Time: Wed Jul 30 08:49:51 1997
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Date: Wed, 30 Jul 1997 08:34:20 -0700
To: (Recipient list suppressed)
From: Paul Andrew Mitchell [address in tool bar]
Subject: SLS: Reverend David Wilkerson's Sermon
<snip>
>
>---------------------------------------------------------------------
>
> Times Square Church Pulpit Series
> Reverend David Wilkerson
> __________
>
> The Forgotten, Lost Multitudes!
>
>---------------------------------------------------------------------
> Reverend David Wilkerson
> June 30, 1997
> __________
>
> IN our time, we've seen rock stars and music groups
> come and go. You may remember the eras of psychedelic
> rock, punk rock, and more recently grunge rock. Now
> there is something called anti-Christ rock. Perhaps
> you've heard of the new band heralding this movement.
> They're called Marilyn Manson. They took their name
> from Marilyn Monroe and the mass-murderer Charles
> Manson. And they're packing arenas and auditoriums
> around the country!
>
> Marilyn Manson is blatantly anti-Christ. Their latest
> record is titled "Anti-Christ Superstar," and the
> lyrics are blasphemous attacks on our Lord. As part of
> their stage act, they rip apart Bibles.
>
> I realize that such groups fade like the grass. Even
> the Beatles -- the group who once said they were more
> popular than Jesus -- came and went. And I know Marilyn
> Manson will fade away as well. A few years from now,
> people who hear their name will ask, "Marilyn who?"
>
> Yet something is happening among young people in
> America right now -- and I feel an urgency to address
> it. A few weeks ago, as Marilyn Manson was performing
> in Washington D.C., one of their road crew fell from a
> wall and was killed. Yet, the group simply played on.
> They continued the concert in spite of the sudden death
> of their crew member.
>
> I bring this to your attention for a reason. I believe
> the anti-Christ lyrics of this group's music have
> become the language of our youth. Recently, I listened
> in horror as a group of teenagers and preteens
> discussed religion. Within minutes they had raised
> their voices and were shouting four-letter curses:
> "---- God, ---- Jesus!"
>
> As I looked into their faces, I saw an angry rebellion
> I'd never witnessed before. Blazing in their eyes was a
> hatred for religion. An anti-Christ attitude had
> completely overtaken them!
>
> Today young people no longer curse politicians, parents
> or society. They don't turn their anger against racism,
> poverty or discrimination. Nor is it enough for them
> simply to be antiestablishment. Now they have turned
> their fury against God and Christ!
>
> A few weeks ago, I saw a newspaper photo of a group of
> Christian teens demonstrating outside an arena where
> Marilyn Manson was playing. This brave little band of
> believers was carrying signs protesting the group's
> blasphemous attacks against their Lord. I thank God
> such young people had chosen to stand up for Jesus.
>
> Then, as I looked at the photo, I thought about the
> thousands of lost teenagers who passed by that little
> band -- mocking and hissing at them as they filed into
> the arena, turning on to the anti-Christ lyrics,
> glorifying Satan, and emerging with an anger against
> God. These teenagers are no longer satisfied with
> smoking pot, snorting crack, shooting heroin or
> indulging in sex. Now their ultimate rebellion is to
> curse Christ and his church!
>
> Just a few blocks from our church building, I read some
> graffiti that I believe signifies this generation of
> young people. The messages read, "Don't slap me
> anymore, Daddy. Don't hit me. Don't kill me." Another
> scribbled phrase read, "My daddy hitted me and my
> sister Maria. He didn't know it hurted us, but he felt
> good." Many of our youth in America have been beaten,
> slapped, scarred all their lives. And now they have
> become a lost generation!
>
> I believe bloody riots are coming soon to all major
> American cities -- and they will be ignited by
> teenagers. This godless generation is already shaking
> an angry fist at God, giving themselves over to an
> anti-Christ spirit that has been unleashed from hell.
> Soon they will rage at welfare cutbacks. They'll
> determine to take everything by force, knocking out
> store windows and burning everything in sight.
>
> These young people have been robbed of all moral
> concepts. They've been told there is no God -- that
> nothing even hinting of religion belongs in our public
> life, our schools, our courts, our government. And in
> place of religion, they've been handed condoms and the
> phone numbers of abortion clinics.
>
> Now we're facing payday. We're reaping the evil our
> society has sown. We've raised up a generation that
> hasn't just written off the church, but that hates it
> with a seething rage!
