Unequal Yoking the Life of a Silent General (simeon)

[Music: "Battle Hymn of the Republic" plays] [Speaker 1] Church and fellowships cannot be more spiritual than the individuals and families that constitute them. God greatly desires a godly home for you. These are words of restoration and instruction in righteousness from Family Tent Ministry. May you be blessed as you listen. [Speaker 2] We give Him all the glory. We give Him all the praise. We give Him all the honor. Unto Him belong all power and praise in the name of Jesus Christ. We want to move on again today from where we left the matter for the first Saturday in the month of October. We have started this series of Unequal Yoking a couple of months ago. We saw in the month of August, when we started the first Saturday in the month of August, that it is important for us to know that when the Bible says, "Do not be unequally yoked together with unbelievers," that word was not a counsel or an advice. It was a direct instruction of God. We also saw that ever from the beginning of creation, God never wanted light and darkness to coexist together. We saw that from the foundation of creation when God created light. The Bible says, "And God separated light from darkness." He called the light Day and darkness Night. Then we saw that the correct manifestation of grace in a man's life is the ability to say no to the ungodliness we find in the life of the ungodly. It says, "The grace of God that brings salvation has appeared unto us all, and it is teaching us to say no to worldly lust" (Titus 2:11–12). So we noted in the month of August that it is very crucial for us to know that grace manifestation in a life is to say no to ungodliness and to live soberly, godly lives in this present world. So there is a life of the godly different from the life of the ungodly, a life that says no to worldly lust. Then we saw in the month of September the matter of this unequal yoking, the need to run away from it, particularly when it has to do with sexual purity. That one area where the enemy is causing so much unequal yoking today among many other areas is the area of sexual purity. We have talked about the issue of indecent dressing, so many things that we have mentioned. But in the month of September, we were concerned much more the more about the issue of sexual purity for the believers. We made it very clear that as far as God is concerned, all forms of sexual immorality are something that is seriously anti-God. We saw that in a single day, God killed 24,000 in just a day because of sexual perversion coupled with idolatry. Then in the month of October, which was last month, we began to look at some important qualities we need to have. We saw the quality of integrity, integrity and character. We were looking at the life of a quiet general. We looked at the life of a quiet general, and that was Uriah. We considered 1 Samuel chapter 11, verse one to the end. And from the life of Uriah and the things that happened between David and Bathsheba, we were able to draw important lessons for our lives, that it is very important for us that if we can note this quality in the life of Uriah, and note the mistakes on the part of David, and understand the scenario that surrounded Uriah and how he was able to stand for godliness in the whole situation, it becomes something for us to know how to stand against unequal yoking. For this month of November, we will be considering again another quiet general. Just for us to see that men have lived, men who live correct lives, men who were able to stand the test of time. There may be perversity and corruption everywhere, but I am telling you that there are some men. Deliberately we are looking at men who do not seem to be so popular in Scriptures, but men that we can learn great lessons from their lives. For this month of November, we want to look at something very important again that helps against unequal yoking in the life of the believer. Something that helps against it, seriously important, vital, that can make us to stand the test of time against all forms of perversity and unequal yoking in our time. We want to look at the life of Simeon, another general in the Bible, quiet general again. We have looked at a general in the Old Testament. We want to look at another quiet general in the New Testament. I would that we go to the book of Luke. Let's look at the life of this man, lessons from his life to learn as something for us so that we will be able to stand tall and stand well in our walk with God. Again, let's look at another quiet general, Simeon. Let's go to Luke chapter 2. Let's take the reading from around verse 22. Luke chapter 2, let's take it from verse 22. We want to look at the life of this general, the episode around his own life. "Now when the days of—" I am reading from the book of Luke chapter 2 from verse 22, sorry. "Now when the days of her purification according to the law of Moses were completed, they brought Him to Jerusalem to present Him to the Lord, as it is written in the law of the Lord, 'Every male who opens the womb shall be called holy to the Lord,' and to offer a sacrifice according to what is said in the law of the Lord, 'a pair of turtledoves or two young pigeons.' And behold, there was a man in Jerusalem whose name was Simeon, and this man was just 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. So he came by 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 which You have prepared before the face of all peoples, a light to bring revelation to the Gentiles, and the glory of Your people Israel.' And Joseph and His mother marveled