Trusting God by Faith
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This evening I read from Luke 2:15-28, Joseph and Mary had just offered a sacrifice to the Lord in accordance with the Law.
“And when the days of her purification according to the law of Moses were accomplished, they brought him to Jerusalem, to present him to the Lord; (as it is written in the law of the Lord, Every male that openeth the womb shall be called holy to the Lord;) and to offer a sacrifice according to that which is said in the law of the Lord, A pair of turtledoves, or two young pigeons.”
Luke 2:22-24 KJV
Following on from this Luke then mentioned Simeon and Anna who Luke said were faithful to God in the temple.
I was praying about what to preach the past week and I was speaking to Emily; we were talking about remaining faithful to God in the face of difficulty and what to do when we get discouraged.
Hilda joined the conversation and she just wished she knew what God wanted her to do. What the Lord at times wants us to do is just remain faithful to him and the church.
Tonight, we are looking at two people who remained faithful to God and got the blessing.
This past week in the church there was discussions about discouragement to our faith and the importance of being careful with our conversation.
We have the power to encourage, but we also have the power to discourage our brothers and sisters in Christ.
“Set a watch, O LORD, before my mouth; Keep the door of my lips.”
Psalm 141:3 KJV
“Let no corrupt communication proceed out of your mouth, but that which is good to the use of edifying, that it may minister grace unto the hearers.”
Ephesians 4:29 KJV
“Let the words of my mouth, and the meditation of my heart, be acceptable in thy sight, O LORD, my strength, and my redeemer.”
Psalm 19:14 KJV
In this passage in Luke 2:25-28 we see two older saints of God who spoke words of life, who held on to the promises of God and who spoke of the redemption to come.
The two saints that are mentioned in this passage spoke words of life, they were holding to the promises to God, there was no blockage of their faith as they remained faithful to the Lord in being in the temple.
God has raised up Zion, this prayer meeting was started for God to send revival, is your faith strong tonight that God is well able, or do you feel that there is something holding back the blessing?
If you feel that way let me remind you of the wonderful answers to prayer that God has blessed us with in our prayer meeting for healing, just this week.
This time last week we were praying for Gayle who was ill with cancer and the feelings were that things seemed hopeless. We were similarly praying for Tricia who was also suffering from Cancer.
Andrene phoned Gayle and Gayle told her that the Consultant is amazed at her progress.
Emily sent this message in the WhatsApp group,
I've just had a phone call from Tricia. She had scan results today. Midway through her treatment. All traces of cancer are gone. She wants to thank everyone for their prayers for her. God is amazing. She is so grateful to God.
Andrene texted regarding Gayle,
The consultant was amazed at her progress. She said from looking at her and seeing her walk, that the treatment has worked super-fast and she only needs one more chemo session, she was supposed to have 9 in total.
On Sunday before the prayer meeting for healing we informed about these encouragements, and then in walked another answer to prayer, Olivia, Linda’s granddaughter who we prayed for when Sarah had just given birth to her had an issue with her legs and the Doctors were worried about her ability to walk, we prayed to God about this, a few weeks later Linda held this beautiful little girl in her arms thanking God that she is ok.
There may seem to be a massive list of people requiring prayer for healing but that is because God is using our prayers for his glory.
The fact that Tricia who is not a Christian recognises that people are praying for her and that these prayers are being heard is such a blessing and a wonderful testimony.
Why mention all of this in a prayer meeting not for healing but revival? The answer is simply God is hearing and answering prayers.
Simeon and Anna were trusting in the promises of God, but when did they get their answers was it when they were young, or middle aged? No, it was in their old age, all through their life they trusted in God.
Simeon and Anna in this passage in Luke were faithful to God.
The first person mentioned was Simeon, Luke tells us that the Holy Spirit had promised him that he would not die until he had seen the Lord’s Messiah/Christ.
Luke then tells us that Simeon came by the spirit into the temple, this as we heard on Sunday by our brother Jack showed that Simeon was a holy man as the Holy Spirit would not fill someone who was not, hence Holy Spirit.
Simeon believed in what the Holy Spirit had promised, and he lifted up the Lord Jesus in his arms and blessed the Lord.
You may have been coming to this prayer meeting for many years and decades, your faithfulness is a blessing to God and is an encouragement to your brothers and sisters in Christ.
Jack told us on Sunday that your public prayers are an encouragement to him when you pray, your vision comes through.
What did Simeon say when he seen this promise realised because of his faith in God’s promise,
“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.”
Luke 2:30-32 KJV
The message from Simeon is keep trusting in the promises of God, he seen the fulfilment of the promise in his old age, there are a lot of older Christians in the church in Zion, some people may say Zion has an aging congregation.
That did not stop Simeon, Simeon was full of the Holy Spirit in his old age.
The next person Luke mentions is the prophet Anna, hold on did you say prophet then a woman’s name? Oh yes, God used this woman in a wonderful way, Anna was God’s wonder woman. Not only that but Anna was used in a special way in her old age, are you in church and thinking I wish I knew what God wanted me to do?
“and she was a widow of about fourscore and four years, which departed not from the temple, but served God with fastings and prayers night and day. And she coming in that instant gave thanks likewise unto the Lord, and spake of him to all them that looked for redemption in Jerusalem.”
