Ascension Presbyterian Lord's Day Worship

Let's take This on? Elijah, can you check the mic for me? Let's take just a brief moment and quiet our hearts and prepare ourselves for corporate.

Worship.

Grace and peace to you in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ. Welcome to the corporate worship of our great God. Please stand. Oh, brethren, when we come to the house of the Lord, we come to Mount Zion and to the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, to an innumerable company of angels, to the General Assembly and Church of the Firstborn who are registered in heaven, to God, the judge of all, to the spirits of just men made perfect, to Jesus, the mediator of the new covenant, and to the blood of sprinkling that speaks better things than that of Abel.

Oh, people of God, we have been called to boldly approach the throne of grace. Let's do it today with joy and thanksgiving. Come now, let us worship him. Please pray with me. Father, Son and Holy Spirit.

We come heeding your call, knowing that you've taken us to be your people. And have caused us to take you as our God, we rejoice in this. We pray that our humble number, our feeble worship would be pleasing and acceptable in your sight through the merits of Jesus Christ, our Lord.

We ask this in faith, in Jesus name, amen. Please, Neil, if you're able for the corporate confession of sin, let us join together with one voice confessing our sins. Have mercy on me, oh God, according to your steadfast love.

According to your abundant mercy, wash me thoroughly from my iniquity and cleanse me from my transgressions and my sins ever before me. Purge me with this up and I shall be clean. Wash me and I shall be whiter than snow.

Let me hear joy and gladness. Let the bones that you have broken rejoice. Hide your face from my sins and blot out all my iniquities. Create in me a clean heart, oh God, and renew a right spirit within me.

Cast me not away from your presence. Take not your Holy Spirit from me. Restore to me the joy of your salvation. Uphold me with the willing spirit, amen. Please stand to have a high and proper reverence for God.

We are confronted with his holiness and our sinfulness. Instead of shrinking back, we press forward because we have a mediator, a savior who is Jesus Christ, the Lord, and in him we have the forgiveness of sins.

Take comfort today in this assurance of pardon. He himself bore our sins in his own body on the tree that we, having died to sins, might live for righteousness by whose stripes you are healed. People of God, if you be united to Christ by faith, you are forgiven.

Amen.

Christmas Hymns, Psalm Singing, and the Reading of Genesis 33

Please take up the hymnal and turn to number 204, the great Christmas music of the season, number 204, Away in a Manger.

Let us begin.

We are continuing our second march, it's hard to believe, through the psalter. It's a great encouragement to me. We are now at 101. We're singing Find in the Bulletin of Loyalty and Justice, and this is to the tune of the Church's One Foundation, Psalm 101, the tune of the Church's One Foundation.

Please remain standing for the reading of the word from the book of Genesis and chapter 33.

Genesis chapter 33. Now Jacob lifted his eyes and looked, and there Esau was coming, and with him were 400.

Men.

So he divided the children among Leah, Rachel, and the two maidservants. And he put the maidservants and their children in front, Leah and her children behind, and Rachel and Joseph last. Then he crossed over before them and bowed himself to the ground seven times until he came near to his brother.

But Esau ran to meet him and embraced him and fell on his neck and kissed him, and they.

Wept.

And he lifted his eyes and saw the women and children and said, Who are these with you? So he said, The children whom God has graciously given your servant. Then the maidservants came near, they and their children, and bowed down.

And Leah also came near with her children, and they bowed down. Afterward, Joseph and Rachel came near, and they bowed down. Then Esau said, What do you mean by all this company which I met? And he said, These are to find favor in the sight of my Lord.

But Esau said, I have enough, my brother. Keep what you have for yourself. And Jacob said, No, please, if I have now found favor in your sight, then receive my present from my hand. Inasmuch as I have seen your face as though I had seen the face of God, and you were pleased with me, please take my blessing that is brought to you because God has dealt graciously with me and because I have enough.

