DOES EVERYONE RECEIVE THE GIFT OF SPEAKING IN TONGUES?
I KNOW, OF COURSE, THIS HAS BEEN A BIG DEBATE.
SO, LET ME SAY THIS: I BELIEVE THAT THERE ARE TWO
DIFFERENT TYPES OF TONGUES.
I BELIEVE THAT THERE'S TONGUES THAT ARE ONE OF THE GIFTS
OF THE SPIRIT THAT MANIFESTED IN A CHURCH SERVICE.
AND I THINK THAT OUR CHURCH SERVICES SHOULD HAVE
GIFTS OF THE SPIRIT.
THERE SHOULD BE A PLACE FOR THESE GIFTS TO FUNCTION.
SOME CHURCHES THERE ARE, SOME THERE ARE NOT.
AND I DO NOT THINK THAT EVERYBODY HAS THAT GIFT
OF SPEAKING IN TONGUES.
THAT'S A DIFFERENT GIFT THAN THE GIFT OF SPEAKING IN TONGUES,
AS YOUR OWN PRIVATE PRAYER LANGUAGE.
SO, THAT'S WHAT I THINK MOST PEOPLE FUNCTION IN IS,
THEIR OWN PRIVATE PRAYER LANGUAGE.
THEY'RE GIVEN THIS ABILITY TO SPEAK IN TONGUES,
AND THEY'RE NOT SPEAKING TO PEOPLE,
THEY'RE SPEAKING TO GOD, SECRETS, AND MYSTERIES,
UNTO GOD AND THEY'RE, EDIFYING THEMSELVES.
IN ROMANS 8, IT SAYS THAT "WHEN WE DON'T KNOW HOW
TO PRAY AS WE OUGHT TO, THE SPIRIT PRAYS THROUGH
US WITH GROANINGS THAT CANNOT BE UTTERED."
HOW MANY TIMES DO WE NOT KNOW HOW TO PRAY?
WE DON'T KNOW HOW TO PRAY FOR SOMETHING,
OR ABOUT SOMETHING.
AND I THANK GOD FOR THE GIFT OF BEING ABLE TO SPEAK
IN OTHER TONGUES.
I DON'T KNOW WHAT I'M SAYING, BUT GOD KNOWS WHAT I'M SAYING.
AND I FEEL EDIFIED.
I FEEL ENCOURAGED.
1 CORINTHIANS 13:8-10, "LOVE NEVER FAILS.
BUT WHERE THERE ARE PROPHECIES, THEY WILL CEASE."
NOW, THIS IS WHERE PEOPLE GET THAT THESE GIFTS WENT AWAY.
"WHERE THERE ARE TONGUES, THEY WILL BE STILLED;
WHERE THERE IS KNOWLEDGE, IT WILL PASS AWAY."
WELL, WE HAVE MORE KNOWLEDGE TODAY, ON THE EARTH,
THAN WE'VE EVER HAD AT ANY OTHER TIME IN HISTORY.
SO, KNOWLEDGE CERTAINLY, DIDN'T PASS AWAY.
"WHEN THE PERFECT COMES," AND THE PERFECT HAS
NOT COME YET.
"WE KNOW IN PART AND WE PROPHESY IN PART,
BUT WHEN COMPLETENESS COMES--" OR SOME TRANSLATIONS
SAY THE PERFECT.
"THESE THINGS THAT ARE IN PART WILL DISAPPEAR."
WELL, I DON'T KNOW ABOUT YOU, BUT I NEED ALL
THE SUPER-NATURAL HELP THAT I CAN GET.
AND I WANT EVERY GIFT THAT THE HOLY SPIRIT IS WILLING
TO GIVE ME BECAUSE I DON'T WANT TO JUST
TO OPERATE WITH NO POWER.
I WANT TO HAVE SUPER-NATURAL POWER AND A SUPER-NATURAL LIFE.
I WANT TO SEE MIRACLES, AND HEALINGS,
AND THE WORD OF KNOWLEDGE, AND THE WORD OF WISDOM,
AND THE GIFT OF FAITH, AND PROPHECY,
AND SPEAKING IN TONGUES, AND THE INTERPRETATION
OF TONGUES, DISCERNING OF SPIRITS.
