“Simeon’s Vision of Christmas” – Revelation – Luke 2:25-35

Do you like scary movies?  I don’t usually care for them because I don’t like being scared. Besides the fact that most of them aren’t watchable for any number of reasons, I just don’t care for them.  But obviously some people do because they come out with new ones all the time. Not only do I not want to be scared, most of the ones I’ve seen are too far-fetched.  You know what I mean.

The 18-year old girl sees a guy go into an abandoned building and says, “I wonder if he needs help.  I better go check.” He’s got a chainsaw, a peg leg and a hockey mask.  Obviously, he needs her help, right? Then, at some point in the movie, some girl is going to hear something in the basement and even though all her friends have been sliced open with a machete, she feels the need to go check. Call the police? No.  Get a gun? No.  Take a friend? No.

Just start walking down to the basement and what always happens? The light at the top of the stairs is burned out, right?  It’s pitch black and there may be a psycho serial killer down there but Muffy is going to check it out anyway and here’s how it goes.  The scary organ music starts playing.  She’s walking down the steps real slow, the music builds, the girl is squinting into the darkness and all of the sudden…a cat jumps in front of her and she breathes a big sigh of relief, starts back down the stairs with a smile right into the arms of the killer and his bloody machete.

Now, what one thing would have changed that outcome? We know they have to make movies but in real life, what one thing would have prevented her from going all the way down there? A light, of course.  If she had just had a flashlight or if the light bulb at the top of the stairs had not burned out, she could have made it to the end of the movie…maybe…except we know she would have been running through the woods away from the killer and she would have fallen, but whatever.

A light solves a lot of problems, doesn’t it? It reveals things that the darkness hides. It reveals the hidden killer or the hidden tree root that she tripped on or the way out of trouble that she almost found. I’m a big fan of shining light in the darkness.  I have all kinds of flashlights and lamps and spotlights and you can bet if I hear a noise downstairs, I’m turning on some kind of light.

I was looking at flashlights online the other day and you can spend a lot of money on just a flashlight.  Oh, you can buy a cheepo at Walmart for a dollar but you can also spend $200-300 for something with a lot more power and quality. The question is, how valuable is light to you when you need it most? How bad do you want the light to reveal what is hidden? Do you want to go in the right way or the wrong way? Do you want to see the truth instead of darkness? Do you want to live the right life or live a lie?

Those are some of life’s most important questions and they are answered, not with a flashlight or a lantern but with THE LIGHT; the light that IS the Way, the Truth and the Life; and that is, of course, Jesus. That is what Simeon called the baby Jesus in Luke chapter 2, verse 32.  He said Jesus was the light for revelation to the Gentiles.  Let’s look at that as we continue our study of this beautiful passage about the prophet Simeon when he first saw Jesus that day in the temple.

Turn to Luke 2 and let’s read verses 25-35 again as we finish up studying Simeon’s vision of Christmas and what it means to us all these years later.  Luke 2:25-35 says, “Now there was a man in Jerusalem called Simeon, who was righteous and devout. He was waiting for the consolation of Israel, and the Holy Spirit was on him. 26 It had been revealed to him by the Holy Spirit that he would not die before he had seen the Lord’s Messiah. 27 Moved by the Spirit, he went into the temple courts. When the parents brought in the child Jesus to do for him what the custom of the Law required, 28 Simeon took him in his arms and praised God, saying:

29 “Sovereign Lord, as you have promised,
    you may now dismiss your servant in peace.
30 For my eyes have seen your salvation,
31     which you have prepared in the sight of all nations:
32 a light for revelation to the Gentiles,
    and the glory of your people Israel.”

33 The child’s father and mother marveled at what was said about him. 34 Then Simeon blessed them and said to Mary, his mother: “This child is destined to cause the falling and rising of many in Israel, and to be a sign that will be spoken against, 35 so that the thoughts of many hearts will be revealed. And a sword will pierce your own soul too.”

Back in the days before electricity, a tightfisted old farmer was taking his hired man to task for carrying a lighted lantern when he went to call on his best girl. "Why," he exclaimed, "when I went a-courtin' I never carried one of them things. I always went in the dark." "Yes," the hired man said, "and look what you got!" (sermoncentral.com)

We all need a light for revelation in every aspect of our lives, from who we marry to where we go to church but the most important area of our lives that we need revelation is spiritually.  We know that light for revelation is Jesus just as Simeon prophesied. We know that He is the Way, the Truth and the Life and that is what you need a light to reveal, don’t you?  You need a light to reveal the right way to go. You need a light to reveal truth and you need light to reveal how to live your life.

Turn to John chapter 14, please.  I want you to see how Simeon’s prophecy that this baby Jesus would one day be a light for revelation to the Gentiles came true. We have seen Simeon was waiting for the consolation of Israel and we know we, too, can be consoled by Jesus in that having a relationship with Him brings peace and joy in this life and the comfort of knowing we have eternity in Heaven in the next life.  We saw last week that when Simeon said he had now seen God’s salvation that we know what we have been saved to, from and for and we celebrate that especially at this time of year.

But in John chapter 14, Jesus is talking to His disciples and He tells them that He is about to go away.  He knows He is about to be arrested and crucified, die and come back to life but that He will ultimately go back to Heaven to be with God the Father. He says in verse 1, “Do not let your hearts be troubled. You believe in God; believe also in me. 2My Father's house has many rooms; if that were not so, would I have told you that I am going there to prepare a place for you? 3And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am. 4You know the way to the place where I am going."

At this point, the minds of the disciples are starting to swirl.  Is Jesus being literal or figurative?  Where is going and then what are we going to do?  Then Thomas speaks up and says in verse 5, “LORD, we don't know where you are going, so how can we know the way?" Thomas is saying he doesn’t have a light.  He doesn’t have a map.  He doesn’t have GPS. How is he supposed to know where Jesus is going?

