And we're turning to that book today. We're turning to Luke chapter two, the passage of scripture that we sang together in our paraphrase. We're now going to read the record of holy scripture. And so we're reading from the verse 21 of Luke's gospel chapter two. Let's give attention to the reading of God's word. Luke chapter two and the verse number 21. And when eight days were accomplished for the circumcising of the child, his name was called Jesus, which was so named of the angel before he was conceived in the womb. When the days of her purification according to the law of Moses were accomplished, they brought him to Jerusalem to present him to the Lord. 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 is 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 he him up in his arms, and blessed God, and said, Lord, now lettest thou thy servant depart in peace according to thy word, for mine eyes have seen thy salvation. For 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 falling and rising again of many in Israel, and for a sign which shall be spoken against. Yea, a sword shall pierce through thine own soul also, that the thoughts of many hearts may be revealed. We'll conclude at the end of the verse 35. Let's just engage in a word of prayer together. You pray for me that the Lord will help as we commence again preaching and ministering in this congregation. Our loving Father and our gracious God, I come before Thee. I come and confess my tremendous need. The great need that I have is overwhelming, Lord, as I come to stand now to preach Thy word. And yet to this thou hast called me to. And therefore I pray for help in the equipping of the Spirit of God. I pray that I might know what's in me in you on this particular day. Oh God, the Spirit of God being upon him, oh grant it to be so. Help us, Lord, I cry to thee. Help us understand thy word, the youngest child, the oldest individual. Oh help me, Lord, to pastor the entire congregation. May the Word, Lord, do that by the Spirit. O come, blessed Spirit, teach us from the book, we pray. We offer prayer now through your Savior's precious and worthy name. Amen. In the great drama of redemption, the Lord Jesus Christ is without question the one who takes the primacy and the leading and the preeminent role. However, there are other caste members of lesser importance that are woven and incorporated into the storyline of the most important and most momentous moment and period in world history when God became flesh and dwelt among men. in order to redeem men from their sin. I think about historical figures that played a supporting role when it came to the death and the crucifixion of the Lord Jesus Christ. A man like Caiaphas, the Jewish high priest, who would assemble the Jewish Sanhedrin together in the early hours of the morning in order to put the Savior on some kind of trumped-up trial. Pontius Pilate, another individual who would vehemently wash his hands when sentencing the Son of God to death on the cross, only for him then to scourge the Son of God and hand him over to the will of his enemies. or Nicodemus and Joseph of Arimathea, those two believing men who took down the body of the Lord Jesus Christ from the cross and saw to his embalming and then to his burial in Joseph's newly hewn tomb. There are other historical figures who play a supporting role during the earthly ministry of the Lord Jesus Christ. You think of the 12 disciples, those men who were chosen and ordained by the Son of God to be with Him, and then for them to carry on the work that He had begun, namely in the preaching of the gospel of the kingdom. Bethany's sisters, Martha and Mary, were two others who played a role in the Savior's earthly ministry, a supporting role. They opened their home to the Lord and His disciples. On those numerous occasions when He and they visited the town of Bethany, the scribes and the Pharisees, the archenemies of Christ, watching the Savior's every move and listening to His every word in the hope that He would do or say something that they could level against Him and then see to His death. But then there are others, and we move back from the death and the life of Christ right back to His birth. We think of others supporting cast members. If we can employ that kind of language today, when it came to the birth of the Lord Jesus Christ, Mary and Joseph are the most obvious of people in that category. For it was into their home that the Son of God would be born. Herod the wise man, the shepherds from Bethlehem, they had their part to play in the storyline with regard to the incarnation. And as to the angel Gabriel, well he was the one who was dispatched from heaven by God to announce to Mary that she would be the one in whose womb she would carry the Christ child. Another individual who appears in the gospel narrative that details the events surrounding the incarnation was Simeon. Simeon was present when the Christ child was brought by his