So he urged him and he took it. And Esau said, Let us take our journey. Let us go and I will go before you. But Jacob said to him, My Lord knows that the children are weak and the flocks and herds, which are which are nursing, are with me.

And if the men should drive them hard one day, all the flock will die. Please let my Lord go on ahead before his servant. I will lead on slowly at a pace which the livestock that go before me and the children are able to endure until I come to my Lord and see her.

And Esau said, Now let me leave with you some of the people who are with me. But he said, What need is there? Let me find favor in the sight of my Lord. So Esau returned that day on his way to see her.

And Jacob journeyed to Succoth, built himself a house and made booths for his livestock. Therefore, the name of the place is called Succoth. Then Jacob came safely to the city of Shechem, which is in the land of Canaan, when he came from Paddan Aram and he pitched his tent before the city and he bought the parcel of land where he had pitched his tent from the children of Hamor.

Shechem's father for 100 pieces of money. Then he erected an altar there and called it El Elohi Israel. This is the word of the Lord.

Let us now confess our faith in the joyful singing of the Apostles Creed. Let us begin. Please take up the hymnal and find number 225. D .J. pointed out to me that the number is wrong in the bulletin.

Apologies for that. Two hundred twenty five. Once in Royal David's City.

Let us begin to number two hundred little town.

Please make preparations now for the prayers of the people and seeing the multitudes. Jesus went up on a mountain and when he was seated, his disciples came to him. Then he opened his mouth and taught them, saying, Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

Lord, blessed are those who mourn for they shall be comforted. Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth. Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be filled.

Blessed are the merciful, for they shall obtain mercy. Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God. Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God. Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

Blessed are you when they revile and persecute you and say all kinds of evil against you falsely for my sake.

Rejoice in me.

Amen.

Please stand and take the bulletin insert. We are on our second Sunday of Psalm 98 being the psalm of the month. If you are a guest with us today, we are singing in parts and our church has been working on this for a very long time.

And be patient with us. But you also are welcome to join in. You'll see at the bottom of the page on the left, there's the bass, the soprano, the alto and the tenor. You can jump in there and you'll see how it goes as we get started.

Let's sing this great song together to the glory of God.

Let us begin. Well done.

Well done. Please turn in your Bibles to the book of Luke and chapter two. This will be our second Advent Sunday, and we're going to read verses 25 through 38. I want to remind you that this is God's holy and infallible word.

We come and we sit under our Lord and his teaching to be instructed by it. Here now, God's word. Luke 2, 25. And behold, there was a man in Jerusalem whose name was Simeon. And this man was just 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. So he came by 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, which you have prepared before the face of all peoples, a light to bring revelation to the Gentiles in the glory of your people, Israel. And Joseph and his mother marveled at those things which were spoken of him.

Then Simeon blessed them and said to Mary, his mother, behold, this child is destined for the fall and rising of many in Israel and for a sign which will be spoken against. Yes, a sword will pierce through your own soul also that the thoughts of many hearts may be revealed.

Now, there was one Anna, a prophetess. The daughter of Faneuil of the tribe of Asher, she was of great age and had lived with the husband seven years from her virginity, and this woman was a widow of about 84 years who did not depart from the temple, but serve God with fastings and prayers night and day.

And coming in in that instant, she gave thanks to the Lord who spoke of him to all those who looked for redemption in Jerusalem. Let's pray together now and ask the Lord's help. Oh, Lord, your word is excellent.

Your spirit powerful, and we ask for both light and heat, we ask for illumination, we ask for a piercing of hearts. The influx of joy and thanksgiving, and oh, Lord, we ask us to teach you how to wait in faith and in hope.

And we ask all this in Jesus name.

Amen.

Please be seated. As we continue to develop liturgically and as a corporate body, it's important to know that that Advent season isn't the expansion of Christmas, but it is the time of anticipation, a time of waiting, time of of looking to the future.

