For us to find and enjoy Christ, we need to have both the scriptural knowledge and the leading of the living star, that is, we need to live in an intimate relationship with the Lord and have His living guidance.
In Num. 24:17 Moses prophesied that a Star will come forth out of Jacob; this Star is Christ, and He is the shining One guiding us in the darkness of this age.
In Matt. 2:2 we see that, after the Lord Jesus was born, there was a star that rose up and led some magi, some wise pagan men, to the place where the Lord Jesus was. These learned men from the east saw His star at its rising and went to worship Him and give Him gifts.
We need to see the Lord’s star and be led by Him in a living way inwardly.
On one hand we need to be in the Word of God, loving the Lord and keeping His word in our heart through much prayer; on the other hand, we need to be in intimate fellowship with the Lord so that He can guide us into the rich enjoyment and knowledge of Himself.
The star in Matt. 2:2 is the fulfillment of Num. 24:17; interestingly, however, this star didn’t appear to any of the people of Israel but to these learned men.
Even more interesting is when the magi came to Jerusalem and inquired concerning the newborn King of the Jews, even though the Jews had the Scriptures that told them where the Messiah was to be born they still were troubled and none of them went to see Him.
The Jews had the knowledge in letters concerning where the Christ was to be born; they knew that He was to be born in Bethlehem, but none of them actually had the heart to go and see Him.
These learned men from the east received a living vision of Christ, for the star led them to the place where the Lord Jesus was.
It is one thing to have the Scriptural knowledge of Christ and of God, but it is something else to have the Lord’s living guidance, His guiding in your intimate fellowship with Him.
What we want is not merely doctrinal understanding of the word and scriptural knowledge of Christ but a seeking heart after Him so that we may have a living vision of Christ.
Finding Christ and enjoying Him is not merely something as a doctrine in the Bible; it is a living matter, and when we come to the Lord and ask Him to give us a seeking heart, He will guide us in a living way in our fellowship with Him, for He wants us to know Him personally, intimately, and spiritually.
Our need for the Knowledge of the Scriptures and the Instant Leading of the Lord
The magi went to find Christ by the star that rose and led them, but they were misled by their human concept; they thought that, since the King was in Jerusalem, so Christ – the newborn King – will also be there.
After receiving the living vision, the magi were misled by their human concept and went to Jerusalem, the capital of the Jewish nation, where its king was presumed to be.
However, by their being misled they caused many young boys to be killed, for in Matt. 2:16 we see that Herod was enraged when the magi didn’t come back to him, so he sent men to do away with all the boys two years and under in Bethlehem.
May we remain in the word of God and seek to have the Lord’s living and instant leading, not turning to our natural concepts of what the Lord is and we should serve Him.
When the magi arrived in Jerusalem and inquired concerning the King of the Jews, where was He to be born, both Herod and all Jerusalem with him were very troubled. Instead of rejoicing when they heard this news, they were troubled.
At the Lord’s second return it will be the same; many Christians will be troubled by the Lord’s return, for they didn’t expect Him, and they didn’t love His appearing.
As believers who expect the Lord to come or who expect to be raptured, we should take this as a warning. We need to be those who love the Lord’s appearing; to be such ones, we need to love the Lord today and seek His appearing all the time (2 Tim. 4:8).
May we have a heart to seek the Lord and pursue after Him, and may we ask Him to appear to us whenever we come to His word; even more, may we live in His appearing every day, and may we treasure His presence.
When the Lord called Paul, He told him through Ananias that He wants to make him a minister and a witness both of the things in which He appeared to him and in the things in which He will appear to him.
We need to have the Lord’s continual appearing; on one hand we need to know His word and be in His word, and on the other, we need to have His instant leading.
After the magi were corrected by the Scriptures (Matt. 2:4-6), they went to Bethlehem (vv. 8-9), and the star appeared to them again and led them to the exact place where Christ was; when they saw the star, they rejoiced exceedingly with great joy (v. 10).
They were corrected by the Scriptures and restored to the right track, so the star appeared to them again; a living vision always accompanies the Scriptures.
May we come to the Lord in His word to get a thorough knowledge of who He is in His word, and may we seek Him in spirit to have the Lord’s instant leading.
May we not merely rely on our knowledge of the word, and may we not trust our concepts and natural opinions or religious views, but may we come to the Lord to have His fresh appearing, and may we allow His word to correct us and adjust us.
Lord Jesus, we want to find You, know You, and enjoy You as the most wonderful One. Thank You for Your word which shows us who You are, what You are, and what Your heart’s desire is. We treasure Your appearing, Lord. Appear to us day by day. Appear to us in Your word and all throughout the day. Keep us in Your word, enjoying You and having a thorough knowledge of You, and grant us Your living and instant guidance in the spirit. Oh Lord, may we not rely on or be misled by our human concepts or religious views, but may we have the instant leading of the Lord and the correction of the Scriptures.
