1 00:00:00,600 --> 00:00:04,760 We'll turn, if you would, to Luke chapter 2. 2 00:00:07,080 --> 00:00:11,160 We'll be in Luke chapter 2. I'm sure that's not a surprise. 3 00:00:12,080 --> 00:00:17,080 It is Christmas. There are other options that we 4 00:00:17,080 --> 00:00:23,480 could be in at Christmas, but Luke 2 is the is the go to. 5 00:00:23,840 --> 00:00:31,240 I guess we'll we'll be at verse 36 is where we'll be when we get 6 00:00:31,240 --> 00:00:33,080 there. The traditional events of the 7 00:00:33,080 --> 00:00:37,400 Christmas story are are well known to all Christians, right? 8 00:00:38,120 --> 00:00:41,080 The birth of Jesus includes 3 wise men bearing gifts. 9 00:00:41,080 --> 00:00:43,960 There were shepherds out in the fields in the in the middle of 10 00:00:43,960 --> 00:00:48,040 the winter and and a baby was born in a stable and there was 11 00:00:48,040 --> 00:00:53,120 no room in the inn. These aspects of the accounts 12 00:00:53,120 --> 00:01:00,880 are firmly fixed in in our popular mind and culture, but 13 00:01:01,760 --> 00:01:05,880 there are a couple characters and moments that tend to escape 14 00:01:05,880 --> 00:01:10,800 people's minds and thoughts when they think of the Christmas 15 00:01:10,800 --> 00:01:14,120 story. I'm going to go out on a limb 16 00:01:14,120 --> 00:01:20,680 and guess that if I asked you who Anna was, you would probably 17 00:01:21,000 --> 00:01:24,800 have no idea. This morning. 18 00:01:25,640 --> 00:01:29,080 We're going to learn what we can from this woman who only appears 19 00:01:29,080 --> 00:01:35,440 in three verses of Scripture. So, but in order to help us 20 00:01:35,440 --> 00:01:39,880 understand our timeline here, I want to take a few minutes to 21 00:01:39,880 --> 00:01:44,240 summarize Luke chapter 2 verses one through 35. 22 00:01:44,240 --> 00:01:48,760 This is just kind of a a fly over of what we see in those 23 00:01:48,760 --> 00:01:52,680 verses and and help give us a little clarity as we approach 24 00:01:52,680 --> 00:01:55,960 this moment where today's passage is. 25 00:01:57,680 --> 00:02:01,320 As chapter 2 commences, we embark on the actual birth 26 00:02:01,320 --> 00:02:07,120 narrative of our Savior. Caesar Augustus had issued A 27 00:02:07,120 --> 00:02:11,360 decree that everyone should go to their hometown in order to be 28 00:02:11,600 --> 00:02:14,880 counted. So Mary and Joseph had to make 29 00:02:14,880 --> 00:02:18,320 the trip from Nazareth, which was way up in the north near the 30 00:02:18,320 --> 00:02:23,400 Sea of Galilee, all the way to the city of David, Bethlehem 31 00:02:23,640 --> 00:02:28,600 down in the South, a trip of nearly 100 miles. 32 00:02:29,280 --> 00:02:33,080 And this was, of course, while Mary was very pregnant. 33 00:02:34,600 --> 00:02:38,920 Now, presumably many other people had returned to Bethlehem 34 00:02:38,920 --> 00:02:44,720 at the same time and for the same reason, so there was no 35 00:02:44,720 --> 00:02:49,840 room for them to stay in what the most texts refer to as the 36 00:02:49,840 --> 00:02:54,600 inn. However, the traditional word 37 00:02:54,600 --> 00:02:57,720 for an inn isn't actually used here. 38 00:02:58,600 --> 00:03:01,600 It's a different word. Instead, Luke used the word 39 00:03:01,880 --> 00:03:07,000 cataluma, which actually refers to a room or or a guest room. 40 00:03:08,080 --> 00:03:11,680 It's possible they were, they were trying to stay with family, 41 00:03:11,680 --> 00:03:17,840 but there wasn't room in the guest room and the stable was 42 00:03:17,840 --> 00:03:22,240 attached to the guest room and, and there was, there were, there 43 00:03:22,240 --> 00:03:28,080 were windows likely going from the stable into the guest room, 44 00:03:28,080 --> 00:03:30,040 kind of like the takeout counter. 45 00:03:30,040 --> 00:03:32,320 When you, when you go up to the takeout counter, there's a 46 00:03:32,320 --> 00:03:38,160 window and, and it separates the kitchen space from, from the 47 00:03:38,160 --> 00:03:42,680 public space, right? That's kind of how it would be 48 00:03:42,960 --> 00:03:46,400 there in a Jewish Home there in the 1st century. 49 00:03:46,760 --> 00:03:50,160 The, the stable would be attached to the home and there 50 00:03:50,160 --> 00:03:54,600 would be windows and under the windows there would be mangers, 51 00:03:54,840 --> 00:03:58,520 the feeding troughs. So that's the animals, whatever 52 00:03:58,520 --> 00:04:01,880 they were, could poke their heads through the window. 53 00:04:02,840 --> 00:04:08,520 I imagine it kind of like Mr. Ed, sorry to digress there for a 54 00:04:08,520 --> 00:04:12,920 second, but poking their head through the window and they 55 00:04:12,920 --> 00:04:19,399 could eat the hay or whatever was set there underneath the 56 00:04:19,399 --> 00:04:23,320 window. So Jesus was born. 57 00:04:23,320 --> 00:04:27,120 He was, He was wrapped in swaddling clothes and he was 58 00:04:27,120 --> 00:04:30,520 laid there in a Manger under the window. 59 00:04:32,160 --> 00:04:35,280 Soon after Jesus was born, a single Angel appeared to the 60 00:04:35,280 --> 00:04:37,160 shepherds who were out in the fields. 61 00:04:37,160 --> 00:04:38,920 They were watching over their sheep. 62 00:04:40,920 --> 00:04:44,760 This Angel told them that he had a message that was good news of 63 00:04:44,760 --> 00:04:47,720 great joy. We heard about that this morning 64 00:04:47,720 --> 00:04:51,240 with the Advent passage. He had a good message of great 65 00:04:51,240 --> 00:04:54,920 joy for all people because the Savior was born in the city of 66 00:04:54,920 --> 00:04:59,120 David and, and they could find him wrapped in swaddling clothes 67 00:04:59,120 --> 00:05:04,760 and lying in a Manger. And the shepherds who were who 68 00:05:04,760 --> 00:05:09,080 are now at this moment witnesses to thousands of angels, no 69 00:05:09,080 --> 00:05:13,960 longer just one, now thousands. They went and found the baby 70 00:05:13,960 --> 00:05:18,400 just as the Angel had said, and they rejoiced that they were 71 00:05:18,400 --> 00:05:21,640 able to witness this miraculous event. 