“Peace I leave with you, My peace I give to you” (John 14:27). This marvelous word from Jesus had to amaze the disciples. In their eyes, it was an almost unbelievable promise: Christ’s peace was to become their peace. These twelve men had marveled at the peace they had witnessed in Jesus for the past three years. Their Master was always calm, never afraid, never ruffled by any circumstance. And now Jesus was promising them this very same peace!
Then Jesus added, “Not as the world gives do I give to you” (same verse). This was not the peace of a numb, zoned-out society nor the temporary peace of the very rich who try to purchase peace of mind with material things. No, this was the very peace of Christ himself, a peace that surpasses all human understanding.
The timing of this gift of peace was very important to the disciples because they were on the threshold of the greatest trial they would every experience. Christ was about to leave them, and the news of his imminent departure came as a great shock. They had looked forward to the day when the Lord would set up his kingdom on earth and make them all rulers. Now they had to face the fact that he was about to be given into the hands of evil men and killed.
“I will rise again,” the Master assured them, “and the Holy Spirit will guide you through what you are going to face.” At this point, all that the disciples had was a promise from Christ of his peace.
The ministry of the Holy Spirit has always been to reveal Christ to his people. In John 16:14, he says, in short, “The Holy Spirit will speak to you of me and of my ways.” Simply put, his peace comes to us as the Holy Spirit reveals Christ to us.
When you received Christ, you received a measure of his Spirit and the Spirit’s work continues in you to this day.
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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.