"Let! Her! Go!!!"

She fell forward on that tumor and groaned in pain. The audience immediately gasped in unbelief. It was the exact same response I'd received after that man in the wheelchair fell on his face. I started feeling pity, sympathy, and embarra.s.sment for both this man and myself. In my situation, I responded in a manner of unbelief. However, Wigglesworth stood his ground and simply said, "Pick her up."

Those two ladies picked her up. Then he said, "Let her go!" They cried, "We can't let her go!" Wigglesworth boomed, "Let her go!" When they finally did, she fell face first on that tumor again. The crowd moaned and groaned. Wigglesworth said, "Pick her up." So they picked her up once more.

Then Wigglesworth said for the third time, "Let her go!" Those two women argued, "We will not let her go!" Wigglesworth commanded, "You let her go!" Then a man in the audience stood up and yelled, "You beast! Leave that poor woman alone!" Wigglesworth shouted back, "You mind your business; I know my business." He turned to the two ladies again and barked, "Let! Her! Go!!!"

When they did, the tumor fell out of her dress onto the stage, and she walked off totally healed.

The Difference So what was the difference? Wigglesworth and I both had "the measure of faith" (Rom. 12:3). I had enough faith to grab the man by the hand and lift him up out of the wheelchair fully expecting him to walk. However, I I also had unbelief. also had unbelief.

1 was too easily swayed by what other people thought, as well as by fear, embarra.s.sment, and pity for this guy.

"How can ye believe, which receive honour one of another, and seek not the honour that cometh from G.o.d only" (John 5:44).

When you're worried about looking good in the sight of people, it can hinder your faith. Wigglesworth didn't have more than I I did; he had less-less unbelief. did; he had less-less unbelief.

Wigglesworth was often criticized as being "too hard." He would hit, punch, and even kick people at times. When asked why, he responded, "I'm just out to get the devil. I can't help it if their bodies get in the way!" He once kicked a baby with a head injury off the stage and into the front row. But that baby was healed! Wigglesworth understood the difference between G.o.dly compa.s.sion and human pity. He recognized that pity stops the power of G.o.d from operating. So he was hard, insensitive, and unfeeling toward unbelief.

Drain It to Zero!

Like Jesus' disciples in Matthew 17,1 had both faith and unbelief working at the same time there in Omaha. It's not that my, or their, faith wasn't strong enough. There was just too much unbelief counteracting it.

Picture two outdoor thermometers: one measures faith, the other unbelief. Most people ignore the unbelief and concentrate on their faith. If their faith is up an inch but what they've prayed for still hasn't come to pa.s.s, they think they need to push their faith up another inch or two. So they go on an all-out effort to increase their faith saying, "O G.o.d, give me more faith. I need more faith!"

The Lord said, "It's your unbelief that's the problem. Without unbelief working against it, your faith doesn't need to be any bigger than a mustard seed to get the job done" (Matt. 17:20, my paraphrase). Instead of trying to shoot your faith through the roof, pull the plug on your unbelief. Drain it to zero, and you'll find your faith strong enough to accomplish anything you need.

Most Christians don't receive what G.o.d has already supplied because of unbelief, not lack of faith. These are two opposite situations. If someone doesn't believe, of course they won't receive. Faith is the bridge that brings G.o.d's provision from the spiritual world over into the physical world. Faith must be present, but it's not that big of a deal. It's not hard. As Christians, we have the supernatural faith of G.o.d. It's just that most believers haven believers haven't yet yet realized or dealt with their unbelief. realized or dealt with their unbelief.

What is unbelief? It could be fear, worry, or care. If the doctor tells you you're going to die and you start trying to believe G.o.d by confessing, "Jesus, I believe that by Your stripes I've been healed," but in your mind you're still worried, that's being double-minded.

Double-minded people won't receive anything from the Lord. Games Games 1:7, 8.) 1:7, 8.) Mark 11:23 says, "That whosoever shall say unto this mountain, Be thou removed, and be thou cast into the sea; and shall not doubt in his heart" and shall not doubt in his heart" (emphasis mine). (emphasis mine).

You can't believe, be saying and doing some of the right things, and yet have a split heart. To get the results you're after, you must be single-minded and focused! (My teaching Hardness of Heart Hardness of Heart will answer many of your questions about this. It's one of the greatest things the Lord has ever shown me.) will answer many of your questions about this. It's one of the greatest things the Lord has ever shown me.)

"He Considered Not"

Abraham didn't allow himself to think on anything contrary to what G.o.d had told him. He was strong in faith because the promise was all he considered.

