The Holy Spirit in Action in the Christian Part 1

Continuing our outline, we are on section D, the Holy Spirit and the Christian. Number one, beginning in the Spirit. Number two, under that was the indwelling of the Spirit.

Then we looked at the sealing of the Holy Spirit, number three. And four, the earnest of the Spirit before our last lecture, where we dealt with number five, the filling of the Spirit. Now continue that outline.

Number six, the fruit of the Spirit. And put this verse down, Galatians 5, 22 and 23. But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, temperance.

Against such there is no law. And please note that it is the fruit of the Spirit, one fruit containing all these qualities that are made evident in the life of a Christian by the Holy Spirit. Number seven, walking in the Spirit, walking in the Spirit.

Galatians 5, 16. This I say then, walk in the Spirit and you shall not fulfil the lusts of the flesh. Now note the order in which it is expressed.

It doesn't say try not to walk in the flesh and you'll end up walking in the Spirit. It says positively, walk in the Spirit and you will not fulfil the lusts of the flesh. The Holy Spirit is in your life to enable us to learn to walk as a Christian, as we walk in the Spirit.

Number eight, renewing of the Spirit. Renewing of the Spirit. Titus 3, 5. One of his offices is to renew people with the Holy Ghost, with God in their lives.

Number nine, strengthening of the Spirit, strengthening of the Spirit. Ephesians 3 and verse 16. Ephesians 3, 16.

That he would grant you according to the riches of his glory to be strengthened with might by his Spirit in the inner man. He's there to strengthen you. Number 10, sowing in the Spirit, sowing to the Spirit.

Beg your pardon, sowing to the Spirit. Galatians 6, verses 7 and 8. Galatians 6, verses 7 and 8. Be not deceived, God is not mocked, for whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap. For he that soweth to his flesh shall of the flesh reap corruption, but he that soweth to the Spirit shall of the Spirit reap everlasting life.

Sowing to the Spirit. Number 11, leading of the Spirit, leading of the Spirit. Romans chapter 8, verse 14.

Romans 8, 14. For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God, the leading of the Spirit. Number 11, 12.

Sanctification of the Spirit. Sanctification of the Spirit. 1 Peter, 1 Peter chapter 1, verse 2. Elect according to the foreknowledge of God the Father through sanctification of the Spirit unto obedience and sprinkling of the blood of Jesus Christ, grace unto you and peace be multiplied.

Sanctification, setting apart of the Spirit of God. Number 13, the supply of the Spirit. The supply of the Spirit.

Philippians 1, 19. Philippians 1, 19. For I know that this shall turn to my salvation through your prayer and the supply of the Spirit of Jesus Christ.

Philippians 1, 19. Number 14, number 14, the gifts of the Spirit. The gifts of the Spirit.

Now under this we are going to put four things. Number one, number one, the enumeration of the gifts. The enumeration of the gifts, or the number of gifts that there are.

The enumeration of the gifts. And then we'll turn to, please, 1 Corinthians chapter 12. At last we're there.

1 Corinthians chapter 12, verses 1 and 8 to 11. Verses 1 plus verses 8 to 11. Now, at long last, concerning spiritual gifts, brethren, I would not have you ignorant, which is the majority case in many lives.

They are totally ignorant. Whenever I've gone to a church and they've asked me to speak on the charismatic movement, I've made my reading for the evening chapters 12, 13, 14 of 1 Corinthians. And I've made the church sit absolutely stop still while I've read the entire three chapters.

And they think it's most unfair, I should just jump in to one verse, take it out, and use it. But I don't. There demands, because of the chaos, a careful reading of these three or four chapters in this epistle, very, very carefully.

Now concerning spiritual gifts, brethren, I would not have you ignorant. Verse 8. For to one is given by the Spirit the word of wisdom. To how many is given the word of wisdom? Too many? What's it say? One.

Let me hear it. To how many? One. Oh, good.

To another, the word of knowledge by the same Spirit. The word of knowledge to whom? Yes. Oh, not the same one.

