======================================================================== SPIRITUAL GIFTS, TONGUES – WHAT DOES THE BIBLE SAY by Shane Idleman ======================================================================== Summary: This sermon emphasizes the importance of desiring spiritual gifts, particularly the gift of tongues, as outlined in 1 Corinthians 14. It challenges the notion that these gifts have ceased and encourages believers to earnestly seek the gifts of the Holy Spirit for edification and building up of the church. The speaker shares personal experiences of being filled with the Holy Spirit and the transformative power of these gifts in his life. Topics: "Desiring Spiritual Gifts", "The Power of the Holy Spirit" Scripture References: 1 Corinthians 14:1, 1 Corinthians 14:5, 1 Corinthians 14:18, 1 Corinthians 14:39, Acts 2:4, Mark 16:17, John 14:12, Romans 12:6, 1 Thessalonians 5:19 ------------------------------------------------------------------------ DESCRIPTION ------------------------------------------------------------------------ This sermon emphasizes the importance of desiring spiritual gifts, particularly the gift of tongues, as outlined in 1 Corinthians 14. It challenges the notion that these gifts have ceased and encourages believers to earnestly seek the gifts of the Holy Spirit for edification and building up of the church. The speaker shares personal experiences of being filled with the Holy Spirit and the transformative power of these gifts in his life. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ CONTENT ------------------------------------------------------------------------ I've been praying that God would show us what He wants to show us because going through this message on spiritual gifts, in case you haven't been coming, we've been talking about spiritual gifts, a gift of healing, a gift of prophecy, a word of wisdom, and tonight we actually find ourselves on this gift of tongues that is in the Bible. We all know what people think of this, don't we? Those weird charismatics and that's not for today and different things and I'm just hoping somehow it can penetrate us at a deep level and we can leave here with just a deeper appreciation for the gifts of the Holy Spirit and maybe even, are you ready for this, ask for the Holy Spirit to give us gifts, to give us a gift of wisdom or discernment or understanding or this gift or different gifts. I just don't find in the Bible where the gifts that we find in 1 Corinthians 14 are over, have ceased, we don't see that, I can't personally come up with that. So the message tonight is tongues, what does the Bible say? What does the Bible say about the gift of tongues? And you could spend a couple hours on this, if not more, but what I decide to do is let the Bible speak for itself and I think a lot of people will be watching this later wanting clarification on this gift of the Holy Spirit, what does it mean? There's opinions out there, people would say it's of the devil today, right, if somebody just speaks an unknown language it's of the devil. Other people say it's very vital to the Christian experience but what does the Bible say? I think that's a good place to start, right? So here's what you have to keep in mind, 1 Corinthians chapter 14, if you want to follow along we'll have it up on the screen as well, 1 Corinthians chapter 14, here's what you have to ask yourself, does this whole chapter not apply anymore? Because basically that's what we're saying, right, when we say that the gifts of the Holy Spirit are no longer valid is that we don't need this chapter. But Paul seems to think that we do and also living children need rules, you've heard me talk about that before, if a child is living they need rules, Paul would also give rules or boundaries to the early church in which to operate in the gifts of the Holy Spirit. So 1 Corinthians 14, Paul says pursue love and desire spiritual gifts, so we see right there that our goal is love and that doesn't come naturally, does it? Does it come naturally for you or does it come supernaturally? We have to desire, we have to pursue love, that has to be the goal of our lives and then we have to desire spiritual gifts. What are spiritual gifts? Well it's everything we talked about so far. So Paul says, and I believe that it's for today, that you should desire spiritual gifts. Do you desire that this evening? I don't know, are you apprehensive? Are you nervous? Are you uncertain? I would just encourage you to desire whatever God has for you. But Paul says, but especially that you may prophesy, we talked about that two weeks ago, 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. So regardless of where your thought is on this, what Paul is talking about is that when a person spoke in tongues, when Paul spoke in tongues, it wasn't a message from God to men. That's why you'll often hear maybe in the past some churches where somebody would speak in tongues, someone would have an interpreter, well it would be a message to people and sometimes that's the case I guess, but what we see here is that tongues is not speaking to men but it's speaking to God. No one speaking in tongues, it's not clear to men, so verse 3, but he who prophesies speaks edification and exhortation and comfort to men. So he's laying out two different gifts here, the gift of tongues, which man does not understand, or the gift of prophecy, which is speaking God's word boldly, truthfully, sometimes the Holy Spirit brings something to mind that somebody needs to speak to somebody else, that edifies, that builds you up. So if Paul was here speaking in tongues, it wouldn't edify you, would it? Not a bit, according to Paul. But if Paul were to prophesy, speak God's word, it would benefit you. And then he goes on to say, he who speaks in a tongue edifies himself, but he who prophesies edifies the church. So what do we get from this? First we see that you should desire the gifts, and that tongues is speaking to God. Now this is interesting that many people don't note, especially those who say that tongues aren't for today because we don't need them, Paul says it edifies the believer. Edifies means it builds up and encourages the believer. The reason is, we'll get to this in a minute, the Holy Spirit is speaking, that's what tongues is, the Holy Spirit is speaking through a person to God, and the person is built up and edified because of it. So the question is, do we still need this today? That's up to you. No we don't, or yes we do. I would lean towards the yes we do side of that. I need to be built up by the Holy Spirit, I need to be encouraged by the Holy Spirit. So Paul says in verse 5, I wish that you all spoke with tongues. But even more that you prophesied, for he who prophesies is greater than he who speaks in tongues. Now that's good to note because many times Pentecostal charismatic churches think somebody is really spiritual if they speak in tongues. Paul says it's actually not the case, that prophecy is greater, why? Because you bless other people by it. The tongues is one of the only gifts that really the believer is being edified themselves. It's really a gift for them to be edified and then go and build up others, edify others. For he who prophesies is greater than he who speaks with tongues, unless indeed he interprets that the church may receive edification. But now brethren, if I come to you speaking with tongues, what shall I profit you unless I speak to you either by revelation or by knowledge or by prophecy or by teaching? So again, Paul is clarifying here, I wish you all spoke with tongues, but I wish more that you would prophesy, why? Because that's more beneficial. It's more beneficial to