Hurry Up and Wait
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· 14 viewsThere are times in our life where God makes us wait for the fulfillment of his promise. We should never give up hope while waiting on God.
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And when the time came for their purification according to the Law of Moses, they brought him up to Jerusalem to present him to the Lord
(as it is written in the Law of the Lord, “Every male who first opens the womb shall be called holy to the Lord”)
and to offer a sacrifice according to what is said in the Law of the Lord, “a pair of turtledoves, or two young pigeons.”
Now there was a man in Jerusalem, whose name was Simeon, and this man was righteous and devout, waiting for the consolation of Israel, and the Holy Spirit was upon him.
And it had been revealed to him by the Holy Spirit that he would not see death before he had seen the Lord’s Christ.
And he came in 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,
he took him up in his arms and blessed God and said,
“Lord, now you are letting your servant depart in peace, according to your word;
for my eyes have seen your salvation
that you have prepared in the presence of all peoples,
a light for revelation to the Gentiles, and for glory to your people Israel.”
And his father and his mother marveled at what was said about him.
And Simeon blessed them and said to Mary his mother, “Behold, this child is appointed for the fall and rising of many in Israel, and for a sign that is opposed
(and a sword will pierce through your own soul also), so that thoughts from many hearts may be revealed.”
And there was a prophetess, Anna, the daughter of Phanuel, of the tribe of Asher. She was advanced in years, having lived with her husband seven years from when she was a virgin,
and then as a widow until she was eighty-four. She did not depart from the temple, worshiping with fasting and prayer night and day.
And coming up at that very hour she began to give thanks to God and to speak of him to all who were waiting for the redemption of Jerusalem.
Introduction: (Pause to wait for about 1 minute before starting)
How many of you like to wait? Were you comfortable during that brief pause between the scripture and my message introduction?
We do a lot of waiting as a part daily life. Go to the doctor and you will wait. Go to the DMV and you will wait - a lot! Going shopping with your wife and go to Hobby Lobby. Yep, you will wait. A LOT!
For those who live paycheck to paycheck - waiting may seem like forever. We eagerly await the arrival of a new born baby with anticipation. We wait for news from our doctor with a feeling of dread.
And then there are times we wait on God. The nation of Israel waited 430 years before they were delivered from Egyptian slavery. The time between the book of Malachi until the arrival of the Messiah was about 400 years. God’s people waited in silence with no additional revelation.
Simeon and Anna knew what it meant to wait. Simeon was waiting for the consolation of Israel - that is the coming of Messiah. Tradition says he was about 113 years old when he held the baby Jesus in his arms but we don’t know for sure. God had told him that he would see the Messiah before he died.
And Anna - one who is referred to as being advanced in years.( Even Dr. Luke knew it wasn’t polite to talk about a ladies age.) She was also among those who were waiting for Messiah.
God speaking to his people to say, hurry up and wait, is not unusual. But what should we do when we are told to wait?
God’s People Should Be Prepared
God’s People Should Be Prepared
Simeon was described as being righteous and devout.
To be righteous means that he followed God’s law so in his relationship with God, he was blameless.
To be devout means he was faithful.
He was also Spirit led and Spirit filled.
He was waiting for the consolation of Israel. That was a common prayer for Jews - “May I see the consolation of Israel.
Warren Wiersbe described him this way, “He was a man who was led by the Spirit of God, taught by the Word of God, and obedient to the will of God...”
Anna - A widow and a prophetess. Luke does say she was 84 years old.
She lived with her husband 7 years, then was widowed.
and then as a widow until she was eighty-four. She did not depart from the temple, worshiping with fasting and prayer night and day.
After the death of her husband, she devoted her life to serving God.
Even though both of them were waiting for God’s promise, they were faithful to serve the Lord while the waited.
God’s people should never be passive while they are waiting on Him. There is work to be done!
We must work the works of him who sent me while it is day; night is coming, when no one can work. As long as I am in the world, I am the light of the world.”
APPLICATION
APPLICATION
Our Waiting for God Produces Patience
Our Waiting for God Produces Patience
Illustration: A man was trying to go on a diet and lose weight. He had a weakness: donuts. He loved them - glazed, filled, iced, chocolate, cake donuts, you name it. However, on his way home from work he had to drive by his favorite donut shop. It was such a huge temptation for him to stop and buy a dozen donuts that he dreaded coming home. He decided that he was going to pray and ask God to give him a sign. “Lord, if you want me to stop and buy donuts, I pray there will be a good parking spot open. If not, I will just go home.” Well, he did pretty well until the sixth time around the block when the perfect parking spot opened up!
I waited patiently for the Lord; he inclined to me and heard my cry.
Perhaps you have said, “Lord, give me patience and do it right now!”
If you pray for patience, God will put you into situations that require patience.
Do you think that it was easy for Simeon and Anna to wait of God?
Do you ever think they were tempted to doubt? To give up?
They were human after all.
The words that Luke uses here for waiting carries the idea of waiting with anticipation. They were alert to His appearance and were ready to welcome him.
We call that Hope.
Now may the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that you will abound in hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.
When there is hope, you will have joy and peace in all circumstances through believing by faith!
And that, my friend, develops patience in us.
Illus. E.M. Bounds: “I think Christians fail so often to get answers to their prayers because they do not wait long enough on God. They just drop down and say a few words, and then jump up and forget it and expect God to answer them. Such praying always reminds me of the small boy ringing his neighbor's door-bell, and then running away as fast as he can go.”
God’s Timing is Always Perfect
God’s Timing is Always Perfect
But when the fullness of time had come, God sent forth his Son, born of woman, born under the law, to redeem those who were under the law, so that we might receive adoption as sons.
I do not claim to understand God’s timing for his plan to redeem man.
Why did he wait so long to send his son into the world?
We do know that timing was predicted by Daniel in Daniel 9:24-26.
We also know that the known world had developed enough to enable the gospel to spread easily.
Illus. Boice in his commentary said: “It was a time when the pax Romana extended over most of the civilized earth and when travel and commerce were therefore possible in a way that had formerly been impossible. Great roads linked the empire of the Caesars, and its diverse regions were linked far more significantly by the all-pervasive language of the Greeks. Add the fact that the world was sunk in a moral abyss so low that even the pagan cried out against it and that spiritual hunger was everywhere evident, and one has a perfect time for the coming of Christ and for the early expansion of the Christian gospel.”
Simeon recognized the significance of this event when he said: Luke 2:29
“Lord, now you are letting your servant depart in peace, according to your word;
Anna celebrated the news by telling others about what she had seen.
And coming up at that very hour she began to give thanks to God and to speak of him to all who were waiting for the redemption of Jerusalem.
Charles Wesley wrote a wonderful hymn that we sing at times this year…some of the words are:
Come, thou long expected Jesus,
born to set thy people free;
from our fears and sins release us,
let us find our rest in Thee.
Israel's Strength and Consolation,
Hope of all the earth Thou art;
Dear Desire of every nation,
Joy of every longing heart.
God is never early, never late, Hi is always on time!
Closing: A young boy went to the local store with his mother. The shop owner, a kindly man, passed him a large jar of suckers and invited him to help himself to a handful. Uncharacteristically, the boy held back. So the shop owner pulled out a handful for him.
When outside, the boy’s mother asked why he had suddenly been so shy and wouldn’t take a handful of suckers when offered.
The boy replied, “Because his hand is much bigger than mine!” Brian Harris
My friends, God is able to bless us far above anything we can imagine when we wait on him to provide by his hand. When we rush ahead of God, we run the risk of losing out on His very best for us.
but they who wait for the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings like eagles; they shall run and not be weary; they shall walk and not faint.