(Poland) Jesus Loves Sinners — David Wilkerson

I want to thank this wonderful worship team, orchestra and singers, thank you very much, you did so very well. I would like to thank all the musicians, orchestra, singers, you did a great job, thank you very much.

Our wives could not be with us, but we will take your greetings to them. As I've said before, I think this is my fifth visit to Poland. And this is our adopted country now. I have to live in the United States, but we love Poland.

And we don't say that everywhere we go. We truly have a wonderful time in your country. And everybody has been very kind, and we thank you. I have a very simple message tonight. Jesus loves sinners. Let's pray.

Jesus Loves Sinners and the Burden of Sin

Jesus, we thank you for the love in your heart. And every Christian here knows that love. Everyone who believes in you has experienced the love of Christ. And there are many here who have walked with you, Jesus.

And they sit in this meeting tonight. And sin has taken a hold of their hearts. And they are fighting a battle. And they live with guilt, and fear, and condemnation. Help them to see and understand that you still love them.

Jesus loves sinners. Amen. Paul the Apostle said that he was the greatest, the chiefest among sinners. I would have to say, no, Paul, I'm the chiefest among sinners. No, I'm not living in sin. But when I see what he has brought me from and what he has kept me from and how he has shown me his love all we can say is, thank God for his mercy.

The Gospel Reaches Drug Addicts and Gang Members

Over 40 years ago, the Lord sent me to New York City. In those days, everybody thought that drug addiction was totally incurable. In those days, everybody thought that drug addiction was totally incurable.

Medical science said there is no cure for the drug addict. Society had even given up on alcoholics. And you know what they said? Once an alcoholic, always an alcoholic. Once an alcoholic, always an alcoholic.

Once a drug addict, always a drug addict. And medical science and society really gave up on these sins and said they're incurable. And medical science and society really gave up on these sins and said they're incurable.

When I first came into the city of New York from just a little town where I pastored just a village first time in New York City I was overwhelmed. And I went down to the courthouse and I saw these prison trucks open up.

Teenagers handcuffed. Vicious gang members. Gang leaders. I didn't know that there were over 300 gangs in New York City at that time. People hated these drug addicts and they hated these gang members.

People hated these drug addicts and they hated these gang members. Because they caused the whole city to live under fear. But God said I want to raise up a testimony. I want the world to know that I have love for the sinner.

When I first went to churches in New York City they said we don't want a drug addict in this church. He said look outside the door. Look at our elders. They have to take the hubcaps off the car and lock them in the trunk.

They rob our houses. They'll do anything for drugs. And then I come to their pulpit and I said yes, they are sinners. And yes, they cause fear. But Jesus still loves them. And among those drug addicts among those prostitutes and those young alcoholics there are evangelists and pastors.

There are great Christians. And Jesus can deliver from the power of drugs. We bought an old house in a part of New York called Brooklyn. We cleaned it up and we painted it. And we started walking the streets.

Most of them were shooting drugs up on the flat rooftops. These are row after row after row of houses that are five stories high. And they would invite me up to the rooftop. And they would shoot heroin into their veins.

The first time I saw that I fainted. I passed out. Because the drug addicts that were shooting drugs one of them had a disease called Hepatitis. He said it's very contagious. And they all shot off the same needle.

And when I came to my senses they were laughing at me. Are you a coward? I said, no, you have Hepatitis. You're all going to get Hepatitis. They said, we don't care. This is our life. And we cannot break our habits.

These are the kind of boys we said, come on. I have a house. I have a bed for you. Jesus can cure you. I go down into Brooklyn to a drug center. And there's a young man standing there waiting for his pusher.

His name was Sonny. He thought I was a narcotics agent. He wouldn't talk to me. I said, I'm a preacher of the gospel. And Jesus sent me. You're a drug addict. And Jesus sent me to you. And he saw my Bible.

And he knew I was not a narcotics agent. He said, ah, you're a hallelujah man. My mother's a hallelujah woman. She'd been praying for me. I said, that's why I'm here. Jesus sent me here. Sonny came to the center.

He was one of the first. Nicky Cruz had already been saved. The Mao Mao gang leader. Nicky was preaching in the center, in the house. And Sonny fell on his knees. Gave his heart to Christ. And experienced the love and mercy of Jesus.

He was called to the ministry. And this July, in just a few weeks, I speak at his convention in California. He's a bishop with over 50 drug addict churches. And I will be preaching to 15 ,000 drug addicts that have been saved.

