Sunday Worship Service May 21, 2023

Call to Worship Hosea 14:9 (NIV)
Hymn JBC # 80 Father, we love You
The Lord’s Prayer
Offering
Scripture Luke 2:22~40
Prayer
Sermon “The thoughts of many hearts will be revealed”
https://youtu.be/AOdwRinrWwM
Prayer
Hymn JBC # 544 Blessed assurance, Jesus is mine!
Doxology JBC # 679
Benediction


In today’s scripture, parents Joseph and Mary arrive at the temple in Jerusalem to offer the baby Jesus (Jesus Christ) to the Lord, and in doing so, meet the elderly believers Simeon and Anna.
I think you could say that this is the scene of an “encounter.” It is a scene of encounter led by God. Today’s scripture depicts such an “encounter,” in which various people are made to meet, all centering around Jesus Christ, the Son of God.
Young Joseph and Mary, and baby Jesus were made to meet elderly believers, Simeon and Anna here. And I imagine that at that time, there must have been many others—people of various generations—in the temple. There also must have been many other “encounters” there.

And such encounters are exactly the kind of encounters that are still happening in the church today. People of all ages come to church. Because the church is a place where people of all generations gather and create fellowship centered around God.
Why is it possible for people of all ages to come together at church?
It is because we are all children of God. To be precise, because through faith in Jesus Christ, all of us can become children of God.
Since all who believe in Christ are made children of God. We become all children of God in the eyes of God the Father. We are brothers and sisters in God.

Our age, experience, and gender here on earth mean very little to God.
Therefore, in the church, we can all gather before God on equal footing, listen to God’s word together, and live in shared fellowship. We can experience that joy!
We all may come from different generations and different background, but through God, we are made one. In this way, the church, which is the body of Christ, is created. We would like us to create a church where people of all generations and differences can live in God-centered-fellowship and feel that joy.
Another thing that is being depicted in today’s passage is "consecration. (or “offer” or “present”)”

In verse 22 the following is written:
22 When the time came for the purification rites required by the Law of Moses, Joseph and Mary took him to Jerusalem to present him to the Lord

What does it mean to “present him (give a child) to the Lord” here? In the next verse 23, we can see:
(as it is written in the Law of the Lord, “Every firstborn male is to be consecrated to the Lord”),
The laws of the Lord are the rules of faith given to the Israelites by God and written in the Old Testament.
In the Old Testament Book of ‘Exodus’, God tells Moses about the offering of the firstborn male.

2 “Consecrate (*to make something holy) to me every firstborn male. The first offspring of every womb among the Israelites belongs to me, whether human or animal.”
It is a commandment (instruction) that the firstborn child, whether an animal or human child, should be offered to the Lord because it belongs to the Lord.
In fact at that time of Jesus, as written in verse 24, there was a ritual to consecrate the firstborn child (male) before the Lord (set it apart as a special one) by offering substitute animal sacrifices.
Through such rituals, the belief that the firstborn child belongs to God was expressed.

We receive so many things from God. Our lives, the time we live, our talents, our income, our families, and our friends, are all gifts from God.
However we can even end up believing that all these various things we have received from God are our own—our possessions. But as Christians, we must always recognize that everything we have is a gift from God the Creator.
As a manifestation of that faith, we always set aside the first and best things that have been given to us and give them back to God. That is what is meant by “every firstborn male is to be consecrated to the Lord.”
Let us to happily and very naturally give back to the Lord God all these various gifts. Give back the many amazing things—the first and best things to God. This is the type of true believers we hope to become.

In today’s passage, two elderly believers (a man and a woman) appear. They are Simeon and Anna. According to verse 25, Simeon was “righteous and devout,” and “was waiting for the consolation of Israel, and the Holy Spirit was on him.”
It is also written in the scripture that “It had been revealed to him by the Holy Spirit that he would not die before he had seen the Lord’s Messiah”
On the other hand, we are also told of the female prophet, Anna in verse 36. Since she was a prophet, she was someone who was entrusted with the word of God and had the duty to pass it on to the people. It says she was 84 years old, becoming a widow many years prior.
I would like us to think here about how Simeon was told by the Holy Spirit that he would not die until he met the Messiah sent by the Lord.