speak from God's word and to build up and to encourage, that's why it's greater. Tongues is no benefit other than to the person who is doing it or if there's interpretation. In other words, you have to know that a person has been gifted with the gift of interpretation to interpret what is going on when a person speaks in tongues. Now I will just let you off the hook to let you know that this is kind of odd for me as well to read this because it's an odd thing. It's not normal. It's not the normative. Tongues is an odd thing. It doesn't discredit it though, it just means that it's odd. It's like, oh wow, I don't know. Now here's what's interesting, if you've experienced this before, it's not odd. If you've experienced this, you know it lines up with scripture. It's very edifying. It's very beneficial. But if you haven't, that's where sometimes a person can think it's odd and they can think that, well, I don't know, it seems a little weird because I haven't experienced it. But if you experience it, then you understand what Paul is saying and it becomes very beneficial to you. So Paul desired that all people speak with tongues. It's a good gift. And it's not the greatest gift, especially if it's not understood. In other words, there's no benefit. So that's the context Paul is setting up here. It's not a benefit to other people if it doesn't relate to them, if they can't understand it. Then he goes on in verse 7, even things without life, whether flute or harp, when they make a sound, unless they make a distinction in the sound, how will it be known what is piped in or played? In other words, I was going to have Brant do it, but I won't bother having him come up. But if he just hit a few chords on the piano, it wouldn't sound that great, right? It's like, oh, that's not in harmony, I don't know. Or if I just come up and blow a flute. Do you blow flutes? Or play flutes? Blow a horn, trumpet, right? If I just, you would close your ears, that doesn't sound good. Don't do that to me. Because that's what he's saying here. Even the flute or harp, when they make a sound, they have to make a sound that is unified, that is beautiful, that is good for the hearer. So with tongues, if a person doesn't understand it, it's going to sound like me playing the flute, or the drums, or the piano. You wouldn't want to hear that. It's not going to benefit you at all. So see, that's what happens when somebody speaks in tongues in church, and it's out of order, it's not in harmony with, and it rubs people the wrong way. It doesn't edify, it doesn't build up. And people often say, well, I just couldn't control myself. Well, the fruit of the Spirit is self- control. And I believe that the gift can be exercised under self-control. I don't believe a person says, well, I just lost myself, I was so full of the Holy Spirit, I know I disrupted the whole service, but I don't know, I don't get that in here, in the reading of Scripture. So Paul goes on to say, verse 9, so likewise you, unless you utter by tongue words easy to understand, how will it be known what is spoken? For you will be speaking into the air. That's why I said harmony is key. Also it benefits others when it's understood. And then we're going to switch to verse 10. Again, I'm just going through the Bible. We're trying to get through 1 Corinthians 14. There's a lot here, but I think Paul's making a case for tongues. Verse 10, there are, it may be so many kinds of languages in the world, and none of them is without significance. Therefore, if I do not know the meaning of the language, I shall be a foreigner to him who speaks. And he who speaks will be a foreigner to me. Even so, since you are zealous for spiritual gifts, let it be for the edification of the church that you seek to excel. So basically he's saying, does it edify? Does it build up? If what are we doing? What are we doing to the church? Does it edify? Does it build up the church? Then verse 13, therefore, let him who speaks in a tongue pray that he may interpret. For if I pray in a tongue, my spirit prays, but my understanding is unfruitful. Is that interesting? So Paul says if he prays in a tongue, the spirit is praying. The Holy Spirit is praying. Can you imagine that? I don't know about you, but that's who I want praying. I want the Holy Spirit praying for my life, praying for my family, praying for my kids. And some people link this up with Romans when Paul says, we don't know what to pray for, but the spirit prays for us with groaning so deep it cannot be uttered. Now that might not be in relation to tongues. We don't know exactly. It could just be the Holy Spirit is groaning for righteousness, is groaning for holiness, is groaning for joy, and is groaning for these things. But we see here that the Holy Spirit is praying for a believer when he is exercising or she is exercising the gift of tongues. So he says my understanding is unfruitful. In other words, I don't understand what I'm praying for. That's why it's weird to many people. So people pray in tongues, their understanding is, I don't know what I'm praying for. My natural man doesn't understand it. But the spiritual side is being built up and being encouraged. Verse 15. Oh, no. Yeah, verse 15. Verse 15. What is the conclusion then? I will pray with the spirit and I will pray with understanding. So he's saying I will pray in tongues. I will also pray in the normal prayer of understanding that I know what I'm saying. I will pray in both of those areas. Also I will sing in the spirit and I will also sing in understanding. So he's encouraging singing in the Holy Spirit and then singing normally. Now again, if you haven't experienced it, it doesn't make sense. If you have, it makes perfect sense. So I would encourage you to pray to God and say, Lord, I want all that you have for me. I want to experience the gifts of the Holy Spirit. And let me, I should probably interject here. This can be beneficial for other, for believers or unbelievers. If God prompts somebody, there are testimonies where people have spoken in tongues and that person understood that language and was built up, was encouraged. They were convicted. They heard their own language, the glorious, the glorious, the glories of God and of Jesus Christ. Like we see in the book of Acts, that they're all filled with the Holy Spirit and they were, they were speaking in tongues and the people understood. So that does happen. I don't believe that tongues is always just to be silent in your own prayer time. There are times where you can utilize that gift and God will bless that gift. And then verse 16, otherwise, if you bless with the spirit, how will he who occupies the place of the uninformed say amen at your giving of thanks? In other words, how we, if I say something you don't understand, you're not going to say amen, brother. You're gonna be like, what, what did he say? But if I, if I, that's why he's saying about tongues, putting them in the proper context and not being out of order for indeed you give thanks well, but the other is not edified. Again, it's all about edification. That's why there's churches where tongues just go crazy and not everybody's edified. They're not built up. It goes against order sometimes. So the key from here is to pray for interpretation, pray for interpretation. My personal belief is that it is, is that tongues is a different language. That can be used to witness to others like an ax, but it also can be used to edify us because it's the spirit praying through us. So that's my, that's my personal belief. I believe that tongues, when a person speaks in tongues, it is a known language somewhere. I don't know if it's angelic language that, that, that, you