CORRECTLY HEARING THE VOICE OF GOD by David Wilkerson

When the voice of God is not heard, men run and labor for Him without a mandate—they are on their own. I have been there: doing good things, taking on challenges, believing fully that I was standing up against the worker of iniquity. And I wound up thousands of dollars in debt, weary and disillusioned, crying for help at every turn. I had not been sent by God but I didn’t understand. I was broken, burdened, willing to give up so much; it was not born out of prayer—it was human compassion.

But then I said, “No more, Lord! Not a step more unless You command it. Not a move until Your voice is heard!” And whatever money was needed was there because God supports what He originates. It is joy with no burden, peace with no begging. The begging in ministries today is a result of men doing good things without being sent by God’s voice. Their own desires are being mistaken for God’s bidding.

Jesus would not make a move unless He heard from heaven. “I speak to the world those things which I have heard of him. . . . I do nothing of myself; but as my Father hath taught me” (John 8:26, 28). “The Father which sent me, he gave me a commandment, what I should say, and what I should speak. . . . Whatsoever I speak therefore, even as the Father said unto me, so I speak” (John 12:49-50).

Here are four safeguards for correctly hearing the voice of God:

1. His voice always brings you to Jesus and exposes all sin and lust. John heard His voice and said, “When I saw him, I fell at his feet” (Revelation 1:17).
2. His presence (or countenance) always accompanies His voice. You will be overwhelmed and overjoyed by the glory of His presence.
3. His voice will give you scriptural assurance. The Holy Spirit will lead you to confirmation in His Word. Everything God speaks must line up with Scripture at every point.
4. Whatever He speaks will stand before the judgment seat of Christ in its purity and selflessness.

THE SCHOOL OF THE HOLY GHOST by David Wilkerson

Why did things go wrong for David? Because he was in the school of the Holy Ghost! God was producing character in him—and only trouble can bring it forth. There were to be no more Sauls, undisciplined and untrained by a lack of trials. Saul started out right but soon wilted because he was never tested. God now sought a man He could trust, a man with whom He could build an enduring house.

There was never a moment the Holy Spirit was not with David. God could have sent angels; He could have spoken a word; He could have sent a heavenly host to keep David out of trouble. Instead, He permitted it all so that David would come to the end of himself and throw himself completely on the Lord. We would have had none of those great psalms of trust and faith had David not been tested.

Some of you are at Ziklag with David—or you are headed there! In 1 Samuel chapter 30, the story is told of how the Amalekites had overtaken God’s people, devastating lives and property. David was in great distress, as his own people spoke of stoning him because they blamed him for the disaster. “But David encouraged himself in the Lord his God” (1 Samuel 30:6). As he turned to the Lord (verse 8), he was assured that all that was lost would be restored to him. In verse 19, we see the final outcome: “David recovered all.”

David got back his family and his goods, but there was so much more that was restored to him. Most important was that he regained his confidence in God, his assurance that God was still with him. The power of his anointing was renewed, along with a new hatred for the enemy. On that day David got his diploma! He had learned to inquire of the Lord and to encourage himself in the Lord. From that day on, he grew stronger and stronger—and prevailed.

WAR IN MY MEMBERS?

Last night I fornicated. I came home feeling very convicted. I cried before God from the depth of my heart. I repented with my whole heart. i sought redemption in the blood of Jesus. I woke up this morning, went to town, saw ladies dressed licentiously and I felt the urge to go back into sin. I say to myself what!!!! why am I my still feeling the pull of sin? Did I not repent? Have the demons of immorality resurfaced? Did God not forgive me? Gradually I felt the power of sin in my members prevailing. It looked like a lost battle. Thoughts started running through my mind. My imaginations started going wild. I cried out to God but it seemed I couldn't overcome the urges. Am I paying for the sin I committed?This is a likely scenario for those who are under the power of sin. They mean it, they genuinely confessed and repented but the next moment temptation comes their way they feel all is lost. They feel they were not sincere.

Romans 7:22-2322For I delight in the law of God after the inward man:

23 But I see another law in my members, warring against the law of my mind, and bringing me into captivity to the law of sin which is in my members.

Galatians 5; 17For the flesh lusteth against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh: and these are contrary the one to the other: so that ye cannot do the things that ye would.

The scripture doesn't mention demons here or demonic influence. I believe in demonic oppression of a soul especially in situations where one is strongly under the influence of sin, has lost self control. This war in our members is a day to day situation we face. If I asked you if you feel the pull of sin you will definitely answer in the affirmative. If I asked further do you desire to worship God in liberty of soul and spirit you will give me the same response. So here, there is a soul who longs to live right before God, who hates his sin, who hates the pull of sin but is under the bondage of it. He is conscious of the law at work in his. It is all about consciousness. He feels it, he feels the inclination, his flesh says so.Further, if I mentioned if you are aware you have been liberated from sin your jaws might go ajar. You will ask how? Well it is written in the bible.

Romans 8;2For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus hath made me free from the law of sin and death.

It may look unreal to you right. Then why am I still under the bondage of sin? Why do I still feel the pull of sin you will ask? Like I said before, knowledge comes with consciousness. I believe we all battle with this at some point in our lives. The pull of sin looks real to us more than our liberty. We feel we are indebted to our flesh. The law of the Spirit of life in Christ works this way. You believed in the sin of law and death. You felt its pull. The law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus is also another law. The law of the Spirit is lived by faith. We don't see it. We may not feel it but we believe it because God said so. As we believe, we yield to that law. Day after day it becomes real to us. Once in a while our flesh may drag us. We should remember our fallen nature which was crucified with Christ is an enemy. It's hungry, it's destructive. If the conditions are met it's craving willincrease in us. So we then every day we live with this consciousness of our found liberty, we confess it.

Secondly, we should understand the law that wars in our members is not spiritually friendly. It's like the world and the kingdom of God. Whatever God does to the world it will not be kingdom friendly. The Son of God did not come to give aid to the Adamic nature. He came to create a people of His own brand. No matter what we do to our flesh, it wouldn't improve. So now it's a war between our human spirit which is supposed to be chaired by God's Spirit against the laws of our members which comes from the Adamic nature. The one whom we yield to rules. If sin comes knocking and we lean on the power of self to overcome, we will fall again. We may wonder why? We may tell God " God, you know I did all in my capacity to stand but I just couldn't resist that temptation". Like Apostle Paul said, nothing good dwells in the flesh. It's strength, might and success is just not enough to aid us to overcome. After man's fall, no attempt of man to overcome sin on his own prevailed. The flesh is weak so is it's will power.

If we live each day with this consciousness that the Spirit of God gives us the inner strength to resist and overcome sin despite all our flesh tells us at that moment we will live a victorious life. The war will go on and on till rapture. Day in day out we will be presented with a choice. A person you perceive not to be in your class abuses you verbally. Naturally you feel the pull to give it back to him. Within, a gentle voice calms you down advising you not to say anything. It may not make sense to you. You may feel less human at that moment but as you yield to The Spirit of God, you are strengthened. You grow in grace and you overcome by the day as you learn to yield to Him. Most of the sins we fall to are as a result of desiring our own way. The Spirit of God never leaves us in trying moments. He is always there to give us direction and comfort. He is always there to remind us son or daughter give that over to Me, you can't do that. In conclusion we should know it's not about how we feel under tempting moments but the One we lean on to keep us safe in such moments.

                                              Glory To Jesus

SO GREAT A SALVATION by Gary Wilkerson

“Therefore we must pay much closer attention to what we have heard, lest we drift away from it. For since the message declared by angels proved to be reliable, and every transgression or disobedience received a just retribution, how shall we escape if we neglect such a great salvation?” (Hebrews 2:1-3, ESV).

The law that God delivered to man “proved to be reliable.” Yet this seems like a paradox. If this law was impossible for any person to keep, how could it be reliable? First of all, the law was never meant to be the means of our salvation; it was meant to show us our need for salvation. And the law reliably did that. Yet time after time Scripture reveals how miserably man failed to keep God’s law.

Note something else in this passage. Once again, the writer uses the word “great” to describe what Jesus has done. Christ has made the perfect covenant with the Father, one that works to secure “such a great salvation” (2:3). Talk about something reliable! Christ’s gift of salvation sets us free from the law of sin and death and is designed to work in our lives. Moreover, the New Covenant of grace is the power of God at work in our lives. It empowers us to follow His commands with His strength, not our own. “God also bore witness . . . by gifts of the Holy Spirit distributed according to his will” (2:4).

With such a great gift of salvation, why would anyone neglect it? Here’s why: We are conditioned to respond to laws with works. Even in the realm of faith, we tend to fall back on works. We may give mental assent to being saved by grace, but deep down many of us still believe works are the way to secure God’s blessings.

Our minds are conditioned since childhood to fall back on law-keeping whenever we fail. There are basic rules in every household: Clean your room; help clear the dinner table. It’s a conditional arrangement based on rewards and punishment, and most parents use it to maintain their sanity.

