Wait
We wait for people, kids or the boss, we are either waiting for good news or the bad news. We are waiting for our next promotion to see if we are going to get recognition or reprimanded. It requires us to stay calm and be patient, it tests our insecurities. Waiting plays upon our emotions, we loose sleep over it, our appetite, our focus and attention. Have you ever waited upon God? You prayed for something and you are hoping for something? thinking you may not deserve it or it was not meant to be, or maybe God is not happy with me. Is he going to leave me hanging? We can look and it can be so clear to us, what should be, what should happen and yet it feels like God leaves us hanging. Praying to God and hoping for God to turn it around. Our waiting reveals what we want, and reinforces how we walk.
Waiting Reals What I Want and Reinforces How I Walk
If we are waiting on God were not waiting for something, were waiting for Him. Our heart and soul is simply saying "God I want you".
Jesus said to the woman at the well when he approached her and they talked and she talked about how the Jews worshiped on this one particular mountain and Jesus said look, it isn't about that, worship is about approaching God in spirit and in truth. God is not concerned about the material of your life he wants you to be like him. More spiritual and less material.
Being spiritual means we move away from our cares of the material and we set our care upon moving closer to God in spirit and truth. We are material and the material likes the material and yet we are called to become to be more material. We struggle about how close we get to God until it becomes uncomfortable with our bodies. We struggle about tithing, more tithing means less material. More time praying less time you have for the material. When we talk about just being alone with God instead of having fun with everyone else.
Ask yourself; do I spend more time in the material or the spiritual? Are my priorities gaged in the material rather than the spiritual?
What we wait for determines how we walk
Two People who knows what it means to live spiritual in a material world, Simeon and Anna
Luke 2:25-38
25 Now there was a man in Jerusalem called Simeon, who was righteous and devout. He was waiting for the consolation of Israel, and the Holy Spirit was on him.
Simeon came from a prestigious family, His father "ben Hillel" was a great Rabbi, very wise, in fact in Jewish literature he is referred to all the time. His son "Gamaliel" was a tutor of the apostle Paul. When you read Jewish literature they don't make much of Simeon. Why? Simeon unlike his father and son, Simeon was waiting on God in a way that was more spiritual and less material. Simeon was truly waiting for Christ. The reason you don't hear about him in the Jewish literature was most likely because of his faith that Jesus was the Messiah.
"righteous and devout." what does that mean? that he conformed his conduct, the way that he walked, in a way that was just in his dealing with the people around him and in a way that was right before God. He was a person that did what God wanted him to do.
"consolation of Israel" he was waiting for the comfort of Israel to come in the Messiah. He was placing all of his hope and all of his faith in the belief that the only thing that could bring Israel comfort was the Messiah, while all of the other Jews of his day all of the other religious leaders were making all sorts of private deals in the material world trying to find their comfort in their consolation in things, power, prestige, popularity, Simeon wasn't doing that, He was drawing nearer to God. Simeon was beyond the religious leaders of his time. He knew that the only comfort that can be had, the only consolation that can be had is the comfort and consolation that we get when we draw closer to God in the promise of Christ.
"the Holy Spirit was on him." God rewards those who diligently seek him. When we wait on him for Him and not things, God is always with us in a very powerful way.
26 It had been revealed to him by the Holy Spirit that he would not die before he had seen the Lord's Messiah.
The more you wait on God, the more you dedicate your life to living close to him, the closer you will get, the more you'll hear him speak to your heart, the more you will see him fulfilling the promises that he made to those who wait on him. And God promised him that he will see the Messiah and recognize Him, they knew about him but they didn't know Him.
27 Moved by the Spirit, he went into the temple courts. When the parents brought in the child Jesus to do for him what the custom of the Law required,
"Moved by the Spirit," When you wait upon God, God directs you.
28 Simeon took him in his arms and praised God, saying: 29 "Sovereign Lord, as you have promised, you may now dismiss your servant in peace. 30 For my eyes have seen your salvation, 31 which you have prepared in the sight of all nations:
We wait on God because he is preparing things in his time not yours, you'll get whatever it is you need when he decides you need it.
"you may now dismiss your servant in peace." he is saying God I am ready to go, I'm ready to die, my life is complete. You have given what you have promised me, what I needed, I don't want anything else.
32 a light for revelation to the Gentiles, and the glory of your people Israel."
"revelation" a light to people who are outside of the circle because God has chosen Israel to be a blessing to the world but they have failed. Now God comes physically and puts on flesh and he turns on the lights to all of the world and glory to Israel because God doesn't break his promises.
33 The child's father and mother marveled at what was said about him. 34 Then Simeon blessed them and said to Mary, his mother: "This child is destined to cause the falling and rising of many in Israel, and to be a sign that will be spoken against,
"Spoken against," You look at Israel today spiritually not much is going on and yet total rejection, you look at the world and how they look at Jesus, Nations of communism is anti-christianity.
35 so that the thoughts of many hearts will be revealed. And a sword will pierce your own soul too." 36 There was also a prophet, Anna, the daughter of Penuel, of the tribe of Asher. She was very old; she had lived with her husband seven years after her marriage, 37 and then was a widow until she was eighty four. She never left the temple but worshiped night and day, fasting and praying. 38 Coming up to them at that very moment, she gave thanks to God and spoke about the child to all who were looking forward to the redemption of Jerusalem.
Simeon is waiting for the consolation of Israel. Anna was longing for the redemption of Israel. He is longing for the coming of the Messiah so they can find comfort in him and she is longing for the redemption of the Messiah so they might be made right with him. What are they waiting for? for the material things? no. She is waiting on, with, for God.
What are you waiting for?
Christmas should be a time where we connect with a hunger for God, otherwise Christmas is going to be a time where we become dead in which it is just about gifts and things.
1. Deny Yourself: Denying yourself of luxuries and give to people who don't have enough of anything.
2. Defy Your Culture: Stop living like everyone else, that is not spiritual. Live different than the culture, don't buy in to what the culture does. Don't get caught up in the greed of this world
3. Discipline Your Mind: Discipline in the sense of "I want to walk with God." I want to wait upon him not for something but for him. Read your Bible because it helps you not to get hurt. It helps you to get near him.
4. Delight Your Heart: Anna just praised God then she went out and told everybody. She went out with joy bubbling in her heart and told everybody. She was hungering and being fed at the same time. There should be a hunger. If you wait on him it will reinforce how you walk with him.
Notes taken by: lorelllawrence@comcast.net
Any errors or miscommunication please refer to me not the pastor, the intent is for you to have the notes for review in the series, also to reflect on during the week.
God Bless,
Lorell