FUNSHIP, FOODSHIP AND FELLOWSHIP: WHERE DO I BELONG?

TEXT: JOHN 6: 26-27

EXORDIUM:
John chapter six is a very important passage of Christian Scripture and an index into the lives of many people and of the Church today. Human nature has not changed much for the better but has consistently grown worse (cf. II Timothy 3:13).
Without much controversy there are three outstanding categories of people found among the bands of those who profess faith in Christ. These are the people we want to talk about in this short discussion.
There are people who are pleasure-oriented (Foodship), entertainment-oriented (Funship) and Kingdom-oriented (Fellowship). I am afraid that this is going to get personal with us. We are not going to talk about somebody else but us as we ask, FUNSHIP, FOODSHIP AND FELLOWSHIP: WHERE DO I BELONG?
To do justice to this discussion we would have to go back to the text of John Chapter Six and ask, WHAT KIND OF DISCIPLE AM I? Am I a funship disciple, foodship disciple or fellowship disciple? These questions are rhetorical and mean to help me realize my true identity in the Kingdom of God. Again, it is important to ask, “Am I spoiling or spurring; self-centered or Christ centered?”
Undoubtedly, there are two classes of followers: Situational followers (fair weather, none committal Christians) and the unconditional followers. There are Christians (disciples) of convenience and Christians (disciples) of conviction. Ask yourself again, “Where in these do I belong?”
In John chapter six our Lord had sumptuously provided for the masses of His followers. Recognizing His power of provision the people planned to take Him by force and make Him King probably with the Chieftaincy title of the “Great Benefactor 1 of the Jews” (John 6:14 –15). But then Jesus left them because He did not come to make foodship disciples. The people pursued after Him and having found Him the following day heard the Lord telling them, “You seek me not because you saw the miracles, but because you ate bread and were filled. Do not labor for the food which perishes but labor for the food which endures unto eternal life” (John 6:26-27).
Am I following the Lord because of the food He provides or because of Who He is and what He has done in my life and for me? Foodship discipleship is seen in many professing Christians today.
Some twenty first century Christians characterize the foodship discipleship mentality. Hear them when a call for burial is made as they ask, “ Would wine flow?”. See them at any given ceremony struggle and fight for food. Romans 12:15 enjoins us to “Mourn with those who mourn….” How justified are we then to demand for food and drinks from those whom we have come to share their sorrows?
If a preacher is a foodship disciple, his primary interest is not in the Spiritual well-being of the flock but on how to fatten himself and line his pockets (cf. Phil. 3:17-18; Ezek 34:1-10). No wonder many would down tools and leave the ministry should supports cease to flow.
OUTLINE OF DISCUSSION
FUNSHIP, FOODSHIP AND FELLOWSHIP: WHERE DO I BELONG?
Those who are funship and foodship disciples Warship, that is, they War and Ship to each other. This explains why there are many conflicts in our congregations. It is because of the presence of these categories of disciples. However, those who are fellowship disciples Worship, that is, they Word and Ship to each other. In the Kingdom of God here on earth, Funship and Foodship discipleship are more interested in “Serving tables” (Acts 6:2) while Fellowship discipleship basks in the WORD OF GOD (Acts 6:4).
Let us examine the character traits of each of these three groups in the church and see whether I as a Christian manifest any of these traits in my Christian life.
