Spiritual Power

The Pharisees and Sadducees had been tempting Jesus to

show them a sign from heaven. He showed them that they

could discern the signs that appeared on the face of the sky,

and yet could not discern the signs of the times. He would

give them no sign to satisfy their unbelieving curiosity,

remarking that a wicked and adulterous generation sought

after a sign, and that no sign would be given to them, but the

sign of the prophet Jonah. 

A wicked and adulterous

generation stumbles over the story of Jonah, but faith can see

in that story a wonderful picture of the death, burial and

resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ.

After Jesus had departed from the Pharisees, and had

come to the other side of the lake, He said to His disciples,

"Take heed, and beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and of

the Sadducees." The disciples began to reason among

themselves; and all they could think of was that they had

taken no bread. What were they to do? Then Jesus uttered

these words, "O ye of little faith!" He had been so long with

them, and yet they were still a great disappointment to Him,

because of their lack of comprehension and of faith. They

could not grasp the profound spiritual truth He was bringing

to them, and could only think about having brought no

bread. "O ye of little faith! Do ye not yet understand, neither

remember the five loaves of the five thousand, and how

many baskets ye took up? Neither the seven loaves of the

four thousand, and how many baskets ye took up?"

At one time Jesus said to Peter, "What thinkest thou,

Simon? of whom do the kings of the earth take custom or

tribute? of their own children or of strangers?" Peter said,

"Of strangers." Then Jesus said, "Then are the children free.

Nevertheless, lest we should offend them, go thou to the sea,

and cast a hook, and take up the fish that first cometh up; and

when thou hast opened his mouth, thou shalt find a piece of

money; take that, and give unto them, for me and thee." Peter

had been at the fishing business all his life, but he never had

caught a fish with any silver in its mouth. But the Master does

not want us to reason things out--for carnal reasoning will

always land us in a bog of unbelief--but just to obey. "This is

a hard job," Peter may have said, as he put the bait on his

hook, "but since You told me to do it, I'll try;" and he cast his

line into the sea. There were millions of fish in the sea, but

every fish had to stand aside and leave that bait alone, and let

that fish with the piece of money in his mouth come up and

take it.

A woman came to me in Cardiff, Wales, who was filled

with ulceration. She had fallen in the streets twice through

this trouble. She came to the meeting and it seemed as if the

evil power within her purposed to kill her right there, for she

fell, and the power of the devil was rending her sore. She was

helpless, and it seemed as if she had expired. I cried, "O God,

help this woman." Then I rebuked the evil power in the name

of Jesus, and instantly the Lord healed her. She rose up and

made a great to-do. She felt the power of God in her body

and wanted to testify all the time. After three days she went

to another place and began to testify about the Lord's power

to heal. She came to me and said, "I want to tell everyone

about the Lord's healing power. Have you no tracts on this

subject?" I handed her my Bible and said, "Matthew, Mark,

Luke, John--they are the best tracts on healing. They are full

of incidents about the power of Jesus. They will never fail to

accomplish the work of God if people will believe them."

There is where men lack. All lack of faith is due to not

feeding on God's Word. You need it every day. How can you

enter into a life of faith? Feed on the living Christ of whom

this Word is full. As you get taken up with the glorious fact

and the wondrous presence of the living Christ, the faith of

God will spring up within you. "Faith cometh by hearing, and

hearing by the Word of God" (Romans 10:17).

Jesus asked His disciples what men were saying about

Him. They told Him, "Some say that thou art John the

Baptist; some, Elias; and others, Jeremias, or one of the

prophets." Then He put the question, to see what they

thought about it, "But whom say ye that I am?" Peter

answered, "Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God."

And Jesus said to him, "Blessed art thou, Simon Bar-Jona: for

flesh and blood hath not revealed it unto thee, but my Father

which is in heaven." It is simple. Who do you say He is? Who

is He? Do you say with Peter, "Thou art the Christ, the Son

of the living God"? How can you know this? He is to be

revealed. Flesh and blood does not reveal this. It is an inward

revelation. God wants to reveal His Son within us and make

us conscious of an inward presence. Then you can cry, "I

know He is mine! He is mine! He is mine!" "Neither knoweth

any man the Father, save the Son, and he to whomsoever the

Son will reveal Him." Seek God until you get from Him a

mighty revelation of the Son, until that inward revelation

moves you on to the place where you are always steadfast,

unmovable, and always abounding in the work of the Lord.

There is a wonderful power in this revelation. "Upon this

rock I will build my church; and the gates of hell shall not

prevail against it. And I will give unto thee the keys of the

kingdom of heaven; and whatsoever thou shalt bind on earth,

shall be bound in heaven: and whatsoever thou shalt loose on

earth shall be loosed in heaven." Was Peter the rock? No. A

few minutes later he was so full of the devil that Christ had to

say to him, "Get thee behind me, Satan; thou art an offense

unto me." This rock was Christ. He is the Rock and there are

many scriptures to confirm this. And to everyone who knows

that He is the Christ He gives the key of faith, the power to

bind and the power to loose. Establish your hearts with this

fact.

