Gifts

[4given30]

I would love to hear what you guys have to say about spiritual gifts-especially the gift of speaking in tongues
Im not sure if i actually have that particualr gift and have had some bad experiances in the past but have moved passed those.
I know that all gifts are from our awsome god and im aware of some of the gifts that he has given me already but im wondering how can one know if they are actually speaking/praying in tongues-should one practice, keeping asking god until it happens or just wait till you randomly start one day??

 

[NoahsDad]

I dunno I really dont understand all there is to know about spiritual gifts .Wish i did tho........

 

[NazariteNation]

I would love to hear what you guys have to say about spiritual gifts-especially the gift of speaking in tongues
Im not sure if i actually have that particualr gift and have had some bad experiances in the past but have moved passed those.
I know that all gifts are from our awsome god and im aware of some of the gifts that he has given me already but im wondering how can one know if they are actually speaking/praying in tongues-should one practice, keeping asking god until it happens or just wait till you randomly start one day??

There seems to be a lot of debate around CC as to whether the gifts are for today or not. Also there seems to be some general confusion involving the gift of speaking in (unknown) tongues. Considering that the Lord has blessed me with a couple of the spiritual gifts, including that of speaking in tongues, I would like to offer you a piece of advice if I may.

You appear to be someone who truly loves the Lord and would love to experience more of His presence if it is His will for you to do so. What many don't seem to realize is that this hunger you feel, that desire for more of Him, that is the key to unlocking the spiritual gifts in your life.

 

[NazariteNation]

I would love to hear what you guys have to say about spiritual gifts-especially the gift of speaking in tongues
Im not sure if i actually have that particualr gift and have had some bad experiances in the past but have moved passed those.
I know that all gifts are from our awsome god and im aware of some of the gifts that he has given me already but im wondering how can one know if they are actually speaking/praying in tongues-should one practice, keeping asking god until it happens or just wait till you randomly start one day??

There seems to be a lot of debate around CC as to whether the gifts are for today or not. Also there seems to be some general confusion involving the gift of speaking in (unknown) tongues. Considering that the Lord has blessed me with a couple of the spiritual gifts, including that of speaking in tongues, I would like to offer you a piece of advice if I may.

You appear to be someone who truly loves the Lord and would love to experience more of His presence if it is His will for you to do so. What many don't seem to realize is that this hunger you feel, that desire for more of Him, that is the key to unlocking the spiritual gifts in your life.

Please read Luke 11:9-13

If you feel that the gift of speaking in tongues is something that you would like to experience in your life, then you shouldn't be afraid to ask for it. While in prayer put complete your trust in the Lord. Let Him know just how much you love Him and want to experience more of Him. Be sure to make your intentions known, that it is your whole hearted desire to walk within His will for life then ask for divine protection from anything that is not of Him. Then begin to ask for this gift. Be sure to praise, worship, and honor Him for all that He has done for you and for His faithfulness throughout your life, and ask Him for his faithfulness concerning this matter. Praise, worship, and honor is very important here because you want your focus to be on Him, your love for Him, your desire for more of Him and how you would like to interact with Him on a more intimate level considering this is one of the primary uses for this gift in the first place.

It may take a couple of tries however, if this is truly the desire of your heart then He will be faithful and you will recieve. Please feel free to send me a private message if you have any more questions. It may take me a couple of days to get back to you however, I will do my best.

 

[Kyra]

Hi.
About tongues, to begin with, when you see people "practicing" the gift of tongues in church ask yourself this:

- Are they practicing in an orderly way?

- Is the church encouraged by the practice?

- Is there an interpreter present?

These 3 questions are important because Paul lays each of these points out for the practice of tongues in 1 Cor 14.

Also, in the bible there are actually 3 different kinds of tongues mentioned.

1.) When you speak in a foreign language without studying it. Acts 2:1-12

2.) When you speak in a language that is a prayer language, only between you and God. 1 Cor. 14:4

3.) When you speak in a language to a congregation. This is what I was referring to above. Paul states that if there is no one to interpret you should keep quiet. 1 Cor 14:28



There are some things to keep in mind about tongues.....
- If you ask God for tongues, also ask for interpretation. 1 Cor 14:13

- Remember tongues is not the *only* gift or the *best*. In fact Love is better then tongues- and so is instruction. 1 Cor 14:19, 1 Cor 13:1

-Tongues was given to us for encouragement and is to be used in an orderly way.1 Cor 14


Too often I see people get discouraged because they ask God for tongues but do not receive it. Sometimes they even doubt their salvation. Listen, the bible is clear, salvation is based on Christ alone. John 3:16

Also remember tongues is only one gift- one of many. (1 Cor 12:4-11) And NO ONE has EVERY gift- only Jesus has them all. Don't be discouraged if the Lord does not give you tongues when you first ask. It may mean He has something else for you, a different gift, or He may give it to you later. However it turns out, He loves you like crazy and what He really, really wants to work in your life is love.

