“STAY”
John 20:19
Luke 24:46 – 49
Acts2: 2
I know someone might say STAY, that’s a command you give a dog. Understand it’s not so much the command that is important, but the obedience to that command, which bears the responsibility of the command. In other words, it’s not what you say, but what you do that is important. So with that said I like to use for a subject STAY.
There are times in our lives that the saying “A good run is better than a bad stand” is a true statement. What it is saying is that there are situations that arise where it is better to run away from and live than it is to stay there and die. For example if someone tries to car-jack or rob you and the gun is in your face, it is better for you to throw the money or keys this way and you run that way. It is better to run and live than try to stay there and die. The graveyards are full of people that have tried to stay in a situation and handle it in their own strength only to wind up dead. The money and the car can be replaced, but you only get one chance at life. So it’s better to run and live than to stay there and die. Sure I know for some of us men your ego may get a little hurt and damaged, but believe me it will get over it.
Then there are situations that arise were we want to sometimes run away from something, but it is better if we stay there. For example we live in a society where divorce is a simple and common occurrence. It is such an easy thing anymore that people enter into marriage with the mind-set that I will give this a year and if it doesn’t work out or if I find something else all I have to do is get a divorce. However, for those of us that have been married for any length of time understand that it is better to stay than to run away. We have come to realize that if you stay and make it through that current situation that your relationship is now stronger than before all that happened. Then when the next crisis comes, and it will, you and your spouse together will be able to say Oh we made it through that I know we can make it through this, all we have to do is just stay together.
Understand I’m not saying if he is beating you to just stay there, that’s another Bible class or Seminar topic, but if you are debating over the color of the carpet rather it should be tan or beige it is better to stay. I know it will be hard sometimes, but I encourage you to stay because when you stay and God begins to pour out His blessings it is a wonderful thing.
The problem with society is that people are today in such a hurry to get away that they oftentimes run away from their blessings because they are not willing to stay to see what the end is going to be. Most people don’t go to the movies and half way through such get up and leave, but they stay there to the end. Why, because they want to see what the end is going to be. There is a commercial on TV and the concept of the commercial goes like this. A guy and his friends are at a baseball game, their team is loosing, so the one guy says I can’t stay any longer I’m leaving. He gets up and leaves the ball game; he finally makes it home and turns on the television to find his friends on TV. The news announcer says to his friends, congratulations you got the winning homerun ball and also won a million dollars, the news announcer says tell us how did it happen. The guy says they called for seat number # and that was the seat my buddy had but he left the game so they took the next one, which was my seat. The news announcer said I bet your friend wished he would have stayed now. So sometimes it is better to stay a little while longer than to run away and miss out on your blessings. STAY!
The word stay when used as a noun is a large strong rope usually made of wire which is used to support a mast of a ship, the action of halting, the state of being stopped, the suspension of a procedure. As a verb, which is an action word, it is to stop going forward, to stop doing something, to continue in a place, to stand firm. The etymology of the word comes from a French word called “ester” and a Latin word called “stare”. The definition of these two words means to stand. The Bible says in Eph.6: 13 & 14 “…having done all to stand. Stand…”
In our text John 20:19 the Bible says “Then the same day at evening, being the first day of the week, when the disciple were assemble for fear of the Jews, came Jesus and stood in the midst, and saith unto them, Peace be unto you.” Often times we like to picture the disciples as these extremely holy men that had it going on. We like to believe that they were so anointed that nothing could affect them; however, they were just like you and me. They had problems, they became discouraged and disappointed, and they even at times argued amongst themselves. They were human beings with the same desires, fears, likes and dislikes, questions, doubts, and insecurities many of us have today.
Here we find that the disciples were assembled behind locked doors in a state of fear. Understand that at this time they were not on one accord, they were not waiting for the promise, they were not speaking in tongues, they were mentally messed-up, emotional emasculated, and spiritually spooked. Trapped in a prison of fear, held in the bondage of its life draining clutches, unable to function in a normal existence. They were like that movie that was out not to long ago called “Panic Room” They had closed themselves off in a state of fear, trying to find security in a closed off room. Realize that Jesus had been crucified, Judas, His betrayer and one of the disciples, had committed suicide, which left 11 disciples at this time.
