Thank you, Rebecca, and good morning.
As they say in Ireland, how y'all
doing?
Southern Ireland, that is.
Wonderful to be in the house of the
Lord to worship together.
I want to just mention, ladies, one announcement
that we missed.
There is a shower for Candice and for
Little Faith, Carafel, after the service on October
31st.
So if you would take note of that,
and I know a good time will be
had by all.
Turning to our scriptures for this morning, we're
in Luke's Gospel, chapter two, and verses 21
through 38.
Luke's Gospel, chapter two, and 21 through 38.
And then we're going to just read one
verse also from Deuteronomy 19, and verse 15.
So Luke, chapter two, and beginning at verse
21, says, "...and when eight days had passed
before his circumcision, his name was then called
Jesus, and the name given by the angel
before he was conceived in the womb.
And when the days for their purification according
to the law of Moses were completed, they
brought him up to Jerusalem to present him
to the Lord.
As it is written in the law of
the Lord, every firstborn male that opens the
womb shall be called holy to the Lord,
and to offer a sacrifice according to what
was said in the law of the Lord.
A pair of turtledoves or two young pigeons.
And there was a man in Jerusalem whose
name was Simeon, and this man was righteous
and devout, looking for the consolation of Israel,
and the Holy Spirit was upon him.
And it had been revealed to him by
the Holy Spirit that he would not see
death before he had seen the Lord's Christ.
And he came in the Spirit into the
temple.
And when the parents brought in the child
Jesus to carry out for him the custom
of the law, then he took him into
his arms and blessed God, and said, My
Lord, you are releasing your bondservant to depart
in peace according to your word.
For my eyes have seen your salvation, which
you have prepared in the presence of all
peoples, a light of revelation to the Gentiles,
and the glory of your people Israel.
And his father and mother were amazed at
these things which were being said about him.
And Simeon blessed them and said to Mary
his mother, Behold, this child is appointed for
the fall and rise of many in Israel,
and for a sign to be opposed.
And a sword will pierce even your own
soul to the end that thoughts from many
hearts may be revealed.
There was a prophetess, Anna, the daughter of
Phanuel of the tribe of Asher.
She was advanced in years and had lived
with her husband seven years after her marriage,
and then as a widow to the age
of 84.
She never left the temple serving night and
day with fastings and prayers, and at that
very moment she came up and began giving
thanks to God and continued to speak of
him to all those who were looking for
the redemption of Jerusalem.
And just over then to the Old Testament
and to the book of Deuteronomy chapter 19
and verse 15.
Deuteronomy 19 and verse 15.
A single witness shall not rise up against
a man on account of any iniquity or
any sin which he has committed.
On the evidence of two or three witnesses,
a matter shall be confirmed.
Father, how we thank you for your Word,
and how we thank you that you can
take this Word and bless and strengthen our
lives through it.
And indeed, we surrender these few moments to
you this morning, and ask you, Spirit of
the living God, to take the Word of
God and strengthen us and enable us.
In Jesus' name we pray, amen.
I notice that as we read, we're sort
of looking at that which happens right after
the Christmas story, where Jesus is taken to
the temple, and those things that were according
to the law were being performed.
And as you see here, it just strikes
me that God never goes and leaves himself
without a witness.
And I love this thought so much.
God never leaves himself without a witness.
And indeed, it's something that encourages us in
tough times, doesn't it?
When there are heavy things and hard things
going on, God never leaves himself without a
witness.
And this morning's thoughts are entitled, Two Witnesses.
In the Old Testament, God said that truth
would be established through the witness of two
or three people.
In other words, if two or three people
can say that this is so, it is
so.
This is what actually happened.
And notice that there are two witnesses here
after the birth of Christ, two independent witnesses
who come along out of nowhere, so to
speak, and under the influence and emphasis of
the Holy Spirit, say, this child is the
Son of God.
You got to love it, because God always
fulfills his word.
He never leaves himself without a witness.
And I get so blessed thinking about this.
There were times when things were really tough
in some Old Testament situations.
