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Saturday, April 25, 2015

Tongues | The Familiar






All rights reserved "Lion tongue" by Doug Wheller       1 Now concerning spiritual gifts, brethren, I do not want you to be ignorant
All rights reserved "Lion tongue" by Doug Wheller




Tongues What's that about?


1 Now concerning spiritual gifts, brethren, I do not want you to be ignorant

When and Where
1 Corinthians 12-141 Corinthians 141 Pursue love, and desire spiritual gifts, but especially that you may prophesy. 2 For he who speaks in a tongue does not speak to men but to God, for no one understands him; however, in the spirit he speaks mysteries. 3 But he who prophesies speaks edification and exhortation and comfort to men. … 12 Even so you, since you are zealous for spiritual gifts, let it be for the edification of the church that you seek to excel. 13 Therefore let him who speaks in a tongue pray that he may interpret. 14 For if I pray in a tongue, my spirit prays, but my understanding is unfruitful. 15 What is the conclusion then? I will pray with the spirit, and I will also pray with the understanding. I will sing with the spirit, and I will also sing with the understanding. 16 Otherwise, if you bless with the spirit, how will he who occupies the place of the uninformed say "Amen" at your giving of thanks, since he does not understand what you say? 17 For you indeed give thanks well, but the other is not edified. 18 I thank my God I speak with tongues more than you all; 19 yet in the church I would rather speak five words with my understanding, that I may teach others also, than ten thousand words in a tongue…39 Therefore, brethren, desire earnestly to prophesy, and do not forbid to speak with tongues. 40 Let all things be done decently and in order.
  

When | Where | Why



1 Corinthians 14 is very clear. You should seek to actively pursue growth in all the gifts of the Spirit. Tongues is speaking to God and not to men. No person naturally understands someone who speaks in tongues. Because interpreting is not natural, the tongue is not natural. Tongues isn’t a known language, it is an unknown language, which requires supernatural translation. It seems that multiple such unknown languages exist, because this speaks of the tongues of men and angels.

Interpretation is required in order for the group to benefit. If you speak in tongues without interpretation your spirit DOES benefit; however, your mind (natural understanding) does not and neither does the group. It is good and right to pray and sign in tongues. In a group setting it is best to keep all communication to that which benefits the group. Therefore, if you are all praying in tongues for a little while actively seeking the direction of the Holy Spirit inside of you, that is fine. Eventually someone needs to start speaking in the common language so that everyone can be in agreement and say “Amen”.

Paul prayed in tongues more than the entire Corinthian Church put together, but it seems to indicate he mostly did this when he was on his own. In the service he focused on the using the common language. When the group comes together it is right and fitting for a tongue to be spoken to the group. This should be one person speaking to the group, and someone should interpret. If you are not allowing this in your services… you are missing out on God’s best. However, if you have no one who has developed the skill to interpret, it may be best that you keep your group communication to the common language until such time you have developed in smaller groups the ability to rightly interpret.


So, let me tell you how Tongues has affected me:


My Initiation…


I mentioned in my first post for this series that I grew up in denominations that didn’t believe in the gifts of the Spirit, The Frozen Chosen. However, I was experiencing the strange and supernatural on a frequent basis. I always knew there was more. Tongues, specifically, was the thing that kept calling to me. I’ve been studying this since long before I knew it was still possible. I figured that anyone who could still do this must be some special priest or spiritual person.

One day the woman who would become my wife, started praying in tongues in my hearing. I was astonished, shocked, intrigued… and that was the moment my life changed. Eventually, I found out that Tongues (and all the Manifestations of the Spirit) belong to every believer. If these are what happens when HE shows up in a tangible way, and I am filled with HIM… these are my birthright.

I drove my truck to a patch of desert, laid out under the stars, and told God: “I believe your Word promises this to me. I receive it by faith. I speak by faith…” Then I waited. For what seems like eternity. I was determined that if this was real it wouldn’t require me to force it. I waited and listened down on the inside. I heard a single syllable squeeze past my religious traditions and come up in my heart. I spoke that syllable. Minutes later, another. Eventually, after a few weeks. It flowed. I prayed with that woman, who is now my wife, and she confirmed that it was authentic.

Now I seek the Holy Spirit for new syllables as often as possible. I figured there must be cross over from Known Language to Unknown Language. Just like Spanish, if I’m going to get this, I’m not going to end with Tongues 101. I want to be fluent!



My Attitude…


I cannot even count the amount of times I have been feeling hard, grumpy, mean… I will feel prompted to start praying in tongues. At first I resist. “No Holy Spirit, I WANT to be grumpy and mean today!” But I keep feeling the soft, warm, pressure to pray. Softly (usually) to myself I start. The grumpier I harder it is at first, just like those first days in the truck. Then, the more I pray the gunk works out and my spirit softens. Maybe as I sit at my desk working, or walking somewhere, etc. The person sitting in the next desk probably doesn’t hear me, but I’m praying to Jesus softly to myself. The more often I do this, the softer and warmer my heart remains toward God. Jude calls this type of praying in tongues: “Building yourself up”. I find that my general attitude in life can be directly tied to the frequency and intensity of my praying in tongues.



