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Speaking in Tongues.

Jesse (June 15th, 2006)

To my surprise, over the past few years it's been revealed to me that speaking in tongues aren't talked about in church very often. A lot of churches don't believe its real, or they question, "Are tongues for today?" Let me assure you that speaking in tongues is real, it is for today, and you can have the gift if you ask and receive it. I'm not worried about what anyone says or debates, tongues are real, period.

I am going to share verses from the New Testament, and I will quote Jesus as well. I'm not only admitting this as fact, but I am a witness to this unknown language. If you do not believe in the supernatural than it isn't possible to believe in God. This is not a scary gift, it's not something frightening, it's a language from heaven that you do not understand because it's the speaking of the Spirit. You may say it's mumble, but if you receive the gift you will see that you have a familiar vocabulary and accent that doesn't change. :) Maybe some of the verses below will clear some things up!

Mark 16:15-18 And he said unto them, "Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to the whole creation. He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved; but he that disbelieveth shall be condemned. And these signs shall accompany them that believe: in my name shall they cast out demons; they shall speak with new tongues; they shall take up serpents, and if they drink any deadly thing, it shall in no wise hurt them; they shall lay hands on the sick, and they shall recover." (ASV)

Read that again, Jesus is telling the Apostles to go into all the world to preach the gospel and those signs will happen for those who believe. If speaking in tongues was not ment for today, why did Jesus say that? There is no special interpretation, this is not a parable. Lets look a bit further in the New Testament:

1 Corinthians 14:39 So, my brothers, earnestly desire to prophesy, and do not forbid speaking in tongues. (ESV)

What is the purpose of tongues? Read below! I ask you to read it over again so you have a full understanding, even look it up in your Bible. I used ESV translation because I found it easier to understand.

1 Corinthians 14:2 For one who speaks in a tongue speaks not to men but to God; for no one understands him, but he utters mysteries in the Spirit.

You utter mysteries in the Spirit before God. I believe through the Spirit you pray for things that you would not think of in your mind. Below is how you should pray in tongues:

1 Corinthians 14:14-16 For if I pray in a tongue, my spirit prays but my mind is unfruitful. What am I to do? I will pray with my spirit, but I will pray with my mind also; I will sing praise with my spirit, but I will sing with my mind also. (ESV)

To receive the gift of tongues you must believe in Jesus Christ, and you must have a spirit of faithfulness. Meaning you can not use this gift to go in the streets and show off, it's between you and God. If Christ is your Lord, ask for the gift of speaking in tongues and receive it, instantly. All you do from now is just start speaking in it. A mistake some people make is they believe that they will suddenly speak in tongues out of nowhere or God will force it out of them. It's up to you, you can speak in tongues as long as you want at any moment, just speak out because once you ask - you have the gift, you only need to ask once.