Glossolalia

And for this afternoon's message, we'll have a sermon brought to us by our pastor, serving as Mr. Jim Tuck.

Happy Sabbath! Good to see all of you. As always, hope you had a great week that all went well for you. My watch stopped today, so I guess you're really in big trouble. No, I borrowed my son's watch, and I told him I don't know if I can wear that watch because it's pretty heavy. I might have a hard time actually doing gestures, you know, because this watch is so big.

You've never seen the clock at the Big Ben? It's about like that, you know. It's one of these big ones. I guess he doesn't want me to miss time and be late today. Good to have the eckemas back in the area, and apparently they were successful in finding a home, a house back that way. And we pray, of course, all goes through for them, for their home, because it is going to be very, very important as a base of operations when they begin to work over there in the new church area. But I wanted to talk to you today about something that is oftentimes we don't say a lot about in the church, and that is that many people have a conception of what being holy is.

And I remember, and I've seen people through the years kind of act out what I think they thought or perceived was holy. I remember many, many years ago there was a man who was a deacon, and he was so humble. When he walked, he bent over, just a long way. And he wasn't this way because he had some sort of a back problem. It's just he kept his head down always when he was around people in a kind of a humble fashion. And it looked, you know, to me, it just looked bad.

And as a young man, I thought, you know, maybe he's going a little too far with this humility thing. But it was his conception, you know, of what humility was or what being holy was. And, you know, some people have other conceptions about being holy, what it means to be holy. Some people think that making long, chanting-like prayers is being holy. I remember one time we were over in Pergamoe, you know, in Italy, and I was visiting with the director who was over there.

We were going around and we happened to go into one of the churches there in Pergamoe. And anyway, they were doing prayers and they were basically saying these prayers. And there were a number of people in the audience and they were saying these prayers over and over again, you know, the kind of the Hail Mary, you know, Mother of God, you know, and it was over and over again. And the Pharisees had that problem as well if you read in the Bible about it during Jesus' day. Repeating prayers like a chant when Christ called it, he called it vain repetition. In Matthew 6, verse 7, you know, some people actually think speaking in tongues is a sign of someone's holiness.

I remember when I was about 11 or 12, it was back in the early 60s, my brother that I mentioned to you before had become very ill. He had a tumor on his brain that, of course, was very, very concerning to my parents.

And I remember that they loaded us all up into a car and took us down to a Pentecostal church. And they were going to pray for my brother. So we got into the church, and apparently everybody knew what was going to happen, except me.

And so anyway, they took him up front in the church area, and then presumably the pastor had a number of other people around him began to pray for my brother. He was like five years of age at that time. And as they began to pray for my brother, he began to cry, of course, because of his age. It was kind of scary to him. It was scary to me.

But when I was seeing, all of a sudden the pastor broke into tongues. He began to use these words that I had not a clue as to what they were. And pretty soon, not only was he doing this, but others around him began to do this. And it just erupted in the whole congregation. And it was terrifying to me, that experience, even at 11 or 12 years of age.

But that was my first experience, you know, with a Pentecostal church and experience with those that speak in tongues. Usually, there must be a leader who whips up the emotion. He's got to whip up that emotion. And often, they use repetitious prayers to begin to do that. And people say it over and over again. It becomes like a mantra.

And then people tend to go into a trance. They let themselves go, and they go into a trance. Maybe the eyes roll back in their head. They begin to, in some cases, do some rather strange things. Some begin to speak in tongues until it catches on, like in that particular case I described to you. Then others begin to let go, and pretty soon, you've got a number of people that are speaking what most of us would say would be unintelligible gibberish.

You wouldn't have a clue as to what they were talking about. When one abandons his will and lets go and gives their minds over to it, it opens up apparently the mind to a spirit, and not necessarily a good one, that begins to affect not only one person, but it can affect a group of people. When the early church spoke in tongues, brethren, is this what happened? Is this what occurred in the earlier church? Let's go over to Acts 2. Certainly, Apropos isn't it, as we're approaching to Pentecost very shortly.

It's not very far off for us. But in Acts 2, verse 1, And when the day of Pentecost had fully come, they were all with one accord in one place.

The impression you get is that everybody was very much at peace and in harmony with one another.

