*EVANGELIST CAROLYN MALAIKA FOSTER-BROOKS
THE MINISTRY OF S.A.R.A.H.
(serenity*atonement*restoration & healing)
This sermon was preached at 1st AB Church
in Mount Vernon, Georgia on June 10, 2001
where Rev. F. Lee Carter is the pastor!
PRAYER:
My heavenly Father, God above, I thank You for Your love! I ask right now that you continue to reward everyone that is under the sound of my voice with the blessings You have for them and Father that they be humble enough to not only receive them, but to share them with others.
Father, remove me, Carolyn Malaika Foster-Brooks, Your prophetic evangelist from the sight of Your people and let them be a witness to You that dwells inside of me.
God, I pray that my sermon today be used for the uplifting of your kingdom and be pleasing to You. That only the gospel truth be told!
Thank You Father. In the name of my brother Jesus Christ, I pray.
Amen. And so it is!
SCRIPTURE:
(I Peter 1:16) FOR HE HIMSELF HAS SAID, YOU MUST BE HOLY BECAUSE I AM HOLY. (Luke 24:9-11) SO THEY RUSHED BACK TO TELL HIS ELEVEN DISCIPLES-AND EVERYONE ELSE WHAT HAD HAPPENED. THE WOMEN WHO WENT TO THE TOMB WERE MARY MAGDALENE, JOANNA, MARY, THE MOTHER OF JAMES AND SEVERAL OTHERS. THEY TOLD THE APOSTLES WHAT HAD HAPPENED. BUT THE STORY SOUNDED LIKE NONSENSE, SO THEY DIDN’T BELIEVE IT.
TEXT:
For those of you who would like to know, my sermon today is based upon your theme with it going a step farther....Concerned Women- WITH A CALL TO HOLY LIVING!! Amen?
I am talking about the church missionaries worldwide! And I’m going to still take it a step farther and say, CONCERNED WOMEN, DEVOTED TO GOD, WITH A CALL TO HOLY LIVING!!!
INTRODUCTION:
I am here today by calling, instruction and by invitation......by calling because Jesus said to His followers: " GO EVERYWHERE IN THE WORLD AND TELL THE GOOD NEWS TO EVERYONE." (Mark 16:15)
I am here today by instruction of II Timothy 2:15- MAKE EVERY EFFORT TO GIVE YOURSELF TO GOD AS THE KIND OF PERSON HE WILL ACCEPT. BE A WORKER WHO IS NOT ASHAMED AND WHO USES THE TRUE TEACHING IN THE RIGHT WAY, and....
I am also here today by invitation of Sister_______and Sister _________, to whom I want to thank, along with the The First African Baptist Church Missionary Department!
To Rev. F. Lee Carter, a man of God who knew me when I was a child growing up in Miami, Florida and who, 38 years later allowed me to preach my very first sermon from the pulpit of St. Joseph Baptist Church in Lyons, Georgia in 1998 where Rev. Carter was then and still is now, the Pastor!
To all of you in this blessed congregation, I bring you Holy Greetings from Mount Chapel Missionary Baptist Church of the Oconee Zion Missionary Baptist Association, where Rev. Troy L. Grubbs is my pastor and Rev. James Love is my moderator....
The scriptures that come to my mind today can be found in I Peter, the 1st chapter, 16th verse and in Luke, the 24th chapter, 9th thru 11th verses.
TEXT:
I will always believe that it is important to have knowledge of your past in order to understand your future! It’s called history. Or better yet, His Story!...But the Lord has sent me by here today for just a little while to encourage you. To empower you. To talk about woman and Her Story!
It’s no secret and we all know that there has been a struggle. Not a struggle for women to deliver the Word of God, but a struggle for non-belivers to hear and to accept God’s Word from a woman!!! Luke 24:11 clearly let’s us know that since Jesus was raised from the dead, some men have been non-believers! But thanks be to God that it has not hindered Concerned Women, Devoted to God, With a Call to Holy Living!
Amen?