WATCH THIS: Jesus had chosen 12 disciples, because the number 12 means Divine Government, 12 disciples, 12 gates of New Jerusalem, the 12 foundations, the 12 tribes of Israel. The number 10 represents complete order, thus the 10 commandments. In Jewish customs you have what is called “minyan” simply put this said that you could not have a meeting unless there were 10 people present, it is complete order, that’s why there were 120 people in the upper room on the Day of Pentecost. Because there were 12 disciples, which represents foundation of Divine Government and each one had to be represented by 10 which is complete order. 12 x 10 = 120, which denotes the complete order of Divine Government. The number 11 is 1 less than 12 Divine Government and 1 more than 10 complete order; therefore, 11 means Chaos, confusion, destruction, pandemonium, and mayhem, it represents disorder, imperfection, and incompleteness. That’s why the day that will forever be remembered as 911 is so catastrophic in nature because 9 + 1 + 1 = 11 chaos, but that’s another message.
The disciples were in at chaotic state of mind, pandemonium, mayhem, and an imperfect disorder had them confused, and caused them to fear the Jews not knowing rather they were going to live or die. So they barricaded themselves behind closed doors trying to hide from the world, but Jesus came and stood in the midst of them and said “Peace be unto you.”
WATCH THIS: So many times we say that this saying was to calm the disciples and ease their fear and that is true, because in verse 20 the Bible says “And when he had so said he showed unto them His hands and his side. Then were the disciples glad, when they saw the Lord.” Up until that point they were scared. But for the moment they had gone from a state of fear to a state of gladness. Jesus said “Peace be unto” you which calmed the disciples; however, listen to the prophetic voice of the God.
STAY WITH ME FOR A MINUTE: The disciples were in Jerusalem locked behind closed doors in a total state of fear of the Jews. Fear will cause you to close yourself off from everybody else and literally change your life. Fear is a spirit from the devil that if allowed to remain in a person’s life will cause them to cause their own destruction. That’s why we have so many people committing suicide today, because of the fear to live, the fear of rejection, the fear of not being accepted. That’s why so many young girls are anorexic because of the fear of getting fat; they are starving themselves to death because fear has control of their mind. Fear is an imprisonment that is more devastating than any other is, because it is fabricated and manifested totally within the mind. For the disciples Jerusalem was the place they feared because literally in their minds it could be the place that would end their lives. However Jesus said “Peace be unto you”.
WATCH THIS: The word Jerusalem means “set ye at double peace”. The root word Salem means “peace”, the JERU is an acronym, which means the letters make up a word from other words.
JE is the first two letters in the name Jesus, RU is the first two letters in the word ruler, and Salem means Peace when we combine them we have, Jesus is the ruler of peace (Jerusalem). When Jesus stood in the upper room, behind closed doors and said Peace be unto you, yes it was to comfort the disciple, but prophetically speaking He was letting the disciples know that Jerusalem, the city that right now has you locked behind closed doors in a utter state of fear belongs to you. WHY because Jesus the ruler of Peace is yours. And because Jesus is the ruler of peace is your, you have His promise, which is Isaiah 54:17 “No weapon formed against you shall prosper and every tongue that riseth against you in judgment thou shalt condemn, this is the heritage of those that are in the Lord.” when He said No weapon from against you shall prosper.
Nevertheless in order for it to come to pass you’re going to have to stay here in Jerusalem. That’s why in Luke 24:49 He says “And behold, I send the promise of my Father upon you: but tarry ye in the city of Jerusalem until ye be endued with power from on high.” The word tarry means wait or stay. He was letting them know that they were going to have to stay among those that persecute you, that despitefully use you, that say all manner of evil against you, that denied Jesus, that caused Him to be crucified, you’re going to have to stay in this mess in order to be made ruler over it. Yes Peace be unto you, Jerusalem is yours, but you are going to have to stay just a little while longer. You may not quite understand it just yet, I will make your enemies your footstool, but you are going to have to stay in this mess just a little while longer. STAY!!
You may be going through something in your life right now and in your mind feel you can’t go on. No doubt you have said if I could only just get away I know things would be better than they are now. However, God is saying all I need you to do is just stay a little while longer. I’m going to make you ruler over this mess just stay a little while longer. I need you to be steadfast and unmovable. I need you to be fixed with the rope of the Word of God. I need you to be anchored to me the solid rock. Even-though the storms of life are raging STAY.
You may not quite understand it right now, but the reason you are in this mess is God is developing your character. You see God and the devil had a conversation, God said have you considered my servant __________! The devil said yeah, but you have a hedge around them, God said I’ll move the hedge; their life is in my hands. However, devil when it’s all over I’m going to have developed their character.
Character: is one of the attributes or features that make up and distinguish an individual, a feature used to separate distinguishable things into categories; a group or kind so separated, the detectable expressions of the action of a gene or group of genes, the aggregate of distinctive qualities. God said you’re in this mess cause I need you to be separate from everyone else, I need the world to be able to see a distinguishable difference in you, you have been chosen for such a time as this, so just STAY.
