Hitch Your Life To A Star Series

“Faith-Full Living: Hitch Your Life to a Star”

Numbers 24:15-19; Mt. 2:1-12;

“Twinkle, twinkle little star, How I wonder what you are;

Up above the world so high, Like a diamond in the sky;

Twinkle, twinkle little star, How I wonder what you are.”

“Star light, star bright, First star I’ve seen tonight;

I wish I may, I wish I might have the wish I wish tonight.”

We have a fascination with stars. Have you ever hitched your life to a star? Pinned your hopes and dreams on it? Followed it to your goal? Don Quixote did. He is asked what really matters in life, what really makes life count, and he sings:

To dream the impossible dream, To fight the unbeatable foe,

To bear with unbearable sorrow, To run where the brave dare not go.

To right the unrightable wrong, to Love, pure and chaste from afar, To try, when your arms are too weary, To reach the unreachable star!

This is my quest, to follow that star, No matter how hopeless, no matter how far,

To fight for the right without question or pause, To be willing to march into hell for a heavenly cause!

And I know if I’ll only be true to this glorious quest, That my heart will lie peaceful and calm when I’m laid to my rest.

And the world will be better for this, That one man, scorned and covered with scars,

Still strove with his last ounce of courage, To reach the unreachable stars!

What is the unreachable star, the pursuit, in your life? Does it drive you passionately? Are you willing to give your all in the pursuit? In other words, what really makes your life count?

Listen this morning to THE STORY OF A STAR. It begins many centuries ago with A MAN NAMED BALAAM. They were dark days for Israel. And Balaam had been far from faithful to God. In fact, he tried diligently to destroy Israel. Yet God spoke a divine truth through him (Numbers 24: 17): “I see him, but not now; I behold him, but not near. A star will come out of Jacob; a scepter will rise out of Israel.” A brilliant, godly leader, who would lead Israel to victory, was on the way! So, too, IN OUR DARKEST TIMES, GOD GIVES US HOPE; IN OUR GREATEST DEFEATS, GOD PROMISES VICTORY. What is the darkness that surrounds you right now? What is it that is defeating you? There’s a divine star on the horizon; the One who will bring you victory is on the way!

The story continues with an account of SOME WISE MEN who hitched their lives to a star. (Mt. 2:1-12) “After Jesus was born in Bethlehem in Judea, during the time of King Herod, Magi from the east came to Jerusalem and asked, "Where is the one who has been born king of the Jews? We saw his star in the east …” Let’s face it - WE TEND TO FIND WHAT WE’RE LOOKING FOR. Buy a red car and what do you see? Lots of red cars! If the authorities are looking for a blonde, white woman about 5 feet tall with medium build, what do you see a lot of? Blonde, white women about 5 feet tall with medium build! If someone tells you that the wedding is at the church with the steeple, what do you see a lot of? Churches with steeples! So the Wise Men were wise enough to seek and study information, and therefore were able to see and recognize God’s signs. What star are you following? What are you seeking? To what, or to whom are you paying attention? Are you, in fact, seeking Jesus? Do you really want to find Him? Where are you looking for Him? Have you tried worship, prayer, studying the Scriptures?

So the Wise Men found Jesus, because, as they sought God, GOD SPOKE IN A LANGUAGE THEY COULD UNDERSTAND. As astrologers they knew stars – so God spoke through a star! God will meet anyone, anytime, anywhere. God will write in whatever book we are reading, will park on any street where we are driving, will visit any home in which we are living. His signs will be in our language. There is no one beyond the reach of God – He has servants everywhere, even in the skies! As a matter of fact, I firmly believe that you are here this morning by His arrangement! You only think you came voluntarily! But because you’ve been seeking Him, God has arranged this time just for you and brought you here so He can speak to you. Are you prepared to find him? Perhaps you’ve come today in the throes of despair. Maybe you’re blinded by the darkness in which you’ve been living. Or it might be that your faith has become all too complacent and you’ve lost sight of Jesus – or you’ve become so busy that your focus on Jesus is blurred. But you are here. Are you ready for God to break in and shine in your darkness, to shatter your darkness to smithereens?