Matt. 10:41 He that receiveth a prophet in the name of a prophet shall receive a prophet s reward; and he that receiveth a righteous man in the name

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1 Matt. 10:41 He that receiveth a prophet in the name of a prophet shall receive a prophet s reward; and he that receiveth a righteous man in the name of a righteous man; and shall receive a righteous man s reward.

2 I am not moved by what I see; I am not move by what I hear or what I feel, I am moved by what I believe. For more than 30 years I have heard much preaching on this saying. There are songs, poems and teachings on this saying. Just the other day I was talking with Stephanie and quoted this same adage, proverb, to her, I am not moved by what I see. This adage is one of those Christianese sayings. Why do I say Christianese, because I am not moved by what I see is one of those most often quoted sayings by Christians, but found nowhere in Scripture. Many people as they listen to this Bible Study are saying to themselves now, I know that it s somewhere in the Bible. Search your Bible, you won t find this saying in the Scriptures. Then where did this quite often quoted Christian saying come from? This Christians saying came from a man named Smith Wigglesworth, a British Evangelist Pentecostal preacher in the early 1900 s. Mr. Wigglesworth, who did not know how to read or writes was taught how to read by wife Polly, who taught Smith how to read, only using the Bible. The Wigglesworth s were used mightily of God in a turn of the century revival, leading mass of people to Christ. It was Polly who first took the reins as an Evangelist and lead many to Christ, while her husband stayed home many of nights as a backslider, but her love for the Lord and her constant prayer over her husband lead him to reconciliation to the Lord where He found his calling. Needless to say, their story and testimony is as powerful and interesting as those in the book of Acts. Mr. Smith, was a plumber by trade and had his own plumbing business that was at the time prosperous. It was the turn of the century and indoor plumbing was just catching on, so; being only one of a few plumbers, he always had plenty of business. However, Mr. Smith gave up his plumbing business to preach full time. Smith believed that God could and would provide all his needs, if he served the Lord faithfully. Confident in his relationship with God, Smith brought a condition before the Lord: "My shoe heels must never be a disgrace, and I must never have to wear trousers with the knees out. I said to the Lord, 'If either of these things take place, I'll go back to plumbing." God never failed to supply all of Smith s needs, and he never returned to plumbing. Smith had the gift of healing, and many testified that Smith healed many people by and through his faith in God. Many were healed and many more he brought to the Lord through Smith s evangelist ministry. Smith believed that faith was simple. When asked about his great faith, he would comment and say, faith is simple, one needs only to believe. That s it. One of Smith s true principles of his faith was that he believed God had no favorites. God is no respecter of person. God draws near to those who draw near to Him (Acts 10:34 / James 4:8). Receive a Prophet -2

3 Smith truly believed this in his heart, and would share with often the primary example of this principle could be seen in the New Testament, (John 13:23), were John was noted as the apostle whom Jesus "greatly loved." According to Wigglesworth, John's "leaning on Jesus' bosom" did not make John a favorite of Jesus, it was the fact that John s relationship and dependence upon Jesus is what called attention to John as one whom Jesus greatly loved. Smith constantly proclaimed: There is something about believing God, that makes God willing to pass over a million people just to anoint you. Smith believed very simply, that his great faith came from his relationship with Jesus Christ. From that relationship came Smith's every answer to every situation he ever faced. Smith believed, God has no favorites, He works through those who believe Him. Wigglesworth once stated while preaching: Do not worry or fret that God has given more faith to others than He has to you. Rest assured in the fact that God has imparted enough faith to you to make sure you are covered from head to toe! Faith counts the thing done, before anything has happened. Remember, no promise of God can fail to be fulfilled. Smith Wigglesworth took Hebrews 11:6, (It s impossible to please God but by faith. You must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him ), very seriously. His personally relationship with God was centered on Heb. 11:6, believing it was impossible to please God with anything we do. Only by our faith could we please God. Based on his strong belief in Heb. 11:6, Smith incorporated faith into every aspect of his life. It is even said, that when Polly had a heart attack and died before Smith could get to her bedside, but Smith, through his faith in God, prayed her back to life. However, Smith testified that the Lord spoke to him and told him to let her go, He wanted to bring her home to himself. So, Smith let his wife go and asked the Lord for a double portion of the Holy Spirit. As Wigglesworth s ministry grew also did the critics of his ministry. The local and national newspapers would write about Smith Wigglesworth revival meetings and evangelism, something that was not commonly done. When asked to comment on what was written in the newspapers, Wigglesworth would only comment to the criticism by saying, I am not moved by what I see or hear; I am not moved by what I feel; I am moved by what I believe." Thus, we get the saying, I am not moved by what I see or hear. Now, do I believe the testimonies of Smith Wigglesworth? Absolutely, as Jesus told me, He that receiveth a prophet in the name of a prophet shall receive a prophet s reward; and he that receiveth a righteous man in the name of a righteous man and shall receive a righteous man s reward. (Matt. 10:41). I believe and receive Smith Wigglesworth as both prophet and righteous man, and I receive his testimony as true, and I want the reward of the prophet and righteous man, faith. Simple, as Mr. Wigglesworth would put it. He believed Jesus when He said, Very truly I tell you, whoever believes in me will do the works I have been doing, and they will do even greater things than these, because I am going to the father (John 13:12). That s why Mr. Wigglesworth in the most profound simplicity of his faith said, I am not moved by what I see or hear; I am not moved by Receive a Prophet -3

