Speaking In Tongues - YES, OR NO? Let's Settle It - Pastor. Shane Vaughn

I want to teach you about speaking in tongues and where we stand as a church, as a fellowship, on the subject of speaking in tongues. Very controversial subject, but my job in these few minutes is to help bring balance to the subject of speaking in tongues. One of the greatest challenges that we face in the body of Christ, especially as Messianic believers, is to not fall into the same trap that generations of religious people have fallen into. And I call it the trap of the ditches. Most people that study the Bible, they study it with an either or mentality. When sometimes it's neither. Sometimes the truth is found in between the ditches. And I believe that's going to be the case tonight with speaking in tongues. I believe we're going to help you find the balance, the equilibrium of this subject. You have two types of people in the Messianic movement. You have those that are diabolically against speaking in tongues, especially in the church, to the point of mocking those that do. I believe they refer to that as the Kundalini spirit, if I'm not mistaken, and make fun of speaking in tongues. That's one ditch. Now, let's jump over to the other ditch. Then you have the other believers that promote speaking in tongues. They idolize speaking in tongues. They make it a requirement for salvation. That is the other ditch, out of control with no order. Both ditches are wrong. The Apostle Paul attempted to bring the believers out of those two ditches and to bring them back to the middle of the road. And I'm going to try to do that in this lesson. We're going to start in 1 Corinthians 14 and verse 39. And this is I'm starting here because I believe it's a good starting point. Because to me it totally pulls us out of one of those ditches. Verse 39, "Wherefore, brethren, desire to prophesy and forbid not to speak in tongues. " Forbid not to speak in tongues. And then Paul says in verse 37, "If any man thinks himself to be a prophet or spiritual, let him acknowledge that the things that I write unto you are the commandments of Yahweh. But if any man wants to be ignorant, let him remain ignorant." And how could we tell that they were ignorant if they forbid speaking in tongues? Paul is going to show you in this final verse when he recapitulates what his entire letter or chapter of this letter is about. Let all things be done decently and in order. From the very start, we find out that if there is anyone forbidding or mocking or condemning speaking in tongues, they are antichrist because they are anti word. The Apostle Paul said, "If you're part of a church that forbids speaking in tongues, you're in an ignorant church. And anyone that defies speaking in tongues is ignorant. Didn't say they were lost. Didn't say they were evil. We said they were ignorant of the truth of the matter. And we're going to dig into the truth of the matter. As we proceed, allow me to explain what a protagonist would say in response to that scripture. They would say, "That's not talking about {quote} {unquote} gibberish. That's not talking about what uh many do uh just speaking uh a language that is just unknown. Just you know, just a bibble babble." They would argue that that verse is speaking about speaking in foreign languages supernaturally. Now, there is a point there. And I'm going to get you to that point. As a matter of fact, I wrote the book on this subject. It's available on Amazon. It's titled Any Evidence by Shane Bon. Now, the problem we have is finding out which verses is speaking about foreign languages or other languages versus unknown heavenly languages. But if in fact the Apostle Paul in this verse is speaking about foreign languages supernaturally, it would be silly. Because who would forbid anyone to speak in foreign languages? Think about it. Read it. If this is not an unknown gibberish as many call it, who would forbid speaking in known languages supernaturally? The answer is clear. No one. Because in this particular verse, Paul is not speaking about supernatural languages, foreign languages. So that's a something we need to keep in mind as we proceed. Let's mark this down in our notes. The Apostle Paul never forbade speaking in tongues. So if you're watching our YouTube channel or someone's video that says speaking in tongues is of the devil, you're listening to the Antichrist. Anti-word. They have gone against Paul's clear command that no one should should come against speaking in tongues. Now, what did Paul forbid? Paul forbade what they're doing in the other ditch. I call it the Pentecostal ditch. Promoting tongues as the evidence of the Holy Spirit. Or promoting tongues as some superior gift of promoting tongues in the church to where it takes over the entire service, Paul is forbidding all of that. A lot of the confusion comes down to two words or two phrases. One is the gift of other tongues versus the gift of unknown tongues. That's where all the confusion lies. We're about to read these verse by verse and explain to you the truth, the balance. Other tongues or languages versus unknown tongues or languages. Because people do not know the difference in those two phrases, it does lend to much confusion in Paul's writings. But I would like to show you where Paul makes it abundantly clear the difference in the two languages or the two phrases, other tongues and unknown tongues. We can find it in 1 Corinthians chapter 13 verse 1. Paul makes it plain. Though I speak with the languages of men and of angels. It is here that Paul clearly refers to the other languages of men, foreign languages, versus a language of heavenly nature. An angelic language not known or unknown by men. So here we have the plain truth that Paul spoke in fluent foreign languages of men, but by the spirit he also spoke in a heavenly or unknown language that is not known by men. Sadly, many people fail to understand that one language is known of men and one is not known of men. It cannot be taught in any translation school. It is only given by and understood by God. Let's go to the chapter that really breaks it down. 1 Corinthians 14. We'll start there tonight. 