Then Jesus speaks, in verse 6, some of the most definitive and beautiful words in all of scripture or the world. Jesus answered, "I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.”

I saw a motivational poster the other day, and by the way, this world has all the motivational posters it needs, if you ask me.  But this one said, “Keep your flame lit, and you will never feel darkness.” Really? Is that really helping anybody?  I don’t even know what it means, much less how to keep my own flame lit.  Do I even have a flame? I mean, I get heartburn sometimes but that’s not helping.  I don’t need my flame lit.  I need some other light to show me the right way to go. I don’t need my own flame lit. All I need is Jesus to show me the way.

But if we don’t know what that looks like then it doesn’t help us any more than a motivational poster.  What does it mean for Jesus to be the Way? Well, the Old Testament is full of places that talk about “the way”. The Jews referred to it often.  In Deuteronomy 5, it says, “You shall walk in all the ways the Lord your God has commanded you.”

It was the Psalmist’s prayer, “Teach me thy way, Oh Lord.” (Psalm 27) and in Isaiah 30:21, we see, “Your ears shall hear a word behind you saying, this is the way. Walk in in it.”  Now, suppose you go to a strange town and you ask somebody for directions.  They say, “Well, all you do is take the next left, go down three streets, take a right. Go ¾ of a mile to where the old elm tree used to be and take a left and then two more rights and there you are.” Chances are, you’ll be lost before you get half way there.

But if you ask and they tell you they will show you the way, that changes everything.  Just follow them.  Then we would say that THEY are the way. That’s what Jesus does for us. He doesn’t just give advice and directions. He takes us by the hand and leads us; He strengthens us and guides us all the way. He doesn’t tell us about the way. He is the Way.

He is also the Truth. Simeon said Jesus would be a light and Jesus reveals that He is truth. Many men tell us the truth, but Jesus is the Truth. Have you ever watched the news and seen some guy who is a big crusader against something get busted for doing the very thing he rails against? Maybe it’s a congressman who introduces a bill to crack down on drunk driving and then two days later gets busted for DUI.

Or some preacher preaches against homosexuality and then you find out later, he has a boyfriend.  You know what I mean.  We can speak truth. We can preach truth and show other people what truth is but we are fallible. All men, all women, all people are sinners and prone to sin.  As believers, we don’t live in sin any more but even we can and will fall. But Jesus taught truth and lived truth. He is the Way and the Truth.

Morris and I met an interesting fellow the other day at the Wise County jail. He was in there, like we were, to teach a Bible study and before it got started, we struck up a conversation with this guy who believes that the earth is flat. I’m serious. I thought he was joking at first and Morris and I asked him some questions about how is it then that planes can fly east or west and still wind up in China, but he had crazy answers for all of it. He also didn’t believe in gravity and you can imagine we had some questions about that.

He said all of that was lies from NASA. That’s what NASA wants us to believe and there was no moon landing or space travel. It’s all a lie according to him and there was no convincing him otherwise. That’s the way some people are about Jesus. They can read the Bible and see all the prophecies in the Old Testament that came true in the New Testament and they will explain them away somehow.

They can see the way it has played out in the lives of good Christians and how they have peace and joy in the midst of difficulties and not believe it to be true. They can see things predicted in scripture that are coming true even today and just ignore it. That’s their prerogative. You can’t force them and you can’t prove it mathematically or scientifically so they don’t believe. But I believe. I have faith. I know that I know that I know that Jesus is truth. I have seen the light and I know the light. I have a relationship with Him and I have found every word in scripture to be true in my life and in my studies. He is the Way and the Truth.

He is also the Life. In John 10:10, Jesus said, “I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full.” Some translations say, “abundant life”. What does it mean to have “abundant” life? Does it mean busy or rich? I don’t think so; not like the world thinks of busy and rich, at least.  I think a full life is like a full belly after a meal.  I’m satisfied. I don’t need anything else. Sure, I can overeat, but it doesn’t bring any more real satisfaction.

A full life is a contented life.  Paul said in Philippians 4:11, “I have learned to be content whatever the circumstances.” Jesus brings contentment. Isn’t that what everybody really wants. It’s not found in stuff or money or fame. There’s nothing wrong with any of that in and of itself but it doesn’t bring a satisfied life. Jesus is the Life.

In John 8:12, Jesus says, “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life." I wonder if He was thinking about what Simeon said about Him all those years before when Simeon said Jesus would be a “light for revelation to the Gentiles.” That light reveals to us that Jesus is the Way, the Truth and the Life and no man comes to the Father except through Him.

Do you have that faith today? What better time to come to truly know Jesus than when we celebrate His birthday? Do it today. Turn away from your sin and accept God’s forgiveness and truly turn your life over to Him and let Jesus be Lord of your life. Allow Him to give you peace and joy in this life; this full and abundant life today and the hope of eternal life with Him in Heaven. Do that now as the music plays.

"Simeon's Vision of Christmas” – Salvation – Luke 2:25-35

Do you ever think about what you would do different if you were God?  Sure, you do.  You may not think about it in exactly that way but everybody has thoughts about how they would do things better if they were in control. So, don’t feel bad if you have ever thought about that. In fact, as I have said before, that is how just about every other religion except Christianity got started. 

It was basically some guy sitting under a tree somewhere thinking about how he would do it if he were God and he fell asleep and had a dream and claimed it was God speaking to him.  Then he wrote it down and people believed it. Now we have Buddhism, Hinduism, Taoism, Zoroastrianism (I don’t know.  I just googled world religions).

Do you know that every world religion except Christianity has something else in common?  Anybody want to guess what separates Christianity from everything else? In every other religion, you have to do something or do enough good somethings to be saved and go to Heaven or Paradise or Nirvana or Lalaland or whatever they call the place you go after you die. You have to earn your way in.  There’s no free lunch and there’s sure no free Heaven.  Be good enough or go to the other place. It just makes sense, right? 

