09 The Gift of Tongues

Welcome back. We've spoken about the Holy Spirit, how we can be baptized in Him, what He produces within us, the power of God, the fruits of the Spirit. But God also gives us gifts in His Holy Spirit. And we want to focus in on the one gift, the gift of speaking in tongues.

The Holy Spirit Gives Spiritual Gifts

And we're going to be looking at that now. Now in the Bible, there's a couple of places in the New Testament that it speaks about gifts. It speaks about gifts. God gives gifts in Romans 12. Jesus gives gifts to His body in Ephesians 5.

And the Holy Spirit gives gifts to the church in 1 Corinthians 12, and it's also spoken about in 1 Corinthians 14. And so, focusing on speaking in tongues: there are nine gifts of the Spirit. And out of the nine, one of them is used for building ourselves up in our faith, which is speaking in tongues. And the other gifts are used for building up of the body. And so let's focus on speaking in tongues this morning.

And so we're going to be reading 1 Corinthians 14:1. And it says, "Pursue love and earnestly desire spiritual gifts, especially that you may prophesy. For the one who speaks in tongues speaks not to men, but to God. For no one understands him, but he utters mysteries." So I'm just gonna reread that scripture. All right. So 1 Corinthians 14:1 says, "Pursue love and earnestly desire spiritual gifts, especially that you might prophesy."

And so what we see here is that Paul says that we must earnestly desire spiritual gifts. Otherwise, we must have a desire in our heart to operate within the spiritual gifts. Paul plays off prophecy against speaking in tongues here. Because it seems like in the context of the Corinthian church at that time that everyone was speaking in tongues.

And there was disorder in the church. What he's not saying there is that you shouldn't desire speaking in tongues. He's trying to correct an issue that was in the church at that time. "For the one who speaks in tongues speaks not to men but to God."

So when you're speaking in tongues, who are you speaking to? You're speaking to God. Are you speaking to the person next to you? Are you speaking to the person in front of you? No, you are speaking to God directly. "For no one understands him but he utters mysteries in the spirit."

So when you are speaking in tongues, do people understand you? Do you understand yourself? No. So you're speaking to God, and you don't understand what you are saying. And you're uttering mysteries in the Spirit. And that word mystery there is a great word because it carries the connotation that the Trinity—God the Father, God the Son, and the Holy Spirit—is having a council in heaven.

That's what the connotation of that word is: that they were talking, they're having a council in heaven about what's going on on earth, and about you. And about your plan, purpose, and how He wants all this to fit together and move forward. When we're speaking in tongues, we're speaking into that context.

You guys get it? When you were at school, do you remember the popular crowd? I wasn't in the popular crowd when I was in school. I always wanted to be popular. Did you guys experience that? They would be talking together during break time.

And they were together and I would wonder, what is going on there? And who's the most popular crowd in the universe? Well, it's the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. And so through the speaking in tongues, we've got something of an access to what's going on in the heavenlies with regards to us.

Tongues Build Up the Believer, Prophecy Builds Up the Church

There's something of a communication that takes place. It's cool, hey? On the other hand, the one who prophesies speaks to the people for the upbuilding and for encouragement and consolation. The one who speaks in tongues builds up himself. And so when we're speaking in tongues, what are we doing?

We're building ourselves up in our faith. But the one who prophesies builds up the church. Now, I want all to speak in tongues. And so Paul's saying there that he desires everyone to speak in tongues. Does every Christian speak in tongues? Out of the people sitting here today, how many of you speak in tongues?

Tongues Is Not the Only Evidence of Being Filled with the Spirit

So there's some of us that don't speak in tongues. And so what I want to say here is that speaking in tongues is not a sign that you've been baptized in the Holy Spirit, or that you've been infilled with the Spirit. Because you can have the Holy Spirit; you can operate in some of the other gifts of the Spirit without being able to speak in tongues.

There are some teachings that say speaking in tongues is a sign that you are filled with the Spirit. I want to say I don't think that's correct. You can have the Spirit. You can operate in some of the other gifts of the Spirit but not speak in tongues.

But what Paul says here is—it is good to desire this gift. Because it's a very beneficial gift for us to have. Because like I've already said, the other eight gifts are for the building up of the body. This gift is for the building up of ourselves in our faith.

And I mean, we always need building up, hey? We're not always on a high with Jesus. We don't always feel like Christ Himself. We don't always feel good and empowered. You know, some mornings you wake up and you're like, oh, I don't even think I'm a Christian today.

