1 00:00:02,520 --> 00:00:06,080 Welcome on this snowy Sunday morning. 2 00:00:06,080 --> 00:00:09,160 Here's we close off November going to ask you to turn in your 3 00:00:09,160 --> 00:00:15,360 Bibles to Luke chapter 2. Luke chapter 2 verses 25 to 35. 4 00:00:15,360 --> 00:00:18,080 It is our first Sunday. This is the first Sunday of 5 00:00:18,080 --> 00:00:20,000 Advent. So as you've already heard this 6 00:00:20,000 --> 00:00:23,480 morning we're going to be looking at the theme of hope in 7 00:00:23,480 --> 00:00:27,200 the life of Simeon. Some of you are like, wait, 8 00:00:27,640 --> 00:00:29,480 didn't we just finish Luke chapter 6? 9 00:00:29,480 --> 00:00:32,920 Are we actually going backwards in Luke? 10 00:00:32,920 --> 00:00:36,200 It just so happens that three of the four stories and many of the 11 00:00:36,200 --> 00:00:39,560 stories that surround Jesus's birth, the individuals that are 12 00:00:39,560 --> 00:00:44,080 part of the story of the birth of the Christ child are in Luke. 13 00:00:44,720 --> 00:00:49,560 Some of you are like, how long, O Lord, until we finish Luke? 14 00:00:50,200 --> 00:00:56,120 You are in the Advent spirit because Advent is about waiting. 15 00:00:56,120 --> 00:01:00,080 It's about longing. It's about expectation. 16 00:01:00,080 --> 00:01:04,560 And I don't know about you, but I stink at waiting. 17 00:01:05,160 --> 00:01:08,360 I am not. I'm not a good waiter. 18 00:01:08,600 --> 00:01:12,760 I like at the doctor's office. You know the doctor's office 19 00:01:12,760 --> 00:01:16,880 where you wait in the waiting room and then it's past your 20 00:01:16,880 --> 00:01:19,120 appointment time. So then they bring you back and 21 00:01:19,120 --> 00:01:24,120 then you go into a room and then you wait in the room, right? 22 00:01:24,120 --> 00:01:27,680 And it's like you're sitting, you're looking at your watch. 10 23 00:01:27,680 --> 00:01:32,440 minutes, 20 minutes go past. You're pretty sure that the 24 00:01:32,440 --> 00:01:35,840 doctor has retired and no one is rescuing you from this room. 25 00:01:35,840 --> 00:01:40,440 At this point. When you phone up to Bell or 26 00:01:40,440 --> 00:01:44,600 Rogers or any other company really right to customer service 27 00:01:45,760 --> 00:01:49,280 and it says, and you know, you know the script if you've called 28 00:01:49,920 --> 00:01:55,520 due to higher than expected call volume, which is apparently all 29 00:01:55,520 --> 00:01:58,000 the time, they just don't expect any calls. 30 00:01:59,000 --> 00:02:02,520 All of our agents are currently unavailable. 31 00:02:02,800 --> 00:02:04,960 Please wait for the next available agent. 32 00:02:04,960 --> 00:02:07,200 And I'm like, I do not want to wait. 33 00:02:08,360 --> 00:02:11,720 Maybe you've been at that spot where you're at the the airport 34 00:02:11,720 --> 00:02:18,000 gate and it says on the board that your plane is going to 35 00:02:18,000 --> 00:02:20,240 depart on time and you're looking at your gate. 36 00:02:21,080 --> 00:02:23,680 There's no plane at the gate and you're supposed to leave in 15 37 00:02:23,680 --> 00:02:26,720 minutes. And so then they switch it right 38 00:02:27,000 --> 00:02:29,640 delayed and they push it back. There's a standard amount. 39 00:02:29,640 --> 00:02:33,800 They push it back and, and, and then they delay it again. 40 00:02:34,600 --> 00:02:38,400 And you get to the point where instead of having prayers that 41 00:02:38,400 --> 00:02:41,960 are Lord, not not my will, but your will be done. 42 00:02:42,560 --> 00:02:48,840 Your prayer is instead, Lord, oh Lord, how long? 43 00:02:49,680 --> 00:02:55,800 How long would you, would you allow your servant to suffer 44 00:02:55,800 --> 00:03:00,800 smite Air Canada? The worst for me though, is 45 00:03:00,800 --> 00:03:03,920 traffic. The traffic, I'm not, I'm not, 46 00:03:04,040 --> 00:03:05,960 I'm not good. Especially when you're in that 47 00:03:05,960 --> 00:03:10,680 spot where you don't know why you're waiting in the traffic. 48 00:03:11,840 --> 00:03:15,360 And then and then of course, you come and, and after like 30 49 00:03:15,360 --> 00:03:20,080 minutes of stop and go traffic, it just starts going and there's 50 00:03:20,080 --> 00:03:23,000 nothing there. And you think what, what was 51 00:03:23,080 --> 00:03:25,840 what was the waiting about? We don't like to wait. 52 00:03:27,800 --> 00:03:30,040 There's a feeling that comes in waiting. 53 00:03:30,040 --> 00:03:32,160 It's the feeling of powerlessness, right? 54 00:03:32,720 --> 00:03:35,800 That's that mean. That's why I get so frustrated 55 00:03:36,200 --> 00:03:39,080 on the I just want to know as if knowing what would be causing 56 00:03:39,080 --> 00:03:40,720 the waiting would make it any better. 57 00:03:40,840 --> 00:03:44,920 But I feel so powerless. I feel so in the dark and, and 58 00:03:44,920 --> 00:03:47,840 when we're in that spot where we just feel like we've got no 59 00:03:47,840 --> 00:03:53,840 control, we can feel anxiety in US rise up, fear in US rise up. 60 00:03:53,840 --> 00:03:59,400 Sometimes anger in US rise up because ultimately that is the 61 00:03:59,400 --> 00:04:02,360 issue. It's an issue that we want 62 00:04:02,360 --> 00:04:06,360 control and we don't have it. And, and it's one thing to be 63 00:04:06,360 --> 00:04:13,280 stuck waiting for a doctor or for a plane or for an accident, 64 00:04:13,280 --> 00:04:17,279 but it's a whole other thing when we're waiting for what some 65 00:04:17,279 --> 00:04:20,640 of us in this room are watching online or listen to this later, 66 00:04:20,640 --> 00:04:24,800 what you're waiting for. It's a whole nother thing when 67 00:04:24,800 --> 00:04:26,320 you're waiting for healing, isn't it? 68 00:04:28,040 --> 00:04:33,760 It's a whole nother thing when you're waiting on a job or on a 69 00:04:33,760 --> 00:04:40,040 dream or on a spouse for a child. 70 00:04:43,200 --> 00:04:47,640 In the waiting, when we just feel and sense that things are 71 00:04:47,640 --> 00:04:52,360 out of our control, that's when the whispers start to click in. 72 00:04:53,240 --> 00:04:56,680 And you know the whispers, I'm talking about whispers. 