Baptism of Love — David Wilkerson

My message tonight a baptism of love God. I need that unique unction that unique anointing that makes a sermon a message. That leaves something in the heart when they walk out the door. Something that people can eat and taste for the word becomes life and dwells among us.

God moved through this message. This is needed. It's vital. So speak to us now. Amen. You can speak with tongues and still be a bigot. You can boast about being full of the Holy Ghost, but still be exposed as a person full of prejudice envy and hatred.

The Hypocrisy of Hatred Among Believers

You can tell someone to their face that you love them and be telling the biggest lie you ever told your life. You can read stories in the newspaper about rap Brown and Stokey Carmichael and the black racist.

You can watch television News reports and shudder as you hear them pour out their torments of hatred and blasphemy and fill. You watch the National Democratic Convention and you hear the stories of them cursing the police calling them fascist and throwing human excrement in their faces and Something happens.

We wonder how These people could have become so bitter. Where is the source of their hatred and Sometimes our blood seems to boil. But you can be just as guilty as they are by harboring bitterness in your heart in your home.

Listening to gossip in the church and dirty slander on the job where you work. If you're not careful. You can hate the communists so much that you learn to despise even the poor lost souls who are doomed behind the Iron Curtain.

Now friends, it's one thing to hate communism. It's another thing to hate the communists who have souls that could die and go to hell without Christ. Now I love the communist soul, but I hate communism.

There is the difference you can break God's commandment and Despise and ridicule the authorities that God has ordained that includes the president of the United States. You can make disparaging remarks about those in authority and God says that that is not right that is not love.

You can go to a polling booth you can pull the levers and vote for the candidate of your choice and Carry into that polling booth a heart bursting with hatred for some politician that you don't like. In fact, you can sit in your front room and call them all kinds of names and get your blood pressure up over the boiling point.

You can smile while you sit in your church pew and look like a loving little kewpie doll and Put on an act like you love all your brothers and sisters, but that ain't necessarily so. You can carry a grudge against Sunday school teachers or against the deacon or the pastor.

You can accuse the deacons of disloyalty the associate pastors of laziness Secretaries for worldliness and criticize the way the church is run and how the pastor conducts his meetings. You can say the church is dead or it's got too much life.

And if you tried to please everybody you couldn't please anybody or worse yet. You can be so sure of yourself that you've got all the truth and all the knowledge and you see you're not going to study.

Anymore because the Holy Ghost is going to teach you you've learned it all and so in your boastful way you talk about your liberty from bondage and legalism and Become so dignified and so precise that you're able to look down the end of your nose at the little holy roller group down the road who sing like Killbillies and clap their hands like thunder and dress like Salvation Army lassies.

No, there's nothing wrong with dressing like a Salvation Army lassie. Or you can be at the other extreme vice-versa. You can be a member of that big fancy church. Or rather of that little church down by the railroad track.

You could be a member of that small group and you look at that church and the people going in it and you can accuse Them of worldliness. You can talk about their lipstick. You can talk about their earrings and their short dresses and you can even say isn't it terrible their choir even sings in robes.

When I was a boy in my dad's church. That was the very height of worldliness that a choir should ever sing in robes. I've heard I've heard sermon after sermons about the mark of the beast wearing robes.

The Baptism of the Holy Ghost as Love

You can talk about love you can sing about it and still not have it. Because we're not to love in word or in deed or in song or rather in mouth, but we're to love indeed and in truth. Now what is the truth about love?

Let's look into it. I Say that love is the most important evidence of the baptism of the Holy Ghost the most important. I Have said it once if I've said it once I've said it a thousand times. The baptism of the Holy Ghost is a baptism of love.

The baptism of the Holy Ghost is a baptism of love. God actually is Instructing the wild tongue in the knowledge of love. He's taking the hatred out of the heart by way of the tongue for out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaketh.

Now the moment you stand up and testify to the world that you've received the baptism of the Holy Ghost. You say I've been filled with the baptism of the Holy Ghost have been baptized. Then you must also be able to quote Isaiah 50 verse 4.

The Lord Hath now given me the tongue of the learned that I should know how to speak a word in season to him. That is weary. He waketh me morning by morning. He waketh mine ear to hear as the learned.

