What Hinders Kingdom Work?

What hinders kingdom work? We could easily answer the question with one word: People. This would be right on target and make your reading time quite short. However, people are the problem, and many facets can be discussed.  

I want us to first focus on the word hinder as it applies to this important question. The word hinder means “to cause difficulty, leading to delay or obstruction.” We can see from the definition that to hinder something can result in an interruption or a complete stoppage of forward progression. We note that, depending on the damage done, a person hindered from the gospel still has the opportunity to accept the message. 

Matthew 13 records Jesus’ return to Nazareth as He set out to reveal Himself as the Messiah, not just the carpenter they knew. Unfortunately, most Jews, because of a wrong understanding of the nature of the Messiah, only saw Him as the carpenter. Similarly, our own prejudged views and lack of total surrender hinder us from letting God work in our lives to accomplish His will and purpose. We must let Christ rule on the throne in our hearts to enable Kingdom work to move forward. S. D. Gordan writes, “In every heart there is a cross and a throne. And each is occupied. If Jesus is on the throne, ruling, the self is on the cross, dying. But if the self is obeyed and is so ruling, then it is on the throne. And self on the throne means that Jesus has been put on the cross.” I Self needs to see Jesus Christ as the Son of God and the redeemer of mankind, so as not hinder kingdom work. 

The word hinder is used in Matthew 19:14 in reference to Jesus’ disciples hindering children from coming to Him. In this passage, people were bringing children to Jesus, and the disciples got in the way. They assumed that Jesus didn’t have time for them. Unfortunately, I believe this attitude is still prevalent in our churches today. It’s not that we think Jesus doesn’t want to be bothered by children;  it’s the adults who don’t want to be bothered. I personally believe this is why youth ministry was started. 

The best way for children to be led to the Lord is through Christian parents. This is where true discipleship takes place. If children are not raised in a Christian home, it is up to the church to bring them to Jesus. What we offer them is of great importance as to what they learn and how it shapes their life and worldview. Children can be a catalyst for church growth; they are the most evangelistic people on earth. Let us consider that if we want to change our world, we need to start with the children and not hinder them from coming to Jesus. 

Next, let’s examine the message of 1 Corinthians 8. Paul is dealing with the Christians at Corinth eating meat sacrificed to idols, and he sees an attitude that needs to be corrected. The Christians were developing a point of view that “since it is alright for me, it should be alright for you.” The need for humility and love was lacking, and it was hurting other Christians, hindering their walk with the Lord. There was an atmosphere of superior knowledge and attitude, and this presented a dangerous problem for the Corinthian Church. Their freedom, in their way of thinking, made them feel a sense of superiority over those for whom eating meat was a problem. Unfortunately, an attitude of superiority can blind us to the needs of others. We should be mindful of those around us and live in such a way as not hinder the gospel of Christ. 

The Apostle Paul also uses the word hinder in 1 Corinthians 9:12. The Greek word means “an impediment blocking an enemy from advancing.” He uses this term to say that he and his companions did not use their privilege to hinder the advancement of the gospel. Paul made it clear that he and Barnabas were there out of urgency, need, and love for the gospel of Christ. Is a workman worthy of remuneration? By all means. However, Paul did not seek anything from the Corinthian church as he did everything “for the sake of the gospel.” 

I have traveled the world over the last thirty-one years for Kids for Christ, teaching, preaching, and training workers for the Kingdom. Through my experiences, I have been blessed by the faith of Christians who seek to grow the Kingdom of God. Last May, I was blessed to work with the Kabankalan Church of Christ (Instrumental) on Negros Island in the Philippines. This is a church that is on fire for the Lord and is advancing the gospel of Christ to all areas that encompass Kabankalan. The church has branched out with five house churches, and countless Bible studies are being conducted. They are a discipling church that is training its leaders from within. 

Our Kids for Christ International Director is Devonah Jane Sanggo, and she works with her dad to grow the church and the KFCI ministry throughout the Island. I traveled with them to some of the mountain churches in a car that should be in a junk yard. The roads we traveled were meant for oxen and horses. Transportation, the condition of roads, and weather do not hinder their work for our Lord. They smile, laugh, and continue with the urgency of getting the message out. They work from sunup to sundown, seven days of the week. Their commitment to God inspired the topic on which I write. I see in them the gospel going unhindered. They do not have the baggage of materialism weighing them down, just faith that God will provide as they do His work. Isn’t this the way it should be? I am reminded of what my father-in-law said years ago about Christians in the country of Myanmar: “They say we pray for them because of what they don’t have, and we pray for you because of what you do have.” What hinders Kingdom work? 

One last passage comes from the book of Acts, where Luke finishes his writing with a summation. It is noteworthy that the last Greek word in Acts is unhindered. Luke makes it clear that his writing is about the Gospel of Christ and that it went forward unhindered. The gospel was the focus of his writing, and it should be our focus as Christians. 

In G. Campbell Morgan’s commentary on the book of Acts, he writes: 

The Word of God is not bound, and whatever may be the massed forces against its testimony, it is they which must crumble and pass and perish, as did Rome and Nero, and not this word of the testimony. May it be ours to be true to that testimony in life and speech, to the glory of His name. In proportion as we are so, the word forever describing the Church will be the word with which this book ends, unhindered! ii. 

We are assured that the message we share is God’s Word and that when it goes out, it doesn’t return void (Isaiah 55:11). In the Parable of the Sower, the focus is not on the seed; it is on where the seed lands. The seed is always good. The hindrance comes with the soils of the heart, whether you are in Christ or not. I often ask myself what I am doing or not doing that hinders the gospel of Christ. This should always be the question we ask ourselves as we go forward professing the name of Christ.