Throughout the centuries women have experienced a baptism of tears, anguish and indignities. But we have been recorded throughout the bible to be devoted to God and when Jesus entered upon His ministry, women responded to His teachings!!!
Our theme today, coming from Luke 24:1-11 focuses on the Resurrection of Jesus. But if you will , in your spiritual imagination, go back with me and take a closer look at the lives of the women disciples.... I am talking about Mary Magdalene, Joanna, Mary the mother of James and "certain women", healed of evil spirits and infirmities who had followed Jesus from Galilee. Women touched by Jesus Christ who showed their gratitude by ministering to His needs and the other disciples, by spending their substance. (Their money and opened their homes to Jesus.)
Can you imagine how it must have felt to stand back and watch the man who has done so much for you , carry a cross too heavy for one man to bear, thorns piercing His brow, people shouting, "Crucify Him!"- being stretched out with nails hammered in His hands and hammered in His feet??? Can you see the pain in His eyes as He was pierced in His side and suddenly....day turning into night as this man you have learned to love so much, shouts "FATHER, I ENTRUST MY SPIRIT INTO YOUR HANDS!" And then He dies....?
How would you feel? These women standing as near as they could to that old rugged cross at Calvary tried to comfort Jesus by their presence in the closing agonies of the crucifixion. Luke 23:55 says that, as His body was taken away, these women followed and they saw the tomb where His body was placed. And these same missionary women who loved the Lord, were the first ones at the tomb to witness the most important event in world history. They were rewarded with a closer knowledge of things Divine!
Mary Magdalene, that same woman who was once filled with 7 demon spirits, once rebuked, scorned and talked about before Jesus touched her life was now a converted, committed and concerned disciple and was given an honor that cannot ever be taken away nor denied! Mary of Magdala became the first among men or women to see the Resurrected Christ and to receive the first message from Jesus lips. Yes, Mary Magdalene became the first Evangelist to go and announce the greatest Good News ever proclaimed which was to "GO TO MY BRETHERN, AND SAY UNTO THEM, I ASCEND UNTO MY FATHER, AND YOUR FATHER, AND TO MY GOD AND YOUR GOD".
You see, everyone has a ministry according to Ephesians 4:4-13-WE ARE ALL ONE BODY, WE HAVE THE SAME SPIRIT AND WE HAVE ALL BEEN CALLED TO THE SAME GLORIOUS FUTURE. THERE IS ONLY ONE GOD AND FATHER, WHO IS OVER US ALL AND IN US ALL AND LIVING THROUGH US ALL. HOWEVER HE HAS GIVEN EACH ONE OF US A SPECIAL GIFT ACCORDING TO THE GENEROSITY OF CHRIST. HE IS THE ONE WHO GAVE THESE GIFTS TO THE CHURCH: THE APOSTLES, THE PROPHETS, THE EVANGELISTS, THE PASTORS AND THE TEACHERS. THEIR RESPONSIBILITY IS TO EQUIP GOD’S PEOPLE TO DO HIS WORK AND BUILD UP THE CHURCH, THE BODY OF CHRIST, UNTIL WE COME TO SUCH UNITY IN OUR FAITH AND KNOWLEDGE OF GOD’S SON THAT WE WILL BE MATURE AND FULL GROWN IN THE LORD, MEASURING UP TO THE FULL STATURE OF CHRIST.
Amen?
I am still talking about Concerned Women, Devoted To God, With A Call To Holy Living!!
Has Jesus touched your life? Has His healing power delivered you out of darkness into the marvelous light? Let me hear you call His name......JESUS!!!!
That same Jesus, born in the flesh of a virgin named Mary, loved women spiritually and during His short 3 years of ministry, created opportunities for women to serve God as missionaries and today, despite the denominations failure to recognize our spiritual gifts and our works, we women have exercised leadership in Christian mission and have spoken out on issues of race, sex, class and color! Concerned women are as devoted to God now as women were in the days of Jesus’ ministry.
