October 6

Believe in Christ

In My name they will cast out demons; they will speak with new tongues;…they will lay hands on the sick, and they will recover.
—Mark 16:17-18

Scripture reading: Mark 16:9-19

May God help us to understand the ministry of knowing Christ. I am satisfied, first of all, that the power is in the knowledge of His blood and of His perfect holiness. I am perfectly cleansed from all sin and made holy in the knowledge of His holiness. Second, as I know Him; and as I know His power, the same power that works in me as I minister only through the knowledge of Him; and as I know the Christ who is manifested by it; such knowledge will be effective to accomplish the very thing that the Word of God says it will: it will have power over all evil. I minister today in the power of the knowledge of Him. Beyond that, there is a certain sense in which I overcome the world according to my faith in Him. I am more than a conqueror (Rom. 8:37) over everything through the knowledge that I have that He is over everything. He has been crowned by the Father to bring everything into subjection (Eph. 1:22).

Shouting won’t cast out an evil spirit, but there is an anointing that is gloriously felt within and brings the act of casting out the demon into perfect harmony with the will of God. We cannot help shouting, though shouting won’t do it. The power over evil spirits is in the ministry of the knowledge that He is Lord over all demons, over all powers of wickedness.

Paul went about clothed in the Spirit. This was wonderful. Was his body full of power? No! He sent forth handkerchiefs and aprons that had touched him, and when they touched the needy, they were healed and demons were cast out. Was there power in his body? No! There was power in Jesus. Paul ministered through the power of the anointing of the Holy Spirit and through faith in the name of Jesus.

Sometimes demon powers are dealt with in very different ways. But the ministry of the Spirit is administered by the power of the word Jesus, and His name never fails to accomplish the purpose that the one in charge has wisdom or discernment to see. This is because, along with the Spirit of ministry, there comes the revelation of the need of the one who is bound.

The Spirit ministers the name of Jesus in many ways. I see it continually happening. I see it working, and all the time the Lord is building up a structure of His own power by a living faith in the sovereignty of Jesus’ name. If I turn to John’s gospel, I get the whole thing practically in a nutshell: “This is eternal life, that they may know You, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom You have sent” (John 17:3). We must have the knowledge and power of God and the knowledge of Jesus Christ, the embodiment of God, in order to be clothed with God.

There are those who have come into line: they have the blessed Christ within and the power of the baptism, which is the revelation of the Christ of God within. This is so evidenced in the person who is baptized in the Spirit, and Christ is so plainly abiding, that the moment the person is confronted with evil, he is instantly sensitive to the nature of this confrontation, and he is able to deal with it accordingly.

The difference between the sons of Sceva and Paul was this: they said, “It is only the use of the name that is important.” How many people only use the name; how many times are people defeated because they think it is just the name; how many people have been brokenhearted because it did not work when they used the name? If I read this into my text, “He who believes will speak in tongues; he who believes will cast out devils; he who believes will lay hands on the sick and they will recover” (see Mark 16:17–18), it seems perfectly easy on the surface of it. But you must understand this: there are volumes to be applied to the word believe.

Thought for today: To believe is to believe in the need of the majesty of the glory of the power of God. Believing in Christ is all power, and it brings all other powers into subjection.

Smith Wigglesworth Devotional: 365 Day Devotional
By Whitaker House

Smith Wigglesworth was a man who took God at his word, and God used his faith as a model for others. Explore these daily truths from Scripture and the writings of the Apostle of Faith, and you’ll quench your spiritual thirst, conquer defeating fears, be an effective soul winner, and see impossibilities turn into realities. 558 pages.

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Smith Wigglesworth Devotional