Luke chapter 2 and the verse number 22. And when the days of her, that's speaking of Mary's purification according to the law of Moses, were accomplished, As it is written in the law of the Lord, every meal that openeth the womb shall be called holy to the Lord. And to offer a sacrifice according to that which was said in the law of the Lord, a pair of turtle doves or two young pigeons. Behold, there was a man in Jerusalem whose name was Simeon, and the same man was just and devout, waiting for the consolation of Israel. And the Holy Ghost was upon him, and it was revealed unto him by the Holy Ghost, that he should not see death before he had seen the Lord's Christ. And he came by the Spirit into the temple, and when the parents brought in the child Jesus to do for him after the custom of the law, then took him up in his arms and blessed God and said, Lord, now let us, thou thy servant, depart in peace according to thy word. For mine eyes have seen thy salvation, which thou hast prepared before the face of all people, A light to lighten the Gentiles and the glory of thy people Israel. And Joseph and his mother marveled at those things which were spoken of him. And Simeon blessed them and said unto Mary his mother, Behold, this child is set for the fall and rising again of many in Israel, and for a sign which shall be spoken against. Yea, a sword shall pierce through his own soul also, that the thoughts of many hearts may be revealed. And there was one Anna, a prophetess, a daughter of Phaneuel, of the tribe of Asher. She was of great age, and she lived with a husband seven years from her virginity. She was a widow of about four score and four years, which departed not from the temple, but served God with fastings and prayers night and day. She coming in that instant gave thanks likewise unto the Lord, and spake of him to all them that looked for redemption in Jerusalem. And when they had performed all things according to the law of the Lord, they returned on to Galilee, to their own city, Nazareth. And the child grew and waxed strong in spirit, filled with wisdom, and the grace of God was upon him. Amen. We'll conclude at the end of verse 40. Let's briefly pray. Our gracious Father, we come now to the preaching of thy word. I pray for the emptying of self and the infilling of the spirit of God. Come now and meet with us as we gather around the word. We're glad for a people gathered. And now, Lord, we pray that thou will gather thyself onto us. The Lord whom you seek shall suddenly come to his temple. And Lord, we recognize that this event in the earthly life of Christ was the fulfillment of that very prophecy. We rejoice that Christ came. And Lord, we praise thee that the tithe the one to whom all the furniture of that temple spoke of. He now came to be personified, and to be blind in Simeon's arms. What a grand day that was when he came into this very place of worship. Oh, come to this place of worship by your spirit, and grant Lord a word for some heart, for every heart, to my heart, Lord, I pray these prayers through Christ's mighty name. Amen. Over the summer months, if you were with us last Lord's Day, over the summer months, we're thinking about some of the lesser-known Bible characters that we come to meet in the Word of God. Last week, we began our study speaking about a man called Obed-Edom, the man who kept the Ark of the Covenant for three months and whose walk was never to be the same again after that event in his life. Today in this service we are thinking about a woman, a woman that we meet in the scriptures, a woman that we meet only once in the record of the four gospels, Matthew, Mark, Luke and John. Her name was Anna. The details that are given to us concerning this woman is limited to just three verses in the second chapter of Luke's gospel, the verses 36, 37 and 38. But I believe that there is enough information in those verses for our consideration and our meditation this afternoon. I really only have two main points that I want to direct your attention to today. As we think about this woman, Anna, and Dr. Luke's account of her. As we come to read these three verses, I come to note that Dr. Luke, he gives us some details, some personal details about this woman, Anna. Some personal details about this woman, Anna. Whenever we meet someone for the very first time, we always like to do a little bit of prying into their background. And we do that by asking them what is known as leading questions. We ask them a leading question. An example of a leading question is, what is your name? And by that we get to know something about them. Where do you live? What job do you do? What's your employment? What are your interests? What are your likes? What are your dislikes? Well, Dr. Look, he gives us a number of personal details regarding Anna's personal life that are worthy of our consideration. I want to say, first of all, something about her name, something about Anna's name. Anna, as a name, has a Hebrew origin to it. The name Anna comes from an Old Testament name that we're very, very familiar with, the name of Samuel's