You are invited to stop hiding behind maturity and start craving the spiritual milk and meat God offers. Come forward with an open heart to receive prayer, allowing the Holy Spirit to baptize you in His power and presence. Let this be the moment you choose to follow Jesus into the unknown with confidence.
*1 Corinthians-14:39-40*. And then, we're gonna pray. It says, therefore, my brothers and sisters, **"be eager"** everybody say, be eager. Be eager. That's a command.
Be eager to *prophecy* and do not forbid speaking in tongues. Uh-oh, I heard it. Uh-oh. This is real church. We're going there.
Alright. Let's read it again. Therefore, my brothers and sisters, be eager to prophesy and do not forbid speaking in tongues, but everything should be done in a fitting and orderly way. Let's pray. Father, I thank you for who you are.
I thank you for what you've done and what you've been doing in real church. And Lord God, we unashamedly wanna pursue you in spirit and in truth. So today, ask you to speak through me, to give this congregation the adequate information that we need. Holy Spirit, I ask you to breathe on that, so we have a deeper personal revelation of who you are and how you want to use us in our daily lives. And then activate it through impartation.
So Lord, we can not just hear it as information, but can become what we hear, and live it out in our daily lives, so others can see you more clearly through us in authentic ways. In the name of Jesus. Amen. Alright. You may be seated.
I'm a start with this is going to be a very vulnerable message. This is, I'm just going to be bearing my heart with you and my soul with you, and I'm excited about it. And also, if we could close that door, that would be great. Praise the Lord. *1 Corinthians-14* and verse 1 says, follow the "way of love".
I want you to know when I read that, God is love. *1 John-4* says, there's no fear in love, but perfect love casts out all fear. Because fear has to do with punishment. The 1 who fears has not been made perfect in love. So, in everything in our relationship with the Lord, and as we move forward in Him, there is and should be no fear.
And if there's any fear, we have to go to our Father and receive His love in that area. Amen? And, as we grow in maturity, in the way of love, we're willing to sacrifice ourselves to follow Him, and to sacrifice ourselves, so that those around us can see Him more clearly through us. Does that make sense? Alright.
Follow the way of love and eagerly, everybody say eagerly, desire gifts of the spirit, especially prophecy. Now, that says to eagerly desire, and a of lot people would say, well, that's just Paul writing it. No. Wait a second. Hold on.
The Bible says that every scripture is God breathed. That means that's God commanding us in the New Testament to eagerly desire the gifts of the spirit. The problem is, a lot of people in the Christian church don't read that verse that way. You know how you read the bible by how you live. You know how you read the Bible by how you live.
If you look at your life and it doesn't line up with Scripture, you've been reading the Scripture wrong. Or not at all. So let's read this verse how a lot of people read it, looking at their lives. Follow the way of love, and eagerly desire the gifts of the Spirit, as long as I'm comfortable with those gifts of the Spirit. And if I'm uncomfortable in any way, then I'm going to ignore those gifts of the Spirit, and every verse that has to do with those gifts of the Spirit, and everybody that practices those gifts of the Spirit, and I'm never gonna talk about it.
I'm just gonna do that my best to live a a holy Christian life the best that I can, while ignoring all of those things my father paid for. Now, if that was like a big punch to the gut, I love you enough to say it. But you have to kick if the shoe fits, you have to be the 1 that kicks it off. So what we should do to this command in scripture is if we realize there's any gifts of the Holy Spirit that we have not been eagerly desiring, that's a command. That means we need to confess, which means, hey, you're right, Holy Spirit.
I hadn't been eagerly desiring the gifts that Jesus paid for. And then, repent. Repentance means, I'm changing my thinking in this area, and turning my life to act in the way that's in line with scripture. God, I don't know how to eagerly desire the gifts, but I ask you to give me a desire for them, and I'm gonna follow you as my good Father. On Friday, I took my kids to Highland rec center.
My wife took Selah to to a meeting with her, and then they went to wash night, which is like a worship night we do, the last Friday night of each month. I'd encourage you all to go. It's awesome and wonderful. We worship Jesus together, pray, it's beautiful. But it was my turn with the kids, her turn to go.
So I kept Trip, Eden, and River. River is my almost 2 year old, she'll be 2 in about 2 or 3 weeks. Trip's 11, Eden is 7. And we went, of course, I didn't wanna cook dinner, so we went to get some food. My wife is an amazing cook, and I want to enjoy her meals, and not not let her know that I can cook a little bit.
Okay. So, after we went and got some food, we went to Highland Rec Center. And we went to play on the play place, which is kinda like a Chick fil A play place, or like an old school McDonald's play place, except much bigger and much better. So on 1 side, you have the side that is for over 5 years old, it's like 3 or 4 stories high, there's a huge slide that slides all the way down, and you can climb all the way up, and there's all these obstacles, and it's wonderful and cool. And then on the other side, there's a big place for kids under 5 years old, who are not ready for all of that yet.
