Enter into the Rest of God

“And I heard a voice from heaven saying unto me, Write, Blessed are the dead which die in the Lord from henceforth: Yea, saith the Spirit, that they may rest from theirr labors; and their works do follow them”

WOW! I just read that the Rev. David Wilkerson was killed in a car crash in Texas. The news of this tragedy hardly made the top news sections of CNN or the like, but the vibrations from this shocking event will surely shake the earth, especially here in the United States, as well as worldwide.

Pastor Wilkerson was just no ordinary preacher. In this day and age when the Church has so many preachers, pastors, bishops, etc, gifted, talented, popular and problematic, Pastor Dave was a prophet, a herald, a visionary, a dreamer. Surely he will be missed by his family, close friends and loved ones. Missed also by the countless men and women who have been blessed and inspired by his preaching, ministry and church on Times Square in New York City.

Of course Pastor Dave started Teen Challenge, a ministry that has helped so many of those with addictions that the count is lost. His newsletter from the Times Square Church was always timely, prophetic, edifying, encouraging. His death will leave a hole in the prophetic atmosphere as well as a hole in this preacher’s heart.

When someone of this magnitude passes on I for one know the end is near. Who shall take up this prophet’s mantle? Who will be bold enough, bad enough, anointed enough, fear God enough to stand on a Times Square in every village and hamlet (sounds like MLK), on every street corner, in front of the crack-house, the whore-house, or the White House and proclaim Jesus Christ and Him crucified! This mantle is not needed in Heaven…no one there needs to hear this Gospel of the Kingdom; no one there needs to be convinced or convicted of sin and their need for a Savior. No, this mantle…this gift, this office, this message is needed right here on planet Earth…preached to the sinner, lived before the just and the unjust, testified of before kings, presidents, prime ministers and politicians.

This mantle, the message of the Cross, the Gospel of Christ needs to be preached, proclaimed, lived, and walked, testified and demonstrated. This burden removing, yoke destroying power of God cannot be diminished, diluted, discouraged, destroyed or disappointed. This Gospel of the Kingdom shall be preached unto all the world for a witness unto all nations…and then, the end will come.

Pastor Dave…rest on now, your labors have not been in vain.