Good evening, everybody. I want
to start tonight's broadcast by just thanking the Lord for
bringing so many of us through this sickness. When the Lord is pleased to bring
us low, He tends also to bring us closer to Him, and that's
a precious thing. And also, with so many of us
being sick here recently, there's been much occasion and many examples
of our love for one another shown to each other, and that's a blessing
to my heart, and I just wanted to thank the Lord for that. It's been a little while since
I've preached a message, but the Lord has given me a little
more strength every day, and I'm thankful for that, and thankful
for you, Pray the Lord will bless this to your heart tonight. I've
been looking in the holiday season here at this star in Matthew
chapter two. I believe at our Christmas party
last year, I might have brought a little 10 minute devotional
on this passage of scripture, but I've looked at it some over
the past week or so, and I wanted to take another look at Matthew
2, verses 1 through 11, if you're reading along with me. Now when
Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea in the days of Herod the
king, behold, there came wise men from the east to Jerusalem
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. When
Herod the king had heard these things, he was troubled and all
Jerusalem with him. And when he had gathered all
the chief priests and scribes of the people together, he demanded
of them where Christ should be born. And they said unto him
in Bethlehem of Judea, for thus it is written by the prophet,
and thou Bethlehem in the land of Judah art not the least among
the princes of Judah, for out of thee shall come a governor
that shall rule my people Israel. Then Herod, when he had privately
called the wise men, inquired of them diligently what time
the star appeared. And he sent them to Bethlehem
and said, go and search diligently for the young child. And when
you have found him, bring me word again that I may come and
worship him also. When they had heard the king,
they departed and lo the star, which they saw in the east, went
before them until it came and stood over where the young child
was. When they saw the star, they rejoiced with exceeding
joy. And when they were coming to
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 unto him gifts, gold and frankincense
and myrrh. There's no question what this
star represents. God's stars are his preachers. In Revelation chapter 1 verse
20, the mystery of the seven stars which thou sawest in my
right hand and the seven golden candlesticks, the seven stars
are the angels of the seven churches. And that word angels is simply
messengers. The messengers that God has placed
in his churches. and the seven candlesticks are
the seven churches, but all of God's people are like this star
in our text, all of the Lord's elect. One of the things I like
about this star is how little we know about it. There are a
lot of questions about it. If it was a star like any star
that we know, that we've seen in the sky, we would wonder how
it would ever be ever said to stand above a specific place
where this child lay. How could you say that about
any of the stars we know about? It would be difficult to tell
where a star was over if it was a normal star. Our star in our
text here, though, was no ordinary star. I can tell you that much
about it. Lots of so-called stars in the
sky, but you might look up at an ordinary star on any given
night and say, that star is over where I am. But millions of people
could say the same thing. They could see that same star
and say, it's over where I am. And that's like the stars of
religion. There are many so-called stars and there are many false
Christs that point here and there and could be said to be pointing
many different places. Lo, here is Christ and there
is Christ. This star, though, in our text,
it wasn't like that. And we don't know much about
it. It didn't have a name like some stars do. Some stars are
different colors, but we don't know about this one. It doesn't
say it's a bright star. It doesn't say it's beautiful.
It only says one thing about it in the description in verse
two. We've seen his star. God's preachers belong to him. God's people belong to Him. This is my favorite thing that
the Lord calls me and you. I love the word elect. What a
beautiful, the elect of God. I believe that believers are
called the elect in the scriptures more than anything else. And
what a wonderful name, chosen, elect and precious unto our God. Christ being his elect and us
in him, what a precious name. Believers, the gift of faith. I love being called a believer
in the Lord Jesus Christ, because the gift that he gives of faith
is such a precious one. But you know what my favorite
thing is he calls me? When he says, you're mine, you're mine. And that's what this is. It was
his star. And that's all we know about
it, really. God's preachers are His, they're for His glory. They
exist for His glory. His people do, His messengers,
His witnesses. They don't entertain. They don't
motivate just for the sake of motivation. It's His grace and
His love that motivates us. But His preachers are not motivational
speakers. You know, and they don't even
counsel people really, except to say, you need to hear from
God. And this is important now. Let me make this clear. You don't
need personal advice from a preacher. Most of it stinks anyway. You
need to hear from God. That's what I need too. The star
in our text just had one purpose. That's why it's called his star.
Stars were used then to navigate at night to get a traveler to
just about any earthly destination from one point to another, especially
on the seas. But this one in our text wouldn't
have been any good for that, moving around like it did. It
wouldn't have been any use for that to find an earthly destination.
