Last month as we looked at Smith Wigglesworth, I mentioned how he prophesied about the outpouring of the Spirit which became known as the CHARISMATIC MOVEMENT and how this can be traced back to the events at St Marks Episcopalian Church in Van Nuys California in 1960.  

 

Another contributor to this amazing move of God, although he did not set out to do so, was DAVID WILKERSON who wrote The Cross and the Switchblade (first published in 1962), which tells the story of how God called him to take the gospel into the gang culture on the streets of New York back in 1958 and how this led to the start of Teen Challenge a ministry to young people, many of whom were addicted to drugs. I thoroughly recommend this book if you have not read it, it is very easy to read and is a true Christian classic.

 

David Wilkerson’s book, which went on to sell over 50 million copies and was translated into 30 languages, mentions how he personally had been baptised in the Holy Spirit and spoke in tongues as a teenager and how this was being experienced by the hundreds of young people that he was reaching through the ministry of Teen Challenge.

 

Because this book was read by so many people from all denominations around the world, this account sparked an interest in the baptism of the Holy Spirit, and became a major influence in the spread of the Charismatic movement. I know, because as a teenager I was one of those who read the book and got baptised in the Spirit at that time myself!

 

I want to reiterate again what a fantastic thing happened with the outpouring of the Spirit that really took off at the beginning of the twentieth century and then again 50 years later with the Charismatic Movement across all denominations - all around the world.  We must not underestimate what a phenomenal thing this was, in terms of its impact on individual Christians and on churches to this day, but beyond that, there is a further significance that we must not miss either.  Let us see this for what I believe this truly is – a SIGN.  

 

On the day of Pentecost Peter quoted the words of the prophet Joel who had predicted that, “In the LAST DAYS, God says, I will pour out my Spirit on all people” (Acts 2:17). The outpouring of the Spirit is a sign of the last days.  This great outpouring of the Spirit in the twentieth century is a good sign that we are living in the last days but there are other signs which are not so good and we will come back to this later.

 

As a young married man, David Wilkerson was invited by a small group of mainly farming families who were meeting in a home in Philipsburg Pennsylvania, to be their pastor.  In the five years that he was there, the church began to grow under his ministry.  In The Cross and the Switchblade he tells an amusing story of how, during this time he would watch TV late every night just to relax and unwind, but one day he wondered what would happen if he spent those 2 hours praying instead.  So reluctantly he did a bargain with God that if he advertised the TV for sale in the local newspaper and it sold within 30 minutes of publication, he would do it.  

 

On the day that the advert was published, David sat with his wife and an alarm clock set at 30 minutes and he was starting to feel relieved that nothing had happened after 29 minutes, when the phone rang and a man told him he would buy it and was coming straight over! Turning off the TV was the beginning of a ministry which would touch the lives of millions!

 

After founding Teen Challenge in New York which spread across America and Europe too, David Wilkerson went on to be an international evangelist and best-selling author of over 30 other books. At the age of 56 he felt led to open a church with multiple ministries, in Times Square in the heart of New York and he became its founding pastor in 1987.

 

When I was in New York two summers ago I just had to visit that church even though brother Wilkerson was in glory by then. So, with my travel companion we set out to find it (because actually it is in a street just off of Times Square). When we found it, I was disappointed to discover that there was no service on that midweek evening and the building was closed. We stood around for a few moments reading the posters outside and a lady came up to us and asked us if she could help. She turned out to be the present Pastor’s secretary! (Another example of God’s perfect timing). We told her we were from England and would love to see inside so she asked us to wait while she gained permission to let us in.

 

We were thrilled to have our own guided tour and I told her that I had known David Wilkerson’s ministry for many years and had heard him preach in London when I was a teenager.  I also had the joy of telling her the following story…

 

In the late 1960’s as a teenager I led a regular Friday evening and Sunday afternoon home meeting for young people and we would sometimes listen to a teaching tape. I don’t know how I got it, but one time we listened to a talk by David Wilkerson in which he prophesied that there was going to be a phenomenal revival that would break out among young people, starting in the USA and spreading to Europe and other parts of the world.  

 

Although I did not say anything to the young people, I must admit that I was very sceptical and did not believe it. Within months I heard about the JESUS MOVEMENT that was spreading across America amongst young people who were being saved and baptised in their thousands. By the early 1970’s this had come to England and was even on the front covers of LIFE magazine and TIME magazine (June 1971). This sealed my respect for David Wilkerson as a man of vision with prophetic insight.

