Category: Daily Devotionals – Smith Wigglesworth

November 4

Please let a double portion of your spirit be upon me. — 2 Kings 2:9

Scripture reading: 2 Kings 2:1–14

In the call of the prophet Elisha, God saw the young man‘s willingness to obey. The twelve yoke of oxen, the plow, and all soon came to nothing; all bridges had to be burned behind him (1 Kings 19:19–21). Friend, the Lord has called you, too. Are you separated from the old things? You cannot go on unless you are.

As Elisha went on with the prophet Elijah, the young man heard wonderful things about Elijah‘s ministry, and he longed for the time when he would take his master‘s place. Now the time was getting close. His master said to him, “I am going to Gilgal today. I want you to remain here.” “Master,” he replied, “I must go with you.” Other people also knew something about it, for they said to Elisha, “Do you know that your master is going to be taken away from you today?” He said, “Hold your peace; I know it.” Later on, Elijah said, “I want to go on to Bethel. You stay here.” But Elisha said, “No, I will not leave you.” Something had been revealed to Elisha. Perhaps, in a similar way, God is drawing you to do something; you feel it.

Then Elijah said, “The Lord has sent me to Jordan. You stay here.” It was the spirit of the old man that was stirring up the young man. If you see zeal in somebody else, reach out for it; it is for you. I am coming to realize that God wants all the members of His body joined together. In these days He is making us feel that when a person is failing to go on with God, we must restore that member.

When they came to the Jordan, Elijah struck his cloak on it and they crossed. No doubt Elisha said, “I must follow his steps.” And when they had gone over, the old man said, “You have done well; you would not stay back. What is the real desire of your heart? I feel I am going to leave you. Ask what you like now, before I leave you. “Master,” he said, “I have seen all that you have done. Master, I want twice as much as you have.”

I believe it is the fainthearted who do not get much. As they went on up the hill, down came the chariot of fire, nearer and nearer, and when it landed, the old man jumped in and the young man said, “Father, Father, Father,” and down came the cloak.

What have you asked for? Are you satisfied to continue on in the old way now that the Holy Spirit has come to give you an unlimited supply of power and says, “What will you have?” Why, we see that Peter was so filled with the Holy Spirit that his shadow falling on sick people healed them (Acts 5:15).

What do you want? Elisha asked, and he got it. He came down and said, “I don‘t feel any differently.” However, he had the knowledge that feelings are not to be counted as anything; some of you are looking at your feelings all the time. He came to the waters of the Jordan as an ordinary man. Then, in the knowledge in which he possessed the cloak (not in any feelings about it), he said, “Where is the God of Elijah?” and he struck the water with the cloak. The waters parted and Elisha put his feet down in the river and crossed to the other side. When you put your feet down and say you are going to have a double portion, you will get it. After he had crossed, there were the young men again (they always come where there is power), and they said, “The spirit of Elijah rests on Elisha.” (See 2 Kings 2:1–15.)

You are to have the gifts and to claim them. The Lord will certainly change your lives, and you will be new men and women. Are you asking for a double portion? I trust that no one will “come short” in any gift (1 Corinthians 1:7). You say, “I have asked. Do you think God will be pleased if I ask again?” Yes, do so before Him. Ask again, and we may go forth in the Spirit of the cloak. Then we will no longer be working in our own strength but in the Holy Spirit‘s strength, and we will see and know His power because we believe.

Thought for today: Many people miss a great many things because they are always thinking that they are for someone else.

November 3

You ask and do not receive, because you ask amiss, that you may spend it on your pleasures. — James 4:3

Scripture reading: Ephesians 1:3–14

God says, “Everyone who asks receives” (Matthew 7:8). What are you asking for? What is your motive? There is a need for the gifts, and God will reveal to you what you ought to have, and you should never be satisfied until you receive it.

It is important that we know we can do nothing in ourselves. However, we may know that we are clothed with the power of God so that, in a sense, we are not in the natural man. As we go forth in this power, things will take place as they took place in the days of the disciples.

When I received the new birth at eight years of age, it was so precious and lovely. Since that time, I have never lost the knowledge of my acceptance with God. Then, brothers and sisters, God did a wonderful work in me when I waited for the baptism.