72 00:05:24,280 --> 00:05:29,280 And then the law calls for circumcising boys on the 8th 73 00:05:29,280 --> 00:05:34,240 day. So Jesus was circumcised on the 74 00:05:34,240 --> 00:05:37,960 8th day and there would normally be a ceremony around this and 75 00:05:37,960 --> 00:05:42,400 that's when a Hebrew child would would receive his or or her 76 00:05:42,400 --> 00:05:44,240 name. Girls would go through another 77 00:05:44,240 --> 00:05:47,200 process, obviously not circumcision, but they would 78 00:05:47,200 --> 00:05:51,400 have a celebration also a ceremony also on the 8th day and 79 00:05:51,400 --> 00:05:54,760 they would receive their name. So on the 8th day the baby 80 00:05:54,760 --> 00:06:00,840 received the name Yeshua just as the Angel had instructed. 81 00:06:01,680 --> 00:06:06,280 Why the name Yeshua? Remember in in Hebrew culture it 82 00:06:06,280 --> 00:06:11,600 was common for people to give their babies names that meant 83 00:06:11,600 --> 00:06:14,280 something. They were they were significant. 84 00:06:15,760 --> 00:06:22,080 Yeshua in Hebrew, Jesus or Joshua in English. 85 00:06:22,840 --> 00:06:28,520 These names mean Yahweh saves or the Lord is our salvation. 86 00:06:31,720 --> 00:06:38,840 So that was on the 8th day, but then 40 days after Jesus is 87 00:06:38,840 --> 00:06:42,600 born, he's presented at the temple. 88 00:06:44,080 --> 00:06:47,480 It's important to say that all these keeping of customs, these 89 00:06:47,520 --> 00:06:56,000 aren't just useless details. To me they signify the depth of 90 00:06:56,000 --> 00:07:01,800 Joseph and Mary's faith. They were diligent to keep the 91 00:07:01,800 --> 00:07:03,600 law. They had Jesus circumcised at 92 00:07:03,600 --> 00:07:05,400 the right time. They gave him the right name. 93 00:07:05,600 --> 00:07:09,960 They went to the temple 40 days after Jesus birth so that Mary 94 00:07:09,960 --> 00:07:15,560 could be purified. You see, the law required 7 days 95 00:07:15,560 --> 00:07:19,800 of impurity after the birth of a boy and then another 33 days on 96 00:07:19,800 --> 00:07:24,360 top of that before the mother could be declared ritually pure. 97 00:07:26,360 --> 00:07:32,000 And the piety of this young couple is evidence all through 98 00:07:33,600 --> 00:07:39,320 the whole Christmas narrative. Now as they brought Jesus up to 99 00:07:39,320 --> 00:07:44,400 the temple, they they met an older man there named Simeon, 100 00:07:44,720 --> 00:07:47,000 another minor character in the story. 101 00:07:47,720 --> 00:07:51,160 But he was full of the Spirit, and God revealed to him that he 102 00:07:51,160 --> 00:07:55,440 wouldn't die until he saw the Lord's Messiah or the Anointed 103 00:07:55,440 --> 00:07:58,640 of the Lord. That is the 1 specifically 104 00:07:59,080 --> 00:08:03,680 called to bring redemption to God's people. 105 00:08:05,720 --> 00:08:09,600 Now when this old man saw the baby Jesus, he instantly knew he 106 00:08:09,600 --> 00:08:13,520 was seeing the Messiah, and he proceeded to prophecy over him, 107 00:08:13,800 --> 00:08:17,680 since the Holy Spirit had to reveal to him that the Messiah 108 00:08:18,000 --> 00:08:25,040 this baby would be for both Jews and Gentiles is what Simeon 109 00:08:25,040 --> 00:08:29,120 says. So that brings us up to today's 110 00:08:29,120 --> 00:08:34,159 passage, Luke 2, verses 36 through 38. 111 00:08:35,080 --> 00:08:38,840 So if you're able, would you stand as we read from this 112 00:08:38,840 --> 00:08:49,040 passage beginning at verse 36? And there was a prophetess, 113 00:08:49,120 --> 00:08:52,840 Anna, the daughter Ephanuel of the tribe of Asher. 114 00:08:53,280 --> 00:08:56,360 She was advanced in years, having lived with her husband 115 00:08:56,360 --> 00:09:00,400 seven years from when she was a virgin, and then as a widow 116 00:09:00,400 --> 00:09:04,080 until she was 84. She did not depart from the 117 00:09:04,080 --> 00:09:07,400 Temple, worshipping with fasting and prayer night and day, and 118 00:09:07,400 --> 00:09:11,200 coming up at the that very hour she began to give thanks to God 119 00:09:11,440 --> 00:09:15,600 and to speak of Him to all who were waiting for the redemption 120 00:09:16,080 --> 00:09:18,360 of Jerusalem. You may be seated. 121 00:09:24,720 --> 00:09:28,880 So Anna is there also at the temple on this occasion when 122 00:09:29,000 --> 00:09:34,200 when Simeon has just seen this baby Jesus that at 40 days old 123 00:09:34,200 --> 00:09:39,400 has been presented at the temple, as is customary, Anna's 124 00:09:39,400 --> 00:09:43,280 there also. So let's see what we can learn 125 00:09:43,560 --> 00:09:47,600 about her. So as we look at Anna's 126 00:09:47,600 --> 00:09:52,600 identity, verses 36 and 37 read, there was a prophetess, Anna, 127 00:09:52,600 --> 00:09:55,040 the daughter of Fanwell of the tribe of Asher. 128 00:09:55,400 --> 00:09:59,280 She was advanced in years, and having lived with her husband 129 00:09:59,280 --> 00:10:02,400 seven years from when she was a virgin and then as a widow until 130 00:10:02,400 --> 00:10:07,880 she was 84. Luke is remarkably specific 131 00:10:07,880 --> 00:10:10,120 here. But that's what we expect of a 132 00:10:10,120 --> 00:10:14,320 doctor and historian, right? He's detailed. 133 00:10:15,200 --> 00:10:18,760 So this this means you, you can't write this off. 134 00:10:19,680 --> 00:10:22,840 You can't just sweep these details under the rug. 135 00:10:23,080 --> 00:10:27,320 He's calling these out things out for a reason. 136 00:10:28,920 --> 00:10:33,000 He's referring to a specific person from a specific place and 137 00:10:33,000 --> 00:10:35,760 time. Her father's name is Fanwell, 138 00:10:35,760 --> 00:10:38,640 and she's from the tribe of Asher way up north on the 139 00:10:38,640 --> 00:10:44,200 Mediterranean. Not only do we know where she's 140 00:10:44,200 --> 00:10:49,760 from, we also know that she was married seven years before her 141 00:10:49,760 --> 00:10:54,480 husband died. And now here she is, many years 142 00:10:54,480 --> 00:10:59,720 removed from the days of her youth at the spry young age of 143 00:10:59,720 --> 00:11:04,800 84. In this passage it almost acts 144 00:11:04,800 --> 00:11:08,880 like an aside in Jesus life. It's an honorable mention on the 145 00:11:08,880 --> 00:11:15,000 way from Jesus being presented at the temple at 40 days old to 146 00:11:15,000 --> 00:11:20,440 suddenly Luke jumps from Jesus being 40 days old to suddenly 147 00:11:20,960 --> 00:11:24,120 Jesus is 12 years old when when he goes up to the temple. 148 00:11:25,880 --> 00:11:29,440 Now Anna's story encourages us to take notice of those who 149 00:11:29,680 --> 00:11:33,960 might be overlooked living at the margins of life. 150 00:11:33,960 --> 00:11:36,720 As we've been talking about in this series. 