I. FOODSHIP (PLEASURE-ORIENTED) DISCPLESHIP:
(a) They are preoccupied with laboring for the things of temporal nature,
“The food which perishes” (John 6:26) and have been told not to (John
6:27). This is because the true nature of the kingdom of God is not
such (Romans 14:17).
(b) For the child of God, proper understanding should be gained
concerning the world and the things therein (Hebrews 13:14; I
Corinthians 7:29-31; I John 2:17).
(c) Foodship discipleship will come under great condemnation as the
objects of their interest will someday be destroyed (I Cor. 6:12-13).
(d) Such do not stand to gain anything but to loose (Matthew 16:26-27).
REMEMBER THAT JUDAS WAS A FOODSHIP DISCIPLE (John
12:4-6; Acts 1:16-20).
(e) If only in this life we have hope in Christ we are of all men most
miserable (1 Corinthians 15:19).
II FUNSHIP (ENTERTAINMENT-ORIENTED) DISCIPLESHIP:
(a) These are the self-centered and not God-centered people. Self is the
pivot of their existence (II Timothy 3:1-2,4). They go for what satisfies
their selfish and materialistic needs. To them self is all that matters.
(b) They are the fun-loving, easy-going and none-comitial Christians.
They go to church not to worship God but to be entertained by the
musicalities of preachers’ voices with no apparent interest in what
God’s Word says (Ezekiel 33:30-33).
(c) These are those who want their fancies to be tickled. Their motto is,
“TICKLE ME” (II Timothy. 4: 2-4; cf. Isaiah 30: 9-10).
(d) These are Spiritual pollutants, poisoning the atmosphere of sound
spirituality, attracting to themselves Divine condemnations (Jude vs.
11-13).
(e) Demas was a Funship disciple (II Timothy 4:10). What was he doing in
Thessalonica considering what the spiritual temperature was? (cf.
Acts. 17:11a).
III.FELLOWSHIP (KINGDOM-ORIENTED) DISCIPLESHIP:
(a) These are beautiful souls, God’s Vessels of Honor and Heaven’s
pride. These are God’s generals. When God’s roll call of who-is-who
is made their names are written in gold.
(b) Fellowship disciples are kingdom-oriented whose true objective is
to seek the Word and the Lord; the Word of the Lord and the Lord
of the Word. They are focused on Kingdom matters (John 6:66-69).
(c) “FELLOWSHIP” is from the Greek word, “KOINONIA.” Christian
fellowship is both vertical and horizontal and have three dimensions –
with Godhood: Father, Son and Holy Ghost (I John 1:3), with one
another (Act 2:42) and in the WORD.
(d) FELLOWSHIP WITH GODHOOD:
There must be an agreement (Amos 3:3) and this entails that we must
walk in the light (I John 1:7). To walk in light means that we must love
what they love and hate what they (Hebrews 1:9; Psalms 97:10).
(e). FELLOWSHIP WITH ONE ANOTHER:
This means that we feel the feelings of each other
(Romans12:15; I Corinthians 12:25-26), Sharpen each other and
(Proverbs 27:17; Isaiah 41:6-7), promote
sound spiritual well being (Romans 14: 19; Hebrews 10: 24-25)
and by sharing things in common (Acts4: 32, 34-35).
(f) FELLOWSHIP IN THE WORD:
This means that we must culture our selves in the Will
and ways of God; Studying to show ourselves approved
unto God. We must feast upon the Word daily and also
in endeavoring to internalize its precepts (Psalms 119: 9-11).
SUMMATION:
As were sharing on the subject of FUNSHIP, FOODSHIP AND FELLOWSHIP: WHERE I YOU BELONG? I had wondered within myself if in the course of this discussion you had recognized a negative familiar personal landmark (FUNSHIP or FOODSHIP) or a positive familiar landmark (FELLOWSHIP).
If you are a FUNSHIP or FOODSHIP disciple, I challenge you today to get out of the wrong boat and get into the right one. But if you are a Fellowship-Kingdom-oriented disciple, I encourage you to remain where you are. Keep paddling and committed!

