Sermon #1180 The Bright and Morning Star

Transcription

1 Sermon #1180 The Bright and Morning Star The older I get the more I love old hymns. If you re like me, you ve sung the following hymn since your childhood days that contains metaphors you have not fully understood. In 1881, Charles Fry, a bricklayer by trade and master musician, wrote The Lily of the Valley. You know the lyrics: I have found a friend in Jesus, He s everything to me, He s the fairest of ten thousand to my soul; The Lily of the Valley, in Him alone I see All I need to cleanse and make me fully whole. In sorrow He s my comfort, in trouble He s my stay; He tells me every care on Him to roll. Refrain: He s the Lily of the Valley, the Bright and Morning Star, He s the fairest of ten thousand to my soul. He all my grief has taken, and all my sorrows borne; In temptation He s my strong and mighty tow r; I ve all for Him forsaken, and all my idols torn From my heart and now He keeps me by His pow r. Though all the world forsake me, and Satan tempt me sore, Through Jesus I shall safely reach the goal. He ll never, never leave me, nor yet forsake me here, While I live by faith and do His blessed will; A wall of fire about me, I ve nothing now to fear, From His manna He my hungry soul shall fill. Then sweeping up to glory to see His blessed face, Where rivers of delight shall ever roll. I ve sung this song many times, but I am only now realizing the breadth of some of the beautiful truths tucked within it. Mr. Fry s lyrics tell how Jesus surpasses all other friends. The Bible-based song details how Jesus greatness and faithfulness influences the lyricist, and by extension the rest of us, to live a life of godly devotion. The Bright and Morning Star, after our song BRIGHT and MORNING STAR Did you know that you can buy a star? Hey! Why buy jewelry for your sweetheart when you can name a star after her? Why buy your child a gift that can be lost, damaged, or destroyed, when you can purchase a star to name after him that is guaranteed to last a lifetime. And why not? The heavens contain numerous stars! Experts estimate a trillion galaxies exist in our universe and that in our galaxy alone about a trillions stars brighten the heavens. So many stars, in fact, pepper the vaulted sky that the Bible says man cannot number them (Jeremiah 33:22) Here s the kicker, though: you can purchase a star to name at nameastar.com for only $9.99! Unfortunately, while this company may send you a certificate of authenticity, your star will carry no official status. The International Astronomical Union gives stars their official names. Really, the best you can hope for is to be the first to spot a comet and have it named after you. So much for that! 1

2 The Bright and Morning Star, by Brett Hickey, sermon # of 6 We want to focus, though, on the significance of Jesus as found in this song, and on Jesus, in particular, as the Bright and Morning Star. The Scriptures first present this image as a Messianic prophecy in Numbers 24:17, "I see Him, but not now; I behold Him, but not near; [this language indicates that it is a prophecy of the distant future] A Star shall come out of Jacob; A Scepter shall rise out of Israel, And batter the brow of Moab, And destroy all the sons of tumult. As the Bright and Morning Star, Jesus well represents the beacon He has long provided for all mankind. Mariners and voyagers have used stars as a reference or travel guide in their journeys. The disciple of Christ, of course, must always be looking unto Jesus as he navigates through the treacherous seas of this life. The Jamieson, Fausset, and Brown commentary notes on Numbers 24:17, This imagery, in the hieroglyphic language of the East, denotes some eminent ruler--primarily David; but secondarily and pre-eminently, the Messiah (see on Ge 49:10). Burton Coffman writes, Interpreters of all ages, races, and persuasions of mankind have invariably found in these verses a prophecy of the Messiah. Even the men of the Dead Sea Scrolls community regarded this passage as Messianic. The whole Jewish people also so received it. Even a pretended Messiah built up his claims by assuming a name (Bar Kochba) which means son of a star. Could this prophecy from Numbers be connected with what we read in the New Testament about Wise Men coming from the East? In Matthew 2:2, the Wise Men asked King Herod, Where is He who has been born King of the Jews? For we have seen His star in the East and have come to worship Him. We lack many background details to this Scripture, but these Wise Men likely would know about Balaam s prophecy from the region in which they lived. Reflecting on the context of this biblical account, the appearance of Balaam in the biblical was unusual because he was a Gentile prophet who lived in Mesopotamia along the Euphrates River. Perhaps this connection to the East led the Wise Men to be familiar with Balaam s prophecies and eventually motivated them to travel to seek out the fulfillment. Balak, king of Moab, you remember, hired Balaam the prophet to curse God s people. Unfortunately for Balak, the Lord intervened and not only prohibited Balaam from cursing, but insisted instead that Balaam give Israel a blessing. This precipitated the prophecy regarding the morning star in Numbers 24:17b, A Star shall come out of Jacob; A Scepter shall rise out of Israel, And batter the brow of Moab, And destroy all the sons of tumult. So, what is the morning star? According to astronomers, it s Venus. Why have I just now figured this out? The World Book article on Venus reads, Venus appears brighter than any other planet or even any star in the night sky. At certain times of the year, Venus is the first planet or star that can be seen in the western sky in the evening. At other times, it is the last planet or star that can be seen in the eastern sky in the morning. When Venus is near its brightest point, it can be seen in daylight. Ancient astronomers called the object that appeared in the morning Phosphorus and the one that appeared in the evening Hesperus. Later, they realized these objects were the same planet. The World Book article on Evening star adds that the morning star, can be seen in the eastern sky before sunrise and sometimes even during and after sunrise. Since three New Testament passages link Jesus to the morning star or Venus, it is interesting to note that Venus is not only the brightest planet visible, but also the first and last star to be seen at night. The planet Venus the bright and morning star--is the Alpha and the Omega of the nighttime starry sky. 2