Romans8:26 NIV26 In the same way, the Spirit helps us in our weakness. We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groans that words cannot express. 
Jude1:20 NIV
 20 But you, dear friends, build yourselves up in your most holy faith and pray in the Holy Spirit

Every so often I do get carried away, and I get louder. Sometimes I’m feeling particularly upset, and it requires a firmer prayer. The occasions that used to provoke cussing, are GREAT occasion to evoke praying in tongues instead. Sometimes someone will hear me and ask what language I was speaking. I just tell them it’s a rare middle eastern dialect called Ruach Ha-Kodesh, that usually suffices. That is the Hebrew word for Holy Spirit, by the way.


My Answers…

I was in prayer one day, deeply distressed by a lack of progress in my spiritual and natural life. And the Word of the Lord came up in my spirit so clearly that it startled me. “Nancy Dufresne has your answer.” Nancy Dufresne is a pastor out of Murrieta CA. I had only heard her a few times. But some time before a friend gave us a CD series by the Dufresne’s Ministry. So I pulled it out. I selected the disc it opened to, and put it in the player. At first, I heard Tongues given by Ed Dufresne and then Nancy interpreted.

“When your manner of speech changes from “I need it” to “I got it” than the things you’ve been needing can come in to your life…”

This became an immediate correction in my life, and I still have that saying posted on my wall nearly 10 years later. That not only helped my change my attitude and manner of praying and speaking at that time. It has frequently come back up in my spirit again during times in my life that I needed to hear it. There were other things that were said on that disc as part of that message. Every so often I go and listen to the whole thing and I’m re-charged by it. But that one phrase has been burned forever into my spirit.

This is an example of how God can use Tongues to deliver a message to you that will radical alter your life and your mindsets.
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By Darrell Wolfe

Wednesday, April 22, 2015

Tongues | The Facts





All rights reserved "Lion tongue" by Doug Wheller       1 Now concerning spiritual gifts, brethren, I do not want you to be ignorant
All rights reserved "Lion tongue" by Doug Wheller






  • Tongues | The Foundation
  • Tongues | The Foreshadowing
  • Tongues | The Fulfillment
  • Tongues | The Facts
  • Tongues | The Familiar



  • Tongues What's that about?

    1 Now concerning spiritual gifts, brethren, I do not want you to be ignorant

    Signs Follow Believers

    The Holy Spirit has been, since day one, intimately involved with Mankind. He is the one hovering over us and ready to move at a moment’s notice. Now let's take a look at a few things regarding Tongues in the New Testament and cover some basics. 

    17 And these signs will follow those who believe: In My name they will cast out demons; they will speak with new tongues; 18 they will take up serpents; and if they drink anything deadly, it will by no means hurt them; they will lay hands on the sick, and they will recover." 19 So then, after the Lord had spoken to them, He was received up into heaven, and sat down at the right hand of God.

    In Mark 16:17 Jesus tells the disciples that those who would believe the message of the Gospel would speak with New Tongues among other things. This is not optional. So we see from this scripture, and others in a moment, that tongues is for every believer. These signs WILL follow those who believe. This doesn't mean that those who don't speak in tongues are not believers. This simply means that it is the right and responsibility of believers to utilize this gift.

    Supernatural Event - Unknown Tongues

    6 And when this sound occurred, the multitude came together, and were confused, because everyone heard them speak in his own language. 7 Then they were all amazed and marveled, saying to one another, "Look, are not all these who speak Galileans? 8 And how is it that we hear, each in our own language in which we were born?

    Of course we've seen that in Acts 2 when the Holy Spirit came to earth the very first evidence that he had arrived was a fireworks display in the house and public display of tongues. There are some important things to look at in this first account though. 

    Many people believe that tongues is simply the ability to speak in a known earth language, without having learned the language. They would call a language that cannot be understood gibberish. If this understanding of Tongues were true, it would follow that of the 120 disciples speaking to the crowd that day, different ones were speaking in different known languages so that all the languages present were being spoken by all the speakers so that all the hearers would have representation. Therefore there were no strange sounds or incoherent sounds, it was just many languages of the known people present. Many who hold this belief also say that all tongues are this way. They point to Acts Chapter 2 as the evidence for this claim.

    My problem with that interpretation lies on two fronts.

    • First from a logical point of view, there would be no need for a "Gift of Interpretation" if this were true, because all one would need is a person present who spoke that language. If the gift of Tongues was merely a tool for reaching the other lands where the speaker didn't know the language then no "Gift" would be required for interpretation, the hearers would understand perfectly. However since 1 Corinthians 12 clearly states that there is a gift of interpretation and Paul goes on to say that if everyone spoke in tongues in a service than no body would understand anything, it seems clear this isn't a semi-natural event, but a totally supernatural one.

    These are not merely known languages. 

    • Second, although tongues can be manifested as known languages not learned by the speaker, more on that later, this is not supported by Acts 2. A closer look at Acts 2 shows a different scenario. In Acts 2 we see that there are 17 or so different people groups mentioned. Each having languages and dialects. Some could have cross-over since speaking only one language is really unique to the USA. Many regions had multiple languages or dialects per region. So there may have been plus or minus of 17 languages present, probably more. 