And so, of course, Trip and Eden are used to playgrounds, so they're just going and running. And this is the first time I've ever taken my almost 2 year old to this place before. So, we go to the opening of the smaller play area, and there's tunnels, and there's holes to climb through, and there's like ramps to climb up, and I put her forward, I said, go ahead, baby. And she goes, daddy. Because she's never experienced it before, so she's uncomfortable.
And she wants to know that it's okay, and her daddy's with her. She wants to do it in a relationship with me. So she grabs my little finger, and I climb with her, we climb up the little ramps, and everything is new, and she's constantly looking to see if I'm okay. Because if I'm okay, then she's okay. Right?
And then we get to the top, and there's these, like, punching bag looking things that are hanging from the ceiling. There's 3 in a row. It's like obstacles, you know, you can push it, and they go back and forth. And my daughter gets to them, and she's I I kinda push her forward to go play with them, and she runs back, daddy. And so I I put my hand on it.
I look. I say it's okay, and then I climb through it, and then she follows me, puts her hand on it in the way that I put my hand on it, and as she sees me do it, she gets more comfortable, and she walks in it, and she's growing in confidence. Make sense? And then we get to the slide. Now, slid before quite a few times, but this is a new slide, it's a little bigger slide, and it's a tunnel.
And so I have to do it with her the first time, and I do it with her the first time. And then she gets a little bit more confidence. The next time, I'm a little bit behind her and a little bit in front of her, but she's doing it, and she's touching things, still looking back at me from time to time, and the more time she spends with me doing these things, the more confident she gets, and she understands my ways, and then gets the confidence to walk in my ways as long as I'm my presence is there. Does that make sense? And so she gets more and more confident.
You know, in first Peter, it says that we are you know, let's just read it. 1 Peter-2. I don't wanna quote it wrong for you. Fumble through it. Verse 1, therefore, rid yourselves of all malice, all deceit, hypocrisy, envy, slander of every kind.
Like newborn babies, crave "spiritual milk", so that by it, you may grow up in your salvation. Now that you have tasted that the Lord is good. I don't ever wanna hear again anybody say, I just want meat. We're commanded like newborn babies to crave spiritual milk. Now, are we gonna get meat as we get more and more mature?
Yes. Absolutely. But, you know what the purpose of getting meat is? As a mature believer, digesting it and giving it out as milk to those around us. Amen?
Come on. That's good. That's good preaching. Too often, mature believers are like, I won't, I won't, I won't, and really, they're acting like little toddlers because it's all about me instead of laying your life down to serve those around you. Amen?
How are we gonna help those mature and be great a great church of discipleship if we're always concerned about what I'm getting? We won't. So, my little daughter is getting more and more confident, and then here come my 11 year old and my 7 year old. And they're super confident because this is normal for them. As a matter of fact, it's a little smaller than what they used to, so what do they do?
Oh, River, let's play. And they run, and they get excited, and their over excitement, and they're pushing her to things that she's not comfortable with, causes her to be scared again, and to run to daddy. What is a lot of times we do as mature believers on things we're comfortable with, but those around us are not? The exact same thing. Right?
I don't want to do that. So, at Real Church, with the gifts of the Spirit and the power of the Holy Spirit, I want to create a place, this this is a place where if you're brand new, and maybe you come from a background that is far from the power of the Holy Spirit, you've maybe ignored it, read that first verse like I read it for all of your life, and now you're just beginning to experience the reality and amazingness of it, I wanna create a place where it's okay for you to question, and it's okay for you to like, have the freedom to step out, learn, and fail. How can we grow without the freedom to fail? You can't. Anything in any area of your life, it takes some suffering through uncomfort in order to grow in any area of your life.
Amen? But then also, I want a place where those who are mature in the power of the Holy Spirit and gifts of the Holy Spirit, you have the freedom to continue to grow in amazing ways, while understanding the boundaries of the Bible, and understanding that we do it out of love. What does the first part of *1 Corinthians-14:1* say? Love. And what did Jesus do?
*Jesus sacrificed himself. That is love for our sake. And what do we do? We sacrifice* ourselves for those around us to help them and pull them forward. Because we might be mature in an area they're not, and they might be mature in an area we're not.
So we have to have the humility to be able to be corrected by them, and the confidence and freedoms freedom to be able to lead them in other areas, and it's the body of Christ coming together like this. Amen? Some of you guys are sweating. It is hot in here. I agree.
Okay. 1 more thing before I keep going. Talking about the gifts of the *Spirit* and and and the importance of not ignoring them. All of them. Because it says, eagerly desire the gifts of the Spirit.
The Father loved the world so much that He sent His 1 and only Son, and Jesus died on a cross. Jesus paid his life. So the Father paid the Son's life. Jesus paid his only life, his his own life for us, not just to forgive us of our sin. That's part of it.
To wash us clean. That's part of it. But also also, to make us a *temple* to put his spirit in us. And then, to give us the gift of the baptism of the Holy Spirit, to have his spirit and power on us, to be able to have the power to live like he did. And in the baptism of the Holy Spirit are all the gifts of the spirit that Jesus paid for, he paid his life for, a very high price.
Some of you, I just hit your theology a little bit. That's okay. We're gonna get there. *Jesus paid a high price for each 1 of those things. It would be like if I paid a very high price for a set of gifts* to give to my son.