Mary and James: Transformation Through Christ

In all these years, we have seen how Jesus Christ can save the worst of sinners. I'm thinking right now of Mary and James. They were husband and wife. She was an alcoholic. He was a heroin addict. And they were so destroyed by their habit they could hardly walk.

They had tried everything. 15 years James was so messed up with drugs he could hardly speak. Mary was skin and bones. She prostituted to support their habit. One of our workers found them in the street.

They were living on the streets. Hopeless. They came in like animals. We prayed with them. They said, we'll stay. And what a miracle we saw. They gave their heart to Christ. James, when he came in, could hardly put two sentences together.

But God restored his mind. Mary began to put on weight. The color came back to her hair. She was a changed woman. From looking like an animal to a beautiful countenance. James, we found out, was nearly a genius.

In the first year he self-taught himself Hebrew. He self-taught himself Greek. And God called them both to the ministry. Now folks, I'm talking to you about the love of Jesus Christ. I'm telling you that Jesus loves sinners.

Christ’s Love for Christians in Spiritual Battle

And some of you as Christians sit here now. You say, well, that doesn't apply to me. This story has nothing to do with my life. Maybe interesting. And I can thank God for this great miracle that I hear.

But it has nothing to do with me because I don't use drugs. I don't use alcohol. But there are what I would call Christian sinners. Those who have taken a fall. You have fallen from the love of Christ.

There are some that go to church. And you have given your life to Christ. But the enemy attacks you. Sin came into your life. You went back to some of your old ways. And you sit here tonight. And you have a battle going on in your spirit.

And you live with guilt and fear and condemnation. I'm saying to you that Jesus not only loves the sinner from the street. But he loves those who are in the church. When you fall. When you fall from grace.

Jesus is always there. He said, I'll never leave you. I'll never forsake you. And that's what the Holy Spirit laid on my heart tonight. I heard the Spirit say to me. There will be sitting in this congregation.

Many people going through a battle. Some with pornography. Adultery. Sexual problems. All kinds of family problems. Husbands and wives who are thinking of divorce. Your home is in turmoil. Young people.

Having sexual problems. Husbands and wives who are not content. The Holy Spirit has a message for you. You see, there's another part of this story with Mary and James. Mary and James graduated with honors from Bible College.

The Danger of Neglecting Scripture and Prayer

And they went to California and started a ministry in prisons. And for ten years, God blessed that ministry. James wrote a book. He was honored by the prison society. And Mary worked side by side with her husband.

And I was proud of them. To see the miracle the Lord had done. Now they were winning many prisoners to Christ. They were winning other drug addicts and alcoholics to Christ. But after about ten years, and I don't know how it happened, Mary went back to drinking.

Later I learned a little bit about it. She neglected the Word of God. She got so busy she had no time to pray. She was feeding her mind with the wrong stuff, the wrong material. You can't stand today.

You can't make it today. With all of the sin that is thrown at you from the world. The devil has vomited this out of hell. Never, ever any other generation has been so tempted. I don't care how strong you think you are.

You can't make it without staying in the Word of God. And staying close to Jesus. And communing with Jesus. And feeding on Christ. I got a call one day from James. He was weeping. He said, Pastor David, my wife is back on alcohol.

Forgiveness and Restoration for the Fallen

And it's so bad now. She stays out at night. He said, I get in my car and I have to go around the streets and check the bar rooms. And I usually find my wife in the bar. With other men. And I have to go in and tell those men, that's my wife.

And I have to force her to come and she comes. He said, this has been going on for a number of months now. It's breaking my heart. I said, why don't you leave her? Why don't you let her go? He said, I can't let her go.

Pastor David, I still love her. He said, but the reason I'm calling you I can't find her. She's been gone, I don't know whether he said two or three days. He said, I'm just at the end of myself. He said, I'm so depressed, I'm so down.

I said, I want you to come to my house. I sent him a ticket. He came to our house and for three or four days he just would cry. I would minister to him. My wife was helping to minister to him. I said, James, if that was my wife I could never ever accept her back.

After all that Jesus has done for her 10 years of ministry sleeping with other men walking the streets I couldn't do that. He would look at me, he said, Pastor I can't explain it but I love her and I want her back.

We got a call while he was at our house and it was Mary. He said, where have you been? She said, I'm in the hospital. She had been beaten up and left beside the road and someone picked her up and she was in the hospital.

That's why he couldn't find her. Mary said, James, do you still love me? He said, yes. She said, come and get me, please. I sent him back. And he picked her up. She was so frail he had to help pick her up.