    Have you ever heard many people of one language all speaking at once? It's confusing enough in and of itself. Multiple languages all speaking at once would be even harder to hear. That would be quite a chaotic scene. The text of this verse plainly tells us that the people heard the disciples "EACH IN OUR OWN LANGUAGE." 

    This paints a different scenario than that above. This paints that each person, heard the entire group, in his/her language. A Persian heard the WHOLE GROUP in Persian. A Greek heard the WHOLE GROUP in Greek. This not only fits the text more accurately, but it fits the God of Order who created the event. God is a God of order. Disorder and Chaos is not of God. This was addressed by Paul later who said that if there were a Tongue given to the group as a message it should be done in order, one at a time. In this case, all spoke, but they spoke and were heard, as one. 

    As Prayer Language and Unknown Tongue
    The Bible Speaks of Tongues as a Prayer Language. Tongues is an unknown language. It is often called gibberish by those who don't understand what's going on. This is usually by unbelievers, or believers who just don't get it. It's often confused with the devil's counterfeit in witchcraft. More on that later. 


    For he who speaks in a tongue does not speak to men but to God, for no one understands him; however, in the spirit he speaks mysteries. 3 But he who prophesies speaks edification and exhortation and comfort to men. 4 He who speaks in a tongue edifies himself, but he who prophesies edifies the church. 

    14 For if I pray in a tongue, my spirit prays, but my understanding is unfruitful. 15 What is the conclusion then? I will pray with the spirit, and I will also pray with the understanding. I will sing with the spirit, and I will also sing with the understanding. 16 Otherwise, if you bless with the spirit, how will he who occupies the place of the uninformed say "Amen" at your giving of thanks, since he does not understand what you say? 17 For you indeed give thanks well, but the other is not edified. 18 I thank my God I speak with tongues more than you all; 19 yet in the church I would rather speak five words with my understanding, that I may teach others also, than ten thousand words in a tongue.

    When you speak with and/or pray with Tongues, you are praying "In the Spirit". You are speaking with and to God, not to men. Your spirit is praying words as prompted by The Holy Spirit. This is referred to again in several places. Ephesians tells us that after being dressed in the armor of God we should pray in Tongues.



    18 And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the saints.

    Jude tells us that we are to build ourselves up on our most holy faith, and pray in Tongues. Why is it our most holy faith? Because the words you pray with in Tongues are given by the Holy Spirit. Your mind cannot mess the prayer up with fear, doubt, unbelief, and un-biblical ideas. 



    20 But you, dear friends, build yourselves up in your most holy faith and pray in the Holy Spirit.

    Paul tells us in Romans that we are not without help in our prayer. When we pray, there are often times we just don't know what to pray about, or what to pray. If you are faced with a situation in which you don't know what to pray about, or what the will of God is in that situation, you should pray in Tongues. The Spirit of God prays through us and even though WE don't understand what He's praying through us, we can be sure that He is making intercession and working all things to our good.


    26 Likewise the Spirit also helps in our weaknesses. For we do not know what we should pray for as we ought, but the Spirit Himself makes intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered. 27 Now He who searches the hearts knows what the mind of the Spirit is, because He makes intercession for the saints according to the will of God. 28 And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose.

    As A Sign, not THE sign, but a sign.
    44 While Peter was still speaking these words, the Holy Spirit fell upon all those who heard the word. 45 And those of the circumcision who believed were astonished, as many as came with Peter, because the gift of the Holy Spirit had been poured out on the Gentiles also. 46 For they heard them speak with tongues and magnify God. Then Peter answered, 47 "Can anyone forbid water, that these should not be baptized who have received the Holy Spirit just as we have?"

    Peter is invited to Cornelius' house, a gentile worshiper of God. Peter preaches Jesus to the Gentiles for the first time. Peter, and his crew, are shocked to see that the Holy Spirit fell upon them too! Notice what is said here: "For they heard them speaking with tongues..." Tongues were the evidence to Peter that these men had been filled with the Holy Spirit. 

    1 And it happened, while Apollos was at Corinth, that Paul, having passed through the upper regions, came to Ephesus. And finding some disciples 2 he said to them, "Did you receive the Holy Spirit when you believed?" So they said to him, "We have not so much as heard whether there is a Holy Spirit." 3 And he said to them, "Into what then were you baptized?" So they said, "Into John's baptism." 4 Then Paul said, "John indeed baptized with a baptism of repentance, saying to the people that they should believe on Him who would come after him, that is, on Christ Jesus." 5 When they heard this, they were baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus. 6 And when Paul had laid hands on them, the Holy Spirit came upon them, and they spoke with tongues and prophesied. 7 Now the men were about twelve in all.

    Later Paul comes across a group of men who believed in the Messiah, but they were baptized into John's Baptism. They hadn't heard of Jesus or the Holy Spirit yet. They were saved! Just hadn't been filled yet. Then Paul lays hands on them and they are filled with the Holy Spirit. What is the result? They speak in tongues and prophecy.