Like, I paid a $100,000 for this set of gifts. And so, give him the first gift, and he looks at it, and I say, son, I I paid so much for you. I'm excited for you to have this. This is gonna help you out so much more than you could even ever imagine in this moment. But don't worry, you will.
Just trust me that I love you enough to give you this gift right here. And and my son goes, that's weird. No. And then he ignores it. How am I gonna feel as a father?
I'm gonna be sad. And I'm not going to entrust him with the rest of them, until I know he honors the 1 I gave him. And trust my love enough to understand it, to pursue it, and to grow in it. And then, man, I'm gonna pour out more and more as he's faithful with the little I give him, I'm gonna give him more as he's ready. Amen?
How many of you want all that God has for you? How many of you okay. Let's just do this. As an act of repentance, as an act of repentance for not eagerly desiring the gifts, I wanna invite you to stand for just a moment. We're gonna we're gonna pray this together.
Raise your hands as a sign of surrender, not to me, but to Jesus as Lord. Say, Jesus. Jesus. I ask you. I ask you.
To give me a desire. Desire. For everything you have for me. For everything have the gifts. Of Holy the Spirit.
The Spirit. Teach me what they mean. Teach me what And as you challenge me, out of my comfort zone, you're my Lord, so I have to follow. I I repent. I repent.
Amen. Amen. You guys okay? Alright. Like I said, this is different.
I'm I'm doing a little teaching, we're just talking back and forth, kinda bearing my heart, bearing my soul with you. It's fun for me. Are you guys okay? Alright. So, you know, we're going to get into all of this, but the question, I guess, is what's the purpose, or why would God give out these gifts?
And we're specifically going to talk about tongues a lot today, because I haven't talked about it much. And I'll I will say this. Over the last month and a half, 2 months, of our church, you've seen a lot of the gifts on display more than ever before. For instance, I taught on words of knowledge about a month and a half ago. In that service, there were multiple words of knowledge given, there were 15 people healed during the message alone, and then multiple other people that were healed at the front.
And since that service, we've had multiple supernatural physical healings in our church almost every service, which is amazing. You have to know that this is a part of our normal daily life as leaders of this church. This has been a part of our normal daily life for many years. But, praise the Lord, God's doing it now on a Sunday morning, in order to show His glory, so that we can walk in His glory and glorify Him. Amen?
K. Not just healing, *prophecy* has been happening individually at the front, which is awesome. I'll even go there casting out demons, which is biblical. And if that freaks you out a little bit, it's okay. It happens.
It's awesome. And it's a wonderful thing. All of those things. Okay? Why is it important?
Do you know *Jesus* there's there's like 3 verses that talk about the joy of Jesus, like Jesus himself referencing joy, but there's only 1 that references a place where Jesus actually rejoiced. The Bible says Jesus rejoiced. You wanna know what it is? In Luke-10:21. So, like, he commissioned the disciples, the 72, to go out, he told them to go heal the sick, go cast out demons, and preach the kingdom.
So, he's telling them, he's multiplying himself, telling them to go do what he's been doing. And they come back with testimonies, and the testimonies are showing that they've been doing what he gave them the authority to do. And you know what Jesus did? Verse 21, at that time, Jesus, full of joy through the Holy Spirit, most versions says, Jesus rejoiced in the Holy Spirit, Said, I praise you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth. The thing that made Jesus rejoice on this earth was his disciples doing the things that he did.
Ain't that cool? She's excited. She's like, yeah. Man, I wanna live a life that makes my Jesus rejoice today. Don't you?
Okay. So, it's that important. In Matthew-28, we we all know the Great Commission. Right? And in the Great Commission, *Jesus* says, all authority in heaven on earth has been given to me, and he's talking to some disciples, some of which were doubting in that moment.
Some of you guys, myself even, there's times when before I minister to people, I doubt. But God still commissions me despite my doubt, just like He did the disciples. He says, all authority in heaven and earth has been given to me, therefore, go make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And, lo or behold, I am with you always to the ends of the earth. So, in that moment, the great commission, *Jesus* commissioned us to be on His mission doing what He did, and He gave us He gave the disciples the authority to do it.
And so, you, as modern day disciples, they made disciples and taught them to obey everything, you now have been commissioned with the authority of Jesus, your sons and daughters, and you have the authority of Jesus' name, to do what Jesus did. But how many of you know, if you're at a job, and the boss gives you authority, but doesn't give you the ability, you're gonna make a mess of things? If you're at a job, and you have the ability but don't have the authority, you're going to be hamstrung, you're going be stuck, you're not going to do anything. So, you have to have the authority and the ability. Another way to say it, you have to have the authority and the *power* to be able to do it.
Amen? So, then, in Acts chapter 1 verse 4, stick with me here, we're gonna get there. *Acts-1:4, on 1 occasion, while he was eating with them, this is Jesus eating with the disciples before he went up to heaven, after he died and rose again*, he gave them this command, do not leave Jerusalem, but wait for the gift my father promised, which you've heard me speak about, for John baptized with water, but in a few days, you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit. Okay? Most theologians would agree, he told about 500 people this.
