The Holy Spirit, Tongues and A Misconceptionalized Hullabaloo

Firstly, I would like to use this medium to wish you all my dearest readers, a Happy New Year! 2013 came and went just like a minute ago. So many challenges, trials & temptations but we thank God for His grace, mercy, blessings and most of all, His love! 

I was moved to write this piece after my devotion today. I had my personal study from the 11th and 12th chapters of 1 Corinthians. From the 8th-11th verse of the 12th chapter, Apostle Paul enlisted the GIFTS of the Holy Spirit. 1 Corinthians 12:8-11 states - 

For to one is given by the Spirit the word of wisdom; to another the word of knowledge by the same Spirit; To another faith by the same Spirit; to another the gifts of healing by the same Spirit; To another the working of miracles; to another prophecy; to another discerning of spirits; to another diverse kinds of tongues; to another the interpretation of tongues: But all these worketh that one and the selfsame Spirit, dividing to every man severally as he will.

According to the verses above,  the Gifts of the Spirit include: 

1. Word of Wisdom
2. Word of Knowledge
3. Faith
4. Healing
5. Working of Miracles
6. Prophecy
7. Discerning of spirits
8. Tongues
9. Interpretation of tongues

Now, this piece was inspired by my personal experience and the existence of various misconceptions on and about these gifts of the Spirit, particularly the gift of TONGUES! So many myths exist around Speaking in Tongues and the fact is that many servants of God (even some highly placed ones) fall short in their understanding, perception and utilization of their knowledge of the gifts of the Spirit. 

At a certain point in my life, I heavily desired the Holy Spirit. I craved for Him so much I cried every night before I slept for the Holy Spirit to come upon me (as in the day of Pentecost). I fasted, prayed, did everything I could to pull Him down from Heaven. He didn't show! I grew weary and soon forgot totally about the issue. Please note, my interpretation of the Holy Spirit at this point in time was SPEAKING IN TONGUES! I was of the opinion that until I started speaking in tongues, I didn't have the Holy Spirit. One time I met a servant of God and asked him, "Sir, how can I get the Holy Spirit for me to start speaking in tongues?" He replied "You have to pray and study the word of God" [this was the only iota of truth in his sermon to me that day]. He continued "When you pray and pray and pray and study and study and study, then you really desire the Holy Spirit with evidence of speaking in tongues He will release it to you [FALSE!] It is a gradual process. You don't begin to speak in tongues immediately [FALSE!] When He releases it to you, you will first start with syllables like 'ka' 'to' 'sa' 'la' 'ba' 'ska' 'ri' [DAMM FALSE!] From these syllables you will graduate to words then from words to sentences then from sentences to full blown tongue speaking [FULL BLOWN LIE!]. Infact it was this sermon that spurred me on to pray and fast more... even some times 'helping' the Holy Ghost by forming a few syllables of my own! hehehe... According to the account of the PENTECOST in Acts 2, you DO NOT LEARN tongues! You DO NOT PRACTICE it! And you DO NOT THINK it! It comes 'freely' from the Holy Spirit and you will have the conviction deep down that it is from the throne of God! You can deceive everyone around you that you are speaking in tongues, but you can never deceive yourself and you can surely never deceive God!

The craze and hullabaloo of speaking in tongues has so enveloped the Church of God, it has become a socio-religious status. Boys and girls, Ladies and Gentlemen, Men and Women all want to speak in tongues because it proves they are in the Spirit and the Spirit in them! [FALSE!] Some go as far as 'learning' how to speak in tongues! I have even heard of Bible Schools where the teachers actually write 'Tongue Syllables' and instruct their students in the 'Art of Speaking in Tongues'! WOW... Such callousness and depravity! Dear reader I would have you know that you can speak in tongues and not have the Holy Spirit and Have the Holy Spirit and not speak in tongues. if you do not get anything from this article, just have these 4 facts seared to the tablets of your heart

1. Speaking in tongues is a gift from the Holy Spirit (1 Cor 12:10)
2. It is not for or given to everyone (as informed by use of the clause 'to another' in (1 Cor 12:8-10)
3. The Holy Spirit apportions the gift of tongues to people as 'He chooses' (1 Cor 12:11) hence, not speaking in tongues does not mean you don't have the Holy Ghost - it only means you have not been given that gift yet
4. So if you are so focused and envious of speaking in tongues that you start to fake it, you are actually starving the original gift of the Spirit in your life!

Now please note that this is not to say that you cannot pray and be given the gift of tongues, because you can. One can be empowered by the Holy Spirit with multiple gifts but when you want to be faster than God then start faking it - know that you are on a highway to spiritual frailty and soon outright breakdown. 

I am bringing this out now at this time (beginning of the year) so we will all run in the fervour and power of the Holy Spirit. In all honesty, we NEED Him. The Bible says that 'It is not by power nor by might but by my Spirit...' (Zech 4:6). It also states that '...without Holiness, no one can see the Lord' (Heb 12:14). This points towards the fact that we need a spirit of Holiness to help us in our pursuit of Heaven. Romans 1:4 aptly describes the Holy Spirit as that - 

...And declared to be the Son of God with power, according to the spirit of holiness, by the resurrection from the dead".

Finally, dear reader, this piece is to encourage you in your pursuit of the Spirit. If you desire the genuine gift of tongues that comes only from the Holy Spirit, just keep talking to your Heavenly Father about it in prayers. I personally still desire it, but as some of you my wonderful readers have noted and commented, I am heavily endowed with the gifts of Wisdom and Knowledge of the Word. I am prayerfully and dutifully developing these gifts. I will advice you also do the same. Take a good look at list of the 9 Gifts of the Spirit above and identify the one (or ones) you know in your spirit that your possess. Work on them and keep praying for the others you need. Just like me - I will keep praying for the gifts I desire including tongues and faith. If He has not given them to me now, He will at His own time because Ecclesiastes 3:11 says 

He has made everything beautiful in its time

They will come at just the right time, to fulfil a particular will of the Lord in my life. Until then, I wont stop praying and I wont stop asking because Jesus assured us in Luke 11:13 that our Heavenly Father will give the Holy Spirit to  

those who ask and continue to ask Him!

God bless you so much... have a Wonderful, Glorious and Prosperous year ahead in Jesus name, AMEN! 

My Prayer for you this year...

PS - our series on Marriage will continue in the next publication.