The Prophecies of Simeon & Anna
Notes
Transcript
Opening Illustration
Opening Illustration
In those times in our lives when we receive big news,...
Whatever that might be,...
Our minds are forever imprinted with the emotion and excitement captured in that moment.
We hear of an upcoming marriage, a baby on the way, an acceptance to school,...
Whatever it might be...
And those big moments leave a mark in our minds.
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In 2010, Drew Brees – quarterback for the New Orleans Saints, had that kind of moment as he celebrated a Super Bowl win.
As he stood with his son lifted up high in the air, he said,...
“I stood there with my little boy, and I was overwhelmed.
I told Baylen how much I loved him and how much he meant to me and what an inspiration he was to me.
I thought of my mom, who I believed was smiling down from heaven, and all my family and friends who were there watching.
‘We did it, little boy.
We did it!’”
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In that landmark moment for Drew Brees' career,...
That image of him holding his son up in the air will be an image forever sketched in his mind.
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Over 2,000 years ago...
As Simeon stood there holding the Messiah,...
His words echo that same overwhelming sentiment of a true landmark event.
Simeon said, “Lord, now You are letting Your servant depart in peace.”
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So, please turn your Bibles to the Gospel of Luke.
We will conduct our study in Chapter 2 and focus on verses 22 through 38.
Our message this morning is called, “The Prophecies of Simeon & Anna”
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As you are finding your place in God’s Word...
I would like to share that this message will focus on the events that took place when Jesus as a baby was presented to the Lord at the Temple.
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Our passage today has three main points...
The Setting
Simeon’s Prophecy
And...
Anna’s Prophecy
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Opening Prayer
Opening Prayer
Before we consider our text, please join me in prayer...
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Heavenly Father...
Watch over your children...
And protect us from the lies and deception of the World.
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We cry out to you...
For you hear our cries...
You know the struggles we face...
And you will not abandon us.
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Holy and Amazing God...
You are the Great I Am...
The God of Abraham...
And Issac...
And Jacob.
You are the First and the Last...
The Alpha and Omega...
The One who is totally Holy and set apart.
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Forgive us when we fail to follow your commands...
Forgive us when we stray from your ways...
Forgive us for foolishly thinking our way could ever be better than your way.
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Thank you for who You are...
Thank you for your mercy...
Thank you for your grace...
Thank you for sending the Holy Spirit to us...
Thank you for giving us the Words of life...
Thank you for offering up your One and Only Begotten Son...
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And it is in Jesus’s name we pray all these things...
Amen.
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Let’s turn to our text for today:
Reading of the Text
Reading of the Text
22 And when the time came for their purification according to the Law of Moses, they brought him up to Jerusalem to present him to the Lord
23 (as it is written in the Law of the Lord, “Every male who first opens the womb shall be called holy to the Lord”)
24 and to offer a sacrifice according to what is said in the Law of the Lord, “a pair of turtledoves, or two young pigeons.”
25 Now there was a man in Jerusalem, whose name was Simeon, and this man was righteous and devout, waiting for the consolation of Israel, and the Holy Spirit was upon him.
26 And it had been revealed to him by the Holy Spirit that he would not see death before he had seen the Lord’s Christ.
27 And he came in the Spirit into the temple, and when the parents brought in the child Jesus, to do for him according to the custom of the Law,
28 he took him up in his arms and blessed God and said,
29 “Lord, now you are letting your servant depart in peace, according to your word;
30 for my eyes have seen your salvation
31 that you have prepared in the presence of all peoples,
32 a light for revelation to the Gentiles, and for glory to your people Israel.”
33 And his father and his mother marveled at what was said about him.
34 And Simeon blessed them and said to Mary his mother, “Behold, this child is appointed for the fall and rising of many in Israel, and for a sign that is opposed
35 (and a sword will pierce through your own soul also), so that thoughts from many hearts may be revealed.”
36 And there was a prophetess, Anna, the daughter of Phanuel, of the tribe of Asher. She was advanced in years, having lived with her husband seven years from when she was a virgin,
37 and then as a widow until she was eighty-four. She did not depart from the temple, worshiping with fasting and prayer night and day.