This system may work well in family life, but not in Kingdom life. Yet, since most of us grew up this way, years later we continue to see life through this lens. Whenever we fail in anything, our reflex is to fall back on works.

Works can never achieve what only the cross could provide or add a single degree of holiness to our lives. Works that are truly holy are the result of God’s grace. They’re what we do in gratitude, joy and faithfulness because we’ve been provided “so great a salvation.”
 

LET HIM BE EVERYTHING TO YOU by David Wilkerson

Years ago I stood at an altar beside my wife and heard my father (who was the minister) ask Gwen, “Will you accept David to be your lawful husband?” We exchanged vows, each saying, “I will.” Gwen has loved me in a thousand ways, but never better, never more, than when she let me be the man of the house. It took a while for her to step aside and let me do the “husband” things—especially since I’m really not very mechanical. But she learned to tactfully encourage me to fulfill this role.

God intended for a husband and wife to reflect His relationship with us, His bride: “For thy Maker is thine husband” (Isaiah 54:5). We are “a bride adorned for her husband” (Revelation 21:2). But Jesus is not like any earthly husband. When He says, “I will,” He has all power and glory to see it done. You can find our Lord’s vows to His beloved all through His Word.

Our love for Him appropriates it, rests on it, and lets Jesus be God to us. Here are some of the vows He has made to all who have pledged their love and faithfulness to Him:

“I will bear; even I will carry . . . you” (Isaiah 46:4). “Can a woman forget her child? . . . Yea, they may forget, yet will I not forget thee” (Isaiah 49:15). “He will abundantly pardon” (Isaiah 55:7). “I . . . will heal him . . . and restore comforts unto him” (Isaiah 57:18). “Before they call, I will answer; and while they are yet speaking, I will hear” (Isaiah 65:24). “For he hath said, I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee” (Hebrews 13:5).

Jesus is our righteousness, our health, our deliverance, our rock of salvation, our daily bread, our comfort, our provider, our strong arm, our defense, our light, our joy, our peace—our everything in time of need! Let Him be God to you. Don’t fret and try to work things out yourself. Prove to Him that you will trust His power!
 

DWELLING IN UNDERSTANDING

Romans 14:16
New Living Translation
Then you will not be criticized for doing something you believe is good.

King James Bible
Let not then your good be evil spoken of:

Sometimes we believers are not persecuted because the devil incited others to do so but because we don't apply wisdom. Many young believers and preachers get confrontational with others over issues that can be resolved amicably. An action may be good but the approach may be bad.

You are a Christian living with your neighbours. Every night you play music or you pray aloud to steal people's sleep. Your landlord wants to kick you out and you think he is a wizard. No! He may not be a wizard. Your ignorance threw you out of the house. The bible says we should lead a peaceful life with all men. Your prayer is good but your approach is wrong. It's time to grow up. Understand prayer is more than yelling. God doesn't have a problem with his ears.

You are a student in the hostel with roommates. Every night you will not allow your roomies to sleep. You play loud gospel music in the name of you are saturating the room with God's presence. Who said The Holy Spirit fills a room when there is loud music? Can't you use an earphone sir? Your roommates start confronting you and you think they are not spiritual. My friend let not your good be spoken evil of. Dwell with them in peace.

When Jesus walked the earth He often withdrew to the mountains to pray. He knew and understood the principles of prayer. He knew it wasn't an eye service so He said when you pray go into your closet and your Father who sees in secret will reward you. I am not in any way saying we are to keep mute when praying. There are times one cannot control what comes out of his mouth when The Holy Ghost takes over but that shouldn't disturb my neighbour.

Let us learn to be empathetic. Wisdom call!!!

DIVINE JUDGEMENT

At some point in our lives we find ourselves in a situation to judge based on what we teach and preach. In John 8 the scribes and Pharisees brought an adulterous woman to Jesus. They were testing Jesus to see the kind of judgment He was going to pass. According to the law an adulterer was deserving of death. According to Jesus, He did not come to condemn the world. He did not come to abolish the law but He came to fulfill the law. So now we had the law and the words of Jesus. If Jesus altered the law the scribes and Pharisees will find a just means to accuse Him. Jesus being the Word Himself(the rhema and logus) manifested Himself this time as grace and truth so in John 1:17 John writes the law came through Moses but grace and truth came through Jesus.

The law says an adulterer should die. Grace says the penalty has been paid by Christ. Walk in the newness of life. Then comes Truth which is the revelation of the Word. In the new covenant this principle applies in judgment. Sometimes we are presented with issues of this nature. A pastor is reported to be in adultery. As a matured believer people will like to ask your opinion. In situations like that we should exercise grace and truth. Again, Jesus told His disciples not to take thought of what they would say when they stand before the Sanhedrin. He promised The Holy Spirit will speak through them. When we are faced with controversial doctrines in the body like adornment,judgement,Sabbaths, we should not be quick to speak our opinions lest we mislead others. We should whisper to Jesus and remind Him of His promise of The Holy Spirit.

Many issues in the body have led to conflicts because God's children did the work of The Holy Spirit. They applied the letter which killeth instead of the conviction and leading of The Spirit so many are not edified. Nothing is learnt at the end of the day. The toll of people who practice schism and self righteousness rises by the day. This is one big disease in the body of Christ even on fb. You find situations where one sect believe they have found the most profound revelation ever thus exuding an attitude of superiority. Is that not carnality?

Glory To Jesus

SELFLESS ACTS

For those who are soccer lovers you will understand this illustration better. The Holy Spirit used this illustration to teach me.

FC Barcelona of Spain have a midfield dynamo in the person of Xavi Hernandez. He acts as the anchor of the team. His selfless displays gets his team going. This is what he does; he observes the positioning of his teammates especially those in the attacking region and he creates opportunities for them to score. The goalscorers may make all the headlines after the match but in reality this player's selfless act is what really spurs them on.

I. He understands individual glory fades
ii. He understands he is in a team as a matter of fact any glory that comes their way he will share in it.
iii. He has great love for his club and teammates.

How do we relate this to our Christian walk? Let us take a look at some of these scriptures.

1 Corinthians 12:12
For as the body is one and has many members, but all the members of that one body, being many, are one body, so also is Christ.

Philippians 2:3-4
Let nothing be done through selfish ambition or conceit, but in lowliness of mind let each esteem others better than himself.

Let each of you look out not only for his own interests, but also for the interests of others.

Matthew 20:25-27

But Jesus called to them to Himself and said, You know that the rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and those who are great exercise authority over them.
Yet it shall not be so among you; but whoever desires to be great among you let him be your servant.

And whoever desires to be first among you, let him be your slave.

Luke 17:10
So likewise you, when you have done all those things which you are commanded say, we are unprofitable servants, we have done what was our duty to do.

We are the body of Christ though different members. Any act of love,service and humility builds up the body. Jesus is glorified in our selfless acts. When we seek honour for selves though the world may applaud us, our fellow brethren in the faith may see our outward greatness but it is of little significance in God's kingdom. Our genuine love, our genuine service towards God and our brethren is considered a great deal in heaven. We should not seek our honour. If a brother or sister has the potential to excel, we should give them that extra push. We should always look out for these things in others. In doing so God is glorified in our lives. We become true representatives of Christ on earth.

WORD OF PROPHECY: OCT 21,2014

The Word of The Lord That Came To Me around 2:30am today while repenting.

Many pray and read the bible but they will still not make it in the rapture. They do not obey specific instructions. Instructions to pray at a specific time,fast. They offer sacrifices instead of obedience. Why will I allow you entry into My kingdom if you are The Lord of your life.

The Lord says failure to adhere specific instructions from the Holy Spirit is considered disobedience.eg. The Holy Spirit prompts you to fast,stop watching certain tv programs,quit visiting some friends,give a specific amount of offering. These things may not be expressly written in the bible but The Lord considers it as disobedience. It implies you are The Lord of your life.

He added sacrifices were not unlawful but I had not requested that from Saul. He did what was in his heart and not what I had instructed. That is how many live today. They offer sacrifices instead of obedience.