And suddenly there came a, certainly what was supernatural, a sound from heaven as of a rushing mighty wind, and it filled the whole house where they were sitting. And we don't have this happen every day, do we? This was utterly unique, frankly, in the history of the church.

Then there appeared to them divided tongues as of fire, and one sat upon each of them, and they were all filled with the Holy Spirit. Some people would probably say they were just filled with the Holy Ghost. Usually they use the the old Anglo-Saxon word, but they were filled with the Holy Spirit, and they began to speak with other tongues as the Spirit gave them utterance. A lot of people don't see that part of the verse here, do they? As the Spirit gave them utterance, as it was necessary for them to speak, in other words. Since 31 AD, there has been a fascination of people with tongues. It has been something that has very much captivated the minds of many people. Tongues, as it's referred to here, comes from the Greek word glossa, which means a language. Merely it means a language, and actually a language that is naturally acquired. A language you can understand, like French or German or another language like that. I mentioned in the announcements yesterday that the title of the sermon was glossalalia.

Glossalalia merely means speaking in tongues. Should Christians participate in glossalalia, the speaking of tongues? You know, brethren, that there's an increasing usage of evangelicals, and even Catholics, of speaking in tongues, of glossalalia. It's like a wave that sort of goes through the country and around the world in different ways. There was an interesting study that was done by Dr. William Semeron, who is the author of a book titled Tongues of Men and Angels.

And in this case that they studied, in one case an experiment was conducted in which a recording of those speaking in tongues was played to several who claimed that they were able to interpret tongues. So here are people that say, well, we can interpret tongues. And so they recorded the recording of those speaking in tongues, and the results were quite interesting. Interpretations were general in nature and varied widely from one another. So basically, you really wouldn't still know what they said. The idea of people getting worked up and beginning to speak in a gibberish, though, is not something that is practiced just in Christianity among, of course, even the evangelicals, as I mentioned, and certainly the Pentecostals. Certainly the Pentecostals. But if you go to some African cultures, you know, they sometimes, of course, they will drink a certain potion, and pretty soon they're all speaking in the same type of thing. And interestingly, the Catholic Church has gone into some of these areas, and they have synchronized these groups into the Church, and they have basically said, well, what these people were doing is they were getting the Spirit.

And I would agree with that. They were getting the Spirit all right.

And it wasn't God's Spirit, though. But it's still being practiced, in fact, this type of syncretism is being practiced even to this day. Let's go on down through here in chapter 2, and verse 5, it says, And there was dwelling Jerusalem, Jews, devout men, from every nation under the heaven. And when this sound occurred, the multitudes came together. It drew everybody in. Of course, the Jews were already, you know, in Jerusalem for the observance of the Feast of First Fruits. They were there to keep the Passover, I mean, the Pentecost, as it was being observed. And so they all came together. And it says, And they were confused, because everyone heard them speak in his own language.

So if somebody is speaking in tongues, and let's imagine here, if all of you spoke a different language, you know, than the person who was speaking. So isn't the miracle more in the hearing than in the speaking? So it has to be that, doesn't it? And there were people from, apparently, you know, a dozen or more areas who spoke different languages. And they heard it in their own language. And it must have been, again, quite a remarkable thing for them. You know, if you've ever traveled abroad, you know, sometimes it's hard to find somebody who speaks English, who is able to know what you're even saying. And usually you do run across somebody who can do it these days, frankly. But if you get out into the hinder land of some of the areas, you will find it more difficult to do that. But they heard in their own languages.

Now, interestingly, when we look into the Bible, one of the things that Jesus Christ came to do, He came to teach the church, as He would raise up the church, that He intended them, those who were called, in fact us today, who were called to be the lights to the world. And Christ spoke about that quite a bit, didn't He? He talked about, you are a light to the world. We don't want to hide the light. We don't want to put it under a bushel basket. But we want the world to see as sort of an incident to the world, to the nations. What was the church to be like? Was Corinth an example of what the church was going to be like and should be like? I don't think so. I think we have some problems in the Corinthian church.