Luke 2:37-38 KJV
The last time I spoke I discussed how Luke mentioned that Jesus came to the marginalised in society, those who society would deem as insignificant.
But to God, Anna was not insignificant, she was used to tell those in the temple about Jesus to those who looked for redemption in Jerusalem.
There was no discouragement on the lips of Anna, in fact quite the contrary she prophesied of Jesus being the redeemer.
How do you talk of Zion’s future?
What is your view on this prayer meetings that Zion has for Revival, the suffering church and for healing?
Is your voice like Anna who foretold of redemption in Christ?
Is your voice heard in the prayer meeting saying the best days of Zion are ahead of us because we do not rely on man, but we rely on God?
How big is your God?
This past week we have had wonderful signs of how God is with us, if God be for us, who can be against us?
Some may say that the church attendance is low and that there is an ageing population in Zion, but what does God say on these matters?
“Then he answered and spake unto me, saying, this is the word of the LORD unto Zerubbabel, saying, not by might, nor by power, but by my spirit, saith the LORD of hosts.”
Zechariah 4:6 KJV
“For who hath despised the day of small things? for they shall rejoice, and shall see the plummet in the hand of Zerubbabel with those seven; they are the eyes of the LORD, which run to and fro through the whole earth.”
Zechariah 4:10 KJV
God has abundantly blessed me since bringing me back to Zion and I know that others can testify the same.
I love staying in Zion in between the services on Sunday, to have the conversations with the saints as they talk about their vision for Zion and about their expectations of what God is going to do here in Zion for God’s glory.
The vision for God’s glory here in Zion is tangible, if you feel there is something holding back the blessing in your heart, my prayer is that the Lord will remove that blockage.
If you feel there is a blockage in blessing let me tell you of the blessings that I have had so far here in Zion.
God has abundantly blessed me since bringing me back to Zion, I have been blessed with the preaching of God’s word by the brothers who stand in the pulpit for God’s glory. I have been blessed with the worship lead by Andrene.
God has used me to preach which is amazing because throughout my life I have struggled with low self-esteem and lack of confidence due to my dyslexia, it is through being here in Zion God has led me to study theology at ETS.
God led me to start a prayer meeting for healing for our Deacon Robert Bamford and God heard our prayers for our brother and Deacon as Emily testified that Robert suffered no pain throughout his illness and the Lord choose to take our brother home to glory.
God has since heard and answered prayer for many people we have been asked to pray for and is still answering prayers.
God has since started a prayer meeting for the suffering church on the first Sunday of the month.
There is no blockage of blessings in Zion from what I have seen, if anything, God has blessed me beyond my wildest dreams.
Do I believe God is going to bless Zion Absolutely!
Do I believe God is going to send revival? Absolutely!
Jesus was surrounded by so much negativity at the tomb of Lazarus, but he looked up and said thank you Father.
Look up brothers and sisters again I say look up and say thank you Father.
Things may look bleak in our nation; our church has been planted in an area that is the most deprived in Scotland with all those nationalities that are represented.
God has a church planted and is blessing us during such darkness and wants his people to be faithful and shine and hold to the promises in his word.
In Conclusion
I have spoken of Simeon and Anna who were found in their old age in the Temple, and we have seen how the Lord used them in a mighty way.
It Zion’s has an ageing congregation but that is not a bad thing, we have seen this evening how God mightily used these older saints of God. The prayer tonight is that God will use this ageing congregation as he used Simeon and Anna, seeing the salvation, and having a vision of the redemption.
The promise to Simeon was tangible in his old age, he held the promised Christ, Anna foretold of the redemption that this Child would bring.
God used these saints of God in their old age, he used them because they were in their place, he used them because their vision was burning bright.
Simeon and Anna two old saints of God were used of God because they kept hold of the promises of God.
You might be older this evening, but are you lead of the spirit like Simeon are you foretelling of God’s glory and redemption like Anna?
May we lean not on our own understanding and may we trust in the Lord.
At times we can look at the situation and feel discouraged, but God sees the complete story, Robert spoke of the children of Israel walking round the walls of Jericho, it may have looked ridiculous but when they obeyed, God blessed them.
What the Lord asks us to do is keep walking around the walls, keep on obeying, keep on walking, keep trusting.
The disciples were told to return to Jerusalem in Acts 1, they obeyed, and God sent the revival at Pentecost.
May we learn from Simeon and Anna, may our vision for God’s work here in Zion burn bright, may our vision for revival, for the suffering church for the healing of those we are praying for burn bright because God is well able to do exceedingly abundantly above all we can ask or think.
The sign we believe this will be clear in our public prayers and it will be clear in our conversation, as Emily says God is amazing.
There is no doubt God has a plan for this church that he raised up through our late Pastor and blessed us with a wonderful ministry. The death of our late Pastor was not the end of the story of Zion, it was just the beginning.
The death of the Lord Jesus was not the end of the story, Acts 1 saw the beginning of the spreading of the gospel, the good news across the entire world.
Let’s pray through your vision tonight for our church and for revival and thank God for the answers to prayer we have had this week.
To God be the glory.
Amen