Churches With Heart

Moody-Leon United Methodist Church

Luke 2:22-40

When the time came for their purification according to the law of Moses, they brought him up to Jerusalem to present him to the Lord (as it is written in the law of the Lord, “Every firstborn male shall be designated as holy to the Lord”), and they offered a sacrifice according to what is stated in the law of the Lord, “a pair of turtledoves or two young pigeons.” Now there was a man in Jerusalem whose name was Simeon; this man was righteous and devout, looking forward to the consolation of Israel, and the Holy Spirit rested on him. It had been revealed to him by the Holy Spirit that he would not see death before he had seen the Lord’s Messiah. Guided by the Spirit, Simeon came into the temple; and when the parents brought in the child Jesus, to do for him what was customary under the law, Simeon took him in his arms and praised God, saying, “Master, now you are dismissing your servant in peace, according to your word; for my eyes have seen your salvation, which you have prepared in the presence of all peoples, a light for revelation to the Gentiles and for glory to your people Israel.” And the child’s father and mother were amazed at what was being said about him. Then Simeon blessed them and said to his mother Mary, “This child is destined for the falling and the rising of many in Israel, and to be a sign that will be opposed so that the inner thoughts of many will be revealed–and a sword will pierce your own soul too.” There was also a prophet, Anna the daughter of Phanuel, of the tribe of Asher. She was of a great age, having lived with her husband seven years after her marriage, then as a widow to the age of eighty-four. She never left the temple but worshiped there with fasting and prayer night and day. At that moment she came, and began to praise God and to speak about the child to all who were looking for the redemption of Jerusalem. When they had finished everything required by the law of the Lord, they returned to Galilee, to their own town of Nazareth. The child grew and became strong, filled with wisdom; and the favor of God was upon him.

Simeon was a spiritually mature man! He is described as righteous & devout. The Holy Spirit was upon him, and the Holy Spirit revealed to him that he would not die before seeing Consolation of Israel. Yes, Simeon was spiritually mature.

Anna was 84 years old and mature–spiritually mature. She had been a widow for most of adult life. She worshiped day & night — FASTING & PRAYING. Yes, Anna was spiritually mature.

In this story of Simeon & Anna, we find the characteristics of spiritually mature people. We find four characteristics: selflessness, obedience, faithfulness, and acknowledging God’s work in our lives.

SELFLESSNESS

Think for a minute about the maturing process. Think about babies. Babies are about as self-centered as you can get. We then become less self-centered as we mature.

Alyene Porter was a P.K. — the daughter of Methodist minister. She wrote a book about her experiences as a part of a parsonage family. In Papa Was A Preacher, she tells a humorous story about her & her brothers and sisters and their self-centeredness.

At Wednesday night prayer meeting, it was expected that every person present should offer a short prayer. Her reticence in praying aloud was evidently shared by many people; there were fewer at that service than at any other. The children in her family always went, school lessons or not, and Papa could be certain of nine persons at the service.

Without his knowing it, they had an understanding among themselves that no two of them should ever enter the church together on prayer-meeting night. That was because it was such fun to watch Papa’s reactions. During the ten minutes before the service they filtered in, one at a time. Each time a step was heard in the vestibule Papa’s face would light up. Which faithful member would it be, thought he, coming out tonight through the rain? His eyes would be riveted to the door in expectancy as the knob would turn, as the door would open, and as through the passage would step, not a faithful member, but another one of his children, whom he knew would be there anyhow. His face would visibly fall. Eight times before every prayer meeting it happened, and every time Papa’s face took on an elevatorish aspect as it soared up, only to drop down.

Spiritually mature people are selfless people. They are not self-centered people. They think of others before themselves.

Simeon was waiting for the consolation of Israel. Anna shared the good news with “all who were looking for the redemption of Jerusalem.” They were both excited. They were both old. Neither would live to see the Messiah at work. So why were they so excited? They were excited because they were not thinking about themselves. They were thinking about the nation Israel. They were thinking about others.

