Galatians 4:4-5

Jesus.

You'll turn in your Bibles to page 857 in the Black Church Bible.

!

I'll work out that people learn as much by observing models than they learn in the classroom.

In fact, people learn more by observing models than they learn in the classroom.

That's been my experience, and I suspect it's been yours, and I think it's certainly the

teaching in the New Testament.

For those of you who are parents, where did you learn about parenting?

For those of you who are married, where did you learn about marriage?

In your job, where did you learn to do it?

In preaching, it's certainly the case, isn't it?

That you learn more from models than you do from the classroom.

You've seen people who've done it well, and you've got to learn often their voice sounds

the same, isn't it?

There's a generation of Welsh preachers that were trained under Barbara's husband, Geoff

Thomas, and they all speak like this with big hands, and they wave like windmills.

And you observe the model, and you seek to emulate the model, don't you?

And I want to say to you this morning that we learn far more from observing models than

we do by listening to all the theories of education.

It's why reading Christian biographies is so really vital and important.

It's why finding people in this congregation who you can look to, and they can be your model,

is so vital.

And Luke understands this.

Let's just look at his purpose.

Come back with me to the start of his gospel.

You'll see why he's writing.

He's writing for his patron, the man who supports him.

A man who's called Theophilus, that's his name.

And he says, well let me read you one more, it's fine.

Inasmuch as many have undertaken to compile a narrative, a report of the things that have

been accomplished among us, have been fulfilled among us.

What has happened in Jesus is a fulfilment.

Just as those who from the beginning were eyewitnesses, and ministers, servants of the

word, delivered them to us.

That is, my source is eyewitnesses.

And so therefore it seemed good to me, also having followed all these things closely for

some time past, to write an orderly account for you.

Most excellent Theophilus.

Do you see, my research method is, Luke says, I want you to know that I investigated very

carefully in order that I can write down an orderly account for you.

I didn't just sit down one day and think, oh, what do I remember about the Lord Jesus?

Let me write it down.

Now look at the first verse, that you may have certainty concerning the things which you've

been taught.

In the original it is this, that you may know the things which you've been taught, certainty.

The last word in which Luke uses in verse 4 is the word certainty.

Because he wants Theophilus' patron, the man who's supporting him, above all things, in

this orderly account, this eyewitnesses sources that he's researching.

He wants Theophilus to be certain, to back his life on it.

Certain of what?

Well, Luke proceeds to give us the fullest account of Jesus coming into the world.

So look at chapter 1, verse 8.

Here's the coming of John the Baptist.

He's the forerunner.

He's the one that goes before the Lord Jesus.

The angel speaks to Zechariah and tells him that his angel, his aged wife, Elizabeth,

is about to give birth to a son.

Verse 18.

Zechariah said to the angel, how do I know this?

If I'm an old man, my wife is advanced in years.

And so sure enough, Elizabeth, the mother of John the Baptist, the wife of Zechariah,

she becomes pregnant in her old age.

And in her sixth month of pregnancy, the angel Gabriel comes to Mary.

Look at verse 31.

Verse 31.

And the angel says, behold, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son,

and you shall call his name Jesus.

And he will be great, and he will be called the Son of the Most High.

And the Lord God will give to him the throne of his father David,

and he will reign over the house of Jacob forever and ever and ever.

And Mary said, well, how will this be?

Because I'm a virgin.

The angel answered, the Holy Spirit will come upon you.

And the power of the Most High will overshadow you.

Therefore the child will be born to you and be called Holy, the Son of God.

In the Creed, already this morning, we confessed together, haven't we,

that Jesus is both of Mary and of God.

Early Christian, David Ignatius said that he was both made, that is, of Mary,

and he is not made, that is, of the Holy Spirit.

Both of Mary and of God.

And Matthew and Luke both account the virgin birth.

Matthew and Mark, on the other hand, report that he is not the son of Joseph,

but he is the son of Mary.

The Bible is very clear that it wants to say to you that Jesus Christ is truly human.

But he is truly divine, he is not tainted by sin, he is born of God.

And therefore, because he is both fully God and fully man,

he can bridge the gap between man and God, the God and man,

because he is the God-man.

Look at verse 38.

And Mary said, behold, I am the servant of the Lord,

let it be to me according to your word.

And the angel departed from her.

And I want you to notice the song in 52-53.

Mary praises God.

In verse 52, she says this,

He's brought down the mighty from their thrones,

and exalted those of humble estate.

