                    [Times Square Church Pulpit Series]

                      The Forgotten, Lost Multitudes!

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By David Wilkerson
June 30, 1997
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          IN our time, we've seen rock stars and music groups
          come and go. You may remember the eras of pyschedelic
          rock, punk rock, and more recently grunge rock. Now
          there is something called anti-Christ rock. Perhaps
          you've heard of the new band heralding this movement.
          They're called Marilyn Manson. They took their name
          from Marilyn Monroe and the mass-murderer Charles
          Manson. And they're packing arenas and auditoriums
          around the country!

          Marilyn Manson is blatantly anti-Christ. Their latest
          record is titled "Anti-Christ Superstar," and the
          lyrics are blasphemous attacks on our Lord. As part of
          their stage act, they rip apart Bibles.

          I realize that such groups fade like the grass. Even
          the Beatles -- the group who once said they were more
          popular than Jesus -- came and went. And I know Marilyn
          Manson will fade away as well. A few years from now,
          people who hear their name will ask, "Marilyn who?"

          Yet something is happening among young people in
          America right now -- and I feel an urgency to address
          it. A few weeks ago, as Marilyn Manson was performing
          in Washington D.C., one of their road crew fell from a
          wall and was killed. Yet, the group simply played on.
          They continued the concert in spite of the sudden death
          of their crew member.

          I bring this to your attention for a reason. I believe
          the anti-Christ lyrics of this group's music have
          become the language of our youth. Recently, I listened
          in horror as a group of teenagers and preteens
          discussed religion. Within minutes they had raised
          their voices and were shouting four-letter curses:
          "---- God, ---- Jesus!"

          As I looked into their faces, I saw an angry rebellion
          I'd never witnessed before. Blazing in their eyes was a
          hatred for religion. An anti-Christ attitude had
          completely overtaken them!

          Today young people no longer curse politicians, parents
          or society. They don't turn their anger against racism,
          poverty or discrimination. Nor is it enough for them
          simply to be antiestablishment. Now they have turned
          their fury against God and Christ!

          A few weeks ago, I saw a newspaper photo of a group of
          Christian teens demonstrating outside an arena where
          Marilyn Manson was playing. This brave little band of
          believers was carrying signs protesting the group's
          blasphemous attacks against their Lord. I thank God
          such young people had chosen to stand up for Jesus.

          Then, as I looked at the photo, I thought about the
          thousands of lost teenagers who passed by that little
          band -- mocking and hissing at them as they filed into
          the arena, turning on to the anti-Christ lyrics,
          glorifying Satan, and emerging with an anger against
          God. These teenagers are no longer satisfied with
          smoking pot, snorting crack, shooting heroin or
          indulging in sex. Now their ultimate rebellion is to
          curse Christ and his church!

          Just a few blocks from our church building, I read some
          graffiti that I believe signifies this generation of
          young people. The messages read, "Don't slap me
          anymore, Daddy. Don't hit me. Don't kill me." Another
          scribbled phrase read, "My daddy hitted me and my
          sister Maria. He didn't know it hurted us, but he felt
          good." Many of our youth in America have been beaten,
          slapped, scarred all their lives. And now they have
          become a lost generation!

          I believe bloody riots are coming soon to all major
          American cities -- and they will be ignited by
          teenagers. This godless generation is already shaking
          an angry fist at God, giving themselves over to an
          anti-Christ spirit that has been unleashed from hell.
          Soon they will rage at welfare cutbacks. They'll
          determine to take everything by force, knocking out
          store windows and burning everything in sight.

          These young people have been robbed of all moral
          concepts. They've been told there is no God -- that
          nothing even hinting of religion belongs in our public
          life, our schools, our courts, our government. And in
          place of religion, they've been handed condoms and the
          phone numbers of abortion clinics.

          Now we're facing payday. We're reaping the evil our
          society has sown. We've raised up a generation that
          hasn't just written off the church, but that hates it
          with a seething rage!

                      -------------------------------

                  I Was Struck by Something Else Recently,
                  as I Walked Up Broadway During Rush Hour

                      -------------------------------

          As I looked into the faces of the passing crowds --
          people of all nationalities and walks of life -- a
          thought struck my soul like a thunderclap: "They are
          all lost! Almost every person passing by is going to
          hell. This society is damned!"

          I realize this might come across as harsh or
          presumptuous. You might think, "Surely some of those
          passersby know the Lord. They've had to hear the gospel
          somewhere, somehow."