The Apostle Paul gives a very clear answer to what the church is to be like when he talks about it in the book of Corinthians. Particularly in Corinth, Paul basically has to show the Corinthian people, and this is not always an easy thing to do, that they were off base. One of the hardest things for me to do as a pastor sometimes is when I think, here you're talking to somebody who thinks they're doing the right thing. To tell them you're not. You're not. You're not. You're really not doing the right thing. It wasn't an easy thing for Paul to set the Corinthians straight on these things, but he did. But here in 1 Corinthians 14, if you want to turn to that particular chapter, Paul was pointing out to the Corinthians that they were off track.

And he was telling them what the proper conduct of the church services should be.

Particularly regarding spiritual gifts. You remember that Paul had also addressed the subject of even keeping the Passover. They weren't even observing the Passover right.

They were having a big meal, and people were getting drunk, and they were gorging themselves while others were going hungry and doing without. And the example was deplorable as far as God intentions as far as the church, and Jesus' intentions of the church being a light to the world. And so, Corinth was off track, and they were immature, spiritually speaking. They were immature. They were unwise. And Paul points that out to them. You're immature. You're acting like children. And their conduct, even though they may have thought, oh, we're doing the right thing, and a lot of people do, they think that they're doing the right thing, their conduct, their way of doing things, was bringing reproach on the church. Because of the confusion that people saw when they came in their midst. People should be impressed when they come in congregations. They should be impressed, brethren, that we're using the Bible. They should be impressed that our brethren are, they've got their Bibles open, and they're looking at the Scriptures. They're studying the Scriptures.

They're taking notes, and they're thinking about what is being said. That's impressive to people when they see that, because you don't see that a lot in the world. In the worldly churches, it simply is not there. Well, let's go to 1 Corinthians chapter 14. But here in chapter 14 of 1 Corinthians, Paul begins here in talking about the subject of gifts. But notice the first thing Paul says in this chapter, he says, pursue love. Now, why does he start there?

He's about ready to talk about what we've been talking about already, and he's going to talk about tongues. But he starts out by saying, pursue love. Remember that, but it might be good to underline that. That's the basis of everything that we do in the church is love, pursuing love. That Greek word there for love is agape, agape love. Now, what is the difference between the world's kind of love and God's agape love? Well, the world's love essentially is in going, in flowing. It's not really love at all. Agape love, though, is out going. Thinking about other people. It's not something for us, in other words, it's for others.

The Holy Spirit, we're told in Romans 5 that it enters into us and it goes out from us in the form of good works. And that's how agape love works. It goes out. It's outgoing. So Paul is saying, pursue love. Going on, he says, and desire spiritual gifts. We all should want to have spiritual gifts. We should want to have love. We should want to have the fruits of the Spirit, against which there are no laws. Those are very wonderful gifts to have.

We should want to have faith and other things that God gives to us.

He goes on to say, but especially that you may prophesy.

Then when people see the word prophesy, they go, oh yeah, this is a fiery preacher.

Not necessarily, brethren, the use of this word prophesy here can mean to foretell. Yes, it can mean that. And there are prophets in the Bible. But it also can mean to speak under the inspiration of God. You and I should desire that what we say is not being inspired by a demon.

Not being inspired by the dark side, but it's being inspired by God.

