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Have you ever knew a person who was in a role that you would not really expect them in?
When I was a teenager the church I was attending had a youth director who was actually really big into pageants and things like that
And one day we actually found out she became miss Maryland
And not only that but she actually became Miss USA
But surprisingly thats not the unexpected part, because as you can imagine she fairly small but a few years down the road she ended up becoming a police officer.
I mean it was a role that was unexpected
But I am sure some of you can think of a time where you were really not expecting that person to have that role or to do that specific task.
Well in the story we are in today this is actually the case, because we are in Luke 2:25-38 and let be give you some background information:
because Mary has actually just given birth to Jesus
and part of the religus tradition in the culture back then was they would be when the baby reached a certain age they would bring them to the temple to dedicate the child and present an offering to God
And typically the offering you would bring for this type of sacrifice would actually be a lamb.
But if you were poor you would give either a two turtledoves or two pigeons
and what is so suprissing is you think the couple that just birthed the savior of the world, the king of kings, would have a lamb, but they come with just these two birds.
But all of this to say in the story we are about to read there are people at this early age that recognize He is the savior of the world.
Even though He is still a baby
Even though He comes from this poor family
Even though He does not look like a king
They know that there is something special about this Baby and not just that but they know that He is the Messiah.
And this is amazing because even when Jesus is an adult (and is working miracles and making it plain as day) there are some people including religious leaders who either do not recognize Him or deny Him.
And so what we are going to be looking at is these two people (named Simeon and Anna) who recognized Jesus at this early age.
And we are going to see what made them be able to see who Jesus is.
Because the truth is in our lives today there are times where God is moving or doing something and somehow we completely miss it.
So we are going to be looking at how we don’t miss God moving and how we can see when God is moving,
So if you have your Bible turn with me to Luke 2:25-38 or you can follow along on the screen, but we will just be starting in verses 25-28 which says this:
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,
So the first person we are looking at is Simeon and we do not know a lot about Simeon other then what we are told about his personality and spiritually.
We know he is a righteous man devoted to God,
But probably the biggist thing made known about Simeon was that God’s spirit was with him.
In fact in just those short 4 verses it mentions that the Holy Spirit was with him three times.
But you know if we want to see how God is moving it is vital for us to have God’s spirit to reveal what He is doing.
You know its almost like this I was at Fernwood Botanical Garden and if you have been there it is this beautiful garden area in Buchanan
But they have this one area where you can go bird watching and look into the woods to see different trees they have.
And I am just going to be honest at first glance I was not that impressed (it just looked like the woods to me)
But what is so neat is they have this little guide that you can look at that shows and tells you the different birds and plants.
And so what looks really ordinary is actually really beautiful because there are a ton of different things
And I almost missed it if I did not see that guide
But you know in the same way I needed that guide to see everything, we need God to see what He is doing.
Otherwise we are looking around at things that could completely change lives, but without God it might look completely ordinary.
We need God’s spirit if we want to clearly see how He is moving.
Well look what else we know about Simeon, because in this passage it says that He was waiting for Israels consolation or basically he was waiting for Messiah.
I mean Simeon was waiting but not just that He was looking for the Messiah.
He kept His eyes open for God to move.
And really I think Simeon sets such a good example for us here because if we want to see how God is moving we have to keep our eyes open and constantly searching for How He is moving
I mean think about it if you are driving somewhere for the first time
You do not just zone out and keep driving on the road your on right?
Why? because if you do that you will end up somewhere completely different then where you should be
Because when you are driving somewhere you are activly searching for road signs and paying attention to directions to make sure you do not miss a turn.
But here is the issue with Christians and sometimes even the church. We like to get into patterns (which are not always bad), but then what happens often is we stop looking for How God is moving.
instead of looking at how God is moving, we look at what we did in years past
instead of seeing how God is moving we look at what is safe
And before we know it we are that zoned out person driving down the wrong road.
I mean it is so important for us to be actively seeking how God is moving whether that is our personal lives or in our church and to seek Him.
Well lets look at the next part of the passage because Simeon picks up Baby Jesus and in verses 29-35 and He says this:
Luke 2:29–35 (ESV)
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.”
(And then it says this)
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.”
You know Simeon recognized the significance of Jesus
And He really flushes out what is going to happen to Jesus.
I mean He mentions how Jesus is not just a light for the Jewish people but for all people
He mentions how He will some will like Him others will oppose Him
He mentions how Mary will have a sword pierce her heart (pointing to the future of when Jesus would be crucified and Mary would be there at the foot of the cross)
I mean it is amazing the amount of details Simeon knows.
But you know when God shows you an area He is moving we want to dig deeper into that area.
Because we might now know every detail, but God will guide us through it.
Well look at this last part of the passage and this is where Anna comes in starting at verses 36-38 because it says this:
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 there is this women named Anna and Anna is what I would like to can a saint of the church
She was a n 84 year old widow and we are told that she basically lived in the temple because she would pray and fast day and night.
and so when she saw Jesus come into this temple she knew who He was
And it tells us she goes up to Jesus and just starts giving thanks and not just that but it says she starts telling everyone about Him
You know I think we all have known someone like Anna. I remember Arnold who passed away about a year ago
He was a person that was like this, His wife would tell me how he would look for any opportunity to tell someone about Jesus and not just that but He would pray all the time.
I mean I do not know about you but there is something so powerful about these people who have walked with God for years of there life faithfully.
And we have so much we can learn from what I call the saints of the church
I mean I do not know about you but I want to be a person that like Anna is known for basically living in God’s presence day and night.
Doing everything I can to know His will, giving thanks to God and then telling everyone about Him.
You know God is always moving but today I want us to ask ourselves am I setting myself up to recognize what God is doing?
In my life, in our church, or are my eyes closed to it?
And as we close I just want to give you an opportunity to pray to God for our eyes to be open
Where we are not just following what we have done for years or following what is safe.
But we are following the one true God.
Will you Pray with me?