Embracing the Challenge

The Holy Spirit resides in the heart of every believer, and we have been dispatched by God and empowered by the Spirit to do the work of bringing healing and restoration through Jesus. Following 40 days in the wilderness, Jesus endured temptation and returned to Galilee, specifically to Nazareth, "in the power of the Spirit," the Bible says in Luke 4. The chapter also contains these words:
18 "The Spirit of the Lord is upon Me, Because He has anointed Me To preach the gospel to the poor; He has sent Me to heal the brokenhearted, To proclaim liberty to the captives And recovery of sight to the blind, To set at liberty those who are oppressed;
19 To proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord."
20 Then He closed the book, and gave it back to the attendant and sat down. And the eyes of all who were in the synagogue were fixed on Him.
21 And He began to say to them, "Today this Scripture is fulfilled in your hearing."

A home in Brooklyn, in New York City, was designed in 1919, according to The Christian Post, for a Clara Van Vleck - it was described as a "stately" home.  

In was sold in 1960 to a man who had sensed a call of God to move to New York City. The article says that man, David Wilkerson, "said he felt called by God to come to New York City to minister to gangs after seeing a photograph of seven teenage gang members in Life magazine. The teenagers were being prosecuted for the murder of a crippled boy named Michael Farmer. All but one of the teenagers were convicted."  Wilkerson, who was a preacher, asked to speak with the teens - the judge sent him away. 

Wilkerson departed the city, but returned to launch a ministry called Teen Challenge. The house became the headquarters of that ministry.  Wilkerson went on to write a famous book that was made into a movie called, The Cross and the Switchblade.

The Christian Post article notes:

Nearly 70 years later, there are now 1,400 Teen Challenge centers around the world with more than 35,000 beds for individuals seeking “freedom from addiction and other life controlling issues” through the power of faith in Jesus Christ.

And inside the building where the first one was started, Wilkerson’s vision to save addicts with the Gospel is still thriving as the Brooklyn Adult & Teen Challenge with a graduate of the ministry at its helm.

The building was recently renovated, and the Teen Challenge center just moved back in a few months ago.  The executive director of that ministry in Brooklyn is Paul Burke.  The article states:

As a 2009 graduate of the program who struggled with 18 years of addiction before getting his life together, Burke is a poster child for the program’s success, but he embraces it with grace and temperance. He is also extremely grateful for the life God has given him. He is a married father whose wife is also a graduate of Teen Challenge.

“I always tell people that I'm still in the program,” he said when asked how he managed to stay grounded as a former addict inside his office that used to be Wilkerson’s apartment.

The attitude of dependence the Burke displays can be instructive for all of us - he says, "I struggled for 18 years on and off. Now, I'm at 17 years of sobriety. So, 35 years around addiction, I know how deadly it is. I'm not fearful of addiction, but I respect that if I don't stay committed to my devotional life with the Lord, if I don't stay committed to growing and learning and still being teachable, there's nobody that is beyond falling or failure again..."

The Christian Post says that Burke...

...explained that the home, which has 58 beds, dedicates more than half of them to men who commit to the one-year addiction recovery program free of charge. It's a regimented deal in which participants learn how to do life better with regular prayer, Bible study, and church attendance. Some 60% of participants fail to complete the program but those who do, said Burke, usually find success in overcoming their addiction.

Even though David Wilkerson may have suffered a setback early in his ministry, he did not allow that to permanently deter him - as the article pointed out, Wilkerson believed that freedom from drug addiction was possible through Christ.  He pursued his calling with vigor.  He also pastored Times Square Church in New York City.  His story can remind us of the faithfulness of God to guide our steps as we respond to His direction.  If we desire to walk in obedience, He gives us the power to fulfill His call.

We can also recognize that the ways of the Word are superior to the ways of the world.  Biblically-based substance abuse programs offer the recipient the power to change - through the inner change of the born-again experience and the presence of the Spirit, enabling former addicts to walk in triumph over the addictions.  

Whether its substance abuse or any number of types of sinful behavior - manifestations of the flesh - God is present in the hearts of the believer, and adherence to His Word and yieldedness to the Spirit can produce fruit to God's glory.  We can overcome the sins in our lives because Jesus has overcome sin's power.  We can try to change in our own strength, but we need the superior power of the indwelling Holy Spirit to see true transformation occur.