at those things which were spoken of Him. Then Simeon blessed them, and said to Mary His mother, 'Behold, this Child is destined for the fall and rising of many in Israel, and for a sign which will be spoken against (yes, a sword will pierce through your own soul also), that the thoughts of many hearts may be revealed.'" Praise the Lord. That's the reading that we want to consider for today. The life of this quiet general again in the New Testament. And I trust the Lord that as we consider this Scripture, as we consider the life of this general, for those of us who are here physically and our young people and brethren connecting with us online, it will be a time of blessing in the name of Jesus Christ. Let us have a word of prayer. Almighty God, we are grateful unto You. We thank You, we bless You, we lift You high. We appreciate You for Your mercies. We thank You for Your love. We give You all the glory, we give You all the praise for all who You are and all that You are to us. Lord, unto You again we gather this morning and we are praying that as we gather, let Your Spirit work within us in the name of Jesus. Lord, I pray that everywhere we are located this morning, physically, online, different locations, Lord I pray, meet us everywhere we are in the name of Jesus. Let there be an entrance of Your word in the name of Jesus Christ. Thank You, Eternal Father. Blessed be Your holy name, our God. In Jesus' name we pray. Amen. Now we look into that Scripture, and I would like to give a background, something that I did earlier, but for the purpose of our discussion again today, it might be good to give this background. We are looking at the life of the man Simeon, and we are looking at issues about this man. I want us to remember the historical situation or background issues around the life of this man. Like we said about Mary and Elizabeth the other time, this man too was in that same situation. Like we also said about Zacharias. You must bear in mind that the last time there was a clear prophetic voice in the land of Israel that was distinct and clear was in Malachi. And for hundreds of years, the Jews were without such a definite voice. The spiritual and religious atmosphere was what we find looking at the life of the religious leaders in the days of Jesus: the Pharisees, the Sadducees, and the Scribes. It was a time of serious spiritual blindness. It was a time when the mind of God was not clear to the people in the land. Even the so-called religious leaders, they are just carrying on with the relics of the Jewish religion, of the worship of God. The reality of that worship was not there. It was a time of just superficiality, artificiality, and surface worship of God. It was not a time of a personal intimate walk with God. That was the religious climate. It was under that religious climate that we are situating Mary, we are situating Elizabeth, we are situating Zacharias, and now we also situating this quiet general, Simeon. Under that atmosphere, now, under such an atmosphere, Gabriel appeared to Mary, and of course told Mary about Elizabeth like we said the last time. Mary went to visit Elizabeth, and of course months later, Elizabeth gave birth, and of course months later too, Mary gave birth. And of course, we found that when that happened, while shepherds watched their flocks by night, Jesus was born. The angel went to the shepherds to announce the birth of Jesus. You will find all of that in the early part of that Luke chapter 2, but I just felt there is no need we read all of that because that is not our focus for today. So the shepherds went just as the angel told them. They saw the baby wrapped in clothes in a manger, and then everything went, they went to report all of that in the country and all of that. And that was the story about the birth of Jesus, the appearance of the angels to the shepherds, and that episode went. Now, the episode we are concerned with was the episode where Jesus was to be presented in the temple. And when He was to be presented in the temple, that started in the verse 22. It started in the verse 22. And like we read, the Bible says it was the days of her purification. Mary was to purify herself according to the law of Moses because normally after birth, it is believed that there is a kind of defilement because of everything that has to do with blood. And so the woman must come back into the temple, the Child will be presented, the woman too will offer sacrifice for her own purification. That was what Mary went to do in the temple to present Jesus according to the law too, that if the Child is a male, then the Child will be holy to the Lord, to dedicate that Child to the Lord. So Joseph and Mary were in the temple for that exercise. And while that was going on, the Bible made reference in the verse 25. The Bible said, "Behold, there was a man." You see, the introduction of Simeon is something that worth our consideration. Look at the way he was introduced. The Bible says, "There was a man." The introduction was not, "There was a priest." The introduction was not, "There was a pastor." It was not, "There was a bishop." There was no ostentation. There was no showmanship. There was no show. Quiet, just a man, a man. This man was not even among the ministers for that day. He was not among the ministers because you must bear in mind that when they came for the purification, Mary for her purification and for the presentation of Jesus in the temple, there will be ministers that will take charge of that occasion for that day: the priest, the Levites, and other religious folks that will be there. They will