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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 that the essence of true, saving faith is the desire to draw closer to God, highlighting that Jesus suffered and died to restore our intimate fellowship with the Father. He explains that sin separates us from God, just as it did with Adam, and that God's hatred for sin stems from its ability to rob us of this fellowship. The power of justification through Christ allows us to overcome feelings of unworthiness and access God's presence, as we are made righteous in Him. Wilkerson reminds us that Jesus' sacrifice was not merely for our salvation but for daily communion with God, inviting us to live in close relationship with Him.
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Drawing Closer to Him
The strongest feature of true, saving faith is a desire to draw closer to Him. "For Christ also hath once suffered for sins, the just for the unjust, that he might bring us to God" (1 Peter 3:18). Why did Jesus suffer and die? Why did He provide justification for us? Why is His perfect righteousness accounted to us? It was that He might bring us to God. It's all about intimate fellowship with the Father. When Adam sinned, he lost the most precious thing any man or woman could possess: intimacy with God. Sin drove Adam away from closeness with the Father and he actually hid from His presence. Ever since, whenever man sins, he has a tendency to run and hide just as his forefather Adam did. The reason God so hates sin is because it robs us of His fellowship. He created us for intimacy with Him and He so yearned for our fellowship that He sent His own Son to die on a cross, to justify us and tear down the walls that blocked that intimacy from taking place. The power of justification is that it made a way back to God's original purpose in creating man — for fellowship with the Father. This present world is full of evil, slander, satanic lies, seductions, guilt, fear, condemnation — all of it designed by Satan to keep us feeling unworthy to come into God's presence. The devil would have us hide as Adam did — to keep us from intimacy with God. We have been delivered from all that. We have a right to God's presence — an invitation to His throne — because we stand with a perfect righteousness before Him. God invites us to the throne of grace because He accepts us as being holy in Christ. Our sin is under the blood, forgiven, and now we have a right into His holiness. Beloved, Jesus did not die just to take you to paradise. He died so that every day you could live in beautiful, close fellowship with the Father.
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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.