1 Corinthians 14 and we're going to do a verse-by-verse study so that we can end the foolishness on this subject. Somebody has to do it. And we are going to do it tonight at First Harvest Ministries. We We try to make the word of Yahweh make sense to where there can be no confusion in the matter. Let's start reading. 1 Corinthians 14, we'll start with verse 1. Follow after charity and desire spiritual gifts. Let's look at that word desire. Zeloo. It's very important that you understand it's saying that you should burn with zeal. Heated to a boil. Zealous. Earnestly desire. Pursue spiritual gifts. Now, one of those spiritual gifts is the gift of tongues. And it tells you Paul starts off with earnestly desire spiritual gifts. And then he ends this letter, do not forbid the use of spiritual gifts in the church. Now, Paul says, for he that speaketh in an unknown tongue speaketh not unto men. Again, other languages is a language spoken to men. Heavenly language or angelic language is only spoken to God. For no man understandeth that language except God, Yahweh. In the spirit, whoever speaks in the angelic language is speaking secretly to God. Now, where do I get the word secretly from? It's the Greek word mysterion instead of mysteries. A better translation is a hidden thing or a secret, a religious secret, a secret thing, a secret will, secret counsel. So, in the truth, the better word there is secretly, secret language, all right? Sorry, I thought I was sharing my screen with that. I apologize. Uh once again, mysterion, if you'll see it on your screen, secret, religious secrets, secret thing, secret will, secret counsels. So, in fact, the better translation is secret. For he that speaketh in an angelic language speaketh secretly to God. Verse three, but he that prophesied or preaches the word speaketh unto men for three things edification exhortation and comfort. Verse four. But he that speaketh in an angelic language edifies only himself. So that gift of the angelic language serves a great purpose and it is not the same purpose as the gift of other languages or the gift of common language. It is not for edification of the church, exhortation of the church, or the comfort of the church. It is strictly for the individual between them and God. But he that preaches the word, which you prophesieth there that's what it's referring to. Let's prove that. But he that prophesieth or prophet I you, and if we go to the Greek word, we get to prophet taste, which is a prophet an interpreter of the oracles or the hidden things of God. One who's moved by the spirit of God and becomes a spokesman declaring to men what he has received by inspiration. And it goes on and talks about John the Baptist being a prophet and then if you go down and you see the word prophesy it means to break forth under sudden impulse in lofty discourse of the divine councils. Under a teaching to teach. So all of these is the work of prophesying. Now, let's go back to verse four. Says plainly, he that speaketh in an angelic language edifies only himself. But, he that teaches or preaches under divine inspiration will edify the whole church. Paul The Paul said here, "It is my desire that everyone of you spoke in this angelic language. " Now, that is a clear indication that not every Christian, unlike what we were taught in the Pentecostal church, not every believer speaks in tongues. Paul Paul asked that question. And I believe uh he asked that if I'm not mistaken in Yeah, 1 Corinthians 12 and 30. 1 Corinthians 12 and 30, let's see what Paul says. Paul says plainly, contrary to the Pentecostal church, he is speaking to believers here. He is speaking to the Corinthian church filled with believers and says, "Do all have the gift of healing? Do all speak in tongues? Do all interpret?" And of course, the implied answer is no. So, here we find some balance. We find balance here. Unlike the two ditches, one ditch, do not speak in tongues. The other ditch, everyone must speak in tongues. Every Christian must speak in tongues. Both ditches have already been proven to be wrong. Because Paul is speaking to the Corinthian church filled with believers and he acknowledges that not all of them speak in tongues. Let's continue in 1 Corinthians chapter 4 chapter 14, I believe. Go back to that. 1 Corinthians 14. Now verse 5. I would that every one of you spoke in tongues. Again, acknowledging that not all of the Christians spoke in tongues. But rather that you would preach the word. That you would teach the word. For greater is he that preaches the word than he that speaks in these angelic languages. Now the question is why is Paul lifting up the preaching of the word prophesying by