all be there to handle that ceremony. And so this man, Simeon, was not part of the ministers for that day. He was not among those that were called. That's why the Bible introduced him as "a man." He was just a man. And we want to pick lessons from his life, lessons that can help us to see qualities that help men to avoid unequal yoking, not to be unequally yoked with unbelievers, not to be lost in the perversity of their own time, in the degeneration of their own society. We are facing serious degeneration today in the body of Christ. Serious degeneration, something that affects both singles and married, something that is seriously threatening the family, Christian families, something that is shaking the foundation of the church. When I say the foundation of the church, I mean the church life today because the solid foundation of the church stands sure mystically, that is Jesus Christ. He can never be shaken. But I am talking about Christian life, the foundation of Christian community, of Christian interaction, of Christian living, of the display of the Christ-kind of life in society today. That's our concern. Now, so he was just a man. He was a man. And the first thing we notice when they said he was just a man, the next thing that follow is that this man was just. He was just and devout. I want you to know something, something very important, something very crucial, something very essential. When the Bible says this man was a just man, I just want to call your attention to an issue. You will see that issue in Jeremiah chapter 5, verse one and two. If you read that Scripture, the Bible says, "Run to and fro the streets of Jerusalem; see now and know; and seek in her open places if you can find a man, if there is anyone who executes judgment, who seeks the truth, and I will pardon her. Though they say, 'As the Lord lives,' surely they swear falsely." What I want you to know very well is this: is that when there is indeed, I want you to note what I am saying, I want you to lay this matter to heart, that when there is indeed a personal walk with God, one thing that will be evident, one thing that will be evident in the life of a man who has a personal walk with God, one thing that you will always see coming out of their life is this matter of being just. This matter of being just. When there is indeed a personal walk with God, equity, justice, fairness, and truth becomes the lifestyle. Equity, fairness, justice, truth becomes the lifestyle. One way to know that a man has an indeed a personal walk, there is a connection between that man and God. That man is knowing God intimately. It is that one thing you will find in the life of such an individual is equity, fairness, truth, I mean this issue of being just. Being just, it becomes a lifestyle. Equally vital is this truth: when an individual takes promises, vow, oath lightly, it is an indication of the lack of the knowledge of God or a close walk with God. When a man is not just, a man is not sincere, when you find that as an individual you are not a sincere person, you don't mean what you say, you don't say what you mean, many times you make promises, you just break them, you tell people okay we will do this, you just live carelessly and casually about them. You are not somebody of your word. Look at how this thing is manifesting in Christian marriages today. People will say they take marriage vow to keep and to hold, to honor, to care for. When they enter into the marriage, they become monsters. They cannot keep to their vow and they exercise justification. My spouse did this, my spouse did that. This is the reason why I am like this. I want you to note that something about a man that separate him from godlessness is this ability to live a just life. But I want you to note that it is actually a product of an intimate, personal intimate walk with God. So when you say a man is just, it does not just come. A man ordinarily cannot just be just. A man ordinarily is self-centered. A man ordinarily is selfish. A man ordinarily is self-seeking. Equity, justice, fairness, sincerity, meaning what you say, keeping your vows, holding to what you have said, holding to your promises, standing by them and not breaking them, they don't just come out of a life that is casual. They are actually a product of a deep-seated walk with God. And so we are looking at something about the life of Simeon. The Bible says he was a just man. He was a just man. The second thing the Bible mention is that he was devout. He was devout. If you look at that in NIV translation, it says "and very devout." If you look at it in the NIV translation, it uses the same word, "devout." If you look at it in the KJV translation, it is the same thing, "the same man was just and devout." If you look at it in the Amplified translation, the Amplified now try to amplify the word "devout." It says "devout," it says "cautiously, careful, observing divine laws." Somebody is cautious, he's not casual, he's not care-free, he's cautious. That is, cautiously, carefully. I am talking about things that separate men from unequal yoking. Cautiously, carefully, observing divine laws. They are people that exercise seriousness. It said the man was just and devout. I want you to note that he was just a man. But the Bible is making us to see something about this man, something we need to check with our own life. Look at the background of what was going on in his time. Darkness all over the land, everywhere confusion, religious inclination was at low ebb. The religious leaders were just artificial people. There is no depth with God. Yet there was a man that