Tongues & prophecy 2 - building up the individual
Last week – 1 Cor. 14 – 2 gifts that stand apart from others – prophecy and tongues – outpouring gifts – gifts available to all – gifts that strengthen (edify) believers and churches
Gifts that we are to seek to receive:
V1 eagerly desire…especially prophecy
V5 I would like very one of you to speak in tongues
Said last week that wherever there is power there is controversy
Wherever there is power there also needs to be instruction
Before someone is given a driving licence there needs to be driving lessons! Certain does and don’ts need to be established
1 Cor. 14 has a context – Paul was writing to them to correct them as they were misusing the gifts
We see here some negative things said about their use of tongues but we need to be clear that it was their use, not the gift, which was the problem
A pirate walked into a bar and the bartender said, "Hey, I haven't seen you in a while. What happened? You look terrible."
"What do you mean?" said the pirate. "I feel fine."
Bartender: "What about the wooden leg? You didn't have that before."
Pirate: "Well, we were in a battle and I got hit with a canon ball, but I'm fine now."
Bartender: "Well, okay, but what about that hook? What happened to your hand?"
Pirate: "We were in another battle. I boarded a ship and got into a sword fight. My hand was cut off. I got fitted with a hook. I'm fine, really."
Bartender: "What about that eye patch?"
Pirate: "Oh, one day we were at sea and a flock of birds flew over. I looked up and one of them pooped in my eye."
"You're kidding," said the bartender. "You lost an eye just from bird poop?"
Pirate: "It was my first day with the hook."
Use with care! This is the theme of 1 Cor. 14
V1-5 In church prophecy is far superior to tongues as it builds others up
Conversely, out of church tongues are very useful as they build up the individual
V6 Note carefully what Paul says here – he doesn’t say that he will bring revelation instead of tongues – the implication is that he will come speaking in tongues but then he will bring something to benefit others
It is out of a tongues-speaking lifestyle that we are empowered to bring that which will benefit others
Fire station has a gym – place for the firemen to keep fit and strong
It is good that they have this and use this – but they don’t take their weights with them in the fire engine!
When they are doing a job their time in the gym contributes towards their ability
Tongues is your spiritual gym time – it will build you up and make you strong – like the gym it can also be a mixture of pleasure and discipline – need to choose to use the gift
V12 Don’t be selfish – seek to build up the church
V13 Tongues are useful if interpreted – in this case their public use is appropriate
V14-19 Paul here declares tongues to be valuable – for himself
He prays and sings with both mind and spirit
The thing he recognised that the Corinthians missed is that his speaking in tongues did nothing for anyone else
V20-25 What is Paul saying here?
V21 Link to the OT – 2 passages to consider…
Isaiah 28:11-12
Deut. 28:49
The Assyrians and Babylonians were described as people of strange speech – their coming to Israel and Judah was a judgement
Paul’s argument here is that confusion of language is a judgment and therefore not something they should bring upon the church
The sound of the incomprehensible Assyrian and Babylonian was a sign of Israel and Judah’s unbelief – God had sent them prophets that they could understand but they didn’t listen so he sent Assyrians and Babylonians who they would not understand
Paul’s message is that as believers they should be expecting to receive understanding rather than confusion when they meet together
A confusion of tongues gives the appearance of judgement whereas prophecy demonstrates the presence of God
With this in mind the next verses make sense…
V23 Just looks crazy!
V24-25 Hears the voice of God
V26 All of these must be done – all must be done in such a way that the church is built up
V27-28 Notice again that in the church tongues should be interpreted but there is still a place for speaking to yourself and God
A lot more could be said about the use of interpreted tongues and prophecy but we’ll leave this for another day and concentrate on personal use of tongues…
The story so far:
Gift that accompanies being filled with/baptised in the Holy Spirit
Gift that strengthens the person using it
A gift that involves the spirit not the mind
When we speak/pray/sing in a tongue our spirit connects with God’s Spirit
Mobile phone – connect to charger – empowers my phone – enables it to serve
Can use it while it is connected – OK to use tongues in a public meeting provided it empowers you for contributions that are of benefit to others
It is a strange gift – sounds strange and bypasses the mind – can be a real problem for us when our minds get in the way
How to receive…
1. Receive salvation first
Acts 2:38-39
This promise is for you – we live in the time of outpouring!
Receiving the Holy Spirit can precede baptism as in Acts 10 although people often have a strong desire to be baptised after receiving
2. Ask
Luke 11:9-13
Ask confidently without fear – your Heavenly Father delights to give and will not give you anything bad
Remember that gifts are not earned they are given
3. Open your mouth
1 Cor. 14:28
This gift is under your control – it will not normally just pour out of you
Of course you may have heard stories of people who have had an incredible flow but don’t wait until that happens
Sometimes the Holy Spirit may come on you in such a way that you can hardly stop praising God in English but that doesn’t make it the normal pattern of praise
You will need to use your mouth – just release whatever sounds you are given – move your mouth
Be prepared to grow in the gift
Most people’s first use of the gift of healing is not raising the dead
First words of knowledge tend to less specific than later ones
At first you may have only a few words – that’s OK – just use them – they are probably simple words of praise
4. Don’t analyse too much
1 Cor. 14:14
Tongues bypasses the mind – it is different from normal speech – many people worry that they are making it up
Found it easier when starting out to speak where I couldn’t hear myself or sing to distract my mind from the words
5. Use the gift frequently
1 Cor. 14:18
We all know that we need to be purposeful in doing what is good for you
We have different levels of attraction to the different spiritual disciplines – some just love to pray, some love to read the Bible, some love to fast, some love to speak in tongues
We all need to do all of these
As John Lalgee said to us a few weeks ago “we need to learn to love the things that we need”
Time to receive…