divine unction against speaking in tongues. Why is he elevating one over speaking in tongues? You have to understand the context. And the context is in the church. He says, "For greater is he that prophesied than he that speaks with tongues. Except there is an exception." Except he interpret. So if you interpret tongues, you are now equal to preaching in the edification of the church. Placing great emphasis on speaking in tongues if it is interpreted. If it's not then it is still serving a great purpose, but only individually. Except he interpret that the church may receive edification. Verse 6. Now brethren, he's speaking to the church, not the world. If I come to you speaking in this unknown tongue, what shall I profit you? Now, let's pause right there. For those of you that believe that Paul is speaking about speaking in foreign languages supernaturally, this scripture would make no sense at all. He said about What it Let's say that's what it meant. If I come to you speaking in foreign languages, what shall I profit you? Well, you could profit us a lot because foreign languages can be interpreted. This cannot be speaking of foreign languages because this with that This is a gift that Paul is referring to that is between you and God and only edifies the individual. Except I speak to you by revelation or knowledge or by prophesying or by doctrine. Here's what he says. If I stand up in the church and begin to interrupt the flow of the service and speak in tongues, and that's it. I'm done. There is no interpretation. Then I have edified no one and in fact, I have caused an interruption of the service out of order. But, he said if I come and teach doctrine or give a revelation or knowledge or prophesying, then I have benefited the church. I won't read every verse because he's talking there about certain sounds to battle. Now, we'll start at uh I mean, you can read those. He's talking about the uselessness of speaking in unknown tongues. No one will understand it in the church. Verse 12. Even so ye, for as much as you are zealous of spiritual gifts. Now, remember who told us to be zealous of spiritual gifts. In the first verse, Paul did. And he's acknowledging here that that is a good thing that every one of you should desire to speak in these tongues. Every one of you should tarry in the altar and ask the Father for it. Every one of you should desire it. But he said, "For as much as you are zealous of spiritual gifts, seek that you may excel to the edifying of the church." In other words, don't be selfish and only want spiritual gifts. Desire that you might bless the church through some of these other gifts of doctrine and teaching in the church. Remember the context is in the church. Verse 13. Wherefore, let him that speaketh in an unknown tongue pray that he may interpret. Let me explain something to you. If you interrupt the service, if the mic is handed to you, and you begin to speak forth in a noticeably loud speaking in tongues to where you are the center of attention in the service, you have a duty. It is incumbent upon you to interpret what you have said. The Bible said immediately after speak in an unknown tongue, pray that you might interpret to the church what you have said from God. Now, this is an interesting verse, the next verse. Let's look at it closely. Verse 14. For if I pray in an unknown tongue, Paul is acknowledging that he prays in an angelic language. So, those of you that are teaching our people that it is demonic to pray in an unknown language, you are the demon coming against the clear dictates of the word of God. Perish the thoughts. Paul said if I pray in an angelic tongue Oh, it doesn't say angelic. It does. Go to chapter 13, verse 1, where Paul tells you plainly that he speaks in the language of men and he also speaks in the language of angels. So, therefore, I can use that word here because Paul used it. He said, "Though I pray in the language of angels when I do that my begotten spirit my spirit, my spirit, the Holy Spirit that has been begotten in my mind is what is praying. But my human mind understands it not. So, if this is foreign language, the human mind could understand it. But Paul said there is a gift. Not everyone has it. But there is a gift where you can pray in a language that your human mind can never learn in any college. This one verse destroys the teaching that this is referring to foreign languages. No, no, no. Now, there is an incident in the book of Acts where indeed they spoke supernaturally on the day of Pentecost in foreign languages. I'm going to explain to you why that happened in just a moment. Verse 14. But my understanding, my human brain receives nothing from that. It's unfruitful. Verse 15. So, what do I do? What is it then? Well, I do both. Paul said, "I pray in the angelic language and I pray in human languages." Okay? And then Paul says, "I also sing in angelic language and then I sing with human language. " And we do that at First Harvest Ministries. You will hear us singing in angelic language many times. Verse 16. I feel so sorry for those that don't understand the beauty of this gift. And I feel even sorrier for those that spread the mis-truth to the body of Yeshua forbidding them to speak in tongues. The spirit of antichrist is upon you. Repent. It is a beautiful gift and I'm so sorry that you don't have it and your human mind doesn't understand it. Verse 16. Else, when thou shalt bless with