Oh, how frightfully unfair. Oh, bang on. Isn't that a swizz? We should think that a Christian should have all the gifts, really.

Hmm, most interesting. Verse 9. To another, faith by the same Spirit. To another, the gifts of healing by the same Spirit.

To another, the working of miracles. To another, prophecy. To another, discerning of spirits.

To everybody, diverse kinds of tongues. Oh, sorry. Oh, now isn't that a swizz? Well, that's cheating.

I mean, I've been hearing for years that it's the criterion for saying you even have the Holy Ghost. That the hallmark of knowing you possess the person of the Holy Spirit is that you speak in tongues. Paul, you better go back to school.

Your theology's warped because you've dared to say that to another, diverse kinds of tongues. To another, the interpretation of tongues. But all these work at that one and the self-same Spirit, dividing to every man as the Christians see fit.

Oh, sorry. Dividing to every man severally as he, the Holy Spirit, will. So there we have the enumeration of the gifts.

To the individual. To the individual. These are there for your particular benefit, because wherever we have a body local of believers, that constitutes the local.

And the Holy Spirit very, very wonderfully makes sure that within the local body of believers, he equips that church to be a healthy body in that district in order to minister Christ to that community. Therefore, he will put into every body local those who have these gifts for the benefit of the believers in order that they can be a benefit to the community. Now, there's nowhere where it says that we have all of the gifts in one man.

And that is also one of the reasons why evangelism ceases to be in many churches, in many communities, because we have a sort of funny idea, particularly a number of pastors, that if anybody's going to be converted in my church, it's got to be through me. God, it's unfair if you use somebody else and not me, because I'm the minister. And therefore, I should be the one that teaches.

I should be the one that preaches. I should be the one that's the evangelist. I should be the one that governs.

I should be the one that heals. I should be the one that does everything. And God, it'll be a sort of letdown to my reputation if I have to call in an outside speaker to do the evangelism.

Why don't you do it through me? I'm the minister. But you see, that's nonsense. A man might be a good pastor and leader of a flock and not necessarily be a teacher or a preacher or an evangelist.

It'll be the Holy Spirit's business if he gives the man more than one gift. That'll be his business. There are pastors who are real evangelists in their church, but their people never get teaching because he's not a teacher, he's an evangelist.

There are preachers who are great teachers, but they'll never make evangelists, nor could the leader flock. And one has to be prepared to understand that it's the Holy Spirit's discretion that endues on the local believers the qualities of gifts just right for that individual, but not so that the individual can say, I've got it, I've got the gift, and I can do this, that, and the other thing. But if you have the gift, you have the responsibility to exercise it in that community, to exercise it and to use it.

And again, in that section, we see that we have no mandate for going into that section and pulling out one gift in particular and saying that that is the criterion for spirit-filled life. For a spirit-filled life, that is nonsense, it's not there. And he makes that very plain in this illustration that follows.

Verse 12. For as the body is one and hath many members, and all the members of that body being one, being many, are one body, so also is Christ. For by one spirit are we all baptized into one body, whether we be Jews, Gentiles, born free, and have been all made to drink into one spirit.

For the body is not one member, but many. If the foot shall say, because I am not of the hand, I am not of the body, is it therefore not of the body? And if the ear shall say, because I'm not the eye, I am not of the body, is it therefore not of the body? If the whole body were an eye, where were the hearing? If the whole body were hearing, where were the smelling? But now hath God set members, every one of them in the body, as it hath pleased him. And if they were all one member, where were the body? But now are they many members, yet but one body.

And the eye cannot say unto the hand, I have no need of thee, nor again the head to the feet, I have no need of you. Nay, much more those members of the body which seem to be more feeble are necessary. And those members of the body which we think to be less honourable, upon these we bestow more abundant honour, and are uncomely parts of more abundant comeliness.

For are comely parts of no need, but God hath tempered the body together, having given more abundant honour to that part which lacketh, that there should be no division in the body, but that the members should have the same care one for another. And whether one member suffer, all members suffer with it. Or one member be honoured, all the members rejoice with it.

Now you are the body of Christ, and members in particular. You are all the body of Christ, but members in particular. Just liken the body of Christ to your own physical body.