know, some, some language of the angels. I believe it's a language known somewhere that the Holy Spirit gives a believer to, for the book of Acts if, as a, as an example, as a testimony, but it's also for edification. I don't think anybody can take away from this that it's not edifying according to Paul, correct? He just, we just opened with edification. We, it was edification throughout. Now he's saying here that the Holy Spirit, that would, that would get me a little motivated about wanting this gift. Holy Spirit, would you, you'll pray for me? You'll, because what happens is it's not like you just give up your mind, you give up your, the Holy Spirit, it begins to, when you give over to this gift, you're, you're speaking. The Holy Spirit is prompting you. The Holy Spirit, it's a language you don't understand. So it's, it's, it's kind of like you're just, you're the vessel being used by the Holy Spirit, being, speaking in tongues through the Holy Spirit. Now it is a controversial topic because there have been people who have left this church because of this view. And there will be people who leave this church again because of this view. But if you can give me a good case why this is not for today, I will listen. But I'll tell you up front, I've heard them all. One of them is found in 1 Corinthians, actually before this, where Paul says, when that which is perfect comes, that which is in part will be done away with. Love, love will never cease, but tongues will cease and prophecy will cease. The problem is, I don't believe that which is perfect has came yet. He's still on his way here. Even John Calvin said that in his commentaries, as do many other commentators. They will also say that the, the revel, the revelatory gifts, that the church doesn't need those anymore because we have the Bible now. Well, just go on the mission field for a week and you'll quickly realize that we still need the power of the Holy Spirit, the gifts of the Holy Spirit operating through believers. So I just can't, I just can't find where that vanished once we had the Bible. Now the Bible is, nothing supersedes the Bible. That is our, that is our plumb line, that is our definition of truth, that is our set of plans. We go by that and that alone. That is, but other things, the gift of prophecy is supplemental. The gift of tongues is supplemental. The gift of, all the other gifts we talked, talked about are supplemental. They come in and they complement each other. For example, remember I talked about prophecy. If God gives somebody a prophetic word or he gives them a word to tell somebody, it has to line up with Scripture, does it not? It has to, okay, this is confirmed by Scripture. This is confirmed by what I'm already sensing in my spirit. Word of wisdom. He gives somebody a word of wisdom. Hey, I, I, this has been on my heart. You might not want to get on that plane, right? Word of wisdom. Does it line up with Scripture? Well, kind of. I mean, if you're sensing something and, so I think the Holy Spirit directs us through these supplemental gifts. In my life, I've noticed that the gifts such as the word of wisdom or the prophetic word or different things, they never supersede Scripture. They always come underneath the Scriptural authority. They never tell you to do something that the Bible condemns. It always lines up. And as I've said before, sometimes we need direction that the Holy Spirit, I mean, that the Bible doesn't always give us answers for. Remember, I talked about when I did, when I felt God was calling me to be a pastor. It didn't say in John 3, 18, oh, become a pastor at the age of 40. Oh, that's when, but I believe certain Scriptures will speak to you. They will come alive. They will jump out. They will resonate with you. When you read that, you say, amen, and you take that to the bank. You say, God, I'm going to hold you to that promise. I believe that is for me. So I believe it can still speak to us today. So I believe all these gifts are supplementary to what the Bible teaches us as well. So it's a spirit praying. Paul says, I will do both. I will speak in tongues, and I will pray normal prayers. I will sing in the Spirit, and I also will sing in understanding. He again reinforces the need for people to understand what is taking place. And then he moves right into verse 18. I thank my God that I speak with tongues more than you all. And I often wonder, would people who think that tongues aren't for today, would they be embarrassed about Paul? Would they want to be friends with Paul? Oh, that tongue talker Paul. He speaks in tongues. Oh, that Paul, that poor guy, hopefully gets really spiritual at some point and doesn't have to rely on this. I thank my God I speak with tongues more than you all. So Paul was given this incredible gift to speak in tongues. He met the risen Lord on the road to Damascus. He fasted for three days. This man prayed for him. I believe it was Ananias prayed for him. And he was filled with the Spirit. I believe he was given this gift at that point. He was able to just begin praising God. And if you've experienced this before, you know if you haven't, it's a time where you're praising God, you're worshiping God, and worship is coming alive, and you're just speaking and praising the glorious gospel of Jesus Christ, even though your mind, the natural man, doesn't understand what is happening. It's something that is God-given. Yet in the church, Paul said, yet in the church, I would rather speak five words with my understanding that I may teach others than 10,000 words in a tongue. So I don't know what some of these churches do that just tongues all the time. It's out of order. It doesn't make sense. Paul is being crystal clear. I'd rather speak just five words than 10,000 in a tongue. Why? Because it doesn't build up others. Brethren, do not be like children in understanding. He actually says, do be like children. I'm sorry. Do not be like children in understanding. My eyes are playing tricks on me. So he's saying, understand. Understand what I'm saying to you. However, in malice, which is being mean, be babes. Don't be mean. Don't lash out. But in understanding, be mature. And then verse 21, in the law it is written, with men of other tongues and other lips, I will speak to this people. Here's another verse that churches use that say the gifts of the Holy Spirit have ceased because it was just a sign gift for a sign at a certain time. Well, let's read it. With men of other tongues and other lips, I will speak to this people. And yet, for all that, they will not hear me, says the Lord. Therefore, tongues are for a sign. In this case, not to those who believe, but to unbelievers. But prophecy is not for unbelievers, but for those who believe. So it's almost like he switches gears, but he really doesn't. He's saying that prophecy benefits believers. When you're speaking God's word, it benefits those who are believers. But tongues can be a sign to unbelievers, just like we saw in the book of Acts. Now, this scripture, in context, Paul is talking about the nation of Israel being judged by thorn invaders who did not speak Hebrew. They spoke in another language that the Jews did not understand, and they were judged by a nation speaking of other tongues. So to me, this scripture doesn't have anything to do, in context, with this gift not being available anymore. And then, verse 23, therefore, if the whole church comes together in one place and all speak with tongues, and there comes into the room someone who is uninformed or an unbeliever, they will say, will they not say that you are out of your mind? Well, that's pretty clear. So Paul's saying, when you come together, don't do