          Certainly many in that massive crowd had seen or
          experienced religion of some kind. After all, no one
          these days can flip TV channels without seeing
          Christian television. Yet much of what airs on
          Christian TV is an abomination: multimillionaire
          preachers begging for more money; soft preaching that
          has no anointing or convicting power. Only a few on TV
          now present a true gospel. And, as a result, few people
          today have heard a pure gospel -- a convicting,
          sin-delivering message!

          You might respond, "But surely some of those passersby
          were churchgoers." That is true. I'm sure many had gone
          to church, at least on Christmas or Easter. But the
          majority of churches today are dead, lifeless, lacking
          the power to chase away a single demon. There is no
          real gospel in their services -- no biblical truth to
          set people free from sin.

          With every block I walked, I was hit again and again
          with the thought: "They're lost. They're going to spend
          eternity without Jesus!" Finally, I tried comforting
          myself with the thought, "But our church has seen
          thousands of people converted. Times Square Church is
          one of the largest congregations in New York City --
          and we do a major work of evangelism. We're reaching
          some of these lost, hurting people."

          But still, something nagged at my soul. I had to
          acknowledge before the Lord: "Oh, father -- I don't
          have the burden I once had! I don't weep the way I did
          when I first came to New York City thirty-five years
          ago. I'm grateful for all you've done within the four
          walls of our church. But in my heart, I know I don't
          have the same fire!"

          In 1958, Gwen and I were living in tiny Philipsburg,
          Pennsylvania, a town with a population of about 1,500
          people. In those days, I would walk into the woods near
          our home and weep for hours over the souls in New York
          City. I owned a little green Chevrolet, and each week
          as I drove it to the city to minister, I wept for the
          entire three-hour drive. Sometimes I had to pull off to
          the side of the road, because my heart was so broken
          for the lost. I'd stop the engine, walk into the woods,
          fall on my face and weep.

          After Gwen and I moved our family to Staten Island, I
          rode the ferry to Brooklyn every day to minister -- and
          I wept all the way. The other passengers thought I was
          crazy. Some even offered me comfort and solace. But I
          knew had the heart of the Lord, and I wept and cried
          all the more.

          Today I preach in one of the most beautiful theaters in
          the world, the historic Mark Hellinger Theater. I
          deliver messages to a hungry congregation, who come
          from all over the tri-state area to hear sermons on
          every possible subject in the word of God. I love the
          work of this ministry, and I thank God for letting me
          be a part of what he's doing in New York City.

          Yet, I wonder how many people in our congregation --
          and how many readers on our mailing list -- feel the
          way I felt walking up Broadway. I had to stop and ask
          myself: "How long has it been since you wept for the
          lost? Do you still have the Lord's burden to reach them
          with the gospel?"

          I ask you: Are you able to work alongside your
          colleagues, greet your neighbors, talk to your unsaved
          family members -- and never once be concerned for their
          souls? Is your mind occupied with simply surviving --
          providing for your family, protecting your children?
          Are you no longer burdened, witnessing, reaching out to
          the lost and dying world?

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                     Jesus Told Us His Mission on Earth
                           Was to Save the Lost!

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          "For the son of man is come to seek and to save that
          which was lost" (Luke 19:10). Christ said, "I came into
          this world for one reason -- to reach and save lost
          souls!" Yet this was not only Jesus' mission. He made
          it our mission as well: "And he said unto them, Go ye
          into all the world, and preach the gospel to every
          creature" (Mark 16:15).

          Jesus was speaking here to a small band of believers --
          about 120 people who had gathered in the upper room.
          And what an impossible task he laid before them! Think
          about it: At that time, Rome ruled the world. And he
          was commanding his followers, "Go to Rome and tell
          proud, egotistical Caesar there can be no king before
          me. I rule over all creation! Go to Athens, where
          paganism rules, and preach that I am the only way. Go
          everywhere that philosophies, ancient religions, false
          gods and superstitions rule -- and preach my cross and
          resurrection.

          "Go to foreign nations, live with the people and study
          their languages. Lay hands on the sick, cast out
          devils, proclaim the good news. Go to the very seat of
          Satan, and preach the power and victory of the risen
          savior!"

