MY TRIBUTE TO MY DEAREST FRIEND BROTHER STEPHEN FRANCIS
Special greetings in the Name of our Lord Jesus Christ, to the church and to Brother Stephen Francis’ beloved family, who we love and cherish very much. We are especially praying for, Sister Jennifer, who loved him and stood by him as a faithful mate, through thick and thin throughout his ministry. We pray that God will comfort her. I know that He will, if we allow Him to comfort us. God has been very gracious and loving to me for He has comforted me in the departing of my dearest friend, my beloved wife. When God comforts us then we in return can comfort others.
For the scriptures says, II CORINTHIANS 1:3-4 “Blessed be God, even the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies, and the God of all comfort; Who comforteth us in all our tribulation, that we may be able to comfort them which are in any trouble, by the comfort wherewith we ourselves are comforted of God”.
As a family of God, we feel the same feelings of pain, sadness and emptiness as you do, for the scriptures says, I CORINTHIANS 12:26, “And whether one member suffer, all the members suffer with it.”
To the Bride that Brother Stephen Francis pastored, as days come and go, we will continue to pray for you that God will unite your hearts together and bring you comfort and strength to continue on the work that Brother Stephen Francis started there in New Castle. I know that there are decisions to be made, so that the work of the Lord will continue on. May God grant you wisdom and revelation in seeking God’s will in making these decisions is my prayer.
I first met Brother Stephen Francis, in the early 1980’s, when he and Brother Van Zeeberg, visited Tucson. I took them to see A.A. Allen’s church in Miracle Valley, because I knew that Brother Stephen and Brother Van Zeeberg had heard about A.A. Allen. I also introduced them to Brother Daniel Rojas, from Sierra Vista. Brother Stephen Francis, preached for Brother Daniel Rojas and Brother Van Zeeberg preached for us. After that, he began visiting us yearly. Sometimes twice a year. On one of his trips, he brought Sister Jennifer with him. When they travelled to visit us ninety percent of the time, she would come with him. During their stay with us my wife and her became very good friends. Throughout the years, he preached many messages that are engraved in our hearts such as: Transition and The Overcomers Reward. Being part of us and sharing our burdens with us, I felt in my heart to ask Brother Stephen Francis, to be one of the speakers in our 1992, dedication services of our Tabernacle. We still cherish and sing the wonderful and inspired choruses that he taught us. He was a true worshipper and we loved to worship with him.
Back then I had no idea that God in His pre-ordained plan, was fixing to unite us together supernaturally, in a friendship that lasted over 40 years. As the years progressed and we continued to know each other mainly by telephone conversations, letters and the over 40 times that he came to visit us, our friendship grew. In one of our conversations we had, Brother Stephen Francis shared with me that God had showed him that our friendship will never be broken, because it was God that united us as friends and our friendship was based on God’s Word.
Being in fellowship with him all these years, I witnessed the manifestation of the fruits of the Spirit in his life.
GALATIANS 5:22-23, But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, Meekness, temperance: against such there is no law.
As I our friendship grew, I got to know him. The times I was around him. I witnessed the love he had for God’s people not just for us, but he also loved and cared for the different churches and places that he would preach to. If you were around him, there was a gentleness and a caring nature about him that would attract you to him. I witnessed joy in him in our fellowship together, especially around the Word of God. I noticed the goodness and meekness, that he expressed when he stayed in my home and in the homes of the brothers. Wherever he stayed he always left a good report. No matter the circumstances, he was always had temperance and he always had a peace around him. Brother Branham said, “No matter what comes or what goes, let the ship rock, let the storms come, let the lightning flash, the thunder roar, whatever takes place, don’t make a bit of difference… whatever you want to, but he still saying, “Amen. Amen, amen.”
