The
Importance of Speaking in Tongues
Jesus:- "They shall speak with
new tongues" Mark 16
Paul:- "I thank my God I speak in tongues more than
you all" ~ "I would that you ALL spoke in tongues"
1Cor14 Acts:- "and they were ALL filled with the Holy
Spirit and began to speak in other tongues" Acts2:4
The gift of the Holy Spirit is the greatest blessing a
Christian can receive from God.
"For John truly baptised you with water but you shall be
bapitised with the Holy Spirit not many days now" ~
"and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit, for the
promise is unto you and your children and to as many as the Lord
our God shall call" He is a gift from God and the only way
you can get Him, is to receive Him..
The Prophecy:- "To who shall He (God) teach
knowledge, to whom shall He make to understand doctrine?... for
with stammering lips and other tongues will he speak to this
people... to whom He said.. This is the rest, this is the
refreshing.." Isaiah 28:9-12 (read it all)
The Fulfillment:- "and they were ALL filled with the
Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit
gave them utterance" (utterance:- a clear sound, the ability
to speak, to speak forth) It was man who did the speaking but it
was the Spirit of God Who gave them the ability and the language.
It is a supernatural language imparted to the human spirit by the
Spirit of God.
Paul:- "For in the law it is written, with other lips
and other tongues will I speak to this people"
1Cor14:21
There is more written about speaking in tongues than anything
other subject in New testament.. even love. Towards the end of
His earthly ministry, Jesus had a lot to say about the One Who
would be coming after Him. "I will send you another
helper" The word 'another' in the Greek is
'Alos' or 'another of the same kind, The figure
stamped. Just like 2 one dollar coins.. exactly the same. So this
is the first thing we begin to know about Him.. he is EXACTLY
like Jesus.
"He will glorify Me" ~ One of His works is glorify the
Lord Jesus Christ and what He did in His death, resurrection and
ascension to Majesty on High.. in and through us!
"He will teach you ALL things" ~ so He came to
teach us, not about the things of the world but the things which
are of God.. and He teaches us these things in His language, the
language of the Spirit, or 'other tongues'
1Cor12:12:- "Now we have received, not the spirit of
the world, but the Spirit which is of God; that we might know the
things that are freely given to us of God.
Paul then goes on to say 'how' this teaching/knowing will
take place.. "
13 Which things also we speak, not in the words which
man's wisdom teaches, but which the Holy Ghost teaches;
comparing spiritual things with spiritual" (Another
translation reads: 'We are taught by no human wisdom but by
the Spirit, we interpret what is spiritual in spiritual
language') You can see here that we have received the Spirit
which is from God for a purpose.. that we might 'know'(to
be aware of, have knowledge, to perceive - Strong's) the
things of God" So we 'speak' the things of God by
the Spirit of God. Think about it. You went to school where you
learned about the things of the world. You leant those things
from books and you were taught in your natural language by a
teacher. So it is with the Kingdom of God. You go to
'God's school' where He begins to teach you about the
things of God. You learn from His book.. The Bible and the Holy
Spirit teaches your spirit in His language. He takes the
'written Word of God' and makes it the 'spoken Word
of God' to your heart, or spirit man. Jesus said "God is
a Spirit" John4:24. He is not a body or a mind.. He is a
Spirit being.. and we were made 'in His image and His
likeness' He is called in the Bible.. "The Father of
spirits" We learn about this world and that enables us to
operate successfully in this world but the Spirit of God comes to
teach us about the things (realm) of God so we can operate
successfully in His world!
The things of God are revealed to the heart of man by the Holy
Spirit of God.
You cannot figure God out! He can only be revealed.. Jesus said,
"No man knows the Son except the Son reveal Him"
~ "When He (the Holy Spirit) is come, He will take (the
things) of mine and reveal them to you" It's the
same way that you 'know' Jesus as your Lord and saviour.
He was revealed to you by the Spirit of God. That's the
'knowing' you have in your heart of Him.
"He that speaks in an unknown tongues does not speak to
men... but unto God.. for in the Spirit, he speaks
mysteries" (secrets)1Cor14:2
They are not a mystery to God but to us. It is 'in the
Spirit' (remember this phrase!) Notice Paul calls
'speaking in tongues' ~ 'speaking in the Spirit'
~ You 'speak' the mysteries (deep things, secrets) of God
in the Spirit, in other tongues, or the language of the
Spirit.
'In the Spirit' is also a place, the abode of God..
'IN the Spirit he speaks..' ~ "God is a
Spirit" Jn4:24 The apostle John said. "I was
IN the Spirit on the Lords day" Rev1. Physically,
John was on the Isle of Patmos, but he was also 'in the
Spirit' You access this realm of grace through speaking in
the supernatural language of God. 'in the Spirit he
speaks..'
14 "But the natural man receives not the
things of the Spirit of God: for they are foolishness unto him:
neither can he know them, because they are spiritually
discerned" As I said, you can't figure it out, the
things of God are revealed to our hearts, not our heads.
