The Gifts Part 89
Tongues continued...
Although we receive the baptism of the Holy Spirit only once, we are continually filled with the Holy Spirit throughout our lives. Upon the initial baptism of the Holy Spirit, there is always a sign, the sign most often being the gift of speaking in tongues. I have known believers that have received one of the other gifts as a sign that they have been baptized in the Holy Spirit, but since the Bible tells us that tongues is a sign as well as a gift, most often it is the gift of tongues that manifests as evidence of the baptism of the Holy Spirit.
Shortly after the initial outpouring of the Holy Spirit on the Day of Pentecost, after Peter’s stirring sermon to those who had gathered, and the miraculous healing of the lame man, both Peter and John found themselves before the Sanhedrin, having been arrested the previous night for preaching the resurrection of the dead in Jesus.
As they stood before the rulers elders, scribes and the high priest himself, and asked by what power or by what name they had healed the lame man, Peter filled with the Holy Spirit, once again began to preach Christ of Nazareth, the selfsame Christ the men before which he was standing had crucified, and whom God had raised from the dead.
Since the words they spoke were divinely inspired, and neither the high priest nor any who were with him could deny the words that Peter and John spoke, as a last resort they were commanded not to speak at all nor teach in the name of Jesus.
Take into account that Peter and John weren’t being threatened by an average citizen, they were not being threatened by some lackey or some hireling, they stood before the most powerful religious authority of their day, and were being commanded not to preach Christ by none other than the most powerful religious figures of their time.
Lesser men would have surely shied away from lesser threats, but Peter and John walked in the authority of Christ, they were filled with the Holy Spirit, and although I am certain that the high priest expected them to bow and scrape and promise they would no longer teach in the name of Jesus, their answer was anything but acquiescence to his command.
Acts 4:19-21, “But Peter and John answered and said to them, ‘whether it is right in the sight of God to listen to you more than to God, you judge. For we cannot but speak the things which we have seen and heard.’ So when they had further threatened them, they let them go, finding no way of punishing them, because of the people, since they all glorified God for what had been done.”
Having been released, Peter and John went to their companions and reported all that the chief priests and elders said to them. Rather than begin arguing amongst themselves, rather than begin assessing the situation and find ways by which to appease the chief priests and the elders, rather than decide to stop teaching in the name of Jesus to spare themselves the grief and trouble they knew would descend upon them if they continued to do it, they raised their voices to God in one accord and began to pray.
Although the prayer they prayed is a fascinating one, worthy of introspection and exegetical discussion, we will forego this tempting detour for the moment, so I could get to the point I was trying to make concerning the difference between the initial baptism of the Holy Spirit, and the subsequent infillings thereof.
Acts 4:29-31, ‘“Now, Lord, look on their threats, and grant to Your servants that with all boldness they may speak Your word, by stretching out Your hand to heal, and that signs and wonders may be done through the name of Your holy Servant Jesus.’ And when they had prayed, the place where they were assembled together was shaken; and they were all filled with the Holy Spirit, and they spoke the word of God with boldness.”
The individuals, who were praying for boldness in this passage, are the selfsame individuals who had been gathered in the upper room, and who had experienced the baptism of the Holy Spirit. They had already been baptized in the Holy Spirit, but after their prayer, after crying out to God to strengthen them that they might speak His word, they were all filled with the Holy Spirit.
Notice, they were not baptized again in the Holy Spirit, they were filled with the Holy Spirit. If the word of God makes this distinction, then it is incumbent upon us to likewise make this distinction. There is a difference between being baptized, and being filled, and this is what those who claim that an individual can be repeatedly baptized in the Holy Spirit refuse to acknowledge.
Baptism in the Holy Spirit requires a sign, one that is visible and beyond doubt, that the person in question might know they have been baptized. The infilling of the Holy Spirit however, requires no such sign, for the individual already knows that they have been baptized, and what they are receiving from God is a refreshing, a revitalization, or a recharging of that which they already possess.
When tongues is given as a sign, the individual in question need manifest this gift but once in their life, when however it is given as a gift, it must be exercised by the individual as often as possible, either privately in fellowship with God, or publically when one with the gift of interpretation is present.
Yes, it is possible for someone to have spoken in tongues only once in their life, as a sign that they have received the baptism of the Holy Spirit, having been endowed with one or more of the other eight gifts in which they could operate throughout their journey here on earth.
Throughout my years of ministry I have met individuals that were concerned about the fact that they had only spoken in tongues once, and this concern stemmed from the misunderstanding between the sign of tongues, and the gift of tongues.
Once again, to hopefully clarify the issue, when received as a sign of baptism in the Holy Spirit, tongues can, and is often manifested once in an individual’s life, but when received as a gift it is an ongoing manifestation in the life of the believer.
With love in Christ,
Michael Boldea Jr.
Thursday, February 9, 2012
Wednesday, February 8, 2012
The Holy Spirit: Power Presence and Purpose Part 183
The Gifts Part 88
Tongues continued...
Another difference we must take into account between the day of Pentecost and Paul’s teachings on the gifts of the Holy Spirit, is that on the day of Pentecost the tongues in which the hundred and twenty spoke were as a sign for the unbelievers who had gathered out of curiosity, while throughout Corinthians, tongues as well as the other eight manifestations of the Holy Spirit are referred to as gifts. In Jerusalem, tongues were a sign; in Corinthians, tongues are a gift.
The gift of tongues can be interpreted by one with the gift of interpretation of tongues so that the congregation might understand the mysteries which the individual manifesting the gift of tongues is speaking to God, and by so doing edify the entire fellowship.
Due to the lack, or in some cases the total absence of the Holy Spirit within the church many seek edification elsewhere and by other means than that prescribed by the word of God. Biblically speaking, this present life ought not to be affected by external factors such as how big your house is, how much money you have in the bank, or how new the car you drive is. Biblically speaking, we ought to receive no edification or joy from the amassing or hoarding of material things, because our edification and joy come from the Holy Spirit, and each time we are in the presence of God, each time we commune and fellowship with Him, each time we speak to Him in a tongue only He understands, we are strengthened, comforted, edified, and exhorted. Because our joy, our peace, our edification, and our comfort come from God, as children of God we ought to possess all these virtues in abundance not because of our circumstances, but in spite of our circumstances.
I know people who live in mud huts, who only have one change of clothing, who are dependent on our ministry for firewood so they don’t freeze in the winter, who labor from sunrise to sunset plowing their fields, tending to their animals, and trying to provide basic essentials for their families, yet who have the joy of the Lord, who are fulfilled and need for nothing, who are daily edified, who are daily strengthened, who are daily comforted, because they seek these things not through possessions, but through the inner working of the Holy Spirit in their lives.
One of the greatest lies perpetrated upon the house of God in recent years, is that stuff makes you happy, complete, and fulfilled. Countless numbers took the bait, they surrendered their hearts to the desire for material possessions, and the trick seemed to work while the getting was good.
While the economy was booming, and one’s equity in their home grew by leaps and bounds seemingly on a daily basis, while money came easy and spending it came even easier, it seemed that the doctrine of prosperity was a suitable surrogate for the edification, joy, comfort and peace that the Holy Spirit brings. But then, as all cyclical economic booms do, this one fizzled out, equity started to plummet, credit was harder to come by, and all the stuff we’d amassed over the years seemed useless, worthless, and dull.
Tragically, I have known believers who were shaken in their faith, who lost their joy, who were robbed of their peace, because they trusted in things to edify them rather than go to God and His Holy Spirit for edification.
Temporal things might edify you temporarily, but nothing temporal will edify you perpetually.
