I'm thankful for this opportunity
to gather together with God's people this morning. Let me extend
greetings from the folks at Wheelersburg. Again, it's a pleasure to be
here. I pray the Lord would be pleased
to bless our gathering this morning. Open your Bibles with me to Luke
chapter 2, back where our brother Frank read. Luke chapter 2. We'll begin in verse 25. Let's
read this one more time. The title of my message this
morning, How Can a Man Be Ready to Die? I want us to look together at
this encounter of our Lord and a man named Simeon. Now again,
Luke 2 beginning with verse 25. And 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 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, which thou
hast prepared before the face of all the people to lighten
the Gentiles and the glory of thy people Israel. I want us
to consider this morning how is it that this man Simeon is
ready to die, ready to depart this world. He says, Lord, now
lettest thou thy servant depart in peace according to thy word,
for mine eyes have seen thy salvation. How can a man be ready to die?
This is contrary to our sinful nature. Man by nature is taken
up by the things of this world. In Job, we read that we drink
iniquity like rainwater. And we go about grabbing all
of this world that we can along the way, taking in all that we
can. Over in Mark chapter 10, there
was a man who appeared or approached our Lord. And he kneeled down
and he said, Good Master, what shall I do to inherit eternal
life? And our Lord said, Thou knowest
the commandments. Don't commit adultery, do not kill, do not
steal, do not bear false witness, defraud, not honor thy father
and thy mother. And the young man replied, I've
done all these things since I was a child. The Lord said to him,
he said, you sell all you have and you give it to the poor.
And remember that man's reaction. He went away grieved. He was
sad, wasn't he? He had great, for he had great possessions.
He had great possessions in this earth. This man was not ready
to depart this world. He had his self righteousness,
that's for sure. But he was obviously attached
to the things of this world. He went away grieved. He went
away grieved. The Lord said, sell all you have.
Well, what is it about this world that we refuse to let go of it? What does this world contain?
What is our attraction to it? I believe the answer to that
question is found in 1 John 2, verse 16. Would you turn there
with me? 1 John 2, verse 16. John said at the beginning there,
let's start in verse 15. He says, love not the world,
neither the things that are in the world. If any man love the
world, the love of the Father is not in him. For all that is
in the world, one, the lust of the flesh, the carnal and sensual
desires, our thoughts, our lack of moderation in food and drink,
our appetites for the things of this world. The lust of the
flesh. Second, the lust of the eyes.
Those things that we can see. Before Adam took the first fruit
in the garden, what happened? He looked. She looked upon it. We read that she saw it. Before
David took Bathsheba, he was up on the roof of that house.
Bathsheba's out bathing. David, what did he do? He saw her. He saw her, the lust
of the eyes. And then third, the pride of
life, ambition, the desire to be seen of men and to be recognized
by men. He says, these things, these
things, the lust of the eyes, lust of the flesh, pride of life,
these things are not of the Father, but they're of the world. And
because of our sinful nature, We will not turn loose of them.
It's because of what we are. We will not let go of it. You know, I've read and I've
heard it told that you can catch a monkey by taking an old hollow
log and putting a banana down in it. That monkey will reach
down in there and he'll grab that banana and he's caught because
he will not turn loose. He will not turn loose. That's his nature, isn't it?
A monkey likes bananas. Well, you know what? We're not a whole lot different.
But because of our nature, we grab ahold of this world and
we're caught because we will not let go. We will not turn
loose. Our problem, the monkey's problem,
is that banana. It's his nature to love bananas.
Our problem's our nature, our sinful nature. And it's not just
what we do. It's what we are, sin. Now back
to our text. I mentioned earlier, I want us
to look at how Simeon is ready to die and leave this world.