>
> I Was Struck by Something Else Recently, as I Walked Up
> Broadway During Rush Hour
>
> As I looked into the faces of the passing crowds --
> people of all nationalities and walks of life -- a
> thought struck my soul like a thunderclap: "They are
> all lost! Almost every person passing by is going to
> hell. This society is damned!"
>
> I realize this might come across as harsh or
> presumptuous. You might think, "Surely some of those
> passersby know the Lord. They've had to hear the gospel
> somewhere, somehow."
>
> Certainly many in that massive crowd had seen or
> experienced religion of some kind. After all, no one
> these days can flip TV channels without seeing
> Christian television. Yet much of what airs on
> Christian TV is an abomination: multimillionaire
> preachers begging for more money; soft preaching that
> has no anointing or convicting power. Only a few on TV
> now present a true gospel. And, as a result, few people
> today have heard a pure gospel -- a convicting,
> sin-delivering message!
>
> You might respond, "But surely some of those passersby
> were churchgoers." That is true. I'm sure many had gone
> to church, at least on Christmas or Easter. But the
> majority of churches today are dead, lifeless, lacking
> the power to chase away a single demon. There is no
> real gospel in their services -- no biblical truth to
> set people free from sin.
>
> With every block I walked, I was hit again and again
> with the thought: "They're lost. They're going to spend
> eternity without Jesus!" Finally, I tried comforting
> myself with the thought, "But our church has seen
> thousands of people converted. Times Square Church is
> one of the largest congregations in New York City --
> and we do a major work of evangelism. We're reaching
> some of these lost, hurting people."
>
> But still, something nagged at my soul. I had to
> acknowledge before the Lord: "Oh, father -- I don't
> have the burden I once had! I don't weep the way I did
> when I first came to New York City thirty-five years
> ago. I'm grateful for all you've done within the four
> walls of our church. But in my heart, I know I don't
> have the same fire!"
>
> In 1958, Gwen and I were living in tiny Philipsburg,
> Pennsylvania, a town with a population of about 1,500
> people. In those days, I would walk into the woods near
> our home and weep for hours over the souls in New York
> City. I owned a little green Chevrolet, and each week
> as I drove it to the city to minister, I wept for the
> entire three-hour drive. Sometimes I had to pull off to
> the side of the road, because my heart was so broken
> for the lost. I'd stop the engine, walk into the woods,
> fall on my face and weep.
>
> After Gwen and I moved our family to Staten Island, I
> rode the ferry to Brooklyn every day to minister -- and
> I wept all the way. The other passengers thought I was
> crazy. Some even offered me comfort and solace. But I
> knew had the heart of the Lord, and I wept and cried
> all the more.
>
> Today I preach in one of the most beautiful theaters in
> the world, the historic Mark Hellinger Theater. I
> deliver messages to a hungry congregation, who come
> from all over the tri-state area to hear sermons on
> every possible subject in the word of God. I love the
> work of this ministry, and I thank God for letting me
> be a part of what he's doing in New York City.
>
> Yet, I wonder how many people in our congregation --
> and how many readers on our mailing list -- feel the
> way I felt walking up Broadway. I had to stop and ask
> myself: "How long has it been since you wept for the
> lost? Do you still have the Lord's burden to reach them
> with the gospel?"
>
> I ask you: Are you able to work alongside your
> colleagues, greet your neighbors, talk to your unsaved
> family members -- and never once be concerned for their
> souls? Is your mind occupied with simply surviving --
> providing for your family, protecting your children?
> Are you no longer burdened, witnessing, reaching out to
> the lost and dying world?
>
> Jesus Told Us His Mission on Earth Was to Save the
> Lost!
>
> "For the son of man is come to seek and to save that
> which was lost" (Luke 19:10). Christ said, "I came into
> this world for one reason -- to reach and save lost
> souls!" Yet this was not only Jesus' mission. He made
> it our mission as well: "And he said unto them, Go ye
> into all the world, and preach the gospel to every
> creature" (Mark 16:15).
>
> Jesus was speaking here to a small band of believers --
> about 120 people who had gathered in the upper room.
> And what an impossible task he laid before them! Think
> about it: At that time, Rome ruled the world. And he
> was commanding his followers, "Go to Rome and tell
> proud, egotistical Caesar there can be no king before
> me. I rule over all creation! Go to Athens, where
> paganism rules, and preach that I am the only way. Go
> everywhere that philosophies, ancient religions, false
> gods and superstitions rule -- and preach my cross and
> resurrection.