 

I also tell this story to my Church History students and encourage them to pray for, and be part of, an even greater move of God among young people again in this day and generation.  Shall we believe for such a thing together?  

 

“Oh Lord for Your own glory and for the sake of the lost of this generation please pour out Your Spirit and raise up evangelists among young people in all the nations of the world before You come again!” Amen

 

In 1973 David’s book The Vision was published. In it he foretold: worldwide recession caused by economic confusion, nature having labour pains, a flood of filth in America, gay marriage and the ordination of gay ministers within the church.  At the time this caused controversy but much of it has come to pass.

 

Going back to what the Bible says about the END TIMES, Paul says: “There will be terrible times in the LAST DAYS.  People will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boastful, proud, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy, without love, unforgiving, slanderous, without self-control, brutal, not lovers of the good, treacherous, rash, conceited, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God.” (2 Timothy 3:1-4).

 

And Peter said “You must understand that in the LAST DAYS scoffers will come, scoffing and following their own evil desires. They will say, “Where is this ‘coming’ he promised? Ever since our ancestors died, everything goes on as it has since the beginning of creation.” (2 Peter 3:3-4).

 

The signs are all around us that the judgement of God is surely coming on all these things and as believers we need to be awake with our lamps trimmed.  We must not

get caught up in the world’s ways, instead we need to be holy, loving, shining lights in the darkness, filled with the Holy Spirit.  

 

David Wilkerson died in a car crash on 27 April 2011 - it was no accident.

 

“The righteous perish, and no one takes it to heart; the devout are taken away, and no one understands that the righteous are taken away to be spared from evil” (Isaiah 57:1).

 

Here is what he wrote in his very last blog, “David Wilkerson Today” on the very day

he died:

 

“To those going through the valley and shadow of death, hear this word: Weeping will last through some dark, awful nights—and in that darkness you will soon hear the Father whisper, “I am with you. I cannot tell you why right now, but one day it will all make sense. You will see it was all part of my plan. It was no accident. It was no failure on your part. Hold fast. Let me embrace you in your hour of pain.”

 

Beloved, God has never failed to act but in goodness and love.

 

When all means fail—His love prevails.

             

Hold fast to your faith.

 

     Stand fast in his Word.

 

            There is no other hope in this world.”

 

 

 

FOOTNOTE:

 

This is what his son Gary wrote:

 

On Wednesday afternoon my father, David Wilkerson, passed away in a car accident.

 

We grieve the loss of a beloved father, a faithful husband and a holy man of God.

My mother, Gwen, his wife of 57 years, was in the car also, but we are told she will recover fully.

 

Dad’s 60-plus years of ministry have impacted the lives of those closest to him and extended to millions around the world. Today we feel a personal loss, but at the same time we rejoice knowing Dad lived life to the fullest, obeying God with devotion and loving Jesus radically.

 

He was known for his unlimited faith. He believed God could change the lives of gang members and transform the most desperate drug addicts. He believed that a dynamic church could be launched in the heart of Times Square, New York City. He believed

he could be a man who loved his wife and children well. And he did.

 

Dad was not one for fanfare, acclaim or ceremony. He turned down invitations to meet with world leaders yet would give everything he owned to support a poor orphan or a widow in distress.

 

Like King David of old, Dad served God’s purposes in his generation. He preached

with uncompromising passion and relentless grace. He wrote with amazing insight, clarity and conviction. He ran his race well and when his work was done, he was called home.

 

I don’t think my father would have retired well. I don’t think he was one to sit in a rocking chair and reminisce about times past. I believe that Jesus, knowing this, graciously called him home.

 

Dad’s last mission on earth was to be an advocate for the poorest of the poor—to provide relief and support for hungry children and widows and orphans. After founding Teen Challenge, World Challenge and Times Square Church, he sought to feed starving children in the most impoverished countries in the world. Today, Please Pass the Bread is saving the lives of thousands of children, through 56 outreaches in 8 countries.

 

Like King David of old, after having served God’s purpose, he died. I know if my father were able to encourage you with his words today, he would invite you to give your all

to Jesus, to love God deeply and to give yourself away to the needs of others.

 

The works he began outlive him. We can all attest to his impacting us—not only in his preaching, writing and founding of world-changing ministries, but in his love, devotion, compassion and ability to stir our faith for greater works.