I definitely don't feel like I'm a Christian. And at that point, speaking in tongues is great because it builds you in your faith. Especially when you don't feel like you're doing so well. It's a wonderful gift to have. I want all of you to speak in tongues, but even more to prophesy.

Personal Tongues and Public Tongues Need Interpretation

The one who prophesies is greater than the one who speaks in tongues. Unless someone interprets so that the church may be built up. And so here we see that speaking in tongues, it's kind of like got two contexts. Sometimes you speak in tongues and you're speaking tongues for personal use.

And then sometimes in the church, there can be a tongue that comes and there's an interpretation of that tongue. The tongue and the interpretation thereof is almost equal to prophecy. Because we're picking up on what God's saying. Someone's speaking in tongues, someone interprets that word, and God speaks to us so that we can understand.

And so the Bible doesn't differentiate in the Greek wording on that. It's all speaking in tongues. But we know from what we see in the Scriptures that we have a personal tongue, and then we have a public tongue. And when there's a public tongue, the Bible says that there must always be an interpretation.

Have you guys seen that being administered in the church? And this is how we would handle this in our church context. Someone would come to the person leading the meeting. It's normally an elder. And say, "I feel like I've got a tongue in the Holy Spirit, I would like to bring it."

If that elder feels like this is the right moment for it, they will release it. And then we'll appeal for someone to bring an interpretation and then an application. So those two things are not the same. But the one is for the building up of the body, and then the other one is for the building up of ourselves.

Praying in Tongues When You Do Not Know What to Pray

So now we're going to skip a few verses to 1 Corinthians 14:14. For if I pray in tongues, my spirit prays, but my mind is unfruitful. So when I'm praying in tongues, am I thinking anything with my mind? No, my mind's unfruitful.

It's not producing anything. It's good to know that. If you haven't spoken a tongue before, you might think, I don't understand what I'm saying... why should I be doing this? And at this point, the devil can come in and he can say to you—you're just babbling away.

You're just talking baby language. This isn't good for you. And because this gift is so beneficial in building us up in our faith—and we'll see some of the other benefits as we go along—we shouldn't fall into that trap. Your mind is unfruitful when you speak in tongues.

What am I to do? I will pray with my spirit, but I will pray with my mind also. I will sing praises with my spirit, but I will sing with my mind also. And so the gift of tongues, sometimes an application—what I find useful in church is, if someone comes to you for prayer and you don't know what to pray.

Then I will start off by praying in tongues. And as I pray in tongues, then something rises in my spirit. And then I get a revelation of what I should pray for that person. If I don't know what to pray, I'll start off by praying in tongues and then I'll get a revelation from the Holy Spirit on then what to pray with my understanding.

So I pray in tongues. I pray with my spirit. But then I also pray with my understanding. And I think that's what Paul's saying here. We will pray with our spirit, but we will pray with our mind also. If you don't know what to pray for, start off praying in tongues and then progress into praying with your mind.

Have you ever experienced that? Someone comes to you for prayer, you don't know what to pray for them. It happens often. It's—it's a wonderful gift to have. And to use in that way. We can build up each other and ourselves and the body.

Romans 8:25-28. This also still speaking about speaking in tongues. But if we hope for what we do not see, we wait for it with patience. Likewise, the Spirit helps us in our weakness. For we do not know what to pray for as we ought, but the Spirit Himself intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words.

And He who searches the heart knows what is in the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for the saints according to the will of God. Now there's a lot in there, so let's quickly unpack that. When we are weak, when we pray in tongues, the Spirit builds us up.

Similar to what we've just read in Corinthians. For we do not know what to pray. When we're praying in tongues, we do not know what to pray for. We might just feel weak. But when we're praying in tongues, the Spirit knows what to pray for.

And He's praying for the correct thing so that you can be lifted up out of your weakness so that you can be built up in your faith. We also don't know how to pray as we ought to. Now, what does that mean? If you look at the Bible, it often speaks about heaven as the courts of heaven.

And if you've been in a court, in a court there are procedures. You have to say things in a certain way, and in a certain manner, and at a certain time in order for the judge to hear your appeal. And so we don't know how to pray as we ought.

And so the Holy Spirit, as He prays through us, He prays in the correct manner and in the correct procedure. So that our prayers can be heard and it can be actioned. How many of you have been in a court? I went to court and I was supporting someone with a drunken driving charge.

