Waiting for Forgiveness December 21, 2014 Sermon #662

Waiting for Forgiveness

December 21, 2014 Sermon #662

Introduction: Last Sunday I taught on Simeon the man who was waiting for Christmas. Today I want to look at another character who was waiting. Her name was Anna!

Luke 2:25–40(NKJV) – 25And behold, there was a man in Jerusalem whose name was Simeon, and this man was just and devout, waiting for the Consolation of Israel, and the Holy Spirit was upon him. 26And it had been revealed to him by the Holy Spirit that he would not see death before he had seen the Lord’s Christ. 27So he came by 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, 28he took Him up in his arms and blessed God and said:

29“Lord, now You are letting Your servant depart in peace, According to Your word; 30For my eyes have seen Your salvation 31Which You have prepared before the face of all peoples, 32A light to bring revelation to the Gentiles, And the glory of Your people Israel.” 33And Joseph and His mother marveled at those things which were spoken of Him. 34Then Simeon blessed them, and said to Mary His mother, “Behold, this Child is destined for the fall and rising of many in Israel, and for a sign which will be spoken against 35(yes, a sword will pierce through your own soul also), that the thoughts of many hearts may be revealed.”

36Now there was one, Anna, a prophetess, the daughter of Phanuel, of the tribe of Asher. She was of a great age, and had lived with a husband seven years from her virginity; 37and this woman was a widow of about eighty–four years, who did not depart from the temple, but served God with fastings and prayers night and day. 38And coming in that instant she gave thanks to the Lord, and spoke of Him to all those who looked for redemption in Jerusalem. 39So when they had performed all things according to the law of the Lord, they returned to Galilee, to their own city, Nazareth. 40And the Child grew and became strong in spirit, filled with wisdom; and the grace of God was upon Him.

I. Look Again at the Characters of Christmas.

A. The Angel Gabriel

Luke 1:5–19(NKJV) – 5There was in the days of Herod, the king of Judea, a certain priest named Zacharias, of the division of Abijah. His wife was of the daughters of Aaron, and her name was Elizabeth. 6And they were both righteous before God, walking in all the commandments and ordinances of the Lord blameless. 7But they had no child, because Elizabeth was barren, and they were both well advanced in years. 8So it was, that while he was serving as priest before God in the order of his division, 9according to the custom of the priesthood, his lot fell to burn incense when he went into the temple of the Lord. 10And the whole multitude of the people was praying outside at the hour of incense.

11Then an angel of the Lord appeared to him, standing on the right side of the altar of incense. 12And when Zacharias saw him, he was troubled, and fear fell upon him. 13But the angel said to him, “Do not be afraid, Zacharias, for your prayer is heard; and your wife Elizabeth will bear you a son, and you shall call his name John. 14And you will have joy and gladness, and many will rejoice at his birth. 15For he will be great in the sight of the Lord, and shall drink neither wine nor strong drink. He will also be filled with the Holy Spirit, even from his mother’s womb.

16And he will turn many of the children of Israel to the Lord their God. 17He will also go before Him in the spirit and power of Elijah, ‘to turn the hearts of the fathers to the children,’ and the disobedient to the wisdom of the just, to make ready a people prepared for the Lord.” 18And Zacharias said to the angel, “How shall I know this? For I am an old man, and my wife is well advanced in years.” 19And the angel answered and said to him, “I am Gabriel, who stands in the presence of God, and was sent to speak to you and bring you these glad tidings.

1. Gabriel is the “Messenger of the Lord.”

Luke 1:26–33(NKJV) – 26Now in the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent by God to a city of Galilee named Nazareth, 27to a virgin betrothed to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David. The virgin’s name was Mary. 28And having come in, the angel said to her, “Rejoice, highly favored one, the Lord is with you; blessed are you among women!” 29But when she saw him, she was troubled at his saying, and considered what manner of greeting this was. 30Then the angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God. 31And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bring forth a Son, and shall call His name Jesus. 32He will be great, and will be called the Son of the Highest; and the Lord God will give Him the throne of His father David. 33And He will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and of His kingdom there will be no end.”

2. Mary – the virgin who God used to bring His Son into the world

3. Joseph – The reluctant bride groom

4. Shepherds – Because Jesus was to be the good shepherd

5. The Wise men who recognized Jesus as a King; a Priest, one who was to die

6. Simeon Who blessed the baby

II. Anna

 Married as a virgin – probably at age 12 or 13

 After 7 years her husband dies

 20 years old and no way to make a living – beg, steal, prostitute, prophet for hire?