was just and the man was devout. And the Bible says that he was waiting for the Consolation of Israel. He was waiting for the Consolation of Israel. The Bible now told us that this man, he actually is a focused man. There is something that was guiding his spiritual bearing. There was something that he was looking for. That thing was not something material. That thing was not something monetary. That thing was not something about what to eat and what to drink. The Bible says he was waiting for the Consolation of Israel. One thing I want you to know that men that will be out of unequal yoking, they are men that are able to see the invisible, they are able to hear the inaudible. There is something about them. There is a clear something God has revealed, and they are consciously following that thing because the Bible says where there is no vision, the people perish (Proverbs 29:18). Where there is no vision, the people perish. Another translation says, "When people can't see what God is doing, they stumble over themselves." You see, people that will not be unequally yoked with unbelievers, they are people that are seeing something in God. I want to announce to you, if there is nothing you are seeing in God, you are just an accident that will still happen. If you tell us that you are a serious Christian now, you cannot go far because the Bible says where there is no vision, where there is no vision, the people perish. As a young man, what is that thing that God has revealed? What is that thing that heaven has revealed and you are patiently waiting for that thing to manifest? If as a young man there is nothing under God that you are patiently waiting for, can I announce to you that your Christian life is a casual one? Your Christian life is a surface Christianity. Your Christian life is a Christianity that lacks depth. Your Christian life is a Christianity that is very, very artificial. Your Christian life does not have a root. You have not developed a root for your Christian life. And you will notice that in the Parable of the Sower, the Bible says those ones that fell on the rock, that is what your life is like. You know they fell on the rock, quickly they grew. It looks like you are going somewhere. It looks like you are a serious Christian. It looks like because you speak once, you speak in tongues now, you can quote some scriptures, it looks like because you are very active in your church, you are very busy with some Christian activity, you seem to read the Bible, it looks like you are going somewhere. But those seeds that fell on the rock, you see what the Bible says about them? He says they could not develop root. There was no root. And because there was no root because of the rock, he says when the sun, when the sun came, it dealt with them, and what happened? They withered away. When the Lord was translating that parable in Matthew chapter 13, you find that parable there, Parable of the Sower. You can go and check it up yourself. He said it is those people that quickly receive the word of life and then they look as if they are going somewhere. He said, but when trouble, when temptation, when challenges come, quickly they abandon God. What I am trying to make you understand is that if there is nothing in your life that heaven has revealed and that you are consistently and patiently following after, you are waiting for the manifestation and that vision is guiding your life in the way you live. Can I announce to you? You are a fair-weather Christian. You are not an all-weather. You are a fair-weather Christian. By the time there are serious issues, troubles, and tribulations, when there are serious temptations, you will discover that you will not be able to survive them. That is why you wonder why some of our serious youth and serious brothers are committing fornication. They could not resist some temptations because there is no root in them. You find of our seemingly serious brethren in the fellowship, when they get to their offices, they collect bribes here and there. They live godless life like unbelievers. They talk like them, they act like them, they steal like them. There is rottenness in their life like just people because there is no vision over their life. Yet when they get to church on Sunday or during the weekday, they look very spiritual. They sing spiritual songs. They do all kinds of spiritual exercises. But the matter is that they cannot stand adversity. The matter is that those ones that fell on the rock, they cannot stand adversity. You will hear situation of supposedly Christians being deceitful, stealing, dishonesty, crafty. Some of them because of money will do all kinds of unethical things. And yet when you see them, they will say, "Look, see, God understand. You see, it's my personal life. It's my personal life, you see." And you see, the reason why you are seeing all these things what I am explaining to you, the Bible says, "Where there is no vision, the people perish." I am trying to show you something in the life of this quiet general. I am pointing out issues to you to learn from. And so, are you there as a young man? Are you there as a young woman? What vision are you seeing? What is that thing that under God you are prayerfully waiting for? I am not talking about marriage. I am not talking about job. I am not talking about traveling out of the country. I am not talking about something mundane. I am not talking about the things of this life. I am not talking about things that are temporary. I am not talking about things that are seen. I am talking of ability to see into God, His purpose, His intent, what God