Who against hope believed in hope, that he [Abraham] might become the father of many nations, according to that which was spoken, So shall thy seed be. And being not weak in faith, he considered not his own body now dead, when he was about an hundred years old, neither yet the deadness of Sarah's womb. against hope believed in hope, that he [Abraham] might become the father of many nations, according to that which was spoken, So shall thy seed be. And being not weak in faith, he considered not his own body now dead, when he was about an hundred years old, neither yet the deadness of Sarah's womb.Romans 4:18, 19, brackets mine You can't be tempted with anything you don't think. Therefore, overcoming temptation, unbelief, and failure begins in your thoughts. If your thoughts are only on G.o.d, then all you'll be tempted with is to believe and trust Him. But if your thoughts are on things other than G.o.d, then you could be tempted with that.

Abraham didn't consider-study, ponder, deliberate, examine-his own body now dead nor the deadness of Sarah's womb. When G.o.d told him that Sarah would conceive and give birth to a child the next year, Abraham didn't dwell on his age or the fact that Sarah had long since pa.s.sed the time of childbearing. The thought may have crossed his mind, but he didn't consider it.

Just because an occasional contrary thought crosses your mind doesn't mean you're in unbelief. You can't stop the devil from giving you a thought, but you don't have to keep it. As Kenneth E. Hagin often said, "You can't stop a bird from flying over your head, but you can prevent it from making a nest there." A fleeting thought doesn't mean you're in unbelief. But when you consider, entertain, study, deliberate, examine, and ponder it, you'll be tempted.

Baptized in Unbelief Most people in Abraham's shoes today would blow it. If the Lord came to them at ninety-nine years old and said, "Your wife will have a child next year," they'd feel bound to seek a doctor for medical confirmation. "Is this possible? Have you ever heard of anyone one hundred years old having a baby? Please, examine my wife. She's already quit having her menstrual cycles. How could she possibly have a child now?" The doctors would agree and speak forth their unbelief saying, "No, it's never happened before. And it can't happen now either!" Then they'd go back to G.o.d in prayer and ask, "Lord, did You really say this?" He'd answer, "Yes, I did!" Then they'd try to believe Him after acc.u.mulating and pondering on all of these contrary thoughts. They'd wonder, Why is it so hard to receive from G.o.d? Why is it so hard to receive from G.o.d?

The reason why Abraham was such a strong man of faith wasn't because he had more than we do. He had less-less unbelief! This man was so mentally disciplined at age ninety-nine that when told by G.o.d that he would have a child, he didn't even think about, focus on, or study his own body nor the deadness of his wife's womb. Abraham only looked at the promise of G.o.d!

Unbelief comes through your thought process.

It doesn't take a huge amount of faith to receive from G.o.d, just a pure, simple, childlike faith. However, most Christians are baptized in unbelief. We're still so plugged in to the world's negativity that it's a miracle our faith has accomplished what it has. We take in all the junk on television, radio, and movies. After subjecting ourselves to all of this bad news, G.o.d tells us He's going to do something contrary to what the rest of the world is experiencing, and we have a hard time only believing. We know G.o.d wants to bless us. We're asking for it and heading in that direction, but we're loaded down with all of this unbelief.

A Separated Life Separated Life As a young man, Lester Sumrall once visited Smith Wigglesworth. With a newspaper rolled up under his arm, he knocked on the door. After introducing himself, he asked, "May I come in and visit with you?" Wigglesworth answered, "You can come in, but that paper has to stay outside."

Now, reading the newspaper isn't a sin. I read it on occasion- once every month or two. I'll also watch a news program on television about the same. In the car, I'll listen to the two-minute news summary on the radio. But that's basically the news I get. I don't do more, because there's so much negativity and unbelief in there.

Wigglesworth probably missed a dozen or two good things in the newspaper over those thirty-five years or so. He could have used them in his messages to help make a point (like I do sometimes). But he also missed hundreds of thousands of negative thoughts and statements that could have produced unbelief in him. To Wigglesworth, it just wasn't worth the risk!

Since Wigglesworth lived such a separated life, he simply wasn't as susceptible to unbelief as I was when I tried to pull that man out of the wheelchair. Now that G.o.d has shown me this, I've started living a more separated life too. I don't watch or listen to things I used to. Because of this, some people say my faith is stronger. Actually, it's purer. It's not as diluted now. I don't have as many thoughts of unbelief as before, because I quit opening myself up to things that give me opportunity for it.

The Problem Jesus told His disciples, "Your unbelief is the problem. If you had faith as small as a grain of mustard seed, it would be sufficient. You could have seen this boy delivered if you would have only believed" (Matt. 17:20, my paraphrase).

Taking into account the parallel pa.s.sage (Mark 9:14-29), we can see some of the reasons why the disciples had unbelief in this instance. The boy had a seizure, fell down, and foamed at the mouth. I don't know if you've ever been around someone having an epileptic seizure, but I have. It'll make the hair stand up on the back of your neck!

