Battle Axe Series- Smith Wigglesworth

In this edition of the magazine, we are featuring the man who was known as the ‘Apostle of Faith’ in his days. Smith Wigglesworth was an enigma, in a good way of course. His faith inspired millions of Christians across the world. When I was an infant in Christ, I read one of the books written about his life and ministry, ‘The Man Who Walked With God’. I was so enamoured with this humble servant of God that I almost crossed the line into ‘idolatry’. God had to intervene to show me that idolising a man of God is as offensive to Him as worshipping man-made idols.

   Wigglesworth was born on June 8, 1859 to John and Martha Wigglesworth in the small village of Menston, Yorkshire, England. As a small child, he worked in the fields pulling turnips alongside his mother. He also worked in factories to help provide for his family. Wigglesworth was an illiterate as a child, being unschooled because of his labours.

        At the time of his birth, the Third Great Awakening had been underway in America for two years. Also, William Booth had distanced himself from organised religion, forming the Salvation Army, and the church in Wales was praying for revival. That Wigglesworth would be counted among other great Christian leaders such as Booth in his parents’ day, was the furthest thing from their minds. But he would. Their son would put God’s fire back into a church that had been smouldering for hundreds of years.

             Though his parents were not Christians, there was never a time he did not long for God. He was not taught to pray at home, but he was always seeking God on his own. Many times young Wigglesworth would ask God to show him where to find a nest of birds. Almost immediately he knew where to look.

His grandmother was an old-time Wesleyan who believed in the power of God. She always made sure Wigglesworth attended the meetings with her. As a young boy, he would sit and watch the old-timers clap their hands, dance to the Lord, and sing about the ‘blood’. When he was eight years old, he joined the singing at the church. As he began to sing, ‘a clear knowledge of the new birth’ came to him. He realized what Jesus had done for him through His death and resurrection. In later years, Wigglesworth would write of that day; “I saw that God wants us so badly that He has made the conditions as simple as He could- ‘Only Believe”.

         And he never doubted his salvation. He then became a soul-winner. The first person he won to Christ was his mother. When his father realized that the Christian ‘experience’ had come to his family, he started taking his wife and children to the Episcopal Church. Wigglesworth’s father was not born again himself, but he enjoyed the Parson, as they visited the same pub and drank beer together.

         Soon Wigglesworth consented to join the church choir with his brother. He was almost ten years old when he was confirmed. When the bishop waved his hands over the young boy, a powerful awareness of God’s presence filled Wigglesworth that would remain with him for days. Nothing like that seemed to occur with the other children. Wigglesworth would later write: “After the confirmation service all the other boys were swearing and quarrelling, and I wondered what had made the difference between them and me”.

When Wigglesworth was thirteen, his family moved from Menston to Bradford where he became deeply involved in the Wesleyan Methodist Church. His spiritual life took on a new meaning and he longed for the Spirit of God. Though he could not read well, he never left his house without the New Testament in his pocket. He was later baptized by immersion in the Baptist Church and had the grounding in Bible teaching in the Plymouth Brethren while learning the plumbing trade as an apprentice from a man in the Brethren movement.

        By an act of providence, Wigglesworth met Polly Featherstone, a member of Salvation Army and they married on December 4, 1882 at St Peter’s Church, Bradford. At the time of their marriage, she was already a preacher with the group and had come to the attention of General William Booth. Polly and Wigglesworth had one daughter, Alice, and four sons, Seth, Harold, Ernest and George. Wigglesworth learned to read after he married Polly; she taught him to read the Bible. He often stated that it was the only book he ever read, and did not permit newspapers in his home.

       In 1907, Wigglesworth visited a minister, Alexander Boddy during the Sunderland Revival. Following a laying-on of hands from Alexander’s wife, Mary Boddy, he experienced speaking in tongues. He later spoke at some of the Assemblies of God events in Great Britain. He also received ministerial credentials with the Assemblies of God in the United States of America, where he evangelized from 1924 to 1929.

             Wigglesworth believed that healing came through faith, and he was flexible in his approach. When he was forbidden to lay hands on audience members by the authorities in Sweden, he prayed for a ‘corporate healing’ by which people laid hands on themselves. He also practiced anointing with oil, and the distribution of “prayer handkerchiefs” (one of which was sent to King George V). He largely believed that his ministerial success was due to his speaking in tongues. He said:

         “I want you to see that he that speaketh in an unknown tongue edified himself or builds himself up. We must be edified before we can edify the church. I cannot estimate what I, personally, owe to the Holy Ghost method of spiritual edification. I am here before you as one of the biggest conundrums in the world. There never was a weaker man on the platform. Language? None. Inability-full of it. All natural things in my life point exactly opposite to my being able to stand on the platform and preach the gospel. The secret is that the Holy Ghost came and brought this wonderful edification of the Spirit. I had been reading this Word continually as well as I could, but he Holy Ghost came and took hold of it, for the Holy Ghost is the breath of it, and He illuminated it to me.

          In the United Kingdom, Wigglesworth ministered at many churches throughout Yorkshire, often at Bethesda Church at Swallownest, on the outskirts of Sheffield. He also had an international ministry which took him to America, South Africa, Sweden, Australia, New Zealand, the Pacific Islands, India, Ceylon, and several other countries in Europe. Some of his sermons were transcribed for Pentecostal magazines, and these were collected into two books; Ever Increasing Faith and Faith that Prevails.

