when my Savior died for me. Amen. Open the Bibles to the book of Luke chapter 2 for our scripture reading this morning. Luke chapter 2 verses 21 to 23. Luke chapter 2 verses 21 to 33. Luke chapter 2 verse 21 to verse 33. And when the eight days were accomplished for a circumcision of the child, his name was called Jesus, which was so named of the angel before he was conceived in the womb. And when the days of her purification, according to the law of Moses, were accomplished, They brought him to Jerusalem to present him to the Lord. As it is written in the law of the Lord, every male that opened the womb shall be called holy to the Lord. And to offer a sacrifice according to which is said in the law of the Lord, a pair of tattledoves or two young pigeons. And behold, there was a man in Jerusalem whose name was Simeon, and the same was just and devout, waiting for the consolation of Israel, and the Holy Ghost was upon him. And it was revealed unto him by the Holy Ghost that he should not see death before he had seen the Lord's Christ. And he came by the Spirit into the temple, and when the parents brought in the child Jesus to do for him after the custom of the law, then took him up in his arms and blessed God, and he said, Now let us vow thy servant depart in peace according to thy word. For mine eyes have seen thy salvation which thou has prepared before the face of all the people. A light to lighten the Gentiles and the glory of thy people Israel. And Joseph and his mother marveled at those things which were spoken of him. This is the reading of the Word of the Lord. Good morning, church, and Merry Christmas. I just saw John Wesley and Jeff walk to the front and I was like, oh, they're going to sing a special. And then they turned and sat down. I'm sure it would be good. Well, this morning, let's come back to the passage Pastor Eric read in Luke Chapter 2. We're following on what Pastor Matt was with in last week. as he had gone over the story of the shepherds. And the story continues not in Jerusalem first, but it begins in Bethlehem. It begins in Bethlehem. Now, the things that I want to point out this morning is this is the story of Simeon meets the Savior. Simeon meets the Savior. And as we look at it this morning, I want to see aspects of Simeon, but the important thing is the Savior. It's Christmas season, and I don't know, it feels kind of odd to say Merry Christmas and Christmas isn't until Wednesday. This is one of those where Christmas is halfway between two Sundays. But do we think the day Christmas is more holy than the days around it? And I dare say it is not. Now, Paul, the apostle Paul, tells us that one man esteems one day above another and one man esteems every day alike. And if you want to say that Christmas is more holy, it's good to have a day to remember. But it's a remembrance day more than a holy day. Nothing holy happens on Christmas. That special day doesn't, nothing holy happens on Easter, but we remember. What we remember is holy. What we consider is holy. The day itself has no power. There's no magical power on Wednesday, except perhaps maybe your family will get together and it'll be a good time of fellowship, and I hope a fellowship around the Savior. But what's more important is that we spend each week together as the body of Christ and grow in wisdom and in stature like Jesus did, but we grow in the knowledge of the Lord from our continual presence together on Sundays. That is more important than setting a Christmas day or Easter day separately. The story, Simeon meets the Savior. Verse 21. There, first of all, is a sacrifice. It says in verse 21, In verse 22, They, Mary and Joseph, brought him to Jerusalem to present him to the Lord. As it is written in the law of the Lord, every male that openeth the womb shall be called holy to the Lord. And also, verse 24, to offer a sacrifice according to that which is said in the law of the Lord, a pair of turtle doves or two young pigeons. The first thing we're noticing is the sacrifice, but there are three aspects, not just of the sacrifice, but of what they're doing. And the symbolism, please don't let it be lost on us. The first thing is the circumcision of the child. It is given by God through Abraham for identification that all the males of all the Hebrews should be circumcised, to identify as a group. Jesus' identification with Abraham is listed in Genesis chapter 17 and verses 7 and 10. It said, God said to Abraham, I will establish my covenant between me and thee and thy seed after thee and their generations for an everlasting covenant to be a God unto thee and to thy seed after thee. And then he says in verse 10, this is my covenant which you shall keep between me and you and thy seed after thee. Every man child among you shall be circumcised. Now if you have learned anything about your Bible, Genesis 17 is way before Mount Sinai. Genesis 17 predates the law by a long time. This was a covenant God gave to Abraham and it identifies Jesus as a descendant of Abraham. When you read the nativity, not the nativity, but the genealogy in Matthew, the New Testament opens with, this is the book of the generations of Jesus Christ, the son of David, the son of Abraham. It was very important that we realize the focus that Jesus is born the Savior of Israel. Jonah read for us this morning in Isaiah 9, 6, unto us, a child is born unto us, a son is given. You know, we claim that. But that's actually a promise to Israel. They were waiting for this Messiah to come. So before Jesus goes to Jerusalem with his parents, he's eight days old. The shepherds were there just a week before, they're in Bethlehem, they went to a synagogue, they found a rabbi, the rabbi