Prophecy and Tongues
Words From and To the Lord
7 Now to each one the manifestation
of the Spirit is given for the common good. 8 To one
there is given through the Spirit a message of wisdom, to another a message of
knowledge by means of the same Spirit, 9 to another
faith by the same Spirit, to another gifts of healing by that one Spirit, 10 to another miraculous powers, to another prophecy, to
another distinguishing between spirits, to another speaking in different kinds
of tongues, and to still another the interpretation of tongues. 11 All these are the work of one and the same Spirit, and he
distributes them to each one, just as he determines.
Today’s New International Version Copyright © 2001, 2005 by International Bible Society
God is in love with you.
Not only is God in love with you but wants you on his team, regardless
of your past, your talents or your achievements. God has even promised to equip you with the talents
or gifts that you’ll need for that service.
While we know that God loves us are you in love with God? Answer that honestly because that’s where finding
our calling begins. Do you realize that
if God wasn’t merciful he could have destroyed us because of our sin? Instead God became a man, Jesus the Christ
and died on the cross for us. God as
Jesus conquered death. Now death can’t
hold us down or destroy us. We can live
forever. Does that do anything for
you?
One way to know that you’re in love with God is if you have a
passion to help others know God. That
specific passion helps us to determine our specific calling. So what do you want to do more than anything
in the whole world to glorify God? Start
that with that passion.
If you’ve committed your life to Christ you have a spiritual ability
or gift waiting for you. There are lots
of gifts. In this study we’ve looked at
some of them. There are equipping gifts
like teaching and preaching that provide educational and inspirational
resources for the body of Christ. There
are service gifts like helps and administration which provide physical
resources to the body of Christ. There
are worship or sign gifts like the ones mentioned in I Corinthians 12:7-11 that
provide direct connection with God for the body of Christ. No one gift is more important than the other
and all are important for the well being of a church.
Prophecy and tongues are two of the gifts mentioned in
Scripture but rarely found in the Presbyterian Church and rarely even mentioned. They have also been very divisive gifts. Some churches say that unless you speak in
tongues you’re not filled with God’s Spirit.
Other churches say that if you do speak in tongues you’re filled with
the devil. Lost in that division is the
great benefit from those gifts God intended for blessing his church. I don’t want the First Presbyterian Church of
Hemet to miss out on any blessings that God has for this church. That’s why I’m going to teach about prophecy
and tongues and I’m going to give you the invitation to receive them.
The
Gift of Prophecy
My
(Larry) first encounter with the gift of prophecy, was in our Presbyterian new
church development in Chino Hills. One
of our members started receiving messages that she said were from God.
I
remember when we were moving to
In
a way prophecy is like fortune telling only a whole lot more accurate. I don’t pay much attention to fortune telling
but what if God wanted to specifically communicate a message to us? How do you think God would go about doing
that? Throughout Scripture God gave
specific messages. That activity hasn’t
ended. I want you to consider the
possibility that God might have a specific message for your specific situation
that the church needs.
Imagine
someone coming up to you at church and saying “I have a word from the Lord for
you.” Most of us would be indignant
thinking “why would God speak to this person about me?” “Why wouldn’t God just speak to me
himself.” We’re not spiritually tuned or
gifted that way. That doesn’t make us
any less spiritual. We have other gifts.
As
a pastor I don’t have the gift of prophecy.
I rarely get specific words for individuals. It doesn’t offend me when other pastors have
that gift and seem to speak specifically to people. Each of us are gifted for the calling God has
for us.
The gift of prophecy is the ability to proclaim God’s present
and future in such a way that the hearers are moved to respond. An example would be Nathan in the Old
Testament when he confronted King David about his affair with the wife of one
of his soldiers[1]. Most of us would back away from that kind of
confrontation.
Someone with the gift of prophecy is momentarily given the
mind of Christ. In Luke
Again, when Jesus spoke to the Samaritan woman at
the well in John 4 he discerned that she had had five husbands. She responded, “Sir, I perceive that you are a prophet.” Later Jesus said in John 5:19 “The
Son can do nothing by himself; he can do only what he sees his father doing,
because whatever the Father does the Son also does.” Jesus was given the gift of prophecy; that is
the mind of God, to see things as God sees them. That gift is also given to
ordinary people.
