Evang. Carolyn Malaika Foster-Brooks
THE MINISTRY OF S.A.R.A.H.
(SERENITY*ATONEMENT*RESTORATION & HEALING)
Lyons, Georgia
April 2003
PRAYER:
Heavenly Father,
I thank You for the opportunity to once again be a willing servant to deliver Your Word. remove me from the sight of Your children and allow them to see and hear You, O Mighty God, who dwells inside of me!
In the name of my brother, Jesus Christ.
Amen.
And so it is!
SCRIPTURE REFERENCE: JOHN 20:1-8 and MATTHEW 8:16-17
SUB-TOPIC:...VICTORY IN DEATH!!!! (as portrayed by Mary Magdalene)
.....I count it a blessing and a joy to be named Mary also! I am certain that my parents chose that name for me because they had hope that I would grow up to be a good girl and become a virtous woman...well, somewhere in my life I made bad choices and because of those choices in life, against my Father’s Will, the bad company I used to keep and some of my bad ways, I unfortunately became known as Mary of Magdala! Mary Magadalene, THAT WOMAN WITH THE 7 DEMONS!!!! ( and I’ve even been called a prostitute!!!)
Okay. I know I’m not the Virgin Mary, but I’ve never been a prostitute either! (Who I am to judge though? The bible says that fornication IS A SIN and I was not married!)...a lot of people have talked about me and have mistaken me for the woman Luke talks about in the 7th chapter, 36th through 50th verses, who rejected her virtues and her honor. NO! I’m not that same woman! She was Mary of Bethany!!!
Actually, I wish my problem could have been as easily identified as hers...everybody was born with a sinful nature (except Jesus), but ME??? I WAS FULL OF THE DEVIL!
1-I was confused! (demon of confusion)
2-I was angry! (demon of anger)
3-I was an adulterer ! (demon of lust)
4-I was a liar! (demon of denial & false witness)
5 I was jealous hearted! ( demon of envy)
6-I liked strong drink! (demon of alcoholism)
7-I worshipped other gods! (demon of idol worship)
And through it all, although I didn’t think I was all that bad, I was not at peace with myself and I wanted to change! But, I couldn’t do it all by myself!!!
God knew my heart and He knew He had a special gift He had placed inside of me. II CHRONICLES 7:14 says, IF MY PEOPLE WHO ARE CALLED BY MY NAME HUMBLE THEMSELVES AND PRAY; AND SEEK MY FACE AND TURN FROM THEIR WICKED WAYS, THEN I WILL HEAR FROM HEAVEN, WILL FORGIVE THEIR SIN, AND WILL HEAL THEIR LAND.
Yes, I had heard about Jesus! Where I came from is not far off from the Gennsarat where Jesus fed the 4000. Jesus performed miracle after miracle and God knows, I needed healing! Halljuah!! Jehovah-rapha!
I will never forget the night I was saved....MATTHEW 8:16-17...AND WHEN EVENING HAD COME, THEY BROUGHT TO HIM MANY WHO WERE DEMON-POSSESSED AND HE CAST OUT THE SPIRITS WITH A WORD, AND HEALED ALL WHO WERE ILL IN ORDER THAT WHAT WAS SPOKEN THROUGH ISIAH THE PROPHET MIGHT BE FULFILLED, SAYING, "HE HIMSELF TOOK OUR INFIRMITIES AND CARRIED AWAY OUR DISEASES."
How many of you know that illness is often caused by demons??? Amen? But , all it takes is for you to humble yourself and allow Jesus into your life....I did and when He commanded those 7 demons out of me, my life changed forever and I became one of His most devoted Disciples!! I took every opportunity to listen to His teachings and to serve Him. I faced all of my God given opportunities to share His goodness and His mercy.
As I followed and supported Jesus to the end of His earthly days, it broke my heart when I heard the mob cry out, AWAY WITH HIM, AAY WITH HIM, CRUCIFY HIM!
Barrabas, the thief, was freed, but Jesus, the innocent victim was turned over to His enemies to do as they pleased.
