The Hope of the Faithful: Lessons from Anna in Luke 2

[00:00:42] [SPEAKER UNKNOWN]:
Thank you for watching!
[00:02:36] Thank you for watching!

[00:04:55] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_02]:
Church, Merry Christmas!
[00:04:57] It is here!
[00:04:59] Would you stand and worship with us?
[00:05:01] We're so excited you're here this morning.

[00:05:21] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_03]:
Here we go, you know this everybody, come on.
[00:05:27] Sweetly singing o'er the plains and the mountains in reply
[00:06:17] Why your joyous strains prolong What the glad sun tidings me Which inspire your heavenly light

[00:06:48] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_02]:
This is the story.

[00:07:05] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_03]:
Sing this.
[00:07:39] In excelsis Deo

[00:08:28] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_01]:
Amen.
[00:08:31] Corey, you are playing those drums today, man.
[00:08:37] Beautiful, man.
[00:08:38] Gloria in excelsis Deo.
[00:08:41] We celebrate
[00:08:42] The Newborn King, and of course, there's speculation about when Christmas is, and we just really don't care.
[00:08:48] We take this month, this time of year, to celebrate the birth of our Savior, Jesus Christ.
[00:08:56] And because of that, we have the most precious thing ever, the Gospel.
[00:09:02] and we are so thankful for it and I hope you can see from how it looks around you and all the things in the lobby and hanging from the ceiling that we love Christmas and my wife made the mistake of being gone about three weeks during November so guess what Christmas in our house has been up for almost a month already
[00:09:25] and I love Christmas and I cannot wait to celebrate with you don't forget about a Christmas Eve service we're going to be having this year and so many things we've got Charity Gale coming this Tuesday in fact one of our very best friends in the world flew in from Houston to be with us to go see Charity Gale on Tuesday night and I hope you'll come and by the way there's going to still be volunteer opportunities if there's some of you that would like to help
[00:09:50] But it's going to be an awesome, awesome night.
[00:09:52] I think we're somewhere around 1,400 tickets have been sold for CharityGale.
[00:09:56] It's going to be a great night.
[00:09:58] Hey, why don't you look around and see if there's somebody you don't recognize.
[00:10:00] Wish them a Merry Christmas this morning.
[00:10:05] Hey, speaking of Merry Christmas, for those of you that are online with us, Merry Christmas to you.
[00:10:10] I hope we're the first ones to do that.
[00:10:11] I hope you had an amazing Thanksgiving, and I hope the joy of Christ lights up your home no matter where you are.
[00:10:20] We're just thrilled that you're here.
[00:10:21] We're going to continue on our worship.
[00:10:22] We've got a lot of Christmas stuff today.
[00:10:24] It's going to be a cool day.
[00:10:26] Get your Bible ready.
[00:10:27] John Aiken's brother, Nate Aiken, is here today, and he's going to be sharing God's Word.
[00:10:33] They look a little bit familiar.
[00:10:35] You'll see him here in just a few moments.
[00:10:37] Come on in with us and let's continue to worship together.
[00:10:44] All right, let's worship together, everybody.
[00:10:45] Here we go.
[00:10:46] Another song I think you'll all know.
[00:10:48] Let's lift this one up.
[00:10:52] Oh, it's just not Christmas without Joy to the World.
[00:11:08] I hope you're ready to sing this morning.

[00:11:12] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_03]:
Joy to the world, the Lord is come.
[00:11:22] Yeah!
[00:11:48] Let every heart prepare Him room.
[00:11:50] Heaven.

[00:11:50] [SPEAKER UNKNOWN]:
Beautiful.
[00:11:50] Nature sings.
[00:11:51] We will sing, sing, sing.

[00:11:54] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_03]:
Joy to the world, oh!
[00:12:00] We will sing, sing, sing.
[00:12:06] Sing that second verse together.
[00:12:09] Joy to the world, the Savior reigns.
[00:12:14] This is us.
[00:12:18] Employ.
[00:12:21] Wild fields and floods, rocks, hills and plains Repeat the sounding joy Repeat the sounding joy Repeat Repeat the sounding joy We will sing, sing, sing
[00:12:51] Joy to the world We will sing, sing, sing He rules the world with truth and grace And makes the nations prove
[00:13:18] The glories of His righteousness And wonders of His love And wonders, wonders of His love We will sing, sing, sing
[00:13:47] Joy to the world, we will sing, sing, sing, yeah Joyful, joyful, we adore thee, God of glory, Lord of love
[00:14:23] Let us sing to the Son of God

[00:15:06] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_02]:
Children weep no more Hope is on the horizon And weary world behold
[00:15:31] Your promised Messiah Angels let your song begin Here comes heaven Christ is born in Bethlehem
[00:16:04] Sinner, wait no more Love has broken the silence Come, let us adore The Savior is with us Angels, let your song begin
[00:16:49] Here comes heaven Here comes heaven
[00:17:24] Glory in the highest All the earth rejoice for Christ is born
[00:17:56] Breaks the dawn of salvation And darkness reigns no more
[00:19:01] Here comes Heaven Here comes Heaven Here comes Heaven Oh come let us
[00:19:30] Adore Him O come let us adore Him O come let us adore Him Christ the Lord
[00:19:59] And O come let us adore Him O come let us adore Him O come let us adore Him
[00:20:31] We'll give Him all the glory.
[00:20:53] We'll give Him all the glory

