Episode Transcript
[00:00:18] Amen. Who, who was here last Sunday. Just by show of hands, real quick, handful of you, some of you won't know what I'm talking about. I gave a story last week. I'm going to spend about 10 seconds on this. I gave a story last week about me missing a game winning field goal when I was in college and then having to go in an overtime and kick a game tying extra point. And I left off on whether or not I made or missed that kick. And so a handful of people came up and asked me, did you make the kick? Mason actually mouthed to me apparently in the middle of that story, like finish the story.
[00:00:47] So anyways, I made the kick.
[00:00:49] Yep. All right. You don't have to clap. You don't have to clap. There's an extra point. All right, all right.
[00:00:57] In the 1920s, the BBC, the British Broadcasting Network, was co founded by a guy named Lord Reith. Lord Reith was said to be, by many who knew him, a severe man. He was 6 foot 6, big in stature. He's the kind of guy who would walk into a room and just take ownership over the room.
[00:01:15] He was that kind of guy. And in the 1960s, the BBC hired a young producer who in the middle of one of their creative meetings, stands up and and says that they ought to discontinue religious broadcasting because the world is changing and religion is becoming irrelevant.
[00:01:33] So they ought to discontinue religious broadcasting. And Lord Reith, in his 6 foot 6 stature stands up and tells the man to sit down.
[00:01:42] And he proceeds to say this.
[00:01:44] The church will stand at the grave of the BBC.
[00:01:50] The Church will stand at the grave of the BBC.
[00:01:55] And this is true for all earthly rulers and authorities.
[00:02:00] The Church will stand at the grave of CNN and MSNBC and Fox News and all of the various influencers on YouTube and all of the rulers and principalities of the earth. Every earthly government, every president, every king, every ruler. The Church will stand at their grave.
[00:02:22] So I want you to consider, as we talk about spiritual gifts, one, I don't want us to get distracted or miss the point that the Apostle Paul is teaching in 1 Corinthians 12:14. I'm going to talk about what I believe as I've studied the text and spent time laboring over these passages.
[00:02:41] I'm going to tell you what I believe Paul's saying and some of you won't agree with it, and that's okay.
[00:02:48] How we interpret the spiritual gifts, specifically the sign gifts, is a matter of secondary theological importance. It's really important and I believe these things are true. Otherwise I wouldn't tell you that I think these things are true. I'm going to have to stand and give an account to God on the basis of everything that I say and teach to you.
[00:03:05] So you can pray for me in that.
[00:03:07] But some of you won't agree with these conclusions, and that's okay. We can still love one another. We can still lock arms in the mission of Jesus in the city. I hope.
[00:03:15] I hope you're there, okay? I hope you're not in a place where you're like. You say one thing I don't like and I'm out of here, buddy. Like, really, let's not be like that, okay?
[00:03:26] Let's have conversations around these things. But I don't want us to get caught up in what Paul isn't saying, okay? I want you to think about this big perspective. The church will stand at the grave of you. Fill in the blank. And then I want to ask you to consider this question. What is your perception of the church today?
[00:03:44] Like, for you personally, what is your perception of the church today?
[00:03:51] Maybe you've been reading headlines, and if you haven't, you need to be aware of this, that there have been somewhere close to the range, probably more of 56,000 Christians killed in Nigeria by Muslim extremists since 2014 and 7,000 alone in 2025.
[00:04:11] So there is a genocide happening before our eyes where our brothers and sisters are being killed. Now gunmen are entering into churches and they're killing Christians because they're Christians.
[00:04:26] So maybe you read that headline or you look across the landscape of American culture and you're like, good grief, this is crazy town.
[00:04:36] Like, morality has been totally flipped upside down. Bad is good, Good is bad, right?
[00:04:43] Or maybe you look at yourself and you're like, I just. I can't.
[00:04:50] You know a lot of things in your mind, but you feel like you live without power because the Bible, the Bible talks about this infinite power who isn't merely a power, who is God himself in the person of the Holy Spirit who lives inside of you if you're a Christian.
[00:05:13] And so maybe your perspective on the church, maybe your perspective on yourself is one that is rather low.
[00:05:25] The church will stand at the grave of the BBC. This is true, and it's not primarily true because of the people that consist of the church. It's true because of the one building it.
[00:05:40] Jesus said, I will build my church and the gates of hell will not overcome it.
[00:05:48] Nothing will stop it.
[00:05:51] If people think that by killing Christians, they're going to stop the message. They're wrong. They're utterly wrong.
[00:05:59] The saying is true that the blood of the martyrs is the seed of the Church.
[00:06:04] When the blood of God's people is spilled, the message accelerates. This has always been true. It was true in the Book of Acts. It was true in the life of Jesus. Jesus said, when a seed goes into the ground, it dies. What does it do?
