Godly Wisdom at Christmas

Talk for Prime Time Christmas Lunch (our Ministry to our Seniors)

9th December 2015

Luke 2: 25-37: And behold, there was a man in Jerusalem whose name was Simeon, and this man was just 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 So he came by 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 Which You have prepared before the face of all peoples, 32  A light to bring revelation to the Gentiles, And the glory of Your people Israel.”

33 And Joseph and His mother marvelled at those things which were spoken of Him. 34 Then Simeon blessed them, and said to Mary His mother, “Behold, this Child is destined for the fall and rising of many in Israel, and for a sign which will be spoken against 35 (yes, a sword will pierce through your own soul also), that the thoughts of many hearts may be revealed.”

36 Now there was one, Anna, a prophetess, the daughter of Phanuel, of the tribe of Asher. She was of a great age, and had lived with a husband seven years from her virginity; 37 and this woman was a widow of about eighty-four years, who did not depart from the temple, but served God with fastings and prayers night and day. 38 And coming in that instant she gave thanks to the Lord, and spoke of Him to all those who looked for redemption in Jerusalem.

God Keeps His Promises:

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.

Simeon had to wait a lifetime to see what God had in store for him.  Anna too had waited a ling time, 84 years she had been waiting.  A young widow, she had dedicated her life to God.  We are not told that they knew each other, but they probably knew of each other.  

To all intense and purposes, they stood alone waiting for Jesus.

It can be really hard to wait for God to show up an do something.  We all have times in our lives. when we think God is never going to answer our prayers.  He just seems to take His time.

There are also times when we can feel lonely.  Simeon and Anna my have felt like they were the only ones waiting for Jesus.  

At times we my all feel lonely, but we are never truly alone.  Jesus has promised never to leave us nor forsake us (Matthew 28:20).

God Only Sent One Saviour:

When it comes to Christmas, there’s only one baby we think about.

Simeon says: 30 “For my eyes have seen Your salvation 31 Which You have prepared before the face of all peoples, 32  A light to bring revelation to the Gentiles, And the glory of Your people Israel.”

We like to say nice things about new borns. Normally it’s cuchee-cuchee-coo!  

Some babies are naturally beautiful.  Others, well they can look a little  squished. 

When Simeon sees the baby Jesus, He sees past how He looks, there was no glowing halo as in some artworks.  He looks to His future. He sees the salvation of the world.

The Bible tells us that there is one Saviour (John 3:16-17). There are no alternatives.  We might think this is harsh and literally incorrect.  The truth is, sending your only Son to die for the sins of the world is also unfair!  God will not entertain alternatives.  

There is only one way to salvation.  Jesus. (John 14:6).

With Age Comes Godly Wisdom?

One of the things that society is finally realising is that with age comes comes wisdom.  History is a great teacher.  It tells us of things gone wrong, things gone right, things that can be avoided today.

Simeon and Anna both have Godly wisdom.  

• They had wisdom to stay close to God.  

Simeon was actually led by the Holy Spirit on that day to the temple (27).

• They had wisdom to see God at work.  

There were other babies being brought to the temple.  We know that there were other baby boys born around the birth of jesus because Herod orders their murder (Matt. 2:16).  

Simeon and Anna saw God at work in the young family.

• They had wisdom their rest of their generation did not!  

Wisdom from God is not automatic with age.  

They were the only two in the temple who recognised the Messiah.  They were the only ones to perceive it was actually Jesus who would take away the sins of the world.  The rest of the crowds simply went about their business.

Wrapping this up:

Today, as we’ve seen the lovely Nativity from Footprints, we’ve enjoyed a lovely lunch, we’ve sung carols and fought over a quiz, there is still one question remaining: what are we personally going to do with Jesus’ birth?  

Are we, like Simeon and Anna, going to celebrate Jesus’ birth because He is real to us?  Or are we going to ignore Him like so many others did?

Friends, today, I implore you to embrace Jesus.  Accept Him as Lord and Saviour.