Spiritual Obstruction
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Introduction: My father in law had a heart attack many years ago. He was a tow boat pilot on the Mississippi and really never took care of himself. He ate what he wanted to, smoked and never exercised. When he went in and the doctors were looking at his arteries, they found one of his carotid arteries 100% blocked and the other around 95% blocked. He didn’t get this way overnight. It took some time but eventually the pipes were so obstructed that major damage occurred resulting in open heart surgery. Just like our physical hearts, our bad habits can lead to spiritual damage as well. It’s a bad thing when our spiritual pipes get obstructed.
The main idea of this message is this: Lack of worship will lead to a spiritual obstruction.
1 And it came to pass in the fourth year of king Darius, that the word of the Lord came unto Zechariah in the fourth day of the ninth month, even in Chisleu;
2 When they had sent unto the house of God Sherezer and Regem-melech, and their men, to pray before the Lord,
3 And to speak unto the priests which were in the house of the Lord of hosts, and to the prophets, saying, Should I weep in the fifth month, separating myself, as I have done these so many years?
4 Then came the word of the Lord of hosts unto me, saying,
5 Speak unto all the people of the land, and to the priests, saying, When ye fasted and mourned in the fifth and seventh month, even those seventy years, did ye at all fast unto me, even to me?
6 And when ye did eat, and when ye did drink, did not ye eat for yourselves, and drink for yourselves?
7 Should ye not hear the words which the Lord hath cried by the former prophets, when Jerusalem was inhabited and in prosperity, and the cities thereof round about her, when men inhabited the south and the plain?
Zechariah
Three questions we need to ask ourselves today in view of worship and spiritual obstructions:
A. IS THIS GOD ORDAINED OR MAN-MADE: WE FOCUS ON RULES AND RITUALS NOT ORDAINED BY GOD.
1. It’s ironic, but true to human nature, that these people were concerned about something that God had not commanded, but at the same time they were neglecting what God had commanded.
a. God had not told Israel to keep these fasts, but He had told them to obey His Word.
i. The only fast that God had ordained was the annual Day of Atonement ().
ii. There wasn’t anything wrong with fasting on these other days to confess their sins and pray for the restoration of the nation.
b. But God had not commanded these days as fasts.
i. The fasts that they were referring to were the ones they made up!
a. The taking of Jerusalem by Nebuchadnezzar in the 4th month
b. the burning of the temple in the 5th month
c. the murder of Gedaliah the governor in the 7th month
d. the siege of Jerusalem in the 10th month
ii. But they were dodging God’s clear commands, while keeping their manmade fasts.
2. We’re prone to do the same thing. Many Christians get hung up about keeping rules and rituals that the Bible does not command, while they neglect dealing with their hearts before God.
a. They judge other Christians by outward appearance, but they tolerate serious sins, such as pride, gossip, and greed in their own hearts.
b. They have their lists of behaviors that make you either a “spiritual” Christian or a “worldly” Christian, and they make sure that they keep everything on their good list and avoid everything on their bad list.
c. The problem is, their lists aren’t in the Bible!
Transition: So what are you focusing on? Are you focusing on what is man-made, or are you focusing on what God ordained and commanded? Let’s look at the second thing God desires for us to understand so we can avoid spiritual obstruction...
B. ARE YOU JUST GOING THROUGH THE MOTIONS: WE GO THROUGH MEANINGLESS ACTIVITY IN THE NAME OF SPIRITUALITY.
Note 7:3: “Shall I weep in the fifth month and abstain, as I have done these many years?” There is more than a hint of weariness in those last three words. They were tired of going through the motions of what formerly may have been a meaningful activity for others. But for them it had become an empty form.
1. We need to be careful not to confuse what is biblical and thus must never be set aside with what is manmade and may be set aside.
a. We may grow weary of Bible reading, prayer, or the Lord’s Supper, but we are not free to stop doing these things, because God commands us to do them.
b. If they have become stale, we need to examine our hearts to determine why this is so.
c. We need to seek God so that these things become what He intended, the means to a close, vital fellowship with Him. But we shouldn’t stop doing them.
2. I may need to vary the method without discarding the activity.
a. For example, the Bible does command me to seek God through His Word and prayer, but it does not prescribe exactly how I am to do this.
b. Reading through the Bible in a year is a fine thing to do, and we should do it many times (I am currently doing it again this year).
c. But at other times, perhaps we should spend a year studying Romans in depth or reading through the New Testament four times.
d. The main thing is to grow in your understanding of God’s Word and to stay fresh in your relationship with God through His Word and prayer.
Transition: So, two danger signals of spiritual obstruction are, following manmade rules and rituals; and, going through the motions without meaning. So how do we fix it?
C. WHAT IS OUR MOTIVE: WE NEED TO ASK WHY WE DO WHAT WE DO SPIRITUALLY.
In 7:5-6, the Lord asks, “When you fasted and mourned in the fifth and seventh months these seventy years, was it actually for Me that you fasted? When you eat and drink, do you not eat for yourselves and do you not drink for yourselves?” God who sees the hearts saw that they weren’t doing their fasts or their feasts for the Lord. They were doing them for themselves.
1. Outward religion is always done for the person doing it, not to glorify or please the Lord.
a. Jesus confronted the Pharisees, who practiced their religion before men to be noticed by them ().
b. When they fasted, they let everyone know about it so they would be impressed with how spiritual they were.
c. When they prayed, they stood in public and made loud prayers that everyone could hear.
d. When they gave money, they wanted everyone to hear the many coins jingle in the metal collection box.
2. But Jesus wasn’t impressed!
a. He told them to camouflage their fasting, so that no one would know what they were doing.
b. When they prayed, they should do it in secret.
c. When they gave, they shouldn’t let their left hand know what their right hand was doing.
3. We need to examine our motives in whatever we do for the Lord.
a. Am I doing it from pride or self-righteousness?
b. Am I seeking status or the applause of others?
c. Am I trying to work off or cover up guilt for some sin, as if my activities can balance out or hide my sin?
d. Am I trying to impress God with my activity, so that He will give me something that I want from Him?
e. The only proper motive is to please and glorify God.
Conclusion: So take a spiritual health checkup. If you’re following manmade rules and rituals that have become meaningless motions, and if you’re doing these things for some selfish motive, you’re drifting into outward religion. It’s a danger for all of us all the time!