Three Reasons for Falling Into Sin - Zac POONEN

One of the reasons why people keep falling into sin is, because they have not understood that their own flesh, their own human personality, and the human being that they are, their human strength - is totally impotent to do the will of God. We, in our own strength, can never, never, never overcome sin. Any amount of determination, any amount of self-discipline, anything you like you can do, but cannot overcome sin because sin is so deeply rooted in our nature. It's like trying to train a pig to be clean. What chance is there of success? Maybe by whipping and feeding and offering it rewards, you can try and get a pig to be clean for a little while but leave it alone for some time and it reverts back to its original nature; that's how it is. This type of overcoming through self-effort is not victory at all. It's just personal self-discipline, a good thing but not what God offers. Now, we need to recognize the weakness of our own flesh, our own weakness. And if you realize this, there will be two things that you will do: first of all, you'll run away from temptation, you will not expose yourself to danger. Who are the people who expose themselves to temptation? Those who don't feel their weakness. One who feels his weakness will run away. And that's what the Bible says we should do; flee from youthful lusts; flee from immorality. The Bible says in 2 Timothy 2 that Paul told even a godly man like Timothy to flee from youthful lusts, to flee from the love of money, to flee from idolatry, to flee from immorality. We read all these exhortations in 1 Timothy 6, 1 Corinthians 6, 1 Corinthians 10 and 2 Timothy 2. Flee, flee, flee, flee, to run away...why do we run away? Because we realize we're weak. And we can overcome many sins if we just obey that exhortation to run away. The second thing that a person who has recognized the weakness of his flesh will do is: he will pray to God earnestly, for help. You see, prayer is a sign of weakness. When do people usually pray, even worldly people? When they're in real trouble, when nobody else can help them. And one of the things that Jesus taught us to pray is - lead us not into temptation. Why do we pray that prayer? Because we're convinced that our flesh is weak. One would think that someone like Timothy who had advanced in the Christian life so much, was not in danger of youthful lusts, but even he needed to run away. Now, if we realize our weakness, we will not only want to run away from temptation, but we will also pray, 'Lord, please help me. Give me strength to overcome this weakness.' Just like we need to see the seriousness of sin, we also need to see the weakness of our flesh.

One of the wonderful things, truths in scripture, we read in Hebrews 4:15, is that Jesus Christ was tempted in all points, as we are. He did not live on earth without being tempted. In Matthew 4, we're given a very clear description of how He was tempted, at least in three areas. But in Hebrews 4:15, we're told He was tempted in all areas, just like us, but He never sinned. How is it He never sinned? Was it because He automatically could not sin? Well, we don't want to probe into the nature of Jesus. There is much about His inner nature that we cannot understand; there's much about our own inner nature we can't understand. Psychologists try so much and they still don't know everything about the human personality. It's impossible to try and gauge what went on within Jesus, and we don't even want to attempt it. But one thing we know: Jesus prayed. Why did He have to pray? You know, the stronger we feel within ourselves, the less we pray. The more capable we think we are, the less we pray. It's the one who realizes his helpless dependence upon the Father for everything - for wisdom, for strength, for guidance - that's the one who prays. The one who feels, yeah, well, I can handle all that myself, I don't need God's help; I can sort out, I can gauge the relative importance of things and make decisions; he doesn't pray. But Jesus prayed. He prayed all night before He chose His twelve apostles; He didn't want to make a mistake. Now these things indicate that Jesus received strength from the Father through prayer. And we don't receive it because we don't pray as much, or we don't pray as earnestly. We're told in Hebrews 5, that Jesus prayed with strong crying and tears. Imagine that, can you picture that in your mind? Of Jesus Christ, the perfect man who walked on this earth, praying with strong crying and tears? When was the last time you prayed with strong crying and tears? Why, the difference? Don't you think you and I need to pray much more than Jesus needed to? He had lived in the presence of the Father from all eternity. He did not have a sinful nature like you and I have. And yet, He prayed. How much more we need to pray?

See, true humility is to recognize the weakness of our flesh. All of us are weak, but not all of us are equally conscious of our weakness. The one who's conscious of his weakness, will run away from danger when he sees it, and he will cry out for help. So this is the third reason why many people fall, they don't run away from temptation. They foolishly expose themselves to temptation and they don't cry out for help.

Let me give you another reason why many people fall into sin. In 1 Peter 4: 1 & 2, it says we must arm ourselves with a mind to suffer in the flesh, like Jesus suffered in the flesh; because if we suffer in the flesh, we cease from sin, it says. Now that's not a verse which is easy to understand. It's not talking about bodily suffering because people who suffer bodily don't finish with sin. We know that, otherwise the hospitals would be full of people who're finished with sin. So it's obviously not referring to bodily suffering. What does it mean when it says 'as Christ suffered in the flesh, arm yourselves with the same mind' - 1 Peter 4: 1 & 2 - 'because he who suffers in the flesh ceases from sin so that he can do the will of God'. It's referring to an attitude of mind where we would suffer in self-denial, rather than get the least pleasure out of even a single sinful thought. When we're tempted, all of us, have the opportunity either to indulge in it and get some pleasure out of it, or to resist it and reject it, and that causes a certain suffering. That's the suffering that is mentioned here. And he says, before you are tempted, you must be armed for the conflict. In other words, you must be armed with this attitude of mind, which says, 'I'd rather suffer than enjoy the pleasure of sin even for a moment.' It says about Jesus, that He was obedient 'unto death', even unto death; which means, that Jesus' attitude was, that He would rather die than sin. Now that is quite a radical attitude; I'd rather die than disobey my Father in the smallest little thing. That is the meaning of Philippians 2:8, He was obedient even unto death. He calls us to follow in His footsteps, to be willing to suffer rather than displease God.

One more reason why many Christians do not progress spiritually, and fall, is because they're not seeking to press on to perfection; they are satisfied with the progress that they have made thus far. And if you become satisfied with second standard, you'll never get to the third standard. That's for certain, because you feel you're better than all the others who are in the first standard and kindergarten. But if you are determined to press on, you would say, well, I've overcome something but I want to get something more. I want to press towards the mark - Paul said in Philippians 3:13-14, '…one thing I do, I press towards the mark, for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus' i.e. the goal of becoming like Jesus totally, in every part of our personality. What is the result of Paul having this attitude? It not only kept him from stagnating in the Christian life, it also kept him from sin. Paul told Timothy to not only flee from temptation, but also pursue after righteousness, godliness, love and gentleness.

Any point in our Christian life where we get satisfied with our progress, is a danger point; that's the time we are going to fall into sin. And that is when we need to ask ourselves: am I progressing? Am I longing to become like Jesus in every area? Am I mourning every time I see something in my life that's un-Christ like? Do I cry out to God and say, 'Lord, I have faith'. Begin today, my friend, to mourn every time you see something un-Christ like in your life. Cry out to God for help, and see if your life doesn't change from this very day.

Righteousness: Smith Wigglesworth

It is written of our blessed Lord, “Thou hast loved righteousness, and hated iniquity; therefore God, even thy God, hath anointed thee with the oil of gladness above thy fellows.” It is the purpose of God that we, as we are indwelt by the Spirit of His Son, should likewise love righteousness and hate iniquity. I see that there is a place for us in Christ Jesus where we are no longer under condemnation but where the heavens are always open to us. I see that God has a realm of divine life opening up to us where there are boundless possibilities, where there is limitless power, where there are untold resources, where we have victory over all the power of the devil. I believe that, as we are filled with the desire to press on into this life of true holiness, desiring only the glory of God, there is nothing that can hinder our true advancement.

Peter commences his second epistle with these words, “Simon Peter, a servant and an apostle of Jesus Christ, to them that have obtained like precious faith with us through the righteousness of God and our Saviour Jesus Christ.” It is through faith that we realize that we have a blessed and glorious union with our risen Lord. When He was on earth Jesus told us, “I am in the Father and the Father in me.” “The Father that dwelleth in Me, He doeth the works.” And He prayed to His Father, not only for His disciples but for those who should believe on Him through their word; “That they all may be one; as Thou, Father, art in Me, and I in Thee, that they also may be one in us: that the world may believe that Thou hast sent Me.” Oh what an inheritance is ours when the very nature, the very righteousness, the very power of the Father and the Son are made real in us. That is God’s purpose, and as we by faith lay hold on the purpose we shall be ever conscious of the fact that greater is He that is in us than he that is in the world. The purpose of all Scripture is to move us on to this wonderful and blessed elevation of faith where our constant experience is the manifestation of God’s life and power through us.

Peter goes on writing to these who have obtained like precious faith, saying, “Grace and peace be multiplied unto you through the knowledge of God, and of Jesus our Lord.” We can have the multiplication of this grace and peace only as we live in the realm of faith. Abraham attained to the place where he became a friend of God, on no other line than that of believing God. He believed God and God counted that to him for righteousness. Righteousness was imputed to him on no other ground than that he believed God. Can this be true of anybody else? Yes, every person in the whole wide world who is saved by faith is blessed with faithful Abraham. The promise which came to him because he believed God was that in Him all the families of the earth should be blessed. When we believe God there is no knowing where the blessing of our faith will end.

Some are tied up because, when they are prayed for, the thing that then= are expecting does not cone off the same night. They say they believe, but you can see that they are really in turmoil of unbelief. Abraham believed God. You can hear him saying to Sarah, “Sarah, there is no life in you and there is nothing in me, but God has promised us a son and I believe God.” And that kind of faith is a joy to our Father in heaven.