When he preached you knew that he had a faith, (a deep revelation) and deep convictions in God’s Word. The fruit ‘love’ was best expressed in the love he had for God’s Word. He loved It so much, that he gave his whole life for It, and he stood true to It. Brother Branham said, “I pray, brother, that our lives will be crowned with the fruits of the Spirit; love, joy, long-suffering, gentleness, patience, Truth, faith, in the Holy Spirit. The fruits of the Spirit, proves that you’re in God, when you see that Life sealed away by the Holy Ghost.” Those that knew Brother Stephen Francis, knew that God had crowned him and sealed him, with the fruits of the Spirit, which was the Life of Christ in him.
Brother Stephen Francis had left the Assemblies of God Church and he began a small work, with a few people. At the beginning it was rough, and he struggled much. But through all his struggles, I saw a Christ like character developed in him. Character is to have the qualities and traits that form a person. Brother Stephen went from justification, to sanctification, to the Baptism of the Holy Ghost, thus showing in his life that he had received the promised Word of the hour, the Person of Jesus Christ. The Word becoming flesh. His life expressed God’s qualities and traits. The same Christ that we read about in the Bible was demonstrated in his life. Without any hesitation, I can affirm that I saw God walking in two feet. Character is the nature of a person. Brother Stephen Francis received God’s Word, not intellectually, but by a birth, that is why I saw God’s nature manifested in Brother Stephen Francis’ life. The manifestation of the fruits of the Spirit in his life proved it. Character is the genetics of a person. Brother Stephen Francis was a gene of God manifested among us.
Brother Branham said,
“All at once I looked up, and I said, “I’m not the son of Charles and Ella Branham. There’s Something calling.” Like my little eagle, “I’m not a chicken. There’s Something up yonder, somewhere. O Great Jehovah, Whoever You are, open up! I want to come home. There’s Something in me, calling.” Then I was born again. That little Life was laying there, the life of water was poured upon It, then It begin to grow. Now, that old life was forgiven, put in the sea of God’s forgetfulness, to never be remembered against me no more. Now we stand justified (as though we never had sinned) in the Presence of God.” 65-1212 COMMUNION TUCSON AZ
Brother Stephen Francis had been hearing from his theophany and went into it.
Character is a pattern. Jesus Christ, the Word of God, which is Spirit and Life, is our pattern and Brother Stephen Francis followed that pattern, until he became a written epistle.
“He became a written Bible reflecting His Word, that perfect man again, in God. God’s promised Word was interpreted in him.” 64-1212 THE HARVEST TIME, PHOENIX, AZ
The Word, that has been written, was manifested in his life. As he grew in character, the Word became incarnated in him and he became one with the Word, which is God’s pattern. Character displays a relationship. Without a shadow of a doubt Brother Stephen Francis being a gene of God was related to God, as a son of God. As Brother Stephen Francis progressively grew in the revelation that God gave him, God revealed to him that the real church was the Bride, and as a minister of the Gospel, God had given him the privilege to prepare His Bride for the Rapture, his whole ambition was, like what Brother Branham, expressed in these words,
“I’ve stayed true to Him. He’s been true to me. I’m trusting in Him, someday, I don’t know when, for a crowning of my ministry. I’ve stayed just as true as I could be. I don’t know what it’ll be. I don’t know when it’ll be. And just when He’s ready, I am done up here. I hope He will crown my ministry of this, of letting me take the clothes of the Word, and dress His Bride in the clothe of the Word, and for His righteousness. I hope He will crown me, let me stand on that day, say, “Behold the Lamb of God that takes away the sin of the world.” 62-0908 PRESENT STAGE OF MY MINISTRY
In the last part of Brother Stephen Francis’ life, I saw God capping and sealing him into a stature of a perfect man.
