Guys, I have to add this comment here. I apologize for the aggression I express in it. However, this whole thing has really broken my heart and I haven’t been able to sleep for the last few nights very well since this has hit the news. It burns in my gut and I am so upset about people riding the popular media, I just had to share my two cents worth.
The key thing to realize is that it is OUR duty as believers to be the anchor in times of sway. We are called to be persevering and always embracing trials with FULL JOY (James 1). There is NO place in the Kingdom for anything that pushes fear and does not bring FULL GLORY to GOD.
So, with that said, I had to make a comment about David Wilkerson’s latest blog posts. I apologize if I offend you. I am simply stating my heart and I am VERY passionate about the lost or those that do not know the LORD yet and I am VERY careful with their hearts, lives and friendships. I long to reach the marginalized, the unlovely, the unchurched, the wall flowers, the weirdos, the ones that don’t fit the mold. I have been an outcast and now I reach outcasts. I LOVE the outsider.
Now, comfortable Christians on the other hand. Well, let me just say that there is NO love lost.
Blessings!
pd
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I will not speak directly against GOD’s anointed, I have supported Teen Challenge and have been a long time funder of this ministry, but I have to say that this word SUCKS!
I DO NOT AGREE! IT IS NOT THE WORD OF THE LORD AND I THINK IT SUCKS!
I am so flippin’ angry I can’t even start to tell you.
I am so SICK of hearing about OUR PERSONAL SALVATION at the cost of the salvation of the world. If this is the case, I would rather help take care of others THAN TO WORRY JUST ABOUT MY OWN PETTY NEEDS. I am SICK of hearing men of GOD on TV, the news, newspapers and now on blogs, (GOD help us), talking about the end of the world or horrible disaster but hiding and saving our own sorry tails.
I am SOUL SICK that right now is the time people are the most open, there is the most need and the MOST opportunity to turn men, women and children to Jesus and people like this who are in the lime light are storing up in BARNS, preparing for a day that JESUS VERY CLEARLY STATES in Scripture they WILL NOT LIVE TO SEE!
Remember the successful farmer. He lost his life because he stored in a new barn all that he had overproduced and how GOD responded. He died that night! (Luke 12:18)
If we have ANYTHING, let us use it to win more for JESUS! David Wilkerson needs a knot jerked in his tail and to be reminded that JESUS said that even the BAD STEWARD was WISE because he used money to win friends. Jesus goes on to state that we need to use the funds we have on this earth in order to make friends in the Kingdom of GOD. (Luke 16:1-13)
IF Jesus were going to allow the wrath of the Old Testament to fall on America and further… the world, I am NOT AFRAID. He has supplied for the sparrow and HE will supply for me.
The grass withers and is thrown in the fire, yet HE knows EVERY BLADE! DO NOT WORRY ABOUT TOMORROW… (Matt 6:26).
“And I have not given you a Spirit of timidity, but…” (2 Timothy 1:7)
FEAR NOT… (Isaiah 41:10,13)
Where perfect love is, all fear is cast off…(1 John 4:17-19) (I think this is one is the MOST fitting).
You see, to preachers like this, they have EVERYTHING to lose when the end comes because they have found peace and comfort in this world. Those of us who have not had the luxury to find our comfort in this present age see the coming of the end and the coming rule and reign of Jesus along with all of the trials, turmoil and struggle as the birth pangs of the Kingdom. We readily embrace the shaking and the possible loss, we look forward, longing for HIS COMING… HIS RULE… HIS DAY! We have nothing to lose because we have no comfort in this world. ALL OF OUR HOPE IS IN HIM!
If the end is coming. That’s GOOD NEWS FOR THE BELIEVER, not something to be afraid of. Stop hiding in your closets, houses and church buildings, get out to the street and GIVE EVERYTHING YOU HAVE AWAY FOR HIM. Share with others. Serve! He washed FEET and Jesus did NOT shy away from the cross. He BORE IT!
