There is the need for someone to bring forth Christ, and there is also the need for someone to find Christ and to worship Him as the magi did. In the birth of Jesus, Mary and Joseph brought forth Christ by coordination. However, there were also the magi to confirm the birth of Jesus and to worship Him. Here we have another case, and this case establishes more principles for the New Testament service. The magi were guided by the heavenly star to find the living Christ. We need to remember that the first mentioning of any matter in the Bible has tremendous significance. Therefore, we need to consider carefully the account in Matthew 2 of the magi finding Christ, that we too in this present day may be numbered among those who truly find the living Christ.
Before we come to the case in point, let me mention a few pertinent things. When we were young, many of us attended Sunday schools and in that setting were presented with the Bible as a book of stories. Undoubtedly, no other book is such a good story book as the Bible. I can still remember listening to my mother recount the story of Joseph in our home. Many Christians make the Bible a story book, and some, especially the great teachers and speakers, make it a book of teachings. Whereas some make the Gospel of Matthew a book of stories, there are teachers who make it a book of teachings, dispensations, and doctrine concerning the kingdom. We need to consider ourselves and how we should take the Bible. The entire Bible is a book of life; on every page of this book there is life. Therefore, we should take it as life and as the life supply.
Let me illustrate. When the Sadducees attempted to debate with the Lord Jesus concerning resurrection, they took a portion of the Old Testament and said, “Teacher, Moses said, If anyone dies and does not have children, his brother as next of kin shall marry his wife and raise up seed to his brother” (Matt. 22:24). Then they proceeded to tell how seven brothers had the same wife and eventually all died. Those foolish Sadducees thought they were clever. They asked the Lord Jesus, “In the resurrection, then, whose wife will she be of the seven?” (v. 28). The Lord Jesus also chose a portion of Scripture and answered, “Have you not read that which was spoken to you by God, saying, ‘I am the God of Abraham and the God of Isaac and the God of Jacob’? He is not the God of the dead, but of the living” (vv. 31-32). Therefore, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob will all be resurrected. In the very title of God, the Lord Jesus pointed out the life — not the story, not the teaching, but the life.
Another example is found in the first chapter of the Bible, Genesis 1. In that chapter we have a story of God’s creation — but actually that is not a story. Indeed, some great teachers have set forth doctrines from this chapter. For our part, we need to forget both the story and the teachings; we should concentrate on the life. In Genesis 1 what we need to see is life. The same applies to Matthew 1. In that chapter regarding the genealogy and conceiving of Christ, we do have a story and a certain amount of teaching. Nevertheless, we should not care for the story or the teaching; we should care for life. Some Christians may take the Gospel of John as a book of life, but we should also take the Gospel of Matthew and, in fact, every book in the Bible, as life and as the life supply.
Now we come to the case in Matthew 2, the matter of finding Christ. This is the second case in the New Testament service, and in this case the first point is the matter of the living guidance to find Christ and to serve Him. In the Lord’s service we need guidance that is living, with nothing merely according to Bible knowledge. Please do not be offended by such a statement; as we consider this case of finding Christ, I believe you will see what I mean.
Jesus was born in Bethlehem. There is no doubt about this — it is a fact of history. The strange thing, however, is this: far away from the so-called Holy Land, far away from the genuine religion, far away from the temple, far away from the Jewish religious center, far away from the priests, the scribes, the Pharisees, and all the religious people, was a star showing something of Christ in a heathen land. It did not appear to the Jews, but to the Gentiles, the heathen. Again and again people have been told that they must find Christ and know Christ by the Bible. However, the first case of finding Christ in the Scriptures was not by the Bible. The magi did not have any Bible knowledge — they did not even have a Bible.
Merely to hold the Bible in our hand and read Micah 5:2, which indicates that Christ will be born in Bethlehem, does not work. We may say after we have read it that we have it, but we may not have seen it. We may have it, but nothing has happened to us. Those chief priests and scribes knew the Bible so well, but the Lord did not go to them. He went far away to a heathen land to reveal this matter to some pagans, not through the Scriptures but through something which human hands cannot touch — a heavenly star.
