Sermon Central
-
Is Present Day Tongue Speaking Really Present Today?
Contributed by Jim Mccutchen on Feb 7, 2011 (message contributor)
Summary: On one side, there are those that claim to speak in tongues today. On the other side, others believe God has fulfilled that promise and tongues have ceased. WHICH IS IT? It must be pointed out that a person who spoke in tongues was supernaturally gif
IS PRESENT DAY TONGUE SPEAKING LIKE FIRIST CENTURY TONGUE SPEAKING!
INTRODUCTION:
The Christians in Berea in Acts 17:11 were commended for their diligence. They received the word with all readiness, and searched the Scriptures daily whether these things were so
2 Timothy 2:15 says to study and rightly divide the word of Truth.
The Apostle John instructs us "believe not every spirit, but try the spirits whether they are of God." (I John 4:1)
What this lesson is not teaching!
1. This lesson is not saying I do not believe in the power of the Holy Spirit.
The Holy Spirit is real and powerful, but so are false imitations. We
must be alert - we must let no man deceive us. We must discern where
true spirituality ends and deceitful emotionalism begins.
2. This lesson is not teaching that Christian do not receive the Holy Spirit.
2 Cor. 1:22 set his seal of ownership on us, and put his Spirit in our hearts as a deposit,
guaranteeing what is to come.
Acts 2:38 Peter replied, “Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus
Christ for the forgiveness of your sins. And you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.
3. This lesson is not teaching that Christians do not have the power to live the Christian life.
The real question we must always ask ourselves is, What Does God say?
We Must ask ourselves the question, What has God willed to do?
On one side, there are those that claim to speak in tongues today. On the
other side, others believe God has fulfilled that promise and tongues have
ceased.
Lets begin on the first day of the beginning of the church. Acts 2
After Christ’s resurrection the disciples were told to "remain in the city of Jerusalem until you are endued with power from on high" (Luke 24:49). The disciples gathered on the day of Pentecost. The power of the Holy Spirit had come, and this was the birth of the New Testament church.
On that Sunday known as Pentecost, crowds gathered along the streets of Jerusalem headed for the Temple, they were celebrating the annual `Feast of Weeks’ - Pentecost. There were Jews there from approximately 16 nations.
Suddenly there was a loud noise like a rushing mighty wind. Miraculously, fire came down on the disciples heads and the Holy Spirit was given to these men. They spoke in tongues and each member of the gathered crowd heard each of the men speak "in our own language wherein we were born"
Sixteen different languages are mentioned. The account states: "And they were all filled with the holy Spirit and began to speak with other tongues [languages] as the Spirit gave them utterance" (v.4). For everyone present heard in their own dialect (v. 8)
From Acts 2 we see that tongues was the divine gift of being able to speak in a foreign language that had never learned. When the crowd heard these men speak, they understood they were speaking in their own language
What took place at the first Christian Pentecost is a far cry from modern charismatic practice today.
The first Christians didn’t laugh or crow like hens or bark like dogs. They did not babble incomprehensibly. Those men and women were awestruck. And they listened to and diligently followed a bonifide message as a result of the Disciples speaking in tongues (languages) They had never studied. And those present heard them in there own native tongue.
Those who sincerely seek to duplicate the New Testament speaking in tongues, however sincerely uttered are producing no more than an outpouring of emotionally-generated disjointed sounds - sounds which do not conform to any known grammatical structure or language. The Greek word for Tongues is Glossolalia it is always interpreted language
Tongue speaking today can result from self-induced emotional excitement. In some churches members are taught how to perform. Unlike Biblical times, today’s so called ’tongue-speaking’ in no way reflects the Biblical gift of language.
The world has been treated to a barrage of `tongues’ All in the name of the Holy spirit. I have witnessed people barking, laughing, writhing, `slain in the Spirit’, sticking to the floor I have seen what is called Holy Laughter, saying the spirit makes them laugh uncontrollably. But what we have not witnessed is a repeat of what happened on that first Christian Pentecost
The practice of `tongues’ it is not limited to the Pentecostal movement. The practice has spread through Evangelicals, Anglicans, Roman Catholics, Many denominations have embraced it to some degree .Its practice is seen as a badge of Christianity. Can you really be a strong Christian if you do not speak in tongues?
And, by the way, I don’t know if you know this, Tibetan Monks claim to speak in tongues, Eskimos speak in tongues in many of their tribes, so do Mormons, who don’t even believe the Gospel. So, it could be Satanic
