Participants: Hal Steenson (Host)
Series Code: HPOV
Program Code: HPOV000006
00:01 Hello, I'm Hal Steenson and I would like to welcome
00:03 you to our program. On today's Heaven's Point of View 00:06 we are going to explore some of the major issues 00:08 surrounding tongues. Some of the foremost questions 00:11 I receive about tongues at 3ABN are from charismatic Christians 00:15 and usually deal with two main issues such as: 00:18 "Didn't Paul say he spoke with the tongues of angels?" 00:21 And "Are you not aware that there is a difference in the 00:23 gift of tongues and praying in the spirit?" 00:26 So is there really a private prayer language that is 00:29 heavenly and out of this world? 00:32 Well, I encourage you to get your Bible, call a friend, 00:35 and watch today's program. We are going to answer 00:37 these questions, and we'll be right back. 01:02 You know, the question is why do so many Christians 01:05 believe that they can speak in an out-of-this-world tongue 01:07 without scriptural basis? There are several possible 01:10 reasons for this to be accepted as truth 01:12 but it's actually error. One reason is 01:15 the misinterpretation of scripture. 01:17 Another reason could be the failure to look at the history 01:20 and the culture of the era when Paul wrote his first letter 01:23 to the church at Corinth. Then there is always 01:26 the possibility of pride and ego being a contributing factor 01:30 to keep people from admitting they've been doing something 01:33 unscriptural. This is why Jesus said in Matthew 11:15 01:38 "He that hath ears to hear, let him hear. " 01:40 He was not talking about natural ears, He was talking about 01:44 spiritual ears. One of the key reasons some Christians embrace 01:48 the error of tongues is because they incorrectly interpret 01:51 Paul's first letter to Corinth. Many think it is a perfect 01:54 pattern of how to conduct their worship service - when in fact 01:58 Paul's letter was telling the Corinthian church 02:01 the way that they were conducting their services 02:04 was wrong. The Amplified Bible clarifies why the 02:07 church services at Corinth were so out of order. 02:12 says: "However, brethren, I could not talk to you 02:16 as to spiritual men but as to non-spiritual men of the 02:21 flesh in whom the carnal nature predominates. 02:25 As to mere infants in the new life in Christ, unable to 02:29 talk yet. I fed you with milk not solid food for you were 02:33 not yet strong enough to be ready for it. But even 02:37 yet you are not strong enough to be ready for it. 02:40 For you are still unspiritual, having the nature of the flesh 02:46 under the control of ordinary impulses, for as long as there 02:50 are envies and jealousy, and wranglings and factions 02:54 among you, are you not unspiritual and of the flesh, 02:58 behaving yourselves after a human standard 03:01 and like mere unchanged men?" 03:05 The Corinthian church was divided, carnal, in strife, 03:09 and demonstrating worldly attitudes 03:11 and ungodly manifestations. For some reason, people operating 03:16 in the error of tongues are either blinded to the carnality 03:19 of the church at Corinth or refuse to accept the truth. 03:22 This is where our present-day church must demonstrate 03:25 the loving spirit of the apostle Paul and seek to help as many 03:30 as we can to come out of this deception. 03:32 Paul never accused the members of the church at Corinth 03:36 of worshiping the devil or at any time ever told them 03:39 that their services were Satanic because they were not. 03:45 He offered no external reasons or excuses for this error 03:49 but placed the blame on them by saying they were unspiritual, 03:54 motivated by the flesh, and unchanged men. 03:56 Paul centered in on their internal problems and their own 04:02 requirements to correct this in-house error. 04:05 What Paul did was to instruct them about how to correct 04:08 the problem and then continued to love them out of their error 04:12 and into the truth. Remember, Jesus said in John 8:32: 04:17 "And you shall know the truth, and the truth 04:19 shall make you free. " Paul demonstrated his love 04:23 for them and his desire to bring them out of error 04:26 and into the truth in 04:31 He says: "What will ye? Shall I come unto you with a rod 04:35 or in love and in the spirit of meekness?" 