“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?
The story of the wise men continued. “We saw his star in the east and have come to worship him.” So the Wise Men paid attention and THEY DEVELOPED FAITH. At the sight of star, they knew enough and had faith enough to follow. The star was a miraculous phenomenon – it was God’s glory shining from the heavens. The Wise Men knew it was the symbol of God’s presence. Perhaps one of the verses they had learned was from the prophet Isaiah (60:3): “All nations will come to your light. Mighty kings will come to see your radiance.” Isn’t that just like God - always in the dark of night, at the deepest depth of our search, the light of God’s glory appears? Are you prepared to find him, even in a way you do not expect? Are you prepared to serve and follow Jesus – to wherever, whatever the cost, however long it takes?
Back to the story of the wise men. “We saw his star in the east and have come to worship him. After they had heard the king, they went on their way, and the star they had seen in the east went ahead of them until it stopped over the place where the child was. When they saw the star, they were overjoyed. On coming to the house, they saw the child with his mother Mary, and they bowed down and worshiped him. Then they opened their treasures and presented him with gifts of gold and of incense and of myrrh.” They were not satisfied with merely finding Jesus. They had traveled many miles to see this new king – and when they found Him THEY RESPONDED WITH GIFTS. It was their intent all along – they were fully prepared to give gifts! It is so unlike many today who seek God for what He can do for them, who expect God to come to them, to prove Himself to them, to explain Himself to them. And to do it all now!
But not the Wise Men – they came to give. How do you come to Jesus? The Wise Men brought gifts appropriate for a King. The gold was the metal of a king; the incense was used for worship of a deity; the myrrh was a symbol of death or dying to self. They brought what they deemed appropriate for Jesus the King. And they gave them because they wanted to honor Him. THE BEST GIFTS ARE NOT THOSE GIVEN WITH AN EXPECTATION OF RETURN, BUT, RATHER, THOSE THAT COME OUT OF PURE JOY AND GRATITUDE. True gifts are given because of an exuberant response to something good that has happened to us. The Wise Men knew that in this King something good had happened to them. So how do you come to Jesus? What is the most valuable gift you could possibly give Jesus? If you hold nothing back, what could you give Him? What if
Christ really ruled your life – what would your life look like?
Martin of Tours was a Roman soldier who was a Christian. One cold winter day, as he was entering a city, a beggar asked him for alms. Martin had no money, but the beggar was blue and shivering with cold. Martin took his worn and frayed soldiers coat, cut it in two with his sword, and gave a half to the unfortunate man. That night he had a dream. In it he saw the heavenly places and all the angels with Jesus in the midst of them, and Jesus was wearing half of a Roman’s soldiers cloak. One of the angels said to him, “”Master, why are you wearing the battered old cloak? Who gave it to you?” And Jesus answered softly, “My servant Martin gave it to me.” What if Christ really ruled your life – what would your life look like?
The star in the sky led to the star out of Jacob! It’s quite a story, isn’t it? But what is THE SIGNIFICANCE OF THE STAR? Jesus’ dearest friend, a disciple named John, was banished – because of his preaching about Jesus – to a remote island. While there he had a God-sent vision that showed him how God would finally work out His grand and glorious plan for saving His people. As part of the conclusion of the vision, Jesus said to John (Rev. 22:16): “I, Jesus, have sent my angel to give you this testimony for the churches. I am the Root and the Offspring of David, and the bright Morning Star.” JESUS IS THE STAR! The bright or morning star is the star that ushers in the day. And isn’t that what Christ was always doing? Jesus ushers in the day! His birth occurred under the star of a new day; His earthly ministry ushered in a new day; His life, death, resurrection, and ascension ushered in a new day; Pentecost ushered in a new day! When Christ comes into peoples’ hearts He ushers in a new day. And here in Revelation Christ ushers in the eternal day. He heralds the end of night! He ushers in the unclouded eternal glories of the everlasting kingdom!
And that, my friends, means WE CAN TRUST GOD WITH OUR LIVES! Remember that the creation account in Genesis left us in the 7th night – day was yet to come. Revelation ends with the day! It is coming! The long night of struggle will be over! So no matter how tired we may be, how ill we are, how poor we feel, how badly we’ve acted, how many times we’ve failed; no matter how shaky the marriage, no matter how slow the business, no matter how dull and hard the school, no matter how awful the team may be, no matter how hard our life – THERE WILL BE A NEW DAY! We do not need to reach the star – it has come down to us. The bright and morning star will, and can, rise in our hearts!
Don Quixote hitched his life to a star. He lived his life with the firm belief that his life counted because “…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 star!” Is the world better for it? Did he ever reach his star? Did he usher in a new day? Who knows? His life is but a figment of someone’s imagination. But this morning you have an opportunity to hitch your life to the daystar, to commit your life to Jesus. His life is not the figment of someone’s imagination – his life is real. His life counted – the world is better; for Jesus, scorned and covered with scars, still strove with His last ounce of courage – and became our reachable star.