73 00:04:56,680 --> 00:05:01,440 Like what if nothing in this ever changes? 74 00:05:02,040 --> 00:05:09,040 What if this is just it? What if God's not listening 75 00:05:09,040 --> 00:05:14,600 anymore? What if there's no hope? 76 00:05:17,000 --> 00:05:23,480 And if you're struggling with waiting when those whispers get 77 00:05:23,480 --> 00:05:27,840 loud in your ear, the Holy Spirit wants you to hear a 78 00:05:27,840 --> 00:05:31,680 different word this morning. He wants you to understand that 79 00:05:31,680 --> 00:05:35,920 hope is not gone. Hope is coming. 80 00:05:38,640 --> 00:05:44,960 Today's story is about a guy who spent an entire life waiting. 81 00:05:46,800 --> 00:05:49,960 As Mike said, it's the story of a guy by the name of Simeon. 82 00:05:50,920 --> 00:05:58,760 And this story is a reminder that those who wait on God never 83 00:05:58,760 --> 00:06:01,720 wait in vain. No matter how long you're 84 00:06:01,720 --> 00:06:05,040 waiting. The hope for all those who wait 85 00:06:05,040 --> 00:06:08,080 on God is that you never wait in vain. 86 00:06:08,080 --> 00:06:10,560 So let's let's read this story together. 87 00:06:10,560 --> 00:06:13,240 Let's work our way through it and and see what we can learn 88 00:06:13,240 --> 00:06:17,680 about hope today. Verse 25 starts. 89 00:06:17,680 --> 00:06:21,400 It says there was a man in Jerusalem whose name was Simeon. 90 00:06:22,720 --> 00:06:25,440 This man was righteous and devout. 91 00:06:26,560 --> 00:06:29,920 He was looking forward to Israel's consolation, and the 92 00:06:29,920 --> 00:06:34,200 Holy Spirit was on him. It had been revealed to him by 93 00:06:34,200 --> 00:06:39,320 the Holy Spirit that he would not see death before he saw the 94 00:06:39,320 --> 00:06:44,960 Lord's Messiah. Simeon had been waiting a long 95 00:06:44,960 --> 00:06:47,920 time. He'd been waiting his whole life 96 00:06:47,920 --> 00:06:52,520 through circumstances that quite honestly, didn't offer a lot in 97 00:06:52,520 --> 00:06:59,840 the way of hope. See, for 400 years now, God has 98 00:06:59,840 --> 00:07:06,080 appeared to go silent. There's been no prophetic word 99 00:07:06,080 --> 00:07:09,800 to the people of Israel. They were in the waiting and 100 00:07:09,800 --> 00:07:15,160 they were in the waiting through first a Greek occupation of the 101 00:07:15,160 --> 00:07:18,240 of the land of Israel, and now Roman occupation. 102 00:07:18,240 --> 00:07:21,040 And they were both brutal occupations of oppression. 103 00:07:22,760 --> 00:07:28,160 It was so easy to think in the midst of all of that, that God 104 00:07:28,160 --> 00:07:35,360 had given up on Israel, that God maybe had moved on, or maybe 105 00:07:35,360 --> 00:07:40,160 he'd forgotten his promises. And it's easy for us to get in 106 00:07:40,160 --> 00:07:45,840 that spot too, isn't it? Where we start to wonder, God, 107 00:07:45,840 --> 00:07:51,320 are you still out there? Because God seemed to go silent. 108 00:07:53,120 --> 00:07:56,160 God, do you remember the promises of your word? 109 00:07:56,160 --> 00:07:58,120 Because I'm not seeing them in action. 110 00:07:59,520 --> 00:08:02,120 And then we start to think, well, if God's moved on, maybe I 111 00:08:02,120 --> 00:08:06,160 should move on too. Maybe I should just give up on 112 00:08:06,160 --> 00:08:10,960 prayer. Maybe I should get angry. 113 00:08:10,960 --> 00:08:13,400 Maybe I should allow bitterness to sink in. 114 00:08:14,560 --> 00:08:16,880 If God's not going to do anything to take control here, 115 00:08:16,880 --> 00:08:19,520 maybe I need to take matters into my own hands. 116 00:08:20,800 --> 00:08:24,120 But that's not Simeon's story. Simeon in the midst of this 117 00:08:24,120 --> 00:08:29,840 waiting, it says he was righteous and devout. 118 00:08:31,000 --> 00:08:35,760 He was steadfast and faithful, trusting in order. 119 00:08:35,760 --> 00:08:37,360 That doesn't mean Simeon didn't have doubts. 120 00:08:37,360 --> 00:08:40,039 I can almost assure you Simeon had moments where he was 121 00:08:40,039 --> 00:08:42,240 doubting, where he was struggling. 122 00:08:43,200 --> 00:08:46,360 But he stood firm in the midst of his doubts. 123 00:08:46,920 --> 00:08:51,200 He doesn't get bitter. He doesn't get cynical, he 124 00:08:51,200 --> 00:08:54,480 doesn't get jaded. He remains faithful. 125 00:08:55,520 --> 00:08:59,920 He remains holding on to the hope of the truth of the promise 126 00:08:59,920 --> 00:09:04,000 that God had given him. So how does Simeon do that? 127 00:09:04,000 --> 00:09:06,920 How does Simeon hold on in the waiting? 128 00:09:06,920 --> 00:09:08,920 How does he not give up? How does he not lose hope? 129 00:09:08,920 --> 00:09:11,320 Well, I think there's a few things that we see here about 130 00:09:11,320 --> 00:09:14,600 the nature of a hope that can hold firm in the midst of the 131 00:09:14,600 --> 00:09:17,400 waiting. The 1st is this hope looks 132 00:09:17,400 --> 00:09:20,480 forward in faith. If you're going to have a hope 133 00:09:20,480 --> 00:09:24,720 that holds on, you need a hope that looks forward in faith. 134 00:09:25,360 --> 00:09:29,960 Simeon is not in this passage, waiting with folded arms, 135 00:09:30,920 --> 00:09:35,680 tapping his foot right. He was waiting with eyes open, 136 00:09:35,680 --> 00:09:37,120 looking forward. Look what it says. 137 00:09:37,280 --> 00:09:41,040 He's looking forward to Israel's consolation. 138 00:09:41,240 --> 00:09:45,160 There's something out there that he can see that he holds on to. 139 00:09:45,160 --> 00:09:49,520 It's Israel's consolation. His hope is not based on his 140 00:09:49,520 --> 00:09:53,760 current situation. His hope is rooted in God's 141 00:09:53,760 --> 00:09:59,040 promise. The God would send a Messiah. 142 00:09:59,040 --> 00:10:02,200 He would send a rescuer. He would save his people. 