That we should earnestly desire that. It's connected with pursuing agape love. This outgoing love that comes as a result of the Spirit going through us, flowing through us, and out in the form of good works. But going on, he says, for he who speaks in a tongue does not speak to men, but to God. But no one understands him. However, in the Spirit he speaks mysteries. You get what he's saying here, brethren? That someone who speaks in tongues does not speak to men. He's going to have a lot to say about it as we go on here. But he who prophesies speaks edification if they are speaking under the inspiration of God, and exhortation and comfort to men. It's going to do these three things if it's God's inspiration that's coming out in the form of good works, the things that are being said or the things that are being done. It speaks edification. It speaks exhortation and comfort to men. It says, he who speaks in a tongue edifies himself, but he who prophesies edifies the church. And, brethren, don't think that in order to prophesy to speak under inspiration, you have to be behind the pulpit. You can do it in your fellowship here in the hall because God's Spirit is in you and God's knowledge is in you. You can say things that can really help other people. And it could be the use of that agape love. I mentioned that at the very beginning Paul emphasizes. He said, desire, spiritual gifts, but desire especially that you can speak under inspiration. That the Spirit of God will inspire you that what you say is proper, that what you say is truth. If we speak in a tongue that's not only understood by anybody but God, then who's going to help? Are we going to educate God? I don't think so, are we? We cannot edify God. We cannot exhort God. We cannot comfort God. We can only do that, brethren, with other people. And it could be a tremendous benefit for people who are really letting God's Spirit flow through them as a result of the knowledge that they've gained, and use that knowledge in a right and proper way in talking to and encouraging and edifying and comforting one another in the church. This is what builds in the church. It's outgoing in its nature, whereas tongues and chorath didn't really edify anyone. Apparently they were like that church I was talking about the very beginning. Everybody sort of broke into tongues, and I doubt they even knew what they were saying. I think it was probably nothing more than gibberish inspired by another spirit, the wrong spirit, not the Spirit of God. Verse 5, let's go on down through here in chapter 14. He says, I wish you all spoke with tongues, but even more, he says, even more than that, he said, I would like you to prophesy. I'd like you to speak under God's inspiration. That's more important. You know, Paul is saying here, for he who prophesies is greater. Do we get that, brethren? You want to be spiritual. You want to have God's Spirit, and you want to be viewed as spiritual. Speaking under God's inspiration, or as the word prophesy here is used, is greater than he who speaks with tongues, unless indeed he interprets. If he speaks in tongues and then he interprets for you, he tells you what he just said, that the church may receive edification. You see, that purpose, that the church could be taught, can be instructed. So, interesting again, as Paul talks about here, that someone who prophesies speaks by God's inspiration, and they are greater than someone who speaks in tongues.

So, the guideline Paul gives here in prophesying, that the prophesying, or the speaking under inspiration, should edify and it should comfort others. And that is what the gift of tongues should do, too. You see what he's saying here, that the gift of tongues ought to edify, it should comfort a person as well, just like speaking under God's inspiration. It should do the same thing, in other words. Going on here in verse 6, but now, brethren, if I come to you speaking with tongues, what shall I profit you unless I speak to you either by revelation, by knowledge, by prophesying, or by teaching? Unless I come to you, Paul is saying here, unless I'm going to reveal something to you, or I'm going to teach you something, you're going to gain knowledge from what I say, or you're going to be inspired, or you're going to be taught something, a lesson, or whatever, he says, what good is it? He goes on to say, even things without life, whether flute or harp, when they make a sound, unless they make a distinction in the sounds, how will it be known what is piped or played? It's like some people, you can hand them a trumpet, and you have no idea what they're playing. It would be that way for me. I'd just be blowing air through a pipe, and it would probably make about as good a sound, but you hand it to somebody else, I mean, and it's amazing what they can do. And you can pick out the melody, can't you? You know what the song is. But isn't that really what music is all about? If you can play the guitar, you want to recognize the song that's being played. You know, if you play a trumpet, or whatever the instrument might be, you recognize the melody of it. And Paul is just showing it, that's the nature of things. That's the nature of things, and that's how he explains about tongues.

He goes on to say, For if the trumpet makes an uncertain sound, who will prepare for battle? You know, the trumpet was used in ancient Israel to gather the armies together, to gather Israel together, to do battle. But if you don't know the sound, then, you know, the armies don't know what to do. So likewise you, unless you utter by the tongue, words easy to be understood. You get that? What he's saying here? Easy to be understood.

That's why when we have somebody get up and talk to you, we want you to understand what they're saying, right? And sometimes we have people that are better at that. I'm not saying that somebody's not converted, you know, but I'm just saying that some people have a talent, ability to do that, while others may not. But how it will be known what is spoken. But you will be speaking into the air. You might as well be talking to a mule, as we used to say. You know, if somebody is speaking, and nobody understands what they're saying. And so unless something is revealed, Paul is saying, unless knowledge is imparted by the speaker, or something is taught for learning, it's of absolutely no benefit. You know, over in 1 Corinthians 13, 1, I'm not going to turn there, but Paul mentions over there, he says, though I speak with the tongues of men and angels.

