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Simeon - and the End Time Church

"And, behold, there was a man in Jerusalem, whose name was Simeon; and the same man was just and devout, waiting for the consolation of Israel: and the Holy Ghost was upon him. And it was revealed unto him by the Holy Ghost, that he should not see death, before he had seen the Lord's Christ. And he came by the Spirit into the temple..."   Luke 2:25-35

Very little is written about this great man of God named Simeon, but I believe he is without a doubt a type and shadow of what the end time Church must be. There are four major qualities about this man of God that stand out as essential for the last day Church, they are as follows:

•   He was a just and devout man.
•   He was watching for the coming of the Lord.
•   He was full of the Holy Ghost.
•   He was resting on the promise of God.

Matthew Henry in his Bible Commentary writes:

    (1.) That he was just and devout, just towards men and devout towards God; these two must always go together, and each will befriend the other, but neither will atone for the defect of the other.

    (2.) That he waited for the consolation of Israel, that is, for the coming of the Messiah, in whom alone the nation of Israel, that was now miserably harassed and oppressed, would find consolation. Christ is not only the author of his people's comfort, but the matter and ground of it, the consolation of Israel. He was long a coming, and they who believed he would come continued waiting, desiring his coming, and hoping for it with patience; I had almost said, with some degree of impatience waiting till it came. He understood by books, as Daniel, that the time was at hand, and therefore was now more than ever big with expectation of it. The unbelieving Jews, who still expect that which is already come, use it as an oath, or solemn protestation, As ever I hope to see the consolation of Israel, so and so it is. Note, The consolation of Israel is to be waited for, and it is worth waiting for, and it will be very welcome to those who have waited for it, and continue waiting.

    (3.) The Holy Ghost was upon him, not only as a Spirit of holiness, but as a Spirit of prophecy; he was filled with the Holy Ghost, and enabled to speak things above himself.

    (4.) He had a gracious promise made him, that before he died he should have a sight of the Messiah, Luk_2:26. He was searching what manner of time the Spirit of Christ in the Old Testament prophets did signify, and whether it were not now at hand; and he received this oracle (for so the word signifies), that he should not see death before he had seen the Messiah, the Lord's Anointed. Note, Those, and those only, can with courage see death, and look it in the face without terror, that have had by faith a sight of Christ.

Matthew Henry's Commentary on the Whole Bible

The Church is not ready for the return of the Lord because she lacks holiness of character, a steadfast watchfulness of the Lord, a steady infilling of the oil of the Holy Spirit, and a genuine hope in the promises of God.

Simeon was led by the Spirit into the temple, and so must we, for there the Lord, whom ye seek, shall suddenly come to meet you, and there you must be ready to meet him. Without spot or wrinkle, full of the Holy Ghost, ever watching and waiting, steadfast in His promises. To these, will the Lord reveal Himself, "...and they that were ready went in with him to the marriage: and the door was shut." (Matthew 25:10)

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Also by
Samuel Logan Brengle

The Man God Uses
By Samuel Logan Brengle

A while ago I was talking with a Christian merchant who expressed a great and important truth. He said:

"People are crying to God to use them, but He cannot. They are not given up to Him; they are not humble and teachable and holy. There are plenty of people who come to me and want work in my store, but I cannot use them; they are not fit for my work. When I must have someone, I have to go and advertise, and sometimes spend days in trying to find a man who will fit into the place I want him for, and then I have to try him and prove him to know whether he will suit me or not."

The fact is, God is using everybody that He can, and using them to the full extent of their fitness for His service. So, instead of praying so much to be used, people should search themselves to know whether they are usable.

God cannot use anybody and everybody who comes along any more than the merchant could. It is only those who are "sanctified, and meet for the Master's use, and prepared unto every good work" (2 Tim. ii. 21) that He can bless with great usefulness.

God wants men and women, and He is hunting for them everywhere; but, like the merchant, He has to pass by hundreds before He finds the right individuals. The Bible says: "The eyes of the Lord run to and fro throughout the whole earth, to shew Himself strong in the behalf of them whose heart is perfect toward Him" (2 Chron. xvi. 9).