3 The Bright and Morning Star, by Brett Hickey, sermon # of 6 Jesus makes the association explicit between this star and Himself on the last page of Holy Scripture. We read in Revelation 22:16, I, Jesus, have sent My angel to testify to you these things in the churches. I am the Root and the Offspring of David, the Bright and Morning Star." Some people will be troubled by the fact that the term Morning Star is associated with the king of Babylon, an unsavory character mentioned in Isaiah 14:12, "How you are fallen from heaven, O Lucifer, son of the morning! How you are cut down to the ground, You who weakened the nations! For you have said in your heart: I will ascend into heaven, I will exalt my throne above the stars of God; I will also sit on the mount of the congregation On the farthest sides of the north; I will ascend above the heights of the clouds, I will be like the Most High.' The word Lucifer does literally mean morning star. So, how could Jesus and this evil individual both be called morning star? The passage certainly refers to the King of Babylon, but some Bible scholars insist that it also points to Satan. Without diving deeply into that controversy, we must recognize that any symbol can be used in both a positive and negative way. We see this repeatedly in the Bible. The Scriptures refer to Jesus as the lion of the tribe of Judah (Revelation 5:5), but also speaks of Satan as a roaring lion who seeks to devour believers (1 Peter 5:8). The Bible speaks of Satan as that old serpent (Revelation 20:2) while Jesus also teaches that His disciples should be wise as serpents (Matthew 10:16). The Bible speaks of leaven in a positive way (Matthew 13:33) and in a negative way (1 Corinthians 5:8). The same symbol may be used in different ways under different circumstances. The uniqueness of planet Venus well represents Jesus exceptional place in the plan of God. Not only is Venus the brightest of all the planets and stars, and the first and the last of the stars to be seen at night, but it is also the only one of the planets that has a clockwise rotation; all other planets rotate in a counter clockwise direction. Jesus also presents the Bright and Morning Star as a symbol of the gift that all Christians will receive who overcome their formidable adversary and all other forms of adversity. The Spirit teaches in Revelation 2:28, He who overcomes I will give him the morning star. While in this life Christians already have Jesus in one sense, we will not receive the ultimate intimacy with Him that Jesus promises here until we successfully finish the Christian race. We find what I consider the most interesting use of this metaphor in 2 Peter 1:19, And so we have the prophetic word confirmed, which you do well to heed as a light that shines in a dark place, until the day dawns and the morning star rises in your hearts Jesus came into this dark world to shine the light on evil and point the way to God. No brighter light every shined in this world than when He walked about the dusty streets of Palestine. This dark, dark world as desperately needs the glorious light of the gospel as it did in the first century. God s plan to brighten the world around us will work, but only if we stick to the game plan. 3

