DID YOU READ TODAY'S NEWS? There are people trapped on that quarantined cruise boat that are getting sick from depression. They are onboard with thousands of others while an unseen virus prowls the decks. What a vivid reminder of how weak, helpless, needy, and often hopeless we can be. GOD has an amazing remedy called HOPE. here is a lesson that I recently taught to NextGeneration students from an old series we did at Calvary. Why not pause and revisit the life of SIMEON and SEE God's wonderful truths for our lives TODAY? Walking in the Spirit insured for Simeon—a life that mattered, a life that counted, and that pleased Jesus. Walking in the Spirit gives us a life that pleases God, and a life that is “on duty” as God’s servant, at any moment. But God does not force Himself upon us. The words most associated with the Holy Spirit’s filling of our lives are all choices. Think of those words used for the life of the Spirit: abide, walk, wait, seek first, present yourself, clothe yourself, yield yourself, surrender, consecrate, follow, Spirit-led, and be filled with the Spirit. Those are words of choices made, and of a conscious pathway of choosing to open one’s life to God’s rule.
Now as we walk back through the text, look at these elements we can glean from the life of Simeon. We could call these elements to ensure that you live each day of your life as fully as possible for Jesus. I call these:
The Pillars of a Godly Walk
Life as God intended it to be for every believer is pictured by this simple, humble, obscure saint. What we see as we listen is a description of the three ways that the Spirit of God wants to work in us. Those three are that God wants us to live a Spirit-filled life, and find a Spirit-illumined life, and follow a Spirit-led life.
Luke was guided by the Holy Spirit to get not only the events of Christ's dedication in the Temple, he also gets the very words that were spoken. But with those words describing Simeon’s encounter with Christ, we also get what may be the clearest and most powerful look at what each of us can have from God. As we study these truths, ask yourself, “Am I offering myself to the Lord, to live this kind of life He wants me to live, as a gift to Christ this Christmas?”
First, like Simeon live the Spirit-Filled Life God offers (Luke 2:25).
(SOH-05)
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