Hilary Johnson Chukwuma Chukwurah (Evangelist)
Minister, Township/Campus Church of Christ,
14,Agbugwu Lane, off University Market Road,
P.O. Box 351 (Personal Box), Nsukka -410002.
Enugu State, Nigeria.
PHONES: 08039596919; 08182820677.
E-mail: hilaryjohnsonc@yahoo.com;
hilaryjohnsonc@gmail.com

“SAUL, SAUL: WHY ARE YOU PERSECUTING ME?” (ARE YOU A PERSECUTOR OR A PROSECUTOR? OPPONENT OR PROPONENT?)

And Saul, yet breathing out threatenings and slaughter against the disciples of the Lord, went unto the high priest, and desired of him letters to Damascus to the synagogues, that if he found any of this Way, whether they were men or women, he might bring them bound unto Jerusalem. And as he journeyed, he came near Damascus: and suddenly there shined round about him a light from heaven, and he fell to the earth, and heard a voice saying unto him, “Saul, Saul, why persecutest thou me?” And he said, “Who art thou, Lord?” And the Lord said, “I am Jesus whom thou persecutest: it is hard for thee to kick against the pricks.” And he trembling and astonished said, “Lord, what wilt thou have me to do?” And the Lord said unto him,” Arise, and go into the city, and it shall be told thee what thou must do” - Acts 9:1-6 (KJV)

INTRODUCTION

The question, “SAUL, SAUL: WHY ARE YOU PERSECUTING ME?” resonates with clarity today as it was when it was first uttered by the Lord to Saul of Tarsus, persecutor per excellence. In today’s contexts, the Lord seems to be asking modern day Christians, “Are You A Persecutor or A Prosecutor?” Are you an Opponent or a Proponent?”

We will never appreciate the enormity of the original question until we understand the circumstances that led to it.

It is ironical that someone would set out to do the Will of God but end up doing the opposite. It is ironical that someone would set out to fight for God but end up fighting against God.   

Towards the end of His Earthly ministry, our Lord Jesus Christ made references to how His disciples would be treated by religious people whose warped senses of religiosities would drive them towards actions that would be inimical towards His cause. It was in the course of this that He revealed that some people would go as far as taking the lives of His disciples “thinking that they were doing God service” (John 16:2).

No one exemplified that statement better than Saul of Tarsus, a man’s whose religious fervor was so misdirected that he fought against God, thinking that he was fighting for God. There has always been ways that seem right unto men but the end are the ways of death (Proverb 14:12).

I have come to stark realization that to be zealous for God does not amount to serving God. In God’s Kingdom dynamics, activity does not in any way translate to productivity. The greatest form of service to God is obedience to Him. When you obey God, you serve Him but when you live in disobedience you fight against Him.

It is possible to be zealous for God without actually serving Him or His Kingdom’s interests (Romans 10:1-3). However, it is not possible to serve God without being zealous for Him. If you put the cart before the horse, you will go nowhere, but if you put the horse before the cart, you will make progress. When zeal proceeds before obedience, persecutions of grave dimensions are bound to result. That was Saul of Tarsus’ worst premise and he got a rebuke for it. 

WHO WAS SAUL OF TARSUS?

Saul who was later known as “Paul” was born about AD 3. He was a contemporary of Jesus and His apostles.

In Hebrew, Saul means “desired.” His Roman name was Paul, which means “little.” Because one of the ancients called him Homo tricubitalis, Tradition says he was but four and a half feet in height.

Saul was born in Tarsus, a city of Cilicia, a free city of the Romans. In the Roman Empire, citizenship outside of Italy was reserved for those who made significant contributions to the Empire. It was possible that Saul’s family was wealthy and philanthropic, which made him a Roman citizen.

We can say with certainty that Saul’s father and mother were native Jews, which explains why Paul called himself a “Hebrew of the Hebrews” (Philippians 3:5). He was of the kingly tribe of Benjamin. Saul’s father was a Pharisee. He grew up to become one (Acts 23:6).

His early education was in the schools of Tarsus, which was known as a “little Athens for learning.” There he become acquainted with the philosophy and poetry of Greeks, which he later remembered and used (Acts 17:28; Titus 1:12).

At the traditional age of 14, young Saul was sent to the university at Jerusalem, where he studied the Torah (Jewish law). His tutor was Gamaliel, an eminent Pharisee (Acts 22:3).