We were sitting there on the bench and it's quite a scary place to be. Because you've got the judge on the stand there and then you've got the witness stand. The lawyer that was doing the work for this friend of mine, he didn't bring his robe.

As he went into court to present the case to the judge, the judge said to him, "Sir, you are in contempt of court. We have spoken about this before. If you do not wear the proper clothing, I will not hear you. And I will hold you in contempt of court and I will fine you."

And I thought, this is quite serious. And so the judge wouldn't even hear the case just because he wasn't wearing the right clothing, the right attire. And so in a similar way, when the Holy Spirit presents our case before the Lord, He's presenting it in the right manner.

So that our case can be heard or so that our plea can be heard. You guys understand that? But the Spirit intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words. To me this means that at times, when the Spirit speaks, sometimes you feel something, but it's very hard to express it in words.

Words are very limited. For example, I love a hamburger and I love my wife. The two, they're not the same. But when the Spirit speaks, it goes beyond the limitations of language. And so the Spirit is able to interpret what your spirit is experiencing and able to communicate it correctly and fully.

So that God can react to exactly what it is that needs to be reacted to. It's amazing. Right? It's the best form of communication that there is. Because the Spirit is inside of us and He's able to communicate to God exactly what's wrong with us, or what we need, or where we should be supplemented.

And He prays according to the will of God for our lives. He doesn't pray according to my will. He doesn't pray according to your will. He prays the exact will of God for that moment in our lives.

Which is amazing. It's like if you could get anyone in the world to pray for you. Who would that be? If Billy Graham was still alive, would you want him to pray for you? Or maybe you'd like Andrew Selley to pray for you?

Or maybe you would like a Russell Fraser to pray for you? Or maybe you'd like Ian Stansfield to pray for you? Or maybe you'd like a Brad Verreynne? It is exciting when one of these men that follow God and have walked a road with God and they've got an anointing.

You want them to pray for you because it feels like they're closer to God and more in touch with what's happening and the anointing breaks the yoke, right? But when you're praying in the Spirit, it's like Jesus praying for you. And so praying in tongues is really powerful because it's like the Spirit intercedes for us.

The Spirit without limit is the one that then prays for us according to the will of God for our lives. We can then trust and know that that prayer is perfect. Presented in a perfect manner. That prayer will be heard and that God will react according to His will.

Tongues as the Sword of the Spirit

And then in Ephesians 6, it speaks about the armor that we must put on daily. And so we know we've got the belt of truth. We've got the helmet of salvation. We've got the breastplate of righteousness. We've got our feet shod with the willingness to proclaim the gospel.

And then we've got the sword of the Spirit. So the helmet has got salvation. The belt is truth. And when you look at Ephesians, it says there in verse 17: "Take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God."

Now that word of God there, I've always been taught that it's the written word of God. And I think it can be that too. But can I say that maybe it's also speaking in tongues? So let's look at this: "And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God, praying at all times in the Spirit, with all prayer and supplication."

And so salvation's got the helmet; truth has got a belt. Willingness to spread the gospel's got shoes, and now praying in tongues is the sword of the Spirit. Do you see that? Out of all the clothing that God gives us to resist the enemy, the only offensive weapon we have is the word of God.

It's our sword. So when we're under attack from the enemy, I want to say pray in tongues. Because praying in tongues is an offensive weapon that the Lord gives to us. So how do we receive the gift? I would say firstly, desire it.

How to Receive the Gift of Tongues

We have to desire spiritual gifts. Pray and wait. Because God will give it to us in the right time. It does come with the laying on of hands. Acts 8:17 says, "Then they laid their hands on them, and they received the Holy Spirit."

So if you desire to speak in tongues, get someone that can speak in tongues, or a leader that's filled with the Holy Spirit, and get them to lay their hands on you. If you desire the gift. It might not happen immediately. My personal testimony is that I didn't receive tongues immediately.

I was in a church meeting on a Sunday afternoon in a charismatic church. And it was a prayer meeting before the service, and the minister in the front asked, "Is there anyone here that doesn't speak in tongues?" I was clever enough to put up my hand and then a whole bunch of people stood around me.

They laid their hands on me and they were speaking in tongues. They were praying for me to receive the gift and I was standing there and guess what? Nothing happened. And they carried on and they carried on and it was kind of awkward.