[00:06:16] It produces fruit, it produces life.
[00:06:20] Okay? Jesus enemies who thought by killing him would stop the message.
[00:06:24] We know how that ends. It ends in his resurrection. He defeats death. He defeats sin on behalf of his people. He conquers the greatest enemies that you and I have. And his message accelerates across the Roman Empire and into the ends of the earth. You and I are here today because of this reality.
[00:06:41] The church will stand at the grave of the BBC. And it's because of the one who is building it. Jesus is passionate about and relentless about building up and nourishing his bride. And one of the means that he's established for doing it, and this is so kind and awesome of him, is to give gifts to his people, not just to one person on a stage with a microphone, but to empower each one individually as he sovereignly decrees and wills so that we would know and and use those gifts in love by the power of the Spirit to build up one another to the glory of God. It's a glorious picture.
[00:07:31] And so some of us in the room wildly undervalue your gifts.
[00:07:37] Or you just never think about them because you don't like to go there. You've been. You've seen it abused, you've seen it done poorly. All of us have. I've been on the receiving end of a person at a coffee table who has, quote, unquote, given me prophecy about my life that was not true.
[00:07:52] And not only was it wasn't true, it was really hurtful.
[00:07:56] Okay, so I get it and Paul gets it. And you know what Paul could have said in light of all of this? Don't use them.
[00:08:05] People have abused him. Don't use them.
[00:08:08] But he doesn't say that, does. Hey, not only should you use the gifts that the Spirit's given you for the building up of the body and the glory of God, you should earnestly desire them. And we'll talk about what that means in just a moment.
[00:08:22] Should earnestly desire them. And there's a way to use them that he gives us in 1 Corinthians 12:14.
[00:08:29] Okay, so we'll do a lot of Bible study today over the next Few moments to try to understand together what is the Holy Spirit saying and teaching us through the Apostle Paul about what these gifts are. Specifically the gifts of prophecy in tongues. Not just because I like to be controversial, but because those are the two that he emphasizes in the text. Okay. A lot of the gifts in the Bible are self explanatory. The gifts of administration, the gifts of helps, the gifts of mercy, the gifts of teaching. All of these kinds of things are wildly important and necessary for the good of the church, but they're self explanatory gifts. Prophecy and tongues are not self explanatory.
[00:09:02] So we need to do the work in the text of trying to understand what these, what these gifts are. All right, so that's what we're going to talk about.
[00:09:12] What the gifts of the Spirit are and how we are to use them and why. What the gifts of the Spirit are, how we are to use them, and why. So look at verses 8 through 10 again with me in 1 Corinthians 12, 1 Corinthians 12, 8, 10 says, and I'm going to start in verse 7. Actually, verse 7 says, to each is given the manifestation of the Spirit for the common good. Anybody remember the six reasons I gave that God gives gifts to his people from last week? No, you don't remember? That's okay. There's six of them. Okay.
[00:09:47] Exalting Christ, reflecting the diversity and unity of the triune God.
[00:09:54] He gives gifts to individuals, each individually, as he wills. These are gifts and not rewards, meaning that the spiritual gifts are given as gifts. They're not something that you earn or work for, just like salvation is a gift, not something you work for, but something that's given to you by God in grace.
[00:10:11] The gifts display his power. And that's what he means in verse seven when he says, to each is given the manifestation of the Spirit for the common good. The manifestation of the Spirit is a phrase that the Apostle Paul uses to say that the gifts are one of the ways that the invisible God becomes visible among God's people.
[00:10:27] That when we see these powerful things happen, it's one way for us to say, man, God is here, like God is with us in this place. Again moving things from theory in our head to experiential reality in our heart. God is really real. He's alive, he's among us. That's one of the ways that he shows us, that is through the gifts.
[00:10:52] And then he says in verse 8, for to one is given through the Spirit the utterance of wisdom. The utterance of wisdom and to another, the utterance of knowledge according to the same spirit, to another faith. And this is not saving faith, by the way. This is not the gift of faith in regards to one putting their faith in Jesus for the salvation of their sins.
[00:11:18] The gift of faith is the spirit empowered ability for one to take the promises of God at face value and believe them regardless of their circumstances.
[00:11:27] Okay, does that make sense?
[00:11:29] Some of you have this gift. And I've seen this gift has been used by God in my life personally.
[00:11:35] I mean, I'm a skeptic at heart. And so when somebody with the gift of faith approaches and says, hey, God's going to work this out, it's going to be fine. And they're not saying it as a platitude, they're saying it because they believe it. This is the gift of faith by the same spirit to another. Gifts of healings. And that's plural in the Greek, gifts of healings. We ought to be people who pray for physical healing.