Saul was radicalized. He was too zealous for his father’s religion. He saw Christians as apostates who should be brought back to the Jewish fold at all costs. He took it upon himself to bring these apostates to their knees. In view of this, he sought for Letter of Authority from the Chief Priest to roam the whole country and beyond, binding and bringing Christians to their senses and to Jerusalem. His approach was too radical that Bible says he “ravaged the Church” (Acts 8:1f; Acts 9:1f). It was while on his Mission, “OPERATION BRING THEM BACK!” that he encountered Jesus on his way to Damascus where the Lord asked him, “Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me…?” (Acts 9:4).

WHAT IS PERSECUTION?

According to Mirriam Websters Dictionary, Persecution is an act of harassment or punishment in a manner designed to injure, grieve, or afflict. Specifically, persecution is hostility and ill-treatment; persistent annoyance or harassment.

Wikipedia Free Encyclopedia (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Persecution) conceives Persecution as the systematic mistreatment of an individual or group by another individual or group. It says that the most common forms are religious persecution, ethnic persecution and political persecution. Another form of persecution is psychological persecution.

Succinctly stated, Persecution is an act of aggression directed towards certain individuals or organizations with a view to frustrating them. When people arise to stand against a movement, the objective is to frustrate its activities. This is somewhat explained in Acts 5:34-39,

Then stood there up one in the council, a Pharisee, named Gamaliel, a doctor of the Law, had in reputation among all the people, and commanded to put the apostles forth a little space, and said unto them, Ye men of Israel, take heed to yourselves what ye intend to do as touching these men. For before these days rose up Theudas, boasting himself to be somebody; to whom a number of men, about four hundred, joined themselves: who was slain; and all, as many as obeyed him, were scattered, and brought to nought. After this man rose up Judas of Galilee in the days of the taxing, and drew away much people after him: he also perished; and all, even as many as obeyed him, were dispersed. And now I say unto you, Refrain from these men, and let them alone: for if this counsel or this work be of men, it will come to nought: But if it be of God, ye cannot overthrow it; lest haply ye be found even to fight against God.

What Gamaliel explained here is that historically certain groups were frustrated out of existence through the instrumentality of persecution. He, however, warned that if care was not taken, hey would be seen to be fighting against God while thinking that they were fighting for Him.  

  

Going by Dr. Gamaliel’s counsel, we may sometimes be committed against a cause thinking that we are doing God a service not actually knowing that we are actually standing against God.

Persecution could exist within a commonwealth. For instance, under the commonwealth of the nation of Israel, Jewish religion persecuted Christianity. In the same vein, Carnal minded persons are in the business of persecuting spiritually-minded persons. Galatians 4:29 states,

But as then he that was born after the flesh persecuted him that was born after the Spirit, even so it is now (KJV).

In the course of this, psychological persecutions are effectively employed to frustrate activities of these minded persons. Sometimes, these brethren are tools in the hands of Satan without knowing it and while claiming to do the Lord’s Work, they end up becoming hindrances to the Kingdom business.  

WHY DOES GOD ALLOW PERSECUTION?

In the early days of the Church, anyone would precipitate persecution against Jesus’ followers. The world seemed to take pleasure in persecutions against the Church. Tertullian, a Church historian observed,  “If the Tiber rises too high, or the Nile too low, the remedy is always feeding Christians to the lions.”

 

Why does God allow persecutions of His servants?  In his book, The Cost of Discipleship, Dietrich Bonhoeffer, wrote, “When Christ calls a man, he bids him come and die.” Jesus knew that persecutions would come upon those who serve and work for Him. He said to us, “If they persecuted Me, they would also persecute you…” (John 15:20). Even though, persecution is a hard experience to undergo, it has its numerous spiritual benefits. Apostle Paul said in Acts 14:23, “For by many tribulations, we shall enter the Kingdom of God.”  Richard Sibbes observed, "God takes a safe course with His children, that they may not be condemned with the world; He permits the world to condemn them, that they may not love the world, the world hates them...."

 

Persecution, if it does discourage, has capacity to keep a Christian on course with its purifying effects. It was said that the “blood of martyrs were the seeds of the Kingdom.” Charles Spurgeon, a notable Baptist Church preacher wrote,

"Never did the church so much prosper and so truly thrive as when she was baptized in the blood. The ship of the church never sails so gloriously along as when the bloody spray of her martyrs falls on her deck. We must suffer and we must die, if we are ever to conquer this world for Christ."