38 And coming up at that very hour she began to give thanks to God and to speak of him to all who were waiting for the redemption of Jerusalem.
So, let’s look at our first point...
1) The Setting
1) The Setting
Verses 22-24: And when the time came for their purification according to the Law of Moses, they brought him up to Jerusalem to present him to the Lord (as it is written in the Law of the Lord, “Every male who first opens the womb shall be called holy to the Lord”) and to offer a sacrifice according to what is said in the Law of the Lord, “a pair of turtledoves, or two young pigeons.”
So, when we last left off...
Mary gave birth to Jesus and He was circumcised as it says in Luke 2:21:
21 And at the end of eight days, when he was circumcised, he was called Jesus, the name given by the angel before he was conceived in the womb.
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Luke’s Gospel account picks up from here and describes the next big event in our narrative.
As part of the Old Covenant, after a child is born a women was considered unclean and after an allotted period of time had to go through a purification process.
Or as our author says in our passage, “And when the time came for their purification according to the Law of Moses, they brought him up to Jerusalem to present him to the Lord.”
Leviticus 12:1–8 provides the background and instruction the followers of the Lord had to do in the days before the New Covenant:
1 The Lord spoke to Moses, saying,
2 “Speak to the people of Israel, saying, If a woman conceives and bears a male child, then she shall be unclean seven days. As at the time of her menstruation, she shall be unclean.
3 And on the eighth day the flesh of his foreskin shall be circumcised.
4 Then she shall continue for thirty-three days in the blood of her purifying. She shall not touch anything holy, nor come into the sanctuary, until the days of her purifying are completed.
5 But if she bears a female child, then she shall be unclean two weeks, as in her menstruation. And she shall continue in the blood of her purifying for sixty-six days.
6 “And when the days of her purifying are completed, whether for a son or for a daughter, she shall bring to the priest at the entrance of the tent of meeting a lamb a year old for a burnt offering, and a pigeon or a turtledove for a sin offering,
7 and he shall offer it before the Lord and make atonement for her. Then she shall be clean from the flow of her blood. This is the law for her who bears a child, either male or female.
8 And if she cannot afford a lamb, then she shall take two turtledoves or two pigeons, one for a burnt offering and the other for a sin offering. And the priest shall make atonement for her, and she shall be clean.”
So, a woman who bore a son was ceremonially unclean for 40 days...
Or if she bore a daughter she would be ceremonially unclean for 80 days.
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After that she was to offer a yearling lamb and a dove or pigeon.
If poor, she could offer two doves or pigeons.
So, based on what we see in our text, Mary’s offering indicates that she and Joseph were poor.
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Additionally, we really need to understand what the phrase “present him to the Lord” is referring to.
Look with me at Exodus 13:1–2 which says:
1 The Lord said to Moses,
2 “Consecrate to me all the firstborn. Whatever is the first to open the womb among the people of Israel, both of man and of beast, is mine.”
Yet, the Levites took the place of the firstborn of the rest of the tribes by being devoted to the service of God as priests.
We know this from Numbers 3:12–13 which says:
12 “Behold, I have taken the Levites from among the people of Israel instead of every firstborn who opens the womb among the people of Israel. The Levites shall be mine,
13 for all the firstborn are mine. On the day that I struck down all the firstborn in the land of Egypt, I consecrated for my own all the firstborn in Israel, both of man and of beast. They shall be mine: I am the Lord.”
So why is Jesus being presented to the Lord if He is not a Levite?
That is a great question and the MacArthur New Testament Commentary on Luke has a clarifying note that will be helpful for us:
“The setting apart of the firstborn was not for priestly service, because priests came only from the tribe of Levi (Jesus was from the tribe of Judah).
Joseph and Mary, then, were not presenting Jesus for priestly service, but rather dedicating His life to God.”
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There is another point we can take away from this passage...
It indicates that the visit from the wise men did not happen until after this when the child Jesus was a little bit older...
