TEXT:
‘I thank God that I speak in [unknown] tongues more than all of you’ – 1 Corinthians 14:18 Amplified Bible
THOUGHT:
It has been thrilling recently to see people in Engage Saltash church plant warming to the Baptism in the Holy Spirit and speaking with other tongues. Some of those had been disappointed in the past by not experiencing this miraculous phenomena when prayed for and ended up wrongly thinking God did not want them to receive. Others were the product of wrong teaching or ignorance in the churches they had previously attended. But by slowly studying the scriptures, doubt and disappointment was replaced by desire and then the delight of receiving the infilling of the Holy Spirit in the same way as the Bible promised it would happen!
Paul, writing to the Pentecostal church in Corinth said, “I speak in tongues more than you all.” That could have meant he spoke with other tongues more than anyone else in the church or more than all of them put together! Why were they under-using the precious gift of tongues? Why was it so important to Paul? Far too many Christians receive the baptism with the Holy Spirit, speak with other tongues, but fail to continue to do so and miss out on the purpose of this supernatural manifestation.
Perhaps you have never spoken with other tongues. You long to be filled with the Holy Spirit and power and have been prayed with for that to happen, but the miraculous sign of speaking with other tongues eludes you.
Speaking with other tongues comes with the baptism in the Holy Spirit. It is not something separate. The same thing that happened to the Apostles on the Day of Pentecost, also happened to the Gentiles in Cornelius’ house, and it can happen to you today too! Don’t be asking God to give you what already comes with the baptism in the Holy Spirit. That is unbelief! Your new tongue is automatically given by the Holy Spirit the moment He fills you. Immediately He gives you words to speak that you do not understand. It comes from your heart not your head. Your step of faith is to do the speaking as the Holy Spirit gives you what to say. Keep using that new tongue until its flow becomes like a river not a trickle. 1
Paul taught the Corinthian church that speaking with other tongues would help in 2 ways.
- Praise – ‘I will sing with the Spirit’ – 1 Corinthians 14:15
We soon run out of words when praising God, but it is a wonderful thing to use the unknown tongue and sing with the Spirit magnifying God. This manifestation of tongues needs no interpretation for we are communicating with God and He knows what we are saying.
- Prayer – ‘I will pray with the Spirit’ – 1 Corinthians 14:15
Many times we do not know what to pray for. By allowing the Holy Spirit to pray through us, we are able to make intercession according to the will of God. Of course we can still pray in our native tongue but praying with other tongues changes our praying from the natural to the supernatural, from being limited to the unlimited, from uncertainty to certainty!
The Holy Spirit can also pray through us concerning God’s will for our life and ministry, even helping to bring to fulfilment prophecies about our future that we have long forgotten.
Those wanting to receive the baptism in the Holy Spirit and to speak with other tongues, can request helpful literature by emailing info@box2340.temp.domains
To those who have been filled with the Holy Spirit and do speak with other tongues, my challenge to you is this. Stir up the gift that is in you. Never let a day go by without using the precious gift of tongues in prayer and praise. Allow more of your time with God each day to be more of God speaking through you rather than you doing all the talking. Try it and see the difference it will make in your life and the lives of those you are praying for.
1 – John 7:37-39
Recent Comments