Oh, how God wants to use you! But before you ask Him again to do so, see to it that your heart is "perfect toward Him." Then you may depend upon it that God will show Himself strong in your behalf. Glory to His dear, dear name!

When God searches for a man to work in His vineyard He does not ask, "Has he great natural abilities? Is he thoroughly educated? Is he a fine singer? Is he eloquent in prayer? Can he talk much?"

But, rather, He asks, "Is his heart perfect toward Me? Is he holy? Does he love much? Is he willing to walk by faith, and not by sight? Does he love Me so much and has he such childlike confidence in My love for him that he can trust Me to use him when he doesn't see any sign that I am using him? Will he be weary and faint when I correct him and try to fit him for greater usefulness? Or will he, like Job, cry out, 'Though He slay me, yet will I trust in Him'? (Job xiii. 15).

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The Godly Man Strives to Make Others Godly
By Thomas Watson

He is not content to do to heaven alone but wants to take others there. Spiders work only for themselves, but bees work for others. A godly man is both a diamond and a lodestone-a diamond for the sparkling luster of grace and a lodestone for his attractiveness. He is always drawing others to embrace piety. Living things have a propagating virtue.

Where religion lives in the heart, there will be an endeavor to propagate the life of grace in those we converse with: "My son, Onesimus, whom I have begotten in my bonds" (Philemon 10). Though God is the fountain of grace, yet the saints are pipes to transmit living streams to others. This great effort for the conversion of souls proceeds:

I. From the nature of godliness.

It is like fire which assimilates and turns everything into its own nature. Where there is the fire of grace in the heart, it will endeavor to inflame others. Grace is a holy leaven, which will be seasoning and leavening others with divine principles.

Paul would gladly have converted Agrippa-how he courted him with rhetoric! "King Agrippa, believest thou the prophets? I know that thou believest" (Acts 26:27). His zeal and eloquence had almost captivated the king (v. 28). Then Agrippa said to Paul, "Almost thou persuadest me to be a Christian."

II. From a spirit of compassion.

Grace makes the heart tender. A godly man cannot choose but pity those who are in the gall of bitterness. He sees what a deadly cup is brewing for the wicked. They must, without repentance, be bound over to God's wrath. The fire which rained on Sodom was but a painted fire in comparison with hell fire. This is a fire with a vengeance: "suffering the vengeance of eternal fire" (Jude 7).

Now when a godly man sees captive sinners ready to be damned, he strives to convert them from the error of their way: "Knowing the terror of the Lord, we persuade men" (2 Cor. 5:11).

III. From a holy zeal he has for Christ's glory.

The glory of Christ is as dear to him as his own salvation. Therefore, that this may be promoted, he strives with the greatest effort to bring souls to Christ.

It is a glory to Christ when multitudes are born to him. Every star adds a luster to the sky; every convert is a member added to Christ's body and a jewel adorning his crown. Though Christ's glory cannot be increased, as he is God, yet as he is Mediator, it may. The more there are saved, the more Christ is exalted. Why else should the angels rejoice at the conversion of a sinner, but because Christ's glory now shines the more (Luke 15:10)?

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Thomas Watson

Holy Violence
By Thomas Watson

The exercises of the worship of God are contrary to nature; therefore, there must be a provoking of ourselves to them. The movement of the soul toward sin is natural, but its movement toward heaven is violent. The stone moves easily to the center. It has an innate propensity downward, but to draw up a millstone into the air is done by violence because it is against nature. So to lift up the heart to heaven in duty is done by violence and we must provoke ourselves to it. What is it to provoke ourselves to duty? It is to awaken ourselves and shake off spiritual slothfulness. Let us then examine whether we put forth this holy violence for heaven.