mother, Hannah. Take off the Hs on either end and you get the word Anna, and really it is an equivalent name. The name Anna and Hannah, they're exactly the same meaning and they're exactly the same name. The name means grace or favor, God's favor. God's grace. Grace, at the most basics of level, is the unmerited favor of God. And all of us, whether we're saved or whether we're unsaved in this meeting, have come to experience something of the grace of God in our lives. That might startle you if you know anything about grace or how you would think about grace today. Before you would cause the preacher or call the preacher or charge the preacher with heresy, let me say that only the Christian comes to experience what is known as justifying grace, or saving grace, or what some people call special grace. However, those who know not Christ, They experience God's grace in what is known as common grace. Common grace. You see, in common grace, God lavishes all people with His kindness. Those who despise Him, those who hate Him, those who ignore Him. He lavishes His goodness, His grace, in common grace, upon such individuals. He lavishes upon them His kindness. Common grace is that grace that demonstrates to mankind God's goodness. to everyone in this world, without exception, men come to experience His common grace. Though it's true that God demonstrates His grace especially to those whom He saves, as we've said, justifying grace, saving grace, special grace, nevertheless, His goodness is not restricted only to those whom He saves, but rather that goodness, it outflows and overflows to everyone in this world. This is verified in a number of statements that we come to read in Holy Scripture. In Psalm 145, in the verse 9, we read, The Lord is good to all, to all, and his tender mercies are over all of his works. That word all incorporates the entire human race, humanity as a whole. comes to experience God's goodness, and this is His common grace. Lord Jesus Christ, when He spoke in the Sermon on the Mount, He said these words in Matthew chapter 5 and the verse 45, referring to God the Father, He said these words, He maketh His Son to rise on the evil and on the good, and sendeth rain on the just and on the unjust. unjust, unsaved, evil men, they come to experience God's goodness in him sending rain and sunshine in order for the plants to grow and for the harvest to be brought in. It isn't that God rains upon the fields of the righteous and he leaves the other fields of unrighteous ungodly men to be barren. to become places where crops and vegetables cannot grow, no God He showers upon all of the land and upon all of the fields, of wicked men and of good men. He causes the rain to fall and He causes the sun to rise as well. This is the outworking of God's common grace to men. In the city of Lystra, Paul preached one day, In Acts chapter 14 verse 17, as Paul preached, he preached concerning God's common grace, and he says there that God left not himself without witness, in that he did good and gave us rain from heaven and fruitful seasons, filling our hearts with food and with gladness. And so all Whether you're a Christian or a non-Christian, you have in some measure experienced God's grace, God lavishing upon you that which you do not deserve. But that's what grace is. God giving you and I what we do not deserve. If God was to deal with men as we deserve, we would certainly all be in hell today. but God is a God of grace. He's a gracious God. It's part of his name. This is the name that he was spoken of and that Moses was given whenever the Lord passed by. The Lord is gracious. God is a God of grace. Anna not only experienced God's common grace in her life, but she also experienced justifying grace, special grace. It was a grace that saved her from sin. But it was also a grace that sustained her through a difficult portion of her life, through a period in her life's journey that she needed God's grace to sustain her in. And thus, this dear lady, she comes to live up to the name that she was given by her parents, grace. She experienced it. but she exhibited it. Having experienced God's grace, justifying grace, she then came to exhibit it in her walk with God as she went through a very deep, deep valley in her Christian life. The grace of God sustained this woman, upheld her, encouraged her when she found herself in the valley experience of life. I wonder, do you and have you experienced God's grace in that way? Have you experienced His grace? First of all, justifying grace, have you been reconciled to God? Do you know anything about the grace of God, that special grace of God? As we think about God's grace today, let me ask you the question, how have you responded to God's grace? How have you responded to His grace? Have you responded to common grace today? Think about that. I'm not speaking about yet justifying grace, but what about common grace? How have you responded to God's common grace? You see, the goodness of God is that which should lead you to repentance. Here you are today in your health and your strength. We're glad to see