So today, though we enter the story in the narrative after the birth of Jesus, our emphasis is really on Simeon and Anna prior to the arrival of Christ. We're going to look at the faith of Simeon and Anna, and that's the title of the message today.

If there's an overarching theme, it is these are lives worthy of your emulation. The faith of Simeon and Anna, those of you who have need of an outline, I have posted it in the Slack channel for reference if you need it later.

First, we're going to consider the idea of waiting. Number one is waiting. Second, we're going to look primarily at Anna and her example of serving. Waiting is number one, serving is two. Third is witnessing, speaking, proclaiming the truth, witnessing, and then fourth, giving thanks and praising God.

So what the people of God do in this season properly is they enter into the history of Israel and they put themselves back with their spiritual forefathers, waiting for the incarnation, the arrival of the Lord Jesus Christ.

And that's what I want us to try to do today. Much of the Christian life is spent waiting. You undergo a trial and you wait for the Lord to answer. Some of you today are waiting for the Lord to provide a spouse.

If you've been married, maybe you're waiting to get pregnant. Even after you get pregnant, you have to wait nine months for the child to be born. You wait for the doctor to come back with test results.

And those are sometimes hard seasons of waiting. But consider Israel. The faithful in Israel long for the coming of the Messiah. They yearn for his redemption. They wanted to see God's promises realized.

And the whole of redemptive history since the fall in Genesis, they have waited from the Proto-Evangelium of Genesis 3 .15. That the seed of the woman would crush the serpent's head, the people of God have been waiting.

When I was a child and was now a long time ago that I was a child, I remember being filled with expectation on Christmas evening, waiting to get up to open my presents. And I could not go to sleep at night.

And I woke up extraordinarily early to find out all the good gifts that had been provided for me. And I was apparently very materialistic. My children, I have to go wake them up and push them and try to get them out of bed to get things started.

I don't know why they don't want to wake up for Christmas morning. But when you're a kid waiting for that new bike or that new toy, it seems like it takes forever. I remember my wife's mother saying about something off in the future that's coming.

It's slow as Christmas, slow to get here. But think about Israel, thousands and thousands of years waiting for the promise to be realized that the Messiah would come, that Satan would be vanquished and conquered and the people would live in peace.

Oh, how they waited. Abraham and Sarah waited for the child of promise. They were well past ordinary childbearing years and they were well advanced into old age. They're waiting for Isaac that he would start fulfilling the promise that would find its ultimate fulfillment in Christ, the promise to Abraham and your seed, all the nations of the earth shall be blessed.

Oh, how Abraham and Sarah waited. And how Abraham had to look in faith to the horizon for thousands of years in the future when the Christ would come. Jacob had to wait seven years for Rachel, but Israel had to wait 430 years to be set free from Pharaoh's house of bondage in Egypt.

The southern tribes of Judah waited for 70 years in the Babylonian exile, and when they returned, it was hard labor to rebuild. We just learned recent years the story of Zechariah. In our text today, we have the beginning stages of the most significant event in history, the incarnation of Christ and his sinless life, the arrival of the kingdom of God, his prophetic teaching as the living word, his atoning death, his burial, his resurrection, his ascension, at which he said, wait in Jerusalem until the Holy Spirit has come upon you and you shall be witnesses to me in Jerusalem and all Judea and Samaria and to the end of the earth.

Even now, the earnest expectation of the creation, it's hard to imagine this language, as we discussed this morning, yearning, waiting for the revealing of the sons of God, Romans 8 and 19 and following.

We eagerly wait for the adoption. Even now, we wait to be to put off these bodies of sin, to be done with the sinful flesh, to be inhabited, inhabiting our glorified bodies. But a hope that is seen is not hope, for why does one still hope for what he sees?

Paul says in chapter eight of Romans. But if we hope for what we do not see, we eagerly wait for it with perseverance. So in Advent season, we're taught about how to wait. The promise hasn't been fulfilled.