          We have to realize -- Jesus was talking to ordinary,
          insignificant, uneducated men and women. He was placing
          the very future of his church on their shoulders. That
          little band of believers had to be overwhelmed. Can you
          imagine the conversation that must have taken place
          once their master ascended to heaven?

          "Did I hear him right? How could poor, ordinary people
          like us start a worldwide revolution? We're penniless
          -- the offscouring of society. How could anyone treat
          us with anything but disdain? The Romans are beating
          and killing us. And if they treat us that way here in
          Jerusalem, how will they treat us when we get to Rome,
          witnessing and preaching?

          "How can we possibly take the gospel to a world that so
          hated Jesus they killed him? He was despised, rejected,
          the song of drunkards. Yet we've been commanded to
          preach him as Lord and king!

          "And how does our Lord expect us to go into all the
          world with the gospel, when we don't even have enough
          money to go to Jericho? How are we to learn languages,
          when we haven't been educated or equipped to do that?
          Does he really expect us to go to the heathen in the
          northern nations -- wild mobs from Europe whose armies
          plunder and kill mercilessly? This is all impossible!"

          It was indeed an impossible mission. Yet our challenge
          today is just as daunting! The Bible tells us each
          succeeding generation grows worse and worse. And as I
          think of ancient Rome, Athens and Nineveh, I realize
          those societies didn't have all the exotic, sinful
          lusts and temptations our generation faces. They didn't
          have ungodly television, filthy movies, porno
          magazines, computer sex.

          We face other impossible odds as well: Our government
          has essentially tried to outlaw God. Our media is
          liberal to the point of godlessness. Wall Street grows
          increasingly greedy for more money. There is a tidal
          wave of homosexuality. And now we're seeing the rise of
          a generation that curses the Christ we preach!

                      -------------------------------

                       It Is Time to Acknowledge That
                     America Is Lost and Going to Hell!

                      -------------------------------

          When the apostle Paul looked out at the idolatrous
          multitudes in Athens, his spirit was moved. Likewise,
          as I look out my apartment window every evening, gazing
          upon the masses in Manhattan, I experience what Paul
          felt. I see many beautiful buildings -- from the
          midtown skyline to the Statue of Liberty -- yet they
          all appear as tombstones! They're full of the walking
          dead -- multitudes of people who are dying and going to
          hell. I have to cry out daily, "Lord, we need you. We
          can't do anything to reach these people without your
          guidance and power!"

          Jesus knew everything his church would be facing today.
          He knew about all the impossibilities, the overwhelming
          opposition, the many obstacles. And he knew exactly
          what would happen to our society -- that there would be
          a moral landslide, that humanity would wax worse and
          worse, and that an angry devil would spew out a river
          of hell against Christ's church.

          I believe Jesus' words to his helpless disciples apply
          to us today: "Behold, I send the promise of my Father
          upon you: but tarry ye...until ye be endued with power
          from on high" (Luke 24:49).

          Jesus was saying, in essence, "If you try to evangelize
          in your own strength, you'll fall on your face in a
          short time. You can't do anything for me unless you're
          full of the Holy Ghost!

          "I know the battles and obstacles you face. And I'm
          going to give you a power greater than any in the
          universe. You'll be able to stand up to kings, princes,
          governments. You'll have authority over demons and
          principalities. But this power must come to you from on
          high! You can't plan it, you can't strategize it, you
          can't do anything to make it happen. You are simply to
          sit still and wait. I will send my Spirit to you. He
          will come and fill you with my power!"

          Jesus never would have sent these disciples out unless
          he knew that the power given to them would be more than
          sufficient to meet every need and opposition. He knew
          that these were the same men who had run in fear when
          the soldiers came for him. They were the same ones who
          had gone fishing instead of obeying him, because they
          were afraid to take a stand. They were timid, fearful,
          unskilled, untrained men. Yet Jesus knew that these men
          -- when fully yielded to the Holy Ghost -- would work
          miracles, put demons to flight, overcome every
          opposition!

          Indeed, when the Spirit fell upon the disciples, they
          became fearless. As they went forth to the temple to
          witness, the Holy Ghost made their words cutting,
          convicting -- like swords piercing to the heart. They
          preached the gospel with power and authority -- because
          they had Holy-Ghost fire within them!

          Suddenly the crowds were afraid of them. In just a
          short time, some five thousand people were saved. Even
          priests were converted. And further outpourings
          happened in nearby villages, in distant cities and even
          among Gentiles.

