Hope for a New Presence
Luke 2:21-38
12/6
INTRODUCTION
As Americans, we pride ourselves in "doing Christmas up right." Tons of gifts, big holiday feasts, huge trees, Lights on the houses. USA!
Here are some of the other ways people prepare for the celebration of Christmas.
* In Italy they have no Christmas trees, instead they decorate small wooden pyramids with fruit.
* In Caracas, the capital city of Venezuela, it is customary for the streets to be blocked off on Christmas Eve so that the people can roller-skate to church.
* An artificial spider and web are often included in the decorations on Ukrainian Christmas trees. A spider web found on Christmas morning is believed to bring good luck.
* It is a British Christmas tradition that a wish made while mixing the Christmas pudding will come true only if the ingredients are stirred in a clockwise direction.
* Sending red Christmas cards to anyone in Japan constitutes bad etiquette, since funeral notices there are customarily printed in red.
* In Yugoslavia, on the 2nd Sunday before Christmas, children creep in and tie their mother’s feet to a chair, shouting ’Mother’s Day, Mother’s Day, what will you pay to get away?’ She then gives them presents. Children play the same trick on their father the following week and get more presents.
* A new holiday trend is literally turning a traditional Christmas celebration upside down. Hammacher Schlemmer, a retail company based in New York, recently offered a unique yuletide decoration: the Upside-Down Christmas Tree.
Standing at 7-feet tall and pre-lit with over 800 commercial grade lights, this technological marvel can be yours for the low price of $599.95. But why would anyone want an upside-down Christmas tree? According to Hammacher Schlemmer’s website: "The inverted shape makes it easier to see ornaments, which hang away from the dense needles," while "allowing more room for the accumulation of presents underneath."
T.S. This year we’re in search of more presence, more of God, Jesus in our holidays. In Luke 2 there is the story of a man and woman who discovered the Hope of a New Presence.
Turn with me to. . .
Luke 2:21-38
21 On the eighth day, when it was time to circumcise him, he was named Jesus, the name the angel had given him before he had been conceived.
22 When the time of their purification according to the Law of Moses had been completed, Joseph and Mary took him to Jerusalem to present him to the Lord 23(as it is written in the Law of the Lord, "Every firstborn male is to be consecrated to the Lord"), 24 and to offer a sacrifice in keeping with what is said in the Law of the Lord: "a pair of doves or two young pigeons."
25 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 upon him. 26 It had been revealed to him by the Holy Spirit that he would not die before he had seen the Lord’s Christ. 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 now dismiss your servant in peace.
30 For my eyes have seen your salvation,
31 which you have prepared in the sight of all people,
32 a light for revelation to the Gentiles
and for glory to 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."
36 There was also a prophetess, Anna, the daughter of Phanuel, of the tribe of Asher. She was very old; she had lived with her husband seven years after her marriage, 37 and then was a widow until she was eighty-four. She never left the temple but worshiped night and day, fasting and praying. 38 Coming up to them at that very moment, she gave thanks to God and spoke about the child to all who were looking forward to the redemption of Jerusalem.
Both of these individuals were hoping for the presence and were not disappoint.
BELIEVING IN THE HOPE THAT THERE IS MORE IS CRITICAL IF WE ARE TO CRAVE MORE PRESENCE.
1. The Hope of His presence is worth waiting for
25 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 upon him.
Simeon is waiting for the consolation of Israel
a name for the Messiah in common use among the Jews, probably suggested by Isa. 12:1; 49:13
1 In that day you will say:
"I will praise you, O LORD.
Although you were angry with me,
your anger has turned away
and you have comforted me.
13 Shout for joy, O heavens;
rejoice, O earth;
burst into song, O mountains!
For the LORD comforts his people
and will have compassion on his afflicted ones.
Ill: There are different types of waiting
* Waiting for the birth of your baby is very different than waiting on the side of road to hitch a ride.
One has a sense of promise, One a sense of desperation.
* Waiting to be seated in a restaurant is different if you have a reservation than when you don’t.
One has a sense of confidence, one a sense of endurance and unknown.
* Waiting for a shot of Novocain, is different than waiting for a cake to bake.
* Waiting in line at a check out is different than waiting on phone with a call center in India.
The greek word Luke uses lets us know that simeon is waiting with tow things.
A. Waiting with Confidence
He knows that no matter how long he waits that he will be satisfied in the end.
B. Waiting with Patience
Because he has confidence in what the Holy Spirit has shown him he is waiting patiently.
Appl: How good is your hope for a deeper sense of his presence? Are you confident enough that there is more than you have yet experienced that you will wait patiently for it.