151 00:11:37,880 --> 00:11:42,960 She's a widow. She seems to have no children 152 00:11:42,960 --> 00:11:50,400 around, but God knows her. Her name is called out 153 00:11:50,520 --> 00:11:53,480 specifically. He knows her. 154 00:11:53,640 --> 00:11:56,280 Her father's name is known. Her tribe is known. 155 00:11:56,440 --> 00:11:59,800 God knows when she was married, how long she was married, and 156 00:11:59,800 --> 00:12:06,280 how long she has been alone. He knows that she has been 157 00:12:06,280 --> 00:12:10,200 faithful, staying close to the temple, worshipping, fasting, 158 00:12:10,200 --> 00:12:14,160 and praying over what we could reasonably speculate were long, 159 00:12:14,160 --> 00:12:20,040 lonely years without significant means of income. 160 00:12:22,280 --> 00:12:25,960 Anna has been faithful to God and God has been faithful to 161 00:12:25,960 --> 00:12:31,280 her, knowing her personally and entrusting her to be one of the 162 00:12:31,280 --> 00:12:36,520 first witnesses to proclaim his redemption. 163 00:12:38,720 --> 00:12:44,320 How awesome is that? So I Anna's identity is very 164 00:12:44,360 --> 00:12:49,280 real and specific. Next we'll look at her gifting. 165 00:12:50,320 --> 00:12:55,720 She was a prophetess, the female form of a prophet. 166 00:12:56,320 --> 00:13:00,760 A prophet was a simply a spokesperson who proclaims God's 167 00:13:00,760 --> 00:13:04,920 word and speaks for him. A prophet or prophetess would 168 00:13:05,160 --> 00:13:08,560 proclaim God's word and speak for him. 169 00:13:10,840 --> 00:13:14,840 This person's job was simply to to speak God's words. 170 00:13:14,840 --> 00:13:18,280 They were the messenger, if you will, whether or not their 171 00:13:18,280 --> 00:13:21,600 message was in vogue with their audience. 172 00:13:21,640 --> 00:13:25,600 And often the audience did not want to hear the message that 173 00:13:25,600 --> 00:13:30,680 the prophets would bring. Their message had two basic 174 00:13:30,680 --> 00:13:35,080 components, forth telling and foretelling. 175 00:13:35,920 --> 00:13:39,200 Forth telling is speaking something forth. 176 00:13:40,040 --> 00:13:43,200 This is the bulk of what the prophets did they they spoke 177 00:13:43,200 --> 00:13:47,360 forth the words of God, proclaiming truth and calling 178 00:13:47,360 --> 00:13:52,160 for righteousness. Speaking forth, then the other 179 00:13:52,160 --> 00:13:56,240 part of their message in which people often assume is what they 180 00:13:56,240 --> 00:13:59,160 actually did. This isn't really the bulk of 181 00:13:59,160 --> 00:14:04,480 what they did was foretelling. Foretelling is telling events of 182 00:14:04,480 --> 00:14:08,680 the future events, whether they were events of judgement or 183 00:14:08,680 --> 00:14:14,120 events of salvation. They were sometimes thought to 184 00:14:14,400 --> 00:14:19,440 know the future. And here in this moment, Anna is 185 00:14:19,760 --> 00:14:23,640 is forth, telling. She's declaring who this baby is 186 00:14:25,000 --> 00:14:28,640 and this declaration of who this baby is has significant 187 00:14:28,680 --> 00:14:37,120 ramifications for the future. So the Anna's only one of only a 188 00:14:37,120 --> 00:14:41,200 handful of prophetesses who are who are recorded in Scripture. 189 00:14:42,360 --> 00:14:48,000 There's Miriam, that's Aaron and Moses, sister, the judge 190 00:14:48,000 --> 00:14:52,080 Deborah. And then when King Josiah found 191 00:14:52,080 --> 00:14:55,920 a copy of the law in the temple, he was he was troubled over his 192 00:14:55,920 --> 00:14:59,000 nation's obedience. And so he consulted the 193 00:14:59,000 --> 00:15:05,160 prophetess Holda to understand what would happen. 194 00:15:06,560 --> 00:15:10,360 She told him that that Judah would be judged for its 195 00:15:10,360 --> 00:15:14,560 idolatry. But King Josiah himself, he 196 00:15:14,560 --> 00:15:18,360 would be spared because of his humility and his tender heart 197 00:15:18,360 --> 00:15:23,000 before God. Then, Isaiah's wife was also a 198 00:15:23,000 --> 00:15:28,280 prophetess. And that is the entire list of 199 00:15:28,280 --> 00:15:32,480 prophetesses who are called out by name in Scripture. 200 00:15:34,320 --> 00:15:37,280 There there aren't many of them, and when you consider how many 201 00:15:37,280 --> 00:15:41,280 male prophets there were, the female numbers pale in 202 00:15:41,280 --> 00:15:44,960 comparison. However, it's important to 203 00:15:44,960 --> 00:15:49,440 remind ourselves of the context in which these things happen. 204 00:15:51,160 --> 00:15:54,680 Remember, God is meeting his people where they are in a 205 00:15:54,880 --> 00:15:58,200 particular context, cultural context. 206 00:15:58,920 --> 00:16:03,120 It's easy for us to sit here today and and judge them, but 207 00:16:03,120 --> 00:16:08,120 when we consider the context and and the culture around them, 208 00:16:09,160 --> 00:16:14,520 what God does stands in stark contrast to the culture in their 209 00:16:14,520 --> 00:16:16,880 day and age. The words and testimony of women 210 00:16:16,880 --> 00:16:19,920 were discounted and considered unreliable. 211 00:16:20,800 --> 00:16:26,480 They couldn't even testify in court and they were considered 212 00:16:26,800 --> 00:16:34,480 second class citizens. Yet, God chose to utilize women 213 00:16:34,760 --> 00:16:39,200 to help communicate His message and bring redemption to 214 00:16:39,200 --> 00:16:51,400 humanity. Gabriel's first words to to Mary 215 00:16:51,400 --> 00:16:58,200 were You are highly favored, that is, you are highly graced. 216 00:16:59,040 --> 00:17:03,920 Then when Jesus is 40 days old, here on this occasion God 217 00:17:03,920 --> 00:17:06,480 revealed Jesus identity to this widow Anna. 218 00:17:06,920 --> 00:17:11,200 When Jesus began teaching, women flocked to hear him. 219 00:17:12,640 --> 00:17:18,040 When he encountered the Samaritan woman at the well, He 220 00:17:18,040 --> 00:17:24,000 engaged her and granted her this woman who was so looked down 221 00:17:24,000 --> 00:17:27,599 upon because of the numerous husbands she had had. 222 00:17:29,120 --> 00:17:35,840 He granted her salvation. And then the woman who's caught 223 00:17:35,840 --> 00:17:47,080 in adultery, when she's brought to him by the Pharisees, Jesus 224 00:17:47,080 --> 00:17:54,600 gives her grace and truth. Women were the first ones to 225 00:17:54,600 --> 00:17:59,240 discover that Jesus was no longer in the tomb. 226 00:18:01,160 --> 00:18:04,720 So the transforming power of Jesus had given women the 227 00:18:04,720 --> 00:18:07,520 courage and boldness to openly follow him. 228 00:18:07,520 --> 00:18:11,160 And it all began with a teenage mom named Mary. 229 00:18:11,200 --> 00:18:13,080 And it carried through to this widow, Anna. 230 00:18:14,440 --> 00:18:16,760 She got the pleasure of announcing the Messiah to 231 00:18:16,800 --> 00:18:20,880 everyone that she met. So now let's look at Anna's 232 00:18:20,880 --> 00:18:23,640 calling. You might say, well, you, you 233 00:18:23,640 --> 00:18:26,360 just said she was a prophetess. Isn't that her calling? 