Do we set time apart to call ourselves to account and to try our evidences for heaven? "My spirit made diligent search" (Psalm 77:6). Do we take our hearts, as a watch, all in pieces to see what is amiss and to mend it? Are we curiously inquisitive into the state of our souls? Are we afraid of artificial grace, as we are of artificial happiness? Do we use violence in prayer? Is there fire in our sacrifice? Is the wind of the Spirit filling our sails, causing unutterable groans (Romans 8:26)? Do we pray in the morning as if we were to die at night? Do we thirst for the living God? Are our souls enlarged with holy desires? "There is none upon earth that I desire beside Thee" (Psalm 73:25). Do we desire holiness as well as heaven? Do we desire as much to look like Christ as to live with Christ? Is our desire constant? Is this spiritual pulse ever beating?

Are we skilled in self-denial? Can we deny our ease, our aims, our interests? Can we cross our own will to fulfill God's? Can we behead our beloved sin? To pluck out the right eye requires violence. (Matthew 18:9). Are we lovers of God? It is not how much we do, but how much we love. Does love command the castle of our hearts? Does Christ's beauty and sweetness constrain us? (2 Corinthians 5:14). Do we love God more than we fear hell? Do we keep our spiritual watch? Do we set spies in every place, watching our thoughts, our eyes, our tongues? When we, have prayed against sin, do we watch against temptation? Do we press after further degrees of sanctity? "Reaching forth unto those things which are before" (Philippians 3:13). A good Christian is a wonder; he is the most contented yet the least satisfied. He is contented with a little of the world, but not satisfied with a little grace.

How violent Christ was about our salvation! He was in agony; He "continued all night in prayer" (Luke 6:12). He wept, He fasted, He died a violent death; He rose violently out of the grave. Was Christ so violent for our salvation, and does it not become us to be violent who are so intimately concerned in it? Christ's violence was not only satisfactory, but exemplary. It was not only to appease God, but to teach us. Christ was violent in dying to teach us to be violent in believing.

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A. J. Gordon   (1836-1895)

"Christ calms the heart now, but only when He comes in glory will He calm the sea."

Adoniram Judson Gordon was born in New Hampshire in 1836 to devout Christian parents. At about age fifteen he was saved. One year later he expressed his desire to prepare for the ministry.

In 1856 he attended Brown University and in 1860 entered Newton Theological Seminary. Upon graduation in 1863 he accepted a pastorate at Jamaica Plain, New Boston. After six very successful years there, he went to pastor Clarendon Street Baptist Church in Boston, which was in a very sluggish spiritual condition.

In 1877 Moody and Sankey reached Boston. Moody's Tabernacle stood across the street from Clarendon Street Church. When Moody, as Henry Drummond said, "laid one hand on America and one on Britain, and moved them toward God," he more than moved Gordon and his church.

Dr. Gordon remained there for more than a quarter of a century, seeing the church completely transformed into one of the most spiritual and aggressive in America.

Dr. Gordon's Spirit-filled life and deeply spiritual books have had a powerful influence throughout the land. He was a prominent leader and speaker at D. L. Moody's Northfield Conventions.

In his book, Ministry of the Spirit, Dr. Gordon presents the work of the Holy Spirit in a threefold aspect: Sealing, Filling, Anointing. He was also a firm believer in the premillennial coming of Christ.

On the morning of February 2, 1895, Dr. Gordon, with "victory" as the last clearly audible word on his lips, fell asleep in Jesus.

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The Imitation of Christ
By Thomas À Kempis

Acquiring Peace and Zeal for Perfection
By Thomas À Kempis

WE SHOULD enjoy much peace if we did not concern ourselves with what others say and do, for these are no concern of ours. How can a man who meddles in affairs not his own, who seeks strange distractions, and who is little or seldom inwardly recollected, live long in peace?

Blessed are the simple of heart for they shall enjoy peace in abundance.

Why were some of the saints so perfect and so given to contemplation? Because they tried to mortify entirely in themselves all earthly desires, and thus they were able to attach themselves to God with all their heart and freely to concentrate their innermost thoughts.

We are too occupied with our own whims and fancies, too taken up with passing things. Rarely do we completely conquer even one vice, and we are not inflamed with the desire to improve ourselves day by day; hence, we remain cold and indifferent. If we mortified our bodies perfectly and allowed no distractions to enter our minds, we could appreciate divine things and experience something of heavenly contemplation.