He's filled the hungry with good things,

and the rich he sent away empty.

And so the birth of this child, who is the son of God,

the birth of this child, who was conceived by the Holy Spirit,

in the womb of the Virgin Mary,

is going to be marked by humility.

And if you come to chapter 2,

you will see that the Lord Jesus is born in Bethlehem.

He's placed in a manger, chapter 2, verse 10.

And the angel comes and announces the birth to shepherds.

Shepherds, we learned last week from Chris Humphrey,

that the lowliest of society,

they literally have no name.

There's no names of the shepherds.

They are lowly people.

You don't worry too much about shepherds.

They were not people of status.

So chapter 2, verse 10,

the angel said to them,

Fear not, for behold, I bring you good news of great joy,

and it would be for all the people.

Chapter 2, verse 20,

And the shepherds returned glorifying and praising God

for all they had heard and seen as it had been told them.

Augustine said this famously to me,

Without ceasing to be what he eternally was,

he became what he eternally was not.

God became flesh.

Luke says, I want you to have absolute, rock-solid certainty.

Now let's follow what happened to Jesus.

He's circumcised on the eighth day.

On the fortieth day, he's brought for presentation.

Verse 21, I seduce them.

The visit is timed by the law.

It's not random.

Circumcision on the eighth day,

They say that's the day

that vitamin K,

the blood-clotting agent,

is at its maximum.

So it's a good day for circumcision.

Forty days later, he's presented at the temple.

There's nothing haphazard,

nothing random.

The time table has been set down by God's law,

and this is no chance encounter.

And he goes to Jerusalem,

verse 25,

and he meets Simeon.

Now there's a man in Jerusalem

whose name was Simeon.

And this man was righteous

and devout,

waiting for the consolation,

the comfort of Israel,

and the Holy Spirit was upon him.

And then it had been revealed to him

by the Holy Spirit

that he would not see death

before he'd seen the Lord's Christ.

So Simeon is getting on in years,

but he had a conviction

that he will not die

until he'd seen the Christ of God,

the anointed ruler of God.

And he sees him.

Verse 29.

Lord, you are letting

your servant depart in peace

according to your word.

Why?

Because my eyes have seen your salvation.

He's seen Christ Jesus,

the Son of Mary,

the Son of God,

the second person of the Trinity,

forty days old.

I've seen it.

I've seen him.

But I want you to notice

that people were divided

in their response

to the Lord Jesus.

Look at verse 34.

Simeon blessed them

and said to Mary his mother,

Behold, this trial is appointed

for the fall

and for the rising of many

in Israel,

for a sign that is opposed.

And a sword will pierce

your own soul also.

Mary, you'll see him suffering.

He will bring about division.

There will be those

that rise up and greet him.

There will be those

that fall at him

because they won't recognize him.

There will be those

that follow him.

There will be those

that recognize him

and those that don't.

And a sword is going to

pierce your heart.

There will be those

who Christianity,

they will not even give him

a second thought.

They'll think he's unimportant.

And there will be those

for whom Christianity

is of infinite importance.

C.S. Lewis said,

The only thing that

Christianity cannot be

is moderately important.

There will be those

for whom Christianity

is utterly irrelevant

and unimportant.

And there will be those

for whom it is

infinitely important.

Now notice a prophet.

An old man.

A six week old

fragile little baby boy.

There's another prophet there.

A prophetess.

Her name is Anna.

Who's 36.

And notice that Anna

is the daughter of

Fanuel of the tribe of Asher.

She is very old.

I know that when you're 23,

everyone seems very old,

don't they?

Maybe you're young.

You're a teenager here

this morning.

And

you're mid-twenties.

She was very, very old.

But we notice she was 84.

She's been widowed

after seven years of marriage.

And she was so devoted

that she virtually lived

at the temple.

And she gave thanks to God

and she praised God

for the child.

Look at verse 38.

Look at verse 38.

And coming up

at that very hour,

she began to give thanks to God

to speak of him

to all who were waiting

for the redemption of Jerusalem.

Now, just notice

what we've seen this morning

in the kind of whistle-stop tour.

What have we seen?

We've seen in Luke's gospel

that the gospel,

the good news of the Lord Jesus Christ

comes from the humble.

Look at how Luke gives prominence

to women.

To Elizabeth.

To Mary.

To Anna.

And it's not as though

he neglects the agent,

is it?

The agent Zechariah.

The agent Elizabeth.

The agent Anna.

The agent Simeon.

All of those are involved

in the coming of the Christ.