I WANT ALL THESE GIFTS.
NO GIFT HAS CAUSED AS MUCH DIVISION, IN THE CHURCH, AS
THE GIFT OF SPEAKING IN TONGUES.
AND THAT'S SIMPLY BECAUSE, WE CANNOT UNDERSTAND IT,
WITH OUR MIND.
PAUL SAID WHEN YOU SPEAK IN TONGUES YOUR MIND
IS UNFRUITFUL.
YOU DON'T--YOUR HEAD CANNOT UNDERSTAND IT.
IT GOES BEYOND WHAT YOU CAN UNDERSTAND.
AND IF WE EVER WANT TO HAVE THE FULLNESS
OF GOD IN OUR LIVES, WE HAVE TO BE WILLING TO NOT,
HAVE TO UNDERSTAND EVERYTHING.
THERE'S A LANGUAGE OF THE SPIRIT THAT
WE CAN PRAY IN, THAT IS VERY VALUABLE.
WHEN I SPEAK IN TONGUES, I DON'T UNDERSTAND
WHAT I'M SAYING, BUT I KNOW THAT I'M SPEAKING
THINGS TO GOD-- SECRETS AND MYSTERIES UNTO GOD.
AND I KNOW THAT IT HELPS ME, AND IT EDIFIES ME.
I DO ALSO PRAY--PAUL SAID, PRAY THAT YOU MIGHT INTERPRET,
AND SO I PRAY THAT I MIGHT INTERPRET.
AND I THINK THAT AFTER I'VE PRAYED IN THE SPIRIT,
THERE ARE MANY TIMES THAT WHEN I'M TALKING TO SOMEONE,
OR ESPECIALLY, WHEN I'M PREACHING,
THAT I DO INTERPRET WHAT I HAVE SAID WITHOUT REALLY
KNOWING EXACTLY WHAT I'M DOING.
1 CORINTHIANS 14:14 AND 15, "FOR IF I PRAY IN TONGUES,
MY SPIRIT PRAYS, BUT MY MIND IS UNFRUITFUL.
SO WHAT SHALL I DO?" PAUL SAYS, "I WILL PRAY WITH
MY SPIRIT, AND I WILL PRAY WITH MY UNDERSTANDING;
I WILL SING WITH MY SPIRIT, AND I WILL SING ALSO WITH
MY UNDERSTANDING." WELL, HOW CAN YOU
RECEIVE THIS GIFT?
YOU ASK GOD FOR IT.
YOU OFFER YOUR VOICE TO GOD.
AND AS YOU SENSE THESE LITTLE, UNKNOWN, STRANGE SYLLABLES,
COMING INTO YOUR SPIRIT, YOU SPEAK THEM OUT BOLDLY.
TRUST GOD.
DO NOT GET FRUSTRATED IF YOU DON'T RECEIVE RIGHT AWAY.
AND LET ME SAY THIS, TO BE SURE THAT NOBODY IS CONFUSED,
IF YOU SPEAK IN TONGUES, THAT DOESN'T MAKE YOU MORE,
SPIRITUAL THAN ANYBODY ELSE.
AND IF YOU DON'T SPEAK IN TONGUES, THAT DOES
NOT MEAN THAT THERE'S SOMETHING WRONG WITH YOU.
THAT'S ONE OF THE REASONS WHY PEOPLE HAVE HAD PROBLEMS
WITH THIS GIFT.
BECAUSE SOMETIMES PEOPLE, MAKE MORE OUT OF IT,
THAN WHAT THEY OUGHT TO.
ALWAYS KEEP YOUR FOCUS ON GOD, THE GIVER OF THE GIFTS,
RATHER THAN THE GIFTS THEMSELVES.
NOW, PAUL ALSO SAYS THAT WE SHOULD PRAY THAT
WE MIGHT INTERPRET TONGUES.
AN INTERPRETATION IS NOT TRANSLATION.
SO, WHEN I GO OUT TO A FOREIGN COUNTRY,
AND I HAVE AN INTERPRETER, THEY HAVE TO SAY
IN THEIR LANGUAGE, EXACTLY WHAT I HAVE
SAID IN MY LANGUAGE.
