The Rest of God

[Bishop Otha Bell]

“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.