We may have the Bible, yet we may miss the star. To hold the book in our hand is easy, but to wait and look unto the star is rather difficult. We simply do not know when and where the star will appear. We may study the Scriptures and obtain a degree in those studies, and we may learn all that the Bible has to say about Christ, but we simply cannot determine when the star will come. The book was with the Jewish people, the religious people, but the star appeared to the heathen. Have you seen this? We may think that the star should have appeared to those priests praying in the temple, but it appeared to some pagans far away from the temple.
Oh, we all need to see this star! It is not a matter of holding the Bible but a matter of seeing the star. What is the star? The star is the living revelation, the living vision, not the dead knowledge of the Scriptures in the letter, not the dead knowledge of Micah 5:2. What we need today is not merely Bible knowledge but the heavenly vision, the instant vision, the living vision, the vision that human concepts cannot teach.
Let me check with you. What do you have? Do you have the Scripture verses, or do you have the star? Do you have the scriptural knowledge, or do you have the heavenly star? Do you have the teachings concerning an old way, or do you have the up-to-date, instant vision? Today many have the Bible in their hands, but they have not seen the star. Merely to have the Bible in our hands may be a deadening thing, but to see the star is a living experience. To find and serve Christ according to the principle shown to us in Matthew 2 was not according to the Old Testament Scriptures. To know Christ today is something living, not according to the knowledge of the Bible in dead letters but according to the living, heavenly star.
In this case the Lord went away from religion, even from the scriptural religion. Wherever and whenever we set up a religion, the Lord may simply go elsewhere. We cannot circumscribe, confine, or restrict the Lord with our religion. We need to learn in the church life never to set up a religion. We should not insist that this method or that way is right. If we do that, the Lord may say, “It may be right for you, but I do not care for it. If you were not so right, I would be with you; but because you are so right, I will go to those who are wrong.” When we insist that we are right and others are wrong, the Lord may leave us and go to the ones who are wrong. The Pharisees claimed to be so fundamental, so sound, and so scriptural; yet it was as if the Lord Jesus said, “All right, you are so sound, but I will have nothing to do with you; I will go to the tax collectors and sinners. I will not only go to see them, but I will feast with them.”
Numbers 24:17 says, “There shall come forth a Star out of Jacob,” but this star did not appear to any of the people of Jacob. The star out of Jacob appeared to the pagans.
Now consider what the magi did: They saw the heavenly star and they followed it, but they made a great mistake. They received the vision, but they soon turned to their human concept and exercised their natural understanding. They realized that this star signified the King of the Jews; therefore, they reasoned that they should go to Jerusalem and inquire of those who would have knowledge of such matters. Their going, as we know, caused much trouble. I do believe that if they had not turned to their natural concept, but continually looked away to the star in the sky, the star would have gone before them all the time, leading them directly to the place where Jesus was. They need not have gone to Jerusalem. They were thoroughly wrong and caused many young and innocent lives to be taken. The Jewish religious leaders had the knowledge, and the magi had the vision. Nevertheless, those who received the vision made a great mistake and, apart from divine intervention, would have caused the loss of the little child Jesus.
When the magi arrived in Jerusalem, Herod was troubled, and all Jerusalem with him (Matt. 2:3). Herod, yes, but why Jerusalem? Were those in Jerusalem not for Christ? Why was all Jerusalem troubled at the birth of the One for whom they were waiting? This is religion. I am afraid that many who are seemingly for the Lord’s return will be troubled by His coming.
Then Herod called the chief priests and scribes of the people together and inquired of them where the Christ was to be born (v. 4). The scribes were those among the people who had doctor’s degrees in theology. Immediately, they answered, “Bethlehem.” They gave him the right book, the right chapter, and the right verse. They quoted Micah 5:2, but did any one of them go to Bethlehem? Not one! They were troubled by the news, but no one cared to go and see what had happened.
Then the magi left Jerusalem, and, “Behold, the star which they saw at its rising led them...When they saw the star, they rejoiced exceedingly with great joy” (Matt. 2:9-10). When the magi came into religion, they missed the star; but when they left religion, the star appeared to them. They could not find living guidance in Jerusalem. They did not receive the heavenly vision in religion; they had to leave. When they departed from Jerusalem, behold, the star went before them. In principle, it is the same today.
