THE MINISTRY OF S.A.R.A.H.
Evangelist Carolyn Malaika Foster-Brooks
Lyons, Georgia
PRAYER:
Heavenly Father, Thank You for an opportunity to share your Holy Word with the world once again. Thank you for giving me the vision to realize that Your Word should not be locked up in the mind’s of your anointed ones, but should be released for the good of all mankind.
Lord bless the readers of Your Word and bless the doers of Your Word. In the name of Jesus, I pray . Amen
Text:
It is an honor to share with you the life of Evangelist Mary Magdalene as it was recounted in the Book of Mark. I speak to your hearts and to your minds at this point, not as myself, but as Mary Magdalene herself.......
"At one point in my life, I was afflicted with something that no common man could heal! I was lied on, talked about, cheated and mistreated. Called a prostitute and everything but a child of God, perhaps simply because I came from a corrupt city called Magdala!
But I ask you this? Is that any worse than any of you coming from a corrupt city? Does that make you a bad person??? Nvertheless, like some of you today who are full of the devil, I DID have some problems in my life too!!!!
I was possessed and full of demons! I was full of false pride, confusion, jealousy, anger, carnal temptation, had a quick tongue and was in denial. (How many of you know what denial means?) Didn’t Even Know That I Was Lying!! (to myself) Seven (7) demons to be exact!! But, oh, how I thank God for Jesus!!! I was helpless in my sufferings, but I’d heard about the miracle working power of Christ and I had to go and find Him for myself......
.......the day I met Jesus and asked Him to deliver me from my infirmities, He called me by my name-Mary! I know you are afflicted, but I command that you be set free of the evil that binds you! Woman thou art loosed!
Hallejuah, Thank You Jesus!.....through my faith in His almighty power, Christ cast those seven devils out from me and my heart became filled and overjoyed with thanksgiving and pure love for my Divine Healer! And, Saints, I’ve been dedicated and devoted to Jesus every since I was converted.
My entire life was changed, and I, along with other women who followed Christ, supported His ministry and met many people who have been touched by Him. As a matter-of-fact, that is how I met the other disciples. We would often meet at the House of Mary of Jerusalem for prayer. This Mary is John Mark’s mother (Acts 12:12), but you have now come to know him simply as Mark, the first (1st) Gospel Writer. And although Mark was not one of the original 12 Disciples, he was definitely qualified to give an account of Jesus’ life as a Servant-King!!
Mark was very close to Peter, his cousin was Barnabas, a colleague of the Apostle Paul and Mark had the challenge and the privilege to travel with Paul and Barnabas for a time on one of their missionary journeys. As a matter of fact, during Paul’s last letters, he specifically asked for Mark to come because he knew that Mark could be of help to him during his last days.
But as I spiritually reflect back to the Gospel Writing of Mark, which is so different than the others, and straight to the point, I enjoy the memories of the many things Jesus did and experienced: like the time when Jesus was baptized in the River Jordan and He got the Holy Ghost! (Mark 1:10); when Jesus first started preaching God’s Good News in Galilee (Mark 1:14-15) and saying, THE TIME IS FULFILLED AND THE KINGDOM OF GOD IS AT HAND: REPENT YE, AND BELIEVE THE GOSPEL; how throughout the Book of Mark he talks about Jesus’ compassion for those who are sick and in need of deliverance and how He did not want to condemn people for their shortcomings, but wanted to transform their lives.
Through His transformative energy, Gentiles are brought into the blessings of the Covenant and women, like me, are given the dignity of faith and ministry!!!
Yes, I, Mary Magdalene, that same woman once filled with seven (7) demon spirits was changed FOREVER!! by Jesus Christ and I became one of His most devoted Disciples. I took every opportunity to listen to His teachings and to serve Him. And, I always encouraged other women to do likewise.
It is here, in the final chapters of The Book of Mark that I had to have the type of determination and unusual courage that Jesus taught us to have. Even though His very own 12 Disciples disappointed Him by sleeping when they should have been watching, betraying Him, denying Him and running away instead of being by His side, it was now at the time of Jesus Christ’s greatest suffering, while He hung on the Cross that I stood at the foot of it together with His Mother and the Lord’s beloved Disciple, John...I mourned and I wept, but even in my weeping, I did all I could to comfort the Savior because of the love Christ had shown me when I was a desperate woman who lived in lonely anguish! I loved Jesus, because He found enough worth in my broken, tormented condition to forgive and heal me and show me agape love!!!
After long hours at that old rugged cross at Calvary, Jesus died....but my devotion was too great for it to stop at His death!! No, my relationship with Him was built upon the spiritual rather than the physical. And NOTHING, not even death, could stop the relationship I had developed with Him and because of Him!!!
Along with Mary, mother of James and also Salome, very early in the morning on the first day of the week while it was still dark, I came to the tomb carrying ointments to anoint the precious body of Christ according to the Jewish custom. But when we discovered He was not there, I broke down and wept even more! I was sooo desperate to give the tortured body of my Jesus a proper burial that I pleaded tearfully with a man in a white robe (who I thought was a groundskeeper), offering money to take me to Him.
But the man to whom I spoke was not a groundskeeper. He said only one word to me, Mary! And immediately I knew He was Jesus of Nazareth!!!!!
You see, I didn’t recognize Him by His resurrected body, but there was something about the way He said my name, like the day He healed me, that made my soul know that He was my Redeemer and I answered, RABBONI/TEACHER!!!
I was the first perosn to see the risen Lord and following His instructions, I ran quickly to announce the GOOD NEWS to the Disciples: CHRIST IS RISEN! And because I was the first, sent by the Lord, Himself, to proclaim the Resurrection, the church now calls me equal to the Apostles!!!"
CLOSING:
My brothers and sisters, as the Book of Mark ends without an end, Jesus Christ ascends into Heaven, but Evangelist Mary Magdalene continued to preach the Good News of the glorious resurrection. Not only in Jerusalem, but also in other countries. She spent her last years in Ephesus helping St. John the Evangelist in missionary labors and there Evangelist Mary Magdalene died peacefully.....
If you have ever felt unloved and distant from God, you can be sure that Evangelist Mary Magdalene had the same feelings while she was troubled. But she overcame spiritual darkness by reaching out to Jesus and allowing Him to heal her. When His grace had been confirmed in her life, she clung to Him and God gave her mercy! Her unwavering commitment to serve Him gave her blessings beyond measure.
Jesus took the time to say her name and in doing so He assured her of His everlasting love for her. God knows your name too. But when you don’t acknowledge Him in your life, you miss out on blessings you won’t have room enough to receive!
Let us too be apostles of the faith and tell everyone the Good News as described in the Book of Mark.
For Mark 16:15-16 says, AND HE SAID UNTO THEM, GO YE UNTO ALL THE WORLD, AND PREACH THE GOSPEL TO EVERY CREATURE. HE THAT BELIEVETH AND IS BAPTIZED SHALL BE SAVED; BUT HE THAT BELIEVETH NOT, SHALL BE DAMNED!