    Tongues are also called a sign in 1 Corinthians 14. It is said that Tongues are a sign for unbelievers. This refers back to Acts 2 when people were astonished by what they heard. If however, there is no supernatural interpretation, the people who are unbelievers would be confused by what they heard and consider the group out of their mind, which was also a reaction by certain people in Acts 2.

    22 Therefore tongues are for a sign, not to those who believe but to unbelievers; but prophesying is not for unbelievers but for those who believe. 23 Therefore if the whole church comes together in one place, and all speak with tongues, and there come in those who are uninformed or unbelievers, will they not say that you are out of your mind? 24 But if all prophesy, and an unbeliever or an uninformed person comes in, he is convinced by all, he is convicted by all. 25 And thus the secrets of his heart are revealed; and so, falling down on his face, he will worship God and report that God is truly among you.

    Separate from New Birth
    3 In reply Jesus declared, "I tell you the truth, no one can see the kingdom of God unless he is born again. " 4 "How can a man be born when he is old?" Nicodemus asked. "Surely he cannot enter a second time into his mother's womb to be born!" 5 Jesus answered, "I tell you the truth, no one can enter the kingdom of God unless he is born of water and the Spirit. 6 Flesh gives birth to flesh, but the Spirit gives birth to spirit. 7 You should not be surprised at my saying, 'You must be born again.' 8 The wind blows wherever it pleases. You hear its sound, but you cannot tell where it comes from or where it is going. So it is with everyone born of the Spirit."

    19 On the evening of that first day of the week, when the disciples were together, with the doors locked for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood among them and said, "Peace be with you!" 20 After he said this, he showed them his hands and side. The disciples were overjoyed when they saw the Lord. 21 Again Jesus said, "Peace be with you! As the Father has sent me, I am sending you." 22 And with that he breathed on them and said, "Receive the Holy Spirit. 23 If you forgive anyone his sins, they are forgiven; if you do not forgive them, they are not forgiven." 

    4 On one occasion, while he was eating with them, he gave them this command: "Do not leave Jerusalem, but wait for the gift my Father promised, which you have heard me speak about. 5 For John baptized with water, but in a few days you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit."
    8 But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth."

    The "New Birth" is when our spirit has been created new by the Holy Spirit. THAT is the point that we receive the Holy Spirit. He doesn't just come in and re-create us and leave. He lives in us. We know we are born again by His Spirit 1 John 3. The same Spirit who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in us! Romans 8.

    We see in John 20, Jesus comes to His disciples and breathes on them and they receive the Holy Spirit. They are born again at THAT moment, in a room with Jesus present. BUT Jesus tells them to go and wait until the Holy Spirit comes upon them in Acts 1, which He does in Acts 2. Now wait a minute...

    How can Jesus give them the Holy Spirit in a room in John 20, and then tell them to wait for the Holy Spirit in Acts 1? Is the scripture contradicting itself? Are these two conflicting stories about how the Holy Spirit came? Are there two Holy Spirits? No. These are two different events both describing the same Holy Spirit. One event is that which got them Born Again, just like the men Paul ran across in Acts 19. The other event describes the FILLING of the Holy Spirit, which brings power to be witnesses, which is where the signs come from in Mark 16. This event is separate but also important. We see the original disciples got it in two rounds. The men in Acts 19 got it in two rounds. But the men in Acts 10, with Peter, got it in one round, at the same time.

    So it's possible to be born again and spirit filled simultaneously and it's possible to have these occur as separate events. 

    12 But when they believed Philip as he preached the good news of the kingdom of God and the name of Jesus Christ, they were baptized, both men and women. 13 Simon himself believed and was baptized. And he followed Philip everywhere, astonished by the great signs and miracles he saw. 14 When the apostles in Jerusalem heard that Samaria had accepted the word of God, they sent Peter and John to them. 15 When they arrived, they prayed for them that they might receive the Holy Spirit, 16 because the Holy Spirit had not yet come upon any of them; they had simply been baptized into the name of the Lord Jesus. 17 Then Peter and John placed their hands on them, and they received the Holy Spirit. 18 When Simon saw that the Spirit was given at the laying on of the apostles' hands, he offered them money...

    We see this a third time in Acts 8. Philip is in Samaria preaching Christ there. The men of the city believed in Jesus and were baptized in water. These men, scripturally, are born again. Yet John and Peter come down to check out this event and the Holy Spirit had not yet come upon any of them. So we see here that there is something missing that gave the Apostles CLEAR indication that the Holy Spirit had not fallen on ANY of them. We also see that Simon the sorcerer SAW something that he felt was worth paying for! So although Tongues was not directly mentioned here, it's clear that a sign was involved, from all the other accounts of the Holy Spirit coming on people, its clear that Tongues was the evidence they lacked and then saw.

