Matthew 27:55-56; Luke 2:28-35
Have you ever waited a long time for something you really wanted? Grandparents come to visit ...marriage to the love of your life...driver’s license...an incredible job promotion…retirement...second honeymoon? Think about that moment it happened. Think about the power of that moment.
THAT is the moment we find Simeon when reading Luke 2:28-35. However, there is a difference between our “moment” and Simeon’s moment. The difference is stated with two words: the Messiah.
Consider the power of that moment for Simeon... for the world!
“I can die in peace”
“I have seen thy salvation”
“God has prepared THE light “
...Mary and Joseph "marvelled at these statements." (2:33)
There was more -- for Mary (2:34)
Your child is destined for the fall and rising again
A sword will pass through your soul
Then we come to Matthew 27:55-56 -- Mary, the mother of Jesus, is at the cross. A short 33 years have passed and the reality of Simeon’s prophecy were lived. What a scene at the beginning and the end of the God-man’s journey here on earth! There are many lessons we can glean from these passages; however, let’s consider three today.
3 THINGS TO CHOOSE IN 2020
Choose to trust what God says.
Simeon waited until he was an old man before He saw what God promised. Don't give up on God! He is not so weak that He cannot do what he promises. He is not so compromising that He will not be truth itself! Simeon didn't let reasoning, or the oppressive Roman government, or the rebellious Jewish peer groups push him to give up on God...on God's promise!
2. Find comfort in God, the truth.
Simeon is greatly comforted by seeing God's salvation (Jesus). He is comforted in fulfilled Old Testament prophesy. He is comforted in God's saving grace — even though the Roman government was still in power, even though it had been hundreds of years since the prophet Isaiah promised the coming of a Messiah!
Sometimes we will look for comfort in lies, instead of truth. Lies like…
* My past will always haunt me. Will it? Yes...but only if you let it. True confession, repentance & forsaking of sin -- and honesty with yourself and others will help break those chains in your mind that the Lord already broke when you got saved.
* I cannot be seen as a failure -- others would judge me. The truth is others will judge if you are a failure or a success. The truth is everyone fails. Failure is one of life's teachers to growth and maturity.
"I have not failed. I've just found 10,000 ways that won't work.”
― Thomas A. Edison
"Success is not final, failure is not fatal: it is the courage to continue that counts. Success is stumbling from failure to failure with no loss of enthusiasm.”
― Winston S. Churchill
"13 Brethren, I count not myself to have apprehended: but this one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind, and reaching forth unto those things which are before, 14 I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus." -- Philippians 3:13-14
…and one more example of a lie we tend to embrace….
* If only I had __________ (money, better job, better health, better family, etc...) , I would be happy. Are you satisfied with what God has given you? I'm not saying we should never pursue bigger things, but there is a need to be happy with what God has allowed NOW ... to be able to truly move forward to bigger things in the future. (James 1:2-4).
3. Find true peace at the cross.
This can be hard. Mary didn't love seeing her son being crucified. This scene had to break her heart. Yet, it was the cross that provided salvation for all (then and now). It was the cross that made possible victory (daily and eternal)...and it's still the cross today! So, find forgiveness of your sin at the cross…leave your burdens at the cross…find daily victory at the cross — and FIND TRUE PEACE AT THE CROSS.
In 2020 — choose truth, real comfort, and true peace.