The word to the church today is the same as many years ago that Jesus has come to COMFORT the afflicted and AFFLICT the comfortable. The affliction I expect to see will be to fat sassy churches and people who have called themselves Christians who have ridden the rise and move of Christianity in their lazy boys, watching their HUGE TV’s eating big juicy steaks.
Those that are aching, lost and hurting have GOOD NEWS in this…
Matthew 11 – “Come to me all you who are weary and heavy laden and I will give you rest…” At this time of unprecedented loss, turmoil, struggle and pain in America, the message that needs to be preached from the streets is that all those around us who are more spiritually aware of their needs and problems than ever before have good news. They can find peace in Jesus. He wants to give peace. He is HERE TO COMFORT THOSE WHO ARE AFFLICTED.
I have ALWAYS seen Jesus seeking out the 1 lost from the fold, eating with the sinner, talking with the broken, healing the hurting and feeding the hungry. So, with that said, I think the word David Wilkerson is sharing is totally off. And even if it were right, the people that should be afraid are the church attenders that have already long been avoiding contact with the lost and who have already shut out the needs and cries of their world.
If this word comes to pass. I will NOT be sorry for being one of the ones on the street helping the poor. Everyone else can see this as a major catastrophe. I will however look for opportunities. Everyone else can speak negativity, I on the other hand will speak LIFE. Everyone else can choose to be afraid and run from all the problems of the world. I however, will choose to embrace my present circumstances, seek GOD’S FACE, look for the ones who are in need and GO!
Why has David lost his connection with the world? He used to be so much the missionary and the one reaching out to the hurting.
Having personally been an inner-city missionary, a veteran pastor, youth pastor and almost everything else in the church, now a church planter for the last 5 years working for the church while keeping a regular job in finance in order to help more people and be able to give more to ministry, and currently creating ministries and opportunities to serve and help the hurting in my community, not to mention outreach like we did this last Saturday, giving away batteries, water, food, supplies, creating seminars and trainings and even finding people jobs through network relationships, I feel I can state all of the above with authority. I am in the field folks. And let me tell you, that it is RIPE! People need help. THIS IS NOT THE TIME FOR THE church to hide! It’s the time for the REAL church to SERVE AND GIVE! GO SHARE. DON’T HOARD!
The thing that I find lacking in David Wilkerson’s message and in his voice at this time of turmoil is COURAGE! Courage is the ability to KNOW that what you are doing will likely fail, yet trusting that POPPA won’t let us down. And should we die… We get heaven… But, should we LIVE… It will bring more GLORY TO GOD!
I think all SCARED Christians should listen to David Wilkerson and get as much food as possible, they should hide in their homes, bomb shelters, or wherever and lock their doors and GET OUT OF THE WAY OF THE REAL CHURCH, ALLOWING US TO SEEK THE LOST, PREACH THE GOSPEL AND MEET THE NEEDS OF OUR WORLD AROUND US! If they are going to just stay scared and panicked, they are just in our way now. It’s time for the REAL Christians to show up and the real church to give and serve in the name of our LORD and Savior Jesus Christ!
What do you think?
For the full article, click here: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/29618725/
I wrote one more response to David Wilkerson’s backtracking he did this morning. Instead of writing it as a blog post and boring people more with this topic, I have decided to add it here.
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THE RESPONSE TO THE RESPONSE:
Well,
Doubtless he has read my response by now since it was directly to the ONLY media outlet that reported on his blog. I am the ONLY one that took a strong word with Scripture references to refute his words AND it was the third comment left on his article. So, I know he read what I said. There’s no way he wouldn’t. I also know that this response is STILL very SOFT. He says that he “Already warned… and we see it is already happening…” He warned three days ago! THAT IS CRAP bro! The escalation kicked 300,000 people out of office next door to his church before he NOTICED! Now, that is NOT prophetic!
And actually, if you really want to split hairs, OF COURSE there will be issues in the end, BUT ONLY AFTER the anti-christ is in power and after everyone in the church is already deceived BECAUSE everyone is going to follow this guy. The world is actually going to live in relative peace before the end. This guy is the BIGGEST unifier of all time. And he is going to deceive even the VERY elect.