You would have never been able to chart a course to some distant
city by this star. This star was only any good to
you if you were looking for the Son of God, and none of the other
stars would have been any use for that, would have been any
good for that. You couldn't have found God's
Son by any of them, but by this one you could. No, our star had
to be different in two ways. I can't explain how it's called
a star and how it did this except in two ways. It had to be close
to Him. It couldn't be way up there and
indicate where he was. This star had to be close to
the Savior. And I'll tell you this, all of
his messengers, all of his stars pray, Lord, keep me close, keep
me close to you. And he does by his grace. And I'll tell you the second
thing, it followed him. It followed him wherever he went. Stars don't
do that. His do. His do. The gospel we preach has one
purpose. John 21, 25 says this, and there
are also many other things which Jesus did. And this book is about
Christ and what he did. The Old Testament is about Christ
and what he did. The New Testament. But there
are many other things it says there, which Jesus did, the which,
if they should be written every one, I suppose that even the
world itself could not contain the books that should be written. Amen. But in John 20 verse 30,
it says this, and many other signs truly did Jesus in the
presence of his disciples, which are not written in this book,
but these are written. These are written. These are
studied. These are learned. These are
known. These are declared that you might believe that Jesus
is the Christ, the son of God, and that believing you might
have life through his name. The Bible doesn't say a lot of
things. It says the same thing a lot
of times and in a lot of different ways. One thing is needful. Here's the message of scripture,
1 John 5, 9. If we receive the witness of
men, the witness of God is greater. There's no comparison. Men have
opinions about things. They have ideas about things. They have intellectual things
that they come up with and love to let you know how smart they
are. But the witness of God is what we need. The witness of
God is greater. For this is the witness of God,
which he hath testified of his son. This is the witness of God,
which he hath testified of his son. What God talks about is
His Son. He saved sinners by the power
and grace and blood and righteousness of His Son. He that believeth
on the Son of God hath the witness in himself. He that believeth
not God hath made him a liar. If you don't believe on the Son
of God, you've called God a liar. Because he believeth not the
record that God gave of His Son. And this is the record that God
hath given unto us eternal life, and this life is in his Son. He that hath the Son hath life,
and he that hath not the Son of God hath not life. That's what this book, the star
had one purpose, to declare here he is, here he is, to show who
Christ is, where he is, and I want, like this star, to hover over,
point to, follow, shine upon, and stay. It stayed. When it came to the place where
he was, it stayed right there. I wanna do that. I wanna stay
with the Lord Jesus Christ by his grace. When these wise men
saw the star, they weren't impressed with it. You needn't say anything
about it. The only reason they mentioned
the star in verse two is in connection with worshiping Christ. That's
what they came to do. And when they saw the star again,
when they found it again, they rejoiced because they were able
to worship him again. They didn't worship the star.
This reminds me of what it says about John the Baptist in John
1.35. It says, again, the next day after John stood and two
of his disciples, and looking upon Jesus as he walked, he saith,
John said, behold, the Lamb of God. There's the star, he was
the star, he was the star, as we are. Behold the Lamb of God,
there he is, there's where he is. He identified a person, and
the two disciples heard him speak, and they followed Jesus. Then
Jesus turned and saw them following, and saith unto them, What seek
ye? And then they said unto him, Rabbi, which is to say, being
interpreted, Master, where dwellest thou? And he saith unto them,
Come and see. And they came and saw where he
dwelt, and abode with him that day. For it was about the tenth
hour, and one of the two which heard John speak and followed
him was Andrew, Simon Peter's brother. Hearing John speak caused
them to follow, not John, but the one he spoke of. They heard
John and they followed Christ. That's the star. That's who we
want to be. That's what all of God's preachers
want. That's what all of God's people want. Not only did they
come to worship him, He was pleased to cause them
to. Look what happened again in verses
9-11. Let's read 9-11 again, chapter 2. 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. And when they saw the star, they
rejoiced with exceeding great joy. And when they were 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 unto him gifts. When
the star stood right over where Christ was, when it camped right
there, they rejoiced to see the star because they knew what that
meant. When the star was stayed in one
place, they knew what that meant. It stood right over where Christ
was. And we rejoice in God's preachers now We do thank God
for them because we know that it is by these means that the
Lord meets with us and shows us himself crucified for our
sins in the preaching of the gospel. How beautiful are the
feet upon the mountains of him that bringeth good tidings. that
publisheth peace, that bringeth good tidings of good, that publisheth
salvation, that saith unto Zion, thy God reigneth. The one that's
born the king is identified by these and how beautiful their
feet are. Listen to where Paul quoted that
passage in Romans 10, 11. For the scripture saith, whosoever
believeth on him shall not be ashamed. For there is no difference
between the Jew and the Greek. For the same Lord over all is
rich unto all that call upon him. For whosoever shall call
upon the name of the Lord shall be saved. How then shall they
call on him in whom they've not believed? And how shall they
believe in him of whom they've not heard? And how shall they
hear without a preacher? How are they gonna find the babe
without the star? The God used the star. How shall
they preach except they be sent? As it is written, how beautiful
are the feet of them that preach the gospel of peace. In that
context of God saving his people and the means that he uses to
do that, to bring them to Christ, to believing on Christ and him
crucified, in that context, this is quoted, how beautiful, that
bring glad tidings of good things, but they have not all obeyed
the gospel, For Isaiah saith, Lord, who hath believed our report?
