Anticipation Of An Invitation Series

So that’s WHO they were. And I saw something there - Simeon and Anna totally committed themselves God before God actually used them. Simeon decided “I’m GOING TO BE GOD’S MAN” and Anna had decided “I’m GOING TO BE GOD’S WOMAN” longgggg before God used them.

And so… here is the first principle: If you want God to make a difference with your life, you’ve got to DECIDE you want Him to do that.

One of my favorite verses in the Bible is II Chronicles 16:9 “the eyes of the LORD range throughout the earth to strengthen those whose hearts are fully committed to him.” (PAUSE) Did you catch that? God says YOU must decide to commit yourself to ME… FIRST! And THEN I’ll strengthen you. Jesus said it this way “Seek ye first the Kingdom of God, and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added unto you” (Matthew 6:33). It’s the person who is fully committed to God (seeking 1st His Kingdom) that God can use.

ILLUS: This is the season of the year when you see people outside businesses standing beside red buckets and ringing bells collecting money to help the poor. One particular woman was doing just that until she was informed by the police that there was a local noise ordinance that her bell ringing was violating. So, what was she supposed to do? Well, the next day she was back at her post and she was receiving even more contributions than ever before. Instead of ringing bells… she held up one sign and then another in the air. The signs said "ding" and "dong."

She was fully committed to doing her task, no matter what. And that’s the kind of person God’s looking for. Someone who’s fully committed to Him… no matter what.

The 2nd thing I noticed about Simeon & Anna was WHAT they wanted. Around Christmas time lots of kids have their “wish list.” It’s a list of things that they want for Christmas.

ILLUS: Back when Jonathan was about 4 years old we had one of those “Sears Wish Books” that focused on toys for children. One day Jonathan was dragging it thru the living room and I asked to see it. He’d taken a red marker and circled about 30 or 40 different toys he wanted. And he kept it with him all day long…just in case there was something he’d missed.

Simeon and Anna had a “wish list.” But what they wanted wasn’t toys or tools or trinkets. What they wanted was something they couldn’t wrap in a box. Simeon was “waiting for the consolation of Israel” (Luke 2:25), and Anna was “waiting for the redemption of Jerusalem” (Luke 2:38)

Now, what’s all that all about? Well, one man described it this way: “Things weren’t going all that well for the nation of Israel. They hadn’t heard from God in years and now they were under Roman rule. They were a people who were lost and living in fear. They were a people without hope!” (my rendering of words from Brian Bill)

What Simeon and Anna wanted… was HOPE! Their nation had been down so long even UP looked wrong. They were looking for HOPE, and that’s what they saw in Jesus.

Do you remember that famous prophecy about Jesus from Isaiah 9? “For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace” (Isaiah 9:6). Do you remember that?