Prophecy is receiving messages of God for
a particular circumstance or time. These
messages can come at any time or place and are often not under the conscious
control of the person who speaks them so that the person speaking does not
choose whether to utter the message.
The gift of prophecy is
one of the information types of gifts given by the Holy Spirit. Others are
words of knowledge or wisdom and discernment. Prophecy is distinguished from
these other gifts in that it provides a direct message from God and is usually
identified as the word of the Lord when the prophet speaks it in one way or
another, though not always.
A person with the gift of prophecy may receive messages in
various ways, including visions (Ezekiel 1), dreams (Daniel 7), words of
knowledge or wisdom, discernment and the operation of another spiritual gift
such as teaching (Paul's epistles, Hebrews, James). Very often the prophet's
message will come in a way that requires the prophet to find the words to
describe the message. It may even be in the form of a strong emotional
impression.
A prophecy will be expressed in words appropriate to the
personality of the person expressing the message. Often people exercising the
prophetic gift try to use theological wording, biblical phrases or even archaic
language to express the prophecy. It’s alright to express a message you have
received from God in ordinary speech.
In receiving the Word of the Lord, we have to separate the way
the message is delivered from the message itself. God has always used a variety
of messengers and methods to present God’s word. Don't let the speaker, writer or the form in
which the message comes distract you from the message.
We are instructed to test the spirits to see whether they are
of God. In Deuteronomy
Deuteronomy 13:1-5 provides another test that is easier to
apply. If the prophet tells us to worship other gods, his message is not true. This test can be applied before one waits for
the fulfillment of any prediction. It even applies to prophecies that do not
contain predictions.
Both the message of someone exercising the gift of prophecy
and the Bible bring us the Word of the Lord. In the case of the Bible, however,
we have a word that has stood the test of years of use and acceptance of the
church, guided by the Holy Spirit. The
Word as revealed in Scripture is thus the standard by which other words are
judged.
The danger with this gift is that when someone has a prophecy
they say it but then think that everything they say is God’s Word to you when
in fact it may be their own words.
Spiritual pride can creep in here. That’s when the spiritual gift of the
discernment of spirits is especially helpful.
Prophecy has been despised before. Moses, finally convinced
that God wanted to delegate his governing authority to a larger number, called
seventy elders to a "committee meeting" at the tabernacle. Two failed
to show up. The Spirit of God fell on the sixty-eight who attended. But the
Spirit also came upon the two who remained in the camp who began to prophesy as
well. Every one wanted them to stop, uncomfortable at the direct voice of God
and jealous for Moses' uniqueness as God's prophet. They reported the incident
to Moses and demanded that he stop them. One can almost see Moses chuckling,
and then longingly reflecting on the blessedness of the Spirit's presence in
his life: "Would that all the Lord's people were prophets, that the Lord
would put his Spirit upon them!" (Numbers
The great value of
prophecy to the church today is in bringing conviction of sin and of God's
presence to unbelievers or those who have fallen away but who are present in a
church gathering. Paul suggests to the Corinthians how prophecy can work in
this way: “If all prophesy, and an unbeliever or outsider enters, he is convicted
by all, he is called to account by all, the secrets of his heart are disclosed;
and so, falling on his face, he will worship God and declare that God is really
among you”(1 Corinthians 14:24-25). For the outsider, prophecy can be a
powerful sign of God's presence among God’s people.
The
Gift of Tongues
My first encounter with the gift of tongues was in high
school. A friend invited me to a prayer
meeting and they tried to get me to speak what sounded like gibberish and I
couldn’t do it. They prayed a little
harder and nothing would come out. They
were disappointed and I was glad to get out of there. Apparently I wasn’t given the gift or I
successfully resisted it.
The
word for “tongues” is the same word as that for “languages” and it means the ability
to speak in a language you have never learned.
It may be an angelic language (I Corinthians 13:1), or it may be a
recognizable human language as at Pentecost (Acts 2).
At
Pentecost there was an immediate need to have followers of Christ speak the gospel
in the languages of the Jews who had come from around the world for the
feast. These visitors could then take
the gospel back to their respective countries.
That was an unusual circumstance designed to give the launch of the
Christian church a boost.