I want us to see three things this morning. First, Simeon is
a sinner led by the Spirit of God to seek the Lord. He said, Behold, there was a
man in Jerusalem. Now one of the old writers said
the population of Jerusalem during the time of Christ's birth was
about 50,000 people. I did some looking and that's
about the population of Huntington, 50,000 people. But here we read
there was a man, a man, a particular man in Jerusalem. This is one
of God's elect. This is that remnant Frank spoke
of this morning. This is one of God's sheep and
his name, God calls his sheep by name, his name was Simeon. Simeon. And although we read
here that Simeon was just and devout, we know that he carries
the same weight around as you and I. He's a sinner. God's Word says all have sinned
and come short of the glory of God. And this man named Simeon,
his name means one who hearkens. That means to listen. That means
to listen. If we read here in verse 25,
we see that Simeon, he's waiting for the consolation. He's waiting
for the comfort of Israel. He's waiting. Have you ever,
have you ever waited on someone? Huh? You wait, somebody's supposed
to call. When you wait, you wait, you
wait, you wait for the call. Somebody's supposed to send you
something. It doesn't show up. It goes to the mailbox every
day. You're looking for it. I used to work at the car lot, and people
would say, wait on me. I'll be back. Danny, you heard
that, haven't you? Wait on me. I'll be back. You
wait, you wait. That's what I think of when I
hear the word wait. But you know, you grab your accordance, and
you look up this word wait. Here's what it means. waiting,
but it means expecting the fulfillment of a promise. Simeon's waiting,
and there's no question in his mind, he's coming. He's coming. He's expecting the fulfillment
of that promise. Simeon is seeking the Lord. He's
waiting for the consolation of Israel, the comfort of Israel. Let me ask you, what does God's
Word say about seeking those who seek? You can turn with me
to these scriptures or you can just listen. Isaiah 55, 6. He
says, Seek ye the Lord while he may be found. Call upon him
while he's near. Proverbs 8, 17. I love them that
love me and those that seek me early. They'll find me. Matthew 7, verse 7 and 8. and it shall be given unto you.
Seek, and ye shall find. Knock, and it shall be opened
to you. For every one that asketh receiveth,
he that seeketh findeth, and to him that knocketh it shall
be opened." Why don't men seek Him? Why don't men seek Him? Remember the publican. Remember
that publican. He cried out, God be merciful
to me, the sinner. What did our Lord say? He went
down to his house justified. No explanation after that. He
went down to his house justified. The thief on the cross, those
seven words, he said, Lord, remember me when thou comest into thy
kingdom. Our Lord's response, today, today thou shalt be with
me in paradise. The woman with issue of blood,
She didn't say nothing, did she? She just touched him. She just
touched him, and immediately she was made whole. This particular
man, Simeon, on this particular day, he's led by the Spirit.
The Spirit that knows the exact time and place when our Lord
would be brought into the temple. The Spirit which rules over us,
leads us, brings Simeon to this particular place, and he's waiting. He's expecting to see the Lord. That Spirit which reveals Christ,
which reveals the Redeemer, reveals Christ as the Son of God, reveals
Him as the Savior, leads him to the temple that day. So we
have here, first, we have Simeon, a sinner, led by the Spirit to
seek the Lord. Second, Simeon sees the Savior. You see that? In the temple,
here in the temple this day, we have a person revealed. Our Lord is brought into the
temple and Simeon sees him. Now, the Lord Jesus Christ can
be seen throughout God's Word. We see him in the Old Testament,
Adam's fall. Adam and Eve tried to cover up
their nakedness. They knitted together those leaf
aprons. That won't do. Our works will
not do. God slew an animal and he made
him coach and he covered him. The Ark of Noah. God pours out
his wrath upon the earth. Judgment, wrath poured out. Those
waves beat, there's death and destruction all around. And those
waves beat and batter that ship, that ark. But inside, inside
it's a place of safety. It's a place of deliverance.
