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David Wilkerson

David Wilkerson (1931 - 2011). American Pentecostal pastor, evangelist, and author born in Hammond, Indiana. Raised in a family of preachers, he was baptized with the Holy Spirit at eight and began preaching at 14. Ordained in 1952 after studying at Central Bible College, he pastored small churches in Pennsylvania. In 1958, moved by a Life Magazine article about New York gang violence, he started a street ministry, founding Teen Challenge to help addicts and troubled youth. His book "The Cross and the Switchblade," co-authored in 1962, became a bestseller, chronicling his work with gang members like Nicky Cruz. In 1987, he founded Times Square Church in New York City, serving a diverse congregation until his death. Wilkerson wrote over 30 books, including "The Vision," and was known for bold prophecies and a focus on holiness. Married to Gwen since 1953, they had four children. He died in a car accident in Texas. His ministry emphasized compassion for the lost and reliance on God. Wilkerson’s work transformed countless lives globally. His legacy endures through Teen Challenge and Times Square Church.
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Sermon Summary
David Wilkerson addresses the church's role amidst chaos, emphasizing that while it is filled with religious activity, much of it is superficial. He asserts that God has a remedy for a troubled world: raising up chosen individuals who are transformed and called to submit to His will. These servants, like Samuel, are equipped with urgency and divine authority to deliver God's message. Wilkerson encourages believers to step away from the distractions of life and seek a deeper communion with God, reminding them that those who wait on the Lord will find renewed strength.
God's Response to a World in Crisis
Where is the church in the midst of chaos? It is full of religious activity but it is mostly flesh. That is tragic, because our Lord always has a remedy for a world in chaos. A time-tested remedy he has used for generations to wake up his dead, backslidden church, it is simply this: God raises up chosen men and women. Our Lord uses individuals to respond to a world in crisis. First, he supernaturally transforms them and then he calls them to a life of total submission to his will. These God-touched servants are best described in Psalm 65:4: “Blessed is the man You choose, and cause to approach You, that he may dwell in Your courts.” In short, God calls such a servant apart and there, in the Lord’s awesome presence, the servant is given God’s mind — a divine call. Suddenly, his soul is filled with an urgency and he emerges with a God-given word, ready to walk in spiritual authority. Biblical history reveals this pattern again and again. Time after time, God’s people rejected him and turned to idols, adopting heathen practices. And in every case, God raised up a godly servant: a judge, a prophet, a righteous king. Samuel is one such example. He chided Israel, “When they forgot the Lord their God, He sold them into the hand of [their enemies] … Then they cried out to the Lord, and said, ‘We have sinned, because we have forsaken the Lord’” (1 Samuel 12:9-10). Such God-touched servants became God’s instruments of deliverance. They were able to discern the times and because they knew God’s heart, the Lord used them as his oracles. Today God is calling many to come up out of the busyness of life and into a pursuit of his presence. “Those who wait on the Lord shall renew their strength” (Isaiah 40:31). Have you experienced this divine urge to commune with the Lord in a deeper way? He wants us to spend time with him in quiet worship, waiting to hear his voice.
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David Wilkerson (1931 - 2011). American Pentecostal pastor, evangelist, and author born in Hammond, Indiana. Raised in a family of preachers, he was baptized with the Holy Spirit at eight and began preaching at 14. Ordained in 1952 after studying at Central Bible College, he pastored small churches in Pennsylvania. In 1958, moved by a Life Magazine article about New York gang violence, he started a street ministry, founding Teen Challenge to help addicts and troubled youth. His book "The Cross and the Switchblade," co-authored in 1962, became a bestseller, chronicling his work with gang members like Nicky Cruz. In 1987, he founded Times Square Church in New York City, serving a diverse congregation until his death. Wilkerson wrote over 30 books, including "The Vision," and was known for bold prophecies and a focus on holiness. Married to Gwen since 1953, they had four children. He died in a car accident in Texas. His ministry emphasized compassion for the lost and reliance on God. Wilkerson’s work transformed countless lives globally. His legacy endures through Teen Challenge and Times Square Church.