143 00:10:03,440 --> 00:10:10,600 He was rooted in that person, in the reality of the Messiah, that 144 00:10:10,600 --> 00:10:13,000 that's what we're talking when when it says he looked forward 145 00:10:13,000 --> 00:10:15,640 to Israel's consolation. He's looking forward to this 146 00:10:15,640 --> 00:10:19,840 promise of the Messiah, the promise that there is a rescuer 147 00:10:19,840 --> 00:10:27,280 coming who would bring an end to Israel's grief, who would bring 148 00:10:27,280 --> 00:10:31,800 an end to God's people in in in their suffering. 149 00:10:31,800 --> 00:10:34,280 It's the promise that comfort is coming. 150 00:10:34,280 --> 00:10:37,680 That's consolation. Is is the word comfort? 151 00:10:39,280 --> 00:10:43,360 It's this promise that that reversal is coming, that hope 152 00:10:43,360 --> 00:10:47,480 isn't lost. A lot of people talk about hope. 153 00:10:51,040 --> 00:10:54,800 I hope that John doesn't get my name in the gift exchange 154 00:10:55,480 --> 00:10:57,680 because I know the type of gift that he gets. 155 00:10:57,680 --> 00:11:02,800 So let it be anyone else. Lord, I hope when I go to the 156 00:11:03,680 --> 00:11:06,920 Christmas gathering this year that grandma doesn't ask if I'm 157 00:11:06,920 --> 00:11:12,440 seeing anybody yet or when are you 2 going to have a baby? 158 00:11:14,480 --> 00:11:16,000 A lot of people come into a new year. 159 00:11:16,000 --> 00:11:18,760 We're going to come into 2026 and a lot of people are going to 160 00:11:18,760 --> 00:11:23,840 have hope right there. A man, I hope 2026 is better 161 00:11:23,840 --> 00:11:30,960 than 2025, but that's not the hope That that's that's that's 162 00:11:30,960 --> 00:11:35,000 wishing, that's wanting. That's not hope. 163 00:11:36,000 --> 00:11:39,160 Biblical hope is anchored in reality. 164 00:11:40,280 --> 00:11:43,440 It's anchored in truth. It's anchored in the promises of 165 00:11:43,440 --> 00:11:44,400 God. It's not. 166 00:11:45,280 --> 00:11:49,280 It's not found in our current predicament or circumstances. 167 00:11:51,000 --> 00:11:54,120 Our faith is in the promise of God and that is rooted in the 168 00:11:54,120 --> 00:11:57,800 person of God. It's rooted in his character. 169 00:11:57,800 --> 00:12:01,280 It's rooted in who he is, in his unchanging nature. 170 00:12:01,280 --> 00:12:04,760 We've sung about it today. The God is faithful. 171 00:12:05,080 --> 00:12:10,040 That's where hope is found in the faithfulness of God to his 172 00:12:10,040 --> 00:12:13,800 word and to his promises. And I know for some of you this 173 00:12:13,800 --> 00:12:18,320 is really hard because you had a lot of people in your life make 174 00:12:18,320 --> 00:12:22,000 you promises that turned out to be pretty empty. 175 00:12:23,680 --> 00:12:28,760 And, and, and even as human beings, when we make promises, 176 00:12:29,080 --> 00:12:34,240 even with the best of intentions of keeping those promises, we 177 00:12:34,240 --> 00:12:37,560 don't have full ability to ensure the outcome of them, do 178 00:12:37,560 --> 00:12:38,080 we? Right. 179 00:12:39,440 --> 00:12:42,960 But a year ago, in fact, it'll be a year ago, I think this 180 00:12:42,960 --> 00:12:50,560 coming week, I made a commitment that I was going to do my best 181 00:12:50,880 --> 00:12:55,280 to get healthier. I, I recognize, man, I'm, I'm 182 00:12:55,760 --> 00:12:58,480 last year I was sitting there, I'm like, I'm 45. 183 00:12:59,720 --> 00:13:05,080 If I want to love and serve my family for as long as I can, if 184 00:13:05,080 --> 00:13:08,800 I want to love and serve my God and his church for as long as I, 185 00:13:08,800 --> 00:13:14,600 I need to do some things. I need to get healthy, but I 186 00:13:14,600 --> 00:13:21,840 can't ensure how long I'll live. I can ensure the effort that I 187 00:13:21,840 --> 00:13:24,280 put into that, but I can't ensure the ending. 188 00:13:25,560 --> 00:13:29,640 And this is what sets God apart. Because when God makes a 189 00:13:29,640 --> 00:13:32,920 promise, he's in control of everything. 190 00:13:33,920 --> 00:13:38,320 He's not just making a promise to put in his best efforts to 191 00:13:38,320 --> 00:13:41,920 give it his best shot. When he makes a promise, he can 192 00:13:41,920 --> 00:13:43,840 ensure that that promise is kept. 193 00:13:43,840 --> 00:13:45,840 He gets to ensure the ending of it. 194 00:13:47,080 --> 00:13:51,080 And because he's he's unchanging, he also never 195 00:13:51,080 --> 00:13:52,800 changed it. It's not like he's like, I made 196 00:13:52,800 --> 00:13:54,920 that promise. But you know, I've been thinking 197 00:13:54,920 --> 00:13:59,760 about it a little bit. You know, I told, I told them 198 00:13:59,760 --> 00:14:02,840 that if they place their faith in Jesus, they're saved. 199 00:14:02,840 --> 00:14:06,240 But I didn't really know what I was getting into with that 200 00:14:06,240 --> 00:14:11,400 person. And when he makes a promise, 201 00:14:11,400 --> 00:14:14,560 because he loves us, his promises are always for our 202 00:14:14,560 --> 00:14:20,720 best. This is so so our our hope is 203 00:14:20,720 --> 00:14:24,280 rooted in the promises of God, and those promises are rooted in 204 00:14:24,280 --> 00:14:26,720 the person of God. And God never fails. 205 00:14:27,440 --> 00:14:30,840 And that's why we can have hope. Simeon knew all of this about 206 00:14:30,840 --> 00:14:36,160 God. He knew that God was a promise 207 00:14:36,160 --> 00:14:38,680 keeper. And God by his spirit had spoken 208 00:14:38,680 --> 00:14:41,680 a promise to Simeon. And the promise was this, that 209 00:14:41,680 --> 00:14:46,160 he would not see death before the Lord's Messiah came. 210 00:14:47,600 --> 00:14:52,360 And so every morning, old Simeon would open his eyes. 211 00:14:54,280 --> 00:14:58,800 Maybe he'd sit there, and he'd stretch the stiffness out that 212 00:14:58,800 --> 00:15:02,720 comes when the number strikes, strikes four in the beginning of 213 00:15:03,400 --> 00:15:05,880 your age and has another number after it. 214 00:15:08,440 --> 00:15:13,320 He'd walk towards the temple, and he'd think to himself, 215 00:15:15,960 --> 00:15:21,360 Hope's not gone. Hope's coming because my God has 216 00:15:21,360 --> 00:15:24,120 promised and he's faithful to his promises. 