IMPORTANT QUESTION: ARE YOU A PERSECUTOR OR A PROSECUTOR?

Are you for the Lord or are you against him?  At Matthew 12:30 Jesus said, “He who does gather with Me scatters…” Sometimes we think we are for, unaware that we are against. Saul of Tarsus thought he was doing God a service, not knowing that he was doing God a disservice. Whatever we do to anyone doing God a service, we indirectly hurt the Lord. 

“Saul, Saul: Why Are You Persecuting Me?” was the question that our Lord posed to Saul to stop the religious madness of this Jewish persecutor against Christians. In view of this, we now ask, “Are You A Persecutor or A Prosecutor?”

This question goes to every Christian who is politicizing God’s work, to everyone who is standing as a stumbling block to the growth of the Gospel, to those whose activities are stifling the growth of our local congregations. 

Brethren, some of the greatest enemies of the Church are her members. These are people who are standing at the entrance to the Kingdom, they would not go in nor allow those who want to go in to do so (Matthew 23:13).   

HOW DO WE PERSECUTE JESUS TODAY?

Remember the parable of Matthew 25:41ff? The morale of our Lord’s homily was: “whatever you do to any of these, you do it also to Me.” Simply stated, whatever we do to any child of God for or against, we are doing it to Jesus. That is to say that there exists a vicarious relationship between us and the Lord. If we become a blessing, Jesus feels it, but if we are a thorn in any Christian’s personal life or effort to attain the Heavenly Call, we are indirectly dealing with the Lord.

In view of this, we persecute the Lord when we:

“Shoot Our Wounded”

In warfare, there are rules of engagement. You do not chance upon a fellow wounded soldier and rather than attend to him or her to make this fellow soldier recover and continue the warfare, then you decide to shoot this wounded soldier.

How does this analogy apply to the Christian Faith? There is no gainsaying the fact that in the Christian race, there coexists both weak and strong. The strong are to certain extent bear with weaknesses of the weak (Romans 14:1f), help them to grow towards maturity. Those who are spiritually strong should assist those who are caught in the thicket of one moral weakness or another (Galatians 6:1-2). This principle was strongly advocated because that is the nature of God’s personal dealings with each of us (Isaiah 42:3).

It is becoming increasingly troubling that as a church we are becoming more and more hard-hearted than compassionate. After observing the hard hearted treatment of some people by religious Pharisees, Jesus said to them, “Go and learn what this means: I desire mercy, not sacrifice” (Matthew 9:13). In God’s economy, “…Mercy would always triumph over judgement” (James 2:13).

When we observe the way Brethren are being treated or matters that concern them are being discussed, I feel the Lord’s countenance fall when He sees we treat each other! We disfellowship our “weak brethren” with reckless abandon. We discard matters that concern them with waves of the hand. We seem to take pleasure in driving them away from the Lord than we are at drawing them closer to the Lord. We seem to have acquired notoriety for being hard-hearted than being a people of compassion.                

When you live against His Will

Hebrews 6:4-9 provides one of the most touching scenarios, which portray people who persecute Jesus. What would be more terrifying than to “Crucify the Lord a second time”?

For it is impossible for those who were once enlightened, and have tasted of the heavenly gift, and were made partakers of the Holy Ghost, and have tasted the good word of God, and the powers of the world to come, if they shall fall away, to renew them again unto repentance; seeing they crucify to themselves the Son of God afresh, and put him to an open shame. For the earth which drinketh in the rain that cometh oft upon it, and bringeth forth herbs meet for them by whom it is dressed, receiveth blessing from God: But that which beareth thorns and briers is rejected, and is nigh unto cursing; whose end is to be burned. But, beloved, we are persuaded better things of you, and things that accompany salvation, though we thus speak (KJV).