The New International Commentary on The New Testament on Luke shares why this is the case:
“This visit of Joseph and Mary with the Child to Jerusalem probably preceded the visit of the Wise Men from the East, for after the warning in connection with Herod they would probably not have come to Jerusalem.
And would they, after receiving the costly gifts from these men, have sacrificed only two pigeons?”
Clearly not...
So, it is as always that we trust in the truth we find in Scripture about Christ’s birth and not what we commonly see on Christmas cards and nativity sets which give the impression that the wise men visited Jesus on the same night as His birth.
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Next the first of two faithful individuals enter the picture with words of prophecy...
And this takes us to our next point.
2) Simeon’s Prophecy
2) Simeon’s Prophecy
Verses 25-35: Now there was a man in Jerusalem, whose name was Simeon, and this man was righteous and devout, waiting for the consolation of Israel, and the Holy Spirit was upon him. And it had been revealed to him by the Holy Spirit that he would not see death before he had seen the Lord’s Christ. And he came in the Spirit into the temple, and when the parents brought in the child Jesus, to do for him according to the custom of the Law, he took him up in his arms and blessed God and said, “Lord, now you are letting your servant depart in peace, according to your word; for my eyes have seen your salvation that you have prepared in the presence of all peoples, a light for revelation to the Gentiles, and for glory to your people Israel.” And his father and his mother marveled at what was said about him. And Simeon blessed them and said to Mary his mother, “Behold, this child is appointed for the fall and rising of many in Israel, and for a sign that is opposed (and a sword will pierce through your own soul also), so that thoughts from many hearts may be revealed.”
So, now Simeon enters the scene...
He was a righteous and devout man...
A man anxiously waiting for the promised Messiah...
And a man whom “the Holy Spirit was upon.”
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This is not the first time in Luke’s Gospel we notice an individual being filled with the Holy Spirit.
Even before Pentecost the Holy Spirit was at work...
For those that followed the Lord...
The Holy Spirit was with them...
Usually leading individuals with a particular task
This in a lot of ways foreshadows the Holy Spirit’s post Pentecost action of not just being with believers at some times but being within believers all the time!
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So, again Luke has already shown examples of this like we see with John the Baptist in Luke 1:15 which says:
15 for he will be great before the Lord. And he must not drink wine or strong drink, and he will be filled with the Holy Spirit, even from his mother’s womb.
And Luke 1:41 shows the Holy Spirit with Elizabeth right before she prophecies as it says:
41 And when Elizabeth heard the greeting of Mary, the baby leaped in her womb. And Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit,
And likewise we see the same amazing work of the Holy Spirit in John the Baptist’s father in Luke 1:67:
67 And his father Zechariah was filled with the Holy Spirit and prophesied, saying,
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Next, when Simeon says, “Lord, now you are letting your servant depart in peace, according to your word”...
We get to witnesses Simeon’s song of praise or psalm of praise which is known as the Nunc Dimittis...
The reason for this name is that these are the first two words of the Latin translation of this hymn...
“Now dismiss” or “now depart” which here means to allow to die.
We see the use of language like this in Revelation 14:13:
13 And I heard a voice from heaven saying, “Write this: Blessed are the dead who die in the Lord from now on.” “Blessed indeed,” says the Spirit, “that they may rest from their labors, for their deeds follow them!”
Simeon...
Seeing the Messiah with his own eyes...
Is now ready to depart in peace...
He is ready to experience true rest.
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Simeon then goes on to say, “For my eyes have seen your salvation that you have prepared in the presence of all peoples, a light for revelation to the Gentiles, and for glory to your people Israel.”
Just looking unto Jesus is the same as looking at salvation...
For salvation is only through Christ!
Simeon reveals his confidence in God’s faithfulness and trust that He will accomplish all that He has promised...
For even though Jesus is not even two months old at this point...
Simeon had no doubts Jesus would complete the mission He was sent into our world to accomplish.
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The “all peoples” in our passage is plural and refers to the Gentiles as well as to Israel.