performed the circumcision, and at the circumcision, in the Hebrew custom, is when his name would have been pronounced, Jesus. You remember from the story of John the Baptist, Zechariah, when it was time for them to circumcise baby John, they said, his name shall be Zechariah. And his mom said, no, it's not. And they gave a tablet to Zechariah, and he wrote his name is John. Same thing, the eighth day, that's when the Jews would pronounce the name. After that, if you'll notice in verse 22, when the days of her purification were accomplished. Her is Mary. There was a law that had to do with her purification. But before I get to that, I wanna talk about Jesus' dedication in the next verse, 23. It says, as it is written in the law of the Lord, every male that openeth the womb that's born, the firstborn, shall be holy unto the Lord. Just as Jesus is fulfilling the covenant of Abraham, Jesus is also fulfilling the dedication of the firstborn unto God. And that's found, again, before the law in Exodus 13 when Israel came out of Egypt. The law said this in Exodus 13 verse 2 or 1 and 2 the Lord spake unto Moses Saying sanctify unto me or set apart unto me all the firstborn Whatsoever openeth the womb among the children of Israel Israel both man and a beast it is mine the firstborn belongs to God it is it is Jesus who is Mary's firstborn he belongs to God and so they did the circumcision in Bethlehem, waited until the days of Mary's purification were finished, and they come to Jerusalem to present him before the Lord. So we have Jesus' identification and Jesus' presentation. But let me come back to Mary's purification. There would be some in Christianity that would be, I don't know, shocked that Mary needed to be purified. But she had to, because number one, she was Jewish. And all Jewish men and women had to be obedient to all points of the law. And Mary had to be obedient to one particular point of the law. And if you would come with me, I'd just like to show that to you in Leviticus chapter 12. Leviticus, Old Testament. It won't be on the screen, so if you don't have a Bible, It's okay, I'll read it. But this is what Mary is being obedient to when she comes to Jerusalem. They're coming for two reasons. They want to present Jesus before the Lord. That could be done at any time. Dedicating your heart to the Lord is something you and I should do not once, not twice, but every day. Because our hearts are prone to wander. Mary and Joseph, the day Jesus was born, and I dare say long before he was born, had dedicated Jesus to the Lord. He was God's, as soon as they knew that they were gonna have a child, and they continually did that. But they wanted that public statement, and that's why they headed for Jerusalem, was for Mary's purification and Jesus' public dedication. Now, the dedication we've talked about, but Mary's purification, oh, it's key to the story. Leviticus 12, verse one, the Lord spake unto Moses, saying, speak unto the children of Israel, saying, if a woman have conceived seed and born a man child, ah, there's Mary and Jesus, then she shall be unclean seven days according to the days of the separation for infirmity shall she be unclean. Verse three, and in the eighth day shall the flesh of his foreskin be circumcised, there's Jesus in Bethlehem, And then verse 4, it's not just 8 days. And she shall then continue in the blood of her purifying 3 and 30 days. She shall touch no hallowed thing nor come into the sanctuary until the days of her purifying be fulfilled. Mary has to be purified. And if you add 8 plus 33, and you're really good with math, it's 41 days. That's a month and 11 days. So Mary, they have to wait to go to Jerusalem to go make this offering that we're going to read in a moment. They have to wait 41 days after Jesus is born. Now come down to verse 6. When the days of her purifying are fulfilled, 41 days after the birth of the baby, For a son or a daughter, she shall bring a lamb of the first year for a burnt offering and a young pigeon or a turtle dove for a sin offering under the door of the tabernacle of the congregation unto the priest who shall offer it before the Lord and make an atonement for her. So Mary needs an atonement. And so this is one of two reasons they're going to Jerusalem. Hang with me. Verse seven, he'll offer it as an atonement for her and she shall be cleansed from the issue of her blood. Verse eight, and if she be not able to bring a lamb, then she shall bring two turtles, that's two turtle doves, or two young pigeons, the one for a burnt offering, the other for a sin offering, and the priest shall make an atonement for her and she shall be clean. Now this weaves back into the story. If they can't bring a lamb, The only reason someone couldn't bring a lamb is they couldn't afford it. If they're a shepherd and they've got sheep, sure, they're growing. But if you're not a shepherd, if you're a carpenter like Joseph, you don't raise sheep. If you're gonna make that kind of an offering, you've gotta go to someone who sells sheep and buy a sacrificial offering lamb, and that's quite pricey. And Mary and Joseph apparently couldn't afford it. Come back to Luke 2. Verse 24, it says, when they came to offer the sacrifice, according to that which is said in the law of the Lord, a pair of turtle doves or two young pigeons. They offered the pigeons, the birds, instead of the lamb. Now, at the end of the message, I'll come back to that. But here's Mary and Joseph. Now, does God have control over everything? Does God see the end from the beginning? Do you really believe that? Do you really believe that God would have someone obey the law, and in their obedience to the law, God would cause