We have made note of how this passage speaks of three sets of individuals who are each an example of what needs to be true of us if we are going to be in on what God is doing in our world in our day. Last time, we spoke of the importance of our living the Word-filled life, as we considered the example of Joseph and Mary. We also made note of Anna as an example of the Prayer-filled life. We’ll consider her example next week. Today, I want look to the example of Simeon, who teaches us about the importance of living the Spirit-filled life. But
before we do, it might be helpful to distinguish between the three ceremonies mentioned in our text.
The first ceremony is circumcision (v. 21). This would take place where the family lived; not at the temple. It occurred on the 8th day, as God directed Abraham (Genesis 17:9-14) and prescribed by the law of Moses (Leviticus 2:3). Naming the child was also associated with this.
The second ceremony is the presentation of the first born son. This was a requirement of the Law (Numbers 18:15-17). During the final plague God brought on Egypt, all the first-born were slain, both man and beast, while the first-born of those who applied the blood of the Passover Lamb to their door posts lived. In honor of this, an Israelite family redeemed their first-born; and acknowledge their child belonged to God. The redemption price for a first-born male Israelite a month or more old was set at five shekels (Numbers 18:16). This ceremony and the third ceremony were usually done on the same visit to the temple.
The third ceremony was the purification of Mary, required by the Law after the birth of a child. The mother was considered ceremonially unclean after the birth of a child (Leviticus 12). For a boy, the mother was unclean for 7 days and unable to enter the sanctuary for another 33 days. This means Jesus would have been around six weeks old at his presentation. It was on this occasion Simeon and Anna appeared, to announce that Jesus was God’s Messiah, the Savior of the world.
Simeon was at the right place at the right time to be in on what God was doing. Recognizing Jesus as the Messiah, he took the child in his arms and blessed God. After a lifetime of waiting for the Messiah, one can hardly imagine the joy he experienced! Think of it, a man who knew God held him in the palm of His hand, now held the Messiah in his arms! How did this happen?
We’re told Simeon was righteous and devout (v. 25); and was a man of faith, for he “looked for the consolation of Israel,” a reference to faith in the promises of God about blessing Israel by the coming of the Messiah. And Simeon was a man s filled with the Holy Spirit. Three times, Luke speaks of the Holy Spirit’s work in Simeon’s life.
1. He leaned upon the Holy Spirit - v. 25
It’s been pointed out that the life God calls us to live is impossible. The only person who perfectly lived a God-pleasing life was Jesus; and I’m not Him and neither are you! But as our Savior once said:
“What is impossible with man is possible with God.” - Luke 18:27 (NIV)
Simeon knew that it is impossible on our own, in our strength to live a life pleasing to God. That’s why we can’t afford to live a single day without being yielded to the Holy Spirit of God. Simeon accepted the truth declared long ago to one of the leaders of Israel, Zerubbabel:
“This is the message from the Lord to Zerubbabel: ‘Your help will not come from your own strength and power. No, your help will come from my Spirit.’ This is what the Lord All-Powerful says.” - Zechariah 4:6 (Easy to Read)
Of course, depending on the power of the Spirit means I have to trust God more than I trust myself. As long as I live trusting my ability, I won’t be able to live according to the enabling of God.
“And the LORD God commanded the man, ‘You are free to eat from any tree in the garden; but you must not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, for when you eat from it you will certainly die.’” - Genesis 2:16-17 (NIV)
Often when we read God’s command to the first man and woman, our focus is on what they were told not to do. That’s our way as a fallen people, to focus on the negative at the expense of the positive. If I were to show you a white sheet of paper with a black dot in the middle and ask what you see, you’d most likely say, “a black dot” not “a white paper.” So, when we look at this command of God to Adam and Eve, we often focus on the one tree they couldn’t partake of rather than the entire garden they were free to partake of.What does God say? “You are free . . .” Of course, that freedom was lost by man’s choice. But in Christ, through the work of the Holy Spirit, that freedom has been restored.