Once you've received the baptism of the Holy Ghost, you should know what it's like to be awakened by the Holy Spirit. You should know what it's like to be instructed in the ways of knowledge in calling a person in need.

Spreading a word of love here and there how easy it seems to be for some quote spirit filled end of quote. Christians who are able to lash out with tongues of bitterness and strife look here and look there and like a machine gun their tongues mow down all the Opposition and everything that they don't like or that which they deem to be ungodly or unnecessary.

How easy it is for some spirit-filled Christians to have a holier-than-thou attitude. How much disgrace has been brought upon the charismatic experience through some people who have never understood this?

Marvelous truth of the baptism of the Holy Ghost being a baptism of love. I Would be awakened morning by morning. He waketh mine ear to hear as the learned. Now which is more pleasing to the Lord to use that gifted tongue that is now baptized only to edify a man's own soul or to dedicate that tongue to seeking out weary friends and edifying them in the spirit and All friends if there was ever a need today for people who knew how to say the right word at the right time.

You'd be surprised I'll just sometimes just one single word of encouragement means so much to a man. I remember up minister a friend of mine recently going through a terrible time. His church had persecuted him and and he was having personal problems in his family and in his home.

And all I did was put a hand on his shoulder and say pastor. I'm still your friend and no matter what happens You'll always be a friend. He broke down began to weep. It was the only word of encouragement he'd had and he moved on to victory.

God brought him through on that word of encouragement. Seldom do we go to the pastor when he pours his heart out and just take him by the hand warmly and say Pastor that was a message from God. I'm praying for you.

I'm standing with you. It's all he knows that. Well, that's just the reason you don't tell your wife your lover sir, because you say well she should know it. Go to that individual the Sunday school teacher.

I'm talking about spreading that love that God fills us with. Sadly too many baptized tongues have been used to stir up strife. Bible says Proverbs 10 12 hatred stirs up strife. But love covereth all sins.

I was never able to understand that verse until last night. In fact early this morning in prayer God began to speak very clearly to me about this verse if you look at it at face value. This verse seems to be saying that love covers all sins.

In other words love would dismiss all the wrongdoing. That's not what it means at all. Interpreted this means love gets over all sin. It gets over things. It doesn't hold the grudge. Love is able to fly above it.

Love is able to get through. Love is there when lust is conceived and love is still there when it brings forth death. Now I covered 3 ,000 miles today to get here. I covered 3 ,000 measured surface miles.

Now, how did I cover those miles. I flew over them. I rose above them. I got here in five hours. I Covered 3 ,000 miles. This is really the interpretation of this verse. That love gets over sin. It mounts up like wings of an eagle.

It allows no stumbling blocks to hinder it. No grudges to ground it and no winds of adversity to stop it. Love is not stopped by what people say or do. Love keeps on going. I Prejudiced To sit in my meetings anywhere near a black man.

Repentance from Racial Prejudice

In fact in Johannesburg in the stadium meetings there the blacks had to sit in a special stand. Outside a fence. They weren't even allowed inside the fence and it bothered me. I tried to preach and before I preached one night I said pastor what would happen tonight if I'd opened that gate over there and that all the blacks come in and sit with us really white people.

He said mr. Wilkerson 80 of your crowd would leave and 80 of the pulpit would leave to. Can imagine my surprise when we got at the airport and one of the ministers who'd invited us to South Africa as well as informed Us that the black man in Africa South Africa didn't even have a soul.

Yes. And you know that same brand of childishness is still Existing in America today. If you know something the most prejudiced in Alabama, Southern, Texas, Tennessee are Southern Baptists Pentecostals and other Protestants who don't even allow a black man to sit in their church.

Can you imagine the hypocrisy of can you imagine why the hippies run out on our religion? You don't wonder why they walk out on us and say it's phony. Because we sit in our church and we sing give me that all-time religion makes me love everybody.

Except the blacks come in bring them in there. So they're not black.

Send out the lifeline. Just watch who gets it. Yeah.

You see the utter hypocrisy. None of our songs make sense. None of our worship makes sense at all if we carry hypocrisy. And all my friends this political Program or what do you call this campaign that we've got now it is pregnant with all kinds of racism and talk about violence and This is going to be one of the most hotly contested campaigns of all times.

