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Smith Wigglesworth- The Price of Miracle Working Power
In Matthew chapter ten, Jesus declared:
“And as you go, preach, saying, ‘The kingdom of Heaven is at hand. Heal the sick, cleanse the lepers, raise the dead, cast out demons. Freely you have received, freely give.”
Matthew 10: 8
We are called to go forth following the same mandate, preaching the Gospel, and operating in God’s miracle-working power. We have seen people healed and captives set free, but what about raising the dead? In the ministry of Smith Wigglesworth, he saw several people raised from the dead, and when he shared the stories of such events, countless people would give themselves to the Lord. To Smith, the first thing was preaching the Gospel and seeing people come to know Jesus.
One of the greatest revivals Smith saw was in New Zealand. Smith had just begun his international ministry and was still very unknown, but he was invited to come to New Zealand in 1922.
At the meeting in Wellington, Smith shared how he was called to the house of a young lady who was dying of consumption. Smith told the parents to go to bed, and he would look after the patient and pray. Unfortunately, during the night, the girl died. It was at this point Smith explained that Satan appeared to him, saying, “I’ve got her safely held.”
Smith then said:
“I seemed to be in hell, and everything in the room turned to brass.”
As Smith shared this, everyone in the Wellington Town Hall event suddenly felt like everything turned to brass. Like Smith, they felt like they had been ushered into hell. Many of us have felt something similar when we are going through a major challenge. Smith went on to explain how his faith seemed to flee in Satan’s presence, but suddenly, he began crying out to God for help and started to plead the blood.
The moment we look at ourselves or our faith, we will always fail. The minute we allow circumstances to capture us, we begin to fail. We must run to Him, the Almighty miracle-working God. As Smith began crying out to Heaven and pleading the blood, the faith of God began to fill him. Smith dug his heels in and prayed through. Today, we have lost sight of praying through or having done all to stand holding unto the hem of His garments until Heaven moves. Today, we quit so easily, and we lack perseverance. Smith continued praying until suddenly two beams of light shone through the window, and as Smith looked, he saw the Master’s face, and He was smiling. Right then, color came back into the face of the dead woman who suddenly sat up, having been raised by the miracle-working power of God.
We can’t make God do one thing He doesn’t want to do, but He loves it when we get a vision of Heaven and dare believe Him. As Smith shared what happened, the power of God moved in the Town Hall, and 500 people came under great conviction and received the Lord as Savior.
One night, as Smith walked along the seashore, someone asked him the secret of his success. Smith, in a broken voice, responded:
“I am sorry you asked me that question, but I will answer it.” I am a broken-hearted man. My wife who meant everything to me, died eleven years ago. After the funeral I went back and lay on her grave. I wanted to die there. But God spoke to me and told me to rise up and come away. I told Him, if he would give to me a double portion of the Spirit- my wife’s my own- I would go and preach the Gospel. God was gracious to me and answered my request. But I sail the high-seas alone. I am a lonely man, and many a time all I can do is to weep and weep.’
It is written
“The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit, a broken and a contrite heart- these, O God, You will not despise.”
Psalm 51: 17
The Smith, we all know, was the man after his wife’s death. It was only after her death that Smith began to travel and even though he was a nobody, God opened the doors. We must understand the importance of sowing the seed of obedience which often comes at great cost.
Smith had a series of visions of revivals and believed that before the Lord returned, there would be one final revival. Smith said:
“I have had three visions- three only. The first two have already come to pass, but the third is yet to be fulfilled. I will most likely pass on to my reward, but you are a young man, and will most likely be in what I saw. O it is amazing! Amazing!
Smith went on to explain:
I cannot tell God’s secrets, but you will remember what I say- this revival we have had is nothing to what God is yet going to do.”
But the price of seeing great power and revival is obedience and like Jesus, we learn obedience through the things we suffer.
“I want you to notice that in all times, in all histories of the world, whenever there has been a divine rising, revelation, God coming forth with dispensational orders of the Spirit you will find there have been persecutions all over. You take the case of the three Hebrew children, and also Daniel, and Jeremiah. With any person in the old dispensation, as much as in the new, there has arise trouble and difficulty. What for? Because of three thing very much against revelations of God and the Spirit of God. First, humanity- Flesh; natural things are against divine things. Evil powers work upon this position of the human life, and especially when the will is unyielded to God, then the powers of darkness rise up against the powers of divine order, but they never defeat them.”
The next thing, Smith explained, was sanctification.
“The Holy Ghost wants us to understand our privileges- elect according to the foreknowledge of God through sanctification of the Spirit is not on the lines of sin cleansing. It is a higher order than redemption work. The blood of Jesus is rich unto all, powerful and cleansing, also takes away other powers and transforms us by the mighty power of God: but when sin is gone, yes, when we are clean and know we have the Word of God right in us and the power of the Spirit is bringing anything to a place where we triumph, then comes revelation by the power of the Spirit lifting you into higher ground, into the fullness of God, which unveils the Christ in such a way, it is called our sanctification of the Spirit.”
Are we willing to leave the world and follow the Lord recklessly? We think of the disciples who left the old life behind and followed Jesus. In addition, they left behind their old lives and sins.
This sanctification of the Spirit must create in us a hunger or, as Smith explained:
“Catch a glimpse of Heaven, with our heart always on the wing, where you grasp everything spiritual, when everything divine makes you hungry, everything seasonable in spiritual fidelity will make you long after it.”
This call of sanctification is a call of obedience.
“It is through sanctification of the Christ unto obedience and sprinkling of the blood of Jesus Christ. There is no sanctification if it is not sanctification unto obedience.”
The call of obedience must have no resistance or refusal. As Smith explained:
“Beloved, don’t have BUTS, for if you do there is something not yielded to the Spirit. I do pray God the Holy Ghost that we may be willing to yield ourselves to the sanctification of the Spirit.”
We must walk with a now and living vision or hope from Heaven. When we lose the vision, we wander. But the vision comes at a price, and it demands obedience to Heaven. Smith added that we must have a living hope burning in our spirits that spurs us into action. Smith explained:
Lively hope is movement, lively hope is looking into. Lively hope is oppressing into. Lively hope is leaving everything behind you. Lively hope is keeping the vision. Lively hope sees Him coming and you live in it, the lively hope. You are not trying to make yourself feel that you are believing, but the lively hope is ready, waiting, lively hope is filled with joy of expectation of the King. Praise the Lord!”
Sadly, many believers lose sight that this is not our home and Jesus is coming soon. They begin to interpret the return as simply spiritual, not real and actual. We must be absolutely in love with Jesus and not this world. The only answer for the world is Him.
Smith said:
The joy of the Lord is everything. The soul lifteth up like the golden grain ready to be ingathered for the great sheaf: All ready, waiting, rejoicing, longing for Him…How He loves us, hovers over us, rejoiceth in us. How the Lord by the Holy Ghost takes a drink with us and our cup is full and running over. “
Then Smith added:
“May the Lord help you to thirst after this glorious life of Jesus. Oh, brother it is more than new wine, the Holy Ghost is more than new wine, the Holy Ghost is the manifestation of the glories of the new creation. An inheritance incorruptible.
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