this. Don't speak in tongues, because an unbeliever or someone who's uninformed is what? They're going to think that you are out of your mind, and that's exactly what is giving this gift a bad name. This is exactly why tongues has a bad name, because they're just crazy. They're just out of their mind. However, he will go on to say, if there's an interpreter, if somebody's there that can interpret, then it can be allowed, and we'll read that in a minute. But if all prophesy, and an unbeliever or an uninformed person comes in, he is convicted by all, and he is convinced by all, and thus, the secrets of his heart are revealed. And so falling down on his face, he will worship God and report that God is truly among you. So he's saying, if an unbeliever is here, and the preaching of God's word goes out, it convicts the person, and they come to know the Lord, and they say, truly, God is in this place. But had I just, you know, let me speak Spanish. Padre Nuestro, de casa en cielo, santificado sea tu hombre, venga en nuestro reino, hagase tu voluntad, hacia la tierra, como en cielo. Padre Nuestro, de cada día, de nuestro, perdonanos, no es este, en el Padre del hijo del Espíritu Santo. Right? See, now you know what it is. But see, if I, you just, what was that all about? What was that? No benefit. This guy's out of his mind. Tortugas, turtles. Mis padres son las tortugas. Y nadar muy bueno. My parents are turtles and they swim very well. See, it wouldn't work. Same thing with tongues. It's the same thing that happens. You have to understand. Oh, gosh, where did that come from? But that's what he's saying. Let's get back on track, you guys. You got me off track here. So that's what Paul's saying. He's saying that it must be done in decency and in order and consider the atmosphere of what's going on. I think that's important, too, to know the atmosphere, to gauge what God is doing. We've actually had, I think it was one or two couples left a Bible study because the lady prayed in tongues and they weren't comfortable with that. There was no interpretation. And they're like, what is that, Shane? And they felt uncomfortable with that. So you have to gauge your atmosphere. And I believe that done decently in order is a good goal. Paul is passionate about order and impression. Why? Because I think we should give people a good impression of the gospel. You give people a good impression of what a Christ follower looks like. A good name is to be chosen above good riches. And our character, how we treat people. And then verse 26, how is it then, brethren, Paul says, whenever you come together, each of you has a psalm, has a teaching, has a tongue, and has a revelation. You have an interpretation as well. Let all things be done for edification. So it looks like the church is coming together. Everyone has a psalm. Everyone wants to teach. Everyone wants to speak in tongues. Everyone has a prophetic word. Everyone wants to interpret. And it's just this chaotic environment, at least what I'm getting from it. So Paul said, no, let all things be done for edification, to build people up. If anyone speaks in a tongue, let there be only two or at the most three, and each in a turn, and let one interpret what is being said. But if there is no interpreter, let him keep silent in the church and let him speak to himself and to God. The important thing about interpretation is this. This is why tongues could be good if there was interpretation. Because if I say, Padre Nuestro, De Casta in Cielo, Santificado Seatumbre Venga Nostra Eno, the interpreters say, Our Father who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name. And they'll quote the Lord's Prayer. And the people say, ah, oh, that pierces my heart. Because you're interpreting what is being said. That's why the interpretation is so important. Without that, it's confusion. It's chaos. It's disorder. It doesn't make sense. So he said that. But if there is no interpreter, let him keep silent in the church and let him speak to himself and to God. So if someone is speaking in tongues, let them speak to themselves and to God. So I guess tongues, in this case, could be a message. If there's an interpreter, the person speaking in tongues could really speak to that person there. But again, it's done decently and in order. And then he says, let two or three prophets speak. Oh, Lord. Where are we going with this one? See, in a healthy church, you can have people that operate in the gifts of prophetic wisdom, knowledge. Agapis spoke to Paul and gave him a prophetic word. And this can go back and forth. People are divided on this. Someone with a prophetic gifting, God can be speaking to them. And Paul said, then let others judge. Let two or three people speak and let others judge. Now, the question might come up, why don't we do this more often? Well, you can do it in smaller settings. I believe that these were house churches. I believe these were small gatherings of the eight, nine, 10, 12, 15, 20 people. They knew each other. And they would allow people to speak prophetically into the lives of that congregation. So, he said, only let two or three speak and others judge. But if anything is revealed to another who sits by, let the first keep silent. So, in other words, if someone is going to speak, but God reveals something to somebody, let that person speak and not the other person who is going to speak for God. I know this honestly would take like an hour on each section to break it down the right way and to give you an illustration of what's happening. Basically, you would have three people who were gifted in this area. And this person was going to give a gift or give a word that he felt was from the Lord. But this other person has, Shane, I feel this is impressed on my heart. I feel that God wants to give this to the people. So, the person next to them would just be quiet because this person now, God is infusing them, energizing them with a prophetic word that's for that group right then. So, that way they didn't break the two or three rule criteria there. He would allow someone else to speak prophetically. And that might be as simple as, you know, I believe that God is, you know, wanting us to repent tonight. And I believe there's sin in this camp and we've got to repent. We've got to get right with God. And he's speaking prophetically to the group of people. It's going to minister to them. So, even here we see that the words are to be judged. Verse 30, but if anything is revealed, and the other sits by, let the first keep silent. Verse 31, for who can all prophesy one by one? For you can all prophesy one by one that all may learn and all may be encouraged. And the spirits of the prophets are subject to the prophets. It means whatever a person says, that is subject to the word of God. That is subject to mature believers. So, if somebody says something, you are able to judge that. You know, those people say, don't touch God's anointed. Don't challenge me. I'm God's man. Thus saith the Lord. No, no, no. You have to come under, your words have to come under the spirit of the prophets. Meaning, it comes under God's word. If there's three or four mature believers saying, ah, that doesn't sound right. Your word does not go forth. Because you're not coming underneath that. And it's happened before. People have said something. And we say, no, that doesn't sound right. We don't agree with that. That's not good. You have to come underneath the subject. You're subject under the leadership of church. Under the leadership of mature believers. So, if all of you, let's say you're at a private Bible study. There's eight of you. And somebody says something. What they say has to