you in the house of God. You're well fed, I'm sure you had breakfast this morning and you'll get your lunch, and then you'll get your tea and probably supper, and that's God in common grace, and you're here in a gospel preaching church, the minister, he's reconciled to God, he's a saved man, he knows the Lord. You're in the house where people pray for your salvation, but let me ask you, do you despise God's mercies, mercies that He has showered upon you, that He hasn't showered upon others, but He has showered upon you, that lovely Christian home that you've been brought into, parents who have prayed for you and shielded you from sin and from the wickedness of the world as much as they can. I wonder, what do you think about God's common grace to you, His mercies towards you? And then, what about your response to God's special, saving, justifying grace as it is revealed to you in the gospel of Jesus Christ? I wonder, is your response similar to that of your response to God's common grace? Do you care nothing? Do you care nothing? Let me ask you, as an unsaved person, do you care nothing for the grace of God that bring us salvation? has appeared unto all men. Oh, I trust that God will so work in your life that you'll come to experience his justifying grace today. You know, we talk about Anna living up to her name, and she did. She did live up to her name. As Christians, we need to ask ourselves, well, do we live up to our name? Do we live up to the name that we bear? We take Christ's name. We are Christians, Christ's little ones. Do we live up to that name? Do we represent Him in our society, in this community, in our homes, in our families, among our circle of friends? Do we represent Jesus Christ to those whom we interact with on a daily basis in a way that honors His name and a way that glorifies Him? Are we living up to the name, that precious name, that name by which we have been saved? Oh, think about our name. Grace. May you come to know God's grace today. Then think about some other personal details. Think about Anna's family tree. Think about her family tree. Now, the first detail relates to her father. Luke informs us that Anna's father, verse number 36, was a man called Phanuel. Phanuel. Very interesting name. I suppose any name with EL at the end of the name is the name God. El, that's the name of God. Samuel, asked of God. Nathanael, given by God. And here we have another name that has this name of God attached to it, Thanuel. His name means the face of God, the face of God. In fact, he bears the same name as the location where Jacob came face to face with God in Genesis chapter 32. You'll remember that Jacob is away from home for some 20 years. He has fled from Esau, who really desires to take his life, but God directs Jacob to return home again. And so they make their way to Fort Jabbok, and Jacob sends over his wives and his children on before him, and he's there. alone. And we find that God meets with him and wrestles with him until the breaking of the day. That event changed Jacob's life, so much so that he renames the place, and he renames it with the name Peniel. Genesis 32 and the verse 20 gives us the details of that. In Genesis 32 and the verse number 30, we read these words. And Jacob called the name of the place Peniel. And then he gives us the reason why he calls the name of that place. For I have seen God face to face, and my life is preserved. Penuel and Peniel. Phenyl as we find here now in Luke chapter 2, they are equivalent, they are interchangeable terms, they mean the same thing. And so it appears that Anna's father, he lived in the near presence of God. He was a man who communed with God face to face, as Moses did. Every morning he saw the face of God. Every night he saw the face of God. I wonder, Father, is that your testimony? Does God find you face to face with him in the morning, praying for your children, praying for those that have been placed under your care, Are we those who find ourselves regularly before the face of God? These are days, evil days. Are we before His face? It appears that Anna comes from a home that feared God. A girl who was raised by a father who was found often before the face of God. Oh, may God help me to be such a father. One is no stranger to God when it comes to praying for those who are under my care. The second detail relating to Anna's family tree relates to the tribe that she was a member of. Anna could trace her way, her family tree, all the way back to Jacob's eighth son, a man called Asher. Both Jacob and Moses made prophetic announcements and pronouncements regarding the tribe of Asher. And we read those pronouncements, first of all, Jacob's pronouncement there in Genesis 49 verse 20, We read Moses' pronouncement in Deuteronomy 33 verses 24 and 25, and of Asher he said, him be acceptable to his brethren, and let him dip his foot in oil. Thy shoes shall be iron and brass, and as thy days, so shall thy strength be." Certainly, Asher was blessed with children, because we come to read of one of his descendants in Anna. Anna was a child, we could say, of promise. For