something totally amazing to happen? Without it being some miracle, but just to bring together people. What we have in the story of Simeon meets the Savior is two obedient parents bringing a baby and one obedient man going and coming through the temple and God bringing them together on a particular day. If Mary and Joseph had been very flippant, didn't care about the law, didn't care about doing right in the sight of God, the story wouldn't have happened. If Simeon, the man we're gonna read about in a moment, if he wasn't faithful to the thing that he believed he should be looking for, it wouldn't have happened. But the obedience to God, not because I want this thing to make me stand out in the eyes of God, but I'm obedient to God because he loved me first. It brings us to this story. So come down with me to verse 25, and we're introduced to Simeon. Verse 25 and 26, it says, behold, there was a man in Jerusalem whose name was Simeon. The same man was just and devout, waiting for the consolation of Israel, and the Holy Ghost was upon him. And it was revealed unto him by the Holy Ghost that he should not see death, he should not die before he had seen the Lord's Christ. Now, there are some things that are mentioned here about Simeon, which I think would be great characteristics for all of us to emulate. It's interesting, it wasn't until I studied this week that I saw something. We think Simeon is an old man, partially because he won't die until he sees the baby and he says to the Lord, okay, now I can die. And then the other lady that comes in, we won't mention today, but Anna, she's very old. She's probably 105 years old. So we think Simeon is an old man. Actually, there's nothing that says Simeon is an old man. But be that as it may, there are several things said about him. Number one, and I like this, it mentions it twice, he's a man. You're like, oh, are you men versus women? No, no, no, I want to speak to you men. He's a man. It says there was a man in Jerusalem whose name was Simeon, and the same man was just and devout. Starting in January, Pastor Eric and Pastor Matt will be preaching our series on spiritual disciplines. But man, can I encourage you, you should start today. If you started last year, and you were praying, and you were spending time in the scriptures, and you were leading your family in devotions, and somehow you got away from it, you don't wait till the new year to start. If you forgot to eat breakfast this morning, and you have food at the house, I doubt seriously you'll go to sleep hungry tonight. Because when you get home, hungry by killing you, and you're about to go kick it. Now, if you don't have food, then I can understand that. But if you've got food, you're going to eat. Can we not ask God for that hunger in our own souls, man? That in our heart, Lord, when I am gone astray from you or when I've become slack, God, can you rekindle that heart in me? And you know, sometimes it doesn't happen. You're like, Papa John, I just don't feel like it. Brother, if you're a Christian and you're born again and the Spirit of God has saved you, hear me, you are spiritually sick. Have you ever been so sick you didn't want to eat physically? Most of us have. You're just like food is not only unappealing, you feel like you're a trout, suppose you're kege, and you don't want to do it. That is not the signal of a healthy physical body. Can I say this for you? If there is no hunger in your heart, Christian, for the word, there's no hunger for the Lord, there's no hunger for his presence in your life, spiritually you are sick. And you need to go to the great physician, Jesus, and say, Lord, there's something wrong in my heart. I don't feel like it's wrong, and that's what's wrong. I need you, God, I need you to work in my life. Men, can I say, let us be men for the Lord. Simeon was a man and as a man it says two things about him right away It says he was just and he was devout The just is his appearance before people the word just as interchangeable with the word righteous When people saw Simeon nobody thought oh, I know what he did last week. I know where he went and got drunk I know how he treated his wife. I know how he did this or he did that when they saw Simeon everybody said hey good blow mine and In the eyes of the men around him, he was just. But I like the other part. He was devout. Devout means devoted. His heart was devoted to God. We don't know what his job was. We really, when you read the text, don't know if he spent all day in the temple, because it doesn't say he's a priest, doesn't say he's a Pharisee, doesn't say he's a scribe. I think he is an average man whose heart pulls him to go to the temple. He lives in Jerusalem, easy for him to do it, and he would frequently be seen in the temple. Why? Because his heart is drawn toward God. He's a man. He's just. He is devout. But I love these aspects. Verse 25 says, the Holy Ghost was upon him. He was filled with the Spirit of God. Brothers and sisters, when you trusted Christ as your Savior, the Bible says the Holy Spirit moved inside you. And if you want to be filled with the Spirit, here's the secret, and it's not hard. He needs more space. He's in there and everything we hold to that is not of God is crowding him out. He will never leave you or forsake you. But if he has this much of you, that's how much of him you're gonna see in your life. But the more you move things out that are not of God, they're not good, but can I say this? Sometimes we choose the good instead of the best, the things that would hinder us. From walking with God, this man said, you know what? I need that out. I don't know what he did for a living. He did a job. He had an