234 00:18:26,600 --> 00:18:31,960 No, that's actually her gifting. She was a prophet, but what is 235 00:18:31,960 --> 00:18:34,720 it that Anna was called to? What was her vocation? 236 00:18:34,880 --> 00:18:37,680 What was she doing? How was she spending her time? 237 00:18:37,960 --> 00:18:41,000 Well, verse 37, B told us that she didn't depart from the 238 00:18:41,000 --> 00:18:43,560 temple. She was worshipping with fasting 239 00:18:43,720 --> 00:18:49,160 and prayer night and day. So night and day, Anna was 240 00:18:49,160 --> 00:18:52,440 committed to worshipping God at the temple. 241 00:18:53,720 --> 00:18:55,960 She was committed to worshipping God at the temple. 242 00:18:56,720 --> 00:19:01,320 Obviously she wasn't there 24/7, she she couldn't be, but she was 243 00:19:01,320 --> 00:19:05,120 practically always there. She would regularly find herself 244 00:19:05,120 --> 00:19:08,560 in the court of women offering prayers alongside the other 245 00:19:08,560 --> 00:19:14,600 younger women. Worship wasn't part of her life, 246 00:19:15,440 --> 00:19:20,600 it was her life. And how is it that Anna 247 00:19:20,600 --> 00:19:23,920 worshipped? She worshipped, the text says, 248 00:19:23,920 --> 00:19:30,400 through fasting and prayer. She would observe the major fast 249 00:19:30,400 --> 00:19:34,920 days like Yom Kippur, the the Day of Atonement, as well as 250 00:19:34,920 --> 00:19:40,440 other fast days that were implemented when when the Exiles 251 00:19:40,440 --> 00:19:44,680 had returned back to Israel from the promised back to the 252 00:19:44,680 --> 00:19:46,640 Promised land, from the Babylonian exile. 253 00:19:48,680 --> 00:19:52,120 It's possible she might have even done some of the same 254 00:19:52,120 --> 00:19:54,520 things that Pharisees did and fasted twice a week. 255 00:19:54,760 --> 00:19:57,280 We don't know. The text doesn't tell us 256 00:19:57,280 --> 00:20:03,360 explicitly what her habit was, but it makes it very clear that 257 00:20:03,360 --> 00:20:07,200 fasting was very much part of her life. 258 00:20:08,440 --> 00:20:12,640 And we can also deduce that she was at the temple for each of 259 00:20:12,640 --> 00:20:16,240 the daily prayer times, morning, noon and night. 260 00:20:17,160 --> 00:20:20,240 She was fully devoted in her calling and following Yahweh. 261 00:20:22,440 --> 00:20:26,920 Now it seems to me that when the text calls out her age of being 262 00:20:26,920 --> 00:20:34,200 84, that indicates a a long and single minded devotion to God. 263 00:20:35,720 --> 00:20:38,520 If she'd been a widow in her 20s and regularly attending the 264 00:20:38,520 --> 00:20:41,360 temple, that is of course one thing. 265 00:20:42,720 --> 00:20:46,160 She she was young at one point and could easily worship in that 266 00:20:46,160 --> 00:20:52,080 capacity, right? But here she is some 60 years 267 00:20:52,080 --> 00:20:56,840 later, still attending the temple. 268 00:20:57,400 --> 00:21:00,640 Her devotion to God most certainly could not be called 269 00:21:00,840 --> 00:21:08,040 into question as she had spent 60 years regularly going to the 270 00:21:08,040 --> 00:21:13,080 temple. And then verse 38, we find her 271 00:21:13,080 --> 00:21:18,160 response says coming up at the very hour she began to give 272 00:21:18,320 --> 00:21:22,120 thanks to God and to speak of him to all who were waiting for 273 00:21:22,120 --> 00:21:26,640 the redemption of Jerusalem. So Anna's first response was 274 00:21:26,640 --> 00:21:31,080 thankfulness. She recognized the baby Jesus as 275 00:21:31,080 --> 00:21:33,080 the Messiah and she was grateful. 276 00:21:34,040 --> 00:21:38,560 Now it's amazing to me that that a woman presumably near the end 277 00:21:38,560 --> 00:21:42,920 of her life, like she doesn't have too much time left, right, 278 00:21:42,920 --> 00:21:49,920 especially in their time, 84 years of age was was quite old. 279 00:21:51,280 --> 00:21:56,840 So she's near the end of her life and and this baby isn't 280 00:21:56,840 --> 00:21:59,400 going to make a significant impact in her life. 281 00:22:01,160 --> 00:22:04,840 It's logical to assume that that Anna has passed long before 282 00:22:04,920 --> 00:22:09,440 Jesus even shows up to the temple at 12 years of age. 283 00:22:10,320 --> 00:22:17,720 Anna has probably passed long before that moment, so he's not 284 00:22:17,720 --> 00:22:20,960 going to make a significant impact, change her life, her 285 00:22:20,960 --> 00:22:27,360 conditions or anything. But yet she's grateful, her 286 00:22:27,360 --> 00:22:30,840 heart rejoiced for the salvation that would come to her neighbors 287 00:22:30,840 --> 00:22:36,920 and and she would be able to live and die with the knowledge 288 00:22:36,920 --> 00:22:41,440 knowing she also had seen the Messiah. 289 00:22:44,400 --> 00:22:49,720 And the next thing she did, she proclaimed redemption. 290 00:22:50,280 --> 00:22:52,840 She proclaimed redemption had come. 291 00:22:54,280 --> 00:22:58,800 I imagine her telling every passerby at the temple, everyone 292 00:22:58,800 --> 00:23:02,720 that she met on on her walk home or on her way to the temple each 293 00:23:02,720 --> 00:23:06,560 day, Hey, I met the Messiah, the one who is going to redeem us 294 00:23:06,560 --> 00:23:09,840 from this tyranny. Someday we're going to be free 295 00:23:09,840 --> 00:23:14,800 from Rome. This 84 year old woman comes up 296 00:23:14,800 --> 00:23:17,600 to you and starts proclaiming freedom from Rome. 297 00:23:17,600 --> 00:23:24,200 Are you going to believe her? You're probably going to 298 00:23:24,200 --> 00:23:27,880 question her, right? Sorry lady. 299 00:23:27,880 --> 00:23:33,160 I, I think you're kind of losing it or something. 300 00:23:33,160 --> 00:23:36,640 You have to imagine people thought she was crazy. 