People think Heaven is for good people and Hell is for bad people.  It is the religion’s job to figure out how much bad you can do compared to how much good.  Some people just think it’s basically a 51% versus 49% kinda deal. If you do just a little more good than you did bad, that’s good enough.  I guess if it’s a tie, you just hope you catch God in a good mood. People think that way because if they were God, that’s the way they would do it.  It makes sense.  It’s logical.

Now, who in his right mind would ever think, “I know.  I’ve got it.  I’ll send a baby.  I’ll send a baby to be born of a virgin.  Yea, that’s it, and he will grow up perfectly and then be tortured to death and then come back to life and He will pay the price for every low-life, degenerate, sinful person to have a way to live in a perfect and wonderful Heaven forever and all they have to do is have faith”?

Now, there are some pretty crazy religions out there but that would be one of the craziest…if it weren’t true, right? Honestly, I left out some of the other “crazy” stuff; stuff like being all God and all man, predicted in hundreds of scriptures for hundreds of years before His birth, born in a barn and raised by a carpenter and did miracle after miracle including walking out of the grave alive after three days.

That’s almost laughable.  How’s a guy supposed to make any money peddling that kind of religion? Huh? Everybody knows you have to earn your way to Heaven, right? Well, you know that’s not right.  I know that’s not right and Simeon knew that wasn’t right. Simeon knew that Jesus was the Way, the Truth and the Life even before it was written about Jesus. Simeon knew as soon as he saw Jesus, just eight days old, that He was the Messiah, the one promised by God all through the Old Testament.

Turn to Luke chapter 2 if you haven’t already and let’s read again verses 25-35.  We saw last week that it says that Simeon was waiting for the “consolation of Israel” and we today are consoled and comforted in some of the same ways Simeon was that day in the temple. We are consoled because we know that baby grew up and it is our faith in Him that brings forgiveness, joy and peace in this life but also we know that this life isn’t all there is and we are promised eternity in Heaven with Him as believers.

Today, we see Simeon acknowledge the salvation that Jesus brought and still brings for us today. Let’s read it in Luke 2:25-35.

Now there was a man in Jerusalem called Simeon, who was righteous and devout. He was waiting for the consolation of Israel, and the Holy Spirit was on him. 26 It had been revealed to him by the Holy Spirit that he would not die before he had seen the Lord’s Messiah. 27 Moved by the Spirit, he went into the temple courts. When the parents brought in the child Jesus to do for him what the custom of the Law required, 28 Simeon took him in his arms and praised God, saying:

29 “Sovereign Lord, as you have promised,
    you may now dismiss your servant in peace.
30 For my eyes have seen your salvation,
31     which you have prepared in the sight of all nations:
32 a light for revelation to the Gentiles,
    and the glory of your people Israel.”

33 The child’s father and mother marveled at what was said about him. 34 Then Simeon blessed them and said to Mary, his mother: “This child is destined to cause the falling and rising of many in Israel, and to be a sign that will be spoken against, 35 so that the thoughts of many hearts will be revealed. And a sword will pierce your own soul too.”

In passages like this, I think it is important to know exactly what the word means, as the person who wrote it meant it and what it means for us today.  So, I grabbed my 42-pound concordance off the shelf and looked up this word “salvation” as we see it in verse 30. It told me the Greek word that Luke used here for salvation is “soterion” (so-tay-ree-on).  Soterion means…drumroll please…Salvation!

Yes, it was one of those times when it wasn’t worth lifting that big book up.  We know what salvation means.  We know what it means to be preserved or delivered, you might also say. Simeon said, “I can die now for I have seen God’s salvation. I have now seen God’s plan to bring about salvation to the entire world.”

Do you save anything; anything at all?  Maybe you save stamps.  I know Janet collects and saves anything about horses.  Lois saves puppies and kittens sometimes. Troy saves everything because he was raised during the Depression. I used to collect and save speeding tickets when I was younger, but I don’t do that anymore.  It’s too expensive and dangerous of a hobby.

I was thinking about this and about the only thing I save anymore are Walmart bags.  You know what I mean. I have thousands of them and I hate to throw them out.  You can put a thousand Walmart bags in a very small space and they are so handy.  I hate to waste them.  You can use them as trash bags.  You can carry stuff in them.  Keep things from getting wet in them.  I hate to throw them away.

Why do we save things like that?  We save them because we want to use them for something else.  We don’t want them to be wasted.  They still have value to us.  You see where I’m going with this, don’t you?  Almighty, all-powerful, all-knowing God had this “crazy” plan to save people because He values us and loves us and didn’t want our lives to go to waste.

Now, there are three questions we need to ask to fully understand our salvation.  If we really want to fully grasp why God sent His Son Jesus to live and die and be our sacrifice for our salvation then we need to ask these questions.  1) To what are we saved? 2) From what are we saved? 3) For what are we saved? (Mrs. Overman, my high school English teacher would be proud of my effort to say that correctly.)

Let’s look first at what being saved by God gives us.  To what are we saved?  We are saved to Heaven.  Yes, we can have peace and joy in this life, as we talked about last week but we also talked about this life being so short compared to eternity and so ultimately and the main reason we are saved and what we are saved to is eternal life in Heaven.

Do you remember a few months ago going through a sermon series on what Heaven is going to be like?  We spent two months going through what the Bible says and doesn’t say about Heaven and it was some of the most fun I have ever had preparing sermons.  It was fascinating. It is so far from being what most people picture as Heaven.

The Bible never says anything about sitting on clouds strumming harps, wearing white robes and wishing we had a magazine to read.  How boring!  The Bible teaches us that Heaven is filled with music and fun and filled with color and excitement; full of art and architecture, fulfilling all our wants and needs with God’s unlimited creativity.