“So, when you surrender your complete being, then the Holy Spirit just pours through you, in these virtues, then you’re a living tabernacle. Then people look out and say, “That’s a man full of virtue, knowledge (he believes the Word), temperance, patience, godliness, brotherly kindness, full of the love of the Holy Ghost. See, there he is, walking around.” What is it? A stature that unbelievers can look at and say, “There is a Christian. There is a man, or a woman, who knows what they’re talking about. You never seen a kinder, sweeter, godlier person.” You’re sealed.” It was the Word becoming flesh and God’s virtues manifested in his life, that we saw that was being fulfilled in Brother Stephen Francis’ life. As Brother Branham said, “Now, when the member is born by the Holy Ghost into the family of God and has proven to have these virtues in him, that God can see virtue, knowledge, temperance, patience, brotherly kindness, and godliness, in him, then God seals him, or places him. And that’s when you see a Son of God.” 62-1104M BLASPHEMOUS NAMES
God moulded a perfect spirit in Brother Stephen Francis’ life. I also witnessed this in the life of my wife, Brother Oscar Jacques and Brother Refugio Lopez, before their departing. These two Brothers loved and fellowshipped with Brother Stephen Francis many times throughout the years. Now, they are all together in sublime fellowship in their theophanies rejoicing in the sixth dimension. God crowned them with Eternal Life. Brother Branham said,
“But my crown is a new body, a new being, crowned in His likeness: a body like His own glorious body where I can just live with Him. That’s a crown enough for me.” 54-1114 REDEMPTION BY JUDGMENT
I know that his wife, family and the Bride that he pastored, can attest to this, for you saw it yourself. Day after day a manifested Son of God among you. I JOHN 1:1-2, That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we have looked upon, and our hands have handled, of the Word of life; (For the life was manifested, and we have seen it, and bear witness, and shew unto you that Eternal life, which was with the Father, and was manifested unto us;).
I am a very privileged person to have witnessed on this side of Eternity, the Word of God, whom we preach, become flesh in some saints’ lives, such as in my wife and in Brother Stephen Francis’ life, which is the Promised Word for this hour. The Word became flesh and I saw God walking in two feet. Many people today go to church to hear a sermon but fail to see the promise of the Word becoming flesh. But I saw the fruits of the Spirit manifested in Brother Stephen. I saw the virtues of God in him. I saw an expressed gene of God and I saw God manifested in him, as a son of God.
In closing, I would like to say that I love you all very much and I will continue to pray for you. I know that it is very hard to go through life’s journey without our Brother Stephen, one who was such an inspiration to me and one whom we loved with all our hearts. As you go through this life’s journey, remember that God does everything perfect, and He knows best. Like the song goes, “We don’t have to understand, all we have to do is just hold His hand.” One of the lights of the world has left us.
JOHN 10:30-36, I and my Father are one. Then the Jews took up stones again to stone him. Jesus answered them, Many good works have I shewed you from my Father; for which of those works do ye stone me? The Jews answered him, saying, For a good work we stone thee not; but for blasphemy; and because that thou, being a man, makest thyself God. Jesus answered them, Is it not written in your law, I said, Ye are gods? If he called them gods, unto whom the word of God came, and the scripture cannot be broken; Say ye of him, whom the Father hath sanctified, and sent into the world, Thou blasphemest; because I said, I am the Son of God?
I was inspired of God to share these scriptures of John 10:30-36, with you because I saw these scriptures manifested in Brother Stephen Francis’ life. From my heart I can say, as the Apostle Peter said, “We were eyewitness of his majesty, which means: “A wonderful work”. I witnessed God’s wonderful work in Brother Stephen Francis’ life. The Word became flesh in him, and I saw God walking in two feet!
I am not prone to emotions or wishing that what I expressed in this tribute, to be so, nor was I moved by my friendship with Brother Stephen. What I expressed in this tribute is the revelation that is in my heart and the promise for this hour, which was manifested in his life. If I did not see these virtues in Brother Stephen or if it was not scriptural, I would have never expressed these words, for what I saw was a true son of God, promised for this hour.
NUMBERS 6:24-26 The LORD bless thee, and keep thee: The LORD make his face shine upon thee, and be gracious unto thee: The LORD lift up his countenance upon thee, and give thee peace.
May God grant you; Sister Jennifer, the family, the church the perseverance to continue on unto the promise, of the Word becoming flesh, like what was fulfilled in Brother Stephen Francis’ life.
Your Brother and Friend in Christ,
Pastor Isaac Noriega
Tucson, Arizona