217 00:15:25,640 --> 00:15:27,160 So here's my question for you this morning. 218 00:15:27,160 --> 00:15:29,160 What are you waiting for? Right? 219 00:15:29,160 --> 00:15:32,560 Let's, let's, let's make this real to our lives. 220 00:15:32,560 --> 00:15:38,640 What are you waiting for? Some of you, I know in this room 221 00:15:38,640 --> 00:15:42,120 today, have test results that you're waiting on. 222 00:15:45,000 --> 00:15:49,840 Some of you are waiting on a marriage to get healed. 223 00:15:52,680 --> 00:15:55,200 Some of you are waiting on a prodigal son to come home. 224 00:15:57,960 --> 00:16:02,240 Some of you are just waiting there for the the loneliness and 225 00:16:02,240 --> 00:16:04,720 the grief and the despair to lift. 226 00:16:08,600 --> 00:16:11,360 Some of you are waiting for God to just say something. 227 00:16:12,680 --> 00:16:14,680 Just show up. Just show that you're real. 228 00:16:16,280 --> 00:16:21,000 The question is, will you trust God in the waiting? 229 00:16:21,960 --> 00:16:26,440 Is he worthy of your trust? Do you believe that he's 230 00:16:26,440 --> 00:16:28,320 faithful? Will you take him at His word 231 00:16:28,320 --> 00:16:33,680 when he says that he is a healer and that if you know Jesus, and 232 00:16:33,760 --> 00:16:38,720 Jesus knows you, that whether on this side of death or the next, 233 00:16:38,720 --> 00:16:44,320 you'll be healed? That's the promise of God to all 234 00:16:44,320 --> 00:16:48,920 God's people. Will you trust God that where 235 00:16:48,920 --> 00:16:54,280 the Holy Spirit is present and working and repentance is real 236 00:16:55,680 --> 00:17:00,760 and forgiveness is made available, that no matter what 237 00:17:00,760 --> 00:17:06,040 has happened, reconciliation and restoration and redemption is 238 00:17:06,040 --> 00:17:10,920 possible? Will you place your hope in a 239 00:17:10,920 --> 00:17:17,200 God who loves your son or your daughter even more than you love 240 00:17:17,200 --> 00:17:26,960 them and he loves you? Will you believe in the hope 241 00:17:26,960 --> 00:17:32,320 that when God promises in Hebrews 135I will never leave 242 00:17:32,320 --> 00:17:39,400 you, I will never forsake you, that you are never alone, no 243 00:17:39,400 --> 00:17:42,960 matter how loneliness might, how much loneliness might creep in? 244 00:17:43,480 --> 00:17:47,360 In your grief? Will you look forward in hope to 245 00:17:47,360 --> 00:17:52,840 the truth that God speaks in Revelation 21 when He promises 246 00:17:52,840 --> 00:17:57,200 that He will wipe away every tear from their eyes? 247 00:17:57,520 --> 00:18:02,520 Death will be no more, grief, crying and pain will be no more. 248 00:18:02,640 --> 00:18:09,840 Will you hold on in hope to your consolation in that and when God 249 00:18:09,840 --> 00:18:13,680 seems silent and by the way we all go through those moments. 250 00:18:13,680 --> 00:18:17,280 If you think I feel like every day because I'm a pastor every 251 00:18:17,280 --> 00:18:20,480 day I just I'm hearing the voice of the Lord man. 252 00:18:20,480 --> 00:18:22,760 I know what it's like to go through seasons where I just 253 00:18:22,760 --> 00:18:31,160 wonder God, where are you, but I'm reminded of James 4/8 this 254 00:18:31,160 --> 00:18:34,520 promise. Draw near to God and he will 255 00:18:34,520 --> 00:18:38,680 draw near to you. God is not absent. 256 00:18:38,680 --> 00:18:44,080 He's there. See, the question isn't are you 257 00:18:44,080 --> 00:18:45,200 waiting? It's not even what are you 258 00:18:45,200 --> 00:18:48,800 waiting for? The question is this. 259 00:18:50,400 --> 00:18:53,560 Who are you waiting on? Where's your hope found? 260 00:18:55,800 --> 00:18:58,040 Because of those who wait on God. 261 00:18:58,040 --> 00:19:02,480 They never wait in vain. And when we know that, we know 262 00:19:02,920 --> 00:19:04,600 hope isn't gone. It's coming. 263 00:19:07,640 --> 00:19:11,720 He goes on and says that he was guided by the spirit and he 264 00:19:11,720 --> 00:19:16,560 entered the temple. You know, it's, it's one of the 265 00:19:16,560 --> 00:19:19,520 things that strikes me about this passage is it's nothing 266 00:19:19,520 --> 00:19:25,640 special in, you know, we get the earlier in Luke 2. 267 00:19:25,640 --> 00:19:28,360 We've got angels appearing to shepherds. 268 00:19:28,360 --> 00:19:32,800 There's heavenly choirs. Nothing, nothing really special 269 00:19:32,800 --> 00:19:35,400 happens. Simeon gets a nudge from the 270 00:19:35,400 --> 00:19:40,280 Spirit says hey, do what you regularly do go to the temple. 271 00:19:40,480 --> 00:19:45,360 He goes to the temple, he obeys and and and what would have been 272 00:19:45,360 --> 00:19:48,240 taking place is this there would have been a whole bunch of 273 00:19:48,880 --> 00:19:52,080 families just like every day at the temple who were obeying 274 00:19:52,080 --> 00:19:54,880 God's command from Exodus chapter 13 to bring their first 275 00:19:54,880 --> 00:19:56,680 born to be consecrated at the temple. 276 00:19:57,360 --> 00:19:58,720 That's what Mary and Joseph are doing. 277 00:19:58,720 --> 00:20:01,360 They're they're just another tired. 278 00:20:02,560 --> 00:20:04,760 Young family with a baby in arm, right? 279 00:20:04,760 --> 00:20:07,760 We all know what it looks like. If we've been, if you've been 280 00:20:07,760 --> 00:20:09,240 there, I mean, you know what it looks like. 281 00:20:09,240 --> 00:20:13,800 It's just two exhausted looking human beings with one tiny 282 00:20:13,800 --> 00:20:17,120 infant who's running everything. That's that's what's happening. 283 00:20:17,320 --> 00:20:21,720 But Simeon in this time, in this moment, says this is it. 284 00:20:22,800 --> 00:20:27,720 That baby, that's the one. It's the moment that he has been 285 00:20:27,720 --> 00:20:32,240 waiting his whole life for. But there's no trumpets there, 286 00:20:32,240 --> 00:20:36,960 there's no Halo, there's no angelic chorus. 