And when she came to our house it was frightening to look at her. She was black and blue. Her face was swollen. He was holding her by the hand. We had a guest house. They went into the guest house and I went to my room and I said to my wife I don't understand this kind of love.

I couldn't understand it. I couldn't do that.

I wouldn't even want to look at her. To love a woman who's been passed around and molested and beaten and drunken but for the next two or three days my wife and I watched in wonder. He puts hot presses and towels on her face and he weeps and he prays.

Heal her, Jesus. After a few days I said, Mary, are you ready to pray with us now? She said, Pastor Dave, I can't. There is no way Jesus can forgive me for what I've done. I have sinned against the Word of God.

I have been down in the depths of hell and I knew the Scripture. I was filled with the Holy Spirit. No one can forgive me. Jesus can't forgive me and she could not believe that James was forgiving her.

We went back the next day into the room and I said, Mary, Jesus still loves you. He loves you now more than he's ever loved you. She said, I can't pray. I don't know what to say. I said, just say Jesus.

Help me. Very slowly. She said, Jesus, help me. About the third time the tears started flowing. James put his arms around her and the Holy Spirit came and brought her back into the precious arms and comfort of Christ.

She accepted the love of Christ. I don't understand that kind of love. That's human love. And here's a converted drug addict capable of loving a woman who had sinned and prostituted against him. And he's just a human like me.

And he is loving something beyond human love. It was the love of Christ that was in him. And for the next week we watched them holding hands and walking down the road. They went back to their ministry.

And for the next years I think it was eight or ten more years they were blessed. Mary was blessed. Mary died. Just two years ago James went to be with the Lord. But their drug addicted daughter was saved.

A Call to Those Bound by Sin

And now she holds up the Word of God. And here you are tonight. Oh no, you may not have gone down so deep in sin. But there's something between you and Jesus right now. Some of you are thinking in your heart if you only know what I did if you only know how far I have fallen there are some here tonight thinking of suicide.

You're thinking of taking your life. It could be because of your marriage. It could be a young person. Because some of you already started experimenting with drugs. Some of you are smoking pot, marijuana.

Some of you are into other drugs. There are numbers here that are drinking. And you know that that's against the love of Christ. That's against everything that you once testified you were free from. And I'm telling you Jesus is still reaching out to you.

And He will never give up on you. And I want to tell you that He's not mad at anybody in this house. I was thinking today the first time I met Nikki Cruz I was preaching on the street and when I was finished there were some boys in red jackets that said Mao Mao and some of the people standing by me said be careful that's one of the worst gangs in New York.

They're dangerous. Watch out. I went over. I shook hands with Israel who was the president. I went to shake hands with Nikki. He slapped me and said go to hell. I said Nikki Jesus loves you. He spit and walked away.

Nicky Cruz and the Power of the Holy Spirit

You see Nikki Cruz heard his mother say something when he was just a little boy one of 17 children and he heard his mother say I didn't want Nikki I don't love Nikki and he said he made up his mind never again will I ever cry in my life and he was full of hate he was locked up in a cage for many hours day after day when he came to New York City from Puerto Rico he had a killer's mentality but I met him on the street and when I walked away I said Lord you sent me here to reach drug addicts and gang members but they're so hard they just slapped my face and they walk away but you see when I said Jesus loves you that stuck in his mind and every night he'd go to his room he couldn't sleep because this played over in his mind over and again Nikki Jesus loves you he said that crazy preacher has messed up my mind all day long all night I hear Jesus loves you.

I held a revival meeting for drug addicts and I invited the Mao Mao's to come and I sent a bus down to their community and the night that Nikki and the Mao Mao's came there were other gangs that already come gangs that hated each other and when the Mao Mao's started coming into the building security came to me said what are we going to do the Mao Mao's are here I said they're my guests show them the two front rows of seats they came in with their weapons I'll never forget that night I didn't know what to do there was a young lady that I had called to sing we had no piano no organ no instruments I had never preached to a revival for drug addicts.

Or alcoholics or gangs.

There was awful tension and I told the young lady go out and sing a song maybe that will quiet them down. They started making noise. They're saying how about a date go out with me. They were whistling.

She was so embarrassed she ran off the stage. I said what do I do now Lord he said just go out and I'll put words in your mouth. And I walked out from behind the stage. Nicky said hey we're here. I tried to preach.

They made fun of me. They mocked. It was confusion and in my heart I said Jesus you told me to come and win them to you. Where is the Holy Spirit. Where is the miracle. Where is the love of Christ. And I said I'm going to dismiss this service.

