Therefore, brothers, pick out from among you seven men of good repute, full of the Spirit and of wisdom, whom we will appoint to this duty. Acts 6:2 ESV
Today’s audio was chapter 11 of Ever Increasing Faith preached by Smith Wigglesworth. Smith was born in Yorkshire, England 1859 and died in 1947 at the age of 87. He worked in factories and trained as a plumber. He was illiterate until his wife, Polly who worked with the Salvation Army, taught him to read using the Bible. He said it was the only book that he ever read.
In 1907, Wigglesworth was prayed for and received the gift of tongues as evidenced in the book of Acts and 1 Corinthians 12. The result was an increased passion for evangelism and healing. His teaching and healings allowed him to travel to America, Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, and Europe preaching and praying. Stenographers recorded his message. I am holding a 646 page complete works of his life teaching preaching messages.
How could an illiterate, non theologically trained man produce so much? He was full of the Holy Spirit who taught him. Listen to his view of himself.
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 the Holy Ghost came and took hold of it, for the Holy Ghost is the breath of it, and He illuminated it to me.”[8]
Smith was a forerunner of Pentecostalism. Many of you reading have different theological perspectives and training. Speaking in tongues is not the end goal. Desire for winning the lost, seeing people healed and walking in freedom and loving others are the main fruit. We must be about the Great Commission to go and make disciples and the Great Commandment to love all people. Only the presence and power of the Holy Spirit in our lives can help us fulfill those two commands. Any effort to fulfill these without the Spirit’s transformational power will leave us woefully fruitless.
I offer this information for you today to ask and seek what is the fulfillment of the following questions for you.
- What does it mean to be full of the Holy Spirit?
- What are the characteristics of a person who is full of the Spirit? How do you know when you encounter someone who is living under His influence, Ephesians 5:18?
- If being full of the Spirit was one the main qualifiers for the first deacons (servant leaders), how would your church use this as a measure for appointing leaders?
- How do you know when you are living life full of the Holy Spirit and when you are not?
May today’s audio create a thirst and hunger to walk in step with the Holy Spirit and not carry out the desires of your flesh.
May we all pursue God with full abandon to His life, His ways and His love for others
Blessings Love y’all