God Gave Me an Unexpected Message

David Wilkerson (1931-2011)

One night during a prayer meeting, God told me something about our church I was not expecting to hear. The Lord whispered to me, “This church needs shock treatment! Too many have grown satisfied and complacent. You feel safe and secure from all the winds and waves of false doctrines sweeping over the land, but you are not prepared for what is coming!”

Beloved, having the Spirit’s witness functioning in you is a matter of life and death. If you don’t have the witness of the Holy Ghost in these last days, you’re not going to make it. You’ll give in to the coming spirit of the Antichrist.

You need the Holy Spirit's power every day on the job, at school, in your family. This is what Jesus was trying to tell us about the foolish virgins who ran out of oil for their lamps. They had a supply of the Holy Ghost, but they didn’t have his witness at the final moment. Don’t end up a foolish virgin! If you are running out of oil—trusting your church or your pastor to keep your soul—then repent.

Humble yourself and search your heart; cry out to God to rid your soul of all anger and bitterness. Confess your sins and forsake them. Depend on God once again for everything. Get the peace of God in your heart, so you can have a Holy Ghost witness. Ask the Father for a greater indwelling of the Spirit. Invite him to be your witness and guide in everything.

We face a cost of going all the way with Jesus, but we also will receive great rewards. First and foremost, we will have the blessing of having Christ stand with us. There are many other rewards as well, which Christ pointed to when he said, “Everyone who has left houses or brothers or sisters or father or mother or wife or children or lands, for my name's sake, will receive a hundredfold, and will inherit eternal life” (Matthew 19:29, NKJV).

The cost of following Christ was clear in the lives of the men of God in the Bible, and if we are going to be like our master, we must embrace this cost as well. Enduring it becomes a joy because Jesus promises to stand with us in every situation.

We can face anything or anyone when we know the Lord stands with us. Count the cost and know that your reward is the precious presence of Jesus Christ.