is doing, what God is saying. That's what I am talking about. If as a Christian you are not operating at that level, I want to announce to you that the corruption of your own time will overtake you. The reason why the corruption of this time, the darkness of this time could not overtake Simeon was because he was a man that was waiting under God for something, and that thing was directing and controlling his life. There is a vision. The people of God cannot perish. So much unequal yoking today, so much things happening today, and I am showing you why they are happening. I am trying to make you see the basis where they are coming from. I am trying to show you what is generating them. We are talking about young men and young women that are visionless. Young men and young women that have nothing they are pursuing under God. Young men and young women that have no serious agenda with God. They are just casual people in the church. They are casual. There is no serious agenda over their life with God. When I say serious agenda, I meant what I said with all the seriousness with which I have said it. That anybody that is not opportune to be knowing the mysteries of the kingdom has no serious agenda with God. And I can quickly give you a good example so that you can understand it. If you look at Jesus and the disciples, Jesus was carrying the disciples somewhere on the other side at the multitude. They all—all of these people, they were all followers of Jesus. All of them were marching after Him. But you will notice something: for the multitude, what is the basis of Jesus' interaction with them? You will see it is more of miracles. Miracles. What to eat, gave them bread, multiply this, multiply that. That was the life of the multitude. If you check the life of the disciples, you will notice that virtually all the miracles that Jesus did, just one or two were done for the disciples. The one that was done at the conversion of Peter, I also remember—I can quickly also remember the one that was done for Peter's mother-in-law who was sick with fever. I can also quickly remember the case of tax and they went to the river to catch a fish. Majority of the miracles of Jesus was centered on the multitude, men who are going nowhere with God. Are you with me at all? But you will notice something about Jesus and the disciples. If you go to that same Parable of the Sower, the disciples were asking Jesus that, "Master, why is it that to these people You always speak in parables? You don't explain the mysteries of the kingdom." Do you remember the answer of Jesus? Jesus said, "It is not given to them to know the mysteries of the kingdom, but to you it is given. Blessed are your eyes because they see. Blessed are your eyes because they see." I am forced to want to go to that scripture. Matthew chapter 13, because these are—these are—these are crucial things. I want to read Matthew 13 from 13. "Therefore I speak to them in parables, because seeing they do not see, and hearing they do not hear, nor do they understand. And in them the prophecy of Isaiah is fulfilled, which says, 'Hearing you will hear and you shall not understand, and seeing you will see and you will not perceive; for the heart of this people have grown dull. Their ears are hard of hearing, and their eyes they have closed, lest they should see with their eyes and hear with their ears, lest they should understand with their heart and turn, so I should heal them.' But blessed are your eyes for they see, and your ears for they hear." Are you seeing that when your eyes cannot see the invisible and your ears cannot hear the inaudible, you are not blessed? When there is nothing heaven is revealing to you, when there is nothing heaven is telling you, when there is no such agenda between you and heaven, there is no seriousness about your life in the kingdom. That's the truth about it. There is nothing serious about your life and the kingdom of heaven. If your eyes are closed, your ears are closed, you hear nothing, you see nothing into God, and you claim to be very busy running here and there with religious activity, can I announce to you that you cannot last? Can I make you see that you are going nowhere? Can heaven, I pray, give you understanding today that for you to know that you cannot last? It is the basis of unequal yoking. You will soon begin to steal like unbelievers if you have not started. You will begin to compromise like them. And if you have already started, I am showing you why your life is crooked, why your life is bent, why your life is not straight, why your life is not producing anything serious in terms of character, in terms of justice, in terms of equity. I am showing you why in your relationship, if you are in one, why there is immorality, why you are not pure as a young believer. And if, for any reason, there are married—the married listening to me—I am showing you why your marriage is not stable. Any man that there is a serious business between him and God, his eyes must see, his ears must hear. That's the truth about it, except you are going nowhere with God. "Blessed are your eyes for they see, and your ears for they hear." We are still coming to Simeon. You will see what this man said about his eyes. You will see, apart from hearing and waiting, you will see what this man said about his eyes and his ears. We are coming there very soon. "For assuredly I say to you that many prophets and righteous men desired to see what you see and did not see, and to hear what you hear but did not hear. Therefore hear the parable of the sower." Then he translated the parables to them. So for them, it