4 what I feel; I am moved by what I believe." I believe that Mr. Wigglesworth, in his personal relationship with Jesus, was taught how to have faith in God! The Lord taught Mr. Wigglesworth the meaning of Heb. 11:1 Faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things unseen. Hoped for is ἐλπίζω elpizō; meaning to expect (have, thing) hope(-d) (for), trust in receiving. Rom 8:24-25 says, 24 For in this hope we were saved. But hope that is seen is no hope at all. Who hopes for what they already have? 25 But if we hope for what we do not yet have, we wait for it patiently. You can believe all day long that the Bible is true, and that s to your credit, but what the Bible says will never affect your life in a personal way until you start acting on God s Word as believe and fact to your life. Smith Wigglesworth I can t understand God by feelings. I can t understand the Lord Jesus Christ by feelings. I can only understand God the Father and Jesus Christ by what the Word says about them. God is everything the Word says He is. We need to get acquainted with Him through the Word. Mr. Wigglesworth held a high regard for Luke 1:37: For no word from God will ever fail. He believed that faith is no simpler than that. 2 Cor. 5:7 says, for we walk by faith, not by sight. we walk peripateó; πίστεως; meanng, to tread, walk around, to make one s way, to progress. The word peripateó; πίστεως is a Hebrew euphemism for I conduct my life, live. sight - eidos, εἶδος; meaning, visible, appearance, outward show. So, basically the passage is telling us that we as believers in Christ, should conduct our lives based on what we believe, not has an outward showing or appearance. Ergo, I am not moved by what I see or hear; I am not moved by what I feel; I am moved by what I believe." Walk by sight" does not mean "not living to the power of our own vision" because things we see are real. No, what this means is not living to and under the influence and persuasion of things seen as that s all there is to see. Living to that is essentially letting all of your judgments and decisions be made only through your five senses. Everyone naturally walks by sight. It is the believing your senses only, "Seeing is believing," and not seeing beyond your five senses. There is no believe or faith in only living to only your five senses, what you can see, touch, feel or hear. Basically, your saying, if I can t see it, touch it, feel it, or know it for myself, then it s not real. This is opposite too, as believers, how we are to live. Yet, many of us still do, just like Thomas, though he walked with Jesus doing Jesus ministry on earth. John 20: But Thomas, one of the twelve, called Didymus, was not with them when Jesus came. 25The other disciples therefore said unto him, We have seen the Lord. But he said unto them, Except I shall see in his hands the print of the nails, and put my finger into the print of the nails, and thrust Receive a Prophet -4