BUT THAT'S DIFFERENT-- THAT'S A TRANSLATION.
BUT PAUL SAYS, "PRAY THAT YOU MIGHT HAVE THE INTERPRETATION
OF THE TONGUE THAT YOU USE." AND SO THAT'S DIFFERENT.
THAT MEANS I MIGHT PRAY TWO, OR THREE SENTENCES IN TONGUES,
AND IT MIGHT TAKE FIVE MINUTES, FOR IT TO BE SAID IN ENGLISH.
SO, PRAY THAT YOU MIGHT INTERPRET.
PRAY THAT GOD WILL GIVE YOU UNDERSTANDING OF WHAT
YOU HAVE SAID.
NOW, THE LAST GIFT OF THE SPIRIT THAT WE WILL TALK ABOUT
IS THE GIFT OF DISCERNING OF SPIRITS.
AND I HAVE TO TELL YOU THAT IT IS ACTUALLY ONE OF MY
VERY FAVORITE GIFTS.
I THINK, "BOY, DO WE NEED DISCERNMENT, TODAY."
BECAUSE THERE IS A LOT OF DECEPTION IN THE WORLD.
THERE'S A LOT OF FALSE PROPHETS.
THERE'S A LOT OF FALSE EVIL SPIRITS.
AND WE NEED, NEED, NEED, NEED, NEED, TO BE ABLE
TO RECOGNIZE THOSE.
SO I DO PRAY ON A REGULAR BASIS, FOR THE DISCERNING OF SPIRITS.
DISCERNMENT MEANS: "TO DISTINGUISH, OR TO SEPARATE
OUT SO AS TO INVESTIGATE BY LOOKING THROUGHOUT,
TO DETERMINE, OR TO DECIDE." THERE IS A SCRIPTURE IN,
1 CORINTHIANS 2:14 AND 15, THAT I BELIEVE,
EXPLAINS THIS QUITE WELL.
IT SAYS, "THE NATURAL, NONSPIRITUAL MAN DOES NOT
ACCEPT OR WELCOME OR ADMIT INTO HIS HEART THE GIFTS
AND THE TEACHINGS AND THE REVELATIONS OF GOD,
FOR THEY ARE (NONSENSE) TO HIM; HE DOES NOT [UNDERSTAND THEM].
BUT THE SPIRITUAL MAN--" I'VE LOST MY PLACE HERE.
BUT THE SPIRITUAL--"BUT THEY ARE SPIRITUALLY DISCERNED
AND ESTIMATED AND APPRECIATED.
THE SPIRITUAL MAN TRIES ALL THINGS [HE EXAMINES,
INVESTIGATES, INQUIRES INTO, QUESTIONS, AND DISCERNS
ALL THINGS], YET IS HIMSELF TO BE PUT ON TRIAL
AND JUDGED BY NO ONE [HE CAN READ THE MEANING
OF EVERYTHING, BUT NO ONE CAN PROPERLY DISCERN OR APPRAISE
OR GET AN INSIGHT INTO HIM]." A TRULY SPIRITUAL MAN,
SOMETIMES, IS A LITTLE BIT HARD TO FIGURE OUT.
NOW, ONE TIME, I HAD SOMEBODY HELPING ME WITH MY TAXES--
AND OF COURSE, DAVE AND I HAVE TITHED, FOR A LONG TIME,
AND GIVEN MONEY TO THE CHURCH, AND GIVEN MONEY
TO THE MINISTRIES.
AND I REMEMBER THIS MAN, TELLING ME THAT I WAS GIVING
TOO MUCH MONEY TO THE CHURCH.
WELL, SEE, HE WAS A NONSPIRITUAL MAN,
HE DIDN'T UNDERSTAND WHAT I WAS DOING.
I UNDERSTOOD IT BECAUSE I BELIEVED THE WORD OF GOD.
SO, THE THINGS THAT I'VE BEEN TALKING ABOUT,
THE LAST FIVE DAYS, HAVE TO BE SPIRITUALLY
DISCERNED.
AND I CERTAINLY, DON'T WANT TO LEAVE YOU CONFUSED.
