20,253 hey, Jesus is not what we create in our own minds. 600 00:24:20,309 --> 00:24:23,173 Jesus is the one who is eternal. 601 00:24:23,229 --> 00:24:25,585 Jesus is the one who is the creator. 602 00:24:26,285 --> 00:24:31,429 So many times we put Jesus into what we always consider to be 603 00:24:31,477 --> 00:24:32,933 our proverbial box. 604 00:24:32,989 --> 00:24:33,373 Right? 605 00:24:33,469 --> 00:24:35,505 We have created him to look this way. 606 00:24:36,205 --> 00:24:40,205 You know, I don't think Jesus looked like that right there. 607 00:24:40,365 --> 00:24:41,837 I don't know if he did or not. 608 00:24:41,981 --> 00:24:44,559 We see pictures and portrayals of Jesus on TV shows. 609 00:24:44,637 --> 00:24:47,219 And I'm not saying don't watch TV shows that have Jesus in it. 610 00:24:47,267 --> 00:24:51,227 What I'm saying is be so careful of putting that as your picture 611 00:24:51,251 --> 00:24:52,579 of who Jesus is. 612 00:24:52,747 --> 00:24:55,099 Where do we find the portrait of Jesus Christ? 613 00:24:55,267 --> 00:24:56,675 Find it right here. 614 00:24:56,835 --> 00:24:57,615 Okay. 615 00:24:58,315 --> 00:25:01,651 We can dramatize it all we want, but the truth is that if that's 616 00:25:01,683 --> 00:25:01,947 where. 617 00:25:02,011 --> 00:25:06,763 Oh, you know, I want to think that Jesus was this way. 618 00:25:06,939 --> 00:25:09,219 Well, you can, but if the word of God doesn't say that, we have 619 00:25:09,227 --> 00:25:10,123 to be very, very careful. 620 00:25:10,179 --> 00:25:10,731 Right. 621 00:25:10,883 --> 00:25:12,107 What does the book of Isaiah say? 622 00:25:12,131 --> 00:25:14,375 Isaiah 53 says, he was a normal guy. 623 00:25:15,635 --> 00:25:19,547 He wasn't walking around with a golden aura around him, at least 624 00:25:19,571 --> 00:25:21,255 not until the mountain transfiguration. 625 00:25:22,115 --> 00:25:25,051 But in the most part, he was walking around like everybody else. 626 00:25:25,163 --> 00:25:29,435 The Bible says there was nothing to be desired of him, Jesus. 627 00:25:29,555 --> 00:25:31,203 And you say, well, what does that mean? 628 00:25:31,259 --> 00:25:31,963 That means. 629 00:25:32,139 --> 00:25:34,055 I'm just saying that's what the Bible says. 630 00:25:34,355 --> 00:25:38,621 And so the Bible says that Jesus humbled himself and became 631 00:25:38,653 --> 00:25:39,505 a servant. 632 00:25:40,005 --> 00:25:44,181 And so one of the things that I would have you be cautious of is 633 00:25:44,253 --> 00:25:48,909 trying to create Jesus or Christianity or the Bible in your 634 00:25:48,957 --> 00:25:49,865 own terms. 635 00:25:50,925 --> 00:25:52,237 And so Simeon didn't do that. 636 00:25:52,261 --> 00:25:52,949 Simeon said, you know what? 637 00:25:52,957 --> 00:25:53,997 I'm going to worship this way. 638 00:25:54,061 --> 00:25:55,341 I'm going to give praise to the Lord. 639 00:25:55,413 --> 00:25:58,749 I'm going to give him his due worship here. 640 00:25:58,797 --> 00:26:00,237 And he does, and he praises him. 641 00:26:00,261 --> 00:26:02,535 And so Simeon is a man who is a servant. 642 00:26:02,575 --> 00:26:04,855 Simeon is a man who is committed to the word. 643 00:26:04,895 --> 00:26:07,599 Simeon is a man who is obedient to the spirit in his life. 644 00:26:07,687 --> 00:26:11,263 I hope that we can be like Simeon, longing for that day and 645 00:26:11,279 --> 00:26:13,687 when we do see our Savior, to praise him. 646 00:26:13,791 --> 00:26:18,143 Folks, Ratna's testimony got me excited. 