    So a few things are obvious from these scriptures:
    • The Filling of the Holy Spirit is NOT the same as being born again.
    • The Filling of the Holy Spirit is NOT required to BE born again. 
    • The Filling of the Holy Spirit is NOTICEABLY different and easily evident.
    • The Filling of the Holy Spirit is desirable, and something believers should have, otherwise the Apostles wouldn't have bothered to lay hands on them for it, and Jesus wouldn't have told the disciples to go and wait for it before going out as witnesses. 
    • The Holy Spirit filling can come by simply believing
    • The Holy Spirit filling can come by the laying on of hands (which we also saw in the Old Testament several times in Part 1)
    • The Filling of the Holy Spirit, should also be a more than one time event (Be Ye Being Filled Continually)
    For everyone
    1 Now concerning spiritual gifts, brethren, I do not want you to be ignorant
    4 There are diversities of gifts, but the same Spirit. 5 There are differences of ministries, but the same Lord. 6 And there are diversities of activities, but it is the same God who works all in all. 7 But the manifestation of the Spirit is given to each one for the profit of all:

    This is by far one of the least taught aspects of 1 Corinthians 12. Of all the things there is to say about the gifts of the Spirit This deserves an extra few moments. First of all, these gifts do NOT belong to you. These gifts listed in 1 Corinthians 12 are manifestations of the Holy Spirit. In other words these are HIS gifts to His body.

    When the Holy Spirit shows up with physically noticeable presence, these are the types of things that will occur. If these things are not occurring in your Church, the Holy Spirit is not showing up there. He may be there, He's everywhere. He may want to show up in a physical way. If the most you allow Him to do is give you a few Goosebumps during an "afterglow service", He'll take that opportunity. He's always there, always wanting to participate in a service and in a life. But those Goosebumps are the least possible physical showing up He can do. These gifts are His primary modus operandi (method of operation).

    Also, notice that it's all one. The Holy Spirit, The Son, and The Father are all mentioned here, because when they show up in the fullness of their trinity they are here to do one thing: Remove Burdens and Destroy Yokes. Jesus said that is what the Anointing is here to do, and the Holy Spirit IS the Anointing.

    But this is the part I've never heard anyone teach on, they may be teaching on it, but I've never heard it. GOD WORKS ALL IN ALL. That settles ALL debate for me. All means "ALL" and that's all "ALL" means. God works all these gifts in all people as He wills. He works all in all. End of debate. All people can and should operate in all of the gifts. Period.

    However, as this is specifically addressing how things should operate IN A CHURCH SERVICE, not everyone can or should do all these things all the time every time. So He will move upon certain people at certain times in public situations. Typically He will move upon those who have been praying and preparing themselves spiritually and mentally to be used. The guy who shows up 20 minutes late to service every Sunday and doesn't pray throughout the week probably won't be the one used. The gifts in a person’s life outside the Church walls are a different subject.

    Paul goes on to say, in 1 Cor 12:31, that we SHOULD seek and desire the BEST gifts. What are the BEST gifts? They are the gifts that are best for the occasion. If you come across a man bleeding to death on the sidewalk, prophesying to him may not be the best gift for the situation. Jesus promised you in Mark 16 that anyone who believes would be able to lay hands on the sick and they would recover. So lay hands on that man and expect God to move. If you are in a Church service, prophecy may be a more appropriate gift. Or maybe it would be helpful when talking to someone at work that asks for your advice to operate in a Word of Knowledge or Wisdom? Tongues, more often than not, are for personal use in prayer.

    Anointing for Everyone
    Jesus promised the Holy Spirit to us. He said that it would be BETTER that He go to heaven, because we'd get this gift of The Holy Spirit. What a great statement! If the Holy Spirit is more useful to me on this earth than Jesus, I want to know why. Don't you?

    12 I still have many things to say to you, but you cannot bear them now. 13 However, when He, the Spirit of truth, has come, He will guide you into all truth; for He will not speak on His own authority, but whatever He hears He will speak; and He will tell you things to come. 14 He will glorify Me, for He will take of what is Mine and declare it to you. 15 All things that the Father has are Mine. Therefore I said that He will take of Mine and declare it to you.

    37 On the last day, that great day of the feast, Jesus stood and cried out, saying, "If anyone thirsts, let him come to Me and drink. 38 He who believes in Me, as the Scripture has said, out of his heart will flow rivers of living water." 39 But this He spoke concerning the Spirit, whom those believing in Him would receive; for the Holy Spirit was not yet given, because Jesus was not yet glorified.

    So then the Holy Spirit is here to comfort and guide us and lead us into truth that we were not able to receive while Jesus was still here. Why weren't we able to receive? Jesus hadn't died, therefore we weren't born again, therefore we were still spiritually dead. The Holy Spirit in us makes us alive again. That same Holy Spirit that raised Jesus' body from the dead lives inside of us. Romans 8:11

    13 If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask Him!"

    Our Father, who loves us enough to send his own Son to die for us, took it another step closer and wants to give us The Holy Spirit. This is more important to our livelihood than bread or water. Now that's saying something.

    38 Then Peter said to them, "Repent, and let every one of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins; and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. 39 For the promise is to you and to your children, and to all who are afar off, as many as the Lord our God will call."

    The promise of the Holy Spirit is for everyone who believes. You don't believe, don't worry, you He won't bother you. It's for those who believe.  

