Sunday Worship Service Sermon (12-29-2024)
My
Eyes Have Seen Your Salvation
(Luke
2:25-38, Isaiah 9:1-7)
1.
Last
Sunday, through the Word of God, we met Jesus who came to the world to save us
from sins. How did you feel when you first heard the news that Jesus came to
the world to save you from sins?
The
news that God, who is love, came to the world as a baby through the body of a
virgin to save all mankind from sin must have been shocking news unlike any
other news we have ever heard. On the other hand, this news would have
been a great gift of joy and hope from God to all mankind living in despair and
fear. God said that He had 'accomplished this with His zeal' in order
to give this gift to all mankind (Isaiah 9:7). My earnest wish is that all
people in the world would joyfully receive and enjoy this wonderful gift that
God has accomplished 'with His zeal' for a long time.
Let
me ask you: What did you and I do when we first met Jesus who
came to the world to save us from sin? What kind of life change is
beginning for you and me through the birth of Jesus (=through “to us a child is
born”) (Isaiah 9:6)?
Christmas
is not just about having a religious ceremony on Christmas Day and then going
back to our daily lives as before. Rather, we should be transformed into new
people through Jesus who came to us to save us from sins, and begin a happy
life with Jesus whom we have accepted as our Savior.
Last
week, after sharing with you the sermon titled “Christmas - The Day I First
Met the Lord”, I lived the week of Christmas with the thought that Jesus,
who came to save sinners like me, is ‘with me now.’ And I looked into the Bible
to find out what Simeon and Anna, who had been waiting for a long time to meet
the Lord’s Christ, did when they finally met the born Jesus (=the day they saw
the Lord's salvation), and what kind of changes happened in their lives after
meeting the born Jesus. Also, while reading several times the words of Isaiah
9, which records the great news of Jesus' birth, I looked for ways in which
those who have seen the Lord's salvation should live. That is what those who
first met the Lord on Christmas must do. That is what God wants most for
us who have seen the Lord's salvation on Christmas.
2.
First,
I will share what Simeon and Anna did on the day they finally met Jesus, whom
they had been waiting for for a long time. Also, I will share how their lives
changed after seeing the Lord’s salvation that day.
There
was a man in Jerusalem called Simeon. This man lived righteously, devoutly, and
with the Holy Spirit, and waited earnestly for Jesus. He knew that he was a
sinner who needed to be saved, so he waited his whole life earnestly for the
Messiah who would save him from sins. Then one day, Simeon, moved by the Holy
Spirit, went into the temple courts and saw Jesus’ parents bring the child
Jesus to do for him what the custom of the Law required. Simeon stood before
Jesus, whom he had been waiting for so earnestly.
What
did Simeon do when he first met the Lord whom he had so desperately waited for?
Simeon
took him in his arms and praised God, saying: “For my eyes have seen your
salvation.” He thanked God for freeing him from sins.
There
was a woman in Jerusalem called Anna, a prophetess. She was very old; she had
lived with her husband seven years after her marriage, and then was a widow
until she was eighty-four. Anna also knew that she was a sinner who needed to
be saved, so she waited and waited her whole life for the Messiah who would
save her from her sins. She waited so earnestly for Christ that she never left
the temple but worshiped night and day, fasting and praying. Coming up to them
at that very moment, she also, like Simeon, met the child Jesus.
What
did Anna do on the day she met the Lord she had been waiting for so long? Anna
thanked God for allowing her to meet (accept) the Christ she had been waiting
for so desperately, and told the people in Jerusalem that Jesus had come to the
world for our salvation.
People
who had lost their song in pain and sorrow began to sing to God through the
birth of Jesus.
Second,
how should those who have seen the salvation of the Lord live? God teaches us
the answer through Isaiah 9:1-7.
This
text is the word of God given through the prophet Isaiah 700 years before Jesus
came to this earth as the Messiah. In summary, God showed us what would happen
to us through a child born to us (=to us a son is given).
(Verse
1) He said that for those who were previously suffering and in distress because
of sins (=despair, sins, death) there will be no more gloom, (why? Because the
Messiah came to save us sinners) and those who were humbled because of sins
will become glorious children of God.
(Verse
2) He also said that the people walking in darkness (=sin/despair) will see
a great light (= will live in light, life, and hope), and on those living in
the land of deep darkness because of sins, a light (=eternal life) will shine.
(Verses
3-5) And he said that the yoke (=sins) that burdens them, the bar across
their shoulders, and the rod of the oppressor (=these represent the suffering
caused by sin) will be resolved by the Lord's atonement on the cross, and peace
will be given (=reconciled with God), so they would rejoice before the Lord
(=people would be able to approach God again and rejoice). Here, 'peace' also
means that there will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain
(Revelation 21:4)).