As Isaiah 42:6 says:
6 “I am the Lord; I have called you in righteousness; I will take you by the hand and keep you; I will give you as a covenant for the people, a light for the nations,
And as it says in Isaiah 49:6:
6 he says: “It is too light a thing that you should be my servant to raise up the tribes of Jacob and to bring back the preserved of Israel; I will make you as a light for the nations, that my salvation may reach to the end of the earth.”
Jesus is the light that was promised for all nations!
Isaiah again proclaims this in Isaiah 60:1–3 which says:
1 Arise, shine, for your light has come, and the glory of the Lord has risen upon you.
2 For behold, darkness shall cover the earth, and thick darkness the peoples; but the Lord will arise upon you, and his glory will be seen upon you.
3 And nations shall come to your light, and kings to the brightness of your rising.
The New Testament then goes on and makes this clear...
Just look at the writings of John the Beloved as he wrote in John 1:4–9:
4 In him was life, and the life was the light of men.
5 The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.
6 There was a man sent from God, whose name was John.
7 He came as a witness, to bear witness about the light, that all might believe through him.
8 He was not the light, but came to bear witness about the light.
9 The true light, which gives light to everyone, was coming into the world.
Jesus declared this truth about Himself...
In John 8:12 the Word of God records this:
12 Again Jesus spoke to them, saying, “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.”
And John 9:5 which says:
5 As long as I am in the world, I am the light of the world.”
John 12:46 likewise reveals that Jesus says:
46 I have come into the world as light, so that whoever believes in me may not remain in darkness.
To be without Christ is to walk blindly...
To not know Christ is to experience pitch blackness.
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That means you will be tripping over yourself...
Walking into objects...
Aimlessly going about in circles.
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Our only hope of survival is to follow the light...
For Jesus is our light and compass and life!
Only through Him came we even begin to understand the Gospel message and the Good News about Jesus Christ.
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Church, our job is to reflect that light of Jesus...
Just like the Apostles reflected the light of Christ and became a light for Gentiles when the Jews as a whole rejected the Good News as it says in Acts 13:45-47:
45 But when the Jews saw the crowds, they were filled with jealousy and began to contradict what was spoken by Paul, reviling him.
46 And Paul and Barnabas spoke out boldly, saying, “It was necessary that the word of God be spoken first to you. Since you thrust it aside and judge yourselves unworthy of eternal life, behold, we are turning to the Gentiles.
47 For so the Lord has commanded us, saying, “ ‘I have made you a light for the Gentiles, that you may bring salvation to the ends of the earth.’ ”
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This powerful truth produced a reaction of marvel and amazement from the parents of Jesus as our passage continues to say, “And his father and his mother marveled at what was said about him.”
Jesus had that effect on people...
And as He grew His parents and other simply marveled at what they saw and heard concerning the Son of God...
Luke 2:46-47, which records the events of Mary and Joseph losing Jesus only to find Him three days later at the temple, has this to say:
46 After three days they found him in the temple, sitting among the teachers, listening to them and asking them questions.
47 And all who heard him were amazed at his understanding and his answers.
A little further in Luke’s Gospel we see that Luke 4:17-22 says:
17 And the scroll of the prophet Isaiah was given to him. He unrolled the scroll and found the place where it was written,
18 “The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim liberty to the captives and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty those who are oppressed,
19 to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.”
20 And he rolled up the scroll and gave it back to the attendant and sat down. And the eyes of all in the synagogue were fixed on him.
21 And he began to say to them, “Today this Scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing.”
22 And all spoke well of him and marveled at the gracious words that were coming from his mouth. And they said, “Is not this Joseph’s son?”
And even at Jesus’ own trial...
Those who had authority over Him...
Could not help but be amazed of Him even when He spoke no words as it says in Matthew 27:11-14:
11 Now Jesus stood before the governor, and the governor asked him, “Are you the King of the Jews?” Jesus said, “You have said so.”