And then after about 15 minutes they stopped and I felt a little bit like a failure. And I was quite upset about that. I really had a desire to speak in tongues. The next day I was walking up the mountain and I was praying to God.

I said, "Lord, why didn't I get the gift? If it's such a beneficial gift, why didn't I get it?" And then God said, "You will get it in the right time." Some time went past and I was driving in my car when this one word jumped out of my mouth.

I kind of ignored it. And then a couple of weeks later I ended up at a community group. And it was one of those community groups where no one came except the leader and two other people. And then this topic of speaking in tongues came up again.

They prayed for me to speak in tongues. And I ended up in the same situation where nothing was there. And then the one guy had a word of knowledge. And he said, "You know what, you've already received the gift. You just haven't been practicing it."

And then I remembered. I did speak in tongues that day. And that's when the gift started flowing. So for me, it was quite a battle to get to that point of speaking in tongues. So, if you can't speak in tongues, God will bless you with this gift.

How to Receive the Gift of Tongues

All right. So how do we receive this gift of speaking in tongues? Well, firstly, we need to desire it. Then we need to pray and we need to wait. Because God will sometimes give us the gift in His timing. And we need to get someone to lay their hands on us because the Holy Spirit is transferred, imparted by the laying on of hands. Acts 8:17 says, "Then they laid their hands on them and they received the Holy Spirit."

And then we also, we need to speak in faith. You actually need to speak. And so you need to use your mouth and speak.

The Fruit and Growth of Speaking in Tongues

Sometimes a good exercise is to just copy someone that is speaking in tongues. And then as you're praying, your own tongue comes and it develops. Don't measure speaking in tongues by whether it's one word or whether it's a sound. But measure it by its fruit.

And so the fruit of speaking in tongues is that we are built up in our faith. The fruit of speaking tongues is that we are strengthened—Romans 6. And the fruit is that we're fighting the enemy. If the attack subsides, then you know that the fruit of the Spirit of speaking in tongues is manifesting through you.

And so don't measure it by the actual speaking of tongues, but let's measure it by its fruit. And, can we practice speaking in tongues? I think your tongue can develop over time, it can become fuller. So it might start off as a sound, or as a word.

But as time progresses and you persevere. I've often seen people's tongues develop, from one word to sentences. Then to almost a full language. I hope that helps. In this session we've spoken about the importance of speaking in tongues. And the benefits that we receive from speaking in tongues.

Testimonies of Receiving the Gift of Tongues

We've got a couple of testimonies that we would like to share with you. So why don't you watch those. My name is Aiden, and my surname is McCarthy, or do I just say Aiden McCarthy? Kari Truter, or Kari Truter if you want to make it Afrikaans.

So in today's session with Morne, we were talking about the gifts, and it was specifically the gift of tongues. Speaking in tongues. He asked who would like to learn how to speak in tongues? Who doesn't already know how to speak in tongues? And I put up my hand.

I was like, okay, sure I'm keen. And I've never received the gift of speaking in tongues. I've been saved for about a year and a half now. What's really crazy for me is all the other times, previously, that people have prayed for me to speak in tongues.

They made it this major complicated thing. So it was just so beautiful. The session was simple. Like it was literally just a group of us meeting outside and everyone just started praying for us. They didn't overcomplicate it. And I remember, a couple of my brothers lay their hands on me.

And I was just in a receiving posture. As they were praying over me, it felt as if my mouth was tingling. It was the weirdest feeling, but the most coolest feeling ever. But it's actually so simple, like you just have to open your mouth and just let the Holy Spirit do His thing, basically.

And it started with me just getting a word. And I thought, is this it? I got one word out and every time I said it, it felt as if the Spirit was moving. I said the word and then it just grew from there.

Which was just such an amazing and beautiful moment. I'm really excited that I learned how to speak in tongues. I feel like from this place, I'm just gonna seek the Lord and spend more time with Him. And just work on that one word that I have and just grow from there.

Small Groups and Prayer to Receive Tongues

So yeah, super cool. I'm super encouraged. We've just watched these testimonies of some people being filled, with the gift of tongues. And maybe there's a desire in your heart to receive this gift. We're going to be breaking into small groups and create an opportunity for hands to be laid on you.

And for you to receive this wonderful gift in the Holy Spirit. As He gives gifts to His church. As the Holy Spirit sees fit.