FIRST, LIKE SIMEON, SEEK THE SPIRIT-FILLED LIFE GOD OFFERS:
Luke 2:25 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.
How does anyone get God to enter their life? God said long before Simeon’s day in Jeremiah 29:13, which was written six hundred years before Christ’s birth:
Jeremiah 29:13 (NKJV) And you will seek Me and find Me, when you search for Me with all your heart.
Simeon sought God.
Simeon opened his life to God, and surrendered to His control.
Simeon wanted God’s way, and God controls surrendered people by filling them with His Spirit.
Simeon was living the Spirit-filled life that God offers.
Application: Pause and ask yourself:
How long has it been since I asked God to take over my plans?
How long since you parked the car of your life, turned off the ignition, pulled the keys out and surrendered both the keys, the steering wheel, and the driver’s seat to God?
How long has it been since you were personally aware of His Presence in your heart and life each day?
How long has it been since you cried out and told the Lord that you wanted to rely upon Him to lead and guide you?
NEXT, LIKE SIMEON SEEK THE SPIRIT-ILLUMINED LIFE GOD OFFERS:
Luke 2:26 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.
Simeon learned what God wanted him to do in life.
He was confident that the Lord had a plan and he rested by faith in God will for his life.
Simeon sought to follow God’s plan. He said not my way but yours.
Simeon found the Spirit-illumined life God offers.
Do you have that calm assurance that you are following the plan of God? Remember what Simeon had grown up hearing? As a faithful Jew he would have often heard the Psalms and one of the most well know Psalms was David’s 16th Psalm that is a promise from God to “show us the path of life”. Look there with me and underline these words in your soul:
Psalm 16:11 (NKJV) You will show me the path of life; In Your presence is fullness of joy;
At Your right hand are pleasures forevermore.
God wants to illumine, guide, and direct His path for us, all we have to do is want to listen to His voice.
Application: Have you ever invited the Spirit of God to illumine your mind by bowing and asking Him to “open my eyes that I may behold wonderful things” in Your Word (Ps. 119:18)? That is what the Spirit-illumined life is all about. Asking God to open His Word, which is His Will, which is His plan for our lives. That is the work of the Spirit God offers to each of us.
Have you allowed the Lord to illumine His Word and open your eyes to see what He has planned for your life? The greatest joy in life comes from knowing and doing God’s will for your life.
(FTF-09; 141130AM)
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