come under the authority and covering of that Bible study group. Of the mature believers there. If other believers are saying, ah, you know what, I don't think we can, that's edifying for the group. I don't think that is God's heart. You can be challenged in that area. Because your word has to have some type of siphon. Some type of filter. You can't just be God's chosen man or God's chosen woman and nobody can challenge you. You have to sit underneath the authority of others. For example, what I'm saying on Sunday mornings and even now has to come under authority, doesn't it? If all the elders afterwards come and say, Shane, that was not, that's not going to fly. What you said is not biblical. Then my words have to come underneath that. What you just said is not biblical. Let me give you an example. I have to teach on a very hard topic Sunday. It's on hell. Because it's where we find ourselves in systematic theology. And it's been a very tough week thinking about it, trying to, because we don't like that concept, do we? It doesn't make a lot of sense. Eternally, you know, separated from God. Punishment and different things. And if I were to come up and say, you know what? I believe the Spirit of God has revealed to me that we've got this area wrong. There is no hell. I'm God's man. We've misread a lot of the Scriptures. Those words have to come underneath the church leadership. And those words would have to be tossed out and rebuked. So see, there's accountability, there's mutual accountability. And that actually did happen. You can watch a movie on Netflix. I usually don't promote movies, but it's called, I think, Come Sunday. About a pastor in the Pentecostal church's 1990s, he believed that God told him that there is no hell. Everybody will be saved. And it cost him greatly. And he's still around. Now he's got a great following of all the people who agree with him. You know, isn't that funny? Oh, I knew there was no hell. Thank you for telling me. Well, not what he says. What does the Bible say? And it is a hard concept. So I'm hoping you guys can make it Sunday. Be praying for this weekend. We've got people, they'll probably be there who aren't believers. And they need to hear about the reality of what God's Word says on this topic. So anyway, that's what that means. What I say, what anybody says, comes under the authority of Scripture. And that includes the Roman church, the papacy. That's one big difference between us and Roman Catholicism. Is what the Pope says is elevated. Even more so than the Bible. No, no, he has to come underneath the authority. And it's funny, people get upset at me about talking about this topic. And I'll tell them, do you know that they believe that Mary is co- redeemer? Oh, no, we don't. Oh, yeah, you do. It was in the 1600s. It's in some of your councils. I can show you where they said that. That Mary is co-redeemer. She is co-matrix. She is to pray to the Blessed Virgin Mary. That she is without sin. Immaculate conception. Conceived without sin. Perpetual virginity of Mary. That she was always a virgin. The Bible says she wasn't. She had kids. But see, they can't understand how Jesus could be free of sin. So they have to make up these things. And so the papacy will come out with things that do not sit well with Scripture. That's why part of the Reformation was sola scriptura. Scripture only. Only Scripture as our final authority. Through grace alone, through faith alone, through Christ alone. Not through good works and different things. So, see, what all of us have to say has to come under the authority of Scripture. Including the papacy. And I don't know where that group's at. I'll tell you what. There are so many inconsistencies of Scripture. I would be very concerned to be part of that denomination. Whatever you want to call that. I don't know what you want to call it. It's not in a good, healthy direction. And I just firmly believe that. And I feel many people come out of that religion. As I did. I was an altar boy. I don't know why I'm going on a rabbit trail. But I was actually an altar boy. And went to Pericleet High School. And it is very methodical. It's a religion. It's void of relationship. It's void of the power of the Spirit. The priesthood is absolutely incorrect biblically. There's so many different doctrines that are wrong. So I think we should be able to say, hey, look. This is wrong. And I told you I visited a Catholic church. 4,000 member Catholic church. The priest. I sat down with an hour and a half with him. And I think I wrote the article. It's on our website. But I explained to him that we don't need purgatory. And he says, yeah, we do, Shane. How do we deal with our shame and guilt? A priest of a 4,000 church is telling me we need purgatory. We need to be purified. How do we deal with our shame and guilt? I said, what was the cross for? That's how you deal with your shame and guilt. See, I have a love for these people. It makes me wonder if they have a relationship with Christ. Because you don't go to purgatory and be purged of your sins for a certain season. That's not biblical. That paid it all. When He said, it is finished, He paid it all. It's all done. You don't go through a priest. You go straight to Christ. You don't go spend some time in hell or purgatory to be punished. He paid it all. See, to me, these are blasphemous, dangerous doctrines. I mean, we're not talking about what translation of the Bible is best, my Lord. You're talking about Jesus didn't fulfill everything. And then they would actually, to build the cathedrals, they would have you put money in a coffer in order to spring your relatives from purgatory before their time. That's blasphemous. That is wrong. And so I have to be quiet because I might offend people? Well, it's time we start offending people. In love. And tell them the truth. This is wrong. Come out from that false system. Now, I believe there are good people caught in wrong systems. I've talked to Mormons before. The Mormon church doesn't believe that. Oh, yes, it does. But they don't know that. They just believe in Jesus. And they're going to church like good people do. So many people don't know the hierarchy. But if you study it and look to it, look at what they teach. Look at the councils. The Council of Trent. Look at the council. The different councils and what they allowed. It's just incredible. So let me get back on track here. Verse 34. Oh, I'm sorry. I like verse 33. For God is not the author of confusion, but of peace, as in all the churches of the saints. So he's saying how you're conducting yourself, the spirit of the prophets, the words that we speak come underneath the authority of Scripture. You're going to do things indecently, in order. You're spirit-filled believers. Why? Because God is not the author of confusion. What if somebody started rolling down the steps? Somebody else started speaking in tongues. Somebody else started standing on their head over there. Somebody would be like, what's going on? You think we'd be a good of the outreach? You think newcomers would be back? Why is this so confusing? What's going on? I believe that a true move of God is not confusing. Now, I've been in prayer meetings, where it sounds like a birthing room. And you hear tongues and a beautiful language. And people are petitioning God and broken before God. They're on the floor. It's not confusion. See, we get in our mind what we think confusion is. That's not confusion. Confusion is disrupting what God is doing. It's confusing. It's disrupting. But those types of free-flowing, where the Holy Spirit is working, although those might seem confusing to some people, those are actually God working. What