SermonIndex Audio Sermons
SermonIndex - Promoting Revival to this Generation

Give To SermonIndex
Text Sermons : Chuck Smith : Daniel 12:2

Open as PDF

Shining as the Stars

I. "And they that be wise"
A. James asks in 3:13 "Who is a wise man and endued with knowledge
among you? Let him show it by the way he lives in good works in
meekness of wisdom.
1. He then declares that there is a wisdom that does not
come from God that is earthly, sensual, and devilish.
It is marked by bitter envy and strife in your heart.
2. Those who compete for glory in this world, who want to
shine in earthly glory, are often marked by this bitter
envy of those who are outshining them. This is not true
wisdom.
a. Harbored bitterness will produce among other
things ulcers.
b. It will produce tension, and destroy
relationships.
3. He contrasts this wisdom of this world with the wisdom
which is from above, which is pure, peaceable, gentle,
and easy to entreat. It is full of mercy and good
fruit, without partiality and hypocrisy.
B. The wisdom of this world that brings a man success is measured
by how much of the material things a man has brought under his
control.
1. They will usually admire his skillful ability to
manipulate others.
2. Their admiration is not dimmed by the deceitful ways
that were used.
3. I often hear of Madonna being touted as being very
wise, of having great business savvy.
a. She is held in great admiration by millions in
this world.
b. Little girls all over the world are seeking to
emulate her, for she is their shining star.
c. James said that this kind of wisdom is sensual.
He surely hit it right on the mark.
d. One day Madonna is going to die, for the
scriptures declare that it is appointed unto
man once to die, and after that the judgment.
e. Though she may shine as a star in this world,
if she does not give her life to Jesus Christ,
the Bible says that the mist of darkness
forever will be her destiny.
d. To shine as a sex symbol in this world
certainly has a limited duration. How sexy can
a 95 year old great grandmother be? If she
should live that long and have a family.
e. Being generous let's give her 30 years in the
limelight of this world. What is 30 years
compared to the eternal darkness?
4. Jesus spoke of the man who did not consider the eternal
things as a fool though he would have been considered
wise by the worlds standards.
e. Jesus said that he was rich, and had increased
his goods to the extent that he did not have
enough space to store his riches. Facing this
dilemma, he decided to tear down his old barns
and build bigger ones to have room for his
riches. Jesus said that the Lord said to him,
"You fool you are going to die tonight, then
who will spend your riches?"
5. Paul in Corinthians tells us that the wisdom of this
world is looked upon as foolishness by God.
6. Any man who lives only to shine in this worldly sky and
does not take eternity into consideration is a fool.
C. The man that is truly wise will measure the activities of his
life by eternity. What eternal value can come from this?
1. Jesus spoke of laying up treasure in heaven rather than
here on this earth.
2. In Col. 3:1 Paul said, "If you are risen with Christ
seek those things that are above, where Christ sits on
the right hand of God. Set your affections on things
above, and not on the things on the earth."
D. As Daniel is speaking of those that are wise, he is speaking in
context of the resurrection and eternity.
1. "And many of them that sleep in the dust of the earth
shall awake, some to everlasting life, and some to
shame and everlasting contempt."
2. You that have prided yourself as being wise, have you
truly been wise in light of eternity?
E. The result of true wisdom will be to shine as the brightness of
the firmament.
1. The firmament is the atmosphere that surrounds the
earth that is illuminated by the sun. Shining as a
bright day.
2. Your life illuminated by the Son of God should shine in
the darkness of this world.
3. Jesus said to His disciples that they were the light of
the world. They were to let their light so shine that
when men saw their good works they would glorify their
Father in heaven, who was the true source of light.
F. There is even a greater shining.

II. Those that turn many to righteousness.
A. The main purpose that God has left you here on this earth is
that you might bear witness for Him.
1. If the very moment a person accepted Jesus as his
Savior, God would rapture them out of this world, there
would be no one left here to witness for Him.
2. We are left here to be his witnesses of how His grace
and love can sustain us in this environment ruled by
the power of Satan.
3. This world ruled by sin is filled with pain, sorrow,
and death.
4. Being a Christian does not exempt me from these things,
but it does give me a source of power by which I can
joyfully endure these things.
5. Many times the greatest witness that you can give to a
worldly person is the joy and peace that you exhibit in
the midst of a great trial of suffering. That joy and
peace that comes from fully committing yourself to the
loving purpose of a heavenly Father, knowing that all
things are working together for good because you love
God and are called according to His purpose.
6. The witness of your life will always have a greater
effect than the words that you might share.
a. Many times your words are nullified by your
actions.
b. If you are witnessing to your friends of the
peace that Jesus has brought to your life, and
then you panic and go to pieces under pressure,
your witness has been destroyed.
c. But if you exhibit that peace under great
pressure, then your witness is verified, and
they will be far more apt to listen to you.
d. I believe that this is the purpose that God
sometimes allows us to go through heavy trials,
and tells us to rejoice in tribulations.
e. What a powerful witness it is to the world to
see you rejoicing in tribulation.
f. I think of the powerful witness given to this
community by our organist, when she requested
to speak to the man who sought to rape her and
cut her throat, that she might witness to him
about the love of Jesus Christ, and give him a
Bible that he might read it in prison.
B. Are you seeking to turn many to righteousness?
1. Sometimes we take the worldly view that a persons
religion is a very personal thing that should not be
talked about.
2. That is a lie of Satan to discourage one to witness.
3. Your loved ones and friends are going to face eternity
without hope, if you do not talk to them of the fact
that Jesus was the Son of God and He gave His life to
provide us forgiveness of our sins.
C. What is the result of turning many to righteousness? They shall
shine as the stars, forever and ever.
1. There are many who strive for stardom in this world.
2. There are those that we refer to as superstars. How
many people aspire to this status. They live their
whole life dreaming of being superstars.
3. They picture themselves walking forward to receive the
Oscar award and think of the clever things that they
will say to the adoring, applauding crowd.
4. They want their name to be place in a star in front of
the Gruman Chinese Theater. They want to be placed in
the Hall of Fame. They want to be known as being in the
Who's Who rather than Who's He?
5. Again, there is no thought of eternity. They want to
shine now in this world.
6. This is in marked contrast to shining as the stars
forever and ever.
7. I enjoy the fourth of July. I love to watch the
fireworks, I love skyrockets.
a. I love it when I hear the loud boom, and I see
the night sky illuminated by the brilliant
bursts of colors. I with the rest of the crowd,
oh, oohs, and ah's.
b. For a time it obliterates the stars from our
view. But the flash is so soon over, and there
is nothing left but ashes.
8. Some peoples lives are like the skyrockets, they make a
great flash on the worldly scene, but their lives are
soon turned to ashes.
9. When the fireworks display is all over, and your eyes
once again become accustomed to the darkness, you see
the stars still shining in that night sky. They go on
night after night not making as big a display, yet
permanent.






©2002-2024 SermonIndex.net
Promoting Revival to this Generation.
Privacy Policy