But I want you to know that I personally believe and I breathe the scripture backs me up. But it's impossible for a spirit filled Christian to carry any prejudice through any election. I don't care who you're for.

I don't care if you're for Wallace. I don't care if you're for. I was gonna say Truman for Humphrey. You see that sign the other day. They said keep America Humphrey. Now that doesn't tell you anything at all about my political leanings.

All I'm saying is that this is a time my brother sister We need to pray for this election and keep prejudice out of our heart and ask God for his divine will for this nation. And I believe it's impossible for you to maintain a true relationship a warm Godly relationship with your heavenly father and still carry prejudice of any kind.

Let me have a little a man out of that what furthermore Christians charismatic Christians are supposed to love the Jews the Japs the Italians the Polacks the hippies. The masses of red China Czechoslovakia and even in Russia.

That's right. How what if it was for me to sit in Helsinki? There was a man who was a car dealer a good Christian man. Who'd read my book in the Finnish language and he had a sauna in his home a Finnish song.

And they wanted me to try a sauna bath. And I'll tell you it how I lived through it. I don't know. They stuck me in this little thing and burned me up and then he took me out and threw me into snow and then put me back in that thing and I was pleading the blood the whole time.

They kept telling me you'll feel better. You'll feel better. You'll feel better. Well, I kept feeling worse. But after the sauna We were having a nice Finnish lunch. And he began to tell us about His trips to Moscow.

He sold Moskovich automobiles the Moskovich one beautiful pile of junk. I Mean that sincerely he said that himself. But he would go to Moscow and he smuggled my books into Leningrad in Moscow. And he told me of people who were worshiping the Lord in Russia.

He said there are literally thousands of Christians that are serving the Lord and saved and filled with the Holy Spirit. And We talk about communism friends and often we forget that behind this communist front that there are literally Thousands of young people who are an adult over there who need our prayers our love and our compassion.

And I say maintain your strong stand. My brother sister gets communism. But don't forget God has called upon us to love the souls of the lost there Behind the Iron Curtain. Secondly love makes you go out of your way.

Love That Gives Without Expecting Return

Love helps you to stick your neck out for others. Paul speaking of Priscilla and Aquila said of them who have for my life laid down their own necks. Under whom I give thanks Romans 16 for. Now Paul the Apostle knew something of that love that was willing to give without getting anything in return.

Because speaking to the Corinthians Paul said. And I will very gladly spend and be spent for you. Though the more abundantly I love you the less I be loved. No friends. Let's start with you dear wife.

Can you say that in your home? When you honestly have to look yourself in the mirror and say my husband no longer deeply loves me. He's lost his first love. Can you say that when you feel that others around you your innermost circle of loved ones have lost their love for you.

Can you say I will gladly spend and be spent for you though the more abundantly. I love you the less I be loved. I Can't understand that kind of human love. We've seen it a team challenge for the past 10 years.

I'll take a drug out again. He's been in jail, maybe 10 15 times. And he's never home but once every five or six months and sometimes he's gone two years at a time. But he's got a little wife who lives on relief and She's faithful to him.

She waits year after year hoping against hope that someday somehow a miracle will happen. I've seen them sit in my office and cry like little babies. She said I've waited for him for 10 years. She'll go to jail every time.

He's in jail every day. She's there. She's there to talk to him and comfort him and she'll maintain that love. He'll abuse her. He'll cheat on her. He'll curse her. He'll beat her and yet she'll stand there faithful little Puerto Rican girl.

Little Negro girl or little white girl just waiting for that man to straighten out. We friends is someone human without the real love of Jesus Christ. Can so so much love without getting anything in return.

I've often thought how much more should Christians give out to their love in spite of the fact that people grudge you. It's by the fact that people talk about you or misuse you or mishandle you to love.

Even though you're despitefully used without getting anything in return. I love you, even though the more I love you the less I be loved. That's the baptism of the Holy Ghost. Now answer this when certain individuals really hurt you and say and do unloving things.

What kind of reaction do you have you still spend your love on them or you take it back? The Lord himself Revealed a great truth. He said that love is better when given than when received. Love is much tastier.

It's much better to give it than to receive it. I've heard saying that love is give-and-take. Not according to the scripture love is a process of giving with no concern about Receiving. Now you young couples that want to know about real love if each individual Determined in his own mind to get nothing back, but just to give.