I had been preaching on this line in Toronto, endeavoring

to show that the moment a man believes with all his heart

God puts into him a reality, a substance, a life; yea, God

dwells in him, and with the new birth there comes into us a

mighty force that is mightier than all the power of the enemy. A

man ran out of the meeting, and when I got home that night he was

there with a big, fine, tall man. This man said to me, "Three

years ago my nerves became shattered. I can't sleep. I have

lost my business. I have lost everything. I am not able to

sleep at all and my life is one of misery." I said to him, "Go

home and sleep in the name of Jesus." He turned around and

seemed reluctant to go; but I said to him, "Go!" and shoved

him out of the door.

The next morning he rang up on the telephone. He said

to my host, "Tell him I slept all night. I want to see him at

once." He came and said, "I'm a new man. I feel I have new

life. And now can you get me my money back?" I said,

"Everything!" He said, "Tell me how." I said, "Come to the

meeting tonight and I'll tell you." The power of God was

mightily present in that evening meeting, and he was greatly

under conviction. He made for the altar, but fell before he

got there. The Lord changed him and everything in him. He

is now a successful businessman. All his past failures had

come through a lack of the knowledge of God. No matter

what troubles you, God can shake the devil out, and

completely transform you. There is none like Him.

One day I was traveling in a railway train where there

were two sick people in the car, a mother and her daughter. I

said to them, "Look, I've something in this bag that will cure

every case in the world. It has never been known to fail."

They became very much interested, and I went on telling

them more about this remedy that has never failed to remove

disease and sickness. At last they summoned up courage to

ask for a dose. So I opened my bag, took out my Bible, and

read them that verse, "I am the Lord that healeth thee." It

never fails. He will heal you if you dare believe Him. Men are

searching everywhere today for things with which they can

heal themselves, and they ignore the fact that the Balm of

Gilead is within easy reach. As I talked about this wonderful

Physician, the faith of both mother and daughter went out

toward Him, and He healed them both, right in the train.

God has made His Word so precious that, if I could not

get another copy, I would not part with my Bible for all the

world. There is life in the Word. There is virtue in it. I find

Christ in it; and He is the One I need for spirit, soul and

body. It tells me of the power of His name and of the power

of His blood for cleansing. The lions may lack and suffer

hunger, but they that seek the Lord shall not want any good

thing (Psalm 34:10).

A man came to me at one time, brought by a little

woman. I said, "What's up with him?" She said, "He gets

situations, but he fails every time. He is a slave to alcohol and

nicotine poison. He is a bright, intelligent man in most things,

but he goes under to those two things." I was reminded of

the words of the Master, giving us power to bind and loose,

and I told him to put out his tongue. In the name of the Lord

Jesus Christ I cast out the evil powers that gave him the taste

for these things. I said to him, "Man, you are free today." He

was unsaved, but when he realized the power of the Lord in

delivering him, he came to the services, publicly

acknowledged that he was a sinner, and the Lord saved and

baptized him. A few days later I asked, "How are things with

you?" He said, "I am delivered." God has given us the power

to bind and the power to loose.

In another place a woman came to me and said, "I have

not been able to smell for twenty years; can you do anything

for me?" I said, "You shall smell tonight." Could I give

anybody that which had been lost for twenty years? Not of

myself, but I remembered the Rock on which God's church is

built, the Rock Christ Jesus, and His promise to give to His

own the power to bind and loose. We can dare to do anything

if we know we have the Word of God behind us. In the name

of the Lord Jesus I loosed this woman. She ran all the way

home. The table was full of good things, but she would not

touch a thing. She said, "I am having a feast of smelling!"

Praise the Lord for the fact that He Himself backs up his own

Word and proves the truth of it in these days of unbelief and

apostasy.

Another person came and said, "What can you do for

me? I have had sixteen operations and have had my ear

drums taken out." I said, "God has not forgotten how to

make ear drums." I anointed her and prayed, asking the Lord

that the eardrums should be replaced. She was so deaf that I

do not think she would have heard had a cannon gone off.

She was as deaf afterwards as it was possible to be. But she

saw other people getting healed and rejoicing. Has God

forgotten to be gracious? Was His power just the same? She

came the next night and said, "I have come tonight to believe

God." Take care you do not come in any other way. I prayed

for her again and commanded her ears to be loosed in the

name of Jesus. She believed, and the moment she believed

she heard, she ran and jumped upon a chair and began to

preach. Later I let a pin drop and she heard it fall. God can

give drums to ears. All things are possible with God. God can

save the worst.

Discouraged one, cast your burden on the Lord. He will

sustain you. Look unto Him and be lightened. Look unto

Him now.

by Smith Wigglesworth