647 00:26:18,319 --> 00:26:19,951 And yes, you can tell your faith Story. 648 00:26:19,983 --> 00:26:22,435 Okay, when that time comes, we can do that. 649 00:26:22,815 --> 00:26:26,835 But when we see God working in our life, may we be aware of that. 650 00:26:27,425 --> 00:26:31,201 And may we be aware of his power and his love and his grace. 651 00:26:31,233 --> 00:26:34,545 And then proclaim that to the world so we don't have to look very 652 00:26:34,585 --> 00:26:36,445 far to see God working in our life. 653 00:26:37,065 --> 00:26:40,165 And so many times it's easy just to skim right over it. 654 00:26:40,625 --> 00:26:44,449 I'm going to tell you that one of the things in my life that I did 655 00:26:44,497 --> 00:26:47,273 for a long time, I'm not as faithful in it as I used to be, but 656 00:26:47,289 --> 00:26:50,057 I used to write down what God was doing in my life at that current 657 00:26:50,081 --> 00:26:51,405 time, almost like a journal. 658 00:26:51,865 --> 00:26:58,525 And I'll never forget the very first week that I took over as pastor 659 00:26:58,565 --> 00:26:59,145 here. 660 00:26:59,725 --> 00:27:00,909 I actually wasn't. 661 00:27:01,077 --> 00:27:01,957 Let me rewind. 662 00:27:02,061 --> 00:27:06,021 I was not pastor, but I was preaching and I was doing some things 663 00:27:06,053 --> 00:27:06,533 here. 664 00:27:06,669 --> 00:27:08,565 And that week was the craziest week. 665 00:27:08,605 --> 00:27:11,693 And I could tell you a hundred stories about that week, but I wrote 666 00:27:11,709 --> 00:27:13,245 it all down in my journal. 667 00:27:13,405 --> 00:27:15,037 And I think it was a couple months ago. 668 00:27:15,061 --> 00:27:18,253 I went back and read that, and just to see how God worked through 669 00:27:18,269 --> 00:27:20,965 those situations was just an amazing thing. 670 00:27:21,085 --> 00:27:23,349 And I had a moment there where I just fell down on my knees and 671 00:27:23,357 --> 00:27:25,777 I thanked the Lord for getting me through some of the things that 672 00:27:25,801 --> 00:27:28,817 I thought were insurmountable, to be honest. 673 00:27:28,961 --> 00:27:31,601 And I would encourage you to do that and encourage you to rehearse 674 00:27:31,633 --> 00:27:33,049 what God has done in your life here. 675 00:27:33,137 --> 00:27:35,825 I know we sometimes say to do it in Thanksgiving, but even at Christmas 676 00:27:35,865 --> 00:27:39,649 time, go back and recount all the gifts that God has given you, 677 00:27:39,697 --> 00:27:43,041 starting with salvation and going down the line and saying, lord, 678 00:27:43,073 --> 00:27:44,445 look what you did here. 679 00:27:45,305 --> 00:27:46,921 This could only be you. 680 00:27:47,033 --> 00:27:49,033 So sometimes people call it a God thing, right? 681 00:27:49,129 --> 00:27:50,387 This is only a God thing. 682 00:27:50,481 --> 00:27:52,623 Go back and say, lord, I'm going to give you praise. 683 00:27:52,719 --> 00:27:55,151 I'm going to tell people what you have done for me. 684 00:27:55,303 --> 00:27:56,663 That's the greatest message. 685 00:27:56,719 --> 00:27:59,471 The greatest message is sharing with other people the testimony 686 00:27:59,503 --> 00:28:01,155 of what God has done in your life. 687 00:28:02,095 --> 00:28:03,855 Now match it to the Word, right? 688 00:28:03,895 --> 00:28:05,999 Match it to his character, match it to his goodness. 