Imagine what kind of love we would have in our homes. I have showed you all things how that laboring. You ought to support the weak and to remember the words of the Lord Jesus how he said. Listen the words of our master.

It is more blessed to give than to receive. Charismatic Christians are commanded to love even their enemies. Love your enemies bless them that curse you now. This is hard to take friends, but you better take it.

It's his word do good to them that hate you and pray for them, which despitefully use you and persecute you. Think of that one person in your life Who has misused you and persecuted you and troubled you.

Think of the one person you may consider an enemy the Bible says love them bless them. Love your enemies. I want to move on because Isn't it really true that we would rather rejoice? When we seem to be justified and our enemy falls the Bible said rejoice not.

When thine enemy falleth and let not thine heart be glad when he stumbles. But what happens in your mind and in your heart and in your spirit as a baptized person when somebody Falls and stumbles too often.

It goes like this. Well, I could have told you that If they would have just as I knew that I expected it. What do you expect and reaping just what they sold? And they're having back then it wouldn't have happened.

You See that's what you get. If you heard that kind of language, we've all used it. The Bible said rejoice not when thine enemy stumbleth rejoice not when they fall. Well, if you're going to follow that through to the logical conclusion That means that even when government officials politicians that you despise fall you're not to rejoice in it.

You're not to gloat over these things. They take it to the Lord in prayer and say Lord Let me give me a heart of compassion to give you a heart of love. Let me tell you something. I've disagreed many times with some of the policies of mr. Lyndon Baines Johnson.

But I'll tell you something. When I found out this man's popularity went down to 28 and I thought of this man carrying the weight and the burden of a nation on his back and Having to pick up the newspapers and read of all the criticism in spite of all the mistakes.

I could have nothing but Compassion and pity in my heart and I wonder sometimes friends if we as charismatic Christians think that it's all right To spend our bitterness or our hatred not so much our hatred but our ill feeling as long as we don't do it toward a Christian brother that we can spend any kind of Emotion as long as it's not among our own brother and sister.

This says all our enemies. Holy Ghost love will take you out of your way to be kind to your enemies. Therefore if thine enemy hunger feed him if he's thirsty give him drink for in so doing thou shall heap coals of fire on his head ours.

Angelo and the Power of Apologetic Love

Recalling this evening a number of years ago having to deal with a young lady one of my workers. She Found it convenient to break our rules and counsel with the boys. Now we have a rule at teen challenge the girls work with the girls and the boys of the boys and every time Somebody breaks that rule.

There's always been trouble and thank God we've had very little of only three or four cases and it's been tragic. We had one girl run off with a Drug addict at one time. She broke that rule. She had an illegitimate child with him.

He went to jail for murder and that little child was taken from her and I saw her a few years ago. She was working for the Salvation Army in New York. It was totally cold in her heart and She was afraid ashamed to even look me in the face.

Another preacher's daughter a minister's daughter broke that rule. Went out with the drug addict fell in love with him broke the rule and they've both been living a life of hell and misery ever since but this young lady was sneaking out the back porch against all the rules and She was counseling with this boy.

He would tell her all her troubles and this boy was a con artist. This boy was there just to to play on our emotions. He had never really surrendered his heart to the Lord. He was still possessed with the enemy.

This boy had ruined numbers of young ladies and made prostitutes out and to support his habit. Boy's name was Angelo. One day she came to me and said mr. Wilkson, I'm in love with Angelo. I want to marry him.

It's frightened me. I Called her in my office. I said now look Betty I've told you once. I've told you twice. I've told you over and over again that we don't allow you to talk to any of the boys here.

You're supposed to stick with the girls and I told you there'd be trouble. That boy is really unconverted. I'm gonna make him leave this center. That boy is still full of the devil. He's just going to get you make a prostitute out of you and damn your soul.

I got on the telephone called her mother in Virginia and I told her the story and I said I wanted to come home tonight. I had the secretary called the bus company. She was to leave that night at 6 o 'clock.

I gave her the bus fare. She had her bags packed. I'd already asked Angelo to leave he had left an hour. So before I thought she went home. Imagine how surprised I was a week or two later when one of my associates came and said, mr Wilkerson, you know that Betty is living in a hotel just two blocks from the center and Angelo's visiting her in her hotel rooms.