Micah 5:2 was the holy writing, the Holy Scripture, prophesying that Jesus would be born in Bethlehem. However, by that verse alone you could not find Jesus. You would know in what city Jesus was to be born, but you would not know on what street or in what house. I do not believe that the postman today could deliver a letter addressed to a John Smith, Los Angeles, California. Even if you have the knowledge of the Scriptures, you still need the instant, up-to-date, living star to lead you to the very street and the very house where Jesus is. You may have the Bible knowledge, but you still need the living guidance. The Scriptures can never replace that. It is easy to accumulate scriptural knowledge, but if you would have living guidance, you need to live in an intimate relationship with the Lord; you need to be one with Him.
The Word says that the star “led them until it came and stood over the place where the child was” (Matt. 2:9). The heavenly star led the magi to the very spot. This is all we need. I do believe that if they had no knowledge whatever of Micah 5:2 but simply followed the star, they could have arrived at that place. How can we find Christ and serve Him? Not merely by Bible knowledge but by the living star. Not one found Christ merely according to Bible knowledge; those who followed the heavenly star found Him and worshipped Him.
Do we need the knowledge of the Scriptures? Of course we do. It helps, but there is a condition: the living, instant guidance, the guidance of this very moment to lead us to the very spot where Jesus is, is indispensable. Without this living guidance we may know the Bible, but we may not be able to arrive where Jesus is. It is the living guidance that brings us to Jesus so that we may worship Him and offer our gifts to Him.
The magi saw Christ, and they worshipped Him. Then we read in the Bible some significant words — they were divinely instructed in a dream not to return to Herod; therefore, they departed “by another way” to their country (Matt. 2:12). I like this term another way. After we have seen the living Christ, we will take another way; we will not go the same way we came. In fact, we should have come this way in the first place. We came the wrong way; now the Lord has adjusted us so that we will go on by the right way. We should not go back through Jerusalem. We need to forget about Jerusalem. We should not go back to religion; we need to take another way. By our former way we cannot meet Jesus; but, Hallelujah, there is another way! In Los Angeles there is another way. In San Francisco there is another way. In the United States there is another way. Praise the Lord! If we have not seen Christ, we may go back to religion. However, if we have seen Christ, we need to take another way.
Based upon the same principle, let us look at the case of Nathanael in John 1. Philip found Jesus and came to Nathanael and told him that he had found Christ, that he had found the One of whom Moses and the prophets wrote, Jesus, the son of Joseph, from Nazareth (v. 45). You may say that Philip gave the right information, and you may also say that it was wrong. Philip called Him “the son of Joseph” — is this right? If you say that Jesus is the son of Joseph, I will say that He is not the son of Joseph — He was born of Mary. However, if you say that He is not the son of Joseph, I will say that He is. What would you say? Thank the Lord for Philip. Philip was really good and so simple. He did not argue. He simply answered, “Come and see.” In other words, he could have said, “I do not know if I gave you the right information or not — simply come and see. I do not know what to say; I do not know what is right or wrong. Come and see.”
Nathanael was a godly person. He asked, “Can anything good be from Nazareth?” In a sense, Nathanael was right. He learned from the Bible that Christ should come from Bethlehem, not from Nazareth. God told His people in His holy writings that Christ would be born in Bethlehem, and all His people received this knowledge. Here, however, may the Lord allow me to use a word which is not inherently good; in this matter God did something in what we may call a somewhat “sneaky” way. Christ was conceived not in Bethlehem but in Nazareth. During Mary’s pregnancy, He was brought to Bethlehem for a short time, not in an ordinary way but in an extraordinary way. God sovereignly worked. He used Caesar Augustus of the Roman Empire to issue an order for a census, an order requiring that Mary and Joseph travel to Bethlehem. Immediately upon their arrival in Bethlehem, Jesus was born. A short time later He was brought away from Bethlehem to Egypt, and then brought out of Egypt to settle in Nazareth and grow up there. Therefore, Jesus fulfilled the Scriptures by being born in Bethlehem, but we may say that it was done somewhat in a “sneaky” way. If you knew only the letter of the Scriptures, you could miss His birth altogether. God has a way of circumventing clever people. Jesus was truly born in Bethlehem, but He was also Jesus of Nazareth.
