by Smith Wigglesworth.
Ever Increasing Faith, 1924. Chapter 1.
Preached at the Springfield Assembly, Springfield, Mo.
December 9, 1922.
“For verily I say unto you, That whosoever shall say unto this mountain, Be thou removed, and be thou cast into the sea; and shall not doubt in his heart, but shall believe that those things which he saith shall come to pass; he shall have whatsoever he saith. Therefore I say unto you, What things soever ye desire when ye pray, believe that ye receive them, and ye shall have them.” [Mk 11.23-24]
These are days when we need to have our faith strengthened, when we need to know God. God has designed that the just shall live by faith. [Ro 1.17] Any man can be changed by faith, no matter how he may be fettered. I know that God’s word is sufficient. One word from Him can change a nation. His word is from everlasting to everlasting. It is through the entrance of this everlasting Word, this incorruptible seed, that we are born again, and come into this wonderful salvation. Man cannot live by bread alone, but must live by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God. [Mt 4.4] This is the food of faith. Faith cometh by hearing and hearing by the Word of God. [Ro 10.9]
Everywhere men are trying to discredit the Bible and take from it all the miraculous. One preacher says, “Well, you know, Jesus arranged beforehand to have that colt tied where it was, and for the men to say just what they did.” I tell you God can arrange everything without going near. He can plan for you, and when He plans for you, all is peace. All things are possible if you will believe.
Another preacher said, “It was an easy thing for Jesus to feed the people with five loaves, The loaves were so big in those days that it was a simple matter to cut them into a thousand pieces each.” But He forget that one little boy brought those five loaves all the way in his lunch basket. There is nothing impossible with God. All the impossibility is with us when we measure God by the limitations of our unbelief.
We have a wonderful God, a God whose ways are past finding out, and whose grace and power are limitless. I was in Belfast one day and saw one of the brethren of the assembly. He said to me, “Wigglesworth, I am troubled. I have had a good deal of sorrow during the past five months. I had a woman in my assembly who could always pray the blessing of heaven down on our meetings. She is an old woman, but her presence is always an inspiration. But five months ago she fell and broke her thigh. The doctors put her into a plaster cast, and after five months they broke the cast. But the bones were not properly set and so she fell and broke the thigh again.”
He took me to her house, and there was a woman lying in a bed on the right hand side of the room. I said to her, “Well, what about it now?” She said, “They have sent me home incurable. The doctors say that I am so old that my bones won’t knit. There is no nutriment in my bones and they could never do anything for me, and they say I shall have to lie in bed for the rest of my life.” I said to her, “Can you believe God?” She replied, “Yes, ever since I heard that you had come to Belfast my faith has been quickened. If you will pray, I will believe. I know there is no power on earth that can make the bones of my thigh knit, but I know there is nothing impossible with God.” I said, “Do you believe He will meet you now?” She answered, “I do.”
It is grand to see people believe God. God knew all about this leg and that it was broken in two places. I said to the woman, “When I pray, something will happen.” Her husband was sitting there; he had been in his chair for four years and could not walk a step. He called out, “I don’t believe. I won’t believe. You will never get me to believe.” I said, “All right,” and laid my hands on his wife in the name of the Lord Jesus. The moment hands were laid upon her the power of God went right through her and she cried out, “I’m healed.” I said, “I’m not going to assist you to rise. God will do it all.” She arose and walked up and down the room, praising God.
The old man was amazed at what had happened to his wife, and he cried out, “Make me walk, make me walk.” I said to him, “You old sinner, repent.” He cried out, “Lord, You know I never meant what I said. You know I believe.” I don’t think he meant what he said; anyhow the Lord was full of compassion. If He marked our sins, where would any of us be? If we will meet the conditions, God will always meet us, if we believe all things are possible. I laid my hands on him and the power went right through the old man’s body, and those legs, for the first time for four years received power to carry his body, and he walked up and down and in and out. He said, “O what great things God has done for us tonight!”
”What things soever ye desire when ye pray, believe that ye receive them, and ye shall have them.” [Mk 11.24] Desire toward God and you will have desires from God and He will meet you on the line of those desires when you reach out in simple faith.
A man came to me in one of my meetings who had seen other people healed and wanted to be healed, too. He explained that his arm had been fixed in a certain position for many years and he could not move it. “Got any faith?” I asked. He said that he had a lot of faith. After prayer he was able to swing his arm round and round. But he was not satisfied and complained, “I feel a little bit of trouble just there,” pointing to a certain place. I said, “Do you know what is the trouble with you?” He answered, “No.” I said, “Imperfect faith.” What things soever ye desire when ye pray. believe that ye receive them, and ye shall have them. [Mk 11.24]
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