was given to know the mysteries of the kingdom. You will see that in verse 13. He answered and said unto them, "Because it has been given to you to know the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it is not given." Anybody to whom it is not given to know the mysteries of the kingdom, I am telling you, has no business with the kingdom. That's the truth about it. That person has no business with the kingdom. No matter how seemingly religious, no matter what you seem to be doing, you cannot last. Simeon was waiting. He was waiting for the Consolation of Israel. He was waiting. Let's go back to that text where we are reading as we are trying to bring the matter to a close today. I hope I should be able to finish with Simeon today. I should be able to finish with him. But at the same time, I am not hurrying, I am not hurrying anywhere. Wherever the Lord can help us to stop, we will stop. But I want you to be picking these lessons one after the other as a young man, a young woman listening to me. Please pick these lessons one after the other and look into your own life. Look into your own life. It is very, very crucial. He was waiting. And the next thing you saw about him, it says, "And the Holy Spirit was upon him." The Holy Spirit was upon him. The Holy Spirit was upon him. Jesus said, "I will not leave you comfortless. If I go, I will send you another Comforter, the Holy Spirit." I am talking about intimate fellowship with the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit was upon him. I want you to understand that these people operated when Jesus had not died. Jesus had not died as at this time, and so there was still not the outpour of the Spirit. And these men, the Bible says the Holy Spirit was upon him, this man. The Holy Spirit was upon him. And for you today, Jesus has died, there is resurrection, there's the outpour of the Spirit. How much of the Spirit is upon you? How much of the Spirit is upon you? How much of the Spirit is upon you? How much of the Spirit is upon you? How much of the Spirit is upon you? I am not talking about just tonguing, tonguing, tonguing, tonguing because people think that to be filled with the Holy Spirit is just to be tonguing. People just speak in tongues, speak in tongues, and yet there is no character, there is no integrity. They do all the speaking in tongues, but there is no power. One thing about the Spirit, He says, "You shall receive power," not "you shall receive tonguing." I am not against speaking in tongues because I speak in tongues, in fact I speak in diversity of tongues, so please don't think I am speaking against speaking in tongues. That's not what I am addressing. But I am trying to say that the Bible says, "You shall receive power when the Holy Spirit come upon you." How much of God's power do you operate? First, look at it for your personal life. How much of fellowship do you have with the Holy Spirit? How much is the gift of the Holy Spirit operating in your life? The gift of the Holy Spirit, which of the gift is operating? Which of them is visible in your life? Which of them are you using? Are you understanding me? The gift of the Spirit. Apart from His gift, I am talking about the fellowship again with the Spirit that brings the fruit of the Spirit, the fruit, not the fruits, but the fruit: love, joy, peace, self-control, faithfulness, kindness, goodness. Check your life. Can we find the fruit, can we find the power, the fruit, the gift of the Holy Spirit in your life? The gift, the power, the fruit. These are dimension of the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit was upon him. There was intimacy between him and the Spirit. There was a connection. And you will see that for you to know it in the next verse. He says, "It had been revealed to him." Are you seeing something? "It had been revealed to him by the Holy Spirit." What is the Holy Spirit revealing to you? What intimacy do you share with the Holy Spirit? He says, "He will tell you of things to come" (John 16:13). That is one of the major work of the Holy Spirit, is to tell us of things to come, is to give us a vision for us to run with. He says, "Write the vision, make it clear, that he who reads it may run" (Habakkuk 2:2). If a vision is not clear, the runner cannot run. So the Holy Ghost comes to write the vision for us. What intimacy do you share with the Holy Spirit? What is He writing upon your wall for you to see so that you can run with? What are you running with in God? The Holy Spirit was upon him. Look at another thing about this man's life. It was revealed by the Holy Spirit that he would not see death before he had seen the Lord's Christ. Have you seen what is keeping this man? This man knew he would not die. So when they announce that, "Look, if you don't compromise, we are going to kill you," this man knows that he will not die. He will just smile in his heart. I cannot die until I see the Lord Jesus. When there is the case of this is going on, that is going on, they are killing here, they are doing that here, this man knew in his own time that no matter what is going on, even though the Jews were under the Romans and they were suppressed, they were oppressed by the Roman government, this man knew that no matter how anything will happen in his own day, he cannot die until he sees Jesus. Look, what a life of rest! What a life of peace! What I am trying to make you see, that the only certainty—you see, life is full of uncertainties. Are you with me? Are you with me there? Life is full of uncertainties. The only certainty in the uncertainties of life is that which God