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!

THE ENTRANCE OF HIS WORDS

“For this reason we also thank God without ceasing, because when you received the word of God which you heard from us, you welcomed it not as the word of men, but as it is in truth, the word of God, which also effectively works in you who believe” (1 Thessalonians 2:13, NKJV).

Did you notice what Paul said to the church about “the word of God, which also effectively works in you”? Have you ever asked yourself how the Word works in you? It sounds a little mysterious but it really isn’t.

Psalm 119 is one of the chapters in the Bible that is loaded with insights into the purpose and value of the Word of God. For all you short-attention-span believers, this is the longest chapter in the Bible. It has 176 verses, so if you’re going to read it through, sit down and buckle up because it’s long and strong.

While there are numerous verses in Psalm 119 that give us wonderful insights into the value of the Word, one verse gives specific insight into how the Word works in us.

“The entrance of Your words gives light; it gives understanding to the simple” (Psalm 119:130, NKJV).

The word entrance is a key to our being able to understand how the Word works in us. We commonly think of entrance as the taking in of the Word. It does mean that but in the original language it means even more; it is tied to several additional and potent points of understanding.

Among the meanings of the word entrance that we discover in the Hebrew are:

1.    The “entrance of the Word” is likened to taking a sword out of its sheath. The Word in us becomes a sword that is ready for battle, for protection, or for doing surgical cutting in us to remove things that should not be in our life.

We know that the Word is for our protection against the attacks from the enemy. We see how Jesus defeated the enemy every time when the devil tempted Him in the wilderness. Each temptation was different and each was designed to compromise the Son of God, but each time the enemy was the one defeated as Jesus quickly countered the attack with, “It is written.” And so it is for us (see Luke 4:1-12).

When we take the Word into us, we are unleashing the sword of the Lord to work in us. With surgical precision, the Word of the Lord will be at work cutting away thoughts, desires, habits that are not conducive to our growth in Him. When we take in the Word, we can expect it to be at work in us at all times.

2.    The second meaning that we find in the original language about the word entrance is the word “ploughing.” This is speaking of the plough that is pulled by a team of horses or a tractor and is used to open up the ground, to break up hard topsoil so that seeds can be planted that will result in a fruitful harvest.

The Word of God works in us to break up the aspects of our life that have become hard through disuse or because of the bumps and bruises of life that cause callouses/hardness to form. The Word breaks open (ploughs) the soil of our heart and spirit so that the seeds of fruitfulness (victory) can be planted by the Holy Spirit.

When we take in the Word, it is like a sword that is unsheathed for protection and like a scalpel that brings healing to the inner man. It is also like a plough, as it begins to open us so that we are capable of receiving seeds of fruitfulness.

Psalm 119:130 goes on to say that when the Word enters “it gives light.” The word light as it is used here is speaking of understanding or comprehension. This is speaking of the Word of God teaching us, giving us insights, assisting us in being perceptive. Understanding comes over time and requires diligence; it connotes character and it’s something we grow in. This is the light, the understanding that is being spoken of.

The verse continues on to say that the entrance of the Word “gives understanding to the simple.” Please don’t get thrown off by the use of the word simple. Perhaps the translators didn’t use the best of words here. The intent of the original meaning is that the Word imparts understanding to the humble, to the lowly of heart. Proud, know-it-all types don’t get much meaning out of Scripture. They have trouble hearing from God because their arrogance gets in the way. God steps away from those that are proud (see 1 Peter 5:5).

The entrance of His Word unleashes the sword of the Lord; it plants the seeds of fruitfulness and it gives understanding to the humble. This is the Word at work in us!

HE WAS STRUCK DEAD!

 One of the incidents in the Old Testament more difficult to understand (at least to me) is found in 2 Samuel 6 and 1 Chronicles 13-15 where King David was bringing the ark of God back to Jerusalem. The Philistines had captured the ark but they quickly found out that Jehovah was not going to allow it to be added to their motley collection of tribal gods taken in battle.  