income. He's surviving, but know this. He's filled with the Holy Spirit of God. He's not just filled with the Spirit. I see in verse 26, he's obedient to the will of God. It was revealed to him by the Holy Ghost, he should not see death until he had seen the Lord's Christ. That means he keeps looking. He's obedient to the will of God. In verse 27, he was led by the Spirit of God. He came by the Spirit into the temple. Now you say, how can I let the Spirit of God lead me? It's simple, you learn to walk with God. You say, how can I learn to walk with God? Well, Romans 8 verse 14, as many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God. Flip that over, as many as are the sons or children of God are led by the Spirit. If you're born again, God doesn't have a special thing for Pastor Matt and Pastor Eric that they get these special little things. No, God wants you and I to walk with him. This man Simeon is walking with God because this is what he wants to do. And sometimes, man, if we would just give our hearts and lives to God, let Jesus be that which is so important to us, let Christ mean a lot to us, you might be surprised what God would do in your life. Not only is he led by the Spirit of God, verse 29, he says, Lord, now lettest thou thy servant depart in peace according to thy word. Here's an essence of everything. He believed the word of God. Now, you've got to think about this. He has the Old Testament, but the New Testament hasn't been written. In fact, he's one of the first stories in the New Testament. So he doesn't have all the New Testament revelation of Romans and the book of Revelation and Hebrews and James. He doesn't have all that. But what he does have is God had spoken to his heart and said, son, I'm going to use you like a prophet. And you're not going to die until you see the Messiah. Can you see this? You know, we sometimes say, you know, I wish God would give me dreams and visions. Go eat some pizza or eat some spicy food and you'll have dreams and visions, okay? You won't know if they're from God. See, God doesn't have to give you dreams and visions. He gave you his word. This is what this is what this guy is saying. He's God you revealed that to me. I I don't have the New Testament I don't have the story of Christ. But what I do have is your word and what you've given me I'm hanging on to it and this guy said I can leave now why because you fulfilled your word Oh brothers and sisters, you know what he had one word and One, you won't die until you see the Messiah. You have Matthew through Revelation. You have Genesis through Malachi. We've got 66 books of the Word of God. Oh, please, there is so much in there for all of us. There's so much for you to grab, so much for you to cling to, so much to learn. October for me was 50 years in the faith, 50 years. I feel like a student. I get to preach and I get to teach, but I feel like a student because I learned things this week preparing for this message. I thought, I know this story. I don't know this story. This is great. There's so much for you to learn about God, that Jesus is here to work in your heart, not just in our church services, praise God, the Spirit is here. But Christian, when you are alone with God and you dedicate your time to God, God, come meet with me. Speak to me from your word. He will. He will. Christian, all you need to do is give him the time. Yeah, Simeon, he's filled with the Spirit. He's obedient to the will of God. He is led by the Spirit of God. He believes the Word of God, and God rewarded him in verse 30. He said, mine eyes have seen thine salvation. He saw the salvation of God. Now, this is our character, Simeon. So we have Mary and Joseph. They've come. to dedicate Jesus publicly and for Mary to make the offering she needs to make according to the law for her purification from having had a boy. Simeon has come into the temple as is his custom because God had revealed to him, you will not die until you see the Messiah. I don't know if he traveled all over Israel, the Bible doesn't say, but I know this, he keeps coming to the temple because he does know that if the temple is God's house, the Messiah's gotta come here. But let's come to the story, verse 27. Simeon, he came by the Spirit into the temple. And when the parents brought in the child Jesus to do for him after the custom of the law, then Simeon took him up in his arms and blessed God. The story is this, this providential meeting. He's there, we don't know how many times he comes. Mary and Joseph, this is the first time Mary has come since she had the baby. This is probably the first time both of them have come. Bethlehem is 10 kilometers away. It's a two hour walk. They have not come very far to get from Bethlehem to the temple. But they're both there at the same time. Now, for Simeon, he did like he always had done. Was he looking for a baby is the question. I don't think so. Now, this is just speculation. What's he looking for? He's not going to die until he sees who? The Lord's Christ. Lord's Christ is Greek. It's New Testament, Old Testament. Hebrew would be Jehovah's Messiah. He is looking for the Messiah of Israel. Do you know that in the Old Testament, we have what we call mountain peaks of prophecy. And those prophets looking into the future under the inspiration of God would see something and they'd see two things and they think they were together. Now, if you've ever lived in the mountains, you can understand this. You think these two mountains are the same mountain. So you brook a mountain and you go, oh, no, I got to go way down there to get up here. But from a distance, they look like they were together. The Old Testament Hebrews were combining all these