301 00:23:39,680 --> 00:23:43,680 Now it's possible that Anna's perspective was more of the 302 00:23:43,920 --> 00:23:48,320 socio political sorts rather than the soteriological sort. 303 00:23:48,320 --> 00:23:53,560 That is, the sort Speaking of God's grace coming into our 304 00:23:53,560 --> 00:23:57,960 lives. But she knew that this was 305 00:23:57,960 --> 00:24:02,920 something important. She knew that this was the one 306 00:24:02,920 --> 00:24:05,720 that Isaiah and the prophets had spoken of. 307 00:24:08,640 --> 00:24:13,920 When the gospel has gripped you, you can't help but speak it out 308 00:24:13,960 --> 00:24:17,600 and share it. You can't help but tell others 309 00:24:17,600 --> 00:24:20,560 the good news. And that's what Anna did. 310 00:24:21,120 --> 00:24:24,680 She proclaimed redemption to everyone that she would see. 311 00:24:26,320 --> 00:24:31,600 So this is Anna's life and there are some things that we can 312 00:24:31,600 --> 00:24:34,520 learn from her. There are three specific lessons 313 00:24:34,720 --> 00:24:37,200 that we can take away from Anna's life. 314 00:24:37,960 --> 00:24:42,400 The 1st is she had an unwavering faith. 315 00:24:45,080 --> 00:24:50,400 She had an unwavering faith. Pardon me for a moment while I 316 00:24:50,840 --> 00:24:57,240 grab something I forgot. I have an illustration and I 317 00:24:57,240 --> 00:25:01,800 forgot to grab a Bible. This is not a Bible, but it will 318 00:25:01,800 --> 00:25:05,880 work. Anna's faith was firmly 319 00:25:05,880 --> 00:25:09,360 grounded. Under no circumstances would she 320 00:25:09,360 --> 00:25:11,840 be. Would she be swayed from the 321 00:25:11,840 --> 00:25:16,360 truth. She wasn't going to follow any 322 00:25:16,360 --> 00:25:19,360 other route. She was firmly committed to 323 00:25:19,400 --> 00:25:23,960 following Yahweh. Psalm one, one through 3 tells 324 00:25:23,960 --> 00:25:30,440 us of this type of person. Blessed is the man who walks not 325 00:25:30,440 --> 00:25:32,560 in the counsel of the wicked, nor stands in the way of 326 00:25:32,560 --> 00:25:37,160 sinners, nor sits in the seat of scoffers, but his delight is in 327 00:25:37,160 --> 00:25:41,200 the law of the Lord, and on his law he meditates day and night. 328 00:25:42,360 --> 00:25:45,400 He's like a tree planted by streams of water that yields its 329 00:25:45,400 --> 00:25:50,200 fruits in its season, and its leaf does not wither, and all 330 00:25:50,200 --> 00:25:57,480 that he does he prospers. Anna was grounded in God's Word 331 00:25:58,160 --> 00:26:00,680 like a tree planted by streams of water. 332 00:26:01,480 --> 00:26:04,960 The tree planted by the stream always has access to water, 333 00:26:04,960 --> 00:26:07,280 right? The rest of the land around 334 00:26:07,280 --> 00:26:16,840 could be barren, but the tree that's planted by the water can 335 00:26:16,840 --> 00:26:21,480 grow. Her roots were deep to soak up 336 00:26:21,480 --> 00:26:25,560 the nutrients of the Word, and there was fruit in her life. 337 00:26:26,520 --> 00:26:30,080 So how do we actualize this in our lives? 338 00:26:31,160 --> 00:26:35,000 There's an illustration that the the Navigators came out a number 339 00:26:35,000 --> 00:26:39,280 of years ago and it's called the hand illustration. 340 00:26:40,120 --> 00:26:44,360 In order to have a solid grasp on your Bible, you need 5 341 00:26:44,760 --> 00:26:50,640 aspects. The pinky is for hearing show up 342 00:26:51,360 --> 00:26:56,360 each week to our services. Not once a month or even twice a 343 00:26:56,360 --> 00:26:59,200 month. Now, regular attendance is 344 00:26:59,200 --> 00:27:01,200 considered roughly twice a month. 345 00:27:03,000 --> 00:27:06,800 Back in the day, we were there every every single week. 346 00:27:06,800 --> 00:27:08,800 We were there on Sunday night. We were there on Wednesday 347 00:27:08,800 --> 00:27:10,080 night. How many of you have lived that 348 00:27:10,080 --> 00:27:10,880 right? I know. 349 00:27:10,880 --> 00:27:12,280 I know a bunch. You did right. 350 00:27:12,440 --> 00:27:13,320 OK. Yeah. 351 00:27:13,880 --> 00:27:17,680 Show up every week. Of course you're going to miss. 352 00:27:17,680 --> 00:27:20,240 Yeah, we get that. Show up every week to be 353 00:27:20,240 --> 00:27:23,200 faithful to hear the word of God. 354 00:27:24,560 --> 00:27:29,200 Next is reading. That's the ring finger reading 355 00:27:29,200 --> 00:27:32,400 the word. Generally speaking, we retain 356 00:27:32,600 --> 00:27:37,920 15% of what we read. Reading is the foundation of our 357 00:27:37,920 --> 00:27:41,600 quiet time with God, right? This isn't just reading a 358 00:27:41,880 --> 00:27:45,440 chapter in the Bible, maybe a couple times a week or or 359 00:27:45,440 --> 00:27:47,960 something like that, or reading a devotional. 360 00:27:48,120 --> 00:27:52,240 This involves actually reading the word and processing it. 361 00:27:52,600 --> 00:27:55,280 Read it, understand it, digest it. 362 00:27:55,520 --> 00:27:56,960 This leads us to the middle finger. 363 00:27:56,960 --> 00:27:59,840 Now you can see why I have three fingers up. 364 00:28:00,400 --> 00:28:01,840 This leads us to the middle finger. 365 00:28:02,320 --> 00:28:05,200 So the middle finger is studying. 366 00:28:06,040 --> 00:28:08,720 Study the word. Studying takes time. 367 00:28:09,440 --> 00:28:13,320 This isn't just 5 minutes. Sure, studying doesn't have to 368 00:28:13,320 --> 00:28:18,760 be an hour, but studying takes investing time into it. 369 00:28:18,800 --> 00:28:23,000 It asks a little bit more of us than just simply reading the 370 00:28:23,000 --> 00:28:26,360 word. Then after that, the fourth 371 00:28:26,360 --> 00:28:29,040 finger, your index finger, is memorizing. 372 00:28:29,320 --> 00:28:32,160 When you memorize the word, this puts the word in you. 373 00:28:32,520 --> 00:28:35,080 It is stored up in your mind, in your heart. 374 00:28:36,320 --> 00:28:41,120 So then in a moment of temptation or or difficulty 375 00:28:41,120 --> 00:28:46,720 trial, whatever the case may be, you're able to recall Scripture 376 00:28:46,720 --> 00:28:49,320 as the Holy Spirit brings that to your remembrance. 377 00:28:49,960 --> 00:28:54,800 And lastly, the thumb is meditating, meditating. 