earthly parents into the tabernacle or into the temple some 40 days after his birth to present him unto the Lord as was required of them by Jewish law. This afternoon I want us to consider Luke's short biography of this man, Simeon, that we find here in Luke chapter 2. I want us to think about the man, I want us to think about his encounter with the Lord Jesus Christ. I want to take up our little series that we began just prior to our holiday. In the lesser known characters that we meet in the Word of God, and surely Simeon is one such person. He's lesser known to us. and yet he is important for the spirit of God as so fit to have his record, the details of his encounter with Christ pictured and presented to us here in Holy Scripture. A number of matters I want us to consider together. I want you to consider, first of all, Simeon's character. Simeon's character. Now, very little can be said about Simeon's name. Needless to say that his name means hearkening, or it can be translated this way, God is heard. God is heard. Now you'll be aware that this isn't the first Simeon that we meet in Holy Scripture. You'll remember that Leah had a son. Her firstborn was Reuben, and then she was given another son, and she called that son Simeon. It's the same name. We read of that in Genesis 29 verse 33. Verse 33, it tells us that Leah conceived again, and bare a son, and said, because the Lord hath heard that I was heeded, he therefore hath given me this son also, and she called his name Simeon. God has heard. God heard her tears. God heard her sorrow, her lament. She heard all that had happened in the home with regard to her and Jacob, and in answer to prayer, God gave her consolation. In the midst of her sorrow, in the midst of the trying circumstances within the family home, God heard her prayer, and God gave her a son. God hears your prayers. God hears the longing and the desire of your prayer. Your family circumstances may not be as others. You might live in a very difficult home. You might have problems in your home presently, and yet God has heard. I want you to be assured of that today. Those prayers that you have prayed in recent days and recent weeks and recent months, God has heard those prayers. His ear has been attentive unto your cry. He has heard your supplications. He has heard your petitions. He has seen your tears. God has heard because the eyes of the Lord are upon the righteous and His ears are open unto their cry. God hears your cry. He hears and He understands. God has heard. It was a longing for some in Israel prior to the Savior's birth that God would hear the cries of His believing people. They cried to him for a Messiah, a deliverer, a king, a comforter, one who would come to bring deliverance. For the vast majority, I believe, of Simeon's life, he had cried to God that he would hasten the day of the Messiah's appearance. And the wonderful thing is that now God has heard his prayer. This was the day that Simeon was aware that God had heard his cry, when Jesus Christ was brought into the temple precincts. Simeon saw in a very visible representation that God heard his prayer. Maybe you're praying for the salvation of a loved one. God is well able to give you a very visible representation of God answering prayer by bringing that son, that daughter, that brother, that sister to saving faith in Jesus Christ. God is well able to bring them out of their bar, out of the bars, and out of their nightclubs, and out of their sin, and bring them into the family and into the fold of God, and to make them a member of the household of faith. God is able to do that. God hears and answers prayer, and he's well able to give a visible representation of that. And this day, Simeon became aware, God has heard my prayer. This Messiah, this Deliverer, this Savior that I have longed for, I have prayed for, I now see him with my very eyes. Oh, that God would answer prayer like that. Oh, that God would intervene into our lives and family and community and district, into our nation, into this world, that there would be a public representation, a visible representation of God hearing and answering the cries of his people. God hears and God answers prayer. Now, there's a number of things about this man's character that is instructive for us today. We can learn from this man. We can learn of what kind of man he was and how we can replicate that in our lives as believers, as those who are followers of Jesus Christ. What type of individual should I be as one who waits the second coming of Jesus Christ? This man, he was waiting for the first coming of Christ. But how should I, as a believer, living here in Portland or wherever you live, in this 21st century, how should I be living in light of the Savior's second coming? Well, what can we say about this man? Well, we're not going to say anything about this man. The Spirit of God has something to say about him. And what does the Spirit of God say about Simeon? Well, notice