We see that in 1 of the ends of the gospels. I forget which 1. You know how many people actually obeyed his command to wait? A 120. There's a 120 in the upper room.
What's 1 of the prerequisites? *Jesus paid the price for us to have the gift of the Holy Spirit*, but Acts chapter 5 verse 32 says, we are witnesses of these things, and so is the Holy Spirit, whom God given to those who obey Him. Man, I wanna be 1 of those who obey Him, and receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. What is what is the obedience factor? Ask, and it will be given to you.
Seek, and you will find. Knock, and the door will be opened to you. Period. That's the obedience factor. He's a The Bible says in Luke that He's a good Father.
So if we ask Him, He's not gonna give us a snake, He's not gonna give us a rock, He's a good Father who will give us the gift of the Holy Spirit, is what the verse says. So, part of the obedience is actually seeking after and asking, Lord, I want what I don't have. Watch this, Acts-1:8, but you will receive power. Everybody say power. Power.
That wasn't everybody. Everybody say power. Power. Come on. You will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and Judea and all Samaria and to the ends of the earth.
There's a lot of people that have authority to be a witness, but are making a mess of it because they don't have any power to be a witness. When you receive the baptism of the Holy Spirit, you get the power to be a witness. And all of sudden, you say the same things, but lives begin to change around you. It's amazing. There's a lot of theology out there right now that's going, wait a second.
Hold on. Don't I automatically get the baptism of the Holy Spirit when I give my life to Jesus? I'll say 5 out of 6 times in Acts where the baptism of the Holy Spirit happened, the baptism of the Holy Spirit happened after conversion. There was that 1 time with Cornelius where it happened at the same time. So it can happen.
Praise the Lord. It's awesome. But most of the time, it's afterwards. I'll give you an example. *Acts* chapter 8.
If I don't give you a verse for it, don't believe me. If I give you a verse, change your thinking. Amen? Alright. *Acts* chapter 8 verse 14.
This is after Philip went to Samaria, preached the gospel, they received Jesus. They were even baptized in Jesus' name. Watch. When the apostles in Jerusalem heard that Samaria had accepted the word of God, they sent Peter and John to Samaria. When they arrived, they prayed for the new believers there that they might receive the Holy Spirit, because the Holy Spirit had not yet come on any of them, that's baptism in the Holy Spirit, they had simply been baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus.
Oh my gosh. So they had been baptized in the name of Lord Jesus, had believed in Jesus' name, but not received the baptism of the Holy Spirit. What happened then? Then, verse 17, Peter and John placed their hands on them, and they received the Holy Spirit. When Simon saw that the Spirit was given laying on the apostles' hands, he offered them money.
So, he saw something happen, he's like, man, that's cool, I want that to happen, when I put my hands on people. Okay. So, maybe you're 1 of those people that you don't know if you've received the baptism of the Holy Spirit yet or not. That's okay. We're gonna pray at the end of service, if you'd like to seek the baptism of the Holy Spirit.
A lot of times in the New Testament, it came with the laying on of hands. So, we're just gonna do that. It's gonna be awesome and wonderful, and beautiful. Maybe, you're 1 of those people that like to say, well, was baptized in the Holy Spirit 15 years ago, and this and this happened, it was beautiful and wonderful. But you haven't been living in relationship with the Holy Spirit, you've just been counting on an experience you had 15 years ago.
That'd be like having a marriage, and then going on your honeymoon, enjoying that honeymoon, and then for the next decade, never touching your wife, and never going on a date with her. Your relationship's not gonna be great. And you're not gonna experience all of the benefits that come with being married. Amen? So, in our relationship with the Lord, yes, there should be the honeymoon phase after born again, aka baptism of the Holy Spirit, which is awesome.
And, there should be a daily intimacy and a daily fill filling with Him, because I I don't want to count on yesterday's manna. I want to, day in after day out, go with Him everywhere He's leading. So, man, if if if you need a fresh touch of the Holy Spirit, we're gonna pray for you. It's gonna be beautiful. Now, 4 out of 6 times, I believe, where the baptism of the Holy Spirit happened in the in Acts, there was speaking in tongues.
Not every time. But most of the times. There's a lot of people, because you're uncomfortable with the gift of tongues, you just assume your life is every other time. It's 1 of those, you know, that 1 third of the time that it didn't happen, that's that's gotta be me. No.
No. We eagerly desire the gifts of the Holy Spirit. Everyone. And so, if we're not walking in it, why not? And man, Lord, I I want to walk in that thing.
So let's let's talk about it, because we're already experiencing consistently every other 1. Let's just talk about the gift of tongues. What it is, and actually, there's multiple different kinds of it, and we'll just look at it in Scripture together. Are you guys okay? Are you leaning on the edge of your seat, or you're like, oh no, what's he about to say?
Help me, Lord. Either way, it's okay. We're gonna we're gonna keep going. So, in 1 Corinthians-14, we've already read it. It says, follow the way of love and eagerly desire the gifts of the Holy Spirit or the Spirit, especially prophecy.