(Verse
7) God promised that the zeal of the Lord Almighty would accomplish all of
this.
(Verse
6) And God said that this child will be called the Wonderful Counselor,
Almighty God, Everlasting Father, and Prince of Peace. He said that this child
is not an ordinary child. He said that this child is the Messiah sent by God
for the salvation of mankind. God sent us a child to give us this amazing
grace.
Therefore,
those who have received this amazing grace through the coming of this child to
us (=those who have seen the born Jesus) should welcome Jesus, who came to us
as the Messiah and as our Savior, in our hearts and live in gratitude and
praise to God who saved us with His zeal. This is what God wants most from us
humans on Christmas.
Jesus
came from heaven to save us and is knocking on the door of our hearts, but we
must not keep it locked (Revelation 3:20). We should confess, “I repent of
my sins and I immediately now open the door. Dear Savior, enter and be my
Savior,” and we should welcome Jesus, who came for our salvation, with all
our hearts.
Even
though we believe in Jesus, we try to find joy in other things instead of
receiving our joy from Jesus. Such faith has no
happiness. We must become saints who overflow with joy that springs only
from knowing Jesus, and we must worship with joy because of Jesus. This
joy that we have gained through Jesus must fill us up so that we can live lives
worthy of saints and become a church worthy of being a church.
And
Jesus was born to save His people from their sins. So those who have seen
the Lord’s salvation must be born again and begin to live a changed life.
Third,
how should those who have seen the Lord's salvation live?
Those
who have met the born Jesus are no longer alone. Jesus, who came to this earth
for our salvation, will be with us until the end of the world.
Dear
friends, do not think that you are alone. Do not think that you are alone when
you are having a hard time, when you are lonely, or when you are weak. God is
always with you. God will help you and guide you.
In
Matthew 1:23, God said that, 'Jesus came to the world to save his people
from their sins, and God came to the world to be with us.'
With
the coming of Jesus, who came to this earth for our salvation, we began to live
with God. There is one very surprising fact. What kind of
person is Jesus who is with us? Yes, God, who is now in us and who is always
with us, is Wonderful Counselor, Almighty God, Everlasting Father, and
Prince of Peace.
God,
the Wonderful Counselor, will give us His word every day and
teach us what to do every moment of every day. He will guide our path. He will
hear our cries and help us. He will give us the strength to overcome difficult
times. He will comfort and encourage us. He will give us the wisdom to live
differently from the world. Almighty God will surely fulfill all His
promises. He will fill us even more abundantly than what we pray for. He will
change us into new people. He will accomplish His will through us. Everlasting
Father will love us to the end, as a father cares for his children. He will
protect us and provide for all our needs. He will treasure us above all else,
feed us, clothe us, and care for us. And on the last day, He will bring us into
His glorious presence. God, the Prince of Peace, will give us peace. He
will make us rejoice in His presence. He will hush all our fears, calm all our storms,
destroy all our enemies, remove all our obstacles, and give us peace. And He
will make us live forever with the Lord in heaven where there will be no more
death, mourning, crying, or pain. (Revelation 21:4)
Dear
friends, God loves us like this. God came to the world to give us this
amazing grace (to give us the grace of God being with us).
Now
you are not alone. God is in you. God values you more than anything
else. Do not worry about anything. God knows everything you need. God takes
responsibility for you. Always rely on God and live. Enjoy this grace that God
is with you and live joyfully and happily. And live in gratitude and obedience
to God who is in you. In 2025, God, Wonderful Counselor, Almighty God,
Everlasting Father, and Prince of Peace will be with you. God wants your days to be filled with His love, joy,
peace, and hope.
Fourth,
how should those who have seen the Lord's salvation live?
700
years before Jesus came to the world as the Messiah, God said through the
prophet Isaiah, “I will send a child to you," and "the zeal of the
Lord Almighty will accomplish this” (Isaiah 9:7). And 700 years later,
God fulfilled this promise to us.
Therefore,
those who have seen the salvation of Jesus must recover their zeal for God. We,
too, must live zealously for God, thinking of God's zeal for our salvation.
3.
All
saints (=those who have seen the salvation of the Lord) are people who began
living a happy life because of the grace that God has accomplished through His
zeal. Saints are people who are happy because of Jesus.
I
hope that you will become saints who live each day joyfully enjoying this
amazing grace that God, who loves us, has accomplished through His zeal by
coming to the world in human form and saving us from sin and being with us. God
wants your days to be filled with God’s love, joy, peace, and hope. Amen!!