Pastor Ray shared…
I wanted to read from a book by Bill Johnson called “Defining Moments.” It’s about different ministry gifts and what took place in their lives. This one I want to read about is Smith Wigglesworth. I remember reading about prayer meetings Smith Wigglesworth had where he would invite different ministers to come. The power and presence of God was so strong that the ministers would actually crawl out of the room because they couldn’t take it. One pastor decided that he was going to stay in the room and not leave. All the others had left because the glory was so intense they couldn’t stand it. Finally, this pastor couldn’t take it anymore and he too had to crawl out. That’s how intense the power of God would become when Smith Wigglesworth prayed.
In this book, it talks about Smith before he was baptized in the Holy Ghost and was still a plumber. He met someone in England who told him about services going on in Sunderland and he invited him to come. He said, “I’ll pay for your way. They’re receiving tongues in these meetings.” So Smith decided to go. He said, “I already have the Holy Ghost but I don’t speak in tongues.” He had that belief. So he went with him. He disrupted the meetings continually because he wanted to hear somebody speak in other tongues and no one was. He confronted one of the speakers and said, “I want to hear tongues.” The man said, “I got baptized in the Holy Ghost.” He said, “Well, let me hear tongues.” Silence. Nothing.
So he created such a disturbance that they wanted to get him out of the meetings. That’s hunger! That stirred him all the more. Now I want to read a couple pages.
The Fire Falls
Wigglesworth recalled that “for four days I wanted nothing but God.” Before heading back on Wednesday, he went to say goodbye to the vicar’s wife, Mary Boddy.
As the days passed, I became more and more hungry for God. I had opposed the meetings so much, but the Lord was gracious, and I will always remember that last day—the day I was to leave. God was with me so much. They were to have a meeting, and I went, but I could not be still. This revival was taking place at an Episcopal church. I went to the rectory to say goodbye and there in the library, I said to Mrs. Boddy, the rector’s wife, “I cannot rest any longer; I must have these tongues now.”
She replied, “Brother Wigglesworth, it is not the tongues you need but the baptism. If you will allow God to baptize you, the other will be all right.”
I answered, “My dear sister, I know I am baptized. You know that I have to leave here at four o’clock. Please lay hands on me so that I may receive the tongues.”
She stood up and laid her hands on me, and the fire fell on me.
I said, “The fire’s falling.” There came a persistent knock at the door, and she had to go out. That was the best thing that could have happened, for I was alone with God.
Then He gave me a revelation. Oh, it was wonderful! He showed me an empty cross and Jesus glorified…
Then I saw that God had purified me. It seemed that God gave me a new vision, and I saw a perfect being within me, with mouth open saying, “Clean! Clean! Clean!” When I began to repeat it, I found myself speaking in other tongues. The joy was so great that, when I went to utter it, my tongue failed, and I began to worship God in other tongues “as the Spirit gave [me] utterance” (Acts 2:4).
It was all as beautiful and peaceful as when Jesus said, “Peace, be still!” The tranquility and the joy of that moment surpassed anything I had ever known up to that time. But, hallelujah, these days have grown with greater, mightier, more wonderful divine manifestations and power! That was only the beginning. There is no end to this kind of beginning. You will never come to the end of the Holy Spirit until you have arrived in glory—until you are right in the presence of God forever—and even then we will always be conscious of His presence.
After his encounter, Wigglesworth went straight to the church where Alexander Boddy was in mid-service and asked to share about his experience. Boddy had not yet received the Pentecostal baptism, and many others had been waiting for months there and had not yet come all the way “through” to speaking in tongues.
The place was full of people. I can’t remember what I said, but I know I made all those people extremely dissatisfied and discontented with their position. They said, “We have been rebuking this man because he was so intensely hungry, but he has come in for a few days and has received the Baptism and some of us have been waiting here for months and have not yet received it.” A great hunger came upon them all. From that day, God began to pour out His Spirit until in a very short while, fifty had received the Baptism.
Like John Wesley after his “strangely warmed heart” encounter, Wigglesworth was flooded with doubt and spiritual attack immediately following his encounter.
On the train to my home town, the Devil began questioning, “Are you going to take this to Bradford?” As regards my feelings at the moment, I had nothing to take, but the just do not live by feelings but by faith. So I shouted on the railroad coach to everyone’s amazement, “Yes, I’m taking it!” A great joy filled me as I made this declaration, but somehow I knew that from that moment, it would be a great fight all the time.”
I was so full of joy that I wired home to say that I had received the Holy Spirit.
As soon as I got home, my boy came running up to me and said, “Father, have you received the Holy Spirit?”
I said, “Yes, my boy.”
He said, “Let’s hear you speak in tongues.”
But I could not.
While those he prayed for received the gift of tongues, it was not until nine months later that Wigglesworth was able to speak in tongues again.
Results of Spirit-Baptism Encounter: Greater Anointing for Preaching
Immediately after Wigglesworth’s encounter, his wife, Polly, and others were skeptical. Polly said the true test would be the manner in which he preached on Sunday. By watching him, she would be able to tell if he had a different sort of baptism than the one she claimed to have already had. Wigglesworth preached on Isaiah 61:1–3 that morning with such assurance that Polly could barely believe it was her husband speaking! Revival immediately broke out. Wigglesworth recalled:
As soon as I had finished, the secretary of the mission got up and said, “Brethren, I want what the leader of our mission has got.” He tried to sit down but missed his seat and fell on the floor. There were soon fourteen of them on the floor, my own wife included. We did not know what to do, but the Holy Ghost got a hold of the situation and the fire fell. A revival started and the crowds came. It was only the beginning of the flood-tide of blessing. We had touched the reservoir of the Lord’s life and power.
Pastor Ray continued…
I love it, don’t you? Hungry and thirsty for more, standing up on a train and saying, “I’m taking it!” Taking what? The Holy Ghost to Bradford. Did the Holy Ghost go? Yes! He came and revival broke out. Then all the signs and wonders and supernatural things that took place in his life because he was willing to stay moving toward more. That’s what we’re doing today.
Prayed…
Lifting up brother Jesse… Saturday, 5 o’clock, Pastor Lynne… there is preparation that will take place in that meeting… then Sunday, other things will be declared that will prepare for the next week… for the message from heaven… for the words of God… for the things that need to be declared at this time and in these hours… signs and wonderful things, changes happening… the move of the Spirit… I can see that… the conditions and atmosphere… suddenly… a change in the atmosphere… a sound… a word… a change… and it’ll bring the change… and bodies will be rearranged… stopped in the way that they were going and changed in the direction that will bring complete and total restoration… open, open, openings… finances, resources on the increase… loosed, turning around, changing direction… the hand of God… the move of the Spirit… miracles… what will that be like, Lord… many… many changes… words… deposits… deposits internally… financial deposits… maybe some of the things the devil stole from you, have been returned but they shall all be returned… the lie of the enemy is that you will not get what’s coming to you, but you shall get what should be returned to you… and greater! And greater!… over and above, more…
we pray for our nation and President and leaders… we bring them before heaven today… You know their names, Father… You know what they’re doing… we lift them up and plead the blood over them… beginning with our President and all the way down through… we pray for the pray-ers that are praying in the White House… we are in agreement with them for the declarations they’ve been speaking forth that these things shall come to pass… we hold the blood against every lie and inaccuracy… wherever they come from… the source of it is the devil… we take authority over the enemy this morning and call those things stopped… confused… in Jesus’ name… this is one nation under God… and Jesus is Lord over America… and Minnesota is moving more and more into God’s perfect will and ways… thank You, Lord…