Do you like waterfalls and beautiful mountains and the smell of flowers?  Just wait until you experience that in Heaven!  Or maybe you like the city life with lots of things to do and places to go.  The capital city of Jerusalem – the New Jerusalem – will be 1500 miles squared.  Yes, squared; as long and wide as it is high. If you have enjoyment doing things on this old earth, just wait until God has finished preparing a place just for you.

Did you know God has a job waiting for you in Heaven?  I know for some of you, a job doesn’t sound very heavenly, but it is work where we find satisfaction and fulfillment.  In Matthew 25:23, Jesus is telling a parable about a rich man who entrusts his servants with some money while he is going to be gone and when he comes back he tells one of them, “Well done, good and faithful servant.  You have been faithful over a little.  I will set you over much. Enter into the joy of your master.”

Because we are faithful with what little God gives us in this life, He will reward us with the great joy of being over - or in charge of – much. Imagine having a perfect body with all the energy, imagination and resources you could ever need and all the time you need to do whatever your job is.  Sounds like fun to me!

We are saved to a Heaven where we will walk and talk with Jesus Himself.  We can sing with perfect voices and dance and run and jump and never get tired.  Being saved by the blood of Jesus means we are saved to Heaven for eternity.  Do you believe that?  Are you sure we are saved to Heaven? Because if you believe we are saved to Heaven then you have to believe that we are saved from Hell because the same place – the Bible - that teaches us about one teaches about the other.

Okay, Todd, preaching on Hell is not very Christmas-y.  Who does that? Well, if we truly want to understand what it means to be saved as Simeon is talking about here in Luke 2, then we need to know, not just what we are saved to but also what we are saved from (sorry Mrs. Overman). Just like Heaven is a real place, we know that scripture teaches that Hell is a real place as well.

I’ve often said that if we truly knew how great Heaven was going to be and just how horrible Hell was going to be, we wouldn’t sleep but would run into traffic trying to tell people about Jesus. I saw a bumper sticker that said, “Heaven doesn’t want me and Hell’s afraid I’ll take over.” People have this idea that Hell is going to be where all the cool kids go to party, but nothing could be further from the truth.

Let me read just a few passages of scripture that give more detail about Hell.  I won’t read all of them.  It is still Christmas, after all.  Matthew 25: “Depart from me, you who are cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels.” Matthew 8: “But the subjects of the kingdom will be thrown outside, into the darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.” Revelation 20: “Anyone whose name was not found written in the book of life was thrown into the lake of fire.” 2 Thessalonians 1: “everlasting destruction and shut out from the presence of the Lord and from the glory of his might.”

I think that last part is the worst: “shut out from the presence of the Lord and from the glory of his might”. In Hell there is no grace or mercy; no protection or provision because they are shut out from God’s presence. God has gone to great lengths to provide a way out of Hell for you and He wants you to be there.  He has provided salvation to Heaven and from Hell for all of us even though we are all sinners. Simeon realized it.  He believed.  He had faith.  Do you?

Lastly, we see for what we have been saved.  We have been saved to Heaven and from Hell, but did you know we have jobs to do on this side of Heaven as well?  What we have been saved for is simply to tell others about Jesus. You know, in this colder weather, it’s perfect for having a camp fire.  I love sitting around a fire with some of my cousins like we do sometimes and telling stories and jokes.  But there is something mesmerizing about just watching the fire.

It’s fascinating to see the flames dancing from one piece of wood to another.  It starts out small and develops into a huge, roaring, colorful flame. If you watch, you will see one piece of wood catch another piece on fire and it just spreads and spreads even as the original piece of wood is consumed and used up.  That’s how a relationship with Jesus plays out in the life of a true believer.

When you experience the peace and joy in the midst of difficulty; when you have the assurance of eternity in Heaven and when you realize what you have been saved to and saved from it should consume you.  Your life should be blazing with thankfulness, so much so that other people recognize and catch it too.  They should see that you are different from other people and start to catch the flame as you spend time with them.

And what better time to tell somebody else about Jesus than when the whole world is celebrating His birthday? Oh, they don’t always want to admit it and they would rather sing Jingle Bells than Oh Holy Night but they are still celebrating the birthday of our Savior.

In Paul’s day, some people were preaching about Jesus because they thought they could make money off it (boy, they were wrong) and some people thought they could do it better than somebody else and they wanted to look good.  Do you know what Paul said about that in Philippians 1:18? He said, “But what does it matter? The important thing is that in every way, whether from false motives or true, Christ is preached. And because of this I rejoice.”

That’s how we ought to feel as we go through the stores and see Santa Claus and snowmen and every other commercialized product in the world having to do with Christmas. Yes, they have it wrong.  It’s not about the presents or the tree but who cares? They are celebrating Jesus and that gives us easy opportunities to speak His name and tell other people about that peace and joy we have and to tell them about our eternity in Heaven.  If you can’t find a way to talk about Jesus during this holiday…you’re not on fire.

That’s why God saved you and left you here on this earth; to tell other people.  It’s what you have been saved for.  We are blessed to know what we are saved to and what we are saved from but that should motivate you to do what you were saved for. In fact, that’s what Jesus wants for Christmas this year; a relationship with you. Make that decision today as the music plays.

"Simeon's Vision of Christmas” – Consolation – Luke 2:25-35

Okay, are y’all ready?  Is everybody comfortable?  Anybody need anything before we get started?  If you’re cold, we have blankets in the back.  If you are hot, we have fans.  If you want something to eat or drink, you can find it in the Fellowship Hall.  Troy, do you need a pillow, maybe some slippers?  I want to make sure everybody is comfy. 

In fact, believe it or not, that is the point of this message today.  If you need to be comforted today, this message is for you.  But we all know that there is way more to being comforted than being physically comfortable. Some of the most physically comfortable people are the most in need of real comfort.  The question is, where do you find your comfort?