It’s just like a farmer or for those of you that have a garden. In order for you to get a good crop you must put, for those sophisticated folks, fertilizer on it, for the real folk some mess, and for the country folk some do do. I know in Chillicothe, which is farm country, that the farmers will put fertilizer down in spring and it smells bad, but around mid-summer we will drive to the farm, sit down on the Pic-Nic tables and eat roasted corn all day long. It may have smelled bad in the beginning, but the product that came from it is delicious. God is saying, Yes I know right now it seems like a stinking mess, but when it’s all over you’re going to wear a crown. I’m going to make you ruler over this mess, but I just need for you to stay just a little while longer. Sure it seems like something rotten right now. Sure it smells bad, but the product your are going to be when it’s all over.
You see you’re gold, just like the corn. However, there’s some impurities in you that must need come out, so you gotta stay just a little while longer. God is like a gold smith, when he places gold in the fire to purify it. It my seem like the gold is going to burn up, but he keeps his eyes on it to make sure that it’s not in there to long and when he is done it’s pure gold. God has you in the fire right now, and it may seem as though you are going to burn up. However, understand that God has His eye on you and He is not going to let you burn. Yes some of your so-called friends may turn their backs upon you, but stay. People will talk about you, but stay. Family members may forsake you, but stay. Your peers may say oh it will be all right this once, but stay. Young ladies he may say you don’t really love me then, but stay. Young man she may even say what are you gay, but stay. Remember what God has for you is for you as long as you just stay. Just STAY until you are endued with power.
WATCH THIS: The word endued means to clothe or to put on. In the book of Acts 2:2 the Bible says “And suddenly there came a sound from heaven as a rushing mighty wind, and filled all the house where they were sitting.” Understand that this didn’t happen until after they obeyed God’s commandment and STAYED.This always puzzled me because I couldn’t comprehend the meaning of where they were sitting, but watch this. It’s not so much that they were sitting, but how they were sitting.
WATCH THIS: The word Endued means clothed or put on. The word seat, which is something you sit upon, comes from a Greek word called “Kathedra”; it is where we get the word Cathedral. A cathedral is a church of a bishop where his permanent throne is erected.
The disciple were sitting in the upper room, which was in Jerusalem, which was populated by the Jews whom they feared, locked behind closed doors. Their fears were in the streets of Jerusalem, but they were on another level not just sitting there, but sitting in a seat of authority. You see to overcome something you must go to another level. Because Jesus said stay they stayed there in Jerusalem the midst of all their fears. Sure they may have wanted to flee during the night, human instincts tell us that danger is there so we better run. But they stayed until they were endued with power and once they had the power from oh high they came down from the upper room, their place of isolation, no longer in fear and began to cause a change in the very people that they not long before feared. STAY!
WHAT ARE YOU SAYING PREACHER!
PICTURE THIS: Endued means clothed or put on. The word seat comes from the Greek word “Kathedra”. If you go to K-mart or Penney’s this doesn’t happen, but go to one of those High-class stores like Gucci. Even if you don’t have the money just go for this experience. You walk in and sit in a seat, the real fancy ones have something for you drink and eat while you are sitting there. You sit in the seat and someone comes and says may I help you, you tell them what you want then they bring you the suit. You stand up, they hold the jacket and all you have to do is put you arm in it, what has just happened is they have endued you with what you needed.
That’s what God does, He endues us with whatever it is we need, all we have to do is stay right there. Sit on our “Kathedra”, sit with the authority that God has given us. Don’t sit with arrogance and pride, because that will cause you to fall off of your seat like Eli and break your neck. But sit there with the authority that victory victory shall be mine.
WATCH THIS: You may be going through something on your job. People talking about you, criticizing you, they may have even put you in the back cubical, facing the wall, with no windows, right next to the public bathroom. No doubt in your mind you have said if I could just get another job, if I could leave this place, I know everything will be alright. But God is saying just stay a little while longer until I endue you with power. If you let God handle it, sit on your “Kathedra”, in victory. Even though you don’t see it happening just yet, but sit there. Pretty soon what will happed before you know it. That supervisor that has been trying to hold you down will all of the sudden loose their job and because you stayed right there, you were obedient to God. You are His anointed, he will cause you to have favor among the heads of your company, then you will be placed in the position that the supervisor had. God said He will give you the desires of your heart, then that supervisor will be working for you, because He will make your enemies your footstool. But you are going to have to STAY a little while longer. Your change is coming, you will begin to change those that you once feared, but you first have to stay until you are endued with power from on high. STAY!
Elder Melvin L. Maughmer, Jr.
Boanerge Ministries