It's not been realized. And so we wait. Let's look at the text again in verse 25. Simeon was a just and devout man. What a statement. What superlatives would the Holy Spirit write about your life? Christopher was what?

Jacob and Caleb are what? Simeon was a righteous man. He was completely, singularly devoted to the one true God, and he was waiting. He was waiting for the consolation of Israel. That word is associated with what we know as the paraclete, the comforter, paraklesis.

The people of God needed comforting. They need a consoling. They were in desperate need of the promises, the sure promises of the Davidic kingdom to be realized. And Simeon is an older man and he's waiting for the revelation of Jesus Christ.

And it says the Holy Spirit was upon him. It's important to remember that the Holy Spirit is the third person of the Trinity. It's not an impersonal force. And the Holy Spirit doesn't show up for the first time at Pentecost, which is later than this.

The Spirit has been indwelling his people. And now in the new covenant, certainly a different outpouring, a different work of the Holy Spirit, a more full expression of the Holy Spirit's work after the ascension of Christ.

But this man, Simeon, a just man, a devout man, and his character and his Holy Spirit ledness is tied to him waiting, waiting for the consolation of Israel. And there was a prophecy apparently given to him.

Look at verse 26. It says it had been revealed to him by the Holy Spirit that he would not see death before he had seen the Lord's Christ. Can you imagine a man well versed in waiting from a redemptive historical perspective, his own life now probably very advanced in years that God had promised him through the Holy Spirit that he would see with his own eyes the Lord Jesus Christ.

And so he labors and waits in faith that I think the first application for us is whatever the promise is, we're called to faithfulness now. Simeon was going about his life being just and devout. You and I would like to see the triumphal return of the Lord Jesus Christ.

But now we have to labor and toil and faithfulness looking toward that blessed hope. And if history seems to be as it is, we probably in our lifetime will not see it. Are you waiting in hope? Are you waiting in faith?

Are you waiting for the revelation of the people that are you laboring in the fields to bring in the harvest? It seems that Simeon and Anna, who are exemplars to us, they were very active while they waited.

You and I have to be diligent and active in our in our waiting for future events. What an incredible promise to be one of those who would see the Christ. I don't know if we have a sense of how weighty these moments are where where these dear saints would have the privilege of holding the baby Jesus in their hands and and knowing by faith, empowered by the Holy Spirit, that salvation is of the Lord and salvation has come in him.

The promises are going to be realized, Israel, and in fact, the nations are going to be saved, says he was in verse 27. Not only did the spirit work in his life was upon him, not only did he give him a special revelation, but in verse 27, it says the spirit led him into the temple.

Now, not to get into a big thing about history, but the Ark of the Covenant is not in the temple. The presence of God is not in the temple, but now God himself in the flesh is in the temple. These are dramatic things that are happening.

God's presence in the temple again, in the baby, the Lord Jesus Christ, when he comes, but led by the spirit of the temple, he finds the parents and the parents brought in Jesus to do for him according to the custom of the law.

Let me be quick about this, but I want to review the custom of the law, because like we learned this morning, we have to understand why did Jesus, why is he presented at the temple? You have to understand why.

If you have your Bibles, you're welcome to follow along with me. I'll be looking first at Exodus chapter 13. Contextually, this is the chapter that immediately follows the dramatic last plague of Egypt's deliverance of Israel's deliverance from Egypt.

And in that description, we learned that there was Passover blood that was sprinkled on the lentils and the doorposts. And the death angel does not kill the firstborn of Israel where the blood is, but it goes through and wreaks havoc and kills all the firstborn of Egypt, even in Pharaoh's house.

And so this firstborn becomes a very significant theme in the scripture, starting right here in Exodus. This is what it says. Then the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, Consecrate to me all the firstborn, whatever opens the womb among the children of Israel, both of man and beast, it is mine.

The firstborn was to be employed in the holy service. Every firstborn was to be consecrated to the holy service of God. When my grandson Callan was born, and I don't know if you remember when I baptized him, I think that principle still remains.

