Tag: speaking in tongues

God’s Gift

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Old Testament: Exodus 37 & 38

Poetry: Psalm 35

New Testament: Acts 2

In yesterday’s reading of Exodus 35 God filled the tabernacle craftsmen (Bezalel, Oholiab and others) with his Spirit providing them with the skill, ability and knowledge to do the work the Lord desired them to do for Him. In today’s reading of Acts 2 God pours out His Holy Spirit on Jesus’ followers and they, too, are enabled to do the work the Lord desired them to do for Him. This time the Spirit was not delivering the ability to create beautiful gold cherubim and lampstands or embroidered curtains. God had a different job in mind for these workers.

In the Old Testament we see the Spirit given, or described as “in” various leaders so they are able to carry out the work that God wants them to do. Joshua is chosen to succeed Moses due to “the spirit” in him (Numbers 27:18). Gideon receives the Spirit of the Lord, and he blows a trumpet to assemble an army to go up against the Midianites (Judges 6:34). Ezekiel records that the Spirit came into him as he heard God call him to be a prophet to carry God’s words to the rebellious and obstinate nation of Israel (Ezekiel 2:1-4). And there are other instances found in the Old Testament. Sometimes the spirit was given to provide gifts of leadership and skills (including but definitely not limited to craftsmanship). Sometimes the spirit was given to embolden and provide power and strength to overcome the enemy. Sometimes the spirit was given to the one chosen to carry God’s precious words and warnings of His judgment to God’s people, whether they listen or not. The Spirit was a special gift to those leaders willing to do what He says and do His work.

Fast forward to the beginning of Acts and we find Jesus’ followers who had witnessed Jesus’ death and the empty tomb now get the privilege of 40 days with the risen Christ as he tells them all about the kingdom of God. He also tells them his Father has a gift for them – but they can’t have it quite yet – they have to wait for it in Jerusalem (Acts 1:4). Can you imagine their excitement! They are ready to see this kingdom start. They are ready for their gift. They might even be thinking the hard part was now behind them. They had followed Jesus for 3 years. They had watched him die. But now Jesus is alive and by their side and the kingdom is around the corner. Little kink in their plan, Jesus tells them only the Father knows when it will begin; but he encourages them with these words: “You will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses…” (Acts 1:8). THEN, Jesus leaves, again! He isn’t dead, he is very much alive this time, raised in the clouds to heaven and the men in white assure them that this same Jesus will return the same way. What should the disciples do next? Probably obey. Go to Jerusalem and wait for that gift Jesus mentioned.

They do what Jesus told them to do and in Acts 2 they are waiting in Jerusalem. Perhaps receiving the gift requires obedience first. Approximately ten days later, on the Day of Pentecost, the gift was delivered – and what a delivery it was. Much more dramatic than a singing telegram or balloon delivery, the gift was accompanied with the sound of a violent blowing wind. I have never heard a tornado myself, but it is often described as the sound of a freight train getting closer and coming at you. Imagine hearing these violent winds coming into the room you are in. And what you hear is only surpassed by what you see: a ball of fire suspended in the air which then separates as a tongue of fire comes to rest on each one of you! God was definitely getting their attention with this gift delivery! I think He wanted them to always remember this moment and never doubt that He had indeed delivered what Jesus had promised his Father would deliver.

In fact, Jesus was not the first one to promise the delivery of this gift. Many years earlier the prophet Joel had foretold of a time when God would, “Pour out my Spirit on all people. Your sons and daughters will prophesy…even on my servants, both men and women, I will pour out my Spirit in those days and they will prophesy.” (Joel 2:28-32 and Acts 2:17-21). This was now a pouring out of God’s Spirit! It was not just for a few select leaders who had a job to do. Now everyone seems to have a job to do! The sons and daughters, young and old, even on my servants, both men and women, Joel says God says. So pour that Spirit on – they are going to need it! They are going to prophesy and speak for God. Prophecy is sometimes thought of as just foretelling the future but it actually includes hearing and speaking for God whatever message He sends.

And this time He sent His message in many foreign languages, all at once, to the disciples who had previously not known or understood or spoke these foreign languages, but now their words were heard and understood by the Jews gathered from many foreign lands and tongues. “All of them (the Jesus followers gathered in Jerusalem who had just heard the wind and saw the tongues of fire land on each of them) were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit enabled them” (Acts 2:4). Turns out God not only wanted to get the disciples’ attention – but also the attention of all the Jews from many foreign lands and tongues who were in Jerusalem for the Day of Pentecost celebration. The people each hear their own language from these Galileans and they are amazed and perplexed – and listening!