OBEDIENCE

We are told that Simeon was guided by the Spirit to the Temple. Simeon didn’t just happen to be there. Simeon was lead by the Spirit, BUT Simeon had a choice. He could follow the guidance of the Spirit, or he could choose to stay at home, feet propped up and watching the Cowboys.

Because Simeon was obedient to the Spirit, he saw the consolation of Israel. He saw God’s salvation. He saw a light of revelation to the Gentiles. He saw the glory of God’s people, Israel. All because he was obedient.

Marion Bond West, a Christian author, tells in Guidepost magazine how she felt very inadequate as the new wife of Rev. Gene West. You see Marion knew Phyllis, her husband’s deceased first wife of 25 years and thought of her as the perfect pastor’s wife. One morning while Rev. West was packing the car and checking out of the motel were they had spent the night, Marion sat down on the edge of the bed and began reading from the Gideon Bible that was provided. When she finished, something told her o leave it open and in the middle of the bed. This seemed strange but she did so and went out to the car. As Rev. West returned from his last trip into the room, there were tears in his eyes. Marion asked what was wrong and her husband answered that Phyllis had always left the motel’s Bible open on the bed as a witness to others.

IN HER OBEDIENCE, Marion received reassurance that she could also be a good pastor’s wife.

Oswald Chambers, in My Utmost for His Highest, writes: “the Golden rule for understanding spirituality is not intellect, but obedience. If we want insight into what Jesus teaches, we can only get it by obedience. No person ever receives a word from God without instantly being put to the test. We disobey and then wonder why we don’t go on spiritually.”

FAITHFULNESS

Anna is an example of faithfulness. She spent most of her life in God’s house, worshiping with God’s people. Fasting & praying — day & night. Our spiritual maturity is directly related to our participation in public worship and in our prayer life. We cannot expect to grow closer to God, to mature spiritually, without worshiping God in public and speaking to God frequently & honestly. It is by faithfulness that we grow to be spiritually mature.

ACKNOWLEDGING GOD’S WORK IN OUR LIVES

In the Proverbs, we find the following wisdom:

“Trust in the Lord. Lean not on your own understanding.

In all ways acknowledge Him and He will make your paths straight.”

IN ALL WAYS ACKNOWLEDGE HIM. That’s exactly what both Anna and Simeon did. The very moment they saw the baby Jesus, they recognized Jesus as a gift from God. They acknowledged that by praising God.

How can we acknowledge God? First by recognizing that God does work in our lives. Second by publicly & privately giving God credit for what God does in our lives.

Why were Simeon & Anna able to recognize Jesus for who he was? What did they have that the others were missing? The Messiah came in the unexpected form of a baby! How did Simeon and Anna know Jesus was the Messiah?

A friend of mine use to start his church newsletter column many weeks with the words, “How’s your walk with the Lord this week?” Simeon & Anna had a CLOSE walk with the LORD! Simeon & Anna were selfless, obedient, faithful in worship & prayer, and quick to acknowledge God’s presences in their lives.

Maturity — It’s not necessarily related to age.

It’s What You Do — Not When You Do It

Ted Williams, age 42, slammed a home run in his last official time at bat.

Mickey Mantle, age 23, hit 23 home runs his first full year in the major leagues.

Golda Meir, 71, became Prime Minister of Israel.

William Pitt II, 24, became Prime Minister of Great Britain.

George Bernard Shaw, 94, when one of his plays was first produced

Mozart, 7, when his first composition was published

Benjamin Franklin, 16, newspaper columnist and 81 — framer of U.S. Constitution.

At any age, at any time, Jesus Christ can make a difference in our lives and as a result we can make a difference in the lives of others.

Simeon and Anna met Jesus and declared him the Christ. Have we met Jesus? Are we declaring him, the Christ?

Praise God for the Annas and Simeons who lead the way!