Before Sunrise, there was a Star

Bible Verse

Matthew 2:8–11 KJV 1900

8 And he sent them to Beth-lehem, and said, Go and search diligently for the young child; and when ye have found him, bring me word again, that I may come and worship him also. 9 When they had heard the king, they departed; and, lo, the star, which they saw in the east, went before them, till it came and stood over where the young child was. 10 When they saw the star, they rejoiced with exceeding great joy. 11 And when they were come into the house, they saw the young child with Mary his mother, and fell down, and worshipped him: and when they had opened their treasures, they presented unto him gifts; gold, and frankincense, and myrrh.

Illustration

Imagine a night where the sky is pitch black, but one bright star shines brilliantly. That star could be a sign or a reminder for hope. Before sunrise, we often go through dark times, just as the night always has that single star to guide us. Jesus, too, is our guiding star in the darkest of times. Even when everything seems bleak, His light shines, leading us toward a new day filled with possibilities.

Bible Verse

Lamentations 3:22–23 NKJV

22 Through the Lord’s mercies we are not consumed, Because His compassions fail not. 23 They are new every morning; Great is Your faithfulness.

Introduction

In Genesis 1, God created heaven and earth. He looked out and saw nothing, and He took that nothing and made something out of it. He created the light, firmament, separated the Earth from the Waters. He created the Sun, Moon, and Stars. And when He looked, He said that it was good.

Bible Verse

Genesis 1:19 KJV 1900

19 And the evening and the morning were the fourth day.

And when we look at the context of the text, Before Sunrise, there was the Star.

Our night sky consist of a constellation of billions of stars. In today’s text, we have wise men - comes from the Greek Word magos and it means astrologer, magician, or sorcerer. These men studied the stars for a living. Their logic and understanding was based upon the Stars and they would combine that knowledge with their religious aspects. They are travelling in search for the truth. In addition to being students of astrology, and Gentiles, the wise men are aware of the scripture. Apparently They knew of the prophecy of Baalim 1500 years before Jesus’ birth that a Star would come out of Jacob.

Bible Verse

Numbers 24:17 KJV 1900

17 I shall see him, but not now: I shall behold him, but not nigh: There shall come a Star out of Jacob, And a Sceptre shall rise out of Israel, And shall smite the corners of Moab, And destroy all the children of Sheth.

And after Centuries of this constellation of stars that One Star would appear that has a unique glow. A unique brightness and illumination that these wise men apparently believed this must be the Star. What made this Star’s shine unique?

Q. Why didn’t anyone else see this Star?

Q. Did they give up on the hope that the Star was coming?

Q. Did they not look up?

Bible Verse

Psalm 121:1 KJV 1900

1 I will lift up mine eyes unto the hills, From whence cometh my help.

When we look at verse 2 of Matthew. When the wise men saw the star from the east but they came straight to the king palace. They assumed that the King of the Jews would be born in a palace.

The Wise men are versed in astronomy but they need some bible study and Sunday school to balance out there understanding. My Brothers and Sisters education is good and we need education. But education cannot teach wisdom, but Wisdom can teach education. The Wise Men needed more bible study because there were some things they didn’t quite understand:

Herod the king - appointed....Jesus - Anointed

Herod the king - had servants....Jesus - came to serve

Herod the king - self centered....Jesus - gave himself for the sinner

Herod the king - puppet king....Jesus - Real King

In verse 4, Herod the king then calls bible study with the chief priest and scribes and he asks what does the scripture say about the birth of Christ. And they have bible study and they tell Herod what thus says the LORD in Micah 5:2

Bible Verse

Micah 5:2 KJV 1900

2 But thou, Beth-lehem Ephratah, Though thou be little among the thousands of Judah, Yet out of thee shall he come forth unto me that is to be ruler in Israel; Whose goings forth have been from of old, from everlasting.

Transition Quote: “God’s Word is like a highway sign. You don’t have to pay any attention to it if you don’t care what happens to you”

Principle #1 When you are lost, The Star will lead you!

Matthew 2:8–9 KJV 1900

8 And he sent them to Beth-lehem, and said, Go and search diligently for the young child; and when ye have found him, bring me word again, that I may come and worship him also. 9 When they had heard the king, they departed; and, lo, the star, which they saw in the east, went before them, till it came and stood over where the young child was.

Herod the King insinuates that the child Jesus is lost and needs to be found.

I submit to you that they are lost and they need to seek Jesus. Jesus is standing at the door knocking, will you let Him in.

Luke 19:10 NKJV

10 for the Son of Man has come to seek and to save that which was lost.”

For something or someone to be lost then that means that at once appoint time that it was in your possession.