the first characteristic about this man. It says that this man was a just man. Verse 25, and behold, there was a man in Jerusalem whose name was Simeon, and the same man was just. This can be looked at in one of two ways. We could think about this man being just with regard to his relationship with his fellow man. He was a man of integrity. He was a man that was upright. He was a man who was honest in all of his dealings. I don't know if he was a businessman or not. I don't know what kind of job he did, but in all things, this man was a man of integrity. He was the man that we sang about in Psalm 15. He was a man who did things by the book. He was a man of his word and he was known in the community as being a just man, a man of integrity, a man of honest dealings. This is how we ought to live in our world. We live in a very dishonest world. Integrity is something that is missing in every stratum of society. And we need to be men and women. If we are believers, we need to be men of integrity. We need to be just men and women. We need to be individuals of our word. We need to be those who live uprightly and honestly, individuals of integrity in all things. This is how the believer ought to be living today in light of the Savior's second coming. But I believe that this word, just, goes much deeper than simply his dealings or his standing with his fellow man. This phrase, just, speaks to us about his relationship with God. He was a man who was justified. He was a man who had been justified by grace. Now the question that comes into my mind is this, how does the Spirit of God's commentary on Simeon here, how does it square with what we read elsewhere in Scripture? Because in Ecclesiastes 7 verse 20, we read these words, for there is not a just man upon the earth that doeth good and sinneth not. And yet we have the record here that here's a man who was just. Well, how this squares, whenever we read Ecclesiastes 7, Solomon here is speaking about man in his natural state, in his sinful state, in his fallen state. Man in his fallen state, in his sinful state, as he comes from his mother's womb. There is not a just man upon the earth. There is no man that is justified when they come into this world. But rather, the Scriptures remind us that all have sinned and come short of the glory of God. And therefore, something has happened to this man, Simeon. What has happened to this man, Simeon, is that justifying grace has been imparted to this man. He's now a Christian. He's a man who has been justified by faith. And as he has been justified, he has been declared righteous before God. And so, when the Spirit of God informs us that Simeon was a just man, a righteous man before God, he's alluding to the fact that Simeon was a saved man. Are you a saved man? Are you a saved woman? Have you been justified freely by God's grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus? I want to remind you today, if you need any reminding, that you're not justified because of the family that you've been born into. Baptism or confirmation does not convey justifying grace to you, neither does the partaking of the Lord's Supper or attending a gospel preaching church like this. No, you need to be justified by faith if you are ever to be at peace with God, because it is only those who are justified who experience the peace of God. Therefore, being justified by faith. We have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ. What is the state of your heart today? Is it a heart that is at peace with God? Does the peace of God rule in your heart and in your mind? Here's a man who was justified, justified freely by God's amazing grace. You think about the spiritual landscape into which Simeon had been providentially placed by the sovereign God of heaven. Here's a man who's born into a spiritual landscape that is bleak. For 400 years, heaven has been silent. The intertestamental period, the period between the Old and the New Testament, those are called the silent years, and they're called the silent years because there is no direct word from God. Malachi closes off, and it's reintroduced, God speaking from heaven. through the cry of a child in a manger. But for 400 years, heaven has been silent. Not only that, but biblical religion has found itself at a very low ebb within the country of Israel when Jesus Christ was born. The Old Testament teachings had been contaminated by the doctrines of men, and the man-made traditions of the Pharisees and the Scribes and the Sadducees, well, they had really taken over the religious landscape. And yet, despite all of that, we find among the citizens of Jerusalem, we find, as the Spirit of God says, we find a just man. It's no wonder that Dr. Luke, he places a word before he comes to describe Simeon here. He uses the word behold, behold. Behold, there was a man in Jerusalem whose name was Simeon, and the same was just and devout. It's as if we are to be taken by surprise that such a man