It was Chuck Swindoll who asked, “If you believe like you should, why then do you behave the way you shouldn’t?” When we live the way we are not supposed to live, we bring shame upon the Lord, thereby maligning the name of the Lord. When King David committed adultery with Beersheba and subsequently murdered her husband, Uriah, the question that Prophet Nathan asked was, “… why have you given the enemies of the Lord an occasion to blaspheme…?” (II Samuel 12:14). 

Persecution is not just a physical thing but a behavioural phenomenon. Igbos would say that the blaspheming of a prince is worse than his murder (“Nkalu nwa ogalanya ka ogbugbu ya njo”).  When I live against God’s Will for my life, what the Lord seem to be asking is, “Hilary, Hilary, why persecutes thou Me?....”

 

Romans 2: 24 speaks of the “…Name of the Lord being blasphemed among the Gentiles” because of some of us. How is the name of the Lord being blasphemed? One of such takes place when “…we eat on the Lord’s Table and also eat on the table of demons….” (I Corinthians 10:21-22). When we do this, we simply PROVOKE the Lord.  

When We Discourage Genuine Servants/Workers of the Lord

At II Corinthians 7:5, Apostle Paul expressed fears of internal persecutions aside the external ones that he and other genuine servants of God were subjected to. He wrote:

For, when we were come into Macedonia, our flesh had no rest, but we were troubled on every side; without were fightings, within were fears.

Paul was not alone in his lamentations. Our Lord Jesus expressed the same emotions when He addressed Jewish religious leaders at Mathews 23:29-35:

Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! because ye build the tombs of the prophets, and garnish the sepulchres of the righteous, and say, If we had been in the days of our fathers, we would not have been partakers with them in the blood of the prophets. Wherefore ye be witnesses unto yourselves, that ye are the children of them which killed the prophets. Fill ye up then the measure of your fathers. Ye serpents, ye generation of vipers, how can ye escape the damnation of hell? Wherefore, behold, I send unto you prophets, and wise men, and scribes: and some of them ye shall kill and crucify; and some of them shall ye scourge in your synagogues, and persecute them from city to city: That upon you may come all the righteous bloodshed upon the earth, from the blood of righteous Abel unto the blood of Zacharias son of Barachias, whom ye slew between the temple and the altar.

 It is discouraging that we are in the business of mauling down our warriors. A warrior is hardly killed on battle fields but at home. Igbos say that when warriors are slain at peace times when war erupts we say, “Oh, how we wish this and that warrior is alive to fight our wars….” Is it not appalling that we “kill” our frontline brethren by either “badmouthing” them and discouraging them out of relevance and service to our King.

A little down Matthew chapter 23, particularly Matthew 23:37-39 our Lord Jesus Christ lamented:

O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, thou that killest the prophets, and stonest them which are sent unto thee, how often would I have gathered thy children together, even as a hen gathereth her chickens under her wings, and ye would not! Behold, your house is left unto you desolate. For I say unto you, Ye shall not see me henceforth, till ye shall say, Blessed is he that cometh in the name of the Lord.

These Prophets according to II Chronicles 36:15-16 were sent by God to serve His purpose amongst His people. Rather than encourage them, they maltreated them until God could endure no longer. II Chronicles 36:15-16 says:  

And the LORD God of their fathers sent to them by his messengers, rising up betimes, and sending; because he had compassion on his people, and on his dwelling place:  But they mocked the messengers of God, and despised his words, and misused his prophets, until the wrath of the LORD arose against his people, till there was no remedy.

Some of us have become devils’ advocates. Satan is the “Accuser of our Brethren” (Revelations 12:10). Many preachers, for instance, have been deliberately boxed into very tight corners by some brethren in certain congregations and when as much as take a step, would be accused by those who set them up and brought out with premeditated allegations with a view to frustrate them out of ministry. That was what Satan did to Joshua, the High Priest of God. Zechariah 3:1-3 says:

And he shewed me Joshua the high priest standing before the angel of the LORD, and Satan standing at his right hand to resist him. And the LORD said unto Satan, The LORD rebuke thee, O Satan; even the LORD that hath chosen Jerusalem rebuke thee: is not this a brand plucked out of the fire? Now Joshua was clothed with filthy garments, and stood before the angel.