I was in a strange position. For sixteen years I had testified to having received the baptism of the Holy Spirit, but I had really only received the anointing of the Spirit. In fact, I could not preach unless I had the anointing. My wife would come to me and say, “They are waiting for you to come out and speak to the people.” I would say, “I cannot and will not come without the anointing of the Spirit.”

I can see now that I was calling the anointing the baptism. But when the Holy Spirit came into my body until I could not give satisfaction to the glory that was in me, God took this tongue, and I spoke as the Spirit gave utterance, which brought perfect satisfaction to me. When He comes in, He abides. I then began to reach out as the Holy Spirit showed me.

Thought for today: We must be willing to deny ourselves everything to receive the revelation of God‘s truth and to receive the fullness of the Spirit. Only this will satisfy God, and nothing less must satisfy us.

November 2

We make it our aim…to be well pleasing to Him. — 2 Corinthians 5:9

Scripture reading: 2 Corinthians 5:1–17

While it is right to earnestly desire the best gifts, you must recognize that the all-important thing is to be filled with the power of the Holy Spirit Himself. You will never have trouble with people who are filled with the power of the Holy Spirit, but you will have a lot of trouble with people who have the gifts but no power. The Lord does not want us to “come short” in any gift (1 Corinthians 1:7). But at the same time, He wants us to be so filled with the Holy Spirit that it will be the Holy Spirit manifesting Himself through the gifts. Where the glory of God alone is desired, you can expect that every gift that is needed will be made manifest. To glorify God is better than to idolize gifts. We prefer the Spirit of God to any gift; but we can see the manifestation of the Trinity in the gifts: different gifts but the same Spirit, different administrations but the same Lord, diversities of operation but the same God working all in all (1 Corinthians 12:4–6). Can you conceive of what it will mean for our triune God to be manifesting Himself in His fullness in our assemblies?

Imagine a large locomotive boiler that is being filled with steam. You can see the engine letting off some of the steam as it remains stationary. It looks as though the whole thing might burst. You can see believers who are like that. They start to scream, but that does not edify anyone. However, when the locomotive moves on, it serves the purpose for which it was built and pulls along many cars with goods in them. It is the same way with believers when they are operating in the gifts of the Spirit properly.

When you have a good time, you must see that the spiritual conditions in the place lend themselves to it and that the people are falling in line with you. Then you will always find it a blessing.

Thought for today: We must be careful not to have a good time in the Lord at the expense of somebody else.

November 1

All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable…for instruction in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, thoroughly equipped for every good work. — 2 Timothy 3:16–17

Scripture reading: Hebrews 10:11–31

Everyone who has received the Holy Spirit has within him great possibilities and unlimited power. He also has great possessions, not only of things that are present but also of things that are to come (1 Corinthians 3:22). The Holy Spirit has power to equip you for every emergency. The reason people are not thus equipped is that they do not receive Him and do not yield to Him. They are timid and they doubt, and in the measure that they doubt, they go down. But if you will yield to His leading and not doubt, it will lead you to success and victory. You will grow in grace, and you will have not only a controlling power but also a power that reveals the mind of God and the purposes He has for you.

Many believers might be far ahead of where they are now spiritually, but they have doubted. If by any means the Enemy can come in and make you believe a lie, he will do so. We have had to struggle to maintain our standing in our salvation, for the Enemy desires to beat us out of it, if possible. It is in the closeness of the association and oneness with Christ that there is no fear, but perfect confidence all the time. I see that we should stir one another up and provoke one another to good works (Hebrews 10:24).

The Pentecostal people have a “know” in their experience. We know that we have the Spirit abiding within, and if we are not moved upon by the Spirit, we move the Spirit; that is what we mean by “stirring up the Spirit.” Yet it is not we but the living faith within us—it is the Spirit who stirs Himself up.

Thought for today: The child of God does not need to go back a day for his experience, for the presence of the Lord is with him and the Holy Spirit is in him, in mighty power, if he will believe.