At the end of a long, hard, stressful day, what do you do to find comfort?  Maybe it’s the end of a long, hard, stressful month or even year.  What do you do to find the comfort you need?  Some people overeat.  Some turn to booze, drugs or cigarettes or some kind of prescription drug and I’m not here to hammer on you about any of that this morning.  Come back tonight and I’ll hammer on you then.

No, I’m kidding.  This message is not meant to step on toes, it is to bring you good news because every form of self-medication has side effects but the side effects of this good news I give you today are forgiveness, peace, joy and the promise of eternal life in Heaven.  It’s not just my opinion that it is good news either.  In Luke 2, the angel sent to the shepherds says, "Do not be afraid. I bring you good news that will cause great joy for all the people. 11Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is the Messiah, the LORD. 12This will be a sign to you: You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger." 13Suddenly a great company of the heavenly host appeared with the angel, praising God and saying, 14"Glory to God in the highest heaven, and on earth peace to those on whom his favor rests."

Have you ever been comforted by a baby?  It’s usually the other way around isn’t it?  But this baby, the Messiah, the Christ, the Lord of all is a great comfort even today just as he was prophesied to be by a man named Simeon, also in Luke 2.  Go ahead and turn there to Luke chapter 2.  We are going to read verses 25-35 and for the next few weeks we are going to see what Simeon said about the baby Jesus and what he meant and what it means to us today.

Not much is known about Simeon except what is said in this passage.  Most people picture him as an old man because he speaks like somebody with some age on him but we don’t know that for sure.  We find Simeon in the temple when Mary and Joseph take Jesus there to be circumcised and dedicated when He was eight days old as was the custom.  Simeon probably spent a lot of time in the temple but just like so many other instances we see of God’s sovereignty, he is there at just the right time to see Jesus and have a promise fulfilled.

Let’s read it in Luke 2:25-35.

Now there was a man in Jerusalem called Simeon, who was righteous and devout. He was waiting for the consolation of Israel, and the Holy Spirit was on him. 26 It had been revealed to him by the Holy Spirit that he would not die before he had seen the Lord’s Messiah. 27 Moved by the Spirit, he went into the temple courts. When the parents brought in the child Jesus to do for him what the custom of the Law required, 28 Simeon took him in his arms and praised God, saying:

29 “Sovereign Lord, as you have promised,
    you may now dismiss your servant in peace.
30 For my eyes have seen your salvation,
31 which you have prepared in the sight of all nations:
32 a light for revelation to the Gentiles,
    and the glory of your people Israel.”

33 The child’s father and mother marveled at what was said about him. 34 Then Simeon blessed them and said to Mary, his mother: “This child is destined to cause the falling and rising of many in Israel, and to be a sign that will be spoken against, 35 so that the thoughts of many hearts will be revealed. And a sword will pierce your own soul too.”

Simeon says a whole lot in just a few sentences.  He glorifies God.  He thanks Him. He prays.  He speaks comforting and yet mysterious words to Mary and Joseph and prophesies about what Jesus will be and do.  In this passage, I want us to look for the next few weeks at three things Jesus is called here.  In verse 25 He is called the consolation of Israel.  In verse 30, He is “your salvation” and in verse 32, Simeon says Jesus will be a light for revelation.

Let’s focus on verse 25 today and see what is meant when it says Simeon was waiting for the consolation of Israel. Have you ever tried to console someone who needed it? Have you ever tried to come up with just the right words when somebody really needs it? If you find those words, would you please let me know?  Let me know what to say that will make everything better when somebody loses a loved one because the best I have found is, “I’m sorry and I love you.”

You know, Job’s friends were a bunch of self-righteous, pompous, ignorant blow-hards but I’ll give them this, they started off pretty well with their consoling of Job.  In Job 2:13, it says, “Then they sat on the ground with him for seven days and seven nights. No one said a word to him, because they saw how great his suffering was.” That’s a good friend right there; someone who will just sit and share your grief with you without saying anything. The problem came when they tried to fix the problem.

But at some point, we all want our problems fixed and nobody knows how, including us.  That’s where Simeon was.  His beloved nation of Israel was promised by God to be a great and powerful nation; a nation from which the Messiah would come and would be a world power and a special people to God and specially blessed by God. But in Simeon’s day, it sure didn’t seem like that was true.

Their land had been taken.  Their freedom had been taken.  Their rights had been taken and all they had was the hope that the Messiah would one day come and save them.  We know today that the Jewish people never did recognize Jesus as the Messiah and therefore they are still waiting for the consolation of Israel but Simeon knew.  Simeon understood.  It says he was righteous and devout but what that means is that Simeon was right with God and close to God and therefore Simeon heard God speaking to him and God told him that this baby that just showed up in the temple…was the One.

Can you imagine the comfort and the relief Simeon had?  He knew it wouldn’t be in his lifetime and he was okay with that.  In fact, Simeon told God in his prayer that he was ready to die now because what God had promised had come true and was now cradled in his arms.  It was one of those “it don’t get no better than this” kind of moments for Simeon. 

Do you remember the first time you met Jesus?  Maybe you had heard of Him before.  You had heard others talk about Him and about what He had done and was going to do but do you remember when you really met Him; when you asked Him to come into your life and be the Lord of your life? 

I remember.  I was seven years old and while I was a pretty good kid, I guess, I knew I was a sinner in need of a Savior.  I remember my Dad explaining to me that sin was anything that displeased God and how the Bible says we are all sinners and what we deserve for that sin is eternal death in Hell. He explained that Jesus died on the cross as payment for my sins and that if I would just ask, He would forgive me of that sin and I could live in Heaven when I died.