references to the Messiah, and this is what they thought. He's a powerful leader. He's gonna throw off anyone who is trying to rule our country unrighteously. No enemies, no Gentiles. It's gonna be all of that. He's gonna be powerful. He's gonna be of the line of David. But what they didn't see is there were valleys in between. They didn't see the difference between the first coming and the second coming. They just saw one coming. They didn't realize that their Messiah had to come and die first to redeem Israel and the Gentiles from their sins. And then he comes as this powerful King from the line of David. Those Old Testament prophets saw it together. So can I say, I don't think Simeon is any different. I think that's what Simeon's looking for. Every guy that was strapping Jew that came into the temple like this and went to do his offering, Simeon followed him, standing a distance. He'd hear him pray, and the guy would be like, oh, God, I thank you that I am not like these. And Simeon would go, not him. He's full of himself. And this other guy would come in, and he's very humble. Well, maybe he's the Messiah. And he would come, and he'd go look at that guy, and he would be over there, and he goes, oh, God, I just don't have any faith. I don't know if I believe in you anymore. Yeah, I'm just, I quit. I'm done. And Simeon's like, not him. Not him. I think it was a surprise to Simeon that it was a baby. You say how do you know there's only one other story where God reveals to a man that somebody else is gonna do something And that's Samuel in my my daily reading. I'm in Samuel now Samuel is told that Saul will be king and when Saul shows up God says that's the guy I told you about Samuel's like oh Later, God tells Samuel, I'm gonna replace Saul. I'm gonna get one of the sons of Jesse of Bethlehem to be the new king. And when Samuel shows up in Bethlehem, same place where Jesus just came from, Samuel looks at Jesse and he's got seven sons there. And he sees the first one and he's smart. He's powerful, he's a soldier, and Samuel says to the Lord, surely the anointed of the Lord is there. And what does the Lord say? Uh-uh, not him. And Samuel's like, really? Okay. And then he goes down the line, and the Lord goes, not him, not him, not him, not him, not him, not him. You see, the Lord's good at that. And so Samuel believed the word of God, and he's like, Jesse, do you have any more sons? And you know the story, Jesse goes, yeah, I got one, but he's the runt. And Samuel's like, I believe the word of the Lord. He said it was gonna be one of your sons. I've seen seven, they're not it, bring him. And as soon as David comes into his presence, I don't think he's a little kid, but I would put him like the age of our youth, 15, 16, 17, not the guy you think is a papa. He comes in and the Holy Spirit goes, that one, Samuel. I think Simeon is in the same boat. I'm looking for the Messiah. I'm looking for the Messiah. I'm looking for the Messiah. And the Holy Spirit goes right there. It's a baby! God, how cool is that? Okay, that's Hebrew. But he's like, this is this one that I thought it was that, and I thought it was, and you brought me a baby. And he does not hesitate, why? His heart is yielded to God. God, I don't care how crazy it sounds. Your word is true. And you pointed out to me that it's this baby. When he looked at the baby, he didn't see a baby. He saw the Lord's Christ. He saw the Messiah of Jehovah. He saw the Son that is born unto us, the mighty God, the everlasting Father, the Prince of Peace. I'm looking at a 41-day-old baby and he is the perfect Messiah. Wow, he's blown away. Paul puts it like this in 2 Corinthians 11, verse 3. He said to the Corinthian church, Through his subtlety, so your mind should be corrupted from the simplicity that is in Christ. Can you grab that phrase and keep it for Christmas? My gift to you from the word of God. The simplicity that is in Christ. God sent forth his son, made of a woman under the law to redeem them under the law. God gave us a baby because God said, friends, you need to see how simple this is. My Messiah is not riding this time on a white horse. He's not coming in the armor of a warrior He's not carrying a sword or a spear. He's not carrying a bow and an arrow He's coming as a baby because he's gonna go through everything you've ever gone through Hebrews says he was tempted at all points like as we are yet without sin that had to start down here. I I don't know if you would believe this or not, but I believe Joseph had to say to Jesus, no, Jesus, don't touch that. No, Jesus, go sit down. No, Jesus, it's not time to talk. The adults are talking. You sit down. You're like, oh, no, he was perfect. No, the Bible says in Hebrews, he learned. He grew up like you and I did. His friends were doing wrong things. He made the choice in the human part not to follow them into sin. You're like, well, he's God. It's easy. No, he chose the human frame. so that he would know what it's like, so that when you find yourself tempted by sin, you can go to him and have the complete assurance, Lord, you know what it's like. I'm being tempted to lie here. I'm being tempted to cheat here. I'm being tempted to pull away from my mate here. You know what it's like. He does. God sent us the simplicity. Starts with the baby, the anointed, chosen of God. but while Simeon is blown away. Simeon, verse 28, he took him up in his arms and he blessed God. I wanna take a quick moment for that. How do you bless God? You see in verse 30, I'm sorry, verse 34, he blessed Mary and Joseph. It's not the same. When we bless God, and we do, it is us giving thanksgiving and praise and honor to God. That's when we bless