[00:12:00] Does God always grant physical healing? He doesn't. Is he obligated to grant physical healing? He isn't.
[00:12:06] God is not indebted to us in any way. But some of us, and I am a reformed person, you know this. Some of us are so reformed that I'm like, if I get diagnosed with cancer, I don't know that I want to come to you first to pray for my healing, okay? Not because I don't love you, but because some of us pray with this mindset of like, hey, I know God's probably not going to heal you, but I'm going to pray for it anyways because I know that's what I'm supposed to do.
[00:12:34] Okay? You go to a charismatic person, brother or sister, and you're like, hey, would you pray for my healing? And they're on their knees weeping and crying out to God. And I mean, that's like, that's praying prayerfully. That's a good thing to do.
[00:12:48] Pray as if God listens.
[00:12:50] Pray as if he has the ability and the desire to heal. He might not and he's good if he doesn't.
[00:12:55] He's going to work all things together for the good of those who love him, who are according to his purpose, even if it means dying at a young age or whatever.
[00:13:04] But that doesn't mean that we don't pray prayerfully as if Jesus is alive.
[00:13:08] Does this make sense?
[00:13:14] Gifts of healings by the one spirit to another, the working of miracles to another, prophecy to another, the ability to distinguish between spirits. That's discernment between what is from the Spirit of God, namely the exaltation of Christ and what is of a demonic spirit. Distinguishing between spirits to another, various kinds of tongues to another, the interpretation of tongues.
[00:13:38] All these are empowered by one and the same spirit who apportions to each one individually as he wills. So this is a list of spiritual gifts in the New Testament. It's not the only list we're given. We're also given a list In Romans chapter 12, verses 4 through 8, that includes prophecy, service, teaching, exhortation, generosity, leadership, and mercy.
[00:14:03] Okay? These are service type gifts. If we're thinking about prophecy, tongues, healings, miracles as sign gifts, then we can categorize this list in Romans chapter 12 as service gifts. Okay?
[00:14:16] Ephesians, chapter 4, verses 11 and 12. Give us word gifts, says the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the shepherds, the teachers are given by God in grace to equip the saints for the work of ministry. That's what pastors are given by God to the church for, is to equip the saints for the work of ministry. Pastors are not hirelings given by God to do all the work of ministry.
[00:14:44] Pastors are called by God to equip you the saints for the work of ministry in all the various contexts that God has placed you in the city, that you be more prepared, more equipped, more in love with Jesus, more dependent on the Spirit, more biblically literate, more because of the work of pastors.
[00:15:03] Does this make sense? I'm gonna keep asking you this throughout, okay? Just to make sure, okay?
[00:15:07] These are word gifts that are given by God to the church. And many people believe, and I don't believe that these lists in the New Testament are exhaustive, that there could actually be more spiritual gifts out there that God gives his people. But the two I want us to focus on this morning, like I said, are tongues and prophecy. One pastor friend, I was at a state meeting last week and he was asking me what we were preaching through. And so I told him, like, hey, this week we're actually going to talk about tongues and prophecy. And he was like, do you just, like, want people to leave your church?
[00:15:39] I was like, I don't know. I don't prefer that. But it's in the text, it's in the Bible. So we're going to talk about it.
[00:15:48] All right? Paul's going to emphasize these in 1 Corinthians 12 through 14, specifically in chapter 14. These are going to be the two that he locks in. And just like we talked about last week, the church in Corinth and was a wildly gifted church.
[00:16:03] The Spirit had just bestowed gifts upon the church in Corinth.
[00:16:07] And so there were many, many mighty miracles of God that were happening in the church of Corinth. The problem was they were selfish, they were immature, they were acting like children. And as Paul talks about, the whole idea of being mature and not being childish revolves around the idea of self centeredness. If the gifts are about you, if they're about your platform and your authority over others, and if this is what's motivating your use of the gifts, then you're doing it in a. You're being childish.
[00:16:38] This is what the Apostle Paul is saying. So be mature in your thinking, okay? Maturity in your thinking means that these gifts are given to you for the benefit of others, not just for your personal benefit. Though we do take joy, we. When we use the gifts God's given in the service of others to the glory of God. There's much joy to be had in that for you personally. But they're not primarily about you.
[00:16:58] But the Corinthians had made it about them, and it was leading to all sorts of devastation in their church and in their community and in their lives. I mean, they were involved in heinous sin. They were taking other Christians to court. They were doing all these crazy.
[00:17:10] These crazy things.
[00:17:12] They were just being wild.
[00:17:14] And so they were not living as spiritual people. So when Paul starts 1 Corinthians 12, the word gift is actually not in the Greek New Testament, but many believe it's implied in that because of what he goes on to talk about in verses 8 through 11. And so. But I think a proper way to read this could be Paul saying in chapter 12, verse 1, concerning spirituality, brothers and sisters, what it means to be a spiritual person. Well, what it means to be a spiritual person primarily is that you confess Jesus Christ as Lord.
