Living for the Kingdom of God — Sermon by Rev. Craig Stephans

let us

pray oh Father we pray that your grace

would be upon us today we pray that your

Holy Spirit would be upon us and that

you would guide us as the gospel is

preached and heard apply it to our lives

with power and

conviction we ask in jesus' name

amen please be

seated as we celebrate the Lord's

presentation in the temple

and continue that early Narrative of

Jesus's life that Luke provides we see

again how specific and historical Luke

is in his writings we hear about a

specific place and time specific people

who are in the temple and the words that

are

said he also continues to express these

powerful movements of God among his

people and also the themes for the life

of of the people of God we see it in

this encounter in the temple and I

encourage you to re to turn or open up

Luke Chapter 2 and I'm going to read

Luke 2 · chapter mention

through it and I want you to see if you

can pick out some of these highlights

that I'm going to emphasize today for

our lives and I'm going to start with

the first couple verses Luke 22 to

24 and see if you can identify the theme

in this set of

verses beginning in verse 22 and when

the time came for their purification

according to the law of Moses they

brought him up to Jerusalem to present

him to the Lord as it is written in the

law of the Lord every male who first

opens the womb Shall be Called holy to

the Lord and to offer a sacrifice

according to what is said in the law of

the Lord a pair of two Turtle do a pair

of turtle does or two young

pigeons just in those two scriptures did

you hear the emphasis on the law of the

Lord and living and following the law of

the Lord according to what is said

according to what is written being

obedient we see the Holy Family Mary and

Joseph bringing Jesus in accordance with

the law they are living according to the

scriptures according to God's

word and this is what God calls us to

do he calls us to live according to his

word it says in Deuteronomy 83 a

scripture that was quoted by Jesus later

in his life in the wilderness when he is

tempted Deuteronomy 8:3 man does man

Deuteronomy 8:3

lives by every word that comes from the

mouth of the Lord so you shall keep the

Commandments of the Lord your God by

walking in his ways and by fearing him

and later toward the end of Deuteronomy

it says in verse 3 247 for that this is

no empty word for you but your very life

we see that demonstrated in this passage

Mary and Joseph are living according to

this word they are making it their

life they're attuned to what God has

said in his scripture to be obedient to

that word and we see this theme

throughout scripture from beginning to

end the emphasis for the people of God

to live according to his

word Psalm 119 speaks of the value of

God's word and our call to live

according to it and the benefits of it

throughout the psalm there's a scripture

I really love it's Psalm

Psalms 119:32

119:32 the psalmist says I will run in

the way of your Commandments when you

enlarge my

heart can you imagine the passion of

that I will run in the way of your

Commandments I will move according to

your word when you enlarge my heart when

you enable me when you free me when you

inspire me living according to God's

word is what God inspires it's what God

desires and it's a purpose for which

it's written and we see this

demonstrated in the holy

family and then what happens when they

come to the temple in obedience to God

and living according to his word well in

verses

25 through 28 we see listen for the

theme here 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 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 and he came in

the spirit into the temple and when the

parents brought 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 Peoples a light for

Revelation to the Gentiles and for Glory

to your People

Israel and then his father and mother

marveled that what was said about him

and Simeon blessed them and said to Mary

his mother 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 so that thoughts from