Verse 2, for anyone who speaks in a tongue does not speak to people, but to God. Indeed, no 1 understands them. They utter mysteries by the Spirit. So, if I'm basically, if I'm this is praying in tongues, because I'm not talking to anybody else, I'm praying to God. And if somebody else hears me, they're not gonna understand anything, it's gonna sound like gibberish.
That's what it is. Watch this. Verse 13. 1 Corinthians-14:13. For this reason, the 1 who speaks in a tongue should pray that they may interpret.
Verse 14. For if I pray in a tongue, my spirit prays, but my mind is unfruitful. So not only does other people not understand what I'm saying, I don't even understand what I'm saying. So it is a gift that requires complete trust, like that little baby, my little River, Daddy, is this you? Is this you?
I feel really uncomfortable right now, but I'm gonna trust you. And as you step out in faith and grow in it, you get more comfortable because you're more comfortable walking by faith in that area, praying in the Spirit. What's the purpose? *1 Corinthians-14* well, first, let's go to Romans-8. *Romans-8:26-27* says, in the same way the Spirit helps us in our weakness, we do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us through wordless groans, and he who searches our hearts knows the mind of the Spirit because the Spirit intercedes for God's people in accordance with the will of God.
So, if I don't know what to pray for, guess what I do? I pray in tongues. Why? The Bible calls us tripart well, theologians call us tripartite beings. The Bible backs that up in multiple different scriptures.
So we're spirit, soul, and body. It just means 3 parts. Okay? When you were born again, your spirit came alive, not that you didn't have 1, but simply because it it was reunited with the Holy Spirit. Okay?
So you your your spirit is in communion with the Holy Spirit. New creation in Christ Jesus, connected with the Holy Spirit again. Now, your soul, your mind, will, and emotions, is being sanctified, and you're learning to follow the leading of your spirit that's in connection with the Holy Spirit. You guys follow me? And then, your body, we submit our body to our soul, which is then submitted to the Holy Spirit, or to the spirit by the Holy Spirit.
Okay? Now, if my mind, will, and emotions, I'm praying, I don't know what to pray. So what am I gonna do? Because I have been baptized in the Holy Spirit, and I know how to pray in tongues, I'm gonna pray in tongues. What's happening?
The Holy Spirit that knows the will of the Father, is communicating to my spirit what I should be praying for. But, I don't know yet. So, by faith, what's happening is it's the Holy what's the Bible say? The Spirit has given me utterance. So, I'm speaking what the Holy what the Spirit is communicating, and my mind doesn't understand, other people don't understand.
It's gonna be weird, it's gonna feel weird maybe the first couple times you do it, unless it's just a supernatural experience. But, praise the Lord, I'm praying in the Spirit, and then, after a few minutes, 3 or 4 minutes usually, maybe even longer, 5, maybe shorter, 30 seconds, I'm also asking the Lord to give me understanding of what I'm praying. So then, all of a sudden, what's happening? 1 Corinthians-14 are you guys following me so far? Okay.
Good. 1 Corinthians-14:4. Anyone who speaks in a tongue, this is praying in tongues, edifies themselves, but the 1 who prophesies edifies the church. So as I'm praying in tongues, my spirit is being edified. I'm being encouraged.
I'm growing personally, which is awesome and necessary. So then my my prayers all of a sudden after a couple minutes are stronger, and all of sudden know what to pray for out of the blue. Why? Maybe I'm interpreting the dang tongues that I was just praying. Possibly.
I don't know. But, I just know I'm edified, I'm encouraged, I got energy, and man, I want to pray exactly what the Lord's putting on my heart. Does that make sense? Is that biblical? Do you guys see that?
Alright. *Jude-20* not Jude-20, sorry. Jude. There's only 1 chapter. *Jude-1* verse 20 says, but you, dear friends Actually, verse 19, these are the people who divide you, who follow mere natural instincts, do not and do not have the Spirit.
But you, dear friends, by building yourself up in the most holy faith and praying in the Holy Spirit, Keep yourself in God's love as you wait for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ to bring you to eternal life. So, man, we we build ourselves up in the faith and pray in the Holy Spirit. In 1 Corinthians-14, it also says, sing in the Spirit. Now, for the most part, I'm not doing that around you. It ain't about you.
It's about, I'm edifying myself, so that I can love you well. Like, there's that scripture, "love your neighbor" as you love yourself. Right? So I have to be able to love myself first. How do I do that?
We love because he first loved us. So I trust my father, I see his love for me, and then because of that, I have the capacity to love him, and to love me. And now, there's an overflow so I can love you. Spiritually and supernaturally, the gift of tongues is edifying myself, so that I can love you well with all the other gifts. Amen?
Does that make sense? Okay. So, for me, praying in tongues, I believe everybody that's been baptized in the Holy Spirit can pray in tongues. I don't believe everybody does. I know everybody doesn't.
And there's multiple reasons for that. The reason I believe everybody can pray in tongues is, just logically, why would God give me the ability to edify myself by praying in tongues, but not give you the ability to edify yourself? Does that make sense? No. Not at all.