[00:17:45] Okay? That's.
[00:17:47] That's the primary objective of the person of the Holy Spirit. Jesus says in John 14:16, the Holy Spirit comes to testify about Christ, to exalt Christ in our life. That's true spirituality. It's not primarily about experience. It's about confession.
[00:18:04] Who do you confess as Lord? This is what it means to be a spiritual person. And out of this flows the fruit of the Spirit, like we talked about a few weeks ago, From Galatians, chapter 5, and the spiritual gifts which he gives us. So verse 10, let's talk about prophecy. What is the gift of prophecy?
[00:18:25] He says to another. The working of miracles to another prophecy. Okay, I'M going to read you a definition.
[00:18:33] And these two definitions, both for prophecy and tongues, were written originally by Sam Storms. So I am a continuationist. I am not a cessationist. We talked about this a couple of weeks ago. If you're a member of Redemption Hill, this should be no shock to you. Okay, so I have friends that are cessationists. I have friends who are way more charismatic than I am on the theological spectrum. And so, again, we have to learn to have these conversations in a charitable, loving way with one another and not to make our decision on what the text is saying on the basis of emotion, because we've had bad experiences in some of these things. You can't make an exegetical decision on the text on the basis of emotion. You have to go to the text and ask the Spirit by the grace of God, to help you discern what is the original intent of the author.
[00:19:21] All right, so this is Storm's definition of prophecy.
[00:19:26] Prophecy is the human report of divine revelation.
[00:19:32] It's the human report of divine revelation.
[00:19:35] Sometimes through words, visions, or dreams, God will give insight into someone that you wouldn't be able to know if he didn't reveal it.
[00:19:47] New Testament prophecy isn't infallible, but should be weighed.
[00:19:52] This is 1 Corinthians 14:29.
[00:19:56] New Testament prophecy is not infallible as the word of God is, is infallible and inerrant, but should be weighed.
[00:20:05] It is to be used for the upbuilding and encouragement and consolation. This is chapter 14, verse 3 of the church and should not be despised.
[00:20:18] 1 Thessalonians 5:20, but earnestly desired. 1 Corinthians 14, chapter.
[00:20:27] I'm sorry, 1st Corinthians 14:1.
[00:20:31] So New Testament prophecy, according to storms, and I would agree with this, New Testament prophecy is fundamentally different from Old Testament prophecy that Old Testament prophecy is. Thus saith the Lord God would tell his prophet specific things to tell his people, most of the time calling them to repentance or foreshadowing the coming of Christ, who would be the ultimate prophet.
[00:20:57] New Testament prophecy doesn't seem to function this way. You've got examples like agabus in Acts 11:27, 30. So if you have a Bible flip there with me. Acts 11:27, 30.
[00:21:27] I'm just going to start in verse 19 so we can see the whole text here.
[00:21:31] Now, those who were scattered because of the persecution that arose over Stephen traveled as far as Phoenicia and Cyprus and Antioch, spreading, speaking the word to no one except Jews.
[00:21:42] But there were some of them, men of Cyprus and Cyrene, who on coming. Who on coming to Antioch, spoke to the Hellenists, also preaching the Lord Jesus. And the hand of the Lord was with them. And a great number who believed turned to the Lord.
[00:21:56] The report of this came to the ears of the church in Jerusalem, and they sent Barnabas to Antioch. When he came and saw the grace of God, he was glad. And he exhorted them all to remain faithful to the Lord with steadfast purpose. For he was a good man, full of the Holy Spirit and of faith.
[00:22:14] And a great many people were added to the Lord.
[00:22:16] So Barnabas went to Tarsus to look for Saul. And when he had found him, he brought him to Antioch. For a whole year they met with the church and taught a great many people. And in Antioch, the disciples were first called Christians.
[00:22:29] Now, in these days, verse 27, prophets came down from Jerusalem to Antioch. And one of them, named Agabus, stood up and foretold by the Spirit that there would be a great famine over all the world.
[00:22:44] This took place in the days of Claudius.
[00:22:47] So the disciples determined everyone according to his ability to send relief to the brothers living in Judea. And they did so, sending it to the elders by the hand of Barnabas and Saul.
[00:23:02] Later in the story between Agabus and Paul, Agabus comes and he takes Paul's belt and he ties around his hands and he says, this is what's going to happen to you if you travel to Jerusalem. And there were specific things about Agabus prophecy that many commentators point out, some of which were true and some of the details were not.