689 00:28:06,047 --> 00:28:07,911 Match it to what the Word says. 690 00:28:08,023 --> 00:28:10,955 But what I would tell you is that your testimony is powerful. 691 00:28:11,495 --> 00:28:14,047 I can look through this room and for the most part, I know most 692 00:28:14,071 --> 00:28:14,755 of you. 693 00:28:15,455 --> 00:28:18,483 I know most of you in the concept of. 694 00:28:18,499 --> 00:28:20,435 I could at least pick one thing that I've seen God working 695 00:28:20,475 --> 00:28:22,851 in your life with in the last few years. 696 00:28:22,963 --> 00:28:23,755 I can do that. 697 00:28:23,835 --> 00:28:25,411 And I know you can do it in your own life. 698 00:28:25,523 --> 00:28:28,731 And that's an amazing thing to see, seeing God working in people's 699 00:28:28,763 --> 00:28:29,219 lives. 700 00:28:29,347 --> 00:28:30,975 And more people need to see that. 701 00:28:31,395 --> 00:28:34,539 I was, I'm on a group with, with pastors and they talk about 702 00:28:34,587 --> 00:28:34,995 certain things. 703 00:28:35,035 --> 00:28:38,195 And one guy said, you know, we went to church today and we sang 704 00:28:38,235 --> 00:28:40,147 Christmas carols, but it just felt dead today. 705 00:28:40,251 --> 00:28:42,475 It just felt like no one was excited about things. 706 00:28:42,515 --> 00:28:45,169 And folks, we have all the reason to be excited for what the 707 00:28:45,177 --> 00:28:46,417 Lord has done for us. 708 00:28:46,521 --> 00:28:49,825 I'm going to tell you, if you sit down and recount all the blessings 709 00:28:49,865 --> 00:28:53,361 that God has done in your life and in my life, we can sit here all 710 00:28:53,393 --> 00:28:53,729 night. 711 00:28:53,817 --> 00:28:55,825 We can sit here for hours praising God. 712 00:28:55,945 --> 00:28:58,265 And so what I would encourage you to do is never get used to what 713 00:28:58,305 --> 00:28:59,033 God's doing in your life. 714 00:28:59,049 --> 00:29:01,969 Simeon was like, lord, you have given me salvation. 715 00:29:02,057 --> 00:29:04,377 He I love how he said it. 716 00:29:04,481 --> 00:29:09,033 He says, the light to lighten the Gentiles, for my eyes have seen 717 00:29:09,089 --> 00:29:10,125 thy salvation. 718 00:29:13,405 --> 00:29:14,493 I, I would encourage you. 719 00:29:14,509 --> 00:29:17,157 I know Brother Jeff does this, and I'm thankful for. 720 00:29:17,181 --> 00:29:19,333 In testimony time, I would encourage you, when you get the testimony 721 00:29:19,389 --> 00:29:21,465 time, share how you came to Christ. 722 00:29:22,005 --> 00:29:25,917 I mean, you know, maybe your spouse knows, but, but we all don't 723 00:29:25,941 --> 00:29:26,509 know. 724 00:29:26,677 --> 00:29:29,261 And it doesn't mean that that's how I came to Christ. 725 00:29:29,453 --> 00:29:29,829 Right. 726 00:29:29,877 --> 00:29:30,973 But I. 727 00:29:31,109 --> 00:29:34,133 And you would all benefit from hearing, let, let the redeemed of 728 00:29:34,149 --> 00:29:35,265 the Lord say so. 729 00:29:35,775 --> 00:29:37,191 Let's never get used to that. 730 00:29:37,223 --> 00:29:38,623 Like, let's be like Simeon. 731 00:29:38,679 --> 00:29:41,235 What does he say for mine eyes of seeing thy salvation? 732 00:29:43,335 --> 00:29:46,007 I think that that's something that we as Christians sometimes get 733 00:29:46,031 --> 00:29:46,955 so used to. 734 00:29:47,615 --> 00:29:49,647 We just get so used to, oh, yeah, they're saved. 735 00:29:49,751 --> 00:29:50,955 Oh, yeah, I'm saved. 