For instance, when judgment was about to fall
on Sodom and Gomorrah, there was one man
in there called Lot.
God never leaves himself without a witness.
When Babylon was about to fall, there was
one man in there called Daniel.
God never leaves himself without a witness.
And you run into people constantly who say,
well, if God's so good and if God
loves everybody, how could these bad things happen?
Sorry, that was a bit Irish, wasn't it?
But, you know, people do tend to get
in your face and ask these kind of
questions.
And one of the ways to answer that
question, my friends, is that God never leaves
himself without a witness.
You look at these things, and when catastrophes
are going to happen, God has sent his
witness.
There is someone there who is holding forth
the word of life and the word of
truth, someone who is speaking of the grace
of God and the love of God.
You know, I had somebody one day say
to me, all right, if you're God's so
good and so loving, how could he allow,
you know, so many people to die in
a disaster like the Titanic?
And he was quick to point out that
it was built in Belfast, my hometown for
those who don't know.
But you know God never leaves himself without
a witness.
There was a man on the Titanic whose
name is John Harper, an evangelist from Glasgow,
and he spent that night in the water
swimming from person to person to say, believe
on the Lord Jesus Christ and you shall
be saved.
Even in the midst of that kind of
disaster, God does not leave himself without a
witness.
And it is so true as you look
here at the birth of the Savior, and
there are these two witnesses.
And as you notice, there's another song in
here.
This one we would call it the Song
of Simeon, and he is pouring forth his
song too.
But let's consider, first of all, effective lives.
Here are two people who have lived effective
lives.
Neither one of them is young, and they
have a life-changing word to say and
an effective thing to communicate.
Simeon and Anna received something from God.
And you know, this is a gripping thing.
When God gives you something, you can't contain
it.
It just flows naturally.
And that's what we see here in the
effectiveness of these two lives.
God has given them both something, and it
is flowing forth even in this text.
They were taught by the Holy Spirit.
That's obvious from the text.
They came to the temple by the promptings
of the Holy Spirit.
They were not simply equipped in fleshly knowledge,
but they were following the leading and the
guiding of the Holy Spirit.
Both, obviously from the text, are people of
discipline.
You say, John, what do you mean people
of discipline?
I mean, they are disciples.
They are people who follow a discipline of
meeting with God day after day.
They are both people of prayer.
And you remember in the introduction to the
book of Luke, we said that here we
will encounter the subject of prayer very often
because it is so much a part just
of the gospel of Luke.
Both of them are people of prayer.
Anna is recorded as someone who is fasting.
They are people who worship in the temple.
And you know, that's what we were created
for, to worship, to worship Him.
He has put eternity in our hearts.
And they were people of the Word of
God because they are there walking with the
Lord in the place where His Word is
read day after day after day and time
after time.
These two witnesses are quite amazing, aren't they?
God revealed His plans to both of them.
Now, do you believe that God can still
reveal Himself today and show us His plans
and nurture us in the way that we
should go, and have His hand upon us
to protect and guide and fill and equip
and so on?
And the answer is yes.
That's exactly what we believe, isn't it?
And just consider these two lives for a
moment.
It says they were devout.
There is a love in them for God,
an incredible love for God.
And you know, that is the very basis
of being an effective person in life, to
love God.
Isn't that exactly what the law says?
Love God and love others.
And Jesus certainly is their first love.
They're not short of words or things to
say when they see the Lord Jesus.
And they are obviously patient people.
Are you patient?
Now, I would have to say I'm Irish
and I'm impatient, but I'm thankful I'm not
the only impatient person in here.
Well, there should be a little amen in
there, but all right.
I'll pay you later, Brad.
I always say they're patient because they have
waited upon God for years.
What are you waiting upon God for today?
What a testimony, what a witness these two
give us if we're waiting on God for
something.
God fulfilled his word and his promise to
them, and oh how blessed it is.
It reminds me of a man in history
called Cotton Mather who prayed all his life
for revival, and a few months after Cotton
Mather died, the second great awakening came to
North America.
And you and I might say, he missed
it.
He didn't miss it.
