Simeon & Anna
SIMEON AND ANNA MEET JESUS LUKE 2 V22-37
IT NEVER FAILS TO AMAZE ME HOW QUICKLY THE TIME FLIES. I CAN REMEMBER MY FATHER TELLING ME MANY YEARS AGO THAT THE OLDER YOU GET TIME GOES EVEN QUICKER. HOW RIGHT HE WAS! WELL ONLY 322 MORE SHOPPING DAYS TO CHRISTMAS OR 277 IF YOU ARE A GOOD CHRISTIAN AND DON’T SHOP ON SUNDAYS! HOW WAS YOUR CHRISTMAS? DID IT MATCH UP TO EXPECTATIONS? WERE THERE ANY DISAPPOINTMENTS? I GUESS AS CHRISTIANS WE SHOULDN’T GET TOO WRAPPED UP IN THE SECULAR RITUALS AND HYPE THAT HAS DEVELOPED OVER THE YEARS, WHERE THE TRUE MEANING OF CHRISTMAS SEEMS TO HAVE LITTLE OR NO MEANING FOR SO MANY, BUT IT’S HARD NOT TO BE EFFECTED ISN’T IT, AND AFTER ALL WE DO HAVE SOMETHING WORTH CELEBRATING DON’T WE! SO Iâ’M NOT SUGGESTING WE ALL BECOME SCROUGE LIKE!
I GUESS WORLDWIDE THERE WERE MANY DISAPPOINTED PEOPLE WHO HAD SPENT THEIR MONEY ON FANCY GIFTS OR TOYS WHICH WERE HEAVILY ADVERTISED DURING THE LONG RUN UP TO THE ACTUAL EVENT, ONLY TO FIND OUT THAT THEY WEREN’T QUITE AS GOOD OR EFFECTIVE AS THEY WERE LED TO BELIEVE. OUR MINCE PIES WERE MEANT TO BE ‘NEW IMPROVED FLAVOUR’ BUT I COULDN’T TELL THE DIFFERENCE.
THE TELEVISION CHANNELS TOLD US IT WOULD BE THE BEST CHRISTMAS EVER FOR FILMS AND DRAMA. WAS IT? THERE WERE SO MANY REPEATS, I AM AMAZED THAT THE AFRICAN QUEEN IS STILL AFLOAT AFTER SO MANY MILES COVERED AND ALL THOSE GUN FIGHTS, HOPEFULLY ONE DAY IT MAY BE RECOMMISIONED AND STAR IN THE SEQUEL TO TITANIC! LIKEWISE THE GREAT ESCAPE WAS RECAPTURED YET AGAIN! BOTH GREAT FILMS BUT DO WE HAVE TO SEE THEM SO OFTEN!
I KNOW THAT THE 25TH OF DECEMBER ISN’T THE ACTUAL BIRTHDAY OF JESUS, BUT LET’S GO BACK 2000 YEARS TO THAT MOMENT IN OUR READING WHEN JESUS WAS ONLY A TINY LITTLE BABY. I AM SURE THAT MARY AND JOSEPH WERE REALLY DELIGHTED WITH THEIR SPECIAL CHRISTMAS PRESENT FROM GOD, AND CERTAINLY THERE WAS NO DISAPPOINTMENT FROM SIMEON AND ANNA. YOU SEE UNLIKE THE COMPANIES WHO TRY TO SELL US THEIR PRODUCTS THROUGH ADVERTISING, WHEN GOD PROMISES US SOMETHING, HE ALWAYS DELIVERS, HE KEEPS HIS PROMISE. THERE IS NO DECEIT OR OVER EMPHASISING WITH HIM. HE PROVIDES THE VERY BEST.
ALTHOUGH I DON’T YET KNOW ALL OF YOU PERSONALLY, I ASSUME MOST OF YOU HERE HAVE ALREADY RECEIVED THAT SPECIAL GIFT OF JESUS. SO I DON’T INTEND TO EXPAND ON THE FUNDAMENTAL BELIEFS OF OUR FAITH. HOWEVER IF THERE ARE ANY HERE WHO HAVE YET TO RECEIVE AND UNWRAP THE GIFT OF JESUS PLEASE DO SPEAK TO ME AFTERWARDS AND I WILL GIVE YOU THE BEST GIFT YOU WILL EVER RECEIVE IN YOUR LIFE, THE ONLY GIFT THAT CARRIES A LIFETIME AND BEYOND GUARANTEE.