October 31

No one speaking by the Spirit of God calls Jesus accursed, and no one can say that Jesus is Lord except by the Holy Spirit. — 1 Corinthians 12:3

Scripture reading: John 13:1–20

Many evil, deceiving spirits have been sent forth in these last days who endeavor to rob Jesus of His lordship and of His rightful place. Many people are opening the doors to these latest devils, such as New Theology and New Thought and Christian Science. These evil cults deny the fundamental truths of God‘s Word. They all deny eternal punishment and the deity of Jesus Christ. You will never see the baptism of the Holy Spirit come upon a person who accepts these errors. Nor will you see anyone receive the baptism who puts Mary in the place of the Holy Spirit. No one can know he is saved by works. If you ever speak to someone who believes this, you will know that he is not definite on the matter of the new birth. He cannot be. And there is another thing: you will never find a Jehovah‘s Witness baptized in the Holy Spirit. The same is true for a member of any other cult who does not believe that the Lord Jesus Christ is preeminent.

The all-important thing is to make Jesus Lord of your life. Men can become lopsided by emphasizing the truth of divine healing. Men can get into error by preaching on water baptism all the time. But we never go wrong in exalting the Lord Jesus Christ, in giving Him the preeminent place and glorifying Him as both Lord and Christ, yes, as “very God of very God.” As we are filled with the Holy Spirit, our one desire is to glorify Him. We need to be filled with the Spirit to get the full revelation of the Lord Jesus Christ.

God‘s command is for us to “be filled with the Spirit” (Ephesians 5:18). We are no good if we only have a full cup. We need to have an overflowing cup all the time. It is a tragedy not to live in the fullness of overflowing. See that you never live below the overflowing tide.

Thought for today: Jesus is the Baptizer. As soon as you are ready, He will fill you.

October 30

Others mocking said, “They are full of new wine.” — Acts 2:13

Scripture reading: Acts 2:13–41

This new wine has a freshness about it! It has a beauty about it! It has a quality about it! It creates in others the desire for the same taste. At Pentecost, some saw, but three thousand felt, tasted, and enjoyed. Some looked on; others drunk with a new faith never before seen—a new manifestation, a new realization all divine, a new thing. It came straight from heaven, from the throne of the glorified Lord. It is God‘s purpose to fill us with that wine, to make us ready to burst forth with new rivers, with fresh energy, with no tired feeling.

God manifested in the flesh—this is what we want, and it is what God wants. All the people said, “We have never seen anything like it.” (See Acts 2:7–12.) The disciples rejoiced in its being new; others were “cut to the heart, [crying out] to Peter and the rest of the apostles, ‘Men and brethren, what shall we do?’” (v. 37).

What shall we do? Believe! Stretch out! Press on! Let there be a new entering in, a new passion to have it. We must be beside ourselves; we must drink deeply of the new wine so that multitudes may be satisfied and find satisfaction too.

The new wine must have a new wineskin—that is the necessity of a new vessel. (See Matthew 9:17.) If anything of the old is left, not put to death, destroyed, there will be a tearing and a breaking. The new wine and the old vessel will not work in harmony. It must be new wine and a new wineskin. Then there will be nothing to discard when Jesus comes.

For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of an archangel, and with the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first. Then we who are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And thus we shall always be with the Lord. (1 Thessalonians 4:16–17)

The Spirit is continually working within us to change us until the day when we will be like Him:

[The Lord Jesus Christ] will transform our lowly body that it may be conformed to His glorious body, according to the working by which He is able even to subdue all things to Himself. (Philippians 3:21)

I desire that all of you be so filled with the Spirit, so hungry, so thirsty, that nothing will satisfy you but seeing Jesus. We are to get more thirsty every day, more dry every day, until the floods come and the Master passes by, ministering to us and through us the same life, the same inspiration, so that “as He is, so are we in this world” (1 John 4:17).

When Jesus became the sacrifice for man, He was in great distress, but it was accomplished. It meant “vehement cries and tears” (Hebrews 5:7); it meant the cross manward but the glory heavenward. Glory descending on a cross! Truly, “great is the mystery of godliness” (1 Timothy 3:16). He cried, “It is finished!” (John 19:30). Let the cry never be stopped until the heart of Jesus is satisfied, until His plan for humanity is reached in the sons of God being manifested (Romans 8:19) and in the earth being “filled with the knowledge of the glory of the LORD, as the waters cover the sea” (Habakkuk 2:14). Amen. Amen. Amen.

