Good morning. Open your Bibles
with me to Luke chapter 2. Abby is sorry she can't be here
with me this morning, but she felt pretty good leaving me to
ride along with Brady, so. Luke chapter 2. Now this Friday, most of this
country, a big part of this world will celebrate Christmas. And I confess to you, I do enjoy
the season. Any time that I can spend a little
more time with my family, I consider that a good time. It's a time when working people
enjoy some time off, some well-deserved time off. I've got a brother-in-law. He's going to get a week off.
And he probably won't see another day off till probably May or
later. So time off, again, with family. It's a time when people, for
the most part, are a little friendlier than any other time of the year.
I suspect we'll get stuck in a little traffic. And I imagine
this time of year, even in Lexington, somebody will let us in front
of them. People just seem to be a little
kinder this time of year. And it's a time when men and
women must acknowledge that Jesus Christ came to this earth. I wonder. I wonder when folks
sing, and I often think some of these songs we sing, why we
just sing them this time of the year? Because they glorify our
Savior. They speak of Him who came and
suffered and died. Joy to the world. The Lord, the Lord has come. I was thinking about this verse
here. Christ by highest heaven adored. the everlasting Lord, eternal. Late in time, behold him come,
offspring of the virgin's womb, veiled in flesh, the Godhead,
see, hail the incarnate deity. God in human flesh came to this
earth. Pleased as men with man to dwell,
the Lord Jesus Christ, God with us. I often wonder when
people walk through the streets singing these songs, do they
have any clue who they're singing about? Who these hymns declare? These are the words of the gospel.
These words speak of Christ. They speak of salvation. So how
do we handle this? How do we handle this day? How
do we handle this time of year? And I heard a wise pastor say
here just not too long ago, he said, there's three ways that
we can handle this. We can agree with it. We can
just jump in and just go along with it. But with all the foolishness
that goes along with it, With all of the blasphemy that goes
along with it, with the idolatry that goes along with it, we can't
do that. We can ignore it, but for the
same reasons, we can't do that either. Or we can use it. We can use it as an opportunity
to teach the truth. I enjoyed reading the bulletin
this morning. Your pastor, that article he
wrote about taking time during this Christmas season to declare
Christ who came, to declare him. Well, maybe, I know this time of year
there are many who come to the worship service that never come
any other time of the year. maybe people tuning in this morning,
that for no other reason than it's Christmas time, feel like
they need to sit down and listen to a message. I pray the Lord
would give us that this morning, that he would give me a gospel
message for you. A couple things to consider.
I'm thankful Aren't we thankful that the Lord Jesus Christ was
born, that he came, that he came to this earth? We don't know what the date is.
We don't know what that date is. And isn't it a good thing
that we don't? Because men would do what they do not even knowing
the date. Make up a date and make that
something, make it feel a little more holy. We're not given any instruction
on celebrating the Lord's birth. Now, it's clear in the scriptures
we're to remember his death, but not his birth. You know,
as a young man, I sat in a church, and all the children brought
up a penny and put it in a pot, and afterwards, they sang happy
birthday to Jesus. How is that honoring God? How is that worshiping the Lord? Where is that instructed in God's
Word? We're instructed to remember
His death. Two ordinances that we're given.
Baptism and the Lord's Table. And both of those deal with His
death. Baptism, in which the believer
confesses Christ, identifies with Him in His death, burial,
and resurrection. And again, in the Lord's table,
where we remember His death on the cross, His body broken, His
blood shed for the sins of His people. But while people are
considering this, that Jesus in fact did come, that the Lord
Jesus Christ came, I want us to look this morning And not
just the fact that he did come, but why? Why he came? Why did he come? Do you still,
do you have Luke 2? We pick up here in verse 25.