[00:21:53] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_05]:
Well, good morning.
[00:21:54] If you have a copy of God's Word, we're going to be in Luke chapter 2.
[00:21:56] We're going to start in verse 8.
[00:21:58] Let me just say it's a joy to be back with you guys.
[00:22:01] I think I was with you in September.
[00:22:03] I may look a little bit like John.
[00:22:04] We're twin brothers.
[00:22:05] I'm three minutes older.
[00:22:06] He needs to always remember that.
[00:22:08] He's had a big brother he could look up to his entire life.
[00:22:11] That's a good thing for him.
[00:22:13] But it is a joy to be back with his church.
[00:22:14] You guys were such a wonderful faith family to be with back in September.
[00:22:19] And just always thankful to be able to open God's word with God's people.
[00:22:23] It is a tremendous joy.
[00:22:24] Hope you had a great Thanksgiving holiday.
[00:22:26] What a wonderful time for us to be thankful for what we have in the gospel.
[00:22:30] And now we get a chance to officially enter into the Christmas season.
[00:22:34] I know some of us probably started a lot earlier than that.
[00:22:36] You know who you are.
[00:22:38] But we enter that season, we get to celebrate the birth of the King, and yet it's a season that involves waiting.
[00:22:44] It involves patiently waiting.
[00:22:46] So I want to ask that question maybe to any children that are in the room, students that are in the room, even adults, maybe even more seasoned adults, especially as we think about present season, do you like waiting for things?
[00:22:58] I'll have to admit that patience is probably my worst fruit of the spirit.
[00:23:01] I don't like waiting on things.
[00:23:03] Y'all don't know me all that well, but I love Mexican food.
[00:23:06] It's my contention that no one's ever been unhappy while eating Mexican food.
[00:23:10] But the only time I'm ever unhappy in a Mexican restaurant is when I'm waiting for them to bring that bowl of queso to the table.
[00:23:18] And I can dive into that golden bowl of sunshine.
[00:23:21] But as we think about Christmas, that's an important question for us to consider.
[00:23:25] Do we like waiting?
[00:23:27] And the truth is waiting is a part of life.
[00:23:30] The very first Christmas, in fact, was no different.
[00:23:33] The people of God, Israel, were waiting, they were anticipating, they were hoping, not just for a few days, but for years, for centuries, they were waiting for the Messiah to come so that He could deal with all that had gone wrong in the Garden of Eden.
[00:23:49] And that's why the very first Christmas is still the best Christmas, because the very first Christmas gave us the best Christmas present the world has ever known.
[00:23:58] A gift that is offered freely to all.
[00:24:00] A gift that is offered to the entire world.
[00:24:03] And that's why we still celebrate that gift and that Christmas some 2000 years later.
[00:24:08] You know with all the things that surround Christmas it can sometimes overshadow why we celebrate it in the first place but we do know that anticipation is built in from the beginning and that's something that we're going to see in the text before us this morning.
[00:24:21] Because this morning I want to focus in on one of the godly characters who was hoping for, who was anticipating, who was waiting for this Messiah who would come to make all things right.
[00:24:32] And it's this woman named Anna.
[00:24:34] And in Anna, we get a picture of a saint who had abiding hope in the promises of God, even as she waited for them to come true for decade after decade.
[00:24:44] But I not only want us to consider what the text says about her, but through her, what the text is saying to us this morning, to Christians who live between the times.
[00:24:54] We live between the first coming and the second coming of our Lord.
[00:24:58] And so we have much to learn from this saint.
[00:25:01] As those who now wait, but we wait with hope.
[00:25:05] So I want to read a little bit of the context, but we're mainly going to focus in on Luke 2, 36 through 38.
[00:25:11] But I'm going to begin in verse 8 so that we can set the context, and I think you'll see why later on.
[00:25:17] And so let's look at Luke 2, verse 8.
[00:25:23] It's important for us to remember a doctor named Luke records these true historical events, but he does so as he is carried along by the Holy Spirit.
[00:25:32] Here's what Luke writes, And in the same region there were shepherds out in the field, keeping watch over their flocks by night.
[00:25:38] And an angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were filled with great fear.
[00:25:44] And the angel said to them, Fear not, for behold, I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people.
[00:25:50] For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord.
[00:25:55] And this will be a sign for you.
[00:25:57] You will find a baby wrapped in swaddling cloths and lying in a manger.
[00:26:01] and suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of heavenly hosts praising God and saying glory to God in the highest and on earth peace among those with whom he is pleased and the angels went away from that from them into heaven the shepherds said to one another let us go over to Bethlehem and see this thing that has happened which the Lord has made known to us now turn over to verse 25 and we'll read down through verse 38.
[00:26:26] Now there was a man in Jerusalem whose name was Simeon, and this man was righteous and devout, waiting for the consolation of Israel, and the Holy Spirit was upon him.
[00:26:33] And it had been revealed to him by the Holy Spirit that he would not see death before he had seen the Lord's Christ.
[00:26:39] and he came in the spirit into the temple and when the parents brought in the child Jesus to do for him according to the custom of the law he took him up in his arms and blessed God and said Lord now you are letting your servant depart in peace according to your word for my eyes have seen your salvation that you have prepared in the presence of all the peoples a light for revelation to the gentiles and for the glory to your people Israel and his father and his mother marveled at what was said about him and Simeon blessed them and said to Mary his mother
[00:27:09] Behold, this child is appointed for the fall and rising of many in Israel, and for a sign that is opposed, and a sword will pierce through your own soul also, for the thoughts from many hearts may be revealed.
[00:27:31] And there was a prophetess, Anna, the daughter of Phanuel of the tribe of Asher.
[00:27:35] She was advanced in years having lived with her husband seven years from when she was a virgin and then as a widow until she was 84.
[00:27:41] She did not depart from the temple worshiping with fasting and prayer night and day and coming up at that very hour she began to give thanks to God and to speak of him to all who were waiting for the redemption of Jerusalem.
[00:27:54] Let's pray and ask for God's help this morning.
[00:27:58] Father, now as we come to the book, Father, I ask that you would have mercy upon me, a sinner.
[00:28:06] Father, at no other time than when I get a chance to open Your Word with Your people am I reminded that You carry this treasure in jars of clay.
[00:28:14] Father, now would You help me teach with confidence in Your Word for the sake of Your people?
[00:28:21] Father, what we know not, would You please teach us?
[00:28:24] Father, what we have not, would You please give us?
[00:28:28] Father, what we are not, would You please make us?
[00:28:33] Father, now would You sanctify us in the truth?
[00:28:36] Father, we know Your Word is truth.
[00:28:38] We pray this in Jesus' name.
[00:28:40] Amen.
[00:28:41] A good question is, what gives you hope?
[00:28:44] Like kids in the room, what gives you hope?
[00:28:47] Adults in the room, what gives you hope?
[00:28:50] I recently Googled that question, and here are some of the things people said that gave them hope.
[00:28:55] Education, hard-earned wealth, stories of human triumph.
[00:28:59] In fact, one poll from 2018 of what was called 105 experts had the number one answer for what gave them hope was young people, and the number two answer was technology.
[00:29:10] These so-called experts, I think, had not heard of AI or Gen Z. I'm kidding, mainly kidding.
[00:29:19] But what matters most when you consider that question, what brings you hope, is what do the scriptures say about hope?
[00:29:24] Hope as we wait.
[00:29:25] Jeremiah 17, seven says this, blessed is the man who trusts in the Lord and whose hope is in the Lord.
[00:29:32] You see this morning, one thing is vital for us to understand, we must have the right object of our hope, a fixed thing that we put our hope upon.
[00:29:40] because in the Scriptures, hope is not a wish.
[00:29:43] Rather, hope is confident expectation in God to fulfill His promises built off of His unwavering faithfulness and mighty power.
[00:29:52] Hope, real hope, lasting hope, abiding hope is directed toward God and who He is and what He has done already for us.