Thought for today: Our end is God‘s beginning.

October 29

Now when they saw the boldness of Peter and John, and perceived that they were uneducated and untrained men, they marveled.And they realized that they had been with Jesus. — Acts 4:13

Scripture reading: Acts 4:1–22

On the Day of Pentecost, “they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance” (Acts 2:4). What a lovely thought that the Holy Spirit had such sway that the words were all His! Jesus stands forth in the midst with such divine glory, and men are impelled, filled, and led so perfectly. Only He will meet the needs of the world.

We see that there was something beautiful about Peter and John when we read that people “realized that they had been with Jesus.” There was something so real, so after the order of the Master, about them.

The one thing that was more marked than anything else in the life of Jesus was the fact that the people glorified God in Him. And when God is glorified and gets the right-of-way and the wholehearted attention of His people, everyone is as He is, filled with God. Whatever it costs, it must be. Let it be so. Filled with God! The only thing that will help people is to speak the latest thing God has given us from the glory.

There is nothing outside salvation. We are filled, immersed, clothed upon with the Spirit. There must be nothing felt, seen, or spoken about except the mighty power of the Holy Spirit. We are new creatures in Christ Jesus (2 Corinthians 5:17), baptized into a new nature. “He who believes in Me, as the Scripture has said, out of his heart will flow rivers of living water” (John 7:38). We are in the world to meet the need, but we are not of the world or of its spirit. (See John 17:15–16.) We are “partakers of the divine nature” (2 Peter 1:4) to manifest the life of Jesus to the world. This is God incarnate in humanity.

Thought for today: The very life of the risen Christ is to be in everything we are and do, moving us to do His will

October 28

I heard the voice of the Lord, saying: “Whom shall I send, and who will go for Us?” Then I said, “Here am I! Send me.” — Isaiah 6:8

Scripture reading: Isaiah 6

Is it possible, after we have been baptized with the Holy Spirit, to be satisfied with what we see? What made Jesus weep over Jerusalem? He had a heart of compassion. There are sin-sick souls everywhere. We need a baptism of love that goes to the bottom of the disease. We need to cry to God until He brings us up to the “measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ” (Ephesians 4:13).

Jesus told a parable about “a certain man [who] went down from Jerusalem to Jericho, and fell among thieves” (Luke 10:30). Who among those who passed by and saw his predicament was his neighbor? The one who had mercy on him and helped him (vv. 36, 37). Are you awake to the great fact that God has given you eternal life? With the power God has put at your disposal, how can you rest as you look out upon your neighbors? How we have sinned against God! How we lack this spirit of compassion! Do we weep as we look out upon the unsaved? If not, we are not Pentecost-full. Jesus was moved with compassion. Are you?

We have not yet grasped the plight of the heathen. Since my only daughter went to Africa, I have a little less dim idea of what it meant that God so loved the world that He gave Jesus (John 3:16). God gave Jesus. What does that mean? Compassion. “You shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you” (Acts 1:8). If you have no power, you have not repented. You say, “That‘s hard language.” It is truth.

Who is your brother‘s keeper? (See Genesis 4:9.) Who is the son and heir? (See Galatians 4:7.) Are you salted? (See Matthew 5:13.) Do you have a pure life? Don‘t be fooled; don‘t live in a false position. The world wants to know how to be saved, and power is at our disposal. Will we meet the conditions? God says, “If you will, I will.” God will do it.

Daniel knew the time in which he was living; he responded to God, and a nation was saved. Nehemiah met God‘s conditions for his time, and the city was rebuilt. God has made the conditions. He will pour out His Spirit.

If we do not go on, we will have it to face. It may be up to us to bring the Gospel to the nations. We can win the world for Jesus. We can turn the tap on. What is the condition? It is unconditional surrender.“ “Not by might nor by power, but by My Spirit,‟ says the LORD of hosts” (Zechariah 4:6). Depart from sin; holiness opens the windows of heaven. The Spirit of God will be poured out without measure, until the people say, “What must [we] do to be saved?” (Acts 16:30).