could be found in the city of Jerusalem. And yet we note that whenever things were at a low ebb, spiritually speaking, there was still such an individual living in such a place. And he wasn't the only individual because remember who we spoke about? I think last time, that little widow, Anna, she too was waiting for the Christ. We all know that we're not living in days of revival, sadly. We're not experiencing a high watermark when it comes to the state of spirituality. Among the people of God, we're very aware of that. And out there in the world, beyond the four walls of this building, male sin abounds on every hand. Evil men are waxing worse and worse. We're told that that will happen. But despite all that, child of God, despite all that, God has still a remnant in the land who has been justified by his grace. And we need to always remember that. God has a remnant, a remnant of grace, always in the land. And we must not forget about that. J.C. Ryle had some interesting comments to make about this man, Simeon. Let me quote him at this moment. He wrote the following. He says, it is a cheering thought that God never leaves himself entirely without a witness. As small as his believing church may sometimes be, the gates of hell shall never completely prevail against it. The true church may be driven into the wilderness and be scattered like a little flock, but it never dies. There was a lot in Sodom. an Obadiah in Ahab's household, a Daniel in Babylon, and a Jeremiah in Hezekiah's court. And in the last days of the Jewish church, when its iniquity was almost full, there were godly people like Simeon even in Jerusalem. And then he went on to make this application, let us believe. that grace can live and flourish even in the most unfavorable circumstances. There are more Simeons in the world than we suppose. There are more Simeons in the world than we suppose. He was a just man. Secondly, he was a devout man. For that's what the Spirit of God tells us about him. The same man was just and devout, pious, circumspect, reverent, devoted sincerely to God. These are just some of the ways that this word devout can be translated. If the word just refers us to Simeon's justification, then this word devout points us to his sanctification. Now it's important to note the order. It's important to note the order because before a man, before a woman, before a boy, a girl, a teenager can be devout, they must first be just. Our justification always precedes our sanctification. It's a reminder to all who are attempting to clean up their lies in the hope that they would be somehow able to merit or earn salvation that such can never take place. It is only whenever we are justified by grace and justified by faith that the work then of sanctification can then begin in our lives. He was first of all just and then he was devout. Don't mix up the order. You're maybe here today and you're trying to be religious, trying to be moral, trying to be charitable. But you need to be justified, you need to be converted, you need to be saved, you need to be born again of the Spirit of God. Because if you're not, then this thought of being devout, pious, devoted entirely to God, is something that you're not going to be able to see outworked in your life. because you're going to feel. You know, the Pharisees, they were men who had a pretend, a fake, a hypocritical devoutness about them. We read of that in the Gospels. They pretended to be one thing, but they were actually the other. But here was Simeon. Here was a man who was possessed with a genuine devoutness. He was a godly man. That's what we would say. He was just and he was godly. A just and godly man. The Simeon pursued practical righteousness in the exterior of his life, and the inside he was possessed with a devout heart, with a devout spirit. I ask myself the question, am I a devout man? Am I a pious man? Or is it the case that it's simply but a veneer, a performance? A show, as it were, of devoutness when I'm around the people of God, but outside the Christian bubble, I'm a different man. Is that the case? Is that the case in your life? Simeon was holy, he was just, and he was honest, he was devout. Twin Christian virtues or graces that ought to be found in the life of every child of God, holy and honest. The third thing to note about his character was that he was a believing man. Verse 25 goes on to say that he was waiting for the consolation of Israel. This is reference, this phrase has reference to the messianic hope that filled the hearts of God's believing people prior to the Savior's birth. in Bethlehem, the hope that the Messiah would come and bring about not a political deliverance, but a spiritual deliverance to Israel. Simeon, he waited, he longed for the first coming of the Son of God. As I've already said, we long and wait for his second coming. The true Christian is one who believes not only that God has come, but they believe that he's coming again. The genuine