When that happens, it'll foster unbelief, worry, and fear. It's going to look contrary to what you're praying for. And unless you've spent time specifically fighting against that type of unbelief, you'll succ.u.mb to it.

That's what happened to me when I pulled that man out of the wheelchair and didn't see the right results. I was worried about what the audience thought. I let other people's unbelief and the fear of their rejection influence me. It hindered my faith.

Faith was present, but so was unbelief. If I had stood the way Smith Wigglesworth did, then my faith would have worked the way his worked. The difference wasn't our faith, but our unbelief. I had more than Wigglesworth-more unbelief!

CHAPTER 25.

Deal With Your Unbelief.

Unbelief comes in three different forms: ignorance, disbelief, and natural.

Ignorance is when someone just doesn't know the truth. They might not have grown up in church, or they might have been raised in a traditional denomination. Therefore, their idea of Christianity is skewed. They think Christians are just waiting on heaven and that there's no real victory to be experienced in this life. Due to their lack of knowledge, they have unbelief.

This type of unbelief is relatively easy to deal with. Just tell them the truth! If their heart is open to the Lord, they'll receive it. Then, ignorance leaves and they're able to believe G.o.d.

Disbelief comes from being taught wrong. Someone told them, "G.o.d doesn't heal or do miracles anymore. All of that supernatural stuff pa.s.sed away with the apostles." That's beyond, "Well, I've never heard of a person being healed today" (ignorance). It's, "If tongues, healing, or miracles happen today, it's of the devil." That's wrong teaching!

Disbelief is more difficult to overcome than ignorance. A person who's been taught wrong has prejudices against the truth. It's a lot harder for them to renew their mind and receive.

I had to struggle to renew my mind to the truth. I'd been taught many excuses for why G.o.d doesn't do miracles today, how tongues were of the devil, and why the supernatural things in the book of Acts don't happen now. Although it is a little harder to overcome, the antidote for this second type of unbelief is the same as the first. I had to receive the truth of G.o.d's Word above man's traditions in order to overcome this unbelief that came through wrong teaching.

Natural Unbelief The third kind of unbelief is what I call "natural" unbelief. It's not ignorance or wrong teaching but simply natural input that's contrary to the truth. The demonized boy had a seizure and foamed at the mouth. (Mark 9:14-29, parallel to Matt. 17:14-21.) When something like that happens, your mind, emotions, eyes, and ears are all going to tell you, "The demon didn't come out. Look, it didn't work!" That's not necessarily evil, just natural.

You go through life receiving input from your eyes, ears, and feelings, and making your decisions based on that. It's not wrong, or evil; it's just natural. If you were driving me somewhere in your car, I'd want you to have some of this "natural" input. I certainly wouldn't want you driving "by faith" with your eyes closed! However, there are things you can't perceive with just your five physical senses, and there are times the Lord will ask you to take

a step of faith. That's when you must be able to get beyond this kind of unbelief that comes from natural things.

If you pray for someone to be healed and they fall over dead, some natural unbelief will come at you. You prayed for them to be well, but now they're dead. What's going to happen? Unless you are really strong, you're naturally going to have fear and unbelief come up and say, "Well, it didn't work. Why? Because I can't see it!"

Most people are dominated by their physical senses. It was this kind of unbelief-natural unbelief-that hindered the disciples in Matthew 17. They believed they could cast out devils. They had done it before. The very fact that they asked, "Why could not we cast him out?" (Matt. 17:19) showed they had faith. They had ministered to the boy, believing, but when he began going into convulsions, they were moved more by what they saw than what they believed.

"This Kind"

How do you overcome this kind of unbelief? By knowing the truth and renewing your mind to it, you can get over ignorance and disbelief. But how do you get beyond what you see and feel? How do you get to where you're believing only and not letting that pain you feel in your body convince you that "No, it didn't work"? Jesus gave the answer in Matthew 17:21: "Howbeit this kind [of unbelief] goeth not out but by prayer and fasting" (brackets mine).

Many people have misinterpreted this verse. They think Jesus was talking about "this kind of demon." So they've invented different doctrines saying that certain demons are stronger than others and can only be cast out through prayer and fasting. That's not what Jesus was talking about.

You will never encounter a demon-or even the devil himself-that won't cower and flee at the name of Jesus and faith in His name. Your fasting and prayer doesn't add anything to it. If the name of Jesus and faith in His name won't defeat the devil, neither will your prayer and fasting!

Unbelief is the consistent subject of both verses. (Matt. 17:20, 21.) "This kind" in verse 21 refers back to "unbelief in verse 20, not to the demon in verse 19. Therefore, Jesus was saying that this type of unbelief-natural unbelief-can only come out by much prayer and fasting.