The predicament the Philistines found themselves in was actually quite hilarious. In an attempt to debase Jehovah, the Philistines took the ark into the temple of their chief idol, Dagon, and placed it at the feet of Dagon to indicate its submission and inferiority. The next morning the Philistines found that Dagon had fallen prostrate in front of the ark.

The Philistines tried the same thing a second time and when they came back to the temple, they found that not only had Dagon fallen prostrate again but this time its head and hands had broken off. But that wasn’t the only thing that happened to the Philistines as a result of their having kidnapped the ark. A plague broke out among them—but not just any plague, it was a plague of hemorrhoids.  Now that will get your attention—and this happened long before the discovery of Preparation H.

The embarrassment of Dagon (1 Samuel 5) and the plague was enough. The Philistines decided that they had better return the ark before a more severe calamity befell them, and in their hurry to get rid of it, they dumped it in one of the outlying villages of Israel.

David was anxious to have the ark back in Jerusalem and at the center of Israel’s worship, and 2 Samuel 6 relates how he and his army went to retrieve it. The ark was considered to be the most important item in the tabernacle and it sat in the Holy of Holies, deep inside the portable temple. On the top of the ark was the mercy seat, and once a year the high priest went in and sprinkled the blood of a sacrifice there. The ark was a symbol of God’s presence, a visible sign that God was dwelling in Israel’s midst.

David and his men prepared a “new cart” for the ark to ride upon and the journey back home became one of celebration, with much singing and music. How fitting! It was shaping up to be a new day in Israel because the ark was coming home and riding in style on a new cart. However, the traveling worship service was interrupted when the oxen pulling the cart stumbled and Uzzah, one of the cart drivers, reached out to steady it. Without warning he was struck dead! A simple helpful gesture—and he was struck dead!

David reacted in anger, frustration and fear. “How can I ever bring the ark home?” he cried, and then had the ark sidetracked to a nearby property.

What does this mean to us? What can we learn from this story?

David was passionate about bringing the visible symbol of God’s presence back to the mainstream of Israel. Not only was the ark a symbol but God’s presence seemed to linger on the ark, as the Philistines and Uzzah had discovered. David’s intention was righteous, but somehow something had gone wrong.

David had cried, “How can I ever bring the ark home?” With his frustration and anger boiling over, he felt it was impossible for the nation to ever again experience the presence of God. His dream was dying right before his eyes.

Why had this happened? Why had Uzzah been struck dead? Who was to blame?

The answer is that David and the leadership of Israel were to blame. They did not take the time to find out how the ark was to be transported, so they came up with their own idea and built a “new cart” for the ark. This smacks of pride and arrogance and sounds rather like some today who blithely declare, “We have a better way; we know how to be more relevant and we understand what it will take to reach this generation.” And so they build what they declare is a new and better cart.

David’s mistake was that he tried to implement a new methodology when God had already clearly laid out how the ark was to be moved. 1 Chronicles 15:3-15 says that the ark was to be carried on the shoulders of the priests, and that was the only way it was to be moved—ever! Here’s how that translates to us: We are the priests of the New Covenant (1 Peter 2:9). Our shoulders represent our worship, our praise, our sacrifice of thanksgiving, and are to carry and usher in the presence of the Lord. It is our worship that brings the presence of the Lord, not “the new cart,” not our surroundings nor our programs. It is the praise and worship of God’s people that He responds to. “Yet you are holy, enthroned on the praises of Israel” (Psalm 22:3, ESV).

The mistake of David and the leadership of Israel continues to be repeated today. Instead of inquiring of the Lord to see how we should proceed, we get busy building a new cart. After all, we reason, it’s a new day and we should have a new focus, a new program, a new logo, a new cart! And so with big wheels and boards, we build ourselves a new cart only to find, at the end of the day, that God had a plan all along and we didn’t take time to find it. The mistakes of the past live on.

