Sermon Central
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Our Statue Of Liberty
Contributed by Norman Lawrence on Jul 3, 2007 (message contributor)
Summary: Message comparing the Statue of Liberty and it’s message of freedom and invitation to the message of the Cross.
OUR STATUE OF LIBERTY
May I never boast except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, through which the world has been crucified to me, and I to the world.
The Statue of Liberty in New York Harbor has greeted generations of newcomers to the shores of the United States. The Statue of Liberty was presented to the United States as a gift from France in recognition of 100 years of liberty, as well as commemorating the alliance of France and the U.S. in the fight for freedom.
This 152 Foot figure stands on top of a 150 foot pedestal, and was shipped to the U.S. in 241 crates in 1885, and was erected, and dedicated in 1886.
It was renovated just before it’s 100th anniversary in 1986, and reopened with a great celebration.
Many eyes have looked to this Statue over the past 100+ years from boats, and automobiles, airplanes, and trains with a sense of awe, not so much by the statue itself, but by what the statue represents.
In 1976, Neil Enloe of the Couriers wrote a song that compared the Statue of Liberty in New York Harbor to our Statue of Liberty, the Cross of Jesus Christ. This song won the 1976 Dove Award for the Song of the Year.
Oh, the cross is my statue of liberty,
For it was there that my soul was set free!
Unashamed I’ll proclaim that a rugged cross
Is my statue of liberty. —Enloe
© 1974, 1975 by Neil Enloe Music Co.
What is Liberty?
The state of a free person; exemption from subjection to the will of another claiming ownership of the person or services; freedom; -- opposed to slavery, serfdom, bondage, or subjection.
This is the week that once again we pause and celebrate our freedom as a nation and the Independence and Liberty that we now enjoy.
But today we not only take a look at the Liberty we enjoy as Americans, but greater than that, we take a look at the Liberty that was made possible through the death of our Savior, Jesus Christ on the Cross.
In a while we will pause and remember the death of Christ, as well as examine ourselves, and also we will look forward to the soon coming of our King who will once and for all liberate us from this world of sin, and provide an eternal home.
All of the blessings we enjoy as Christians could not have taken place without our Statue of Liberty, and our Savior who bled and died on it.
We are going to look at three aspects of this Liberty today, and they are:
1. The Monument of Liberty
2. The Message of Liberty
3. The Mystery of Liberty
First of all today, we see:
I. THE MONUMENT OF LIBERTY
As you know, in the Old Testament when important events took place in the lives of the people, a monument would be erected for the benefit of generations to follow who would ask the significance of the monument.
So Joshua called together the twelve men he had appointed from the Israelites, one from each tribe, [5] and said to them, "Go over before the ark of the Lord your God into the middle of the Jordan. Each of you is to take up a stone on his shoulder, according to the number of the tribes of the Israelites, [6] to serve as a sign among you. In the future, when your children ask you, ’What do these stones mean?’ [7] tell them that the flow of the Jordan was cut off before the ark of the covenant of the Lord. When it crossed the Jordan, the waters of the Jordan were cut off. These stones are to be a memorial to the people of Israel forever."
The Statue of Liberty in New York Harbor inspires questions from children to their parents as to the meaning of the Lady with the Torch held to the Sky.
Parents and Grandparents alike are able to tell the story in the best way they know how, but usually there is the instilling of an appreciation into the child of the high price that was paid for the liberty we now enjoy.
A different monument towers over history much higher, and casting it’s influence much farther by offering freedom to spiritually enslaved people from every nation, and it is the Cross of Calvary.
This light shines much brighter, because the One who was on the Cross said He was “the Light of the World” - He is the light for red, yellow, black, and white, every nation, every tribe, and every background!
Far from being a scene that would draw the viewer in to inspiration and awe at it’s beauty, but when one stops to consider the message of the Cross of freedom from sin, and when one hears the cry of “It Is Finished” echoing through the ages, the Cross is a monument of beauty!