Only God through His Holy Spirit can edify, strengthen, and comfort, even when things aren’t going our way, even when by way of the material we have less than nothing, because the joy that God gives, the peace that He brings, the strength with which He imbues us, are not dependent upon the material.
You don’t need stuff to make you happy, you need the Holy Spirit. You don’t need men to edify you, you need the Holy Spirit. You don’t need pills to comfort you, you need the Holy Spirit.
There is so much more to the Holy Spirit than the visible manifestation of the gifts, and just as there is always more of an iceberg beneath the surface than there is above the surface, the Holy Spirit always works more in the heart of an individual than He manifests via the gifts.
It is because the gift of speaking in tongues edifies the individual that Paul was adamant in his desire that all would speak in tongues, just as he was adamant that all should desire to prophesy because prophecy edifies the entire congregation. When we are edified, we are instructed and encouraged toward intellectual, moral, or spiritual improvement, in essence given the means as well as the motivation to grow and mature and become more like Jesus.
As believers we are encouraged to seek after spiritual gifts, to desire spiritual gifts, but not so that we might become important within the congregation, not so that we might have the brethren serve us, not so that we might look our noses down on the rest of the fellowship, but out of love for the household of faith and the children of God. Love must be the driving force behind your desire for spiritual gifts, love must be that which compels you to cry out to God and seek after that which He promised His children, and if love is not the motivator, if love is not the reason we seek after the gifts of the Holy Spirit, then we must repent of our selfish desires, and begin to seek the gifts for the right reasons.
Possessing a certain gift does not make an individual more important within the Body of Christ than the rest of the brethren, because all the gifts are equally important, equally beneficial, and equally necessary within the house of God. In certain situations, certain gifts are more efficient than others, but all the gifts are equally important.
With love in Christ,
Michael Boldea Jr.
Postscript:
To The Sister In Washington,
You might call it presumptive on my part, but yes, I do believe that physical manifestations in lieu of the gifts of the Holy Spirit ought to make us cautious. It is Biblically proven out that Abram, Moses, Balaam, Joshua, David, Ezekiel, Daniel, Peter, James and John fell on their faces, but this was more as a sign of worship than as being 'slain in the spirit'. The only two examples I could think of from a biblical standpoint, wherein individuals were drained and exhausted, were Ezekiel and Daniel, both overwhelmed and exhausted for several days after their encounter with the power of God.
I never intimated that your experience was demonic, what I did say, is that we ought to be cautious, and test all things. I'm sorry, I just can't get on board with barking and clucking and slithering around like a snake on a leash, or acting the fool in the house of God, calling it a manifestation of the Holy Spirit, when none of the gifts of the Holy Spirit that are outlined in the Bible are being manifest within that congregation.
My advice as to your personal dillema, is the next time it happens in church, plead the blood of Jesus and see what happens, or otherwise fleece God to see if indeed this is of Him.
As you said, we trust God to do what we cannot, but it is still incumbent upon us to do what we can, to make certain that we are worshipping Him in spirit and in truth.
With love in Christ,
Michael Boldea Jr.
Tongues continued...
Another difference we must take into account between the day of Pentecost and Paul’s teachings on the gifts of the Holy Spirit, is that on the day of Pentecost the tongues in which the hundred and twenty spoke were as a sign for the unbelievers who had gathered out of curiosity, while throughout Corinthians, tongues as well as the other eight manifestations of the Holy Spirit are referred to as gifts. In Jerusalem, tongues were a sign; in Corinthians, tongues are a gift.
The gift of tongues can be interpreted by one with the gift of interpretation of tongues so that the congregation might understand the mysteries which the individual manifesting the gift of tongues is speaking to God, and by so doing edify the entire fellowship.
Due to the lack, or in some cases the total absence of the Holy Spirit within the church many seek edification elsewhere and by other means than that prescribed by the word of God. Biblically speaking, this present life ought not to be affected by external factors such as how big your house is, how much money you have in the bank, or how new the car you drive is. Biblically speaking, we ought to receive no edification or joy from the amassing or hoarding of material things, because our edification and joy come from the Holy Spirit, and each time we are in the presence of God, each time we commune and fellowship with Him, each time we speak to Him in a tongue only He understands, we are strengthened, comforted, edified, and exhorted. Because our joy, our peace, our edification, and our comfort come from God, as children of God we ought to possess all these virtues in abundance not because of our circumstances, but in spite of our circumstances.
I know people who live in mud huts, who only have one change of clothing, who are dependent on our ministry for firewood so they don’t freeze in the winter, who labor from sunrise to sunset plowing their fields, tending to their animals, and trying to provide basic essentials for their families, yet who have the joy of the Lord, who are fulfilled and need for nothing, who are daily edified, who are daily strengthened, who are daily comforted, because they seek these things not through possessions, but through the inner working of the Holy Spirit in their lives.
One of the greatest lies perpetrated upon the house of God in recent years, is that stuff makes you happy, complete, and fulfilled. Countless numbers took the bait, they surrendered their hearts to the desire for material possessions, and the trick seemed to work while the getting was good.
While the economy was booming, and one’s equity in their home grew by leaps and bounds seemingly on a daily basis, while money came easy and spending it came even easier, it seemed that the doctrine of prosperity was a suitable surrogate for the edification, joy, comfort and peace that the Holy Spirit brings. But then, as all cyclical economic booms do, this one fizzled out, equity started to plummet, credit was harder to come by, and all the stuff we’d amassed over the years seemed useless, worthless, and dull.
Tragically, I have known believers who were shaken in their faith, who lost their joy, who were robbed of their peace, because they trusted in things to edify them rather than go to God and His Holy Spirit for edification.
Temporal things might edify you temporarily, but nothing temporal will edify you perpetually.
Only God through His Holy Spirit can edify, strengthen, and comfort, even when things aren’t going our way, even when by way of the material we have less than nothing, because the joy that God gives, the peace that He brings, the strength with which He imbues us, are not dependent upon the material.
You don’t need stuff to make you happy, you need the Holy Spirit. You don’t need men to edify you, you need the Holy Spirit. You don’t need pills to comfort you, you need the Holy Spirit.
There is so much more to the Holy Spirit than the visible manifestation of the gifts, and just as there is always more of an iceberg beneath the surface than there is above the surface, the Holy Spirit always works more in the heart of an individual than He manifests via the gifts.
It is because the gift of speaking in tongues edifies the individual that Paul was adamant in his desire that all would speak in tongues, just as he was adamant that all should desire to prophesy because prophecy edifies the entire congregation. When we are edified, we are instructed and encouraged toward intellectual, moral, or spiritual improvement, in essence given the means as well as the motivation to grow and mature and become more like Jesus.
As believers we are encouraged to seek after spiritual gifts, to desire spiritual gifts, but not so that we might become important within the congregation, not so that we might have the brethren serve us, not so that we might look our noses down on the rest of the fellowship, but out of love for the household of faith and the children of God. Love must be the driving force behind your desire for spiritual gifts, love must be that which compels you to cry out to God and seek after that which He promised His children, and if love is not the motivator, if love is not the reason we seek after the gifts of the Holy Spirit, then we must repent of our selfish desires, and begin to seek the gifts for the right reasons.
Possessing a certain gift does not make an individual more important within the Body of Christ than the rest of the brethren, because all the gifts are equally important, equally beneficial, and equally necessary within the house of God. In certain situations, certain gifts are more efficient than others, but all the gifts are equally important.
With love in Christ,
Michael Boldea Jr.
