Kingdom of God Blog

The relationship between the gift of Tongues and Prophecy is covered well in 1 Corinthians 14.  With love as our highest goal we are encouraged to “desire the special abilities the Spirit gives – especially the ability to prophesy.”  Prophecy is a gift of the Holy Spirit with which someone is able to speak forth what God is doing now and is wanting to do.  It is also the gift that speaks of future events and things to come as if they have already occurred.  In other words “God is not making things up as He goes along” as some are saying!  He is omniscient (all knowing), ominipresent (present everywhere) and omnipotent (all powerful)!  He has a plan that He has been working out “since the foundations of the world” and even before that.  He is “I  AM” – He always has been, is present and revealing Himself today, and He will always be!

If we are speaking in tongues (languages that we haven’t learned) we are talking to God and speaking by the power of the Holy Spirit but no one else is benefited unless someone interprets the message.  That way all who hear it will be built up because they can understand what is being said.  We must pray that we will be able to prophesy and also receive the gift of interpretation so that the entire congregation can be included when a message is given in tongues. 

Speaking in tongues is a sign for unbelievers that the Holy Spirit is present among you and prophecy is a sign for believers so that they will know what God is saying and what He wants us to do.  However if someone who doesn’t have the gift of tongues comes into our meeting and hears everyone speaking in tongues he will think we are crazy.  However, if someone is prophesying, unbelievers in our midst will be convicted of sin.  “As they listen, their secret thoughts will be exposed, and they will fall to their knees and worship God, declaring, ‘God is truly here among you’”  They will be called to repentance and surrender their lives to Jesus.  This is the whole Kingdom purpose of all the gifts – so that Jesus may be revealed as Savior and Lord!

The Apostle Paul says in  the closing of  Chapter 14:  “So my dear brothers and sisters, be eager to prophesy, and don’t forbid to speak in tongues.  But be sure that everything is done properly and in order.”

Some insist that these gifts have “passed away”, that they were needed to start the church but that due to our increasing knowledge and understanding, etc. they are no longer necessary.  This makes absolutely no practical sense and is indeed in my thinking, somewhat arrogant!  The scripture most often used to support this position is taken from I Corinthians 13: 

“Prophecy and speaking in unknown languages and special knowledge will become useless.  But love will last forever!  Now our knowledge is partial and incomplete, and even the gift of prophecy reveals only part of the whole picture!  But when the time of perfection comes, these partial things will become useless.”

I’m not sure how anyone could conclude from the above scripture that the time of perfection has already come because we are still living in a fallen world, much the same spiritually as when our Lord Jesus walked the earth!

Let’s be clear here and not “fog things up” with dispensational conclusions.  The fact is that the Apostle Paul was refering to the “time of perfection” as the time in the Age to Come when Jesus returns and establishes His Kingdom in its fullness on the earth during His Millenial Reign.  What we must have when we interpret the Scriptures is a Kingdom mindset and world view.

There have been no instructions in the Scriptures, either from our Lord Jesus or any of the Apostles that would indicate that in “this evil age” in which we live, anything that was given on the day of Pentecost has passed away, with perhaps the exception of the “fire of the Holy Spirit” and its resulting zeal!  It is impossible in the Kingdom of God to walk in the power without walking in the fire!

Let us position ourselves under His cleansing flood and His Holy Fire!  Let’s open up our hearts, and yes our minds, to the baptism of the Holy Spirit that we might be “equipped for every good work”!  Believe it or not He is still baptizing people by faith in the Holy Spirit and giving gifts as He pleases as on the Day of Pentecost!  This is not a Pentecostal experience – this is a New Testament experience!

Have a great weekend.  Hope to see you tomorrow.

Pastor Dave

I apologize again.  I am not doing well this week in keeping up with things.  A lot of activity in other areas.  Anyway, we will continue to look at the gifts of the Holy Spirit and how their operation in our lives verifies His presence.  He is the one who gives spiritual gifts in the name of Jesus and it is He who distributes  them and determines which gifts each person should have.  These are supernatural gifts and they are always received and released by faith.  The Apostle Paul says in I Corinthians 12: 4-5:

“There are different kinds of spiritual gifts, but the same Spirit is the source of them all.  There are different kinds of service, but we serve the same Lord.  God works in different ways, but it is the same God who does the work in all of us.”

Over the years there has been some discussion about which are “the greater gifts”.  It is my belief that even the “least” gift that God may have for us will far exceed anything that this world has to offer.  Therefore, I have found that the “greatest” gift is the one that is most needed at the time!  If I am sick and in need of healing, it is the Gift of Healing that is most beneficial.  If I am facing a life-changing decision it is the Word of Wisdom or the Word of Knowledge that is most needed.