Now this is shortly, just shortly after the Lord's birth. Verse 25, follow along with me. And behold, there was a man in
Jerusalem whose name was Simeon. And the same was just and devout,
and he was waiting for the consolation of Israel, and the Holy Ghost
was upon him. Behold. Now that word, we need
to pay attention to that, behold. This means something is about
to be revealed. Something completely unexpected
is going to be revealed to us. Behold! Listen, it's worth hearing. It's worth believing. Paul, writing
under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, he said this is
a faithful saying, and worthy of all acceptation, that Jesus
Christ came into the world to save sinners. Jesus Christ came into the world
to save sinners, of whom I am the chief. This is why he came,
to save sinners. Behold, behold, there was a man
in Jerusalem. Now that word man, it means that,
obviously he's referring to a human being there, a man. But that
word also is a reference to the notion of weakness, a man, weakness,
a notion of sin, of our corrupt nature. Simeon was a man, just
like we're men and women, and we have that same nature, a corrupt
nature, a sinful nature. A reference to every man, sinful,
sinful, born in trespasses and sin. We come forth from the womb
speaking lies. That's each and every one of
us. Read on in our text, a man in Jerusalem whose name was Simeon. I suspect there were several
men in Jerusalem, but this is a reference to a particular man,
a particular man named Simeon. His name, Simeon, means to hearken,
hearkening, one who listens. I pray that would be true of
us this morning and every time we gather to hear God's word,
that we would truly listen, that he would give us ears to hear,
a teachable spirit, and that we would do just that, that we
would listen to what's being said. How often? How often do
we not? I can tell you that's true of
myself. Somebody will be talking to me and I'll be a thousand
miles away. My friends, when God's Word is
preached, all that He would enable us to listen, that He would enable
us to hear, that we would be, as the Scriptures say, slow to
speak and quick to hear. And the same man, this Simeon,
this is how he's described it. Now again, it says, behold, listen,
pay attention. The Holy Spirit determined that
this is something that we should know. Simeon was just and devout. You see that? The same man was
just and devout. He was one who kept God's commands. He was upright. I can't help
but think that if Simeon was a father, that he was one who
loved his children. He was one who didn't provoke
his children to rap. If he was a husband, he loved
his wife. As Christ loved, no man loves
his wife that much, none of us can. But truly, he listened to
the scriptures. If he was an employee, I suspect
he wasn't going to work trying to get one over on the boss all
the time. And if he was a boss, he treated
his employees right. Just and devout. That's a rarity,
isn't it? That's not something we see.
Maybe that's why that word, behold, is used here. Consider this. Consider this. Something you
don't see every day. And read on. Behold, a man in
Jerusalem named Simeon, the same man was just and devout, and
he was waiting. He was looking. He was expecting. What was he waiting for? waiting for the consolation of
Israel. Waiting with patience, waiting
with confidence for the consolation of Israel, for the comfort of
Israel. Waiting for salvation. And listen,
it wasn't what he was waiting on, it's who. It's who he was
waiting on. who is our salvation. That's the title for our message
this morning, The Consolation of Israel. Now quickly, I have
just three points, three points to consider concerning the consolation
of Israel. What it's not. What it's not. Now this flies in the face of
what men preach in our day. What men, what goes on in most
of the places men call churches today. The consolation, the comfort
is not in what a man does or does not do. Now see that here. Turn to Romans chapter three. Romans chapter three. Look beginning with verse 19 of Romans three. And we know that whatsoever things
the law saith, it saith to them who are under the law, every
mouth may be stopped and the whole world may become guilty
before God. Therefore, by the deeds of the
law, there shall be no flesh justified
in his sight. By the deeds of the law, there
shall be no flesh justified in his sight. For by the law is
the knowledge of sin. Simeon was known as a man that was just
and devout. You know, if that was his consolation,
He'd already had it, wouldn't he? He wouldn't have been waiting
for the consolation of Israel. I wished all of us would be known
as just and devout people. Wouldn't be nothing wrong with
that, would there? Honesty in our dealings. But listen, that
wasn't Simeon's consolation. There is no consolation in the
works of the law. No flesh shall be justified in
the deeds of the law. Wasn't Simeon's comfort any more
than it is yours or mine? Salvation is not in our doing. It's not in our dying. Salvation
is of the Lord. That's repeated over and over
in God's word. Simeon's consolation wasn't being
just and devout. It wasn't in being a good neighbor.
It wasn't in any of those things. Simeon was waiting for the consolation
of Israel. And by nature, we have way too
high a view. You know, that's why we think
that we have such a high view of ourselves and such a low view
of who God is, by nature. We have way too little thoughts
of Almighty God and his son, Jesus Christ. I imagine that's
why some of these stores can sell these little nativity scenes
for $20 or less and people go buy them and put them in their
yard. That's just wrong. That's an idol. That's idolatry. But I was thinking about this,
that's what man wants. That's why man worships an idol,
because he can do with it what he wants. He can take that little,
and I don't say this to be funny, he can take that little plastic
Jesus, and when he's put it out in his yard, and when he's tired
of it, he can put it back in the closet, or put it up in the
attic. My friends, that's not worshiping
Christ. That's dishonoring. That's idolatry. Comfort, men find comfort in
what they do, but comfort is not to be found in the works
of the law. Comfort is not to be found in
men's idols. Simeon wasn't looking for consolation
in anything that he had done or not done. He was waiting for
the consolation of Israel. Second, we see a consolation
revealed. A consolation revealed. Look
at verse 26 of Luke chapter 2. It was revealed unto him by the
Holy Ghost that he should not see death before he had seen
the Lord's Christ. The Lord God has declared from
eternity to save his elect, that he's gonna save his elect for
his great and glorious name. Turn with me to Ephesians chapter,
turn over to Ephesians, the book of Ephesians. Ephesians chapter one. We'll begin with verse three.