Postscript:
To The Sister In Washington,
You might call it presumptive on my part, but yes, I do believe that physical manifestations in lieu of the gifts of the Holy Spirit ought to make us cautious. It is Biblically proven out that Abram, Moses, Balaam, Joshua, David, Ezekiel, Daniel, Peter, James and John fell on their faces, but this was more as a sign of worship than as being 'slain in the spirit'. The only two examples I could think of from a biblical standpoint, wherein individuals were drained and exhausted, were Ezekiel and Daniel, both overwhelmed and exhausted for several days after their encounter with the power of God.
I never intimated that your experience was demonic, what I did say, is that we ought to be cautious, and test all things. I'm sorry, I just can't get on board with barking and clucking and slithering around like a snake on a leash, or acting the fool in the house of God, calling it a manifestation of the Holy Spirit, when none of the gifts of the Holy Spirit that are outlined in the Bible are being manifest within that congregation.
My advice as to your personal dillema, is the next time it happens in church, plead the blood of Jesus and see what happens, or otherwise fleece God to see if indeed this is of Him.
As you said, we trust God to do what we cannot, but it is still incumbent upon us to do what we can, to make certain that we are worshipping Him in spirit and in truth.
With love in Christ,
Michael Boldea Jr.
Tuesday, February 7, 2012
The Holy Spirit: Power Presence and Purpose Part 182
The Gifts Part 87
Tongues continued...
Another important aspect concerning the gift of tongues is that it is neither understood by the one manifesting the gift, or by the ones hearing the tongues themselves unless one with the gift of interpretation of tongues is present. Absent one with the gift of interpretation of tongues the only one who understands the tongues in which an individual is speaking is God Himself.
First and foremost the gift of speaking in other tongues is intended for men to speak to God, though they might not understand what they are saying, because in the spirit one who speaks in tongues is speaking mysteries. Tongues is a gift whose primary purpose is the edification of the individual manifesting the gift of tongues, and only when one with the gift of interpreting tongues is present does it become something that edifies the church upon its interpretation.
From a biblical perspective, we come to understand that the gift of speaking in tongues is unique among the gifts of the Holy Spirit because it is the only gift that edifies the individual rather than the fellowship of the brethren.
1 Corinthians 14:4-5, “He who speaks in a tongue edifies himself, but he who prophesies edifies the church. I wish you all spoke with tongues, but even more that you prophesied; for he who prophesies is greater than he who speaks with tongues, unless indeed he interprets, that the church may receive edification.”
When we speak in tongues, we edify ourselves as individuals. When we prophesy however, we are edifying the entire body of believers, and this is why Pau concludes that he who prophesies is greater than he who speaks with tongues, unless he interprets.
So is it wrong to speak in tongues that we might edify ourselves? Certainly not, for all of us need to be edified as individuals, just as we need to be edified corporately when among other believers. If I am too weak to get out of bed, how could I ever be strong enough to help carry my brothers and sisters in Christ? If I can’t stand on my own two feet, how could I ever be stable enough for others to lean on?
When we do not edify ourselves, we are essentially dependent upon others for edification. When we are dependent upon others for our edification, we are always at the mercy of their circumstances, whether or not they have time for us, whether or not they are themselves edified so that they might edify us, as well as a score of other issues that can arise.
When we are able to edify ourselves however, we are not dependent on anyone, and all it takes is a quiet place where we can be alone with God, and speak to Him.
It is not selfish to edify oneself, for when we are adequately edified, we can in turn edify the church so that all might grow in God and the power of His grace.
If only we understood the true measure of that which God has given us through the gifts of the Holy Spirit, even one as dismissed and marginalized as the gift of speaking in tongues, we would understand that He never intended for His children to be weak, beaten down, or vanquished by the enemy, but rather He intended that they lead victorious lives, in Him and through Him, certain of the outcome of every battle even before the first blow is struck.
We walk in His strength, we walk in His might, we are equipped and overflowing with His power and authority, and as such we ought to know that though the enemy might land a blow from time to time, though we might feel the heat of battle and the exhaustion of extended combat, the certainty of our victory is beyond doubt. We are victorious through Christ, and in Christ, we are more than conquerors in the name of the One from whom the darkness flees, and He has thoroughly equipped His beloved that they might want for nothing when confronting the enemy.
Is there anything more pitiable than a soldier who left all his weapons in the armory because someone convinced him that the armory was all out, or that those who had come before him had already taken all the weapons that were to be had?
This is war, this is battle, and I would urge you to sneak a peek into the armory for yourself to see if what you’ve been told is the truth, or if weapons still remain in the armory of heaven.
As I’ve said time and again, don’t just take my word for it, go into the word of God and read it for yourself, absent the denominational filters that are all the rage these days, and see whether or not the things I write are in harmony with Scripture.
As we’ve already discussed in passing, the gift of tongues, by and large entails tongues understood by God alone. The lone exception within the whole of Scripture was the day the power of the Holy Spirit fell, the day of Pentecost, wherein the hundred and twenty spoke in tongues of men heretofore unknown to them.
If this were a theology class in some prestigious seminary, at this point we would get into the differences between glossolalia, and xenolalia discussing at length the intricate differences between these two Greek words, but thankfully we are not, so I can describe the differences between these two words in less than a minute.
The difference between glossolalia and xenolalia is that xenolalia refers to an existing human language unknown to the individual in question, while glossolalia refers to an angelic language, one unknown to anyone but God and the heavenly realm.
What occurred on the day of Pentecost, via the Holy Spirit, was xenolalia, since those who spoke in other tongues were speaking in human tongues yet tongues unknown to them, and what Paul begins to discuss in his first epistle to the Corinthian church is glossolalia, the utterance of heavenly tongues, known by God alone.
With love in Christ,
Michael Boldea Jr.
Tongues continued...
Another important aspect concerning the gift of tongues is that it is neither understood by the one manifesting the gift, or by the ones hearing the tongues themselves unless one with the gift of interpretation of tongues is present. Absent one with the gift of interpretation of tongues the only one who understands the tongues in which an individual is speaking is God Himself.
First and foremost the gift of speaking in other tongues is intended for men to speak to God, though they might not understand what they are saying, because in the spirit one who speaks in tongues is speaking mysteries. Tongues is a gift whose primary purpose is the edification of the individual manifesting the gift of tongues, and only when one with the gift of interpreting tongues is present does it become something that edifies the church upon its interpretation.
From a biblical perspective, we come to understand that the gift of speaking in tongues is unique among the gifts of the Holy Spirit because it is the only gift that edifies the individual rather than the fellowship of the brethren.
1 Corinthians 14:4-5, “He who speaks in a tongue edifies himself, but he who prophesies edifies the church. I wish you all spoke with tongues, but even more that you prophesied; for he who prophesies is greater than he who speaks with tongues, unless indeed he interprets, that the church may receive edification.”
When we speak in tongues, we edify ourselves as individuals. When we prophesy however, we are edifying the entire body of believers, and this is why Pau concludes that he who prophesies is greater than he who speaks with tongues, unless he interprets.
So is it wrong to speak in tongues that we might edify ourselves? Certainly not, for all of us need to be edified as individuals, just as we need to be edified corporately when among other believers. If I am too weak to get out of bed, how could I ever be strong enough to help carry my brothers and sisters in Christ? If I can’t stand on my own two feet, how could I ever be stable enough for others to lean on?
When we do not edify ourselves, we are essentially dependent upon others for edification. When we are dependent upon others for our edification, we are always at the mercy of their circumstances, whether or not they have time for us, whether or not they are themselves edified so that they might edify us, as well as a score of other issues that can arise.
