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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 emphasizes the danger of limiting God, as expressed in Psalms 78:41, where believers confine Christ to their own limited understanding and circles. He illustrates this by recounting how the early church restricted Jesus to the Jewish population and how Pentecostals once believed they held the exclusive baptism of the Holy Spirit. Wilkerson shares his personal journey of recognizing God's work beyond traditional boundaries, including among Catholics, and stresses that God’s Spirit is not confined to any one group. He urges believers to expand their view of God and recognize that He is at work in diverse places and among various people. Ultimately, we must avoid representing Jesus as small and instead embrace His vastness and inclusivity.
Limiting the Holy One of Israel
“They…limited the Holy One of Israel” (Psalm 78:41). The word for limited here comes from two root words, meaning, “grieving God by scratching out an imprint.” In short, limiting God means drawing a line, or making a circle, and stating, “God is in here, and he goes no further.” This describes the thinking of many believers. We’ve marked in our minds a very small imprint, or concept, of Christ’s magnitude. That’s just what the early church in Jerusalem did. They limited Christ to a small circle, confining him to the Jewish population. But Jesus can’t be confined. He is constantly breaking out of our little, confining circles, and always reaching out to the uttermost. Let me give an example. Up to about 40 years ago, Pentecostals seemed to have the baptism of the Holy Spirit confined to their movement. Many Pentecostals thought, “We are God’s Spirit-filled church!” Pentecostal preachers bemoaned the deadness of mainline denominations, “They don’t have the full gospel like we do,” they declared. Suddenly, God’s Spirit burst through everyone’s drawn circles. The Holy Ghost fell on believers in all kinds of denominations. A classic book was written about this move of the Spirit, called They Speak With Other Tongues by John L. Sherrill. The Lord also used my book, The Cross and the Switchblade, especially in Catholic circles. Yet, like Peter and the early church, I had to allow God to work in my heart before I could accept what was going on. I had been raised Pentecostal, and for the first time in my life I saw priests weeping with conviction, crying out to Jesus. Soon I had evangelical preachers contending with me, demanding, “What about those Catholics’ Maryology? How can you minister to people who believe in that?” I found myself answering the same way Peter did: “I don’t know anything about Maryology. All I know is, there are hungry people in the Catholic Church. And there are true Jesus worshippers among the priests. God is filling these people with his Spirit.” God has his people everywhere, and we are not to call any of them common or unclean. We have to be careful that we do not represent Jesus as being small and box him in with our puny thinking.
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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.