Asher was promised to have children, and now we find that Anna can trace her family tree all the way back to the tribe of Asher, and so she's a child of promise. She could stake her claim as belonging to God's covenant people. I wonder, can you make that claim? Are you one that belongs to God's covenant people? Are you a member of God's family? Are you a son, are you a daughter of God, one who's been born again of the Spirit of God? Have you been adopted into God's family? And are you now enjoying all the privileges of the sons and the daughters of God? These are questions that you need to ask yourself this afternoon. And so we find something about Anna's family tree, her father and her ancestors and who they were. But Luke gives us another detail that ladies really don't want too many people to know, and that's about her age. Anna's age. Luke refers to her in these verses as a woman of great age. Verse number 36. She was a woman of great age. Now, there are two schools of thought regarding as to the exact age of Anna, especially when it comes to the details that were given in the verse number 37. The first school of thought, whenever we read that she was a widow of four score and four years, that's 84 years. The first school of thought is that Anna was 84 years a widow, and therefore she must have been over 100 years of age. Some men have put it to about 104, some a little bit older, 109 years of age. The other school of thought is that she was 84, that was her age. She was 84 years of age and had been a long time a widow. But either way, Anna was a lady who had exceeded the three score years and ten. And yet despite that, what I want you to notice this afternoon is that she continued to serve the Lord in prayers and with fastings. In her old age, Anna, she came to live out a truth that we find embedded into Psalm 92. Because in Psalm 92 verses 13 and 14 we read, Now we'll notice, and you notice there in the verse number 37, that here's a woman who departed not from the temple. She planted herself in the house of God. She found herself a place of worship, and there she stayed. There she stayed. There she worshiped God. And there she served the Lord Jesus Christ. Now think of it. Anna was what we would term a senior, a senior citizen. And yet, despite her limitations with regard to what old age brings, she continued to be present, and she continued to faithfully serve her Lord. You're maybe a senior here today. I'll not look in any direction in particular, but maybe you're a senior here today, and you're maybe someone who thinks to yourself, well, what can I do for the Lord? What can I do for the Lord? My health doesn't permit me any longer to serve in some ministry as I once did. You maybe say to yourself, I've got very little energy. And really to come to God's house, it takes a great effort on my part in order even to do that. And maybe you feel today that you feel yourself to be totally useless as a senior citizen, totally useless. I say to you today, if you feel that way, those of us who are of a younger generation need you in God's work. We need you in this way so that we can look to you as an example of faithfulness to the Lord. Yes, we look to the Lord, but we look to his people as well. And so we look to you. And if you feel yourself, well, I can never be involved in The church barbecue or helping with regard to what you said there in the announcements, and I really can't do a story anymore in children's meeting, and I can't do a memory verse. I certainly couldn't get onto a bus ever again. And you may say, well, really, what part is there for me to play in God's work? Can I say to you that there is always the ministry of prayer? It's never shut off to you, never closed off to you, regardless of your age. What blessings, what blessings flow to God's work by those who intercede for it. Never think yourself to be useless in the work of God. Remember the words of Robert Murray McShane, who said, we are immortal until our work is done. Brother, sister, now retired, your work isn't done. Your work isn't done. For if it was done, God would have promoted you to glory. He would have promoted you to glory if your work was done. There's something still for you to do. The sunset years of life may well become the most fruitful years in your life. Take up the sword. Wield it again, brother, sister. Wield it again. until you lay it down in death and have it replaced with the palm of victory. Let the words of the Apostle Paul, there in 2 Corinthians 4, 16, let those words encourage those among us today who feel that even in our bodies there's a weakness there with the passing of years. Though our outward man perish, yet the inward man is renewed day by day. The physical body might grow weaker, of course it will. The spiritual mare, the spiritual man can grow stronger and stronger. As it's put in Psalm 84 verse 7, the Christian goes from what? From strength to strength. Not from strength to weakness, but strength to strength. Senior, the best isn't behind you. The best is still in front of you. The best is yet to be. And here's