    18 "The Spirit of the Lord is upon Me, Because He has anointed Me To preach the gospel to the poor; He has sent Me to heal the brokenhearted, To proclaim liberty to the captives And recovery of sight to the blind, To set at liberty those who are oppressed;
     1 "The Spirit of the Lord God is upon Me, Because the Lord has anointed Me To preach good tidings to the poor; He has sent Me to heal the brokenhearted, To proclaim liberty to the captives, And the opening of the prison to those who are bound;
     27 It shall come to pass in that day That his burden will be taken away from your shoulder, And his yoke from your neck, And the yoke will be destroyed because of the anointing oil.
     16 When He had been baptized, Jesus came up immediately from the water; and behold, the heavens were opened to Him, and He saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and alighting upon Him. 17 And suddenly a voice came from heaven, saying, "This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased."
     1 Then Jesus was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil.

    We see that Jesus was baptized and after received the Holy Spirit which was His anointing for Ministry work. He did his first miracles afterward, in John 2:11. He was led by the Spirit afterward. He preached about His Anointing afterward. So we too, should be Anointed of the Holy Spirit, and then afterward do the works He's called us to do. We see that Jesus did what he did because He was anointed of the Holy Spirit. 

    Received By Faith
    This is important. Faith is required for everything. Without Faith it is impossible to please God. (Heb 11:6) Jesus, in His hometown, was unable to do miracles because of  unbelief. The Son of God was unable to do mighty works in because of unbelief. False religious doctrines and unbelief will prevent you from receiving the Holy Spirit. Religiously trained people have a harder time with this than those who have no Church upbringing. (Mark 6:1-10) We receive the Holy Spirit, like we receive ALL of God's gifts to us, by and through Faith. Faith is an active force, not a simple belief. If you don't already know that Faith is a spiritual tool by which we access all the promises of God, I invite you to check out this two part article from KCM.ORG. Understanding Faith part 1 and  part 2

     4 He redeemed us in order that the blessing given to Abraham might come to the Gentiles through Christ Jesus, so that by faith we might receive the promise of the Spirit.

    In my case, I came from a deeply religious background, with lot's of things to UN-learn. The baptism of the Holy Spirit didn't just fall on me. I went to multiple people to lay hand on me to receive, but they didn't have it either as far as I know now, so it didn't do much for me. That is, nothing happened right away. But I was able to use that laying on of hands as a point of mental contact for my faith.

    As I recall, I drove my truck out to a patch of dirt where no-body would bother me. I got in the back under the stars and prayed for a little bit.

    I said: "Lord, I'm convinced by your Word that Tongues is real and that I received the Holy Spirit when hands were laid on me. I feel crazy and silly, but I am going to speak in Tongues now and you're going to help me."

    Well, nothing came for a moment. But then I saw these words floating to the top of my mind, it felt as though they came from my belly. I chose to speak them. More came. It wasn't long before a whole language developed, now days it's several languages depending on my mood and the mood of the Holy Spirit. Now I hear someone saying: "You can't just choose to speak, you've got to be led." Well yes and no. The bible says in 1 Cor 14:32 when referring to the gifts of the Spirit, that the spirit of the prophet is subject to the prophet. This statement was issued in direct refute to the idea that being led by the Holy Spirit makes you unable to control yourself or be in control of the situation. We yield to Him, yes. We are the one who chooses to speak or be quite though. He's always ready to talk to you, he's just waiting for you to speak. More on prayer Tongues later.

    I've heard as many stories about how and when it came as I've met people who use it. Tongues are as personal to prayer as fingerprints are to hands. It's an amazing gift. Many people who are waiting on God to give them this gift are waiting in vain. God gave them the gift 2,000 years ago. They only need take it.

    Until Then #BeStillBeLed?


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    And now I leave you with a question:

    So... what are your thoughts about this? What did this make you think about? 

    Hit me up on Twitter @DarrellWolfe or on Google +DarrellWolfe

    By Darrell Wolfe

    Tuesday, April 21, 2015

    Tongues | The Fulfillment





    All rights reserved "Lion tongue" by Doug Wheller       1 Now concerning spiritual gifts, brethren, I do not want you to be ignorant
    All rights reserved "Lion tongue" by Doug Wheller






    Tongues What's that about?

    1 Now concerning spiritual gifts, brethren, I do not want you to be ignorant

    The Gifts of the Spirit

    There are several lists in the New Testament about gifts; they do not speak about the same thing or to the same people. Neither are any of the lists meant to be exclusive or all encompassing. Rather, these are to give us some functional insight into the common ways God works in our lives… while leaving room for God to be God outside his box.

    The primary section in all the bible commonly studied for The Gift of Tongues is 1 Corinthians 12-14. As we've seen from Part 1 and Part 2 of this study, it's not anywhere near the only place it's mentioned. But this section of scripture is dedicated by Paul to address this topic of Tongues and the other gifts of the Spirit. We will dive in and take it all apart and look at it on the inside…

    But first, we must take a step back, and see the big picture.

