The text we'll be considering this morning comes from Luke 2, verses 25-35. So I'll be reading it Luke 2, 25-35. Let's hear the Word of the Lord. Now there was a man in Jerusalem whose name was Simeon, and this man was righteous and devout, waiting for the consolation of Israel, and the Holy Spirit was upon him. 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. And he came in 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, he took him up in his arms and blessed God and said, Lord, now you are letting your servant depart in peace according to your word. For my eyes have seen your salvation that you have prepared in the presence of all peoples a light for revelation to the Gentiles. and for glory to your people Israel. And his father and his mother marveled at what was said about him. And Simeon blessed them and said to Mary his mother, Behold, this child is appointed for the fall and the rising of many in Israel, and for a sign that is opposed. And a sword will pierce through your own soul also, so that thoughts from many hearts may be revealed. The Lord bless the hearing of His Word. As the saying goes, the best things come to those who wait. But we don't wait much for anything today, do we? That's our culture. That's the day in which we live. We're all about immediate gratification. We all want it now. That's just the life that we've lived here in the United States. And one of the very distinctive teachings in contradiction to that, this immediate gratification. One of the things that the Bible presents to us over and over is the truth that there's a patience of the saints. God's people have to wait. God's people have to wait through much turmoil and through much hardship and through long struggle at times for the blessing. Psalm 27, Wait on the Lord, be of good courage, and He shall strengthen your heart. Wait, I say, on the Lord. Revelation calls it this, the patient weight of the saint. You remember James, Brethren, be patient until the coming of the Lord, the God of all grace who called us, said the Apostle, to His eternal glory by Christ Jesus. After you've suffered a while, perfect, establish, strengthen, and settle you. Have you ever thought about what we're waiting for? As believers? Have you thought about what we're waiting for today and all that the Scriptures set out in front of us of what is to come. That the Lord, and how much meaning does it have in light of all that we've seen, that the Lord is going to make every single injustice that has happened in this sad world, He is going to deal with it and He is going to make it right. That the Lord is going to in full answer all of the cries and deliver His people who have cried out to Him day and night. He will deliver them in full. The Apostle would say, this is so wonderful of what is to come, I can't even describe it with words. It's coming. Scripture tells us that when Jesus returns on the clouds of heaven in all of His glory, all who have trusted in the Lord Jesus Christ, behold, in a moment I tell you, in the twinkling of an eye at the last trumpet, you're going to be changed. We're going to be with Him in glory. No longer to know sorrow. no longer to know tears, no longer to know this death and sadness and unrighteousness all around us. It'll be done. Once and for all, it's ended. And the glory that awaits will be overwhelming. You would think Christians would be really excited about this, wouldn't you? You would think that if that is what's coming, that is what's promised, that's what's held out for us, we would be on our knees a whole lot more saying, Lord Jesus, come quickly, right? We want that. We desire that. The reality is, we're not looking that much today. We're not in anticipation that much today of what's to come. And if we're honest, many of us are really consumed today with many things. Troubled about many things. Disturbed about many things. Many things going on in life and families and all of these kinds of things that we face. One of the things that we have here in front of us today that is really beautiful is the Holy Spirit is teaching us through a man so long ago what it looks like to wait. To wait upon the Lord. To be of good courage and wait. Here was a man named Simeon. The Lord is giving us an example and showing us what the longing of the Messiah looks like, the longing of the coming of the Savior. And I want to look at that this morning with that to challenge us to think about today, what are we here for? What are we looking for? What are we really celebrating? And what does that say about what is to come? This passage really is an encouragement today of that the Lord will fulfill His promise. The Lord Jesus Christ is coming. And we are called to look for that. To live in light of that. In verse 25, we read that this man in Jerusalem named Simeon was just and devout, and here it describes him as righteous and God-fearing. Unless we think that he was like this on his own, which we tend to do, we're immediately introduced to the Holy Spirit in this passage who makes it really clear that this was a fruit of his power upon the life of Simeon. The Holy Spirit enlightening Simeon as he was an object of the Holy Spirit stirring up Simeon's heart. You'll notice what it says. That the Spirit had revealed to him that he would not taste death until the coming of Christ. This was a genuine believer in the promise. But what's of real interest to us this morning is what it says about his situation. He was waiting for the consolation of Israel. I don't know what you think when you hear that. Waiting for the consolation of Israel. The first thing to notice is, this Simeon was nobody who was anything really, anything of real stature or greatness at that time. This was your typical layman in Israel. This was your typical churchgoer in Israel. He had no status. He was not great. He was one of the most insignificant people, really, that the Lord could have come and chosen for this blessing. And it's a really important point, isn't it, as we begin today? That although God had at His command when the Messiah was coming, powerful rulers, tetrarchs and Roman emperors, He passed by all of them. And what we see at the beginning of Christ's birth, those who are coming around Christ's birth are the most unlikely of characters. In fact, in his very genealogy were the names, remember, Tamar, a prostitute, and Rahab, a harlot, and Bathsheba, the adulteress. These were the people in the line of Jesus. And right at