Hindrances to Serving God
1. Bitterness and unforgiveness
2. Murmuring and complaining
- You don't help by complaining; provide the solution."
- Observers become critical"
Some things you need to overcome so that you serve God
1. You must overcome spiritual sicknesses
- Pride - lack of humility which leads to criticism, thinking you're better than everyone, you're not willing to learn
"Don't be too big. When you're too big, you can't serve the Lord."
- Spiritual laziness - Active everywhere else but sitting in church
- Living in sin - we're serving people to tell them to come out of sin.
2. You must overcome the cares of this world - concerns worries and anxieties
[18] Still others, like seed sown among thorns, hear the word; [19] but the worries of this life, the deceitfulness of wealth and the desires for other things come in and choke the word, making it unfruitful.
3. You must overcome the deceitfulness of riches/wealth
4. You must overcome the desires of other things like lusts and pleasures of this life
HIGH HIGH! QUICK QUICK! LIFE LIFE!
"Anything that you desire too much that is not spiritual, watch out!"
5. You must overcome any form of distraction that can divert you
6. You must overcome any form of immaturity
This can be tested by your response to the challenges you face in life.
[11] We have much to say about this, but it is hard to make it clear to you because you no longer try to understand. [12] In fact, though by this time you ought to be teachers, you need someone to teach you the elementary truths of God’s word all over again. You need milk, not solid food! [13] Anyone who lives on milk, being still an infant, is not acquainted with the teaching about righteousness. [14] But solid food is for the mature, who by constant use have trained themselves to distinguish good from evil.
[14] Then we will no longer be infants, tossed back and forth by the waves, and blown here and there by every wind of teaching and by the cunning and craftiness of people in their deceitful scheming.
7. You must overcome the tendency to be unstable
- You may not do much when you're not stable.
- You make an impact by staying. You are to bear fruit and leave a mark.
Staying power - longanimity, longevity
"If you were to leave church today, would we notice your abscence?"
[12] The righteous will flourish like a palm tree, they will grow like a cedar of Lebanon; [13] planted in the house of the Lord, they will flourish in the courts of our God. [14] They will still bear fruit in old age, they will stay fresh and green,
8. You must overcome the spirit of fear
- Fear is not just a mood, fear is a demon.
- Overcome the fear of failure, hurt, being laughed at...
[25] So I was afraid and went out and hid your gold in the ground. See, here is what belongs to you.’ [26] “His master replied, ‘You wicked, lazy servant! So you knew that I harvest where I have not sown and gather where I have not scattered seed?
[7] For the Spirit God gave us does not make us timid, but gives us power, love and self-discipline.
[20] Walk with the wise and become wise, for a companion of fools suffers harm.
10. You must overcome excuses
"Excuses are the nails used to build the house of a failure."
"Maybe the solution to your problem is hidden in the 117th page of a book"