We should not simply trust in the letter of the Word as something apart from the Lord Himself. If we do, we will miss something. We need the Word, but we also need God’s presence. God is not so simple. Not only was there the prophecy in the Old Testament; there was also the sovereignty of God, and the sovereignty of God in a sense may seem to be rather “sneaky.” God is not so open, so public, so greatly advertised. It was in a hidden way that the little child Jesus was brought in. If we are so legal, so scripturally legal, God in our case may be rather “sneaky.” We need to be on the alert. We should not say, “I know the Bible; I know what the Bible says in this matter and in that.” If we say this, we may be fooled by our knowledge.
The scribes knew the Scriptures in a thorough way, but their knowledge profited them nothing. We need to be in the presence of God all the time. Surely I am not one who despises the Scriptures; I honor and respect them to the uttermost. However, we need to be careful because the Scriptures are the Scriptures, but they are not God Himself. The Scriptures are God’s holy writings, but we nevertheless need God’s holy presence. If we have His presence, we will know when He is in Bethlehem, when He goes away, when He comes back, and where He is raised up. We need to follow the Lord in this way.
What the Lord has been doing throughout history, toward the worldly and religious people, has been hidden and “sneaky.” It is really difficult to explain it to people. If you ask who Jesus is, outwardly speaking, He is simply a man; He is Jesus of Nazareth. “Can anything good be from Nazareth?” It is really so. There is no glory, no boast, no display. Philip really gave Nathanael the best answer: “Come and see.”
In John 7 there is another case of finding Christ. Christ was doing some marvelous things, and the people were saying, “This is truly the Prophet. Others said, This is the Christ. But some said, Does then the Christ come out of Galilee? Has not the Scripture said that the Christ comes out of the seed of David and from Bethlehem?” (vv. 40-42). Yes, the Scripture does say that; the people were one hundred percent right. Nevertheless, they missed the mark by being right. If they did not know the Bible so well, I believe it would have been easy for them to grasp the Christ. They were frustrated by their Bible knowledge. Yes, He was born in Bethlehem, but He was raised in Nazareth. Such a situation confounds the natural understanding. If we merely hold the Bible in our hand, we may miss Christ. We need to follow the living Christ.
Then Nicodemus, who had come to know Christ somewhat, began to argue with the Pharisees, but they protested, “Search and see that no prophet arises out of Galilee” (v. 52). They were right; not even the least prophet came out of Galilee. What would you say? We should not say, “Search and see,” but “Come and see.” If we search and see, we may miss the mark; we may miss Christ. Christ was right there; yet they said, “Search and see.” There is also the possibility in today’s situation that Christians would miss Christ in a similar way. We may give our attention to the Scriptures and say, “Has not the Scripture said?” Nevertheless, we may miss Christ. Here is the Bible, and here is Christ. We should not be those who care for the Bible but fail to care for Christ Himself.
Oh, it is possible to be so right, but wrongly right! We may be right, but we are only partly right; eventually we may not be right, for we may miss the mark. The Lord acts in a “sneaky” way to those who feel that they are so right. He does it purposely: He does not want us to have only the knowledge and then go to sleep. He wants us to be alert at all times lest by knowing the Bible only in that way we lose His presence. Oh, it is possible to lose the presence of the Lord simply by knowing the Bible only in the letter! I would rather lose the knowledge of the Bible and keep the presence of the Lord. We should not think that, as long as we are scriptural, we are all right. Regardless of how scriptural we may be, if we lose the presence of the Lord, we are wrong. May the Lord be merciful to us. Knowledge alone does not work. It did not work with the scribes, the chief priests, and the Pharisees, and it will not work for us.
What is the New Testament way to find the Lord and serve Him? It is continually to keep His presence, His hidden presence. He prophesied that He would come out of Bethlehem, but He came out of Nazareth. We should give up our searching, for God can never be understood by searching. I am not searching; I am seeing, I am enjoying. Many things I do not understand and I do not care to understand, but I am enjoying. The Lord’s presence is hidden. Isaiah 45:15 tells us that He is a hidden God. He is a God who hides Himself. We need to learn to praise Him, to see Him, to trace Him, and to find Him, but we should not try to understand Him. We are not qualified to understand Him; we are only qualified to enjoy Him. Therefore, we should encourage others to “come and see.”
