When the apostle Paul looked out at the idolatrous multitudes in Athens, his spirit was moved (see Acts 17:16). Likewise, as I look out my apartment window every evening, gazing upon the masses in Manhattan, I experience what Paul felt. I see many beautiful buildings — from the Midtown skyline to the Statue of Liberty — yet they all appear as tombstones. They are full of the walking dead, multitudes of people dying and going to hell. I have to cry out daily, "Lord, we need You! We cannot do anything to reach these people without Your guidance and power."
Jesus knew everything His church would be facing today, the overwhelming opposition, the many obstacles. And He knew exactly what would happen to our society. He knew there would be a moral landslide, that humanity would wax worse and worse, and that an angry devil would spew out a river of hell against His Church.
Jesus would not have sent out His disciples without their knowing that the power given to them would be more than sufficient to meet every need and opposition. These men who had run in fear when the soldiers came for Him were timid, fearful, unskilled and untrained. Yet Jesus knew that these men — when fully yielded to the Holy Ghost — would work miracles, put demons to flight, and overcome every adversary and challenge.
I believe Jesus' words to His helpless disciples apply to us today: "Behold, I send the promise of my Father upon you: but tarry ye . . . until ye be endued with power from on high" (Luke 24:49).
Jesus was saying, in essence, "If you try to evangelize in your own strength, you will fall on your face in a short time. I know the battles and obstacles you face and I will give you a power greater than any in the universe. You will be able to stand up to kings, princes, governments with authority over demons and principalities. But you cannot do anything for Me unless you are full of the Holy Ghost.”
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David Wilkerson (1931 – 2011)
Founder of Times Square Church in New York City with over 100 different languages spoken in the congregation. Wilkerson wrote many powerful books such as: The Vision and Cross and the Switchblade. His ministry was prophetic as God called him to be a watchman to the Church in North America. He gave clear messages on repentance to the Church.Wilkerson also founded Teen Challenge where there are hundreds of centres for Christ-centered drug recovery and addiction recovery. He also organized and spoke at pastors gatherings in many countries where he gave prophetic strong messages to encourage pastors and leaders.
Recommends these books by David Wilkerson:
The Vision and Beyond, Prophecies Fulfilled and Still to Come by David Wilkerson
Knowing God by Name: Names of God That Bring Hope and Healing by David Wilkerson
God's Plan to Protect His People in the Coming Depression by David Wilkerson
David Wilkerson is an American Christian evangelist, most well-known for his book The Cross and the Switchblade. He is also the founder of Times Square Church in New York, an interdenominational church.
Wilkerson is well-known for these early years of his ministry to young drug addicts and gang members in New York City in the 1950s and 1960s. He co-authored a book about his work with the New York drug addicts, The Cross and the Switchblade, which became a best-seller, selling over 50 million copies in over thirty languages since it was published in 1963. The book was included among the 100 most important Christian books of the 20th century.
For over four decades, Wilkerson's ministry has included preaching, teaching and writing. He has authored over 30 books.
David Wilkerson is the founder and president of World Challenge, Inc., a nonprofit organization incorporated on September 22, 1971. Reverend Wilkerson, the author of over thirty inspirational books, is perhaps best known for his early days of ministry to young drug addicts and gang members in Manhattan, the Bronx, and Brooklyn. His story is told in The Cross and the Switchblade, a book he co-authored which became a best-seller. (The story has been read by over 50 million people in some thirty languages and 150 countries since 1963. In 1969, a motion picture of the same title was released.)
For over four decades, Reverend Wilkerson's evangelistic ministry has included preaching, teaching and writing. Throughout that time a distinctive characteristic of his work has been his direct efforts to reach the neediest members of the population with help for both body and soul. Even now, the almost 70 year-old minister often goes out alone or sometimes with an assistant to walk through the streets of New York City, along Broadway and Eighth Avenue or down 42nd Street and nearby "Crack Alley" on 41st Street. His mission is always to seek out the lost, the disoriented, and the addicted , to tell them of the power of the risen Christ to set them free.
David Wilkerson, born in Hammond, Indiana on May 19, 1931, was married in 1953 to Gwen Carosso. The Wilkersons' two sons are ministers, and their two daughters are married to ministers. They have 11 grandchildren. The Wilkersons served small pastorates in Scottsdale and Philipsburg, Pennsylvania, until Reverend Wilkerson saw a photograph in Life magazine of several New York City teenagers charged with murder. Moved with compassion he was drawn to the city in February 1959. It was at that time he began his street ministry to what one writer called "desperate, bewildered, addicted, often violent youth.