[00:23:21] And we could get caught up into the weeds of how to understand all of these kinds of things. But what we see Paul do in that particular moment as he hears these words from Agabus is weigh what's being said by Agabus against what the Spirit had already led Paul to do, which was to go to Jerusalem. Regardless of what was going to happen to Paul, he was going to be persecuted in Jerusalem. So he didn't listen to Agabus or to the other prophets or disciples at the time. He actually ended up proceeding on with the mission that the Spirit had led him to do. He weighed what was said.
[00:23:52] Charles Spurgeon, who was a cessationist and cessationism, by the way, cessationists fully believe and love the person of the Holy Spirit. I can't stand it when I hear people accuse cessationists of not believing in the Holy Spirit. That's not true.
[00:24:09] And Cessationists believe that the sign, gift, specifically prophecy, tongues, healings, miracles, ceased at the end of the death of the last apostle. That's what cessationists believe. Spurgeon was a cessationist. Nonetheless, he quotes this, and I think it's a really interesting quote in light of how we're defining prophecy, how I'm defining prophecy. Spurgeon says this.
[00:24:33] He said, I could tell as many as a dozen similar cases in which I pointed at somebody in the hall without having the slightest knowledge of the person or any idea that what I said was right, except that I believed. I was moved by the Spirit to say it.
[00:24:49] And so striking has been my description that the persons have gone away and said to their friends, come see a man that told me all things that I ever did, beyond a doubt. He must have been sent of God to my soul, or else he could not have described me so exactly.
[00:25:11] It's an interesting quote to wrestle with that Spurgeon is using there. I've had moments, and again, I don't fully 100% know how to make sense of some of these things, but early on in the life of our church, I had a moment where I got up and I preached a sermon. Okay, just preached a sermon.
[00:25:28] There were people in the audience that I did not know. I didn't know anything about these people.
[00:25:32] And at the end of the sermon, everything seems fine. And then a week later, I show up and I pass by a particular guy who was new to our church at the time, and he would not even look me in the eyes. And so I kind of. I say, hey, man, how's it going? And I'm a hugger. He did not want to hug. And so I kind of pass by him and I go inside and come to find out. A few days later, his wife approached me and said, he's never coming back.
[00:25:56] And so when I proceeded to ask why, she said, because he thinks that you used certain things that are going on in his life against him in that sermon. I was like, I don't know anything about that guy.
[00:26:10] So I don't know what that is.
[00:26:12] But I think this is kind of the idea that we're talking about with this New Testament gift of prophecy. Kind of get out of your mind. Some of the stigma and some of the maybe mysticism that we see on TV or hear when other people talk about and feel. And this is going to happen on this date, and this is when the rapture is going to happen. That's not what Paul's talking about.
[00:26:34] But what I do think he's talking about are spontaneous revelations. If we're going to use that in a little R, little lowercase R. Not big revelation like the Bible, but little lowercase R. These spontaneous revelations that the Spirit brings to mind for the encouragement, consolation and upbuilding of his people.
[00:26:55] There are a variety of ways that Storm gives on how to practice this gift.
[00:27:02] One, he says that if you believe that the Spirit is bringing something to mind for the sake of another Christian, for the good of another Christian, the first thing is that you need to make sure that you're a serious student of the Word of God, because any message that you think you have from the Spirit that in any way contradicts the Word of God is not from God.
[00:27:22] So you need to be a serious student of the Word of God and not just knowing on the surface what the Bible's saying, but you need to be a student of the Word. You need to study the Word. You need to study the different literary genres of the Word, like what Taylor's been walking us through in the equip class. You need to know. You need to be a person of the Word.
[00:27:39] Number two is you need to be desperate in prayer.
[00:27:46] Desperate in prayer.
[00:27:49] Gosh, it's 11 o'. Clock. I haven't even gotten to tongues.
[00:27:54] This has only happened to me twice in my life.
[00:27:58] But again, several months after we planted the church, I was having a conversation with a guy.
[00:28:04] I've been conflicted about bringing this up until even just, like, right now, but here we are. So I was having a conversation with a guy at a coffee shop who was a good friend of mine, and he was sharing these things that were going on in his life. And I could just tell that he wasn't sharing everything with me.
[00:28:18] And so I asked questions and no, man, that's everything. That's everything.
[00:28:23] And it was like toward the end of the conversation, I had this kind of picture in my mind of him falling through, like, a very thin piece of wood, just kind of falling through the floor and kind of falling into the abyss. And I was like, that was kind of weird. Really know what that was? So I left the conversation, didn't say anything about it, Went home, prayed after several days, still had the image in my mind. It felt like it wasn't just an image at this point. Like, it was like, man, I think I need to share this with this guy. Sought some counsel on that, sought the Word about that, and several weeks later had a conversation.
[00:28:57] I'm sorry, did not have the conversation with him several Weeks later, this guy made an absolute train wreck of his life.
