IT'S NEVER TOO LATE

In 1967, at the invitation of David Wilkerson, Carol and I moved to New York to assist him in building a city-wide crusade ministry. For the next eight years we did just that, and the Lord blessed in a wonderful way. In the years that I served as David Wilkerson’s Crusade Director, we saw several hundred thousand people receive Christ as savior in crusades all over the world.

David Wilkerson was the founder of the Teen Challenge ministry (there are now over 1100 Teen Challenge Centers throughout the world). The crusade ministry that began in the late 1960s later became World Challenge, an international missions ministry. World Challenge is active all over the world building churches, orphanages and schools, caring for children and widows, and encouraging pastors. In the late 1980s Wilkerson began Times Square Church right in the heart of New York City. Times Square Church is now located at 51st and Broadway in Manhattan and every week 6000-8000 people attend one of the services. In addition, David Wilkerson wrote forty books, including the mega-selling The Cross and the Switchblade, which was made into a feature-length movie seen by more than 50 million.

David Wilkerson died in 2011 but his ministry continues, both in the ministry entities that he began and through his writings. Every day about one million people read, online, a brief devotional article that has been gleaned from his writings. Below is a sample of one of the devotionals:

IT’S NEVER TOO LATE

By David Wilkerson 

   

Mark 5 tells the story of Jairus, the desperate synagogue ruler who asked Jesus to heal his daughter. The twelve-year-old girl was dangerously near death, and Jairus pleaded with Christ to come to his house and lay hands on her.

Jesus agreed to go with him. But first he stopped along the way to minister to a woman with a blood disease. (This was the woman who was healed when she touched the hem of His garment.) Yet, while Jesus tarried, a messenger came with tragic news: Jairus' daughter had already died. He told the synagogue ruler, "Thy daughter is dead: why troublest thou the Master any further?" (Mark 5:35).

Jairus' heart was gripped with grief. He thought, "If only we had gotten there on time. Now it's too late. My daughter is gone." But Jesus assured him, "Be not afraid, only believe" (verse 36).

As the group approached Jairus' home, they heard sounds of wailing and mourning. It was Jairus' family and neighbors, grieving over the girl. Picture the contrast in this scene: Here was God in flesh, creator of the universe, able to perform any work imaginable—yet they were weeping in His presence. In short, they were testifying, "God can only help as long as there is some sign of hope left. But once all life is gone, there is no need to call on Him anymore. Even He couldn't restore that kind of situation."

How many Christians today no longer call upon the Lord because they think their problem is hopeless? Multitudes trust God only to the point that something in their life dies. I'm not referring to the death of a person; I'm talking about the death of a marriage, a relationship, a dream, your hope for an unsaved loved one—anything in your life you think is impossible to fix, change or restore.

Jesus rebuked such unbelief. He said to the weeping crowd at Jairus' home, "Why make this ado, and weep? The damsel is not dead, but sleepeth" (verse 39). He was stating, "This situation is not what you see or think. You think all hope is gone but I say there will be restoration." He then went to the little girl's room—and, speaking a mere word, He brought the child to life. "Straightway the damsel arose, and walked" (verse 42).

Why did the Holy Ghost include this story in Mark's gospel? He did it to show us that nothing is too "dead," or too far gone, for Him to restore to life. He's saying, "Put your trust in Me to fix your problem. It's never too late for Me to work."

If you would like to know more about David Wilkerson’s ministry, below are two websites that you are welcome to visit:

www.worldchallenge.org  and www.tscnyc.org

If you would like to read the devotionals daily, please visit the World Challenge website, go to the Resources Section and then click on Devotions. If you enjoy the devotionals, you can have them sent daily to your e-mail address by subscribing on the World Challenge website (it’s free).

Remember, it’s never too late for Him to work!