a woman showing us the way. Oh, how much we as younger believers can learn from the older saints. Young person, spend a little time. Spend a little time with the older saints in the congregation. Glean from their experience. Respect them. Respect the seniors who worship alongside us. Encourage them. Work alongside them. And older saint of God, you're not home yet. You're not home yet. So while God gives strength, run the race with patience that is before you. Let no man take thy crown. And so we find something about her age. There's a fourth personal detail that we come to read about Anna, and that's with regard to her marital status, Anna's marital status. In verse 37, we read that she was a widow. Anna enjoyed the bliss of married life for just seven years. And then tragedy struck her marriage with the death of her husband. And yet faced with such a tragic turn of events in her own personal life, Anna did not become bitter. Rather, she humbly submitted herself to the will of God for her life. She bore the loss of the love of her life, and she bore it graciously. No doubt she mourned for her husband, no doubt. No doubt she missed him. No doubt she cried herself to sleep on many an occasion, and yet she did not wallow in self-pity. I read this regarding Anna's response to her sudden introduction to widowhood so early on in her married life. The writer said this, she let the useful trouble of her life soften and sanctify her. She put her trust in the God of Israel. She took herself and her sorrow to the temple, and there a new longing and a new love took possession of her. She would consecrate herself to God and to his service in the temple. She found that God would be a husband unto her, even in the days of her widowhood. Can I say as a pastor of this congregation, God has enriched the fellowship of this congregation with widows of the same calibre as Anna was. Ladies who undoubtedly miss the company and they miss the love of their husbands, but ladies who have proven the grace of God in their lives as widows. Such ladies are to be admired. Such women are to be prayed for, and such women are to be ministered to. By my reckoning, this congregation has ten widows associated with it. Do you know their names? Do you know all the widows associated with this congregation? Do you know their names? Do you pray for them? Do you visit them? In James chapter 1 verse 27, we read these words, pure religion. They think of this, religion in its purest form. The crystallized essence of true biblical religion is this. to visit the fatherless and widows in their affliction, and to keep himself unspotted from the world. That is the purest form of biblical religion. Biblical religion in its crystallized essence is to visit the fatherless, the orphan, and widows in their affliction. and to keep himself unspotted from the world. To any widow that is present here today, any widow that is listening, and let me encourage you that just like Anna, God has still a part for you to play in his work. You might be asking, what can I do for the widows or even the widowers of this congregation? Well, you can pray for them. You can visit them as you're encouraged to do by James. You can honor them. We're told to do that in 1 Timothy 5 and verse 3. You can include them, include them in your family, and you can be there to listen to them and encourage them and let them know that you're praying for them. This is a much-neglected ministry in the church of Jesus Christ, the ministry to widows. Anna was a widow for a long period of time, and she bore the cross of that and the burden and the sorrow of that with God-given grace. Now we spent quite a lot of time considering the first point, so let me quickly move to the second point, the practice of Anna. There's the personal details, let's think about the practice of Anna. There were certain practices that Anna, despite her being a widow, and despite her being advanced in age, practices that she engaged in as she lived out her faith in the Christ, and as she came to live out the final years of her life on earth. certain holy employments that she gave herself to that really evidenced that the root of the matter was in this woman, that she was a Christian. That's what I speak of. Note from the first place, Anna's prophesying. In verse 36, we read that Anna was a prophetess. Now, Anna is not the first and she's not going to be the last prophetess that is mentioned in the scriptures. We think about Miriam. Miriam was a prophetess, the sister of Aaron and Moses. We read that in Exodus 15 in the verse 20. Deborah and Huldah, they were prophetesses. Philip's four daughters, we're told in Acts 21 verse 9, they were prophetesses. Jezebel is depicted as being a false prophetess in the book of the Revelation chapter 2 in the verse 20. Now we must not run away with the idea that such passages in the Word of God give credence to women ministers. The word prophetess is the word teacher. Anna was a teacher. She was a speaker. She spoke God's truth. And we find her doing this in this particular passage. In the verse number 38 we say that