04:38 We find one such loving correction in: 05:02 Paul was not saying that this was the correct procedure 05:06 for their church services, he was asking why they were 05:09 conducting their services in that manner. 05:12 It's almost at the end of his letter before Paul 05:16 lovingly asks them to answer that question. 05:18 He asks the question to help them correct their mistakes 05:23 not to condemn them for making mistakes. 05:26 Their mentor was instructing them as a father would teach 05:30 his children; Paul was explaining that what they were 05:34 doing was wrong and how they could correct the problem. 05:39 It was only after giving godly instruction that Paul asks them 05:45 How come you are doing it out of order? He could have asked 05:51 or said, You bunch of carnal-minded hypocrites, 05:54 every one of you is so full of pride that you have to do or say 05:58 something in every service, and that's why your services 06:01 last so long and that people fall asleep. 06:04 No, he just said: Hey, here's what you're doing wrong guys. 06:08 Now correct it. Do it decently in order. And you know what? 06:13 They did! The real purpose of tongues was to be a sign 06:18 to the unbeliever, not for the believers to show people how 06:21 spiritual they were. There is no indication that 06:24 tongues were unintelligible anywhere - except at Corinth 06:30 where they were being used the wrong way 06:33 and for the wrong reasons. It is commonplace in some 06:36 churches for "prayer tongues" to be used for deliverance, 06:40 healing, and everything else but preaching the Gospel. 06:45 There is no scriptural basis for the gift of tongues 06:50 being used as prayers or to minister to an individual 06:55 yet this is commonplace. When these ministers pray for 06:59 people in their public services, they often pray in what they 07:02 consider to be their personal prayer language. 07:06 Now most scholars believe that Paul was able to correct the 07:09 problems noted in his first letter to the Corinthian church 07:13 because there is no mention of it - any misuse of the gift - in 07:17 his second letter. The difference between then and now 07:20 is the Corinthians had ears to hear what the Spirit of God 07:24 was saying in Paul's letter. We have the same letter. 07:27 It's here with us today, but those who practice the 07:31 false gift of tongues are mis- interpreting Paul's correction 07:36 of the misuse of the spiritual gifts and do not have spiritual 07:41 ears to hear. Well, Pastor Hal, what about 07:45 tongues being used as personal prayer language? 07:48 In addressing the subject of tongues being used as a personal 07:51 prayer language, those who believe and practice this are 07:54 quick to tell you "Well you just don't understand the difference 07:58 between the gift of tongues and prayer languages. " 08:01 How do I know? Because I said it so much 08:03 and so many times myself. You know what now? 08:06 I agree with them. I don't understand this prayer language 08:10 any longer because I now, I am looking at it from heaven's 08:14 point of view, and from heaven's point of view, the Word of God, 08:18 a scriptural prayer language cannot, CANNOT, cannot, CANNOT 08:25 be found in God's Word. Please recall that 08:28 someone's personal experience with tongues or any other gift 08:32 does not have precedence over the Word of God. 08:34 Two basic scriptures are used for justifying these phenomenon. 08:39 The most commonly-used one is Paul's statement in: 08:45 "For he that speaketh in an unknown tongue speaketh not 08:48 unto men but unto God for no man understand him 08:52 howbeit in the spirit he speaks mysteries. " 08:56 Now let me just toss something out here for you. 08:58 Paul in the 14th chapter of Corinthians, it was written 09:02 all in capital case Greek Koine. It had no punctuation. 09:06 If Paul could have, when he wrote this, punctuated this, 09:09 you would see that the majority of what is spoken in the 09:13 14th chapter of Corinthians is Paul asking the Corinthians 09:18 questions. How come you are doing it this way? 09:20 Why are you doing it this way? Do I have to do this in order 09:23 to do that? Now, once again, we reiterate the purpose of the 09:27 12th, 13th, 14th chapters of I Corinthians was to correct 09:31 an open and apparent error in the church. 