One day I was having a meeting in Bury, in Lancashire, England. A young woman was present who came from a place called Ramsbottom, to be healed of goiter. Before she came she said, “I am going to be healed of this goiter, mother.” After one meeting she came forward and was prayed for. The next meeting she got up and testified that she had been wonderfully healed, and she said, “I shall be so happy to go and tell mother that I have been wonderfully healed.” She went to her home and testified how wonderfully she had been healed, and the next year when we were having the convention she came again. To the natural view it looked as though the goiter was just as big as ever; but that young woman was believing God and she was soon on her feet giving her testimony, and saying, “I was here last year and the Lord wonderfully healed me. I want to tell you that this has been the best year of my life.” She seemed to be greatly blessed in that meeting and she went home to testify more strongly than ever that the Lord had healed her. She believed God. The third year she was at the meeting again, and some people who looked at her said, “How big that goiter has become.” But when the time came for testimony she was up on her feet and testified, “Two years ago the Lord graciously healed me of goiter. Oh I had a most wonderful healing. It is grand to be healed by the power of God.” That day someone remonstrated with her and said, “People will think there is something the matter with you. Why don’t you look in the glass? You will see your goiter is bigger than ever.” That good woman went to the Lord about it and said, “Lord, you so wonderfully healed me two years ago. Won’t you show all the people that you healed me?” She went to sleep peacefully that night still believing God and when she came down the next day there was not a trace or a mark of that goiter.

God’s word is from everlasting to everlasting. His word cannot fail. God’s word is true and when we rest in the fact of its truth what mighty results we can get. Faith never looks in the glass. Faith has a glass into which it can look. It is the glass of the perfect law of liberty. “Whoso looketh into the perfect law of liberty, and continueth therein, he being not a forgetful hearer, but a doer of the work, this man shall be blessed in his deed.” To the man who looks into this perfect law of God all darkness is removed and he sees his completeness in Christ. There is no darkness in faith. There is only darkness in nature. Darkness only exists when the natural is put in the place of the divine.

Not only is grace multiplied to us through knowledge of God and of Jesus Christ, but peace also. As we really know our God and Jesus Christ whom He has sent, we will have peace multiplied to us even in the multiplied fires of ten thousand Nebuchadnezzars. It will be multiplied to us even though we are put into the den of lions, and we will live with joy in the midst of the whole thing. What was the difference between Daniel and the king that night when Daniel was put into the den of lions? Daniel knew, but the king was experimenting. The king came around the next morning and cried, “Oh Daniel, servant of the living God, is thy God, whom thou servest continually, able to deliver thee from the lions?” Daniel answered, “My God bath sent His angel, and bath shut the lions’ mouths.” The thing was done. It was done when Daniel prayed with his windows open toward heaven. All our victories are won before we go into the fight. Prayer links us on to our lovely God, our abounding God, our multiplying God. Oh I love Him! He is so wonderful!

You will note, as you read these first two verses of the first chapter of the second epistle of Peter, that this grace and peace is multiplied through the knowledge of God, but that first our faith comes through the righteousness of God. Note that righteousness comes first and knowledge afterwards. It cannot be otherwise. If you expect any revelation of God apart from holiness you will have only a mixture. Holiness opens the door to all the treasures of God. He must first bring us to the place where we, like our Lord, love righteousness and hate iniquity, before He opens up to us these good treasures. When we regard iniquity in our hearts the Lord will not hear us, and it is only as we are made righteous and pure and holy through the precious blood of God’s Son that we can enter into this life of holiness and righteousness in the Son. It is the righteousness of our Lord Himself made real in us as our faith is stayed in Him.

After I was baptized with the Holy Ghost the Lord gave me a blessed revelation. I saw Adam and Eve turned out of the garden for their disobedience and unable to partake of the tree of life, for the cherubim with flaming sword kept them away from this tree. When I was baptized I saw that I had begun to eat of this tree of life and I saw that the flaming sword was all round about. It was there to keep the devil away. Oh, what privileges are ours when we are born of God. How marvelously He keeps us so that the wicked one touches us not. I see a place in God where Satan dare not come. Hidden in God. And He invites us all to come and share this wonderful hidden place where our lives are hid with Christ in God, where we dwell in the secret place of the Most High and abide under the shadow of the Almighty. God has this place for you in this blessed realm of grace.

Peter goes on to say, “According as His divine power bath given unto us all things that pertain unto life and godliness, through the knowledge of Him that hath called us to glory and virtue.” God is calling us to this realm of glory and virtue where, as we feed on His exceeding great and precious promises, we are made partakers of the divine nature. Faith is the substance of things hoped for right here in this life. It is right here that God would have us partake of His divine nature. It is nothing less than the life of the Lord Himself imparted and flowing into our whole beings, so that our very body is quickened, so that every tissue and every drop of blood and our bones and joints and marrow receive this divine life. I believe that the Lord wants this divine life to flow right into our natural bodies, this law of the spirit of life in Christ Jesus that makes us free from the law of sin and death. God wants to estabish our faith so that we shall lay hold on this divine life, this divine nature of the Son of God, so that our spirit and soul and body will be sanctified wholly and preserved unto the corning of the Lord Jesus Christ.

When that woman was healed of the issue of blood, Jesus perceived that power had gone out of Him. The woman’s faith laid hold and this power was imparted and immediately the woman’s being was surcharged with life and her weakness departed. The impartation of this power produces everything you need; but it comes only as our faith moves out for its impartation. Faith is the victory. If thou canst believe, it is thine.

I suffered for many years from piles, till my whole body was thoroughly weak; the blood used to gush from me. One day I got desperate and I took a bottle of oil and anointed myself. I said to the Lord, “Do what you want to, quickly.” I was healed at that very moment. God wants us to have an activity of faith that dares to believe God. There is what seems like faith, and appearance of faith, but real faith believes God right to the end.

What was the difference between Zacharias and Mary? The angel came to Zacharias and told him, “Thy wife Elizabeth shall bear thee a son.” Zacharias was there in the holy place, but he began to question this message, saying, “I am an old man, my wife is well stricken in years.” Gabriel rebuked him for his unbelief and told him, “Thou shalt be dumb, and not able to speak, until the day that these things shall be performed, because thou believest not my words.” But note the contrast when the angel came to Mary. She said, “Behold the handmaid of the Lord; be it unto me according to thy word.” And Elizabeth greeted Mary with the words, “Blessed is she that believed: for there shall be a performance of those things which were told her from the Lord.” God would have us to lay hold on His word in like manner. He would have us to come with boldness of faith declaring, “You have promised it, Lord. Now do it.” God rejoices when we manifest a faith that holds Him to His word. Can we get there?

The Lord has called us to this glory and virtue; and, as our faith lays hold on Him, we shall see this in manifestation. I remember one day I was holding an open-air meeting. My uncle came to that meeting and said, “Aunt Mary would like to see Smith before she dies.” I went to see her and she was assuredly dying. I said, “Lord, can’t you do something?” All I did was this, to stretch out my hands and lay them on her. It seemed as though there was an immediate impartation of the glory and virtue of the Lord. Aunt Mary cried, “It is going all over my body.” And that day she was made perfectly whole.

One day I was preaching and a man brought a boy who was done up in bandages. The boy was in irons and it was impossible for him to walk and it was difficult for them to get him to the platform. They passed him over about six seats. The power of the Lord was present to heal and it entered right into the child as I placed my hands on him. The child cried, “Daddy, it is going all over me.” They stripped the boy and found nothing imperfect in him.

The Lord would have us to be walking epistles of His word. Jesus is the Word and is the power in us, and it is His desire to work in and through us His own good pleasure. We must believe that He is in us. There are boundless possibilities for us if we dare to act in God and dare to believe that the wonderful virtue of our living Christ shall be made manifest through us as we lay our hands on the sick in His name.

The exceeding great and precious promises of the Word are given to us that we might be partakers of the divine nature. I feel the Holy Ghost is grieved with us because, when we know these things, we do not do greater exploits for God. Does not the Holy Ghost show us wide-open doors of opportunity? Shall we not let God take us on to greater things? Shall we not believe God to take us on to greater manifestations of His power? His call for us is to forget the things that are behind, and reach forth unto the things which are before and to press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus.

Concerning Spiritual Gifts; Smith Wigglesworth

In 1 Cor. 12:1 we read, “Now concerning spiritual gifts, brethren, I would not have you ignorant.” There is a great weakness in the church of Christ because of an awful ignorance concerning the Spirit of God and the gifts He has come to bring. God would have us powerful on all lines because of the revelation of the knowledge of His will concerning the power and manifestation of His Spirit. He would have us ever hungry to receive more and more of His Spirit. In times past I have arranged many conventions, and I have found that it is better to have a man on my platform who has not received the Baptism but who is hungry for all that God has for him, than a man who has received the Baptism and is satisfied and has settled down and become stationary and stagnant. But of course I would prefer a man that is baptized with the Holy Ghost and is still hungry for more of God. A man who is not hungry to receive more of God is out of order in any convention.

It is impossible to overestimate the importance of being filled with the Spirit. It is impossible for us to meet the conditions of the day, to walk in the light as He is in the light, to subdue kingdoms and work righteousness and bind the power of Satan unless we are filled with the Holy Ghost.