(Whatever it was Anna needed forgiveness.)

John 8:1–11(NKJV) – 1But Jesus went to the Mount of Olives. 2Now early in the morning He came again into the temple, and all the people came to Him; and He sat down and taught them. 3Then the scribes and Pharisees brought to Him a woman caught in adultery. And when they had set her in the midst, 4they said to Him, “Teacher, this woman was caught in adultery, in the very act. 5Now Moses, in the law, commanded us that such should be stoned. But what do You say?” 6This they said, testing Him, that they might have something of which to accuse Him. But Jesus stooped down and wrote on the ground with His finger, as though He did not hear.

7So when they continued asking Him, He raised Himself up and said to them, “He who is without sin among you, let him throw a stone at her first.” 8And again He stooped down and wrote on the ground. 9Then those who heard it, being convicted by their conscience, went out one by one, beginning with the oldest even to the last. And Jesus was left alone, and the woman standing in the midst. 10When Jesus had raised Himself up and saw no one but the woman, He said to her, “Woman, where are those accusers of yours? Has no one condemned you?” 11She said, “No one, Lord.” And Jesus said to her, “Neither do I condemn you; go and sin no more.”

 Now Anna is 84 years old – looking for forgiveness. 

Luke 2:38(NKJV) – 38And coming in that instant she gave thanks to the Lord, and spoke of Him to all those who looked for redemption in Jerusalem.

ILL: When I was a boy I stole money to purchase “war bonds.” When the government paid for the bonds, with interest, they were “redeemed.” To redeem is to buy back. On “Passover” the Jewish people exchanged a lamb for redemption. Evidently Anna did not feel that was enough!

ILL: Sometimes women are more sensitive to the Spirit and recognize sin more than men. Men are more mechanical to the law. Men want to understand things through the mind; women through the heart. Anna must have been very sensitive. Luke 2:37 “and this woman was a widow of about eighty–four years, who did not depart from the temple, but served God with fastings and prayers night and day.”

Romans 3:21–26(NKJV) – 21But now the righteousness of God apart from the law is revealed, being witnessed by the Law and the Prophets, 22even the righteousness of God, through faith in Jesus Christ, to all and on all who believe. For there is no difference; 23for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, 24being justified freely by His grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, 25whom God set forth as a propitiation by His blood, through faith, to demonstrate His righteousness, because in His forbearance God had passed over the sins that were previously committed, 26to demonstrate at the present time His righteousness, that He might be just and the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus.

She lived in and worship in the temple never leaving it!

III. Action to Experience God’s Forgiveness

A. Become a Marveler Anna was a Marveler!

#1: Become a marveler. When Joseph and Mary tried to process everything that was happening, verse 33 says that they marveled at what was said about Jesus. According to the dictionary, to become a marveler is to be filled with wonder, astonishment, and surprise.

Are you a marveler this Christmas? Or, are you too caught up in the busyness and stress of the season? Have you been running around because of the Holidays, or are you taking the time to make Christmas a “holy” day? Has Christmas become too predictable, too familiar? Have you heard the Christmas story so much that it no longer astonishes you?

Actually, this can be a dangerous time of the year for us. Our annual celebration of Christmas can immunize us to its reality. We hear just enough of the story each year to inoculate us against the real thing, so that we never really catch true Christmas fever.

Here’s an idea that may help you recapture the marvel of Christmas. Pick one of the Christmas characters and put yourself in their sandals. Imagine what it must have been like to witness the Christmas story first hand. Go ahead, pick one – Mary, Joseph, the shepherds, Simeon, Anna, or the wise men.

B. Become a Mover

Action Step #2: Become a mover. Take a look at verse 27: “Moved by the Spirit, he went into the temple courts.” Now drop down to verse 38: “Coming up to them at that very moment, she gave thanks to God...”

Both Simeon and Anna were movers. When the Holy Spirit prompted them to move, they didn’t sit still. I wonder what would have happened if they had not responded? Actually, every one of the Christmas characters responded to the Spirit’s leading with the exception of Herod.

Mary was ready to move when she said to the angel, “May it be to me as you have said.” (Luke 2:38)

Joseph demonstrated that he was a mover when he woke up from his dream and

“...did what the angel of the Lord had commanded and took Mary home as his wife.”

(Matthew 1:24)

The Shepherds were movers as well when they said, “Let’s go to Bethlehem and see

this thing that has happened...” (Luke 2:15)

The wise men saw the star and moved out of their comfort zone to find the King of

Christmas.