Actually, what worries me about articles such as this one is that David is creating a vacuum by instilling fear and then by giving self-centered advice. The kicker is that this vacuum of worry and fear will be exactly the kind of thing that the Anti-Christ will use in the end. It was this vacuum that caused the Germans to LOVE Hitler, when just a few years before he was seen as a heretic. It is the same vacuum that caused Italy and other to follow Mussolini, that same vacuum that caused many Colombians to LOVE and still love Drug Cartel leaders…
This vacuum of fear and worry and loss causes everyone to run to anyone that can give them hope, peace and vision and at some rate restore simple settledness in the world. All it takes after the vacuum is created is for a silver-tongued leader with tons of charisma to hit the scene who is able to soothe the mind of the world, bring peace to the middle-east, allow the world to go to a single currency and monetary system, bring restoration to global economy and keep everyone from fighting. This person would very easily find the world ready for his words and anyone that dissents will be seen as an obstruction to peace and reconciliation.
The funny thing in my mind is that the ONLY ones that will not be swayed in the end will be the elect. And I believe that the reason they will not be swayed is BECAUSE they walk in PERFECT LOVE where there is no fear.
Perfect love causes us to:
1 – embrace our reality.
2 – recognize Poppa has a better plan.
3 – think of others BEFORE ourselves.
4 – act and speak slowly rather than spouting off crap that feeds others panic.
5 – stay connected to the VINE.
6 – give, serve, share, go, act, stand and trust.
7 – It rises this thought up in my heart, “Though HE slay me, still yet will I praise HIM.”
Perfect love will keep us from following the wrong one. Believe me, before the end, it will GET REALLY GOOD OUT THERE! Remember, the best tactic that Satan has in his arsenal is to pretend like he doesn’t exist. That being the case,
And lastly, he stated that the church is under persecution world wide. This is true! However, there is less persecution today than ever before worldwide. There has been a decline since USSR, and the Eastern Block opened up to religion and since the US went into Iraq and Afghanistan and President Bush spoke in China before the Olympic Games. The catch is that the rise in the countries still opposed to Christianity especially Middle Eastern countries is higher. But, no matter higher or not, the human rights violations are ATROCIOUS! And you know what, let’s not forget that some of the violent acts in the Eastern block countries that we have sent support for was acted out BY SUPPOSED CHRISTIANS on Muslims. Did we NOT pay attention? I think that it is a weak argument to say that “evil is rising against the church, so that proves what I am saying…”
I am ready for some proof! As for me, I still STAND BEHIND ALL MY STATEMENTS AND THE WORD TO THE WORLD TODAY IS,
“COME TO ME, ALL YOU WHO ARE WEARY AND HEAVY LADEN AND I WILL GIVE YOU REST…”
– JESUS!
Before we make blanket statements to back up our opinions, we should really watch out to see if they are statistically true. And actually, what should scare us a little more is the rate at which churches are simply rolling over and walking all over the words, “I am the way, the truth and the life. No one can come to the Father but by me…” We are so worried about having relative peace with all religions that we have forgotten that Jesus made it awful hard to have common ground. When there is no more persecution, maybe we, the church are not doing something right? I don’t know, that might be out on a limb, but I have spent time with the underground church, so who’s to say I know anything??? HAHAHA!
And you know what; I think it would be better for us to simply leave all of this alone and get back to a door knocking, and sharing the story of JESUS. You know. As a matter of fact, I want to do some more free car washes and give some groceries away. How about you?!
I hate that Rev. Wilkerson’s response to the response was still fairly self-centered and small minded. Why in America is it all about “me,” not about how we can help others when they hurt?”
Just thoughts.
pd
Oh yeah, and for more on the persecuted and underground church, see:
persecution.org
persecution.com
drjobsmission.com
These are some of the ministries that I support. If we are going to TALK about persecution, then let’s DO SOMETHING ABOUT IT! It’s ridiculous to just throw it out as a statistic and not DO SOMETHING! And who are we to hold ourselves in such high esteem in America to think that once persecution or tough times come to our Western world view that THE SKY IS FALLING?!