Satan had set machineries in motion for “a brand to be plucked out of a burning fire” (Zechariah 3:2). If not for Divine Intervention, Joshua would have been disgraced for no fault of his own. His garment was smeared with dirt by the same Satan who turned around to accuse him of filthiness. May God deliver His servants from their accusers and reveal the true sources of their troubles and accusations in Jesus’ name!  

Over the many years of active pulpit work, I have heard some brothers who gloated over the fact that they engineered the sack of certain preachers. What a shame! Let me say this to you: if you have been in the business or are in the business of discouraging preachers from their work or you are a preacher discouraging Brethren from their services to the LORD, be informed of this Scripture:

But whoso shall offend one of these little ones which believe in me, it were better for him that a millstone were hanged about his neck, and that he were drowned in the depth of the sea. Woe unto the world because of offences! for it must needs be that offences come; but woe to that man by whom the offence cometh! (Matthew 18:6-7)

How many preachers and genuine servants of God have we not “killed” or “chased out”?

HOW SHOULD WE RESPOND TO PERSECUTIONS?

It is one thing to be persecuted, but another thing to handle persecution. For every one who is being persecuted, our Lord has taught us to develop positive mental attitudes towards persecutions. At Matthew 5:11-12, Jesus said:

Blessed are ye, when men shall revile you, and persecute you, and shall say all manner of evil against you falsely, for my sake. Rejoice, and be exceeding glad: for great is your reward in heaven: for so persecuted they the prophets which were before you (KJV).  

Apostles of our Lord “…counted themselves worthy” having being persecuted (Acts 5:41). Do not allow persecutors and persecutions to dampen your zeal for the Lord. Demonstrate resilience. Be the cat with nine lives. Keep your persecutors guessing where your strength is drawn from when you refuse to be pushed down and out.  Take a cue from Grandeurs of our Faith who refused to be put out of the Race by persecutions and persecutors. Hebrews 10:32-39 says:

But call to remembrance the former days, in which, after ye were illuminated, ye endured a great fight of afflictions; partly, whilst ye were made a gazingstock both by reproaches and afflictions; and partly, whilst ye became companions of them that were so used. For ye had compassion of me in my bonds, and took joyfully the spoiling of your goods, knowing in yourselves that ye have in heaven a better and an enduring substance. Cast not away, therefore, your confidence, which hath great recompence of reward. For ye have need of patience, that, after ye have done the will of God, ye might receive the promise. For yet a little while, and he that shall come will come, and will not tarry. Now the just shall live by faith: but if any man drawback, my soul shall have no pleasure in him. But we are not of them who draw back unto perdition; but of them that believe to the saving of the soul.

John Bunyan, popularly known across Christian history for his classic book, The Pilgrim’s Progress was severally persecuted by both infidels and fellow journeyers in the Race to Heaven. When asked what sustained his resolve wrote,

 "… I bind these lies and slanderous accusations to my person as an ornament; it belongs to my Christian profession to be vilified, slandered, reproached and reviled, and since all this is nothing but that, as God and my conscience testify, I rejoice in being reproached for Christ's sake."

John Wesley, founder of Methodism quipped:

"If we suffer persecution and affliction in a right manner, we attain a larger measure of conformity to Christ, by a due improvement of one of these occasions, than we could have done merely by imitating his mercy, in abundance of good works."

CONCLUSION

“Saul, Saul why are you persecuting Me?...” is a question every well-meaning meaning, Heaven-bound Christian should prayerfully answer. Are we persecuting the Lord or are we prosecuting His Work? Are we Opponents of the Faith or Proponents of the Faith?  Are helping the work of the Lord or are we promoting the Lord’s Work?

We must destroy every spirit of “If I do not rule, I will ruin” that has become prevalent amongst us. Let us work together to make the Work of the Lord count.

God bless us all in Jesus’ name!