Every human being has different members that comprise this physical being. One of the most difficult parts of the human body to photograph, for a photographer, is the feet. It's very difficult to photograph.

Photographers will admit it. It's difficult to photograph great big toes and make them look picturesque. You know.

And yet the amazing thing is we need big toes. You take the big toes and the thumbs of people's hands, as they did in the Old Testament times. There was a king that made it his hobby, and everybody he conquered he cut off of their kings, their toes and their thumbs.

And they actually had to crawl around his palace floor like dogs under his table and eat the crumbs. You cut any other finger off and you'll still manage to do things. Cut the thumb off and you're in difficulty.

Cut the big toes off and you lose your balance. And I mean if you imagine your human body acting the way that people act today with regard to the gifts of the Spirit. Imagine the uh body entering the kitchen first thing in the morning after a long hungry night.

And the nose says to the eye, smell it. And the eye said, pardon. I said, smell it.

What smell? Oh, you don't mean to tell me, aye, that you can't smell the bacon, eggs and mushrooms? And the eye says, no, I can't smell. You can't smell? Boy, what you're missing. I says the eye, but I can see them, pardon.

I can see them with the fat just bubbling over those juice and mushrooms. And the little yellow yolk showing through the top of the egg. And that crisp bacon crinkling in the pan.

And the nose says, are you mad? No, why? There's no such a thing as yellow. It's only the smell. No, no, says the eye.

I see, but I don't smell. You see, everything needs to be different. And yet all the qualities of the nose, the eyes, the ears.

Can you imagine the ear coming into the conversation and says, what's all this nonsense about smelling and seeing? Rubbish. I hear it frying. But put all three together and boy, you get a tremendous reaction when you come into the kitchen and the nose does its job and the eyes does its job and the ears do their job.

And boy, it makes the thing all that much more real. And nobody would ever think of insisting that a body should consist of one member. And just as people say, it is the tongue that qualifies the fact that you are gifted with the Holy Ghost.

That's rubbish. If everybody insists that the whole body should be tongues. I mean, can you imagine a woman giving birth to a nine pound nose? If we should just have one member and that the criterion for being a body and in the body is that we are a nose, let's just make sure the whole Christian body is one big nose and all the rest are of no consequence.

Look how ludicrous it would be. Imagine a nation of noses walking around. I am just so thrilled that the creator decided to give me more than the hooter I've got.

Me with this nose of mine that marches before me by quarter of an hour. It's compensated by eyes, ears, legs, arms, body. I am just so glad there's more than the nose.

And you know, we see this illustration. It's there in the scriptures as plain as the nose on your face. And yet people ignore it.

It is impossible to have a healthy body comprising of one member and insisting that the one member is more important than the other. Everything fits together and we need all of it. So I believe wholeheartedly in the gift of the spirit to the believer.

And I will not go in there and say some of them are not for today, just as I won't let you go in there and say one of them is more important than any other for today. They're all there to be used properly with an emphasis on the proper. A proper use of the gifts.

So they're all in. They're all there. They're all for today.

And if we move in and start saying some are not for today, we must throw them all out. It's a lovely union shop rule this. All in or all out.

No in-betweens. It's impossible. Now, number two, the bestowing of the gifts.

The bestowing of the gifts. 1 Corinthians 12 verses 28 to 30. Now those first series of gifts were to the individual in the body, but now there is the bestowing of ministries and gifts for everybody to benefit from.

The others benefit yourself and then through you to others. But this one is particular gifts and ministries to people to benefit constantly the whole body in a community. And God hath set how many? Some in the church.

First apostles, secondarily prophets, thirdly teachers, after that miracles, then gifts of healing, helps, helps, helps, helps. Sorry, the record got stuck. Helps, governments, diversities of tongues.

And that little one helps. Boy, I like that. And it's the one we've all forgotten.

There is a tremendous gift that the Holy Spirit can give to a man in a community of the body to benefit the body. And it's the ministry of helps. It may be a man that could never get up and give his testimony.

