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p. 9 by Smith Wigglesworth
The Pentecostal Evangel, 9 April 1927.
Preached in Melbourne, Australia.

Let us read the 14th chapter of John’s gospel tonight, but take the 12th, 13th, and 14th verses for our lesson. Jesus is speaking and the Spirit can take the words of our Lord Jesus and make them as real to us as if he were speaking tonight. He says, “Verily, verily, I say unto you; He that believeth on me, the works that I do shall he do also: and greater works than these shall he do; because I go unto my Father. And whatsoever ye shall ask in my name, that will I do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son. If ye shall ask any thing in my name, I will do it.”

“He that believeth on me… greater works than these shall he do.” What a word! Is it true? If you want truth where will you get it? “Thy word is truth,” he said to the Father. When you take up God’s word you get the truth. God is not the author of confusion or error, but enlightens and brings forth that which reveals truth unto us like the noon-day. It changes us, and we enter into the fellowship, into communion, into faith, into assurance, into God’s likeness, for we saw the truth and believed. I see that faith is an operative power. God opens the understanding of your heart and shows things you would never know if your mind had never been opened.

I do not think we have greater words than are in Romans 4.16, “Therefore it is of faith that it might be by grace.” Grace is God’s benediction coming right down to you, and when you open the door to him, which is an act of faith, he does all you want. It is by faith that it might be by grace. You are the one to open the way; God is the one to replenish your need all along the way.

Our Lord Jesus comes to us and says, “You have seen me work and you know how I work.” Did anyone ever work as he did? I do not mean his carpentering. No; he works in the hearts of the people. He drew them to him. They came with their needs, with their depressions to him, and he relieves them all. This royal visitor, who came from the Father to express his love, talked to men, spent time with them in their homes, and most likely slept with them, and he said, “You see what I have been doing: Healing the sick, relieving the oppressed, casting out demons. The works that I do shall ye do also.” Dare you believe? Will you take up the work he left and carry it on?

“He that believeth on me.” What’s this? What does it mean? How can just believing bring these things to pass? What virtue is there in it? It is because he said it. If we will take it up and also say it, it shall be accomplished in our lives. “He that believeth… greater works than these shall he do.” But unbelief has hindered our progress in both our human activity and our divine activity.

But put away unbelief. Open the heart to God’s grace and God will come and place in you a definite faith. He wants to move every obstruction there is in the world from before you. By the grace of God I want to so establish you that when you go out of this place, that whatever comes across your path you can rise with divine power to rebuke and destroy it.

It is a matter of definite and clear understanding between us and God, and we see now that Jesus has a life force to put in us that changes everything, that we dare to believe it will change. “He that believeth that Jesus is the Christ overcomes the world.” Because we believe that Jesus is the Christ, the essence of divine life in us by faith, causes a perfect separation between us and the world. We have no room for sin. It is a joyful thing for us to be doing that which is right. This is a divine revelation. As with sin in the world, so with sickness and afflictions in the world, both in us and others. He that believeth—he that dares to believe—he that dares to trust—it will come to pass. I will give you an instance.

A needy creature came to me in a meeting, all withered and wasted—no hope—absolute death in his eyes. He was so helpless that he had to have someone on each side to bear him up. He came to me and said in a whisper, “Can you help me?” Let Jesus answer. “He that believeth on me.” “I will give you power over all the powers of the enemy.” These are the words of our Lord Jesus. If you believe on him, the power of the enemy, however evil the nature, cannot stand. God’s word is against him. It is not our word, and yet God makes it like a burning passion in us, and by so doing makes it ours because it is the word—it is the life, and we have taken the life of Jesus into us. We become supernatural by the power of God. We find this power working through every part of our body.

Now Jesus said something besides this. Jesus gave us something besides faith. Jesus gives us something to make faith effectual. Whatever you desire, if you believe in your heart, you can begin to say, and whatever you dare to say it shall be done. It is the most astounding the things we have promised in the scripture. “He shall have whatsoever he saith” after he believes in his heart.