does it look like when God radically visits you? If you could hear the rushing wind right now, do you think we'd keep thumbing through our bulletin? Do you think we'd look at our phones? If you hear the rushing wind of God's Spirit, His power, and His presence, it comes upon this place, and you feel broken before God, you actually see your Savior on the cross, dying for your sins. Your sins become so real, and you cry out to God, God, I'm a man of unclean lips. Oh God, you think that looks normal? Oh, I'll tell you what, it doesn't look normal at all. It looks anything but normal. So you have to understand what the word confusing means here. It's out of order. It's not beneficial. Because people use this for emotional worship. Oh, you guys are getting too emotional. You're up at the altar. God says, oh no, that's beautiful. That's beautiful. That's not confusing. It's confusing to you because your hard heart is wrong. So this word confusion, you can look up in the Greek and do a long study on it in different contexts of different Scriptures of when it was used, and how many times, and law first mentioned, and all that good stuff. But at the end of the day, He's saying the church service should not be confusing by fleshly, carnal means. But when the power of God is there, it's not going to look normal. Did Acts look normal? I often wonder what these poor Christians at conservative churches would say if they were in that upper room. They wouldn't be part of the 120. They'd be part of the frozen chosen. They'd be part of the critique group. Now look at those guys. Oh my Lord. They're just so emotional. No, that was the church. Because remember about emotions. Emotions can be good and God given. When you say, I do. When you hold your baby. When you retire. Right? Emotions. When your favorite team wins. Why can't we be emotional about God? That's my question. Actually, we should be the most emotional should be on the things of God. Crying at the hospital homes. Praying for people. Crying over the condition of our lost and dying society. And passionate. And having tons of emotions of lost people. Or when a person comes to know the Lord. And so much emotion floods in. That is good and God given. And then verse 36. Or did the word of God come originally from you? Or was it to you only that it reached? If anyone thinks himself to be a prophet or spiritual, let him acknowledge the things which I write to you are the commandments of the Lord. Boy, I love this. Paul's saying if anybody calls himself a prophet or says they're spiritual, they will confirm everything I just said. If they do not, then they are a false prophet. They are drawing attention to themselves. And be careful. Be very careful of those who say, I am a prophet. Those guys that always have their titles on their business card. I'm prophet such and such. Listen, if you operate in that, the people will say you're a prophet. You shouldn't go around tooting your own horn. As a matter of fact, I'm worried about those people that do that. Did you know I'm a prophet? I'm a man of God. Run. Because a person truly called by God should be humble and broken and very apprehensive about taking on titles. Very apprehensive about showboating and taking on things. Because it's humility. People say, you know what, he's got a prophetic voice. That's what people, that's, I feel, part of my calling. I explained it two weeks ago. I feel that God has partially called me to be that prophetic voice. That John the Baptist, that voice crying in the wilderness. There's not gray areas. There's black and white. It's spirit-filled and preaching. Preaching from that prophetic type of voice. But I don't go around telling people that. They'll figure it out. And people email me, do you realize you have a prophetic voice for our culture right now? Yeah, I believe God's called me to. But I don't need to put that anywhere. On the website. Prophetic. You don't have to do that. But it's just what God's gifting, what God has called. And it's actually not an easy gift. Take Morgan out to lunch for an hour, and you find out how easy this calling is. Not giving out addresses much. Living with threats. Living with people not liking us. The big thing is people misjudge. They'll use terms. John the Baptist is not a popular calling. Because Pharisees don't like you, and lukewarm Christians sure don't like you. So he says here, if anyone thinks himself to be a prophet or spiritual, you will acknowledge everything I just said. But if anyone is ignorant, let him be ignorant. Therefore, brethren, desire earnestly to prophesy. I believe Paul is telling us this as well. Desire earnestly to prophesy. He's saying desire to speak God's Word with boldness. That's what we need today. If we took a show of hands, I bet there's a lot of timid people in this room. Are there not? Guess what? So am I. Me up here is probably the funniest thing I've ever heard of. Because my mom asked me, I was Mr. Peacemaker. Don't stir the pot. Don't say anything wrong. Because I came from an angry home with my dad, and walking on eggshells, and I just want the peace. I don't want to upset anybody. I just want to motivate. I don't want to be involved in controversial things. But God says, but when I fill you with My Spirit, watch out. Because all hell is going to break loose. When you're filled with the fire of God, you're going to set things on fire. When you're filled with the boldness, you're going to be bold. But you have to have so much love and humility. And I'm still working on this until the day I die. But the more boldness, the more humility. When you turn up the volume, you've got to turn on the air conditioning as well with humility and brokenness and gentleness. Because when you bring it, you've also got to bring it to your heart and be humble before God. So He says here, earnestly desire to prophesy. Desire the gifts of the Holy Spirit. Desire. Verse 39. Check this out. Here we go. Desire to speak God's Word boldly, to allow God to work through you, but do not forbid to speak with tongues. So I kind of cringe sometimes when I hear these churches that are conservative that blast people like me and you. That say it's of the devil, that say we're misled, say we're immature. They are forbidding speaking in tongues. And when you tell somebody, I've had people say, hey, I want to speak in tongues, I want to give a prophetic word. I say, I don't even know you. That's not going to happen. Well, you're forbidding. No, I'm forbidding you. I'm not forbidding speaking in tongues. I'm all for that. I'm not against that. But it has to be done decently and in order and according to God's Word, according to His structure. But He says, I do not forbid to speak with tongues. So I believe even back then, people were saying, no, don't do that. It's not of God. And the reason I believe this, what we talked about, I think a few weeks ago, when Paul said, if anybody's speaking through the Spirit, will not call Jesus accursed. So you're not going to say the wrong things when you're a Spirit-filled believer speaking in tongues. It's because it's the Holy Spirit speaking through you. So that's my call to you tonight. Desire spiritual gifts. Desire. Don't be scared of it. And I'm convinced that many people don't receive more from God because they're worried or afraid. Like, I don't want that. I don't want that. I don't want to be able to, word of wisdom or word of knowledge, I don't want that. That's kind of weird. God says, okay. Okay. But He's saying here, desire. And there's nothing wrong with saying, Lord, I want all of you. However you're going to work. I mean, there's people I know that have a discerning of spirits. That