Sermon Tone Analysis

follow that star

OS 240

CS 137

Matt 2:1-2

1   Now when Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judaea in the days of Herod the king, behold, there came wise men from the east to Jerusalem,

2   Saying, Where is he that is born King of the Jews? for we have seen his star in the east, and are come to worship him.

(KJV)

 

It is the last month of the year and I believe that the Lord would have us reflect on our journey.

I suggest to you today that before the foundations of the world God saw you and He saw me.

He was infinitely interested in our direction the way we would find in this dark world.

Knowing that we could never find our own way by ourselves God sent His Son, His great star to guide you and me.

Are we following?

My topic this morning "Follow that Star"  Let us pray.

What are stars?

*Star*, large celestial body composed of gravitationally contained hot gases emitting electromagnetic radiation, especially light, as a result of nuclear reactions inside the star.

The sun is a star.

[1]

Whatever they are they have held mankind in fascination since the beginning of time.

Stars have allured with their brightness and majesty.

They have been a source of guidance and direction.

Even wild birds rotate their direction with the movement of the stars overhead.

They depend on stars for orientation and bearing.

From ancient antiquity there has been a fascination of the stars.

The Ancient nation of Babylon was rich in the study of astronomy--* Astronomy*, science dealing with all the celestial bodies in the universe, including the planets and their satellites, comets and meteors, the stars and interstellar matter, the star systems known as galaxies, and clusters of galaxies.[2]

.

Babylonian stargazers could predict the time of the new moon and the day on which the new month would begin.

As a by-product, they knew the daily positions of moon and sun for every day during the month.

In a similar manner the planetary positions were calculated, with both their eastward and retrograde motions represented.

Archaeologists have unearthed hundreds of cuneiform tablets that show these calculations.

[3]

 

They were the originators of the worship of the heavens.

The system of astrology--"Astrology, the study of how events on earth correspond to the positions and movements of astronomical bodies, particularly the sun, moon, planets, and stars.

Astrologers believe that the position of astronomical bodies at the exact moment of a person's birth and the subsequent movements of the bodies reflect that person's character and, therefore, destiny.

The Zodiac is a system of ideology that came as a result of Babylonian philosophy.

"Ancient astronomers noted that the sun makes a yearly journey across the celestial sphere, .

.  .  .

The ancient astronomers associated dates with the constellations in this narrow belt (which is known as the zodiac), assigning to each constellation of stars the dates when the sun was in the same region of the celestial sphere as the constellation.

The twelve zodiacal signs for these constellations were named by the 2nd-century astronomer Ptolemy, as follows: Aries (ram), Taurus (bull), Gemini (twins), Cancer (crab), Leo (lion), Virgo (virgin), Libra (balance), Scorpio (scorpion), Sagittarius (archer), Capricorn (goat), Aquarius (water-bearer), and Pisces (fishes).

"9

 

 

That's why people say today that this is what the stars say about your future.

That's Astrology!

Luck charms and moon guidance.

The belief that constellations and heavenly bodies effects the life of individuals on earth.

Science has long ago disavowed such beliefs.

Even today people believe that the direction of their lives, the fate that hands them fortune or misfortune is directly related in the heavens.

It's in the stars!

We know that the Ancient Israelites were acquainted with Astronomy.

Moses recorded that God told Abraham that his descendants would be like the stars of the sky.

But about 2000 years ago there were royal astronomers--I don't believe these great men were astrologers but astronomers.

Saw something in the night sky that they had not seen before.

A star that had not come on the scene before this.

They knew it had to be a sign.

That star shone brightly in the darkened sky.

That star led them to the light,  that light was Jesus.

The story is simple, the lesson is simple.

The wise men followed the star that led them to the light that light was Jesus.

The light is a star Himself!

 

Numbers 24:17

17 there shall come a Star out of Jacob, and a Sceptre shall rise out of Israel, .

.   .

(KJV)

 

 

In this world of darkness we have a star that leads us to the light.

We need to follow that light in order to make it out of this world of darkness.

We need to follow the star, problem is that there is more than one star.

Sometimes we get dizzied by the neon signs of starry host that exists in this worldly atmosphere and that exist in our minds.

And if we concentrate and examine and pursue these stars we will not be able to comprehend the one star that counts the most and that is Jesus!

See darkness is a great thing.

.  . and if you don't know anything but darkness that it's hard to find your way.

The story is told about a man who stopped his car and asked for directions at a rural convenience store:

"Keep going down this road until you get to the old Jones homeplace, then turn left.

Stay on that road, and just before you cross Brown's Creek there will be a road that goes off to the right . .

."

 

"Wait!

Jones homeplace?

What's that look like?

"Well, you can't see it from the road.

It's about a half mile past where the big oak used to be."

"What big oak?"

After several tries, the local gave up and said, "Mister, you've got to know something before I can tell you something."

There are so many people in this world all over this globe who don't know better.

They don't know anything but darkness.

But I got news today just like in the days of old.

There are people who are aquatinted with the light but they would prefer to walk after darkness.

Maybe because they have been confused by what they thought were true stars.

They have seen by definition what is called variable stars.

You know what variable stars are don't you?

All stars probably vary slightly in their brightness on a more or less periodic basis, including the sun.

Such variations may be scarcely measurable.

Some stars, however, change greatly in brightness and are called variable stars.

There are many types.

Some repeat cycles with almost clocklike precision; others are highly irregular.

Some may require only hours or days to return to a starting brightness; others may require years.

The brightness of such stars may change almost imperceptibly or violently.

You may have thought he was a bright star when he told you that you had stars in your eyes.

And when he said "Honey, our love has taken us beyond this point.

I can't hold back we got to go all the way."

It may have seemed dazzling, stellar and popular for those teenagers to make love but when they stood up in court telling the judge who they had slept with earlier this year in New York City they realized that they had been given the HIV Virus along with several other young ladies on purpose.

(your star doesn't shine that bright now).

It may seem vivid bright to listen to the rebellious sounds of Hip hop and forget what you learned in Sabbath School as a youngster--

 

follow suit by applying your life to the words of hellish lyrics but when you realize that more and more teenagers are dying from bullets and STD you realize that the star is not shining as bright as you once thought.

You have to remember that some stars are not what they seem to be at all.

They exist in the realm of light years.

Which means what you see in the sky is not a reflection of what a star looks like now but what it looked like 4 years ago.

Jesus says I am Alpha and Omega the beginning and the end.

I been there, I know what will happen in the end.

What things look like now doesn't mean it will be that way later.

If you don't know where you are, or where you are going you're finished!