Now, so what happens? My my wife was baptized in the Holy Spirit as a teenager, but she didn't pray in tongues. You know why she didn't pray in tongues? Because she grew up in a denomination that thought tongues was evil. And they read that first verse like I read it in the beginning.
So, I know she was baptized in the Holy Spirit, because she had the power to be a witness. She was leading a lot of her friends to Jesus. Not only that, we went on a mission trip to Mexico, she prayed for a lady, or a kid that was in wheelchair, couldn't walk, and the kid got up and walked. And she prayed for the pastor, as this 19 year old kid, prayed for the pastor, and his back was healed. He was "baptized in the Holy Spirit", and his whole church changed.
Yeah. Now, my wife's awesome because of Jesus in her, but she yeah, she's awesome too. Okay. She didn't speak in tongues at that time. She spoke she prayed in tongues later, and why didn't she?
Well, when you're baptized in in the Holy Spirit, it's like like, when we you're born again, the Holy Spirit's put in you so you can have a relationship with the Lord. When you're baptized in the Holy Spirit, you're immersed in him. K? It's like you "step into a river". And, man, if I'm stepping into that river, I wanna flow wherever the river goes.
But not everybody flows. She, when the Holy Spirit in in Acts chapter 2, like, the Holy Spirit, it says, they spoke in tongues as the Holy Spirit gave them utterance. That means the Holy Spirit bubbled stuff up. He wanted to get out, but they had to actively open their mouth and speak. For instance, when I go to pray for somebody for healing, do you think that the Holy Spirit makes me move my hands, walk over there, puts my hands on their knees, and makes my mouth go like a puppet?
No. The Holy Spirit moves in my belly, moves in my heart, gives me the thought to go do it. Now, I have to obey and go with the flow of the Holy Spirit. And I have to actually take the steps. I have to step out of my comfort zone.
I have to ask, well, daddy, is this you? You know? And then I and then I I say, hey, can I "pray for your knee"? Sometimes I get it wrong. But, man, when I get it right, they're healed, they experience the power of Jesus, and it's a beautiful thing.
Amen? Okay. So what did she do in her teenage years, because of bad theology. She was in the river, baptized in the Holy Spirit, but the Holy Spirit, maybe she didn't understand because of ignorance, or like, didn't know, or whatever, the Holy Spirit would would try to move, and she's standing in the river, but not going with the flow. How many of know you can stand in a river, and fight the current, and not go with the flow?
For the rest of your life, and all of the gifts of the Spirit, and everything he leads you to do, you have the choice whether or not to go with where he's leading you, or to stand against it. I'd recommend going where he leads you in everything, because it's just way more better. You get to love those around you with the power of the Holy Spirit in amazing ways, And it's awesome. So in your For for me, when I'm in my closet, or in my office, or whatever, man, I'm praying in tongues all the time. Half the time we're in worship, I'm praying in tongues.
Don't have any clue. When When I'm back here, before I come up, I'm praying in tongues. Why? Because I'm praying the will of the Father over the congregation, I'm asking. I wanna be edified in spirit, so I can speak by the power of the spirit in English, so you can understand and be encouraged.
And, if you've been missing out on that, I'm sorry. And, I encourage you not to miss out anymore, but eagerly desire it. Praying in tongues is not the only type of tongues. There's also speaking in tongues. And there's multiple versions of that.
In Acts chapter 2, when the Holy Spirit fell, they they came out speaking in tongues. They were speaking a language that they didn't know, and multiple people from multiple different languages understood them in their own tongue. And it was a sign for the unbelievers. That happens. John Bevere, who I've been watching on this and learning from, he shares a testimony how he's preaching, and there's somebody in the back, he didn't know at the time, but somebody in the back that they're praying in tongues as he's preaching.
And there's somebody 2 or 3 rows in front of that guy. After the service is over, he turns around and says, hey, man, Your French is impeccable. Like, you're speaking the exact dialect that I grew up in. And the guy says, I don't know French. He says, what?
Like, not only were you speaking in French, but you were quoting the very verses that he was saying before he said them. I don't know French. What was happening? It was a sign for an unbeliever, so that he could meet him at his level of unbelief, and could see the sign, the miracle, and believe. It's a beautiful thing.
God wants to do the exact same thing. The other types of speaking in *tongues* is 1 Corinthians-14:15. So what shall I do? I will pray with my spirit, but I'll also pray with my understanding. I will sing with my spirit, I'll also sing with my other stand understanding.
Otherwise, when you are praising God in the spirit, how can someone else who is put in the position of an inquirer say amen to your thanksgiving, since they do not know what you are saying. You're giving thanks well enough, but no 1 is edified. I thank God that I speak in tongues more than all of you, Paul said. But in the church, I'd rather speak 5 intelligible words than 10,000 words in a tongue. Let's skip verse 22.
*Tongues* then are a sign for or not for believers, but for unbelievers. That's what I was talking about earlier. *Prophecy*, however, is for is not for unbelievers, but for believers. So there's the gift of tongues, but then there's also the gift of interpretation. Oh, there we go.