So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.
How are you gonna find him without the star? And how are you gonna
believe on him without the gospel preached, without God's star?
God could have gotten these wise men to him any number of ways.
But he did it by his star. And he always does that. There
were other inquiries made that were not helpful. But when they
saw the star, they rejoiced. But they didn't stand gazing
at the star. Here's why they rejoiced when they saw the star.
Verse 11, when they were come into the house, they saw the
young child with Mary, his mother, and fell down and worshiped him. They didn't worship anything
or anybody else. but him, everything else was
just a means of Christ and the worshiper, Christ and the believer,
Christ and his own, Christ and his people being joined together. And when they had opened their
treasures, they presented their gifts, the first thing they laid
eyes on was him. When they came into the house,
they saw the young child, but they, had come a long way now. They had come and followed the
star for this one reason. It was just to worship him. It
says that in the very beginning they came to worship him. And
that's what they did. They traveled a long way and
at some danger to come where he was. But they were determined. And all of those who know, all
of those who hear, All of those who are compelled by the irresistible
grace of God, they're determined, they're coming to Christ. Christ
is everything we need. He's all we need, and he's everything
we need. The woman with the issue of blood,
she was sick, but she pressed through the throng because she
had no other hope. Blind Bartimaeus wouldn't shut
up because he had no other hope. The woman of Canaan, whose daughter
was grievously vexed with the devil, she wouldn't go away.
Though she knew that what the Lord said was true, that she
wasn't worthy of anything from him, but she couldn't go away
because she had no other hope. Jacob would not let the Lord
go except the Lord bless him, and none of his people will.
That's the place to where he brings us. They were able to
worship because he's the king. They said, we're looking for
the one who is born the king. You can only worship a king.
You can't worship a God that's not sovereign. You can't worship
a God that tries, but men can thwart his purposes. You can't
worship a God who purposes and doesn't bring it to pass, that
can't get it done. You can't worship a God that
wants the best for his people, but can't actually save anybody.
You can only worship the King of the Jews, him which is called
the King of his people. That's the very title that was
written over his head in John 19, 17, when he hung on Calvary. He said, those wise men, they
said, we're looking for the one that's born the king of the Jews.
And here's what it says in John 19, 17. And he bearing his cross
went forth into a place called the place of a skull, which is
called in the Hebrew Golgotha, where they crucified him and
two other with him on either side one and Jesus in the midst. And Pilate wrote a title and
put it on the cross. And the writing was Jesus of
Nazareth, the king of the Jews. He was born the king of the Jews,
the king of his elect. And he died the king of his people. And because he did, a number
of sinners, which no man can number, are redeemed by his precious
blood. That's who they looked for. That's
who they found, the king of the Jews. who lived and died as such,
the king of his people, the sovereign king of salvation. And bless
God, I know, I can't number. It's a number which no man can
number that he redeemed with his precious blood on Calvary,
but he knows every one of them. He knows the exact count. I can't
number them, but thank God I know a few of them. And I thank God
for them. And I thank God for his precious
blood that washed our sins away. He was born the king of his elect,
as the wise men said, and he died the king of his elect to
redeem them from the curse of the law, being made a curse for
them. Though they saw, those wise men,
they saw a baby in a manger, yet they were looking at the
king of glory, the king of salvation, who gave himself a ransom for
many. Simeon saw him as a baby in Luke
chapter two, and he said, Lord, now let us thy servant depart
in peace, for mine eyes have seen thy salvation. The thief
on the cross saw a bloody, broken, by all accounts, defeated man,
except God's account, the one that matters, and yet knew him,
saw him broken and bloody, and yet knew him as the king of glory
who was coming into his kingdom. And he said, when you do, remember
me. The question is, have you seen
him? Have I seen him? The king of salvation, the sovereign
savior, he that is born king and he that died sovereign of
his elect people. Has God revealed to you in his
gospel, his precious only begotten well-beloved son? If you see
him high and lifted up, as these, even as a baby in a manger, they
saw him as the king, they saw him high. If you see him that
way, you will worship him as they did. May he grant it by
his grace that we worship him together as long as we live on
this earth. And soon, if he's gracious, we
will worship him here. And I hope that soon we can together
gather again in this place and worship. And then soon in a little
while, face to face. Amen.