The Revealed Knowledge of
God and Jesus our Lord:
The Lord Jesus Christ had a LOT to say about this and the first
person recorded in the Gospels as receiving it, was the apostle
Peter. They were all walking along one day when Jesus turned to
them and asked a question. "Who do men say that I
am?" He asked. Their responses were purely natural until
they got to Peter.. "Some say you are.... some same
Elijah.." Then Jesus turned to Peter and said
"but who do YOU say that I am Peter?"
Peter turned to Jesus and said "Thou art the Christ, the
Son of the living God!" Now, in itself, there was
nothing unique about the statement, they had said the same thing
a couple of chapters earlier when they saw the Lord walking on
the water.
Yet this time Jesus had something to say abut it.. and it was to
change Peter's life. Jesus replied to Peter.. "Blessed
are you Simon bar Jona, for flesh and blood has not
revealed (notice revealed this to you but My Father
who is in Heaven" (This knowledge of Who Jesus
really was, came by revelation.. not by flesh and
blood) The first time they made that statement about Who Jesus
was, was because of what they saw with their natural eyes..
Pretty impressive.. but not revelation. However when Peter said
it the second time, it was because of what he saw in his heart!
In the Old Testament it is written, Deep calleth to deep"..
In the New testament..It is Spirit to spirit. His Spirit to our
spirit.
This is how the apostle Paul (who thanked God he spoke in tongues
more than them all) received the Gospel. "I neither
received it from man, neither was I taught it but by the
revelation of Jesus Christ" Paul got the
Gospel, the same way Peter received the information about just
Who was standing in front of him! Through the revelation of the
Spirit!
Paul adds to his statement "I thank my God, I speak in
tongues more than you all" ~ "Now if I come to
you speaking in tongues, what will it profit you?' EXCEPT I
speak by 'revelation, or by prophesying, or by knowledge or
by doctrine" Paul reveals here about the 4 ways of
interpreting what was happening whilst he was speaking in
tongues. Remember, Paul didn't have the New Testament.. he
only had the Old Testament and through that, came the revelation
of Jesus Christ. Paul got revelation knowledge (or knowledge
revealed to the heart of man, as opposed to the head of
man) by speaking in tongues. No wonder he said "I would
that you ALL spoke in tongues!" He said that when he
came to them 'speaking in tongues, is was not profitable to
them.. EXCEPT he interpret what he had received in line
with the written Word of God. Paul clearly outlines the 4
ways.
1) Revelation - The knowledge of God revealed to the heart
of man
2) Knowledge - The 'revealed' or
'revelation' knowledge..
3) Prophesying - sometimes, revelation comes as the gift
of prophesy
4) Doctrine - The fundamental truths about Jesus Christ
and the things of God.
I would encourage you to read 1Corinthians, chapters 2 and 14
over and over. revelation is like "Oh I see the light!'
or ' The penny drops' The world has many phrases for it
but basically it is when your 'heart' gets something, as
opposed to your head.
Peter and Paul placed GREAT importance upon this subject. The
Book of Acts details this.
Acts1:8. Jesus is basically telling His disciples 'not
to leave Jerusalem until they receive this 'power from on
High' This 'power' was to assist them in being
'witnesses of the Lord Jesus Christ'-
"You shall receive power (Greek:- Dunamis - miracle
working ability) after that the Holy Spirit shall come upon
you"
Acts2:4 "..and they were ALL filled with the Holy
Spirit and began to speak in tongues"
Acts2:33-39 Peter outlines the 'Promise of the
Father' to the people.. "..and the gift (of the Holy
Spirit) is for you and your children and to all them that are
afar off.."
Acts8: Philip is preaching Jesus to the multitude and many
were saved and delivered.. In verse 14-16 the apostles heard
about this and sent Peter and John, who, "when they
were come down, prayed for them that might receive the Holy
Spirit (For as yet they were baptised in the name of the Lord
Jesus) "Then they laid their hands on them and they
received the Holy Spirit"
Acts:10:44-46 Peter is preaching Jesus to Cornelius's
household, when in the middle of the sermon, they all stated
speaking in tongues! This stunned Peter and the Jews as they
realised that the 'gentiles' could receive the same gift
they had! '"..for they heard them speak in
tongues and glorify God"
Acts19:2-6 Paul found a group of believers and the FIRST
thing he asks them is if they have received the Holy Spirit?
"Have you received the Holy Spirit since you
believed?" ~ Then Paul laid his hands upon them and
"the Holy Spirit came upon them and they spoke in
tongues and prophesied"
The Spirit always goes
first..
Notice how the Spirit always goes first? God Almighty never said
anything until "the Spirit of God moved upon
the face of the waters" Genesis.. Then God
said..."Light be and light was" Notice
how the apostle Paul always put the Spirit first? "I
will pray with Spirit, I will pray with the understanding" ~
"I will praise with the Spirit, I will praise with the
understanding" Again, we see the Spirit going first.
John the Baptist was a type of the Spirit. John came to
'prepare the way for the Lord' That's the first work
of the Holy Spirit in our lives. He comes to us to prepare our
hearts to receive the Lord.