What I am about to say is the gospel truth that women should not HAVE TO BE pastors of churches, nor should we HAVE TO BE put into a position to lead men in our congregations!!!!! BUT DO NOT BE QUICK TO CONDEMN spiritual females who God has called and positioned as religious leaders- for their lives have been predestined and God does not make mistakes!!!
The pulpit belongs to the temple and the church belongs to God and I know of no man who has a heaven or a hell to put us in, although some men can make you feel like your are in a living hell! Amen?
Women have always had the responsibility for the unfolding of human life and the development of human souls. If a home is without a man in it or that home has a man in it that neglects, avoids or runs from his responsibility which God gave him first, then that woman ( the help meet God gave man) has to do what is necessary because of her devotion to God and concern for her family!! And so it is with our churches and temples of today! Do you understand God’s message to you ???
Over ninety years ago in 1911 the Women’s Convention Auxiliary of the National Baptist Convention listed Evangelist Ella Eugene Whitfield, wife of Rev. B.W. Whitfield of Tolberton, Georgia as one of the most active and revered leaders among Baptists. She reportedly delivered 491 sermons in that year alone, bringing her spiritual gifts to the missionary association.
And now that we have been blessed to live into the 21st century we still have women of God evangelizing wherever they go, such as Mrs. Minnie Wimbish, General Missionary Baptist Convention of Georgia Historian, Sister Bertha Murphy, President of the Oconee Zion Missionary Baptist Association, Women’s Auxiliary, Sister Leanna Wilson, lecturer and pastor’s wife at White Chapel Missionary Baptist Church and many others who are telling the Good News!
Concerned women.
Devoted to God.
With a call to Holy Living!
I told you before that it was important to know His Story, Her Story, now what about you?
At the very core of our humanity are these questions:
Who are you? Why are you here?
Before I had a chance to come before you today, it was suggested that a title not be put in front of my name on the program , and I tell you the truth....I am glad that they didn’t!!
A title doesn’t make you who you are. It identifies what you do or who you are attached to. For example:
I AM Mrs. Brooks because I am attached to my husband.
I AM Evangelist Brooks because that is the spiritual gift I exercise.
But who am I? In Luke 22:67-68 they asked, "ART THOU THE CHRIST?" But He replied," IF I TELL YOU, YOU WON’T BELIEVE ME."
You see, I know I am a child of God, full of the Holy Spirit, trying to make a difference in this world by proclaiming God’s Word! But I can’t just walk the walk and talk the talk. I have to live right so you can see God in me!
So, my question again is:
WHO ARE YOU? AND WHY ARE YOU HERE?
God has the answer for you...You are His creation, uniquely gifted and designed by Him for a specific role and function on this earth. And can’t nobody do it like you !!!!
And you are here because God put you into this world to make something happen- you have been created for a specific function in God’s plan. The Holy Spirit has been given to you to help you carry out your duty and you will know if you have a call to be a pastor, a teacher, an apostle, a prophet, an evangelist, a concerned woman, devoted to God with a call to Holy living!
All around you, God is engineering the situations and the circumstances necessary for you to fulfill your duties as you obey Him. Everyday that you live and breathe, God id giving to you all that you need to carry out His plan for you. And not only has God given you your unique set of talents and traits, God is providing for you life, energy, time, opportunity and abundant resources.
CLOSING:
And now, as I come to a close....be encouraged Missionaries- you are a living testimony to the redemption work of Jesus Christ! A living example of God’s Word at work in the world today!!