the birth, we're bumping up against shepherds who were absolutely poor people. We're bumping up against astrologers or magi who were Gentiles who were not followers of the Messiah. And here we're coming to a man who really was a nobody in Israel. And here is the one of no rank or a great account, and what an encouragement that Mary understood right from the beginning that Mary said God regards the lowly and His mercy is with those who fear Him. He scatters the proud and He puts down the mighty from their thrones, but the Simeons the Lord exalts. The Simeon. And the text tells us that here was lowly Simeon waiting for the consolation of Israel. Can't overlook that. What is that? The word's interesting. It means comfort. It means comfort. Now that's going to have some background when you understand that when Jesus came on the scene of history, the expectation of the coming Messiah had grown absolutely cold. It's really a thing to consider. isn't it? That you had this period between the Old and the New Testaments, this dark period of silence from the Lord. Generation after generation passed. They did not hear from the Lord. Isaiah said very clearly that before the Messiah came, great darkness had fallen over the people. That's important for us, isn't it? Because you know what that produced? It produced in Israel a complete coldness of expectation of the deliverance and that that expectation of deliverance had become completely absent from the hearts and minds of the people. All that you're seeing at the beginning of the Gospels is the sad state of Israel in her expectation of her Messiah. And when those who did look, the expectations were all wrong. That's what we looked at last Sunday night. That there, when the Lord came, Jerusalem and Herod, all of Jerusalem was troubled at the birth of Christ. Why stir the pot? Things are good. Things are good. The people were complacent. And yet here were the angels out on the hillside chanting and yelling out to a few shepherds God's peace. Here was the Messiah. He had come to save His people from their sins. God had been faithful. But who was looking? There was no dancing in the hillsides by the people. There was no hospitality. There was nothing like what we're doing now by the people. They put him in a feeding trough. He was not on a throne, but he wore rags. The kind of rags that animals were wiped with. Not in welcome, but in flight from God's people. They tried to murder him at his birth. And don't you find it interesting that all throughout history we've seen this, the devil attacking children and attacking young people? Look at it. Study what Pharaoh wanted from the young people. Look what's happened in recent days in our land. This is the devil's vicious attack and they didn't want their Messiah. I can't help but saying I see some kind of connection here to the anticipation of the second coming. I want to save that for the end, but I want to say it now, really. Because think about it. The Lord said that before He would come, the love of many would grow cold. And how real a problem is that? Are we really looking for Christ to come? Do we really believe it could happen today? Do we think that? Do we believe that? This is an encouragement for you this morning, Simeon, this figure, to be really encouraged that the Lord is preserving a people who are looking and that the Holy Spirit had set apart this layman in Israel to show us what a true celebration of what we call Christmas is all about. He was waiting for the consolation of Israel. The word means comfort. So you could read it like this. There was a devout follower of the Lord who was waiting for the comfort of Israel. What had the Holy Spirit shown him? The Holy Spirit had shown him that in his lifetime, the comfort would come. The comfort that was announced all throughout. Comfort. Comfort my people. Remember, Isaiah would say that. Says your God, speak comfort to Jerusalem and cry out to her that her warfare has ended, that her iniquity is pardoned. This was really a title of Jesus Himself. He was the comforter. And the answer, God's answer to this misery that's all around us, isn't it? The misery that we're experiencing and we're seeing play out as we see God lift His hand of restraint on this sad world. And we haven't thought a lot about how much He has been restraining, but as we see that hand of restraint lifted a little bit and we're beginning to taste and see how awful humanity really is. And we're beginning to see in this country how bad things could get if the Lord fully lifts His hand of restraint. And so here is this figure, Simeon. Things are dark in Israel. And God raises up this man to show us something this morning. Before us, one patiently waiting. Patiently waiting, enduring awful tribulation in a time of darkness. As the Psalms say, he's a sort of fulfillment. I have waited for the Lord more than they who watch for the morning. I've waited for the release. I've waited for my freedom. I've waited for the freedom from this sorrow that I live in in this darkness. I've waited for Him. I've longed for Him. I've looked for Him. So here is this faithful old saint of the Lord in tribulation understanding His deliverance. And so we read in verse 26 that the Holy Spirit had revealed to Him that He would not see death before he had seen the Lord's Christ. So Simeon comes into the temple. And we read that the parents had brought in the child Jesus to do for him according to the custom of the law. And we read this beautiful moment where Simeon takes up the child into his arms. And I want you to imagine the scene. It's one of the grandest scenes in all of the Bible. Here he is, through all of the ages, the people of God waiting for their Messiah, waiting for their deliverer all these years. Here's an old Israelite now beholding that glory. And here he takes up in his arms God incarnate. This is God Himself. The One through whom all things were made. This is the eternal Word made flesh. The only begotten Son of God. Full of grace and truth in the arms of a sinner. He knew, Isaiah 53, that this child would go all the way to the cross. And that what would happen to this child one day, he would carry all of the sorrows, all of the burdens, all of the sins. By his stripes, Isaiah said, we are healed. All of the sadnesses, all of the griefs that we experience, all of the pains in this sad world, there Simeon held in his arms the one who would deal with it and take it on. What imagery, isn't it? The