12 But when he was accused by the chief priests and elders, he gave no answer.
13 Then Pilate said to him, “Do you not hear how many things they testify against you?”
14 But he gave him no answer, not even to a single charge, so that the governor was greatly amazed.
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Next Simeon directs his words to Mary and says “Behold, this child is appointed for the fall and rising of many in Israel.”
This is the first time in Luke’s Gospel we see any warning that there will be groups of the chosen people who are against the Messiah...
Many focused on the Messiah coming to save them from Roman oppression but didn’t pay attention to what the Old Testament said...
The Messiah would be rejected by many...
As Matthew 21:42 records what Jesus said to the religious elite of the day:
42 Jesus said to them, “Have you never read in the Scriptures: “ ‘The stone that the builders rejected has become the cornerstone; this was the Lord’s doing, and it is marvelous in our eyes’?
Our Lord and Savior was referring to Psalm 118:22–23 which says:
22 The stone that the builders rejected has become the cornerstone.
23 This is the Lord’s doing; it is marvelous in our eyes.
The prophet Isaiah warns us too that the Messiah will be a stone of offense to those whom He first came to as Isaiah 8:14 records:
14 And he will become a sanctuary and a stone of offense and a rock of stumbling to both houses of Israel, a trap and a snare to the inhabitants of Jerusalem.
The apostle Paul goes on to explain in Romans 9:32 why Jesus and His message was such a stumbling block for the Jews:
32 Why? Because they did not pursue it by faith, but as if it were based on works. They have stumbled over the stumbling stone,
The religious elite of the day falsely believed they could earn salvation based on their performance and good works...
They thought if them created new laws they could earn righteousness by following their own traditions...
But the Gospel Message is offensive to those with that poor mentality...
As 1 Peter 2:8 says:
8 and “A stone of stumbling, and a rock of offense.” They stumble because they disobey the word, as they were destined to do.
By following the tradition of men...
By following the tradition of the elders...
The Jews ended up disobeying God’s Word...
To add to God’s perfect truth and perfect Word is to make it null and void!
We saw this with the Pharisees, Sadducees, and Scribes in Jesus’ day...
And we see this still with the Catholics, Orthodoxs, Mormons and Jahovah’s Witness of our day...
They trade the Gospel of Jesus Christ for the wisdom of men.
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So, let us keep 1 Corinthians 1:23-24 front and center in our minds and meditate on these words of life:
23 but we preach Christ crucified, a stumbling block to Jews and folly to Gentiles,
24 but to those who are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God.
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Simeon ends his prophecy with these shocking words to Mary, “And for a sign that is opposed (and a sword will pierce through your own soul also), so that thoughts from many hearts may be revealed.”
This was undoubtedly a reference to the personal grief Mary would endure when she watched her own Son die in agony as recorded in John 19:25:
25 but standing by the cross of Jesus were his mother and his mother’s sister, Mary the wife of Clopas, and Mary Magdalene.
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New Testament Scholar Darrell. L. Bock says this about the sword described as piercing Mary’s soul:
“He tells Mary that the child shall cause a sword to pass through her own soul, a figure that is made more graphic because the term chosen for sword, ‘rhomphaia’,
Designates a very large, broad, two-edged sword.
The figure points to Jesus’ bringing extreme emotional pain to his mother.”
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As the parents of Christ are still absorbing all this...
Another comes to them...
And shares another message from God...
And this takes us to our third and final point:
3) Anna’s Prophecy
3) Anna’s Prophecy
Verses 36-38: And there was a prophetess, Anna, the daughter of Phanuel, of the tribe of Asher. She was advanced in years, having lived with her husband seven years from when she was a virgin, and then as a widow until she was eighty-four. She did not depart from the temple, worshiping with fasting and prayer night and day. And coming up at that very hour she began to give thanks to God and to speak of him to all who were waiting for the redemption of Jerusalem.
So, now enters Anna to our scene...
She widow for most of her life but spent her time at the temple fasting and praying.
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Luke says, “She did not depart from the temple.”
This is an interesting phrase and there are two ways to interpret this...