Living in Intimate Fellowship with the Lord to have His Living Guidance daily
It is very interesting to see that, even though the Jews together with their leaders and the scribes and the Pharisees – they all had the Scriptures that contained the prophecy concerning Christ, but none of them had a heart to seek after Him.
It is one thing to have the verse in Micah 5:2 telling you where Christ was to be born, but it is something else to have a heart to seek after Him and even to have His living guidance to where He is, the exact location where He lives.
Even if we have the knowledge of the Scriptures, we still need the instant, up-to-date, living star to lead us to the street and even the house where Christ is; merely accumulating scriptural knowledge doesn’t mean that you know Christ or have Christ as your enjoyment in your experience.
The living star led the magi not only to the city but also the street and the house where the newborn King was; in our experience we have both the Scriptures to show us Christ and also the living guidance of the Lord to bring us to the exact location where He is so that we may know Him, enjoy Him, worship Him, and give ourselves to Him.
The priests where those who taught the people the law (Mal. 2:7) and the scribes were those who knew the Scriptures (Ezra 7:6); both the priests and the scribes had the knowledge concerning the birth of Christ (Matt. 2:5-6) but they didn’t see the vision nor had the heart to seek after Him.
It is the Lord’s mercy that we would have a heart to seek after the Lord.
The Bible is in our hands, the Scriptures are opened up, but when it comes to knowing the Lord and finding where He is and what He wants, we need to have not only the Bible knowledge but also His living guidance as we live in intimate fellowship with the Lord.
So we need to ask the Lord to give us a heart to seek after Him all our days. We need to open to Him and turn our heart to Him, allowing Him to infuse us with a seeking heart; in our intimate fellowship with the Lord we can have His living guidance daily, and we can find Him.
Regardless of how “scriptural” we are, if we lose the Lord’s presence, we are absolutely wrong; the New Testament way to find and follow the Lord is to continually stay in His hidden presence.
When we come to the Lord’s word we need to come to Him, asking Him to appear to us and guide us inwardly in a living way (John 5:39-40).
As we come to the Lord in His word or we read the ministry that opens up the Word of God, we need to come to the Lord to see Him in His word.
Merely reading the Bible and accumulating Bible knowledge doesn’t mean that we have His living guidance; coming to the Lord in spirit and staying in His hidden presence will cause us to know who He is, where He is, and what He wants us to do.
In Exo. 33:14 we see that the Lord wants to be with His people; His presence goes with us, and He gives us rest, and if we don’t have His presence, we cannot move on or go on with Him.
May we be like Moses, speaking to the Lord face to face just as a man speaks to His companion (Exo. 33:11); may we know the Lord not only in an outward way according to what the Bible says but also in an inward way by His living guidance within.
We do need the knowledge of the Scriptures, but at the same time we need the living, instant guidance of the living Lord within, the guidance of this very moment to lead us to the very spot where Jesus is to know what He wants and what He does.
It is easy to accumulate scriptural knowledge, but if we would have living guidance, we must live in an intimate relationship with the Lord and be one with Him (2 Cor. 2:10-14).
And once we see Christ and worship Him, we will “depart by another way” as the magi did (Matt. 2:12), that is, once we see Christ and know Him intimately, we will never take the same way.
When we touch the living Christ and see Him, having His living guidance within, we will never take the way of religion apart from Christ but take His way.
Lord Jesus, we come to You in Your word to seek after You and find You; grant us the living guidance within so that we may know where You are and who You are. We treasure Your presence, Lord, and we want to do everything in Your presence and even guided by Your presence. May we not rely merely on scriptural knowledge but have the Lord’s living guidance as we live in an intimate relationship with the Lord and seek to be one with Him! Amen, Lord Jesus, keep us in an intimate relationship with You, treasuring Your word and having Your instant and constant guidance within.
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References and Hymns on this Topic
- Inspiration: the Word of God, my enjoyment in the ministry, the message by bro. Ed Marks for this week, and portions from, Collected Works of Witness Lee, 1970, vol. 1, ”New Testament Service,” pp. 278-280, as quoted in the Holy Word for Morning Revival on, Crystallization-Study of Numbers (2), week 10, Christ as the Star out of Jacob.
- Hymns on this topic:
# God’s own Word must not be taken / Just as knowledge but as life, / Not alone God’s thought conveying, / But Himself to us as life; / Not alone God’s mind revealing, / But His Christ as life within, / Not alone the teaching giving, / But experience of Him. (Hymns #816)
# Not of letters, but of spirit, / The New Testamental way; / For ‘tis life the spirit giveth, / But the letters always slay. / Outward work God never reckons, / But what’s from the inmost part; / It is not to serve in letter, / But life’s newness to impart. (Hymns #908)
# In tenderness He deals with me, / While I stay with joy in His presence; / And He saturates and supplies my soul / With all His precious essence. / And He speaks to me and reveals to me / All His riches for me today; / And in every way I partake of Him, / My problems all passed away. (Hymns #554)
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