October 25, 2008
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Prayer & tongues Part 2 by Pastor Don
Here is the link to part one.
Pastor Don continued helping us to understand the passage:
Romans 8:27-28 Now He who searches the hearts knows what the mind of the Spirit is, because He makes intercession for the saints according to the will of God. And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose.
Pastor Don told us that we have to qualify, and one of the qualifications for this passage to happen is that we have to fit into God’s will, to answer the call on our life. When you are in the ministry has God ordained you for, God will bless your life when you are in His perfect will. He can turn even adversity into something good – but that doesn’t mean that there won’t be adversity.
1 Corinthians 12:1-3 Now concerning spiritual gifts, brethren, I do not want you to be ignorant: You know that you were Gentiles, carried away to these dumb idols, however you were led. Therefore I make known to you that no one speaking by the Spirit of God calls Jesus accursed, and no one can say that Jesus is Lord except by the Holy Spirit.
We have to accept the fact that prior to receiving New Birth, the Inborn Spirit, the Baptism of the Holy Spirit, we were fulfilling something to dumb idols. In the last days we are seeing an increase in idol worship – think of TV shows like American Idol, and Babylonian things – property, riches, excess. Or our love for ecology and a worshipful awe of sports heros and movie stars, the increase in various forms of sex and pornography.
The truth is that we are led – there is always something in our lives that is leading us, it can be an idol, an idol debt that we still have to pay or we can choose to be led by God.
We are never satisfied, no one can pay or no idol can fill that hole within us. There is no one that can fill that debt in us caused by those who hurt us. No husband can replace the hole filled by an absent parent in your childhood. No pastor can fill that gaping need that you have from hurt that you received. No idol can fill us either. Only God can fill those needs that we have. Until we crush whatever we have made an idol in our life and replace it with God, we look at everything under the microscope of our needs, and nothing will sustain us in an idol.
Pastor Don sang the chorus from Jesus Paid it All.
Jesus paid it all,
All to Him I owe;
Sin had left a crimson stain,
He washed it white as snow.There are things that we make idols that are not physical. For example: jealousy, I never got mine. An idol is anything you worship, anything that you lean on and depend on. Body consciousness can be an idol. We can have a emotional idol, and that may prevent us from permitting someone to love us, we push away what we need the most.
1 Corinthians 12:4-6 There are diversities of gifts, but the same Spirit. There are differences of ministries, but the same Lord. And there are diversities of activities, but it is the same God who works all in all.
With all the spiritual gifts it is important to remember that it is the SAME GOD who works all in all.
1 Corinthians 12:7 But the manifestation of the Spirit is given to each one for the profit of all:
This is done for the profit of all. When we make intercession it is for the profit of all, not just for ourselves. When we operate in the spiritual gifts it is not only to edify ourselves, but to edify all. Go do something. Remember when Jesus healed the 10 lepers, and as they went they were all healed, only one returned to give thanks, but all were healed – only one came back to do something. God will bless you, but go do something. A gift manifests when you need it to do His work, it doesn’t manifest just to fulfill your pride or at random, the spiritual gifts are for His Kingdom work. It is a wasted gift if you only use it to profit yourself.
1 Corinthians 1:8 for to one is given the word of wisdom through the Spirit, to another the word of knowledge through the same Spirit,
When God gives us a spiritual gift or information, He also will let us know what to do with it. We may get a word of knowledge, but it may not be to share with the general public or with the person you know the word of knowledge about at the moment you receive the word of knowledge. God will show you what to do with that information at the correct time.
1 Corinthians 12:9 to another faith by the same Spirit, to another gifts of healings by the same Spirit,
The kind of faith mentioned in this verse is not normal faith, but supernatural faith, corporate faith for God, for you to do something. Pastor Don gave an example of Moses when he was trapped between the Red Sea and the Egyptian army. God tells Moses to lift up his staff. Moses did not know what would happen, it did not make sense to his natural mind, but he obeyed God. When he did in faith what God told him to do it had a phenomenal manifestation – the sea parted.
When God asks us to do something, He gives us the supernatural faith for something. Begin to do what God wants in obedience to Him, and it produces action. Act your faith out.