09:35 When you consider this scripture in it's entirety, the true 09:39 meaning becomes known. The Contemporary English 09:42 version of the Holy Bible gives a perfect explanation 09:46 of what Paul is actually saying in this chapter. 09:48 I Corinthians 14:2-9 says: 09:53 "If you speak in languages that others don't know, 09:56 God will understand what you are saying though no one else 10:01 will know what you mean. You will be talking about 10:04 mysteries that only the Spirit of God could understand. 10:08 But when you prophesy you will be understood and others 10:12 will be helped. They will be encouraged and made to feel 10:15 better. By speaking languages that others don't know 10:19 you help only yourself. But by prophesying you help everyone 10:24 in the church. I am glad for you to speak 10:27 in unknown languages although I had rather for you to prophesy. 10:31 In fact, prophesying does much more than speaking in 10:35 unknown tongues. " Remember, unknown is in italics. 10:39 Unless someone can help the church by explaining 10:42 what you mean. My friends, what good would 10:46 it do if I came and spoke unknown languages to you 10:51 and didn't explain what I meant? How would I help you unless I 10:54 told you what God had shown me or gave you some knowledge, 10:59 prophecy, or teaching? If all musical instruments 11:03 sounded alike, how would you know the difference between a 11:06 flute and a harp? If a bugle call isn't clear, 11:10 how will you know to get ready for the battle? 11:13 That's how it is when you speak unknown languages. 11:17 If no one can understand what you are talking about, 11:20 you will only be talking to the wind. 11:24 When we look at this letter to the Corinthians, 11:26 we need to be aware of to whom it was written 11:30 and why it was written to them. This letter was not, 11:35 WAS NOT, written to an individual. 11:38 It was written to an entire congregation. 11:41 When Paul uses the word you, he is not speaking to or about 11:45 any specific person or individual in the Corinthian 11:49 congregation. He is referring to the you as being everyone 11:54 in - that - local - church. The you is not referring 11:59 to a particular individual but is addressing a pleural body 12:02 of believers. You see, Paul is not instructing someone 12:06 who could only speak a language unfamiliar to others 12:10 to stop talking in that language and then begin prophesying 12:14 in a language that he didn't speak or know how to speak. 12:18 Paul is saying: if you speak in a tongue - remember this is 12:21 not an unknown tongue - but if you speak in a tongue 12:24 that is not familiar to the congregation, 12:26 it's only you and God who could possibly understand it. 12:30 Why are you wasting your time talking to the wind? 12:33 He is telling them to just be quiet and let someone else 12:37 preach in a language the majority, if not all, 12:40 the congregation could understand. 12:42 He is emphasizing what they were doing was wrong 12:45 and he wanted to know why they wouldn't stop. 12:49 Didn't Paul say that he prayed in the spirit 12:54 and the understanding? The second scripture that is 12:58 commonly used to try to validate unknown tongues 13:00 as a prayer language, and I used it for years, 13:02 I Corinthians 14:14: "For if I pray in an unknown tongue 13:06 my spirit prayeth and my understanding is unfruitful 13:08 what is it then? I will pray with the spirit and I will pray 13:12 also with the understanding. I will sing psalms in the spirit 13:16 and I will sing psalms also with the understanding 13:19 since if Thou mayest bless with the spirit, he who is filling 13:22 the place of the unlearned, how shall he say amen 13:25 at Thy giving of thanks since what Thou doth say 13:29 he hath not known?" The use of unknown tongues 13:34 as a prayer language is often referred to as praying 13:36 in the spirit, and the source is taken from the above verse 13:41 of scripture. It is believed that the apostle Paul 13:44 plainly states that he prays in the spirit and therefore 13:48 it is scriptural. That's NOT what Paul said! 13:54 Paul said if, IF, if... 13:59 you are hearing me, right? 14:02 If I pray in the spirit, he did not say I pray in the spirit. 14:06 This would be like me saying If I could fly, 14:09 I wouldn't have to walk and then having someone tell everybody 14:13 that Hal Steenson said he could fly - when, in fact, that was 14:17 not what I said. Paul said if I pray, he didn't say I pray 14:21 or that he had ever prayed this way. 14:24 Paul did not say he prayed in a spiritual prayer language. 