God. We say, bless God, bless the Lord, oh my soul, and all that is within me. Praise his holy name. Why? That's how we bless God. When we bless other people, we see the work of God in their lives, and we say, God bless you, brother. Thank you for what you did for him. That was God. I'm not praising you like I would praise God, but I'm praising you because I see God's work in you. And that's how we bless each other. Here, he blesses, he's got this little baby. I don't know, if you mothers and you had your firstborn, you put a lion in more, man, hold him more. Know that. And babysitter, that's all, and a sissy, that's all by holding more. Mama be by holding, but you by giving more. One put a man, you don't save a lamb. Now, two, man, yeah, I'm kissing more, same now. I'm holding baby, I'll say, Mufasa, Lord, what am I, a lion king. Yeah, give him baby, yeah. I don't know that he held him up, okay? But the point is, he took him, and it said that he took him in his arms and he blessed God. He blessed God, seeing the Messiah. Look what he says. Now, Lord, now, let us now thy servant depart in peace according to thy word, for mine eyes, my eyes have seen thy salvation. It's a baby. Do you know that Simeon has no idea of the death, burial, and resurrection? He just knows somehow this baby is going to be a Savior. For unto you is born this day in the city of David, what? A Savior, which is Christ the Lord. Nobody knew what that meant. The shepherds didn't. What does that mean, Savior? How? God's gonna show that plan later, but for right now, you just need to know He is the salvation. And then get this, this is so beautiful, 31 and 32. This salvation which thou has prepared before the face of who? All people. All people. A light to lighten the Gentiles? and the glory of thy people Israel, a light to the Gentiles. Do you know where Jesus lived and grew up? It wasn't in Bethlehem. It was in Nazareth. And Nazareth is in Galilee. And did you know that Galilee has a name? Galilee is called Galilee of the Gentiles. Because there were so many Gentiles that were scattered up in that region in the northern part of Israel. And that's where Jesus was from. Why? Because he was constantly being exposed to Gentiles in his life without affecting it. He is a light to the Gentiles. And then I love this. He is the glory. He is the glory. Why does it say he's the glory of Israel? Now, I went through the Old Testament, and I was looking because I knew I could find it. In Ezekiel 11, verse 22, after several chapters of the glory of God, it was in the temple. And then Ezekiel said, the glory of God looked around, and it stepped over here to the gate of the temple. And it looked around. Nobody's noticing. They're still going on, doing all their worship. And the glory of God, the Spirit of God has moved. And they're still having church. And the Spirit of God moved a little further. And they're still having church. Nobody noticed that God was God. And he went to the edge of the city and nobody noticed. Brothers and sisters, is that what could happen in our lives is we're so mechanical about our devotion to God that God could be totally gone and we just keep going? Because then we're not worshiping Him, we're worshiping something else. And in Ezekiel 11, verse 22, the glory of God went up and it departed from Israel and it didn't come back until this day. right in the middle of the same place where the glory was in Ezekiel, and it had left, a young couple carry a baby in. And Simeon, he sees the Lord's Christ, he sees the salvation, he sees the light of the Gentiles. I don't know if he fell on his face, doesn't say that he did, but he said, the glory's back. The glory is back. The glory is here. And the glory isn't inside the temple. The glory is here in the arms of a young mother. The glory. They saw the glory. You know, John doesn't give us a long genealogy of Christ, but he gives us the most powerful verse of the Incarnation in John 1 14, when he said, And the Word was made flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld his glory. The glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth. Simeon said, I see the glory of thy people. 33 is one of those passages. Pastor said it so well last week. Luke is a historian and he had interviewed people to get these things. And he's got more details than anyone else. And I think he got this one from Mary, verse 33, and Joseph and his mother marveled at those things which were spoken of him. The Bible is so accurate. Why does it say Joseph and his mother? Why doesn't it say Joseph and Mary? Or why doesn't it say his father and his mother? It says Joseph, name, and title, mother. You know why it's mixed? Because Joseph isn't his father. God is his father. And Luke, recording that detail, makes sure that we know. You know, the next story that you'll come to in this book is Jesus going back to the temple when he's 12, and he gets lost from his family, and then you find Mary and Joseph looking, and she comes to him and she says, didn't you know your father and I have sought you sorrowing? Your father, speaking of Joseph. And he goes, well, wist you not that I must be about my father's business? He was in the temple because of that. You see, he is the glory and the light of Israel. He can't stay away from the temple. But he's blessed God, he has held this child, he is so excited, but then he turns his attention, verse 34 and 35, to Mary and Joseph, and Simeon blessed them. He asked the blessing of God to be on this couple, but then he spoke to Mary. And he said unto Mary, now Joseph is hearing it, but he's looking Mary in the eyes. Maybe he's handed the baby back. He said to Mary, his mother, behold, this