736 00:29:51,575 --> 00:29:55,151 But it's, it's the greatest miracle in our lives, the fact that 737 00:29:55,223 --> 00:29:56,215 we have been saved. 738 00:29:56,335 --> 00:29:58,515 And so Simeon was excited about it. 739 00:29:59,055 --> 00:29:59,807 We're going to see that. 740 00:29:59,831 --> 00:30:01,493 Anna is excited about it. 741 00:30:01,679 --> 00:30:03,465 But what I would say is that as Christians should we. 742 00:30:03,505 --> 00:30:07,681 We should be excited about it and not just a superficial excitement, 743 00:30:07,833 --> 00:30:10,805 an emotional rah rah kind of thing. 744 00:30:11,185 --> 00:30:14,633 I would say the challenge is for us to live differently because 745 00:30:14,689 --> 00:30:16,065 of what Jesus Christ has done. 746 00:30:16,145 --> 00:30:16,665 Simeon. 747 00:30:16,705 --> 00:30:22,753 I don't know how much longer Simeon lived after this, but again, 748 00:30:22,929 --> 00:30:26,177 my guess would be that he would have told everybody about this 749 00:30:26,201 --> 00:30:28,245 encounter for as much time that he had. 750 00:30:28,595 --> 00:30:32,651 And I know that for us as Christians, sometimes the temptation 751 00:30:32,683 --> 00:30:36,035 is to keep it as a very personal, intimate thing with God. 752 00:30:36,155 --> 00:30:38,923 And it should be personal and intimate in some ways, but also very 753 00:30:38,979 --> 00:30:40,975 public and very. 754 00:30:42,275 --> 00:30:45,131 What I would say is demonstrative in the concept of how 755 00:30:45,163 --> 00:30:47,255 he has impacted our lives. 756 00:30:48,035 --> 00:30:52,291 You know, there are unsaved people that you can reach that maybe 757 00:30:52,323 --> 00:30:56,013 I can't reach because of your relationship with them. 758 00:30:56,189 --> 00:30:59,189 And I would encourage you to live that way so that you can proclaim 759 00:30:59,237 --> 00:31:01,381 Jesus in every aspect of your life. 760 00:31:01,533 --> 00:31:02,381 Well, that's Simeon. 761 00:31:02,413 --> 00:31:04,357 That's a snapshot of Simeon. 762 00:31:04,501 --> 00:31:05,285 He loved God. 763 00:31:05,325 --> 00:31:07,797 He obeyed God, he allowed the Spirit to guide him. 764 00:31:07,861 --> 00:31:10,269 And I hope that that's your testimony as well. 765 00:31:10,317 --> 00:31:14,093 I hope you're longing for that day of his return more and more now 766 00:31:14,149 --> 00:31:19,629 as we see the chaos of this world, we know that there are people 767 00:31:19,677 --> 00:31:20,389 looking for hope. 768 00:31:20,477 --> 00:31:22,025 There's people looking for. 769 00:31:22,475 --> 00:31:24,619 Like I mentioned this morning, there's people that are looking for 770 00:31:24,667 --> 00:31:28,015 peace, but they're looking for it in all the wrong places. 771 00:31:28,475 --> 00:31:34,255 You know, a big word that we hear is tolerance, right? 772 00:31:34,595 --> 00:31:38,643 And if I offend you tonight, it's not my intention, but peace 773 00:31:38,699 --> 00:31:41,535 is not going to be found by just saying, well, everybody's right. 774 00:31:42,155 --> 00:31:43,571 Your way is right, my way is right. 775 00:31:43,603 --> 00:31:45,819 We'll find peace if we just all agree that everyone's right. 776 00:31:45,907 --> 00:31:50,341 Well, let's say, for example, I have person A over here that says, 777 00:31:50,453 --> 00:31:51,785 well, I believe this. 778 00:31:52,485 --> 00:31:54,853 And the person B right here says, I believe this. 779 00:31:54,949 --> 00:31:57,069 Two contrary opinions about something. 