I say, you're the firstborn son. You're consecrated to the Lord. Consecrate to me all the firstborn, whatever opens the womb among the children of Israel. Now I'm going to skip down to verse 11, for the interest of time.

It says this, And it shall be when the Lord brings you into the land of the Canaanites, as he swore to you and your fathers and gives it to you, that you shall set apart to the Lord all that open the womb.

That is, every firstborn that comes from an animal which you have, the males, shall be the Lord's. But every firstborn of a donkey you shall redeem with a lamb, and if you will not redeem it, then you shall break its neck.

And all the firstborn of man among your sons you shall redeem. I want to read that again. And all the firstborn of man among your sons you shall redeem. So it shall be when your son asks you in time to come, what is this?

You shall say to him, by the strength of the hand, the Lord, the hand of the Lord brought us up out of Egypt and out of the house of bondage. And it came to pass when Pharaoh was stubborn about letting us go, that the Lord killed all the firstborn in the land of Egypt, both the firstborn of man and the firstborn of the beasts.

Therefore, I sacrifice to the Lord all males that open the womb, but all the firstborn of my sons I redeem. It shall be as a sign on your hand and on the frontlets between your eyes. For by the strength of hand, the Lord brought us out of Egypt.

The firstborn son is consecrated to the Lord. Turn over quickly to Leviticus chapter 12. We have to understand why Jesus was in the temple. Why he was being presented and what was transpiring there. Leviticus 12, 1.

Then the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, Speak to the children of Israel, saying, If a woman has conceived and born a male child, then she shall be unclean seven days, as in the days of her customary impurity, she shall be unclean.

And on the eighth day, the flesh of his foreskin shall be circumcised. Children, you may remember this. There's been some scientific evidence that has been shown. This is amazing. That the Lord prescribed a flintstone be used for the circumcision.

And he also prescribed it would happen on the eighth day. Now, this is a modern scientific discovery. The day when a baby produces the most red blood cells it will ever produce in its life. You have a guess what day that is?

Eighth day. The little ones aren't going to bleed to death from circumcision. They keep covenant promise with God. The flintstone, you know that no bacteria can live on flint. They don't know about these things medically, God knows.

Every detail, all of the every fiber that's woven into the fabric, there are we could launch off into huge discourses on every one of these elements. She shall continue, it says in the blood of her purification, 33 days.

She shall not touch any hallowed thing or come into the sanctuary until the days of her purification are fulfilled. She bears a female child and she shall be unclean two weeks. As in her customary impurity, and she shall continue in the blood of her purification.

Sixty six days. When the days of her purification are fulfilled, whether for a son or a daughter, then she shall bring to the priest a lamb of the first year as a burnt offering and a young pigeon or a turtle dove as a sin offering to the door of the tabernacle of meeting.

And so the parents have to bring a sin offering to the Lord for their baby. That's what. Joseph and Mary are doing when they come to the temple now quickly. Over in verse eight, it says, and if she's not able to bring a lamb and this was a provision for poverty.

She may bring two turtle doves or two young pigeons, one is a burnt offering and the other as a sin offering. Joseph and Mary don't have enough money to buy a lamb. They they do the burnt offerings here.

So the priest shall make atonement for her and she shall be clean. One more really quickly. Numbers 18. And this is where things the drama really builds for me. It's really exciting to think of what's happening here.

Verse one of chapter 18. Then the Lord said to Aaron. Now, how is it that all of the first born children of Israel can serve in temple service and Levitical service? The answer is they can't and they won't.

So the parents have to give an offering of five shekels in order to redeem their first born. It supports the work of the priests and the Levites. This is what's happening with Jesus. Now, the irony is we have Mary and Joseph fulfilling the custom of the law for the first born and the first born overall creation is the subject.

It's unbelievable the drama that's happening here. I don't know if Anna and Simeon know all the details of this. They have to pay money to redeem, purchase back their children in this symbolic way. They could go home with them and the Lord's service and work will continue through the priests and the Levites.