He can't read or write, so it's no use making him the church secretary. He can't preach. He can't teach.

He's no evangelist. And this poor fellow sitting there knowing he belongs to Christ, the Holy Ghost in his heart, he has yielded. How could I fit into the body local and be part of serving the body? And suddenly the Holy Spirit says, I'll endue you with a gift of helps.

And so this man finds a complete fulfillment in putting hymn books on the chairs, stoking the furnace, cleaning the windows, tidying up after the meeting, putting the glass of water down for the speaker. And he finds that through this, he has a sense of being, a sense of oneness with the body, a sense of serving, an utter satisfying fulfillment in himself. Now, there's not very many of those around today because we see the pastor doing it all.

He ends up tidying up after the congregation have fled. He ends up doing the janitor work, all of it. You would be amazed at the churches I go to where the pastor's doing it all.

As the congregation busily engage themselves in finding a parking spot for their Rolls Royce and their Jaguar and their big cars to come into the nice cozy one building and have a meeting, when not one thought about who lit the fire, who switched it on. And so few ever thought of ever moving in. If you want to move in and make a gift more important than others, why not pick that one? Make it the criterion for spirituality, the ministry of helps.

You see, if you move in and take any one of these gifts out of their place, you make a mess. Could you imagine, you know, sitting in a meeting at the end and you come up to go out of the door and my brother comes forward to you and he says, evening. And you say, oh, good evening.

And he said, I just wondered if you wouldn't mind fellowshipping with me a minute. And you said, well, that's perfectly all right. I just noticed you haven't been before.

No, I haven't. Well, I was just wondering, have you got it? Got what? The gift. What gift? Hymn book putting.

And you say, pardon? Hymn book putting down off. No, I haven't. You mean you've never had the thrill that surges through your being as you put a hymn book on a chair? No, I haven't.

Oh, you want to try it, brother. If you've never really done the old hymn book bit, you're not in. You're not really filled.

You're not really full. You're not really satisfying. You haven't really obtained the best.

Why don't you try? It's great putting hymn books on chair. Oh, what it did for me the day I put my first hymn book on a chair. You'd think he was loopy.

But he's not. He's been absolutely sincere with regard to his own experience. With regard to his own life, it is his fulfillment.

But it's stupid for that man to make his gift the criterion for every believer after that. To say that everybody should be a member of the body that does the hymn book putting. And that qualifies spirituality.

That's rubbish. Just as much rubbish as someone that says my gift should become everybody's gift. That's rubbish.

He gives all these different things to different people to benefit the body. Verse 29. Are all apostles? What's the answer? No.

Are all prophets? No. Are all teachers? No. Are all workers of miracles? No.

Have all the gifts of healing? No. Do all speak with tongues? Of course. It doesn't say that.

So don't you say it. Do all have the gift of tongues? No. Do all interpret? No.

But covet earnestly the best gifts. And yet I show you a more excellent way than wrapping your nose up in all the gifts. Though I speak with the tongues of men and of angels and have not love, I am become a sounding brass or a tinkling cymbal.

And though I have the gift of prophecy and understand all mysteries and all knowledge, and though I have all faith so that I could move mountains and have not love, I am nothing. And though I bestow all my goods to feed the poor, and though I give my body to be burned and have not love, it profits me nothing. Love suffers long and is kind.

Love envieth not. Love vanteth not itself, sticketh not its nose in the air and saith, I have something you don't have. Is not puffed up, proud, does not behave itself unseemly, seeketh not her own, is not easily provoked, thinketh no evil, rejoiceth not in iniquity, but rejoiceth in the truth, beareth all things, believeth all things, hopeth all things, endureth all things.

Love never fails. But where there be prophecies, they shall fail. Whether there be tongues, they shall cease.

Whether there be knowledge, it shall vanish away. For we know in part and we prophesy in part, but when that which is perfect is come, then that which is in part shall be done away. When I was a child, I speak as a child, I understood as a child, I thought as a child, but when I became a man, I put away childish things.

For now we see through a glass darkly, but then face to face. Now I know in part, but then shall I know even as I am known. And now abide of faith, hope and love, these three, but the greatest of these is love.