Sorry. Verse chap 1 Corinthians-14:5. I would like every 1 of you to speak in tongues, but I'd rather have you prophesy. The 1 who prophesies is greater than the 1 who speaks in tongues, unless someone interprets, so the church may be edified. There it is.
So, there's there's speaking in tongues with interpretation of tongues. The way that that looks, we were in a prayer meeting at our home, my little sister, felt led and stepped out boldly and prayed out loud in tongues. Nobody understood it, except my wife. My wife heard her in tongues, but she also heard her in English. And she knew that she was supposed to give the interpretation, so she gave the interpretation so everybody else understood.
That's tongues with interpretation of tongues. It's also a sign and is usually very prophetic, which is amazing. Now, in our church, I want the freedom for us to try and fail. Because how are we going to have tongues with interpretation of tongues unless somebody's bold enough to try? Well, the first verse we read said, do not forbid speaking in tongues.
That's kind of a command to the church. So wouldn't we be out of order if we forbid it? Wouldn't we be operating anti biblically? Amen? So, in our church, I want the freedom, we will have the freedom to try and fail.
But also, there must be the humility to be corrected. Too often, people who think they're mature, but they're really children, say, don't mess with my freedom, I'm prophesying, I'm I'm speaking in tongues, you can't stop me right now, and it's all about them, so there's no humility to be corrected. And it also says, the 1 who ignores will be ignored. Those that that want to prophesy but not come under authority, they're also the ones that don't have the character necessary to set out chairs. I'm not gonna listen to them.
You're gonna have no influence in our church. Because, I mean, wanna know that your life lives out the character of God before I hear what God has said to you. Amen? Amen. Fruit.
There's a lot of people that just go around, and they're growing in the Lord, and trying to do all this other stuff, but are not willing to live for him. Amen? So, man, praise the Lord. Like, we're going to have freedom to step out and try, but also in biblical ways, and if you're trying to speak in tongues, and it's doing nothing but drawing attention to yourself, and there's no interpretation, me, 1 of the leaders, 1 of the elders, is probably gonna come over and say, hey, do you have an interpretation? No.
You're just drawing attention to yourself. Be quiet. And that's biblical. Amen? Okay.
Last thing, and I'm almost done. Watch this. Verse 23. *1 Corinthians-14:23. So if the whole church comes together, and everyone speaks in tongues*, and inquirers or unbelievers come in, will they not say that you're out of your mind?
So if we're all just speaking in tongues, nobody understands anything, we can't reach the lost. Because they're gonna think we're stupid. Hey? And and just to point out, it says, so if the whole church comes together, and this is a place we're inviting the lost, we're inviting the community right here. So, understand that.
Verse 20. Brothers and sisters, stop thinking like children. In regard to evil, be infants, but in your thinking, adults. Okay? So, in regard to evil, I wanna be ignorant.
An infant, pursue spiritual milk. But, in our thinking, I wanna be mature. And, what does an adult do? An adult takes care of the children around them. An adult is not just so focused on their self, that's an immature adult.
An adult thinks about those around him and what they need. So, in in our whole church, when we're all together, right, yeah, we may step out and learn and grow, but for the most part, we're here to help those that don't know as much as we do, know Jesus better. Amen? Because we wanna grow in maturity. Now, I also wanna point out, it says, when the whole church comes together.
So there may be small groups, worship nights, prayer meetings, other things, where there's all believers there. And so, everybody's okay. We step out, pray in tongues, in order to everybody edify themselves for a second, and then all of a sudden, people are edified so they can love 1 another, prophecy, or practice interpretation of tongues, and get it right or get it wrong, and learn and grow, just like a little child saying, Daddy, help me. And we encourage 1 another brothers in Christ, elbowing each other forward, those who are a little bit more mature and those who are a little less mature, in that single area. So don't forbid speaking in tongues, and yet, we have to learn and grow in love, because it's all about loving and serving 1 another and helping each other grow in our relationship with Jesus.
Amen? Alright. That being said, here's what we're gonna do. We're gonna close. But, we're gonna close this way.
I want to ask you to all stand up. If as I'm speaking, you realize you don't have a relationship with your heavenly Father like I was talking about. And you know, wait a second. See, like, to even experience the kingdom of heaven like I'm talking about, you have to be born again. Jesus said nobody can experience the kingdom of heaven unless they've been born again.
So, born of water, you and I were both born of water, your mama's water broke. My mama's water broke. But also born of spirit. Meaning, I've been living for me, disconnected from you. But I need to know you.
So I ask you to forgive me of my sin. I ask you to come into my life and make me do new. I'm going to follow you as my Lord. Instead of living for me, I'm gonna live for you. In that moment, you're born again.
He puts his spirit inside, he washes you clean. It's a big deal. Is there anybody in here that would be bold enough to say, you know what? That's me. I know I need a relationship with Jesus.
I wanna I wanna know all this kingdom stuff, but I need to know Jesus first. Anybody, raise your hand and say, that's me. Anybody at all? Praise the Lord. It's amazing.