4 The Bright and Morning Star, by Brett Hickey, sermon # of 6 The people of God make up many little lights, like distant little stars that reflect the brighter light of God and Jesus Christ. In order for us to give the maximum illumination to the truth and right of the gospel, we must first allow the Lord to dominate our own hearts; we must grow and mature in Christ; Christ must be formed in us. Then, Jesus can use us to more effectively pierce the darkness and prepare as many as possible for the splendor of His Second Coming. Fittingly, Venus, the morning star, is the harbinger, the sign of the coming sunlight; the morning star signals that the brightness of day is almost upon us. When the morning star appears in the darkest hours of night, it carries with it the bright promise of better things soon to come with the dawning of the new day. This metaphor suggests to me the poetic words of Jeremiah in Lamentations 3:22-23, Through the LORD's mercies we are not consumed, Because His compassions fail not. They are new every morning; Great is Your faithfulness. William Barclay writes in his book, Jesus as They Saw Him, It is the function and the glory of the morning star to be the herald of the dawn. When the morning star rises, the full blaze of day is not far behind. So with Jesus there came the light which puts the darkness to flight. This adds a dimension to the more familiar metaphor assigned to Jesus as the light of the world. The prophet writes in Isaiah 9:2, The people who walked in darkness have seen a great light; those who dwelt in the land of the shadow of death, upon them a light has shined. These Scriptures and this hymn about the Bright and Morning star should remind us of the great contrast of the world before and after Jesus. Those of us who profess to be followers of Jesus today will be unable to appreciate the great darkness of the world without Jesus 2,000 years ago. As dark as Jerusalem, Judah, and Israel were when Jesus came, that darkness that ignorance, idolatry, sinfulness--and hardly compares to the pitch blackness that filled the nations beyond Israel. Unbelievers are unaware of the ongoing blessing of the direct and indirect influence of Jesus through the New Testament and genuine Christians. Jesus says in Matthew 5:45 that God makes His sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust. Many benefit from the generosity, kindness, and compassion that grows out of Jesus influence. Before Jesus arrival, the darkness of sin could not have been more extreme. Jesus brought the possibility of real change like never before, and He did so to all men. John 9:5, For so the Lord has commanded us: I have set you as a light to the Gentiles, That you should be for salvation to the ends of the earth. " John 12:46, I have come as a light into the world, that WHOEVER believes in Me should not abide in darkness. John 8:12, Then Jesus spoke to them again, saying, I am the light of the world. He who follows Me shall not walk in darkness, but have the light of life. " We have to choose: light or darkness? We know what choice we ve taken based on the path we are on. Ephesians 5:8-14, For you were once darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Walk as children of light (for the fruit of the Spirit is in all goodness, righteousness, and truth), finding out what is acceptable to the Lord. And have no fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness, but rather expose them. For it is shameful even to speak of those things which are done by them in secret. But all things that are exposed are made manifest by the light, for whatever makes manifest is light. Therefore He says: Awake, you who sleep, Arise from the dead, And Christ will give you light. " As the Bright and Morning star, Jesus ushered in a new day where the people of God did not merely fixate on rule-keeping, but where obedience would be based on the light striking our hears. 2 Corinthians 4:6, For it is the God who 4

5 The Bright and Morning Star, by Brett Hickey, sermon # of 6 commanded light to shine out of darkness, who has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ. Barclay stresses how the Bright and Morning Star analogy communicates the universal accessibility of Jesus to man. He writes, A star is not something which any nation can keep to itself. A star is something which any man who can look up can see, and whose light and guidance any man can enjoy; and so the title of the Star sets Jesus forth as the Saviour of all mankind. We have time to explore the lyrics of this song. Mr. Fry writes that Jesus is the fairest of ten thousand to my soul. Did you ever wonder where he came up with ten thousand? Why not one hundred thousand, one million, or one billion? Mr. Fry didn t pull that number out of thin air; he took it from Scripture. Do you want to stump a knowledgeable Bible student? Ask them where in the Bible Mr. Fry found those words? Mr. Fry takes these words from perhaps the most unique book in the Bible. Song of Solomon 5:10, My beloved is white and ruddy, Chief among ten thousand. The lily of the Valley is taken from the Song of Solomon 2:1-2, I am the rose of Sharon, And the lily of the valleys. Like a lily among thorns, So is my love among the daughters. The Scriptures mention the lily in fifteen different places. This flower also finds its way into the Sermon on the Mount. Jesus said in Luke 12:27, Consider the lilies, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin; and yet I say to you, even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. The lily of the valley exceeds the beauty of other lilies because of its ample access to water. Thomson writes of the valley, The name not applied to ravines, but to the long broad sweeps sometimes found between parallel ranges of hills. Kitto adds that it Takes its name from its six leaves or petals, and from its vivid silver whiteness: a perfect specimen has seven flowers on the spike one at the head and six on the sides of the stem. Scholars believe that the white amaryllis is under consideration. We should cherish aroma of Jesus life as we do that of a fragrant flower. Let s wrap up our study. Do you know Jesus? He knows you and longs to be your friend. I have a precious wife of twenty six years that I adore and children I love dearly, but Jesus is absolutely everything to me. He s the fairest of ten thousand to my soul. Jesus loves you and wants to be a friend to you like no other; He desires to be closer than a brother. Jesus is the one friend I cannot do without; He is the one with whom I can endure all that life and the devil throws at me. He is the lily of the valley, the bright and morning star. He is the only manna that can truly fill the deepest hunger of your soul. Jesus is your greatest hope for a bright tomorrow. If he s your friend, you have all you need. Without Him, there will always be a void. Choose the light! Stay with us for a final word, after our song Thank you for watching Let the Bible Speak. We pray you have heard God speak to you through His word. If you d like a copy of this sermon, The Bright and Morning Star, 1180, please write us at the address on your screen and we ll be glad to get it out to you. We also offer our free Bible study course that you can complete at home. We always welcome your comments and questions. Please visit LetTheBibleSpeak.com and watch videos of the program at your convenience. Finally, we echo the sentiment of the apostle Paul when he wrote in Romans 16:16, the churches of Christ salute you. Until next week, goodbye and God bless. 5

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