I Peter 1:13-25 says, SO THINK CLEARLY AND EXERCISE SELF CONTROL. LOOK FORWARD TO THE SPECIAL BLESSINGS THAT WILL COME TO YOU AT THE RETURN OF JESUS CHRIST. OBEY GOD BECAUSE YOU ARE HIS CHILDREN. DON’T SLIP BACK INTO YOUR OLD WAYS OF DOING EVIL; YOU DIDN’T KNOW ANY BETTER THEN. BUT NOW YOU MUST BE HOLY IN EVERYTHING YOU DO, JUST AS GOD WHO CHOSE YOU TO BE HIS CHILDREN IS HOLY. FOR HE HIMSELF HAS SAID, "YOU MUST BE HOLY BECAUSE I AM HOLY". AND REMEMBER THAT THE HEAVENLY FATHER TO WHOM YOU PRAY HAS NO FAVORITES WHEN HE JUDGES. HE WILL JUDGE OR REWARD YOU ACCORDING TO WHAT YOU DO. SO YOU MUST LIVE IN REVERANT FEAR OF HIM DURING YOUR TIME AS FOREIGNERS HERE ON EARTH. FOR YOU KNOW THAT GOD PAID A RANSOM TO SAVE YOU FROM THE EMPTY LIFE YOU INHERITED FROM YOUR ANCESTORS. AND THE RANSOM HE PAID WAS NOT MERE GOLD OR SILVER. HE PAID FOR YOU WITH THE PRECIOUS LIFEBLOOD OF CHRIST, THE SINLESS, SPOTLESS LAMB OF GOD. GOD CHOSE HIM FOR THIS PURPOSE LONG BEFORE THE WORLD BEGAN, BUT NOW IN THESE FINAL DAYS, HE WAS SENT TO THE EARTH FOR ALL TO SEE. AND HE DID THIS FOR YOU.
THROUGH CHRIST YOU HAVE COME TO TRUST IN GOD. AND BECAUSE GOD RAISED CHRIST FROM THE DEAD AND GAVE HIM GREAT GLORY, YOUR FAITH AND HOPE CAN BE PLACED CONFIDENTLY IN GOD.
NOW YOU CAN HAVE SINCERE LOVE FOR EACH OTHER AS BROTHERS AND SISTERS BECAUSE YOU WERE CLEANSED FROM YOUR SINS WHEN YOU ACCEPTED THE TRUTH OF THE GOOD NEWS. SO SEE TO IT THAT YOU REALLY DO LOVE EACH OTHER INTENSELY WITH ALL YOUR HEARTS. FOR YOU HAVE BEEN BORN AGAIN. YOUR NEW LIFE DID NOT COME FROM YOUR EARTHLY PARENTS BECAUSE THE LIFE THEY GAVE YOU WILL END IN DEATH. BUT THIS NEW LIFE WILL LAST FOREVER BECAUSE IT COMES FROM THE ETERNAL, LIVING WORD OF GOD. AS THE PROPHET SAYS, "PEOPLE ARE LIKE GRASS THAT DIES AWAY; THEIR BEAUTY FADES AS QUICKLY AS THE BEAUTY OF WILDFLOWERS; THE GRASS WITHERS AND THE FLOWERS FALL AWAY, BUT THE WORD OF THE LORD WILL LAST FOREVER."
.....and that Word is the Good News that has been preached to you.
ALTAR CALL:
What wonderful promises we have in the Word of God. He is our Supreme encourager. HE IS THE ONE WHO GIVES US COURAGE SO THAT WE CAN FACE LIFE WITH AN ASSURANCE THAT ALL THINGS ARE BEING WORKED TOGETHER FOR OUR HIGHEST AND ETERNAL GOOD. Romans 8:28
When you allow yourself to be truly encouraged by the Word of God, 2 things will surely happpen:
1- At the very deepest level of your heart and your soul, you will experience an abiding sense of the peace and joy that comes only from God’s presence in your life.
2- Your desire to share God’s Word with the world by your actions and by your deeds will increase until you have to do it, no matter what!
THE INVITATION:
If you are not experiencing God’s peace and His joy today, ask God to show why you are not! His desire is that you rest totally in Him and that you have an exhiliration about your life and a hope for your future that is unmistaken. God wants you to have courage that comes from knowing that He is present with you and that He will never leave you nor forsake you!
Allow yourself to be encouraged. Choose to take God’s promises and receive God’s encouragement.
Come to God, right now. Just as you are! And when you do receive Him in your life, share it with somebody else!
Every person you meet today and everyday, needs the knowledge that God is real and that He is alive!
God bless you..........