“Bringing home the ark” means understanding what God wants and making the appropriate changes.

We can “bring home the ark” today!

COME BEFORE WINTER

The apostle Paul was imprisoned in Rome at least twice. The book of Acts finishes off with Paul having been arrested and placed under guard but living in his own lodging place in Rome. His granted freedom allowed him to receive guests to whom he ministered the gospel (see Acts 28:16-30). This first imprisonment lasted about two years and then Paul was released.

Paul was rearrested and this time his imprisonment in Rome was not remotely as nice as it had been the first time. The second prison was not a home but an underground dungeon—dark and dank. I think we could better envision his prison cell as a hole in the ground with a grate in the ceiling for light and air. Whatever was going on in the streets above would find its way into Paul’s dungeon—all the dirt and filth—and if it was raining, water would flood in. To call it a prison cell is rather generous; it was probably more like a sewer.

Paul’s last letter before his death was written to Timothy, his son in the gospel. Paul had poured himself into Timothy and he saw in him the potential to be one of the key leaders of the whole New Testament Church that was growing exponentially. Today we use the word “viral” when something takes off on the Internet. Well, the explosive growth of the Church under Paul’s apostleship was nothing short of “viral”—it was exploding. I believe Paul knew that in the days ahead, the Church would require leadership that would hold it steady and on course.

Knowing that his days were numbered, Paul reached out to Timothy and said, “Do your best to come to me soon” (2 Timothy 4:9). At first glance it seemed that Paul was lonely and, also, he needed Timothy to make a supply run, because he asked him to bring his cloak, his books and his parchments (Scriptures).

Paul was not alone even though Demas did desert him. It is my opinion that Paul sent off Crescens and Titus because his personal needs would never be more important to him than the needs of the churches in Galatia and Dalmatia (4:10). Dr. Luke was with Paul, so he had companionship.

Paul makes an interesting request of Timothy when he asks him to bring Mark with him when he comes “for he is useful to me for ministry” (2 Timothy 4:11). This is the same Mark who caused the breakup of the apostolic dream team, Paul and Barnabas. Mark, Barnabas’ cousin, had bailed out of the first missionary journey Paul undertook. He had abruptly left Paul and Barnabas and returned to Jerusalem, where it appears that some of the church leaders ministered to him and got him back on track.

At some time later, when Paul and Barnabas were getting ready to start on their next missionary journey, Barnabas wanted to include Mark on the traveling team and Paul said no (see Acts 15:36-40). The dispute over Mark caused a break to occur between these two friends.

 

Now it is years later and Paul asks Timothy to bring Mark with him when he comes to Rome. Why? I don’t think the answer is complicated. I believe Paul saw a young man whose faith had been tried, who had learned from his mistakes, and had grown in the things of God. The apostle saw him to be one of the gifts God would use to help shape the emerging New Testament Church—and He did.

Most scholars say that Mark’s gospel was the first written. It certainly has the feel of being written by a young man—with a brisk pace and action-packed narrative—just the way young people like it.

I think too much is made of Paul’s final appeal to Timothy to “do your best to come before winter.” Some writers rush to imply that Paul’s request for his cloak was because it would be cold in the dungeon—that he needed it for warmth. Others speak of the encouragement that it would be for Paul to have his young friends with him—he needed the warmth of additional human contact. I don’t deny the reality of both of those reasons but I think there is one overriding motivation.

Paul knows that death is right around the corner for him—that he is in the last season of his life.  Just as winter is the final season of the cycle of annual seasons, Paul is about to complete the cycle of his life. Paul had insights that he wanted to impart to those who would know what to do with them. He would have three powerful younger men with him in his final days—Luke, Timothy and Mark—all of whom would go on and be greatly used to benefit the Church right up to 2015.