When we are able to edify ourselves however, we are not dependent on anyone, and all it takes is a quiet place where we can be alone with God, and speak to Him.
It is not selfish to edify oneself, for when we are adequately edified, we can in turn edify the church so that all might grow in God and the power of His grace.
If only we understood the true measure of that which God has given us through the gifts of the Holy Spirit, even one as dismissed and marginalized as the gift of speaking in tongues, we would understand that He never intended for His children to be weak, beaten down, or vanquished by the enemy, but rather He intended that they lead victorious lives, in Him and through Him, certain of the outcome of every battle even before the first blow is struck.
We walk in His strength, we walk in His might, we are equipped and overflowing with His power and authority, and as such we ought to know that though the enemy might land a blow from time to time, though we might feel the heat of battle and the exhaustion of extended combat, the certainty of our victory is beyond doubt. We are victorious through Christ, and in Christ, we are more than conquerors in the name of the One from whom the darkness flees, and He has thoroughly equipped His beloved that they might want for nothing when confronting the enemy.
Is there anything more pitiable than a soldier who left all his weapons in the armory because someone convinced him that the armory was all out, or that those who had come before him had already taken all the weapons that were to be had?
This is war, this is battle, and I would urge you to sneak a peek into the armory for yourself to see if what you’ve been told is the truth, or if weapons still remain in the armory of heaven.
As I’ve said time and again, don’t just take my word for it, go into the word of God and read it for yourself, absent the denominational filters that are all the rage these days, and see whether or not the things I write are in harmony with Scripture.
As we’ve already discussed in passing, the gift of tongues, by and large entails tongues understood by God alone. The lone exception within the whole of Scripture was the day the power of the Holy Spirit fell, the day of Pentecost, wherein the hundred and twenty spoke in tongues of men heretofore unknown to them.
If this were a theology class in some prestigious seminary, at this point we would get into the differences between glossolalia, and xenolalia discussing at length the intricate differences between these two Greek words, but thankfully we are not, so I can describe the differences between these two words in less than a minute.
The difference between glossolalia and xenolalia is that xenolalia refers to an existing human language unknown to the individual in question, while glossolalia refers to an angelic language, one unknown to anyone but God and the heavenly realm.
What occurred on the day of Pentecost, via the Holy Spirit, was xenolalia, since those who spoke in other tongues were speaking in human tongues yet tongues unknown to them, and what Paul begins to discuss in his first epistle to the Corinthian church is glossolalia, the utterance of heavenly tongues, known by God alone.
With love in Christ,
Michael Boldea Jr.
Monday, February 6, 2012
The Holy Spirit: Power Presence and Purpose Part 181
The Gifts Part 86
Tongues continued...
Another misconception that is wildly popular when it comes to the gift of speaking in tongues is that when an individual speaks in tongues they are somehow in a trance. We are not shamans, we do not burn herbs or chew peyote, and we do not go into a trance or into a trance like state when we speak in tongues. Throughout the manifesting of the gift tongues we have control over our mental faculties, we have control over our bodies, and we can choose to speak in tongues, or we can choose to be silent.
If it were not so, if we didn’t have full control over the use of the gift of tongues, or of our mental faculties then it would have been pointless for Paul to instruct those of the church of Corinth, and by extension us, on the exercising of the gift of tongues in public worship.
1 Corinthians 14:27, “If anyone speaks in a tongue, let there be two or at the most three, each in turn, and let one interpret.”
If one had no control of their faculties, if one could not control when they spoke in tongues, then the aforementioned instructions as to how the gift of tongues ought to be used within the congregation, would have been utterly useless, serving only to add a burden to the Body of Christ, a law which could not be fulfilled or obeyed by the fellowship no matter how much they might have wanted to.
God does not ask of us that which we cannot do. God is not a petulant child, God is not a cruel taskmaster, and He will not ask you to do something He knows you have no way doing just to watch you fail. If God asks something of us, then it is within our ability to do it, and if the word of God says that two or at the most three ought to speak in tongues and even then each in turn, then it is within our purview and ability to manifest the gift of tongues in an orderly manner within the church.
Under the guise of not desiring to stifle the Holy Spirit, some refuse to deal with the issue of order within the church, while others take advantage of the absence of order to manifest the gift of tongues simply to draw attention to themselves. I realize the preceding might sound jaded to some, but it is a truth that has been proven within many churches time and again.
Our singular desire must be to worship God in spirit and in truth, and if by doing so we hurt some feelings or alienate certain overzealous individuals, in the long run it is worth the momentary confrontation. Chaos only breeds more chaos, and disorder only breeds more disorder. We need look no further than the church of Corinth and some of its aberrant practices in order to see that there is something to be said for order within the fellowship, especially when it is God imposed order.
We are not our own, we no longer belong to ourselves, and as such we must do as the Master commands for only in obedience we will receive the reward of our labors, and only in obedience will we experience the fullness of what God has in store for His beloved.
The word of God is explicit enough, and the instructions clear enough, wherein the Body of Christ ought to be like a locomotive on the tracks, headed toward its destination without detour, variation or diversion. Instead, much of the church today can be compared with a group of rowdy teens in a field, on mopeds, trying to outdo each other by spinning their tires and revving their engines.
God established order concerning the gifts of the Holy Spirit within the church for our own good, and for the wellbeing of the entire body. The rules are there for a good reason, and when we attempt to circumvent or altogether ignore the rules that God has set forth, what we are insinuating if only tacitly so is that we know better than God.
In light of the fact that Paul tells us we can rein in the gift of tongues, and choose whether not we manifest it, those who insist that they have no control over their gift either don’t know what they are talking about, or are under the influence of another spirit.
Nowhere in the Bible will you find that a certain individual was possessed by the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit of God does not possess an individual, the Holy Spirit of God inspires them, and as such even the spirit of a prophet is subject to the prophet.
We have enough examples of possession within the word of God, from the man who wandered the cemetery cutting himself with stones, to the one who was thrown either into fire or water, to understand that when one is possessed they have no control over their faculties, mental or otherwise.
The Holy Spirit respects the personality of the servant, He does not possess an individual making them do what they don’t want to, because the Holy Spirit’s role is to inspire, to guide, to instruct, and not to possess as the devil does.
We must understand the difference between possession and inspiration and in so doing realize that much of what is being called the work of God today is nothing more than varying degrees of demonic possession.
Even to my own eyes I seem unsympathetic at this point, but there is just so much deception within the house of God, there are just so many works being passed off as godly which produce poisoned fruit, there are so many hearts being broken, there are so many hopes being shattered, there are so many souls being shipwrecked that I am willing to suffer derision, contempt and disdain, if it will serve to enlighten even one soul.
The work of God is real! The work of the Holy Spirit is real! But so are the works of darkness and the work of the enemy. Know the difference, and you will not be deceived, swayed, or persuaded into believing something that is not of God.
With love in Christ,
Michael Boldea Jr.
Tongues continued...
Another misconception that is wildly popular when it comes to the gift of speaking in tongues is that when an individual speaks in tongues they are somehow in a trance. We are not shamans, we do not burn herbs or chew peyote, and we do not go into a trance or into a trance like state when we speak in tongues. Throughout the manifesting of the gift tongues we have control over our mental faculties, we have control over our bodies, and we can choose to speak in tongues, or we can choose to be silent.
If it were not so, if we didn’t have full control over the use of the gift of tongues, or of our mental faculties then it would have been pointless for Paul to instruct those of the church of Corinth, and by extension us, on the exercising of the gift of tongues in public worship.