I BELIEVE THAT GOD WANTS TO ENCOURAGE AND CHALLENGE US, BOTH AS INDIVIDUALS AND AS A FELLOWSHIP. SO I WANT TO LOOK IN MORE DETAIL AT TWO PEOPLE WHO ONLY GET A BRIEF MENTION IN GOD’S WORD THE BIBLE, BUT ARE OF GREAT SIGNIFICANCE, SIMEON AND ANNA.
I KNOW IT’S NORMALLY LADIES FIRST, BUT AS WE ARE ALL EQUAL IN GOD’S SIGHT, AND FOR ONCE I’LL TRY TO BE POLITICALLY CORRECT! I SHALL START WITH SIMEON. MOST OF US WHEN READING THIS STORY AUTOMATICALLY THINK OF SIMEON BEING VERY OLD, AND THAT IS PROBABLY RIGHT, THE BIBLE DOESN’T ACTUALLY TELL US HIS AGE AND WE HEAR NO MORE OF HIM AFTER THIS PARTICULAR PASSAGE. ONE THING WE CAN BE CERTAIN ABOUT HIM WAS THAT HE WAS VERY RIGHTEOUS TO MAN AND VERY DEVOUT TO GOD. AS MATTHEW HENRY POINTS OUT IN HIS COMMENTARY, “THESE TWO ATTRIBUTES MUST GO TOGETHER. EACH WILL BEFRIEND THE OTHER, BUT NEITHER WILL ATONE FOR THE DEFECT OF THE OTHER”. SIMPLY HE MEANS WE NEED TO BE BOTH RIGHTEOUS TO MAN AND DEVOUT TO GOD. I DON’T MEAN SELF RIGHTEOUS EITHER, I HOPE YOU KNOW THE DIFFERENCE, BECAUSE GOD CERTAINLY DOES! NIETHER DO I MEAN WE ALTER THE BIBLE MESSAGE TO SUIT MAN’S PREFERENCE!
BECAUSE OF SIMEON’S FAITHFULNESS TO GOD HE WAS SPECIALLY BLESSED. IT WAS NO COINCIDENCE THAT HE WAS IN THE TEMPLE AT THAT VERY PRECISE TIME WHEN JESUS WAS BROUGHT IN. IN OUR READING IT CLEARLY TELLS US THAT HE WAS MOVED BY THE SPIRIT TO GO TO THE TEMPLE COURTS. SOMETIME EARLIER IN SIMEON’S LIFE THE SAME POWER OF THE SPIRIT HAD REVEALED TO HIM PROPHECY THAT HE WOULD NOT DIE BEFORE HE HAD SEEN THE PROMISED MESSIAH. WE AGAIN CANNOT TELL HOW MANY YEARS HE HAD TO WAIT BETWEEN THE TWO EVENTS, BUT WE ARE TOLD HE WAS VIGILANT, HE KNEW GOD WOULD KEEP HIS WORD. IF WE READ BETWEEN THE LINES, SO TO SPEAK, IT SEEMS IT MAY HAVE BEEN A NUMBER OF YEARS, CERTAINLY WHEN THE PROPHECY CAME TRUE BEFORE HIS VERY EYES, HE WAS FULL OF JOY AND PRAISED GOD. HE TOOK JESUS IN HIS ARMS. HOW DO YOU NORMALLY HOLD A BABY IN YOUR ARMS? CLOSE TO YOUR HEART!…….. HOW MANY PEOPLE TODAY WHO PROFESS TO BE CHRISTIANS ALLOW JESUS CLOSE TO THEIR HEARTS? IT IS NO GOOD HAVING HEAD KNOWLEDGE ABOUT JESUS, TO RECEIVE HIS BLESSING WE MUST ALLOW HIM INTO THE EVERY INNER PART OF OUR BEING, TO ALLOW HIM TO LIVE IN US, AND WE ARE TO LIVE IN HIM AND FOR HIM.