Follow after love and desire spiritual gifts. Desire them, but rather that you may prophesy. It's as plain as anything, kids.

The people that wrap themselves up in the gifts, you'll find that very often they cannot display love. You see, I have found in my experience of the people that have chased me for years with the person in ministry of the Holy Spirit and gifts, that they're more concerned about me having everything than they are in having it themselves. Because I see some of the things they don't have.

Manners, kindness, consideration, toleration. And yet I have found that very often the gift of tongues, for example, is endued by the Holy Spirit on the kind of person that has always doubted their salvation. It's been their major doubt that they're saved.

And they seem to get this gift in particular because it's so directly linked with the physical and the emotional side of your heart. And it gives a feeling and a sense of, well, there is someone in there because I'm not doing this by myself. And having received that gift, they ought to be so full of assurance that, yes, this proves that Christ is in by the Holy Spirit, that they would then stand up and say, now my ministry is to allow myself to be so yielded to the person of Christ through the Holy Ghost that I will magnify him from now on.

I will occupy the rest of my living days making Christ known. But what do we find? They get all wrapped up in the gift and forget the giver. And all they do from there on in is hog the gift.

Their whole ministry is the gift. And they've never occupied one moment in talking about the giver of the gift. And you find that that's all they can talk about is their gift.

What I've got and you've got what I've got and what I've got everybody should have. And that's nonsense. Utter nonsense.

And I admit there are many Christians that have never even bothered to find out what gifts they have received from the Holy Spirit, nor are they exercising them. And they are just as naughty in not reading those scriptures and realizing that the Holy Spirit's business is to give you gifts, to equip you for the body and for yourself to be sure to go out and minister Christ. And there are many Christians that have never even bothered to look and find out what God has endued them with.

And that's just as naughty as the person that knows what their gift is and absolutely makes their gift God instead of the God of the gift being their God. And that's imbalance as well. And the people are always tugging my ear and pulling my sleeve at meetings and saying, do you have the gift? Do you have gifts? Have you got this gift and that gift? Can you speak in this? Can you speak in that? And when they're so busy wrapped up and telling you about their gifts and the Holy Spirit, I know they're not under the control of the Spirit.

But I'll tell you this much. I have met over the years, some wonderful believers who are filled by the Spirit of God, who know they have gifts. And in many cases, they have the gift of tongues, but it's being used properly.

There was a young man joined me in the United States years ago, Dennis Johnson by name, and he was a trombone player. And he traveled around the meetings playing the musical side of the program before I would teach and preach. And we had known each other for five or six years.

Many times when I was over, he'd link up with me and travel with me. We'd slept in motels together. We'd showered together.

We'd eaten together. We knew each other that well. And I think it was about the fourth or fifth year of our friendship, when I was beginning to compile my notes and all these things, that I suddenly said to him one night in the motel, Dennis, have you ever spoken in tongues? And he turned right around to me and he said, now remember, you asked me.

And that was so entirely different from the crowds that attacked me at the end of meetings to tell me they've got it. And if I haven't got it, I'm useless. And I, here I was showering with a fellow, swim, eat, travel, minister.

And all I ever heard Dennis do was talk about the Lord Jesus Christ, magnify and glorify Christ in meetings. And I had to ask him before he ever told me. And he said, now remember, you asked me.

Yes, I did. I didn't even seek, but I was always doubting that the Lord had really come into me. And one night in my own private prayer session in my own bedroom, I experienced this gift.

It's never been repeated. He said, that was enough for me. I knew Christ was in.

Once and for all, I had proof that I'd always looked for. And I've gone out ever since to magnify Christ. That is the proper use of that gift.

It's the proper use of any gift. And always be wary of the man that runs around shouting, I'm filled. I'm filled.

And the man that shouts, it's my gift, it's the criterion for being spiritual. There's no qualification for such a move in the word of God. You can't do it.