1 Corinthians 14:27, “If anyone speaks in a tongue, let there be two or at the most three, each in turn, and let one interpret.”
If one had no control of their faculties, if one could not control when they spoke in tongues, then the aforementioned instructions as to how the gift of tongues ought to be used within the congregation, would have been utterly useless, serving only to add a burden to the Body of Christ, a law which could not be fulfilled or obeyed by the fellowship no matter how much they might have wanted to.
God does not ask of us that which we cannot do. God is not a petulant child, God is not a cruel taskmaster, and He will not ask you to do something He knows you have no way doing just to watch you fail. If God asks something of us, then it is within our ability to do it, and if the word of God says that two or at the most three ought to speak in tongues and even then each in turn, then it is within our purview and ability to manifest the gift of tongues in an orderly manner within the church.
Under the guise of not desiring to stifle the Holy Spirit, some refuse to deal with the issue of order within the church, while others take advantage of the absence of order to manifest the gift of tongues simply to draw attention to themselves. I realize the preceding might sound jaded to some, but it is a truth that has been proven within many churches time and again.
Our singular desire must be to worship God in spirit and in truth, and if by doing so we hurt some feelings or alienate certain overzealous individuals, in the long run it is worth the momentary confrontation. Chaos only breeds more chaos, and disorder only breeds more disorder. We need look no further than the church of Corinth and some of its aberrant practices in order to see that there is something to be said for order within the fellowship, especially when it is God imposed order.
We are not our own, we no longer belong to ourselves, and as such we must do as the Master commands for only in obedience we will receive the reward of our labors, and only in obedience will we experience the fullness of what God has in store for His beloved.
The word of God is explicit enough, and the instructions clear enough, wherein the Body of Christ ought to be like a locomotive on the tracks, headed toward its destination without detour, variation or diversion. Instead, much of the church today can be compared with a group of rowdy teens in a field, on mopeds, trying to outdo each other by spinning their tires and revving their engines.
God established order concerning the gifts of the Holy Spirit within the church for our own good, and for the wellbeing of the entire body. The rules are there for a good reason, and when we attempt to circumvent or altogether ignore the rules that God has set forth, what we are insinuating if only tacitly so is that we know better than God.
In light of the fact that Paul tells us we can rein in the gift of tongues, and choose whether not we manifest it, those who insist that they have no control over their gift either don’t know what they are talking about, or are under the influence of another spirit.
Nowhere in the Bible will you find that a certain individual was possessed by the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit of God does not possess an individual, the Holy Spirit of God inspires them, and as such even the spirit of a prophet is subject to the prophet.
We have enough examples of possession within the word of God, from the man who wandered the cemetery cutting himself with stones, to the one who was thrown either into fire or water, to understand that when one is possessed they have no control over their faculties, mental or otherwise.
The Holy Spirit respects the personality of the servant, He does not possess an individual making them do what they don’t want to, because the Holy Spirit’s role is to inspire, to guide, to instruct, and not to possess as the devil does.
We must understand the difference between possession and inspiration and in so doing realize that much of what is being called the work of God today is nothing more than varying degrees of demonic possession.
Even to my own eyes I seem unsympathetic at this point, but there is just so much deception within the house of God, there are just so many works being passed off as godly which produce poisoned fruit, there are so many hearts being broken, there are so many hopes being shattered, there are so many souls being shipwrecked that I am willing to suffer derision, contempt and disdain, if it will serve to enlighten even one soul.
The work of God is real! The work of the Holy Spirit is real! But so are the works of darkness and the work of the enemy. Know the difference, and you will not be deceived, swayed, or persuaded into believing something that is not of God.
With love in Christ,
Michael Boldea Jr.
Sunday, February 5, 2012
The Holy Spirit: Power Presence and Purpose Part 180
The Gifts Part 85
Tongues continued...
For the past few days, as I’ve been delving further and further into the three chapters of Paul’s first epistle to the Corinthians that deal with the gifts of the Holy Spirit, there has been something that I was noticing without really noticing it.
I don’t if you’ve ever had this happen to you, but I had the sense that I was missing a piece of the puzzle, I knew there was something that I was overlooking but I didn’t really know what it was. For me, knowing that there’s something I’m overlooking but not really knowing what it is, is one of the most frustrating things. It doesn’t happen often, but when it does, I get stuck on a certain verse or a certain chapter for days on end until blissful clarity finally comes, and I realize what I was missing all along.
Finally this morning, after rereading the twelfth, thirteenth, and fourteenth chapters of first Corinthians for what must have been the fiftieth time within the span of a couple weeks, I realized what was bothering me, and what it was that I wasn’t seeing.
Although the twelfth and fourteenth chapters of first Corinthians both deal with the gifts of the Holy Spirit, from what the gifts are, to how they are to be used within the congregation, the thirteenth chapter, the chapter that bridges the twelfth and fourteenth chapter is dedicated in exclusivity to love.
At first this might seem as an inappropriate place for a chapter on love, but as I continued to meditate on the significance of this, I realized that by divine inspiration, even the placement of the chapters within Paul’s writings had a message for us as believers and followers of Christ.
It’s as though by bridging the chapter on the gifts of the Holy Spirit, and the chapter on the orderly use of the gifts within the church with the chapter on love, through Paul, God is reminding His children that without true and godly love for the brethren, we will balk at, discount, or dismiss His command for order within the fellowship.
If I have no love in my heart for my brothers and sisters in Christ, then it will not bother me in the least that I am creating confusion in their midst, or that by my disorderly conduct I am causing them grief and consternation.
Lack of love makes us selfish, and if we have no love for the Body of Christ it will not bother us that we are only edifying ourselves while the rest of the Body is going without because of us.
Love for the brethren compels us to be orderly within the house of God, because just as we have come to a house of worship to be edified, love recognizes that everyone else who is present has come for the same reason.
Love is the bridge, as well as the foundation between the gifts of the Holy Spirit and using them in a responsible manner within the house of God. Love does not boast of the gifts it possesses, love is not proud of itself, love is not selfish looking toward its own interests, love puts the needs of others before its own, and desires that the entire Body be edified as one.
Paul’s need to implement certain rules and guidelines concerning the gift of speaking in tongues within the church at Corinth signifies two important things. The first thing Paul’s rules and guidelines signify is that the church at Corinth, which excelled in the gifts of the Holy Spirit didn’t understand the purpose of the gift of tongues, and this resulted in it being used improperly.
As with everything else, there is a time and place for the gifts of the Holy Spirit, and when we dismiss this truth and use the gifts in improper settings or at improper times, even the best of gifts can have negative effects upon the congregation.
The second thing that Paul’s rules and guidelines signify is that the gift of speaking in tongues is as important and relevant as any of the other eight gifts that he outlined earlier in his letter to the Corinthian church.
Although as men we prize certain of the gifts above others, although as men we desire for ourselves the more bombastic and exciting gifts, in God’s eyes every gift is equal, each supplied to individuals that they might fulfill the callings to which they were called. If it helps, think of the work of the Holy Spirit as a toolbox, and the individual gifts of the Holy Spirit as tools in that toolbox. Each tool has a specific purpose, each tool has a specific task to perform, and when the Master Builder calls you to drive nails into wood He will give you a hammer, when He calls you to tighten loose screws He will give you a wrench, and when He calls you to paint walls He will give you a brush. The Master Builder provides the tools appropriate to the task you have been entrusted with, and in His wisdom He knows which tool goes where. If God asks you to paint a wall, He will not give you a hammer, nor will he give you a wrench when He calls you to hammer nails.