the Holy Spirit and you're speaking in that angelic language, how shall he that's in the room, and they're unlearned, say amen at the giving of thy thanks, seeing that he does not understand what you say. Now, let me pause here. Now, Paul is beginning to go into what I call the context of these teachings. Remember, when Paul wrote this letter, the phenomenon of glossolalia, or speaking in tongues, was brand new. This was a New Testament occurrence, and it was a prophecy from Isaiah that occurred in the New Testament church only. And why? You'll find out in just a moment in Isaiah, why Yahweh chose this for his people. So, remember, in those days, news traveled fast. I mean, I'm sorry, slow. Unlike today, where they they didn't have the information highway. News traveled very slowly. And this new phenomenon of speaking in tongues was unheard of. And literally, when you begin to do it, people thought you were mad or insane. So, now Paul is setting the stage of why he is encouraging the church to hold down their speaking in tongues. But his instructions only apply to the setting where there are unlearned unbelievers present. So, it begs the question, what if we're in a setting such as the feast or the Sabbath day where the only people in the building are learned believers? If that's the case, none of these instructions from Paul apply. If the church has gathered together in a prayer meeting or even in a church setting, for example, at our church, we have very few unbelievers that ever come. Why? Because believers go to church. Unbelievers go to bar rooms. Believers go to the assembly. Of course, we can drag some unbelievers in there for fill-a-pew Sunday. And in those instances, tone it down. But for example, at First Harvest, everyone in our building is learned believers. They know what speaking in angelic language is. And the truth is, the whole world now knows what it is. They've seen it on television. They understand. You ask anybody what speaking in tongues is, they now know. Times are not the same as when Paul wrote these instructions. Now, even Baptist folks know what speaking in tongues is. So, we have a setting here that we need to be honest about. This is not referring to believers only meetings. For example, when I go preach a funeral, uh and I know that there's many unbelievers there that day for the funeral, you're not going to catch me speaking in tongues. Why? I know where I am. But in our local church setting, where it is nothing but believers, then these instructions do not apply. Let's read and see if we can find even more context. Verse number 17. Now, he says that I'm 16. So, he says in verse 16, you can go and speak in tongues. And if you do, verse 17, you have given thanks well. You have had a good time in the Lord. But the other is not edified. Verse 18. I thank God that I speak with tongues more than any of you. I got that Kundalini spirit, he said. I speak in tongues more than any of you. But when I come to church, in other words, in my prayer time, he says, when it's just me and Yahweh, I pray with the spirit and with my understanding, both. But in the church, verse 19, I would rather speak five words in the language of the man, mankind, that by my voice I might teach, than 10,000 words in an unknown language. So, is the man that told us in verse one to zealously desire the gift of tongues, and at the end do not forbid the speaking in tongues? What Is he in verse 19 now condemning tongues? Perish the thought. That is utter tomfoolery. It's the sophistry of Satan. What he is doing is comparing apples to oranges. He's saying, when I come into the church and there are unbelievers there, I would rather teach than speak in the heavenly language." Verse 20. Brethren, be not children in your understanding. Howbeit in malice be ye children, but in understanding be men. Now, we get to an interesting verse here. 1 Corinthians 14 21. And this is very, very interesting. He's referring in this verse to a prophecy from Isaiah, and we're going to look at that, but let's read verse 21. In the law, or in the Torah, rather, it is written, "With men of other tongues and other lips will I speak unto this people. And yet for all that and yet for all that will they not hear me, saith the Lord." Verse 22. Therefore, tongues are for a sign, not to them that believe, but to them that believe not. But prophesying serveth not for them that believe not, but for them which believe. What in the world is Paul saying in these verses? To find the answer, we have to go back to the prophecy from the Torah that Paul is referring to, Isaiah 28, 11, 12, and 13, if you want to look that up real quick. Isaiah gives a prophecy here. He says, "Indeed, he will speak to this people, Israel, through stammering lips and a foreign tongue. He who said to them, "Here is rest, give rest to the weary, and here is repose." But they would not listen. So the word of the Lord to them will be order on order, order on order, line on line, line on line, a little here, a little there, that they may go and stumble backwards, be broken, snared, and taken captive. Isaiah gave this prophecy to Israel in their own Hebrew language. He was preaching the word to them. But they would not hear him in their own language. What was the word Isaiah was giving to them? Repent. Turn back to Yahweh, O house of Israel. But because they would not listen, they refused to hear in their own language, then God