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Weimar University

Don Mackintosh

As the Stars of the Morning

Like the stars of the morning, his bright crown adorning.

Do you ever watch the stars up there in Alta?

You probably can see the stars very well.

Well, you know it says in 1 Corinthians 15, 41, there is 1 glory of the sun, and another glory of the moon, and another glory of the stars, for 1 star differs from another star in glory." So there's different stars, they have different glories, and what I thought today is we do a little study on crowns and stars.

Okay, so It says in the Bible, well let's just, did we pray?

Dear Jesus, bless us as we open your Word and we study today.

It says in the Bible, We'll look up a text that were, well, let's look at 1 Corinthians 9.

Do you not know that those who run in a race all run, but 1 receives the prize.

Run in such a way that you may obtain it.

For everyone who competes for the prize is temperate in all things.

Now they do it to obtain a perishable crown, but we for a what?

It's not like a sports event which is, they would give them a little laurel wreath that would wither and fade away, but this is an imperishable crown.

Look at 1 Peter 1, or 1 Peter 5, 1 Peter 5 And verse 1.

The elders who are among you I exhort, I'm a fellow elder, witness of the sufferings of Christ, partaker of the glory that will be revealed.

Shepherd the flock of God which is among you, serving as overseers, but not by compulsion, but willingly, not for dishonest gain, but eagerly, not as being lords over those entrusted you, but being examples to the flock.

And when the chief shepherd appears, you will, what does it say, receive the crown of glory that does not fade away.

All of the chapters in First Thessalonians are about the Second Coming.

And in First Thessalonians, chapter 2, chapter 1 talks about your prayer life and how it reaches the ends of the world.

Chapter 2 talks about your care life and how it also reaches the end of the world.

Verse 18, therefore we wanted to come to you, even I Paul, time and again, time and again, but Satan hindered us.

For what is our hope or joy or crown of rejoicing?

So I have this crown, incorruptible, imperishable, but a crown of rejoicing, what is it?

Is it not even you in the presence of our Lord Jesus at His coming?

For you are our glory and joy." So our children, we want to see them there in heaven.

Thou be our crown of rejoicing." So now it's kind of like anthropomorphically applying the idea of a crown and saying it has to do with people.

You are our crown of rejoicing, our joy, our glory.

Paul is speaking of the souls who had come to Christ and his church through his ministry in Asia Minor.

And they, for there were many people, are represented as making up his crown of rejoicing.

Revelation chapter 1, Jesus is shown with stars in his hands, and those stars are the 7 churches of Asia Minor, and those stars are made up of many people, and he holds them in his hand.

And these people were his crown of rejoicing, they had repented, they, in light of the gospel, had changed their minds about God, and they had come to faith.

So the word repentance means to change the mind.

Their minds had been changed about God, and they now were his stars.

They were like his stars and he's pictured as having them in his hand.

And, you know, this is the whole idea, look in Ephesians chapter 4, of moving from darkness to light.

Ephesians chapter 4, And look at verse 17.

This I say therefore and testify in the Lord that you should no longer walk as the rest of the Gentiles walk in the futility of their mind, having their understanding, what?

Darkened, being alienated from the life of God because of the ignorance that is in them, because of the blindness of their heart.

So ignorance and blindness and darkness, who being past feeling and giving themselves over to lewdness to work all uncleanness and greediness, but you have not so learned.

Indeed, if you have heard of him and have been taught by him as the truth is in Jesus, that you put off concerning your former conduct, the old man which grows corrupt according to the deceitful lusts, and be renewed by the spirit in your mind that you may put on the new man, which is created according to God in true righteousness and in holiness." So you move from darkness to light.

And this is the whole idea, moving from darkness to light.

And the light shineth more and more perfectly unto a perfect day, brighter and brighter into a perfect day, Proverbs 4, 18 says.

So this idea of becoming a star, God creates stars out of darkness and they come to the light.

So we want to come out of darkness, But look at what it says in Philippians 2 and verse 15.

Verse 14, do all things without complaining or disputing that you may become blameless and harmless children of God without fault in the midst of a crooked and perverse generation among whom you shine as what?

Lights, or you might say stars in the world.

You become stars, you move from darkness to light.

Paul is speaking of his converts in Philippi and describes them and desired that they would continue holding fast the word of life.

That I may rejoice in the day of Christ that I had not run in vain or had not labored in vain." So, they began to shine as lights or as stars and he says, I want you to keep shining as stars so that at the Second Coming, the stars will still be there.

By the way, those stars end up in His crown.

You're my crown of rejoicing at the Second Coming.

So, if they were still shining, he would know that his life had not been meaningless and that his labor was not wasted.

That they would come to darkness out of darkness, to light out of a corrupt and perverse generation, that they would become stars in the midst of darkness.

As the Stars of the Morning

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