Hindrances to Worship

John 4:24: "God is a Spirit: and they that worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth."

"Brethren, we have met to worship and adore the Lord our God;
Will you pray with all your power, while we try to preach the Word?
All is vain unless the Spirit of the Holy One comes down;
Brethren, pray, and holy manna will be showered all around."

That is what should happen when we gather to worship God.
God seeks the worship of our hearts, and He is the only one worthy of the undivided worship
of our hearts.
For man to worship something other or less than the true and living God is to worship
that which will disappoint and that which will downgrade him from his highest possible destiny.
Most of us would acknowledge that worship is as essential to the spiritual life as bread is to the physical life.
We have experienced some of the beneficial results of worship in our own lives.

While recognizing the invaluable results of worship, many of us would confess
that we are sadly deficient in experiencing these results.
Perhaps, if we will stop and evaluate some of the hindrances to worship it might help us
to participate more meaningfully in worship.

There are hindrances to worship within ourselves.

First, there is a lack of physical rest.
One of the recurring jokes that is often heard concerns the man who went to sleep during a worship service
and made some foolish remarks when he awoke suddenly without an awareness of his surroundings.
The truth is that it is almost impossible for a person to have a creative worship experience
when he is totally exhausted in mind and body.

Many work so hard during the week or they deprive themselves of necessary rest on Saturday evening,
so it is understandable that they may snooze a bit when they are relaxed during the worship service.

Secondly, there is a lack of mental preparation.
It is foolish to believe that a person can forget God during the week and spend a wild Saturday night,
and then get up late on Sunday morning and rush to church, and suddenly have a tremendous experience
with God without having prepared his mind and heart to do so.

Repeatedly, Jesus spoke about the necessity of a man using his eyes to see and his ears to hear.
A person must do something more than just bringing his or her body to church to worship.
A person must also bring his mind.

It would be much better if everyone would make a careful inventory of their personal and family needs
before going to the house of prayer and worship.
We should have the thoughtfulness of the wife who prepares a grocery list before going to the grocery store,
then each one of us would consider our spiritual needs before we come to worship.
We would be much more likely to received the needed blessings that God will generously give to us.

In the third place, an immature, incomplete, or faulty concept of God is also a hindrance to worship.
The devil has been misrepresenting God from the very beginning of history. (Genesis 3:4-5)
The devil is a slanderer and a liar.
He has misrepresented the nature and character of God that some hate God instead of loving Him.
They refuse to believe in Him when in reality He is worthy of their complete trust.

Jesus came to reveal and to demonstrate that God is a God of love and mercy and grace.
Jesus spoke of God as the heavenly Father who is more eager to bestow good gifts upon His children
than even a loving earthly father.
Jesus would lead us to put our faith in that heavenly Father.
Jesus would challenge us to recognize that divine love is behind every prohibition and commandment of God.

If we will listen to Jesus, instead of the devil concerning the nature and purposes of God,
we will overcome some of the hindrances within ourselves that prevent us from worshiping in spirit and in truth.

Fourth, there is unconfessed and unforsaken sin.
Only fools treat sin lightly.
God is against sin because of the evil destructive nature of sin.
God will not condone or tolerate sin because of the genuineness of His love for us.
With a persistent determination God proposes to deliver us from that which is going to destroy us
if we do not forsake it in our heart and life.

For the child of God knowingly to tolerate sin in his life is to break fellowship with God,
and to create a sense of guilt that will prevent him from coming into the Father's presence.
Like Jonah a person may try to run from God, but will discover that he cannot escape the presence of God.
It may be that this explains why the Christian might not have enjoyed the warmth
and love of God's presence for a longtime.

Fifth, there is no expectancy.
Jesus promised His disciples, "For where two or three are gathered together in my name,
there am I in the midst of them." (Matthew 18:20)
With real faith we should expect Jesus Christ to be present in every service of worship
as God's people come together in His name.
To expect Him to be present is to experience His presence.
Many of us do not receive a blessing during the hour worship because we did not come
expecting to receive one.

There are also hindrances to worship in those about us.

First, those about us often distract us from worship.
Have you ever found it difficult to concentrate because someone was whispering during the service?
As a parent, you have had the task of controlling and uncomfortable child who wiggled a bit
and deprived you of an experience with God.
The truth is that if we can be distracted, we will be.