[00:30:01] It's built on the trustworthiness of His words and His promises.
[00:30:05] And this morning, we get the glimpse of a godly saint who has built her hope upon God and upon His Word.
[00:30:13] And because she did, she reaps great reward for doing so, for indeed, her hope does not put her to shame.
[00:30:20] So it's my prayer as I've studied this text, again, that we will be spurred on by this saint, that we too will put our hope where she did, and by doing so, we will also reap great reward, that great reward of seeing Jesus face to face.
[00:30:34] Now here's the context.
[00:30:36] Here we are in Luke 2.
[00:30:37] It's after the stable.
[00:30:38] It's after the birth.
[00:30:40] Joseph and Mary have now taken the promised one.
[00:30:42] They've taken their son Jesus to the temple.
[00:30:44] They're following the law of Moses.
[00:30:46] They're doing the purification.
[00:30:49] And while they're there, they meet two godly older saints, these saints who have been waiting on the promised one, who have been waiting for the Messiah.
[00:30:57] One of them is named Simeon.
[00:30:58] It said of him he was awaiting the consolation or the comfort of Israel.
[00:31:03] and the other is this woman named Anna of whom it said she is awaiting the redemption of Jerusalem and in this text we see the comfort of Israel and we see the redemption of Jerusalem are linked they are linked not just in the abstract they are linked in a person as they now encounter comfort they now encounter redemption and they do so in the face of a child
[00:31:26] Now while we'll spend our time focusing on Anna this morning, it's important for us to note why Luke has included this twofold testimony about this child.
[00:31:35] Luke is intentional including both a godly older man and a godly older woman as witnesses to the Messiah.
[00:31:44] He has done so to expressly validate that this child is indeed the hoped for one.
[00:31:49] He is indeed the promised one.
[00:31:51] This is who Israel has been waiting for.
[00:31:53] This is the Messiah.
[00:31:55] And as we turn our attention to Anna, there are four words, there are four commitments that shaped her life that I hope will shape our life as well.
[00:32:03] There are four W words.
[00:32:04] She was committed to the Word, worship, witness, and waiting.
[00:32:09] The Word, worship, witness, and waiting.
[00:32:11] First, she's committed to the Word.
[00:32:13] Look again at verse 36.
[00:32:15] It says this, and there was a prophetess named Anna, the daughter of Phanuel of the tribe of Asher.
[00:32:21] We learn in the text that she's a prophetess, which means she is sensitive to God's revelation.
[00:32:26] She is sensitive to God's Word.
[00:32:28] And it doesn't just mean, as we see with other prophets, that she's in tune with messages that God is giving to her directly, but rather it also means she knows the Old Testament.
[00:32:38] She knows the Scripture.
[00:32:39] She knows the Word.
[00:32:40] And so her prophetic role and her sensitivity to God's Word made her both a reliable witness and one who was able to recognize that this child was truly who the child was sent to be.
[00:32:51] I want you to hear me by way of application this morning.
[00:32:55] This is very important for us.
[00:32:57] Anna is strong in the Word and thus she becomes a vessel for the Word.
[00:33:02] She is strong in the Word so she is a vessel for honorable use.
[00:33:06] Paul talks about this to the church at Thessalonica.
[00:33:08] He says that the Word, he prays that the Word would speed ahead through them.
[00:33:12] And Anna is the kind of person through whom the Word can speed ahead and be honored.
[00:33:17] It says in the text that she's also the daughter of Phanuel from the tribe of Asher.
[00:33:22] and that doesn't really have much significance other than it validates this is actually a historical account.
[00:33:28] This is not a made up fable.
[00:33:30] This is not a made up story.
[00:33:31] This is a true story.
[00:33:33] It's a real historical event.
[00:33:35] Luke wants his readers to know I'm not making this up.
[00:33:38] Anna's a real person.
[00:33:39] She's a real person who has a dad with a funny name.
[00:33:43] You don't get a lot of Fanuels these days.
[00:33:46] But I think the question before us as we end 2025 and as we start to approach 2026 is simply this, will we be deep in the Word so that we can be a vessel for the Word?
[00:33:57] Will we be dedicated to this book so that through us this book would flow out to other people?
[00:34:05] I want us to commit ourselves to be strong in the Word so that we can then be those who share the truths of this Word with people who need to hear the most, with our family and with our friends and with our neighbors and with unbelievers.
[00:34:17] Friends, in these pages there is power.
[00:34:21] Just listen to what the Scriptures say about themselves.
[00:34:25] 2 Timothy 3, they are breathed out by God and thus they make us wise for salvation.
[00:34:29] Isaiah 40, they stand forever.
[00:34:31] Hebrews 4, they are sharper than a two-edged sword.
[00:34:32] Psalm 119, a lamp to our feet.
[00:34:35] 1 Peter 1, they remain forever.
[00:34:37] Isaiah 55, they will not return empty.
[00:34:39] Proverbs 30, all of it proves true.
[00:34:41] Psalm 19, they are
[00:34:42] Perfect and revive the soul.
[00:34:44] John 17, they are truth and sanctify us.
[00:34:46] Matthew 5, none of it will pass away.
[00:34:48] John 10, none of it can be broken.
[00:34:50] Psalm 1, the blessed one delights in them.
[00:34:52] Psalm 12, they are pure.
[00:34:54] Proverbs 4, they are life to those who find them.
[00:34:57] No wonder Luther would say in the Reformation, I simply taught, preached, and wrote God's Word, otherwise I did nothing.
[00:35:04] And while I slept, the Word so greatly weakened the papacy that no prince or emperor ever inflicted such losses upon it.
[00:35:12] I did nothing, the Word did everything.
[00:35:14] Will we be committed to the Word?
[00:35:16] Second, though, she's also committed to worship.
[00:35:18] Look again at verse 36.
[00:35:21] She was advanced in years having lived with her husband seven years from when she was a virgin and then a widow until she was 84.
[00:35:27] She did not depart from the temple worshiping with fasting and prayer night and day.
[00:35:32] Okay, so what did we just read?
[00:35:33] Okay, the text is letting us know in a kind way that Anna is older.
[00:35:40] She's advanced in years.
[00:35:41] She's well along in years.
[00:35:43] It's a helpful tip for us from the Scriptures, particularly to those of us who are young.
[00:35:47] If somebody asks you how old your grandmother is, don't give the exact age, just say she's advanced in years.
[00:35:53] Now as to how exactly advanced Anna is, the text is a bit confusing.
[00:35:57] We don't exactly know.
[00:35:58] So she was either married for seven years, then lost her husband, and she's now 84, or she's been a widow for 84 years, which would put her over 100.
[00:36:09] And reading the scholars, I tend to go with the latter.
[00:36:11] She's somewhere over 100, which means advancing years is a really good description.
[00:36:17] But her age and the fact that she's been a widow for such a long time, they're meant to illustrate for us her devotion to the Lord, that she's been committed to long-term faithfulness and single-minded devotion to Him, and that she has these daily activities of prayer and fasting in the temple to show she's a devout and expectant worshiper of God, and she's been so for the whole duration of her life.
[00:36:39] For a present-day illustration, you might say this of Anna.
[00:36:41] In a sense, every single time the church doors are open, Anna was there.
[00:36:45] She was there worshiping God.
[00:36:47] She was there waiting for the Messiah.
[00:36:50] Brothers and sisters, we all know some Annas, don't we?
[00:36:54] We know some godly ladies.
[00:36:58] There are probably many in this church.
[00:37:00] That's who Anna is.
[00:37:02] But Luke mentions that she is a widow because he intends to show she has chosen devotion to God over remarriage.
[00:37:10] And the Lord has sustained her in that and he has become in the middle of that her ultimate treasure.
[00:37:16] Now, this doesn't mean the point of the text is that if you're a young widow, you need to stay just like Anna.
[00:37:21] In fact, I can say to my bride, Kelsey, if I die young, she can get remarried.
[00:37:27] Might be tacky if she does, but she can get remarried perfectly free.
[00:37:32] Now what Luke is pointing out is something that's descriptive rather than prescriptive.
[00:37:37] He's not saying you have to do this, but he's simply pointing out she has sacrificed in order to be devoted to the Lord.
[00:37:44] He's highlighting her worship of God, not just for a few years, but for a lifetime.
[00:37:50] So another question before us this morning.
[00:37:53] Will we be more devoted worshipers as we end 2025, as we head into 2026?
[00:37:58] Will we be more devoted in the coming days and in the coming months, in the coming year, more than we are now?
[00:38:05] Will we view Him as our highest treasure and our greatest good?