>
> "Go to foreign nations, live with the people and study
> their languages. Lay hands on the sick, cast out
> devils, proclaim the good news. Go to the very seat of
> Satan, and preach the power and victory of the risen
> savior!"
>
> We have to realize -- Jesus was talking to ordinary,
> insignificant, uneducated men and women. He was placing
> the very future of his church on their shoulders. That
> little band of believers had to be overwhelmed. Can you
> imagine the conversation that must have taken place
> once their master ascended to heaven?
>
> "Did I hear him right? How could poor, ordinary people
> like us start a worldwide revolution? We're penniless
> -- the off-scouring of society. How could anyone treat
> us with anything but disdain? The Romans are beating
> and killing us. And if they treat us that way here in
> Jerusalem, how will they treat us when we get to Rome,
> witnessing and preaching?
>
> "How can we possibly take the gospel to a world that so
> hated Jesus they killed him? He was despised, rejected,
> the song of drunkards. Yet we've been commanded to
> preach him as Lord and king!
>
> "And how does our Lord expect us to go into all the
> world with the gospel, when we don't even have enough
> money to go to Jericho? How are we to learn languages,
> when we haven't been educated or equipped to do that?
> Does he really expect us to go to the heathen in the
> northern nations -- wild mobs from Europe whose armies
> plunder and kill mercilessly? This is all impossible!"
>
> It was indeed an impossible mission. Yet our challenge
> today is just as daunting! The Bible tells us each
> succeeding generation grows worse and worse. And as I
> think of ancient Rome, Athens and Nineveh, I realize
> those societies didn't have all the exotic, sinful
> lusts and temptations our generation faces. They didn't
> have ungodly television, filthy movies, porno
> magazines, computer sex.
>
> We face other impossible odds as well: Our government
> has essentially tried to outlaw God. Our media is
> liberal to the point of godlessness. Wall Street grows
> increasingly greedy for more money. There is a tidal
> wave of homosexuality. And now we're seeing the rise of
> a generation that curses the Christ we preach!
>
> It Is Time to Acknowledge That America Is Lost and
> Going to Hell!
>
> When the apostle Paul looked out at the idolatrous
> multitudes in Athens, his spirit was moved. 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're full of the walking
> dead -- multitudes of people who are dying and going to
> hell. I have to cry out daily, "Lord, we need you. We
> can't do anything to reach these people without your
> guidance and power!"
>
> Jesus knew everything his church would be facing today.
> He knew about all the impossibilities, the overwhelming
> opposition, the many obstacles. And he knew exactly
> what would happen to our society -- that 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 Christ's church.
>
> 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'll fall on your face in a short time. You
> can't do anything for me unless you're full of the Holy
> Ghost!
>
> "I know the battles and obstacles you face. And I'm
> going to give you a power greater than any in the
> universe. You'll be able to stand up to kings, princes,
> governments. You'll have authority over demons and
> principalities. But this power must come to you from on
> high! You can't plan it, you can't strategize it, you
> can't do anything to make it happen. You are simply to
> sit still and wait. I will send my Spirit to you. He
> will come and fill you with my power!"
>
> Jesus never would have sent these disciples out unless
> he knew that the power given to them would be more than
> sufficient to meet every need and opposition. He knew
> that these were the same men who had run in fear when
> the soldiers came for him. They were the same ones who
> had gone fishing instead of obeying him, because they
> were afraid to take a stand. They were timid, fearful,
> unskilled, untrained men. Yet Jesus knew that these men
> -- when fully yielded to the Holy Ghost -- would work
> miracles, put demons to flight, overcome every
> opposition!
>
> Indeed, when the Spirit fell upon the disciples, they
> became fearless. As they went forth to the temple to
> witness, the Holy Ghost made their words cutting,
> convicting -- like swords piercing to the heart. They
> preached the gospel with power and authority -- because
> they had Holy-Ghost fire within them!
>
> Suddenly the crowds were afraid of them. In just a
> short time, some five thousand people were saved. Even
> priests were converted. And further outpourings
> happened in nearby villages, in distant cities and even
> among Gentiles.
>
> The best part of this unbelievable scene is that the
> church got all of its direction from the Holy Ghost.
> Nothing happened until the disciples had shut
> themselves in with the Lord and fasted and prayed. When
> they did this, the Spirit came and began to direct
> their every move.