287 00:20:38,840 --> 00:20:42,160 And he reaches out as they would bring this baby forward to be 288 00:20:42,160 --> 00:20:45,000 consecrated by him. And I can just imagine him with 289 00:20:45,000 --> 00:20:48,600 trembling arms holding that little baby Jesus in his arms. 290 00:20:48,600 --> 00:20:53,160 And he says this. He says, now Master, you can 291 00:20:53,160 --> 00:20:59,680 dismiss your servant in peace as you promised, for my eyes have 292 00:20:59,680 --> 00:21:05,160 seen your salvation. I've got the promise right here 293 00:21:05,160 --> 00:21:09,400 in my arms in this average looking little baby. 294 00:21:10,600 --> 00:21:12,600 I know you're faithful. You've done it. 295 00:21:14,600 --> 00:21:17,960 And here's something that I think we miss about hope. 296 00:21:18,680 --> 00:21:23,840 Hope sees God in the ordinary. I think a lot of us struggle 297 00:21:23,840 --> 00:21:29,640 with this. We miss God because we're 298 00:21:29,640 --> 00:21:33,760 looking for God only in the flashing lights, a big LED sign, 299 00:21:33,760 --> 00:21:39,280 the lightning bolts, right? But God's faithfulness, his 300 00:21:39,280 --> 00:21:43,880 promise keeping is so often found in the everyday, in the 301 00:21:43,880 --> 00:21:48,960 ordinary. We, we're, we're desperate in 302 00:21:48,960 --> 00:21:53,080 our lives And, and, and this is a good desperation, but we want 303 00:21:53,080 --> 00:21:55,880 God to show up in a mirror. I want dramatic change in my 304 00:21:55,880 --> 00:21:58,720 life. I want God to just come in and 305 00:21:59,600 --> 00:22:04,440 switch everything around. And so often God shows up in 306 00:22:04,440 --> 00:22:11,160 slow, steady growth. When we want lightning bolts, 307 00:22:11,160 --> 00:22:15,400 it's so often that God shows up with just a little light in the 308 00:22:15,400 --> 00:22:19,560 midst of the darkness. I think that's part of what 309 00:22:19,560 --> 00:22:22,800 Simeon's story teaches us. It teaches us that God isn't 310 00:22:22,800 --> 00:22:26,640 always flashy in how he fulfills his promise, but he's always 311 00:22:26,640 --> 00:22:29,240 faithful in fulfilling his promises. 312 00:22:32,040 --> 00:22:35,560 If, if, if Simeon had been like Lord, that can't be it. 313 00:22:35,560 --> 00:22:38,360 It, it has to be more impressive than this. 314 00:22:39,680 --> 00:22:41,920 There. There has to be something with a 315 00:22:42,040 --> 00:22:44,920 a bit more of a whiff of the miraculous on this. 316 00:22:46,800 --> 00:22:51,600 If he had demanded for signs to prove that this is the Messiah, 317 00:22:51,600 --> 00:22:54,720 he would have missed out on the fulfillment of God's promise. 318 00:22:57,120 --> 00:23:01,400 And I just wonder how many of us are losing hope today because 319 00:23:01,400 --> 00:23:04,880 we're we're missing or discounting the areas where God 320 00:23:04,880 --> 00:23:10,200 is already fulfilling his promises to us, bringing his 321 00:23:10,200 --> 00:23:17,280 hope. If you demand that God fulfills 322 00:23:17,280 --> 00:23:20,440 His promises in flashy ways, you're going to so often miss 323 00:23:20,440 --> 00:23:24,880 out on His faithful provision. In the book of Lamentations, 324 00:23:24,880 --> 00:23:30,760 Lamentations 322 to 24, the the the prophet Jeremiah writes 325 00:23:30,760 --> 00:23:33,600 these words. Because of the Lord's faithful 326 00:23:33,600 --> 00:23:40,240 love, we do not perish, for his mercies never end there. 327 00:23:40,240 --> 00:23:44,040 New every morning. Great is your faithfulness. 328 00:23:44,840 --> 00:23:49,680 I say the Lord is my portion, therefore I will put my hope in 329 00:23:49,680 --> 00:23:52,120 Him. What's actually the most 330 00:23:52,120 --> 00:23:56,120 stunning about these verses to me are the 21 verses that 331 00:23:56,120 --> 00:24:02,160 precede these 3 verses because this is how this section of 332 00:24:02,160 --> 00:24:06,120 Scripture starts. Jeremiah says, I'm a man who's 333 00:24:06,120 --> 00:24:12,080 seen the Lord's afflictions, and then it is 20 more verses of 334 00:24:12,080 --> 00:24:17,240 talking about the pain and the suffering and the difficulty of 335 00:24:17,240 --> 00:24:19,920 what he has seen and is experiencing. 336 00:24:21,200 --> 00:24:25,440 And So what he's really saying here is even in the midst of all 337 00:24:25,440 --> 00:24:30,880 of these painful circumstances, all of these difficulties, there 338 00:24:30,880 --> 00:24:34,600 is mercy. God is faithful. 339 00:24:34,920 --> 00:24:41,320 I can see His love. So I have hope because of those 340 00:24:41,320 --> 00:24:44,440 who wait on God. Never wait in vain, even in the 341 00:24:44,440 --> 00:24:48,880 waiting. Are you right now, as you look 342 00:24:48,880 --> 00:24:52,880 for your salvation out of the moment and the big problem that 343 00:24:52,880 --> 00:24:58,840 you're in, are you missing out on His small provisions, on His 344 00:24:58,840 --> 00:25:02,880 hope in the ordinary? Maybe it was just in the 345 00:25:02,880 --> 00:25:06,680 kindness of a neighbor who shoveled your driveway 346 00:25:06,680 --> 00:25:10,960 yesterday. I know that I had experienced. 347 00:25:10,960 --> 00:25:12,520 I had shoveled the whole driveway. 348 00:25:13,120 --> 00:25:14,240 And then you know what happens, right? 349 00:25:14,240 --> 00:25:18,960 We live in Canada. The plow comes, and the worst 350 00:25:18,960 --> 00:25:20,680 part of the shoveling is still ahead. 351 00:25:21,760 --> 00:25:24,960 And I had gone out to run some errands, and I was just dreading 352 00:25:24,960 --> 00:25:29,200 coming back to those clumps of ice and everything poured in 353 00:25:29,200 --> 00:25:32,440 front of my driveway. And I showed up and I was 354 00:25:32,440 --> 00:25:33,960 driving my car up and it was gone. 355 00:25:35,280 --> 00:25:38,000 One of my neighbors had come along and he cleared it out for 356 00:25:38,000 --> 00:25:42,240 me and I just said, thank you, Lord, man, you're good to me. 357 00:25:43,000 --> 00:25:45,960 So good. Maybe it's just in a word of 358 00:25:45,960 --> 00:25:48,000 encouragement. Maybe it's in a handshake or a 359 00:25:48,000 --> 00:25:49,920 welcome or a hug that you're going to get today. 