But have not love, I have become a sounding brass or a clanging cymbal. It's not going to really spell out anything to anybody. Now, I mention this particular verse here, because some people think tongues is speaking in an angelic tongue. And it has been set forth that the tongues of angels is Hebrew. I'm not so sure that is actually the case. And the tongues of men are other languages. So, you know, in the study of glossolalia in tongues, just to keep that in your mind. But even so, and I would probably guess that probably the angels do have their own special language. You know, I wouldn't, that wouldn't be something that would blow my mind to realize that they would. But there again, we don't know that language, do we? And if somebody doesn't interpret it for us, what somebody said, it makes no difference whether it's the tongues of the language we do not know among men, or whether it's an angelic language that no one knows. Let's go on down here in verse 10. Now, interesting, in verse 10, Paul talks about language. And he knew what he was talking about. He was a very educated man, erudite, you know, in background, having had the opportunity to set the defeat of one of the greatest teachers, Gamaliel, you know, he had that opportunity to have that very strong education, probably the finest that could be had. And not only that, Paul was a Roman citizen. See, he was not just an average citizen, you know, but as far as Jerusalem was concerned, he was somebody that had credentials in terms of education and whatnot. But going on down here in verse 10, let's notice here, he says, there are, it may be, so many kinds of languages in the world, and none of them is without significance. Now, what does he mean here? None of them are without significance. He says, none of them are without meaning.

It's like here we are, we're talking English. You know the words I'm using.

Very well. If you went over to Africa, you might speak Bemba. They have words that interchange with our words. I gave a sermon up in the northern part of Zambia, and they interpreted in Bemba. Now, sometimes they laughed in the places I didn't have anything funny, but you don't know what they're saying. You have no idea what they're saying to the congregation, but you trust, because they've been a long-time servants of the church, that they're conveying the right things. But no language is without meaning, words being things, right?

And, of course, those meanings change as well. But going on here, you know, the Apostle Paul goes on to say, verse 11, therefore if I do not know the meaning of the...let's expand this a little bit...the words of the language, I shall be a foreigner to him who speaks, and he who speaks will be a foreigner to me. You know, sometimes when people don't understand us, we shout at them. They're no sad, it's like they're deaf. And be good if you understood, you know, in the language. Look, I just don't understand your language. I'm not deaf, but, you know, that is what we tend to do.

But without interpretation, you know, unless somebody's interpreting something that's foreign to us, it's just going to benefit us nothing. Nothing's going to be understood. Verse 12, going on, even so you, since you are zealous for spiritual gifts...

He had a church and Corinth that was just really eager. They had the desire, but it was not channeled in the right way. But it says, let it be for the edification of the church that you seek to excel. You want gifts, let it be to teach the church, to help the church. Had that, you know, love that begins again this chapter, outgoing concern for the church and thinking about the church. Verse 13, therefore let him who speaks in a tongue pray that he may interpret. Apparently, it wasn't not that way in the Corinthian church. It was a free-for-all. You know, one person would start speaking in tongues and another. Who knows how many people were doing it? And it must have just been bedlam, you know, in terms of the chaos that was there. But he's saying here that if somebody's going to speak in tongues, let them pray that they can interpret it as well. So Paul is laying down the rules of the use of tongues and conduct within the church and what Christians ought to be doing. In verse 14, for if I pray in a tongue, my spirit prays, but my understanding is unfruitful. If you don't understand, you know, what you're praying about even, what good is it for you?

What benefit is for you? You know, we're not going to educate God. We're not going to exhort God. We're not going to comfort Him. Verse 15, what is the conclusion then? What is the summary of all that we've said? He says, I will pray with the Spirit and I will pray with the understanding.

If I'm going to pray and kneel down and talk to God, it's going to be in a language that I understand. Okay? I will sing with the Spirit and I will also sing with understanding.

In other words, we sing songs that we understand the words of it. But sometimes I remember when I was going to a master college, we would sing songs that were Italian or other songs. I can remember the words of the songs. Frankly, I had not a clue what we were singing. And I really, although some of the songs had very good melodies to them, you know, I never liked singing songs. I didn't know what I was singing.

And I'm sure I didn't have the right accent, you know. With it, they go with the language anyway.

But going on, it says, otherwise, if you bless with the Spirit, how will He that occupies the place of the uninformed, you know, how is a new person? You know, if we're going to do a prayer and we break out in tongues, how's a new person going to even know, you know, what's being said? How are they going to say amen at the end of it?