The gospel is going to come.

The Christ is going to come.

And he's going to solve

the greatest problem of humankind.

But he will not do it

in a way that pays

any concession to our pride.

He will do it

in the way of humility.

And the people involved

will be women and aged people.

Look at verse 39.

And when they performed everything

according to the law of the Lord,

they returned into Galilee

to their own town of Nazareth.

Absolute obscurity.

And the child grew

and became strong,

filled with wisdom

and the favour of God

was upon him.

So where's my model for living?

That's my point this morning.

When I go into the sales this week,

I'm confronted with all the bargains.

As I face 2020

with all my plans

and all my thoughts of getting fit,

who is my model?

Who is my model?

My model is Simeon and Anna.

And your model is Simeon and Anna.

They are a pattern for Christian living today.

And I cannot think of anyone in the Bible

who is more of a pattern for me today,

living the Christian life.

Today in 2020,

than Simeon and Anna.

Apart from the Lord Jesus himself.

Look at them.

Here is our mentor.

Here is our pattern.

This is my pattern for living.

Simeon and Anna.

Here they are in Jerusalem,

in the city of God,

living in the shadow of the temple.

The huge religious infrastructure

is in place.

You've the Sadducees

and the Pharisees

and the Sanhedrin.

And then there are these two little people.

I don't know if you've been to the Vatican in Rome.

I went when I was about 12 years old.

I was visiting my aunt in Rome.

And at that point,

our church didn't have a building.

It met in a kind of sixth form common room.

And what I remember about that room was for you

is that it was very serious,

that kind of church series.

But there were deaf leopards

and Iron Maiden posters

all along the walls.

And there was kind of...

We met in a...

We met in Forest and Comprehensive

in Cumberland y Cayule.

That was the name of the place.

It was obscure.

You kind of went up these steps

and you went in.

And then we went to Rome

and you visit the Vatican.

If you've ever been there,

it is magnificent.

It is a multinational corporation.

And it was like I...

We kind of went to this little corner shop

church.

The Vatican was so impressive.

And yet we met in a...

Dirty, sixth form common room.

And Simeon and Anzal

must have been overwhelmed by this,

wasn't they?

All the religious structures in place.

But Jesus is fragile.

Born out of wedlock.

Born in obscure Bethlehem.

Born in a stable.

He's placed in the animals' feed trough.

We were given...

You know, where's Wally?

A friend of mine says a book called

Find the Dragon.

You know where's Wally?

And you have these scenes,

don't you?

Really, really busy scenes.

Really important scenes.

And you have to find

either Wally or the dragon.

And you look and you can see everything,

but you can't see Wally.

And then once you spot him,

once you spot him,

you can't unspot him, can you?

He's so insignificant in the drawing.

But once you see him,

you can't see,

that's what this is like here.

It seems so insignificant.

This baby, born out of wedlock,

born in obscure Bethlehem,

born in a stable.

He's placed in an animal feeding trough.

He comes to the Holy City

at six weeks old, barely.

And here's an old man

who has received a promise.

And here's a woman,

they're 84 years of age.

And they're very, very much

in the minority,

but they're looking for the Christ.

And the religious hierarchy

is in place.

The chief priests are meeting.

The elders are meeting.

And they all seem to be

going through the motions.

They've got no sense of expectation.

And so what you have,

at this point in history,

is you have a nation of hope,

living in hopelessness.

And you have a people

of expectation,

living without any sense

of expectation.

And he comes to the world,

but the world doesn't recognize him.

And it does not receive him.

But Simeon does.

And Anna does.

And they are people of hope,

living with hope,

surrounded by a people of hope,

living in hopelessness.

And I want to say to you,

that's exactly our situation.

Next week,

the business of church life

will start up, won't it?

Little stars will start up,

gloriously,

on a Monday morning.

We'll move things around.

And put things out.

And language class

will start up

on a Wednesday.

And kids clubs

on Thursday.

and Ealing Lumpstein talks.

And the book tables.

And Sunday school.

And presbytery

will come.

And there will be

committee meetings

for those of us.

And discussions

and decisions

all in place.

But if we're honest,

little

real expectation

of the coming of Christ.

People with hope,

living as if there was no hope.

If

Simeon and Anna

were here today,

they'd be quaint.

They'd be oddities.

They'd be oddballs.

Barely

holding

onto life.

Waiting.

Waiting.

Waiting.

But this is

authentic Christianity.

Authentic

Christian experience.

We are,

as God's people,

anticipatory people.