Because we haven't understood His great desire to help, we
have missed out on many blessings and victories in our lives. The
Lord told me one time..
The Holy Spirit is just
as willing (passionate) to help you, as Jesus is to save
you. ~
"I will send you another (just like Me)
Helper" No-one would doubt the Lord's
willingness and passion to save us, yet we haven't fully
understood that the Holy Spirit has that same passion to help us!
You see, under the new covenant, people are not our problem!
"For we wrestle NOT against flesh and blood but
against principalities and powers, rulers of the darkness of this
age, against wicked spirits in the heavenlies" Eph
6. Our problem is a spiritual one and we need spiritual help to
overcome them. That why 'natural prayer' often fails to
gain the required answer. Romans 6:26 deals with this.. "For
we do not what to pray for as we should.. We know
'how' to pray.. Jesus said "whatsoever you
ask the Father in my name.." so we ask in the name of Jesus
but we don't really know 'what' to pray. We
don't know what is really going on behind the scenes
as it were, especially when things start to go wrong.. but thank
God I know someone Who does! ~ The Holy Spirit and I know when I
yield to Him in His language, He will start to pray the prefect
will of God through me.. The Spirit of God knows the things of
God and wants to establish them in our lives to the praise of the
glory of His grace. If you want to get saved, you have to come to
Jesus Christ. If you want to be taught, you have to co-operate
with the Holy Spirit. It's funny how we accept that there is
nothing we can do to save ourselves, yet after that, we try to do
everything else by ourselves!
Romans 8:26 ~ I Cor14
Edififying Yourself: ~ 1 Cor 14;2 Jude 20
"He that speaks in an unknown tongue edifies himself" Just speaking to God in the language of the Spirit is enough to edify you.. to build you up. This also happens when you pray in the Spirit.. "but you beloved, building up yourselves, praying in the Holy Spirit" ~ Jude20. As you speak / pray in this language, you not only start to 'speak mysteries, divine secrets' but you also start to 'charge' yourself up, for want of a better term. Your spirit man starts to be strengthened by the Spirit of God within you, through this supernatural language.
Remember, the Bible talks of 3 different things:
1) Speaking in tongues.
2) Praying in tongues.
3) Praising in tongues.
This seems a good time to share with you what the Lord has taught
me about the assistance of the Holy Spirit in our prayer lives:
From the book, The Oracles of God
THE IMPORTANCE OF THE HELP OF THE SPIRIT IN PRAYER.
“For we know not what to pray for as we ought ”
Romans 8 “..we know in part and we prophecy in
part..” - “..but now we see through a glass
darkly” 1Cor13:9-12
I asked the Lord once about the language of tongues. (If it wasn't important, why would Jesus mention it? ~ Mark16)
He said “You start to pray according to impressions
and urges the Holy Spirit gives you in your heart, then He take
those prayers and perfects them in His language (tongues) and
brings them into My presence where I can answer them according to
My perfect will.”
“He that searches the hearts knows what is the mind of the
Spirit, for He makes intercession for the saints according to the
will of God” - Romans Chapter 8
For we know not what to pray for as we ought but the Spirit
Himself makes intercession for us according to the will of God..
Impression: When I start pray about something or someone I
usually find that after a little while, I run out of words, I
don’t know enough about the situation or circumstances
involved but thank God there is One Who does know.. and I start to pray in
other tongues until the work is done or help arrives..
“How do I know when the work is done?” - I keep going
until the Joy or an immense peace comes. You will know..
Sometimes this is only a few minutes, other times you just have
to stick at it, maybe days/weeks or months.. and when the joy
comes, the work is done and then the praise flows..
“I will send you another helper” said Jesus..
referring to the Holy Spirit..
Another time He told me..
“Help doesn’t come through the natural but
through the spirit by the Holy Spirit, your Helper”
To a Christian, the help comes from above first and then is
manifested through the Spirit into the Earth, circumstance or
need.. King Davis said: "I lift up mine eyes to the hills, from when cometh my help" He wasn't talking on natural hills. Heaven has hills too! God said of Lucifer.. "You have been on the Holy mountain.." Heaven isn't one big flat plain!
Concerning praying in the Spirit. I heard this one day.
“I am Jesus. You don't know what to pray as you
ought but I know how to pray. Let me pray for you John, I ever
live to make intercession for you, not in Heaven but through your
spirit”
On another occasion I heard.
“I in them and Thou in Me that they may be one even
as We are one (John 17) I am Jesus and I am in you. I know how to
pray. I live to intercede for you. I don't pray from Heaven,
I pray through you, through your spirit by My
Spirit”
Impression: A lot of people think Jesus is praying for
them in Heaven. We need it down here! He is in you (Hebrews 6)
and He prays through your spirit by the Holy Spirit (Hebrews 8
verse 26 and 1 Cor 14 verse 5)
I can only agree with apostle Paul when I too say, "I thank our God that I speak in tongues more than you all" I pray that you will too..
