There is also a negative aspect to the stars—the wandering stars. Jude 12 and 13 tell us, “These are hidden reefs in your love feasts, feasting together with you without fear, shepherds that feed themselves, waterless clouds, carried along by winds, autumn trees without fruit, having died twice, rooted up...wandering stars, for whom the gloom of darkness has been kept for eternity.” We should be the stars, but not the wandering stars. These are the false leading ones. So many Christians today are not stars; some, however, are stars, but they are wandering stars. There are religious leaders and teachers today who are in this category.
Do you know what a wandering star is? I do not know astronomy, but I can tell you a little. A proper star has a certain position and fixed orbit. It continues in its course steadfastly. However, there are some stars with no fixed position or orbit: they are wandering stars. It seems that some Christians are stars, it seems that they are shining, but their shining is a deception. They are stars, but they are not the steadfast stars. If you follow them, you will be misled; eventually you will not know where to go. They themselves are wandering: they have no ground, they have no standing, they have no certain way to go on with the Lord. Today they say one thing, and tomorrow they will say something different; they are wandering. We need to be careful; we cannot find Jesus by following a wandering star.
How can we recognize the wandering stars? There are some signs. They are trees without fruit; they are the clouds without rain. We need to look for the fruit. The Lord Jesus said that we may know a tree by its fruit (Matt. 7:16-20). If we follow the wandering stars, eventually our portion will be the same as theirs—the gloom of darkness that has been kept for them for eternity.
We need to follow the shining stars, those with a definite standing and a certain course. These are the stable stars, the steadfast ones. If anyone comes to us without a definite standing and a certain course, we should avoid him. The proper standing is the local church, and the right course is to go on in the Spirit in the local church. We should not be a wandering star, and we should not follow a wandering star. We need to take the proper standing, and keep ourselves in the right course. If we are wandering, we are wasting our time. If you intend to go to a certain place, you need to get out your map, get on the right road and in the right lane, and as you drive you will reach your destination.
I am not speaking these things lightly. We are aware of today’s confusion. Oh, the dead things! Oh, the frustrations, the distractions of the wandering ones! Anyone who keeps us from the genuine local church and from meeting on the ground of unity with the Lord’s people is a wandering star. The true stars are those who turn many to righteousness, those who do not lead people astray, but turn them to the right way. Today the way for you and me and for everyone else to find Christ is to see the living star. Hallelujah! Today the star is not far from us—it is with the local churches. Among all the local churches there are some living stars. You simply need to contact them; you need to keep company with them. They will lead you to the place where Jesus is.
May the Lord be merciful to us that we may always be kept in the right way to serve the Lord, to worship Him, and to offer our love to Him. May the Lord make us all like those wise men, following the star to find Christ. Today the living star and the living stars are in the local churches. Let us follow them, and let us each be one of them.