CERTAINLY GOD HAD GIVEN SIMEON PATIENCE, SOMETHING MOST OF US NEED AT TIMES! I KNOW I DO! MOST OF THE PROPHECIES ABOUT THE COMING MESSIAH WERE OVER 500 YEARS OLD AND I CAN IMAGINE EVERY GENERATION THAT READ THE SCRIPTURES WONDERED IF THEY WOULD EVER BE FULFILLED. YET SIMEON REMAINED FAITHFUL, HE HAD GREAT EXPECTANCY.
WHETHER HE WAS VERY OLD OR NOT, HE WAS NOW READY TO FACE DEATH. THE SCRIPTURES DO NOT TELL US IF HE DIED SOON AFTER THE EVENT OR NOT. BUT THE IMPORTANT THING HERE IS THAT DEATH HELD NO FEAR FOR HIM, HE HAD COME FACE TO FACE WITH JESUS, HE KNEW THAT HE WOULD RECEIVE HIS SALVATION, ETERNAL LIFE WAS HIS.
IN THE WESTERN WORLD WE TEND NOT TO BE OPEN ABOUT DYING DO WE, IT IS STILL A TABOO SUBJECT, AMAZING REALLY AS IT’S THE ONLY CERTAINTY IN OUR LIVES. CHRISTMAS CAN BE A SAD TIME FOR MANY BEREAVED PEOPLE, ESPECIALLY IF THEY DON’T KNOW CHRIST. MEMORIES OF PAST LOVED ONES COME TO THE SURFACE AND ISN’T IT STRANGE THAT EACH YEAR WE HEAR OF SUCH TRAGIC EVENTS AROUND THIS FESTIVE TIME. MY OWN AUNT DIED UNEXPECTLY ON A BOXING DAY! AND OF COURSE LAST BOXING DAY WE HAD THE HORROR OF THE ASIAN SUNNARMIE.
NOT ONLY WAS SIMEON READY TO DIE IN PEACE, HE ALSO HAD A GREAT EXPECTANCY FOR THE REST OF MANKIND. BECAUSE OF THIS SPECIAL TINY BABY, ALL PEOPLE EVERYWHERE WOULD HAVE THE OPPORTUNITY NOT ONLY TO FACE DEATH WITHOUT TERROR, BUT ALSO TO EXPERIENCE THE JOY OF HAVING A PERSONAL RELATIONSHIP WITH GOD WHILST ALIVE. SIMEON GAVE PROPHETIC WORDS TO MARY AND JOSEPH AND WE ARE TOLD THAT HE BLESSED THEM. I AM SURE THAT APART FROM BEING AMAZED AT SIMEON’S WORDS AND FORESIGHT, IT WAS ALSO A GREAT ENCOURAGEMENT TO THEM. ALTHOUGH SADLY MARY SOME 33 YEARS LATER EXPERIENCED THE PAIN PREDICTED BY SIMEON AS SHE WITNESSED THE SUFFERING AND SLAUGHTER OF HER SON ON THE CROSS.
I BELIEVE THAT SIMEON’S MESSAGE IN VERSE 34-35 IS SO CRUCIAL, PEOPLE WILL FALL AND RISE, WILL LIVE OR DIE BY THE THOUGHTS OF THEIR HEARTS. YOU ARE DEAD IF JESUS IS NOT IN YOUR HEART. THERE IS NO IN BETWEEN, YOU EITHER ACCEPT OR REJECT THE GOOD NEWS AND LOVE OF JESUS.