[00:38:09] And it's easy for us as we take stock of a year that's about to pass and we think about a new one, it's very easy for us to answer those questions in the affirmative, but it's not gonna really be shown in how we answer that question, it's gonna be shown in the dedication of our lives.
[00:38:23] Number three, she's committed to being a witness.
[00:38:26] Look at verse 38.
[00:38:28] Coming up that very hour, she began to give thanks to God and to speak of him to all who were waiting for the redemption of Jerusalem.
[00:38:34] Here's what's going on here.
[00:38:36] Anna has approached Mary and Joseph.
[00:38:38] She's approached the child, the child that Israel has been waiting for.
[00:38:42] She gets a glimpse of the child.
[00:38:43] And upon seeing Jesus, it says the first thing she does is she gives thanks.
[00:38:48] Again, on the tail end of Thanksgiving week of time,
[00:38:51] Family and food and football.
[00:38:54] As we think about Thanksgiving, we see that one of the first responses or one of the main responses we should have when we see Jesus, when we see him in the sermons that are preached or texts that we read or in songs that we sing, when we see Jesus, the prompting of our heart should be a prompting of Thanksgiving.
[00:39:12] It should be a response of thankfulness.
[00:39:14] Aren't you thankful this morning that Christ has appeared to you in great grace and in great mercy?
[00:39:20] Aren't you thankful this morning that in Him you have found redemption, you have found forgiveness, you have found adoption, you have found future glory?
[00:39:31] Aren't you thankful this morning that you know Him and even more so that He knows you?
[00:39:38] Notice again for our own application.
[00:39:41] Her thankfulness and her gladness immediately lead her to witnessing about him, to testifying about the Messiah.
[00:39:47] She begins to speak of him to all who are around.
[00:39:50] Her thankfulness, as it were, overflows into witness.
[00:39:55] The question is, does ours?
[00:39:58] The truth is, we speak about the things that we're thankful about.
[00:40:01] We speak about the things that we love.
[00:40:05] We talk about the things that we treasure.
[00:40:07] We commend the things that we cherish.
[00:40:10] My parents have 15 grandkids.
[00:40:11] We were all together.
[00:40:12] There's four boys in the family, 15 grandkids.
[00:40:16] We were all together in one house this week, 25 people.
[00:40:19] My parents are more than happy to talk to you about their grandkids.
[00:40:22] They're more than happy to show you pictures of their grandkids because they're thankful for them.
[00:40:27] They love them.
[00:40:29] They're more than happy to show them off.
[00:40:32] You know, the truth is most of us have trouble not even talking about our favorite Netflix show.
[00:40:38] We talk about the things that we love.
[00:40:40] We commend the things that we cherish.
[00:40:42] And so my question this morning is, by the things that we say and by the things that we post on social media, will people know that we love and treasure and cherish Jesus or so many other things?
[00:40:53] Brothers and sisters, if this is true, if Jesus really is who he says he is, if Jesus has really done for us what the Bible says that he has done for us, we cannot help but speak of these things to others.
[00:41:04] We cannot help but talk about him.
[00:41:06] If we are thankful for what he has done in our lives through the gospel, then we should open our mouths to tell other people how radical what's happened to us is.
[00:41:15] We will be witnesses to the gospel.
[00:41:18] Then the final commitment, she's committed to waiting.
[00:41:21] Look again at verse 38.
[00:41:24] Coming up at that very hour, she began to give thanks to God and to speak of Him to all who were waiting for the redemption of Jerusalem.
[00:41:31] In verse 38, we don't just get to see that she's a witness, we get to see the main point of the entire section.
[00:41:38] She and others have been patiently waiting for the Messiah.
[00:41:42] She has been waiting for the one who has long been promised, the one that would bring redemption, the one that would bring freedom to God's people.
[00:41:49] And the most important truth you can hear this morning, whether you have followed Jesus for a long time or whether you're here for the first time, is how you respond to this child will be the difference between ultimate comfort or ultimate condemnation.
[00:42:03] Hannah has been patiently waiting for the fulfillment of God's promises.
[00:42:08] And these promises are found throughout the Old Testament.
[00:42:10] Namely, that one would come born of woman to crush the serpent's head, Genesis 3.
[00:42:15] One who would be the offspring of Abraham who would bless all the families of the earth, Genesis 12 and 15.
[00:42:20] One who would be from the tribe of Judah, Genesis 49.
[00:42:23] One of David's sons who would establish an everlasting kingdom, 2 Samuel 7, and who the prophets over and over and over again tell us he will come to free his people.
[00:42:34] He will free them from lifelong bondage to sin, lifelong bondage to death, and lifelong bondage to Satan himself.
[00:42:40] And gloriously, what Anna is seeing in front of her now,
[00:42:43] though most people walking by seeing this scene would have no idea what was going on what she is seeing is the true son of David who will cut off the serpent's head who will establish an everlasting kingdom that will be unrivaled she is seeing it in the face of this child she knows who he is and that's why we've seen things during the season like oh come thou rod of Jesse come and free your own from Satan's tyranny
[00:43:12] Friends, we learn a couple of things from Anna's waiting.
[00:43:15] We learn that God in His grace, God in His great grace is given here to one who was faithfully longing for a glimpse.
[00:43:23] He has given her the thing that she has been waiting for.
[00:43:25] He has been giving her exactly what she has been longing to see.
[00:43:30] God in His grace reveals more of Himself to those who are most dedicated to Him.
[00:43:37] He reveals Himself more to those who are more dedicated to Him.
[00:43:43] because they know the scriptures.
[00:43:45] In fact, I believe this reference to her age and to Simeon's age as well is to underscore for us just how long Israel has waited and even more so how long the faithful remnant of Israel has waited to see this Messiah.
[00:43:59] And now two of his most devoted saints has been able to see this day dawn.
[00:44:04] You see, it's important for us to note Anna's not the main character in the story and neither is Simeon.
[00:44:10] The main character in this story, as with every story in the Scriptures, as with everything in the entire Bible, is Jesus of Nazareth.
[00:44:18] The one who has come to set the captives free.
[00:44:21] And for the Israelites who have eyes of faith, they are now getting to see it.
[00:44:26] They are now getting to understand that their wait is over.
[00:44:30] See, it would not matter at all if Anna were committed to waiting if the object of her waiting was the wrong thing.
[00:44:37] It would not matter at all that she was committed to worship and to witness if the object of those commitments were wrong.
[00:44:44] And the same thing is true of us.
[00:44:46] It does not matter if we share things.
[00:44:48] It does not matter if we treasure things.
[00:44:50] It does not matter if we worship things if we worship the wrong thing.
[00:44:53] If our affections are placed on the wrong object of faith, then all of this will be in vain.
[00:44:59] We should just shut this down now and all go to the beach for the Carolina Panthers game.
[00:45:08] If our affections are placed in the wrong place, all of this is in vain.
[00:45:14] Brothers and sisters, our faith is not placed in the wrong place.
[00:45:20] The object of our faith, Christ himself is certain, he's sure,
[00:45:28] It seems appropriate then as we head into the Christmas season to once again consider the object of our faith and to do so by considering the staggering reality of the Incarnation.
[00:45:40] As we think about what He has become for us and for our salvation.
[00:45:46] I love how the great Baptist preacher R.G.
[00:45:48] Lee captures the wonder of the Incarnation
[00:45:52] It's hard to say it better than I think this quote says it.
[00:45:54] Listen to what he says.
[00:45:56] Christ in eternity rested motherless upon the father's bosom and in time rested fatherless upon a woman's bosom, clasping the ancient of days who had now become the infant of days.
[00:46:08] What deep descent from the heights of glory to the depths of shame, from the wonders of heaven to the wickedness of earth, from exaltation to humiliation, from the throne to the tree, from dignity to debasement, from worship to wrath, from the halls of heaven to the nails of earth, from coronation to the curse, from the glory place to the gory place.
[00:46:25] Listen to this.
[00:46:26] In Bethlehem, humility and glory in their extremes were joined.