The smell of blood was in the air. They Roman soldiers lashed His body, cutting into His flesh as they mocked and insulted Him. Over His lacerated body, they cast a purple robe (provided by Herod) and pressed down on His head a plaited crown of thorns!!! In His right hand they palced a reed for a sceptre, constantly hitting His body and most sickening of all the insulting treatment, they repeatedly spat in His face!!! To add to His humiliation, they marched Him out to Calvary, Via Dolorosa (the Way of Sorrow) to the place of crucifixtion followed by the Roman soldiers, then the Jews, the mob and Mary, mother of Jesus, me and the other women Disciples.
Along the way, Jesus fell down under the weight of His cross and a black man from Africa, Simon from Cyrene, reluctantly took up the cross of the Saviour, to never forget his walk with Jesus again!
Finally, we arrived at Calvary...I did not want to hear the shriek of pain as the nails were driven in Jesus hands one by one and in His feet!!! But Jesus did not cry out! Not a word of complaint, no plea for mercy, but instead the prayer, "FATHER, FORGIVE THEM FOR THEY KNOW NOT WHAT THEY DO!"
Jesus!
Although I was in grief, at the foot of the cross, I, along with the other women came to minister to Him in His dying hour. Disregarding His own physical anguish, he was concerned about His mother and to save her from these last hours , john took her away so she wouldn’t see the horrible, yet powerful end of her son’s life.
Three hours of darkness fell over the land, the earth quake, the Holy of Holies was opened to all men, tombs were opened and saints were awakened....Jesus cried out, "MY GOD, MY GOD, WHY HAST THOU FORSAKEN ME, I THIRST" and the last cry was victory over the devil and death, " IT IS FINISHED, FATHER INTO THY HANDS I COMMAND MY SPIRIT." And then, He was pierced in His side!!
Within six hours after He was placed on the cross He was dead! (God showed mercy on His Son because normally it would take 2 to 3 days to die by crucifixion in varying ,tormenting degrees.)
Our Lord was crucified on Friday, I watched as His limp body was taken from the cross and placed in the borrowed tomb on Friday afternoon, I grieved over the tragic rejection and death of my best friend whom I really loved, and all day Saturday, the Sabbath, I prayed and prepared to go to His tomb to anoint His body properly! But early Sunday morning before I got there, He was resurrected from the grave!
This is what happened to me:
Along with Mary, mother of James and also Salome, 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 cried even more! I was sooo desperate to give the tortured body of 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 night He healed me, that made my soul know that He was my Redeemer and I answered, "Rabboni/Teacher!"
......I was the first person to see the risen Lordd and following His instructions, I ran quickly to announce the Good News to the Disciples: "CHRIST IS RISEN1"
And I have continued to preach the Good News every since! Thank God for Jesus, I am no longer that hellish woman, but I am an Evangelist, dedicated to serving the Lord.
.......................................................
Jesus claimed vistory over death and left a legacy to be remembered forever!
My sisters and brothers of today- what kind of legacy will you leave when you die?
EACH ONE OF US ONE DAY WILL HAVE TO GIVE AN ACCOUNT OF OUR LIVES BEFORE GOD. (Romans 14:12) WE WILL SEE OUR LIVES AS AN OPEN BOOK BEFORE THE LORD AND WE WILL BE JUDGED ACCORDINGLY.
The way you serve others is the way you will be remembered on earth and the criterion upon which you will be rewarded in heaven!
The earthly life of Jesus closed in triumph. He was once dead, but He is alive forevermore!...while we are not required by God to die on the cross, we are called by God to live and die in such a way that others are made increasingly aware of God’s plan for forgiveness for our sins.
I leave you as Mary Magdalene with this final thought:
THE EARTH IS THE LORD’S
AND THE FULLNESS THEREOF
IT SPEAKS OF HIS GREATNESS
AND IT SINGS OF HIS LOVE!
IT WHISPERS OF MYSTERIES
WE CANNOT COMPREHEND
OF A A BEAUTIFUL LAND
WHERE LIFE HAS -NO END!!!
