“What man of you, having a hundred sheep, if he loses one of them, does not leave the ninety-nine in the wilderness, and go after the one which is lost until he finds it?” (Luke 15:4). Jesus is speaking here of a sheep that has been in the fold. Clearly, this represents a member of Christ’s flock, one that has been well fed and led by a loving shepherd. Yet this sheep had become lost so the shepherd has gone out looking for it.
Note what Jesus says about the shepherd here: “[He goes] after the one which is lost until he finds it.” God never gives up on anyone who belongs to him and has gone astray. Instead, the Shepherd goes out to find that sheep, embraces it, and brings it back into the shelter.
David testified, “If I ascend into heaven, You are there; if I make my bed in hell, behold, You are there” (Psalm 139:8). Simply put, you can go so far into sin that you come to the very brink of hell, and he will still pursue you.
We have all heard the expression “hell on earth.” That is what life is like for those who run from God; their “bed in hell” is an awful condition. It means to be captivated by sin, drifting further and further from the Lord, eventually falling into a nagging fear of being lost forever.
You may have made your bed in hell, but you are not too deep in sin for Jesus to reach you and receive you with open arms. “When [Jesus] has found [the sheep], he lays it on his shoulders, rejoicing” (Luke 15:5). When the shepherd finds the lost, injured sheep, he does not take it back to the fold right away. According to the parable, he carries the wounded creature into his house. Then he calls all his friends and neighbors together, exclaiming, “Rejoice with me, for I have found my sheep which was lost!” (15:6).
It does not matter what you have done, how far you may have strayed. Once the Shepherd brings you back, you are redeemed in full and he rejoices over you!
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David Wilkerson (1931 – 2011)
Founder of Times Square Church in New York City with over 100 different languages spoken in the congregation. Wilkerson wrote many powerful books such as: The Vision and Cross and the Switchblade. His ministry was prophetic as God called him to be a watchman to the Church in North America. He gave clear messages on repentance to the Church.Wilkerson also founded Teen Challenge where there are hundreds of centres for Christ-centered drug recovery and addiction recovery. He also organized and spoke at pastors gatherings in many countries where he gave prophetic strong messages to encourage pastors and leaders.
Recommends these books by David Wilkerson:
The Vision and Beyond, Prophecies Fulfilled and Still to Come by David Wilkerson
Knowing God by Name: Names of God That Bring Hope and Healing by David Wilkerson
God's Plan to Protect His People in the Coming Depression by David Wilkerson
David Wilkerson is an American Christian evangelist, most well-known for his book The Cross and the Switchblade. He is also the founder of Times Square Church in New York, an interdenominational church.
Wilkerson is well-known for these early years of his ministry to young drug addicts and gang members in New York City in the 1950s and 1960s. He co-authored a book about his work with the New York drug addicts, The Cross and the Switchblade, which became a best-seller, selling over 50 million copies in over thirty languages since it was published in 1963. The book was included among the 100 most important Christian books of the 20th century.
For over four decades, Wilkerson's ministry has included preaching, teaching and writing. He has authored over 30 books.
David Wilkerson is the founder and president of World Challenge, Inc., a nonprofit organization incorporated on September 22, 1971. Reverend Wilkerson, the author of over thirty inspirational books, is perhaps best known for his early days of ministry to young drug addicts and gang members in Manhattan, the Bronx, and Brooklyn. His story is told in The Cross and the Switchblade, a book he co-authored which became a best-seller. (The story has been read by over 50 million people in some thirty languages and 150 countries since 1963. In 1969, a motion picture of the same title was released.)
For over four decades, Reverend Wilkerson's evangelistic ministry has included preaching, teaching and writing. Throughout that time a distinctive characteristic of his work has been his direct efforts to reach the neediest members of the population with help for both body and soul. Even now, the almost 70 year-old minister often goes out alone or sometimes with an assistant to walk through the streets of New York City, along Broadway and Eighth Avenue or down 42nd Street and nearby "Crack Alley" on 41st Street. His mission is always to seek out the lost, the disoriented, and the addicted , to tell them of the power of the risen Christ to set them free.
David Wilkerson, born in Hammond, Indiana on May 19, 1931, was married in 1953 to Gwen Carosso. The Wilkersons' two sons are ministers, and their two daughters are married to ministers. They have 11 grandchildren. The Wilkersons served small pastorates in Scottsdale and Philipsburg, Pennsylvania, until Reverend Wilkerson saw a photograph in Life magazine of several New York City teenagers charged with murder. Moved with compassion he was drawn to the city in February 1959. It was at that time he began his street ministry to what one writer called "desperate, bewildered, addicted, often violent youth.