At you're giving a thanks since He does not understand what you say. For you indeed give thanks well, but the other is not edified. They're not taught by it. I don't know if you ever thought about a fact that a prayer, when you do a prayer over your meal, in the company of others within that come to your home for meals, in a way you are edifying the other person. You're edifying the other person about what you understand, you know, and the way you think.

And of course, besides that, we are thanking God for what God has done for us and thanking particularly for the bounty of the food that He supplied to us. You know, Paul is saying that yes, you should pray to speak in tongues, but at the same time, you have to pray that you can interpret whether you're singing, whether you're praying, so there's understanding so that others can be edified or taught by it.

You know, when you read what Paul is saying here, probably very few of the people in Corinth truly spoke in tongues because they weren't interpreting them.

You know, there have been those who've actually been around people that speak in quote-unquote tongues, and that it was gibberish. And in some cases where they could understand what was being said, sometimes it was foul language that was being used. So again, we want to be very aware of the dangers of speaking in tongues. Again, probably the Corinthian people were speaking nothing more than gibberish. Probably you might characterize the Corinthian movement as the first Pentecostal movement in the church that went awry, that was not as God had intended it to be. Going on here, he says, I thank my God I speak with tongues more than you all. Like I say, Paul was a very educated man. He spoke Aramaic. He spoke Greek.

Probably Latin, since it was a big part of the upper crust of the Roman Empire. And because after all, he was a Roman citizen.

And he amazed the Jews when he stood up and he spoke Hebrew.

Those were just the languages we know about. The Corinthians, on the other hand, perhaps spoke Latin, but probably spoke Greek. So Paul indeed spoke more languages, more tongues, than everyone that was there. Yet he says in the church, I would rather speak five words with my understanding that I may teach others also than 10,000 words in a tongue than nobody understands. So he's not elevating the tongues movement that had broken out in the Corinthian church. He's not trying to say it is not something that should ever take place, but he's trying to bring people down to realize that it's not really a sign of true spirituality. You know, if one speaks in tongues, I think a lot of people actually still think that, at least in the world. I don't know that in the church we've ever thought that. So Paul said he'd rather just speak five words you can understand than 10,000 words that could not be understood. If you get the ratio there of that, verse 20 going on, brethren, do not be children in understanding. However, in malice be babes, but in understanding be mature. You see here he's saying you're immature, brethren, if you think this way.

The way you're thinking. You're immature. You're children. And interestingly, you know, because of what they were doing, unfortunately, in some cases there may have been, in the case of some, like with, in fact, Simon Magus that was mentioned, that was so impressed by the miracles that took place under the hands of John and Peter that they were trying to gain position. And there was malice that was involved. You know, we are to observe, we were told to observe the days of unleavened bread, you know, with sincerity and truth and not malice and wickedness. That we want to practice, in other words, agape love. That is what Paul is talking about here, that, you know, if you're going to be have malice, he says, do that as babes. Be immature about that.

But, you know, be mature and of understanding. And it says, in the law it is written, and he cites this prophecy back in Isaiah 28, 11, with men of other tongues and other lips I will speak to this people, and yet for all that they will not hear me. Now, you get what he's saying here, brethren? This was a prophecy, you know, clear back in Isaiah's time, that God was going to perform a miracle, and people would hear in other languages, when did this happen, brethren? When did this happen?

Pentecost, right? Wasn't that fulfilled? Didn't it take place, as God said? Indeed, it did. And at that time, it was a sign. It was a sign to people. And at that time, it was the beginning of the New Testament church, a very momentous thing. If you look back in the Old Testament, what was given on Pentecost? When Israel was gathered, remember at the foot of this particular mountain, what was given?

The law, the Ten Commandments, right? So, and remember what happened? The smoke and the thunder, and people got afraid, and they ran away, and they said, Moses, you speak to us. Because if God talks, we're going to die. You see, a momentous thing happened. And on Pentecost, at the beginning of the New Testament church, there was the fanfare of the tongues of fire, and the speaking of tongues, the fulfillment of Isaiah 28, verse 11, when they would hear in other tongues.