We must recognize these distractions and then determine not to permit someone whispering,
or the way they dress, or the difficulty that a child is having too deprive us of the blessings
that God has for us.

Secondly, those about us often discourage and disappoint us.
I suppose it is natural for human beings to be critical of each other.
We are habitual fault-finders.

This can be a deadly past-time when one comes to church.
To have a habit of finding fault in others and consequently, being disappointed by them can rob us
of the blessings that God has for us.
Search your own heart and be really honest.
Is it not true that the moment you begin to criticize your neighbor that in that very moment you cease to worship?
You cannot be critical of your neighbor, and at the same time receive the blessings that God has for you.

If you are a fault-finder, you can always find something wrong with the pastor
or with the choir or with the congregation.
While you are criticizing your neighbor, you actually focusing the spotlight upon yourself and away from God.
Instead of being critical of your neighbor, it would be much more profitable and beneficial
if you would be aware of the x-ray of God's holiness searching your own heart and mind
for that which is deserving of your critical appraisal.

Remember the Pharisee who prayed in the temple and complimented himself and congratulated God
on how fortunate God was to have a Pharisee such as himself attending the temple services on that Sabbath?
His prayer was a waste of his breath and his attendance nothing but a pious pretense.

Remember the Publican who was present, and that he did not spend his time criticizing his neighbor.
He did not even lift his face up toward God, and yet, he saw God.
He also saw himself.
His cry for mercy was heard, and he went home with peace in his heart and with new power to face the future.

There also hindrances to worship in the world about us.

First, there are the claims of false gods that clamor for our worship.
There are many things which would offer themselves as being of supreme worth.
These things or persons would usurp the place that belongs only to God.

There are those who worship a person other than God.
There are husbands who allow their wife to be the supreme object of their affection instead of God.
There are wives who let a husband be the Lord of their existence instead of God.
There are parents who make slaves out of themselves for their children.
There are those who are guilty of giving to another person the supreme loyalty and love of our heart
that should be given only to God.

Then there are those who worship pleasure.
Never has the world offered the promise of more pleasure than it does today.
Man is strongly pressured to live with that which brings pleasure in the moment
rather than recognizing the eternal spiritual dimension of life.

Some worship a variety of different pursuits.
In an age which emphasizes the need for planning ahead, many are doing so to the extent
that they have excepted a goal for life which does not include worshiping the true God.
They are unreservedly giving themselves to the pursuit of a profession, an educational, or an economic,
or political goal in life.

The current spirit of the world does not encourage the worship of God.
We live in a scientific age which supplies the scientific method in every area of life.
Scientists have discovered the laws of God (and God has permitted this) and His world,
and they have developed these to the extent that many have forgotten the Creator and the Maker of us all.

We have become fascinated with man and his discoveries and inventions and with the potential
for future discoveries to the extent that many would consider the church and the Bible has something
that is obsolete and that belongs to a bygone age.

The pressure to succeed in the present is so great that many are neglecting to take the long look.
Many have forgotten to look inside and also to look up, and when people neglect to worship
or refuse to worship, life will become meaningless and empty.

What is the main thing that hinders you from worshiping the true and living God?

Pray that God will lead and assist you as you seek to worship in spirit and in truth.
Pray that the Holy Spirit of God will be your guide and teacher and helper and so that you might
worship God acceptably and that your life might glorify God so that others might see in you the results
of a life of worship and service to your great God.

Andrew Reed, a poet, recognized the need for the help of the Holy Spirit
if he would just worship acceptably and so he prayed the following prayer:

"Holy Ghost, with light divine
Shine upon this heart of mine;
Chase the shades of night away;
Turn my darkness into day.

Holy Ghost, with power divine,
Cleanse this guilty heart of mine;
Long this sin, without control
Held dominion o'er my soul.

Holy Ghost, with joy divine,
Cheer this saddened heart of mine;
Bid my many woes depart,
Heal my wounded, bleeding heart.

Holy Spirit, all divine,
Dwell within this heart of mine;
Cast down every idol throne;
Reign supreme, and reign alone."

Sermon adapted by Dr. Harold L. White