Be open and willing to serve, and when God calls you into His service not only will He assign you the duty you must perform, but give you the tools with which you will perform the assigned duty.
If only we would be humble in our service to God, and do as He commands, things would run far smoother within the church than they are presently. Problems arise, not because God hasn’t equipped those He has called, but rather because those He called feel as though that which they have been called to is beneath them somehow.
I’ve said it often enough in my sermons, and I will repeat it here, most Christians today want to be management, very few want to be labor, and though the harvest is ready, and plentiful, the laborers are few indeed.
With love in Christ,
Michael Boldea Jr.
Tongues continued...
For the past few days, as I’ve been delving further and further into the three chapters of Paul’s first epistle to the Corinthians that deal with the gifts of the Holy Spirit, there has been something that I was noticing without really noticing it.
I don’t if you’ve ever had this happen to you, but I had the sense that I was missing a piece of the puzzle, I knew there was something that I was overlooking but I didn’t really know what it was. For me, knowing that there’s something I’m overlooking but not really knowing what it is, is one of the most frustrating things. It doesn’t happen often, but when it does, I get stuck on a certain verse or a certain chapter for days on end until blissful clarity finally comes, and I realize what I was missing all along.
Finally this morning, after rereading the twelfth, thirteenth, and fourteenth chapters of first Corinthians for what must have been the fiftieth time within the span of a couple weeks, I realized what was bothering me, and what it was that I wasn’t seeing.
Although the twelfth and fourteenth chapters of first Corinthians both deal with the gifts of the Holy Spirit, from what the gifts are, to how they are to be used within the congregation, the thirteenth chapter, the chapter that bridges the twelfth and fourteenth chapter is dedicated in exclusivity to love.
At first this might seem as an inappropriate place for a chapter on love, but as I continued to meditate on the significance of this, I realized that by divine inspiration, even the placement of the chapters within Paul’s writings had a message for us as believers and followers of Christ.
It’s as though by bridging the chapter on the gifts of the Holy Spirit, and the chapter on the orderly use of the gifts within the church with the chapter on love, through Paul, God is reminding His children that without true and godly love for the brethren, we will balk at, discount, or dismiss His command for order within the fellowship.
If I have no love in my heart for my brothers and sisters in Christ, then it will not bother me in the least that I am creating confusion in their midst, or that by my disorderly conduct I am causing them grief and consternation.
Lack of love makes us selfish, and if we have no love for the Body of Christ it will not bother us that we are only edifying ourselves while the rest of the Body is going without because of us.
Love for the brethren compels us to be orderly within the house of God, because just as we have come to a house of worship to be edified, love recognizes that everyone else who is present has come for the same reason.
Love is the bridge, as well as the foundation between the gifts of the Holy Spirit and using them in a responsible manner within the house of God. Love does not boast of the gifts it possesses, love is not proud of itself, love is not selfish looking toward its own interests, love puts the needs of others before its own, and desires that the entire Body be edified as one.
Paul’s need to implement certain rules and guidelines concerning the gift of speaking in tongues within the church at Corinth signifies two important things. The first thing Paul’s rules and guidelines signify is that the church at Corinth, which excelled in the gifts of the Holy Spirit didn’t understand the purpose of the gift of tongues, and this resulted in it being used improperly.
As with everything else, there is a time and place for the gifts of the Holy Spirit, and when we dismiss this truth and use the gifts in improper settings or at improper times, even the best of gifts can have negative effects upon the congregation.
The second thing that Paul’s rules and guidelines signify is that the gift of speaking in tongues is as important and relevant as any of the other eight gifts that he outlined earlier in his letter to the Corinthian church.
Although as men we prize certain of the gifts above others, although as men we desire for ourselves the more bombastic and exciting gifts, in God’s eyes every gift is equal, each supplied to individuals that they might fulfill the callings to which they were called. If it helps, think of the work of the Holy Spirit as a toolbox, and the individual gifts of the Holy Spirit as tools in that toolbox. Each tool has a specific purpose, each tool has a specific task to perform, and when the Master Builder calls you to drive nails into wood He will give you a hammer, when He calls you to tighten loose screws He will give you a wrench, and when He calls you to paint walls He will give you a brush. The Master Builder provides the tools appropriate to the task you have been entrusted with, and in His wisdom He knows which tool goes where. If God asks you to paint a wall, He will not give you a hammer, nor will he give you a wrench when He calls you to hammer nails.
Be open and willing to serve, and when God calls you into His service not only will He assign you the duty you must perform, but give you the tools with which you will perform the assigned duty.
If only we would be humble in our service to God, and do as He commands, things would run far smoother within the church than they are presently. Problems arise, not because God hasn’t equipped those He has called, but rather because those He called feel as though that which they have been called to is beneath them somehow.
I’ve said it often enough in my sermons, and I will repeat it here, most Christians today want to be management, very few want to be labor, and though the harvest is ready, and plentiful, the laborers are few indeed.
With love in Christ,
Michael Boldea Jr.
Saturday, February 4, 2012
The Holy Spirit: Power Presence and Purpose Part 179
The Gifts Part 84
Tongues continued...
It is an undisputed fact that we serve a God of order. Everything in the universe as we know it and beyond is in its rightful place. From earth’s positioning via the sun, to the four seasons of the year, to the microscopic and nucleic level, everything has an established order to it, designed and created by the Master Himself.
If there is order throughout the universe, what makes us think that there ought not to be, or that God would not expect order in His own house?
One of the primary reasons Paul took so much time discussing the gifts of the Holy Spirit, especially the gift of speaking in tongues in his first epistle to the Corinthians, is because their worship services had become chaotic and absent any semblance of order.
I’m all for freedom in the Spirit, I’m all for freedom in the Lord, but not when it comes at the expense of my fellow brothers and sisters in Christ. When we are gathered together in fellowship there is a certain code of conduct that we must follow, the selfsame code of conduct that Paul laid out for the Corinthian church.
From Paul’s writings it would seem that the church at Corinth lacked discipline when it came to public worship. They would gather, and inevitably those with the gift of tongues would begin to speak in tongues even though no interpretation was forthcoming, and while two or three or four people spoke in tongues the rest of the congregation just stood by and stared at those who were manifesting the gift.
Essentially, even though the entire body of believers had gathered to be edified and exhorted, because a handful of individuals chose to manifest the gift of tongues within the congregation, only those few would end up being edified or exhorted.
Paul saw this as a real issue, something that in the long term would be detrimental to the fellowship, growth and cohesion of the body, and so he addressed it with his customary forthrightness.
1 Corinthians 14:27-33, “If anyone speaks in a tongue, let there be two or at the most three, each in turn, and let one interpret. But if there is no interpreter, let him keep silent in the church, and let him speak to himself and to God. Let two or three prophets speak, and let the others judge. But if anything is revealed to another who sits by, let him first keep silent. For you can all prophesy one by one, that all may learn and all may be encouraged. And the spirits of the prophets are subject to the prophets. For God is not the author of confusion but of peace, as in all the churches of the saints.”
I realize full well that some reject the notion of rules and regulations within the house of God, preferring instead to think that fellowship is nothing more than an amalgam of souls each doing whatever strikes their fancy when gathered together, but the word of God is the word of God, and as such we must adhere and submit to it.
Paul’s counsel is clear as well as powerful: anything that does not edify the church as a whole should not be practiced in the Church during times of public worship or fellowship. Paul never intimated that it’s wrong to speak in tongues, or that men ought not to speak in tongues, he focused exclusively on how the gift of tongues ought to be manifested within the context of fellowship or being among a body of believers.