378 00:28:56,040 --> 00:29:00,320 So we meditate on the word, we dwell on it, zinc on it 379 00:29:00,680 --> 00:29:05,480 continually. And the word is like a cow 380 00:29:05,480 --> 00:29:09,960 chewing its cud, which is thoroughly gross, but it's 381 00:29:09,960 --> 00:29:12,680 continually bringing that word back up. 382 00:29:12,800 --> 00:29:15,600 Bring the word back up and meditate and think on that. 383 00:29:15,800 --> 00:29:21,800 So when we have hearing, reading, studying, memorizing, 384 00:29:21,800 --> 00:29:28,040 and meditating, then that gives us a firm hold, a firm grasp on 385 00:29:28,040 --> 00:29:35,280 the Word of God. With all 5 tools, we're able to 386 00:29:35,280 --> 00:29:39,560 move just from simply surface level engagement with the Word 387 00:29:41,120 --> 00:29:44,600 to to letting the Word of Christ richly dwell in you. 388 00:29:44,680 --> 00:29:51,040 As it says in Colossians, the Word starts to become part of 389 00:29:51,040 --> 00:29:54,280 you, to infiltrate every fiber of your being. 390 00:29:54,520 --> 00:30:00,480 So hear it, read it, study it, memorize it, meditate on it in 391 00:30:00,480 --> 00:30:04,480 order to strengthen your grasp on Scripture. 392 00:30:06,080 --> 00:30:09,720 And some people will ask, well, how many days a week do I need 393 00:30:09,720 --> 00:30:13,160 to do this? Do I do this five days a week? 394 00:30:13,160 --> 00:30:16,520 Like it's a job? Do I do it six days a week? 395 00:30:16,520 --> 00:30:21,200 And, and I, I take a day off a, a Sabbath day off or do I do it 396 00:30:21,200 --> 00:30:26,360 every day? Well, I will tell you to do it 397 00:30:26,640 --> 00:30:32,200 every day, but here, here, here's here's the caveat, if you 398 00:30:32,200 --> 00:30:35,280 will. I don't want to encourage you 399 00:30:35,280 --> 00:30:40,640 down downplaying your time, but remember, if you want to develop 400 00:30:40,640 --> 00:30:44,280 your relationship with your spouse, you don't skip days of 401 00:30:44,280 --> 00:30:46,920 communicating, right? And when you don't communicate 402 00:30:46,920 --> 00:30:50,880 for long periods of time, then your relationship with your 403 00:30:50,880 --> 00:30:54,680 spouse starts to suffer. It's the same way with our 404 00:30:54,680 --> 00:30:58,920 relationship with God. Now four days. 405 00:30:58,920 --> 00:31:04,800 There's this thing called the power of 4 four days is is the 406 00:31:04,800 --> 00:31:08,160 mark. It's the point at which somebody 407 00:31:08,160 --> 00:31:12,680 is able to really experience significant growth in their 408 00:31:12,680 --> 00:31:14,760 spiritual life. The Center for Bible Engagement 409 00:31:14,760 --> 00:31:20,080 surveyed more than 100,000 people around the world and they 410 00:31:20,080 --> 00:31:25,960 found that at day four, if people were regularly in the 411 00:31:25,960 --> 00:31:31,360 Word 4 four days a week, then that was the greatest indicator 412 00:31:31,680 --> 00:31:34,360 of their spiritual growth and health. 413 00:31:35,480 --> 00:31:40,640 So at a minimum, spend time in the Word at least four days a 414 00:31:40,640 --> 00:31:45,080 week. But I would encourage you every 415 00:31:45,080 --> 00:31:48,960 single day, make that a habit cannot go a day without being in 416 00:31:48,960 --> 00:31:50,440 the Word. And when you do that, you will 417 00:31:50,440 --> 00:31:53,280 see significant radical changes in your life. 418 00:31:55,320 --> 00:31:58,160 It can be tempting to let time go by without being in the Word, 419 00:31:58,880 --> 00:32:02,560 and before you know it, perhaps you're looking at days, weeks, 420 00:32:02,560 --> 00:32:05,960 even months without being in God's Word. 421 00:32:07,480 --> 00:32:10,120 But one of the best ways to consistently spend time in God's 422 00:32:10,120 --> 00:32:13,120 Word is to find a Bible reading plan that you enjoy. 423 00:32:14,280 --> 00:32:17,400 I'm a huge advocate for reading through the Bible in a year, and 424 00:32:17,400 --> 00:32:21,360 there are a lot of Bible reading plans on EU Version app that I'm 425 00:32:21,360 --> 00:32:24,840 sure probably most of you have downloaded on your phone. 426 00:32:26,760 --> 00:32:34,560 Did you know all it takes is 15 to 20 minutes a day to read 427 00:32:34,560 --> 00:32:39,600 through the Bible in a year? 15 to 20 minutes. 428 00:32:39,840 --> 00:32:45,720 I'm in the 20 range. I read slower, but all it takes 429 00:32:45,720 --> 00:32:51,200 is 15 to 20 minutes a day to read through the entire Bible in 430 00:32:51,200 --> 00:32:56,280 a year. But often people get stuck when 431 00:32:56,280 --> 00:32:59,480 they're reading. Either they're not necessarily 432 00:32:59,480 --> 00:33:04,400 processing what they're reading or or they start at Page 1 and 433 00:33:04,400 --> 00:33:09,040 they end up in Leviticus and they start to tune out. 434 00:33:10,120 --> 00:33:13,960 And I understand it could be difficult to navigate some of 435 00:33:13,960 --> 00:33:18,920 those pages. But that's why I love a couple 436 00:33:18,920 --> 00:33:21,480 of abidable reading plans that I have listed on the notes sheet 437 00:33:22,120 --> 00:33:25,120 because they help you process what you're reading and see the 438 00:33:25,120 --> 00:33:29,080 significance in those pages and in those details. 439 00:33:29,800 --> 00:33:32,160 Couple of the Bible reading plans I have written down there, 440 00:33:33,080 --> 00:33:37,600 There is one story that leads to Jesus, which is by Tim Mackey 441 00:33:37,600 --> 00:33:40,320 and the Bible project. One story that leads to Jesus 442 00:33:40,600 --> 00:33:44,440 actually involves a number of, if you know the Bible Project, 443 00:33:44,440 --> 00:33:47,800 they have videos for every single book of the Bible that 444 00:33:47,800 --> 00:33:52,000 are just absolutely well done. So you'll have videos like that 445 00:33:52,000 --> 00:33:54,480 to watch. You might have blog posts that 446 00:33:54,480 --> 00:33:58,680 they've written to read that relate to that day's reading and 447 00:33:58,680 --> 00:34:02,600 help help you gain clarity of that reading. 448 00:34:02,600 --> 00:34:06,680 Actually, that plan, one story that leads to Jesus actually in 449 00:34:06,680 --> 00:34:12,840 the Old Testament follows the Hebrew order of Scripture rather 450 00:34:12,840 --> 00:34:17,320 than our order that you find in our Bibles. 451 00:34:17,320 --> 00:34:20,639 It actually follows the Hebrew order of the Scriptures. 452 00:34:20,800 --> 00:34:24,920 So it's interesting to read it in that context and understand 453 00:34:24,920 --> 00:34:28,040 how Hebrew people would have related to the word. 454 00:34:28,800 --> 00:34:33,080 And then the other Bible reading plan I have listed is the Bible 455 00:34:33,080 --> 00:34:37,960 Recap by Tara Lee Kabul. This is an excellent resource. 