I've Found What I Have Been Looking For Sermon

Waiting. That’s where we meet Simeon in Luke 2—a righteous, devout man holding onto God’s promise that he wouldn’t die before seeing the Lord’s Christ. Israel had carried generations of expectation since Genesis 3:15. Prophets pointed forward. People imagined a warrior‑king who would crush Rome. But when Jesus came in humility—born in a manger, carried into the temple as a child—many missed Him because He didn’t match their script. Simeon didn’t miss Him. Led by the Spirit, he stepped into the outer courts, took that baby in his arms, and said, “Now I can depart in peace; my eyes have seen Your salvation.” That moment declares something we must recover: salvation isn’t a system, a program, or a set of doctrines. Salvation is a person—Jesus.

So many of us are waiting for God to fix Rome—whatever feels big, oppressive, and loud in our world. But Simeon teaches us that God may not topple your Rome first; He will transform you first. He is the consolation of Israel—and the consolation of your life. He comes into ordinary spaces (outer courts, crowded lives, complicated families) and reveals Himself in the quiet fidelity of waiting, the humility of obedience, and the surprise of grace. If you’re looking for Him, look where He loves to show up: in the lives of His people, in acts of forgiveness that defy scorekeeping, in kindness when retaliation would feel more reasonable, in perseverance when cynicism would be easier.

I’ve searched high and low like many of you—tried to numb the ache, tried to fit in where I didn’t belong. None of it could console the soul. But when I found Him—better yet, when He found me—peace came before outcomes changed. That’s what Simeon tasted: the deep rest of seeing God’s salvation with his own eyes. As we move through this season with all its noise and commercials, don’t let counterfeit consolations redefine your hope. Press past the packaging into the Presence. Wait well. Look again. Jesus can be found—and when you find Him, you’ll realize He’s been searching for you all along.

Key Takeaways

• 1. Salvation is a Person, not program Salvation is not a ladder you climb but a Lord you trust. To know Jesus is to be held, not just instructed; to be re-made, not merely improved. Doctrines help us name the relationship, but they cannot substitute for the relationship. Let your faith move from concepts to communion with the living Christ. [14:18]
• 2. Waiting trains the heart to recognize Simeon’s waiting wasn’t passive; it was formation. Years of worship, obedience, and listening tuned his soul to the Spirit’s nudge at just the right moment. God’s promises are not only about the future; they shape who we become in the meantime. Don’t despise the delay that makes you ready to see. [13:43]
• 3. Find Jesus in ordinary places God met Simeon in the outer courts, not the inner sanctum; Jesus arrived in a manger, not a throne room. The Holy One loves to inhabit humble spaces and overlooked people. Expect the sacred to break into the common—kitchen tables, hospital corridors, quiet commutes, small acts of faithfulness. Pay attention there. [15:12]
• 4. Consolation amid unresolved circumstances Simeon’s peace didn’t wait for Rome to fall; it came when Christ was held. Jesus may not rearrange your external world first, but He will re-center your inner world with His presence. Christian hope is not escape from trouble; it’s communion within it. That’s how real peace lands before outcomes do. [16:48]
• 5. See Him in costly grace You glimpse the Lord when forgiveness outpaces grievance, when mercy chooses to remember someone’s future over their past. Grace is not softness; it is the hard, cruciform courage to love beyond fairness. Practice this, and you won’t just talk about Jesus—you’ll meet Him in the very act. [19:45]

Youtube Chapters

• [00:00] - Welcome
• [00:52] - Scripture reading: Simeon and Jesus
• [03:15] - Pastoral prayer for the Word
• [06:43] - The long expectation of Messiah
• [09:44] - Looking but not recognizing Jesus
• [12:37] - Consolation of Israel explained
• [13:43] - Simeon’s devout waiting and promise
• [14:18] - Salvation is a Person
• [15:12] - God found in ordinary places
• [16:28] - Simeon’s peace: eyes on salvation
• [16:48] - Transformation without changing Rome
• [17:17] - I searched high and low
• [18:36] - Finding Him in His people
• [23:02] - Prayer: beyond holiday commercialism
• [24:09] - Invitation: salvation, membership, return

1. What promise was given to Simeon about seeing the Lord’s Christ, and how does his response show the difference between expecting a thing and meeting a person? [00:52]
2. Where does the encounter with Jesus take place in this story (which part of the temple), and why might that location matter for how God chooses to reveal himself? [15:12]
3. What does Simeon mean when he says, “now let your servant depart in peace; for mine eyes have seen thy salvation”? How do the words “peace” and “salvation” relate in this scene? [16:28]
4. Which future sorrows and surprises does Simeon predict for Mary and Israel (the falling and rising, the sword), and how do those warnings shape the promise he has just received? [02:18]

1. The claim that “salvation is a person, not a program” reframes what it means to follow God. What difference does it make in one’s daily life if salvation is understood as relationship with Jesus rather than primarily a set of doctrines or rules? [14:18]
2. Simeon’s waiting is described as devout and Spirit‑led. In what ways can a period of waiting form or train the heart—what habits or practices during waiting actually produce readiness to recognize God? [13:43]
3. Jesus meeting people in the “outer courts” and a manger suggests God often appears in humble, ordinary places. Theologically, how does that challenge expectations about where and how God will act? What implications follow for where believers look for him? [15:12]
4. Simeon experiences peace before any political or external change occurs. What does it mean for hope and faith that consolation can arrive inwardly before outward circumstances are altered? [16:48]

1. Identify one ordinary place in your week (kitchen table, commute, workplace, hospital waiting room) where you will intentionally look for Jesus this week. What one concrete thing will you do there to notice him (pause, pray, offer help, listen)? [15:12]
2. When have you treated God like a solution to “topple your Rome” (fix an external problem) rather than as the one to transform your heart? What is one small, specific step you will take this week to seek inner transformation instead of only external relief? [16:48]
3. Waiting can be formative. Choose one simple spiritual discipline you will practice this week (5 minutes of silence, a short Scripture reading each morning, a weekly time of worship, or a nightly examen). How will you evaluate whether it’s helping you notice the Spirit’s nudges? [13:43]
4. Name one person in your life you are tempted to score or hold a grievance against. What is one concrete act of costly grace you could offer that favors their future over their past (a phone call, an apology, an offered meal, refusing to gossip)? Set a day this week to do it. [19:45]
5. If salvation is personal rather than programmatic, what one relational habit would you begin this week to deepen acquaintance with Jesus (short daily conversation, journaling what you sense of him, joining a friend for prayer, attending communion)? How will you commit to it practically? [14:18]