The rules as they stand are simple, and they serve to bring order to what would otherwise be a chaotic humdrum or countless voices speaking in tongues, one louder than the last hoping to be heard.
If anyone speaks in a tongue, then they should each speak in turn if one with the gift of interpretation of tongues is present. If there is no interpreter then let the individuals who would have spoken in tongues before the congregation, speak to themselves and to God.
Once again we must return to the atmosphere within the church of Corinth during the time of this epistle’s writing. Because they believed in and of itself the gift of speaking in tongues made them special among the brethren, those with the gift had the tendency to stand within the congregation and simply start speaking in tongues. Not to be outdone, others who likewise possessed the gift would also begin to speak in tongues even when no interpreter was present, and this action brought with itself great confusion.
Once again, Paul reaffirms to those of the church of Corinth that God is not the author of confusion, but of peace as in all the churches of the saints, and so if their actions brought about confusion among the brethren, logic would dictate that their actions were not of God.
God’s desire is that we are perpetually fruitful and of use to Him. Anything that creates confusion within the house of God, anything that brings about division, anything that attempts to highlight the virtues of an individual and not glorify Christ is therefore against the plan of God.
Speaking in tongues without the requisite interpretation is useless within a congregation. If anyone does desire to speak in tongues, and there is no interpreter present, then they can, as we have already mentioned, speak to themselves and to God, at any other time, in any other place, than when the believers are gathered together in fellowship.
There is wisdom in learning to be silent. There is wisdom in learning that God is a God of order. There is wisdom in knowing when you are edifying the Body of Christ, and when you are simply creating confusion within the church.
It is not nor has it ever been about our egos, it is not nor has it ever been about our pride as Paul was quick to point out to the church at Corinth, it has always been and will always be about Christ, and about building up and edifying His Body.
With love in Christ,
Michael Boldea Jr.
Tongues continued...
It is an undisputed fact that we serve a God of order. Everything in the universe as we know it and beyond is in its rightful place. From earth’s positioning via the sun, to the four seasons of the year, to the microscopic and nucleic level, everything has an established order to it, designed and created by the Master Himself.
If there is order throughout the universe, what makes us think that there ought not to be, or that God would not expect order in His own house?
One of the primary reasons Paul took so much time discussing the gifts of the Holy Spirit, especially the gift of speaking in tongues in his first epistle to the Corinthians, is because their worship services had become chaotic and absent any semblance of order.
I’m all for freedom in the Spirit, I’m all for freedom in the Lord, but not when it comes at the expense of my fellow brothers and sisters in Christ. When we are gathered together in fellowship there is a certain code of conduct that we must follow, the selfsame code of conduct that Paul laid out for the Corinthian church.
From Paul’s writings it would seem that the church at Corinth lacked discipline when it came to public worship. They would gather, and inevitably those with the gift of tongues would begin to speak in tongues even though no interpretation was forthcoming, and while two or three or four people spoke in tongues the rest of the congregation just stood by and stared at those who were manifesting the gift.
Essentially, even though the entire body of believers had gathered to be edified and exhorted, because a handful of individuals chose to manifest the gift of tongues within the congregation, only those few would end up being edified or exhorted.
Paul saw this as a real issue, something that in the long term would be detrimental to the fellowship, growth and cohesion of the body, and so he addressed it with his customary forthrightness.
1 Corinthians 14:27-33, “If anyone speaks in a tongue, let there be two or at the most three, each in turn, and let one interpret. But if there is no interpreter, let him keep silent in the church, and let him speak to himself and to God. Let two or three prophets speak, and let the others judge. But if anything is revealed to another who sits by, let him first keep silent. For you can all prophesy one by one, that all may learn and all may be encouraged. And the spirits of the prophets are subject to the prophets. For God is not the author of confusion but of peace, as in all the churches of the saints.”
I realize full well that some reject the notion of rules and regulations within the house of God, preferring instead to think that fellowship is nothing more than an amalgam of souls each doing whatever strikes their fancy when gathered together, but the word of God is the word of God, and as such we must adhere and submit to it.
Paul’s counsel is clear as well as powerful: anything that does not edify the church as a whole should not be practiced in the Church during times of public worship or fellowship. Paul never intimated that it’s wrong to speak in tongues, or that men ought not to speak in tongues, he focused exclusively on how the gift of tongues ought to be manifested within the context of fellowship or being among a body of believers.
The rules as they stand are simple, and they serve to bring order to what would otherwise be a chaotic humdrum or countless voices speaking in tongues, one louder than the last hoping to be heard.
If anyone speaks in a tongue, then they should each speak in turn if one with the gift of interpretation of tongues is present. If there is no interpreter then let the individuals who would have spoken in tongues before the congregation, speak to themselves and to God.
Once again we must return to the atmosphere within the church of Corinth during the time of this epistle’s writing. Because they believed in and of itself the gift of speaking in tongues made them special among the brethren, those with the gift had the tendency to stand within the congregation and simply start speaking in tongues. Not to be outdone, others who likewise possessed the gift would also begin to speak in tongues even when no interpreter was present, and this action brought with itself great confusion.
Once again, Paul reaffirms to those of the church of Corinth that God is not the author of confusion, but of peace as in all the churches of the saints, and so if their actions brought about confusion among the brethren, logic would dictate that their actions were not of God.
God’s desire is that we are perpetually fruitful and of use to Him. Anything that creates confusion within the house of God, anything that brings about division, anything that attempts to highlight the virtues of an individual and not glorify Christ is therefore against the plan of God.
Speaking in tongues without the requisite interpretation is useless within a congregation. If anyone does desire to speak in tongues, and there is no interpreter present, then they can, as we have already mentioned, speak to themselves and to God, at any other time, in any other place, than when the believers are gathered together in fellowship.
There is wisdom in learning to be silent. There is wisdom in learning that God is a God of order. There is wisdom in knowing when you are edifying the Body of Christ, and when you are simply creating confusion within the church.
It is not nor has it ever been about our egos, it is not nor has it ever been about our pride as Paul was quick to point out to the church at Corinth, it has always been and will always be about Christ, and about building up and edifying His Body.
With love in Christ,
Michael Boldea Jr.
Friday, February 3, 2012
The Holy Spirit: Power Presence and Purpose Part 178
The Gifts Part 83
Tongues continued...
We act as though we’re seeing such an abundance of biblical gifts in the church today, that we’ve gotten so used to hearing prophecy, seeing healings, hearing tongues and interpretation of tongues that God somehow needs to step up His game in order to keep us interested.
There is an utter lack of reason and logic when we don’t see the gifts of the Holy Spirit as outlined in the Bible manifesting within the church, yet we’re seeing gold dust and gold fillings, oily hands and peacock feathers. By simply going to the word of God we ought to know that these signs are false and have their origins in something other than God. By simply evaluating what we are seeing with our own eyes, and acknowledging that the true gifts of the Holy Spirit are sparsely seen in our manmade constructs of what we envision fellowship ought to be, we should deduce that the extra biblical signs manifesting themselves are of the enemy, and are meant to lead the children of God astray.
Few things are more pitiful than seeing someone laughing maniacally, shaking uncontrollably, mumbling to themselves and making inappropriate hand gestures, all the while thinking themselves under the power of the Holy Spirit. God is not the author of confusion. He will never compel His children to act the fool, to mock the Holy Spirit, or to bring shame to His name.
So why pick at the scab? Why talk about this? Because ignoring it or sweeping it under the rug will do nothing to remedy the situation. I realize some are of the ‘don’t air your dirty laundry in public’ mindset, but I refuse to become a pharisaical puppet and whitewash the tombs that are many of today’s congregations, pretending that everything’s perfect, save for the decreasing donations in the offering baskets.
