Hope

What is one thing that you are waiting for?

Waiting is really hard, isn’t it?

We spend a lot of our lives waiting for something

We wait for school to be over

The line at the bathroom to get smaller

at the microwave

to go to college

to get a girlfriend

to start a job

And then, when we finally get that thing, we can very quickly fall into disappointment because we quickly realized: We don’t actually want what we were waiting and hoping for

We’re in a time called advent, which starts four Sundays before Christmas, and it is considered a time of waiting and hoping.

So, we’re waiting for Christmas to come, and we’re waiting for Christ to come back, and so we’re in a waiting period.

And you are in a waiting period, you’re waiting for something to come, so everyone’s just waiting.

What we’re going to do today is talk about two people who were very good at waiting.

Luke 2:22-38

The Hope of Simeon and Anna

We’ll start with Simeon.

Simeon was this guy who had been waiting for a long time to see the Messiah, which is the word that we use for the One that God said would save the world from sin.

He was told that, before he would die, he would see this Messiah.

So, clearly, this guy has to be pretty old by now, or else dying wouldn’t sound that good!

If God told you that you would meet someone important before you die, you’d probably kind of hope that He waits a long time to show that person to you! But, Simeon is probably older and is ready to go and meet the Lord, and so now he’s just waiting to see this Savior that God has promised.

AND THEN HE DOES!

We’re not told how Simeon knows that it’s Jesus, but he sees Jesus and something clicks in his head and he knows that this baby is going to be REALLY important!

So, he goes and says a psalm or a poem over the baby

In it, he says that Simeon is ok with dying now that he has seen the Messiah

And, he says that Jesus is the promised salvation to the Jews, a light of revelation for the rest of the world, and the glory of God.

Keep in mind, he knows that all of this is about a baby!

Then, he says something ( I think that it was light and under his breath to Jesus’ mom, Mary)

He tells her that Jesus is going to change the whole landscape of Israel and the rest of the world, and that people will know truth by knowing Jesus, even if it hurts.

And then, Simeon just disappears! We never hear from him again.

Presumably, he went and died soon afterwards!

Anna

And then we move on to Anna.

We don’t know as much about Anna.

She was widowed at a very young age, only seven years after being married, but after that, she decided to live at the temple, constantly worshipping God.

We are told that she, after all of this time worshiping and praying and fasting, she sees Jesus, and then immediately begins to tell everyone about Who she saw and that the Savior has come.

And so, for Simeon and Anna, their hope was that Jesus would come. They didn’t know when, they didn’t knew how, but they were hoping for Jesus to come because they knew that they needed Him.

The Hope of Jesus

My question for us is, do we have faith like that?

Are you willing to wait on God for years just to get what He’s promised you?

We are an instant gratification culture, so if we can’t get what we want instantly, then it isn’t worth trying to get for us.

But if I could push you a bit, I think that this system is wrong!

The best things in life require some waiting!

And this is never more true than with Jesus.

Your life is valuable, it is greatly cared for by God, and He wants the best for you!

And so He gave His only Son to die on the cross for your sins that you might have life and life to the full!

Are we willing to wait on God for what He’s promised?

Are we willing to put in time and effort and intentionality to chase after the Lord your God so that we might get to be real human beings in the way that God made we to?

If someone were to ask you what your hope for the future is, what are you going to say?

A good job

a big house

a successful youtube channel

getting out of your parents house

Lots of cash

a spouse

All of these things that we can put our hope in are not going to last and are not going to satisfy you. But you will find satisfaction in the hope of Jesus.

All this time, you’ve been waiting on Jesus, and you can fully place your hope in Him.

Questions

What is one Christmas tradition that you like to do?

How are waiting and hope related?

What does it look like to put your hope in Jesus?

What can you do this week to remind yourself of the hope you have in Jesus?