I prayed with my Dad that day back in 1975 and asked God to forgive me and do you know what? Even as a child, I think I could relate to Simeon. Simeon said in verse 29 that he could now die in peace. Simeon and I both had forgiveness.  We could live and die in peace.  We have joy even in the difficult times and while all of that is wonderful, the best news in this Good News is that I can now share with Simeon AND with Jesus all the wonderful things Heaven has in store!

Do you ever struggle with forgiveness?  I have found that people who love and forgive other people easiest are the ones who realize how much they have been loved and forgiven.  Later on in Luke 7 when Jesus had started His ministry, He is invited to dinner at a man’s house - a Pharisee’s house - and He goes and when He is reclining at the table, a woman is behind Him just bawling.  She is crying so hard she wets His feet with her tears and she wipes them with her hair and then pours perfume on His feet.

In that day it was quite a scandal, especially because it says she had lived a sinful life, but she didn’t care.  She had been forgiven by Jesus and she just loved Jesus so much, she wanted to show it. The homeowner made mention of it and Jesus told the man, “Therefore, I tell you, her many sins have been forgiven--as her great love has shown. But whoever has been forgiven little loves little."

When you realize just how much Jesus loves you and what all He has forgiven you for, it’s life-changing.  Karl Menninger, the famed psychiatrist, once said that if he could convince the patients in psychiatric hospitals that their sins were forgiven, 75 percent of them could walk out the next day! (Today in the Word, March 1989)

But how do we really know that we are forgiven?  Some of us have lived a sinful life just like that woman so it’s important to know for sure.  How can we know for sure that our many sins have been forgiven?  Well, if you offend somebody and you ask them for forgiveness for whatever you did, how do you know they have really forgiven you? 

You know because of not just what they say but what they do.  They might say they have forgiven you but what if they don’t act like it?  We know Jesus has forgiven us because it says so in the Bible. “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness” (1 John 1:9). But He proved it by what He did. 

All through the Old Testament, before Jesus came in the flesh, when there was sin, something had to die.  It’s why Romans 6:23 says that the wages of sin is death.  But Jesus came and died on the cross for our sin so we wouldn’t have to sacrifice any animals or pay the price ourselves.  That’s a price we could never pay.  So, we know that we are forgiven.  What is that worth to you? For those of us that have been forgiven much, it’s priceless.

Do you know what else we get with a relationship with Jesus? Not just forgiveness, but forgiveness leads to peace.  In that passage in Luke 7 where Jesus is talking to the sinful woman, He tells her in verse 50, “Your faith has saved you.  Go in peace.”

Jesus forgave her and then told her to go in the peace that only God can give.  Go in peace with God and of God.  Peace that passes all understanding.  Peace, not just in the good times but especially in the bad times. Do you have that kind of peace?

In preparing this, I did some research about how the world finds peace (and by “research”, you know I just googled it).  This is what I found.  #1) Breathe.  Breathe deep from your belly and do this for 10 minutes a day.  I don’t know about you but I think I breath all day, but I hope that helps you. 

#2) Exercise.  This produces endorphins and serotonin and other happy chemicals in your brain.  I’m sure that’s good. #3) Get enough sunlight which produces Vitamin D.  Nothing wrong with that.  #4) Pursue the “flow state” (???).  I hope you know what that is but I don’t. I think the flow state maybe somewhere around Colorado or Wyoming or some state like that but I don’t know. 

Other ideas were to be generous and be grateful and to express yourself and all of those are fine and good, I guess. But is there any kind of peace that comes close to knowing that the little baby in Simeon’s arms that day grew up to live a sinless life, die on a cross for forgiveness of our sins, rose again on the third day and lives today and that He sits at the right hand of God the Father who loves us and is in control?

There is peace in that knowledge but ultimately, peace is a gift.  Jesus said in John 14:27, “Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid.” Did you see that?  He said it’s a gift but not like the world gives, where you have to breathe, exercise or find your flow.  You just accept God’s gift of peace and if you don’t have peace right now it’s because you have not accepted it by accepting the truth that God is in control and that He loves you.

How much is peace worth to you?  Forgiveness and peace are both priceless gifts from God and that ought to bring you comfort today.  But there is one other thing that Jesus gives us as a gift – another priceless gift – and that is found in 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18. Turn there.  I want you to see this.  It will comfort you no matter what translation you have. 

The Thessalonian church Paul was writing to here was confused about how and when Jesus was going to come back.  They were afraid some of them had missed it already and they didn’t know how it was going to happen and so Paul wrote them this to comfort them and it comforts us today. 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18 says, “Brothers, we do not want you to be uninformed about those who sleep in death, so that you do not grieve like the rest of mankind, who have no hope. 14For we believe that Jesus died and rose again, and so we believe that God will bring with Jesus those who have fallen asleep in him. 15According to the LORD's word, we tell you that we who are still alive, who are left until the coming of the LORD, will certainly not precede those who have fallen asleep. 16For the LORD himself will come down from heaven, with a loud command, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet call of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first. 17After that, we who are still alive and are left will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the LORD in the air. And so we will be with the LORD forever. 18Therefore encourage one another with these words.”

Therefore comfort each other with these words from Paul.  This life is not all there is and this life is but a wisp of smoke compared to eternity that we will share with Jesus and Simeon and all your brothers and sisters in Christ. 

It ought to give you great comfort today in the midst of your difficulties to know that the same Jesus who once was a baby held by Simeon grew up, lived, died and rose again and waits anxiously to bring you to Him where He will say, “Well done my good and faithful servant!  I know it was hard and I know that life you led wasn’t fair and the people were against you and nature was against you and it seemed like everything was against you. But I was for you and I prayed for you and I can’t wait to show you around the place I have prepared just for you.  Come on in!”

One day the trumpet will sound for His coming
One day the skies with His glories will shine
Wonderful day, my Beloved One bringing
My Savior Jesus is mine

Living, He loved me
Dying, He saved me
Buried, He carried my sins far away
Rising, He justified freely forever
One day He's coming
Oh glorious day, oh glorious day (Glorious Day)

Do you know for sure that He is coming for you?  Accept His forgiveness.  Accept His peace. Turn away from your sin and ask Him to be Lord of your life today and you, too, can be comforted.