I think when he went home to Jesus,
Jesus just said to him, let me show
you, let me show you.
Are you waiting on God for something?
It is worth the wait, is it not?
Is not this exactly what this text is
teaching us?
Are we waiting on God for a healing?
Are we waiting on God for a loved
one to come into the kingdom of God?
Are we waiting upon God for some touch
that would just lift us above something that
we cannot get victory over?
It is worth the wait.
They were trusting God every day in the
temple, trusting him.
I can, you know, in my imagination just
picture as Simeon goes to the temple day
after day and kind of looks around.
What are you looking for, Simeon?
God told me I'd see his salvation before
I die.
I'm just looking for his salvation.
What would we say?
Say it louder into the microphone.
Say, you're nuts.
You know, I think the Lord likes them
nuts.
I think he gave them great sense of
his spirit working within them and lifting and
leading.
I think Simeon could have so easily been
discouraged and distracted, but he's trusting.
It's one thing to wait.
It's another thing to wait and trust.
Just trusting.
They're people of vision.
Why would I say that?
Because they're looking for something beyond the natural,
something that is far above the things that
are seen and known just in human circumstances
and ways.
They're looking to him who is eternal, and
they've invested their lives for him, and it
wasn't a waste in any way, shape, form,
or fashion.
You know, it's interesting when you look at
the people of vision in the world and
the difference that they make.
I think about a man called John Scully.
He was the vice president of Pepsi-Cola.
You like Pepsi?
You like Coke?
It's a tough bunch.
A man came along to him one day
and said, Mr. Scully, I've developed this computer,
and I'd like you to come and be
the CEO for Apple Computers.
Would you do it?
John Scully said, I like my three-figure
income.
I like the cars that I drive.
I like the lifestyle that I've developed.
I'm not giving that up to go and
start again.
And the man said to him, well that's
okay, Mr. Scully.
I just wondered if you wanted to spend
the rest of your life dispensing sugar water,
or if you really want to change your
world.
What's the best kind of computer you can
have?
Are you sure?
Would you go into withdrawal if I take
your iPhone away?
Finally got one.
People of vision.
I put that in because I want you
to see something this morning.
I want you to see that people who
have a closeness to God also are people
who change their world.
They're people of vision.
They're people who have obedience.
That's something else we see in these two
lives.
They're at the right place at the right
time, led by the Spirit of God.
You couldn't orchestrate this if you tried.
Two people to come to the same place
at the same time when a couple who
have brought a baby are coming to do
that dedication work of that child in the
temple from another city.
How could you put that all together in
the right time and place and way?
And yet, in the sovereign will of God,
that's exactly what happens here.
They're obedient.
They're filled with the Holy Spirit, and that's
every Christian's greatest need.
Why would I say that?
There's so many needs, Pastor, come on!
The greatest need that you and I have
as believers in Jesus Christ is to be
filled with the Spirit of God.
John the baptizer said that when he came,
Jesus, he would baptize in the Holy Spirit
and with fire, and so often that is
used as a symbol of the Spirit, isn't
it?
Because fire purifies, and when we are baptized
and filled with the Spirit of God, all
those other things are burned up.
Yeah, yeah, but you know, that can't really
deal with the anger and the resentment that's
in my heart over the people that hurt
me.
Listen, if he can burn the resentment and
anger out of a former terrorist's heart, he
can burn the resentment and anger out of
anybody, any place, anywhere.
We need the Holy Spirit's fullness.
Fire purifies.
Are you struggling with some things?
My dear friends, it is to come to
know the fullness of God and the fire
of God that makes a person who is
able to sit in front of the TV,
and when something comes on that you shouldn't
watch, to hit the button, not out of
guilt, but out of desire.
Fire prevails.
You let fire in.
It's gonna prevail, and bless God, when we
surrender to the Spirit and are baptized in
his holy fire, it is gonna prevail over
the things of the flesh and the world
and the devil.
But we have come in North America to
such a low ebb within the Christian church
because we lack the fire of the Spirit
of God to prevail in our own hearts,
let alone in those who stand in our
pulpits.