 

[next_step]

Even so ye, forasmuch as ye are zealous of spiritual gifts, seek that ye may excel to the edifying of the church.

1. Corinthians 14,12

 

[markhelp]

Every born again Christian has the gift of holy spirit.

With this gift you have the spiritual ability to speak in tongues.....every Christian

Speaking in tongues, interpretation of tongues, etc as listed in 1 Corinthians 12:7-10 are "manifestations of the spirit." They are not "gifts."

When you are born again, you have that spirit of God in you which enables you to operate all nine manifestations.

Confusing "gifts" and "manifestations" has caused alot of problems for people. This is mainly the fault of teachers who call these manifestations "gifts."

I will gladly share more on this with you in the near future. In the meantime , I must go.

But let me say that there are many spiritual benefits to speaking in tongues.....as well as the other eight manifestations........there is always profit any time we manifest the spirit of God.

God bless

mark

 

[earlyedition]

Speaking in tounges is a gift of the Holy Spirit. Not every christian has this gift. Being a christian means you have Jesus as your Lord and Saviour. There are nine different gifts and some people have them all some people just have some of the gifts and the others just a few. God gives us these gifts in His time and just pray for them and believe for them. You are saved even if you don't speak in tounges I am saved and I don't have the gift of speaking in tounges, but I have other gifts.

 

[RoseLady]

1 Corinthians 13: 8 Love never fails. But where there are prophecies, they will cease; where there are tongues, they will be stilled; where there is knowledge, it will pass away. 9 For we know in part and we prophesy in part, 10 but when perfection comes, the imperfect disappears. 11 When I was a child, I talked like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child. When I became a man, I put childish ways behind me. 12 Now we see but a poor reflection as in a mirror; then we shall see face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I am fully known.

All gifts will remain active until Jesus (the Perfect) comes back. There are many verses referring to tongues being spoken after the baptism of the Spirit which is separate from the sealing of the Spirit at salvation.

Acts 19:2-6 (New Living Translation) 2 “Did you receive the Holy Spirit when you believed?” he asked them. “No,” they replied, “we haven’t even heard that there is a Holy Spirit.” 3 “Then what baptism did you experience?” he asked. And they replied, “The baptism of John.” 4 Paul said, “John’s baptism called for repentance from sin. But John himself told the people to believe in the one who would come later, meaning Jesus.” 5 As soon as they heard this, they were baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus. 6 Then when Paul laid his hands on them, the Holy Spirit came on them, and they spoke in other tongues and prophesied.

I had hands laid on me and received the baptism of the Spirit. I did not speak in tongues for a couple of months. It's a beautiful prayer language. Not discordant and, if in public prayer, always followed by interpretation. Unfortunately, because of the devil's consistent imitation of Godly things, this is not met favorably by most people, including most churches. And, even worse, most of the churches who practice tongues put upon it conditions, restrictions and other regulatory actions. This in itself is aiding and abetting the devil's plan of trying to erase the most powerful prayer tool we have available to us. Just think of it, if we don't know what we are saying in the spirit, and with the Spirit, then neither does the devil, and how can he annul a prayer he can't understand?

My prayer is for every Christian to receive the baptism of the Spirit and experience the power and peace of speaking in tongues.

 

[markhelp]

Hi and God bless,
I meant to get back sooner on this. I wanted to share more with you regarding this great subject.
I wrote previously about noting the difference between "gifts" and "manifestations."
I am presently using the King James Version for this short expository.
In 1 Corinthians 12:1 it reads, "Now concerning spiritual gifts, brethren, I would not have you ignorant.
Paul, writing by revelation revealing God's Will for us says, God does not want us ignorant. The word "gifts" in the King James Version is in italics for a reason. It was added by the translators. The word "spiritual" in Greek is the word, pneumatikos, meaning "things of the spirit", or "spiritual things."

That is the subject...SPIRITUAL THINGS...............which includes "gifts" [verse 4]

"administrations" [verse 5]..........."operations" [verse 6].........and "manifestations" [verse 7].

The nine manifestations are listed in verses 8-10.