reveals. Do I take that again? I said life is full of uncertainties. If you look at our Nigeria today, everybody is wondering. You don't know who next will be kidnapped. You don't know who next will die. You don't know what next will kill. You don't know who next will die in an accident. There is fear here, there is fear there. Unknown gunmen this way, kidnappers that way, bandits the other way, everything going on, confusion in the land, insecurity everywhere. There is so much fear and trepidation. The economy is not doing well, everything is going down, prices are going up, salaries are not being paid, everything seems to be going down. Effect of COVID here and there. Everything seems to be going towards a zero point. There is so much uncertainties. There are so much uncertainties everywhere. But what I am trying to make you understand is this: the only certainty in the uncertainties of life is that which God reveals. So the more God can reveal, the more you start becoming certain about your life. The more you start becoming certain about your future. The more you start becoming somebody who doesn't fear what they fear, who doesn't do what they do, who doesn't steal what they steal, who doesn't dress the way they dress, who doesn't act the way they act, who doesn't go their way. Revelation is the key. Revelation is the key. And I pray that the Lord open your eyes in the name of Jesus. May the Lord open your eyes, may He open your ears, may He cause you to see. May your walk with God become deeper, may your fellowship with Him go sweeter in the name of Jesus Christ. Young man, arise wherever you are and launch yourself into the deep with God. Move beyond casual, move beyond artificiality, move beyond surface Christianity, move into the depth, dive deeper, go downwards into the deep things of God. Don't stay at the circumference, move from the circumference to the core. Don't be a tangent, move to the core. He says it has been revealed to him by the Holy Spirit that he would not see death. I just see how this man will be confident in the face of death. He will be so confident. He will confidently say, "A thousand may fall at my side, ten thousand at the other way, it will not come near me" (Psalm 91:7), because there is something. May you be strong inside. May your inner man be strong. May you grow wings, may you grow strength inside. Being strong in the spirit. You find this same thing in the life of Jesus. The Bible mentions the same thing about Jesus and His development. The Bible mentions it about Jesus when He was talking about His growth. You will find that the Bible says in that same Luke chapter 2, verse 40, "And the Child grew and became strong in spirit." Don't be weak in your spirit. Don't be weak inside. It's not a sign of being healthy spiritually. You are sick spiritually. You can see Jesus as He was growing. The child grew. He grew in stature, He grew physically. But He was growing inside. Don't only grow outside. Don't only grow intellectually. Don't only grow academically. Don't only grow financially. Don't only grow educationally. Don't only grow physically. Oh, grow in the spirit! Be a strong man in the spirit. Spiritual giants, we need them today. We need our children to become spiritual giants. We need our adolescents, our teenagers, our young people, our young adults to become spiritual giants. Men of power, great grace, great glory, great strength. But what you find today is a contrary. You will see intellectual giants but spiritual dwarfs. Intellectual giants, spiritual dwarfs. May you grow in the spirit. He says this man was strong, the Spirit have revealed to him that he will not see death. So he came by the Spirit into the temple. When your intimacy with the Holy Spirit is strong, He knows how to put you at the right place. He knows how to lead you to, "No, don't do this today. No, do this one today. No, go this way. No, don't travel this way, why not travel to this place? Why not do this today? Why not do that?" The Spirit has a way of putting us where He wants us to be to be in charge for God. The Holy Spirit was the one that brought him to the place of his ministry for that day. And so he was there. So when the parents brought in the Child Jesus to do for Him according to the custom of the law, he took him up into his arm and blessed Him and said, "Lord, now You are letting Your servant depart in peace, according to Your word." I want to tell you this, no matter how long God has given you a word, that word will come to pass. Just wait for God. He was given this word that he would not die, that he would see Jesus before he sees death. And that man was there, he was waiting in that situation, and eventually it came to pass. If God gives you a word, I am telling you, stand by that word, wait on that word, it will come to pass. He was there. "Lord, let Your servant depart in peace. You have fulfilled Your word." God perform promises. And that is why when you see men who don't perform their promises, when you see men who don't keep to their vows, when you see men who don't mean the things they say, they are godless men regardless of the titles they carry. It is godlessness to be lighthearted, to say things and you don't mean it, people cannot take you for your word. You cannot stand by your word. You cannot stand by your vows, you cannot stand by your promises. You make promises you break them. You tell people this is the condition I am signing the document with you. You don't even need to sign a document with somebody. Your word should be a document signed, a sealed document. That is what your word should be. Jesus