360 00:25:49,920 --> 00:25:53,320 And that's the Lord's. And it's not the big flashy 361 00:25:53,320 --> 00:25:55,880 answer to everything you're hoping for right now, but it's 362 00:25:55,880 --> 00:25:58,720 God's sustaining mercy in your life. 363 00:26:00,040 --> 00:26:02,840 Maybe it's in waking up and recognizing, hey, I've still got 364 00:26:02,840 --> 00:26:07,800 breath in my lungs today, or in a moment of joy in the midst of 365 00:26:07,800 --> 00:26:12,400 all the pain, and you can say, Lord, you are merciful. 366 00:26:12,400 --> 00:26:15,200 I'm going to trust you because you're faithful in this and 367 00:26:15,200 --> 00:26:16,560 you're faithful to get me through. 368 00:26:16,560 --> 00:26:18,720 And if you're faithful to get me through, you'll get me to the 369 00:26:18,720 --> 00:26:27,400 other side. I know that hope isn't gone. 370 00:26:27,400 --> 00:26:30,400 I know that hope is coming because I get glimpses of it 371 00:26:30,400 --> 00:26:33,320 now. The last thing I want you to see 372 00:26:33,320 --> 00:26:35,640 is this hope endures even through pain. 373 00:26:37,840 --> 00:26:45,000 Last bit of the passage here says as as Simeon sharing after 374 00:26:45,000 --> 00:26:46,720 he says my eyes have seen your salvation. 375 00:26:46,720 --> 00:26:50,320 He says you prepared it in the presence of all peoples. 376 00:26:51,480 --> 00:26:54,880 It's a light for revelation to the Gentiles and glory to your 377 00:26:54,880 --> 00:26:57,480 people. Israel, his father and mother. 378 00:26:57,480 --> 00:27:01,280 So Mary and Joseph were amazed at what was being said about 379 00:27:01,280 --> 00:27:07,000 him, about Jesus. And then Simeon bless them and 380 00:27:07,000 --> 00:27:12,120 he told his mother, Mary, indeed, this child is destined 381 00:27:12,120 --> 00:27:17,720 to cause the fall and rise of many in Israel and to be a sign 382 00:27:17,720 --> 00:27:21,720 that will be opposed. So Simeon speaks these words of 383 00:27:21,960 --> 00:27:26,320 of hope and a blessing and the salvation has come and it's 384 00:27:26,320 --> 00:27:33,040 salvation for all people and and and he's here and and parents, 385 00:27:33,040 --> 00:27:36,640 Mary, Joseph aren't you'd be blessed in this. 386 00:27:36,640 --> 00:27:39,320 But then he gives a little bit at the end. 387 00:27:39,320 --> 00:27:42,400 That isn't what generally works its way into anybody's Hallmark 388 00:27:42,400 --> 00:27:46,840 Christmas card. He says to Mary, and a sword 389 00:27:46,840 --> 00:27:52,520 will Pierce your own soul. It says salvation has come. 390 00:27:52,520 --> 00:27:57,120 Salvation is coming. But Mary, that does not mean 391 00:27:57,200 --> 00:28:01,240 it's not going to be painful because here's some of that's 392 00:28:01,240 --> 00:28:02,520 true. Salvation always comes at a 393 00:28:02,520 --> 00:28:07,440 cost. Salvation comes, but it comes at 394 00:28:07,440 --> 00:28:12,160 a cost. Some of us, we hear the word 395 00:28:12,160 --> 00:28:17,720 hope and we start to roll our eyes because life has made us 396 00:28:17,720 --> 00:28:23,320 cynical and we think the entire idea of hope just feels like 397 00:28:23,320 --> 00:28:27,720 this naive, childish, unrealistic reality. 398 00:28:29,200 --> 00:28:30,760 But this is what I love about Christian hope. 399 00:28:30,760 --> 00:28:35,560 It's not a denial of pain. It's not a like just pretend 400 00:28:35,560 --> 00:28:40,880 like everything is better. It's a confidence that pain in 401 00:28:40,880 --> 00:28:45,840 the end does not win. SIM in here by the Holy Spirit. 402 00:28:45,960 --> 00:28:48,880 He's sharing a glimpse of the cross with Mary. 403 00:28:50,160 --> 00:28:53,080 He's looking forward to where Jesus is going to end up. 404 00:28:53,480 --> 00:28:58,960 He says, Mary, Mary, this child, he will walk a road that leads 405 00:28:58,960 --> 00:29:05,160 to the cross and it's going to tear your heart out, but it'll 406 00:29:05,160 --> 00:29:10,040 save the world. I, I don't, I don't know about 407 00:29:10,040 --> 00:29:14,160 you, but I need the type of hope that recognizes the type of 408 00:29:14,160 --> 00:29:18,520 world we live in. I, I need a hope that doesn't 409 00:29:18,520 --> 00:29:22,240 deny the pain and the difficulty and the harshness of this world, 410 00:29:22,600 --> 00:29:25,560 but a hope that can hold up in the midst of it. 411 00:29:27,320 --> 00:29:31,120 A hope that says my circumstances aren't easy, but 412 00:29:31,120 --> 00:29:37,080 my God is faithful. I I can't see the whole story, 413 00:29:38,520 --> 00:29:43,640 but I believe that the author of that story is good, that 414 00:29:43,640 --> 00:29:46,240 suffering may come. In fact, suffering will come, 415 00:29:47,560 --> 00:29:54,120 but salvation is assured. And I know that because because 416 00:29:54,120 --> 00:29:58,040 those who wait on God never wait in vain. 417 00:29:58,960 --> 00:30:04,400 So hope's not gone, It's coming. Here's my Advent invitation to 418 00:30:04,400 --> 00:30:07,760 you as we come to a close this morning. 