The greatest obstacle, indeed, the only obstacle, is that we are not free from passions and lusts, that we do not try to follow the perfect way of the saints. Thus when we encounter some slight difficulty, we are too easily dejected and turn to human consolations. If we tried, however, to stand as brave men in battle, the help of the Lord from heaven would surely sustain us. For He Who gives us the opportunity of fighting for victory, is ready to help those who carry on and trust in His grace.

If we let our progress in religious life depend on the observance of its externals alone, our devotion will quickly come to an end. Let us, then, lay the ax to the root that we may be freed from our passions and thus have peace of mind.

If we were to uproot only one vice each year, we should soon become perfect. The contrary, however, is often the case -- we feel that we were better and purer in the first fervor of our conversion than we are after many years in the practice of our faith. Our fervor and progress ought to increase day by day; yet it is now considered noteworthy if a man can retain even a part of his first fervor.

If we did a little violence to ourselves at the start, we should afterwards be able to do all things with ease and joy. It is hard to break old habits, but harder still to go against our will.

If you do not overcome small, trifling things, how will you overcome the more difficult? Resist temptations in the beginning, and unlearn the evil habit lest perhaps, little by little, it lead to a more evil one.

If you but consider what peace a good life will bring to yourself and what joy it will give to others, I think you will be more concerned about your spiritual progress.

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Previous Martyrs

Persecution Under Julian the Apostate

This emperor was the son of Julius Constantius, and the nephew of Constantine the Great. He studied the rudiments of grammar under the inspection of Mardonius, a eunuch, and a heathen of Constantinople. His father sent him some time after to Nicomedia, to be instructed in the Christian religion, by the bishop of Eusebius, his kinsman, but his principles were corrupted by the pernicious doctrines of Ecebolius the rhetorician, and Maximus the magician.

Constantius, dying the year 361, Julian succeeded him, and had no sooner attained the imperial dignity than he renounced Christianity and embraced paganism, which had for some years fallen into great disrepute. Though he restored the idolatrous worship, he made no public edicts against Christianity. He recalled all banished pagans, allowed the free exercise of religion to every sect, but deprived all Christians of offices at court, in the magistracy, or in the army. He was chaste, temperate, vigilant, laborious, and pious; yet he prohibited any Christian from keeping a school or public seminary of learning, and deprived all the Christian clergy of the privileges granted them by Constantine the Great.

Biship Basil made himself first famous by his opposition to Arianism, which brought upon him the vengeance of the Arian bishop of Constantinople; he equally opposed paganism. The emperor's agents in vain tampered with Basil by means of promises, threats, and racks, he was firm in the faith, and remained in prison to undergo some other sufferings, when the emperor came accidentally to Ancyra. Julian determined to examine Basil himself, when that holy man being brought before him, the emperor did every thing in his power to dissuade him from persevering in the faith. Basil not only continued as firm as ever, but, with a prophetic spirit foretold the death of the emperor, and that he should be tormented in the other life. Enraged at what he heard, Julian commanded that the body of Basil should be torn every day in seven different parts, until his skin and flesh were entirely mangled. This inhuman sentence was executed with rigor, and the martyr expired under its severities, on June 28, A.D. 362.

Donatus, bishop of Arezzo, and Hilarinus, a hermit, suffered about the same time; also Gordian, a Roman magistrate. Artemius, commander in chief of the Roman forces in Egypt, being a Christian, was deprived of his commission, then of his estate, and lastly of his head.

The persecution raged dreadfully about the latter end of the year 363; but, as many of the particulars have not been handed down to us, it is necessary to remark in general, that in Palestine many were burnt alive, others were dragged by their feet through the streets naked until they expired; some were scalded to death, many stoned, and great numbers had their brains beaten out with clubs. In Alexandria, innumerable were the martyrs who suffered by the sword, burning, crucifixion and stoning. In Arethusa, several were ripped open, and corn being put into their bellies, swine were brought to feed therein, which, in devouring the grain, likewise devoured the entrails of the martyrs, and in Thrace, Emilianus was burnt at a stake; and Domitius murdered in a cave, whither he had fled for refuge.