This afflicted man stands before me helpless and withered. He had had cancer in his stomach. The physicians had taken away the cancer from the stomach, but in removing it took away the man’s swallowing power. Now the cancer is removed, and apparently his life is spared, but he could not swallow. So in order to keep him alive they made a hole in his stomach and put in a tube about nine inches long, with a cup at the top, and he fed himself with liquid. For three months he is kept just alive, walking about like a skeleton. Now, what shall I say to him? “Verily I say unto you,” and again, “If you will believe.” “The things that I have done ye shall do also, and greater things than these shall you do because I go to the Father” The word of God is right—he is with the Father, and grants us our requests and makes these things manifest if we believe. Now what should I do with such a man? Believe the word, of course!

So I believed the word, “He shall have whatsoever he saith,” and said, “Go home and have a good supper.”

He said, “I cannot swallow.”

“Go home and have a good supper,” I repeated. “On the authority of the word of God I say it. Jesus said it. Go home in the name of Jesus and have a good supper.”

He went home—supper was made. Many times had he had food in his mouth but had been forced to put it out again. But here is a man—a natural man just like you. I am here to inspire you. I dared to believe that he would be able to swallow that night. He filled his mouth full as he had done before, and because someone dared to believe God’s word and say to him, “You shall have a good supper in the name of Jesus,” when he chewed his food it went right down, and he ate till he was quite satisfied.

He and his family went to bed filled with joy. Next morning when they rose they were filled with the same joy. Life had begun again. Naturally he looked down to see the hole that had been made in his stomach by the physicians. But God knew that he did not want two holes, and so when God opened his mouth he closed the other hole in his stomach. And that is the kind of God we have all the time; a God who knows; a God who acts, and brings things to pass when we believe. God wants you to see this truth as I have given it to you. Dare to believe, and then dare to speak, for you shall have whatsoever you say if you doubt not.

A woman came to me one night and inquired, “Can I hear again? Is it possible for me to ever hear again? I have had several operations, and the drums of my ears taken away.” I said, “If God has not forgotten how to make drums for ears, you can hear again.” Do you think God has forgotten? What does God forget? “When he forgives he forgets,” as the song goes; but he has not forgotten how to make drums for ears.

When I was here five years ago a woman told me that her lungs were in ribbons, and that she could part with a pint of pus any time. God squared up that woman at one meeting.

Not very long ago, the power of God was very much on the meeting, and I was telling the people that they could be healed without my going to them. If they would rise up I would pray, and the Lord would heal. There was a man who put up his hands. I said, “Can’t that man rise?” They said he could not and lifted him up. When it was manifest that that man was healed—that his ribs which had been broken and not joined were healed—there was such faith in the place that a little girl said, “Please, gentleman, come to me.” You could not see her, she was so small. The mother said, “My little girl wants you to come.” So I went over to this little girl. She was about 14 years old. She said, with tears streaming down her face, “Will you pray for me?” I said, “Dare you believe?” She said, “Oh, yes.” The meeting had made me long for Jesus. I was so moved. I prayed and placed my hands on her head in the name of Jesus. “Mother,” she said, “I am being healed. Take these things off—take them all off.”

The mother loosed straps and bands, and she said, “Mother, I am sure I am healed; take these off.” She had straps on her legs, and an iron on her foot about 3½ inches deep, and asked her mother to unstrap that. Her mother took off the straps. There were not many people with dry eyes as they saw that girl walk about with legs quite as true as when she was born. God healed her right away. What did it? “Please, gentleman, come to me,” she had said, her longing coupled with faith. I come to you tonight—I see that we can just be children.

God has hidden these things from the wise and prudent, but He reveals them to babes. There is something in a childlike faith in God that makes us dare to believe. I want you to know that whatever there is in your life that is bound—the name of Jesus—the power of the name—shall break if you believe. And then he says, “Whatsoever you shall ask in my name I will do it,” and he says, “When I do it God will be so pleased that he will be glorified in me.” God will be glorified in Jesus when you receive the life from Jesus through your faith.

God grant unto you tonight—God breathe through you tonight—help you tonight to take your stand for God. Dare to believe. Men of intellect—men of thought—I have before me, I believe, and women who long that God should use them. Do you think that the truth could come tonight to mock you? Don’t you see that God really means that you should live in the world to relieve the oppression of the world, and that is why God has brought us together tonight—to be quickened, to be molded afresh—that the Word of God may change everything that needs to be changed, both in us and for others as we dare to believe and command it to be done.

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