419 00:30:07,760 --> 00:30:11,360 I want to invite you to bring the hope of Jesus into the 420 00:30:11,360 --> 00:30:15,640 middle of your waiting. See. 421 00:30:15,640 --> 00:30:19,000 Because if God has kept his promise and did keep his promise 422 00:30:19,800 --> 00:30:27,920 to Israel and to Simeon after centuries of silence, after 423 00:30:27,920 --> 00:30:34,200 Roman and Greek oppression, if empires rising and falling, 424 00:30:35,520 --> 00:30:43,080 generations coming and going, He will keep his promise to you no 425 00:30:43,080 --> 00:30:45,600 matter how long you feel like you've been waiting at this 426 00:30:45,600 --> 00:30:49,480 point. Because what he started in your 427 00:30:49,480 --> 00:30:53,480 life, He will bring to a conclusion, to an end, to a 428 00:30:53,480 --> 00:30:58,720 fulfillment. What He promises to do, He does. 429 00:31:00,440 --> 00:31:02,720 What He declares, He brings to pass. 430 00:31:04,440 --> 00:31:08,480 You might not see it yet. You might not feel it yet. 431 00:31:08,480 --> 00:31:11,840 You may not understand the waiting right now. 432 00:31:12,200 --> 00:31:16,160 But those who wait on God never wait in vain. 433 00:31:16,160 --> 00:31:21,240 And hope is coming. There's three groups of people 434 00:31:21,240 --> 00:31:26,080 in this room today. First, there's people who you 435 00:31:26,080 --> 00:31:30,960 need to recognize that Jesus has come to be your consolation. 436 00:31:32,240 --> 00:31:35,400 He's come to be your hope and salvation. 437 00:31:36,600 --> 00:31:39,400 Maybe you came here today and maybe you braved you. 438 00:31:39,400 --> 00:31:41,960 You, you got the snow shoveled out of your driveway. 439 00:31:43,000 --> 00:31:45,000 You thought, I don't know why I'm doing this, but I just need 440 00:31:45,000 --> 00:31:48,200 to be here today. I just need to go somewhere. 441 00:31:48,200 --> 00:31:51,200 I, I don't have hope in my life right now. 442 00:31:51,200 --> 00:31:54,240 I need to find a place where maybe I could find some hope. 443 00:31:55,560 --> 00:31:58,480 That's what Jesus came to bring. That's why he brought you here 444 00:31:58,480 --> 00:32:02,080 today. He, he, he nudged you to get out 445 00:32:02,080 --> 00:32:05,840 the door and to be here. Maybe you've been calling out 446 00:32:05,840 --> 00:32:13,480 for God to show himself and he led you here today, just like he 447 00:32:13,480 --> 00:32:17,000 led Simeon to that temple that fateful day. 448 00:32:17,000 --> 00:32:22,320 So that you could say upon looking at Jesus, my eyes have 449 00:32:22,320 --> 00:32:28,760 seen your salvation. Jesus came not just to alter 450 00:32:28,760 --> 00:32:37,840 your circumstances, but to give you life, to give you a future, 451 00:32:38,840 --> 00:32:43,040 to give you hope. That that's the invitation of 452 00:32:43,040 --> 00:32:47,360 the gospel, that anyone who would trust in Jesus for the 453 00:32:47,680 --> 00:32:51,640 forgiveness of their sins, who would say Jesus died so that I 454 00:32:51,640 --> 00:32:56,000 could be set free from sin, and he rose again to prove that sin 455 00:32:56,000 --> 00:32:58,680 has been defeated. When you place your hope and 456 00:32:58,680 --> 00:33:03,520 faith on him, he gives you life and he never disappoints. 457 00:33:03,520 --> 00:33:08,320 And all you have to do is call out to him and ask him to come 458 00:33:08,320 --> 00:33:12,480 in to make you new, to forgive you and give you that life, give 459 00:33:12,480 --> 00:33:15,040 you that hope, and he does it. He answers that prayer every 460 00:33:15,040 --> 00:33:18,400 time. For some of you, you're here 461 00:33:18,400 --> 00:33:21,120 today and you're, you're in the group of people that I would say 462 00:33:21,120 --> 00:33:23,640 you've grown, grown really weary in the waiting. 463 00:33:24,880 --> 00:33:28,880 You know Jesus, you've trusted in Jesus, but you feel like 464 00:33:28,880 --> 00:33:33,120 Jesus has maybe forgotten you. Maybe you're, you're, you're 465 00:33:33,120 --> 00:33:36,280 feeling stuck in your spiritual life. 466 00:33:38,160 --> 00:33:41,520 Maybe you're sitting there and you've been praying the same 467 00:33:41,520 --> 00:33:46,880 prayers day after day, week after week, month after month, 468 00:33:47,120 --> 00:33:51,360 year after year. It just feels like God's not 469 00:33:51,760 --> 00:33:56,720 answering. He's not fulfilling His promises 470 00:33:56,720 --> 00:33:59,360 to you, and you're struggling to hope. 471 00:34:01,240 --> 00:34:07,240 Today it's God's invitation to you to place yourself back in 472 00:34:07,240 --> 00:34:12,320 His hands, to raise your eyes up off of your circumstances. 473 00:34:13,480 --> 00:34:18,000 Stop looking at this current reality and start looking at the 474 00:34:18,000 --> 00:34:23,800 God who is worthy of your trust because He's faithful, and to 475 00:34:23,800 --> 00:34:30,000 choose that trust over despair. Today to to allow the Holy 476 00:34:30,000 --> 00:34:33,040 Spirit to use a message like this to whisper to you. 477 00:34:33,440 --> 00:34:39,600 Hope isn't God, it's coming. Would you lay that back into His 478 00:34:39,600 --> 00:34:42,960 hands and trust Him? And you might have to lay it 479 00:34:42,960 --> 00:34:45,800 back into his hands tomorrow and the day after that and the day 480 00:34:45,800 --> 00:34:48,679 after that, just like Simeon did until it came to pass. 481 00:34:51,040 --> 00:34:56,120 There's a third group. There's people here today who 482 00:34:56,120 --> 00:34:59,360 need to bring the hope of Jesus into the waiting of others. 483 00:35:02,920 --> 00:35:05,840 I think God has orchestrated a number of things in the service 484 00:35:05,840 --> 00:35:08,120 today. When we put these together, 485 00:35:08,120 --> 00:35:11,680 sometimes we think really intentionally and sometimes God 486 00:35:11,680 --> 00:35:16,160 just does some things we didn't originally choose to have. 487 00:35:16,160 --> 00:35:20,200 This and the call to think about how you might participate in 488 00:35:20,760 --> 00:35:24,920 calling our government to reconsider allowing MADE to be 489 00:35:24,920 --> 00:35:27,960 used for those who are dealing with mental illness. 