[00:29:04] Okay? Like, made some decisions that almost ended his marriage, almost ended his relationship with his kids, almost landed him in jail kind of situation.
[00:29:12] And so he came back to me. Following that, we started having counseling conversations. And I shared this thought with him. And I said, hey, man, I don't know if this is from the Spirit or not. I don't know if it was just my imagination. I don't know if it was just me.
[00:29:26] I don't really know what to make of this, but this is kind of what I saw. And by his admonition, he was like, man, I think that's what was happening.
[00:29:35] So again, to this day, I don't know that that was the gift of prophecy or not.
[00:29:41] But we're to be serious students of the Word. We're to be desperate in prayer. The third thing is we're to be slow to speak and quick to listen. This shouldn't be a spontaneous thing. If you feel like you have a word or a message of encouragement for another Christian, you shouldn't be just. Certainly a message of rebuke or something. You shouldn't be quick to go do that.
[00:30:00] Should be slow to speak and quick to listen.
[00:30:04] Number four. There should be a multitude of counselors.
[00:30:09] Again, this is another gift of God's grace in giving you elders that if you think that you have something to say to somebody or certainly something to say to the church, then come talk to the elders.
[00:30:20] Let us talk with you. Let us pray for you and seek the word of God with you.
[00:30:25] And then the fifth is to speak humbly and in love. It's something like, I think the Spirit might be leading me to say this, but I'm not totally sure.
[00:30:36] Not Thus saith the Lord.
[00:30:38] Does this make sense?
[00:30:41] Okay. Thus saith the Lord is the text of Scripture alone.
[00:30:47] Everything else is to be considered.
[00:30:51] Pray it over. Go to the Word, go to counsel, be slow to speak and quick to listen. And then speak humbly about it. It might be from the Lord, it might not be from the Lord. That's why it's to be weighed.
[00:31:05] But in light of all of these things, guys. And this is really what I want us to wrestle with, and I know it's going to be a wrestle for some is Paul says in First Thessalonians not to despise this, despise it. You have to fight against despising this, but rather to earnestly seek the spiritual gifts. And I'll get to this more in just a moment, especially that you may prophesy, earnestly desire the spiritual gifts, especially that you may prophesy. So we'll circle back to that exhortation in just a moment in our close. But before we get there, let's talk about tongues.
[00:31:44] Paul says again in verse 10 to another, the working of miracles. To another prophecy, to another, the ability to distinguish between spirits.
[00:31:51] To another, various kinds of tongues. To another, the interpretation of tongues. So let me just give you kind of a quick definition here and then we'll talk about a few different things because I think tongues are used given for different purposes in the New Testament. Okay, so tongues on one hand, tongues are known languages spoken or understood by a person who would have otherwise not known the language had the Spirit not empowered them to do so. This is one use of tongues in the New Testament. Known languages given by the Spirit spoken by a person who does not otherwise know that language.
[00:32:33] Okay, so we see this in Acts chapter two at Pentecost. This is what's happening at Pentecost.
[00:32:40] Pentecost is like a reversal of the Tower of Babel. Okay, so if you think about the Tower of Babel and what God did at the Tower of Babel is the people tried to build up the tower to the heavens and show themselves to be self sufficient. God in love and in kindness shows them that they are not self sufficient, that they are totally dependent upon him. And he confuses their languages. Babel's like the reverse of that.
[00:33:03] It's like the curse of Babel coming undone following the ascension of Jesus Christ. When the Spirit of God comes upon people at Pentecost and they become Christians and they begin to speak languages, those are known, those are known languages. In Acts chapter two, this is a fulfillment of both the prophet Joel and the prophet Isaiah in Pentecost.
[00:33:28] Pentecost also shows us in the use of tongues or the use of languages in this way that God was judging the nation of Israel for their unbelief. And again, this is what the prophets foretold in the Old that the people of Israel, because of their unbelief, would hear foreigners or Gentiles praising God in their language.
[00:33:47] So this is a fulfillment of that prophecy. It's Romans 9 through 11. A partial hardening will come upon Israel until the full inclusion of the Gentiles comes in. And then I believe there's going to be a mass revival among people in Israel who are going to put their faith in Jesus. They're not going to be saved just because they're Jews. They're going to be saved through by Grace through faith in Jesus alone. Okay, so this is one. Use of tongues is known languages. But is this what Paul means in 1 Corinthians 12, 10?
[00:34:14] I guess this is what Paul's talking about. This has been my wrestle throughout the week. Is Paul talking about known languages in 1 Corinthians 12?
[00:34:21] Starting in verse 10, here's what I want to do, and we have very little time, but I'm going to do it anyways.