We read that in the early church they continued steadfastly in the apostles’ doctrine and fellowship, and in breaking of bread, and in prayers. It is important for us also to continue steadfastly in these same things. For some years I was associated with the Plymouth Brethren. They are very strong on the Word, and are sound on water baptism, and they do not neglect the breaking of bread service, but have it every Lord’s Day morning as they had it in the early church. These people seem to have everything except the match. They have the wood, but they need the fire and then they would be all ablaze. Because they lack the fire of the Holy Spirit there is no life in their meetings. One young man who attended their meetings received the Baptism with the speaking in other tongues as the Spirit gave utterance. The brethren were very upset about this and came to the father and said to him, “You must take your son aside and tell him to cease.” They did not want any disturbance. The father told the son and said, “My boy, I have been attending this church for twenty years and have never seen anything of this kind. We are established in the truth and do not want anything new. We won’t have it.” The son replied, “If that is God’s plan I will obey, but somehow or other I don’t think it is.” As they were going home the horse stood still; the wheels were in deep ruts. The father pulled at the reins but the horse did not move. He asked, “What do you think is up?” The son answered, “It has got established.” God save us from becoming stationary.

God would have us to understand concerning spiritual gifts and to covet earnestly the best gifts, and also to enter into the more excellent way of the fruit of the Spirit. We must beseech God for these gifts. It is a serious thing to have the Baptism and yet be stationary; to live two days in succession on the same spiritual plane is a tragedy. We must be willing to deny ourselves everything to receive the revelation of God’s truth and to receive the fullness of the Spirit. Only that will satisfy God, and nothing less must satisfy us. A young Russian received the Holy Spirit and was mightily endued with power from on High. Some sisters were anxious to know the secret of his power. The secret of his power was continuous waiting upon God. As the Holy Ghost filled him it seemed as though every breath became a prayer and so all his ministry was on an increasing line.

I know a man who was full of the Holy Ghost and would preach only when he knew that he was mightily unctionized by the power of God. He was asked to preach at a Methodist church. He was staying at the minister’s house and he said, “You go on to church and I will follow.” The place was packed with people and this man did not turn up and the Methodist minister, becoming anxious, sent his little girl to inquire why he did not come. As she came to the bedroom door she heard him crying out three times, “I will not go.” She went bark and reported that she heard the man say three times that he would not go. The minister was troubled about it, but almost immediately after this the man came in, and, as he preached that night, the power of God was tremendously manifested. The preacher asked him, “Why did you tell my daughter that you were not coming?” He answered, “I know when I am filled. I am an ordinary man and I told the Lord that I dared not go and would not go until He gave me a fresh filling of the Spirit. The moment the glory filled me and overflowed I came to the meeting.”

Yes, there is a power, a blessings, an assurance, a rest in the presence of the Holy Ghost. You can feel His presence and know that He is with you. You need not spend an hour without this inner knowledge of His holy presence. With His power upon you there can be no failure. You are above par all the time.

“Ye know that ye were Gentiles, carried away unto these dumb idols, even as ye were led.” This is the Gentile day. When the Jews refused the blessings of God He scattered them, and He has grafted the Gentiles into the olive tree where the Jews were broken off. There never has been a time when God has been so favorable to a people who were not a people. He. has brought in the Gentiles to carry out His purpose of preaching the gospel to all nations and to receive the power of the Holy Ghost to accomplish this task. It is of the mercy of God that He has turned to the Gentiles and made us partakers of all the blessings that belong to the Jews; and here under this canopy of glory, because we believe, we get all the blessings of faithful Abraham.

“Wherefore I give you to understand, that no man speaking by the Spirit of God calleth Jesus accursed: and that no man can say that Jesus is the Lord, but by the Holy Ghost.” There are many evil, deceiving spirits sent forth in these last days who endeavor to rob Jesus of His Lordship and of His rightful place. Many are opening the doors to these latest devils, such as New Theology and New Thought and Christian Science. These evil cults deny the fundamental truths of God’s Word. They all deny eternal punishment and all deny the deity of Jesus Christ. You will never see the Baptism of the Holy Ghost come upon a man who accepts these errors. Neither will you see a Romanist receive. They put Mary in the place of the Holy Ghost. I would like you to produce a Romanist who knows that he is saved. No man can know he is saved by works. If you ever speak to a Romanist you will know that he is not definite on the line of the new birth. He cannot be. Another thing, you will never find a Russellite baptized in the Holy Ghost; nor a member of any other cult that does not put the Lord Jesus Christ pre-eminent above all.

The all important thing is to make Jesus Lord. Men can grow lopsided by emphasizing the truth of divine healing. Man can get wrong by all the time preaching on water baptism. But we never go wrong in exalting the Lord Jesus Christ, giving Him the preeminent place and magnifying Him as both Lord and Christ, yes, as very God of very God. As we are filled with the Holy Ghost our one desire is to magnify Him. We need to be filled with the Spirit to get the full revelation of the Lord Jesus Christ.

God’s command is for us to be filled with the Spirit. We are no good if we have only a full cup; we need to have an overflowing cup all the time. It is a tragedy not to live in the fullness of overflowing. See that you never live below the overflowing tide.

“Now there are diversities of gifts but the same Spirit.” Every manifestation of the Spirit is given that we might “profit withal.” When the Holy Spirit is moving in an assembly and His gifts are in operation, everyone will receive profit. I have seen some who have been terribly switched. They believe in gifts, in prophecy, and they use these gifts apart from the power of the Holy Ghost. We must look to the Holy Spirit to show us the use of the gifts, what they are for, and when to use them, so that we may never use them without the power of the Holy Ghost. I do not know of anything which is so awful today as people using a gift without the power. Never do it God save us from doing it.

A man who is filled with the Holy Ghost, while he may not be conscious of having any gift of the Spirit, can have the gifts made manifest through him. I have gone to many places to help and have found that under the unction of the Holy Spirit many wonderful things have happened in the midst when the glory of the Lord was upon the people. Any man who is filled with God and filled with His Spirit might at any mo- have any of the nine gifts made manifest through him without knowing that he has a gift. Sometimes I have wondered whether it was better to be always full of the Holy Ghost and to see signs and wonders and miracles without any consciousness of possessing a gifts or whether it was better to know one has a gift. If you have received the gifts of the Spirit and they have been blessed, you should never under any circumstances use them without the power of God upon you pressing the gift through. Some have used the prophetic gift without the holy touch, and they have come into the realm of the natural, and it has brought ruin, caused dissatisfaction, broken hearts, upset assemblies. Do not seek the gifts unless you are purposed to abide in the Holy Spirit. They should be manifested only in the power of the Holy Spirit.

The Lord will allow you to be very drunk in His presence, but sober among people. I like to see people so filled with the Spirit that they are drunk like the 120 on the Day of Pentecost, but I don’t like to see people drunk in the wrong place. That is what troubles us, somebody being drunk in a place of worship where a lot of people come in that know nothing about the Word. If you allow yourself to be drunk there you send people away; they look at you instead of seeing God. They condemn the whole thing because you have not been sober at the right time. Paul writes, “For whether we be beside ourselves, it is to God: or whether we be sober, it is for your cause” (2 Cor. 5:13). You can be beside yourself. You can go a bit further than being drunk. You can dance, if you will do it at the right time. So many things are commendable when all the people are in the Spirit. Many things are very foolish if the people round about you are not in the Spirit. We must be careful not to have a good time at the expense of somebody else. When you have a good time you must see that the spiritual conditions in the place lend themselves to help you and that the people are falling in line with you. Then you will find it always a blessing.

While it is right to covet earnestly the best gifts, you must recognize that the all important thing is to be filled with the power of the Holy Ghost Himself. You will never have trouble with people who are filled with the power of the Holy Ghost, but you will have a lot of trouble with people who have the gifts and have no power. The Lord wants us to come behind in no gift, but at the same time He wants us to be so filled with the Holy Ghost that it will be the Holy Spirit manifesting Himself through the gifts. Where the glory of God alone is desired you can look for every needed gift to be made manifest. To glorify God is better than to idolize gifts. We prefer the Spirit of God to any gift; but we can look for the Trinity in manifestation, different gifts by the same Spirit, different administrations but the sane Lord, diversities of operation but the same God working all in all. Can you conceive of what it will mean for our Triune God to be manifesting Himself in His fullness in our assemblies?

Watch that great locomotive boiler as it is filled with steam. You can see the engine letting off some of the steam as it remains stationary. It looks as though the whole thing might burst. You can see saints like that. They start to scream, but that is not to edification. But when the locomotive moves on, it serves the purpose for which it was built, and pulls along much traffic with it. It is wonderful to be filled with the power of the Holy Ghost, and for Him to serve His own purposes through us. Through our lips divine utterances flow, our hearts rejoice and our tongue is glad. It is an inward power within which is manifested in outward expression. Jesus Christ is glorified. As your faith in Him is quickened, from within you there will flow rivers of living water. The Holy Spirit will pour through you like a great river of life and thousands will be blessed because you are a yielded channel through whom the Spirit may flow.

The most important thing, the one thing that counts, is to see that we are filled with the Holy Spirit, filled to overflowing. Anything less than this is displeasing to God. We are commanded by God to be filled with the Spirit, and in the measure you fail of this you are that far short of the plan of God. The Lord would have us moving on from faith to faith, from glory to glory, from fullness to overflowing. It is not good for us to be ever thinking in the past tense, but we should be moving on to the place where we dare believe God. He has declared that after the Holy Ghost is come upon us we shall have power. I believe there is an avalanche of power from God to be apprehended if we will but catch the vision.