THAT'S WHY I'VE WAITED SO LONG TO TEACH ON THESE GIFTS.
WE'RE GONNA OFFER YOU A BOOK THAT WE'LL SHARE MORE
WITH YOU AT THE END OF THE PROGRAM.
I WANT YOU TO STUDY.
I WANT YOU TO STUDY WHAT THE WORD OF GOD HAS TO SAY
ABOUT THIS.
BUT REMEMBER, YOU CAN'T UNDERSTAND
THIS WITH YOUR HEAD.
IT CAN ONLY BE DISCERNED WITH YOUR SPIRIT.
I THINK DISCERNMENT IS ONE OF THE MOST
IMPORTANT GIFTS, AND I REALLY ENCOURAGE YOU TO PRAY FOR
IT ON A REGULAR BASIS.
THE BIBLE SAYS THAT WE ARE "TO TEST AND TO TRY THE SPIRITS
TO SEE IF THEY ARE REAL." JOHN 7:24 SAYS, "STOP JUDGING
THINGS BY MERE APPEARANCES, BUT INSTEAD JUDGE
THEM CORRECTLY." 1 THESSALONIANS 5:21,
"TEST THEM; HOLD ON TO WHAT IS GOOD."
IN OTHER WORDS, YOU MAY BE AROUND SOMEBODY,
AND THEY MAY-- THERE MAY BE NO REASON AT ALL
WHY YOU FEEL UNCOMFORTABLE, THAT YOU--NO REASON YOU KNOW,
BUT YET YOU'RE JUST NOT, COMFORTABLE WITH
THAT PERSON.
I HAD SOMEBODY TELL ME, THE OTHER DAY, "I DON'T KNOW
WHAT IT IS, CAN'T EXPLAIN IT, BUT I'M JUST NOT COMFORTABLE
AROUND THIS PERSON." WELL, YOU'RE SPIRITUALLY,
DISCERNING SOMETHING THAT YOU MAY NEVER KNOW THE REASON FOR,
BUT IT'S WISE TO FOLLOW THAT DISCERNMENT.
PRAY THAT GOD WOULD GIVE YOU DISCERNMENT,
AND BE VERY CAUTIOUS WHEN YOU GET THAT.
DON'T JUDGE PEOPLE AND DON'T START TELLING PEOPLE,
"OH, THERE MUST BE SOMETHING, WRONG WITH THIS PERSON,
BECAUSE I DON'T FEEL COMFORTABLE AROUND 'EM."
JUST LET IT BE A CAUTION TO YOU, FROM GOD, AND YOU JUST WATCH,
AND WAIT, AND SEE WHAT HE DOES.
SO, HERE, WE HAVE ALL THESE, GIFTS OF THE SPIRIT:
WORD OF WISDOM, WORD OF KNOWLEDGE,
HEALINGS, MIRACLES, PROPHECIES, SPEAKING IN TONGUES,
INTERPRETATION OF TONGUES, THE DISCERNING OF SPIRITS.
WHY WOULD WE NOT WANT TO HAVE EVERYTHING THAT
GOD WANTS US TO HAVE?
I DO.
AND I HOPE AND PRAY THAT YOU DO.
I BELIEVE THAT YOU DO.
I'VE TRIED TO EXPLAIN THIS TO THE BEST OF MY ABILITY.
I HOPE I'VE DONE A GOOD JOB.
I CERTAINLY PRAYED TO DO A GOOD JOB.
AND I KNOW THAT EVEN WITH THAT SOME OF YOU PROBABLY
STILL DON'T HAVE ANY IDEA WHAT I'M TALKING ABOUT.
BUT I'VE INTRODUCED YOU TO SOMETHING THAT YOU CAN NOW,
BEGIN TO PRAY ABOUT, AND STUDY YOUR BIBLE.
AND LET ME JUST TELL YOU, DON'T EVER THROW ANYTHING AWAY
THAT'S IN THE BIBLE JUST BECAUSE YOU DON'T UNDERSTAND IT.
ASK GOD TO GIVE YOU UNDERSTANDING.
ASK HIM TO GUIDE YOU TO THE RIGHT BOOKS
WHERE YOU CAN GET MORE TEACHING ON THIS SUBJECT.