I'm going to go home and forget this ministry that I couldn't move. I just stood quietly and I'm reliving that moment. Now suddenly total silence just like right now you could hear a pin drop and the Holy Spirit said I'm here.

I'm here. And I knew the Spirit had come. He's the only one that can make the love of Jesus known. He's the only one that can manifest Jesus in and through us. I got so excited. I said I'm going to give an altar call an invitation.

I said you talk about being tough. You talk about not being afraid of anybody. I said if you're so tough get up come and give your heart to Jesus because He loves you. And Nicky heard those words again.

Jesus loves you. They don't like to cry and Nicky said he would never cry again in his life. They start sniffling and I knew God was getting a hold of his heart. Israel started sniffling and Nicky got up and he turned to the boys.

He turned to the gang. He said I'm going up there. So are you, get up. They all came. Nicky said here we are. I dismissed the service. After there were quite a few coming. I told everybody else service is over and I took them down to the basement in a big room and I knelt beside Nicky and Israel and the man who said he'd never cry again.

The tears began to flow and the first time in his life he felt love the love of Christ. And you know the rest of the story. Nicky became a famous worldwide evangelist. He has five daughters all married to preachers and he's preaching to hundreds of thousands around the world.

Christ’s Final Offer of Mercy

But I remember that night Jesus loves you. And you see if you can't accept that if you turn your back on that the Bible said there's no more sacrifice for sin. It's all over because that's the last offer I can give you.

I died for you. I shed my blood for you and I've sent those to tell you you are loved. I want to speak to those before I close. You're living in sin. You're not mocking Christ. You're not mad at Jesus.

But you said I've tried to quit but this has a hold on me. I am bound up and I need a miracle. I don't want to turn away from Jesus. I don't want to end up a hard hearted sinner. But I need a miracle tonight.

The Invitation to Return to Christ

Some in your heart or in your home. This is the last thing I want to say. I want to speak to the young people as a grandfather as a father. God knows what you're going through. He knows what nobody else knows.

He knows every secret. He's heard every phone call. He's seen everything you've ever done. And He's not judging you. He's saying come and accept my love and my forgiveness and pray for the Holy Spirit to come back into your heart and give you power and deliver you from that thing that has your heart.

It is a boyfriend a girlfriend who is not a Christian who is pulling you away from Jesus and seducing you to things that you know are wrong. Let the Holy Spirit convict you tonight. Let Him speak to your heart and restore you and give you a new power so that you can live for Christ.

The Altar Call for Healing and Surrender

Everybody stand please. I'm going to pray. And while I pray that same Holy Spirit that came into my meeting years ago the night those Mao Mao's were saved is the same Holy Spirit that's moving here right now.

That night there was no noise. Nobody was praying. It was just the Holy Spirit who came and He said I'm speaking to you and He's at your seat. He's right hovering over you and He's inviting you and He's saying to your heart I arranged this night.

You're not here by accident. This is your night and you feel the pull in your heart. Jesus is saying tonight get it right make it right. While I pray and the Spirit is talking to you. And you say brother David, pastor David would you pray for me.

Because I'm in a battle and I'm in a struggle. The devil is trying to destroy me. You see you may not even know Christ. Or maybe you knew Him and you've walked away. The Holy Spirit is saying come right.

Now while I'm praying you get out of your seat wherever you're at and come here to the front and we're going to pray for a miracle in your life. Please don't come just because the crowd is coming. Come because you say I'm going to get honest with Jesus.

I'm not going to live a double life anymore. It's all for Jesus or nothing. I'm talking about Christians today. I'm talking about those who go to church. But God is saying tonight settle the problem. Follow these that are coming now while I pray and I want you to move in close.

We're going to ask God for a miracle. I know the Holy Spirit is moving everywhere in this house. Move. When the Holy Spirit is tugging at your heart say yes Jesus I need a miracle tonight. Some of you husbands and wives need to walk down here together.

Christ wants to heal your marriage. He wants to change the situation. Join these that are coming. Holy Spirit I know that you have come. You are here now. In the meeting you have been here but now you're breathing on us.

You're inviting us come to Christ. Come back to the first love for Jesus. Come and bring your sin. Bring everything and come for healing. Do this miracle again tonight in Jesus name I ask the musicians to come if they will.

Please wherever you're at. Just come. You can fill up on the sides. I'd like you to move in as close as you can. Please and make room for the people that are coming. Aren't you glad Jesus loves you. Yes he does.

Just keep coming up in the balconies on the sides here in the main auditorium obey the Holy Spirit tonight.