LETâS NOW MOVE ON TO ANOTHER SENIOR CITIZEN (IF THAT’S POLITICALLY CORRECT) ANNA, IN THE WHOLE BIBLE ONLY THREE VERSE ARE WRITTEN ABOUT HER. BUT AGAIN AS I HAVE STUDIED AND THOUGHT THIS PASSAGE THROUGH, WHAT A LOT WE CAN LEARN FROM JUST THESE THREE VERSES. A NUMBER OF YEARS AGO KNOWING I WAS DOING MY CHRISTIAN STUDIES COURSE MY FATHERING LAW PHONED AND MENTIONED HIS CHRISTIAN NEIGHBOUR WAS HAVING A SORT OUT AND HAD SOME OLD BIBLE DICTIONARIES TO SELL. ALTHOUGH I ALREADY HAD SOME AS HE ONLY WANTED A TENNER FOR 4 VOLUMES I TOLD HIM I WOULD BE INTERESTED. WHAT A BARGAIN THEY TURNED OUT TO BE. THEY WERE MASSIVE LEATHER BOUND VOLUMES OVER A HUNDRED YEARS OLD. TO ANYONE A REAL BARGAIN. BUT TO ME THEY HAVE BEEN INVALUABLE PRICELESS WORKS OF ART BECAUSE THEY GIVE SO MUCH INFORMATION. MOST BIBLE DICTIONARIES MAY GIVE TWO LINES ON ANNA IF MENTIONED AT ALL. BUT IN THESE HALF A LARGE PAGE OF INFORMATION THAT IS STILL RELEVANT.
I HAVE CONCERNS ABOUT THE WAY IN WHICH SOME CHURCHES ARE MOVING AT THE MOMENT. IT IS GOOD THAT IN SOME CHURCHES THERE IS MOVEMENT, BECAUSE STILL WATERS BECOME STAGNANT. BUT ONE OF MY CONCERNS IS THE WAY IN WHICH THE ELDERLY SEEM TO BE LOSING OUT TO YOUTH. YES THE YOUTH OF TODAY ARE THE CHURCH OF TODAY, NOT JUST THE FUTURE, WITHOUT NEW BLOOD THE CHURCH WILL DIE. BUT WE MUST NOT IGNORE THE NEEDS BOTH PASTORALLY AND SPIRITUALLY OF ALL THE FELLOWSHIP INCLUDING THE ELDERLY. YES TO YOUTH WORK BUT NOT AT THE EXPENSE OF THE ELDERLY! GOD IS AGELESS AN SO ARE THOSE HE CARES FOR!
I TRULY BELIEVE THAT CHRISTIANS SHOULD BE PREPARED TO LEARN OFF ONE ANOTHER, BUT I DON’T MEAN MULTI-FAITH. IT WAS INTERESTING TO HEAR THE QUEENS SPEECH A FEW YEARS AGO, ONE TRADITION THAT REMAINS IN MY HOUSEHOLD! SHE SPOKE OF THE VALUE OF LISTENING TO BOTH THE YOUNG AND OLD.
HOW MANY CHRISTIANS TAKE NOTICE OF PAUL’S WORDS IN PHILIPPINES CH2 V4 “EACH OF YOU SHOULD LOOK NOT ONLY TO YOUR OWN INTERESTS, BUT ALSO TO THE INTERESTS OF OTHERS” PLEASE DON’T MISUNDERSTAND WHAT I AM SAYING HERE. I AM NOT SAYING WE NEED TO STICK TO OLD RITUALS & TRADITIONS, WE ALL KNOW WHAT JESUS THOUGHT ABOUT THAT BY THE WAY HE DISPISED THE PHARISEES. NIETHER AM I SAYING THERE ISN’T ANY VALUE IN THINGS OF THE PAST, AFTER ALL WEREN’T THEY ALSO INSPIRED BY THE HOLY SPIRIT!
ALTHOUGH PERSONALLY I ENJOY MODERN WORSHIP THERE ARE SOME OLD HYMNS THAT STILL HELP ME DRAW CLOSE TO GOD IN WORSHIP, SADLY SOME DO SEND ME TO SLEEP AS WELL! LIKE MY OLD BIBLE DICTIONARIES SOME ELDERLY CHRISTIAN HAVE MUCH EXPERIENCE AND CAN OFFER WORDS OF WISDOM. I WAS ABOUT TO QUOTE DON’T THROW THE BABY OUT WITH THE BATH WATER BUT MAYBE IT SHOULD BE DON’T THROW GRANNY OUT WITH THE COMMODE!