          The best part of this unbelievable scene is that the
          church got all of its direction from the Holy Ghost.
          Nothing happened until the disciples had shut
          themselves in with the Lord and fasted and prayed. When
          they did this, the Spirit came and began to direct
          their every move.

          Yet, something else happened in this scene that is very
          important. The disciples were to take the gospel to
          every nation, every people -- yet Jewish tradition
          forbade them even to touch the clothes of a Gentile.
          How were they supposed to bring the good news to people
          with whom they weren't even allowed to associate? It
          seemed like an impossible command. Even the Jewish
          converts held to these prejudices.

          Yet the widespread proclamation of the gospel began
          only when the Holy Ghost took over. The Spirit visited
          Peter during his daily prayer time on a rooftop: "The
          voice spake unto (Peter) again the second time, What
          God hath cleansed, that call not thou common [unclean]"
          (Acts 10:15).

          He told Peter, "Don't dare call unclean what I have
          sanctified and made clean. Now, go downstairs, because
          there are some Gentiles knocking on your door. I want
          you to go with them -- and preach to them about Jesus!"

          The Holy Spirit had solved the prejudice problem
          overnight. He opened up the Gentile world to the gospel
          simply by speaking to his followers. It was all clearly
          directed from heaven!

          Yet this stands in contrast to much teaching in the
          church today. All my life I've heard pastors and
          evangelists say, "The only thing needed for you to go
          to the mission field is a need. And the need is there
          -- in Africa, Asia, South America. So, get up and go!
          Take the gospel to the nations, as Christ commands."

          But I believe unless you're full of the Holy Ghost, you
          shouldn't dare go! If you don't have his direction, you
          have nothing to offer. And whenever you act without the
          Spirit's direction, the result is human folly.

          The powerful first-century believers received all their
          marching orders from the Holy Ghost himself: "As they
          ministered to the Lord, and fasted, the Holy Ghost
          said, Separate me Barnabas and Saul for the work
          whereunto I have called them. And when they had fasted
          and prayed,
          and laid their hands on them, they sent them away. So
          they, being sent forth by the Holy Ghost, departed..."
          (13:2-4).

          These believers prayed, "Lord, which city should we go
          to? And when? How? Once we arrive, how should we reach
          the people?" They never made a move until they first
          got alone with God and fasted and prayed. And the Holy
          Ghost answered them by giving clear direction!

          I ask you -- how much more do we need the Spirit's
          direction today? Our bookstore shelves are lined with
          an abundance of how- to books: how to prevail in
          prayer, how to strategize for evangelism, how to do
          spiritual warfare. But none of these books will do us
          any good if we have not spent time on our knees!

                      -------------------------------

                      It Is Always Easy to Move Ahead
                   in Our Own Wisdom, With Our Own Plans

                      -------------------------------

          When I first moved to New York City, I had more plans
          than anyone could imagine. I have spoken and written
          often about some of these silly plans.

          On one occasion I obtained a huge Land Cruiser from
          Oral Roberts, a vehicle built by General Motors for a
          half-million dollars. Its side opened up like a clam,
          with a ready-made stage for a choir. The bus looked
          like it had landed from Mars!

          I thought that contraption would help our ministry
          attract the lost. The first time we used it, we parked
          it in front of a church in Brooklyn, where a revival
          had taken place one hundred years before. We started
          singing and preaching, and soon a big crowd gathered. I
          thought, "This is it! We're going to see another great
          ingathering of souls."

          But all the people did was look at the Land Cruiser. By
          the time our service ended, only two people stood
          listening to us. As we packed up to go, I thought,
          "Lord, what happened? Why didn't this work?" I later
          sold the vehicle to a man in Yonkers, who charged
          people fifty cents to go through it as a tourist
          attraction.

          Another time I decided, "What we need is a portable
          street pulpit -- something with a telescopic flagpole,
          a speaker in the middle and altar rails. We'll make
          fifty of them, or maybe a hundred. Then we'll put them
          on the street for our rallies."

          I was going to unveil my inventions at a rally at Glad
          Tidings Tabernacle on 33rd Street in Manhattan. But the
          problem was, the design for such a pulpit made it too
          heavy to carry. And it was expensive: I could only
          afford half of one. On the night of the unveiling, I
          had only a fraction of my new evangelistic invention. I
          was totally embarrassed!