         Wigglesworth had an incredible revelation on the subject of faith and his teaching on the subject attracted the masses. His theory on faith was simple: Only believe. He did not believe that God had favourites. One of his primary examples of this principle came from the New Testament, where John was noted as the apostle whom Jesus loved. According to Wigglesworth, John ‘leaning against Jesus’ bosom did not make him a favourite. He explained that the factor that called attention to John was his relationship and dependence upon Jesus. On this score, Wigglesworth declared that “there is something about believing God that makes God willing to pass over a million people just to anoint you”.

Many books have been written attempting to find the secret of Wigglesworth’s power, but the answer is very simple. His great faith came from his relationship with Jesus Christ. From that relationship came Wigglesworth’s answer to every situation he ever faces. God has no favourites- He works through those who believe Him. He took Hebrews 11:6 seriously. He believed that it was impossible to please God without faith. As a result, he incorporated faith into every segment of his spiritual life, including the workings of the Holy Spirit. When the slightest breath of the Spirit came upon him, he would go off into a room to be alone with God.

Once in a meeting, someone commented on how quickly Wigglesworth was moved by the Spirit. When they asked him his secret, he replied, “Well, you see, it is like this. If the Spirit does not move me, I move the Spirit”. Those who did not understand the principles of faith thought his remark was arrogant and disrespectful. But in reality, Wigglesworth knew how to draw the Spirit of God. It all stemmed from faith, not arrogance. If the Holy Spirit was not moving as service began, then Wigglesworth would begin the meeting in the natural state. By his faith, he would focus the hearers to the word and power of God and increase their expectancy.

       As a result, the Holy Spirit would manifest Himself in direct response to their faith. Wigglesworth took the initiative and stirred up the gifts within himself by faith. He did not wait for something to come upon him and spiritually overtake him. To him, every operation, and every manifestation stemmed from one thing- absolute faith.

Wigglesworth was a man greatly moved by compassion. As he received prayer requests from all over the world he would cry out to God and weep on their behalf. Many times as he ministered to the afflicted, tears ran down his cheeks. He was also very tender with children and the elderly. Demonstrating the truths in Acts 19:11-12, thousands were healed as Wigglesworth prayed and sent handkerchiefs to those he could not visit.

         Wigglesworth loved the word of God and was much disciplined in his study of it. He never considered himself fully dressed unless he had his Bible with him. While others read novels or newspapers, he read the Bible. He would never leave a friend’s table without reading, as he would say, “a bit from the Book”.

Sometimes in his ministry, Wigglesworth would use another approach to acting on faith. He would read portions of the Scripture, then act on it himself. Often, he held banquets to feed the lame and hungry, with members of the Bowland Street Mission serving the sumptuous food. He also arranged for healing testimonies to be their entertainment, moving these poor people to tears.

His ministry witnessed many miraculous and instant healings. The lame walked, blind people received their sights, the oppressed were set free, and several others were raised from the dead. However, he did not receive any miracle himself. His daughter Alice who was deaf was not healed by the Lord. In 1930, as he entered his seventies, he experienced tremendous pain.

He prayed but was not relieved. So he went to a physician who, after X-rays, diagnosed his condition as a serious case of kidney stones. An operation was his only hope, since according to the doctor, he would die if the situation persisted. Wigglesworth said to the man, “Doctor, the God who made this body is the One who can cure it. No knife shall ever cut it so long as I live”.

         Two years into the battle with the kidney stones, Wigglesworth did not give up. Instead, in 1932, he asked God for fifteen more years in which to serve Him. God granted his request, and during those years, he visited most of Europe, South America and America. His greatest joy was seeing the Word confirmed by signs and wonders, through the faith of the people. His greatest goal was for people to see Jesus, not himself.

He was saddened in the last month of his life as he commented, “Today in my mail, I had an invitation to Australia, one to India and Ceylon, and one to America. People have their eyes on me”. He began to weep and said, “Poor Wigglesworth. What a failure to think that people have their eyes on me. God will never give His glory to another. He will take me from the scene”.

Seven days later, Wigglesworth attended the funeral of a minister in his area. While the service was in progress, he bowed his head and without experiencing any pain, went home to be with the Lord. He slept peacefully on March 12, 1947.

          There is so much we can learn from the life of this anointed servant of God. His love for the Word of God was unparalleled. Scripture was his food indeed. Even at the dining table, he would read the Bible before he prayed for the food. Another unique attribute of Wigglesworth was his disdain for hypocrisy.

He was outspoken, uncompromising in his faith and very undiplomatic when it comes to dealing with the devil. He was also blunt to a fault. A story is told of how he was asked by his host to pray over a roasted pig while on a trip to America. He did not refuse to pray. He moved to where the pig was and said, “Lord, if you can bless what you have cursed; bless this swine in their stomachs”.

          What endears him to me particularly was his relationship with the Lord Jesus Christ. He was totally sold out to Christ. That is where all who profess Jesus as their Lord should be. Jesus said in Mathew 10:37, “Anyone who loves his father or mother more than Me is not worthy of Me; anyone who loves his son or daughter more than Me is not worthy of Me; and anyone who does not take up his cross and follow Me is not worthy of Me”. Jesus must be Lord of all in our lives or we are not worthy of Him.