Episode 1387: Watchnight

[00:00:00] Scott Maderer: Thanks for joining me on episode 1387 of the Inspired Stewardship Podcast.

[00:00:09] Barby Ingle: Hi, I'm Barbie Ingle, and I challenge you to invest in yourself, invest in others, develop your influence, and impact the world by using your time. your talents and your treasures to live out your calling, your purpose in life.

[00:00:27] Having the ability to be your own health advocate is key and is one way to be inspired to do all that you are supposed to do. Another way is to listen to this, the Inspired Steward podcast with my friend Scott Maderer.

[00:00:44] Scott Maderer: Covenant

[00:00:54] with God, worship and song and these sorts of things are part of how [00:01:00] we recognize the blessings that God has given us. We're all asked to do and be and sing our part in that song to bring about a little bit of the kingdom of heaven. Welcome and thank you for joining us on the Inspired Stewardship Podcast.

[00:01:20] If you truly desire to become the person who God wants you to be, Then you must learn to use your time, your talent, and your treasures for your true calling. In the Inspired Stewardship Podcast, you will learn to invest in yourself, invest in others, and develop your influence so that you can impact the world.

[00:01:48] In today's Spiritual Foundation episode, I talk about Luke 2, verses 22 40. I share how important it is to listen deeply. I also share how we were all called to sing [00:02:00] into the new year. Luke 2, verses 22 40 says, When the time came for their purification according to the law of Moses, they brought him up to Jerusalem to present him to the Lord.

[00:02:12] As it is written in the law of the Lord, every firstborn male shall be designated as holy to the Lord. And they offered a sacrifice according to what is stated in the law of the Lord, a pair of turtle doves or two young pigeons. Now there was a man in Jerusalem whose name was Simeon. The man was righteous and devout, looking forward to the consolation of Israel and the Holy Spirit rested on him.

[00:02:45] To do for him what is customary under the law, Simeon took him in his arms and praised God, saying, Master, now you are dismissing your servant in peace, according to your word. For my eyes have seen your salvation, which you have prepared in the presence of all peoples, a light [00:03:00] for revelation to the Gentiles and for glory to your people Israel.

[00:03:04] And the child's father and mother were amazed at what was being said about him. Then Simeon blessed them and said to his mother Mary, This child is destined for the falling and rising of many in Israel, and to be a sign that will be opposed, so that the inner thoughts of many will be revealed, and a sword will pierce your own soul too.

[00:03:22] There was also a prophet, Anna, the daughter of Phanuel, of the tribe of Asher. She was of a great age, having lived with her husband seven years after her marriage. Then as a widow at to the age of 84, she never left the temple but worshiped there in fasting, in prayer night and day at the moment, she came and began to praise God and to speak about the child to all who were looking for the redemption of Jerusalem.

[00:03:48] When they had finished everything required by the law of the Lord, they were returned to Galilee, to their own talents in Nazareth. The child grew and became strong, filled with wisdom and the favor of God was upon him.[00:04:00]

[00:04:02] Do you hear what I hear? That's a song that we probably heard during this Christmas season, or if not, you might still hear it before Everything's all over and it's a wonderful song. And here on this threshold, as we're coming into the new year it's a great time to, to be a listener, to tune into the music that is playing around us in the world all the time.

[00:04:31] And here I'm not talking about the music on the radio, but the music of the natural world that we hear around us. Can you hear it? This appreciation of music and musical ability is something that kind of can run around us as we sit and worship. Even if you can't sing, even if you don't have the ability to carry a tune in a bucket, so to speak.

[00:04:59] You still [00:05:00] are probably gifted with that ability to listen and to be appreciative of the musical ability of those who can play instruments and sing songs and do all of those things. It takes practice to be able to do these things, but others sometimes just seem to be able to do it naturally, like it's not even hard.

[00:05:21] It's not something that requires work. Now, we might think that listening isn't like that, that listening... doesn't require practice and effort. Everyone should just be able to listen. And yet listening actually does require practice and effort. Listening may not be a skill that we think of as one to admire and yet the truth is it is.

[00:05:48] We've had a service a few days ago on Christmas Eve or the Sunday after Christmas. This is called a watch night service. [00:06:00] And in that service, you might have heard this passage from Luke about a professional listener, a man who dedicated his life to listening. And then when the time came, he sang the song that he'd been listening for.

[00:06:19] Simeon's story and Anna's story are important stories in this time of year. Simeon's name actually means heard, believe it or not. He was born to be heard after listening. He was listening for a sign. He was listening for the future. He was listening for hope. And Luke tells us that once he finally heard it, every day he'd gone to the temple to listen and to see and to look for the light.

[00:06:51] And when it finally showed up, then He began to cry out and sing in joy [00:07:00] because he listened deeply. He heard not just the worship and the tears and the songs that happened in the temple, but he heard the arrival of the Messiah. And then Simeon, who had spent his whole life listening and waiting, began to sing the song that he wanted to sing about the coming Messiah.

[00:07:25] of Christ. He was done listening, but he wasn't done singing and he wasn't done teaching this song to others. His colleague, this prophet, Anna, who also was there in the temple every day, came over and began to join him in this song, began to join him in recognizing and calling out that this was a moment to be joyful for.

[00:07:52] It takes time and effort to listen and to learn how to do it well, it takes work. [00:08:00] And the passage here in Luke says that the spirit rested on Simeon. Rested, not agitated or poked or prodded, but rested. It gave Simeon peace whenever he had this moment. There are many times when we are called to sing in recognition.

[00:08:23] of our covenant with God. Worship and song and these sorts of things are part of how we recognize the blessings that God has given us. And we're all asked to do and be and sing our part in that song to bring about a little bit of the kingdom of heaven. Thanks for listening.

[00:08:52] Thanks so much for listening to the Inspired Stewardship podcast. As a subscriber and listener, we challenge you to [00:09:00] not just sit back and passively listen, but act on what you've heard and find a way to live your calling. If you enjoyed this episode, do me a favor. Go over to facebook. com slash inspired stewardship and like our Facebook page and mark it that you'd like to get notifications from us so that we can connect with you on Facebook and make sure that we're serving you to the best of our abilities with time and tips there.

[00:09:35] Until next time, invest your time. Your talent and your treasures develop your influence and impact the world.