          I also invented the collapsible flip-top box. It was an
          evangelistic pack that looked like a cigarette pack (in
          fact, a cigarette company took the idea and capitalized
          on it). When the top flipped open, inside were five
          gospel tracts I'd written. But that project turned out
          to be another disaster. I ended up $25,000 in debt with
          it.

          Finally, in desperation after all these debacles, I
          spent time in prayer, seeking God with tears. I cried,
          "Lord, you know I have a burden for this city. I've got
          to do something. Yet everything I've tried fails. What
          do you want me to do?"

          The Spirit answered, "Stop all your foolish plans,
          David. You never talked to me about any of these
          things. Now, spend time with me. If you want my burden,
          you've got to get hold of me!"

          I did just that. And out of the experience came the
          most simple yet successful evangelistic efforts our
          ministry ever attempted. The Lord directed us simply to
          go to the streets with a microphone and a flag and
          preach Jesus. Once we started doing that, the crowds
          came, and people began getting saved left and right.

          When the Holy Ghost is leading you, you don't have to
          strive in your flesh to have his burden. No Christian
          should ever feel burdened to find new ways and means to
          reach lost souls. The Holy Spirit knows the heart and
          burden of the Lord -- and he will give us his burden
          and strategy if we'll simply seek him!

          On the other hand, I know of many churches that are
          satisfied just to have prayer meetings. The people pray
          faithfully for hours on end. Yet they never expect to
          actually move out and win the lost.

          Beloved, prayer is not enough! You can belong to a
          prayer group -- but if your prayers aren't about
          receiving power to witness, you'll end up focusing on
          your own problems. And you'll forget about the world
          outside, which is headed for hell!

                      -------------------------------

                  The More Diligently We Seek the Lord --
                 the More We Ask Him for the Holy Ghost --
                         the More We Will Be Given!

                      -------------------------------

          "He therefore that ministereth to you the Spirit, and
          worketh miracles among you, doeth he it by the works of
          the law, or by the hearing of faith?" (Galatians 3:5).

          Paul says that God measures out the Holy Ghost to us --
          and he does so not according to our works, but
          according to our faith in him.

          Jesus is the only person who ever had the Holy Spirit
          without measure. Yet there have been many men and women
          -- in the Old and New Testaments, and throughout
          history -- who were given a great measure of the
          Spirit. Such believers have always known they don't
          have to strive to weep holy tears over a lost, broken
          world -- because the Holy Ghost does the weeping in
          them!

          Our part is simply to pray: "Holy Ghost, you know
          everyone in my circle of influence who is under
          conviction -- because you're the one who convicts them!
          You see every tear that falls in the quiet of the
          night. And you know everyone who's desperate and crying
          for help. I am your instrument. Fill me with your
          burden, and lead me to those you have prepared."

          God wants to empower us for one reason -- and that is
          to get us into the streets, filled with his word and
          led by his Spirit. He wants us to be able to speak a
          word direct from heaven -- a piercing, convicting
          message that has the unmistakable fire of the Spirit!

          Yet, I ask you: Does something stir in your soul over
          the lost? Are you burdened for those in your circle of
          influence? Or do you focus endlessly on your own needs?
          If you don't know Christ's heart and have his burden,
          you can never expect to be used of him!

                      -------------------------------

                This Message Is Not Meant to Condemn You --
                             But to Awaken You!

                      -------------------------------

          Each of us can ask in faith for more of the Holy Ghost.
          We can ask him to burden us, weep in us, lead us, speak
          to us and through us. He is waiting to lead us -- to
          reveal to us the father's ways!

          Our circle of influence may not be China or Africa. For
          many Christians, the work of eternity will center on
          family, friends and coworkers. Yet the requirements are
          just the same: To reach the lost, we have to ask the
          Lord to move on them with conviction -- and to prepare
          our hearts with a timely word.

          If all who read this message would allow the Holy Ghost
          to make this word real to them -- to seek him for his
          burden and guidance -- there is no telling what kind of
          harvest the Spirit might reap. The truth is, the
          greatest works for eternity are done not in mass
          crusades, but with one saint reaching one lost soul.
          Yet that happens only when every saint gets the burden
          of the Lord!

          Offer yourself to the Holy Ghost right now. Call on
          him; fast and pray. Ask him to lead you to those he has
          convicted and prepared to hear his word. Then trust in
          his guidance and power to do the miraculous. He will do
          it! God wants to save many in your family and in your
          circle of friends and acquaintances!

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