14:28 There is no scriptural foundation for anyone to believe 14:31 this error. There is no basis for this false prayer language 14:36 because of Paul's next question - get ready for this - 14:39 his next question to the church. Paul is bringing correction 14:43 to the church, so we must examine what the apostle 14:46 is saying. He is saying when you speak in a language 14:49 that the rest do not understand, it is of no use to anyone. 14:54 Paul is asking why he should have to pray two different ways 15:00 to try to understand what he had prayed the first time. 15:03 In the phrase, hold on to this, stay with me, 15:08 in the phrase "What is it then" Paul is NOT saying 15:13 that this is how it should be done. 15:15 He is asking them the question "Why are you doing it this way?" 15:20 Paul is saying if someone prays aloud in church 15:23 he should either pray so others can understand what he is saying 15:27 or else... be quiet. Paul writes in Romans 8:26: 15:32 Oh, and this is a scripture that so many times has been used 15:37 by the charismatic Pentecostals... 15:52 The Holy Spirit is the one that makes these groanings for us. 15:55 We are not doing the groaning! 15:58 Humans, according to this scripture, are incapable of 16:01 praying in this manner. How can they utter something 16:04 the Bible says plainly cannot be uttered? 16:07 The Amplified Bible states it perfectly: 16:39 Wow! This scripture plainly says it's the Holy Spirit that 16:45 does the pleading, not us. 16:49 Well, what about unknown tongues at Cornelius's house? 16:53 The question is asked "Didn't Cornelius's household 16:56 speak in unknown tongues?" Once again the answer is very 16:59 emphatically NO. Reason number one 17:02 is because there is no such thing as unknown tongues. 17:04 Reason number two is the Bible plainly tell us what actually 17:08 happened there. Acts 10:43-47 states: 17:12 "To give all the prophets witness that through His name 17:15 whosoever believeth in Him shall receive remission of sins. 17:18 While Peter yet spake these words" - he was preaching the 17:22 gospel - "the Holy Ghost fell on all of them 17:24 which heard the word and they of the circumcision which believed 17:29 were astonished. As many as came with Peter 17:33 because that on the Gentiles also was poured out the gift 17:37 of the Holy Ghost for they heard them speak with tongues 17:40 and magnify God. Then answered Peter, can any man forbid water 17:45 that these should not be baptized which have received 17:48 the Holy Ghost as well as we?" Now that's a key right there. 17:51 "As well as we?" The Message Bible clarifies the term 17:54 "as well as we" by translating it as "they received 17:59 the Holy Spirit exactly as we did. " 18:04 Peter proclaimed Cornelius's household received 18:07 the Holy Spirit the same way the disciples received Him. 18:10 We have established that the disciples did not speak in an 18:13 out-of-this-world language on the Day of Pentecost. 18:16 and all who spoke at Cornelius's household received the identical 18:21 gift the disciples did. Cornelius and his household 18:24 received the same gift, and they received it the same way. 18:28 This shows they could not have spoken in an out-of-this-world 18:33 incoherent, babbling language. 18:36 Peter and the others heard these Gentiles speak with the 18:40 gift of tongues, and they understood what they said. 18:45 They did not need an interpreter to translate for them 18:49 because they were all speaking in Peter's and the accompanying 18:53 brothers' native language. The native language of that band 18:59 of Italians would have been completely different 19:01 from Peter's. There is no reason to believe that the 19:04 Italians could have previously spoken Peter's language. 19:07 What the disciples heard was Cornelius and his household 19:11 declaring the wonderful works of God 19:15 in the disciples' own language. 19:20 You know, it's hard for us to comprehend because in America 19:23 people can go from sea to shining sea 19:25 and still speak one prominent language; however, 19:28 in Peter's setting, they couldn't expect to hear the 19:31 same language from town to town even if the towns were only 19:34 a few miles apart. There is also the possibility 19:37 that Peter did not previously speak Cornelius's language. 