The story is told of a preacher who was once preaching in an old-fashioned tent revival. During this revival, a couple young men decided to so harass the preacher so that he would pack up and leave town. So one night after the preacher had started into his sermon, one of these young men stood up and asked, "Hey preacher! What's the difference between a preacher and a fool?" Without missing a beat, the preacher responded by saying, "You two come up here and stand beside me a moment and I think the audience can see the difference." It wasn't the preacher who packed up and left.

Of course, while we may get a chuckle out of the above story, hindering the Gospel is no laughing matter. And while we would never stand up and so rudely attempt to impede the Gospel, we may be guilty of hindering it in other ways.

Do you think you're helping or hindering when you miss worship services, fail to attend Bible classes, criticize the preacher and song leader for their weekly "performance," and fail to financially give to the work of the church? Do you think you're helping or hindering when you whisper and pass notes all through worship, refuse to join in the singing, gossip about someone and dress provocatively?

If today God chose to strike blind, as he did in Acts 13:6-11, all of us who were in some way hindering the Gospel, would you have to have someone help you to read this article?

Friends, let's not allow ourselves to be used as a tool of Satan to hinder others from receiving God's blessings.