[00:46:31] Born in a stable, cradled in a cattle trough, wrapped in swaddling clothes of poverty, no room for him who made all rooms.
[00:46:38] No place for Him who made and knows all places.
[00:46:41] O deep humiliation of the Creator, born of the creature woman, but in His descent was the dawn of mercy.
[00:46:46] Because we could not ascend to Him, He descends to us.
[00:46:50] Brothers and sisters, no wonder Queen Lucy would say in the last battle of the Chronicles of Narnia, yes, in our world too, a stable once had something inside it that was larger than our whole world.
[00:47:05] The Incarnation, what we celebrate at Christmas,
[00:47:07] was absolutely essential for our redemption, was absolutely essential for our salvation.
[00:47:16] And how does this one accomplish the redemption that Anna is waiting on?
[00:47:18] How does he accomplish the salvation that we so desperately need?
[00:47:24] Well, I want us to return again to those shepherds we read about at the beginning.
[00:47:28] Because I think sometimes we can miss what's happening there in Luke chapter two.
[00:47:33] The mention of the shepherds in Bethlehem at the birth of Jesus is a fascinating mention.
[00:47:38] and it's no throwaway.
[00:47:40] See the shepherds in Judea and other parts of Judea, they would raise sheep for the wool and for the meat, but the shepherds in Bethlehem were different.
[00:47:55] They raised their sheep, not for meat and wool, but for the ones that would be sacrificed on the altar at the temple.
[00:48:06] as a plea before God for the forgiveness of sins.
[00:48:10] It's a picture of the great exchange, the animal suffering death, the penalty of sin in the sinner's place.
[00:48:20] So you see, Jesus's birth was not just announced to any shepherds, but to the shepherds of sacrifice.
[00:48:32] This is why our brother John would tell us, this is the Lamb of God who will take away the sins of the world.
[00:48:37] Listen to how one scholar tells it.
[00:48:40] The presence of the shepherds at the birth scene of Jesus reminds believers today that Jesus was not born merely to incarnate deity and reveal God to us, though he certainly did that.
[00:48:50] No, the little child who was wrapped in strips of swaddling cloth at his birth was born to be wrapped in strips of burial cloth at his crucifixion.
[00:49:01] The summons of the shepherds of sacrifice to Jesus' birth reminds us that Jesus was born for the knife and the altar.
[00:49:09] He was born for the nails and the cross.
[00:49:12] And that only by His shed blood can sinners have peace with the Holy God.
[00:49:19] Friends, the Incarnation is not some fairy tale.
[00:49:22] The incarnation that the Son of God became man is necessary for our salvation.
[00:49:26] You see, in the incarnation and then in the cross is the only way for God to uphold His holiness while also dealing with the sinfulness of man.
[00:49:35] By the Son of God becoming like us in every way yet without sin so that His Father could be just in dealing with sin but could also be the justifier of the ones who have faith in Jesus.
[00:49:46] this is how this takes place because God himself becomes like us in every way and yet without sin and he stands in the sinner's stead he sits there at the cross as hour after hour the judgment of God do our sin touches down upon him
[00:50:02] And how do we know that he's accomplished our redemption at the cross?
[00:50:05] How do we know he has done for us all that we need?
[00:50:07] It's simple.
[00:50:09] Christ has abolished death and he showed that to us walking out of a grave on the third day.
[00:50:13] And now he sits at God's right hand.
[00:50:16] And again, just consider how staggering that is.
[00:50:19] The throne of God is now occupied by a man.
[00:50:23] and not just any man it's occupied by a man who has scars on his hands who has human blood running through his veins it's occupied by Jesus of Nazareth born in Bethlehem revealed to Anna and not a God has scars but him alone so what's our response where should true and ultimate hope be directed if you're here this morning and you're not a Christian we want you to hear us clearly comfort
[00:50:49] Consolation, Redemption, Salvation, Forgiveness, Being made right with God, they are all available in Jesus.
[00:50:56] Will you trust Him today?
[00:50:57] Will you put your faith in Him, in Him alone today?
[00:51:00] Will you put ultimate hope, hope for your future in this one?
[00:51:04] If that's you, we would love to talk with you after the service about what it looks like to put your faith in Christ, to repent of your sins and turn from that life and to be found in Him.
[00:51:14] And Christians, what is our response?
[00:51:18] Well, as I've been hopefully showing along the way, I hope our response is that we'll be like this woman, Anna.
[00:51:24] That we'll be devout, that we'll be diligent in our waiting, that we'll be faithful.
[00:51:30] It's so interesting, even though she was advanced in years and had never married again, she's not bitter in her waiting.
[00:51:38] She's happy, she's content, she's at peace.
[00:51:41] She trusted God, she worshiped God, she gave thanks to God, and she told others about God.
[00:51:47] Now friends, we're called to wait with the same hope in a similar way to Anna.
[00:51:51] We wait on the future promises of God.
[00:51:54] We wait for the second return.
[00:51:55] We wait for him to come again.
[00:51:57] The question is, will we be found faithful in our waiting?
[00:52:00] We wait for another Christmas on a day when that eastern sky is gonna split open and our king is once again gonna put those scarred feet on earth's soil on a day when he's gonna make all things right.
[00:52:11] But brothers and sisters, we wait with even more revelation than Anna had.
[00:52:16] You see, Anna never saw Him give sight to the blind.
[00:52:18] She never saw Him give a compassionate touch to the leper.
[00:52:21] She never saw Him feed thousands with a few loaves.
[00:52:24] She never saw Him teach with authority.
[00:52:26] She never saw Him set His face like flint to the cross.
[00:52:29] She certainly never saw Him vacate a grave in the Middle East, but we have.
[00:52:34] So we will long for His coming in the same way Anna did and with the same devotion and commitments that Anna had, remembering that past kept promises are simply a down payment of future grace.
[00:52:45] And that's why our brothers Peter and Paul tell us there is great reward awaiting those who will patiently wait.
[00:52:51] Listen to what Peter says.
[00:52:53] Therefore, preparing your minds for action and being sober-minded, set your hope fully on the grace that will be brought to you at the coming of Jesus Christ.
[00:53:04] And then Paul says this to the church at Rome.
[00:53:07] Therefore, since we have been justified by faith, we have peace with God.
[00:53:12] Through our Lord Jesus Christ, through Him, we have also obtained access by faith into this grace in which we stand.
[00:53:19] And we rejoice in hope of the glory of God.
[00:53:21] Not only that, but we rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance and endurance produces character and character produces hope.
[00:53:31] And listen to this, hope does not put us to shame.
[00:53:37] For while we were still weak, at the right time, Christ died for the ungodly.
[00:53:43] See, brothers and sisters, hope will not put us to shame, and hope has a name.
[00:53:49] And that's why we're seeing things like our hope is built on nothing less than Jesus' blood and righteousness.
[00:53:55] We dare not trust the sweetest frame, but wholly lean on Jesus' name.
[00:54:03] Let's pray and ask for the Lord to imprint these things upon our heart.
[00:54:07] It changed us this morning by our time of worship.
[00:54:10] Father, your word is able to make us wise for salvation through faith in our Lord Jesus.
[00:54:15] Father, I pray for any in this room who do not know the Lord Jesus in a saving way.
[00:54:19] Father, I pray that the singing of the gospel, the preaching of the word, and even the fellowship of the saints, I pray that would drive them to see their need
[00:54:29] Father, to see how you have provided for that need in your son Jesus.
[00:54:33] Father, your word also says that this book is able to train and instruct us in righteousness.
[00:54:37] So Father, for those that are Christians, Father, would you now train and instruct us in righteousness?
[00:54:42] Father, because we have been here, again through the singing, through the fellowship, through the preaching, Father, would you change us from one degree of glory to another?
[00:54:51] Father, thank you for this sweet faith family.
[00:54:53] Father, I pray that you would bless it in the days ahead.
[00:54:57] Would you help them to be known as a people who are committed to your word, who are committed to worshiping, who are committed to witnessing, and Father, who have absolute hope and trust that they're waiting for their King to return soon.
[00:55:12] And to that we say, come quickly, Lord Jesus.
[00:55:15] Come and make things right.
[00:55:19] We pray now that Lord Jesus will get all the glory that he is due.
[00:55:25] We pray these things in Jesus' name.