1 Corinthians 12:10 to another the working of miracles, to another prophecy, to another discerning of spirits, to another different kinds of tongues, to another the interpretation of tongues.
God also gives us gifts of healing, discernment of spirits, different kinds of tongues, and interpretation of tongues. These are used as God directs, and He gives us the supernatural faith to use them.
1 Corinthians 12:11 But one and the same Spirit works all these things, distributing to each one individually as He wills.
When God repeats himself, it means that what is said in the Bible is important to Him. Again God lets us know that these Spiritual gifts are given to individuals, but it is the one and same Spirit operating in them. These gifts are to be used for the profit of all. The Spirit will manifest through different people in different ways. At times a person may prophesy to the body of Christ, but that does not mean that because the Spirit worked a gift of prophesy one time in that person’s life that they are to step into the office of the prophet for the rest of their life. The gift of prophesy can manifest in anyone at a given time for a given need of God. There are different kinds of tongues, some are for personal edification, others are for the edification of the Body of Christ, and come with interpretation of tongues. The tongues of Romans 8, comes with interpretation. Sometimes God can use someone to interpret what another person said in tongues.
Pastor Don’s wife had a prayer group at the school she used to teach at. The teachers from various denominations were praying for a fellow teacher who was sick. Some of the members of this group were praying in tongues but not all the members prayed in tongues. Another teacher who did not speak or pray in tongues, knew what the people were saying who were praying in tongues. God used her to interpret, but she had no background of praying or speaking in tongues.
God comes alongside and within us to see how He can use us in prayer. Pastor Abraham, who visits us from India, once told Pastor Don how his mother used to get his family up at 5:00 AM to pray. She had six kids and when they were little they did not like the idea of getting up so early to pray. Pastor Abraham’s mom’s solution was to take cold water and dump it on the children who would not get up. At the time the kids did not like having to do this, but what their mom did was instill a habit of prayer in those children. Pastor Abraham often goes into his room to pray and intercede for hours on end. Pastor Abraham felt the Spirit of the Lord calling him into ministry, and he was baptized into the Holy Spirit, pentecostal, tongue talking. This upset Pastor Abraham’s mom who was upset with God because she had already given her eldest son to ministry, and his mom wanted Pastor Abraham to get a steady job to support the family in old age. Instead, he was called into ministry in central India, where he did not know anyone or speak the language. He kept up with the 5:00 AM prayer. He and his wife moved into a 6′ by 8′ hut with a mud floor and no door, bathroom, stove, refrigerator. They stayed there in God’s will and over time began to make inroads into the territory God put them in, and now he has over 200 churches that he administers in a part of India where Christians are not accepted.
There are different kinds of tongues. Many read Acts Chapter 2 and conclude that the people were speaking Italian, German, etc. While some do speak a foreign language in tongues, one that they don’t understand with their normal mind, there are also tongues of praise, healing, warfare, intercession, etc. The Holy Spirit directs the nature and sound of tongues.
Pastor Don told us that when we pray in tongues in the Spirit, we can also pray that the Holy Spirit will help us to understand what we are praying when we are praying in tongues. To pray for understanding. When we pray in tongues, the Holy Spirit helps us to pray in the will of God. When tongues occur in a corporate environment, there needs to be an interpretation or we are out of order.
We then went to 1 Corinthians 14. I want to write about that tomorrow so that this study is not too long to read. This talks about tongues in a corporate environment.
Have a blessed Saturday.
Heather
Comments (10)
Nice, Heather. Have a good day yourself. – Rachel
Thank you for coming by and helping me with the first chapter of 1 Thimothy. Who is Beth Moore how can I read her works. God Bless, Judi
@jassmine - Beth Moore does women’s Bible studies. I think she is located out of Texas. Right now our women’s Bible study group is doing “When Godly People Do Ungodly Things.” It is about how easy sin can creep into a believer’s life if we are not on guard and filled up with the Word of God. Her studies usually involve a workbook, videos, and small group discussions. Just google her name and you will find her studies. Two of them I did online – Believing God and The Fruit of the Spirit (I forget the exact title). Believing God did a lot for my walk with God and increased my faith a lot. I suspect you would enjoy her studies.