5 my hand into his side, I will not believe. 26And after eight days again his disciples were within, and Thomas with them: then came Jesus, the doors being shut, and stood in the midst, and said, Peace be unto you. 27Then saith he to Thomas, Reach hither thy finger, and behold my hands; and reach hither thy hand, and thrust it into my side: and be not faithless, but believing. 28And Thomas answered and said unto him, My Lord and my God. 29Jesus saith unto him, Thomas, because thou hast seen me, thou hast believed: blessed are they that have not seen, and yet have believed. The word faithless apistos, meanng without faith, unbelieving, disbelieving. Again, this was one of the Twelve, handpicked by Jesus, who was faithless, because he lived by sight. Truth be told, many of us suffer from the same faithlessness as Thomas but are too afraid to admit it to ourselves, others and before the Lord; as if, our Christian membership will be revoked. Funny thing is, God already knows. If you noticed, the first thing Jesus did when He appeared before the disciples was to help Thomas with His faithlessness. Jesus was not present when Thomas said what he said, He s the Lord and knows all. So He gave Thomas what Thomas needed to stop being faithless. When we know we have doubt, have uncertainty and unbelief, we ought to be like the father of the boy with a dumb spirit Mark 9:22-24: 22And ofttimes it hath cast him into the fire, and into the waters, to destroy him: but if thou canst do any thing, have compassion on us, and help us. 23Jesus said unto him, If thou canst believe, all things are possible to him that believeth. 24And straightway the father of the child cried out, and said with tears, Lord, I believe; help thou mine unbelief. See the man had sought help from others for his son. He even had Jesus disciples try to help his son, but no one could help his son. What the man saw was his son couldn t be helped and he felt despair, discouragement and doubt his son would be healed. Jesus says to the man, If you can believe, all things are possible to him that believth. Now, if you notice, the man believes in Jesus as either the Messiah or a prophet of God. Why do I say this? With tears, the man says Lord. So, he believed in the working power and anointing Jesus had in and on Him from God, and the man did believe, have faith in God and confidence in Jesus, but he knew that his faith was not as strong as it should be. The man asked Jesus to help thou mine unbelief ; i.e, help me in the areas of the defects of my faith. Give me strength and grace to put "entire" confidence in you. Every one of us honestly needs to offer up this prayer to Our Lord Jesus for help as needed for our unbelief and doubts, because we need His help, His aid and His Grace when we know that we believe but it s coming up short. As with the father of the boy, sometimes, what we see and feel can cause us to be discouraged, dismayed, disheartened and doubtful. This is when we need to be honest like Thomas and the father of the boy, Lord, help with my unbelief. Let me see you Lord. I want to believe your promises for my life Lord. Help me to cast out the doubt and discouragement of my faith. Walking by sight is deceptive. In reality, the eye is not what actually sees anything; it is the mind that sees through the eye. Walking by sight says, I believe in myself, what I perceive and understand; whereas walking by faith says, "I believe in God," what He knows, understands and can do. If I walk by sight I walk by myself; if I walk by faith then there are four of us walking to perceive and understand - God the Father, God the Son and God the Holy Spirit, and Me. Myself, I m limited, but the other three how mighty, wonderful, awesome and all knowing they are! Receive a Prophet -5

6 God can work mightily when you believe in Him in spite of discouragements from the human standpoint I am not moved by what I see. I am moved only by what I believe. Feelings? You shouldn t consider how you feel if you believe God, because believing God is not based upon a feeling but His Word. So, faith is not based upon what I already see, hear, have, think or feel. It s based upon believing God for what I hope for upon His Word and Promises. What I believe is greater, stronger and mightier than what I have my eyes on or what feelings may bring. NOT MOVED Not moved by what I see... Not moved by what I hear. Not moved by what I feel... Not moved by what I fear. Though I may have troubles... I believe God to bring me through. Though others may talk about me and pester me... I will reject that sound. Though my own weakness may encroach upon me... It s not seeing myself. Though the enemy attacks me I am not moved. In Christ I will remain and believe. As the Prophet and Righteous man Smith Wigglesworth told us, I am not moved by what I see or hear; I am not moved by what I feel; I am moved by what I believe." Amen! Receive a Prophet -6

Because of Your Unbelief

Because of Your Unbelief Lesson 12 Outline I. If it s God s will to heal and Jesus healed this boy (Matt. 17:18), why couldn t the disciples get him healed? A. The disciples who asked Jesus this question,