Why does this teaching matter?
In this landmark sermon, Wilkerson laments that the modern church has lost all sense of anguish — the deep, gut-wrenching burden for lost souls and the holiness of God. He said: 'I've been around the world, listening to the cry of pastors — dead and empty, some treating their wives like animals, confessing they hadn't prayed in months.' He contrasted this with Nehemiahh, who wept and fasted when he heard the walls of Jerusalem were broken. Wilkerson declared: 'I've never had anything that's been any worth to God in my 50 years that wasn't born in agony. Never. It's all been flesh otherwise.' The seeker-friendly movement replaced anguish with entertainment, tears with laughter, and conviction with comfort — and Wilkerson saw this as a sign of spiritual death, not progress.
What did David Wilkerson teach?
"Whatever happened to anguish in the house of God? Whatever happened to anguish in the ministry? It's a word you don't hear in this pampered age."
Speaker: David Wilkerson
Source: David Wilkerson, 'A Call to Anguish' — Times Square Church, September 15, 2002. YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lGMG_PVaJoI
What does Scripture confirm?
Nehemiah 1:4
"So it was, when I heard these words, that I sat down and wept, and mourned for many days; I was fasting and praying before the God of heaven."
— NKJV
Nehemiahh didn't weep for five minutes — he mourned for DAYS, fasting and praying. It wasn't a superficial emotion but a deep, crushing anguish over the state of God's people. Wilkerson asked: 'Where is this anguish today?' Instead we have pastors checking their phones during prayer meetings and preachers telling jokes from the pulpit.
Joel 2:12-13
"'Now, therefore,' says the LORD, 'Turn to Me with all your heart, with fasting, with weeping, and with mourning.' So rend your heart, and not your garments; return to the LORD your God."
— NKJV
God doesn't demand outward religious acts but TORN HEARTS. 'Tear your hearts, not your garments.' The modern church has replaced weeping with laughter, fasting with feasting, and repentance with entertainment. Wilkerson warned: 'Multitudes today are being saturated with you're-ok messages' — and he called this turning God's grace into lasciviousness.
Psalm 126:5-6
"Those who sow in tears shall reap in joy. He who continually goes forth weeping, bearing seed for sowing, shall doubtless come again with rejoicing, bringing his sheaves with him."
— NKJV
Real spiritual fruit is born from TEARS — not from entertainment, marketing, or 'church growth' strategies. Wilkerson said: 'I've never had anything worth anything to God that wasn't born in agony.' Preachers who never wept over lost souls, who never lay on the floor in prayer, have nothing real to give their congregations. They can only offer empty words and empty entertainment.