"I haven't yet attained — my flesh still resists the Spirit — but I am redeemed by my Savior's blood and I'm going to sing and shout praises to my God."
Does this sound like what you pray each morning? Probably not. Most likely, you start your day by finding ways to continue striving. You bite the bullet, promising God you will never return to your old ways.
When you win an occasional victory, you feel good about it. You tell yourself, "I did it! I knew if I would just put my heart and mind to it, I would get the victory." The tendency is to feel so proud about what you’ve done that you go around judging others who aren't victorious.
When I was younger, whenever I needed a victory over something, I would tell myself, "I'm going to do this if it kills me." A month would go by and I would think, "Those covetous thoughts are gone now. I'm free!" But it always proved to be only a partial victory. That is when discouragement would set in. I would cry, "Oh, God, I've begged you to deliver me, but You haven't. This thing is still in me." And I would blame God.
The fact was, I was so busy striving in my flesh to be righteous that I lost my understanding of true righteousness — the only righteousness the Father accepts. Only Jesus Christ stands righteous before God and when we stand before the Father, He accepts us only through Christ — through His righteousness and victory.
“What must I do?” you ask. Well, first, do not listen to the devil's lies. Second, get up on your spiritual feet and start giving praise to the Lord. Declare boldly, "By my faith in the blood of Jesus, I receive the righteousness of Christ. He has made me fit and qualified to worship and serve my Lord!"
"In whom we have redemption through his blood, even the forgiveness of sins" (Colossians 1:14). Redemption simply means "set free." We have been set free by Jesus' precious blood. We have the right to stand against every accusation and say, "I'm not buying that, devil. You've accused me for the last time. My Bible says I'm redeemed because I believe in what Jesus did for me at the cross. I confess my sins to Him and I am redeemed — free!"
Be the first to react on this!
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.