I Got the name. I got the number of the room and The associate went with me. We knocked on the door and nobody answered for about five minutes. I could hear somebody scurrying around inside. And then in about five minutes she came to the door and opened it sheepishly.

Her face was burning red. She said what do you want? Mr. Wilkerson? I said I thought I told you to go home. She said well, you're not my boss anymore I said well I want to come in and I pushed my way in with my associate and I said is Angelo visiting you she said Oh, no.

No, I said is he in the apartment right now? She said no. And I went into the bedroom and I looked in the closet and I looked behind the chair and I looked everywhere. I went all over the apartment looked everywhere except under the bed.

I.

Shouldn't I. Went into the living room.

Satisfied that he wasn't there and I sat down for the next 15 minutes and I told her what I thought. I said this boy is full of the devil. This boy's gonna make a prostitute out of you. This boy has he can't possibly love you because you're unequally yoked together with an unbeliever.

It's unscriptural. It'll never work and I said that boy is no good yet until Christ can get a hold of him it is just no hope for you and I noticed my associate trying to get my attention. He was shaking his hand and and I couldn't understand and Then he motioned for me and I walked over to a door.

I looked in the bedroom there I saw two feet sticking out under the bed. I Said okay Angelo. I know you're here now you can come out. He came out all right his arms wailing and he was personally jumped on me and we're gonna beat me up and he got me down.

Fortunately, I had my associate with me. My associate pinned him up against the fireplace there and put his hands behind him with his hands behind him. I felt pretty strong and say I went over to him.

I jumped up and Shaked the dust off. I said to myself bless God. I'm a man of God. Nobody touches me. Nobody gets away with that. Nobody touches God's anointed. I'm God's man, and he's gonna know it. And I went over to him and stuck a finger right on his chest.

It was easy. His hands were pinned behind his back. I Said look Angelo the Bible says touch not mine anointed do my prophets no harm. And I'm God's anointed if you got away with this my life wouldn't be safe anywhere on the street.

He said look, I know where you walk on the street and one night. I'm gonna find you put a knife in your back. And I said look nobody talks to me like that. I said Nobody nobody talks to me like that. I Like to think I was righteously indignant, but I just plain old man I'll walk Huffing and puffing back to the center.

I said Joey's not going to get away with it. I'm going to get a hold of God and sent judgment on him. I went back to my room into my office and I knelt down and I put my cause before the Lord tears rolled down my cheeks.

Poor little David stood there before his mighty God and said now Lord. You know I've given my life for these drug addicts and You know how he did me wrong now. He could have killed me, and he's threatened to kill me Lord, and you know that I Can't stand for anybody trying to threaten me or my life won't be safer on the street put him on his back Lord.

Put him down put him down put him on his back deal with him God get him. All God's prophet was all stirred up. I was zealous over a righteous cause after all I was right. Oh friends. I was right believe me.

I was right suddenly Thought burst in my through my subconscious. What do you want me to do. David call fire down out of heaven and burn him up, and then I remembered the disciples Threatening to call fire down out of heaven and the Lord said I came not to destroy men's lives.

But to save them the Lord said David. I called you to New York to show compassion and love no matter what they do. I came. I called you to New York to save these boys and not to destroy them and When I saw it, and I knew it was the Holy Ghost talking to me.

It was then in that room that God showed me that the baptism of the Holy Ghost is a baptism of love. That well that's springing up inside of you is a well of love that springs up and the Bible said it cast out all fear.

Perfect love his Holy Ghost love is perfect love and when it flows up through you it cast out your fear. It cast out the fear of all those around you and that is the well of living water. That springs up and I raised my hands and said Oh God forgive me fill my heart with love for that boy.

Help me to love Angela save him or don't let it be lost in my mind. I can picture just a lost little drug addict had been led astray by the devil and I was on my way. Now or two later I had to leave for the airport to go to Dallas, Texas for a crusade.

Nicky drove me to the airport and I was telling Nicky to heard about it. He said don't worry. I got the boys ready and I said well, thank you. That's all right. We don't need him and All the way down to Texas and do the crusade and back on the plane.

God filled my heart with love for that boy. Oh. It was just bubbling in me a love for that boy. I couldn't wait to get back. Nicky met me at the airport. He's today. Mr. Wilson. You got company waiting for you backyard of the center.