said, "Okay, I'm going to speak to you in a foreign language. I'm going to speak to you in a foreign language, and that language is going to get your attention." Plainly. Now, let me break it down further for you if I can. He did use a foreign language. It was the Assyrian army that came down upon Israel speaking to them in a language that confused them. They did not understand the Assyrian language. God said, "Just as I spoke to them with an unknown language to them in those days, I'm going to do the same thing here at the day of Pentecost, and I'm going to get their attention by this unknown or foreign language. Now, on the day of Pentecost, indeed, what they spoke in was not angelic language. That may be a shocker to many. But, what was poured out at the day of Pentecost was a judgment up on the Jewish people through foreign languages. Supernaturally, these apostles, 12 of them in the upper room, and no, there was not 120 in the upper room. There was 12. The Bible The Bible said Peter stood with the 11. There was only 12 of them in that room above the temple, the upper room. 10 days earlier, there was 120 there, but at this moment, it was only the 12. And these men had received the Holy Spirit much earlier, when Yeshua breathed on them and commanded them to receive the Holy Spirit. What they received at the day of Pentecost was a gift from the Holy Spirit. And you can read all this in my book called Any Evidence on Amazon. That gift that came to the apostles was a gift of judgment to be spoken upon the Jewish people through the mouth of the apostles. When they spoke that day, it was not angelic unknown language. It was, in fact, other languages. Foreign languages came out of their mouth supernaturally. To this day, I have never seen that phenomenon happen in any church. I've heard about it on foreign fields, but never verified. As far as I know, there has never been another experience like the day of Pentecost to this day. It was used for missionary work to send forth the message of the coming kingdom divinely in foreign languages that everyone understood. I'm not going to read that to you. You can go read that story in Acts chapter 2. Now, God used the same thing that he did in the book of Isaiah to speak to this people, Israel, through a foreign language that would be a sign to them to get their attention so that they might hear the word of the Lord. This is why going back to our scriptures now, in chapter 14 of 1 Corinthians, you'll understand now what Paul is referring to. Let's read it again. In the Torah, verse 21, it is written, "With men of other tongues, the Assyrians, will I will I speak to this people. I will get their attention. And yet, for all that, they will not hear me, saith the Lord." That's why Paul says in verse 22, "Wherefore tongues are for a sign, not to them that believe, but to them that believe not. " In other words, they're going to hear the speaking in tongues. That's going to grab their attention, the supernatural gift, and then, when the interpretation comes my word then they will hear it because the sign grab them. Now, let's look at that word sign and see what it means. It is the Greek word semeion which means a wonder a miracle a a a prodigy an unusual occurrence transcending the common course of nature. Yahweh said, "I'm going to use this gift of tongues to be a sign to the unbeliever to a something to grab their attention and then once I've done it, then I'll speak the interpretation through them. That's what Paul is saying, if you're just speaking in tongues and not interpreting it in the church, you're doing no good. Now, he never said that you were wrong uh and he never said you were evil. He never said if you did that, you had the kundalini spirit, but he did say you were ignorant if you did that. All right, verse 23. If therefore, let me share the screen with you. If therefore, the whole church comes 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 are mad? Will they not mock you? Of course they will, unless there's an interpretation that will convict their soul. But notice the setting. It is not in a setting where everyone is believers. It is in a setting where all believers come together and someone brings a visitor. In our local church, we're very careful of this. If someone brings a visitor and there is speaking in tongues going on in the church, we will demand an interpretation for the visitor or for the unlearned to go by biblical order. Now, verse 24. But if everyone prophesies and there comes in one that believeth not or one that is unlearned, he will be convinced of the truth and judged by the truth. And the secrets of his heart will be revealed. Now, know that does not mean someone's going to tell him his name and reveal the secrets of his heart. The secrets of his heart is sin. And through the preaching and the teaching and the doctrine of the inspired man of God, those sins that he may not even realize were sin would be revealed and work godly sorrow within him. Let's continue. Verse 26. How is it then, brethren, when you come together, everyone has a song, everyone has a doctrine, everyone has a tongue, everyone has a revelation, and has an interpretation? He's saying, "Let all of these things be done in order. " He's coming against singing too much. He's coming against everyone testifying too much, not just tongues. What is he coming against? Disorder in the church. That's why there must be someone