    Paul is addressing the Church of Corinth. These are a wild bunch. Prone to wild things. These are the ones that Paul had to dress down in chapter 5 for having a person who had taken his father's wife. This is a wild bunch. They are excited about this Tongues deal and the other gifts. Paul makes a VERY important statement here.


    1 Now concerning spiritual gifts, brethren, I do not want you to be ignorant

    There is no excuse to be ignorant of spiritual gifts in this day and age. We not only have the bible, and 2,000 years of Church history. We have, in the last 100 plus years have had more people walking in the miracle powers of God at one time than in the history of the world.

    Starting from the day Martin Luther posted his statement that men are saved by Faith, God has been restoring the basics of Christian Living to the Body of Christ one revelation at a time.

    Slowly but surely, Religion is being cast out for the evil spirit it is and replaced with the simple truths of God's Word.

    As Jesse Duplantis often says: "It takes a good theologian to help you misunderstand the bible."

    So, we have no excuse to be ignorant. There are many great teachers of the Word. There are many who walk in these gifts in varying degrees today. Find someone who does and learn from them.


    This set of chapters (1 Corinthians 12-14) can be divided into sections.

    • Admonition to not be willing ignorant of this subject.
    • Origin - Chapter 12 primarily addresses the origin and power of the gifts and put’s them forth in a list.
    • Power - Chapter 13 speaks about where the true power in these gifts is found; In Love.
    • Effectiveness/Use - Chapter 14 goes on to break down the one on one aspects, personal prayer, and more on group dynamics.

    All In All

    One of my favorite scriptures in the bible, 1 Corinthians 12:6, settles forever any lingering debate in my mind that any of the gifts, especially Tongues, were for some people and not for others. The same God works ALL IN ALL.

    All means all, and that's all "all" means.

    That means that all the gifts are worked in all the people. However it’s clear from the rest of the book that the Corinthians were using this to their ruin by having all the people speaking in Tongues all the time. The very fact that they were all doing this is evidence that it's available to all people.

    No gift, by itself, meets all the needs of the people present. Therefore, in a group/ministry setting, no gift should be used exclusive unto itself without the others. This is why in chapter 14, verse 26 Paul concludes the three chapter section by saying that all of the gifts should be used, a few at a time, for the whole church to be edified. Fittingly and in order.


    Lists and More Lists

    There are many “gift” lists in the New Testament. Some writers simply dump everything that mentions the word “gift” into one box and call them all the same thing. But the bible puts these lists in separate places on their own because they are different things.

    So let us take a look at these lists briefly. A note to make, it’s quite simple to understand these lists if you actually read the whole section. Each list is found within a context (leadership, body of Christ, etc). Each list begins by a brief description of it’s content and intent.

    Here is a another great article on this topic: http://iblp.org/questions/what-are-three-categories-spiritual-gifts

    Manifestations of the Holy Spirit.

    1Cor 12:7-11 gives us a specific list of nine gifts. Paul calls these the manifestations of the Holy Spirit. What does that mean? The Holy Spirit is always there, he’s everywhere. But He isn’t always physically noticeably there. When HolySpirit shows up in a way that can be tangible He brings certain characteristics with Him to the environment.

    Just as when a grumpy person shows up they bring a certain atmosphere with them, and when a cheerful person shows up they bring a certain atmosphere with them. “Manifestations of the Holy Spirit” means that when the Holy Spirit shows up, He is likely going to bring these primary characteristics with him. He works all of them. They are His gifts to His people. He may work some or all. He works out what, who, and when. It will always be in His order. And you can’t truly have them without Him involved.

    1 Corinthians 12

    7 But the manifestation of the Spirit is given to each one for the profit of all: 8 for to one is given the word of wisdom through the Spirit, to another the word of knowledge through the same Spirit, 9 to another faith by the same Spirit, to another gifts of healings by the same Spirit, 10 to another the working of miracles, to another prophecy, to another discerning of spirits, to another different kinds of tongues, to another the interpretation of tongues. 11 But one and the same Spirit works all these things, distributing to each one individually as He wills.

    Motivational Gifts | Appointments - God's Gifts To The Church

    There are a slightly different set of gifts mentioned later in chapter 12. This list is specifically addressing appointed gifts. These are not the random things that may happen in the midst of a service or gathering, these are gifts given to certain ones. These are the things people are gifted to BE not just DO.

    These are appointments within the Church body, which Paul just got finished expounding upon. Some people are called to take the gifts of the Spirit listed earlier and the Word of God and add their supply to the Church in a more official capacity. These gifts are located here.

    1 Corinthians 12

    28 And God has appointed these in the church: first apostles, second prophets, third teachers, after that miracles, then gifts of healings, helps, administrations, varieties of tongues.



    Ministry Position Gifts: Leadership roles of the Church


    These gifts are also listed in a more specific list in Ephesians 4. This list however is specifically referring to the leadership gifts. These five positions: Apostle, Prophet, Evangelist, Pastor, and Teacher are given specifically to the entire body of Christ as the ones charged with preparing them for the work of ministry and helping them grow up and mature.