And on that day, brethren, 3,000 people were added to the church. But, you know, that was a drop in the bucket to the probably the two and a half million that were gathered for Pentecost there. A lot more probably saw this miracle than 3,000 that occurred at that time. So, but going on here, therefore tongues are for a sign, Paul said. Not to those who believe but to unbelievers. But prophesying is not for unbelievers, but for those who believe. And remember, it's more in the hearing that it is in the speaking. It happened with another occasion when, you know, the tongues were spoken by John's disciples who had never heard about the Holy Spirit. There was a confirmation among John's disciples of which there were many, many of John's disciples that would benefit from this through what happened. The John's disciples spoke in tongues as well a little bit later on. That's another topic for another time. But, you know, we see this example here of being a sign of where God was working. Again, not necessarily that this is something that's going to happen every Sabbath. Not something's going to happen every time God's people gather together. But it was a sign that followed the church. But we know that Paul here is talking about, he says that it's a sign not to those who believe, but to unbelievers. It sort of gets their attention, doesn't it? Therefore, if the whole church comes together in one place, here he lays out the parameters, brethren, the guidelines for the church. He says, therefore, if the whole church comes together in one place, it all speak with tongues, and there come in those who are uninformed or unbelievers, will they not say that you are out of your mind? If you're doing what you're doing, Paul is saying, but if all prophesy and an unbeliever or an uninformed person comes in, he is convinced by all, he is convicted by all. Now again, that's not that the spirit fills the whole church and everybody is just, you know, you're saying one thing and another person is saying another thing, and you've got badminton that way, even if we're all speaking in English. But if everybody, what is said in a very orderly manner, and it's inspired of God, and it's intended to exhort and strut and comfort, you know, then a person is going to say, surely, you know, we're hearing the way of God. So this is what Paul is talking about. In verse 25, and thus the secrets of his heart are revealed, and so falling down on his face, he will worship God and report that God is truly among you.

That's the purpose of being a light.

And that's what we ought to strive to be as God's church here in Phoenix always. And we've always had, again, a reputation in the Phoenix area of being a very close-knit group of people, a very dedicated group of people with a lot of love in the congregation. And that's as it should be. But verse 26 going on here, how is it then, brethren, whenever you come together, each of you has a psalm. You know, if somebody says, well, I bet God has just shown me that I've got to read this psalm to everybody. Now, there are some people that think that way. Each one has his own teaching. Oh, God showed me something this week, and I've got to share it with the whole congregation.

It says, has a tongue, has a revelation, has an interpretation. And what Paul says, the guidelines here, let all things be done for edification.

If anyone speaks in a tongue, let there be two or at the most three, he's saying, each in turn, and let one interpret. So when you come to church, how many people do you see up here? You don't see, you know, half dozen people, do you? You see a few people that have instructions that they want to pass on through God's inspiration. It's done in a very orderly manner.

And he says, if somebody's going to speak in a tongue, there must be an interpreter. You know, if you're going to speak English and everybody speaks in Bimba, got to have somebody standing right here, you know, that speaks Bimba. That's exactly what we do.

But if there is no interpreter, let him keep silent in the church and let him speak to himself and to God. You know, so if I go over to Africa to speak, and I got nobody that can translate Bimba, I don't say anything. So you see, that's the way it works.

Now that doesn't mean I don't try to communicate with people on a personal level, but I'm not going to get up in front of a congregation. I don't have somebody to tell the brethren what is being said.

And by the way, if you ever get an opportunity to speak and have an interpreter, you could turn a sermonette into a sermon.

Because it takes a little longer.

The most interesting time I ever had an interpreter was in Milan, Italy, and I gave a sermon on the beast power.

And it was kind of interesting, but, you know, here you're at the seat of the beast, and you're giving a sermon about the beast. This seemed strange, you know. There.

Mr. Anastasi, Carmelo Anastasi, interpreted in Italy, so in Italian, and so I know he did a marvelous job. He's a great director over there in the work in Italy.

And it says, let two or three prophets speak and let the others judge. Now, apparently, there were those who were prophets. And I mentioned to you the word prophecy can mean either a foreteller or somebody who speaks under God's inspiration. And presumably, a prophet was somebody who would foretell. Now, I only know of one other prophet that's mentioned by name, and that is Agabus, the prophet, that apparently, you know, was in Judea. But it says, let two or three prophets speak, and let the others judge. And if anything is revealed to another, who sits by, let them keep silent. You see, it has to be always done in a very orderly manner. For you can all prophesy one by one that all may learn and all may be encouraged. So it has to, again, fit within the parameters, though, that Paul described of those three things that love really does.