believer is the one who is awaiting the reappearing of the consolation of Israel, the coming of the Messiah, the Lord Jesus Christ. We are waiting for the Son from heaven. It is the blessed hope of the Christian. We await that day. But the ungodly are not waiting for his appearing. No, in fact, they hope that such a day as fictional. Or to put it in the best of lights, they're hoping, well at least it's a great way off and not imminent. But he is coming. He is coming again. Do you want a good gauge as to the genuineness of the profession of your faith? Do you want to know if you're a Christian? I believe that this is one of the ways that you can know. It's just one of the ways that you can know with regard to your profession of faith. Is it real? Is it genuine? Is what I've got, is it the real thing? Gauge it along these lines. How do you feel? What are your feelings? What feelings do you experience when the preacher preaches about the second coming of Jesus Christ? Does that truth, does it delight your soul to think that he's coming again, or is it the fact that you feel dread to think that Jesus Christ is coming again? It's only one of the gauges. I say if it is the latter, if dread fills your heart, Then you can be sure that you know not Christ. For every genuine Christian, they long for the appearing again of Jesus Christ. They say with John, even so come Lord Jesus. Oh that today you would make that spiritual preparation that is required before Christ appears again. Looking at this character of Simeon, and we need to speed on, we find that he was a spirit-filled man. In verse 25 we read again that the Holy Ghost was upon him. God the Holy Spirit not only entwelt this man, but God the Holy Spirit filled this man. He was a man that was filled by the Spirit of God. God the Holy Spirit filled this man, and God the Holy Spirit ministered through this particular man. The narrative goes on to say in verse 26, that the Spirit of God revealed something to Simeon. It was revealed to him by the Holy Ghost. And so he had fellowship with the Spirit of God. There's communion there with him and the Spirit of God. And what did the Spirit of God reveal to this man? That he should not see death until he had seen the Lord's Christ. Simeon was a man who could be trusted by the Spirit of God. You could be trusted with the very secret of God. We know not the day of our death. We don't even know the circumstances of how we'll die. But Simeon was given this guarantee, this pledge, that he would not die until he had seen with his own physical eyes the Lord's Christ. Simeon was a man who was filled by the Spirit of God. Oh, the great need that there is among us to be filled with the Spirit. the preacher, the elders, the deacons, every worker, every church member, every friend redeemed by blood of this congregation, the great need to be filled by the Spirit of God, to follow the counsel that we have of the Spirit by and through the Apostle Paul, to be not drunk with wine wherein is excess, but to be filled with the Spirit. You want to know how a church, how a family, how a home, how a marriage runs smoothly? It is whenever all the members, whether in that home, in that family, in that marriage, in that church, whenever those individuals are filled by the Spirit of God. And I know that to be the case, because after this counsel is given in Ephesians 5, verse 18, the Apostle Paul then goes on to speak about the church. and about the family, and about marriage, and about the home, and children, and your responsibilities in the home, and with regard to you as an employee. And it all goes back to this great command, this great commission, this great exhortation to be filled with the Spirit of God. Did you ask God to fill you with His Spirit today that you might worship Him aright? Oh, more of His Spirit we need. More of the Spirit. Did you notice something that God says about the man upon whom the Spirit of God rested? In verse 27, we're told that he came by the Spirit into the temple. The Spirit of God brought this man to the house of God. This man didn't sit at home and exercise his gifts at home. He came to the house of God, the place of public meeting, He came to the house of God. He assembled with others to worship God in the temple. And there he met Anna, and he worshiped alongside this widow. The Spirit of God led him into the house of God. And that's where the Spirit of God will always lead you. The Spirit of God, as health permits and as age permits, the Spirit of God will lead you to the house of God, bring you to the place of public gathering, to be under the means of grace, to exhort one another, to encourage one another. As we see the day approaching and Christ appearing soon to come, He will gather His people to the house of God. That's where the Spirit of God will draw you. The flesh will take you other places. The old nature. It'll take us away from the house of God, but the Spirit of God, it'll bring us to the