they can discern what's going on. Or they see things. Like, I saw this person, they were hurt, and they were swimming, or something happened, and it helps them in a swimming pool accident with their children. Different things God gives gifts to different believers to edify and to build up each other. It's not for you. That's what I realized. What He's called me to do is not for me. It helps. I thank God for it. It's not what I'm built up to, but it's to go and encourage others and build them up. It's funny, the Bakersfield message I gave Sunday evening on God can still use you despite your past. I didn't even think twice about it much. But now there's emails coming in from I was on alcohol or crystal meth and that God really used that. I feel on fire again. I'm not going back to that again. I'm sending it to my brother who's in a rehab right now. He's on heroin. God's getting this message out to encourage people to get back up and fight again. That's the whole message of tonight. We could actually switch gears for a minute. Get up and fight again. Christian, get up and fight. You have to fight with your warfare. You need a word of wisdom. You need to be able to give somebody a prophetic word or a word of wisdom. I don't know. I'm always leery of sharing my experience sometimes. But I used to make fun of this, of Pentecostals and charismatics. I just would make fun of, oh, it's ridiculous. And then when God finally broke me, Uncle, okay Lord, everything's yours. My plan didn't work. My plan B, C, D, and E didn't work. Lord, I'm all yours. I'm all in. I'm all in, whatever that means. And then I just was flooded with the Holy Spirit. Flooded with the Holy Spirit of God. I don't know. I'll share this. I don't know if we'll keep it in the video. But what happened, it was 1999. And I remember the floor. I remember the couch. I remember, and I was just weeping and weeping and weeping. And God, and then that's when tongues came alive in me. I began to worship and just worship God in this language in worship and worship and worship. And worship, and I was broken. I was weeping. I was crying. And I just couldn't get enough of God. And that's why on a subject like this, that when people say, oh, that's of the devil, you've got to be kidding me. That's just emotionalism. No, it's the last thing. I'm back bench pressing a lot of weight. I was taking steroids. I was a man's man, beating fights, drinking beer. And now I'm doing this? That's not emotionalism. So God just poured into me, and it was just this beautiful experience with God. And it's a gift. He knows how to give good gifts. He knows how to give good gifts to his children. He knows how to do that. And to be honest with you, that's why I haven't, I don't think I've ever shared this from the pulpit in 18 years, what you just heard. Have I? I don't think I have. Never. Why? Because mainly I'm embarrassed of what people would think. Right? Because, oh, here we go. But that's what happened to me. So all these things that I'm reading about, teaching about, I've experienced it. And what do you do when you're just on fire for God, and you snot come out of your nose, right? And there's just eyes, eyes, and just, oh, God. And I'm just on fire for God. The Bible, now I just love the Bible. Love the Bible. And I'm praying, like, what is going on? I'm just praising God and praising God. And, oh, God, Abba Father, I love you. And I'm just broken before Him, crying out to God. Next thing I know, two, three hours have gone by. And those are experiences I long for God to more, to have that intimate life, to have that spirit for life. So I go from mocking it, and God says, okay, hotshot, let me show you what's going to happen. And then I go from mocking it to experiencing it. And that's why I say it often, that the people who don't like it or say it's of the devil have never experienced it. That's the bottom line. And we're scared of what we've never experienced. And we think we're not spiritual if we've never experienced it. Let me tell you something else. I guess I might as well, opening up, might as well just keep going. I still struggled with alcohol after this experience. I would go months, boom. Six months, boom. 1999, 2000, on fire for God, gifts of the Holy Spirit, total a truck. See, so it has nothing to do all the time with maturity. Because we think, oh, 20 years from now. No, I was given these gifts, some of these gifts right then. Baby Christian, didn't know anything about anything. Oh, yeah, I can go witness to my friend. See, I know he's witnessing to me, and I'm drinking again. It took me a while to learn, oh, okay, I see. This isn't going to work right now. I can't talk to you right now because you keep pulling me back down. So, see, we judge people. Oh, look, they fell back into sin. And it was a struggle. Life is a struggle. People need to be encouraged. They need to be told you don't just always get up and walk the straight and narrow. I've never messed up. I've never cussed. I've never seen pornography. I've never drank a beer. I've never even smelled marijuana. I've never got upset. You just think there's this perfect life that you walk down. That's not Christianity. And I don't know how many pastors aren't helping people because they act as if they've never sinned. They've never fallen into some glorified position. And people need to be encouraged. I hope I don't come to regret this later. No, but people need to know that, right? We need to know. We need to be built up. We need to be encouraged in our walk. And we struggle with the same thing. So that was what I was trying to say. I was filled. Oh, my Lord. I still remember the time, 430 in the morning. I remember the experience. I remember the couch. I remember my house is in Quartz Hill on Avenue M14. I built the house. I had to sell it. And then I would, oh, so full of God. But then weeks would go by. Boom, back to the bar. I'd get up so depressed. I'm never doing that again. Six months later, boom. Boom. And God would show me, hey, listen, hotshot, you're not mature enough yet. You know, huh, Dave? You can't go back to that group sometimes until you get older. Now I'm witnessing to all, what, four of those guys still trying to that drew me back. Now I'm in a position where I can call the shots. You know, but it takes time. You have to know. And you have to disconnect Facebook. You have to let those friendships go that are pulling you back down. So anyway, I had this wonderful experience with the Holy Spirit. Now the Bible is coming alive. Now I want to write books. Now I'm preaching. I'm speaking at weight loss conferences. I'm helping people lose weight. And the fire of the Holy Spirit is starting to just, like, oh, I feel like preaching to these people. What's going on here? Because it's a work of the Holy Spirit. God is doing. So that's why I love emotional worship. That's why I love emotional times with God. And this is coming from somebody who's not emotional. Remember I told you my dad said, boy, you don't cry. We don't cry. Very cold, very callous, very hard. We don't get emotional. We don't show our emotions. But after God broke me and filled me with the Spirit, I was very emotional. And there will be seasons of times where I'll be preaching or before I'll preach and just get really emotional, thinking of the goodness of God. Maybe I don't know if this happened to you, but I've seen sometimes I can see Christ on the cross. And he's beaten. He's dying. There's blood below him. And just that was for me. That was for you. And, yeah, you get a little emotional. And you think of, I should have been dead. I don't know about you, but I should have been dead. I really see myself. I