456 00:34:38,639 --> 00:34:46,360 It involves listening to a daily podcast 6789 minutes in length 457 00:34:47,280 --> 00:34:50,639 about your Bible reading plan. And if you want, you can, she 458 00:34:50,639 --> 00:34:53,080 has lots of resources that you can journal. 459 00:34:53,080 --> 00:35:00,960 You can fill out a study guide for each day's reading, an 460 00:35:01,080 --> 00:35:05,440 excellent, excellent resource there as well. 461 00:35:05,440 --> 00:35:10,640 And she utilizes A chronological plan is what she does. 462 00:35:12,120 --> 00:35:14,800 Now's the time to start thinking about these things, right? 463 00:35:15,160 --> 00:35:20,840 Today's the 14th, so the first is like tomorrow, like he's 464 00:35:20,840 --> 00:35:24,480 going to be here so fast, but start thinking about that now. 465 00:35:24,640 --> 00:35:28,560 What does God want for you in this next year? 466 00:35:28,560 --> 00:35:32,840 How can you become further grounded in the faith? 467 00:35:34,120 --> 00:35:37,320 I make it a habit personally each year to go go through the 468 00:35:37,320 --> 00:35:42,000 entire scripture each year. Like I said, it's it's not a 469 00:35:42,240 --> 00:35:45,920 hard thing to do. You just have to be persistent. 470 00:35:46,160 --> 00:35:51,560 Make it a daily habit. But think about that now and see 471 00:35:51,560 --> 00:35:55,320 what God would have for you in this coming year, how He wants 472 00:35:55,320 --> 00:35:58,640 you to grow yourself in your faith this coming year. 473 00:35:59,840 --> 00:36:07,080 And then Anna's faith was unwavering, but it wasn't just 474 00:36:07,080 --> 00:36:11,440 unwavering that that faith, that that depth of faith gave her a 475 00:36:11,480 --> 00:36:16,240 boldness in sharing the gospel. She didn't know she was sharing 476 00:36:16,240 --> 00:36:18,640 the gospel. Maybe she did, I don't know. 477 00:36:18,640 --> 00:36:20,000 She didn't know who it was the gospel. 478 00:36:20,000 --> 00:36:26,960 Maybe I don't know that word specifically, but the shepherds 479 00:36:26,960 --> 00:36:28,960 knew they had. They had been told this is good 480 00:36:28,960 --> 00:36:31,440 news. That is gospel. 481 00:36:32,360 --> 00:36:34,480 So she had boldness in sharing the gospel. 482 00:36:35,040 --> 00:36:36,920 I suspect that more than a few people looked at her and 483 00:36:36,920 --> 00:36:39,480 thought, this lady's crazy. She doesn't know what she's 484 00:36:39,480 --> 00:36:42,320 talking about. This is clearly not the Messiah. 485 00:36:42,680 --> 00:36:48,120 This is a brand new weeks old baby, right? 486 00:36:49,600 --> 00:36:52,840 Nonetheless, she wasn't deterred in sharing the truth that had 487 00:36:52,840 --> 00:36:54,520 been revealed to her by the Holy Spirit. 488 00:36:56,080 --> 00:37:00,080 Now the other day I read an article that said most of the 489 00:37:00,080 --> 00:37:05,400 people around us, they aren't hostile to Jesus. 490 00:37:06,160 --> 00:37:12,200 In the church, we tend to think that that it's an US versus them 491 00:37:12,200 --> 00:37:16,040 kind of situation, right? But that is not the case. 492 00:37:17,080 --> 00:37:22,040 They just haven't really given much thought to Jesus or the 493 00:37:22,040 --> 00:37:24,160 church. And and without a significant 494 00:37:24,160 --> 00:37:28,240 crisis in their life, they're not necessarily going to 495 00:37:29,040 --> 00:37:34,280 suddenly insert Jesus and the church into their very busy and 496 00:37:34,280 --> 00:37:40,840 full schedules. But this article said that all 497 00:37:40,840 --> 00:37:49,520 it takes just engaging them grow that relationship that that that 498 00:37:49,720 --> 00:37:56,840 acquaintance turn them into an actual friend, start on this 499 00:37:56,840 --> 00:38:01,440 path of this journey of engaging with them and having spiritual 500 00:38:01,440 --> 00:38:06,360 conversations with them. An article said that it may take 501 00:38:06,360 --> 00:38:07,600 some time. It's a journey. 502 00:38:07,600 --> 00:38:10,120 It's not a one time, Hey, let's meet for coffee and get you 503 00:38:10,120 --> 00:38:14,160 saved kind of thing. That's that's not how it works 504 00:38:14,160 --> 00:38:18,360 in these situations. But that as you talk about these 505 00:38:18,360 --> 00:38:22,680 things, it may be slow, but they'll get there. 506 00:38:22,680 --> 00:38:26,200 And when they get there, they will reorient their lives around 507 00:38:26,640 --> 00:38:31,080 Jesus Christ. They begin to understand the 508 00:38:31,080 --> 00:38:35,440 need to have him in their life. A very simple step. 509 00:38:35,440 --> 00:38:37,360 This time of year, as I mentioned in the announcements, 510 00:38:38,040 --> 00:38:42,440 it's Christmas Eve. People plan to be in God's 511 00:38:42,440 --> 00:38:44,800 house. People who are never in God's 512 00:38:44,800 --> 00:38:49,640 house, I will say 50 Sundays out of the year, they find 513 00:38:49,640 --> 00:38:56,040 themselves in God's house twice a year, Christmas Eve and 514 00:38:56,040 --> 00:38:57,960 Easter. We call them, of course, 515 00:38:58,680 --> 00:39:02,960 creasters. Was that new for some of you? 516 00:39:05,520 --> 00:39:08,520 So invite people for Christmas Eve. 517 00:39:08,720 --> 00:39:12,480 Let's pack out this place so that they can hear the gospel. 518 00:39:14,640 --> 00:39:16,440 So we've seen Anna's unwavering faith. 519 00:39:16,440 --> 00:39:19,280 We've seen her boldness in in sharing the gospel. 520 00:39:19,280 --> 00:39:22,640 And that brings us to the final point, thankfulness. 521 00:39:25,760 --> 00:39:29,120 I love Anna's spirit of gratitude in this moment. 522 00:39:31,960 --> 00:39:34,520 She could have easily missed this. 523 00:39:36,160 --> 00:39:40,360 Think just thinking to herself, oh there's someone else who's 524 00:39:40,480 --> 00:39:44,200 who's come to the temple to make the necessary sacrifices for for 525 00:39:44,200 --> 00:39:50,240 purification. Think about this moment is when 526 00:39:50,240 --> 00:39:54,320 the baby is 40 years old being presented at the temple so so 527 00:39:54,320 --> 00:40:00,520 that Mary can be purified. This happens all the time. 528 00:40:01,840 --> 00:40:07,560 She's seen this happen so many times in her 84 years of life, 529 00:40:10,280 --> 00:40:19,800 but this time she has the eyes to see this one's different. 