One way to interpret this statement as the MacArthur Study Bible says is that:
“Anna evidently had her living quarters on the temple grounds.
There would have been several such dwelling places for priests in the outer court, and Anna must have been allowed to live there permanently because of her unusual status as a prophetess.”
So, possibly she lived in one of the rooms surrounding the temple precinct...
Another way to interpret this that I came across in my study is that Anna may have, lived like the disciples in Luke 24:53, and centered her life there.
That verse says:
53 and were continually in the temple blessing God.
So, like New Testament Scholar Robert H. Stein says:
“This expression then should probably not be pressed to mean twenty-four hours a day, i.e., she lived in the temple, because women were not normally allowed to stay in the temple during the night.
It is best therefore to interpret it in the popular sense of all the time, i.e., she was ‘in church’ all day long.”
As much as I love MacArthur, I see more evidence with the later interpretation and would conclude that the second interpretation is most likely.
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Luke writes that Anna was, “worshiping with fasting and prayer night and day.”
Fasting and prayer are important aspects of the christian walk...
For example...
Look at what Jesus has to say about prayer in Matthew 6:5-8:
5 “And when you pray, you must not be like the hypocrites. For they love to stand and pray in the synagogues and at the street corners, that they may be seen by others. Truly, I say to you, they have received their reward.
6 But when you pray, go into your room and shut the door and pray to your Father who is in secret. And your Father who sees in secret will reward you.
7 “And when you pray, do not heap up empty phrases as the Gentiles do, for they think that they will be heard for their many words.
8 Do not be like them, for your Father knows what you need before you ask him.
In addition to this...
Our Lord and Savior gave us a temple to use for the model of our prayers...
Take a look at how Jesus answered when asked by His disciples how we should pray as found in Matthew 6:9-15:
9 Pray then like this: “Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name.
10 Your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.
11 Give us this day our daily bread,
12 and forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors.
13 And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil.
14 For if you forgive others their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you,
15 but if you do not forgive others their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses.
Finally, prayer needs to no just be a task we do when all else fails...
It is not just a task we do at a time or two during the day at select times...
Prayer needs to be on our lips all the time.
As Colossians 4:2 says:
2 Continue steadfastly in prayer, being watchful in it with thanksgiving.
And as 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18 say:
16 Rejoice always,
17 pray without ceasing,
18 give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.
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In addition to prayer...
We are instructed in the Scriptures to fast too...
This is not nearly talked about as much and that is a shame...
Just look with me at what it says in passages like Esther 4:15–16:
15 Then Esther told them to reply to Mordecai,
16 “Go, gather all the Jews to be found in Susa, and hold a fast on my behalf, and do not eat or drink for three days, night or day. I and my young women will also fast as you do. Then I will go to the king, though it is against the law, and if I perish, I perish.”
In the face of danger...
In the face of the treat of extinction of the Jewish people...
God’s people gather together and fasted.
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The man after God’s own heart...
King David...
When grieving fasted as recorded in 2 Samuel 1:11–12:
11 Then David took hold of his clothes and tore them, and so did all the men who were with him.
12 And they mourned and wept and fasted until evening for Saul and for Jonathan his son and for the people of the Lord and for the house of Israel, because they had fallen by the sword.
We can add the names of Moses, Daniel, Ezra, and Nehemiah to the list of those who fasted in times when they faced great challenges...
But this was not just a reality in the Old Testament...
Look with me at what is written in Matthew 4:1–2:
1 Then Jesus was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil.
2 And after fasting forty days and forty nights, he was hungry.
Right after Jesus was Baptized and He was ready to start His earthly ministry...
He started out in period of fasting.
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Now if Jesus who was sinless felt the need to fast...
How much more do we need to make fasting a regular practice in our lives.
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And it is not my opinion I am sharing with you...
Just look at what Christ Himself says in Matthew 9:14–15:
14 Then the disciples of John came to him, saying, “Why do we and the Pharisees fast, but your disciples do not fast?”
15 And Jesus said to them, “Can the wedding guests mourn as long as the bridegroom is with them? The days will come when the bridegroom is taken away from them, and then they will fast.
