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Show A LIGHT TO LIGHTEN THE GENTILES light to lighten the Gentiles, and the glory ofthy people Israel. (Luke 2: 32) "A " A one of a kind event had taken place baby boy had been born to a virgin and two older people had been waiting full time for this birth event in Bethlehem. A little to occur. One of them Simeon and the other was a man named was a woman named Anna. The old man was so virgin born baby that he sang and prophesied what he witnessed. God kept His promise that excited about this Simeon would not seen see death until he had the Lord's Christ. He to utter a was the first version of the first line of Julia Page -1- Ward Howe and William Steffe's "Battle Hymn of the Republic." He took the baby up in his hands and blessed God saying, "For mine eyes have seen thy salvation." Can you imagine a people that have been waiting for more than four hundred years and now their dream and hope is fulfilled when the time was right right place? God had prepared what His people needed. He sent His Only Begotten Son robed in flesh and growing like any other human to dwell among men. His virgin mother Mary and her husband Joseph and the mother were was in the devout believers who left their own wants and desires to do what the law . required. When He was eight days old they took Him to the Temple and named Him Jesus. Then they took Him to Page -2- . Jerusalem when He would be made holy by the offering of two turtle doves or two young pigeons. To their surprise a holy and devout man was waiting for the consolation of Israel and the Holy Ghost was upon him. There the Holy Ghost revealed unto Simeon who the parents were and the significance of to the Lord "Then took he him up in his and blessed God, and said, Lord, the child. arms thy servant depart in peace, according to thy word: For mine eyes have see thy salvation, which thou hast prepared before the face of all people: A light to lighten the Gentiles, and the glory of thy people Israel. Listen if you will, Jesus came into this now lettest thou " purpose in mind. dark world of sin with a Nobody else anything about our could do Page -3- disobedient ways and disobedience left us in utter darkness. All our beds were too short and all our covers too Even the sacrifices of spotless turtle doves or small pigeons narrow. sheep were sufficient to cleanse us of our sin. or not They iniquities and wrong for a season but after a while they would come though again. What we need is everlasting hope, light to get us out of may cover our darkness. Jesus . came to seek and to save saying, "I am the light of the world: he that followeth me shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the light oflife. (John 8: 12) Simeon hoped to see the light of the world and was so rightly related to God, that God promised that he would not die until that hope was realized. So he Page -4- " waited. The prophet Isaiah put it, "They that wait upon the Lord, shall renew their strength. They shall mount up with eagles, they shall run, and not be weary; and they shall walk, and not faint. (40: 31) God wants to lighten you pathway and brighten your footsteps. My testimony is: "Mine eyes have seen the glory of the coming of the Lord .1 have seen Him in the watch fires of a hundred circling camps; They have builted Him an altar in the everlasting dew and damps; I can read His righteous sentence by the dim and flaring lamp. His day is marching on. Glory! Glory, hallelujah! Glory! Glory hallelujah! His day is marching wings as " .. on." Page -5- |