I said Angelo. He said yeah. He said don't worry. I got the boys there. Nicky's always got his boys there. So that's all right. Nicky said I I need to see him. I got out of the car and there was sitting in the back porch on the steps his hand On his head and he was he was scowling at me.

I knew he couldn't wait to get a fist in my face and a shim knife in my stomach. But by now, I didn't have any fear. You see perfect love cast out all fear. You see the fear of the Lord's only a beginning of wisdom.

But the maturity of wisdom is perfect love that cast out that fear and so There was no fear now. I said look answer before you say Nick. What else I got to talk to you a minute. And I was walking through the kitchen and and Nicky pointed two boys by the door at my office got his boys there.

Walked in and he sat down and he flopped down a chair beside my said Angelo. I said before you say or do anything I just want you to know that God's put love in my heart for you. I said now I want to apologize.

I said I wanted to send God's judgment on you. And I said, I think I could have done it, but God showed me that wasn't the reason I said I just want you to know that I'm sorry for my attitude. I said before you do anything just shake hands with me and tell me you forgive me.

I Reached out to take his hand and he looked at it and then turned away. He looked at me again and that kid flopped down in his chair and then he turned and knelt and Broke and began to sob like a little baby.

And I got up. No, I've gone back to my chair and I got up and walked over there and I stood over Angelo as He was just sobbing his heart. I just crying like a bit like like he was dying. And I looked at that little mass that poor little lost sheep.

Well, I thought what would have happened Olga and it shuddered a friend. I can still feel what happened in me. When I said to myself, what would have happened if I had a walk-in? Here's God's big man of the hour.

God's man of faith and power and said Angelo received the judgment of Almighty God. Now God may have honored that request for me. I'll tell you there was. There was something rise up in my heart. Because that boy was sick all along that boy just needed a bit of love.

Love Must Be Put Into Action

You see love takes you out of the way. On another occasion. I remember one of the girls one of our workers coming to me and said, mr Wilkerson, you've got to pray for me. I've lost all my love. She said I came she'd come from from the Midwest from a farm.

She said when I first came to teen challenge, I was so full of love I used to cry and weep and walk the streets, but I feel so cold. I just feel so cool I had three or four tell me that after the the first service back here in the room.

This was pray for me. I've lost my love. I've lost my love and She said two weeks. He said for two weeks. I've been fasting and praying in the chapel. God. Give me back my first love. I.

Said I.

Want you to quit praying? I want you to quit crying wipe your tears. And I said here's an address and I gave her an address. On the fourth floor an apartment house on 102nd Street up in Harlem. I said go knock on the door and when you're done there I should go right down that whole apartment all four floors just knocking on doors and Find out what kind of need in the house.

If they need the dishes done do the dishes whatever it is. Get in that house and witness for Jesus. She said all right. She took another girl with her seven hours later. She came back bubbling over. She said mr. Wilkins, I know now.

I know now what you were doing. She said now I see it. She said I hadn't lost it. She said it was there all the time. I just needed some victims to put it out on. I just needed somebody to love All my friends.

It's not a matter of losing it as much as being in a position where there are those around you that need it to bring It out of you. And so you're sitting around here worried about losing your love your first love.

And all you got to do is get up and walk out and find somebody that needs some love. You'll find you got more you can.

Handle. Oh, yes, love. A baptism a baptism of love.

Perfect Love Casts Out Fear

Love overpowers fear first. John 418. There's no fear in love for perfect love cast without fear because fear hath torment. He that feareth is not made perfect in love. Now friends. If you have fear and anxiety and torment in your spirit, you better check your love.

Something's missing because love cast without fear. Now I say that the baptism of Holy Ghost is a mighty Rushing wind of love that sent to sweep out and cast out all your fear. That's why God has given the Holy Ghost a mighty rushing with to clear the decks of all the fears and the anxiety.

You don't need a trip to the psychiatrist. You just need to let the baptism of the Holy Ghost Demonstrate for you through the power of his spirit how he can sweep these things out of your life. If you exercise that love that He's given you you've got to see the importance of this truth.

So your baptism is in vain. That fountain that springs up is that fountain of love? Now there's evidence of the baptism of the Holy Ghost and there's a test of the baptism and love is that test. Love is above the gift of tongues.