Trusting God's Timing
QUESTION: Did you ever receive a Christmas gift that
turned out to be something totally different then you expected it to be? I mean, you looked it over and sized it
up…you shook it. And you were
just SURE you knew what you were getting! But when you opened it…
“Sometimes
Christmas gifts are real surprises.
Maybe you’ve had that experience.
When I was a kid, I wanted a basketball so bad I could scream. I dropped all kinds of hints. I made false phone calls to my mother in
another voice, telling her that her son really ought to have a basketball. I found the cheapest prices. I dropped those on the breakfast table. You know, all those things. And finally there appeared under the
Christmas tree a box, looked just the size of a basketball. Whew!
I could just feel myself making shots with it. Christmas Day came. I tore into that thing! And it was a world globe. Have you ever tried to dribble a world
globe? I mean, you can’t even inflate
the dumb thing. Unbelievable
surprise! Didn’t look at all like what I
expected!” -Chuck Swindoll
Have
you ever had that happen?
Well
as strange as it may sound this morning, following
God is often very much like opening that unexpected Christmas gift. You THINK you know what you’re getting. But when the wrapping paper of your assumption
is torn away…you’ve got something much
different.
Two truths on this last Sunday of 2013:
“Often, our expectations and God’s
intentions are two very different things.”
“(Many Christians) have discovered that following
Jesus has turned out far differently than expected. They feel confused and disillusioned – maybe
even betrayed by God. …For decades of my
life as a Christian, I didn’t understand, either. And because I didn’t, I fell out of
fellowship. I struggled against
God. I settled for a spiritual
experience often characterized by disappointment, doubt, and even anger.”
“Often,
our timing and God’s timing are two very different things.”
Maybe you’re here today
and at some point in your life, you felt sure that God was giving you a preview
of great things to come
·
Maybe it was in regard to your career /
finances…
·
Maybe it was in reference to your mate…
·
Maybe it had to do with your kids…
·
Maybe it had to do with some area of spiritual service…
Whatever
the area, at one point you felt that you had A DATE WITH DESTINY…but now you’re
starting to wonder if God has STOOD YOU UP.
You thought God had something special for you…but now it’s
been months / years / decades – and still no fulfillment.
Well
my friends, that is EXACTLY where a man named Simeon found himself in
the Gospel of Luke chapter 2.
Luke 2:21-22; 25-26 21And
when eight days were accomplished for the circumcising of the child, his name
was called JESUS, which was so named of the angel before he was conceived in
the womb. 22And 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;
25And,
behold, there was a man in Jerusalem, whose name was Simeon; and the
same man was just and devout, waiting for the consolation of Israel: and
the Holy Ghost was upon him. 26And it was revealed unto him by the
Holy Ghost, that he should not see death, before he had seen the Lord’s Christ.
Now one word absolutely
jumped off the page at me the first time I read this text – and it is the word
“WAITING.”
“There was a man in
Jerusalem named Simeon…and he was WAITING.”
Now let’s set the stage
just a bit. Forty days prior, Jesus
Christ had been born in Bethlehem and was now being taken to the temple in Jerusalem for the purification rites described
in Leviticus 12.
“In that city of Jerusalem there was a company
(however large or small we have no means of knowing – perhaps a very small
company) of devout souls who were looking for the redemption of Israel; and it
is evident that they were accustomed to foregather in the Temple courts to pray,
and perhaps sing songs of hope, and talk to one another.”
So there was a group of
people gathered in Jerusalem, WAITING for the coming of the promised Jewish
Messiah…and one of them was named Simeon. Now the text tells us several things about
the man.
Luke 2:25-26 25And, behold, there
was a man in Jerusalem, whose name was Simeon; and the same man was
just (upright) and devout (dedicated to the service of
God), waiting for the consolation of Israel (coming of the Messiah):
and the Holy Ghost was upon him. 26And it was revealed unto him by
the Holy Ghost, that he should not see death, before he had seen the Lord’s
Christ.
Oh, now get this. God had given Simeon a preview of
things to come in his life! Simeon had a
date with destiny…to physically see Jesus Christ before he died.
But before you get too
jealous…realize this: Tradition tells us that by the time the events of our
text transpired – Simeon was 113 years
old! Now allow me a little
conjecture at this point. You see, I
just believe that Simeon received this promise from God much earlier in his
life. I think that somewhere around his
mid 40’s the Holy Spirit told Simeon, “You’re not going to die until you’ve
seen the Lord’s Christ.” And then he had
WAITED, and WAITED, and WAITED…
That might be right where your at today - God has shown you He wants to use you. By the way, I believe it IS God's will; to give you a marriage that honors Him, to honor Him in your finances, to raise kids in the fear and admonition of the Lord. You say, "but Preacher, I've waited SO LONG."
What would he do? What would WE do?
Luke 2:27-32 And (one day, Simeon) came by
the Spirit into the temple: and when the parents brought in the child Jesus, to
do for him after the custom of the law, 28Then took he him up in his
arms, and blessed God, and said, 29Lord, now lettest thou thy
servant depart in peace, according to thy word: 30For mine eyes have
seen thy salvation, 31Which thou hast prepared before the face of
all people; 32A light to lighten the Gentiles, and the glory of thy
people Israel.