Those who come to see should not see Christ according to the flesh. When Jesus came into His own country, the people said, “Is not this the carpenter’s son? Is not His mother called Mary, and His brothers James and Joseph and Simon and Judas? And His sisters, are they not all with us?” (Matt. 13:55-56). It seemed that they knew everything, but this was the knowledge of Jesus according to the flesh. In Matthew 22:43 we read that David in spirit called Him Lord. We should not follow those people in the flesh but follow David in the spirit.
Now let us apply this practically to the present situation. If you would come to see the local church — for example, the church in Los Angeles — that is good. However, you should not see it according to the flesh. If you see it according to the flesh, you will say that there are many peculiar people.
We should not know any man according to the flesh but should know one another according to the spirit. Once we knew Christ according to the flesh and considered Him the little man of Nazareth, but now we know Him no longer in this way (2 Cor. 5:16). We know Him according to the spirit; in spirit we call Him “Lord.” We should forget about the outward things, forget about the flesh; we need to see the church not according to the flesh but according to the spirit.
If you beheld the tabernacle in the Old Testament outwardly, you could only see the outer porpoise skins (Exo. 36:19). There is no beauty with porpoise skin; it is quite mean and common. What, however, was within the tabernacle? There was gold, there was silver, and there were the precious stones; there was the beauty of the precious things. Would you rather see the church outwardly or inwardly? Outwardly speaking, the church is clothed with porpoise skins — there is no beauty, but there is toughness and even perhaps wildness. Within, however, there is something of glory. Within, there is Jesus; within, we have Christ. Hallelujah!
How can we find Christ and serve Him according to the New Testament? By the Bible? Yes, we need the Bible, but we also need to see the living star.
The matter of the star is not only in the book of Matthew. All the main things of the Bible, as a rule, begin in the Old Testament and go right through the New Testament to the end of the Bible. With this matter of the star there is no exception. It is mentioned and revealed first in Numbers 24:17: “There shall come forth a Star out of Jacob.” According to the context of this verse, this Star that comes out of Jacob is Christ. Christ comes as the Star. Then immediately in the very opening of the New Testament, we have the star again. The magi said, “We saw His star at its rising” (Matt. 2:2). They did not say, “We saw a star,” or, “We saw the star,” but, “We saw His star.” No doubt this is the fulfillment of the prophecy in Numbers 24. The Star prophesied in the Old Testament has now come and was shown to these magi. We have seen clearly that the revealing of this star was outside of religion. The Lord God does not care for religion; anything that becomes religious, He will pass by.
The star in Matthew 2 is only the beginning of this matter in the New Testament. If we go to the last book, the book of Revelation, we see two things concerning this matter. The first is that the Lord Jesus is the star, not the evening star but the morning star; second, we see that all the messengers of the churches are stars. Here we should realize that the messengers are not the heavenly beings but the spiritual people who take the spiritual responsibility in the church — they are the stars. In this book we have Christ as the morning star and those faithful followers of Christ in the churches as the stars. Now where is the star? It is so clear that the star today is in the church.
At the beginning of the New Testament the star was outside of religion, but at the end of the New Testament the star is within the church. Have you seen these two ends of the New Testament? If you would see the star today, there is no need for you to look to the sky; there is no need for you to do as those magi did. Today the star is in the church and among the churches. The Root and the Offspring of David, the Son of God as well as the Son of Man, Jesus Christ as the morning star, is walking today among the local churches. Where then should you come to see the star? You should come to the local churches.
If we are for religion, we are through as far as the star is concerned. However, if we are in the genuine local church, praise the Lord, the star is here. So many of us have proved this by our experience: when we were in religion, we simply had the sense of being in darkness, but when the Lord brought us into the local churches, Hallelujah, we saw the star, the brightness of the star. The heavenly star today is in the local churches.