Ah, but fire also protects, because as it
prevails there's a protection.
There's no room for anything else.
These are two people that I would say
we see a denying of self within them.
Wouldn't you say that?
Spending time in the temple, fasting and praying,
they are self-denying, loving God's house and
his kingdom more than the things of this
world.
Ah, my friends, talk about two witnesses, two
fabulous and fantastic witnesses.
But let's think not only about two effective
limes, but about effective witnessing for a moment
or two.
You knew that as an evangelist in the
pulpit sooner or later I would get around
to the subject of witnessing.
I was just toodling along until we got
into Luke chapter 2.
They're expressing something from God.
That's what makes effective witnesses.
They're expressing something from God by the power
of the Holy Spirit.
It's not just their own ideas.
It's not just some program that they have
learned.
It's not just some process that Christianizes people.
It is what God put into their hearts.
And you know when God puts something in
there, you can't shut up about it.
Oh, yes, the world squeezes and says, no,
no, no, just settle down, preacher.
It'll be okay.
Sooner or later, have a Valium.
You'll be okay.
Settle down.
I've got a friend, Gerard de Toy, from
South Africa.
When he started preaching in Canada, they said
to him, Gerard, you're far too forceful for
Canadian churches.
Man, take a Valium.
So he did, and nothing happened.
So he took a second, and nothing happened.
And he took a third, and by the
time he got up to preach, he was
slurring his words.
Is it that our culture has so indoctrinated
us that we just cannot be excited about
Christ anymore?
That we cannot worship him from the depths
of a heart that are full, absolutely full
of the living Spirit of the living God?
Speaking about Jesus, Simeon took him in his
arms, leaving everything else.
What a picture of salvation this is, just
to take him, just like that.
Yesterday, I had my little granddaughter in my
arms, and it's a privilege.
It's a wonderful privilege.
You know, whoever said that grandchildren are the
reward for not killing your kids, they were
right.
It was true.
But I think about Simeon, and you can't
fill your arms with the Savior and hold
on to anything else.
What a picture that is of the salvation
that he offers.
Take Christ and Christ alone, and he'll be
enough.
He'll be sufficient.
He is a more than sufficient Savior for
all of the needs.
I think, too, how personal this is.
How very personal.
Have you noticed I'm having an effect on
him?
You know, it gets really personal.
That felt pretty good.
Back is straightened out and everything.
How very personal and intimate it is when
you take someone into your arms.
That's what's happening as Simeon takes Jesus.
And oh, that's the key thing to effective
witnessing, just to hold him and to be
held by him.
Notice with me, too, that it makes such
an effective witness because Simeon immediately says, Lord,
now you're releasing your servant to depart in
peace.
He's going to die.
There's no fear of death in Simeon.
He's holding the Savior, and there's not one
fear of what comes next.
God has told him, you'll see him before
you leave this earth.
You'll know him before you depart.
And Simeon says, this is it!
Now I can go, because I know, I
absolutely know that I have him, and I
have held him and known the love of
God in him.
Oh, as he recognizes the Savior, he's singing
about salvation in verse 30, and he's singing
about the fact that Jesus will be for
all people, a light for the Gentiles and
the glory of your people, Israel, in verse
32.
I like that because it's not only for
the one who's in the gutter.
It's not only to the uttermost and the
guttermost.
It's everybody, everyone.
And he realized that Jesus would be opposed.
He even speaks about it as he speaks
to Joseph and to Mary.
He says this child will be for the
falling and rise of many, because he knew
that repentance and humility have to come before
deliverance and grace.
It's when we come to the end of
ourselves and fall before God and say, Lord,
if you don't save me, there's no other
way.
There's no other place that I can go.
That's the place where God meets us at
the foot of the cross.
That's the place where we're no longer dependent
upon something that we can do, but we
are completely dependent upon him to lift us
up.
That's the place where we find salvation in
truth and grace and power.
He even goes on to say that he'll
be a revealer of many hearts, and I'm
so glad that Jesus knows the hearts—your heart
and mine—this morning.