>
> Yet, something else happened in this scene that is very
> important. The disciples were to take the gospel to
> every nation, every people -- yet Jewish tradition
> forbade them even to touch the clothes of a Gentile.
> How were they supposed to bring the good news to people
> with whom they weren't even allowed to associate? It
> seemed like an impossible command. Even the Jewish
> converts held to these prejudices.
>
> Yet the widespread proclamation of the gospel began
> only when the Holy Ghost took over. The Spirit visited
> Peter during his daily prayer time on a rooftop: "The
> voice spake unto (Peter) again the second time, What
> God hath cleansed, that call not thou common [unclean]"
> (Acts 10:15). He told Peter, "Don't dare call unclean
> what I have sanctified and made clean. Now, go
> downstairs, because there are some Gentiles knocking on
> your door. I want you to go with them -- and preach to
> them about Jesus!"
>
> The Holy Spirit had solved the prejudice problem
> overnight. He opened up the Gentile world to the gospel
> simply by speaking to his followers. It was all clearly
> directed from heaven!
>
> Yet this stands in contrast to much teaching in the
> church today. All my life I've heard pastors and
> evangelists say, "The only thing needed for you to go
> to the mission field is a need. And the need is there
> -- in Africa, Asia, South America. So, get up and go!
> Take the gospel to the nations, as Christ commands."
>
> But I believe unless you're full of the Holy Ghost, you
> shouldn't dare go! If you don't have his direction, you
> have nothing to offer. And whenever you act without the
> Spirit's direction, the result is human folly.
>
> The powerful first-century believers received all their
> marching orders from the Holy Ghost himself: "As they
> ministered to the Lord, and fasted, the Holy Ghost
> said, Separate me Barnabas and Saul for the work
> whereunto I have called them. And when they had fasted
> and prayed, and laid their hands on them, they sent
> them away. So they, being sent forth by the Holy Ghost,
> departed..." (13:2-4).
>
> These believers prayed, "Lord, which city should we go
> to? And when? How? Once we arrive, how should we reach
> the people?" They never made a move until they first
> got alone with God and fasted and prayed. And the Holy
> Ghost answered them by giving clear direction!
>
> I ask you -- how much more do we need the Spirit's
> direction today? Our bookstore shelves are lined with
> an abundance of how- to books: how to prevail in
> prayer, how to strategize for evangelism, how to do
> spiritual warfare. But none of these books will do us
> any good if we have not spent time on our knees!
>
> It Is Always Easy to Move Ahead in Our Own Wisdom,
> With Our Own Plans.
>
> When I first moved to New York City, I had more plans
> than anyone could imagine. I have spoken and written
> often about some of these silly plans.
>
> On one occasion I obtained a huge Land Cruiser from
> Oral Roberts, a vehicle built by General Motors for a
> half-million dollars. Its side opened up like a clam,
> with a ready-made stage for a choir. The bus looked
> like it had landed from Mars!
>
> I thought that contraption would help our ministry
> attract the lost. The first time we used it, we parked
> it in front of a church in Brooklyn, where a revival
> had taken place one hundred years before. We started
> singing and preaching, and soon a big crowd gathered. I
> thought, "This is it! We're going to see another great
> ingathering of souls."
>
> But all the people did was look at the Land Cruiser. By
> the time our service ended, only two people stood
> listening to us. As we packed up to go, I thought,
> "Lord, what happened? Why didn't this work?" I later
> sold the vehicle to a man in Yonkers, who charged
> people fifty cents to go through it as a tourist
> attraction.
>
> Another time I decided, "What we need is a portable
> street pulpit -- something with a telescopic flagpole,
> a speaker in the middle and altar rails. We'll make
> fifty of them, or maybe a hundred. Then we'll put them
> on the street for our rallies."
>
> I was going to unveil my inventions at a rally at Glad
> Tidings Tabernacle on 33rd Street in Manhattan. But the
> problem was, the design for such a pulpit made it too
> heavy to carry. And it was expensive: I could only
> afford half of one. On the night of the unveiling, I
> had only a fraction of my new evangelistic invention. I
> was totally embarrassed!
>
> I also invented the collapsible flip-top box. It was an
> evangelistic pack that looked like a cigarette pack (in
> fact, a cigarette company took the idea and capitalized
> on it). When the top flipped open, inside were five
> gospel tracts I'd written. But that project turned out
> to be another disaster. I ended up $25,000 in debt with
> it.
