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Do you look for His appearing? Are you looking for Him? Are you eagerly, constantly, and patiently waiting for and expecting Him?
I remember the first time I heard what the word Christmas really meant....

I was a full-grown adult who had been involved in church all my life. I knew the spiritual side of the holiday—that we were "celebrating" the birth of Jesus; however, I did not know that Christmas really meant "celebration of the Anointed One," or "celebration of the coming of the Anointed One."

I got excited! Think of it. This entire time people have been talking about the celebration of the Anointed One without even knowing it.

As I was pondering this while listening to my husband preach during a Wednesday night service, I heard the most wonderful voice sound in my heart, "this same Jesus, which is taken up from you into heaven, shall so come in like manner as ye have seen him go into heaven."

The voice was familiar and the scripture was familiar. The angels said this to the disciples after Jesus' ascension, written in Acts 1:11. Immediately I knew that this Christmas would be different; this Christmas was a wake-up call. The Holy Spirit was challenging us to look for our Lord's appearing.

Blessed Are Those Who Look
In the familiar scriptures found in Luke 2, attention is given to two specific individuals that almost get lost in the excitement of the birth announcement. These two individuals are Simeon and Anna.

In verse 25, the Lord lets us in on a secret—there are people who are actually looking for the Messiah's coming. They are waiting, looking, and praying for the coming of the one whose coming had been foretold.

The Holy Spirit had an extraordinary relationship with Simeon. Remember that the Holy Spirit had not been given to believers until after Jesus' resurrection. The Holy Spirit, during that dispensation of time, is only recorded to have come upon a select few: prophet, priest, king, and others only as God purposed for a specific, great task.

There is nothing that would identify Simeon as a prophet, priest, or king. The Word also never tells us that Simeon had a great God-given task to perform like Gideon.

This man, however, had a distinct place in the heart and mind of God. Why? Because Simeon was looking for the Anointed One! Not only was he looking for Him, he was waiting for Him. Simeon was privileged to receive the desire of his heart; the Holy Spirit told him he would see the Lord's Christ before he died.

He was so close to the Holy Spirit, that he heard the Spirit direct him to the temple at the right time. He saw Jesus, the Christ, and received a prophetic word to utter to those at the temple, as well as Mary and Joseph.

The other individual who came into the temple at that time was blessed to hear the declaration of the Christ's coming. Her name was Anna. It is not recorded that Anna was looking for His coming; however, we can make that assumption because it declares that she "spake of him to all them that looked for redemption in Jerusalem."

How did she know who they were unless they got together and talked about His coming? You know the old saying, "birds of a feather flock together." I have an idea that this group of people came together and encouraged each other as the years grew long and the fulfillment of the prophecy of Jesus' coming was delayed.

Here is the question God has for you today: do you look for His appearing? Are you just and devout, waiting for His appearing? Christmas is not just the celebration of Jesus coming to earth as a babe; it is a celebration of the coming of Jesus, the Anointed One.

He came as a babe, He will come for the church as her Savior, and He will come at the end as earth's conquering King. He truly is the "Alpha and Omega...which is, and which was, and which is to come, the Almighty" (Rev. 1:8).

Hebrews 9:28 declares:
Even so it is that Christ, having been offered to take upon Himself and bear as a burden the sins of many once and once for all, will appear a second time, not to carry any burden of sin nor to deal with sin, but to bring to full salvation those who are [eagerly, constantly, and patiently] waiting for and expecting Him.
(Heb. 9:29 AMP)
The King James Version states, "and unto them that look for him shall he appear the second time without sin unto salvation."

So, the question remains: Are you looking for Him? Are you eagerly, constantly, and patiently waiting for and expecting Him? Do you "flock together" with others who are looking for Him? Do you talk among yourselves about His soon return and encourage each other when it seems He has delayed His coming?

In Matthew 25:1-13 we find the story of the ten virgins, five wise and five foolish. Five prepared to wait as long as necessary and made provisions for the wait. Five did not. A cry was made, "Behold, the bridegroom cometh; go ye out to meet him."

All 10 went: five to go welcome the bridegroom—five to go find provisions necessary to go welcome him. Five went in unto the marriage—five were shut out. Jesus is the one who told this parable and I do not think He was just telling a story to be telling a story.

We Must Awake And Seek
We have many in our churches who have become weary and sleepy; they have forgotten why we are waiting and looking. We are waiting for Him! He is coming! In Revelations 22:7 and 20, Jesus tells us Himself that He is coming quickly. Maybe we ought to be listening!

Of all the New Year's resolutions that could be made, I believe that this is the most important one: resolve to celebrate the coming of Christ every day.

If the men and women of old could stay true and continue to look for His coming, how much more should we be able to wait and look for Him through the power and help of the Holy Spirit.

Go ahead! Make the decision this Christmas to find a group of people that will join you in celebrating His coming, not just as a babe, but as our soon coming King. Then, rejoice, for our King cometh!

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