[00:55:27] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_02]:
Who is the great King of glory?
[00:55:56] Seated on high in the heavens, oh Jesus, You alone You are the Lord God Almighty Strong in compassion and mercy, oh
[00:56:20] Jesus, You alone I've searched the world for a love that could fill my heart But nothing compares to the wonder of who You are
[00:56:47] All the unseen falling All the angels crying Jesus you alone Jesus you alone
[00:57:12] You set the stars in the heavens You set the world into motion Jesus, You are love You bring to life and creation You walked among your creation
[00:57:41] Jesus, You alone I've searched, I've searched the world For a love that could fill my heart All but nothing compares To the wonder of who You are Holy, all the earth sings
[00:58:17] Jesus is Lord
[00:58:51] You shed Your blood for salvation You broke the curse for our freedom Jesus, You alone You rose from death with the morning
[00:59:20] Jesus, You alone Jesus, You alone
[01:00:33] Holy, I can't help but sing Holy, how my heart cries out Holy, Jesus
[01:01:04] Jesus, you are Lord.

[01:01:12] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_01]:
Amen.
[01:01:13] Thank you, Marty.
[01:01:13] Thank you, everybody.
[01:01:14] Take a seat just for a quick second.
[01:01:18] Thank you, Pastor Nate, for that amazing message.
[01:01:23] So excited about what God's doing in the heart and life of our church here in Uptown.
[01:01:29] So thankful for all of you.
[01:01:32] Don't forget this Tuesday night Charity Gale will be here and it's gonna be it's just gonna be an amazing night and I hope you can come and if you'd like to serve in any capacity with our event just reach out to me via email or Lindsay Adams and we we definitely have some things that we could have you do listen as we go into Christmas season so I didn't grow up as a little boy in Southern Baptist life
[01:01:59] I didn't go into Southern Baptist life until I was in my early 20s and there's always something we talk about during Christmas and I think there are probably many of you that were like me
[01:02:14] that had no idea what it was about.
[01:02:15] So I've asked Zach, our Minister of Media Arts to come up and he's done quite a bit of research and he and I were kind of in the same boat trying to figure out exactly what this all meant and that's okay.
[01:02:31] But here's what I love about Zach.
[01:02:33] Zach's got a great gift for teaching.
[01:02:35] Here's what he does.
[01:02:37] He just reduces you to nothing and then he builds you back up.
[01:02:43] But no, Zach does.
[01:02:45] He has a very unique way of sharing truth about some things that are very interesting.
[01:02:50] And so, Zach, why don't you share with everybody what we're getting ready to go into?

