OBJECTS OF WORSHIP

After spending the weekend at a new age retreat

OBJECTS OF WORSHIP

As I walked along the garden trails I noticed several shrines and places of devotion: worship to a variety of gods. I was reminded of Paul, the apostle, when he stood and preached Christ at Mars Hill in Athens. He said, "I was passing by and beheld your devotions, and I found an altar with this inscription: TO THE UNKNOWN GOD. Whom therefore ye ignorantly worship, him I declare unto you." Paul knew that all their gods were but dead idols, so he preached to them the resurrection of Jesus Christ.

I loved those people and could very much identify with their struggle to find God. Jesus said in His Sermon on the Mount in Matthew 5:6, "Blessed are they which do hunger and thirst after righteousness: for they shall be filled."

The friend of mine who invited me to that place said it was introduced to him as one of the most spiritual places on earth. It was spiritual alright. 1 John 4:1, "Beloved, believe not every spirit, but try the spirits whether they are of God: because many false prophets are gone out into the world." A spirit from God will enforce a unity of faith in the one true God. Evil spirits produce a false sense of unity through false prophets, advocating many faiths in many gods. It sounds open minded, loving, and accepting of others; but the Bible warns, "Beloved, believe not every spirit." Faiths (plural) are no faith at all. Ephesians 4:5, "One Lord, one faith, one baptism." God honors faith wherever it’s found. Faith is a gift from God. He enforces all faith, but He does not honor or enforce all faiths.

Jesus said in John 14:6, "I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me." All roads lead to God, but not all roads lead to eternal life in heaven. Those who are on the road called "the way" come unto the Father in heaven. Those who reject Jesus as "the way" will stand before God in judgment. It’s true all roads lead to God__every knee shall bow. Romans 14:11-12, "For it is written, As I live, saith the Lord, every knee shall bow to me, and every tongue shall confess to God. So then every one of us shall give account of himself to God." John 3:36, "He that believeth on the Son hath everlasting life: and he that believeth not the Son shall not see life; but the wrath of God abideth on him." Please listen and consider the words of Jesus in John 5:24, "Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that heareth my word, and believeth on him that sent me, hath everlasting life, and shall not come into condemnation; but is passed from death unto life. Very truly I tell you when Jesus said, "Verily, verily" He was saying most assuredly I tell you the truth.

OBJECTS OF WORSHIP is a warning. Exodus 20:3, "Thou shalt have no other gods before me." John 5:22-23, "For the Father judgeth no man, but hath committed all judgment unto the Son: That all men should honour the Son, even as they honour the Father. He that honoureth not the Son honoureth not the Father which hath sent him."

Pastor Tilson Shumate