© 19 Colin Melbourne
Smith Wigglesworth’s Introduction, Mk. 5:22-43 KJV;
And, behold, there cometh one of the rulers of the synagogue, Jairus by name; and when he saw him, he fell at his feet, And besought him greatly, saying, My little daughter lieth at the point of death: I pray thee, come and lay thy hands on her, that she may be healed; and she shall live.
And Jesus went with him; and much people followed him, and thronged him.
And a certain woman, which had an issue of blood twelve years, And had suffered many things of many physicians, and had spent all that she had, and was nothing bettered, but rather grew worse, When she had heard of Jesus, came in the press behind, and touched his garment. For she said, If I may touch but his clothes, I shall be whole.
And straightway the fountain of her blood was dried up; and she felt in her body that she was healed of that plague.
And Jesus, immediately knowing in himself that virtue had gone out of him, turned him about in the press, and said, Who touched my clothes? And his disciples said unto him, Thou seest the multitude thronging thee, and sayest thou, Who touched me?
And he looked round about to see her that had done this thing. But the woman fearing and trembling, knowing what was done in her, came and fell down before him, and told him all the truth. And he said unto her, Daughter, thy faith hath made thee whole; go in peace, and be whole of thy plague.
While he yet spake, there came from the ruler of the synagogue’s house certain which said, Thy daughter is dead: why troublest thou the Master any further?
As soon as Jesus heard the word that was spoken, he saith unto the ruler of the synagogue, Be not afraid, only believe.
And he suffered no man to follow him, save Peter, and James, and John the brother of James. And he cometh to the house of the ruler of the synagogue, and seeth the tumult, and them that wept and wailed greatly. And when he was come in, he saith unto them, Why make ye this ado, and weep? the damsel is not dead, but sleepeth. And they laughed him to scorn.
But when he had put them all out, he taketh the father and the mother of the damsel, and them that were with him, and entereth in where the damsel was lying. And he took the damsel by the hand, and said unto her, Talitha cumi; which is, being interpreted, Damsel, I say unto thee, arise.
And straightway the damsel arose, and walked; for she was of the age of twelve years. And they were astonished with a great astonishment. And he charged them straitly that no man should know it; and commanded that something should be given her to eat.
This is one of those marvellous truths of the Scriptures that is written for our help, that we may believe as we see the almightiness of God, and also our privilege, not only to enter in by faith, but to become partakers of the blessing He wants to give us.
My message is on the lines of faith.
Because some do not hear in faith, it profits them nothing.
There is a hearing of faith, and a hearing which means nothing more than listening to words.
I beseech you, to see to it that everything done may bring not only blessing to you, but strength and character, and that you may be able to see the goodness of God in this meeting.
I want to impress upon you the importance of believing what the Scripture says, and I may have many things to relate about people who dared to believe God until it came to pass.
Healed at Death’s Door
…Be not afraid, only believe. Mk. 5:36b
This is a wonderful word. In fact, all of the word of God is wonderful. It is an everlasting word of substance, a word of Life.
It gives Life into the very nature, to everyone that lays hold of it, if he believes.
I want you to understand that there is a need for the word of God, but it is a need, many times, that brings us the blessing.
What am I here for? Because God delivered me when no other hand could do it.
I stand before you as one who was given up by everybody, when no one could help.
I was earnest and zealous for the salvation of souls. If you were in Bradford, England, you would know.
We had police protection for nearly twenty years in the best thoroughfare in the city [See Endnote 1], and in my humble way, with my dear wife, who was all on fire for God, we were ministering in the open air.
Full of zeal?
Yes. But one night, thirty years ago [2], I was carried home helpless. We knew very little about divine healing, but we prayed through. [3]
It is thirty years, and more, since God healed me. I am 68 years old, and fresher, in better health, and more fit for work, than I was at that time.
It is a most wonderful experience when the life of God becomes the life of man.
The divine power that sweeps through the organism, cleansing the blood, makes the man fresh every day.
The life of God is resurrection power!
Endnote [1] Police protection: Street preaching often promotes antagonism from drunken hecklers who threaten violence. So local police officers show their presence to keep public order.
[2] Thirty years ago: would be in the late 1890’s long before SW was baptised in the Holy Spirit.
[3] Smith developed acute appendicitis, and given only hours to live by his doctor, who said he could do nothing.
Continue reading: Be not afraid: Only Believe… To find out from Smith’s own lips what happened next.
