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*How to Get Back On Track Spiritually*
* *
This is a story of how God’s people had gotten off track spiritually and now with God’s help were seeking to get back on track spiritually.
The city of Jerusalem had been destroyed and God’s people had been captured and hauled off into Babylonian captivity in 605BC.
The Jewish people had failed to obey God’s laws.
They had failed to observe the Sabbatical law which stated the land was to be worked for six years and then given a year to rest.
God’s people violated that law for 490 yrs., thereby violating the Sabbath law 70 times.
God brings judgment on his people by allowing Babylon under the direction of Nebuchadnezzar to besiege the city of Jerusalem, destroying its city, it temple and stripping the sacred articles out of the temple.
After spending 70 yrs.
in captivity some of the exiles return under the leadership of Zerubbabel.
King Cyrus of Persia has granted the Jews to return and rebuild the temple .
In 535BC they return and start the work but then they get busy building their own homes that they begin to neglect God’ house.
They did not complete the rebuilding of the temple for 20 yrs. and finally it was completed in 515BC.
It was not until 444 BC.
About 70 yrs.
after the rebuilding of the temple when God burdened Nehemiah’s heart to lead the people in rebuilding the walls around the city of Jerusalem.
None of us are immune to getting off track when it comes to spiritual matters.
In fact it is far easier to get off track spiritually than it is to stay on track with God.
We can very innocently and almost injudiciously slip into attitudes and ideas that do not reflect the God we worship.
We can develop a smug attitude about ourselves because we do not struggle w. certain sins or habits that other people struggle with.
In order for us to know if we are getting off track we need to look at the symptoms of getting off track spiritually.
I want us to give thought to the symptoms because the symptoms are often easier to identify than the root cause.
Let me explain.
When your child suddenly becomes ill, you call the doctor and the first thing the doctor wants to know is what the child’s symptoms are.
Is the child running a fever, how long have they been running a temperature, do they have a sore throat, are their glands swollen, are they sick to their stomach,
If we see ourselves with one or more of these symptoms we could be getting off track spiritually.
* *
*Symptoms of Getting off Track Spiritually*
* *
*1.
Isolation-* You begin to separate yourself from God’s people.
Church attendance is decreased and spiritual disciplines are not as important or significant in my life.
You still have an ability to talk using spiritual jargon that sounds good on the surface.
I find myself spending more time w.
people who have different convictions than I do.
You begin to avoid other believers who are trying to reach out to you.
You will not answer the phone or respond to their emails.
Benjamin and Judah (Ezra 1:5) priests and Levites went to build the house of the Lord.
Not all of the Jews returned to Jerusalem to build the temple.
They had gotten too comfortable with life in captivity that they no longer desired to return.
There are times when it might be necessary to spend less time w.
particular people.
One of the things you will discover as you grow in your walk with the Lord is that not everyone is going to be thrilled with your growth.
Some people will attempt to hold you back from giving your all for Christ.
For a person to reach his or her potential for God it may require them to break some relationship strings that have tied them down and has hindered them from going on in their walk with God.
*2.
Rationalization- *Life is busy.
I still come to church as long as I don’t have more pressing matters.
I don’t have time to be as involved in the ministry.
Besides, I need to give other people opportunities to serve.
I rationalize not having my quiet time because of my work and desire for career advancement.
I used to have more time for prayer but now with all my responsibilities I just don’t have the time anymore.
I used to pray w. my kids when they were young, but now their teenagers I do not feel comfortable praying w. them.
My wife and I used to pray together but life has just gotten too hectic, so now it rarely happens.
Once I get all of my bills caught up I will start honoring the Lord with my finances, but right now that just not an option.
If I win the lottery I will give a lot of money to the church.
Looking at pornography is no big deal, besides I know other people who claim to be Christians who do the same thing.
In this day and age it just can’t be helped.
The Israelites did not trust God to provide for their needs, so they disobeyed God by planting crops on the 7th year when they were supposed to let the land rest for a year.
*(Lev.
25:1-7)* They disobeyed this command for 490 yrs.
For 70 Sabbaths, so God used Nebuchadnezzar and his forces from Babylon to destroy their city and capture them and take them to Babylon.
* *
*3.
Desensitization- *Things that used to bother me, no longer bother me.
There was a time when I despised dirty jokes, now I find myself laughing at them and even telling them from time to time.
Prayer is important, but I find I can make it through my day without it.
Reading God’s Word is important, but I don’t have to read it everyday.
Your vocabulary starts changing.
Your movie selection is wider.
You don’t give a second thought to watching movies that “Take God’s name in vain”.
TV- has caused more damage to critical thinking than we will ever realize.
“A perplexed learner is a learner who will turn to another station.
This means that there must be nothing that has to be remembered, studied, applied or, worst of all, endured.
It is assumed that any information, story or idea can be made immediately accessible, since the contentment, not the growth, of the learner is paramount.”-
*Amusing Ourselves to Death-* Neil Postman- pg.
147-148
*4.
Intimidation- *I don’t think it’s a good idea to pray for my meal in public, what people will think.
It’s not really necessary to share the gospel verbally, I mean people can see my life.
I can remember bowing my head and praying over my lunch in the cafeteria at the bakery one day and as I raised my head my eyes caught this guy across the table looking at me and he said, “what’s for lunch?”
I said “Peanut butter”.
He said, “I ‘ll bet you were praying for ham weren’t you.”
One of the repeated phrases in Haggai’s message was to “be strong”.
In other words, don’t be intimidated.
*5.
Procrastination- *One of these days I intend to get serious about serving God.
After I attain some of my goals like earning my degrees, getting married, buying a house I will get more involved in Church.
* *
*Solutions for Getting Back on Track Spiritually*
* *
Haggai- his name means “festive”.
3 of the 12 minor prophets- Haggai, Zechariah, and Malachi—are postexilic prophets.
Haggai is the 2nd shortest book in the Old Test.
His ministry with these four messages only covered a span of about 4 months.
* *
* *
*I.**
Consider where I am right now- Haggai 1:1-7*
* *
* *This helps us determine our priorities.
*Story*- Are your priorities straight?
A couple I heard about in Atlanta read that /My Fair Lady/ was still playing on Broadway in New York City.
They wanted to go so badly, so they bought their tickets months ahead of time and planned their vacation.
The long awaited day came and they flew to New York City.
They presented their tickets, walked in, and sat down in wonderful seats, seven rows from the front near the orchestra.
To the man’s amazement, the entire place filled up except the seat right next to him.
He was curious about that.
At the intermission, he leaned over in conversation with lady in the second seat away from him and commented how they had to wait so many months to get tickets to a performance.
When there was such a demand for seats, why would someone not come.
Did she have any idea?
She said , “Yes, as a matter of fact, these two seats are mine.
This one and that one.”
She explained further, “you see that seat belonged to my husband, and he died.”
The man said, “I’m…I’m terribly sorry.
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