Not only is Christ Himself the star, but also His followers, the shining ones in the churches, are stars. In Acts and the Epistles the leading ones were called elders, but in the last book of the Bible they are the stars. Now it is not a matter of title or position but a matter of shining. All the leading ones of the local churches should be shining stars.
What does it mean to be a star? Daniel 12:3 gives the answer: “Those who have insight will shine like the shining of the heavenly expanse, and those who turn many to righteousness, like the stars, forever and ever.” The stars are those who shine in darkness and turn people from the wrong way to the right way. Now, during the church age, is the time of night. Therefore, we need the shining of the stars. None of the leading ones in the local churches should claim their position; they should not say, “I am one of the elders; you must recognize me.” If they say this, they are in darkness. We need brothers and sisters who shine; we need the shining stars. It is by the shining in today’s darkness that people receive the guidance and are turned from the wrong way to the right way. Anything that is wrong is unrighteousness; whatever is right is righteousness. Those who turn many to righteousness are the stars that shine forever and ever.
In the beginning of the New Testament there was mention of only one star in the heavens, but at the end of the New Testament there are seven stars in seven local churches. In every local church there is a star; in every local church there is something shining, leading people to the right way.
About forty years ago, I was turned from the wrong way to the right way by this star in the local church. So many dear ones today can also testify to this fact; they can say, “Hallelujah, I have seen the star in the local church. It was the star in the church that turned me to the right way.”
How do we have the New Testament service? It is simply by following the star. And where is the star? Praise the Lord that today we are not in the age of Matthew 1 and 2 but in the age of the book of Revelation, in the local churches. Today the star is in the local churches. The Bible ends with this word: “I am the Root and the Offspring of David, the bright morning star. And the Spirit and the bride say, Come!” (Rev. 22:16-17). Today the star is with the Spirit and with the bride. Where the Spirit is, there is the star; where the bride is, where the church is, there is the star.
In the Bible we see how we may not only follow the star but even become one of the stars. There are two ways: first, by the Bible, and second, by the Spirit.
Second Peter 1:19 gives us the first secret: “We have the prophetic word made more firm, to which you do well to give heed as to a lamp shining in a dark place, until the day dawns and the morning star rises in your hearts.” We have the prophetic word, the Bible. However, the prophetic word is not the star; the Bible is not the star. Then what should we do? This verse says that since we have the prophetic word, we need to give heed to it, we need to pay full attention to it, until the day dawns and the morning star rises in our hearts.
The word used for star here can be translated into English as “phosphorous.” This star is something as phosphorous, bringing light in the darkness. The darker the situation is, the brighter the phosphorous shines. The Bible should not simply be words in black and white; it should not be dead letters. We should give heed to the words of the Bible until something as phosphorous rises within us — that is, Christ as the morning star.
If we deal with the Word livingly and properly, it surely will turn into the living Christ. This is the turning point — the Word needs to be turned into Christ; the written word needs to be turned into the living word. We can never separate Christ from the living word. We should give heed to the prophetic word until it rises within us as Christ, as the phosphorous, as the day breaking through the darkness.
To have the Bible in our hands is one thing; to give heed to the word until the morning star rises in our heart is another. To have the knowledge of the Bible is one thing, but to have a shining star rising in our spirit is another. To take the way of studying the Bible in a seminary means nothing. What we need today is to take the Word into us, to give heed to the living word until something within rises and shines in our heart. Then we will have the star, and then we will be a star. This is not merely the knowledge about Christ but Christ Himself as the living star.
If there are believers on this earth who love the divine Word, I believe we should be numbered among them. We love the Word, but not in the way of dead letters. We love the Word by giving heed to it until something within is dawning and rising in our heart — not the knowledge, not the written code, but the breaking through of day, the rising of the shining star.
What does this mean in practical experience? Sometimes we may take the Bible, read it, and feel that we receive nothing. Other times, however, when we open our heart and give heed to this prophetic word, something within is shining, rising, dawning, breaking through. While we are pray-reading the verses of the Bible, there is a sense deep within of enlightening, of shining, and this shining creates a love toward the Lord Jesus. We feel that He is so lovable. We could say, “O Lord Jesus, I love You; I do not have words to express how lovely You are!” Many times by this shining we are beside ourselves with love to the Lord Jesus. That is Jesus coming to us as the dawning day, as the morning star rising in our hearts. I am not speaking of something I have learned from others, and I am not boasting; this is my experience. Many times when I was with this holy Word, something has risen within me like the daybreak. Oh, it is wonderful! The situation may not be bright, the surroundings may be full of darkness, but something within is enlightening, shining, filling with glory.