child. This child is set for the fall and rising again of many in Israel. And this child is set for a sign which shall be spoken against. the fallen rising of many in Israel, a sign which will be spoken against. If we skip that little parentheses, because I'll come back to that in a moment, the rest of the sentence is, he'll be set for a sign which is spoken against that the thoughts of many hearts shall be revealed. John, in the same passage where we looked a moment ago in John 1, 14, in the verses preceding, he said, speaking of Jesus, he was in the world, and the world was made by him, and the world knew him not. That's the world, the Gentiles. And then he came unto his own, Israel, and his own people received him not. But I'm so glad God doesn't stop there. The hearts of many Gentiles and Jews are revealed by verse 12, where he says, but as many as received him, As many. He has no limit. God doesn't say, hurry up because I've only got 20 spaces. No, I've got more spaces than you can think of. As many as received Him, to them gave He not just the right, but the power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on His name. not go through Jewish rituals, not obey the law, not follow church tradition, but put their faith in this Son. As many, as many, as many. Yeah, Jesus is the revealer of thoughts and intents of hearts. But then there's that parentheses. Oh, Mary. He gives her the first prophecy to her of the death of her son. He said, yea, a sword shall pierce through thy own soul also. Now there are prophecies in the Old Testament of the death of the Messiah, Isaiah 53 being probably the greatest example. But you know, every prophecy from angels to Mary has all been good news. You're gonna have a child. He's gonna be the son of the highest. You're gonna call his name Jesus. We're gonna call his name Emmanuel because God with us. The shepherds come and say, you won't believe what we just saw outside of town. Angels came and they told us the baby would be here. And Mary is putting all these things in her heart. And here comes one thing. I wonder if Simeon choked up when he said it. A sword will pierce your heart. A sword will pierce your heart. You know what I see in that? In the midst of the glorious annunciation of the Messiah of Israel that day in the temple, the heart of God to the heart of Mary. Oh, Mary, if I could only explain to you how it's gonna work. They're gonna reject him. They're gonna nail him to a cross after they beat him almost to death. He's going to die, but Mary, chosen one, hear me, girl. I'm going to raise him from the dead with power. And he's going to be the first fruits of many, including yourself, lady. You, too, are going to. But none of that would make any sense to her. And something, though, has just touched Simeon's heart and said a sword is going to pierce through this lady's heart. Oh, we see it, we see it in John chapter 19, where she's at the foot of the cross with John and her sister, and they're there, and they're weeping as her son is dying on the cross. Guys, in the midst of the great story, know that God cares about individual stories. Know that God cared for a mother's heart. For 41 days, she has treasured that child, changed his nappy, give him a susu, held him and looked at him and said, how can you be God? How can you be God? Well, Simeon just said, sister, there is something coming. But you know what? This isn't what this whole story is about. The whole story is about the baby. but not that he's a baby. Look at the things. We talked about the sacrifice and Simeon and the story, but I wanna focus on the last part here just briefly as we finish. It's about the Savior. It's about the Savior. This child, I love how it says it in verse 34. This child, the one you hold, this child. Verse 21 says, his name was called Jesus, which was named of the angel. Jehovah saves is his name. 25. Simeon was waiting for the consolation of Israel. Jesus himself is the abundant supplier of that consolation. Consolation is comfort. Israel had known no comfort. Israel is under the rule of Rome, and before that they were under the rule of Syria, and before that they were under the rule of the Greeks, and before that they were under the rule of the Babylonians and Assyrians, and they've had nothing but grief and He's waiting for the consolation of Israel. Here he is. He is the abundant giver of the consolation of Israel verse 26 He is the Lord's Christ. That's who this baby is Jehovah's Messiah. I love it how Peter in his sermon on Pentecost Years later would put it this way in Acts chapter 2. He said therefore let all the house of Israel know that They weren't listening this day when Simeon was there alone with Mary and Joseph, but the day Peter preached at Pentecost they were listening. Therefore let all the house of Israel know assuredly that God hath made the same Jesus whom you have crucified, both Lord and Christ." He is the Messiah. He is this child, in verse 30, is the Lord's salvation. Peter would later say, when he's standing before a bunch of Jewish leaders, neither is there salvation in any other. For there is none other name under heaven given among men whereby we must be saved. Friends, hear me. If you are not born again, the greatest gift you could get this Christmas is to come to know Jesus. Because He came as a Savior. Don't look at Him as the baby. He came as the Savior. He's the light to us Gentiles. He is the glory of Israel. When the fullness of time was come, Paul wrote to the Galatians, when the fullness of the time was come, God sent forth his Son, made of a woman, made under the law to redeem them that were under the law that we might receive the adoption of sons. John