>
> Finally, in desperation after all these debacles, I
> spent time in prayer, seeking God with tears. I cried,
> "Lord, you know I have a burden for this city. I've got
> to do something. Yet everything I've tried fails. What
> do you want me to do?"
>
> The Spirit answered, "Stop all your foolish plans,
> David. You never talked to me about any of these
> things. Now, spend time with me. If you want my burden,
> you've got to get hold of me!"
>
> I did just that. And out of the experience came the
> most simple yet successful evangelistic efforts our
> ministry ever attempted. The Lord directed us simply to
> go to the streets with a microphone and a flag and
> preach Jesus. Once we started doing that, the crowds
> came, and people began getting saved left and right.
>
> When the Holy Ghost is leading you, you don't have to
> strive in your flesh to have his burden. No Christian
> should ever feel burdened to find new ways and means to
> reach lost souls. The Holy Spirit knows the heart and
> burden of the Lord -- and he will give us his burden
> and strategy if we'll simply seek him!
>
> On the other hand, I know of many churches that are
> satisfied just to have prayer meetings. The people pray
> faithfully for hours on end. Yet they never expect to
> actually move out and win the lost.
>
> Beloved, prayer is not enough! You can belong to a
> prayer group -- but if your prayers aren't about
> receiving power to witness, you'll end up focusing on
> your own problems. And you'll forget about the world
> outside, which is headed for hell!
>
> The More Diligently We Seek the Lord -- the More We Ask
> Him for the Holy Ghost -- the More We Will Be Given!
>
> "He therefore that ministereth to you the Spirit, and
> worketh miracles among you, doeth he it by the works of
> the law, or by the hearing of faith?" (Galatians 3:5).
> Paul says that God measures out the Holy Ghost to us --
> and he does so not according to our works, but
> according to our faith in him.
>
> Jesus is the only person who ever had the Holy Spirit
> without measure. Yet there have been many men and women
> -- in the Old and New Testaments, and throughout
> history -- who were given a great measure of the
> Spirit. Such believers have always known they don't
> have to strive to weep holy tears over a lost, broken
> world -- because the Holy Ghost does the weeping in
> them!
>
> Our part is simply to pray: "Holy Ghost, you know
> everyone in my circle of influence who is under
> conviction -- because you're the one who convicts them!
> You see every tear that falls in the quiet of the
> night. And you know everyone who's desperate and crying
> for help. I am your instrument. Fill me with your
> burden, and lead me to those you have prepared."
>
> God wants to empower us for one reason -- and that is
> to get us into the streets, filled with his word and
> led by his Spirit. He wants us to be able to speak a
> word direct from heaven -- a piercing, convicting
> message that has the unmistakable fire of the Spirit!
>
> Yet, I ask you: Does something stir in your soul over
> the lost? Are you burdened for those in your circle of
> influence? Or do you focus endlessly on your own needs?
> If you don't know Christ's heart and have his burden,
> you can never expect to be used of him!
>
> This Message Is Not Meant to Condemn You -- But to
> Awaken You!
>
> Each of us can ask in faith for more of the Holy Ghost.
> We can ask him to burden us, weep in us, lead us, speak
> to us and through us. He is waiting to lead us -- to
> reveal to us the father's ways!
>
> Our circle of influence may not be China or Africa. For
> many Christians, the work of eternity will center on
> family, friends and coworkers. Yet the requirements are
> just the same: To reach the lost, we have to ask the
> Lord to move on them with conviction -- and to prepare
> our hearts with a timely word.
>
> If all who read this message would allow the Holy Ghost
> to make this word real to them -- to seek him for his
> burden and guidance -- there is no telling what kind of
> harvest the Spirit might reap. The truth is, the
> greatest works for eternity are done not in mass
> crusades, but with one saint reaching one lost soul.
> Yet that happens only when every saint gets the burden
> of the Lord!
>
> Offer yourself to the Holy Ghost right now. Call on
> him; fast and pray. Ask him to lead you to those he has
> convicted and prepared to hear his word. Then trust in
> his guidance and power to do the miraculous. He will do
> it! God wants to save many in your family and in your
> circle of friends and acquaintances!
>
> ------------------------------------------
========================================================================
Paul Andrew Mitchell : Counselor at Law, federal witness
B.A., Political Science, UCLA; M.S., Public Administration, U.C. Irvine
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