Persecution

I'm up in Humble, Iowa, where I pastor Abundant Life Christian Fellowship.

And I also work for Equipping the Persecuted.

Now, Equipping the Persecuted is an organization— that is committed to not just combating the persecution or helping those who are persecuted there in Nigeria, but actually ending the persecution.

We believe that God has given us what we can do, all the tools necessary in order to actually see that persecution ended.

And so that's really what we're fighting for there in Nigeria.

So today we're talking about And what's really going on there, four to five million Christians displaced.

And let's go ahead and bring Pastor Sam back on.

And we're going to talk more about what the organization he's working with, Equipping the Persecuted, what they are doing on the ground in Nigeria.

I'm a pastor at a church.

I recently published this book, Preaching of Persecution in Sin City.

A big reason why is because people always used to tell me, I tell them stories of things that happened, you know, when I was out there living with the homeless, preaching and doing activism work and getting arrested and fighting cases and all that.

And they always used to tell me, you know, you should write a book, you should write a book.

The plan is now, this is another layer being added into the foundation.

You know, we looked at last episode about persecution and things like that.

Persecution wasn't a big concern in the early church.

That was fine.

What was a big problem in the early church was internal division, internal struggle, internal conflict.

And then he says in verse 30, if I must needs glory, I will glory of the things which concern my infirmities.

He had just listed these infirmities and you know what they were? It was being beaten STONE, PUT IN PRISON, SHIP WRECK, HAVING PRESSURES, CRITICISM, PERSECUTION, ALL OF THESE THINGS ARE THE THINGS THAT HE'S CALLING INFIRMITIES.

IF YOU TOOK THIS PASSAGE OF SCRIPTURE IN CONTEXT AND DIDN'T ALREADY HAVE A PREJUDICE AS TO WHAT IT SAID AND JUST READ IT FOR WHAT IT SAID, LOOK THE WORD INFIRMITIES UP TO FIND OUT, DOES THIS ALWAYS REFER TO SICKNESS? YOU'D FIND OUT NO, IT DOESN'T ALWAYS REFER TO SICKNESS.

You look at the context, you'd find out that he had already said infirmities were concerning all of these hardships that he had suffered.

SO I WOULDN'T DISAGREE WITH THAT INTERPRETATION IN THE SENSE THAT IT'S NOT BLAMING GOD FOR THIS SICKNESS AND DISEASE.

SO I'M NOT 100% AGAINST THAT, BUT HERE'S WHAT I BELIEVE WAS HAPPENING, AND I'M GOING TO HAVE TO SAY SOME THINGS, AND THEN TOMORROW I'LL SPEND SOME MORE TIME VERIFYING THIS.

BUT I BELIEVE THAT THIS DEMONIC MESSENGER WAS PERSECUTION THAT CAME AGAINST HIM.

PAUL EVEN SAID THIS IN 2 CORINTHIANS, CHAPTER 4.

For more information or to volunteer, please visit LibriVox.org. Foxe's Book of Martyrs, Volume 2, by John Foxe, edited by William Byron Forbush.

Chapter 15, An Account of the Persecutions in Scotland During the Reign of King Henry VIII.

Like as there was no place, either of Germany, Italy, or France, wherein there were not some branches sprung out of that most fruitful root of Luther, so likewise was not this isle of Britain without his fruit and branches.

Amongst whom was Patrick Hamilton, a Scotchman born of high and noble stock and of the king's blood, of excellent towardness, twenty-three years of age, called Abbot of Fern.

Fox's Book of Martyrs, volume 2, by John Fox.

Edited by William Byron Forbush.

Chapter sixteen: Persecutions in England during the reign of Queen Mary, part one.

The premature death of that celebrated young monarch, Edward VI, occasioned the most extraordinary and wonderful occurrences which had ever existed from the times of our blessed Lord and Savior's incarnation in human shape.