We don't have to hide things from him.
He knows.
And you look at Anna.
The praise and worship that's flowing from her
in his presence didn't have to conjure something
up.
It just flowed.
What is it, pastor, that you're trying to
get at this morning?
What is it that you're trying to say
without actually nailing it?
Well, let me just actually nail it.
The third thing I want you to think
about this morning is effective witnesses come from
effective devotion.
And the reason that so often we have
nothing to say is because we've not been
there in the presence of the living Lord.
The discipline of the word and prayer, the
demonstration of the Holy Spirit filling us, leading
us, guiding us, because there are so many
other things in our busy world that call
for our attention and draw us aside so
that we cannot meet with him.
Now for time's sake, my dear friends, let
me just draw these thoughts to a close.
The greatest hindrance to effective witnessing is lack
of intimacy with Jesus.
What is it that was said about the
first believers when they pulled them in to
sort of a mock trial?
They said, they have been with Jesus.
Oh God, when they come to get me
to stick me in jail for being a
Christian, I hope that somebody's going to be
able to say, boy, he has been with
Jesus because he's the one alone who can
transform lives, mine and yours.
We see how God touched the lives of
Simeon and Anna, how he made them effective
in words and witness, and our hearts are
touched with this great desire, are they not?
Oh, to be so close to Jesus.
Oh, to be so close to know his
plan and to see him at work.
Friends, Andrew Murray once preached a sermon and
wrote a book about it, and he gave
us the cost in the title of his
book.
What will it cost me to be an
effective witness like Simeon or Anna?
Absolute surrender.
That's the place where the Spirit comes to
fill us.
That's the place where we find the touch
of the living God.
That's the place where the power of God
overwhelms us and overcomes us.
Would you join me for a moment in
prayer?
And as we pray, I'm going to ask
Matt if he would come back, and we
want to close this morning singing that song
again, how deep the Father's love for us.
Just as we go to prayer, my friends,
let me say how much I love you,
Glencairn Alliance Church.
You are such a blessing to me.
And let me also say, oh, that God
would draw every single one of us to
this place where effective witness happens not because
of us, but through us in the work
of God's Spirit in control of us.
Now, dear Heavenly Father, as we come to
you at the place of prayer, you know
our hearts, and you know our needs, and
you know, Father, our longing after you.
Yet, Lord, you know there are so many
issues and areas, and it is so hard
for us to set aside the flesh to
just lay our lives down and say, Lord,
I just surrender it all to you because,
Father, we keep taking pieces back.
But, Lord, this morning, by your gracious power,
let your Spirit do a deep and abiding
work in our hearts that Jesus might be
seen and known in an effective way in
our lives and in our witness, in our
walk and work for you.
Lord, would you wonderfully continue to speak to
our hearts.
In Jesus' name I pray.
Amen.
Let's stand together and sing as Matt leads
us.
His wounds have paid my ransom, but this
I know with all my heart.
His wounds have paid my ransom.
And this I do know with all my
heart, that His wounds not only paid our
ransom, but it's through His wounds that we
are healed.
If you have a need for prayer this
morning, physically, emotionally, spiritually, I want to encourage
you after the closing prayer just to come
to the frontier.
The elders and their wives will be here
to pray with you and for you.
We can trust the Lord, even as Bob
has given testimony this morning, to do wonderful
things in our bodies, in our souls, and
in our minds and hearts.
So, friends, just before we say that closing
prayer, let me just mention over here is
Cindy and Kelly and, I think, little Anika.
Have I got that right?
Anika.
And so, make yourself known to them and
get to know them as well.
Receive the Lord's benediction.
Father, you have been the one presiding this
morning, even as we have met you at
the place of worship.
Now, Father, add your blessing to each life
and each family that is represented here.
May the God of peace and the God
of strength and the power of the Spirit
of the living God go with you as
you leave this place.
And may His presence keep you through all
the days of this week until we meet
again or Christ comes or calls us home.
In Jesus' name, in God's people's sin, amen.
Go and be blessed in Him.
Amen.