490 00:35:29,920 --> 00:35:32,960 But when people choose made, I would argue to you that it's 491 00:35:32,960 --> 00:35:38,240 death by lack of hope. We're called to be people who 492 00:35:38,240 --> 00:35:39,680 bring. It's not enough to write a 493 00:35:39,680 --> 00:35:43,840 letter if if the church isn't going to be the people who bring 494 00:35:43,840 --> 00:35:47,960 hope, we're just going to ask somebody else to do something, 495 00:35:48,480 --> 00:35:50,960 then we're not doing what the Lord has called us to do. 496 00:35:50,960 --> 00:35:54,520 We need to be the people who bring hope out into the world so 497 00:35:54,520 --> 00:36:00,800 people know there's more. We're called to bring hope. 498 00:36:02,640 --> 00:36:06,600 You, you heard Kate talk about the fact that those houses, 499 00:36:07,360 --> 00:36:09,800 we're an answer. That house was an answer to that 500 00:36:09,800 --> 00:36:13,640 woman's prayer. You know, when we bring hope, we 501 00:36:13,640 --> 00:36:17,520 get to be the answer of people who are calling out for hope. 502 00:36:18,920 --> 00:36:24,240 Sometimes God wants to use you to be the answer in Nicaragua or 503 00:36:24,240 --> 00:36:27,440 in the project that we're hoping to engage in in Bangladesh. 504 00:36:29,360 --> 00:36:32,320 Or when food is brought to the front lines and generators are 505 00:36:32,320 --> 00:36:34,320 brought to the people who are living on the front lines in 506 00:36:34,320 --> 00:36:38,280 conflict in Ukraine, or when meals are made at the cleaners 507 00:36:38,280 --> 00:36:41,520 just down the road. They We have the opportunity to 508 00:36:41,520 --> 00:36:45,240 be people who bring hope and we have the opportunity to be 509 00:36:45,240 --> 00:36:51,320 people who bring hope in Saint George, in Air, in Guelph, in 510 00:36:51,320 --> 00:36:56,040 Kitchener, in Galt, in Preston, in Hessler, in Blair. 511 00:36:56,720 --> 00:37:00,440 God's people are called to be hope bringers because we have 512 00:37:00,440 --> 00:37:08,200 received hope through Him. Simeon held the fulfillment of a 513 00:37:08,200 --> 00:37:14,320 lifetime of waiting in his arms. Christ had come. 514 00:37:15,400 --> 00:37:21,080 God had fulfilled His promises, and the fulfillment of that 515 00:37:21,080 --> 00:37:27,280 promise is a reminder that God always fulfills every promise He 516 00:37:27,280 --> 00:37:30,960 makes. If He said it, He is faithful to 517 00:37:30,960 --> 00:37:36,240 do it. If He came the first time, he'll 518 00:37:36,240 --> 00:37:39,760 come again. And when he does, it's not going 519 00:37:39,760 --> 00:37:44,000 to be as a newborn baby. It's going to be as a conquering 520 00:37:44,000 --> 00:37:50,280 king who sets all things right. The work that he started on the 521 00:37:50,280 --> 00:37:54,760 cross is a work that will be completed at his second coming. 522 00:37:55,040 --> 00:37:59,600 And sin and sorrow and death and grief and all the heartache and 523 00:37:59,600 --> 00:38:03,000 heartbreak of this world. They don't get the final say. 524 00:38:04,720 --> 00:38:07,520 They'll be defeated forever because hope isn't God. 525 00:38:08,400 --> 00:38:10,680 Hope's coming. And those who wait in the Lord, 526 00:38:10,680 --> 00:38:17,040 they never wait in vain. Let's pray, God, thank you that 527 00:38:17,040 --> 00:38:19,120 you are faithful to your promises. 528 00:38:22,120 --> 00:38:26,960 Thank You that You promise that when we cry out to you, you hear 529 00:38:26,960 --> 00:38:30,520 us. Lord, there's some prayers that 530 00:38:30,520 --> 00:38:34,280 have been cried out to you in this room even today. 531 00:38:34,280 --> 00:38:37,800 Lord, there's been some prayers that have been cried out for 532 00:38:37,800 --> 00:38:41,560 decades. Lord, would you answer those 533 00:38:41,560 --> 00:38:47,000 prayers even today? But in the midst of the waiting, 534 00:38:47,000 --> 00:38:50,920 would you continue to give glimmers of hope that you 535 00:38:50,920 --> 00:38:54,800 haven't forgotten? That you aren't slow to fulfill 536 00:38:54,800 --> 00:38:59,840 Your promises as some would say, but in your due time, in your 537 00:38:59,840 --> 00:39:02,840 good time, in your good plan, you are working all things to 538 00:39:02,840 --> 00:39:04,760 the good for those who know and trust you. 539 00:39:06,800 --> 00:39:11,520 God, I thank you that you promised that when an individual 540 00:39:11,520 --> 00:39:16,000 cries out to you for salvation through Jesus Christ, you are 541 00:39:16,000 --> 00:39:17,960 faithful in answering that promise. 542 00:39:17,960 --> 00:39:23,360 I thank you that yesterday at our Alpha at our Alpha Holy 543 00:39:23,360 --> 00:39:27,120 Spirit Saturday, 4 different individuals cried out for 544 00:39:27,120 --> 00:39:31,240 salvation and those individuals are now brothers and sisters in 545 00:39:31,240 --> 00:39:33,560 the Kingdom. I thank you for those who cried 546 00:39:33,560 --> 00:39:38,440 out for release from from addictions who cried out for you 547 00:39:38,440 --> 00:39:39,800 to be real. I thank you that you hear those 548 00:39:39,800 --> 00:39:41,320 cries. But I pray even today there 549 00:39:41,320 --> 00:39:45,120 would be others who would cry out and say, Lord save me and 550 00:39:45,120 --> 00:39:47,840 you would save them and your Holy Spirit would descend on 551 00:39:47,840 --> 00:39:49,960 them in power and make them new today. 552 00:39:52,720 --> 00:39:56,600 And God, I pray that for those of us who don't feel as if we're 553 00:39:56,600 --> 00:39:59,920 in the middle, middle and midst of of a deep waiting right now, 554 00:40:02,000 --> 00:40:04,480 that you would prompt and prod us this week. 555 00:40:05,480 --> 00:40:09,720 We'd be led by your Holy Spirit, just like Simeon was in the 556 00:40:09,720 --> 00:40:14,760 things that makes him really ordinary in the moment to bring 557 00:40:14,760 --> 00:40:19,280 hope to a world that is in such desperate need of hope. 558 00:40:20,400 --> 00:40:24,040 Let us be hope bringers, God, let us have seen the hope that 559 00:40:24,040 --> 00:40:27,920 you've brought to us and be those who light a little bit of 560 00:40:27,920 --> 00:40:30,920 hope in this world around us. Would we shine brighter than the 561 00:40:30,920 --> 00:40:33,440 Christmas lights on trees and on the houses? 562 00:40:33,440 --> 00:40:36,240 Would we shine the light of Christmas so brightly no one 563 00:40:36,240 --> 00:40:40,320 could miss Jesus? I pray in his name, Amen.