In fact, Jesus talk about fasting as a practice expect of His own followers...
He does not “if” you fast...
Our Lord says “when” you fast...
This way making it clear this is an expected practice as Matthew 6:16–18 makes clear:
16 “And when you fast, do not look gloomy like the hypocrites, for they disfigure their faces that their fasting may be seen by others. Truly, I say to you, they have received their reward.
17 But when you fast, anoint your head and wash your face,
18 that your fasting may not be seen by others but by your Father who is in secret. And your Father who sees in secret will reward you.
The early church which is recorded throughout Acts makes fasting a regular practice as seen in passages like Acts 14:21-23:
21 When they had preached the gospel to that city and had made many disciples, they returned to Lystra and to Iconium and to Antioch,
22 strengthening the souls of the disciples, encouraging them to continue in the faith, and saying that through many tribulations we must enter the kingdom of God.
23 And when they had appointed elders for them in every church, with prayer and fasting they committed them to the Lord in whom they had believed.
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Fasting can be done in a verity of ways...
One can abstain from certain foods like meats and/or dairy products like the Daniel fast...
Others can abstain from sweets and rich foods...
One can abstain from all food and drink water alone for a day, two or three...
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Times to fast would be times for mourning...
Some like to fast on Wednesdays to remember the day Christ was betrayed...
Some may fast on Fridays to remember the day that Christ was crucified...
It is wise to fast when one is seeking the Lord for discernment over a big decision...
However one chooses to do it...
And whatever days one chooses to practice it...
Do it for the Lord.
So, let us both eat in honor of the Lord and abstain from food in honor of the Lord as it says in Romans 14:6:
6 The one who observes the day, observes it in honor of the Lord. The one who eats, eats in honor of the Lord, since he gives thanks to God, while the one who abstains, abstains in honor of the Lord and gives thanks to God.
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Finally, our passage in our study ends by saying, “She began to give thanks to God and to speak of him to all who were waiting for the redemption of Jerusalem.”
In Greek, “gave thanks” and “spoke” are both in the imperfect tense...
That means that Anna continued giving thanks and testimony even after the event.
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May that be our attitude too, Church...
Don’t just give thanks to God on Sunday morning...
Don’t just remember Him once a week...
But give thanks to Him always...
Every day...
Every hour...
Every moment...
Remember Him and give thanks!
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Darrell Bock has another helpful note that can help us as we get ready to conclude our study:
“Anna’s message hints at a remnant concept, since she addresses her remarks only to those who await the consummation of God’s plan.
For those ready to hear, fulfillment has come.”
We are the remnant, Beloved...
That is the true followers of Christ...
And this is who Anna was talking about...
Not the ones who claim to be followers of God but inwardly do not follow Him...
But the remnant are those who truly trust in the Lord with all their heart...
For it will be the remnant of the Jews...
And the remnant of the Gentiles...
That put their faith in the plans of God.
Closing Illustration
Closing Illustration
As this message comes to a close...
I would like to share this:
The story is told of an elderly grandfather who was very wealthy.
Because he was going deaf, he decided to buy a hearing aid.
Two weeks later he stopped at the store where he had bought it and told the manager he could now pick up conversation quite easily, even in the next room.
“Your relatives must be happy to know that you can hear so much better,” beamed the delighted proprietor.
.......
“Oh, I haven’t told them yet,” the man chuckled.
“I’ve just been sitting around listening—and you know what?
I’ve changed my will twice!”
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Remember, God always hears us; but His will will not change, because we stand before Him by grace.
He has guaranteed a remnant, one that He knew about and saved before time began.
Be confident in this:
God is well able to carry out His plan, for He is the Author and the Finisher of our faith.
As it says in Hebrews 12:2:
2 looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God.
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Trust in the Lord and you will never be disappointed...
For there is no better group to be a part of than the remnant...
Again I say...
Trust in the Lord!
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To God be all the glory.
Amen.
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Please join us for one more song from the Praise Band.