When God prompts you to do something, then you need to do it. It might mean salvation for some of you. It might mean full surrender for others through you. Or, maybe the Spirit wants you to be more involved in serving people. Do you sense Him asking you to do something? Are you a mover? Are you willing to move? Don’t procrastinate when God prompts you to do something – you may miss out on a miracle this Christmas.

I’m struck by what Simeon told Mary in verse 34. It must have taken her breath away.

“This child is destined to cause the falling and rising of many in Israel and to be a sign that will spoken against...”

That’s not really a joyful Christmas greeting is it? Simeon is not saying, “Merry Christmas and Happy New Year.” Rather, he pauses, clears his throat and tells her that Christmas will never be merry and the New Year will never be happy until people get moving and surrender their lives to Christ.

Here’s the truth. Christmas splits people into two camps. Since Jesus has entered the world, He has divided the human race. Jesus will cause the falling and rising of many. Because of whom Jesus is and what He came to do, He forces people to make a decision about Him. The Bible uses powerful imagery. Jesus is either a rock that you

build your life upon (that’s the sense of rising) or He’s the rock that you stumble over (that’s the meaning of falling). Jesus is calling each of us to a moral decision based upon our willingness to move and respond, we will either rise or fall.

You can’t stay neutral about Jesus. You are either for Him or against Him. You’re moving closer to Him, or further away. You either have the Son or you don’t.

C. Become a Messenger

Interestingly as we work at becoming marvelers, we can’t help but become movers. That leads us to the final action step from this passage – become a messenger. Notice verse 38 again: “...she gave thanks to God and spoke about the child to all who were looking forward to the redemption of Jerusalem.”

Conclusion:

ILL: I remember a story, many years ago, there was a very wealthy man who shared a passion for art collecting with his son. They had priceless works by Picasso and Van Gogh adorning the walls of their family estate.

As winter approached, war engulfed the nation, and the young man left to serve his country. After only a few short weeks, his father received a telegram. His son had died. Distraught and lonely, the old man faced the upcoming Christmas holidays with anguish and sadness. The joy of the season had vanished with the death of his son.

On Christmas morning, a knock on the door awakened the depressed old man. As he walked to the door, the masterpieces of art on the walls only reminded him that his son was not coming home. As he opened the door he was greeted by a soldier with a large package in his hands who said, “I was a friend of your son. I was the one he was rescuing when he died. May I come in for a few moments? I have something to show you.”

The soldier mentioned that he was an artist and then gave the old man the package. The paper gave way to reveal a portrait of the man’s son. Though the world would never consider it the work of a genius, the painting featured the young man’s face in striking detail. Overcome with emotion, the man hung the portrait over the fireplace, pushing aside millions of dollars worth of art. His task completed, the old man sat in his chair and spent Christmas gazing at the gift he had been given. The painting of his son soon became his most prized possession, far eclipsing any interest in the pieces of art for which museums around the world clamored.

The following spring, the old man died. The art world waited with anticipation for the upcoming auction. According to the will of the old man, all the art works would be auctioned on Christmas Day, the day he had received the greatest gift. The day soon arrived and art collectors from around the world gathered to bid on some of the world’s most spectacular paintings. Dreams would be fulfilled that day. The auction began with a painting that was not on anyone’s museum list. It was the painting of the man’s son.

The auctioneer asked for an opening bid, but the room was silent. “Who will open the bidding with $100?” No one spoke. Finally someone said, “Who cares about that painting. It’s just a picture of his son. Let’s move on to the good stuff.” The auctioneer responded, “No, we have to sell this one first. Now, who will take the son?”

Finally, a neighbor of the old man offered $10 dollars. “That’s all I have. I knew the boy, so I’d like to have it.” The auctioneer said, “Going once, going twice...gone.” The gavel fell. Cheers filled the room and someone exclaimed, “Now we can bid on the real treasures!”

The auctioneer looked at the room filled with people and announced that the auction was over. Everyone was stunned. Someone spoke up and said, “What do you mean, it’s over? We didn’t come here for a painting of someone’s son. There are millions of dollars worth of art here! What’s going on?” The auctioneer replied, “It’s very simple. According to the will of the father, whoever takes the son...gets it all.”

Puts things in perspective, doesn’t it? The message is the same this Christmas. Because of the Father’s love...whoever takes the Son gets it all.

Anna looked into a basket at the baby boy and took the Son into her heart – redemption – she got it all!