530 00:40:20,240 --> 00:40:24,360 This is not like all those other hundreds of times that she'd 531 00:40:24,360 --> 00:40:27,040 seen. This was a normal, common 532 00:40:27,040 --> 00:40:33,000 occurrence, but God moved in her for her to be able to see what 533 00:40:33,000 --> 00:40:35,280 was happening right in front of her. 534 00:40:37,320 --> 00:40:39,600 This posture in our lives is so important. 535 00:40:41,120 --> 00:40:43,640 Though it's not officially listed as a fruit of the Spirit, 536 00:40:43,640 --> 00:40:46,680 it's an important character quality for the Christian to 537 00:40:47,120 --> 00:40:52,000 portray gratefulness. Scripture, of course, repeatedly 538 00:40:52,000 --> 00:40:54,760 calls God's followers to give thanks to Him. 539 00:40:56,000 --> 00:40:59,000 And when I think of the problems associated though with with a 540 00:40:59,000 --> 00:41:03,800 lack of thankfulness, my mind goes to a most peculiar place. 541 00:41:05,080 --> 00:41:09,360 Romans chapter 1. If you know Romans one, your 542 00:41:09,360 --> 00:41:11,120 leg, hold up, where are we going? 543 00:41:11,120 --> 00:41:15,920 This just went sideways, but hang with me for a moment. 544 00:41:17,360 --> 00:41:20,800 Romans chapter 1, verses 20 through 22, you'll find there on 545 00:41:20,800 --> 00:41:27,080 the screen reads For his invisible attributes, namely his 546 00:41:27,080 --> 00:41:30,960 eternal power and divine nature have been clearly perceived ever 547 00:41:30,960 --> 00:41:33,880 since the creation of the world in the things that have been 548 00:41:33,880 --> 00:41:35,880 made. So they are without excuse. 549 00:41:36,120 --> 00:41:39,280 And that is to say that people don't have an excuse for not 550 00:41:39,280 --> 00:41:42,800 wanting to know God because he has revealed himself to them. 551 00:41:42,920 --> 00:41:48,880 So then the next slide says, for although they knew God, they did 552 00:41:48,880 --> 00:41:55,800 not honor him as God or give thanks to him, but instead they 553 00:41:55,800 --> 00:41:58,280 became futile in their thinking and their foolish hearts were 554 00:41:58,280 --> 00:42:03,480 darkened, claiming to be wise. They became fools. 555 00:42:05,560 --> 00:42:08,920 This foolish thinking caused them to think they were so smart 556 00:42:08,920 --> 00:42:11,240 and wise and had everything figured out. 557 00:42:14,200 --> 00:42:17,920 Have you seen media lately? Have you seen the Tik Toks, the 558 00:42:17,920 --> 00:42:20,480 Instagrams, the Reels, all the things? 559 00:42:21,200 --> 00:42:25,000 I think we're seeing that today. People think they have 560 00:42:25,080 --> 00:42:29,280 everything figured out when in reality their hearts have been 561 00:42:29,280 --> 00:42:32,240 darkened. So God gave them up to the lusts 562 00:42:32,240 --> 00:42:34,680 of their hearts, their dishonorable passions and 563 00:42:34,800 --> 00:42:38,480 corrupted thinking that open the door for them to do all sorts of 564 00:42:38,480 --> 00:42:42,520 vile things that should not be done. 565 00:42:46,320 --> 00:42:49,600 All manner of behaviour is on the table with this type of 566 00:42:49,600 --> 00:42:53,000 life. And where did the downward 567 00:42:53,000 --> 00:43:00,000 spiral begin? It all started because they 568 00:43:00,040 --> 00:43:06,800 didn't give thanks to God. They failed to acknowledge God 569 00:43:06,800 --> 00:43:11,440 and give thanks to Him. The beginning of corruption 570 00:43:11,440 --> 00:43:16,880 begins with a lack of gratitude. It was an inability to see the 571 00:43:16,880 --> 00:43:20,800 blessings that were in front of them, to see the person, God, 572 00:43:22,320 --> 00:43:23,880 who had revealed himself to them. 573 00:43:24,480 --> 00:43:29,000 He was the source of it all. Anna recognized that God was 574 00:43:29,000 --> 00:43:31,240 moving. In this seemingly mundane 575 00:43:31,240 --> 00:43:34,160 moment. She'd been diligent to place 576 00:43:34,160 --> 00:43:39,000 herself in the path of hearing from God so when he moved, she 577 00:43:39,040 --> 00:43:42,960 could see it. She she took note of it. 578 00:43:43,120 --> 00:43:47,040 She gave thanks for it, and she didn't let fear hold her back 579 00:43:47,320 --> 00:43:51,440 from proclaiming that God's salvation had come to His 580 00:43:51,440 --> 00:43:54,720 people. That's Anna. 581 00:43:58,200 --> 00:43:59,680 You may not feel like Anna, though. 582 00:44:00,240 --> 00:44:06,400 You might feel overlooked, devalued, or even marginalized. 583 00:44:09,160 --> 00:44:13,760 But God calls each and every one of us to remain faithful to Him, 584 00:44:14,560 --> 00:44:19,280 even when it feels pointless, like we're unseen and nobody 585 00:44:19,280 --> 00:44:24,120 cares. And that's where He'll meet us 586 00:44:24,120 --> 00:44:30,120 and where we will see Him work. His love and redemption are for 587 00:44:30,120 --> 00:44:32,520 all. No matter how far away from Him 588 00:44:32,520 --> 00:44:36,640 you might be or or how marginalized you might feel at 589 00:44:36,640 --> 00:44:45,800 the moment, you have value. God loves you, has a purpose and 590 00:44:45,800 --> 00:44:50,440 calling for you, and He wants to use you. 591 00:44:52,400 --> 00:44:53,960 Let's bow our heads and close our eyes. 592 00:45:02,330 --> 00:45:11,170 Father God, we thank you for including three verses, 3 verses 593 00:45:11,170 --> 00:45:17,970 in scripture. Otherwise we wouldn't know who 594 00:45:18,010 --> 00:45:22,090 Anna was and she has much to teach us. 595 00:45:22,970 --> 00:45:28,800 So we thank you for including her story, her her interaction 596 00:45:28,800 --> 00:45:35,720 with with the baby Jesus. Thank you for her example of 597 00:45:35,720 --> 00:45:41,000 unwavering faith. She was rooted and grounded in 598 00:45:41,000 --> 00:45:53,400 her faith, which enabled her to see who Jesus was, that he was 599 00:45:53,400 --> 00:45:57,880 the Messiah, the one to bring redemption to the people. 600 00:46:00,680 --> 00:46:03,000 Thank you for her boldness and sharing the gospel. 601 00:46:05,920 --> 00:46:07,880 May we have that boldness as well. 602 00:46:10,320 --> 00:46:13,040 And we're grateful for the thankfulness that she displayed. 603 00:46:15,280 --> 00:46:19,920 This moment might not have significantly altered her life, 604 00:46:22,200 --> 00:46:31,560 but she knew that it would change history and she was 605 00:46:31,560 --> 00:46:37,960 thankful. So God, may we live like Anna, 606 00:46:38,520 --> 00:46:44,160 with unwavering faith, boldness and sharing and with grateful 607 00:46:44,160 --> 00:46:46,440 hearts. It's in Jesus name we pray. 608 00:46:47,400 --> 00:46:47,720 Amen.