Shortly after the resurrection of Jesus, Peter and John encountered a crippled beggar just outside the temple gate where they were going to worship. This man was carried to the gate daily to make his living by begging and he asked Peter and John for alms. Peter responded, “Silver and gold I do not have, but what I do have I give you: In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, rise up and walk” (Acts 3:6). The man was instantly healed and in utter joy he began running through the temple, jumping and shouting, “Jesus healed me!”
People recognized the cripple and a crowd gathered as they marveled at the sight. Peter and John took advantage of the situation and began boldly preaching repentance, resulting in the salvation of thousands (see Acts 4:4). When the rulers of the synagogue saw what was happening they were outraged and had the men thrown into jail. Then they demanded to know, “By what power or by what name have you done this?” (4:7). Of course, they knew exactly whose name was being preached, but they purposely blinded themselves to it.
Peter was emboldened by the Holy Spirit and answered the rulers, “By the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom you crucified, whom God raised from the dead … There is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved” (4:10 and 12). The rulers were stunned and “they marveled. And they realized that they had been with Jesus” (4:13).
What was the mark that distinguished Peter and John? It was the presence of Jesus! Those synagogue rulers realized, ‘We crucified Jesus, yet he’s still speaking today through these two men.” In that very hour, Peter and John were fulfilling Jesus’ command to testify of him “in Jerusalem” (Acts 1:8). Likewise, I believe God’s powerful witness in these last days will not come through preaching alone. It will also come through men and women who “have been with Jesus” by shutting themselves in with him and seeking him with all their heart and soul.
What greater evidence of God could there be than lives transformed by the supernatural power of Christ? May it be said of you, “That man, that woman, has been with Jesus!”
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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.