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The living stars have”great resolutions in heart” and”great searchings of heart”; they are lovers of God who are like the”stars...from their courses” to fight together with God against His enemy so that they may be”like the sun / When it rises in its might”—Judg. 5:15-16, 20, 31; Dan. 11:32; Matt. 13:43.
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The living stars are those who fear Jehovah and hear the voice of His Servant, trusting in Jehovah so that they may have light while walking in darkness—Isa. 50:10-11; Psa. 139:7-12, 23-24:
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Those who make light for themselves and walk in their self-made light instead of in God's light will suffer torment—Isa. 50:11.
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This should be a warning to us so that we may walk in the light given by God, not in the light we make for ourselves—1 John 1:5.
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“Come and let us walk in the light of Jehovah”—Isa. 2:5.
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The living stars are typified by the stars that were established on the fourth day of God's restoration with His further creation, in which they rule by their shining; where there is shining, there is ruling for the growth of life—Gen. 1:14-19:
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The shining forth of the Lord Jesus on the Mount of Transfiguration was the coming of the kingdom in power; this shining forth is actually the ruling presence of the Triune God—Matt. 17:1-8; Mark 9:1-8.
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The kingdom of God as the ruling of God, the reigning of God, with all its blessings and enjoyment is the shining of the Lord Jesus, and the kingdom is the spreading of the Lord Jesus by shining over us.
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The kingdom is the shining of the reality of the Lord Jesus; whenever He is shining over us and we are under that shining, we are in the kingdom under God's ruling and reigning within us for our growth of life.
Morning Nourishment
Gen. 1:16-18 …God made the two great light-bearers, the greater light-bearer to rule the day and the lesser light-bearer to rule the night, and the stars….God set them…to give light on the earth and to rule over the day and over the night and to separate the light from the darkness… Dan. 12:3 And those who have insight will shine like the shining of the heavenly expanse, and those who turn many to righteousness, like the stars, forever and ever.
On the fourth day, there was…the appearance of the stronger, more solid lights (Gen. 1:14-17). Although light came in on the first day, it was not that solid, not that strong. On the fourth day, not only the lights came, but also the light bearers—the sun, the moon, and the stars. These are lights which are stronger, more solid, and more available. This is the first requirement for the growth of life.
In typology, the sun typifies Christ,…[and] the moon is the church….We not only have the sun, the moon, but also the stars: not only Christ, the church, but also all the overcoming saints. Daniel 12:3 says that those who turn many to righteousness shine like the stars. If we are going to help people to be saved, if we are going to turn people from darkness to light, if we are going to recover all the backsliders, we must be the shining stars. Revelation 1:20 tells us…that the messengers (the living ones in the churches) are the shining stars. The Lord said that the saints are”the light of the world” (Matt. 5:14), and Paul said that the saints shine”as luminaries in the world” (Phil. 2:15). (Life-study of Genesis, pp. 39-40)
Today's Reading
Many of us have to be the shining stars. We need to contact Christ, we need to contact the church, and we also need to contact the shining saints….When you come to a living brother or a living sister, do you not sense an amount of light, that when you enter their presence you are under a certain kind of shining? This is light. This light will help us to grow in life.The lights God made on the fourth day were established”to rule over the day and over the night” by their shining (Gen. 1:18a). The light not only shines, but also rules by its shining. Where there is shining, there is ruling. Darkness brings in confusion, but light regulates. For the growth of life, we need the ruling and the regulating of the fourth-day lights.
The lights on the fourth day also”separate the light from the darkness” (Gen. 1:18b). The separation of the light from the darkness…had happened already (Gen. 1:4). Now, the ruling of the fourth-day lights' shining strengthens this separation. For the growth of life, we need the ruling of the lights and also the strengthening of the separation. This is the second requirement for the growth of life.
On the first day, we had the light from the Spirit and from the Word. As we go on, we need the lights of the fourth day. On the fourth day, the lights come from Christ, from the church, and from the shining saints….The light on the first day is for the generating of life; the lights on the fourth day are for the growth of life. The lights on the fourth day mainly come from Christ directly, also from the church and the shining saints. If we are to grow in life after we have received the eternal life, we must first contact Christ, second contact the church, and third contact the living saints. While we are under such a shining, we are in the process of growth.
[Bring these points to the Lord in prayer.]”Lord, I have the life. But Lord, You know that I need the lights of the fourth day. I have the light from the first day already, but I need the lights of the fourth day. Lord Jesus, I need You as the sun. I need to contact You directly. I want to be in Your presence day by day. I want to be under Your shining. I also need the church, the moon. And I need the stars. I need the overcoming saints, the ones who are shining, who turn many to righteousness. I need those who can turn people from darkness to light.” (Life-study of Genesis, pp. 41, 44, 46)
Further Reading: Life-study of Genesis, msgs. 4-5; CWWL, 1972, vol. 2,”The Kingdom,” ch. 2; CWWL, 1953, vol. 3,”The Knowledge of Life,” ch. 14