Simeon and Anna: Portrait of Yieldedness to God
SERIES: “Christmas Portraits From The Bible”
MESSAGE #:4
TITLE: “Simeon and Anna: Portrait of Yieldedness to God”
TEXT: Luke 2:21-40
ETS: The lives of Simeon and Anna demonstrate what it means to be totally yielded to the Lord.
ESS: A life that is yielded to the Lord will be marked by certain traits.
OSS: Believers will commit to living lives that are totally yielded to Christ.
UW: Marks
PQ: What does a life that is yielded to Christ look like?
INTRODUCTION:
A- The series so far…
1. “Christmas Portraits From The Bible”
a. Message #1: “Mary: Portrait of Commitment”
b. Message #2: “Zacharias & Elizabeth: Portrait of
c. Message #3: “Jesus, Reason For The Season”
B- Today’s message: Simeon & Anna: Portrait of Yieldedness To God”
What does a life that is yielded to Christ look like?
I. A LIFE THAT IS DEDICATED TO THE LORD (VSS. 25,37).
A. Dedicated to an upright walk before the Lord.
1. Involves being obedient to God (Luke 2:25 (NLT) "At that time there was a man in Jerusalem named Simeon. He was righteous and devout and was eagerly waiting for the Messiah to come and rescue Israel. The Holy Spirit was upon him and had revealed to him that he would not die until he had seen the Lord’s Messiah."
a) “righteous” = Δικαιος = in a wide sense, upright, righteous, virtuous, obeying the commands of God
b) (Exodus 19:5) “Now therefore, if you will indeed obey My voice and keep My covenant, then you shall be a special treasure to Me above all people; for all the earth is Mine..”
2. Involves avoiding evil
(1 Thessalonians 5:22) “Stay away from every kind of evil.”
B. Dedicated to a loving reverence of the Lord. "He was righteous and devout"
1. “Devout”( εὐλαβής) means one who reverences God.
2. Our lives are to exhibit a respectful love for God.
a) We are to love Him completely.
(1) (Mark 12:30) ”And you must love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, all your mind, and all your strength..”
b) It is to be a respect-based love.
(1) Remembering who He is…
(2) Remembering who you are…
C. Dedicated to a life of faithfulness to the Lord (vs. 25b, 37).
1. We are to walk by faith, not by sight.
(Hebrews 10:38) “And my righteous ones will live by faith..."
(2 Corinthians 5:7) “For we live by believing and not by seeing.”
2. Simeon was a man who was living in expectation of the Lord’s Messiah (25)"and was eagerly waiting for the Messiah to come and rescue Israel."
3. Anna served the Lord faithfully day and night (v. 36-37)
“Anna, a prophet, was also there in the Temple. She was the daughter of Phanuel from the tribe of Asher, and she was very old. Her husband died when they had been married only seven years. 37 Then she lived as a widow to the age of eighty-four. She never left the Temple but stayed there day and night, worshiping God with fasting and prayer.”
D. Dedicated to a service that is Spirit Filled (Vss. 25d, 37).
1. Two keys to dedicated service:
!!!! a) Control of the Holy Spirit
/(Ephesians 5:18) “Don’t be drunk with
wine, because that will ruin your life.
Instead, be filled with the Holy Spirit."/
b) Consistency of service
!!!!! (1) Like Daniel (Daniel 6:16,20)
II. A HEART THAT IS LISTENING TO THE LORD (VSS. 26-27, 37B).
A. Listening to whatever the Lord reveals (vs. 26).
” The Holy Spirit was upon him 26 and had revealed to him that he would not die until he had seen the Lord’s Messiah.”
1. The Holy Spirit revealed something special to Simeon.
2. There are many things the Holy Spirit can’t communicate to us if we aren’t listening!
B. Living under the directorship of the Holy Spirit (vss. 27-28).
1. Simeon followed the Holy Spirit to Jesus.
(27-28) "That day the Spirit led him to the
Temple. So when Mary and Joseph came to
present the baby Jesus to the Lord as the
law required, 28 Simeon was there. He took
the child in his arms and praised God..."
2. We are to be guided by the Holy Spirit
(Galatians 5:25) “Since we are living by the Spirit, let us follow the Spirit’s leading in every part of our lives..”
(Galatians 5:16) “So I say, let the Holy Spirit guide your lives. Then you won’t be doing what your sinful nature craves.”
(Proverbs 3:5-6) “Trust in the Lord with all your heart; do not depend on your own understanding. 6 Seek his will in all you do, and he will show you which path to take.”
III. A MIND THAT IS FOCUSED UPON THE PURPOSES OF THE LORD (VSS. 28-32).
!! A- The purpose of the Lord in Salvation (vss. 29-32) “Sovereign Lord, now let your servant die in peace, as you have promised. 30 I have seen your salvation, 31 which you have prepared for all people. 32 He is a light to reveal God to the nations, and he is the glory of your people Israel!”
!!! 1- Salvation is for all people.
(John 3:16) “For God loved the world so much that he gave his one and only Son, so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life."
(Rom. 10:13) For “Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved."
!! B- The purpose of the Lord in the lives of others (vss. 34-35, 38).
1. In terms of position (v. 34) “34 Then Simeon blessed them, and he said to Mary, the baby’s mother, “This child is destined to cause many in Israel to fall, but he will be a joy to many others. He has been sent as a sign from God, but many will oppose him."
2. In terms of pain (v. 35) "And a sword will pierce your very soul.”
3. In terms of exposure (v. 35) “…As a result, the deepest thoughts of many hearts will be revealed..”
C. The purpose of the Lord for self (vss. 28-30)
!!! 1. Focus (Vs.28)
“He took the child in his arms and praised God,…”
!!! 2. Submission (vs. 29) “now let your servant die in peace, as you have promised."
!!! 3. Witness (vs. 30) “I have seen your salvation, which you have prepared for all people."
CONCLUSION:
A- Now What? What will I do with the truths learned today?
1- What will I do that will insure that my life reflects the right attitude toward God?
2- What will I do this week that will demonstrate absolute obedience to God's Word in a practical way?
3- What will I do to seek to be more "tuned-in" to the leadership of the Holy Spirit this week?
4- What will I do this week in order to attempt to promote the purposes of God?
Song: “I Surrender All”