That ark is the Lord Jesus Christ. The Passover judgment's coming
throughout all the land. God said, take a lamb, not just
any lamb, a lamb without blemish, a male of the first year, and
you kill it, and you roast it, and you take that blood and you
put it on the doorpost. And He said, when I see the blood,
I'll pass over you, I'll leap over you." The brazen serpent,
the people, had spoken against God and Moses. God sent those
fiery serpents and the people were bitten. They're dying. That
venom's in them. They're dying. The Lord said
to Moses, make thee a fiery serpent. You lift it up on a pole and
behold all that look. All that look. When they're bitten,
look and live. Look and live. You're bitten,
you're dying. If you're bitten and dying, that
brass serpent means everything. You turn and you look. The sting
of death, the sting of sin is death. Only one thing, only one
thing meaningful. Look to Christ. Look to Him.
Listen to the words of our Lord. Turn with me to John chapter
6. John chapter 6. John 6 and verse 40. And this is the will of him that
sent me, that every one which seeth the Son, and believeth
on him, may have everlasting life. I'll raise him up the last
day, everyone which seeth the Son." And you may say, well,
this was just a baby. They just brought a baby into
the temple. Well, this is him that's found in those Old Testament
pictures. All along the Old Testament, it says, there's one coming.
He's coming. This is the same person Abraham
saw all the way back there in the Old Testament. How'd he see
him? He saw him with eyes of faith.
Eyes of faith. This is the lamb slain before
the foundation of the world. And notice when Simeon sees him,
he doesn't say, I'll wait for a more convenient time. No. He's not ashamed of him, is he?
No, he runs over there and he picks him up in his arms and
he holds him. Just like that pearl of great
price. That man sells everything he
has. I've got to have Him. I've got to have Him. Nothing else matters. Listen
to Simeon. He says, Mine eyes have seen
thy salvation. Simeon saw Christ. I don't know
what else there was in the temple that day. I don't know what else
there was to be seen. But I know this. I know who Simeon
saw. He saw a person. He saw the Savior. He saw the Lord Jesus Christ. Listen to this from Brother Henry
concerning the Savior. He's the promised Savior in picture
and type throughout God's Word. He's the promised Savior. He's
the provided Savior. Abraham told Isaac, he said,
God will provide himself a lamb. He's the perfect Savior. The
perfect Savior tempted in all points. dead without sin. He's perfect. He's the punished
Savior. By His stripes, we're healed. Those stripes that were due us. The wages of sin is death. Brother
Frank, you mentioned it. The wages of sin is death. And
that's, like you said, that's not falling over and sprinkling.
Eternal death. Eternal death. He's the punished
Savior. He's the pleading Savior. If
any man sin, are you guilty? A guilty man needs an advocate.
If any man sin, we have an advocate. One to plead our case. And he's the preeminent Savior.
The preeminent Savior. Simeon says, mine eyes have seen
thy salvation. The Lord Jesus Christ, the person
John 14, 6, Jesus said unto him, I am the way, I am the way, the
truth, and the life. No man cometh unto the Father
but by me. He, the Lord Jesus Christ, himself
is made unto us wisdom, righteousness, sanctification, redemption. He's all. Turn to 2 Corinthians. Everyone here can probably quote
this scripture. 2 Corinthians 5, verse 21. For He, Almighty God, hath made
Him, the Lord Jesus Christ, to be sin for us. who knew no sin,
that we might be made the righteousness of God." What does God require? Absolute perfection. I can't
provide that. You can't provide that. No man
can provide that. Only, and look where it's found,
that we might be made the righteousness of God in Him. It's in Him. It's all in Him. Salvation is not found in a walk,
walking up this aisle, shaking hands with the preacher. That
might give you temporary peace for a little while. Salvation's
not found there. Salvation's not found in a church.
There's churches sprinkled all over this place. We were talking
on the way this morning here, probably past 50 churches on
the way here. Salvation's not found in a church. Salvation's
not found in a plant. There's no magical checklist
out there that you can follow. Salvation is not found in sowing
a financial seed that they all talk about on TV, sending somebody
$20 a month. You may feel better about yourself
for a while. Salvation is not found there.
