Servant
School
June 1, 2003
A gift of the Holy Spirit is a special ability given to a believer by the
Holy Spirit. It is not a natural born talent, like music is for some
people. A person may indeed be “gifted” in
music, but it is not part of our list of gifts imparted by the Holy Spirit.
It is not some kind of earned “merit badge” for good Christians. It is a form of “grace”. One of the Greek words for “gifts” is charismata, or, “workings of grace”.
The purpose of the gifts in the church is to build up the church.
Gifts don’t make a Christian mature.
Love makes a Christian mature. (1Cor. 13).
Tongues
Definition: The gift of “tongues” is the supernatural
ability to speak in a language that you have not learned by natural means.
I think there’s a lot about tongues that can be a little misunderstood or
scary. I can understand why.
I was given one of those daily calendar things for pastors that has a
different cartoon for each day of the year.
It’s filled with cartoons that probably only pastors would get. On March 6, there’s a cartoon of a Senior
Pastor sitting with his younger Associate Pastor, and they’re splitting up the
year’s preaching responsibilities. The
Senior Pastor says,
“I’ll preach on Thanksgiving, Christmas, New Year’s, and Easter. You can have “The Role of Women in the
Church”, “Tongues-Speaking for Today”, “Biblical Inerrancy”, and our special “Fund
Drive Sunday”.
Hey, if it’s in the Bible, what are we afraid of?
Have tongues ceased to exist?
Some people claim it has already.
(1 Cor 13:8-12 KJV) Charity
never faileth: but whether there be prophecies, they shall fail; whether there
be tongues, they shall cease; whether there be knowledge, it shall vanish away.
{9} For we know in part, and we prophesy in part. {10} But when that which is
perfect is come, then that which is in part shall be done away. {11} When I was
a child, I spake as a child, I understood as a child, I thought as a child: but
when I became a man, I put away childish things. {12} For now we see through a
glass, darkly; but then face to face: now I know in part; but then shall I know
even as also I am known.
Paul said it would one day cease, but it would cease when it was no longer
needed because the “perfect” has come.
What is the “perfect”? What does
the text seem to indicate it to be?
Though some will try and say that it was the completion of the Bible, I
think the text is telling us that it is when Jesus comes back.
Benefits of tongues
1.
Praying well
(1 Cor 14:14 KJV) For if
I pray in an unknown tongue, my spirit prayeth, but my understanding is
unfruitful.
We don’t always know how to pray.
(Rom 8:26 KJV)
Likewise the Spirit also helpeth our infirmities: for we know not what
we should pray for as we ought: but the Spirit itself maketh intercession for
us with groanings which cannot be uttered.
This may not be specifically talking about tongues, but the principle
applies in that the Holy Spirit knows a whole lot better how to pray than we
do.
Sometimes we may not know what to pray for, sometimes we know what to pray
for but we just don’t know how to express it.
Savonarola, the fifteenth century Italian reformer, said, “When prayer
reaches its ultimate, words are impossible”.
I think that it’s at times like this when tongues can be of a benefit.
2.
Praising well
Tongues may be a way of expressing our praise and thanks to the Lord (1Cor.
14:15-17). Sometimes words just aren’t enough to express
your love to the Lord.
I think one of the most beautiful uses of the gift of tongues is when
people “sing in the Spirit”, or sing in tongues. Some of the most beautiful worship times I’ve
been a part of happened as people began to quietly sing in their tongues to the
music that was being played.
3.
Building your spirit up
Tongues builds up the individual.
(1 Cor 14:4 KJV) He that speaketh in an unknown tongue
edifieth himself; but he that prophesieth edifieth the church.
Illustration
Taking vitamins. We may not notice
the full benefit of taking vitamins until we’ve stopped taking them for
awhile. Praying in tongues is a way to
build yourself up.
I think this is what Jude may have been referring to when he wrote,
(Jude 1:20 KJV) But
ye, beloved, building up yourselves on your most holy faith, praying in the Holy Ghost,
Paul used the term “praying in the spirit” (1Cor. 14:14) to refer to praying with tongues. It is possible Jude meant the same thing.
Receiving the gift.
As with the other gifts, there are examples in the Scripture where people
received the gift through the laying on of hands by others. There are also examples of people receiving
the gift with no help from others.
For years, Pentecostal churches have embraced the practice of “helping”
people to start them speaking in tongues.
