Sunday
Morning Bible Study
August 8, 2004
Spiritual Gifts
Illustration
A BAD CASE OF LARGE NACHOS By
Suzanne Peppers
Copyright
2000 Suzanne Peppers
Tongues
Have you ever had that sense of frustration of wanting to say something but
not knowing quite the right words, or exactly what to say?
Have you ever felt such an overwhelming love for the Lord, but didn’t quite
have the words that could do justice to what you were feeling?
Have you ever had a concern for a situation, but didn’t have a clue how to
pray or what to pray for?
These are the kinds of situations that God has given the gift of tongues
for.
Definition: The gift of
“tongues” is the supernatural ability to speak to God 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.
It can be a little disconcerting to
listen to someone speaking in a language that you don’t understand.
But when you realize that the words aren’t meant for you, it’s not so
threatening.
I meet once a month with Victor Estrada, who leads our Spanish Fellowship.
We talk about how things are going, and we always end in prayer. Except he only
prays in Spanish. He’s not talking to me, he’s talking to God. And it sounds
beautiful.
The place of tongues
Though some people give you the impression that you aren’t truly spiritual
unless you have the gift of tongues, the truth is that it is listed last among
the gifts (1Cor. 12:28)
Paul tells us that not all will speak with tongues (1Cor. 12:30)
It is not “THE” evidence of the baptism of the Holy Spirit. Jesus said the
evidence of the baptism would be power to share the gospel (Acts 1:8).
And Paul tells us that if a person has the gift of tongues but doesn’t have
God’s Love in their life, that the gift of tongues is worthless.
(1 Cor 13:1 KJV) Though
I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, and have not charity, I am
become as sounding brass, or a tinkling cymbal.
Benefits of tongues
1. Praising well
Tongues may be a way of expressing our praise and thanks to the Lord. Sometimes
it’s hard to find the words to express your love to the Lord.
(1 Cor 14:15-17
KJV) What is it then? I will pray with the spirit, and I will pray with the understanding also:
I will sing with the spirit, and I
will sing with the understanding also. {16} Else when thou shalt bless with the spirit, how shall he
that occupieth the room of the unlearned say Amen at thy giving of thanks,
seeing he understandeth not what thou sayest? {17} For thou verily givest thanks well, but the other is
not edified.
Though Paul’s point here is to talk about how important it is when we’re
together that we be able to build each other up, he does give us a hint at what
goes on with tongues.
He describes the use of tongues as “praying in the spirit”, “singing with
the spirit”, “bless” with the spirit, and “giving thanks”.
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.
I believe this is what was happening on the day of Pentecost. I believe the
content of what the disciples were speaking was praise to God (also in Acts 10:46)
(Acts 2:11 KJV) …we do hear them speak in our
tongues the wonderful works of God.
2. Praying well
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.
3. Building yourself up
The gift of tongues builds up the individual who is speaking.
(1 Cor 14:4 KJV) He that
speaketh in an unknown tongue edifieth himself; but he that prophesieth
edifieth the church.
Illustration
It’s sort of like taking vitamins. Vitamins help your body to grow strong
and healthy. 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 your self 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.
I have come across folks through the years who say that the fact that
tongues builds up the individual shows that it is a bad thing. They say that
this is the opposite of love because love “seeks not its own” (1Cor. 13:5).
But if James tells us that all of God’s gifts are good gifts (James 1:17), then tongues is a good gift and not a
bad gift.
If the gift of tongues is a good gift, then it is not wrong for you to be
built up when you speak in tongues. We read our Bible, pray, and go to church for
the very same reason, because these things edify us.
I need to be edified. I need all that God has for me.
Receiving the gift.
The issue of helping: 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 speak in tongues.
Sometimes a person is encouraged to speak a certain phrase like “Abba”, or
sometimes they will 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, I’ve struggled about whether or not this was a legitimate thing
to do. After all, I don’t seem to read about the apostles needing any “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.
But to be honest, there are examples in Scripture where a work of God was
“helped” along. One such example is the woman who touched the hem of Jesus’
garment.
(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 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 just 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. 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” or “superstitious” than the woman
touching Jesus’ garment and becoming healed.
The issue of understanding is
one of the biggest keys to this gift.
(1 Cor 14:2 KJV) For he that speaketh in an unknown tongue speaketh
not unto men, but unto God: for no man understandeth him; howbeit in the spirit
he speaketh mysteries.
The Holy Spirit is the one who prompts these unknown sounds, the individual
is the one who speaks the sounds, and the words are directed towards God.
This is a difficult thing for many of us. We want to know what is going on.
We want to understand what is being said. Yet with this gift, it operates
outside of your understanding. For some people it’s a difficult thing to let go
of their understanding.
Please don’t misunderstand me. I place great value in the mind and our
ability to understand the things of God. But the truth is that there are going
to be things about God and our relationship with Him that are simply going to
be above our ability to understand. This is simply the nature of a Great God.
He is higher than we are.
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
just a couple of words.
Think about how a baby learns to talk. A baby doesn’t start talking in
complete sentences. 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.
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.
Using the gift
There may be times when the church is together when it is appropriate for
the gift to be used out loud, in the church service, but only if there is also
the gift of interpretation (1Cor. 14:27-28), and only if done in an orderly way
(1Cor. 14:27, 40).
Otherwise, I believe the primary use of the gift of tongues will be either in
private, just between you and God, or at church quietly between you and God.
Interpretation of Tongues
(1 Cor 12:10 KJV) … to another the interpretation of tongues:
interpretation – hermeneia – We get our word “hermeneutics” from this word. Hermeneutics is
the art and science of Biblical interpretation. It involves taking a passage
and bringing out the meaning. It’s what I do for a living. It’s not just translation, it is bringing understanding to the
text.
Sometimes we think that an interpretation has to match the tongue in
length. But not necessarily. The point of interpretation is to give the
meaning, not necessarily a word for word translation.
Definition: Giving the
understanding of an utterance in tongues.
We do not have a clear Scriptural example of this gift in action.
The one thing we do know is that if the interpretation is correct, it will
be a message or a prayer addressing God, not the church. A tongue is always addressed to God (1Cor.
14:2).
We’ve seen it at work in an amazingly natural way. I remember one time when a person was praying
in tongues and at first the person with the interpretation didn’t realize what
was going on because they heard the first person praying in English.
The Challenge
Have you tasted of God’s greatness in a way that He is just TOO much for
you? Is He just too wonderful, beyond
words that could be expressed in praise to Him?
Have you been struggling under burdens or concerns that you just don’t know
how to pray for?
Perhaps God wants to help you express these things to Him.