HAVING SAID THAT, WE HAVE TO ACCEPT THERE WILL BE MANY TIMES WHEN THE HOLY SPIRIT WILL WANT US TO MOVE ON, TO CHANGE AND SOMETIMES DO THINGS THAT SEEM STRANGE OR EVEN RIDICULOUS. ENCOURAGEMENT WILL BE NECESSARY, BUT IT MUST BE DONE WITH LOVE, UNDERSTANDING AND MOST IMPORTANTLY TEACHING FROM THE WHOLE OF SCRIPTURE, NOT JUST PASSAGES PICKED TO SUIT OUR OPINION.
IGNORANCE CAN CAUSE FEAR OF CHANGE. IT’S AMAZING HOW CHARISMATIC OLDER PEOPLE CAN BECOME WHEN YOU SPEND TIME EXPLAINING AND SHOWING EXAMPLES OF GOD’S SUPERNATURAL GIFTS IN SCRIPTURE . THIS IGNORANCE IS OFTEN NOT THEIR FAULT BUT THE WAY THE CHURCHES SEEMED TO DISMISS ANYTHING THAT SEEMED SUPERNATURAL FOR CENTURIES, JUST GIVING LIP SERVICE TO THE HOLY SPIRIT.
MAKE NO MISTAKE ANNA HAD SUPERNATURAL GIFTS AND ONE THING I CAN CONFIDENTLY SAY ABOUT ANNA APART FROM SHE WAS A PROPHET, SHE WAS OLD. SHE WAS AT LEAST 84, AND MAYBE 104 DEPENDING ON THE WAY WE INTERPRET THE TRANSLATION OF SCRIPTURE. SHE MAY HAVE BEEN A WIDOW FOR 84 YEARS HENCE MAKING HER OVER A HUNDRED. HOWEVER IN GOD’S KINGDOM, WHATEVER YOU FEEL OR THINK, NO ONE IS PAST THEIR SELL BY DATE! LIKE MY DICTIONARIES THEY CAN STILL BE USEFUL TO GOD.
ALTHOUGH THE QUEEN MENTIONED IT AND CERTAINLY I AM NOT TO PROUD TO ASK THE ADVISE OF YOUNGSTERS, ESPECIALLY WHEN MY COMPUTER SOFTWARE PLAYS UP, IN THE TIME OF SIMEON AND ANNA IN THE JEWISH CULTURE, ELDERS WERE RESPECTED, THAT IS WHY BOTH SIMEON’S AND ANNA’S PROPHECIES CARRIED EXTRA WEIGHT, BECAUSE NEITHER WERE YOUNG. OUR SOCIETY HOWEVER SOMETIMES SEEMS TO VALUE YOUTHFULNESS OVER WISDOM, AND OFTEN POTENTIAL CONTRIBUTIONS BY THE ELDERLY ARE IGNORED.
WE ARE TOLD THAT ANNA WAS MADE A WIDOW AFTER ONLY SEVEN YEARS OF MARRIAGE. AS IN THOSE DAYS IT WAS COMMON TO MARRY YOUNG SHE WOULD PROBABLY HAVE STILL BEEN A YOUNG WOMAN. COMING FROM THE HOUSE OF ASHER THE CHANCES WERE THAT SHE WAS VERY BEAUTIFUL, AS WOMEN FROM THIS TRIBE WERE RENOWNED FOR THEIR BEAUTY AND SUITABILITY FOR MARRIAGE, THAT’S WHY MANY MARRIED HIGH PRIESTS AND KINGS. SHE MUST ALSO HAVE BELONGED TO A FAMILY OF SUFFICIENT DISTINCTION FOR IT TO HAVE PRESERVED IT’S GENEALOGY, AS THE TRIBE OF ASHER WAS NOT ONE OF THE TRIBES WHICH RETURNED FROM CAPTIVITY IN BABYLON. CERTAINLY SHE WOULD HAVE BEEN A GOOD CATCH FOR SOMEONE. IN THOSE TIMES REMARRIAGE OF YOUNG WIDOWS WAS QUITE ACCEPTABLE, IN FACT PAUL IN 1 TIM CH5 SEEMS TO ENCOURAGE IT! BUT WHO DID SHE MARRY, SHE MARRIED HERSELF TO GOD. WE READ OF HER OUTSTANDING DEVOTION. ALTHOUGH I DONâT THINK WE MUST TAKE LITERALLY THE STATEMENT âSHE NEVER LEFT THE TEMPLE BUILDING IN 84 YEARSâ IT IS OBVIOUS THAT SHE GAVE TOTAL COMMITMENT TO GOD. SHE ATTENDED EVERY ACT OF WORSHIP, SHE PRAYED WITH SUCH ENTHUSIASM AND I AM SURE WITH SUCH EXPECTANCY. SHE ALSO FASTED AND WAS GIFTED BY GOD IN PROPHECY. PUTTING MANY OF US TO SHAME I’M SURE!