That it's supposed to exhort people to teach, in other words, and inspire other people. But some people are bound to say, well, I just can't contain myself. You know, I've got to share this with everybody. I just got burning within my soul. Got to tell you about this. But what does it say? Verse 32. The spirits of the prophets are subject to the prophets. That's true with God's spirit. God's spirit, brethren, does not seize you. It, incidentally, if you have something that seizes you and you fall backwards or whatever, it's the wrong spirit.

The spirit of God doesn't make you do things. It leads you gently. It leads you to see things, to understand things. So the spirits of the prophets are subject to the prophets. We are in control through the Holy Spirit of our emotions and the expressions of our emotions and the things that we have to say. Now, God can put things in our minds. Certainly true. He can lead us to see things through the Holy Spirit. But, you know, we can control how we conduct ourselves and what the proper conduct is, always doing things in order. For God, verse 33, is not the author of confusion, but of peace, as in all the churches of the saints.

Then he goes on to say, verse 32, let your women keep silent in the churches.

And so the women are not given the responsibility of teaching, and the congregation from the pulpit, you know, in the overall instruction of God's people, but is given the responsibilities given to the men of the church. And maybe it's because God understood what would happen. I remember Mr. Armstrong many years ago making the statement that if we could ordain women, we would have hundreds of women to ordain as elders.

Women have an ability. I remember when I went to Ambassador College, it was the women who gave the best speeches. They put us to shame. It's a wonder they could get anybody to be in the ministry, you know, because the women, you know, were the ones who did such a good job. And this were in the speech classes that we attended. I know if anybody went through those things, it was sort of that way. You know, men just did not have the same ability to express, you know, themselves as others, the women did. But God's instruction here about it is, in terms of women, their role is different. But it's just for they're not permitted to speak, but they are to be submissive, as the law also says. And if they want to learn something, let them ask their own husbands at home, for it is shameful for a woman to speak in the church. Again, from a pulpit standpoint, but also, you know, wanting some oneself as a teacher in the congregation. You know, it is also contrary to God's way, not only for women, but men to do the same.

Or did the Word of God come originally from you? Or was it only that it reached? Or was it you only that it reached? If anyone thinks himself to be a prophet or spiritual, Paul says, "...let him acknowledge that the things which I write to you," since he was the apostle, are the commandments of the Lord. This is what the teaching in the church is and should be, Paul is saying. And if someone thinks they're spiritual, someone thinks that they are a prophet, or they have some position in the church, Paul says, then you will immediately recognize that since I am an apostle, I have the authority to say these things and you will agree if we are working off of the same spirit, if the same spirit is in you and me. But if anyone is ignorant, let him be ignorant. Therefore, brethren, desire earnestly to prophesy, again, simply to be inspired of God. And do not forbid to speak with tongues. He says, let all things be done decently and in order. This is the way of God's church.

Now, you notice here that Paul did not, and we do not in the church, brethren, forbid anyone from speaking in tongues. But he taught the Corinthians how to use tongues properly. And the proper way for it to be used again is to show that agape love, of outgoing concern, of helping, of exhorting within the congregation, of building up within the congregation, and in the atmosphere always of doing things with honesty and purity, and that there should be within the church a proper decorum of order and decency. So the main points, brethren, of what Paul says in this chapter, the main points of what he taught to the Corinthians and what we should practice in the church, is number one. Whatever is spoken must be a real language that can be interpreted. And either the person has to interpret it, or there is someone who is able to interpret it. Number two. Someone speaking an unknown tongue must be able to clearly translate what is said. Number three. Everything must be done decently and in order. Number four. Women are not to participate in either as tongue speakers or speakers in the service. And number five. All must be edified by what takes place. So it has to profit everybody in the congregation. It's a big benefit to everybody in the congregation. So, brethren, as Christians, you know, should we practice tongues? We, as gods, people should practice wisdom and maturity and the use of tongues. There may be a time in the future where we may see extraordinary things happen, like what happened in the early church when the church began.

When it's necessary, when it is needed, it's not going to be for Austin Tayshia's show.

It's going to be for the education of everybody in the congregation and the benefit of all.