19:39 God may have given him the gift of tongues to preach 19:43 the Gospel to Cornelius's household. 19:45 Peter may have preached to them in their language 19:48 by the gift of tongues, and when the Holy Spirit 19:50 fell on them, Cornelius's household began to declare 19:53 the wonderful works of God in Peter's language by 19:56 using the gift of tongues also. 19:58 There was no need for an interpreter because they clearly 20:03 understood what each other was saying. 20:06 Paul instructs the disciples of John at Ephesus: 20:11 "When they heard this, they were baptized in the name of 20:15 the Lord Jesus and when Paul had laid his hands upon them, 20:18 the Holy Ghost came on them and they spake with tongues 20:21 and prophesied. And all the men were about twelve. " 20:25 These disciples spoke with tongues and prophesied 20:29 just like the apostles and the first Gentile converts did 20:33 at Cornelius's household. Those converts simply prophesied 20:38 in new languages. The disciples at Ephesus received 20:42 the Holy Spirit exactly as the apostles did on the 20:44 Day of Pentecost. On the Day of Pentecost, they first 20:48 spoke in tongues then they took their tongues into the 20:50 streets of Jerusalem and used them to prophesy or preach 20:54 the Gospel to the Jews. The disciples at Ephesus 20:59 did the exact same thing. They spoke in tongues 21:02 and then used their tongues and prophesied. 21:04 This word means to preach, to proclaim, or to share 21:10 God's message of the Gospel. 21:14 Now, this is how it happened on Pentecost. 21:16 This is what took place at Cornelius's household. 21:19 And this is exactly how it happened at Ephesus. 21:22 The only way the gift of tongues is to be used is to preach 21:26 and prophesy and Gospel. There is no other example 21:29 of the use of the gift of tongues in the Bible 21:31 besides being used to present the Gospel. 21:36 Now, let's begin to summarize some of what we've heard 21:40 here today. The error of the gift of tongues 21:45 or angelic language is simply this: the apostle Paul did not 21:50 say he spoke in an angelic language. 21:52 He said even if I could, he didn't say I do. 21:55 This is a hyperbole, simile, an exaggeration. 22:00 The disciples did not speak in an unknown tongue, 22:03 they spoke in the present-day, native, cultural language 22:07 of the Jews assembled at Jerusalem. 22:09 The Jews present on the Day of Pentecost 22:12 heard all the disciples speaking in their own individual 22:16 cultural language. The gift was not in the hearing because 22:20 the Jews knew this common language. It was their language. 22:23 The gift was in the speaking because the disciples had never 22:27 spoken it before. The Jews had heard the language before. 22:30 One reason so many people believe this error 22:35 is that they are blinded to the truth of the 12th, 13th, 22:38 and 14th chapters of I Corinthians. 22:40 Those chapters were written to lovingly rebuke and correct 22:44 the error in the Corinthians' worship services. 22:47 However, many believe Paul gave these scriptures to them 22:50 to use as a proper order for Spirit-led worship. 22:56 We are going to be back right after this break 22:59 and we are going to finish our summary here 23:02 and just share some practical applications with you. 23:05 Don't go away. We'll be right back in just a moment. 23:09 If you've been confused about what the Bible says about the 23:12 Holy Spirit's amazing gifts for the church, 23:14 you'll want to order your very own copy of this 13-part series. 23:18 It's available on DVD or video cassette from 3ABN 23:22 at a very special price. This 13-part series 23:25 with Pastor Hal Steenson makes a wonderful gift 23:28 for a friend or a family member. Just call us at: 23:36 You may also order it online at: 23:55 You know, there is no scriptural evidence of the need for an 23:58 interpretation when the gift of tongues is given. 24:00 However, when the false gift of tongues is brought forth 24:03 in many services in this day and age, there is always a 24:06 false interpretation. This is unscriptural. 24:09 In correcting the church at Corinth about tongues and 24:12 interpretation, Paul is not addressing the gift of tongues 24:15 because the gift of tongues never needed interpretation. 