house of God. He will. He'll bring you here. into the house of God. And notice, when he came into the house of God, notice what he did as a man filled with the Spirit, one who was dwelt, indwelt by the Spirit of God, and one who was filled by the Spirit of God, and one who was attending the house of God. What did he do? Look at the verse 28, and it says, Then, having seen the Lord's Christ, he took him up in his arms. He took him up and he blessed God. And then he goes on to say other things. What did he do? He uplifted Christ when he came to the place of worship. He uplifted the Christ. He didn't say, I'm a man, I'm just, I'm devout, look at me. He didn't say, I'm a spirit-filled man, come and hear my gifts. No, his only job, his only task, his only desire was to uplift the Christ. Some of you young people, you'll marry someday, and you'll decide where you'll worship. I trust it'll be in this house. But if it is not in this house, I trust that you are looking and you will look for a church in which you will worship and join as a member a church where the person, the man who occupies the pulpit is a little bit like Simeon, that all his desire is to uplift the Christ, the Son of God. Look for a church where praise and the preaching uplifts the person and the work of Jesus Christ. How much of Christ do you know? Oh, I know about other things. I know about the new world order. I know about, with regard to the mark of the beast. I know about the one world currency. What do you know about Christ? What do you know about Jesus Christ, the Lord Jesus Christ? What do you know about Him? Oh, to know more of him, here's a man and he lifted up the Christ. Here's Simeon's character. No, quickly, Simeon's communication. Verses 29 through to 35, and I'll do this quickly, is known as Simeon's, some people have called it Simeon's Swan Song. I don't know if you know anything about the Swan Song. I'm sure you've heard that statement. There's a legend, and all it is is a legend, that before a swan dies, it sings a song. I've never been there whenever swans have died. Not to kill swans, they are, I think, the prerogative of the crown. Swans belong to crowns. So don't be going out and killing a swan and seeing if it sings a song. But this was Simeon's swan song. And in that song, he majors on two great things. First of all, he majors on God's salvation. What a way to die, to sing about God's salvation. The things we talk about at death are the things that are most important to us. And Simeon, now seeing the Lord's Christ, he knew that soon. He knew that soon death would come. And so what does he sing about? He sings about God's salvation. For mine eyes have seen thy salvation, he sings. Verse 30 and 31, which thou hast prepared before all the people, with the Christ child nestling in his arms. Simeon comes to declare that his eyes have seen God's salvation. Simeon's words, they reveal to us that salvation is found in a person. Christ is in his arms, and he says now, looking into the face of Christ, he says, I have seen thy salvation. You see, salvation is not found in rites and rituals. It's found in a Redeemer. It's not found in the sacraments of the church. It's found in a Savior. It's found in Jesus Christ, salvation. You see, God is the author of salvation. And God is not only the author of it, he's the acquirer of it. It's His salvation. And not only that, but He is the applier of salvation. God the Father, He purposed it. God the Son, He purchased it. God the Spirit, He presents it and applies it to the heart of the child of God. Have you seen His salvation? By the eye of faith, have you looked away to the Savior? He would say to you today, look unto me. Young man, young woman, look on to me and be saved. All the ends of the earth, all the ends of the earth. He also sings about God's intention, not only God's salvation, God's intention, God's intention generally. God's salvation according to Simeon was prepared before the face of all people, a light to lighten the Gentiles and the glory of the people of Israel. In other words, God has provided salvation for all in the world who will trust in him. Jew and Gentile, no difference for all of sin. And thus he has prepared And the language here is off a great feast. We prepare dinner, you'll do that very soon, you're hoping very soon, but you'll prepare a great dinner, and in that, each will partake of that. And such is the imagery here that is used by Simeon, by the Spirit of God, that there is a meal, a gospel feast prepared, and is for you to simply partake of it. Have you ever partaken the great banquet of the gospel. Have you ever partaken of Christ? Have you ever fed on him? You see, the purpose of God from eternity past was that from all nations, kindreds and people and tongues, there would be those who would stand before the throne on the final day, redeemed by the blood of Christ. And this is what Simeon is coming to confirm in his communication. He says, this