The emperor, Julian the apostate, died of a wound which he received in his Persian expedition, A.D. 363, and even while expiring, uttered the most horrid blasphemies. He was succeeded by Jovian, who restored peace to the Church.

After the decease of Jovian, Valentinian succeeded to the empire, and associated to himself Valens, who had the command in the east, and was an Arian and of an unrelenting and persecuting disposition.

From Fox's Book of Martyr's

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Great Hymns

"If Any Ingredient Is Left Out" — Thomas Watson

"Unless you repent, you will also perish." Luke 13:5

Repentance is a grace of God's Spirit, whereby a sinner is inwardly humbled and outwardly reformed.

Repentance is a spiritual medicine made up of six special ingredients:
1. Sight of sin
2. Sorrow for sin
3. Confession of sin
4. Shame for sin
5. Hatred for sin
6. Turning from sin

If any ingredient is left out, it loses its virtue.

"I preached that they should repent and turn to God and prove their repentance by their deeds." Acts 26:20

More Quotes & Stories >>

"Revival comes from heaven when heroic souls enter the conflict determined to win or die-or if need be, to win and die! "The kingdom of heaven suffereth violence, and the violent take it by force."   Charles Finney

"Any church that is not seriously involved in helping fulfill the Great Commission has forfeited its biblical right to exist."   Oswald J. Smith

"The average Christian is so cold and contented with his wretched condition that there is no vacuum of desire into which the blessed Spirit can rush in satisfying fullness."   A. W. Tozer

"If a commission by an earthly king is considered a honor, how can a commission by a Heavenly King be considered a sacrifice?"   David Livingstone

"Revival is a renewed conviction of sin and repentance, followed by an intense desire to live in obedience to God. It is giving up one's will to God in deep humility."   Charles Finney

"You can give without loving. But you cannot love without giving."   Amy Carmichael, missionary to India

"Character is what you are in the dark."   Dwight L. Moody

"If God calls you to be a missionary, don't stoop to be a king."   Jordan Groom

"If you found a cure for cancer, wouldn't it be inconceivable to hide it from the rest of mankind? How much more inconceivable to keep silent the cure from the eternal wages of death."   Dave Davidson

"You've got to have fire to set fire with. You've got to have life to propagate life with."   Dwight L. Moody

"The reason some folks don't believe in missions is that the brand of religion they have isn't worth propagating."   Unknown

"Someone asked will the heathen who have never heard the Gospel be saved? It is more a question with me whether we, who have the Gospel and fail to give it to those who have not, can be saved."   Charles Spurgeon

"The true greatness of any church in not how many it seats but how many it sends!"   Unknown

"Our praying, however, needs to be pressed and pursued with an energy that never tires, a persistency which will not be denied, and a courage which never fails."   E. M. Bounds

"Sympathy is no substitute for action."   David Livingstone, missionary to Africa

"I will cause a boy who drives a plow to know more of the scriptures than the pope."   William Tyndale

"If God would but reform the ministry, and set them on their duties zealously and faithfully, the people would certainly be reformed."   Richard Baxter

"The spirit of prayer is pressing forth of the soul out of this earthly life; it is a stretching with all its desire after the life of God, to be one life, one love, one spirit with Christ in God."   William Law

"There is no sin [unchastity] which will sooner bring about a nation's fall. If histoy teaches anything, it teaches that sensual indulgence is the surest way to national ruin. Society, in not condemning this sin, condemns itself."   F. B. Meyer

"The Church is the one institution that exists for those outside it."   William Tyndale

"There is no work better than to please God; to pour water, to wash dishes, to be a cobbler,, or an apostle, all are one; to wash dishes and to preach are all one, as touching the deed, to please God."   William Tyndale

"Fall on your knees and grow there. There is no burden of the spirit but is lighter by kneeling under it. Prayer means not always talking to Him, but waiting before Him till the dust settles and the stream runs clear."   F. B. Meyer

"Prayer is the highest activity of the human soul, and therefore it is at the same time the ultimate test of a man's true spiritual condition. Everything we do in the Christian life is easier than prayer."   Martin Lloyd Jones

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