Paul wrote at one time, “I will now come to visions and revelations.” God has put us in a place where He expects us to have His latest revelation, the revelation of that marvelous fact, CHRIST IN US, and what this really means. We can apprehend Christ fully only as we are filled and overflowing with the Spirit of God. Our only safeguard from dropping back into our natural mind from which we can never get anything, is to be filled and yet filled again with the Spirit of God and to be taken on to visions and revelations on a new line. The reason why I emphasize the importance of the fullness of the Holy Ghost is that I want to get you beyond all human plans and thoughts into the fullness of vision, into the full revelation of the Lord Jesus Christ. Do you want rest? It is in Jesus. Do you want to be saved from everything the devil is bringing up in these last times? Receive and continue in the fullness of the Holy Ghost, and He will be ever revealing to you that all you need for all times is in Christ Jesus your Lord.

I desire to emphasize the importance of the Spirit’s ministration and of the manifestation of the Spirit which is given to every man to profit withal. As you yield to the Spirit of the Lord He has power over your intellect, over your heart, and over your voice. The Holy Spirit has power to unveil Christ and to project the vision of Christ upon the canvas of your mind, and then He uses your tongue to glorify and magnify Him in a way that you could never do apart from the Spirit’s power.

Never say that when you are filled with the Holy Ghost you are “obliged” to do this or that. When people say that they are “obliged” to do this or that I know it is not the Spirit of God, but their own spirit moving them on to do that which is unseemly and unprofitable. Lots of people spoil meetings because they scream. If you want to do that kind of thing you had better get into some cellar. That is not to edification. I believe that, when the Spirit of God is upon you and moving you to speak as He gives utterance, it will always be to edification. But don’t spoil the prayer meeting because when you ought to stop you go on. Who spoils the prayer meeting? The man who starts in the Spirit and finishes in the flesh. Nothing is more lovely than prayer, but a prayer meeting is killed if you will go on and on in your own spirit when the Spirit of God is through with you. You say as you come from some meetings, “That was a lovely message if the preacher only had stopped half an hour before he did.” Learn to cease immediately the unction of the Spirit lifts. The Holy Ghost is jealous. Your body is the temple, the office of the Holy Ghost, but He does not fill the temple for human glorification, but only for the glory of God. You have no license to continue beyond a “Thus saith the Lord.”

There is another side to this. God would have the assembly as free as possible, and you must not put your hand upon the working of the Spirit or it will surely bring trouble. You must be prepared to allow a certain amount of extravagance in young and newly baptized souls. You must remember that when you were brought into this life of the Spirit you had as many extravagances as anybody, but you have now become somewhat sobered down. It is a pity that some do get sobered down, for they are not where they were in the early days. We have to look to God for wisdom that we do not interfere or dampen the Spirit or quench the power of God when lie is manifested in our meetings. If you want to have an assembly full of life you must have an assembly full of manifestation. Nobody will come if there is no manifestation. We need to look to God for special grace that we do not move back to looking at things from a natural viewpoint.

The preacher, after he loses his unction, should inwardly repent and get right with God and get the unction back. We are no good without the unction of the Spirit of God. If you are filled with the grace of God you will not be judging everybody in the assembly, you will rather be trusting everybody, you will not be frightened at what is being done, you will have a heart to believe all things, and to believe that though there may be some extravagances, the Spirit of God will take control of things and will see that the Lord Jesus Christ Himself is exalted, glorified, and revealed to hungry hearts that desire to know Him. The Lord would have us wise unto that which is good and simple concerning evil, free from distrust, entering into a divine likeness to Jesus, that dares believe that God Almighty will surely watch over all. Hallelujah!

The Holy Ghost is the One who magnifies the Lord Jesus Christ, the One who gives illumination of Him. If you are filled with the Holy Ghost, it is impossible to keep your tongue still. Talk about a dumb baptized soul! It is not to be found in the Scriptures or outside of the Scriptures. We are filled with the Spirit in order that we may magnify the Lord, and there should be no meeting in which the saints do not glorify, magnify, praise, and worship the Lord in Spirit and in truth.

I would like to give one word of caution, for failure often comes through our not recognizing the fact that we are always in the body. We will need our bodies as long as we live. But our body is to be used and controlled by the Spirit of God. We are to present our bodies, holy and acceptable unto God, which is our reasonable service. Every member of our body must be so sanctified that it works in harmony with the Spirit of God. Our very eyes must be sanctified. God hates the winking of the eye. Front the day that I read in the Proverbs what God had to say about the winking of the eye (Prov. 6:13 and 10:10) I have never winked. I desire that my eyes may be so sanctified that they can always be used for the Lord. The Spirit of God will bring within us a compassion for souls that will be seen in our very eyes.

God has never changed the order of things that first, there comes the natural, and then the spiritual. For instance, when it is on your heart to pray, you begin in the natural and your second word will probably be under the power of the Spirit. You begin and God will end. It is the same in giving forth utterances under the Spirit’s power. You feel the moving of the Spirit within and you begin to speak and the Spirit of God will give forth utterance. Thousands have missed wonderful blessings because they have not had faith to move out and begin in the natural, in faith that the Lord would take them into the realm of the supernatural. When you receive the Holy Ghost you receive God’s Gift, in whom are all the gifts of the Spirit. Paul counsels Timothy to stir up the gift that was within. You have power to stir up God’s executive within you. The way you stir up the gift within you is by beginning in faith, and then He gives forth what is needed for the occasion. You would never begin unless you were full of God. When we yield to timidity and fear we simply yield to Satan. Satan. whispers, “It is all self.” He is a liar. I have learned this, If the Spirit of God is stirring me up, I have no hesitation in beginning to speak in tongues, and the Spirit of God gives me utterance and gives me the interpretation. I find that every time I yield to the Lord on this line I get a divine touch, I get a leading thought from the Spirit of God and the meeting is moved up on the line of faith.

You attend a meeting in faith, believing that the Lord is going to meet you there. But perhaps the evangelist is not in harmony with God. The people in the assembly are not getting what God wants. The Lord knows it. He knows His people are hungry. What happens? He will take perhaps the smallest vessels and put His power upon them. As they yield to the Spirit they break forth in a tongue. Another yields to the Spirit and there comes forth the interpretation. The Lord’s church has to be fed, and the Lord will take this means of speaking to His people. Pentecostal people cannot be satisfied with the natural message. They are in touch with heavenly things and cannot be satisfied with anything less. They feel when there is something lacking in a meeting, and they look to God and He supplies that which is lacking.

When a man is filled with the Spirit he has no conception of what he has. We are so limited in our conception of what we have received. The only way we can know the power that has been given is through the ministration and manifestation of the Spirit of God. Do you think that Peter and John knew what they had when they went up to the temple to pray? They were limited in thought, and limited in their expression. The nearer we get to God the more conscious we are of the poverty of the human and we cry with Isaiah, “I am undone, I am unclean.” But the Lord will bring the precious blood and the flaming coals for cleansing and refining and send us out to labor for Him empowered by His Spirit.

God has sent forth this outpouring that we may all be brought into a revelation of our sonship - that we are sons of God, men of power, that we are to be like the Lord Jesus Christ, that we are to have the powers of sonship, the power to lay hold of that which is weak and to quicken it. The Baptism of the Spirit is to make us sons of God with power. We shall be conscious of our human limits, but we shall not limit the Holy One who has come to dwell within. We must believe that since the Holy Ghost has come upon us we are indeed sons of God with power. Never say that you can’t. All things are possible to them that believe. Launch out into the deep and believe that God has His all for you, and that you can do all things through Him who, strengthens you.

Peter and John knew that they had been in the upper room, they had felt the glory, they had been given divine utterances. They had seen conviction on the people. They knew that they had come into a wonderful thing. They know that what they had would be ever increasing and that it would be ever needful to cry, “Enlarge the vessel that the Holy Ghost may have more room within.” They knew that all the old things were moved away and they had entered into an increasing and ever increasing knowledge of God, and that it was their Master’s wish that they should be filled with the Spirit of God and with power every day and every hour. The secret of power is the unveiling of Christ, the all-powerful One within, the revelation of God who comes to abide within us. As they looked upon the crippled man at the Beautiful Gate they were filled with compassion. They were prompted by the Spirit to stop and speak with him. They said to the lame man, “Look on us.” It was God’s plan that the man should open his eyes with expectation. Peter said, “Of silver and gold we have none. But we have something and we will give it to you. We don’t know what it is, but we give it to you. It is all in the name of Jesus.” And then began the ministry of God. You begin in faith and you see what will happen. It is bidden from us at the beginning, but as we have faith in God He will come forth. The coming forth of the power is not of us but of God. There is no limit to what He will do. It is all in a nutshell as you believe God. And so Peter said, “Such as I have I give to thee: in the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth rise up and walk.” And the man who had been in that way for forty years stood up, and began to leap, and entered into the temple walking and leaping and praising God.