many hearts will be

revealed that you catch the theme in

simeon's

life now he's righteous and devout

that's another way for Luke to say he

was living according to God's law

following the Commandments of

scripture and then we find out the Holy

Spirit was upon him and the Holy Spirit

had revealed to him what was to come

that he would see the Lord's Christ and

then he comes into the temple

in the

spirit we see the combination of living

according to God's scripture and living

in the presence of the Holy

Spirit and then how that is Manifest in

what Simeon

does what Simeon does is He blesses

God and declares the truth of God a

prophecy over Jesus that he would be a

light of Revelation for the Gentiles and

for the glory of Israel he is going to

be for all people a

transforming

presence and then He

blesses Mary and

Joseph the holy spirit is upon him and

when Mary and Joseph follow God's word

and they come into the presence of

someone else following God's word who is

also in the presence of the Holy Spirit

then God manifests his goodness his love

his glory his TR truthfulness His

blessings and imagine the kind of man

Simeon was that the Holy Family who have

just Mary has just given birth to the

Son of God Joseph is like in charge now

of the Son of God they give him to

Simeon that Simeon may take him in his

arms and bless him that's the kind of

man that the Holy Spirit shapes and

forms and of course the Holy Spirit

would attend to God God's word and would

Express himself when people are living

according to God's word in the New

Testament Timothy tells us in second

Timothy

316 chter 3:1 16 all scripture is

breathed out by God and profitable for

teaching for Repro for correction and

for training and righteousness so that

the person of God may be complete

equipped for every good work Peter

confirms this in his second letter in

chapter 1: 21 when he says no prophet

was ever produced by the will of man but

men spoke from God as they were carried

Along by the Holy Spirit the Holy Spirit

inspired God's word for us to live by it

that we might have life to the

full and so when people are living by

God's word the Holy Spirit manifests his

presence in and through them for the

blessing of God and for the blessing of

all people Jesus indicated this in his

teaching in John's gospel prior to

Jesus's arrest in the garden as his

disciples were leaving the upper room he

prayed for them this High Priestly

prayer and in John 17:1 17 he prayed to

John 17:1

the father sanctify them in truth your

word is truth Jesus confirms God's word

is truth and it's his word and then

earlier in that same conversation that

evening in John

John 15:26

15:26 he said when the helper comes whom

I will send to you from the Father the

spirit of Truth who proceeds from the

father he will bear witness about me and

then again in that conversation in

chapter 16 verse 13 when the spirit of

truth comes he will guide you into all

Truth for he will not speak on his own

authority but whatever he hears he will

speak and he will declare to you the

things that are to come the Holy Spirit

inspired God's word it is the word of

Truth and he is the spirit of

Truth and we need both in our lives that

we might be Sanctified by the truth and

that we might hear from

God now Simeon was a devout and

righteous

man the holy family is the holy

family and we'll talk about Anna in a

minute a very holy and devout woman and

we can think well I'm not holy and

devout and righteous like they are

because we may try but then when we fail

we can think that's it I blew it there

is no way I can pretend to be holy

devout and righteous now someone who can

be filled with the Holy Spirit someone

who can speak through the Holy Spirit

someone who can bless God or others I'm

just going to try to get in through that

door and like the psalmist said be a

doorkeeper in the house of God if I can

just be that

person there is something important for

us to

remember and it struck me as I was

thinking about this very thing the

deacons and I are reading a book by Alan

Ross on worship and as I was thinking

about this this week I read this very

sentence he writes in a topic about

worship he says devout worshippers are

not sinless

people we have to remember that devout

worshippers are not and have never

been sinless people and will not be

sinless people until we are in the

presence of God in his

kingdom we will sin we will fall short

of God's glory Simeon fell short of

God's glory the Holy Family fell short

of God's glory Anna fell short of God's

glory although they were Sanctified they

were growing in their faith and living

holy

lives we can't let the reality that we

are sinners prevent us from being

worshippers of God who live according to

script scripture and who live in the

presence and power and working of the

Holy Spirit Alan Ross goes on to say

devout worshippers are not sinless

people they are confessing Believers the