Ephesians one, verse three. Blessed be the God and Father
of our Lord Jesus Christ who has blessed us with all spiritual
blessings in heavenly places. in Christ, according as he hath
chosen us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should
be holy and without blame before him in love, having predestinated
us unto the adoption of children by Jesus Christ to himself according
to the good pleasure of his will. to the praise of the glory of
his grace wherein he hath made us accepted in the blood. It's his work. It's what he has
done. Turn to 2 Thessalonians chapter
2. 2 Thessalonians chapter 2. Look beginning with verse 13. We're bound to give thanks always
to God for you, brethren, beloved of the Lord, because God hath
from the beginning chosen you to salvation through sanctification
of the spirit and belief of the truth. A people. A people beloved of God. A people loved of God. Chosen
from the beginning unto salvation. God determined to save a people. Sanctified. Sanctified. He set them apart. He made us
holy. And listen, they're going to
hear his word and believe it. Believe the truth. The truth
about man. Man's sinfulness. Man dead and
trespasses. The truth about God. About his
sovereignty. Not, listen, not just in creation
and providence. You know, we can go to work and
we can talk about God's sovereignty in creation. Everybody shake
their head. We can talk about God's sovereignty
in providence. And people shake their head and
agree with that. Even if they don't agree, they'll agree with
that. but God's sovereignty and salvation. Well, that's where
the rubber meets the road, isn't it? That's what offends man. He said to Moses, I'll have mercy
on whom I will have mercy. Paul, writing the Romans, he
said, hath not the potter, doesn't the potter have power over the
clay to take that same lump of clay and to make one a vessel
of honor and another vessel to dishonor? He's all powerful. He's almighty. Listen, he can
save us or he can pass us by. God's sovereign. That leper in
Matthew 8, he said, Lord, wasn't a question of his power. He said,
Lord, if you will, you can make me whole. I'm in your hands to
do with me as you will. That Canaanite woman. Well, she
knew something of this, didn't she? Huh? She came to the Lord,
worshiping him. And this is what she said. She
said, help me. Oh, that would be our prayer to God. Help me. Oh, we need it, don't we? Huh?
We need him. Help me. And he said, it's not
meat to take the children's bread and cast it to dogs. And she said, well, that's not
fair. You can't talk to me like that.
That's not what she said, was it? That's what this world says.
That's not fair. She said, truth. Lord, that's the truth. And not
only is that the truth, that's what I am. I'm just a dog. She said, yet the dogs eat the
crumbs which fall from the master's table. Truth. The Lord saved her, didn't he? Oh, he calls his sheep by the
gospel. Back there in 2 Thessalonians
2, 14, to the obtaining of the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ. A consolation revealed, the truth
revealed, the truth about man. truth about God, the truth about
the Lord Jesus Christ, who He is and what He has done for His
people. Turn with me to John chapter
10. John chapter 10. Consolation revealed. Look at
verse 27. My sheep, my sheep hear my voice. John chapter 10 verse 27. My
sheep hear my voice. I know them and they follow me
and I. I give unto them eternal life,
and they shall never perish. Neither shall any man pluck them
out of my hand." That's consolation, isn't it? Huh? That's comfort. Listen, these aren't my words.