In this sharing I will give you a basic understanding of these manifestations.

Speaking In Tongues is a manifestation of the spirit whereby you speak forth an inspired language divinely given to you by God. The language and the subject matter originate with God. The Spirit [God] gives the utterance. [Acts 2]. You do the speaking by believing. It worships God and builds you up spiritually [1 Cor. 12]. It is used primarily in your private prayer life.

Interpretation of tongues.........when speaking in tongues is employed in group worship, then speaking in tongues should be accompanied with interpretation of tongues. The interpretation will bring forth a message from God, to the people present, that will edify, exhort, and comfort.

Prophecy.......has the same effect as .......speaking in tongues with interpretation of tongues ......in that the hearers again will be built up by exhortation and comfort.

Speaking in tongues with interpretation of tongues ......and prophecy........serve to be signs for the believers of various spiritual maturilty levels. [1 Cor. 14:22]

Word of Knowledge........God reveals information to you which you cannot know with your five senses.

Word of Wisdom.........God reveals the action you should take, now that you know what's going on.

Discerning of spirits...........God reveals to you the necessary information concerning the presence or non-presence of spirits, their identity, and whether or not you may cast them out.


Faith [Believing]............Once God gives you revelation by word of knowledge, word of wisdom and/or discerning of spirits, you have to BELIEVE to carry out that revelation as God has given it, so that Miracles and /or healings can come into manifestation

Miracles and Healings are manifestations that come into evidence [they are manifested in the senses realm] when a person believes to carry out the revelation they received from God.


Ladies and gentlemen.......if you understand this, your walk with God will just take on a new joy and your understanding of records of miracles and healings in the Bible will become clear.

God bless, you are God's best

Mark

 

[Grey]

Hello All,

I would like to share my experiences with tongues. I believe it may shed some light on the experience of many and the potential of this powerful gift. For me I recieved the gift of tongues when I was thirteen I thought on a Sunday. However, I did not have confidence that it was anything spiritually significant. I felt like people were just talking in nonsensical syllables and when I did it everyone said that was it. I was greatly discouraged because, as far as I knew it was just me doing this awfully strange thing of saying words I did not understand. The following Wednesday in my youth group they called us up if we wanted to receive the baptism of the gift of tongues which at that time their declaration was that it was always evidenced by the gift of tongues. While this is not the case I was pretty sure I had missed something so I went up. But then when I went up I was ashamed because I felt I had already received and I was basicly lying saying I hadn't. But I went with it. They laid their hands on me and I let out the gift I had already received. I was even more discouraged and confused about tongues. But after a year or two I had accepted that this is just the way it was; that somehow God must know why he wanted to give me a gift that to me was foolishness to my mind.
Just now as I was writing that last sentence here I thought that looked similar to that part of 1 Corinthians that talks about confounding the wisdom of the wise with foolish things and confounding the strong things with weak things. To others we may look like fools but the wisdom of God is like that to those who do not have it and we may look weak but we are backed by an all powerful awesome King our God and his kingdom.

 

[NoahsDad]

werd up
hay!!!!!!!!

 

[SonOfAdam]

My opinion: Opinions, experiences and personal views mean absolutely nothing. What matters is what the Bible says on the matter.



The way I read it the gift of tongues, prophecy and new revelation (knowledge as the translators phrased it in 1 Cor 13) ceased when the apostles' purpose/position ceased. They were to reveal new scripture to the people from God, and the gifts of tongues were one evidence of the authenticity of the new scripture. The Bible shows they were individual and real earthly languages, and the Greek wording in Acts shows that it was specific right down to the local dialect of those who were visiting Jerusalem from afar off.

When the new scripture was finished being revealed, and the apostles died, what purpose did the tongues and prophecy and direct special revelation that they were gifted with have then?
To you who speak with 'tongues' today I offer 2 questions based on that logic.

1) If you go to the international airport are your tongues good enough that you can preach the gospel to international visitors in their own languages? That's how the apostles used them and if you claim to have that gift then it should be able to be used the same way.

2) What new scripture are you authenticating with that gift? That of course was a main part of their purpose.

I don't believe God changed the purpose to suit those who revived the gift many centuries later (the gift of tongues was not used by Christians after the apostles died until about 200 years ago when the charismatic movement started using it again after seeing pagan religions use it. Buddhists claim to use tongues too. Does that make them saved Christians?)

By the way, the main thing tongues supporters fail to recognise is that Corinthians was about correcting a bunch of Christians who did have the gift at that time but were abusing it. Clearly the gift can be abused as the apostle was imposing restrictions on those who were doing it.

