Sermon Tone Analysis

March 17, 2012

By John Barnett

Read, print, and listen to this resource on our website www.DiscoverTheBook.org

As we open to Luke 2:36, and are introduced to the life of Anna, I’d ask you to underline two words in your mind.

First, in v. 36 “she was of great age”—underline in your mind* OLD*.

Second, in v. 37 “a widow of about 84 years”—underline in your mind* ALONE.*

There you go, in two words you could describe the woman we are going to meet this morning.

Anna was OLD and ALONE.

Yet from this account God gives to us, this old and alone woman was also vibrant, filled with joy, overflowing with God's Word and in love with the Lord.

She is just what any woman who knows the Lord would want to become…

*An Old Testament Woman of Grace*

Think about her resources to live this life we see, she had God's Word and the Spirit of God.

But, just like most of the saints of Old Testament and the early church Anna had no personal copy of God's Word.

They had to rely upon the Word they heard as it was read to them, or what they could copy down for themselves.

So with limited access to the Word, she flourished because of the unlimited access she had to God.

In the context of our recent study of godly women, I would like to call Anna a powerful example of a grace-energized woman—from the Old Testament!

And how does God describe godly, grace-energized women?

Is she perfect?

No, she is not perfect, but she has a life dominated by choices to obey and follow the Lord.

Anna, like any other grace-energized woman may fail here and there, sin now and then, give up from time to time—but her life is characterized and dominated by choices to seek to follow God's Word.

That describes Anna, that describes a grace-energized woman, that is what God always wants, and that can describe YOU!

As we turn to Luke 2:36-40 and read this incredible account, open your heart to God's Word as He speaks to us today:

Luke 22: 36-40 /"Now 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; 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.38

And coming in that instant *she gave thanks to the Lord*, and spoke of Him to all those who looked for redemption in Jerusalem.

39 So when they had performed all things according to the law of the Lord, they returned to Galilee, to their own city, Nazareth.40

And the Child grew and became strong in spirit, filled with wisdom; and the grace of God was upon Him."/ NKJV

There is no more timely, vital, or relevant message I could share with you from God's Word this morning than this one.

The whole world is growing more and more aware of the bleak future facing most women.

In fact, the U.S. Census Department issued an analysis of the population demographics of the USA and their conclusion was…

*Being Old and Alone is The future for 80% of all women

The most recent US census paints a very bleak picture facing women in America.

You could summarize the numbers by saying: just under half of women 65 years old and over are widows, and of those widowed women the vast majority lived alone.

If you are a woman here this morning you will very likely spend the final days of your life being OLD and ALONE.

Now think about what it means to compound old age with all of its limitations and troubles with loneliness.

Loneliness can be described as one of the most desolate words of the human language, capable of hurling the heaviest weights the heart can endure.

As Chuck Swindoll says,

“…it plays no favorites, ignores all rules of courtesy, knows neither border nor barrier…; it will not be left behind.

Crowds only make it worse, activity simply drives it deeper.

Silent and destructive as a flooding river in the night, it leaves its slimy banks, seeps into our dwelling, and rises to a crest of despair.

There is simply no other anguish like the consuming anguish of loneliness.

Ask the inmate in prison this evening…

or the uniformed man thousands of miles at sea or in some bar tonight…

or the divorcee in that apartment…

or the one who just buried his or her life's companion…

or the couple whose arms ache for the child recently taken…

or even the single, career-minded person who prepares a meal for one and goes to bed early, alone, [and] surrounded by the mute memory of yesterday’s song and today’s disappointment”.

Though loneliness has many forms—it has but one purpose.

Loneliness is when God takes something treasured out of my life—so He can be closest to me.

This means that loneliness is a tool in God’s hand, an opportunity for a right response by us His children.

*God’s Prescription for Old Age is Psalm 92*

For all of her life Anna, when she went to the synagogue each Friday evening—had heard the same Psalm (as the 92nd Psalm is titled, it was the Sabbath Psalm) sung over and over, week after week.

Think about those little details in God's Word.

How old was Anna?

Either she was 84 or 104 from v. 37.

That means that she had heard Psalm 92 either about 4,472 times (if she was 84) or about 5,408 times if she was 104.

That is an awful lot of times to hear these words and not be deeply impacted by them:

Psalm 92:12-15 /"The righteous shall *flourish* like a palm tree, He shall *grow* like a cedar in Lebanon.

13 Those who are* planted* in the house of the Lord shall* flourish* in the courts of our God.

14 They shall *still bear fruit* in old age; They shall be *fresh and flourishing,* 15 To *declare* that the Lord is upright; He is *my rock*, and *there is no unrighteousness in Him.*"/ NKJV

I believe Anna is a model of what a godly, grace-energized woman ought to be.

She heard, read, and believed God's Word enough to want live it by God’s grace!

That is all that God is looking for today.

Women who believe Him enough to want to do His will as declared in the Bible.

I hope that you are such a woman today!

Senior citizens, both men and women, have some challenges.

Elderly people (anyone over 65) need to learn to live the grace-energized Psalm 92 life.

A Psalm 92, grace-energized saint like Anna sees:

…how useless self pity is; and

…how dangerous selfishness becomes; and

…how worthless greedy people end up; and

…how hopeless those who fight for independence can be; and

…how restless those characterized by discontentment will be; and finally,

…how empty human pleasures become so quickly.

However, by God’s grace, an older woman knows:

…how priceless real friends truly become; and

…gets to experience how endless Christ's joys can be; and

…how numerous ministry opportunities are all around us; and

…how utterly satisfying Christ's presence becomes the more we are alone;

…and finally, how comforting prayer grows to be in our lives.

Without a Psalm 92, grace-energized life, older women do not have very much to look forward to.

Listen to the rest of the U.S. Census Department’s analysis for older women.

It is astoundingly dismal…

*America’s Guide to Aging Women: Exercise and Get Financially Independent*

Demographic Trends and Projections

Today, almost 35 million Americans, or one in eight, are age 65 or older, and three out of five are women.

Over the next 40 years, the population aged 65 and over will more than double, while the number of persons age 85 and over will more than triple.

Today, the average life expectancy at birth is 79.4 years for women and 73.9 years for men.

Seven out of 10 “baby boom” women—those born between 1946 and 1964—are expected to outlive their husbands.

Thus, many can expect to be widows for 15 to 20 years.

Why Older Women’s Issues Are Important

Women in the U.S. currently have a life expectancy approaching 80 years.

However, the gift of longevity is frequently accompanied by a number of challenges.

Older women spend more years and a larger percentage of their lifetime disabled.

They are nearly twice as likely to reside in a nursing home.

Nearly 80% of all older persons living alone are women.

Widowhood and the geographic mobility of children both contribute to the growing phenomenon of older women living alone.

Economic Security

More than 70% of all elderly persons with incomes below the poverty level are women.

Health Care