Hi all you people out there.
Some of you have been told, and so believe, that speaking in Tongues and all of the rest of the gifts of the Spirit died out with the Apostles.
I feel a need to share with all of you some truths about tongues. I do speak in tongues daily in my prayers. And while I have not given a message in tongues, I have interpreted and have been present at many messages in tongues. I am an A!G minister.
I see such misinformation and lack of understanding among those who do not have the Baptism in the Holy Spirit as was received on the day of Pentecost. I see arguments with the blind trying to lead the blind. I am encouraged that at least you are trying to understand, even though it is impossible to do so without the Holy Spirit leading and guiding. Just as Jesus did not debate, but rather stated the truth and left each one who heard his words either accept or reject them, and so I do the same.
And so I begin: I have heard the statement,
> When talking about the Ho/y Spirit we must be incredibly ware of basing our arguments on our experience.<
This is an interesting statement. But ask yourself, What was the Gospel that the Apostles taught if not hearsay and experience?" Did they not say. "Jesus said" and "Jesus did this"? Did they not tell the people." I know that it is true because I saw it myself, in other words they told of their experiences. Many came to Serve and Worship Jesus as God when they heard and believed, based on the personal knowledge and experiences of the Apostles. Of course there were many more who refused to believe. The Pharisees were always pointing to their Bible and saying prove it, It doesn't say anything here about you doing these good works. They said that the Bible of that day didn't show Jesus as the Messiah. They were wrong, they who should have known best of all refused to believe what was before their eyes. If someone says.. "you will be burned and it will hurt if you put your hand in the fire", will you accept their experience and testimony or do you have to put your hand into the fire to prove it?
When you receive the Baptism in the Holy Spirit, you WILL speak in other tongues. This is the sign to the believers that you are also a believer. And if you think that you are a believer without it, then see Mark 16:17-18. Jesus is telling the Apostles what signs they will see in a believer. Please note that Jesus said. ."they shall speak with new tongues"... When people tell you that you don't need tongues today, they speak for Satan. You can say, "Jesus lied", or "there are no believers since the 1 st century". If we say that the words in the Bible are wrong, then we are saying that Jesus Lied. If we say that tongues died out, then we say that there are no believers today. How then can you call yourself a believer? You can not have it both ways. Either Jesus spoke the truth or the entire Bible is a lie.
What is so important about speaking in tongues any how? I speak here about the initial sign of having the Baptism of the Holy Spirit here, and not the Gift of Tongues which is different (not the same)! You say I don't need it, I have the Holy Spirit or some say .. if God wanted me to have it he would give it to me. It is important Because Jesus thought it Extremely important to have the Baptism in the Holy Spirit. (Acts 1:4-5)
Let us look at history as the Bible shows us. In John 20:22 Jesus gave the Holy Spirit to the Apostles, but they did not at this point speak in tongues This shows that having the Holy Spirit and having the Baptism in the Holy Spirit are different. Now consider, The Apostles had already healed the sick, cast out demons, etc. and now had the Holy Spirit, what more did they need? Jesus said in Luke 24:49, wait in Jerusalem until you receive POWER. What... they already had the power to heal the sick and raise the dead, what other power did they need? In Acts 1:5,8 Jesus said.. "You shall be baptized with the Holy Ghost (Spirit)" and. . . . "But you shall receive power, after the Holy Ghost has come upon you"... This again shows that there is a big difference between receiving the Holy Spirit when you are saved and receiving the Baptism in the Holy Spirit, which is for POWER. Power to do what.. It is to witness.
Jesus, who is God the Son, thought that receiving the Baptism in the Holy Spirit was so important that He ordered the Apostles to stay until they received it. And you think that you do not need it Can you get to heaven without it. Yes you can. Only faith is required for salvation. But, without it, it is like running a foot race with both feet tied together.. You can reach the finish line, but it is Oh so much harder. Will God give it to you if you don't want it or think that you are doing just fine without it? God will not force you to have it any more than He will force you to accept salvation. You have to want it and actively seek it with much prayer. Not for the tongues but for the power to be a great witness for God.