Salvation is not found in a sinner's prayer. Salvation is found in
a man, not just any man. the God-man, the Lord Jesus Christ. Paul speaking to Timothy, he
didn't say, I know what I believe. He said, I know whom I have believed
and I'm persuaded that he, he is able to keep that which I've
committed unto him against that day. Simeon saw a person and
he took him up in his arms and he says, mine eyes have seen
thy salvation. So first Simeon, a sinner, led
by the Spirit, seek the Lord. Second, Simeon sees the Savior,
takes him up in his arms and he blesses God. And then finally
we see here, peace. Peace. He says, let thy servant
depart in peace, for mine eyes have seen thy salvation. The
world and religion, they declare peace. They declare peace, peace
where there is no peace. The natural man cannot die in
peace. Why? God is angry with the wicked. God is going to punish sin. It's
appointed unto man once to die, and after that, the judgment. How doesn't that scare man to
death? How does that not I tell you why, there's no fear. They
know nothing of their sin. They know nothing of God's holiness
and wrath, and they know nothing of the Savior. Psalm 24, who
shall ascend unto the hill of the Lord? Who shall stand in
his holy place? He that hath clean hands and
a pure heart. who hath not lifted up his soul
into vanity, nor sworn deceitfully." Is that you? Frank, is that you? You have clean hands or a pure
heart, not lifted up our soul to vanity? We're all together
vanity. Matthew 25, verse 41, "'Then
shall he say also unto them on the left hand, Depart from me
ye cursed into everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and his
angels.' Does that sound like peace? Peace is not the product of natural
man. Now, let's go back to the original
question. Where did Simeon find peace?
How is it that Simeon could say, let thy servant depart in peace? How is it that he's ready to
die? Well, the sin that makes us cling to this world The sin
that deserves death and an eternity in hell. How can Simeon say, let me depart
in peace? Well, Simeon's sin had been put
away. Simeon had been reconciled to
God. Simeon found that peace that
passeth all understanding, and he found it in one place. No,
no, no, no. He found it in one person. One
person. In, by, and through our Lord
Jesus Christ. Turn with me to Romans 5 verse
1. And we'll finish here. Romans 5 verse 1. Therefore, therefore being justified
by faith, we have peace with God. Where? Read the rest of
that, through our Lord Jesus Christ. Simeon said, let thy
servant depart in peace. No more wrath, no more enmity,
no more sin. And not only has my sin been
put away, But now I have a perfect righteousness,
a perfect righteousness, holy and unblameable and unapprovable
in His sight. What does the scripture say?
Herein is our love made perfect, so that we may have boldness
in the day of judgment. How's that? Because as He is,
as the Lord Jesus Christ is, so are we in this world. Well, Simeon, Simeon, a sinner,
led by the Spirit to seek the Lord. Simeon, a sinner, who sees
Christ. He sees the Savior. And when
he sees Him, he runs over and he picks Him up. He takes Him
up in his arms. He's like Jacob. I'll not let
you go. I'll not let you go. And Simeon is a man who now knows
peace. He now has peace. Well, isn't
that our prayer for our children, for those whom we love in the
flesh, for those who don't know the Savior, that they might be
led by the Spirit to seek the Lord? Because those that seek
Him, find Him. That we might be given eyes to
see Him, and that we might know Him who is true peace. Look with me one more time back
to our text, Luke chapter 2, look at verse 29. He says, Lord, now lettest thou
thy servant depart in peace according to thy word, for mine eyes have
seen thy salvation. Simeon, Simeon saw Christ. That special Mike sang, the closing
of it, hallelujah, I have found him whom my soul so long has
craved. Jesus satisfies my longing through
his blood. I'm now saved. I wonder if Simeon
sang that song. Oh, well, oh, that the Lord would
open our eyes to see him, to see more of him. All right. I pray God bless his word.