Just put down alongside those scriptures, Hebrews chapter two, verses three and four. How shall we escape if we neglect so great salvation, which at the first began to be spoken by the Lord and was confirmed unto us by them that he heard him. God also bearing them witness both with signs, wonders, with diverse miracles and gifts of the Holy Ghost, according to his own will.

He gives the gifts according to his own will. Put number three down there, the using of the gifts. The using of the gifts.

It's got to be according to the word of God. Got to be according to the word of God. 14, 1 Corinthians 14, 39.

Wherefore brethren, covet to prophesy, forbid not to speak with tongues. Let all things be done decently and in order. They have to be used according to the word.

Tongues are to be exercised but governed by the laws laid down in this very chapter. Let's look at it. 1 Corinthians 14.

Follow after love, desire spiritual gifts, but rather that ye may prophesy. For he that speaketh in an unknown tongue speaketh not unto men, but unto God. For no man understandeth him, howbeit in the spirit he speaketh mysteries.

But he that prophesieth speaketh unto men to edification, exhortation and comfort. And it's very plain from those verses that the gift of tongues in particular is more beneficial to you as an individual than it is to the body. But all the other gifts are helping other people.

So it would appear that the gift of tongues can become quite easily a selfish gift, self-centered. It's what I get, that all the other ministries are outgoing to other people. And I find that the people that make the gift of tongues the criterion, they stop being Sunday school teachers.

They withdraw from the communion table. They cease to be active participants in the government and running of churches. And they're just sitting at home in little special meetings looking for a reenactment of the gift.

They become totally useless in service. It's all inward self and self-beneficial. Verse four, he that speaketh in an unknown tongue edifyeth himself.

But he that prophesied edifyeth the church. I would that ye all speak with tongues. But notice it's a comma that's after that.

I have so often found little cards, they glow in color with the print on it handed to me by those kind of people. I would that ye all speak in tongues, full stop. It's a lie.

It's not a statement from scripture. It's part of a statement from scripture. I would that you all speak with tongues, but rather than that you all speak with tongues, that ye prophesied.

For greatest is he that prophesieth than he that speaketh with tongues, except he interpret that the church may receive Now brethren, if I come unto you speaking with tongues, what shall I profit you except I shall speak to you either by revelation or by knowledge or by prophesying or by doctrine? And even things without life-giving sound, whether pipe or heart, except they give a distinction in the sound, how shall it be known what is piped or harped? For if the trumpet give an uncertain sound, who shall prepare himself to the battle? So likewise ye, except ye utter by the tongue words easy to be understood, how shall it be known what is spoken? For you shall speak into the air. There are, it may be, so many kinds of voices in the world, and none of them without signification. Therefore if I know not the meaning of the voice, I shall be unto him that speaketh a barbarian, and he that speaketh shall be a barbarian unto me.

Even so ye, for as much as ye are zealous of spiritual gifts, seek that ye may excel to the edifying of the church. Underline that if you will. Seek to excel, to be absolutely excellent in helping other people in the body of Christ, and not wrapped up with your own spirituality.

Wherefore let him that speaketh in an unknown tongue pray that he may interpret. For if I pray in an unknown tongue, my spirit prayeth, but my understanding is unfruitful. What is it then? I will pray with the spirit, and I will pray with the understanding also.

I will sing with the spirit, and I will sing with the understanding also. Else when thou shalt bless with the spirit, how shall he that occupieth the room of the unlearned say Amen, at thy giving of thanks, seeing he understandeth not what ye are saying? For thou verily givest thanks well that the other is not edified. I thank my God I speak with tongues.

And it doesn't say a full stop there. I've had that handed to me on a card. The Apostle Paul said, I thank my God I speak with tongues, more than you all.

Yet, yet, in the church, says Paul, I had rather speak five words with my understanding than by my voice I might teach others also, than ten thousand words in an unknown tongue. And I know there are five words I would rather speak to some of these meetings where they're all babbling all over the room. What good did it do? That's the five words of understanding I'd like to say to them when I sit in their presence.

What good did it do when they're finished? Because it didn't do me any good. It doesn't do a lot of unbelieving people any good either, nor themselves, because they can't go and live. They've got to come together and get it all over again.