24:18 Paul would not have been referring false tongues because 24:23 he would never instruct the church to interpret an 24:25 unscriptural tongue. The only tongue left for him to correct 24:30 was the natural, cultural tongue. 24:34 On the Day of Pentecost, the Jews heard the disciples 24:36 declare the wondrous works of God by using the gift of tongues 24:39 but in modern-day settings, the interpretation is always 24:42 directed to the congregation in order to boost self-esteem 24:45 or self-importance. The Bible plainly tells us 24:48 that it is prophesying, not tongues, 24:51 that will boost, edify, and encourage us. 24:53 I Corinthians 14:3 says: "But he that prophesieth 24:57 speaketh unto men edification, exhortation, and comfort. " 25:00 That's prophecy. There is no scriptural basis for a personal 25:03 angelic prayer language. Every time angels appeared to 25:07 patriarchs of old, they always spoke in that person's common 25:10 language. We do not have one single example of an unknown 25:14 angelic language in the Bible. 25:16 The apostle Paul did not say that he prayed in the spirit. 25:19 He said "if I pray in the spirit. " This is like me saying 25:22 once again, "If I could fly, I wouldn't have to walk. " 25:25 Cornelius and his household did not speak in an unknown 25:27 tongue according to Peter. They spoke just as the disciples 25:31 did on the Day of Pentecost, and it was in the hearer's language. 25:34 They spoke with the gift of tongues and it was in Peter's 25:37 own language. Cornelius was Italian, and we do not have any 25:41 evidence that he knew Peter's language before this meeting. 25:43 The truth about the gift of tongues is that it is a real 25:47 gift, given by God through the Holy Spirit, 25:49 and is still valid in this present age. 25:52 The error concerning the gift of tongues is that the 25:55 modern-day tongue phenomenon is so far off base 25:59 from scripture it cannot even be considered a counterfeit. 26:03 Did you hear that? Can't even be considered a 26:05 counterfeit. The present-day false gift of tongues 26:07 is not even close to what the Bible teaches as truth. 26:12 Now hear this. If I went to Wal-Mart and tried to pay 26:17 for something with Monopoly money, I doubt anyone would call 26:21 the police and tell them I was passing out counterfeit money. 26:24 They'd probably just give me a pathetic look and advise me 26:28 to seek professional help. Again, it's doubtful anyone 26:32 would ever consider a $100 bill in Monopoly money 26:36 to be a counterfeit bill 26:38 of $100 U.S. currency. 26:42 They aren't even close to being the same thing. 26:45 They aren't alike in size, color, or texture. 26:48 The true gift of tongues from heaven's point of view 26:51 compared to what I have experienced in my charismatic 26:55 church and others, has no similarity. 26:58 The true gift of tongues and what I have often heard 27:01 is so different that I don't even consider them comparable. 27:07 They have nothing in common. 27:12 For those 18 years that I served God as a charismatic pastor, 27:16 I believed and taught what I now recognize as error. 27:19 I never worshiped Satan or even considered that I was doing 27:22 anything that may be wrong. In fact, I often prayed for God 27:24 to show me any error in my life and lead me into His truth. 27:28 Likewise, there many wonderful men and women of God 27:32 in all churches who would never knowingly give place 27:35 to the enemy. They love God just as I do and they want 27:38 more of God just as I do. My heart's desire is to 27:42 encourage each and every one of you to pray and ask God 27:44 to show you if there is any error that you may be 27:47 unintentionally operating in your life. 27:51 Psalm 119:130 says: "The entrance of Thy Word 27:54 brings light and gives understanding to the simple. " 27:58 Only His Word can dispel the dark areas we may be 28:02 embracing unwittingly. Turn to God. 28:06 Ask Him to show you, reveal to you, His truth. 28:31 On our next Heaven's Point of View, we'll take a look at 28:33 what we've learned so far and then summarize 28:35 the gift to speak, start on the gift to know, 28:37 which are the word of wisdom, the word of knowledge, 28:39 and the discerning of spirits. So check your 3ABN World 28:42 for the dates and times, and we'll see you there. |
Revised 2014-12-17