salvation that has been prepared, it is for the Gentiles as well as for the Jew. And so God's intention is is a global intention, a universal intention. The gospel is for the nations. The question is, if that is God's intention, and it is, what are we as a church doing to see the fulfillment of His intention and His purpose in the world? Are we giving ourselves to praying that God would send a saving health among the nations? Are we supporting those who at the call of God will leave all and go forth with his gospel to the nations? Are we willing to give our lives, employ our talents, forfeit our free time to see men and women, young people, boys and girls reach with the gospel of Jesus Christ? God's intention generally God's intention specifically, and I speak about what now Simeon says to Mary. I don't have time to look at this with you, but notice that he says to Mary, "'Yea, a sword shall pierce through thine own soul also.'" These words, the language used by Simeon conveys the thought of the tremendous sorrow that Mary was going to experience with regard to the one that he was now holding in his arms. And that surely was the case because the Savior's mother Mary stood at the cross. Her tears mingled with the tears of Mary, Magdalene, and the other ladies. Oh, what sorrow to watch your own son to be crucified. It's a reminder to us, child of God, that this is a veil of tears we walk through. It's a reminder to us that it's not always sunshine. It's not always happiness. There are dark days, sorrowful days, difficult days that we have to face as the people of God. And yet all, all within the will of God for our lives. The consolation is this, that we have got one in such days who sustains us and who suckers us in our sorrows. Simeon's character, we think about that, we think about his communication. Simeon's confidence, verse 29, Lord, let us now thy servant depart in peace according to thy word. It was a sight of the promised Redeemer. that disarmed death of its terrors for Simeon and made him in that moment content to live or die. I'm happy to live. I'm just as happy to die. What confidence Simeon had for the future, that he was unafraid to ask God for his removal from this world. Only the Christian has that kind of confidence. to be confident that they're ready to leave this world for the world that is yet to come, knowing that all is well with your soul. Could you say to God today, Lord, let me depart from this world? In the state you're in, sinner, you wouldn't say that. For your departure from this world would say to your arrival in that place called hell. This is the confidence of only the Christian, the justified one. Lord, let me die. Happy to live, happy to die. Just like Paul, who said, for me to live is Christ, to die is gain. Have you that kind of confidence? Confidence that enables you to look into the face of God today and say, if the time of my departure is at hand, then I'm ready to leave this world in peace. I say if this confidence is missing in your life, it can be yours today. If you would only but turn to God and be reconciled to him. I trust that that will take place in your life. Only those who have seen and believed on Christ, only those who have laid hold of Christ, only those who have embraced Christ like Simeon did, are those who are ready to die. Are you ready to die? That's my final question. Are you ready to die? Let's pray. Our gracious Father, our loving God, we thank Thee for the lessons that we have learned from the life of this dear Saint of God. We thank Thee for the record of Scripture. We thank Thee, O God, for the Spirit's incorporation of this man's life, his testimony. And oh, that we would live like Simeon in light of the Savior's second coming and in light of our own day of death, that we would be just, devout, waiting for the consolation of Christ's second coming, that we would be filled by the Spirit of God and that our communication, our talk, our speech would be filled with regard to God's salvation. And Lord, help us then to die in confidence that Christ has paid our sin debt, and through Him and by Him, and only because of His work on our behalf, will we find ourselves departing this world not in terror, but departing this world in peace. Bless our hearts as we continue throughout thy day. May we reverence thy day. May we, Lord, do all that we can to honor thee within it, and bring us again in thy will to the house of public praise and worship. And Lord, we pray that we might be Evangelistic. We thank thee, Lord, for this promise, that Christ was to be a light to the Gentiles. Oh, that this place would shine the light, and, Lord, that many will be drawn to him. Answer prayer partisan, thy fear, and may the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, the love of God the Father, and the fellowship and communion of God the Holy Ghost be with thy believing people, both now and forevermore. We offer prayer through Christ's mighty name.