Brethren, be not children in understanding, how be it in malice be ye children, but in understanding be men. In the law it is written with men of other tongues and other lips will I speak unto the Jews. Note that, if you've never noted before, one of the reasons for the gift of tongues is that it's a sign to unbelieving Jews.

How many unbelieving Jews are ever in the meetings that exercise this audibly? And yet for all that, they will not hear me, saith the Lord. Wherefore, tongues are for a sign, not to them that believe, but to them that believe not. And yet the funny thing is most churches I go to, the tummy meeting is an after meeting when the pagans have gone home.

It's a believer's tarrying meeting, a meeting for believers to get deepened once the pagans are out of the way in case they misunderstand what we're doing. So we have the gospel service and get rid of the unconverted, then we have a special believers meeting. That's not according to the book.

There should be unconverted there. They'll soon tell you if you're mad or if it's a miracle. They're not easily duped, just the Christians.

Wherefore, tongues are for a sign to them that believe, but to them that believe not. But prophesying serveth not for them that believe not, but for them which believe. If therefore the whole church be come together in one place, and all speak with tongues, and there come in those that are unlearned or unbelievers, will they not say that you're mad? But if all prophesying there come in one that believeth not, or one unlearned, he is convinced of all, he is judged of all.

And thus are the secrets of his heart made manifest. And so falling down in his face, he will worship God and report that God is in you of a truth. How is it then, brethren, when you come together, every one of you hath a doctrine, hath a tongue, hath a revelation, hath an interpretation.

Let all things be done unto edifying. If any man speak in an unknown tongue, let it be by two, or at the most three in any one meeting. Two, or if ye must stretch it, three.

And that by course, one after the other, not a jumble together. And let one interpret. But if there be no interpreter, let him keep silence in the church and let him speak to himself and to God.

And so as soon as it breaks out, somebody must stand up and say, have we an interpreter present? And if there's no interpreter, you just say, sit down and keep quiet, brother. Just sit down and keep quiet. Let the prophets speak two or three and let the other judge.

If anything be revealed to another that sitteth by, let him first hold his peace. For ye may all prophesy one by one that all may learn and all may be comforted. And the spirits of the prophets are subject to the prophets.

That's important. Remember this. Nobody has to stand up and say, I couldn't help it.

It just had to come out. You are in control of your gift. Your spirit is subject to your permission to exercise itself for God is not the author of confusion, but of peace in all churches of the saints.

Let your women keep silence in churches. Now notice where this comes in girls, right in the midst of a discussion about the exercise of the gift of tongues. It's nothing to do with telling women they can't preach.

If you look in a previous chapter in verse 11, chapter 11 of one Corinthians, best five, every woman that prayed that prophesy indicating that women in the early church did pray and prophesy and speak and preach, but it's not talking at all about that here. It's saying you women, as far as tongues is concerned, keep silent because it's so akin to emotionalism. And you ladies are more prone to that than any other.

They say just belt up, but it's not permitted unto them to speak, but they are commanded to be under obedience as also set the law. And if they will learn anything, let them ask their husbands at home. For it's a shame for a woman to speak in the church.

What came the word of God out from you or came it unto you only. If any man think himself to be a prophet or spiritual, let him acknowledge the things that I write unto you are the commandments of the Lord. If any man be ignorant, let him be ignorant.

Worthy brethren, covet to prophesy, forbid not to speak with tongues, but let all things be done decently and in order. There is a scriptural way it has to be done. Let's have a word of prayer.

We'll finish that tonight. Father, we thank you that not only are you prepared to fill us by your life within us through the Holy Spirit, but to endure us with gifts that will fit us for being a blessing to other people. Keep us alert, open, and expectant, and watching to see what it is you do give us, and then teach us to exercise it with all humility that Christ may be magnified and people may be helped.

For thy name's Amen. Now, just one thing to clarify from this morning. Someone has asked, what is a prophet? What is prophecy? Especially in the light of the claim today for people to have special insight to future events in people's lives.

