A Sermon on Faith by Smith Wigglesworth

“By faith Abel offered unto God a more excellent sacrifice than Cain. . . by faith Enoch was translated that he should not see death.. . by faith Noah. . . pre¬pared an ark to the saving of his house. .. by faith Abraham, when he was called to go out into a place which he should after receive for an inheritance, obeyed” (Hebrews 11:4-. There is only one way to all the treasures at God, and that is the way of faith. All things are possible; the fulfilling of all promises is to him that believeth.

When the ward came to Zacharias, he was filled with unbelief until the angel said, “Thou shalt be dumb... because thou believest not my words” (Luke 1:20). Mary said, “Be it unto me according to thy word” (Luke 1:3 . And the Lord was pleased that she be¬lieved that there would be a performance. When we be¬lieve what God has said, there shall be a performance.

There were people praying all night that Peter might come out of prison. But there seemed to be one thing missing despite all their praying, and that was faith. Rhoda had more faith than all the rest of them. When the knock came at the door, she ran to it, for she was expecting an answer to her prayers; and the moment she heard Peter’s voice, she ran back and announced to them that Peter was standing at the door. And all the people said, “You are mad. It isn’t so.” That was not faith. When she insisted that he was there, they said, “Well, perhaps God has sent his angel” But Rhoda in¬sisted, “it is Peter.” And Peter continued knocking. And they went out and found it so. What Rhoda had believed for had become a glorious fact.

Beloved, we may do much praying and groaning, but we do not receive from God because of that; we receive because we believe. But when a man labors in prayer, he groans and travails because his tremendous sin is weighing him down, and he becomes broken in the presence
of God; and when properly melted he comes into perfect harmony with the divine plan of God, and then God can work in that clay. He could not before. Prayer changes hearts, but it never changes God. He is the same yesterday, and today, and for ever — full of love, full of compassion, full of mercy, full of grace, and ready to bestow this and communicate that to us as we come in faith to Him.

Believe that when you come into the presence of God you can have all you came for. You can take it away, and you can use it, for all the power of God is at your disposal in response to your faith, The price for all was paid by the by Jesus Christ at Calvary.

We read in Hebrews 11:5, “By faith Enoch was translated that he should not see death . . . before his translation he had this testimony, that he pleased God.” We are called to walk together with God through the Spirit. It is delightful to know that we can talk with God and hold communion with Him. Through this wonderful baptism in the Spirit which the Lord gives us, He en¬ables us to talk to Himself in a language that the Spirit has given, a language which no man understands, but which He understands, a language of love. Oh, how wonderful it is to speak to Him in the Spirit, to let the Spirit lift, and lift and lift us until He takes us into the very presence of God! I pray that God by His Spirit may move all of us so that we walk with God, even as Enoch walked with Him. But beloved, It is a walk by faith and not by sight, a walk of believing the Word of God.

I want to show you the difference between our faith and the faith of Jesus. Our faith is limited and comes to an end. Most people have experienced coming to the place where they have said, “Lord, I can go no further. I have gone so far, and I cannot go on.” But God can help us and take us beyond this. I remember one night, being in the north of England. I was taken into a house where there was a young woman lying on her bed, a very helpless case. Her reason was gone and many things were manifested that were absolutely satanic.

She was a beautiful young woman. Her husband was quite a young man. He came in with a baby in his arms, leaned over and kissed his wife. The moment he did so she threw herself over on the other side of the bed, just as a lunatic would do, with no consciousness of the presence of her husband. It was heartbreaking. The husband took the baby and pressed the baby’s lips to the mother. Again there was a wild frenzy. I said to the sister who was attending her, “Have you anybody to help?” She answered, “We have done everything we could.” I said, “Have you no spiritual help?” Her hus¬band stormed and said, “Spiritual help? Do you think we believe in God after we have had seven weeks of no sleep and this maniac condition? If you think we believe in God, you are mistaken. You have come to the wrong house.”

There was a young woman about eighteen who grinned at me as she passed out of the door, as much as to say, “You cannot do anything.” But this brought me to a place of compassion for this poor young woman. And then with what faith I had I began to penetrate the heavens. I was soon out on the heights. And I tell you I have never seen a man get anything from God who prayed on the earth level. If you get anything from God you will have to pray right into heaven, for all you want is there. If you are living an earthly life, all taken up with sensual things, and expect things from heaven, they will never come. God wants us to be a heavenly people, seated with Him in the heavenlies, and laying hold of all the things in heaven that are at our disposal.

I saw there, in the presence of that demented girl, limitations to my faith; but as I prayed there came another faith into my heart that could not be denied, a faith that grasped the promises, a faith that believed God’s Word. I came from the presence of the glory back to earth. I was not the same man. I confronted the same conditions I had seen before, but this time It was in the name of Jesus. With a faith that could shake hell and move anything else, I cried to the demon power that was making this young woman a maniac, "Come out of , In the name of Jesus!” She rolled over and fell asleep, and awakened In fourteen hours, perfectly sane and perfectly whole.

Enoch conversed with God. I want to live in constant conversation with God. I am so grateful that from my youth up, God has given me a relish for the Bible. I find the Bible food for my soul It is strength to the believer. It builds up our character in God. And as we receive with meekness the Word of God, we are being changed by the Spirit from glory to glory. And by this Book comes faith, for faith cometh by hearing. and hearing by the Word of God.

I believe that all our failures come because of an imperfect understanding of God’s Word. I see that it is im¬possible to please God on any other line but by faith, and everything that is not of faith is sin. You say, “How can I obtain this faith?” You see the secret in Hebrews 12:2, “Looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith.” He is the author of faith. Oh, the might of our Christ who created the universe and upholds it all by the might of His power! He who made this vast universe will make us a new creation. He spoke the word and the stars came into being; can He not speak the word that will produce a mighty faith in us? Ah, this One who is the author and finisher of our faith comes and dwells within us, quickens us by His Spirit, and molds us by His will. And he who has begun a good work within us will complete it and perfect it, for He not only is the author but the finisher and perfecter of our faith.

The Word of God is quick and powerful, and sharp¬er than any twoedged sword, piercing even to the divid¬ing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart” (Hebrews 4:12). How the Word of God severs the soul and the spirit — the soul which has a lot of carnality, a lot of selfishness in it, a lot of evil in it! Thank God, the Lord can sever from us all that is earthly and sensual, and make us spiritual people. He an bring all our selfishness to the place of death and bring the life of Jesus into our being to take the place of that earthly and sensual thing that is destroyed by the living Word.

The living Word pierces right to the very marrow. When I was In Australia, so many people came to me with double curvature of the spine; but the word of the Lord came right down to the very marrow of their spines, and instantly they were healed and made straight as I laid hands on them in the name of Jesus. The divine Son of God, the living Word, through His power, moved upon those curvatures of the spine and straightened them out. Oh, thank God for the mighty power of the Word!

God has come to lead us out of ourselves into Himself, and to take us from the ordinary into the extraordi¬nary, from the human into the divine, and make us after the image of His Son. Oh, what a Savior! it is written, “Now are we the sons of God, and it doth not yet ap¬pear what we shall be: but we know that, when he shall appear, we shall be like him; for we shall see him as he is” (1 John 3:2). But even now, the Lord wants to transform us from glory to glory, by the Spirit of the liv¬ing God. Have faith in God, have faith in the Son, have faith in the Holy Spirit; and the Triune God will work in you, working in you to will and to do all the good pleasure of His will."

i truly believe that is how faith works,and that is how we need to be