Wycliffe
Bible Translators, who of all people, could use the gift of tongues or
languages have to learn the language of the tribal peoples the hard way, word
by word. They even founded a school
called the Summer Institute of Linguistics near
More common use of speaking in tongues is as a form of prayer
(one of the many different forms of prayer found in the New Testament). Paul wrote “for anyone who speaks in a tongue
does not speak to men but to God” (I Corinthians 14:2). It’s a form of prayer that builds up the
individual Christian which ultimately edifies the church. Again Paul wrote “For if I pray in a tongue, my
spirit prays, but my mind is unfruitful” ( I Corinthians
Everybody is limited by language. The average American knows less than five
thousand words. Winston Churchill
apparently used fifteen thousand words.[2] But even he was limited to that extent. Often we’re frustrated by not being able to
express what we really feel, even in a human relationship. We feel things in our spirits, but we don’t
know how to put our feelings into words.
That’s also true in our relationship with God.
The main purpose of the gift of tongues is to enhance those
who have the specific ministry of prayer.
It enables us to express to God what we really feel in our spirits
without going through the process of translating it into English or Spanish or
whatever is our native tongue. Praying
in tongues helps us when we’re limited by language. When we write thank you notes words such as
“lovely” or “great” or “brilliant” are repeated over and over. With the gift of tongues we can let loose and
not worry about finding the precise words.
Our mind doesn’t have to engage and slow the process down. It also helps us when we’re praying under
pressure. There are times in our lives
when it’s hard to know what to pray for.
Again, we can let loose and allow prayers of tongues flow out of our
mouth.
Paul asks a rhetorical question in I Corinthians 12:30 “Do all
speak in tongues?” The implied answer is
no. In I Corinthians 14::1-2 he says
“Follow the way of love and eagerly
desire spiritual gifts, especially the gift of prophecy.” “For anyone who speaks in a tongue does not
speak to men but to God. Indeed, no one
understands him; he utters mysteries with his spirit.” “But everyone who
prophesies speaks to men for their strengthening, encouragement and comfort.” “He who speaks in a tongue edifies himself,
but he who prophesies edifies the church.
I would like every one of you to speak in tongues, but I would rather
have you prophesy. He who prophesies is
greater than one who speaks in tongues, unless he interprets, so that the
church may be edified.”
Speaking in tongues helps the person who is praying. I would like for all of you to speak in
tongues but God will never force tongues on anyone. If you want to pray in tongues you have to
ask for it. That’s true for any of the
gifts. When I was in
But tongues are not something you’re going to ask for unless
you want to experience a new dimension in your prayer life. The problem that most Presbyterians have with
tongue speaking is that we’re thinking people and we can’t let go so that God
can take over our mouths. We tend to
have a need to be in control of whatever situation we’re in. If you can let go, God will take control of
your mouth and out will spew praise that you will feel. But you have to let go.
Prophecy and tongues; we don’t see them in the Presbyterian
church very often but we need them. Prophecy
builds up the church by converting the unbeliever and purifying the believer. The
gift of tongues helps us to let go and allow God to take over and enhance your
prayer life. Every church needs prophecy
to purify it and keep God’s Word fresh.
Every church needs tongues to enhance its prayer ministry of praise and
petitions. Without those the hearts of
the people can grow very cold.
The whole purpose of this sermon series is to convince you
that you have a calling, a purpose in God’s plan regardless of your present
condition. Everyday when you get up in
the morning it’s not an accident that you’re alive. Start your new day, every day saying “God
thank you for today, use me somehow, someway to your glory.”
If you would like your prayer life enhanced why not just ask
for the gift of tongues. Then start
praising God and allow God to take over.
It starts with accepting
Jesus Christ as your Lord
and Savior and receiving the filling of God’s Holy Spirit.
Daily Bible
Monday 2 Samuel 12:1-14
Describe
David’s response to Nathan’s story (vs 5-6)
In
what ways did Nathan display the spiritual gift of prophecy?
Tuesday Luke
What
was the Pharisee’s understanding of what a prophet could do?
When
would prophecy have come in handy for you?
Wednesday John 4:1-38
In
what ways did Jesus display the spiritual gift of prophecy?
What
was the ultimate result of this encounter between Jesus and the woman?
Thursday Romans 12:1-21
How
do you test God’s will?
What’s
the role of faith in spiritual gifts?
Friday I Corinthians 13
What
do you think was Paul’s purpose for putting this chapter in between two
chapters on spiritual gifts?
What
is the hardest part of this chapter for you?
Saturday Psalm 136
“Give
thanks” means praise.
Add
some of your own praises to this Psalm.