Waiting for Christmas

(Luke 2:25-35)

We know the impatient difficulty that children have waiting for Christmas.

 There was one man who waited for Christmas with more expectancy than any other. He was an old man named Simeon. Simeon shows that God has a people prepared even in the worst of circumstances.

The story of Jesus' birth shows that when religious leaders and institutions are corrupt, God still has a quiet people prepared for His coming.

The char­acters of Luke 1 and 2-Elizabeth and Zechariah, Simeon and Anna, Joseph and Mary-reminds us that God will always have a faithful people, even in the worst of times.

Ø  Simeon shows us how to prepare our hearts for Christmas.

 We prepare for Christmas with integrity of heart and understanding of mind.

There are certain things we should be and some things we should know as we wait for Christmas.

I.  The Character of Those Who Walt for Christmas

Most of the people missed the significant events of that first Christmas. The political and religious leaders did not even know what was happening.

Many in our city will altogether miss the significance of Christmas.

CHRISTMAS - MESSAGE OFTEN LOST Steve Brown reminds us of the Brueghel painting, The Census, which portrays the census taken when Quirinius was governor of Syria and recorded in the gospel of Luke. The painting shows a great crowd of people, with a long line waiting to be registered. We observe busy shops and active commerce. At first glance you think that it is a painting of a crowd - until you look in the lower right part of the canvas and notice a man pulling a donkey which is carrying a pregnant woman.

"If you have ever seen that painting, you know that it is easy to miss Mary and Joseph," "You have to look hard, because their part seems so insignificant and unimportant in relationship to what is going on in the painting.

“ Christmas is a sad time for me because so many people miss the real point...and at Christmas they are so close."

Simeon was one of the few who saw and understood the mighty act of God that first Christmas.

What characterized him?

1.  Wait for Christmas with integrity.

 Simeon was “righteous and devout"

With reference to God's will, there was reverence, devotion, and care about spiritual duties.

 No one sees Christmas who does not guard the integrity of his life. Only those whose hearts are right with God will see and sense the significance of Christmas.

2.  Wait for Christmas with intensity.

 Simeon was "waiting for the consolation of Israel."

q  A fierce intensity of expectation characterized Simeon.

q  He lived daily in a white heat of expectancy that God was about to intervene.

**We experience as much of God as we intensely expect to experience!! Christmastime ought to be a time to evaluate our spiri­tual expectancy.

3.  Wait for Christmas with inspiration.

ü  The most critical aspect of Simeon's character was his relationship to the Holy Spirit. "The Holy Spirit was upon him" (v.25) in an abiding communion with God.

 The Holy Spirit had given him a revelation-that he would not die until he had seen the Messiah.

The Holy Spirit gave him a direction:

"Moved by the Spirit, he went into the temple courts" (v.27).

The first Christmas was marked by a renewal of activity on the part of the Spirit of God.

 Every Christmas ought to be marked by a renewal of the Spirit in our lives.

II.  The Comfort of Those Who Wait for Christmas

A sense of comfort and well-being characterizes those ready for the significance of Christmas.

 That comfort comes from our relationship to Christ.

Comfort comes in our reception of Christ. "Simeon took Him in his arms and praised God" (v.28).

In a literal sense, Simeon was the first person on record to receive Christ.

 Moved by the Spirit, he came at exactly the right time to precisely the right place.

 Many parents were bringing their infants to the temple for the act of presentation. Nothing physical or dramatic caused Mary, Joseph, and Jesus to stand out from the crowd. Yet Simeon unerringly found his way to the Christ.

 Has God led you to His Christ?

 The Holy Spirit is able to bring you to that precise time and place where your life intersects with His.

 The very same Spirit that drew Simeon draws you this Christmas.

v  Comfort comes from our satisfaction with Christ.

Do you face this Christmas with a sense of well-­being and contentment in your life?

 Only seeing and receiving Christ gives that.

III.  The Concern of Those Who Wait for Christmas

   In his book Dare to Believe, Dan Baumann illustrates the unique experience of knowing that something is ours, yet longing to enjoy it more fully. He explained that at Christmas time he would always do a lot of snooping, trying to find the gift --wrapped presents and figure out what was in them. One year he discovered a package with his name on it that was easy to identify. There was no way to disguise the golf clubs inside. Baumann then made this observation: "When Mom wasn't around, I would go and feel the package, shake it, and pretend that I was on the golf course. The point is, I was already enjoying the pleasures of a future event; namely, the unveiling. It had my name on it. I knew what it was." But only "Christmas would reveal it in its fullness."

   The glories that await the Christian defy our comprehension. We look longingly to that day when we shall enjoy heaven in all its fullness.

Christmas gives us a comfort, but it also gives our life an ultimate concern and mission.

Christmas concerns the certainty of God's faithfulness.

He is a God who keeps His promise (v.29).

·        Our entire relationship to God depends on His faithfulness to His prom­ises.

In the coming of Christ we see that God does keep His promises.

ü  At least seventy-three specific promises written in the Old Testament were fulfilled in the coming of the Messiah at Christmas.

ü  We may be sure that the God who kept His promises in the past is the God who will keep His promises in the future!!

Christmas concerns the universality of God's salvation.

The old Jew, Simeon, pro-claimed that the baby he held was a "light for revelation to the Gentiles" (v.32).

 He saw that what happened in Jerusalem that day was for the entire planet. A piercing light flashes in every direction from that awesome moment.

 The very fact you are here to­day is proof of that.

 After this prophecy by Simeon, wise men from the East came to bow before the infant Christ.

q  The Christian world mission cannot be separated from Christmas.

q  It is news too good to keep.

q  By prayer and by gift we must send that light.