VERSE 38 OF OUR READING ALSO TELLS US SHE WAS AN EVANGELIST! SHE SPOKE TO ALL WHO WERE LOOKING FORWARD TO THE REDEMPTION OF JERUSALEM. YOU SEE A PROPHET OR EVANGELIST ARE USELESS UNLESS THEY GIVE THE MESSAGE, EVEN IF IT DOESN’T GO DOWN TOO WELL WITH THE LISTENER! I GUESS THERE WILL BE SOME CRITICISM OF WHAT I’VE SAID TODAY. TOUGH BECAUSE I BELIEVE IT NEEDS TO HEARD!
SO IN SUMMING UP WHETHER WE ARE OLD OR YOUNG, WHAT CAN WE LEARN FROM THESE TWO WONDERFUL ELDERLY PEOPLE OF GOD. THEY WERE BOTH DEVOUT FOLLOWERS OF GOD. WE KNOW OR AT LEAST WE SHOULD KNOW THAT WE ARE NOT SAVED BY OUR WORKS ALONE. IT IS ONLY BY GOD’S GRACE AND LOVE THROUGH THE BLOOD OF CHRIST THAT WE ARE SAVED. BUT I BELIEVE THAT FAITHFULNESS TO GOD GIVES US THE REWARD OF A SPECIAL BLESSING. THERE CAN BE NO DOUBT THAT BOTH SIMEON AND ANNA WERE SPECIALLY BLESSED.
THEY WERE BOTH TOTALLY OPEN TO WHAT THE HOLY SPIRIT WANTED TO DO IN THEIR LIVES AND OBEDIENT TO HIS COMMAND. THEY WERE BOTH EXPECTANT THAT GOD WOULD KEEP HIS PROMISE.
AS WE ENTER ANOTHER YEAR, HOW EXPECTANT ARE WE THAT GOD WILL KEEP TO HIS WORD. ARE WE PREPARED TO TRUST HIM MORE AND MORE. ARE WE WILLING TO BE VIGILANT, DO WE EARNESTLY AWAIT THE SECOND COMING, ARE WE GOING TO BE TOTALLY DEVOTED AND COMMITTED IN OUR DISCIPLESHIP. ONE THING MAGGIE & I LEARNT OFF AN ELDERLY CHRISTIAN WAS TO ANNUALLY EXAMINE YOUR WALK WITH THE LORD. HAVE I LEARNT ANYTHING, AM I ANY NEARER TO GOD SINCE A YEAR AGO? IF THE ANSWER IS NO WE NEED TO DO SOMETHING ABOUT IT. FOR SOME THIS WILL BE SPENDING MORE TIME IN PRAYER, READING THE BIBLE, HAVING A REGULAR QUITE TIME WITH GOD LISTENING TO HIM. AN EXTREME MEASURE MAY BE TO MOVE ON TO ANOTHER FELLOWSHIP, HOWEVER THE PROBLEM IN MOST CASES IS DOWN TO US NOT THE CHURCH WE ATTEND!
THERE IS A HUGE WORLD OUT THERE THAT NEEDS TO KNOW AND EXPERIENCE THE LOVE AND LIGHT OF CHRIST. THERE ARE MANY FRIGHTENED AND DESPERATE PEOPLE, WHO NEED THE SIMEON EXPERIENCE, TO EXPERIENCE THE PEACE THAT ONLY GOD CAN GIVE, EVEN IN DEATH. IT’S EASY TO PREACH DEATH HAS LOST IT’S STING BUT HOW DO WE REACT WHEN FACED WITH THE REALITY!