Heather
Thanks so much I did Google her. I appreciate your input on my Bible studies too. I hope we get to be friends. Judi
Thanks for subscribing to me. I hope you will come and join the Bible studies. I am reading a chapter in the old Testament and a chapter in the new Testament a day. Then I put up what is revealed to me and ask for comments. It has been like an online Bible study. Very helpful to me in increasing my faith. Judi
Good observation Heather, this is a stealth candidate, I trust in the Lord not any candidate, especially B.O.
gd.
@sleepy_cici - thanks!
Heather
Hi Heather! Will divorcees make it to heaven? Does Bible permit divorce if there there is no adultery involved? What if you marry someone and you just can’t get along with each other? Is it advisable to hang on to a marriage that no longer gives peace? How long shd you hold on before calling it quits? Will God be angry with me if i divorce?
Dear Cynthia, there are two questions here – one is: is there a sin that can keep us out of Heaven? No – the only sin that can keep us out of Heaven is blaspheme of the Holy Spirit and you, if you are concerned about not making it to Heaven, are not doing that. We can ask, and God will forgive us, for all our sins – Christ died for our sins past, present and future. 1 John 1:9 tells us “If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. “
But your other question is regarding divorce. I think that there are things that you need to ask yourself and consider before you make a decision. I suspect some of these things are not what you are hoping I would say. I do want to stress that if you are in an abusive situation where you fear for your life, definitely separate and get help. If it is just not being able to get along with your husband, you may want to consider some of the following:
First, this is what Jesus has to say about divorce:
Mark 10:2-12 The Pharisees came and asked Him, “Is it lawful for a man to divorce his wife?” testing Him. And He answered and said to them, “What did Moses command you?” They said, “Moses permitted a man to write a certificate of divorce, and to dismiss her.” And Jesus answered and said to them, “Because of the hardness of your heart he wrote you this precept. But from the beginning of the creation, God ‘made them male and female.’ ‘For this reason a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh’; so then they are no longer two, but one flesh. Therefore what God has joined together, let not man separate.” In the house His disciples also asked Him again about the same matter. So He said to them, “Whoever divorces his wife and marries another commits adultery against her. And if a woman divorces her husband and marries another, she commits adultery.”
Jesus is not a supporter of divorce. I have been married 21 years to my husband – and to be honest there have been times when I felt that I wanted to walk out, but I made the CHOICE to stay and work things out. Often things can be worked out if we choose to do that. In this culture today, we see many people walking out when the going gets tough. Marriage is about committment, and we choose to honor our committment. That being said, before I got saved I did get divorced to my first husband (he died before I married my current husband) and I know God forgave me for doing that.
Our pastor talks about the 80-20 rule. He says that in a marriage often we are happy with 80% of what our husbands do, but tend to focus on the 20% that does not meet our liking. We need to change the focus to look at the good, not the little irritants.
Do you have a Godly counselor you can talk to about your marriage? Sometimes having someone who can listen and give you a different perspective can help – but it needs to be someone well grounded in the Word of God, not a worldly counselor.
There is a wonderful book called The Power of a Praying Wife by Stormy O’Martin, which may give you some perspective on your situation. Often when we begin praying for our husbands and changing our attitudes, it seems as if our husbands “miraculously” changed, but what really changes is us.
One other thing to consider is that divorce may not solve the real problem. When someone divorces, often they get into a new relationship that is either the same or worse than the previous marriage – for if we have not addressed the problems in ourselves that are the real issue, we just get attracted to the same kind of person that will not fulfill our needs.
God loves you. He loves you with a neverending love – He will not quit loving you. But in His love, God also wants His best for you – and He knows that when we go against what He says in His Word that all we do is open ourselves up for hurt – that is never His plan for us. He will love us, be there for us, and help us stand up when we fall. He will brush off the stains of sins and put us back on the path, but when we make a serious sin mistake, we lose opportunities and while we get back on the path again, there are things that we missed when we made our detours. Please prayerfully consider your choice. Take it to God, take it to a Godly counselor, so that you do not miss God’s best for your life.
Heather