780 00:31:57,237 --> 00:32:00,997 If they're both right and they conflict, what are we going to do? 781 00:32:01,021 --> 00:32:01,397 Well, there's. 782 00:32:01,461 --> 00:32:02,589 There's never going to be peace, right? 783 00:32:02,637 --> 00:32:02,869 So. 784 00:32:02,917 --> 00:32:06,525 So tolerance isn't the remedy for peace, okay? 785 00:32:06,565 --> 00:32:07,893 That's not going to happen. 786 00:32:08,069 --> 00:32:10,325 Avoiding things is not a remedy for peace, right? 787 00:32:10,405 --> 00:32:13,075 Sometimes we just stick our heads in the sand and just say, well, 788 00:32:13,205 --> 00:32:13,727 not my. 789 00:32:13,791 --> 00:32:15,591 Not my issue, okay? 790 00:32:15,663 --> 00:32:17,395 Well, that's not the remedy for peace. 791 00:32:17,815 --> 00:32:20,463 We know the remedy for peace is the peace of God that passeth 792 00:32:20,479 --> 00:32:22,639 all understanding, the prince of peace. 793 00:32:22,767 --> 00:32:26,671 And so it's Jesus that brings this type of peace in our life, this 794 00:32:26,703 --> 00:32:28,127 type of hope in our life. 795 00:32:28,231 --> 00:32:29,295 Simeon understood that. 796 00:32:29,335 --> 00:32:31,635 He was like, hey, peace has come to Israel. 797 00:32:32,095 --> 00:32:36,815 And so my challenge for you, my challenge for me this year in 798 00:32:36,855 --> 00:32:40,955 2025, is how can I live publicly? 799 00:32:41,575 --> 00:32:42,031 Not. 800 00:32:42,103 --> 00:32:44,199 And I'm not talking about getting out on a corner and Bible 801 00:32:44,247 --> 00:32:44,927 thumping, okay? 802 00:32:44,951 --> 00:32:46,231 If you want to do that, that's totally fine. 803 00:32:46,263 --> 00:32:48,271 If you're a street preacher, preach on the streets. 804 00:32:48,303 --> 00:32:51,647 Not all of us are called for that, but all of us are called to 805 00:32:51,671 --> 00:32:53,075 live as the light. 806 00:32:53,375 --> 00:32:54,911 Now, we are not the light. 807 00:32:55,063 --> 00:32:56,495 The light is Jesus Christ. 808 00:32:56,615 --> 00:32:59,275 But as he lives within us, it should shine out. 809 00:32:59,655 --> 00:33:01,687 And so what I would encourage you to do is think about, hey, how 810 00:33:01,711 --> 00:33:03,079 can I be A light to this world. 811 00:33:03,127 --> 00:33:05,275 How can I show the love of Jesus Christ? 812 00:33:05,695 --> 00:33:07,479 We're going to have opportunities for you this year to 813 00:33:07,487 --> 00:33:07,831 do that. 814 00:33:07,903 --> 00:33:08,743 I'm excited. 815 00:33:08,839 --> 00:33:11,657 I want to get to January because going to be launching our 816 00:33:11,681 --> 00:33:12,897 new vision for the year. 817 00:33:13,041 --> 00:33:16,705 And there are so many different opportunities for you in 818 00:33:16,745 --> 00:33:22,529 Middletown, in Delaware, in the United States to exercise your 819 00:33:22,577 --> 00:33:26,433 freedom of religion publicly so that we can reach people for the 820 00:33:26,449 --> 00:33:27,605 cause of the gospel. 821 00:33:27,905 --> 00:33:30,801 I think gone are the days where we need to be afraid of offending 822 00:33:30,873 --> 00:33:32,401 people in Jesus Christ. 823 00:33:32,593 --> 00:33:36,979 Let's just be unashamedly for Jesus in this culture, okay? 824 00:33:37,067 --> 00:33:40,691 Because the people that are opposed to our cause are unashamed 825 00:33:40,723 --> 00:33:41,815 of their purpose. 826 00:33:42,355 --> 00:33:43,923 And so are we going to be. 827 00:33:44,099 --> 00:33:46,091 Paul even mentions this in Romans, chapter one. 828 00:33:46,163 --> 00:33:49,215 For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Jesus Christ. 