WHO DO WE WORSHIP

WHY REMOVING STATUES OF JESUS DOESN'T BOTHER ME

 This may be a strange statement to come from one who follows and loves Jesus the Christ. Throughout the church history from its beginning, everywhere people were trying to stop those who followed The Way. The early church suffered great persecution even torture and death, but even unto death they remained faithful to Christ. During my lifetime the world has attempted to remove God from schools, businesses, government offices, and homes. The world is ok if you just keep Jesus in a building but don't bring Him out pass the walls.

When Moses brought the children of Israel out of Egypt, they suddenly found themselves without a god they could set their eyes on for the first time in more than 400 years. So when Moses was on the mountain top having a meeting with God. The people made for themselves a statue that could look at, could see and it looked good to them, a god of their imagination. This angered God and angered Moses.

In Exodus 20:4 You shall not make for yourself a carved image----any likeness of anything that is in heaven, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth.

God knew that man desires to see what and who they worship. He knew that in pagan countries they make for themselves gods made by their hands, made of wood, of gold and silver, they built high places to go and worship their god and they even had household gods. Small statues of their gods.

Throughout the scriptures God deals with His people that have begun to worship a false god made as a graven image. I suggest you open God's word and read all of Psalm 115, but here are just a few verses:

Psalm 115:3-5 But our God is in heaven; He does whatever He pleases. Their idols are silver and gold, the work of man's hands. They have mouths, but they do not speak, eyes but they do not see.

Verses 6-7 continue to describe their features as verse 5 did. But lets look at verse 8.

Psalm 115:8 Those who make them are like them, so is everyone who trusts in them.

Statues of Christ Jesus, are man made statues yet they are not Jesus. He is alive they are not, He lives in us not in a form made for man to look upon. No we walk by faith not sight, I have never seen my Savior's face but I have heard His voice, I have seen the wonders of Him moving in my life, a statue can do nothing they can not hear my prayer but my Savior always hears my prayer, they cannot hold me as I cry but my Savior can, they cannot guide me to all truth but my Savior, through His Holy Spirit in me can, they can't walk with me but my Savior can. 

There is only one symbol that speaks to God's people, it is a simple, powerful wooden cross. It is the cross before us that reminds us of the One who died that we might have life. But as my pastor said a few years ago "We do not worship the cross, we worship the One who hung on the cross!" 

Rest assured of this; those statues are just stone, Oh, Oh, Oh but my God my Savior, my Jesus, took on flesh that He might be our Kinsman Redeemer!

The enemy desires to stop truth, to stop prayer, to stop worship and mostly to stop our obedience to God's word. 

But we have One who is Sovereign, Holy, Just, Worthy, who will vindicate the righteous. Though we suffer persecution, we will not be silent, though lawlessness is around us we will walk worthy, though evil is closing in we will fight on, though all seems hopeless we have Hope.

Let them take down statues, that is not who I worship. Yet, I will stand and I will pray and I will declare who Jesus is with my dying breath. 

I call out arise oh sleeper, awaken from your sleep, answer the call of salvation, hear you Christian who have become numb and weary, God is saying arise from your sleep and gain strength in Him, keep fighting the good fight, love His appearing because His reward is with Him.

When the Son of Man comes will He find faith on the earth? Words of Jesus the Christ.

When you have done all you can do keep standing! Amen