 

[NoahsDad]

but the view or oppinion you have originated with the teachings of John Darby with dispencsationalism in the late 19th century .Then taught world wide without question in the early part of the 1920's The early church Never subscribed to this belief nor took it to this extreme.

 

[NoahsDad]

subtract one P out of opinion please .....hahahaahahaha

 

[erika83]

I agree with SonOfAdam on the speaking in tongues topic, but i would like to make some points about another "gift", the gift of healing. The "miracles" done today are nothing compared to the miracles Jesus and the apostles did. Any of you can confirm of someone being raised from death? or a real miraculous healing? like someone's amputated leg or arm gowing up in a blink of an eye? We tend to misuse the word "miracle". i have no doubts that God has the power to do such miracles still, but they are not happening because there is no real need of such supranatural miracles, they had a purpsse whenever they happened. A purpose of confirmation that they (Jesus, the apostles) were sent by God and doing His work, preaching His Word. Today we have the complete Word, the full guide of how we should live, testimonies, also future prophecies. So i believe these 3 gifts (healings, speaking in tongues and prophecies) have ceased around the time the Bible was completed.
.

 

[Sib]

Speaking in tongues just like any other gift is birthed of God. It is ONE of the evidences of being filled with the Holy Spirit as experieced by the apostles in Acts 2:4. It is actually called the baptism of the holy spirit WITH evidence of speaking in tongues, meaning you can still be baptised with the holy spirit but not speak in tongues. However,the bible encourages us to desire to speak in tongues as in so doing we speak mysteries that the devil cant hear(1cor 14:2). Tongues edify self especialy in moments when you can not pray in your own language.

To receive this, you must have a desire and start praying about it, also reading books on the same and other peoples' experieces can help. Tongues are real and are from God but the bible says test every spirit because even the devil can speak in tongues and prophesy, hence care must be taken especially if some people try to ask you to immitate them or pray in tongues after them. Tongues is no man made. The sprit of God enales us and gives us utterance and a new tongue. ITS a nice experience.

 

[NazariteNation]

I agree with SonOfAdam on the speaking in tongues topic, but i would like to make some points about another "gift", the gift of healing. The "miracles" done today are nothing compared to the miracles Jesus and the apostles did. Any of you can confirm of someone being raised from death? or a real miraculous healing? like someone's amputated leg or arm gowing up in a blink of an eye? We tend to misuse the word "miracle". i have no doubts that God has the power to do such miracles still, but they are not happening because there is no real need of such supranatural miracles, they had a purpsse whenever they happened. A purpose of confirmation that they (Jesus, the apostles) were sent by God and doing His work, preaching His Word. Today we have the complete Word, the full guide of how we should live, testimonies, also future prophecies. So i believe these 3 gifts (healings, speaking in tongues and prophecies) have ceased around the time the Bible was completed.
.

As far as healings are concerned you should hit the missions field. Miracles still happen just as they ocured in biblical times. They simply don't happen (very often) in Western society because we have placed our faith in modern medicine rather than in Christ Jesus. Keep in mind Jesus Himself once said "When I return will I find faith?"

As far as speaking in tongues, I have heard more than one first person account where the Holy Spirit would speak to various people present at a meeting through someone in a foriegn language, a language inwhich the speaker has no fore knowledge of what so ever just as it occured on the day of Pentecost. In fact, it happened to one of our own pastors on a recent missions trip to Romania where he was attending a meeting with sevberal messianic jews from the area. Our pastor unbeknownst to him delivered a message in Hebrew during the service.

As far as propheies are concerned, most christians have absolutely no clue as to what true prophecy really is. Most prophecy has little do with predicting the future as most think. I could give examples however seeing as most would not understand I don't see the point.

What you guys must understand is this. God is the great "I AM". He is not "I ONCE WAS" or "I USED TO BE". The problem is not that the gifts have ceased. The problem is your compltete lack of faith.

 

[Shawn]

I agree with SonOfAdam on the speaking in tongues topic, but i would like to make some points about another "gift", the gift of healing. The "miracles" done today are nothing compared to the miracles Jesus and the apostles did. Any of you can confirm of someone being raised from death? or a real miraculous healing? like someone's amputated leg or arm gowing up in a blink of an eye? We tend to misuse the word "miracle". i have no doubts that God has the power to do such miracles still, but they are not happening because there is no real need of such supranatural miracles, they had a purpsse whenever they happened. A purpose of confirmation that they (Jesus, the apostles) were sent by God and doing His work, preaching His Word. Today we have the complete Word, the full guide of how we should live, testimonies, also future prophecies. So i believe these 3 gifts (healings, speaking in tongues and prophecies) have ceased around the time the Bible was completed.
.

