In the early years of the Church, a great persecution took place. During that awful period, the apostle John was taken prisoner and sent to Rome before being banished to the Isle of Patmos to die. Patmos was a small, desolate place inhabited by only a few other prisoners who had been exiled there.
When John disembarked at Patmos, he was left stranded, forsaken, isolated. He would later write, “I am banished to Patmos for the word of God and for the testimony of Jesus Christ” (see Revelation 1:9).
Why was John, a disciple of Jesus, given such a sentence? And why was Rome, the world’s ruling power, desperate to isolate him from civilization? Clearly, Rome considered him a threat, as he was obviously renowned among both Jews and Gentiles.
Now, John would be looked upon as a failure. If he were measured by the current standards of success, he would be considered worth nothing: he had no congregation, no church building, no money, no vehicle, no house, no decent clothes.
But how wrong everyone would be! Something incredible happened to John after his first few days on Patmos. He made a decision that impacted the entire church world for eternity. Simply put, John died to all his own plans and thought of ministry. As far as he knew, his exile on Patmos was his final lot but he determined to worship God. “I’m going to walk in the Spirit and give myself to seeking the face of God. Now I have time to get to know him as I never have.”
John’s life was reduced to a single focus: Jesus Christ alone. And he said, in essence, “All I will ever need is prayer, worship and communion with Lord.” It was there on Patmos that John learned to be dependent on the voice of Holy Spirit. And the good news is that later, John was given his freedom and his writings became an anointed light to the world.
You don’t need to be isolated in order to give yourself wholly to communion with the Lord. God will meet you right where you are, at any time of day or night, if you will just call out to him.
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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.