[01:02:53] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_00]:
Sure.
[01:02:54] So, I'm actually the opposite.
[01:02:56] When I was in second grade, I started going to church.
[01:02:58] That's when I got saved.
[01:02:59] And I have actually so much so like I've read the Lottie Moon and the Annie Armstrong books.
[01:03:06] If you haven't read them, go read them.
[01:03:08] They're amazing missionaries.
[01:03:09] But right now, we're talking about Lottie Moon.
[01:03:12] And if you don't know, Lottie Moon was one of the first female missionaries, more importantly, to China.
[01:03:18] And the reason why is they realized they couldn't reach the Chinese women
[01:03:23] Without a Woman.
[01:03:24] And so they brought Lottie Moon, and she got in there.
[01:03:27] And Lottie Moon was a prolific writer, so she wrote so many letters.
[01:03:33] One time, one year, she wrote 18,000 letters because the situation of missionaries at the time was so poor
[01:03:43] that they were living in poverty they didn't have enough missionaries there were so many things they need so all that she did was she wrote along with serving as a missionary in rural china she wrote letters to help raise money to help get more missionaries on mission field to the point that in 1888
[01:04:02] which I do have to point out that a hundred year later I was born so it's a great year.
[01:04:07] 1888 she started the first women's missionary group and that first year around Christmas time they raised almost four thousand dollars that very first year which if you don't know it'd be like if an organization started this year and they raised a hundred and twenty three thousand dollars.
[01:04:27] So every year since then, churches have been collecting through the Southern Baptist Convention money for Lottie Moon to go out.
[01:04:35] And actually, on average, we collect about $1.2 million that goes towards missionaries.
[01:04:42] And the great thing about Lottie Moon is every single dime
[01:04:45] goes to those missionaries to help get missionaries on the field, to help get them the resources they need, the training they need, the help they need.
[01:04:53] Also, fun fact about Lottie Moon, she realized at the time people would go on the mission field and you'd never see them again, right?
[01:04:59] You'd get letters, but they'd never come home.
[01:05:01] Lottie realized, hey, maybe we should actually see our family sometimes.
[01:05:04] It was her idea.
[01:05:06] that every 10 years missionaries took a furlough and they would spend time and that prolonged their missionary life and it allowed for churches to actually see what it's like to be a missionary on the field so every Christmas we gather money whether it's through offering envelopes or giving online for the Lottie Moon offering and it goes 100 to missionaries all around the world yeah it's a beautiful thing this church has done that for years in fact