writes in his final letter before Revelation, And we have seen and do testify that the Father sent the Son, not to be the King, not to be the glory, but to be the Savior of the world. This is our Savior. This is who Christmas is about. Remember I said earlier, Mary and Joseph were not rich enough, not able to afford a lamb, And therefore they had to offer the two birds instead, and the law made provision for that. I wonder that day how many babies were there, or I'm sorry, how many mothers were there to offer their offerings for their purification. And as they're standing in the queue waiting for a priest, everybody else had a lamb. This mother had a lamb, and this mother had a lamb, and this mother had a lamb, some of them with fine clothes, some of them with just normal clothes. But here's Mary and Joseph with their baby, and Joseph has a little homemade birdcage like the people sell on the side of the road in Brocco. And he's just holding it with those two birds. And he's kind of ashamed. I can only afford this. I wish I could afford more. But you know who Mary was holding in her arms? When he came to full age, when he came to the Jordan River, his predecessor, John the Baptist, stopped everything and looked up from the water and said, Behold, the Lamb of God that taketh away the sin of the world. Joseph, don't be ashamed of those two little birds. That's not what the story is, not about your two little birds. The story is about the baby she's got in her arms. That's the lamb. This lamb is gonna be purification for that mama, and that lamb is gonna be purification for that mama, but this lamb is gonna be the purification for the sins of all the world. This is Christmas. This child is our Savior. This is the one we worship. But we don't just worship Him on Christmas. We don't just worship Him on Easter. We don't just worship Him on Sunday. He's a seven-day-a-week God. And oh, that we would love Him, and oh, that we would serve Him, and oh, that we would worship Him. God sent not His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved. The first time He came, He came as a meek. and lowly Christ child to die for the sins of the world, your sins and mine. But I want you to know, as a friend of mine says, God is now unswaddled. Do you remember how they said you will find him swaddled? The swaddling clothes are off. He's not a baby in a manger. He's not a baby in Mary's arms standing in the queue at the temple to offer her offering. He is the King of kings, and he is the Lord of lords. He is done with the first part, and the next time he comes, he's coming in vengeance to take vengeance on those who know not God. But he keeps pointing before he comes and saying, will you trust me? Will you put your faith in me? The whole Christian world turns every year at this time to speak of the birth of the Savior. But have you received not the baby, but the Savior? Is he your Savior? It matters not what you call him. Gesu, Isa, Yesus, Yahashua, doesn't matter what you call him. He's the savior of the world. Have you called him yours? Have you received him? You see, he is here to save you. Whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved. Bow your heads with me. Before I pray this morning, I'd like to ask, do you know Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior? No one looking around. I'll pray in a moment. But do you know Jesus as your Savior? Because this is the greatest gift you could get for Christmas, is to trust Jesus. Paul calls Jesus God's unspeakable gift. You could receive Christ by faith today. It doesn't mean you become a member of any church. I'm talking about is your heart right with God? Do you know for sure that Jesus is your savior? Today is the day you should trust him. Maybe the Lord has touched your heart today, just like the Lord had touched Simeon's heart again and again. And you're thinking right now, I really need Jesus as my savior. If you're thinking that right now, would you raise your hand? Anyone, anywhere, man, woman, boy and girl. There's one in the back. I see one there. Anyone else? One here. Some are ready to call on Jesus. Are you ready? He will save you. He will save you now. Anyone else? I'll have someone sit with you, show you from the Word of God how you can know you were born again. Anyone else? Preacher, I would like to know that I am born again. I would like to be assured that Jesus is my Savior. Anyone like that? Father, you see our hearts. You know the extent that you did that you came to us. I'm so thankful, God, for everyone that is here today. Lord, several this morning are going for direction, counsel, to be sure that they know Christ is their Savior. I pray if there's anyone here yet, anyone who will watch this later online, Lord, if they don't know Jesus, I pray that they'll make time today to bow their head and heart and to admit to you that they are lost without you. that their sin is, it's abomination in your eyes, but you are God and you are willing to save. And through the sacrifice of Jesus on the cross, through his blood being shed to pay for all of their sin, Lord, that you would save them if they would just ask. Lord, I pray, be with us, Lord, now as we go into the Christmas season. I pray for safety for our people, whether they're in town or traveling to the village. I pray, God, for good fellowship times with family. I pray for the brothers and sisters here at Capital City Baptist Church that we would have a fire in our hearts to share Jesus with our friends at a time that most of them might be open just to listen and leave the results to you. Thank you, Father, for this time together today. Lord, we ask your blessing on it. In Jesus' name, amen.