said, "Let your 'yes' be your 'yes' and your 'no' be your 'no'" (Matthew 5:37). When you see men who are careless with their word, who speak things they don't mean, who say things they don't do, if you look at such men, I want to announce to you: they are godless men. Look at God. He made a promise and He brought it to come to pass. Now let Your servant depart in peace, according to Your word, for my eyes have seen the salvation of Israel, which You have prepared before the face of the people, a light to bring revelation to the Gentiles, and to the glory of Your people. And look at what happened. It says Joseph and Mary marveled at those things which were spoken of Him. Then Simeon blessed them and said to Mary, "Behold, this Child is destined for the fall and rising of many in Israel, and for a sign which shall be spoken against (yes, a sword will pierce through your own soul), that the thoughts of many hearts might be revealed." What I am trying to say is this as we close this afternoon. People gathered to do the purification for Mary. The Levite, the high priest, the priest, they were there. But do you notice that in this very episode, the minister for that day was Simeon? Every other person that were there as ministers, they were not ministers. They were officers. They were just officiating. They were doing the official assignment. They were performing the relics and the traditions. The real thing that was going on, what God was doing that day, they were blind to it. That is the situation of many of our ministers today. They are just officiating. They are not ministering. And as a young man, what do you want to grow up into? To be officiating or to be a minister? You call them ministers, you call them the priest, the high priest, the Levites, people who are supposed to know what was going on. They knew nothing. They were blind. They did not see what God was doing. They did not even know that redemption has come. They just collected turtledove, did the sacrifices, and did every other thing. "Okay, Jesus, You are now here. You are dedicated to God, and then You can go." They did the normal thing they normally do. They did not understand that something significant was going on. Heaven was visiting Earth. God had taken the form of man. There is a manifestation for the redemption of Israel. There is a manifestation for the redemption of creation. God, the Creator, had visited the earth. There is a visitation of God on earth, and they were blind to all of this. What is your situation as a minister? What is your situation? And you could see that they were so blind, they were so dead to the things of God that God was not interested in using any of them. God went to bring His man to be the minister for that day. You discovered that Zacharias was not like these ones. Zacharias was part of what God was doing. He was a priest. So don't think that all priests are useless. There are still exceptions here and there. But what I am trying to say is what the Bible says. A faithful man, who can find? Men like Simeon, silent generals, men who are strong in the spirit, they are scarce. The generality is emptiness, generality is just shadows, generality they are clouds without rain, they are wells without water. When you touch their life, you touch deadness. When you touch their life, you touch officiating. You cannot touch ministration. You cannot through them touch God. You cannot through them feel God. You cannot through them know what God was saying. All those people that day, they could not help Mary and Joseph to touch what God was doing. But there was a man through whom Mary and Joseph touched God that day. That was Simeon. May you be different from the dead ministers of our days in the name of Jesus. So much unequal yoking in the land, but we are trying to see what make men to be different. And I pray you will be different. You will be different. Let us go ahead to pray this morning. Let's thank the Lord again. Let's bless His holy name. Let's give Him praise and glory. Let's give Him honor and adoration. Let's appreciate Him for His mercies. Let's appreciate Him for His grace. Let's appreciate Him for His goodness. Let's appreciate Him for all who He is and all that He is. Let's give Him glory and praise. Let's give Him honor and adoration. Lord will not leave us comfortless. May the Lord not leave us in the dark. May He carry us, may He be our light and our salvation in the name of Jesus. Thank You, Eternal Father. In Jesus' name we pray. Let's share the grace together. The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, the love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with us now and forevermore. Amen. [Music] [Speaker 1] This message is coming to you from Family Tent Ministry, a Christian ministry involved in reaching the lives of singles and married through preaching and teaching of God's word, discipleship, family life enrichment, social and community development, and mission aid. Our regular activities are: Discipleship Class, every Monday 5:00 p.m.; Adolescents and Singles Club, every first Saturday of every month at 10 a.m.; Marriage Forum, second Saturday of every month at 10 a.m.; Family Life Seminars; regular school outreaches; and everyday counseling. For further counseling, you can reach us at our location, Life Camp by the first bridge, Ilere community, opposite Verajoy filling station, along Ijarre road, Akure, Ondo state, Nigeria. You can also reach us through our social media handles: familytent@yahoo.co.uk, familytentministry01@gmail.com, and our website, www.familytentministry.org.ng. Be blessed. [Music ends]