[01:05:34] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_01]:
Speaking of giving, ushers, if you would, go ahead and come.
[01:05:38] Deacons, if you would, come.
[01:05:40] And as soon as you get to the front, deacons, you can go ahead and start collecting.
[01:05:44] Now, we're not officially collecting, right, Zach, for this until next week.
[01:05:50] But you'll be able to give online, you'll be able to give with envelopes, you'll be able to give in any of the ways that we normally provide for you to be able to give through our app.
[01:06:01] Anything else to add to that, Zach?

[01:06:03] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_00]:
Yeah, if you go online, there will be a drop-down menu that says Lottie Moon.
[01:06:07] So it'll be—we try to make it as easy as possible for you guys to be able to support the missionaries on the mission field.

[01:06:14] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_01]:
Amen.
[01:06:15] Thank you, Zach.
[01:06:15] You're welcome.
[01:06:16] I hope that was helpful to y'all.
[01:06:18] It was sure helpful to me, yeah.
[01:06:21] Thank you, Zach.
[01:06:22] And what a great day.
[01:06:23] Again, don't forget Tuesday night, Charity Gale.
[01:06:26] Don't forget Christmas Eve.
[01:06:28] We're going to have an amazing time here at our church.
[01:06:31] We're going to have candlelight.
[01:06:32] We're going to have communion together.
[01:06:35] We're going to have worship together.
[01:06:37] It's going to be a beautiful, beautiful night on December 24 at 5 p.m.
[01:06:43] So that way you'll be able to get done and get back to your families quickly to enjoy all the beautiful traditions that you do.
[01:06:50] Stand with me if you would and I'm going to say a quick prayer and then we'll go home for the day.
[01:06:55] Thank you again, Zach, for that great word this morning.
[01:07:01] Father in Jesus name and by the power of the Holy Spirit we pray as we contemplate not only giving here in the life of this church but as we contemplate giving to our missionaries and providing them the means to do the things that they've been called to do in gospel ministry Lord I pray that you would begin to speak to all of us right now about what that would be
[01:07:23] And Lord, I pray that you would use all of us to make this an amazing effort that makes life on the road in foreign countries maybe just a little bit easier because just a loving group of people decided to pour in to people that love the gospel.
[01:07:40] Lord, I pray you give us safety as we go for Nate as he heads home.
[01:07:46] And Lord, we just thank you for all that you've done here in the heart and life of this church.
[01:07:50] Would you continue, Father, to make yourself known among us, your servants, in Jesus' name.
[01:07:57] Amen.
[01:07:57] God bless you, everybody.