“For the Lord is the Spirit, and wherever the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom. So all of us who have had that veil removed can see and reflect the glory of the Lord. And the Lord - who is the Spirit - makes us more and more like him as we are changed into his glorious image.” - 2 Corinthians 3:17-18 (NLT)
Moses covered his face to hide that the glory that shone from his face after being with God was fading. But we can live in such a way as to reveal God’s glory in increasing measure, by the power of the Spirit! The freedom lost through the fall, is restored through the presence and power of God’s Spirit. Therefore, don’t focus on the “dot” of what you have to give up in order to be blessed by the Spirit; rather, think of all the “white” - all the possibilities; all the adventure that awaits you as you daily choose to yield to the Holy Spirit and trust Him!
This is the first step in living the Spirit-filled life - like Simeon, I must pursue a life of righteousness - being right with God must be a priority. After all, the Holy Spirit is HOLY! If He’s going to be free to empower me to live a God-pleasing life, then I mustn’t allow sin to rule in my life, but I must fully confess my sin in yielding to Him. Is your life available to the Holy Spirit to fill or is it full of sin and self?
2. He learned from the Holy Spirit - v. 26
Simeon received a word from the Lord that he wouldn’t die until he saw the Messiah. God gave revelation to Him that gave direction to his life. Likewise, as we seek to live a Spirit-filled life, the Holy Spirit will be free to give us revelation that will give us direction.
“God speaks by His Spirit through the Bible, prayer, circumstances, and His church, to reveal Himself, His purposes and His ways.” - Henry Blackaby
“But as the Scriptures say, ‘No one has ever seen, no one has ever heard, no one has ever imagined what God has prepared for those who love him.’ But God has shown us these things through the Spirit. The Spirit knows all things. The Spirit even knows the deep secrets of God. It is like this: No one knows the thoughts that another person has. Only the person’s spirit that lives inside knows those thoughts. It is the same with God. No one knows God’s thoughts except God’s Spirit. We received the Spirit that is from God, not the spirit of the world. We received God’s Spirit so that we can know all that God has given us.” - 1 Corinthians 2:9-12 (Easy to Read)
This is the second step in living the Spirit-filled life - like Simeon, I must pursue a life of devotion - seeking God’s revelation of Himself by His Spirit through the Bible, prayer, circumstances, and His church. God wants to teach you how to hear His voice, how to recognize his hand at work, how to follow His leading, but to do that you must devotedly seek His face.
3. He was led by the Holy Spirit - v. 27
Simeon was a man of righteousness and devotion; but also of faith. This is the third step in living the Spirit-filled life - like Simeon, I must live a life of faith. He lived his life expecting for God to fulfill His promises. As a man who leaned on the Spirit and learned from the Spirit, he lived his life daily expecting that God was going to speak to him, God was going to reveal something to him, God was going to use him, God was going to bless him. Consequently, he ended up living his life “under the spout where the glory was being poured out.”
Conclusion: Every Child of God has the Holy Spirit indwelling them by virtue of the new birth. So, as a Christian, the question is not, “Do I have the Holy Spirit?” but, “Does the Holy Spirit have me?” that is what we are talking about today.
The idea of being filled with the Spirit is not so much the idea of being filled like I might fill a class with water, but the idea of being saturated, like a sponge. A sponge is an instrument to be used in the Master’s service. However, on it’s own, it isn’t very useful.
To be useful, it must be emptied of all the air within it. Similarly, we need to be emptied of sin and self, for when we live only for sin and self, we are only full of air, and not in a position to be used of God. To be used of God by emptying ourselves of sin and self.
To be useful, the emptied sponge must be saturated (filled) with clean water. Likewise, we must allow the Spirit to fill our lives with all that God has for us!
The sponge can now be used as the Master intends, as it is applied to whatever task the Master sees fit. Likewise, we can count on the fact that if we are choosing daily to yield to the Holy Spirit and allowing Him to fill us by pursuing a right relationship with God; and are hungry to learn and receive all that God want to reveal to us about Himself, then God will use us, speak to us, guide us, and bless us by allowing us to be in on what He is doing.