whenever Christ came in, she gave thanks likewise unto the Lord and spake of Him to all To all them that looked for the redemption that was in Israel. She spoke the truth, and she spoke God's truth, His word at this important juncture of redemptive history. She may well have been a teacher to the younger woman. We read of such woman there in Titus chapter 2 verses 3 to 5. Let me read these words. The aged woman likewise, that they be in behavior as becometh holiness, not false accusers, not given to wine, teachers of good things, that they may teach the young woman to be sober, to love their husbands, to love their children, to be discreet, chaste, keepers at home, good, obedient to their own husbands, that the word of God be not blasphemed. Paul's writing here to Titus, and he's speaking about a ministry of the aged woman to the younger woman within the congregation. They must be teachers of good things, that they may teach the young woman to do these things. Mother, you can speak the Word of God to your children as you go about your daily chores. And Granny, those grandchildren that are shipped off to you over the summer holidays and maybe through the week, you can introduce them to the Lord Jesus Christ and make up for where your son, where your daughter has failed in the spiritual instruction of their own children. And to all ladies present today, you, you in your conduct and in your conversation can teach the younger ladies how they should conduct themselves as Christians in their home, in the community, and in the church. Secondly, we note Anna's praying. At the end of verse 37 we read that Anna served God with fastings and prayers night and day. Now the first thing that I want you to notice from these words is that service is not confined to some public ministry. Service is not confined to some public ministry within the church. Christians can serve God in the spiritual exercises of fastings and prayers. But that's what it says. It says that she served God. She served God in this way. Do you know that whenever you come to the prayer meeting, you're serving God? Say, I'm not serving God. There's no one here. Just believe. You're serving God. You're serving God in prayers and fastings. I wonder how is our service in these areas? We may never serve God in some public ministry, we may never take a Bible lesson, we may never be involved in Sunday school, youth work, we may never be involved in these things, but are we serving Him in prayer? Serving Him in prayer and fastings? With regard to Anna's praying, we note the earnestness in this matter. She backed up her praying with fasting. You'll notice that often in Scripture, prayer and fasting go together. They're married together. They're two activities that are brought together by the Lord. Here's an 80-year-old woman. Let's take her as being 84 years of age. Here's an 84-year-old woman showing us the way. Here's a woman embarrassing the man. Here's a woman embarrassing the man, and here's an old senior citizen embarrassing the younger people. For there she is at the prayer meeting, there she's praying, serving the Lord in the way that God had for her. Here's a woman. And all the earnestness in it. She doesn't just pray, but she fasts. There's an earnestness in this Christian's life. Oh, what about us? What about us? Where's the enthusiasm for the things of God? Where's the stirring up for the things of God? Where's the revived hearts for the things of God? Where's our excitement for the work of God? Here's a woman, nearly a hundred. Let's say she was a hundred. showing the way. Are we earnest in our Christian living or are we content to drift along and cruise control? Cruise control, drifting along. Oh, what we could learn from this woman, what I can learn from this woman. Notice something else about her praying. She was persistent in this matter. She gave this matter. She engaged in prayer. Did you notice? Night and day, night and day, Night and day she prayed. Can you think about a parable that Jesus Christ spoke? About prayer? Luke chapter 18. And who did he take as an example with regard to that prayer? It was a widow. And I just wondered, as I thought about this and prepared today, I just thought, did Jesus Christ think of Anna? when he gave the parable about the widow who went in before the unjust judge and persistently pursued after the judge until he avenged her of her adversary. Did Jesus Christ have Anna in his mind when he spoke that parable? I don't know. But here's a woman, and she's at the praying, morning and night. She's persistent in it. Oh, thank God for the praying woman of this congregation. Thank God for them, praying mothers, praying sisters, praying daughters, praying grandmothers. Thank God for the praying woman of the church. And to all who pray, oh, let us be instant in prayer. Let us not faint in this great spiritual exercise. God hears and answers prayer. Anna's praying, what about Anna's praising? Very quickly, verse 38, And she coming in that instant gave thanks likewise unto the Lord, and spake of him to all that looked for the redemption in