2. The Hope of His presence is worth prioritizing for
26 It had been revealed to him by the Holy Spirit that he would not die before he had seen the Lord’s Christ.
Sometimes knowing one truth changes everything.
Ill: On Thursday nights Cheryl and I gather with friends and watch an ABC television shoe called Flashforward.
A mysterious event causes everyone on the planet to simultaneously lose consciousness for 137 seconds, during which people see what appear to be visions of their lives approximately six months in the future--a global "flashforward".
The show explores not just the reasons and causes of the event, but how people respond because they now see a moment of their future.
Dr. Bryce Varley -- A surgical intern was on the verge of committing suicide due to a diagnosis of stage 4 renal cell carcinoma (kidney cancer) when the blackout occurred. After the blackout he experiences a renewed will to live, based upon a woman he sees in his future with whom he is in love. His vision as a gift.
Special Agent Demetri Noh -- an FBI agent had no flashforward and fears that means he will die. Is his vision a gift or a curse.
In both their case, the choices they make in the here and know are based upon what they know prophesied.
For others in the show their vision means little and life goes on.
Simeon has a revelation that he will not die it is a truth which changes his life.
A. Divinely inspired
Not the utterances of a whack job on the side walk. The prophet love "God said 90 out of every 100 church folk will burn in HELL!"
B. Trustworthiness
Ill: there was a day that this trading firm was so trusted their ad slogan was, "When E. F. Hutton talks, people listen" If they said buy you bought, if they said sell you sold.
This is the type of encounter Simeon had with God. He was a righteous devout man, so when God revealed he would not die, he believed it and his actions were prioritized by that truth.
Appl: Are you willing to prioritize your life this holiday season for the hope of more presence. You won’t unless you believe that God himself is promising more and that his promise is trustworthy.
3. The Hope of His presence is worth responding to
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 now dismiss your servant in peace.
30 For my eyes have seen your salvation,
31 which you have prepared in the sight of all people,
32 a light for revelation to the Gentiles
and for glory to your people Israel."
33 The child’s father and mother marveled at what was said about him.
A. Actively
He placed himself in a position where he could encounter mothers with young children.
He walks up and takes the baby in his arms
B. Spiritually
He voices his owns prayers of praise.
4. The Hope of His presence is worth sharing
36 There was also a prophetess, Anna, the daughter of Phanuel, of the tribe of Asher. She was very old; she had lived with her husband seven years after her marriage, 37 and then was a widow until she was eighty-four. She never left the temple but worshiped night and day, fasting and praying. 38 Coming up to them at that very moment, she gave thanks to God and spoke about the child to all who were looking forward to the redemption of Jerusalem.
* Anna, has also been waiting expectantly for the messiah. When she discovers him, she immediately begins to share about him
* This is before any miracle, any teaching, any act of mercy or compassion the forgiver would do. This is before the sacrifice. In other words she is still waiting for the fulfillment of the promise, but the assurance the of the hope, the birth of the Child was enough to encourage her to share hope with others.
AppL. What are sharing with others this Christmas season? Gifts or The Gift? Holiday traditions or the hope of the promise? What are you sharing?
Ill: We all have various Christmas traditions. Few of us have traditions of sharing the hope of His presence with others. Few of us probably have a tradition quite like the Robynson family’s.
In his book Crazy Love, Francis Chan shares their story: This family of five, with three kids under the age of ten, chooses to celebrate the birth of Christ in a unique way. On Christmas mornings, instead of focusing on the presents under the tree, they make pancakes, brew an urn of coffee, and head downtown. Once there, they load the coffee and food into the back of a red wagon. Then, with the eager help of their three-year-old, they pull the wagon around the mostly empty streets in search of homeless folks to offer a warm and filling breakfast on Christmas morning.
All three of the Robynson kids look forward to this time of giving a little bit of tangible love to people who otherwise would have been cold and probably without breakfast.
Appl: Can you think of a better way to celebrate the holiday than seeking to share the hope of the promise God who is Love?
SUMMARY
BELIEVING IN THE HOPE THAT THERE IS MORE IS CRITICAL IF WE ARE TO CRAVE MORE PRESENCE.
It is a hope worth waiting for, prioritizing our lives for receiving, responding to it when encountered and it is worth sharing with others.
CHALLENGE
Does hope deepen his presence in you lives this morning?
J I Packer would state that Christmas is all about hope. Listen to what he writes.
The Christmas message is that there is hope for a ruined humanity--hope of pardon, hope of peace with God, hope of glory--because at the Father’s will Jesus Christ became poor and was born in a stable so that thirty years later he might hang on a cross.
Will you discover more presence this Christmas by sharing the Hope of His coming?
This is the last Sunday before our Acts of Renewal Christmas outreach. Will you share the hope of the season with individuals you invite?