could see myself on the curb and gutter out there in Lancaster. Do they still call it a curb and gutter? And you're laying in the curb, hung over, can't get back on track. If it wasn't for the grace of God reaching down and pulling me up out of that gutter and saying, I've called you to do this. Now go and do it. See, I get emotional about that. I might get a little loud. I might get a little passionate. When you see the prodigal son on his way to hell, you might get a little loud. You might feel like preaching. You might feel like warning. You might feel like saying, Hey, stop. Come back to a loving father. You might want to stop that addiction. You might want to stop that lifestyle. And it's so funny. Now we've had to defriend people and stuff, but many years ago on Facebook, I would post something about how you might want to avoid alcohol. And then you'd have all these Christians who love alcohol. Oh, you're legalistic. You're this. You're that. That's your own conviction. Bah, bah, bah, bah, bah. No, you're just a drunk, and you like to live that lifestyle. But see, they don't want that conviction. They don't want this conviction. So that's what I meant earlier by it's hard, this type of calling. It's hard because you're going to offend people. If you don't want to offend anybody, don't say anything, don't do anything, don't be anything. But when you start to preach what God's Word says, you will offend people because that's the point. It offends, doesn't it? It cuts to the heart. It cuts to where we're living. And even when I talk to people about all different kinds of areas, you know, Hey, you might want to work on this area of nicotine or your health or caffeine or this or alcohol. Oh, leave me alone. But it's just a concern. It's a love for people. So that was a long rabbit trail. But anyway, I guess maybe that's what I was struggling with is sharing some of that with you because people have always asked me, people will email me. They'll ask me, Well, have you, have you, have you, have you? I think I've told Linda I told you recently when we went to visit somebody with cancer. And so I have. I have experienced the Holy Spirit. I have experienced this gift in a very meaningful, powerful way still to this day. But I've had people, one lady came last Wednesday and she said, Would you pray for me in tongues? I said, No, I will not do that. I'm not, you can't just, you know, tell me to do something like that. I suppose you don't know you. I don't open up that way. I'm very conservative. And nor, this is funny for the first year or two was, you know, it was normal in the book of Acts. But once you listen to conservative churches, once you hear other Christians put you down, you begin to close up. Don't you? That's why I don't talk because I don't want the opinions of others. I've got a lot of friends that subscribe to John MacArthur. If they hear this, Oh Lord. But it's in the Bible. Paul experienced it. I experienced it. It radically changed my life. And I'm not going to be ashamed of the things God has done in my heart and in my life. Because I don't think we should be ashamed of that. Woo, glad that one's over. I've been dreading this message for a while. Because I knew I'd have to let people know that I have experienced that. And I have, I do on a continual basis. I feel much better. This morning when I was up in the mountains, I was praying. And just speaking, you know, like what we talked about in tongues. And just built up and edified and encouraged. And all the worries you had are gone. All the struggles you had are gone. And I'm well aware if I talk about things like this, people will leave. You know, it's okay. I'm a big boy. I've had them leave over other things. Many things, by the way. So, but I just want to encourage you in telling you that. That you can go from mocking to believing. You can go from doubting to experiencing. If it's a good gift and it's from God, it shouldn't be something that is, that is, what? Oh, something. You know, it shouldn't be something we push away. It should be a good gift. And I think, I'm actually real, I'm sensitive to others in this area. In conservative churches. But I would not want to be them saying that this is not from God anymore. I mean, that's a pretty dangerous statement. That's a pretty bold statement. And I've told people this. You have to actually prove, you have more to prove by trying to prove that this doesn't exist anymore than I do by proving it does exist. You actually have a lot more to prove. How do you jockey scripture? How do you move things around? How do you delete this but not this? How do you do that? And what about if it is for today? Because part of blasphemy of the Holy Spirit is accounting to Satan the works of God. The true form of blasphemy of the Holy Spirit is denying that Christ is the Lord and you're blaspheming the conviction of the Holy Spirit. But what if, what if when the Holy Spirit is working and you say that's not the Holy Spirit, that's the devil. You're attributing the works of God to the works of Satan. That's why I think people need to be a little bit more careful in this area. More cautious in their, are you sure tongues aren't for today? Are you sure gifts aren't for today? Are you sure? Because you better be, you better be really sure that that is the case. If not, you could be offending God. I'd rather err on the side that I'm on. I'd rather say, well, you know, your words are crystal clear. Boy, Paul sure got a lot out of it. There was 120 people in an upper room who sure set the church on fire when they were filled with the Spirit and speaking with tongues. And other people recognize that. I, gosh, I guess it's wrong now. Okay, I must have misread somewhere. See, I can't do that. I can't err on that side. There's just, it's absolutely impossible. Anybody who just looks at Scripture for Scripture would not come to that conclusion. If you're stuck on an island and all you have is a Bible, I don't think you're going to leave there and go, you know what? I don't think any of this happens today. Here's what you see in many third world countries, many underground churches in China. We have missionaries from Africa, right? You will see when new believers are reading the Bible, they're hungry for all of this. They don't start to debate Calvinism and say that the gifts aren't for today and cessationism. You don't see them debating all these silly things. You see them taking the Bible for what it says. When you believe on me, as the Scriptures say, out of your belly will flow rivers of living water. You might actually cast out a demon. You might actually heal the sick. You might actually tell a dead boy at five years old to get up. You might go like Jesus did to this young girl, Talitha Kumai. I say a little girl, a pawn, get up and rise. That's the same power of Christ that is in you. That's what the Bible teaches. So when you come out on fire for God, when you read the Scriptures, you just read the Scriptures. You want to do so much for God. And then you get the conservative churches who say that doesn't happen anymore. How dare you pray for somebody who's dead? How dare you? How dare you? And you get God in this little box and all you have is narrow Christianity with just the Bible and you're dead and you're a cemetery. There's no spiritual life in you at all because you are putting God in a box. ======================================================================== Video: https://sermonindex2.b-cdn.net/2GvbCf9G3Fc.mp4 Source: https://sermonindex.net/speakers/shane-idleman/spiritual-gifts-tongues-what-does-the-bible-say/ ========================================================================