“Not Even a Hint” – Ephesians 5:1-4

Harvey Weinstein

Former President George H.W. Bush

Actor Kevin Spacey

NPR top editor Michael Oreskes

Comedian Louis C.K

Republican senate candidate Roy Moore

U.S. Senator Al Franken

CBS anchor Charlie Rose

U.S. Rep. John Conyers-D Mich

Pixar co-founder John Lasseter

NBC anchor Matt Lauer

Minnesota Public Radio host Garrison Keillor

I’m sure I don’t have to tell you what all these men have in common but if you live under a rock, just know that all of these high-profile, once-upstanding citizens and leaders of our country have all joined a much longer list of men who have been accused of some sort of sexual misconduct in just the past few weeks.  The charges go back decades for some but are just now coming out.  There are many others that have been accused and for most of these, no legal charges have been brought and we want to always keep in mind that our country still believes in the phrase, “innocent until proven guilty” but almost all of these in my list have admitted to at least some sort of misconduct.

That’s the word that gets used the most with these men as well: misconduct.  Is that the word God uses for actions like these?  No.  God uses the word “sin” but Hollywood and Washington D.C. much prefer the watered-down “misconduct”. Doesn’t that sound better?  Isn’t that easier to say and easier to hear than “sin” which has so much spiritual and religious meaning that this world is so allergic to these days?

I know, I know.  This seems like a strange way of starting off a typical Christmas sermon, doesn’t it?  Well…when have we ever been typical around here?  Yes, I even told you that December would be for celebrating Christmas in our worship time and I am all ready to go with a look at Christmas through the eyes of Simeon in Luke chapter two and, Lord willing, we will get there next week but I was convicted this week that I needed to go another direction, at least just for today.

I’ll be honest.  I don’t want to preach about this.  I would much rather think about, study about, preach on and celebrate the birth of baby Jesus and what that means for us today but instead I have had to trudge through some muck and nastiness in preparing for this sermon which I have entitled, “Not Even a Hint”. But muck and nastiness is the reality of where our society is today and to help keep that muck and nastiness from creeping any further into the church, I would ask you to turn to the New Testament book of Ephesians and go to chapter 5, verses 1-4.

Muck and nastiness, misconduct, sin or whatever you want to call it is not new to 2017.  Believe it or not, Harvey Weinstein is not the first person to ever be found to be living a perverted lifestyle.  I have an idea that most Americans today are secretly thinking, “Man, I’m just glad they don’t know about me. I am glad they don’t know my thoughts and what I have done in the past.  I’m glad I’ve never been caught.” The truth is that people have always perverted themselves and perverted God’s will and God’s Law and for thousands of years, people are just glad it’s not them getting busted.

It was that way in Paul’s day when he wrote to the church in Ephesus.  He wrote them, not like he wrote to other churches, warning or correcting bad doctrine, but instead Paul wrote to encourage a church that he had started and he loved and was passionate for as part of the body of Christ.  He didn’t want anything bad to happen to them and wanted them to be aware of evil and the battle that they were fighting and so he wrote this letter to them. I preach this today for the same reason.  This isn’t to chastise anyone. Not at all.  It is to warn and prepare all of us about the truth of this world. I love you too much not to preach this from Ephesians 5:1-4.  Let’s read that.

“Be imitators of God, therefore, as dearly loved children 2 and walk in the way of love, just as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us as a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God. 3 But among you there must not be even a hint of sexual immorality, or of any kind of impurity, or of greed, because these are improper for God’s holy people. 4 Nor should there be obscenity, foolish talk or coarse joking, which are out of place, but rather thanksgiving.”

Wow, you didn’t know you were going to need your steel-toed boots this morning, did you?  Paul was good at stepping on toes, that’s for sure.  In fact, if your toes weren’t stepped on there, you might want to go back and re-read that because there are not many people that get out of that unscathed. Just be glad I didn’t read a few verses before or after that.  Paul hammers on them with this letter, again, not because they were bad people or living immorally but because he didn’t want them to slip into that lifestyle like so many others had.

There are a couple of other things that all those men on that list have in common besides being accused of sin. First, none of them started off just deciding to do something like this.  It always starts off with an opportunity and a thought.  Now, if a person could get into trouble just for his thoughts, we would all be in bad shape, wouldn’t we?  In 2 Corinthians 10:5, Paul tells us we should take every thought captive, meaning we should be aware of what we are thinking and not allow bad thoughts to go any farther.

It’s not a sin to be tempted and sometimes we all have evil thoughts pop into our heads, but we should arrest those thoughts and throw them out before they become something we start to dwell on.  You’ve heard it said that it’s not a sin for a bird to fly over your head but it is a sin to allow it to make a nest in your hair. So, as long as we take those thoughts captive and throw them out then we are okay.  But when we allow those thoughts to stay there and build a little nest and then make themselves at home, it leads to trouble.

Because all we need then is an opportunity and those thoughts go from 0-60 real quick, don’t they?  That flaming arrow of the evil one starts as an unintended thought and the next thing you know, you are publicly humiliated and about to lose everything you hold dear including your family, your job and your good name. But look again at what Paul says we are to do to keep that from happening in verses one and two of Ephesians 5.

Be imitators of God and walk in love…just as Christ gave himself up for us…as a sacrifice. That’s the root of that verse and I believe if we can truly understand that and then live it out, then we will be able to live like God wants us to live. But what does it mean to imitate God and walk in love and give ourselves up as a sacrifice? I mean, that sounds sweet and nice and like what people sitting in church should talk about but what does it really look like?

