Date of message: 16 November
2003 Issue
118
Subject: We Have A Heavenly Language
Shalom, Boker-tov (good morning),
Ever imagine talking in the language of heaven and being able to communicate
and pray for things that will take place in the future in your life as
well as in the lives of others? Well, you can with the gift of tongues.
It is a very special gift and it is made available to all believers in
Jesus our Lord. In fact in all the accounts of conversions found in the
book of Acts of the Apostles, we read how believers were recognized as
believers when they began to speak and pray in tongues.
In fact, the apostle Paul called this praying in tongues as "the
prayer" or simply "prayer". He went further to describe
how the Holy Spirit helps us in our weaknesses and pray on our behalf
to the Father in "groanings which cannot be uttered" (Romans
8: 26-27). It was because of the amount of time Paul prayed in tongues
that he was able to heal people who came to him for healing and deliverance.
Because the Holy Spirit knows our future even better than ourselves, when
He prays alongside with us, He can call into existence the many things
which our natural human selves can never imagine or know in advance until
the occurrence later.
In my last message, I brought up the subject of the Hanukah lamp-stand
and how it was different from the seven-branch lamp-stand. The nine-branch
Hanukah lamp-stand is made with the middle or central candlestick movable
and it is customary for the lady of the household to light up the whole
lamp-stand by first lighting up the central candlestick and making use
of this lighted candlestick, she will then proceed to light up the other
candlesticks from the middle outwards.
There are a total of nine gifts of the Holy Spirit and this corresponds
to the nine candlesticks of the Hanukah lamp-stand. Since the gift of
tongues is a gift that all believers can receive from the Holy Spirit,
we can safely assume that the middle candlestick represents the gift of
tongues. When we operate in the spirit realm and continue to constantly
pray in the Spirit, we stir up the other eight gifts of the Holy Spirit
and our Heavenly Father will appropriate to us the other gifts accordingly.
What do we do with this gift of tongues? The apostle Paul set us an example
when he told us his daily routine in 1 Corinthians 14:18 - 19: -
18. I thanked my God I speak with tongues more than you all;
19. Yet in the church I would rather speak five words with my understanding,
that I may reach others also, than ten thousand words in a tongue.
Paul used the gift of tongues more than his normal known speech language
which, in his day, would have been Greek or Hebrew (among his Hebrew friends).
And he went further to say that his usage of the gift was not for communication
with others but was his medium of praying to the Father. According to
him, he would rather speak audible words which the congregation could
hear and understand than in an unknown language.
Praying in tongues in public became a problem to the church of Corinth.
Some of them would stand up right in the middle of a sermon and start
to speak in tongues thus interrupting the message. Paul had to write one
full chapter (1Corinthians chapter 14) to correct their common misunderstanding
of tongues. Tongues were to be used in the church in conjunction with
an available interpretation of that same message and not otherwise.
Praying in tongues is a new experience which the people who lived before
the time of Jesus did not have. Also, even when it was made possible by
the Father, it was granted only to a select few. According to the Talmud
(or collection of prominent Jewish writings), once a year on the Day of
Atonement, when the high priest entered into the Holy of Holies to offer
the blood of the sacrifice for the people, he would be granted a temporary
gift of tongues for as long as he remained in the Holy of Holies; but
he would not be able to use that gift once he had left the Holy of Holies.
The Lord would remove it because the Author of Life had not yet been crucified
and glorified.
My friends, what privilege we as believers in Christ Jesus have. We do
not have to earn it but the gift of tongues is freely given to all. But
first you will need to receive Jesus into your heart and then when the
Holy Spirit comes upon you, He will grant to you all the blessings that
the Father has in store for you in His treasure house.
One day, after all the Christians have been taken home to be with the
Lord, and should you by any chance be reading this article, be assured
that Jesus loves you so much that He already demonstrated His love for
you on the cross and there will be no condemnation for you once you put
your faith in Him but you will have eternal life (Romans 8:1). The Lord
cannot lie. For Him, whatever He speaks will come to pass.
If you have not already received Jesus into your heart and you would like
to do so, then pray this simple prayer to invite Him into your heart and
immediately you will experience His peace coming your way.
O Father, our heavenly Father, thank you for Your love for me in that
while I was still far off You sent Jesus Christ, Your only Beloved Son
to die for all our sins and because of His death, I have been forgiven
and now I am set free. Thank you that I am no longer condemned but I am
now a child of God,
Lord Jesus, thank you for coming into my heart and make my heart Your
home. Thank you also for giving me the Holy Spirit in my life to remind
me of my special position as a child of God the Father and as Your child,
I can start enjoying all Your blessings for my life. Thank you also for
the wonderful gifts that the Holy Spirit brings along with Him and for
imparting those gifts into my life.
Thank you because of what You had accomplished for us on the cross and
having risen from the dead for our justification, I am now eternally forgiven
of all my sin, greatly blessed among all men, a highly favored child of
God, deeply loved by the Father and completely protected in the Lord and
in the most precious name of Jesus Christ, Yeshua Ha' Mashiah, I pray.
Amen.
If you have prayed this prayer for the first time, welcome to the Family
of the Father (and it is a very large universal family). It is important
that you are not alone facing your personal challenges but that you can
obtain good help wherever you are. Why not take the time to find your
own local Christian family (local church) and worship the Father together?
You will be greatly encouraged when you meet together to worship the Father,
for fellowship and for the study of the Word of Christ.
Start receiving the blessings of the Father as you walk with Him in faith.
It is your inheritance in Christ and He wants you to start enjoying these
blessings right now. You do not need to wait until you reach heaven and
there is more from where they come from.
And my friend, continue to exercise the gift of praying in tongues and
with the usage, more gifts of the Holy Spirit will be imparted to you.
The Lord blesses you and keeps you,
The Lord makes His face shine upon you and be gracious to you and all
your loved ones,
The Lord lifts up His countenance upon you and gives you His shalom peace.
Numbers 6: 24 -26
Have a blessed week ahead, Shavrou-tov
Shalom,
Andrew L W Lee
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