Herod the king and the wise men never had possession of Jesus.

The Star reappears after they have bible study and they hear the Word of God. In verse 9, the scripture says that the star went before them.

Hebrews 3:15 KJV 1900

15 While it is said, To day if ye will hear his voice, harden not your hearts, as in the provocation.

Application: When we hear and acknowledge the Word of God, His Word is a lamp to your feet and a light to your path. Ps. 119:105

Psalm 119:105 NKJV

105 Your word is a lamp to my feet And a light to my path.

Bible Verse

Matthew 2:9 KJV 1900

9 When they had heard the king, they departed; and, lo, the star, which they saw in the east, went before them, till it came and stood over where the young child was.

Principle #2 When you follow the Star it will Lead You to Joy!

Matthew 2:10 “When they saw the star, they rejoiced with exceedingly great joy.”

When we allow the Star to lead us, then you will find joy.

Notice that this is happening at night, during the dark hours of the day. While others are asleep.

They didn’t just have joy but they had exceedingly great joy.

Exceedingly means at the very high point on the scale. Meaning that their joy is already at the brim, but when Matthew adds great then we can see that they were overflowed with joy.

Psalm 23:5 NKJV

5 You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies; You anoint my head with oil; My cup runs over.

Illustration: Have you ever made wishes on stars? Many of us remember sitting outside as kids, pointing out the brightest star and dreaming. Just like those stars, Jesus was the brightest hope for a world steeped in darkness. He was the light we could wish upon—before we even realized we needed Him. His birth brought that light into the world, reminding us that every dark night has the promise of dawn.

I look at the time period of Midnight until dawn as a transitional period.

Q. What are you doing during the transitional period? Are you following the star? Are you praying to the Star? What are you doing when others are asleep?

There is no joy when you follow the Star of drugs.

There is no joy at the bottom of the bottle.

There is no joy at the butt of the blunt.

There is no joy from the bullet from your buddy.

There is no joy at the end of a fist from a friend.

I encourage you to be led by the Star of Jesus.

“Precious Lord take my hand, and led my on.”

“You can’t see anything properly while your eyes are blurred with tears.”

C. S. Lewis

Psalm 30:5 “For His anger is but for a moment, His favor is for life; Weeping may endure for a night, But joy comes in the morning.”

Principle #3 When you follow the Star it will lead you to worship!

Matthew 2:11 “And when they had come into the house, they saw the young Child with Mary His mother, and fell down and worshiped Him. And when they had opened their treasures, they presented gifts to Him: gold, frankincense, and myrrh.”

I am so blessed to have this opportunity to come and share the word of God. Someone didn’t come to Jesus birthday party this morning because they wanted to open their gifts first. But this scripture really blessed me.

The Word of God, like this Star, leads people to Jesus. It does not drive you!

Notice that before they opened any gift, they fell down and worshiped Him first. They didn’t wait until they were sick, they didn’t wait until Sunday morning, they didn’t wait until they recieved their check. When they saw Him, they fell down and worshipped Him. This scripture shows us something very powerful about worship.

Listen: We should be led to worship and not just come to church to worship.

We will never achieve the full benefit of worship if we are not led by the powerful hand of God.

We see churches today changing devotional period to praise and worship, but until we are led to worship by the hands of God, we will continue to have empty services.

The only Worship Leader we need is the Holy Spirit and He doesn’t need our help.

Build up to Close

We must remember the reason for the season. These heathen astrologers had enough insight to fall down and worship the One they found to be the Star of Bethlehem.

The wisest people today are not the scholars, scientist, leaders of the community or nation, but the wisest people are the ones who follow the Star and are willing to forsake everything else and fall down and worship the Bright and Morning Star Jesus Christ.

Think about what He has done for you in your life. Someone say I followed the Star because He is a healer, He is a company keeper, he is a burden bearer, because He loved me when I didn’t know to love myself

Psalm 126:3 “The Lord has done great things for us, And we are glad.”

Closing

Since I found Jesus, I see that when you allow the Star to lead you, then you cannot go wrong.

When you follow Jesus, you are going to have some hills but He will lead you over

When you follow Jesus, you will have valleys but He will always bring you out.

When you follow Jesus, you won’t always shine to other people, but if you will just let your little light shine.

When you follow Jesus, you are going to have some rivers to cross, but He will bring you over

When you follow Jesus, it maybe dark in your life, but He will bring light to your dark sick soul.

When you follow Jesus, He will reconnect your prayer line.

When you follow Jesus, you may have some doors shut in your face, but He will open the windows of heaven

Before Sunrise, there was a Star. The Sun comes up right after your darkest moments. Follow the Star. Follow Jesus today and get joy back in your life. Thank You