I don’t think Paul’s final days, his winter days, were spent huddling in his dungeon clutching his cloak, trying to stay warm. I can see Paul huddling with “the three” and pouring into them his understanding of grace, his understanding of the gifts and operation of the Holy Spirit, his understanding of the Church and Church order, his understanding of the end times. Like an apostle/mentor, Paul was being warmed by the knowledge that he was making a deposit into these young men for then and for the future.

To all my friends who are on the mature side of life, who are you mentoring? Who are you pouring into before the final days of winter come?

WHEN GOD SAYS, "NO!"

David was the greatest warrior king ever to lead the nation of Israel. Under his leadership Israel’s enemies were subdued and its borders were expanded. After years of war 2 Samuel 7:1 says that a time of peace came to Israel. In this period of tranquility David decided that he wanted to build God a temple. David was uncomfortable with living in a beautiful house while the presence of the Lord dwelt in a tent! “I dwell in a house of cedar, but the ark of God dwells in a tent” (2 Samuel 7:2).

David submitted his idea to the prophet Nathan who agreed, saying, “Go, do whatever is in your heart, for the Lord is with you” (2 Samuel 7:3). Later that night, as Nathan was trying to sleep, the Lord came to him and sternly told him to go to David and remind him that God had called him to be a shepherd to Israel and that he was not to build God a house (see 2 Samuel 7:5-7).

Both Nathan and David had been wrong. To Nathan, God said, “You go and correct what you said” and to David the word of the Lord was a very clear, “No!” There was nothing unrighteous in what David wanted to do but God still said, “No!”

Paul, Silas and Timothy were traveling together preaching the gospel and in Acts 16: 6-7 we read that Paul wanted to go into one of the provinces of Asia to minister but the Lord would not allow it. God said “no” to Paul preaching the gospel in these areas! It’s hard to believe that God would say “no” to the preaching of the gospel to the lost—but He did!

Why would God say “no” to David who wanted to honor Him by building a temple? Why would God tell Paul “no” to preaching the gospel in an area that had not yet heard the message? Why did God tell Jesus “no” in the Garden of Gethsemane, and why did God tell Paul “no” three times as he prayed for his own healing? Why does God sometimes say “no” to us? And how are we supposed to handle it?

I am fully aware that what I am about to say runs counter to some popular teaching. Some teach that if there is a promise in the Bible, then we have the right to claim it and demand that God fulfill it on our behalf. I know that Hebrews says that we are to come boldly into His presence and make our requests known—and I know that’s our privilege. But please understand that this does not mean God will give us everything we ask for. He will answer your prayer, have no doubt about that, but sometimes He will tell you “no.” 

Why would God do that?

I want to suggest at least three reasons why God says “no.” Perhaps in trying to understand these, we will understand better how to process the answer when it is “no.”

1.      God has the whole picture in view. Our ability to see the full picture is extremely limited because we live fixed in time. God doesn’t dwell in time, He lives in eternity and sees the past, the present and the future as one. God knew that both David and Paul had pure hearts and only wanted to please Him but He had other things for them to do; He had other plans and other times in mind and so He said “no.”

2.      God will say “no” because He has our best interests at heart: “You ask and do not receive, because you ask wrongly, to spend it on your passions” (James 4:3). Asking, knocking, seeking—and God says “no.” God understands why we ask for what we do and to the impure motive He will answer in the negative. God constantly watches out for us. Sometimes the answer doesn’t come, because He knows that it would take us in the wrong direction . . . so grow up and get over it!

3.      Sometimes God will say “no” because He is a loving and good parent. “If you, then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father who is in heaven give good things to those who ask him!” (Matthew 7:11). This passage is a comparison between us, the natural parent, and God, the perfect parent. Good parents will not say “yes” to everything their child asks for. That kind of thinking produces spoiled and immature adults who treat God as if He is a slot machine and they are going to win a prize every time they put money in the slot. God is very much into helping people mature, and mature believers have learned how to respond with grace when the answer is “no.”

God loves us so deeply and cares for us so much that sometimes He will say “no.” How we respond is indicative of how spiritually grown-up we are.