After salvation, one of the first things a believer seeks is the Lord’s leading. In fact, throughout our Christian life, we find ourselves repeatedly asking the Lord to lead us. Since this is one of the most common prayers for any Christian and one of the most foundational matters in our Christian life, it is logical to ask, “How do we find the Lord’s leading?” Witness Lee takes up this issue in a short, enlightening booklet entitled Finding Christ by the Living Star.

This booklet examines one of the New Testament’s most well-known stories found in Matthew 2. In this story, we find Gentile magi arriving in Jerusalem and asking, “Where is He who has been born King of the Jews?” They had traveled a great distance by following a star. Once in Jerusalem, the magi began to ask where they could find this One. The chief priests and scribes, citing the Scriptures, inform the magi that the Lord would be born in Bethlehem. Upon leaving the Jews behind in Jerusalem, they again see the star, and it led them to the place where Jesus was. They worshipped Jesus and offering Him gifts, and having been warned in a dream about Herod, the magi depart to their own country by another way.

To know the Lord’s leading, we must consider two points from this story. First, although God gave the Jews so much, especially the Scriptures, unlike the magi, not one of those in Jerusalem was led to Jesus. Second, although the Gentile magi lacked all the blessings bestowed upon the Jews, notably the Scriptures, they saw and followed a star that led them to Jesus. Brother Lee identifies important points related to our receiving the Lord’s leading:

The Word says that the star “led them until it came and stood over the place where the child was” (Matt. 2:9). The heavenly star led the magi to the very spot. This is all we need. I do believe that if they had no knowledge whatever of Micah 5:2 but simply followed the star, they could have arrived at that place. How can we find Christ and serve Him? Not merely by Bible knowledge but by the living star. Not one found Christ merely according to Bible knowledge; those who followed the heavenly star found Him and worshipped Him. (The Collected Works of Witness Lee, 1970, vol. 1, “New Testament Service,” pp. 279-280)

We need to realize that when we seek the Lord’s leading, we need something more than just scriptural knowledge. Of course, it is true that we need the Scriptures, and the Scriptures clearly revealed where the Lord would be born. Nevertheless, in Matthew 2, those who knew the Scriptures failed to be led to Jesus as were the magi. Thus, in this story and indeed throughout church history, many have searched the Scriptures and become very scriptural, yet without being led to Christ or without being led by Christ. Surely, we do not want to repeat this mistake. The question is: What do we need in addition to the Scriptures to receive the Lord’s leading? We need the living star. Then what is this living star? Witness Lee continues:

Even if you have the knowledge of the Scriptures, you still need the instant, up-to-date living star to lead you to the very street and the very house where Jesus is. You may have the Bible knowledge, but you still need the living guidance. The Scriptures can never replace that. It is easy to accumulate scriptural knowledge, but if you would have living guidance, you need to live in an intimate relationship with the Lord; you need to be one with Him. (p. 279)

Knowing the Lord’s inward leading is but one of the many rich points covered in Finding Christ by the Living Star. In this booklet, Brother Lee opens numerous points that can be applied in our Christian life. We encourage you to pick up this treasure from Witness Lee’s ministry and discover these points for yourself. May we all care for God’s Word but never apart from His presence and thus be guided by our wonderful Lord inwardly as the living star.