center of all of history, God's answer to our sadness, who would have thought? The ones whose goings forth are from old, from everlasting, taken up into the arms of sinners. And Simeon, all he can say is, Lord, verse 29, now you're letting your servant depart in peace according to your word for my eyes have seen your salvation. I'm free to die. I'm free to die. I've seen it. He was released. This imagery here is a picture of the whole, is a story really, but the imagery here is that of the whole gospel story, isn't it? What do we carry around today? What kind of fears do we carry around today? We carry around the fear of death, don't we? We carry around the fear of death. It was Christopher Hitchens, the famous atheist who died a couple of years ago. And he spent all of his life rejecting the Lord. And you know what his confession was on his deathbed? Death is certain. Life on this earth, with all of its mystery and beauty and pain, is then to be lived far more intensely. We stumble and get up. We are sad, confident, insecure, feel loneliness and joy and love. There's nothing more. And I want nothing more. That is a tragedy. I want nothing more than what this sad life has to offer. Imagine dying in loneliness and no answer and going to your grave with absolutely no hope and without God. Millions are doing that today. Are living that. Simeon, I can die. Hear it? I can die. I see my hope. The salvation has come. You're letting your servant depart in peace. My eyes have seen your salvation. You've prepared in the presence of all your peoples. What does he say? A light for the Gentiles, for you, in 2012. I can't help but thinking that if we know Mary is with him, and he's in the temple, he's in the court of women, holding up this child, and 15 steps down are all the Gentiles mulling around with no hope. and all those steps up was the holy place, and here's the one held up in the middle of it all. This is your light. This is your salvation. He's come. Beholding the child, the mediator has come, who satisfies God's justice and frees sinners from the misery of their sin. I've seen it. I'm ready to die. It's been said, you never really are ready to die until you've come to this kind of faith and trust in the Savior. We read in verse 33, Joseph and Mary marveled at the things that Simeon spoke. Then Simeon blessed them, and then he says this, Behold, this child is destined for the fall and the rising of many in Israel, and for a sign which will be spoken against. Yes, a sword will pierce through your own soul so that the thoughts of many hearts may be revealed. Mary, this child will die. He will die. But this child will rise. And He is going to become the great divider of mankind. He will reveal hearts. He's destined for the fall and the rise of many in Israel. This is why I say this child is dangerous. What we do today in a sense is dangerous. Do you realize that? As beautiful as it is, as wonderful as the music and all of our singing, this is a dangerous thing. That's why I get nervous with how He's treated. He's not a doll to be cuddled. He is God to be worshipped. There were many in Israel who came once a year for the Passover. Do you know that? they traveled all through the land and they showed up once a year to honor the Passover. I think today in America there will be many churches filled with people who will come once a year to acknowledge the birth of the baby. I wonder if that's gone on here at all. I'm sure there are many. But I want you to know that is not the kind of bowing and worship the Lord is after. The kind of bowing and worship what we see here is with somebody like Simeon whose whole life was given to recognize and believe that this is his Savior. And it's no coincidence that in the very next verses we have a woman who day and night is in the temple worshiping God. This worship of the Savior, this worship of the Messiah that breaks out and saying, now I'm ready to die. The kind of worship that believes and trusts Him and has come to Him as a Savior from all of your sins. This child is destined for the fall and the rise of many in Israel. Your relationship to this Jesus is everything. What is it? Those who reject Him, those who refuse Him, will fall. The most important issue of life is what we do with Him. It's the most important question. Everything about this life goes in one direction or the other. It is that simple. It goes in one direction or the other. You have today either bowed your knee to this king and said, that is my Lord and my God and I am free to die in peace. Or you have said, no thanks. Where are you? Where do you stand? We've been saying this in the church for a long time. And I sometimes wonder if it loses effect when we say, come to Jesus this day. What does that mean anymore? The Lord means it. It's serious. Come this day. Believe in the Savior. And you will be saved from all of your sins. That is a wonderful announcement that He's still giving late in the history of this world. In a world of sadness and misery, do you really want what this world has to offer? No one can want this. No one wants to say this is it. This is misery. And the Lord is letting us taste how miserable it is as of recent. The devil wants nothing more at this time of year to keep us cold in our weight. And he has everything at his disposal to do that. But I want to say to you today, from this text, The Holy Spirit has given you a beautiful picture, a beautiful story of somebody who earnestly waited for the Lord and saw the fulfillment. And so as we celebrate today, I encourage all of you, look what the Lord has done. He sent His Son. He's come. He has died on the cross. He has announced to the ends of the earth, whosoever comes to Me, He will not perish. This is the message of the Christian Gospel. This is what we celebrate. And so, I ask today, are you ready to die? Amen. O Lord our God, we thank You that You care at this time of year to peel back all of the superficiality and to show us the glories of the Savior. To show us a servant so long ago who believed the promises. And we know by Your powerful Spirit, You are indeed making a people ready for the glorious return of the Lord Jesus Christ on the clouds of heaven. Make us ready this day. We thank You for fulfilling Your promises. We thank You that the light has come. May that light continue to shine bright in the hearts of everyone who has gathered here together today and to the ends of the earth. In Jesus' name we pray. Amen.