Read an Excerpt
Chapter 1
The Author and Finisher of Our Faith
Praise the Lord that I have had the opportunity to spend over a month in Canaan. I have crossed the river of Jordan; been on the lake of Galilee; bathed in the Dead Sea; drunk at Jacob's well; had a drink at Elijah's fountain; preached on the top of the Mount of Olives; stood with tears running down my face just opposite Mount Calvary, and with hands lifted up, seen the place of sacrifice; and passed by the spot where the holy inn stood in Bethlehem. As I thought of all the holy associations connected with that land, my heart was melted. God has been very good to me.
Glorious Jesus
One of my favorite texts is in the twelfth chapter of Hebrews. I want to look at a few verses there. What a wonderful revelation Hebrews is to us.
Therefore we also, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which so easily ensnares us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith. (Heb. 12:1-2)
The thought here is Jesus as the Author and Finisher of our faith. Glory to God. What a sight to see our Lord Jesus Christ come forth robed in His own majesty and glory, as no man was ever robed. He is clothed in majesty. What compassion He had when He saw the struggling multitude! When He saw the crowds in need, His heart yearned with compassion. How He handled the bread! (See Matthew 14:15-21; 15:32-38.) No man ever handled bread like Jesus did. I can almost look into His face and see His eyes glisten as He sees the multitude. He said to Philip, "I would like to feed these people; how much would it take to feed them?" Philip said, "Eight months' wages is not sufficient, and besides, this is a desert place." (See Mark 6:37)
If you have been to Palestine and seen the sights I have seen, you understand what is meant by a desert place. I looked for many things in the Scriptures while I was over there, and God has spoken to me through the experience. They have the early and the latter rain there, and the land is a beautiful land. Praise the Lord!
It was lovely to be there and see these things, but, beloved, it made me cherish the Bible as I have never cherished it before. Why? Because God has given us the assurance that makes our hearts know it is true. Even if you never see the Holy Land, you can live in the Holy Land and see all the wonderful things and read of them in your Bible.
Beloved, I want to speak on the Author and the Finisher of our faith, and I want us to remember that Abraham, Daniel, and all the prophets were men of faith. We must not look at the things that have been done in the past; we must look at Jesus, the Author and the Finisher of our faith. We must "run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking unto Jesus" (Heb. 12:1-2). We must so look at the Author and the Finisher of our faith that the same glory and power will be resting upon us as was upon Him. We must have such grace, such holiness, that we will be landmarks showing His power is upon us.
Praise the Lord. Don't stumble at what I am going to say, but praise God that we not only have the abiding presence of the Spirit's power in our midst, but we have the living Word, the living Christ. He is the Author and the Finisher of our faith. He has given eternal life to us, that is, if we have His Word and believe.
My dear wife has now entered glory, but during her lifetime she was a great revivalist. She was a preacher. I have seen the mighty power of God fall upon her and have seen her face light up with a heavenly light as she preached, and there are many ministers of the Gospel today because of her preaching and her faithfulness, and others are missionaries and working for God. We will never know the extent of her work until the last day. You see, beloved, as we are faithful to God and come into line with Him and labor for Him, our work will be rewarded. A great crowd is looking on. God is doing a work in these days, and these are days of opportunity.
Faith Is Working Now
God has been blessing New Zealand, and you must hear all about that land. In Australia, four hundred people were baptized in the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit is being poured out everywhere, and the tide of blessing is rising. The power of the Holy Spirit is greater than we have ever conceived. The basis of the Pentecostal testimony should be holiness. What is the strength of our position today? Holiness. I say to you, if you fall a thousand times in a week, strive to be holy. It does not matter how many times you fall; do not give in because you fall.
I was staying in a house, and the lady of the house prepared a room and a bed for me to rest on, because I had just gotten off the train and was very tired. When I awoke she said, "I want you to lie in my son's bed. I would like him to know you have lain in the bed." I slept in that bed for three nights, and later two people slept in the same bed and both got baptized in the Spirit. Hallelujah! I desire that everyone who is seeking would get baptized.
That lady had such a sense of the presence of God that she said, "Lie in my son's bed." As soon as I opened my eyes, I looked across the room and saw these words: "A man does not fall because he makes a blunder, he falls because he makes a blunder the second time." God does not want us to fall but to be kept by His grace from falling, and He wants us to strive for holiness. I see the Word of God is the living Word, and Jesus is the Author of the Word. The Holy Spirit is the enlightener of the Word. If you look at Acts 1, you will see these words: "He through the Holy Spirit had given commandments" (v. 2).
We will find as we go on that the Lord Jesus Christ is the Author of our lives. He is the source of our life, our spiritual life, and He is producing holiness.
I want you to see what David said in the sixty-third Psalm: "So I have looked for You in the sanctuary, to see Your power and Your glory," (v. 2). Jesus said, "Father, glorify Me together with Yourself, with the glory which I had with You before the world was" (John 17:5). The greatest glory that was ever seen was manifested on the cross. The glory was manifested when Jesus offered Himself, "through the eternal Spirit" (Heb. 9:14), on the cross. He said to Judas, "What you do, do quickly. . . . Now the Son of Man is glorified" (John 13:27, 31). So we see that God was glorified in Jesus; He was reconciling the world unto Himself. (II Cor. 5:19)
Everyone who has desires for God should believe the Word of God and take Jesus as the Author and the Finisher of his faith. All the desires and purposes of your heart will be accomplished, because God is faithful. God cannot fail; His Word is true. But what is real Pentecost? It is the manifestation of the power of God, and it is the manifestation of the power of the Holy Spirit. Real Pentecost is the manifestation of the signs and wonders. Real Pentecost is manifested in those who are "determined not to know anything among [men] except Jesus Christ and Him crucified" (I Cor. 2:2). I say now, as I have said before, "Whom have I in heaven but You? And there is none upon earth that I desire besides You" (Ps. 73:25). He is my all in all. Amen.
Faith is a gift of God that is available to all who will receive it. Smith Wigglesworth was a man who simply took God as His Word, and God used his faith as a model for others. Here is inspiration for anyone who is searching for evidence of God's presence on earth today. Through faith, God's many blessings will become yours!
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