Stumbling blocks are obstacles to your progress in growing in the grace and the knowledge of Jesus Christ. They will impede your walk with God and cause you to go astray. There are four stumbling blocks of which you must be particularly aware.
The stumbling block of your iniquity – Ezek 14:3. “Son of man, these men have set up their idols in their heart, and put the stumbling block of their iniquity before their face: should I be enquired of at all by them”?
Ezekiel was instructed that certain men, who had idols in their heart, would come to him for a prophecy from the Lord. These men put the stumbling block of their iniquity before their face.
Likewise, you can have an idol in your heart that will cause you to fall when the stumbling block is put before your face. You must ask yourself this question. Is the thing that’s in my heart going to draw me closer to the Lord or further away when the stumbling block is before me? You can tell this if you are honest with God.
You have to deal with these stumbling blocks while the iniquity is still in your heart. Prov 4:23 says, “Keep thy heart with all diligence; for out of it are the issues of life”. Once it’s in front of you, you will fall.
The stumbling block of Balac – Rev 2:14. When the Jews were before the Midianites, Balak hired Balaam to curse Israel. However, God turned his curse into a blessing. Nevertheless, Balaam taught Balak to cast a stumbling block before the children of Israel by causing them to eat things sacrificed to idols and to commit fornication. 24,000 men died as a result.
There are people in the world who will throw you off course. Like Balaam was used to show Balac how to get Israel to stumble, these will offer you something that draws you away from the Lord.
When I was in boarding school, a well-meaning teacher offered me rides to a Catholic church near the campus. Because I accepted, I quit going to the Catholic church downtown where I also attended First Presbyterian church, afterwards. Thus, I was no longer hearing Ben Haden preach and I strayed from the Lord.
When I was in college, an uncle helped me get a job in the banking business in the summer after my sophomore year. Thus, my desire to preach in church waned, while my desire to succeed in business waxed strong. Banking became a stumbling block.
The stumbling block of another Christian – Rom 14:13. A Christian can become a stumbling block to a brother when he does something that causes his brother to fall. You don’t want to be the stumbling block to others. But what if they are the stumbling block to you?
A teenager in Beeville took a bottle of whiskey to summer camp one year and caused another teen to fall. While in boarding school, a friend at an FCA meeting in Gatlinburg encouraged me to sneak out of the meeting to go skiing. Christian friends who don’t want to draw close the Lord can cause you to fall away.
The stumbling block of the Lord – Jer 6:18-21. In this passage of scripture, Israel had so provoked God with their rebellion, disobedience, and idolatry, they he no longer wanted their sacrifices. Therefore, he put a stumbling block before them to cause them to fall.
When you don’t hearken to God’s words and you reject them, God won’t let you coast along. At some point, when he’s had enough, like he did with Israel, he can put stumbling blocks before you. And you will fall.
Conclusion: What are you going to do about these stumbling blocks that are in your life? Is 57:13-15, take up the stumbling block out of the way of my people.