December 14
2013
Christmas – A Season of Faith Third Sunday of Advent (III of IV)
Christmas – A Season of Faith
Third Sunday of Advent (II of IV)
How are you enjoying this Season of Faith? Have you been listening to the Voice of God? Has He been sharing the message of hope, love and faith with you in new ways? Are you excited to be on this journey? I am! And I’m excited to be sharing it with you.
This week we are going to look at 4 characters in the Christmas message. Joseph, Elizabeth, Simeon and Anna. Each one has a special faith lens for us to look through.
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Joseph
Do You Hear What I Hear?
“Then Joseph, being aroused from sleep, did as the angel of the Lord commanded him and took to him his wife, and did not know her till she has brought forth her firstborn son. And he called His name Jesus.” (Matthew 1:24,25).
Let’s start with Joseph. What do we know about him? Well, based on the genealogy given in the first chapter of Matthew, we know that Joseph was a direct descendant of David, although he was not the physical father of Jesus. We know that he was from Nazareth in Galilee, and that he was betrothed to Mary. We see throughout the Christmas message that he was a man who heard from God and who was obedient to God. We repeatedly hear God giving Joseph direction and Joseph following without question.
To begin with God tells him not to be afraid but to take Mary as his wife, “For that which is conceived in her is of the Holy Spirit.” (Matthew 2:20). And despite the potential for shame and to be shunned for taking Mary as his wife (as she was pregnant before they were married), Joseph was obedient to the Voice of God. Joseph and Mary traveled to Bethlehem to be registered and while there she delivered her Child, in a stable, as “there was no room for them in the inn” (Luke 2:7). After the birth of the Child, God directed Joseph 3 times with regard to where they were to go:
“Arise, take the young Child and His mother, flee to Egypt, and stay there until I bring you word; for Herod will seek the young Child to destroy Him.” (Matthew 2:13).
“Arise, take the young Child and His mother, and go to the land of Israel, for those who sought the young Child’s life are dead.” (Matthew 2:20).
“And being warned by God in a dream, he turned aside into the region of Galilee.” (Matthew 2: 22).
Each time we are told that Joseph heard the Voice of God and was obedient. He was attuned to the Voice of God and as he continued to be obedient, God continued to speak direction into his life. Jesus says in John 10: 27, “My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me.” Joseph knew His God and His Shepherd.
Joseph was also obedient in God’s call on his life to raise a Son who was not his son but the Son of God. No question about what he heard or Who he heard speaking, just simple faith in obedience.
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Elizabeth
I Will Praise Him!
“Now after those days his wife Elizabeth conceived; and she hid herself five months, saying ‘Thus the Lord has dealt with me, in the days when He looked on me, to ‘Take away my reproach among people’”.
(Luke 1: 24, 25).
Elizabeth, the wife of Zacharias, advanced in age and called barren. After her husband hears from Gabriel, the Angel of the Lord, and returns home from his service as a priest in the temple, Elizabeth conceives a child. How amazing that this woman who was advanced in age and was called barren has now conceived – truly a miracle of Almighty God! The Word does not tell us what Zacharias shared with his wife regarding his encounter in the temple, that she would conceive, and that this child would be filled with the Holy Spirit and a forerunner of his Lord. All we are told is that Elizabeth did indeed conceive. And when she conceived, “she hid herself away five months: (Luke 1:24), and she praised her God. She acknowledged the Hand of the Lord in her conception and praised Him for taking away her reproach. She did not question God, “Why at my age do you give me a child?”, “Why did you not answer our prayers earlier?”, “Why did you allow me to live shamed among my people for so long without a child?” I can think of many questions she could have asked. But instead, Elizabeth accepted that the Lord had blessed her with a child and praised Him without question. What a blessing it is to be able to accept and praise the Lord in faith!
“And it happened when Elizabeth heard the greeting of Mary that the babe leaped in her womb; and Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit. Then she spoke out with a loud voice and said, “Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb! But why is this granted to me, that the mother of my Lord should come to me? For indeed, as soon as the voice of your greeting sounded in my ears, the babe leaped in my womb for joy. Blessed is she who believed, for there will be a fulfillment of those things which were told her from the Lord.” (Luke 1:41-45).
The Word tells us that the Lord is enthroned (or inhabits) the praises of His people. “But You are holy, enthroned in the praises of Israel” (Psalm 22:3). Elizabeth had been praising God and now we see her filled with the Holy Spirit as her son testified of his Lord, even from the womb.
We are not given any indication that Elizabeth knew that Mary was carrying the Christ Child in her womb. But the revelation of God allowed her to speak blessing on Mary and the “fruit of her womb”, again marveling and praising God for allowing her to play a role in His great plan. “But why is this granted to me, that the mother of my Lord should come to me?”
Elizabeth’s faith of acceptance and praise led to the Presence of the Holy Spirit and revelation from God.
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Simeon
Seeing is Believing?
“Lord, now You are letting Your servant depart in peace, according to Your Word; for my eyes have seen Your salvation.” (Luke 2:29,30).
