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Waiting on God with Great Joy

Gary Wilkerson

“You are witnesses of these things. And behold, I am sending the promise of my Father upon you. But stay in the city until you are clothed with power from on high” (Luke 24:48-49).

Jesus tells his friends who had been with him in ministry for three years that they had been witnesses to his heart, his mind, his works and his wisdom. And yet he tells them to remain in the city — don’t move — until.

Many of you reading this today need an until in your life. Things are not the way you want them to be or believe they should be. And you are waiting until something happens.

Until God comes, things are going to stay the same. Until God comes, there will be no power encounter with heaven that will transform things taking place on earth.

The author of Luke also wrote the book of Acts and we see again, “[Jesus] ordered them not to depart from Jerusalem, but to wait for the promises of the Father” (Acts 1:4). He is telling them again to wait until you have been endued with power from high.

Wait! Don’t rush to get things you believe you were meant to attain in life. We must work at waiting, in a sense. The humility that waiting requires says, “I don’t have the power to do this and I can’t do that in my own strength. I need the work of the Holy Spirit in my life.”

What do you think this waiting looked like for the disciples? They were not groaning, “Oh, we have to wait on God.” No! We see that Jesus blessed them and even as he was carried up into heaven, they were full of great joy. 

“And he led them out as far as Bethany, and lifting up his hands he blessed them. While he blessed them, he parted from them and was carried up into heaven. And they worshiped him and returned to Jerusalem with great joy, and were continually in the temple blessing God” (Luke 24:50-53).

Will We Respond to the Lord’s Warnings?

Carter Conlon

In 1987, God put a burden on the heart of David Wilkerson and he founded Times Square Church. The Lord told him, “I am sending you to New York City to gather a remnant. [In other words, those who desire a sincere walk with God through Jesus Christ.] I want you to warn the city that judgment is coming.”

The Lord gave Pastor David a vision of a thousand fires burning in New York City. He said these were race riots that would affect not only New York City but many major cities throughout the country. As we look around at our society, it is easy to conclude that those very days might be starting in our midst.

Because we were willing to receive the warning, we have been able to intercede in prayer. We have prayed that there would be a thousand fires of revival burning in this city before those other days come — a thousand churches whose doors will not close, so that people can come in and seek God. This has been our prayer because the Bible tells us that mercy triumphs over judgment. It does not mean that judgment is not coming, but mercy takes away its finality when men and women find Christ as Savior.

We see in the Bible that even in the days of the early Church, the Lord was faithful to warn His people when suffering was on the horizon. For example, in the book of Acts it says, “And in these days prophets came from Jerusalem to Antioch, stood up and showed by the Spirit that there was going to be a great famine throughout all the world, which also happened in the days of Claudius Caesar” (Acts 11:27-28).

How did the early Church respond?  “Then the disciples, each according to his ability, determined to send relief to the brethren dwelling in Judea” (Acts 11:29). Something in their hearts bore witness to the word of warning, so they moved to make preparations for themselves as well as others who would be in need.

Carter Conlon joined the pastoral staff of Times Square Church in 1994 at the invitation of the founding pastor, David Wilkerson, and was appointed Senior Pastor in 2001.

Lord, Help Me to Lay It All Down

David Wilkerson (1931-2011)

“But we all, with unveiled face, beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are being transformed [changed] into the same image from glory to glory, just as by the Spirit of the Lord” (2 Corinthians 3:18).

Believers spend far too much time praying, “God, change my circumstances; change my coworkers; change my family situation; change the conditions in my life.” Yet we seldom pray the most important prayer: “Change me, Lord. I am the one who stands in need of prayer.”

God orchestrates the steps and lives of all his children and he does not allow anything to happen in us merely by happenstance or fate. And, believe it or not, he has allowed your crisis. What is he trying to tell you through it?

Like it or not, we are all in the process of changing in one way or another. In the spiritual realm, there is no such thing as mere existence; we are continually being changed, either for good or for bad. We are either becoming more like our Lord or more like the world, either growing in Christ or backsliding.