829 00:33:50,155 --> 00:33:52,179 Are we ashamed of the truth or are we. 830 00:33:52,227 --> 00:33:53,091 You know what? 831 00:33:53,283 --> 00:33:55,819 We're proud of what Jesus Christ has done for us. 832 00:33:55,947 --> 00:33:59,603 Not a selfish pride, but as Paul says, I boast in Jesus Christ 833 00:33:59,659 --> 00:34:00,615 and him alone. 834 00:34:01,115 --> 00:34:04,573 So let's boast a little bit for Jesus Christ in 2025. 835 00:34:04,739 --> 00:34:06,725 I'm sure Simeon wasn't afraid of that. 836 00:34:07,065 --> 00:34:09,081 And so we'll come back next week and we'll look at Anna. 837 00:34:09,113 --> 00:34:13,673 Anna is even a smaller snapshot, but I think there's a lot 838 00:34:13,689 --> 00:34:17,753 we can learn about Anna as well, and I think we can apply it 839 00:34:17,809 --> 00:34:19,185 to our lives here. 840 00:34:19,345 --> 00:34:23,617 So I do want to thank you and I do want to encourage you folks. 841 00:34:23,721 --> 00:34:27,105 We have something special here in Middletown Baptist Church. 842 00:34:27,225 --> 00:34:30,305 I look around and I see miracles happening in our midst. 843 00:34:30,345 --> 00:34:32,890 I see people that have so many gifts. 844 00:34:33,002 --> 00:34:37,842 And I think, I believe, and I truly believe that God has miraculous 845 00:34:37,898 --> 00:34:39,658 things in store for 2025. 846 00:34:39,706 --> 00:34:41,174 I really, really do. 847 00:34:41,474 --> 00:34:47,722 God has brought a unique group of people together to a place, unassuming 848 00:34:47,778 --> 00:34:48,682 place, Middleton. 849 00:34:48,778 --> 00:34:50,570 I didn't know about Middletown, Delaware until I moved 850 00:34:50,602 --> 00:34:51,498 here, but. 851 00:34:51,546 --> 00:34:55,314 But you know, God has moved people from across the world to Middletown, 852 00:34:55,354 --> 00:34:56,134 Delaware. 853 00:34:56,765 --> 00:34:59,781 I'm looking around, I see people from South America, I see 854 00:34:59,813 --> 00:35:00,693 people from Asia. 855 00:35:00,749 --> 00:35:02,821 I see people from all over the world. 856 00:35:02,973 --> 00:35:03,989 And he's got you here. 857 00:35:04,037 --> 00:35:06,853 I see different people from different cultures, different backgrounds. 858 00:35:06,989 --> 00:35:07,453 Different. 859 00:35:07,549 --> 00:35:08,213 Different. 860 00:35:08,389 --> 00:35:09,285 Different hobbies. 861 00:35:09,365 --> 00:35:11,117 Different, different whatever. 862 00:35:11,181 --> 00:35:13,125 And you are here for a purpose. 863 00:35:13,165 --> 00:35:14,545 We are here for a purpose. 864 00:35:15,125 --> 00:35:17,429 And instead of just saying, well, this is all just by chance, 865 00:35:17,477 --> 00:35:18,717 no God, I believe. 866 00:35:18,901 --> 00:35:20,381 I believe in the direction of God. 867 00:35:20,413 --> 00:35:23,779 And I believe that he has taken you and moved you to Middletown 868 00:35:23,827 --> 00:35:24,995 Baptist Church for a purpose. 869 00:35:25,075 --> 00:35:25,747 I really do. 870 00:35:25,811 --> 00:35:29,659 I don't believe that we're all just tumbleweeds flying through the 871 00:35:29,787 --> 00:35:30,283 wilderness. 872 00:35:30,339 --> 00:35:32,131 And hey, we all just randomly are here. 873 00:35:32,163 --> 00:35:33,691 I think God has a purpose for you. 874 00:35:33,803 --> 00:35:37,731 I think God has a purpose for us and I'm excited to see what's 875 00:35:37,763 --> 00:35:39,475 going to happen here this year. 876 00:35:39,635 --> 00:35:42,895 Well, I'm going to go ahead and close us in a word of prayer. 