Wonderful. Let's pray. I want everybody to bow your head and close your eyes. And, ma'am, the 1 that raised your hand if you look at me, Jesus loves you so much and cares for you. Are you are you ready to follow him as your Lord?
Okay. Alright. Just pray this with me, and say it from your heart. Say, Jesus. I believe.
I believe. You died for my sin. And I've been living for me. And I believe you rose again. I ask you to forgive me of my sin.
Come into my heart and make me new. Teach me what it means to follow you. Are my Lord. I'm gonna follow you, instead of me. And when I mess up, I'm gonna fall forward into you.
Because you're a good father. *Lord* God, I pray that you just bless her and anybody else who prayed that. Lord God, let them know you and grow in you more than ever before. In Jesus' name. Amen.
Okay. Now, ask, it will be given to you. Seek, and you'll find. Knock, and the door will be opened to you. How many of you would say, you know what?
You're talking about the baptism of the Holy Spirit. And praise the Lord. Hey, this is a big deal. It's the biggest decision you ever make. We're gonna do this next part together.
So, how many of you guys would say, talking about the baptism of the Holy Spirit, I don't know if I've ever experienced that before. And I wanna experience that. How many would raise your hand and say that? Raise it high. Come on.
It's it's it's part of like confessing. Like, we're we're brothers and sisters in Christ. It's a beautiful thing. Okay. Wonderful.
And how many of you would say, and you can put your hands down. How many of you would say, I am like the guy or the girl you talked about who experienced that a long time ago, but I've been far from him, and I need I need to know him fresh today. Raise your hand high. Multiple hands all over the building. Okay.
Beautiful. And then, how many of you would say, and you'd be bold, this is this is real church here. I've never prayed in tongues like you were talking about. I've been that guy that has either never experienced it or I've been standing against it in the river myself. See, that's why I taught this message.
That's why. It's awesome. And then how many of you would say, I want to walk in all the gifts of the spirit more than I already am. I just want more. Praise Okay.
Yeah. Okay. Here's what we're gonna do. You guys remember what I said about establish? Those of you guys that wanna come to establish?
You guys remember that? Okay. Is there any other Angie, is there any other major announcements? Because I'm about to dismiss you. But then, those of you that wanna be prayed for So Romans-1 says, Paul said Paul said, I long to come to you to impart some spiritual gift for our mutual encouragement.
So, impartation's a big deal. Laying on of hands, it's all throughout Acts. So what we're gonna do, me and a few of our leaders, we're going to "lay hands on you" and pray for you. But, we're gonna dismiss first if anybody needs to go, doesn't wanna stay around for this prayer, because it takes some asking, some seeking, and some knocking. Some of that is "coming forward", and asking, and praying.
There's there's this response thing. Does it make sense? Okay. Small groups? Okay.
Would you tell them that before we do this?
Sure. So if anyone is interested in leading a small group, we're getting ready to start the small groups in the fall. We need you to email courtney@realchurch.us and just give her all your information and she will get in contact with you. And, if you need more information on that, we do have cards in the back that give you what we need for you to lead a small group.
Perfect. Okay. So, just a little instruction. When we dismiss, if you need to go, go. If you wanna be prayed for, come forward.
Altar might be full. That's okay. As you're here, just seek the Lord from your heart. Thank him for who he is and what he's done. As you're prayed for, like, some of you may sense things.
Some of you may sense heat or coolness. Some of you may sense nothing. Some of you may have an experience, an encounter with God. Some of you may have that a week later, or 3 or 4 days later. That's okay.
Okay? The Bible says, ask, He's a good Father, He will give it to you. That's a promise. Okay? Now, some of you, as we pray, you might have the sense, the desire to speak in tongues.
You got you actually gotta do it. Okay? Not gonna force you. We're not gonna be like, arrr. Just just go with the flow of the river.
And and, we don't force anything, we just follow Him. Just real, real. Okay? Make sense? So, me pray for you, you're gonna be dismissed.
If you want us to pray for you, we're gonna turn on music, you can come forward, we wanna lay hands on you, and pray for you. Lord God, I thank you for this amazing church, I thank you for what you're doing, I thank you that, even though we've had longer services the last couple of weeks, our church has given us grace. You're awesome. We love you. We pursue you.
And, I'm excited. How fitting is it, Lord, that you're doing this right before we really engage Pinellas County with the love of *Jesus* in major ways. So we ask, Holy Spirit, come. Holy Spirit, *baptize us in your presence and your power*. We ask you to give out the gift of of speaking in tongues, of praying in tongues, Lord God.
We ask you for stronger gifts of healing and miracles, and prophecy, and discernment of spirits, and, Lord God, words of wisdom, and words of knowledge, leadership. Lord, all of the different types of gifts. Lord God, we pray that people see their callings like more than ever before, that that what happened throughout Acts happens today, but also, it's not just a 1 time experience. It empowers them for the rest of their lives to pursue you in holiness. Lord God, we just thank you for your goodness.
So just I pray you give them a "deep desire" for more of you even right now. In Jesus' name. So if you wanna be prayed for, please come forward and begin to seek the Lord. If you need to go, that's fine. You are dismissed.
If we could get the music going, that'd be great.