FOR NON CHRISTIANS THERE IS NO HOPE, NO SALVATION, NO PEACE.
THE WORLD IS HUNGRY FOR SOMETHING TO FILL A SPIRITUAL VOID, THERE HAS NEVER BEEN SUCH AN INTEREST IN OCCULT AND SPIRITUAL MATTERS, SADLY MANY ARE TURNING TO FALSE RELIGIONS AND NEW AGE THINKING, HOW SAD THAT MANY WHO GAZE AT A LUMP OF CRYSTAL WAITING FOR SOMETHING TO HAPPEN SCOFF AT US CHRISTIANS FOR BEING FOCUSED ON THAT BLOODY CROSS ON WHICH CHRIST WAS SLAUGHTERED AND THE LUMP OF ROCK, THE CAVE FROM WHICH HE WAS RESURRECTED. WE ARE NOT BEING ARROGANT WHEN WE SAY CHRIST IS THE TRUTH THE WAY AND THE LIFE.
WE NEED TO ENLIGHTEN PEOPLE BECAUSE WHEN JESUS COMES AGAIN AS HE SURLY WILL IT WILL NOT BE AS A BABE IN ARMS BUT AS A KING TO ADMINISTER HIS JUDGEMENT AND WRATH. MAY WE BE TOTALLY OPEN TO WHERE THE HOLY SPIRIT GUIDES AND PREPARES US FOR THIS TREMENDOUS EVENT. WE DO NOT KNOW THE WHEN, BUT WE KNOW THE HOW, BE EXPECTANT, BE FAITHFUL AND PLEASE SHARE THE MESSAGE OF SALVATION WITH THOSE AROUND YOU. AS A FELLOWSHIP BE UNITED IN SENSE AND PURPOSE ,PUTTING ASIDE OUR OWN PREFERENCES AND CONCENTRATE OF GOD’S. ENCOURAGE AND SUPPORT EACH OTHER AS YOU SERVE GOD IN OUR DIFFERENT WAYS.
LET US PRAY: FATHER WE HAVE SO MUCH TO THANK YOU FOR, FOR YOUR WORD THE BIBLE, FOR YOUR SON JESUS AND THE SPECIAL GIFT OF YOUR HOLY SPIRIT. WE ASK NOW FOR A SPECIAL ANOINTING OF YOUR HOLY SPIRIT, HOLY SPIRIT WE LOVE YOU WE WELCOME YOU. WE INVITE YOU TO MOVE AMONST US IN POWER. I PRAY THAT BY THE WORDS YOU HAVE GIVEN ME TO SHARE AND BY THE MOVEMENT OF YOUR SPIRIT YOU TOUCH THE HEARTS OF MANY HERE. LET US TAKE DOWN THE BARRIERS OF FEAR AND FEELINGS OF REJECTION AND LIKE SIMEON CLASP JESUS IN OUR ARMS AND HOLD HIM CLOSE TO OUR HEARTS. LORD MELT HEARTS THAT HAVE TURNED TO STONE BRING US INTO A MORE INTIMATE RELATIONSHIP WITH YOU AND EACH OTHER. SOME OF US ARE IN NEED OF PHYSICAL HEALING, THERE MAY BE SOME WITH THE FEAR OF DEATH THIS IS AN OPPORTUNITY TO DRAW CLOSE TO THE LORD AND LET HIM DEAL WITH IT, JUST RELAX IN HIS PRESENCE AND ALLOW HIM TO MINISTER TO YOU. BE OPEN TO THE LORD HE MAY HAVE A WORD FOR YOU OR THIS FELLOWSHIP, PLEASE IF YOU THINK HE HAS SPOKEN DO SHARE IT WITH US. DONâT BE AFRAID, LIKE HE SPOKE TO ANNA & SIMINOEN HE STILL SPEAKS TO US TODAY. IF ONLY WE SPENT MORE TIME LISTENING!