877 00:35:43,475 --> 00:35:46,067 I did promise that we'd get out a little early and I did keep 878 00:35:46,091 --> 00:35:47,985 my promise, which sometimes I don't do that. 879 00:35:48,075 --> 00:35:50,013 But I want to try to keep my promise here tonight. 880 00:35:50,149 --> 00:35:50,797 So let's go ahead and pray. 881 00:35:50,821 --> 00:35:52,997 I have a few announcements for you and then we'll be dismissed. 882 00:35:53,021 --> 00:35:53,837 Lord, I thank you for this time. 883 00:35:53,861 --> 00:35:56,045 I thank you for this opportunity to come here tonight 884 00:35:56,085 --> 00:36:00,109 to study your Word, Lord, to see a servant named Simeon, faithful 885 00:36:00,157 --> 00:36:03,917 servant, dedicated to your Word, dedicated to following the 886 00:36:03,941 --> 00:36:07,653 Spirit, dedicated to proclaiming the truth of the gospel. 887 00:36:07,709 --> 00:36:11,805 Lord, help us to be those that are dedicated to the Word, dedicated 888 00:36:11,845 --> 00:36:15,651 to the guidance of the Spirit and dedicated to the proclamation 889 00:36:15,683 --> 00:36:17,019 of the gospel. 890 00:36:17,187 --> 00:36:21,451 Lord, help us to long for the day that we see you face to face. 891 00:36:21,643 --> 00:36:24,491 But I pray that we can be the church that you've called us to be. 892 00:36:24,643 --> 00:36:28,135 Lord, thank you for each and every person representing here tonight. 893 00:36:28,515 --> 00:36:32,531 I thank you for the families, I thank you for the testimonies, 894 00:36:32,603 --> 00:36:36,227 thank you for the miracles when you are a God that's still at 895 00:36:36,251 --> 00:36:36,387 work. 896 00:36:36,411 --> 00:36:37,735 And we're thankful for that. 897 00:36:38,275 --> 00:36:43,159 Even tonight as we go across the way and celebrate the PETA family, 898 00:36:43,207 --> 00:36:46,235 Lord, we know that even their family is a miracle. 899 00:36:47,175 --> 00:36:49,839 And Lord, we thank you for what you do, what you continue to 900 00:36:49,847 --> 00:36:50,495 do in our lives. 901 00:36:50,575 --> 00:36:54,303 We look forward to 2025, Lord, if you give us that year, Lord, help 902 00:36:54,319 --> 00:36:55,327 us to use it. 903 00:36:55,471 --> 00:36:58,755 Help us to be pursuing you in every way. 904 00:36:59,055 --> 00:37:01,511 We love you and we thank you in Jesus name, Amen. 905 00:37:01,663 --> 00:37:03,515 Thank you so much for your attention tonight. 906 00:37:04,855 --> 00:37:07,439 Thank you again for listening to the Middletown Baptist Church 907 00:37:07,487 --> 00:37:08,255 podcast. 908 00:37:08,415 --> 00:37:11,035 I hope that this sermon has been a blessing for you. 909 00:37:11,335 --> 00:37:13,591 If you would like to find out more information about our church 910 00:37:13,623 --> 00:37:17,311 or this sermon, you can find us at middletownbaptistchurch.org. 911 00:37:17,463 --> 00:37:20,195 Or find us on Facebook or YouTube. 912 00:37:20,655 --> 00:37:25,119 You can also email me directly at Josh Massaroiddletownbaptistchurch 913 00:37:25,167 --> 00:37:29,639 dot com if you've enjoyed this podcast, please subscribe and follow 914 00:37:29,687 --> 00:37:32,715 along for future podcast and updates. 915 00:37:33,055 --> 00:37:34,167 Thank you so much. 916 00:37:34,311 --> 00:37:35,143 God Bless. 917 00:37:35,279 --> 00:37:36,295 Have a wonderful day.