[00:34:27] We're just going to read a big chunk of this text so that you can see in context where what I believe Paul's talking about in his use of tongues in this. All right, so look at the verse or look at the text with me.
[00:34:37] Let's start in chapter 14. So if you'll flip a page, chapter 14, starting in verse two.
[00:34:52] Okay, so hold your place there.
[00:34:55] Chapter 13, verse 1. He says, if I speak in the tongues of men and angels, but have not love, I am a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal. So that's an interesting phrase. If I speak in the language of men and of angels. And then in chapter 14, verse 2, he says, for one who speaks in a tongue speaks not to men, but to God.
[00:35:21] Not to men, but to God. And no one understands him, but he utters mysteries in the Spirit.
[00:35:30] No one understands him, but he utters mysteries in the Spirit. On the other hand, the one who prophesies speaks to people for their upbuilding and encouragement and consolation.
[00:35:44] The one who speaks in a tongue builds up himself, but the one who prophesies builds up the church. Now, I want you all to speak in tongues Again, he's not dismissing the gift because it was being abused.
[00:35:57] I want you all to speak in tongues, but even more to prophesy. The one who prophesies is greater than the one who speaks in tongues. Unless someone interprets so that the church might be built up. Again, this is the context that Paul's talking about. Don't get caught in the weeds. He's talking about building up one another in love for the glory of God. This is why the gifts were given.
[00:36:20] Now, brothers, if I come to you speaking in tongues, how will I benefit you unless I bring you some revelation or knowledge or prophecy or teaching? Teaching is based on a text.
[00:36:29] If even lifeless instruments such as the flute or the harp do not give distinct notes, how will anyone know what is played? And if the bugle gives an indistinct sound, who will get ready for battle? So with yourselves, if with your tongue you utter speech that is not intelligible, how Will anyone know what is said? For you will be speaking into the air.
[00:36:50] There are doubtless many different languages in the world, and none is without meaning. But if I do not know the meaning of the language, and I will be a foreigner to the speaker and the speaker a foreigner to me, so with yourselves, since you are eager for manifestations of the Spirit, strive, here it is again to excel in building up the church. Why did God give gifts to build up the church?
[00:37:13] Therefore, one who speaks in a tongue should pray that he may interpret.
[00:37:19] This is where we see the goofy stuff on TV fail.
[00:37:24] Because it's not about the building up of the church.
[00:37:28] There's no interpretation to the tongue. It's just gibberish in those cases.
[00:37:35] For if I pray in a tongue, my spirit prays, but my mind is unfruitful.
[00:37:42] What am I to do? I will pray with my spirit, but I will pray with my mind also. I will sing praise with my spirit, but I will sing with my mind also. Also in the context of the gathering. Otherwise, if you give thanks with your spirit, how can anyone in the position of an outsider say Amen to your thanksgiving when he does not know what you are saying?
[00:38:03] For you may be giving thanks well enough, but the other person is not being built up.
[00:38:07] I thank God that I speak in tongues more than any of you.
[00:38:11] Nevertheless, in church I would rather speak five words with my mind in order to Instruct others than 10,000 words in a tongue.
[00:38:20] Brothers, sisters, do not be children. In your thinking be infants in evil, but in your thinking be mature. In the law it is written by people of strange tongues and by the lips of foreigners will I speak to this people. And even then they will not listen to me, says the Lord. This is Isaiah 28. Thus tongues are a sign not for believers, but for unbelievers, while prophecy is a sign not for unbelievers, but for believers.
[00:38:46] If, therefore, the whole church comes together and all speak in tongues and outsiders or unbelievers enter, will they not say that you are out of your minds?
[00:38:55] But if all prophesy and an unbeliever or outsider enters, he is convicted by all. He is called to account by all the secrets of his heart are disclosed. And so, falling on his face, he will worship God and declare that God really is among you.
[00:39:16] So you see the gift of prophecy at play. There the secrets of his heart is being exposed, and it leads him to fall on his face and worship God and say, God is truly among you.
[00:39:28] What then, brothers? When you come together, each one has a hymn, a lesson, a revelation, a tongue, or an interpretation. Let all things be done. For what purpose?
[00:39:37] Building up.
[00:39:38] If any speak in a tongue, let there be only two, or at most three, and each in turn, and let someone interpret.
[00:39:47] But if there is no one to interpret, let each of them keep silent in church and speak to himself and to God.
[00:39:56] So again, he doesn't outlaw this thing called tongues that he's talking about, but he says in the context of the gathering, if it's not being used for the sake of building everybody else up, then you should be silent in church and you should speak to yourself and to God.
[00:40:11] Let two or three prophets speak, and let the others weigh what is said.
[00:40:15] Let them weigh what is said.