“For to one is given by the Spirit the word of wisdom.” I want you to keep in mind the importance of never expecting the gifts of the Spirit apart from the power of the Spirit. In coveting the best gifts, covet to be so full of God and His glory that the gifts in manifestation will always glorify Him. We do not know all and we cannot know all that can be brought forth in the manifestation of the word of wisdom. One word of wisdom from God, one flash of light on the Word of God, is sufficient to save us from a thousand pitfalls. People have built without a word from God, they have bought things without a word from God, and they have been ensnared. They have lacked that word of wisdom which will bring them into God’s plan for their lives. I have been in many places where I have needed a word of wisdom from God and this has been vouchsafed.

I will give you one instance. There is one thing I am very grateful to the Lord for, and that is that He has given me grace not to have a desire for money. The love of money is a great hindrance to many; and many a man is crippled in his ministry because he lets his heart run after financial matters. I was walking out one day when I met a godly man who lived opposite me and he said, “My wife and I have been talking together about selling our house and we feel constrained to sell it to you.” As we talked together he persuaded me to buy his place, and before we said good-by I told him that I would take it. We always make big mistakes when we are in a hurry. I told my wife what I had promised, and she said, “How will you manage it?” I told her that I had managed things so far, but I did not know how I was going to get through this. I somehow knew that I was out of divine order. But when a fellow gets out of divine order it seems that the last person he goes to is God. I was relying on an architect to help me, but that scheme fell through. I turned to my relations and I certainly had a wet shirt as one after another turned me down. I tried my friends and managed no better. My wife said to me, “Thou hast never been to God Yet.” What could I do?

I have a certain place in our house where I go to pray. I have been there very often. As I went I said, “Lord, if You will get me out of this scrape, I will never trouble Thee on this line again.” As I waited on the Lord He just gave me one word. It seemed a ridiculous thing, but it was the wisest counsel. There is divine wisdom in every word He speaks. I came down to my wife, saying, “What do you think? The Lord has told me to go to Brother Webster.” I said, “It seems very ridiculous, for he is one of the poorest men I know.” He was the poorest man I knew, but he was also the richest man I knew, for he knew God. My wife said, “Do What God says, and it will be right.”

I went off at once to see him, and he said as he greeted me, “Smith, what brings you so early?” I answered, “The word of God.” I said to him, “About three weeks ago I promised to buy a house of a man, and I am short 100 pounds ($500). I have tried to get this money, but somehow I seem to have missed God.” “How is it,” he asked, “that you have come to me only now?” I answered, “Because I went to the Lord about it only last night.” “Well,” he said, “it is a strange thing; three weeks ago I had 100 pounds. For years I have been putting money into a co-operative system and three weeks ago I had to go and draw 100 pounds out. I hid it under the mattress. Come with me and you shall have it. Take it. I hope it will bring as great a blessing to you as it has been a trouble to me.” I had had a word from God, and all my troubles were ended. This has been multiplied in a hundred ways since that time. If I had been walking along filled with the Holy Ghost, I would not lave bought that house and would not have had all that strain. I believe the Lord wants to loose us from things of earth. But I am ever grateful for that word from God. There have been times in my life when I have been in great crises and under great weight of intercession. I have gone to the meeting without the knowledge of what I would say, but somehow or other God would vouchsafe the coming forth under the power of the Spirit of some word of wisdom, just what some souls in that meeting needed. As we look to God His mind will be made known, and His revelation and His word of wisdom will be forth coming.

“If thou shalt confess with thy mouth JESUS AS LORD, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved” (Romans 10:9).

“For TO THIS END Christ died and lived again, THAT. HE MIGHT BE LORD of both the dead and the living” (Romans 14:9).

The Gift of Tongues; Smith Wigglesworth

“Follow after charity, and desire spiritual gifts, but rather that ye may prophesy. For he that speaketh in an unknown tongue, speaketh not unto men, but unto God: for no man understandeth him; howbeit in the spirit he speaketh mysteries” (1 Cor. 14:1, 2).

It is necessary that we have a great desire for spiritual gifts. We must thirst after them and covet them earnestly because the gifts are necessary and important, that we, by the grace -of God having received the gifts, may be used for God’s glory.

God has ordained this speaking in an unknown tongue unto Himself as a wonderful, supernatural means of communication in the Spirit. As we speak to Him in the unknown tongue we speak wonderful mysteries in the Spirit. In Rom. 8:27 we read, “He that searcheth the hearts knoweth what is the mind of the Spirit, because he maketh intercession for the saints according to the will of God.” Many times as we speak unto God in an unknown tongue we are in intercession and as we pray thus in the Spirit we pray according to the will of God. And there is such a thing as the Spirit making intercession with groanings which cannot be uttered.

On this line I want to tell you about Willie Burton, who is laboring for God in the Belgium Congo. Brother Burton is a mighty man of God and is giving his life for the heathen in Africa. He took fever and went down to death. They said; “He has preached his last; what shall we do?” All their hopes seemed to be blighted, and there they stood, with broken hearts, wondering what was going to take place. They left him for dead; but, in a moment, without any signal, he stood right in the midst of them; and they could not understand it. The explanation he gave was this, that, when he came to himself, he realized a warmth going right through his body; and there wasn’t one thing wrong with him. How did it come about? It was a mystery until he went to London and was telling the people how he was left for dead, and then was raised up. A lady came up and asked for a private. conversation with him, and arranged a time. She asked, “Do you keep a diary?” He answered, “Yes.” She told him, “It happened on a certain day that I went to pray; and as soon as I knelt, I had you on my mind. -The Spirit of the Lord took hold of me and prayed through me in an unknown tongue. A vision came before me in which I saw you laid out helpless; and I cried out in the unknown tongue till I saw you rise up and go out of that room.” She had kept a note of the time and when he turned to his diary he found that it was exactly the time when he was raised up. There are great possibilities as we yield to the Spirit and speak unto God in quiet hours in our bedrooms. God wants you to be filled with the Holy Ghost so that everything about you shall be charged with the dynamic of heaven.

“He that speaketh in an unknown tongue edifieth himself; but he that prophesieth edifieth the church” (Verse 4). I want you to see that he that speaketh in an unknown tongue edifieth himself or builds himself up. We must be edified before we can edify the church. I cannot estimate what I, personally, owe to the Holy Ghost method of spiritual edification. I am here before you as one of the biggest conundrums in the world. There never was a weaker man on the platform. Language? None. Inability-full of it. All natural things in my life point exactly opposite to my being able to stand on the platform and preach the gospel. The secret is that the Holy Ghost came and brought this wonderful edification of the Spirit. I had been reading this Word continuallv as well as I could, but the Holy Ghost came and took hold of it, for the Holy Ghost is the breath of it, and He illuminated it to me. And He gives me language that I cannot speak fast enough; it comes too fast; and it is there because God has given it. When the Comforter is come He shall teach you ALL things; and He has given me this supernatural means of speaking in an unknown tongue to edify myself, so that, after being edified, I can edify the church.

In 1 John 2:20 we read, “But ye have an unction from the Holy One, and ye know all things.” In verse 27 we read, “But the anointing which ye have received of him abideth in you, and ye need not that any man should teach you; but as the same anointing teacheth you of all things, and is truth, and is no lie, and even as it hath taught you, ye shall abide in him.” Even, when you are baptized in the Spirit you may say, “I seem so dry, I don’t know where I am.” The Word says you have an unction. Thank God you have received an anointing. The Holy Ghost here says that He is abiding and that He teaches you of all things. These are great and definite positions for you. The Holy Ghost would have you stir up your faith to believe that this word is true that you have the unction and that the anointing abideth. As you rise up in the morning believe this wonderful truth, and as you yield to the Spirit’s presence and power you will find yourself speaking unto God in the Spirit and you will find that you are personally being edified by doing this. Let everything about you be a lie, but let this word of God be true. The devil will say you are the driest person and that you will never do anything, but you believe God’s word, that the anointing which ye have received of Him abideth in you.

“I would that ye all spake with tongues, but rather that ye prophesied: for greater is he that prophesieth than he that speaketh with tongues, except he interpret, that the church may receive edification.” You must understand that God would always have you to be in the place of prophecy, for everyone who has received the Holy Ghost has a right to prophesy. In verse 31 we read, “Ye may all prophesy one by one.” Now prophecy is far in advance of speaking in tongues, except that you have the interpretation of the speaking in tongues, and then God gets an equivalent to prophecy. In verse 13 we read, “Let him that speaketh in an unknown tongue, pray that he may interpret.” This is an important word.