in charge of the meeting so that things do not get out of control. Verse 27. If any man speaks in an unknown tongue, let it be by two or three, and that by course, and let one interpret. But if there be no interpreter, let him keep silent in the church, and let him speak to himself and to God. Let's break that verse down. If there's not going to be an interpretation, and this man is just talking to God, then do not let him take center stage in the church. Do not hand him a microphone. Do not allow him to be the center of attention. Let him hold his peace, and then let him sit down somewhere, and he can keep speaking in tongues, but he let him do it between him and God. In other words, let him go in a corner, kneel at the altar, and let him speak to himself and to God, and don't let him be speaking to the church. But now, he is going to condemn the prophets that are prophesying. He said, "Let the prophets speak two or three. Don't let the whole service be overtaken by prophecy, and let the others judge. If anything be revealed to another that sitteth by, let the first one hold his peace. For you may all prophesy one by one, that all may learn, and all may be comforted. Because the spirit of the prophets are subject to the prophets." When I hear someone tell me, "Well, Pastor Vaughn, I can't control it." Yes, you can. And yes, you must. You must operate in church order. Let's continue. Verse 20 verse 33. And here's the point of his whole letter. For Yahweh is not the author of confusion. He is not the author of confusion. Now, he goes on to tell us, but of peace, as in all churches of the saints. Now, let your women keep silent in the churches. For it is not permitted unto them to speak, but they are commanded to be under obedience, as also saith the law. The problem with that verse is, the law doesn't say that. Nowhere in Torah are women commanded to keep silent in the churches. There is a law that says that, and it was the law that Yeshua hated and Paul hated. It was the oral law, the traditions of the Jewish people. And then Paul quotes that law. That's what he just did. He's telling them he received a letter from Chloe. He's responding to that letter, and he says in this letter, "Not only did you ask me about speaking in tongues, but you also asked me about women speaking in the church, and you quoted this law to me. Let the women keep silent in the church. For it's not permitted to them to speak." And then the next one, "If they'll learn anything, let them ask their husbands at home. For it's a shame for women to speak in the church." Now, I do a whole teaching on women speaking in the church. You can look it up at fhtv.tv. It's entitled Let the women keep silent. So, I'm not going to go deep into these two verses. But, after Paul quoted that oral law, by the way, even today in Orthodox Judaism, men are not even permitted to speak to women or women to men under certain conditions. So, they're very strict about the women not speaking, and I showed in the lesson about women keeping silent, I showed you the verse in the Mishnah that forbids women to speak in the church. But, right after, look what Paul said. Paul is so disgusted by by their obedience to oral law that he says, "What? What? What? Are you serious, brother? Are you serious? Did the Did the word of God come out of you only? You men that are in the church, did God's word only come out of you, or did it only come to you? In other words, do y'all seriously think like the Jews that the word of God only comes to men and only comes from men? He said, "Perish the thoughts of such tomfoolery. " Now, he did say he doesn't allow women to usurp authority over the men. But, here he's correcting women keeping silent as much as he is forbidding speaking in tongues. He's having to correct all of the errors of this unlearned church, and sadly, the church is still unlearned today. Then, he says, "If any man thinks he's a prophet, let him acknowledge that what I just wrote are the commandments of the Lord. Let him look beyond the oral law and the Mishnah and the Talmud, and let him know that what I just taught you is the commandments of Yahweh. Let the women speak, he said. Let those that speak in tongues, let them speak in tongues. Quit forbidding them. I'm giving you the commandment of Yahweh, he says. Let's continue as we close this chapter. But, if any of you want to be ignorant, and you want to keep forbidding people to speak in tongues, forbidding women to speak in the church, just stay dumb and happy. But, for the other brethren, desire to prophesy. And forbid not to speak in tongues. Let everything be done decently and in order. I'd like for you quickly to turn with me to 1 Corinthians 2 and 14, so that we can look at another scripture. 