Friday, Dec. 13

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Now there was a man in Jerusalem, whose name was Simeon, and this man was righteous and devout, waiting 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 do for him according to the custom of the Law, he took him up in his arms and blessed God and said,
“Lord, now you are letting your servant depart in peace,
     according to your word; for my eyes have seen your salvation
    that you have prepared in the presence of all peoples, a light for revelation to the Gentiles, and for glory to your people Israel.”   - Luke 2:25-32

Before God gave the Messiah, God gave something else to Simeon as a consolation. God gave Simeon the Holy Spirit. Verse 25 says that the Holy Spirit was upon him.  Verse 26 says, "And it was revealed to him by the Holy Spirit, that he should not see death, before he had seen the Lord’s Christ." In this verse we see that the Holy Spirit revealed something important to Simeon about the Christ. Then in verse 27 we see one more thing about the Holy Spirit and Simeon. It says, "And he came by the Spirit into the temple"  This verse says that Simeon came by the Spirit into the temple. That means that he was led by the Spirit and somehow directed by the Spirit or drawn by the Spirit to the temple on the exact day that Mary and Joseph were there with the baby Jesus.

The connection between Simeon and the Holy Spirit cannot be ignored. Three important things were said about the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit was upon Simeon, He revealed something to Simeon about the Christ, and He led Simeon. The first thing to look at is the fact that the Holy Spirit was upon Simeon. In other words there was a close personal connection between Simeon and the Holy Spirit. God is a Spirit. Jesus said that those who worship God must worship Him in spirit and in truth. One of the issues for many Christians today is that they do not have this kind of personal, spiritual connection with God.  The Bible tells us that the Holy Spirit is given to everyone who trusts in Jesus Christ, but far too many simply don’t know or don’t pay attention to the Holy Spirit.  All of us are like that until the Holy Spirit comes unto us and we have a spiritual awakening and rebirth. Jesus spoke of this in John 3:6 when He said, "That which is born of the flesh is flesh; and that which is born of the spirit is spirit."

First we are told about the close connection between the Holy Spirit and Simeon. Secondly we are told that the Holy Spirit revealed something to Simeon about the Christ. The Holy Spirit does not speak of Himself. The work of the Holy Spirit is to speak about and reveal the Christ. No one can come to Christ until God draws them to Christ. Be careful to avoid pressure tactics in witnessing. God wants us to witness about the truth that is in Christ, but only the Holy Spirit can draw someone to believe in Him. Unless the Spirit does this work in someone’s heart, the words that are repeated and the prayers that are spoken with unthinking repetition, could never result in the salvation of their souls. The Spirit alone can enlighten someone’s mind about the truth that Jesus is the Savior.

Holy Spirit, enlighten our eyes and our hearts so that we might see Jesus in our day just as Simeon saw Him in His day - Amen.

Jeff Frazier