Are you becoming more sweet-spirited, more like Jesus? Are you looking soberly in the mirror each day and praying, “Lord, I want to conform to your image in every area of my life”? Or has bitterness taken root, turning into rebellion and hardness of heart?

Let me plainly say that if you shield yourself from the convicting Word of God and the voice of his Spirit, your life will become more chaotic and your situation will worsen. I urge you to cry out to the Lord honestly in prayer: “Change me, O God. Dig deep within me and show me where I have failed and gone astray.”

If you sincerely desire to be changed, God’s Word is full of guidance and wisdom. If you will rely solely on the Holy Spirit, he will unveil your eyes and you will begin to change in that very moment.

Therefore, Be Serious

David Wilkerson (1931-2011)

You may not want to think about it or even accept it, but if you have determined to follow Jesus with all your heart, Satan has marked you for destruction. And he’s going to flood your life with troubles of all kinds.

The apostle Peter warns, “The end of all things is at hand; therefore be serious and watchful in your prayers” (1 Peter 4:7). In other words, “This is no time for lightness. You must get sober-minded about spiritual things because it is now an issue of life and death.”

Why be so serious? Because the end of time is near and our enemy has turned up the heat. He is stalking us like a lion, hiding in the grass, waiting for an opportunity to pounce. He wants to devour us — to utterly destroy our faith in Christ.

Some Christians feel we shouldn’t even talk about the devil, that we’re better off just ignoring him. Others try to reason him out of existence entirely. Liberal theologians, for instance, argue that there is no devil, no hell, no heaven.

But the enemy of our souls is real! Few biblical figures have been identified so clearly and extensively and he is not going to go away. He is described as Lucifer, Satan, devil, deceiver, hinderer, wicked one, usurper, imposter, accuser, devourer, god of this world, ruler of darkness, old serpent.

These emphatic descriptions tell me the devil exists and we know from scripture that he wields a very real power. Even now he is at work on the earth — in our nations, cities, churches, homes and individual lives. And we dare not be ignorant of his methods and strategies of warfare. 

“Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil walks about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour. Resist him, steadfast in the faith, knowing that the same sufferings are experienced by your brotherhood in the world” (1 Peter 5:8-9).

When Jesus Comes on the Scene

David Wilkerson (1931-2011)

We read in the book of Mark that a distraught father brought his demon-possessed son to Jesus’ disciples seeking deliverance. The boy wasn’t simply troubled or rebellious, he was full of evil spirits that controlled his every action. His situation was well-known all over the region and he was considered absolutely hopeless. Both deaf and speechless, he spewed out only guttural sounds. Physically he was emaciated, and his father had to hold onto him continually because the demons tried to throw him into the nearest river, lake or open fire. What a horrible situation!

I wonder how many times this father had to leap into a pond and drag his son out in order to resuscitate him. It was probably a full-time job just keeping the child from killing himself. His parents’ hearts must have been broken to see their beloved son in such a terrible condition, with no one able to help.

When the man brought his son to the disciples, Satan caused him to foam at the mouth, gnash his teeth and gyrate wildly. The disciples prayed over the boy, but nothing happened. Soon the doubting scribes began asking, “Why is the boy not healed? Is the devil more powerful in this kind of situation?”

Then Jesus came on the scene! When the boy’s father told Jesus that the disciples could not heal his son, Jesus responded simply, “If you can believe, all things are possible to him who believes” (Mark 9:23). Then Jesus made the impossible a reality: “He rebuked the unclean spirit, saying to it: ‘Deaf and dumb spirit, I command you, come out of him and enter him no more!’” (9:25). The boy then fell to the ground, “But Jesus took him by the hand and lifted him up” (9:27).

Imagine the happiness in that family! I’m sure the father embraced the clean, freed boy with a heart overflowing with elation. As parents, we can be assured that God can be trusted with our children.