1 Corinthians 2 and verse 14. But, the natural man, or the natural mind, receiveth not the things of the spirit of God. For they are foolishness to the logical mind. Neither can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned. In other words, the mind of a man is carnal. It's incapable. Speaking in tongues makes no logical sense. And for those that have not the spirit of Yahweh, of course they fight against something that is incomprehensible to the human mind. They cannot accept these things that do not make sense to them. They're foolishness to the mind of a man. The human mind must therefore submit to the spiritual mind. That every man doesn't have. Therefore, they hear people speaking in tongues and it is condonulio or whatever the word is. Condenolio or whatever it is. That's what it is to them. It's demonic. You know why they say that, don't you? Because demons can very well mimic speaking in tongues. That is why at First Harvest Ministries we are not like the Pentecostals. We do not believe that speaking in tongues is the evidence of anything. We believe it is a gift that is sought after and received by many, but not by all. You see, this is the balance that neither church gives you, the Messianic or the Pentecostal church. The middle of the road is where we find the truth. The mind of a man has to learn to be obedient to the commandments of the spirit of God and that revelation of God runs totally contrary to the human mind, the human nature. So, therefore, your human mind is required to be obedient to the spiritual mind. The Bible said the spiritual mind appraises all things and it has been begotten by Yahweh and therefore has the nature of your heavenly Father. Now, the old man, that old mind, is incapable of believing in tongues. But, the new man is incapable of unbelief. When you receive the spirit seed, that seed has no doubt. It believes. Therefore, tongues is for the old man. Prophecy is for the new man. What do I mean tongues is for the old man? The unknown tongue, speaking in an unknown tongue, is a judgment, just like it was in Isaiah, up on that logical thinking. Hallelujah. It is literally That's why the Bible said Paul said that tongues is a sign for the unbeliever. There is a part of you that is an unbeliever. It is that old human mind. Therefore, God will give you the gift of tongues as a judgment against that logical mind to make it surrender to the supernatural power of God. The unknown tongue is a judgment up on the mockery of your old mind, the scoffer. Prophecy, or preaching the word of God, to the believer, is for the spiritual mind. Why? Because we believe in the new mind. But, the old mind demands judgment. And a supernatural gift, such as speaking in an unknown language that the natural mind has never learned, is a judgment against that natural mind that will not yield to God. Paul tells us in the book of Romans, chapter 7, that the gift of tongues is an important part of the believer's life. Just as Yahweh spoke to the unbelieving Israelites in the tongue of the Assyrians unknown to them. So also does the unknown tongue bring judgement upon the logical mind. That's why many of you cannot speak in tongues. You're so busy fighting against it with your logical mind. It doesn't make sense to you. And you want to be in control. And therefore you'll never receive the gift. Does it mean you're not saved? It doesn't mean you don't have the spirit of God. But it just means you have not yielded to the judgement upon your old man. I agree it looks foolish to the human mind. So does running the aisles. So does leaping for joy. That's all judgement upon your smart educated mind that cannot receive the things of the spirit. If the soul or the mind rather does not understand the unknown tongue how can it be obedient? You You asked the same question that the Israelites when Yahweh spoke to them in an unknown Assyrian tongue. When the Assyrians cracked the whip, the Israelites knew what to do even though they didn't understand the language. But here is where the gift of interpretation of tongues becomes important. Because to be instructed fully you need the interpretation. Even though you know it's from God an interpretation will instruct you. Paul said he would rather speak five words in an understandable language than an unknown tongue. I want to finish today by encouraging you all to understand that speaking in tongues is not to be forbidden. Neither is it to be glorified. In your personal life, it's invaluable. Go read Romans chapter 7. You'll see how invaluable it is for you. If you're watching me and you've never spoken in an unknown tongue, it's so easy. The Bible said, "Earnestly desire it." Break your rebellion. Fall on your knees. Father, you said in your word that I could seek after the gifts of the Spirit. And even though I know they're not the evidence of the Holy Spirit, I am asking you to give me every good gift that you have. Father, I want to speak in the angelic language. The Bible said if you ask your Father in heaven, he'll give it to you. That is why at First Harvest Church, when we baptize a believer, we believe they have received the Holy Spirit, but not necessarily the gift of tongues. Therefore, we encourage them. Keep coming to the altar. Keep having hands laid upon you that you might receive and submit your human mind to his mind. You must lay down your human logic to receive angelic language. Now, I can't promise you you're going to get that gift. Paul said, "Do all speak in tongues?" The implied answer is no. For whatever reasons, the Bible said Yahweh gives the gifts to whom he wills. If you don't have it, don't be discouraged. The evidence of the Holy Spirit is not the gifts. The evidence of the Holy Spirit is obedience. The only thing Satan cannot imitate is obedience. And the the desire to know his truth, the desire to follow after him is the evidence. If he's leading you and guiding you into all truth, there is your evidence. However, like Paul said, every one of you should earnestly desire to speak in tongues. I hope this has helped you. Thank you for watching.