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| Wise Men follow the Star |
The Birth of the Coming Messiah was a message had been
prophesied repeatedly and anxiously been awaited by many people, including the
entire nation of Israel. It was not a secret, it was not hidden, in fact, it
was very public knowledge. With this in mind, it makes the manner of “The birth
announcement” chosen by God Himself so much more thought-provoking.
The first
announcement was very public for all to see. It is the equivalent of us taking
a billboard today, or a TV ad, or putting a video on YouTube and it going
viral.
Matt 2:1-2
1 Now after Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea in the days
of Herod the king, behold, wise men from the East came to Jerusalem,
2 saying,"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."
There were more groups of Wise Men during this time than the
ones who followed the Star. The King had his own wise. Any human alive looking
at the sky during that time would have seen the star, but only select wise men
followed it.
Prov 4:7
Wisdom is the principal thing; therefore get wisdom. And in
all your getting, get understanding.
Isa 11:1-2
1 There shall come forth a Rod from the stem of Jesse, And a
Branch shall grow out of his roots.
2 The Spirit of the Lord shall rest upon Him, The Spirit of
wisdom and understanding,
The Wise Men who followed the Star knew how to interpret the
signs of the times. They were not only men in wisdom, but also men whose had
developed their understanding of the times.
Eph 1:18
the eyes of your understanding being enlightened;
The 2nd announcement was of a more specific nature, more
personal. Similar to an invitation that we would extend to invite a specific
person to an occasion that we would love them to join us.
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| Shepherds in the Field |
Luke 2:8-12
8 Now there were in the same country
shepherds living out in the fields, keeping watch over their flock by night.
9
And behold, an angel of the Lord stood before them, and the glory of the Lord
shone around them, and they were greatly afraid.
10 Then the angel said to
them,"Do not be afraid, for behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy
which will be to all people.
11 For there is born to you this day in the city
of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord.
12 And this will be the sign to you:
You will find a Babe wrapped in swaddling cloths, lying in a manger."
What stood out to me in this passage of scripture was the
fact that these were shepherds watching their flock at night. Sound simple? But
if you look at the symbolic meaning of the Shepherd in today’s society it is
representative of a pastor of a church. Keeping watch over his flock means he
was caring for his people in his church. He was not fleecing them or expecting
them to look after themselves; he was doing what the job required, to keep them
safe from the wolves. At night speaks to me of the Pastor doing his work when
no one is watching. It is dark and most people are in doors at night. These
shepherds were not in it to be acknowledged by anyone. Their hearts were for
the sheep. They were found faithful caring for the sheep, providing food and
keeping a watchful eye over their people when no one was around to give them
praise for doing a “great job”. The shepherds might not have been as educated
as the wise men, but God rewarded them for their faithfulness by allowing them
to worship baby Jesus for doing their work in secret. God sent an angel to give
them exact instructions to find Jesus.
Building on the blog I wrote last year “Breakthrough at
Christmas time”, those Believers who received breakthrough this year have a
decision to make as to how to go forward.
1. They could follow
Jesus (the Star) to an undisclosed destination and an veiled reason as they had
obtained wisdom and understanding by studying the Word of God and obeying the
Spirit. They had already learnt to trust God and the Holy Spirit.
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| Jesus I am the Morning Star |
Rev 22:16
"I, Jesus, …I am the Root and
the Offspring of David, the Bright and Morning Star."
2. Believers can continue been obedient to God’s
instructions by been faithful over what God has already given them. The secret
to the obedience here is going ALL the way with what God has asked you to do,
even when no one is watching. Not been obedient to get recognition, earn a
salary or get a Christmas bonus, but genuinely obedient to carry the Body of
Christ through when times are dark and no one is watching, only God
3. Believers could opt to do nothing with their
breakthrough. They feel they have pushed
and worked so hard to get this breakthrough, that they “need to reward themselves”
and they stop guarding their borders which are protecting their breakthrough
from an enemy they do not yet understand (new levels = new devils). This often
results in them losing their breakthrough and longing for the old ways as they
are totally unsettled and unstable in their new area of breakthrough. They do
not have enough word, obedience or faithfulness to ground them in the new
challenges ahead.
When we breakthrough, our reward is
to worship at Jesus feet. To bow before Him and Worship Him in Spirit and Truth
is our greatest reward. Our reward is not fame or finance, it is to bow at
Jesus feet and spend time worshipping Him.
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| Jesus on a White Horse - Book of Revelation |
And if you were wondering about the “been faithful” part of
the shepherds: When Jesus comes back, He is called “Faithful and True” (Rev
19v11) Jesus is Faithful. He rewards Faithful.
Jumping a couple a steps in this revelation:
Rev 19:14
And the armies in heaven, clothed in fine linen, white and
clean, followed Him on white horses.
If we spend time worshipping Jesus, we get to come back with
Him after the marriage supper riding on a white horse, equipped to defeat the
enemy. The significance of this: Jesus will lead us into war if we spend the
season after breakthrough at His feet worshipping Him. For those who have opted
to be part of group 3, they will be fighting their own battles, be
directionless and will often lose ground. It is critical that in this next
season, been faithful to follow Jesus in obedience to His Word and His Spirit
become our “star to follow”.
Note: there are too many scriptures linking the wisdom,
understanding, faithfulness and worshipping in Spirit and Truth. I do not have
enough time to connect the dots I have mentioned in this post. Doing your own
study and asking God to open your eyes that your eyes may be enlightened to the
revelation He has given me, will help you in worshipping at His feet in this
time. I will expand more on the gaps at a later stage.