How do you know that miracles today are nothing compared to what Jesus and the Apostles did? Are you involved in missions for every organization and denomination? Are you in contact with every Christian everywhere in the world even in underground churches in China and 3rd world countries? You're making claims about things that you can not logically know all there is to know about. Just because you don't see it on the nightly news doesn't mean it's not happening. I can tell you of one I've seen myself, but I don't know if it will do any good. You've already decided unless you see an arm or leg grow back that you won't believe. That sounds like anything less than that you will just count as a medical anomaly. After all...if cancer disappears that's on the inside of someone you can't really see it like an arm growing back can you? Therefore maybe it wasn't God at all....medical mysteries happen for scientific reasons after all... And you don't really know me either so what would my story prove? Likely not much.

That sounds a lot like Thomas who wouldn't even be content to see Jesus alive again, he had to touch his wounds and see for himself.

The healings and miracles of Jesus and the Apostles certainly were signs. Like you said they testified that these men were from God and that their words and Gospel were true. Therefore pure sign miracles are not needed since we have the complete Word and the Holy Spirit to draw us to God and reveal the truth. That's true and I agree with you (except I still can't say whether God will use sign miracles for certain circumstances today...who am I to box Him into what I think He can or will do?) But one thing you're missing is that there was more than one purpose for healings. These weren't cold magic tricks that Jesus performed to show He was the Real Deal. They had that purpose yes, but in almost every case of a healing the Bible also says Jesus was moved with compassion for the sick. He had compassion and love and anguish over their suffering and so He healed them. They showed He was God, but also that He is a loving God. To think He performed those things for nothing more than a sign seems sort of cold and indifferent. But the Bible makes clear that Jesus chose that type of sign to prove more than just his Divinity, but also to prove He has love and compassion. The same with His raising of Lazurus. This wasn't just something Jesus did to show what He could do, it was ALSO someone He knew personally. He saw how the man's family was suffering from the loss and He was so moved that He wept. You just can't think of a miracle or parable or the Words of Christ as having one purpose. God is very thorough and more complex than that. And if He did these things out of love then why would He not still have love and compassion for His people?

I'm really hesitant to even share a personal story with you or anyone thinking like you because quite frankly you'll likely just tear it down and try to explain why it was neither God nor a miracle. But...I will anyway. My sister had cancer while pregnant. The doctors told her to get an abortion as the baby would die anyway and the pregnancy would hurt her health. The condition was so serious that they gave her a life expectancy date..she had cancer cells in her blood and a tumor inside of her just slightly smaller than a tennis ball. She would not chose to abort her baby because of her beliefs and also the thought that she was going to die anyway so why do it. After a lot of prayer she slowly started feeling better and the cancer cell count in her blood was going down. After only a short while the tumor completely disappeared and now she's fine with no traces of cancer at all. I have a beautiful, smart, and healthy nephew now that could have been aborted or eaten away in the womb by cancer cells because we chose to hope and to believe and most of all to pray. Now some will say that no arm grew back in front of people or documented on camera. Others may say why did the healing seem to happen over the course of a few weeks and not instantly? Why are not all people healed? Don't medical mysteries like that just happen? Is this guy I don't know on the internet even telling the truth? I don't have all of the answers, all I know is that I believe My God can and does still chose to Heal His people and intervene in our lives. Sometimes in subtle ways, sometimes in huge ways.The doctors themselves called this a miracle and said they'd never seen a case like it. My sister told them the reason it happened. make of that story what you will, but I choose to pray and have faith in all situations. Does that mean life will be without problem because God will always do what I ask? NO....but I'm sure glad to have a God that can give me hope in any situation and peace even if the situation doesn't end up like I wanted it to.

 

[erika83]

Shawn, i am not a Thomas, i do believe it was God's hand in your sister's case and i am glad she and your nephew are ok, i think you missed my point. I rather don't believe that certain people have this miraculous gift of healing. I do believe our prayers are listened and when it's God's will he does chose to heal.
Also, we can't say that if one isn't healed it's lack of faith, i do know strong christians who are sick and they are still happy and accepted that God can glorify Himself in them.
About the arm growing out, it was just an example, but yeah if that happened i am sure it would be reported in the sensation hungry media.