You see, when we pray in tongues, we are praying to God, we are submitting our will to the will of God by allowing the Holy Spirit to speak through us using our voice. Man is a willful creature and because it is so, it is difficult to give up control of self to God. This is prayer, both in word and action. God is glorified because we submit to Him. We are edified because of our closeness to God at this time as well as our being accepted by God as a believer. (Remember Mark 16:17-18) When I pray in tongues, I have no control over what is said or even how it is said. My mind can dwell on anything since it doesn't control my voice. However I prefer to also worship God with my mind as well as in tongues.
With this power to witness, it is so very easy to witness. There is not the slightest hesitation, not the slightest fear. I know many of you step out and witness without the power. And those of you that do are doing a great job, but what about the rest of them out there who can find a thousand reasons not to go out to witness because they are afraid? If Jesus thought that It was important, what makes you think that you know better than Jesus does about what you need or what is important.
Now for a change of pace:
The Gifts of the Spirit. Out of all of the gifts of the spirit, every one of them was in operation in the Old Testament except, the gift of Tongues and its interpretation. And contrary to what many of you think, none of the gifts is given to anyone as "their gift" such that they will always have "that gift". The Holy Spirit gives to each of us as He sees fit in His eyes. This means that one may "give a message in tongues" one time, then heal or do a miracle at another time and place. I will not be the one to always give a prophesy. While I may exercise a gift one time, another may exercise that gift another time while I will exercise a different gift. It is not at all unusual to have several of the gifts active in you at the same time.
But in the matter of the gift of tongues, it is similar to the tongues received when the Baptism in the Holy Spirit is received, but it is different in purpose. The gift of tongues is to give a message from God to a congregation, and a non believer hearing it will, I repeat, will recognize it as a message from God. It is always a message and not a prayer. It may be interpreted by the Holy Spirit for all who hear or it could be a message just for one person who is there and understands the language. When it is interpreted, the Interpreter speaks as the Holy Spirit gives utterance. The Interpreter does not understand the message in tongues anymore than the person who gave the message in tongues does. They both speak as the Holy Spirit gives utterance. It is not a direct translation of one word to another.
I have been in large churches, over a thousand people all praying out loud, some in English some in tongues. When a message in tongues begins, the whole room will become instantly quiet as both the message and interpretation is given. This never fails, I repeat, never fails to quiet. No one jumps in with a word of anything until the interpretation is finished or until it is apparent that the person who was to interpret did not obey the Holy Spirit. Yes that does happen. Remember this, God does not interrupt Himself If there is any interruption, it is not of God. There is NO Newest Inspiration that takes the lead from one who is giving a message in tongues, THAT would be and could only be from Satan to stop Gods message.
Now it will be apparent from the content of the interpretation of a message in tongues, that God is being glorified. If the content of the message is otherwise, then it is not of God. Paul tells you that this is the way that you will know the true from the false.
Yes, there is are false tongues and false prophecy. Satan is a copycat and a deceiver. But these will never glorify God and by the content, a spirit filled person will not be deceived. When you know the truth, you can not be fooled by a fake. But woe to those who do not have the power of the true Holy Spirit in them, for they will be fooled when Satan comes disguised as an angel of light.
So who is this tongues for anyway? it is for you. It is for all the true believers in Christ. For all who are in God's Church, the True Church, those who make up the Bride of Christ. As I said, it is for you. There are no denominations in Heaven. You do not have to go to my church to have it. In every denomination of those who believe truly in Jesus Christ as their savior, there have been, and will continue to be those who have received the Baptism in the Holy Spirit and speak in tongues. Be it RC, Lutheran, Baptist, Methodist, Holiness, Assemblies, etc Its for all of us. That is, if you want it. After all, God will not force any of His good Gifts on you. But should you desire all that God has for you, then earnestly ask God for the Baptism so that you might have the Power. If you truly want it in your heart then you will receive it. Remember Jesus said to ask, seek, knock. Be persistent and keep this in mind, you have to open your mouth for the Holy Spirit to speak with your voice, and even if it is only a strange sound at first, believe that you have received it. When Satan says to you that those noises you made isn't tongues, call him a liar. Satan won't tell you its not tongues until you do have it. He doesn't tell you now that you are not speaking in tongues does he? The more you glorify God in your prayers the sooner you will receive the Baptism in the Spirit.
Tongues can not be taught. If you find yourself in a church that is trying to teach people how to speak in tongues. RUN, far away from that church for they are false. Tongues comes from God and is not a learned language.
May God go with each one of you, guiding you in the truth.
The end