In the days of the magi, the seeing of the star was a miraculous occurrence, but today to see the morning star is only normal and should be our regular experience. Day by day we need to have the morning star rising in our heart. We should not merely read the Bible and not even merely pray-read the Bible; we need to give heed to the prophetic word until the day dawns and the morning star rises in our heart. We need to go on until we reach this point.
Today, therefore, the star comes from the living word. I am so happy that in this verse we have the word and the morning star together. First, we have the word; second, by giving heed to the prophetic word, we have the morning star rising in our heart. If we will simply go along continually with this inner, rising star, we will consistently be in the Spirit. This is the New Testament service.
In 2 Peter we have the prophetic word, but in Revelation we have the seven Spirits. Revelation 3:1 says, “These things says He who has the seven Spirits of God and the seven stars.” The hand of Jesus holds not only the seven stars but also the seven Spirits. This means that the seven Spirits are one with the seven stars, and the seven stars are one with the seven Spirits. If we have the living word as the morning star rising within us and we are one with the seven Spirits, eventually we will become the stars. We not only have the star shining within us, but by looking to the star and following in the Spirit, we become the stars.
The Lord said unto Abraham, “I will surely bless you and will greatly multiply your seed like the stars of the heavens and like the sand which is on the seashore” (Gen. 22:17). We Christians, the genuine believers, are the real children of Abraham. We are the stars of the heavens. The Jewish people, the physical descendants, are like the sand which is on the seashore. We all should be the stars. Not only the leaders in the local churches but all of us should be stars. If we read Revelation 2 and 3 again in this light, we will realize that eventually all those in the local churches should be the stars. What the Lord wrote to the seven messengers was what He wrote to the whole church. It is not a matter of teaching, knowledge, title, or position; it is a matter of shining. We need to be the shining stars so that people may find Christ through us. Where is Christ? Come and see. Simply follow the star. And where is the star? Hallelujah, the star is in the local churches. Brothers and sisters, are we really shining? We need to shine in our homes, on our jobs, in our neighborhoods, in the schools, on the campuses. We do not need to teach people so much, and we do not need to do so much preaching. What we need is the shining. The local churches should be full of shining stars.
Let me illustrate a little more and apply what we have been saying. When you go to certain believers or even to one of the great teachers, in some cases you may sense that they are lacking in clarity and transparency. You may sense that with them there is no window, there is no light, and they are opaque. Those persons may have the knowledge of the Bible, but the more they talk with you, the more you feel imprisoned. In other cases, however, perhaps not frequently, you may come to a little brother, and when he speaks with you, he may simply say, “Hallelujah, praise the Lord!” Nevertheless, by those few words something gets into you. The more he speaks with you, the more you sense that all the clouds have vanished and something is shining. Why? Because this dear little brother is a shining star. There is no tag attached to him, saying, “I am a heavenly star,” but when you meet him, you simply have the sense of shining.
I believe that many of you know of Brother Watchman Nee. When he was young, he received the greatest help from a sister by the name of Miss M. E. Barber. She was very much devoted to the Lord. Brother Nee told me several times, “When I went to see Miss Barber, many times while I was waiting in her living room, I had the sense that I was in the presence of the Lord.” What is this? This is the star of the church. Perhaps when you come to such a person, he could not say much, and he could not answer your question. He may say, “I am not clear.” However, though he says he is not clear, you have the sense that you are under the shining. It is not a matter of teaching or instruction. His word may not be clear, but he himself is transparent, and when you are in his presence, you have the sense not only that he is transparent, but that you are made clear.