When looking

to the future,

God has promised me

that in life

I'll have six experiences.

And so far

I've only had two.

I was born

and by His grace

I was born again.

What are the other four?

What are the other four experiences

I will have?

Death,

resurrection,

judgment,

and entering into the new heavens

and the new earth.

So I've had two

and I've got four to count.

Don't you think we should be like Simeon and Anna?

We live in anticipation,

future focused mindset.

Will it be today?

Chapter 2,

verse 25.

Now there was a man in Jerusalem

whose name was Simeon

and this man

was righteous

and devout

waiting.

Waiting

for the consolation of Israel

and the Holy Spirit

was upon him.

Chapter 2,

verse 38.

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.

Listen,

if you will,

to the song of Simeon

in the Anglican prayer book.

Which comes,

it's in the Anglican service

of morning

and evening prayer every week.

Listen to these words.

Now let your servant

depart in peace

according to your word.

For mine eyes

have seen your salvation

which ye prepared

before the face

of all people

to be a light

to lighten the Gentiles

and to the glory

of your people Israel.

You see,

Cranmer got it.

Cranmer got it.

That Anna and Simeon

were to be a constant reminder

to prayer book Anglicans

that Simeon is our model

and that Anna is our model.

That we're looking

for the day.

It's a weekly reminder.

Do not live

for the day today

but live for the day

which is coming.

And allow our hope

to spur us on.

How are we to live

holy and godly lives

as we wait for the day?

How are we to live

while we wait

for the blessed hope?

And in the light

of waiting for that

blessed hope

Titus says we say

no to ungodliness.

And we live

for holy, godly,

upright lives.

That is how we're to live.

So here's Charles Simeon.

Charles Simeon

was an African rector

in Cambridge.

And his church

you can still go and see it

today.

It's opposite

King's College Chapel.

And Charles Simeon

laboured there

for the gospel

for over 50 years.

He endured great opposition.

But Charles Simeon

saw many young men

and women

become Christians.

And one of those

young men

was a young man

by the name of

Henry Martin.

And Henry Martin

had a wonderful career

ahead of him.

He was a remarkable

linguist.

But when he came

to Christ

he shaved his back

and all that.

And he went to India.

And he went to Iran.

He lived in Iran.

modern day Iran.

And he began

to translate

the scriptures

in those countries.

Fluent

Farsi speaker.

At the age of 31

Henry Martin

went to Turkey

but he died.

At the age of 31.

Charles Simeon

his old minister

his old boss

placed in his drawer

a portrait

of Henry Martin.

And every morning

one biographer said

Simeon would walk

past that portrait

and stop.

And he would look

into the face

of the painted

Henry Martin

and he would say

be serious.

Be earnest.

Don't trifle.

I won't trifle.

And that's living

for the day isn't it?

Be serious.

Be earnest.

Don't trifle.

Don't trifle.

I won't trifle.

Simeon and Anna

expected

waiters

for the day.

The first advent

has come

with all its fun.

But through it all

the second advent

is still coming.

I don't want you

to know the story

of Bishop Frank Retief.

He was a minister

in Cape Town

in 1993.

Four men

broke into

his church

in the evening service.

They took out

automatic weapons

and they killed

11 members

of the congregation.

There were 58 people

in that church

wounded

as a result

of the breaking.

And as a result

of that

Frank Retief said

I formulated

my five minute rule.

And my five minute rule

is this

whatever is causing

me anxiety

and worry

right now

imagine I was

to die

and go to heaven

in five minutes

or the Lord Jesus

was to come back

in five minutes.

How does the issue

look in the light

of my five minutes

till my death

or the coming

of the Lord Jesus?

Think about this week.

What have you got

stressed with?

What have we got

anxious about?

What have we lost it

with the children

over?

How does that look

in the light

of the five minute rule?

Frank Retief

said

he formulated

the five minute rule

not to live

for now

but to live

in the light

of the imminence

of eternity.

And that is how

Simeon and Anna lived.

They had a promise.

Anna was looking

every day

84 years of age

but she did not

lose that sense

of expectation.

What about you?

Will you and I

as we move into 2020

will we live

by the five minute rule?

He is coming

and it could be

at any moment.

And how does that

which causes

myself

and you

so much anxiety

how does that

look

in the light

of his return?

Simeon and Anna

are examples

are models

are patterns

are mentors

be serious

be honest

don't trifle

I won't trifle

let's pray

but I will

as far as

as

as

as

as

as