These gifts, even though often manifest in the corporate gathering of the church, are present and in operation for ministry to a broken and dying world through those who know and follow Jesus Christ.    This world as we see it and know it is passing away.  There is a time coming when the Kingdom of God will have fully come in the return of our Lord Jesus Christ.  We need all that the Holy Spirit has for us to minister effectively and powerfully to our generation.  In 1 Corinthians 12 and 14 the Word instructs us on spiritual gifts and how they are meant to work in and through the church, God’s people.  Of course 1 Corinthians 13 tells us that none of this matters if it is not motivated and working through love. 

 I Corinthians 12 has listed nine spiritual gifts (there are others listed later in chapter 12):

“A spiritual gift is given to each of us so we can help each other.  To one person the Spirit gives the ability to give wise advise, to another the same Spirit gives a message of  special knowledge.  The same Spirit gives great faith to another, and to someone else the one Spirit gives the gift of healing.  He gives one person the power to perform miracles, and another the ability to prophesy.  He gives someone else the ability to discern whether a message is from the Spirit of God or from another spirit.  Still another person is given the ability to speak in unknown languages, while another is given the ability to interpret what is being said.  It is the one and only Spirit who distributes all these gifts.  He alone decides which gift each person should have.”  1 Corintians 12: 7-11

Again, these are all supernatual gifts and do not originate with the one who is being used to impart the gift.  That person is  simply a channel or vessel that God is willing to use and who is willing to allow God to use them.  These gifts are for the purpose of imparting the grace of God to a life and to advance the Kingdom of God.

Tomorrow we will talk about the two most controversial gifts:  prophecy and tongues,  and the relationship between them as manifested in the church and as discussed in 1 Corinthians 14.

I would encourage you to listen to last Sunday’s message if you haven’t already and also take the time to read and meditate on 1 Corinthians, chapters 12-14.

Have a blessed and safe weekend.  Hope to see you all this Sunday.  I will be sharing a brief summary of the “Ignite” series and considering “What Now?”

Pastor Dave

I apologize for not beginning this week’s blog until today.  My intent is to post Tuesday through Saturday based on the previous Sunday’s message.  This past Sunday’s message was the last in this series.  The focus of this message was on the gifts of the Holy Spirit.  As we consider the gifts that the Holy Spirit gives to followers of Jesus, there is something that we need to keep in mind if we are to retain God’s perspective, and that is this; we must continually seek the Giver, that is Jesus Christ and be thankful for the Gift (the Holy Spirit).  In response to the people on Pentecost who were convicted of their rejection of Jesus Christ as Messiah and asked what could they do:

“Peter replied, ‘Each of you must repent of your sins and turn to God, and be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins.  Then you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.  This promise is to you, and to your children, and even to the Gentiles – all who have been called by the Lord our God.’”  Acts 2: 38-39

We need knowledge and understanding of the Holy Spirit, but we need to experience His presence in our lives!  This presence is evidenced by the fruit of the Holy Spirit (Galatians 5: 22-23) and verified by the working of the gifts of the Spirit in our life.

The gifts of the Spirit are received  as we experience the “baptism” or the “infilling” of the Holy Spirit.  This experience began for believers on the Day of Pentecost and has continued throughout this age and up to this present time.  The Book of Acts of the Apostles to a great extent, has continued through the Epistles; the writings of the apostle Paul, Peter, James and John, and the life of the Church over the centuries.  One account in the Book of Acts is an example:

“Even as Peter was saying these things, the Holy Spirit fell upon all who were listening to the message.  The Jewish believers who came with Peter were amazed that the gift of the Holy Spirit had been poured out on the Gentiles, too.  For they heard them speaking in other tongues and praising God.”  Acts 10: 44-46 (See also: Acts 8: 14-17, 9: 17-19, 19: 1-7 – These were all “Post-Pentecostal” experiences)

Speaking in tongues is one of the initial signs that evidence that someone has been baptized in the Holy Spirit.  This gift of the Holy Spirit has been the most controversial within the church for centuries, and this controversy probably will not be settled this side of heaven!

We will talk more about the gifts of the Holy Spirit tomorrow and what the Word of God has to say about them.  Let me say this, if you were certain that Jesus had a gift to give you, even if it was “the lesser of the gifts” would you be open to receive?  Is what you have learned to this point regarding the Gifts of the Holy Spirit based upon your personal preferences, assumptions and what others have taught or is it based on what the Holy Spirit has revealed to you as you have studied and meditated on the Word of God?

We will talk more tomorrow.  Be open to what the Holy Spirit wants to do in your life!

Pastor Dave

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