[Faith-talk] Last Good Night Message for Monday, December 31, 2012

[qubit]

Hello Paul, thank you for this reminder.
Although I have read these verses many times, for some reason it struck a 
chord this new year's eve.
Have a wonderful new year!
--le


----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Paul" <oilofgladness47 at gmail.com>
To: <MyFriendlyFamily at yahoogroups.com>
Sent: Monday, December 31, 2012 10:05 PM
Subject: [Faith-talk] Last Good Night Message for Monday, December 31, 2012


Yes, this is the last good night message for the year.  I hope that, by 
God's matchless grace and His providential care, that these messages since 
some time in April have been a blessing to you, as they have been a joy to 
send them your way.

To complete our post-Christmas articles, Pastor Robert Rathbun, editor of 
"The Gospel Messenger," the official publication of the Gospel Association 
for the Blind, several years ago wrote an article entitled "Little Known 
Heroes of Faith, Simeon," rendered as follows:

"And behold, there was a man in Jerusalem, whose name was Simeon; and 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, 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 He him up 
in his arms and blessed God, and said, Lord, now lettest Thou Thy servant 
depart in peace, according to Thy word: For mine eyes have seen Thy 
salvation, which Thou hast prepared before the face of all 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.  And Simeon 
blessed them, and said unto Mary His mother, Behold the Child is set for the 
fall and rising again of many in Israel; and for a sign which shall be 
spoken against; (Yea, a sword shall pierce through thy own soul, also,) that 
the thoughts of many hearts may be revealed" (Luke 2:25-35).

And this is all that the Bible has to say about Simeon, but for a brief 
moment God pulls the curtain back to let us see this godly man of faith.  He 
lived in Jerusalem, the political and religious center of Israel.  He was a 
good man and a religious man; "just and devout" the Bible says of him.  But 
perhaps the outstanding characteristic of this man for his deep longing for 
Messiah to come: "waiting for the consolation of Israel." As Christians 
today long for the coming of Christ to rapture His bride the church, even 
so, devout Jews of Simeon's day looked for the coming of Messiah to bring in 
the kingdom of heaven.  Perhaps the presence of the Roman military in 
Jerusalem intensified this longing.  In any event he did anticipate with 
great joy the coming of Messiah.

And then something wonderful happened! The Holy Spirit conveyed to him that 
he would see the Messiah before he died.  That message must have stirred and 
excited Simeon beyond measure.  Imagine! Messiah would actually come to this 
earth before Simeon died.  We are not told Simeon's age, but it would appear 
that he was an older man.  The fact that he blessed Joseph and Mary would 
indicate this.  And Messiah would come before Simeon died! I do not know if 
he expected Messiah to be full grown or to be a baby.  He must have looked 
at folks in a new light wondering, Is this Messiah?

The Holy Spirit led Simeon into the temple the very day that Jesus' parents 
were bringing Him to the temple.  God's timing is wonderful! And so, when 
Joseph, Mary, and Jesus entered the temple at Jerusalem, Simeon was there to 
greet them.  He took the Child up in his arms and said, Now, Lord, I can 
die, for I have seen the Messiah.  How did this man know that the baby he 
was holding was Messiah? We are not told, but it is reasonable to assume 
that the same Holy Spirit Who had told him of Messiah's coming and Who had 
led Simeon into the temple on the right day would also let him know when 
Messiah entered the temple.  He called Jesus God's salvation, a Light to 
enlighten the Gentiles, and the glory of God's people, Israel.  This Messiah 
would be a blessing to Jew and Gentile alike.  Again, this had to be the 
Holy Spirit filling his mouth, for the Jews would not think of Messiah 
lighting the Gentiles.  Simeon's heart's desire had been realized; he had 
seen the Messiah.  In fact, amazingly enough, there he was, holding Messiah 
in his arms.  This young Child that he was holding would one day rule 
Israel.  Truly amazing!

And then he turned to Mary, and again the Spirit of God filled his mouth. 
He said, This Child is set for the fall and rising again of many in Israel; 
and for a sign which shall be spoken against; that the hearts of many may be 
revealed.  Not that the fall comes before the rising again; the humbling 
comes before the exaltation.  And so it is with every Christian: we must 
confess ourselves sinners deserving of judgment before He will save us and 
declare us to be His holy people.  First comes the humiliation and then the 
exaltation.  He also told Mary that a sword would pass through her own soul. 
As Mary stood at the cross, she saw her Son dying a hideous death, and her 
own soul was pierced.  But how did Simeon know these things? Doubtless 
through the Holy Spirit.  The Scripture says that the Holy Spirit was upon 
him.  Old Testament saints were not indwelt by the Holy Spirit, but rather, 
the Holy Spirit would come upon them during a particular time of ministry or 
need and depart wen that time had passed.  The Holy Spirit seems to have 
been upon Simeon from the day he was told of Messiah's coming to the day he 
held Messiah in the temple.

But was Simeon a man of faith? Yes, indeed! Remember what he said: "Lord, 
now lettest Thou Thy servant depart in peace, according to Thy word: for 
mine eyes have seen Thy salvation." God had spoken to him, and he had 
believed what was said.  Clearly, he believed he would not die till he had 
seen the Messiah.  It is also clear that, now having seen Messiah, he was 
ready to die whenever that would please the Lord.  God spoke; Simeon 
believed; and it came to pass.  May we, like Simeon, believe all that God 
tells us in His word, for "Thy word is truth" (John 17:17).

And there you have it for today.  Until next year, at least for us in North 
America, may the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob just keep us safe, 
individually and collectively, throughout this night or day and especially 
in these last days in which we live.  Your friend and brother in Christ, 
Paul
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