Another reason I chose to discuss these issues of demonic, yes, I said demonic manifestations within the church is to highlight the lengths to which the enemy will go in his attempt to either pervert or undermine the true work of the Holy Spirit.
The enemy is scared witless at the thought of a church walking in authority and full of the power of the Holy Spirit. If everyone calling themselves a Christian would walk in the authority Jesus Himself said we would walk in, if everyone cast out demons, spoke in tongues, healed the sick or remained perfectly healthy if they ingested poison, just imagine what the church would look like, just imagine the power that would emanate from within the congregation of God.
If we operated in the gifts of the Holy Spirit, if we walked in the authority of God, if we cast out demons and healed the sick and spoke in tongues and manifested the power with which we as God’s beloved are endowed, I submit to you that there would be very little concern for bigger and more awe inspiring edifices, there would be little concern for the benefits packages, the golden parachutes, the parsonages or the monthly stipends, for all as one would be pursuing the glory of God and nothing else.
We’ve lost our way, we have wandered from our duty before God, and rather than be on our faces crying out, rather than fast and pray that God would revive us with the power of His Holy Spirit once again, we are steeped in trying to balance the church mortgage, the day care, the extra staff members, the added expense of a youth pastor, and all the other things that occupy our time and choke off our desire to simply be in the presence of God and to fellowship with Him.
When the church becomes a business it’s time to stop doing church!
I realize the preceding sounds harsh, but it’s the truth. I’ve had people mock me, belittle me, call me irresponsible, and tell me I lack vision because I choose not to go down the path of making a business out of ministry.
Do people support the work that we do? Of course they do, otherwise we could not do it. Do I lay a guilt trip on people every chance I get, tell them God will punish them if they don’t give, or demand that they finance the vision of dynamic growth? No, because God knows whose heart to touch, He knows whom to speak to and urge to give, and although for the past fifteen years we’ve had at least eighty children in our orphanage at all times, and sometimes as many as one hundred and twenty, they have never gone to bed hungry, cold or naked.
I know God called me to this work, and because He has called me to this work He will provide all that is needed in order for us to fulfill our calling to the best of our ability. Nothing else comes into the equation, not global economies, not threats of inflation, not volatility in currency markets. I know God will provide! I don’t know how God will provide, I don’t know whom God will provide through, I just know that He will.
When we get ahead of God however, when we start building our own kingdoms, or attempting to realize our own visions without God’s consent or God’s blessing, then we start to worry, we start to fret, we start employing worldly gimmicks, and the more we attempt to do it ourselves, the more God removes His hand of blessing.
Am I saying a church shouldn’t have a vision? Am I saying a church shouldn’t have an overseer or a budget? No, that’s not what I’m saying at all. What I am saying, is that if and when ministry becomes about the money and not about Jesus, it’s time to pack it in, and walk away. There are far too many examples of ministers and ministries for whom godliness became a means of gain, becoming corrupt of mind and destitute of truth, and ending up teaching aberrant heresies due to their greed and desire for material things.
With love in Christ,
Michael Boldea Jr.
Tongues continued...
We act as though we’re seeing such an abundance of biblical gifts in the church today, that we’ve gotten so used to hearing prophecy, seeing healings, hearing tongues and interpretation of tongues that God somehow needs to step up His game in order to keep us interested.
There is an utter lack of reason and logic when we don’t see the gifts of the Holy Spirit as outlined in the Bible manifesting within the church, yet we’re seeing gold dust and gold fillings, oily hands and peacock feathers. By simply going to the word of God we ought to know that these signs are false and have their origins in something other than God. By simply evaluating what we are seeing with our own eyes, and acknowledging that the true gifts of the Holy Spirit are sparsely seen in our manmade constructs of what we envision fellowship ought to be, we should deduce that the extra biblical signs manifesting themselves are of the enemy, and are meant to lead the children of God astray.
Few things are more pitiful than seeing someone laughing maniacally, shaking uncontrollably, mumbling to themselves and making inappropriate hand gestures, all the while thinking themselves under the power of the Holy Spirit. God is not the author of confusion. He will never compel His children to act the fool, to mock the Holy Spirit, or to bring shame to His name.
So why pick at the scab? Why talk about this? Because ignoring it or sweeping it under the rug will do nothing to remedy the situation. I realize some are of the ‘don’t air your dirty laundry in public’ mindset, but I refuse to become a pharisaical puppet and whitewash the tombs that are many of today’s congregations, pretending that everything’s perfect, save for the decreasing donations in the offering baskets.
Another reason I chose to discuss these issues of demonic, yes, I said demonic manifestations within the church is to highlight the lengths to which the enemy will go in his attempt to either pervert or undermine the true work of the Holy Spirit.
The enemy is scared witless at the thought of a church walking in authority and full of the power of the Holy Spirit. If everyone calling themselves a Christian would walk in the authority Jesus Himself said we would walk in, if everyone cast out demons, spoke in tongues, healed the sick or remained perfectly healthy if they ingested poison, just imagine what the church would look like, just imagine the power that would emanate from within the congregation of God.
If we operated in the gifts of the Holy Spirit, if we walked in the authority of God, if we cast out demons and healed the sick and spoke in tongues and manifested the power with which we as God’s beloved are endowed, I submit to you that there would be very little concern for bigger and more awe inspiring edifices, there would be little concern for the benefits packages, the golden parachutes, the parsonages or the monthly stipends, for all as one would be pursuing the glory of God and nothing else.
We’ve lost our way, we have wandered from our duty before God, and rather than be on our faces crying out, rather than fast and pray that God would revive us with the power of His Holy Spirit once again, we are steeped in trying to balance the church mortgage, the day care, the extra staff members, the added expense of a youth pastor, and all the other things that occupy our time and choke off our desire to simply be in the presence of God and to fellowship with Him.
When the church becomes a business it’s time to stop doing church!
I realize the preceding sounds harsh, but it’s the truth. I’ve had people mock me, belittle me, call me irresponsible, and tell me I lack vision because I choose not to go down the path of making a business out of ministry.
Do people support the work that we do? Of course they do, otherwise we could not do it. Do I lay a guilt trip on people every chance I get, tell them God will punish them if they don’t give, or demand that they finance the vision of dynamic growth? No, because God knows whose heart to touch, He knows whom to speak to and urge to give, and although for the past fifteen years we’ve had at least eighty children in our orphanage at all times, and sometimes as many as one hundred and twenty, they have never gone to bed hungry, cold or naked.
I know God called me to this work, and because He has called me to this work He will provide all that is needed in order for us to fulfill our calling to the best of our ability. Nothing else comes into the equation, not global economies, not threats of inflation, not volatility in currency markets. I know God will provide! I don’t know how God will provide, I don’t know whom God will provide through, I just know that He will.
When we get ahead of God however, when we start building our own kingdoms, or attempting to realize our own visions without God’s consent or God’s blessing, then we start to worry, we start to fret, we start employing worldly gimmicks, and the more we attempt to do it ourselves, the more God removes His hand of blessing.
Am I saying a church shouldn’t have a vision? Am I saying a church shouldn’t have an overseer or a budget? No, that’s not what I’m saying at all. What I am saying, is that if and when ministry becomes about the money and not about Jesus, it’s time to pack it in, and walk away. There are far too many examples of ministers and ministries for whom godliness became a means of gain, becoming corrupt of mind and destitute of truth, and ending up teaching aberrant heresies due to their greed and desire for material things.
With love in Christ,
Michael Boldea Jr.
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