Simeon, we are told, “was a man in Jerusalem…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 Sprit that he would not see death before he had seen the Lord’s Christ.” (Luke 2:25, 26).
We are not told that Simeon was serving in the temple, but that he came to the temple. From what we are told we understand that he was an everyday citizen who received a promise from God. The Word tells us that he “he came by the Spirit into the temple. And when the parents brought in the Child, Jesus, to do for Him according to the customs 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, and the glory of Your people Israel.” (Luke 2:27-32). Simeon received a promise from God, that he would see the salvation of God before his death. Simeon’s faith allowed him to live out his everyday life, while waiting on the promise of God. And God fulfilled that promise by allowing Simeon to see the Child, Jesus. Simeon blessed God and acknowledged the fulfillment of God’s promise.
Yet Simeon had only seen the Child. He has not seen the fulfillment of Jesus’ 33 years on earth, his death on the cross, shed blood, or resurrection. Yet Simeon, in faith (and through the revelation of God), believed that this Child, Jesus, that was in the temple, WOULD be the fulfillment of the salvation of the Lord.
He waited in faith on the promise of God and he would CONTINUE to wait in faith, that the Lord would bring that promise to fulfillment through the Child He held in his arms. He was willing to accept that this would happen after “he depart[ed] in peace.”
The faith of Simon could be paralleled to the faith of Abraham and his descendents. Abraham left his country in faith and obedience to the command of God. “Abram dwelt in the land of Canaan…and the Lord said to Abram, after Lot had separated from him: ‘Lift your eyes now and look from the place where you are – northward, southward, eastward, and westward; for all the land which you see I give to you and your descendents forever. And I will make your descendents as the dust of the earth; so that if a man could number the dust of the earth, then your descendants also could be numbered. Arise, walk in the land through its length and its width, for I give it to you. “ (Genesis 13:14-17). God promised Abraham descendents as the “dust of the earth”, although Abraham was advanced in age and his wife Sarah was barren. God also promised Abraham that the land of Canaan would be his. Abraham walked in faith in his everyday life and God showed Abraham and Sarah the beginning of the fulfillment of the promise – in the birth of their son Isaac. But neither Isaac nor his son Jacob saw the fulfillment of the ownership of the land of Canaan. And yet we read in Hebrews that: “These all died in faith, not having received the promises, but having seen them afar off were assured of them, embraced them and confessed that they were strangers and pilgrims on the earth” (Hebrews 11:13).
Simeon’s faith allowed him to live through his everyday life, while waiting on the promise of God. And when God showed him just the beginning of that promise (in the Child, Jesus), Simeon’s faith allowed him to be assured of the fulfillment of that promise, although afar off and beyond his own days and sight.
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Anna
Yet Will I Serve Him!
Anna was a prophetess of God. She knew of the prophecy of the Messiah and the redemption He would bring to God’s people. We are told she 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.” (Luke 2:37).
Like Simeon, Anna’s faith was one that waited on the promise of God – “for unto us a Child is born, unto us a Son is given…upon the Throne of David and over His kingdom, to order it and establish it with judgment and justice…” (Isaiah 9:6,7). Anna’s faith was also one of a lifetime of service, serving Her God in the temple day and night.
In her faith and dedication to God, He revealed the fulfillment of the prophecy to her in “that instant”. She immediately recognized the fulfillment of the promise and began to give God thanks and to spread the “good news” that redemption had come. “And coming in that instant she gave thanks to the Lord, and spoke of Him to all those who looked for redemption in Jerusalem.” (Luke 2:38).
Anna’s faith allowed her to dedicate her life, day and night, to the Lord, as she waited on the promise of a Savior. Her faith also enabled her to be open to receive the gift of the revelation of the fulfillment, give praise to God and began to share the good news.
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Where is your faith this Christmas Season? As you continue to seek a renewed meaning in the Christmas Message, may you find the faith that hears and obeys, the faith that accepts and praises, the faith that waits on the promise, serving as it waits; that your faith would lead you to KNOW the Voice of God, receive the Presence of the Holy Spirit and the revelation of Almighty God.
Let us pray together:
Heavenly Father, He who speaks, fulfills, and reveals, we come before You and cry Holy, Holy, Holy, Lord God Almighty! We are humbled in Your presence this Christmas season as we seek to learn the “faith story”. We are humbled by these men and woman, whose lives You have chosen to be part of the miracle of the birth of the Christ Child. We are humbled by their faith, their obedience, their praise and their service – but we are even more humbled by the thought that you choose to record their stories in Your Word, that we might know and understand that you have also chosen each one of us, as “everyday” as we may be. We know that this journey into faith impacts much more than how we spend our Christmas this year, that it impacts how we live our very lives. We know that you have a plan for each of our lives and we ask as we continue on this journey of faith, that you would grant us wisdom regarding our own faith, where it is and where it needs to be and how to walk that path; that you would reveal to us Your plan for our lives and would grant us the faith to walk it out in obedience and service. We ask it is the precious Name of Jesus, the Christ. Amen and Amen and Amen.