The Daystar of Your Heart

The Daystar of Your Heart
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So often we think of the disciples who followed Jesus as being holy and sanctified and never having the problems we face, but that isn’t true. Out of the twelve men so closely associated with Jesus, only one of them stood by Him at the Crucifixion, John. The others ran away. These men learned for three years under the best Bible teacher who ever existed--Jesus Christ Himself. Yet, still they expressed selfish desires and questions of unbelief.

The biggest bungler of them all was Peter. He was always in some kind of trouble. He was not up and down from day to day, but from minute to minute. But through all the mistakes, Peter went on to be a great man because he put the Word of God into practice in his life. The man who wrote the epistles of Peter is a far cry from the man we find in the four gospels.

In the account of the Daystar, I am going to show you a picture of Peter before and after the resurrection. We first see a man moved by his senses and emotions, and later a man moved only by the Word of God.

In Matthew 16:28, Jesus says, “Verily I say unto you, there be some standing here, which shall not taste of death, till they see the Son of man coming in his kingdom.” Jesus is talking about the second advent which is seven years after the rapture. This is after the tribulation and Jesus is coming back to establish the millennial kingdom on the earth. We know the millennium isn’t here yet, still Jesus told His disciples, some of you won’t die till you see the Son of man com ing in His kingdom.

Matthew 17, verses 1 and 2 tell us what Jesus meant. The disciples were going to have a preview of Jesus’ return. “And after six days Jesus taketh Peter, James, and John his brother, and bringeth them up into an high mountain apart, and was transfigured before them; and his face did shine as the sun, and his raiment was white as the light.” This is what Jesus is going to be like when He returns to establish the millennial kingdom.

Jesus is clothed with the Shekinah Glory of God. That is the white, bright cloud of the Old Testament which indicated the presence of the Holy Spirit. Whenever the glory cloud appeared, people would fall under the power.

Falling under the power is not new, it occurred throughout the Old Testament. When the cloud appeared, the priests could not stand up to minister. Jesus is going to return covered with the glory of God and you and I are going to be with him. At the second advent Jesus is not coming for us, He’s coming back with us. He took us up seven years earlier, and after the tribulation is over, He will com e back with ten thousands of His saints (Jude 14). Jesus will be ahead of us, shining and bright. He’s not coming back as the Lamb of God; He’s coming back as the Lion of the tribe of Judah to rule and reign over the earth in righteousness.

In Matthew 17:3 we read, “And, behold there appeared unto them Moses and Elijah talking with him.” Have Peter, James and John ever seen Moses or Elijah? How did they know they were seeing Moses and Elijah? Revelation! Jesus didn’t have to introduce them; they just knew. Do you know what that tells us? When we get to heaven we’ll know everybody.

Notice the next three words in verse 4, “Then answered Peter.” Peter usually had something to say and this is no exception. Notice this statement, “Lord it is good for us to be here.” What an understatement! Can you imagine being on a mountain with Jesus transfigured before you talking with M oses and Elijah and coming to Jesus and saying,“It is good to be here”?

The next statement isn’t any better, “If thou wilt, let us make here three tabernacles, (tents) one for you, one for Moses and one for Elijah.” I’m sure Jesus wanted to spend the rest of eternity on a mountain in a tent. Moses and Elijah probably wanted to look at Jesus and ask, “Where did you get him?”

In Matthew 17:5 we read,“W hile he yet spake (God just interrupted Peter) behold a bright cloud overshadowed them and behold a voice out of the cloud which said,“This is my beloved Son in whom I am well pleased: hear ye Him.” God wanted Peter to be quiet and listen to Jesus). “And when the disciples heard it, they fell on their face, and were sore afraid.”

In 1 Peter chapter one, Peter is not the same man as in Matthew 17. He is the same Peter outwardly but he’s not the same Peter inwardly. Here’s a man who sat under the ministry of Jesus for three and a half years and didn’t learn much. Peter didn’t begin to learn things until Jesus was gone. Then he began to take the Word in, and the Word changed him. We find Peter more stable, and on target now.

Here is a man who actually denied the Lord and yet at the resurrection Jesus said “Go tell the disciples and Peter that I’ve been resurrected.” Jesus didn’t forget Peter. Here is a man who was pulled through by God’s grace. If there is hope for Peter, there is hope for us!

In 1 Peter 1:16-17 says, “For we have not followed cunningly devised fables when we made known unto you the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, but were eyewitnesses of His m ajesty. For he received from God the Father honor and glory when there came such a voice to him from the excellent glory, this is my beloved Son,in whom I am well pleased.”

Even in the day Peter wrote, critics were already saying the miracles, healings, and resurrection were myths. Peter is referring back to the Mount of Transfiguration in this passage. He says, “I was there, I saw it with my eyes, I heard it with my ears, I know it’s not a fable.”

Verse 18 says, “And this voice which came from heaven we heard, when we were with him in the holy mount.” Verse 16 says “We saw it with our eyes.” Verse 18 says “We heard it with our ears.” You might think Peter was privileged because he got to see Jesus and hear the voice of God.

I’ve never had a vision, and I’ve never had God speak to me in an audible voice. I’ve had times when my spirit spoke so loud, it could almost be called audible, but I didn’t really hear anything with these natural ears. There have been ties that I’ve prayed, “Lord if you would just appear to me, Lord if you could just come and speak to me.” Have you ever prayed that way? You don’t need to do that. There’s som ething better than seeing Jesus with your eyes and hearing Him with your ears. It’s the written Word of God.

Peter brings that out in the next verse, verse 19. “We have also a more sure word of prophecy.” What is better than seeing it with your eyes? The written Word is more sure than what you see or what you hear. In fact, if you have a vision or hear a voice, it had better line up with God’s Word. “Whereunto you do well that you take heed.” Take heed to what? Take heed to the written Word! “Whereunto you do well that you take heed, as unto a light that shineth in a dark place, until the day dawn, and the day star arise in your hearts.”

What he is saying here is you turn a light on in a room at night until the sun comes up. It is also like the day star arising in your heart.

At different times of the year the day star is the planet Venus. It is the brightest light in the heavens before the sun rises. The day star signals that the sun is about to rise. It’s only necessary until the sun comes up.

Most of you want to walk in the noontime brightness of your faith life. You’re wanting the sun to come up and all your needs be met. You’re wanting the sun to come up and your body walk in health. You’re wanting the desires of your heart to be manifested and to walk in prosperity in every realm of your life. But the sun isn’t going to come up until you get the day star up.

The daystar is making this dedication. I’m going to believe the Word of God and not what I see or hear. If what I see contradicts the Word, I’m going with the Word.

Some people want to walk in faith but they are still wrestling with the scriptures. “Can I believe it or not? I don’t understand it!”

You don’t have to understand, just believe it! If you believe it first, you will understand it later. You didn’t have to understand the new birth to be born again. You just believed it and the understanding came later.

It’s the same with healing, prosperity, or any scripture in the Word. When you believe the Word, whether you understand it or not, then the daystar arises in your heart. Once the daystar rises up, the sun is on the way, your faith life is about to begin.

Bob Yandian

If you like this article, check out Pastor Bob's series No Greater Foundation at the BYM Store.