Israelites certainly knew this if anyone

even the best of them was going to enter

God's presence to worship there had to

be a provision for

forgiveness true devout worshippers of

God are not perfect or sinless but they

confess their sins and receive

forgiveness and cleansing from all

unrighteousness because a provision has

been made for our sins and that

provision is applied to our sins and he

wipes them away and he washes them away

and he clothes Us in his righteousness

our provision is this very child who

came to his Temple and then to the Cross

so that we could be the righteousness of

God in

him we have to remember remember that as

as we go through this

passage in verse 36 we come to Anna the

propheus and see if you can pick out the

theme of the Christian Life here and

there was a prophetess Anna the daughter

of Fel of the tribe of Asher she was

advanced in years having lived with her

husband 7even years from when she was a

virgin and then as a widow until she was

84 she did not depart from the temple

worshiping with fasting and prayer night

and day and coming at that very hour she

SP she began to give thanks to God and

to speak of him to all who were waiting

for the Redemption of

Israel Anna being in the temple night

and day she worshiped with fasting and

prayer fasting and

prayer

now because I don't have a lot of time

in anticipation of the scripture I

thought well I can't really get into

fasting so I'm just going to ignore that

we won't talk about that sort of like I

tend to do in the pattern of my life too

much and I was comfortable with that and

then I came to morning prayer I don't

know Ann if it was Wednesday or Thursday

and I asked an what is their what's our

home group studying oh we're studying

the hunger for God by John Piper I was

like oh man if you haven't read that

it's a book all about the need and the

purpose and the power of fasting and

I've read it a couple times and I fasted

a couple times after it and I knew when

she said that I was like oh

no I don't only have to preach about

fasting i' I've got to fast I've got to

come to their home group and revisit

this book because this is the Christian

Life it is

worshiping with prayer and with fasting

it is surrendering ourselves to God it

is dying to our own fleshly desires for

the sake of God and his kingdom and Anna

did that for the sake of those who would

come into that Temple she not only saw

Jesus and spoke about him it says she

gave thanks to God and spoke of him to

all who were there waiting for the

Redemption of Israel she blessed all of

them who were there this woman who

wasn't a priest who wasn't a levite who

probably didn't have any official

position or standing in the temple but

she lived according to scripture she had

the Holy Spirit and she committed by the

spirit to prayer and fasting and worship

so when the time came it was her who

gave a

word of the Gospel of Jesus Christ to

all who were

there this is not unlike Jesus himself

who when he was taken up into heaven in

Luke

Luke 24:50

24:50 he lifted up his hands and he

blessed his

disciples and while he blessed them he

parted and was carried up into

heaven and then they follow the example

of Anna they worshiped him and returned

to Jerusalem with great joy and were

continually in the temple blessing

God do you hear

that being blessed by God and blessed by

others and in response faithful response

blessing God can you believe that that

people are blessing God as well as

blessing each other and being blessed by

God is it possible that we people like

us could bless God individually and as a

congregation well by his grace yes

through the provision of Christ and his

word and the Holy Spirit and the

disciplines he gives us to worship and

to pray and fast we can bless God and

bless each

other something else we see in Simeon

and Anna's life is their expectation for

what was to come and their anticipation

of it they were living not only in in

hopes of the kingdom of God coming but

they were living in the present reality

of God's kingdom we see

Simeon he was a righteous and devout man

in verse 25 waiting for the consolation

of Israel he's living in God's kingdom

waiting for that Kingdom to come more

fully we see Anna in verse 38 she gave

thanks to God and spoke of him to all

who were waiting for the Redemption of

Israel waiting for the Redemption of

God's people the Redemption of God's

creation which comes through Jesus

Christ yesterday we had the Men's

breakfast and a wonderful Gathering

wonderful breakfast by The Feast makers

and our speaker was John wise he comes

at 8:00 some of you may not know John

and Meg wise their son James Margaret

who was

here he spoke about his life of Faith

his story story and as he closed he

closed with this

emphasis that very humbly he thought as

I read scripture as I grow in my faith I

think more and more we are to live in

God's kingdom

now and I was like yeah that is the key

living in God's kingdom Now by his word