“You will not die before you have seen the Lord’s Messiah.” Of course, the Holy Spirit did not say to Simeon, “You will never die.”
This is because no matter who you are, there will surely come a time when we must die. Instead, the Holy Spirit told Simeon, “You will not die before you have seen the Lord’s Messiah.”
This means that Simeon had an important mission given by God to meet the Messiah, Jesus, sent by the Lord, and to become a witness to the event that the Savior was indeed born.
You will not die until you have fulfilled your mission. God has a special plan and mission for each of us, just as He gave Simeon. That is the Bible’s promise to us.
God’s plan and mission may be different from what we wish and think for ourselves.

The other day, Sister R gave her testimony at our church service. She spoke of how just a few months after entering university the COVID-19 pandemic began, and the plan Sister R had drawn up for her schooling was canceled. She spoke about the disappointment she felt.
But looking back now, she testified that God had a better plan for her. Better than anything she could have imagined.
Sister R testified that God found her through the meeting of people at church, worship services, and fellowship at Friday Family Fellowship.
I am so grateful that in that way Sister R was given the faith that “God found me” rather than “I found God.” And I am so happy too that we were able to share the wonderful testimony of a believer together.
Today, as we live by faith in the Lord, we know that God’s plan—the way He has prepared it, the way He leads us there—is far greater than our own thoughts and plans. Let us once again remind ourselves and remember this.

I think that both Simeon and Anna, of course, had painful and sad times during the long years they were in the temple, but held onto their faith. Both Simeon and Anna remained in the temple the whole time.
To be in the temple means to have remained in faith in the Lord God. That means that they kept entrusting themselves to the hands of the Lord God holding on to them.
It says that Anna was widowed when she was young. I don’t know the details of how she endured that pain and sorrow of her experience. But “she never left the temple but worshiped night and day, fasting and praying.”
We can believe that Simeon and Anna staying in the temple, that is, their continued presence with God, continued to support them in their heart and spirit.

It was there that Simeon and Anna met the baby Jesus who had been brought by Joseph and Mary. They were finally able to meet the promised Savior.

Let’s take a look at Simeon’s words in verses 34 – 35.
34 Then Simeon blessed them and said to Mary, his mother: “This child is destined to cause the falling and rising of many in Israel, and to be a sign that will be spoken against, 35 so that the thoughts of many hearts will be revealed. And a sword will pierce your own soul too.”

Simeon acknowledged baby Jesus as his savior and blessed Joseph and Mary. However, Simeon’s words were also very harsh, including the kinds of trials Jesus would undergo.
Not everyone will believe in Jesus, and many will stumble and fall, unable to accept His Word and truth. That was the reality. There will also be many people who will oppose Jesus.
Ultimately, Jesus will be killed on the cross. Today’s passage doesn’t explicitly say that, but Mary is told, her own son, Jesus, will suffer in such a way, so that she will experience that a “sword will pierce her own soul (as a mother)”
It is not just Mary, but anyone who directly and seriously see all that Jesus bore while on the cross will realize who they truly are—they will see the person that turned their back to God and bore sins. And in this way, will understand the feeling of a “sword piercing through one’s heart.”
By meeting Jesus, we are made to meet our true selves. We become aware of our true selves.

Such an experience is also a painful process because it means facing and acknowledging even the unpleasant and dark parts of ourselves.
But by revealing our true selves—our hearts revealed by Christ—a faith will come that says we can only surrender everything to God. We have no other way than be forgiven by God.
And as people who have been forgiven of our sins, we can also have this great hope that we will always be able to follow Christ from now and forever more.
We are loved by God. We are loved so much that His Son, Jesus Christ, gave up his life for us. It is with this great hope that we can live.
So let us acknowledge boldly our true hearts, our true selves, made known by Christ.
Let us set off on this new week and new day while thanking the accepting all those and forgiving Jesus for His love.