The Kingdom of God!

 

Chapter 115

 

Years ago, there was a song that was sang a lot in churches that said, "Give me that old time religion, it was good enough for mom and dad and it is good enough for me"

 

I watched a minister this morning that was teaching revelation of years ago and he said that there is nothing to be fulfilled before the rapture occurs. What so many pastors do not understand is that the Holy Spirit is still revealing to those who have an ear to hear the mysteries of the Bible!

 

Whenever a ministry or a church does away with the gift of the Holy Spirit, which includes speaking in tongues, they become powerless. If you attend one of these churches, may I ask you a question? Have you ever seen a pastor or an elder lay hands on a sick person, much less anoint them with oil, and the person be healed?

 

If not, why do they deny the Lord Jesus when He said in Mark 16-18,

 

"And these signs shall follow them that believe; In my name shall they cast out devils; they shall speak with new tongues; They shall take up serpents; and if they drink any deadly thing, it shall not hurt them; they shall lay hands on the sick, and they shall recover."

 

Notice that He did not say these signs would follow just the Apostles! He said, "Them that believe! I was brought up being taught that these signs stopped when the last Apostle died. However, this theory does not hold water!

 

The great Apostle Paul who wrote 14 of the books of the New Testament said in 1 Cor. 14:18,

 

"I thank my God, I speak with tongues more than you all!"

 

Speaking in tongues is a gift of the Holy Spirit for us to edify ourselves and when spoken in a church setting, along with the interpretation, the Church is edified. Why would we not be edified if the Holy Spirit spoke to us through either, tongues and interpretation, or by prophecy.

 

Perhaps the biggest problem with the Old Time Religion is the lack of teaching on how to walk by faith and not by sight! To speak in tongues, requires faith on our part. Our programed mind will argue with us that what we are uttering is just gibberish because we don't understand the language. Paul acknowledged that in 1 Cor. 14:6-15, (KJV)

 

"Now, brothers and sisters, if I come to you and speak in tongues, what good will I be to you, unless I bring you some revelation or knowledge or prophecy or word of instruction? Even in the case of lifeless things that make sounds, such as the pipe or harp, how will anyone know what tune is being played unless there is a distinction in the notes? Again, if the trumpet does not sound a clear call, who will get ready for battle?

 

So it is with you. Unless you speak intelligible words with your tongue, how will anyone know what you are saying? You will just be speaking into the air.

 

Undoubtedly there are all sorts of languages in the world, yet none of them is without meaning. If then I do not grasp the meaning of what someone is saying, I am a foreigner to the speaker, and the speaker is a foreigner to me.

 

So it is with you. Since you are eager for gifts of the Spirit, try to excel in those that build up the church. For this reason the one who speaks in a tongue should pray that they may interpret what they say. For if I pray in a tongue, my spirit prays, but my mind is unfruitful. So, what shall I do? I will pray with my spirit, but I will also pray with my understanding; I will sing with my spirit, but I will also sing with my understanding."

 

Because the carnal mind does not understand tongues, or another language, it cannot fathom what is being said. When I was in Zurich, Switzerland, I spoke to an Assembly of God church and had to use an interpreter which spoke in high German that the people understood. Thus, I was able to communicate with them. This was a perfect example of speaking in tongues and interpretation which equals prophecy.

 

Another example of that Old Time Religion is prophecy. In the fundamental believing churches, very little is taught about prophecy because they believe that prophecy stopped when the last Apostle died! Paul said in 1 Cor. 14:4-5, (NIV)

"Anyone who speaks in a tongue edifies themselves, but the one who prophesies edifies the church. I would like every one of you to speak in tongues, but I would rather have you prophesy. The one who prophesies is greater than the one who speaks in tongues, unless someone interprets, so that the church may be edified."

 

Paul is talking about when we assemble to worship the Lord. I can prophesy but I have not been called by the Lord to be a prophet. Not everyone who prophesies is a prophet. The office of a prophet is a special calling of the Lord to benefit the Church. Prophets see into the future and tell the Church what is about to happen.

 

Paul also said in 2 Tim. 3:5,

 

"Having a form of godliness but denying the power thereof: from such turn away." 

 

During the great Charismatic movement, people were starving for a demonstration of the power of God and they searched for a church or assembly where the word of God was demonstrated in power. I was among them and a friend of mine asked my wife and I to go to a Full Gospel Businessmen's meeting with her. I was amazed that there were Catholics there and men and women from most denominational churches.

 

It was so refreshing to hear men and women give their testimonies of God healing them. It was at one of these meetings that I heard a man say that we can have a personal relationship with God. He based it on Paul's teaching on Col. 1:27 which says,

 

"To whom God would make known what is the riches of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles; which is Christ in you, the hope of glory:"

 

Jesus said in Matt. 5:6,

 

"Blessed are they which do hunger and thirst after righteousness: for they shall be filled." 

 

Also in Matt. 7:7,

 

"Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and you shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you:"

 

So, if you are in one of these churches that deny the power of the Holy Spirit my advice to you is to look around and find a church where the Spirit is moving and get involved in it.