Sometimes a person was encouraged to speak a certain phrase like “Abba”, or
sometimes they would physically manipulate your jaw to get you to start
speaking. Some have suggested saying the
word “glory” over and over and over again until your tongue gets tired and the
words becomes a bunch of gibberish.
For years, some of us have struggled about whether or not this was a
legitimate thing to do. After all, we
don’t seem to read about the apostles needing and “help” on the day of
Pentecost. It doesn’t even seem as if
they were expecting anything like the gift of tongues. It just happened. For years Pastor Chuck has taught us these
things.
But Pastor Chuck has changed his view on this and shared it the church
during his last series of teachings on the Holy Spirit. He now sees that the “helping” along of the
gift as a possible thing that helps a person release their faith to receive the
gift.
(Mat 9:20-22 KJV) And, behold, a woman, which was diseased with
an issue of blood twelve years, came behind him, and touched the hem of his
garment: {21} For she said within herself, If I may but touch his garment, I
shall be whole. {22} But Jesus turned him about, and when he saw her, he said,
Daughter, be of good comfort; thy faith hath made thee whole. And the woman was
made whole from that hour.
It wasn’t the hem of Jesus’ garment that brought the woman’s healing, it
was her faith. But she had told herself
that if she could just touch the hem, then she would be healed. When she touched Jesus’ garment, she released
her faith and received her healing.
It could be that this “helping” along of the gift, for some, might be the
thing that helps them receive the gift of tongues.
Pastor Chuck tells a story of a woman in his church who had been learning
about the gift of tongues and had greatly desired to receive the gift. She had been reading in Acts 2 about the day
of Pentecost, with the apostles waiting on the Lord, and the sound of the
mighty rushing wind. That evening she
went into her dining room and told the Lord she was just going to wait on Him
to receive the gift. As she was praying,
she heard what sounded like a wind blowing through the house, and she got all
excited and started speaking in tongues.
She later found out that it was the furnace in her house turning
on. Yet she still had received a legitimate
gift of tongues. The sound of the
furnace bumped her faith and she had been able to receive.
Some of this can almost sound kind of “hoaky” or superstitious to some of
us more sophisticated people. That’s
okay. God understands. He isn’t going to force anything on you, and
neither are we. But it’s probably no
more “hoaky” than the woman touching Jesus’ garment and becoming healed.
Growing in and using your gifts
I’ve heard several people express that in their personal experience, when
they received the gift of tongues, they only received a sound or two, perhaps
two words. They felt kind of silly to be
only speaking one or two words, but they were encouraged to keep doing it. For one, after six months, a floodgate opened
and many more words came. For the other,
it wasn’t until a year went by that they began to receive more words to pray.
I’ve heard Mike McIntosh teach that for some folks, the gift of tongues can
come at a pace similar to a baby learning to talk. A baby will only learn to say “Dada” or
“Momma” at first. More words come later.
Peter writes,
2Pe 3:18 But grow in grace, and [in] the knowledge of our Lord and Saviour
Jesus Christ. To him [be] glory both now and for ever. Amen.
The word “grace” is charis, the
root of the word for gifts, charismata. In fact the basic idea of the word charismata is “a work of grace”.
Would it be too much of a stretch to think that as we are “growing” in
“grace”, that perhaps this might include growing in our gifts as well? I think it’s possible.
In the same vein, not only is it important that we continue to grow in our
gifts, but we simply need to keep using them.
1Ti 4:14 Neglect not the gift that is in thee, which was given thee by
prophecy, with the laying on of the hands of the presbytery.
2Ti 1:6 Wherefore I put thee in remembrance that thou
stir up the gift of God, which is in thee by the putting on of my hands.
Speaking out in the service
Not all that receive a gift of tongues are going to be asked by God to
speak out in tongues in a service.
(1 Cor 14:27-28 KJV)
If any man speak in an unknown tongue, let it be by two, or at the most
by three, and that by course; and let one interpret. {28} But if there be no
interpreter, let him keep silence in the church; and let him speak to himself,
and to God.
If God leads for some to speak out in tongues during a service, there still
needs to be a limit. Not all are going
to be speaking out in tongues, just as not all are going to be able to speak
out and prophecy.
Don’t feel the pressure that if you receive the gift of tongues, that now
you’re going to have to embarrass yourself and speak out in front of others.
About interpretation
How do I know if there is someone with interpretation?
By speaking out and seeing if there is an interpretation. If there is no interpretation, then we know
that we should limit the tongues in that particular meeting.