IS SPEAKING IN TONGUES FOR TODAY? THIS SUNDAY AT ABUNDANT LIFE 10 AM Acts 2:1-4 1 When the Day of Pentecost had fully come, they were all with one accord in one place. 2 And suddenly there came a sound from heaven, as of a rushing mighty wind, and it filled the whole house where they were sitting. 3 Then there appeared to them divided tongues, as of fire, and one sat upon each of them. 4 And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance. . . . 7 Then they were all amazed and marveled . . . 12 So they were all amazed and perplexed, saying to one another, Whatever could this mean? 13 Others mocking said, They are full of new wine. 14 But Peter, standing up with the eleven, raised his voice and said to them, Men of Judea and all who dwell in Jerusalem, let this be known to you, and heed my words. 15 For these are not drunk, as you suppose, since it is only the third hour of the day. 16 But this is what was spoken by the prophet Joel: 17And it shall come to pass in the last days, says God, That I will pour out of My Spirit on all flesh; Your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, Your young men shall see visions, Your old men shall dream dreams. NKJV ___________________________________________________________ PRAYING WITH OTHER TONGUES Eph 6:18 18 Praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, and watching thereunto with all perseverance and supplication for all saints; (KJV) Eph 6:18 18 And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the saints. (NIV) 1 Cor 14:14-15 14 For if I pray in a tongue, my spirit prays, but my understanding is unfruitful. 15 What is the conclusion then? I will pray with the spirit, and I will also pray with the understanding. I will sing with the spirit, and I will also sing with the understanding. (NKJ) 1 Cor 14:2 2 For he who speaks in a tongue does not speak to men but to God, for no one understands him; however, in the spirit he speaks mysteries. (NKJ) 1 Cor 14:2 2 He is speaking secret truths by the power of the Spirit. (TEV) THE CHARISMA THROUGH THE CENTURIES Acts 2:39, For the promise is unto you, and to your children, and to all that are afar off, even as many as the Lord our God shall call. Introduction: Current history is better understood in the perspective of the related past. The gifts of the Spirit, including speaking in tongues, have appeared and reappeared in the church from conception. They have witnessed in every branch of Christendom today. IN HISTORY A) Dr. Philip Schaff, the well-known church historian, in his History of the Apostolic Church, Book 1, sec. 55 writes: The speaking with tongues, however, was not confined to the Day of Pentecost. Together with the other extraordinary spiritual gifts which distinguished this age above the succeeding periods of more quiet and natural development, this gift also, though to be sure in a modified form, perpetuated itself in the apostolic church. We find traces of it still in the second and third centuries. B) Irenaeus (115 to 202 A.D.) was a pupil of Polycarp, who was a disciple of the Apostle John. He wrote in his book, Against Heresies, Book V: In like manner do we also hear many brethren in the church who possess prophetic gifts and who through the Spirit speak all kinds of languages, and bring to mysteries of God, whom also the apostles term spiritual. C) The Latin church father, Tertullian Oh, writing against Marcion, said: Let Marcion then exhibit, as gifts of his god, some prophets, such as have not spoken by human sense, but with the Spirit of God, such as have predicted things to come, and have made manifest the secrets of the heart; let him produce a psalm, a vision, a prayer--only let it be by the spirit, in an ecstasy, that is, in a rapture, whenever an interpretation of tongues has occurred to him . . . Now all these signs (or spiritual gifts) are forthcoming from my side without any difficulty, and they agree, too, with the rules, and the dispensations, and the instructions of the Creator . . . Smiths Dictionary Bible vol. 4, page 3310. D) St. Pachomiuwe Egyptian founder of the first Christian monastery, is have enjoyed the use of the Greek and Latin languages which he sometimes miraculously spoke, having never learned them. This gift was given to him at times after special prayer for the power to meet an immediate need. Giver of the Saints, A. Butler, published 1756. E) The history of the Waldenses in the 12th centuries, reveals not only a devotion of the Bible reading and a desire to follow the primitive purity of the New Testament church, but also that both healing and speaking in unknown languages were experienced from time to time in their midst. Alexandria Mockie - Gift of Tongues, page 27. F) John Calvin (1509-1564), wrote in his commentary of the Epistles of Paul the Apostle to the Corinthians: There are at present great theologians, who declaim against them with furious zeal. As it is certain, that the Holy Spirit has here honored the use of tongues with never-dying praise we may very readily gather what is the kind of spirit that actuates those reformers, who level as many reproaches as they can against the pursuit of them. This particular comment is in reference to a verse in I Corinthians, chapter 14: I would that ye all spake with tongues . . G. Souers History of the Christian Church, Vol. 3, page 206, the following is found: Dr. Martin Luther was a prophet, evangelist, speaker in tongues and interpreter, in one person, endowed with all the gifts of the Holy Spirit. H. Regarding Dwight L. Moody, here are a few quotations from page 402, Trials and Triumphs of Faith, (1875 edition), by the Rev. R. Boyd, D.D. (Baptist), who was a very intimate friend of the famous evangelist: When I got to the rooms of the Young Mens Christian Association (Victoria Hall, London), I found the meeting on fire. The young men were speaking with tongues, prophesying. What on earth did it mean? Only that Moody has been addressing them that afternoon! What manner of man is this? I cannot describe Moodys great meeting: I can only say that the people of Sunderland warmly supported the movement, in spite of their local spiritual advisors. I. At the dawn of the 20th century the Holy Spirit was outpoured in abundance. It centered in the metropolis of Los Angeles and soon spread around the entire earth. WE ARE NOT TALKING ABOUT A NEW REVELATION!!!
Posted on: Sat, 29 Mar 2014 20:15:53 +0000