Last week, we began a brief look a the gift of tongues, which has been a stumbling block for many who were considering the supernatural gifts of the Spirit. I have visited with a number of individuals who actually attend our church from faith backgrounds that minimized the ministry of the Holy Spirit. Many of them are cautiously open to prophecy and healing and even deliverance but balk at the idea of tongues because to them it seems so “weird.” Actually the word “weird” is defined as unusual, unexpected or not natural. So, tongues, as well as any other gift of the Spirit, qualifies as weird. But the question for most is, “What is the point of tongues?”

Last week we looked at the manifestation of tongues as a human language not known previously by the speaker…such as on the Day of Pentecost in Acts 2. The advantage of such a gift for evangelism is clear. But what about the manifestation of tongues as a “spiritual language” that is not understood as a human language by anyone? This form is what some have called “ecstatic utterances” and these utterances are directed to God rather than men. Paul says, “For anyone who speaks in tongues does not speak to people but to God. Indeed, no one understands them; they utter mysteries by the Spirit” (1 Cor. 14:2).

He goes on to say that we may pray in tongues as well as speak in tongues. “For this reason, one who speaks in a tongue should pray that they may interpret what they say. For if I pray in a tongue, my spirit prays but my mind is unfruitful.So what shall I do? I will pray with my spirit, but I will also pray with my understanding. I will sing with my spirit, but I will also sing with my understanding” (1 Cor. 14:13-15). In summary, Paul will command the church to only speak in tongues (speaking to the church), if there is someone present who has the gift of interpretation of tongues. Otherwise, no one is strengthened or encouraged because they have no idea what has just been said and all gifts are given to build up the body of Christ. So why tongues at all?

The value of tongues is found in the phrase, “they utter mysteries by the Spirit.” In other words, it is the Spirit himself who is prompting our utterances. It is the Spirit who is speaking through us or praying through us. Remember in Romans 8, Paul declares, “In the same way, the Spirit helps us in our weaknesses. We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us through wordless groans” (Rom.8:26). When we speak or pray in tongues, we are stepping aside and surrendering control to the Spirit. We are letting him speak to the church or pray through us. Sometimes, the Spirit is praying for us as we pray in tongues and sometimes he is prompting us to pray for others that the Lord wants to touch. Either way, tongues makes us more sensitive to the Spirit and allows us to practice submitting to him and letting him have his way,

When tongues are interpreted for the church, everyone is built up in the same way a prophetic word for the church builds them up. When we pray in tongues, we are built up personally as the Spirit prays for us and intercedes for us. Paul teaches us that speaking or praying in tongues edifies (builds up, strengthens, encourages) the speaker (1 Cor. 14:4). Jude 20 also suggests that we build ourselves up by praying in the Spirit. So as we speak or pray in tongues, we are “edifying” ourselves. The Greek word is oikodomeo. It means to build as a house, repair, construct, strengthen, promote growth, make more able, or embolden. It appears that as we surrender our mind and tongue to the Holy Spirit, he is doing a work in us that matures, emboldens, and even repairs some things that need his touch.

As we surrender to the Spirit through the gift of tongues, we also experience an intimacy with the Spirit that may come in no other way. We sense his leading and even his emotions as he speaks through us. In doing so, I am more aware of his move at other times. I will also confirm that when I pray in tongues on a regular basis, my understanding of the word increases along with my recall of scripture. My times of praying with the understanding seem more effective and wisdom in counseling seems more readily available. Praying in tongues is a way to actively spend time in the presence of the Spirit so that our anointing increases as well.

There is much more I could say about tongues, but this is sufficient for now. The gift of tongues has a ministry aspect as well as a personal edification aspect. The ministry aspect may not be a gift everyone receives, but I am convinced that God wants each of his children to have the gift of praying in tongues. If you do not have a prayer language (praying in tongues), I would encourage you to seek it. Ask the Spirit to release that gift in you. Ask others who already possess a prayer language to lay hands on you and ask the Spirit to give you that gift. It is the only spiritual gift that is specifically designated to build us up as we exercise it. It is also a gift that requires surrender to the Spirit in a way that aids us in surrendering to him at other times. If you ask for it, but don’t receive it right away, keep asking. In the kingdom, those that are hungry get fed. If you hunger for all God has for you, you will keep asking and he will answer.

Blessings in Him and in His Spirit.

One of the things I love about our church is that we are a non-denominational, community church. We have people from just about every faith background come through our doors and many become part of our spiritual family – Baptist, Church of Christ, Lutheran, Bible Church, Catholic, Methodist, Assembly of God and even a few Mormons. We are also a charismatic church which means we believe in the present operation of all the spiritual gifts and we believe in the present operation of miracles.