"Come Back Into That Body"

Your faith is enough. I know. I've seen three people raised from the dead-including my own son. I didn't have "big" faith. I just had simple faith.

G.o.d set me up the first time. I'd been praying for months for this man who was paralyzed from the waist down. He had been unable to move before, but I'd helped him to where he could move his legs, get around, and around, and do do things. things. 1 1 just went just went by by his house every his house every day to pray for and minister to him. day to pray for and minister to him.

Then one evening, while 1 was preparing to start a service, this man's son came in and waved me down. When I walked over, he threw me-and my guitar-into his car and drove us straight to his parents' house. It didn't take but a second to get there.

(Pritchett, Colorado, only had 144 people at the time.) I just thought we were going to pray for his father, that maybe he'd had a heart attack and was in some pain.

As I walked in, the sheriff was there trying to get his oxygen mask out. The man's wife was crying and praying, "O G.o.d, please bring Everett back from the dead!" That's the first time I realized he was dead. Since I already had so much time and effort invested in this man and his healing, the first thought that came to me was, "No way!" So I walked over and said, "Everett, in the name of Jesus, come back into that body." BOOM BOOM-he just sat up healed! (Later that day, the doctor checked him out and confirmed it.) Just a tiny bit of faith is sufficient if there isn't anything to counterbalance it. If you would've told me two days before that somebody was going to die and I'd have to raise them from the dead, my mind would have had time to start thinking. Thoughts of natural unbelief would have come at me, and it's very possible that I wouldn't have seen him raised from the dead. But the way it happened was a divine setup. G.o.d brought me over there in my ignorance. I prayed and didn't have time to disbelieve G.o.d. That's why it worked!

Prayer & Fasting However, natural unbelief normally kicks in through your senses whenever you pray and something contrary happens. This is because you've been trained to go by your five natural senses- what you can see, taste, hear, smell, and feel. Jesus said that the only way you can overcome this kind of unbelief is through prayer and fasting. (Matt. 17:21.) only way you can overcome this kind of unbelief is through prayer and fasting. (Matt. 17:21.) Unbelief that comes from your physical senses isn't necessarily evil; it's just natural. Living in this physical world, you must take into account what your senses are telling you.

A man once tried to fly an airplane "by faith," and I was stupid enough to go with him. It didn't take long before he realized that he didn't have the skill it took to fly. So he curled up into a fetal position on the floor and cried, "My G.o.d, we're going to die- we're going to die!" While he freaked out, I had to fly this tiny little plane. I'd never flown an airplane before. I didn't know what was going on. Besides all that, we were in a terrible storm. I actually had to fly that thing for an hour until this guy pulled himself together and landed us!

I don't recommend trying to fly an airplane by faith. You should have some aviation knowledge and be able to follow the instruments. You need to be able to respond to what you see and hear. There's nothing wrong with that.

However, there are times in your life when responding to what you can see, taste, hear, smell, and feel will not get the job done. You must be able to move beyond your natural senses into the spirit realm. How do you do that? Through prayer and fasting!

CHAPTER 26.

Responsive to G.o.d W.

hat do you do when your body hurts, you've already prayed, believed, received, and acted on your faith for healing-but you're still in pain? Under normal circ.u.mstances, you've been trained to respond to your body. Since it still hurts, which is contrary to what you prayed, your natural senses have conditioned you to conclude, "It didn't work." How do you overcome that and receive the manifestation of G.o.d's provision? By fasting!

Fasting retrains your body to respond to G.o.d's Word and your born-again spirit. When you fast, you're telling your body what to do. You're breaking the natural domination and control your body has been exerting over you. Your body isn't bad. It's just been trained wrong. You've been responding primarily to what you can see, taste, hear, smell, and feel.

That's okay most of the time, but you need to learn-experientially-that man does not live by bread alone but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of G.o.d. (Matt. 4:4.) By fasting, you say to your body, "Body, you need to understand that the spirit is more important than the physical. There are realities you can't perceive with this little peanut brain. In order to help you learn this, we're going on a fast. By not eating or drinking like we normally do, we are going to recognize that G.o.d is our Source. Instead of going by my appet.i.te and letting food supply my needs, the Lord and His Word will give me strength!"

If you haven't trained it, your body will rebel at that, and your appet.i.te will go wild. Many people have told me that they felt like they were going to die by noon the first day of their fast. They felt weak all over, had a headache, and so forth.

Did you know that it's a proven medical fact that fasting one day a week is good for you? It won't harm you but will purge your body of toxins. In fact, you don't physically begin to die until about forty days into a fast. Prior to that, it's mostly just your appet.i.te talking, not physical necessity. Many of us could live off the fat of the land for quite some time!