May I turn you please to Exodus chapter 4 in verse 10. Exodus 4, 10. Moses, who had been struggling so hard as an absolute failure against being recommissioned to service by God the Father, finds that every time the Father knocks down an excuse that Moses has put up as to why he doesn't qualify to be filled, controlled, and used, has just had another shot down.

And so in verse 10 he produces his latest string of excuses to the Almighty as to why he cannot go to be a good witness. And Moses said unto the Lord, O my Lord, I am not eloquent, neither heretofore, nor since thou hast spoken unto thy servant, but I am slow of speech and of a slow tongue. I would love to speak for thee, but unfortunately I am not a very good talker.

Anyone that can use words like heretofore and neither, you will find there is nothing undignified about the way their mouth operates. It was an excuse, you see. And we find the Lord saying in verse 11, And the Lord said unto him, Who made man's mouth? Who makes the dumb, the deaf, the seeing, and the blind? Have not I the Lord? Now therefore, go, and I will be with thy mouth, and will teach thee what thou shalt say.

And he said, O my Lord, send I pray thee by the hand of him whom thou wilt send. And the anger of the Lord was kindled against Moses, and he said, Is not Aaron the Levite thy brother? I know that he can speak well. And also, behold, he cometh forth to meet thee, and when he seeth thee, he will be glad in his heart, and thou shalt speak unto him.

And put words in his mouth, and I will be with thy mouth, and with his mouth, and will teach you what you shall do. And he shall be thy spokesman unto the people. And he shall be, even he shall be to thee instead of a mouth, and thou shalt be to him instead of God.

Now turn to chapter 7. And the Lord said unto Moses, See, I have made thee a God to Pharaoh. And Aaron thy brother shall be thy prophet. Thou shalt speak all that I command thee, and Aaron thy brother shall speak unto Pharaoh, that he send the children of Israel out of his land.

So it's very plain what a prophet is and what his duty is. And that is, he is a spokesman who utters the words passed on to him by another. God would talk to Moses, Moses would pass the news to Aaron, Aaron would speak it.

Therefore, Aaron is not using his own imagination to get his information, nor is he thinking something up even along evangelical lines that he could utter and call it a prophecy, nor is there any indication that it will always refer to that which is in the future. Now when we come to the New Testament sense of the thing, prophecy is foretelling the facts that God places in our heart to present. Not our own ideas, not our own doctrines, not our own imagination going wild in a meeting and standing up and simply saying, I know the future.

It's nothing to do with fortune-telling. Fortune-telling has nothing to do with this. It's speaking forth a message from God.

You see, this is the difference between teaching and prophesying. I can come in here year by year with the same blue folder, open the same sheets of typed paper, and teach the same academic thoughts on the personal ministry of the Holy Spirit as I've done year by year. That's teaching.

But it depends very much in my attitude and my relationship to the Savior that will allow him tonight to pick up last year's academics and teaching and so empower them by the Holy Spirit that as I present what is old hat, it becomes for one here and one there a living message that contains the voice of God speaking directly to your heart, telling you to put something right or you to learn something you'll never forget again. It will have such a divine effect upon you that you will go out of the lecture not having heard a lecture and received academics, but have discovered that God has dealt with you in the course of the presentation of academics. That's prophecy.

That is a word being empowered to be the very voice of God for you for tonight. Now, if he decides in the course of this discourse this evening to tell somebody to do something in the future or what they will be in the future, that's his business. I know nothing about it.

That's God's business. So, simple illustration here of Moses' spokesman. That's your prophet.

What's he doing? He's telling a message passed on by the other, and he got it from God. In the New Testament sense, I come and I prepare my heart to deliver a lecture. And as I step onto the platform, only God could revitalize this stuff after all these years.

And it'll be the same book that I'll take out next year. But the thing that makes it truth in particular today is God picking it up and empowering it by his presence and making it a spoken word that will meet your need tonight and tell you to do something or not do something, to learn something or pick something up that will just be for you. And you'll go away and you'll say, that was God talking to me.

That's prophecy. That's prophecy. So, get rid of the idea that it's fortune-telling.

There's nothing to do with fortune-telling.