Many of our visitors and members have a faith background that spoke little about the Holy Spirit, or spiritual gifts (especially the “miraculous” gifts) , and consigned miracles to the “Bible age”… which means “not now.” One of the gifts of the Spirit that some of our folks have the most difficult time understanding is the gift of tongues. Initially they think the whole idea is weird and they just don’t see the point. However, in his letter to the Corinthians Paul commanded the church to exercise the gift of tongues along with all the other gifts because each were needed to build up the body of Christ. It is also the singular gift that is meant to build up the one speaking or praying in tongues.

I believe the Holy Spirit prompted me to write this blog, and a few others, concerning the gift of tongues. I haven’t written on the subject in a while, so I am assuming that someone needs to receive some explanation of what this strange gift is all about. So…let’s begin trying to make sense of this unusual gift.

Our first encounter with this gift is on the Day of Pentecost. Luke tells us, “When the day of Pentecost came, they were all together in one place. Suddenly a sound like the blowing of a violent wind came from heaven and filled the whole house where they were sitting. They saw what seemed to be tongues of fire that separated and came to rest on each of them. All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit enabled them. Now there were staying in Jerusalem God-fearing Jews from every nation under heaven. When they heard this sound, a crowd came together in bewilderment, because each one heard them speaking in his own language” (Acts 2:1-6).

The background to this text is that the followers of Jesus had gathered in Jerusalem after his resurrection and his return to the Father in heaven. They were gathered together and praying, What were they praying about? We are not explicitly told, but Jesus had commanded his followers to wait in Jerusalem until they received power from the Holy Spirit to be his witnesses to the world (Acts 1:8). Jesus also told them that the experience of receiving power would be a moment when they were baptized with the Holy Spirit (Acts 1:5). I assume they were praying for God to fulfill those promises.

In this particular episode, we are told that after the Spirit had fallen on them they began to go out into the Temple courts, speaking in tongues as the Holy Spirit enabled them. From the context we can tell that they were preaching in native languages to the Jews who had gathered in Jerusalem for the feast day from nations around the known world. The leaders were unlearned Galileans and yet they were declaring the wonderful works of God in languages they had not known previous to that moment. In the first century, nearly everyone spoke Greek to some extent because it was the international language of the day. But each person also had a native tongue and dialect that was not spoken widely. They were hearing the followers of Jesus preach in their native dialects and they were astonished.

The gift of tongues exercised on that day, was the gift to speak in human languages unknown to the speaker before that moment. That miraculous experience prompted many who were there that day to believe in Jesus. When he was preached after the miracle, we are told that at least 3000 responded to the preaching that day and became followers of Jesus.

It is easy to grasp the value of his manifestation of tongues in evangelizing nations. But does the Holy Spirit still operate in this way today? The answer is “Yes.” I have a friend Dana who was trying to evangelize two young muslims on a college campus several years ago. He and another friend had been trying to build a relationship with the two muslims and so invited them to lunch. Before they ate, Dana’s friend asked if he could pray for the meal. The two young muslim men agreed. For some reason, Dana’s friend felt prompted to pray for the meal in tongues. When he had finished, one of the muslim men asked where he had learned to speak that language. Dana’s friend explained that he was not sure what he was praying but felt the Holy Spirit spoke through him. The muslim who had asked, told Dana and his friend that the prayer was offered in the language of his grandfather’s village back home. Both muslim men gave their lives to Jesus that day.

I have another good friend who makes regular visits to Peru for preaching and healing services. On one of his trips, he told me that an older Peruvian woman had received the “gift of tongues” at the meeting. As she began to pray, she had no understanding of what she was saying, but she was declaring the works of God in perfect English. We could relate any number of stories that illustrate the current manifestation of tongues as languages of men never studied by the one speaking. Sometimes the Holy Spirit gives them understanding of what they are saying, but typically they are unaware until someone who speaks the language tells them what they have declared.

The first manifestation of tongues we encounter in scripture then is the declaration of the gospel or the wonderful works of God in human tongues or languages. However, in the the book of Acts and 1 Corinthians, it becomes evident that another form of tongues is the verbalization of a spiritual language that is not a language spoken on earth but in heaven. Paul begins 1 Corinthians 13 by saying, “If I speak in the tongues of men or of angles, but do not have love…I am only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal.” Although he is beginning his great chapter on love, he suggests that believers might speak in the tongues of men or of angels…a spiritual language. Paul has much to say about that form or manifestation of the gift of tongues in 1 Corinthians 12 and 14 and Romans 12. We will begin to look at that expression of tongues in next week’s blog.

Blessings until then.