That's Christ speaking. That's the Lord Jesus Christ
himself speaking. The words of God, I pray he would
reveal himself to us. The hope of eternal life, the
expectation, the confidence of eternal life, which God, that
cannot lie, promised before the world began. It was revealed
unto Simeon, Luke 2, 26, that he would not see death before
he had seen the Lord's Christ, his consolation, his comfort,
his hope, the Lord Jesus Christ. And then third, a consolation
fulfilled. A consolation fulfilled. Look
again at Luke 2, look at verse 27. 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 let thy servant depart in peace according to
thy word, according to thy promise. For mine eyes have seen thy salvation,
which thou hast prepared before the face of all the people. The
spirit of God moved upon Simeon. to be in that temple right then,
at just the right time, at the time when the Lord would be brought
in. Now, we don't know the particular events of that. We don't know
what Simeon's day was like that led up to that, but we do know
this. Every one of them is what brought
him into that temple. We know that all things, all
things work together for good, to them that love God, to them
who are called according to His purpose. Almighty God purposed
for Simeon to be in that temple at just that time. We don't know
how many times Simeon had walked into that temple. He may have
went into that temple all his life. Maybe that was the first
time he stepped into that temple. We don't know. But we know this. We know that on this day, that
promise that he would not see death till he had seen the Lord's
Christ was fulfilled. He saw the Lord. We read earlier in the book of
John, all that the Father hath given me shall come to me. There's no helpless case with
God, is there? There's none in too miserable
a condition that he cannot save. Wouldn't you have thought that
was true about Saul? Look at Saul. Saul was breathing
out slaughter and threatenings against God's church, against
his disciples. He went to the high priest and
he'd sent letters to Damascus that if he found any of the way,
that he could bring them bound to Jerusalem. Oh, what a miserable,
what a miserable wretch. But Almighty God was pleased
to cross his path, to blind him, to reveal unto him the Lord Jesus
Christ. The Lord Jesus Christ, he saved
him. How about the eunuch? How about
that eunuch? He was coming home from whatever
that religious meeting was that he had been to. And there he
sits up there in his chair, reading the scriptures, reading Isaiah,
the prophet. He had no clue what he was reading,
did he? He was just reading God's Word.
And Philip was, almighty God, he sent Philip. by the Spirit
of God to go preach the gospel to him. That eunuch was up there,
he was reading, he was led as a sheep to the slaughter, like
a lamb done before his shearer. So opening not his mouth in his
humiliation, his judgment was taken away. And who shall declare
his generation for his life is taken from the earth? Philip
said, you understand what you're reading? He said, how can I? How can I accept some man should
guide me? How can I accept some man should
teach me? The eunuch, he asked Philip,
he said, is this fellow, is he talking about himself or is he
talking about somebody else? And Philip opened his mouth and
he began at the same scripture and he preached Christ to him. The Lord saved. That eunuch.
He preached unto him the Lord Jesus Christ. Jesus Christ who
was made to be sin for us. He who knew no sin. He who was
perfect and holy was made to be sin that we might be made
the very righteousness of God in him. That eunuch, that eunuch
saw Christ. Christ was revealed to him. And
Simeon, Simeon saw Christ. He said, let thy servant depart
in peace, for mine eyes have seen thy salvation. How can a man say, I'm ready
to die? How can a man say, let me depart in peace? Well, I tell you what, Simeon
wasn't asking about a baby in the manger. Simeon wasn't asking
about the wise men and what they were wearing and what kind of
gifts were brought. He didn't run over and take up
the Virgin Mary in his arms, did he? No, he saw Christ and
he laid hold of him. Can you imagine, can you imagine
how he, he took him up in his arms, held him, oh, he held him
close. He said, I must have. He had to be thinking, I must
have Christ. I must have him and him alone. Christ who would
suffer under the wrath and judgment of almighty God for the sins
of his people. The perfect, holy, sin-atoning
blood that was shed, that was poured out on Calvary for the
sins of his people. And listen, that blood was not
shed in vain. He cried on the cross, it is
finished. There's nothing left up for man
to do. If there was anything left for
us to do, we'd just mess it up like we do everything else. He got the job done. God's wrath
satisfied. Salvation. Salvation is of the
Lord. Salvation is of Him. Aren't we
thankful? Aren't we thankful? Listen, we're
thankful that Jesus Christ came. But my friends, how thankful
we are that Jesus Christ came into the world to save sinners. That's consolation. That's hope. That's the consolation of Israel. Oh, what it's not, it's not in
us. It's not anything we can do,
it's not anything that we can't do. A consolation revealed, Christ
revealed in his word, Christ promised a consolation fulfilled
that each one of his elect, each one for whom Christ died, each
one that he draws by his spirit, Each one that he's pleased to
receive to himself, each one shall, shall be saved. Turn with me to one more, one
more scripture. Turn to Isaiah 46. Look beginning with verse 9. Remember the former things of
old, for I am God and there is none else. I am God and there
is none like me, declaring the end from the beginning. And from
ancient times, the things that are not yet done, saying my counsel
shall stand, I'll do all my pleasure. Calling a ravenous bird from
the east, the man that executes his counsel from a far country.
He said, I've spoken it. I will also bring it to pass. I have purposed it. I will also
do it. That's our consolation. That's
our rest. in a sovereign God that saves
his people through his son, through the Lord Jesus Christ, waiting,
waiting for the consolation of Israel. All right, Brother Lindsey.