Thought for today: With the baptism of the Holy Spirit comes a demolishing of the whole man and a compassion for the world.

October 27

Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand! — Matthew 3:2

Scripture reading: 2 Peter 3:1–9

Pentecost has made me rejoice in Jesus. God has been confirming His power by His Holy Spirit. I have an intense yearning to see Pentecost, and I am not seeing it. I may feel a little of the glow, but what we need is a deeper work of the Holy Spirit in order for God‘s message to come full of life and power and sharper than a “two-edged sword” (Hebrews 4:12). At Pentecost, Peter stood up in the power of the Holy Spirit, and three thousand people were saved. Not long after this, he preached again, and five thousand people were saved.

I am positive that we are on the wrong side of the Cross. We talk about love, love, love, but it ought to be repent, repent, repent. John the Baptist came, and his message was “Repent.” Jesus came with the same message: “Repent” (Matthew 4:17). The Holy Spirit came, and the message was the same: repent, repent, repent and believe. (See Acts 2:38.) What has all this to do with Pentecost? Everything! It is the secret of our failure.

Daniel carried on his heart the burden of the people. He mourned for the captivity of Zion, he confessed his sin and the people‘s sin, and he identified himself with Israel until God made him a flame of fire. (See Daniel 9.) The result: a remnant returned to Zion to walk in the despised way of obedience to God.

Nehemiah was brokenhearted when he learned of the desolation of Jerusalem. He pleaded for months before God, confessing his sin and the sin of his people (see Nehemiah 1), and God opened the way, and the walls and gates of the city were built up. It is the spirit of deep repentance that is needed.

Weeping is not repentance; sorrow is not repentance. Repentance is turning away from sin and doing the work of righteousness and holiness. What can we do to receive the baptism? Repent!

Thought for today: The baptism of the Holy Spirit brings a deep repentance and a demolished and impoverished spirit.

October 26

Blessed is the man who endures temptation; for when he has been approved, he will receive the crown of life which the Lord has promised to those who love Him. — James 1:12

Scripture reading: Psalm 139

People do not know what they are getting when they are in a great place of temptation. Temptation endured brings the “crown of life.”

There is nothing outside of purity except what is sin. All unbelief is sin. God wants you to have a pure, active faith so that you will be living in an advanced place of believing God all the time, and so that you will be on the mountaintop and singing when other people are crying.

I want to speak now about lust. I am not speaking about the base things, the carnal desires. I am not speaking so much about adultery, fornication, and such things, but I am speaking about what has turned you aside to some other thing instead of God. God has been offering you better things all the time, and you have missed them.

There are three things in life, and I notice that many people are satisfied with just one of them. There is blessing in justification, there is blessing in sanctification, and there is blessing in the baptism of the Holy Spirit. Salvation is a wonderful thing, and we know it. Sanctification is a process that takes us on to a higher level with God. Salvation, sanctification, and the fullness of the Spirit are processes.

Many people are satisfied with “good” – that is, with salvation. Other people are satisfied with “better” – a sanctified life, purified by God. Still other people are satisfied with the “best” – the fullness of God with revelation from on high. I am not satisfied with any of the three. I am only satisfied with the “best with improvement.”

So I come to you not with good, but better; not with better, but best; not with best, but best with improvement—going on with God. Why? Because “when desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and sin, when it is full-grown, brings forth death” (James 1:15). When anything has taken me from God, it means death in some way.

When Jesus said to the disciples, “The Son of Man will be put into the hands of sinners and crucified,” Peter rebuked Him (see Matthew 16:21–22), but Jesus said, “Get behind Me, Satan! You are an offense to Me, for you are not mindful of the things of God, but the things of men” (v. 23).

Anything that hinders me from denying myself and taking up my cross (v. 24) is of the Devil; anything that hinders me from being separated unto God is of the Devil; and anything that hinders me from being purified every day is carnal, and it is death. So I implore you today to make certain that there is no lustful thing in you that would rob you of the glory. Then God will take you to the very summit of the blessing where you can be increased day by day into all His fullness.

Thought for today: Do not neglect the Word of God. Take time to think about the Word of God; it is the only place of safety.