    Notice here that it is the BODY OF CHRIST that should be ministering and the ministry gifts are given to prepare them for it. So often, especially in the USA, we consider “Ministers” as the ones who are hired to do full time ministry. These are the ones who make their living writing books and preaching. But that’s not the bible definition, really. We are all ministers. The writing and the preaching is supposed to be preparing the Body of Christ in the USA to minister. Church services are classrooms. Real Life ministry should be taking place, mostly, outside the Church. Malls, Stores, Grocery Shopping, Elevators… that’s where the majority of the healing, salvations, etc ought to be taking place.
      

    7 But to each one of us grace was given according to the measure of Christ's gift. 8 Therefore He says: "When He ascended on high, He led captivity captive, And gave gifts to men." 9 (Now this, "He ascended"--what does it mean but that He also first descended into the lower parts of the earth? 10 He who descended is also the One who ascended far above all the heavens, that He might fill all things.) 11 And He Himself gave some to be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, and some pastors and teachers, 12 for the equipping of the saints for the work of ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ, 13 till we all come to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to a perfect man, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ; 14 that we should no longer be children, tossed to and fro and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the trickery of men, in the cunning craftiness of deceitful plotting, 15 but, speaking the truth in love, may grow up in all things into Him who is the head--Christ-- 16 from whom the whole body, joined and knit together by what every joint supplies, according to the effective working by which every part does its share, causes growth of the body for the edifying of itself in love.


    Measure of GRACE-Charis(ma):

    Paul starts this section off by talking about the Body of Christ. Just as before. Here he tells us to be sober in our self-judgment or self-evaluation. This has been abused by preachers and people to think that you should beat yourself up and call yourself a dog. This type of teaching is contrary to the teaching of this verse. We should be sober, not emotional or lead by outside influences, in our evaluation of who we are and what we do. This means we should not think more lowly of ourselves OR more highly. We throw out our opinion of ourselves altogether and replace it with God’s opinion of us. Which by the way, is much higher than our own usually.

    Then we see that we are given grace/gifting to do these things. All of these things are things we, as the body, should be doing. However when we do them, we should do them at the level and ability we have developed through God. Some are called and gifted more highly in a specific area than an another. It is the GRACE of God that is the primary subject of this section of scripture not the gifts. It is this GRACE which should be on our minds as we do everything we do. We all have these gifts, but these gifts are going to differ in their function in us according to the level of GRACE we walk in.

    GRACE can be defined as God’s supernatural ability. The word GRACE in verse 3 is Charis (GRACE). The words used during the rest of the chapter translated gifts are Charis-ma (Gracious Gifts), this is from the root of Charis. This is all talking about the same thing. This list is a list of the ways GRACE can operate through us, and how the measure of our understanding of GRACE we walk in, determines how well we walk in these gifts.

    Therefore, if you teach, teach with GRACE on your mind. If you give, give liberally, because of the GRACE of God on your life. If you show mercy, do it with cheerfulness. Why? Because there are people who give mercy and forgiveness with a frown on their face. “I’ll forgive but I won’t forget!”, they say. However that is not forgiveness. Jesus tells us about the man who was forgiven much and chose to punish someone who owed him little. That man wasn’t walking in the GRACE he received.


    3 For I say, through the grace given to me, to everyone who is among you, not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think, but to think soberly, as God has dealt to each one a measure of faith. 4 For as we have many members in one body, but all the members do not have the same function, 5 so we, being many, are one body in Christ, and individually members of one another. 6 Having then gifts differing according to the grace that is given to us, let us use them: if prophecy, let us prophesy in proportion to our faith; 7 or ministry, let us use it in our ministering; he who teaches, in teaching; 8 he who exhorts, in exhortation; he who gives, with liberality; he who leads, with diligence; he who shows mercy, with cheerfulness. 9 Let love be without hypocrisy. Abhor what is evil. Cling to what is good. 10 Be kindly affectionate to one another with brotherly love, in honor giving preference to one another; 11 not lagging in diligence, fervent in spirit, serving the Lord; 12 rejoicing in hope, patient in tribulation, continuing steadfastly in prayer; 13 distributing to the needs of the saints, given to hospitality.


    Cultivate The Gifts
    Paul encourages us several times throughout 1 Corinthians chapters 12-14 to desire and seek the gifts of God. Each of us should be ready at a moments notice to be used of the Holy Spirit in these gifts for the building up of the Body of Christ. However, if you haven’t spent your time praying and cultivating yourself in the Love of God and GRACE of Jesus you are not as likely going to be ready to be used in these ways.

    These scriptures, 1 Corinthians 12-14, Romans 12, and Ephesians 4, are the primary places that list out gifts. The word “gift” or “gifts” can be found many other places, and a thorough study of all of those could be interesting. The main point here is to remember what these lists pertain to in context for a proper understanding of who they pertain to and how to cultivate them.

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    Tweet These:
    #TellYourStory#BeStillBeLed

    More about BeStillBeLed <here>

    And now I leave you with a question:

    So... what are your thoughts about this? What did this make you think about? 

    Hit me up on Twitter @DarrellWolfe or on Google +DarrellWolfe

    By Darrell Wolfe

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