Let me give you another example. Suppose you come to a brother seeking counsel and advice regarding the matter of marriage. This brother may give you a number of points concerning conditions, requirements, considerations, and instructions. However, the more he speaks, the more you sense that though he has much knowledge, he is opaque. The more he speaks, the more you are in darkness. Another brother, however, may answer that he simply does not know the answer, but while he is speaking, you sense that he is crystal clear. No word can express it, but while you are with him, you begin to be clear, and you know what to do about your marriage. Though this brother tells you nothing, you are enlightened. What is this? This is the presence of the morning star in this brother, making him also a shining star.
I hope that we all could be such stars. Though we may know little of the teachings, though we cannot give people so many instructions, yet when they come to us, they will be enlightened. There is no need to argue with others; be sure that when you argue, you will keep people away. The enlightening does not depend on how much you can say or reason, but upon what you are.
If you are a shining star, who can escape your shining? This is entirely beyond human expression and explanation. It is a matter of the presence of the Lord. If we give heed to the prophetic word, we will have the star rising within us. Then if we are faithful simply to follow the inner, rising star, we will be fully in the Spirit, and eventually we will be the stars in the local churches, not in an objective way but in a very subjective way. Praise the Lord that by His grace we all can be the stars.
Matthew 13:43 tells us, “Then the righteous will shine forth like the sun in the kingdom of their Father.” Today, during the time of the night, we need to function as the stars; but in the coming age of the kingdom, those who shine now as the stars will shine forth like the sun. Now we are the shining stars, but in that day we will be like the sun.
There is also a negative aspect to the stars — the wandering stars. Jude 12 and 13 tell us, “These are the hidden reefs in your love feasts, feasting together with you without fear, shepherding themselves; waterless clouds being carried off by winds; autumn trees without fruit, having died twice, rooted up...wandering stars, for whom the gloom of darkness is kept for eternity.” We should be the stars but not the wandering stars. These are the false leading ones. So many Christians today are not stars; some, however, are stars, but they are wandering stars. There are religious leaders and teachers today who are in this category.
Do you know what a wandering star is? I do not know astronomy, but I can tell you a little. A proper star has a certain position and fixed orbit. It continues in its course steadfastly. However, there are some stars with no fixed position or orbit; they are wandering stars. It seems that some Christians are stars; it seems that they are shining, but their shining is a deception. They are stars, but they are not the steadfast stars. If you follow them, you will be misled; eventually, you will not know where to go. They themselves are wandering: They have no ground; they have no standing; they have no certain way to go on with the Lord. Today they say one thing, and tomorrow they will say something different; they are wandering. We need to be careful. We cannot find Jesus by following a wandering star.
How can we recognize the wandering stars? There are some signs. They are autumn trees without fruit; they are waterless clouds. We need to look for the fruit. The Lord Jesus said that we may know a tree by its fruit (Matt. 7:16-20). If we follow the wandering stars, eventually our portion will be the same as theirs — the gloom of darkness that has been kept for them for eternity.
We need to follow the shining stars, those with a definite standing and a certain course. These are the stable stars, the steadfast ones. If anyone comes to us without a definite standing and a certain course, we should avoid him. The proper standing is the local church, and the right course is to go on in the Spirit in the local church. We should not be a wandering star, and we should not follow a wandering star. We need to take the proper standing and keep ourselves in the right course. If we are wandering, we are wasting our time. If you intend to go to a certain place, you need to get out your map, get on the right road and in the right lane, and as you drive you will reach your destination.
I am not speaking these things lightly. We are aware of today’s confusion. Oh, the dead things! Oh, the frustrations, the distractions of the wandering ones! Anyone who keeps us from the genuine local church and from meeting on the ground of oneness with the Lord’s people is a wandering star. The true stars are those who turn many to righteousness, those who do not lead people astray, but turn them to the right way. Today the way for you and me and for everyone else to find Christ is to see the living star. Hallelujah! Today the star is not far from us — it is with the local churches. Among all the local churches there are some living stars. You simply need to contact them; you need to keep company with them. They will lead you to the place where Jesus is.
May the Lord be merciful to us so that we may always be kept in the right way to serve the Lord, to worship Him, and to offer our love to Him. May the Lord make us all like those magi, following the star to find Christ. Today the living star and the living stars are in the local churches. Let us follow them, and let us each be one of them.
