Boxing Day

God’s perfect Gift for you.

Have you received it yet?

 

Purification 40 days after birth.

Everyone is going about their godly business as usual. This is not a special event, it is what you do. But God reveals himself in the normal, routines of life.

 

Simeon, possibly a priest (a levite) the charismatic of the bunch. Notice the language:

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 on him. ²⁶ It had been revealed to him by the Holy Spirit that he would not die before he had seen the Lord’s Messiah. ²⁷ Moved by the Spirit, he went into the temple courts.

Moved by the Holy Spirit

Are you moved by the Holy Spirit or are you unaware of his influence on your life? When you put your faith in Jesus and repented of your sins it was because you were moved by the Holy Spirit. But you may not have thought so at the time.  So can I encourage you this morning to be sensitive to the moving of the Holy Spirit in your life. In Simeon’s case it led him to a special revelation of the Messiah, not a phophetic word or vision but a real flesh and blood baby who was to be the Saviour of the world. The Word had become flesh. Prophecy was being fulfilled in his arms. That is a dream ticket for any Christian whether you consider yourself charismatic or not. The wise men followed a star, the shepherds an angelic message, Simeon was moved by the Holy Spirit. What of Anna?

 

Anna from Asher is of the remnant of Israel. The committed to church.

 

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.  Not one mention of the Holy Spirit. She was simply there because she made it her business to be there 24/7. She would not of actually lived in the temple but she was spending all her waking time there. Her desire was to be where the blessing was expected. The lack of reference to the Holy Spirit is not significant, it simply shows that in Anna’s case not special prophetic word of moving of the Holy Spirit led her to be there because she was there anyway. Want to meet the Saviour of the world in a fresh and living way? Then be in the place where you most expect him day and night.

I don’t know where that is, but I know Anna was a in the habit of being in the temple at all times. Set out to be ‘in the temple’ whether that means being here on a Sunday morning and evening and in House Group and Powerhouse. But also , given that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit. You need to spend time in your day, every day to be in the place of worship. I believe God can do great things when we his people are seeking him in our private lives and our corporate lives. In our homes and on our church.

 

Think about this. There were many in Israel who could have been there but the blessing was poured out on a bunch of shepherds, a charismatic priest, and faithful lady and a bunch of outsiders who God called in to join the worship.

 

If you want to meet with God, you need to both respond to the Holy Spirit when he moves in your life and you need the discipline of the day and night walk with him.

 

Then, you need to have an expectation that God will keep his promise and pour out a blessing.

 

Are you waiting or have you given up and got busy with the humdrum of every day life?  Be a Simeon or Anna.

 

Do you believe God is going to keep his promises or have you lost your way?  Believe as Simeon and Anna did.

 

Are you worshipping day by day or is your quiet time a bit of a non event. Ask God to restore the motivation by his Holy Spirit and set out to be in his presence daily.

 

Simeon looked forward to a revival. Gentiles and Jews alike are blessed by the coming of Jesus. Anna looks forward to the redemption of Israel.

 

 

Don’t miss out. Seek the Lord. Press on to know Jesus. Wait for an outpouring of special blessing in your life. It could be the miracle of friend or family member responding to the love of God in Christ Jesus in repentance and faith; it could be the return of Jesus Christ in great glory. Just don’t miss out by being too busy, too distracted. Spend time in the presence of God.

Return to top