So Peter stands up and speaks for God – with an amazing sermon in Acts 2 you don’t want to miss! This is the same Peter who approximately 53 days earlier denied Jesus three times. He wouldn’t even admit to the servant girl that he had been with Jesus. This is the same Peter who wept at his weakness. Now he is preaching to the multitude to tell the Jews of every nation about Jesus whom God has made both Lord and Christ. The Spirit makes a difference -a big difference. Peter explains from Joel, to the man Jesus. He explains to the Jews how they put Jesus to death and God raised him to life, freeing him from death. He explains how David is in the grave, but Jesus is not. When the people hear, understand and are convicted they ask what they must do. Peter replies, “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” (Acts 2:38). Obey these steps – and the gift is ready for you.

God’s gift of His Spirit is no longer just for the Bezalels, Joshuas, Gideons, and Peters. It is no longer just for the disciples who physically walked with Jesus. Now, if you repent and are baptized, this gift is for you! Are your ready to obey and do the work God has for you? You, too, can receive the gift of God’s Holy Spirit to do the work that God has for you to do. The gift is not always delivered with the sound of violent winds and tongues of fire. What the gift enables you to do still depends on what job the Lord has for you to do. Without it, you are weak. With it, comes power, words, skills, and energy you are not capable of on your own. Are you ready to receive God’s gift?

-Marcia Railton

Reflection Questions

  1. What are your thoughts on God’s Spirit? What does Scripture teach about God’s Spirit?
  2. What work do you think God has for you to do? Are you already using His Spirit to do this work?
  3. What does one have to do to receive God’s gift of His Spirit?
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Order in the Church

1 Corinthians 14

June 15

“for God is not a God of confusion, but of peace. As in all the churches of the saints,” 1 Corinthians 14:33 NASB

In our house, we narrate the dog’s thoughts.  Somebody will see Zippers make a funny expression and they’ll say “She’s like: “Umm guys I’d like to go to the park too.  Is that okay? Or if not, I guess I’ll just stay here.” Then somebody else will chime in… “No, Zippers is like I really like to ride in the car…” and it goes on like that for a while.  Then somebody will miss-hear what one of the previous dog interpreters said and will ask “Did you just say, ‘She said she wants to use a fork too?’” And everyone will bust out laughing.   It’s not quite the same as speaking in tongues or sharing a revelation of prophecy, but it helps me imagine what it may be like to be in a church where more than one person is trying to do those things at once.  With a family of six people plus a big dog, when everybody wants to talk at once, it gets a little overwhelming. 

We have grown accustomed to our kids’ speech patterns and can usually understand what they are saying.  For quite a while EmmaGrace could only say “ahhhhhh” with subtly different inflections to indicate if she was asking a question or affirming that she wanted milk to drink.  As she got a little older she would tell you her favorite color was “lello”- which most people can probably figure out by context.  But if she was just pointing out something that was yellow, you might need an interpreter. 

When Weston was smaller he drooled more than our English Mastiff.  So much so that he earned the nick names “Puddles” and “Weston the wet one”.  When he spoke with a mouth full of slobber he sounded a lot like Sylvester from the Bugs Bunny Cartoons.  When we make smoothies, they are “poovees” to him.  When he had a little tummy bug, he told my mom that he had “buffered in the hall way.”  That needed a little interpretation.  (It’s the word that rhymes with scarf and when kids did it in school the janitor had to get those funny smelling wood chips). 

Carter is all about airplanes.  So he loves to talk in acronyms that he learned in his ground school for pilot training.  From time to time he talks about MSL, VNO or VNE.  I went to most of the classes with him but my 40 year old brain has less RAM (Random Access Memory) than his does.  So I can get MSL- Mean Sea Level.  I can remember that VNE is one that varies from plane to plane but basically it is the speed at which your wings will probably fall off if you continue to accelerate or hit any kind of turbulence. It is the Velocity to Never Exceed.  Sometimes I have to ask him though “What does VNO stand for again?  Oh yeah, velocity of normal operation.”

Communication is a two way street.  When speaking we have to use words that the audience can understand.  We also have to listen to the person that is speaking.  I fear I am developing the multigenerational genetic gift of hearing loss, so sometimes I wish life had closed captioning. 

1 Corinthians 14 tells us that these unique abilities to receive and deliver messages from God are pretty cool but they really only work if we have some order in the church.  We can’t have everybody talking at once. 

-Brian Froehlich

Application questions:

  1. Paul seems to assume that the Corinthian church will have more than one person at a time that wants to speak in a tongue or deliver a prophetic word.  It is almost like how he assumed they would be practicing communion.  Are these gifts practiced in your church today?
  2. If not, should they be?
  3. If so, are they practiced as directed by Paul in this chapter?
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