[00:40:18] If a revelation is made to another sitting there, let the first be silent. For you can all prophesy one by one, so that all may learn and all may be encouraged. And the saints of prophets are subject to prophets. For God is not a God of confusion, but of peace.
[00:40:33] So what is he talking about?
[00:40:37] I think what Paul was saying is this tongues in this context, not in Acts, chapter two, which are known languages, but in this particular context in 1 Corinthians 12:14, Tongues is an unknown or possibly angelic language given to a believer in a moment for the purpose of prayer, praise and thanksgiving.
[00:40:59] An unknown and or angelic language given for the purpose of prayer, praise, or thanksgiving. And if this tongue is going to be practiced publicly, there must be one with the gift of interpretation present.
[00:41:15] And most importantly, the practice of this gift in the context of the gathering must be done for the building up of the church to the glory of Jesus Christ.
[00:41:25] Do not be children in your thinking, be infants in evil, but your thinking must be mature, all for the sake of building up the body of Christ.
[00:41:38] So how are we to practice the gifts? How are we to practice not just the gift of prophecy in tongues? How are we to practice the gift of teaching, the gift of administration, the gift of helps, the gifts of mercy, gifts of healings?
[00:41:52] How are we to practice these gifts? What's chapter 14, verse one is the answer. And this is really what I want to encourage us to lock in on this morning.
[00:42:01] Pursue love and earnestly desire the spiritual gifts, especially that you may prophesy, pursue love.
[00:42:11] Love is, as Paul says in chapter 13, verses four through seven, patient and kind.
[00:42:19] It doesn't envy or boast. It's not self seeking.
[00:42:24] Love believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. Love never ends. Prophecy will end, tongues will end. The gifts of the Spirit will end. Love will Never end. The kingdom of Christ is a kingdom of love and righteousness.
[00:42:40] And so we're to pursue love. And the way by which friends we pursue love is being reminded of the love of God that you have in Christ right now.
[00:42:49] God, as David Palleson said one time, and this is so helpful to me, he's a biblical counselor who's gone to be with the Lord.
[00:42:56] God's love for you is not merely unconditional, it's contra conditional. And what that means is God doesn't just love you as you are, he loves you as you are in Christ.
[00:43:10] Do you see the difference between those two things?
[00:43:13] If we think, you know what, God just loves me as I am, that's kind of shaky.
[00:43:20] But if you can remember today that if you're a believer in Jesus, the Father loves you as you are in Christ, His Son, well, the love of the Father will never change. For the love of the Son.
[00:43:32] The Father eternally loves the Son. He's eternally delighted in the Son. He's pleased with the Son, he dotes over the Son. The Father is all about the Son, the Son is all about the Father. And that love is the love that's been lavished upon you.
[00:43:48] So when we remember this love and we meditate on this love, then by the power and person of the Holy Spirit, we're led out to love other people.
[00:43:56] This is the only kind of love, the love that starts from God and is fueled by God and is animated by God for you, that can lead you to love other people, rightly, in the way that Paul is talking about. Pursue love. The gifts, friends, are not about you.
[00:44:13] My gift is not about me. My gifts are not about me.
[00:44:17] There was a.
[00:44:19] I'm embarrassed to look back at, and I'm not saying I'm not prone to this still, but my early years of preaching and just recall how much of my preparation and preaching and delivering and preaching was about me, my affirmation, my need for the approval of man.
[00:44:37] Like it wasn't. I just really wanted to be impressive.
[00:44:42] And by the grace of God, I think more and more the Lord is leading me to just want to be helpful.
[00:44:46] And that's how we're to think about the gifts.
[00:44:50] Pursue love and earnestly desire the gifts, especially that you may prophesy. This phrase could also be translated to urgently covet.
[00:45:04] Urgently covet the gifts.
[00:45:07] Not ultimately for your sake, but for the sake of us, to the glory of God. Like, what are you urgent about? What are you urgent about these days?
[00:45:17] Like, what's filling your mind. What do you really desire? What do you really want these days? What are you urgent about?
[00:45:24] Paul says be urgent about the gifts.
[00:45:29] Earnestly desire the gifts to use the gift that the Spirit, as He's willed, has bestowed upon you for the good of the whole, to the glory of God. Be wrapped up in something so much greater and grander than yourself.
[00:45:45] This is a glorious existence.
[00:45:49] Earnestly desire the gifts, especially that you may prophesy. So friends, let's be urgent about lovingly committing to the Church of Jesus Christ and its upbuilding. Let's be urgent about this. The Church will stand at the grave of the BBC and you get to be a part of that and I get to be a part of that.
[00:46:10] An unshaking, never stopping, powerful kingdom that you've been delivered into.
[00:46:16] Let's commit, let's earnestly desire the gifts for the good of Christ, bride. Amen. Let's pray.