Simeon KEPT ON
waiting, KEPT ON serving, KEPT ON trusting…in spite of this terribly
long delay. HOW?!
(3 things:)
·
SIMEON UNDERSTOOD THAT HIS DESTINY WAS
TIED TO THE DAILY.
Luke 2:25-30A 25And, behold, there
was a man in Jerusalem, whose name was Simeon; and the same man was
just and devout, waiting for the consolation of Israel: and the Holy Ghost was
upon him. 26And it was revealed unto him by the Holy Ghost, that he
should not see death, before he had seen the Lord’s Christ.
And he came by
the Spirit into the temple: and when the parents brought in the child
Jesus, to do for him after the custom of the law, 28Then took he him
up in his arms, and blessed God…
Now get this. Long before Christ was born…Simeon was
serving God on a daily basis. Verse 25 says
that “the Holy Ghost was upon him.”
Verse 26 says that the Holy Ghost was talking to him. And then in verse 27, the Bible tells us that
on the particular day when Simeon was going to fulfill his destiny…the Holy
Ghost led him into the temple.
But here’s the thing? If Simeon
hadn’t been listening to the Holy Ghost back in verses 25-26…do you think he’d
have fulfilled his destiny in 27?
Oh friend, listen to me! Your destiny is not decided primarily in the
great CRISIS moments of your life. Your
destiny is decided in the small, seemingly insignificant decisions of your everyday life.
“Great occasions do not make heroes or cowards; they
simply unveil them to the eyes of men.
Silently and imperceptibly, as we wake or sleep, we grow and wax strong,
we grow and wax weak; and at last some crisis shows us what we have become.”
It’s the small things that
you do for Christ when no one is watching that ultimately determine your
destiny. It’s the tiny compromises with
sin that you make behind the scenes that ultimately determine what you become. That which is done from day to day behind
closed doors. The secret devotion. The oft-used prayer closet. The tithe and love offering. Or on the other side of the coin – the casual
lying, the lustful thoughts, the slightly shady business deals. All are done in the privacy of your life until
one day some crisis brings them out into the light and shows you and everyone
else what you have become.
“You can map out a fight plan or a life plan. But when the action starts, you’re down to
your reflexes. That’s where your road
work shows. If you cheated on that in
the dark of the morning, you’re getting found out now under the bright lights.” -Joe Frazier
·
SIMEON’S LIFE WAS CENTERED AROUND GOD…NOT
SIMEON.
Luke 2:28-29 28Then took he him
up in his arms, and blessed God, and said, 29Lord, now lettest thou thy servant depart in peace, according
to thy word…
Lord – “One
who rules with unlimited authority; A Master.”
Servant – “slave”
Simeon – “One
who hears and obeys.”
·
SIMEON SAW HIS LIFE IN ETERNAL PERSPECTIVE.
Luke 2:28-32 28Then took he him
up in his arms, and blessed God, and said, 29Lord, now lettest thou
thy servant depart in peace,
according to thy word: 30For mine eyes have seen thy salvation, 31Which
thou hast prepared before the face of all people; 32A light to
lighten the Gentiles, and the glory of thy people Israel.
The term “depart” in the
New Testament is really interesting – because there are 22 different Greek
terms that translate into that one English word.
“The word depart in the Greek has several meanings,
and each of them tells us something about the death of a Christian. It means to release a prisoner, to untie a
ship and set sail, to take down a tent and to unyoke a beast of burden.” -Warren Wiersbe
One of the hardest
things about “waiting” is that we feel strained by the brevity of life. Hey, the clock is ticking! So we feel that we’ve got to do something
NOW!
But I love what I read
this week:
“Since God is working
for eternity, why should we be concerned about the time involved?”
There are those who teach what we call the prosperity gospel which says you are never supposed to struggle financially, you were built to be wealthy. healthy, to basically conquer in every part of life. I have to tell you, I absolutely disagree with the prosperity gospel. I will tell you one thing that's accurate - my friends are struggling with cancer, heart disease, with some malady that threatens to take your life God may very well heal you in these days to come. Let me tell you something, He's gonna heal you one way or another. In the real life, the NEXT life, where you know you are there and you're personality continues to exist. Where every mark of sinful, fallen humanity ceases to exist - from sadness, to brokenness, to abuse - all of it will be healed! Every sickness, every pain, every trouble, every trial. We don't have to try to wring out of every drop of joy from this life. We can lose and suffer for Jesus because we know THERE IS MORE TO COME.
CONCLUSION:
“If God told you on
the front end how long you would wait to find the fulfillment of your desire or
pleasure or dream, you’d lose heart.
You’d grow weary in well doing.
So would I. But He doesn’t. He just says, ‘Wait. I keep My word. I’m in no hurry. In the process of time I’m developing you to
be ready for the promise.” -F.B.
Meyer