Well, if we want to imitate God, then Jesus should be our model.  Jesus said in John 14, “Anyone who has seen me has seen the Father” and Paul says here that Jesus gave Himself up for us as a sacrifice. We know that and love that and appreciate that about Jesus but now we are called to imitate Him so what are we supposed to sacrifice?  Are we supposed to die on a cross? Of course not, but we are to sacrifice ourselves and that means, in today’s world, we are going to have to give up some of our rights and in doing so, we will glorify God and keep ourselves away from sin.

Let me give you a really good example of what that looks like.  In 1948, a handsome, young 31-YEAR-OLD preacher was coming off a successful stint as a Youth for Christ evangelist and started an independent evangelism ministry that lasted over six decades. God was blessing his ministry and with his charm and good looks, the doors began to open for radio, magazine, newspaper and TV that would ultimately bring Billy Graham into world-wide attention and fame.

But God protected Billy by giving him the wisdom to know early on that all that popularity could easily lead to trouble. So, with the rest of his revival team, Billy made a promise to himself, the world and to God that he would always conduct himself worthy of the calling.  The team gathered in a hotel room in Modesto, California. They drew up a compact that became known as the “Modesto Manifesto,” and in it they laid out guidelines for every aspect of their ministerial lives including finances and how churches and crowds would be treated but the most famous provision of the manifesto called for each man on the Graham team never to be alone with a woman other than his wife. Graham, from that day forward, pledged not to eat, travel, or meet with a woman other than Ruth unless other people were present.

Our vice-president, Mike Pence has adopted the same rule and now it’s called either the Billy Graham Rule or the Mike Pence Rule and it ought to be your rule as well.  I have had this rule as long as I have pastored, and I’ll be honest, it’s a pain.  Life would be easier if I didn’t have this rule because I hate seeing Sharon walk down the road and all I can do is wave. Sharon understands because we have talked about it several times but I wish I could help her.

It has been a sacrifice sometimes because I have had women get mad at me because I wouldn’t drive them somewhere or wouldn’t meet with them in the church office.  A woman in the community came in one day to the office right there and closed the door behind her and said, “Pastor, I need your help!”  I said, “Not right here you don’t.  Let’s go outside.” I grabbed two chairs and we sat under the tree in the shade and talked.

It wasn’t because I was afraid she was going to do something inappropriate.  My biggest concern is somebody else seeing me meet with somebody or pick somebody up and not know what was going on and start a rumor. “Well, I saw him with so-and-so and they were together a long time and I’m pretty sure something inappropriate was going on.”

Do you know what happens after that?  I lose my job.  I lose your trust.  The church is horribly affected for years and the Kingdom of God suffers…because of an untrue rumor.  Is it fair? No. Is it their business? Probably not. Does it happen? All the time.

Ladies, this ought to be your rule as well. When I was researching those names I started with, I was amazed how many of the women accusers started out their story with something like, “Well, we were in his hotel room alone when all of the sudden…”  Seriously?  Please know I am not blaming the women for what the men did.  Absolutely not.  I’m just saying that ladies need to protect themselves and you do that best by not allowing yourself to be put in that position.

In verse 3 it says, “But among you there must not be even a hint of sexual immorality.” When we use the Billy Graham Rule, nobody gets tempted.  Nobody has any misconduct and no rumors get started that there were. Now, when it says we are to be imitators of God, one of the major characteristics of God is that He is holy.  That’s what this is all about.  In Leviticus 11, God said we should be holy because He is holy.  So, what does it mean to be holy?  Does that mean we are uptight and don’t have any fun, praying and fasting all day?  Man, I hope not!  No.  Holy means separate, different, literally to be set apart for God’s work and as Christians, that ought to be a main characteristic of us as well. C.S. Lewis said, “How little people know who think that holiness is dull. When one meets real thing, it is irresistible.”

It takes some sacrifice to be holy, though.  We sometimes have to sacrifice going where we want and doing what we want so that we are not tempted, we are protected and so there is not even a hint of immorality.  Let me ask you, do you remember what happened to all those women who accused Billy Graham of sexual misconduct?  Do you remember when that scandal hit him? No?  You don’t remember? No, you don’t because it never happened.  It never happened with his son Franklin either because he lives the same way.

I mentioned earlier that sin always begins with a thought. James 1 says that when desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin. Not one of those men I mentioned earlier believed his thought life would ever cause him problems.  It was just a thought…but then he had opportunity and that thought came to life.  It’s the same with all of us.

We have to take those thoughts captive and never give ourselves opportunity.  Romans 13:14 says, “clothe yourselves with the LORD Jesus Christ, and do not think about how to gratify the desires of the flesh.” The King James says to make no provision for the flesh, that old man that creeps up on us when we don’t take our thoughts captive.

Read all of verse 3 again.  But among you there must not be even a hint of sexual immorality, or of any kind of impurity, or of greed, because these are improper for God's holy people. We are holy and so therefore we are different from the world.  The world often uses obscenity, foolish talk and course joking as it says in verse 4, but that is out of place for us. 

Instead, we are thankful, right?  Thankful for what? Thankful for God’s grace and mercy, His forgiveness and love that we desperately need because we all mess up. We all are guilty of misconduct in one way or another and so we need God’s forgiveness of that sin and we all need each other to hold us accountable to keep it from happening again but also, when there is true repentance, we are to be imitators of God who forgives.

I was bragging on this church this past week to a pastor friend and he said, “It sounds like the people in your church understand grace.”  I thought that was very insightful of him because that is true. We have received grace from God and we give grace to others because we are imitators of God.

But you can’t imitate Him without being a follower of Him; a disciple who learns from Jesus and then tells others what you have learned. If you have never asked Jesus to be Lord of your life and to forgive you of your sins, then do that today.  Repent of those sins and turn away from them and ask God to take control of your life here on earth with the promise of Heaven in the next life.

Do that right now as the music plays.