Steadfast (ADVENT-URE DAY 15)

We are continuing to work through the 25-Day Christmas Adventure in the Faith Radio Advent Guide, available online in our most recent Faith Radio Ministry Magazine.  We are examining how God fulfilled His plan to send Jesus into the world and to continue to preserve Him.  In Day 13, this past Saturday, the guide examined the threat of a brutal king, Herod, who, according to Matthew chapter 2, upon learning from the Wise Men that one had been born "King of the Jews," set out to exterminate all boys two and under - but he couldn't touch Jesus, because he had been taken by his parents by the direction of an angel to Egypt.  The lesson we learn is that the enemy could not prevent Jesus from saving humanity.

Then, yesterday, we looked at Simeon, who met Jesus in the Temple, according to Luke 2, who had been told by the Holy Spirit that he would not die until he beheld the Christ.  He affirmed who Jesus was and His mission, saying, "my eyes have seen your salvation."  This encounter can remind us that we can be expectant about what Jesus will do in our lives.

In today's reading, we meet an 84-year-old woman who is the picture of steadfastness.  We can read in Luke chapter 2:
36 And there was a prophetess, Anna, the daughter of Phanuel, of the tribe of Asher. She was advanced in years, having lived with her husband seven years from when she was a virgin,
37 and then as a widow until she was eighty-four. She did not depart from the temple, worshiping with fasting and prayer night and day.
38 And coming up at that very hour she began to give thanks to God and to speak of him to all who were waiting for the redemption of Jerusalem.

Simeon and Anna are great examples to us regarding our response to Jesus, with a sense of expectancy of what He will do and a steadfastness to see Him work in our lives.  Anna was someone who was intent to speak of Jesus, giving thanks to God.

The steadfastness of evangelical Christians is on full display in the nation of Brazil, according to a new CBN.com report.  Its dominant faith group is symbolized by the statue in Rio de Janeiro, the 98-foot-tall Christ the Redeemer.  And, indeed, Roman Catholicism has comprised a significant portion of the population.  But, as CBN reports, "Evangelical Christianity, once a minority faith here, is now growing at unprecedented levels. The surveys show that what was once the world's largest Catholic nation will be overwhelmingly evangelical by 2030."

This is certainly not to be regarded as a competition, rather, an indication of how God is at work in this country.  The CBN article describes some of the churches through which the Lord is moving:

Signs of this growth are everywhere—mega-churches dotting the landscape, filled with thousands of worshippers each week. That includes Andre Fernandes' church in São Paulo.

"We are living in the fulfillment of a promise," said Fernandes, who pastors Lagoinha Church. "For many decades, we have heard that Brazil would experience a wave of revival that would be exported around the world, and I believe that this is what we are experiencing at this moment."

It also includes Lourival Pereira's congregation in the Amazon region—boasting more than 10,000 members across roughly 600 cell groups.

"The foundation of our growth is these cells," said Pereira, pastor of a Foursquare Church in Belem. "The real revival is taking place outside the church walls. Every day, people are meeting in small groups in homes; it's the biblical model."

Then there's J.B. Carvalho's church in the capital city of Brasília.

"We started the church in 2003 with only 25 people. Today, we have about 12,000 people in Brasília alone," said Carvalho of Community of the Nations Church. "We also have another 15,000 people in Fortaleza. Our churches are spread throughout Brazil."

Also included among the pockets of growth is the church in Rio pastored by Silas Malafaia, which has over 100,000 members.  He said, "In the next seven years or so, we will be the majority in the country," adding, "Today, we make up about 35% of the population, and God's Kingdom has influence in every corner of Brazilian society."

That includes the political realm - Marcelo Crivella, who is a pastor and politician, the former mayor of Rio de Janeiro, says that 30% of legislators in the country are evangelicals, reversing a trend of evangelical Christians not becoming involved in politics.  Not only are these lawmakers professing Christians, but praying Christians, who gather weekly to pray and worship the Lord.

I believe you can attribute this fantastic growth to the steadfastness of the evangelical Church and the anticipation of what God will do.  Like the First Century Church, believers are meeting together, and God is showing up.  There is a widespread spiritual hunger around the world, and here we see another example.

Simeon and Anna had a sense of anticipation: Simeon believed the word of the Holy Spirit that came to him that he would see the Messiah.  Anna fasted and prayed - she was steadfast and had the opportunity to see Jesus, then she testified of Him.

The Bible teaches us that we become stronger when we wait on God.  We may not even know what we're waiting for, but we can allow God to develop patience in our hearts, earnestly seeking and calling upon God to do His will in our lives, so that it will manifest itself in His time.  In the meantime, we wait, we anticipate, we stand firm, recognizing that God responds to the steadfastness of His people.