Israel. When Anna laid her eyes on the Christ child now nestling in the arms of Simeon, she broke forth into praise, and notice that her praise centered on Christ. Biblical Spirit-led worship always does that. It always centers on the person and the work of Jesus Christ. It's very interesting to notice that word, give thanks. In the Greek, the word means to respond in praise, to respond in praise, to agree. Well, who was she agreeing with? She was agreeing with all that Simeon had said about the Christ. She was adding, as it were, her amen. Yes, Simeon, what you have said about the Christ, I wholeheartedly agree in, and now I am adding my voice in united praise to God. And brethren and sisters, that's what we ought to do. We need to ask God to enlist our silent tongues when it comes to praising and proclaiming Christ the Redeemer. We must lift our voices in a unified way. to the Christ of God, for she came, she gave thanks, she was in agreement with this man, Simeon. And so she praises the Christ. Notice Anna's perception, my fourth final point in this second point. Anna's attention that day was taken up with Jesus Christ. Her vision was taken up with Christ. She saw Him. She saw the Christ. in the place of worship. If Anna hadn't been so diligent in her attendance at the house of God, and if she hadn't been so devoted to her service for God, she would have missed this encounter with Christ. But she didn't. All the blessings that some of God's people miss when they're not at God's house, Don't be a Thomas. Don't miss out on the blessing, child of God. Be in your place. When the house is open, be like Anna. She could have said to herself, but I'm 80. She could have said that. She could have said I'm 100, whatever age she was. She could have said, but the husband who used to come with me, he's no longer here. But she didn't say those things. She didn't make excuses. She just came. She was in God's house. And how glad she was, she was there the day that Christ came. The Lord whom you seek shall suddenly come to his temple. I say, child of God, make this house your spiritual home. And every time you walk in through the doors of this building, you pray, you pray. Pray that you will have an encounter with the living Christ as the Word of God is opened and as the Word of God is preached. For that's the vision, that's the sight, that's the revelation that you need, a vision of the Christ. Maybe she went to church that day, downcast, depressed, but look at how she left. She left praising her God. She left extolling her God. Her heart was lifted. Was she not glad that she went into the temple that day? Of course she was. Ah, child of God, you'll be glad when you come to God's house and you hear of Christ. Your heart should be lifted up. As you hear him preach tonight in the gospel, your heart will be encouraged. heart will be strengthened. Hold down cast one. Come. If you're not a Christian, come to Christ. Come to know this grace of God, His justifying grace, His saving grace. There's much to learn, much to learn from the life of Anna. May God help us to put it now into practice. No point in hearing about this godly woman that the Holy Spirit puts into the Scriptures for our learning, for our profit, for our benefit. No point in listening to the Word and not putting it into practice. May God help us to put all of these things into practice. May God help me. May God help me. May God help you as a believer. May God encourage us from the life of this dear godly woman, a woman who was blessed as she served the Lord, and as she spoke of Him, and as she presented Him to others. May God help us to know such a blessing that comes our way when we do that in our own Christian lives. Let's bow our heads in prayer together. Thank you for listening. We've gone over our time, but we appreciate you listening. Let's seek the Lord. Our loving Father, we want just at this moment to pray that Thy Word will live on in our hearts and in our souls. We thank Thee for this dear woman, Anna. We thank Thee for her godly living and her godly example. Lord, there's much for us as young people to learn from this older saint. There's much for us to learn with regard to widows, We thank Thee for the widows in our congregation. We thank Thee for women who have proven the grace of God and widowers too, widowers too. We thank Thee for them. We thank Thee that they have proven the grace of God as they've been plunged into this life event that most certainly was wanting to be pushed down the road and yet came upon them. We pray for every widow associated with this congregation. Help me as a pastor. Help me as a minister to minister to these dear ladies. Help us, Lord, not to be simply one who preaches and does nothing about it. Oh, help us as a congregation. Help us to know the circumstances of all within the family here. Oh, apply thy word now with power. Bless our time. May we see Christ at the table. Oh, that may it be the uplifting of our hearts as we consider him now around, Lord, the table of remembrance, for we pray these prayers in and through Jesus precious name.