That's why Jesus is being presented at the temple. Now, let's go back to our text. Luke chapter two. With this prophecy, this prompting, this leading of the Holy Spirit, Simeon just has got to be filled with great joy and thanksgiving when they bring in the child, Jesus.

They do for him, according to the custom of the law, which we just reviewed. He took him up in his arms and he blessed God and said, Song of Simeon, what we sing is our recessional. Lord, you're now letting your servant depart in peace, according to your word, for my eyes have seen your salvation.

My eyes have seen salvation. Salvation is of the Lord. Salvation is found in Jesus Christ in him. And alone, I see it with my own eyes. The promise is fulfilled. You prepared this all before the face of all peoples.

And oh, Lord, I recognize and acknowledge that this one is also going to bring light and revelation and salvation to the ends of the earth, to the Gentiles. And that's us and the glory of your people, Israel.

So Simeon's been busy while he's waiting. He's been just and faithful and devout and praying and waiting for the consolation of Israel. He's been serving. Verse 33 says,. And Joseph and his mother marveled at those things which were spoken of him.

And Simeon blessed them and said to Mary, his mother, Behold, this child is destined for the fall and rising of many in Israel. The arrival of Christ in the incarnation is salvation to the nations. But lest we forget, he comes with a sword.

And his second coming, the enemies of God will be judged in Israel's own history within 40 years of 70 years of this period, they're going to abandon the true faith because they reject the Christ. Their temple is going to be destroyed and the people of God through persecution are going to be preserved.

The message of Jesus is not all fuzzy and happy. It's a message of condemnation to the earth who doesn't believe in him. Lest we forget, kiss the son, give honor to the king. Lest you be angry and his wrath be kindled but a little.

And for Mary, we always think of Mary and her shock and her magnificat and all the things surrounding this birth. But think about what she's going to experience. Verse 35, A sword will pierce through your own soul also.

Mary's going to be confronted with her need of salvation in her son. And she's going to stand at the foot of the cross and watch her beloved, blessed son, to whom all the promises have been given, to whom the angel has spoken up to her.

She's going to watch him die on the cross. She's going to be pierced with many sorrows. The thoughts of many hearts are going to be revealed. So we see Simeon waiting in faith with hope, with expectancy.

We see him serving. We see him witnessing, proclaiming the truth to Mary even. But we see him also giving thanks and praising God and all of these things we can emulate in them. We can follow him and do this.

Let's quickly consider Anna now. Now there was one Anna, a prophetess, the daughter of Phanuel of the tribe of Asher. I want to pause here really quickly because the tribe of Asher was part of the northern kingdom.

And the vast majority of them had been assimilated into Assyria, never to be seen again. But in the providence of God, Phanuel's family, Anna, she finds herself in Jerusalem. She's not carried away in the Assyria.

I don't know how her family ends up back in Jerusalem. I don't know if they side with Judah hundreds and hundreds of years before. I don't know what happens here. But she is there from the tribe of Asher.

She was there of great age. Now, I think this is how you calculate her life. It says she was of great age and had lived with a husband seven years from her virginity. So let's say that she got married when she was 17, which would not have been unheard of.

She probably became a widow at the age of 24. And for the last 60 years, she has devoted herself to prayer and fasting. That's how I do the math. I break all the parts apart. You and I struggle to keep our eyes open for our last prayer at night.

The bed is too comfortable for us in the morning to crack open the Bible to read it devotionally. And this woman is characterized by a life of selfless service to God through prayer and fasting for 60 years, day and night, praying, fasting, serving God night and day.

I'm challenged by the diligence and devotion of Anna. I have all of the promises of God revealed to me and I don't labor in this way. Not only do I have the incarnation of the Christ, I have all of his teaching, I have it all written in this book and I have his resurrection and his ascension and his reign and his rule.