After receiving the Baptism in the Holy Ghost and speaking in tongues as the Spirit gave utterance, I did not speak with tongues again for nine months. I was troubled about it because I went up and down laying hands upon people that they might receive the Holy Ghost, and they were speaking in tongues, but I did not have the joy of speaking myself. God wanted to show me that the speaking in tongues as the Spirit gave utterance, which I received when I received the Baptism, was distinct from the gift of tongues which I subsequently received. When I laid hands on other people and they received the Holy Ghost, I used to think, “Oh, Lord Jesus, it would be nice if You would let me speak.” He withheld the gift from me, for He knew that I would meet many who would say that the Baptism of the Holy Ghost can be received without the speaking in tongues, and that people simply received the gift of tongues when they received the Baptism. I did not receive the gift of tongues at that time, but nine months later I was going out of the door one morning, speaking to the Lord in my own heart, when there came a volume of tongues. When the tongues stopped I said to the Lord, “Now, Lord, I did not do it, and I wasn’t seeking it; so You have done it, and I am not going to move from this place until you give me interpretation.” And then came an interpretation which has been fulfilled all the world over. Is it the Holy Ghost who speaks? Then the Holy Ghost can interpret. Let him that speaks in a tongue pray that he may interpret, and God will give it. We must not rush through without getting a clear understanding of what God has to say to us.

“What is it then? I will pray with the spirit, and I will pray with the understanding also: I will sing with the spirit, and I will sing with the understanding also” (Verse 15) . If you pray in an unknown tongue in the Spirit you do not know what you are praying; you have no understanding of it. It is unfruitful to those round about you; but you have the same power to pray with the understanding under the unction of the Spirit as you have to pray in an unknown tongue. Some say, “Oh, I could do that, but it would be myself doing it.” If YOU pray, it is yourself, and everything you do in the beginning is yourself. I kneel down to pray and the first and second sentences. may be in the natural; but as soon as I have finished, the Spirit begins to pray through me. The first may be yourself. Granted. The next will be the Holy Ghost, and the Holy Ghost will take you through, praise the Lord. Everything but faith will say, “That isn’t right.” Faith says, “It is right.” The natural man says, “It isn’t right.” Faith says, “It is right.” Paul says, “I will pray with the spirit, and I will pray with the understanding also;” and he does it in faith. The devil is against it and your own self-life is against it. May God the Holy Ghost bring us into the blessed place where we may live, walk, pray and sing in the Spirit, and pray and sing with the understanding also. Faith will do it. Faith has a deaf ear to the devil and to the working of the natural mind, and a big ear to God. Faith has a deaf ear to yourself and an open ear to God. Faith won’t take any notice of feelings. Faith says, “You are complete in Him.”

It is a wonderful thing to pray in the Spirit and to sing in the Spirit, praying in tongues and singing in tongues as the Spirit of God gives you utterance. I never get out of bed in the morning without having communion with God in the Spirit. It is the most wonderful thing on earth. It is most lovely to be in the Spirit when you are dressing and you come out to the world and the world has no effect on you. You begin the day like that and you will be conscious of the guidance of the Spirit right through the day.

“I thank my God, I speak with tongues more than ye all: yet in the church I had rather speak five words with my understanding, that by my voice I might teach others also, than ten thousand words in an unknown tongue” (Ver. 18, 19). Many people will come round and say that Paul said he would rather speak five words with the known tongue than ten thousand words without understanding. Then will always leave out that part of the sentence, “I thank my God, I speak with tongues more than ye all.” Paul was here correcting the excessive speaking in tongues without interpretation, which was not for the edification of the assembly. If there was no interpreter present, they were simply to speak to themselves and to God. Suppose we had someone preaching and we had twenty or thirty people all up and down in tongues, it would be very serious. There would be confusion. The people who attend the meeting would rather have five words of edification, consolation and comfort than ten thousand words without understanding.

Because you feel a touch of the Spirit you are not obliged to speak in tongues. The Lord will give you a sound mind so that you will hold your body in perfect order for the edification of the church. But Paul here says that he spake in tongues more than they all; and, as it is evident that the Corinthian church was given to this thing very considerably, he certainly must have been speaking tremendously in tongues both day and night. He was so edified by this wonderful, supernatural means of being built up, that he could go to the church, and preaching in a manner so that they could all understand him, he would marvelously edify the saints.

“In the law it is written, With men of other tongues and other lips will I speak unto this people; and yet for all that will they not hear me, saith the Lord. Wherefore tongues are for a sign, not to them that believe, but to them that believe not” (Verses 21, 22). There are many who call themselves believers who are extremely unbelieving. One of the unbelieving “believers” was a Methodist minister who lived in Sheffield, England. A man gave him a check and told him to go and take a rest. This man also gave him my name and address; so, when he got to Bradford, he began to inquire about me. He was warned against me as one of the “tongues people,” and was told to be very careful and not to be taken in, for the whole thing was of the devil. He said, “They will not take ME in; I know too much for them to take me in.”

He was quite run down and needed rest; and when he came he said, “A friend of yours sent me, is it all right?” I replied, “Yes, you are welcome.” But we could do nothing with that man. It was impossible. Talk? You never heard anyone talk like him. It was talk, talk, talk, talk. I said, “Let him alone, he will surely finish some day.” We had dinner, and he talked through dinner time; we had the next meal and he talked through that.

It was our Friday night meeting for those seeking the Baptism and the room began to fill with people and still he talked. No one could get an edge in. He lodged himself in a place where he could not be disturbed by those coming in. I said, “Brother, you will have to stop now, we are going to pray.” As a general thing we had some singing before going to prayer; but this time it was different. It was God’s order. We got straight to prayer and as soon as we began to pray two young women, one on this side and the other on the other side began speaking in tongues. And this minister-it was all so strange to him-moved from one to the other to hear what they were saying. In a little while he said, “May I go to my room?” I said, “Yes, brother, if you wish.” So he went to his room and we had a wonderful time.

We went to bed about eleven o’clock or so and at half-past three in the morning this man came to the bedroom door. Knock, knock, “May I come in?” “Yes, come in.” He opened the door and said, “He is come, He is come”-holding his mouth, for he could hardly speak in English. I said, “Go back to bed, tell us tomorrow.” Tongues are for the unbeliever, and this man was an unbeliever, an unbelieving “believer.” Again and again I have seen conviction come upon people through the speaking in tongues.

The next morning he came down to breakfast and said, “Oh, was not that a wonderful night?” He said, “I know Greek and Hebrew, and those two young women were speaking these languages, one was saying in Greek, `Get right with God,’ and the other was saying the same thing in Hebrew. I knew it was God speaking, and I knew it was not they. I first had to repent. I came in an unbeliever, but I found that God was here. - In the night God laid me on the floor for about two hours. I was helpless. Then God broke through.” Here he began again to speak in tongues, right over the breakfast table.

God will have witnesses of His mighty power that no man can gainsay. You will have to see that the Holy Ghost will speak through you in tongues and interpretation which will bring conviction to the unbeliever in the open air; and you will find that God will convict by this means.

I will explain to you the most perfect way to receive the gift. Come with me to the second chapter of 2 Kings and I will show you a man receiving a gift. Elijah had been mightily used of God in calling down fire and in other miracles; and Elisha is moved with a great spirit of covetousness to have this man’s gifts. You can be very covetous for the gifts of the Spirit and God will allow it. When Elijah said to him, “I want you to stop at Gilgal,” Elisha said, “As the Lord liveth and as thy soul liveth, I will not leave thee.” There was no stopping him. When Elijah wanted Elisha to stop at Jericho he said in substance, “I am not stopping.” The man that stops gets nothing. O, don’t stop at Jericho; don’t stop at Jordan; don’t stop anywhere when God would have you move on into all of His fullness that He has for you.

They came to Jordan and Elijah took his mantle and smote the waters. They divided; and Elijah and Elisha went over on dry ground. Elijah turned to Elisha and said in substance, “Look here, what do you want?” Elisha was wanting what he was going to have, and you may covet all that God says that you shall have. Elisha said, “I pray thee, let a double portion of thy spirit be upon me.” This was the plow-boy, who had washed the hands of his master; but his spirit got so big that he purposed in his heart that, when Elijah stepped off the scene, he would be put into his place.

Elijah said, “Thou hast asked a hard thing: nevertheless, if thou see me when I am taken from thee, it shall be so unto thee.” May God help you never to stop persevering till you get what you want. Let your aspiration be large and your faith rise until you are wholly on fire for God’s best.

Onward they go, and as one steps, the other steps with him. He purposed to keep his eye on his master until the last. It took a chariot of fire and horses of fire to part them asunder, and Elijah went up by a whirlwind into heaven. I can fancy I hear Elisha crying out, “Father Elijah, drop that mantle!” And it came down. Oh, I can see it lowering, lowering and lowering. Elisha took all of his own clothes and rent them in two pieces, and then he took up the mantle of Elijah. I do not believe that, when he put on that other mantle, he felt any difference in himself; but when he came to Jordan, he took the mantle of Elijah and smote the waters and said, “Where is the Lord God of Elijah?” And the waters parted and he went over on dry ground. And the sons of the prophets said, “The spirit of Elijah doth rest upon Elisha.”

It is like receiving a gift; you don’t know that you have it till you act in faith. Brothers and sisters, as you ask, BELIEVE.