Experience the incredible life and healing ministry of Smith Wigglesworth - God's Apostle of Faith. Smith Wigglesworth was God's apostle of faith. Married to Polly Wigglesworth they impacted the world with divine healing and faith toward God.
Smith Wigglesworth had a plumbing business in Bradford, England. Every Tuesday he would take people to Leeds to a group that practiced divine healing because they could not persuade Smith that the people could be healed in Bradford. Smith's wife Polly was healed in Leeds.
One day the leaders decided to go to the Keswick Convention and leave Smith in charge of the meetings at Bradford. Reluctantly Smith agreed. He hoped to persuade another to preach, but each person he asked insisted that he must do it himself.
In that meeting, as Smith Wigglesworth preached, he could not remember what he said, but fifteen came out for healing. The first man was healed instantly after prayer. No one was more surprised than Smith Wigglesworth. This healing encouraged the others to believe God, and they were all healed. Smith said it was not his faith healing the man, but God helping the man in his hour of need. As a result, healing meetings were started in Bradford.
The work grew, and they moved to other premises in Bowland Street. The text at the front read, "I am the Lord that healeth thee" and was an inspiration to many. A brother with a healing ministry came and was invited home for tea. Polly asked, "What would you think of a man who preaches divine healing, yet uses medical means every day?" "I should say that man did not fully trust the Lord" was the answer. After the meal, Smith Wigglesworth said he had suffered from hemorrhoids since childhood and used salts every day. They agreed to trust God for healing and, from that time forward, his system functioned naturally without any means whatsoever.
THE PLEDGE
After this, Smith Wigglesworth and his wife pledged to God, "From henceforth no medicine, no doctors, no drugs of any kind shall come into our house." Not long afterward, Smith Wigglesworth was gripped by a violent pain and brought home. He and Polly prayed all night but, as he was worse, he thought it was his "home call." Smith Wigglesworth reminded her of their agreement that, if one received a home call, the other would send for the doctor to avoid the embarrassment of an inquest and the condemnation of outsiders.
THE DEVIL CAME OUT
The doctor diagnosed Smith Wigglesworth with appendicitis in an advanced state. The only hope would be an immediate operation, but his body was probably too weak. The doctor left, promising to return later. An elderly lady and a young man came and prayed. The young man laid his hands on Smith Wigglesworth and cried, "Come out, devil, in the name of Jesus." Smith Wigglesworth testified, "To my surprise, the devil came out, and I felt as well as I had ever been." He went downstairs and told his surprised wife, "I am healed." Answering a lady who left an urgent message in need of a plumber Smith Wigglesworth went to help her.
While he was out the doctor returned and pronounced, "They will bring him back a corpse!" That "corpse" preached the gospel in many parts of the world for another 40 years. He was instrumental in bringing thousands of people to salvation, baptism in the Spirit and healing in God. About twenty people were raised from the dead during Smith Wigglesworth's ministry. He believed great trials lead to a deeper experience with God. "Only melted gold is minted," was one of his sayings.
WIGGLESWORTH'S EARLY LIFE
Smith Wigglesworth was born in 1859, and at the age of seven, he was working twelve hours a day with his father to supplement the family finances. As a result, he had little education. He was born again at eight and immediately sought to win others to Jesus Christ. His mother was his first convert.
Wigglesworth was called by God to, "Come out." First from the Methodist, then the Anglican, Brethren, Salvation Army, and so on. He ministered in Elim and Assemblies of God but remained independent of any denomination.
His wife, Polly, was a great help, teaching him to read and write. Smith Wigglesworth slipped back when his business prospered, and God used her to restore him. He had a violent temper, but God gave him victory.
In 1907, when he was 48, he was baptized in the Holy Spirit and spoke in other tongues. His wife was a good preacher, and she had tried, without much success to help Smith Wigglesworth. She and many others were surprised at his fluency after the baptism in the Spirit.{module America's Greatest Tent Preacher Multimedia CD Promotion}
HIS PREACHING
Smith Wigglesworth read little other than the Bible. He waited for the Spirit to direct him to a particular passage for his ministry. He often gave a short message in tongues that he immediately interpreted.
Frequently he would quote a chorus. "Only Believe" was one of his favorites. Another, which was his testimony, was, "I know the Lord laid His hand on me. Filled! A flowing, quickening, moving flame of God."
Some examples of God's healing power would be related. He believed his sermons should make his hearers either glad or mad! He would say, "If you do not progress every day, you are backsliding.
When he was preaching in Norway, the town hall was full, and thousands were outside. He had prayed for something different to happen. God said to him, "If you ask Me, I will give you every soul." Smith Wigglesworth knew it was God but was slow to accept. He did ask, and the Spirit swept over the place. He had never seen anything like it. Many cried for mercy and he was convinced that God gave him every soul.
UNSTOPPABLE FAITH
Although Smith Wigglesworth believed all sickness was from the devil and everyone could be healed, there were some difficulties. The untimely death of his wife in 1913 was a real blow. He commanded death to give her up. She said, "Smith - the Lord wants me." "If the Lord wants you, I will not hold you" was his response, but he greatly missed her.
His daughter, Alice Salter, frequently traveled with him after Polly's death. Alice was deaf and was never healed. His youngest son, George, went to be with the Lord in 1915.
Early in the 1930's an X-ray revealed Smith Wigglesworth was suffering from kidney stones. An immediate operation was necessary to avoid a painful illness and eventual death. "Doctor, the God who made this body is the one who can cure it. No knife shall ever cut it as long as I live" was his response. He endured six years of pain before he was delivered. Later he suffered from sciatica which made walking painful and often, he was sicker than the people he prayed for! At seventy-eight, he ruptured badly and in 1944 suffered a slight stroke. He was quickened in 1945 and was able to chair the Easter convention at Preston.
SMITH WIGGLESWORTH PROPHECY
Early one morning in 1937 in South Africa, Smith Wigglesworth marched into the office of the secretary of the Apostolic Faith Mission. He prophesied what we now know as the Charismatic Revival. This man of thirty-one would play a significant part in it if he remained humble and faithful. At that time, there was considerable antagonism between the established denominations and Pentecostals although there were some refreshing exceptions. That man was David du Plessis. Smith Wigglesworth told him, "The day I pass away; then you can begin to think about it." In 1947 David du Plessis went to the World Pentecostal Conference in Zurich. From that point on, his ministry and influence developed.
Smith Wigglesworth died on 12 March 1947. At the funeral, Wilf Richardson said Smith's ministry was summed up in his own words, "There are four principles we need to maintain: First, read the Word of God. Second, consume the Word of God until it consumes you. Third, believe the Word of God. Fourth, act on the Word." As George Stormont put it, "He lived so that people would only see Jesus."
Acts 4:13 is correct of Smith Wigglesworth. "When they saw the courage of Peter and John and realized they were unschooled, ordinary men, they were astonished and took note that these men had been with Jesus." A week earlier, Wigglesworth prophesied a second move of the Holy Spirit. This would bring a revival of emphasis on the Word of God. He added when these two moves of the Holy Spirit combine we shall see the greatest move the Church of Jesus Christ has ever seen.
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