with his Spirit worshiping praying and

fasting and also anticipating the coming

of his kingdom full holy when Jesus

returns we see this in the New Testament

When Jesus ascended into heaven the

disciples are left dumbfounded staring

into the

sky and these two angels beside them I

mean it's almost humorous how they

gently rebuke the disciples and say men

of Galilee why do you stand looking into

heaven this Jesus who was taken up from

you into heaven he will come in the same

way as you saw him go into heaven and it

was a message hey go get about the work

of Jesus live in the Kingdom but no he

is coming back and live in anticipation

of that coming and that Kingdom this is

how the New Testament closes in

Revelation chapter 22 Jesus's message is

Revelation 22 · chapter mention

behold in verse 12 I am coming soon

bringing my recompense with me to repay

each one for what he has done I am the

Alpha and Omega the first and the last

the beginning and the end blessed are

those who wash their robes so that they

may have the right to the tree of life

and that they may enter the city by the

gates the spirit in the bride say come

let the one who hears say come and let

the one who is thirsty come let the one

who desires take the Water of Life

without

price and then in verse 20 he who

testifies to these things says surely I

am coming soon amen come Lord Jesus

those who are living in God's kingdom

anticipating

that paradise restored by

God are living in anticipation of his

coming that's a part of our Christian

Life just like it was Simeon and Anna as

they waited for the consolation the

Redemption of Israel we wait for the

consolation of us being in God's kingdom

where there will be no more sin and we

wait for the Redemption and renewal of

all things as Paul writes will happen

and that creation groans and that the

spirit Grans and that his people groan

for that day waiting in

anticipation and to close out this

passage in verse 39 Luke then concludes

and when they had performed everything

according to the law of the Lord they

returned into Galilee to their own town

of Nazareth and the child grew and

became strong filled with wisdom and the

favor of God was upon

them it would be wonderful to stay in

the midst of the the holy spirit's

glorious

manifestation of the anointed words of

Prophecy of the blessing one another and

being Hands-On in that temple in that

space But the holy family doesn't stay

there they return to

Nazareth they return to the day today

task of mundane and ordinary life in

this

world their own town of Nazareth

so must

we live out this

life in our world world that is Fallen a

world that is stressful and difficult a

world that is opposed to God's kingdom

but that's where we live it out and we

come together and we build one another

up in faith and we take our time to be

with the Lord and let him build us up

it's got a purpose for us here

though in verse 40 the child grew and

became strong filled with wisdom and the

favor of God was upon

him this is how we live in the world

strong in the Lord with wisdom of God

and all the Fruit of the Spirit and the

gifts of the Spirit but especially with

the grace and favor of God upon us if

Jesus the son of God who was and is and

will always be perfect and Lord needed

the grace of God upon him in this world

how much more do we need how much more

must we look for how much more must we

receive and give the grace of God Paul

says that the grace of God will abound

to us so that we may abound in all good

works in this world we've got a task to

do as we anticipate the coming of the

Kingdom Paul writes that all are led by

the spirit are sons of God in chapter 8

verse4 of Romans you did not receive a

spirit of Slavery to fall back into fear

but you have received this Spirit of

adoption as Sons by whom we cry ABA

father the spirit himself Bears Witness

witness with our spirit that we are

children of God we are fellow Hees with

Christ provided we suffer with him in

order that we may be glorified with him

for I consider that the sufferings of

this present time are not worth

comparing with the glory that is to be

revealed in

us all creation waits for that day no

matter what happens to us in this world

we are children of God by the grace of

God the salvation of Jesus and the

presence power of the Holy SP

Spirit don't let your sins convince you

otherwise don't let what happens in this

world convince you otherwise that if

Christ is in you you have the hope of

glory and you're going to the

kingdom

live in scripture live according to

God's word live in the presence of the

holy spirit in you and with you Worship

the Lord with prayer and even by God's

grace fasting live in the present

reality of God's kingdom that is here

but is also coming and

anticipated and in doing so we will

bless God we'll bless each other and we

will bless this world that they may know

that Jesus is Lord of lords and King of

Kings may it be so amen