O.K. I am sooooo confused about this subject. I believe that speaking in tongues is a real gift of the Holy Spirit,but we don't all have the same gift. And we don't all speak in tongues. A close friend of mine who I reall respect and look up to says that tongues is a gift we all receive when we receive the Baptism of the Holy Spirit. I am just starting to learn about all this "Holy Spirit stuff" My church never really talked about this kind of stuff. Could someone help me out here??????

It's too bad your church does not talk much about the Holy Spirit. Unfortunately, your church is not alone. Many churches are afraid to talk about the Spirit because of all the bad teaching which has filled the church over the years. We are clearly called to walk according to the Spirit; "Since we live by the Spirit, let us keep in step with the Spirit" (Galatians 5:25). How can we understand what this means unless we are willing to talk about it in our churches?

I'm sure this post will generate some good replies - I pray we all have grace in our responses!

Paul makes it clear that not all believers speak in tongues; "Do all have gifts of healing? Do all speak in tongues? Do all interpret?" (1 Corinthians 12:30). The implied answer to his question is no!

Paul also says that all those who are saved have the Holy Spirit; "You, however, are controlled not by the sinful nature but by the Spirit, if the Spirit of God lives in you. And if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he does not belong to Christ" (Romans 8:9). When we are saved, we are given a new heart. Theologians call this regeneration. This is only accomplished through the power of the Holy Spirit.

All believers (those who have been "regenerated") have been baptized by the Holy Spirit "For we were all baptized by one Spirit into one body–whether Jews or Greeks, slave or free–and we were all given the one Spirit to drink" (1 Corinthians 12:13). We all receive gifts from the Holy Spirit and the gifts we receive are determined solely by the Spirit; "He gives them to each one, just as He determines" (1 Corinthians 12:11).

Keep searching! God is calling you to a wonderful truth.

Blessings,
Steve T.

Kimmy,

Like Steve said we are all given every gift that is spoken about in the bible when we are baptized in the Holy Spirit, be it decernment of spirits, prophesy or speaking in tongues, or any of the others. I believe that God gives us all of these, but He makes us stronger in certain gifts. Some might speak in tongues all the time, but only prophesy occasionally, whereas someone else might be able to heal people a lot, but hardly ever speaks in tongues.

If you want to know which gift God has made you strong in, even though he has given you all of them, just think of the gift you use most. Do you heal the sick? Do you see visions, and prophesy? Do you speak in tongues? God will reveal your strength to you.

Angela

Kimmygirl,

God works in wondrous ways and those who have experienced a supernatural touch will readily testify to that. Like you, when I was a young Christian, I had never heard of the work of the Holy Spirit, except that the Holy Spirit dwells within the believer. One day totally unexpectedly, God touched me in a very special way and it was only years later that I fully understood the implication of it. I was only seeking Him when He showed His loving care for me!

I have seen many of the gifts manifested, as well as having been healed myself. And though I believe in God’s power, I would also caution you – there are many abuses when men’s pride gets in the way and strange happenings today that I do not believe God is a part of. The “gift” is for the recipient not the one God uses as the vessel. The important thing is to be well grounded in His Word, because it is truth. Rather than chasing after miracles and the gifts – seek first the fruits of the Spirit. And rather than emphasizing the Holy Spirit as one aspect of God – seek Him in His fullness and He will reveal Himself to you.

Be blessed and in turn be a blessing!

Lamentations 3:24

"The Lord is my portion."

Praise The Lord, Kimmygirl!

The answer to your question can be found in Acts chapter 2, which talks about The Day of Pentecost.

ACTS 2:4 (KJV)
AND THEY WERE ALL FILLED WITH THE HOLY GHOST, AND BEGAN TO SPEAK WITH OTHER TONGUES, AS THE SPIRIT GAVE THEM UTTERANCE.

The end of this verse, AS THE SPIRIT GAVE THEM UTTERANCE, lets us know that God didn't give the gift of speaking in tongues to all the saints.

If you don't speak in tongues, it doesn't mean that you don't have the Holy Spirit. The beginning of the verse above says, ...THEY WERE ALL FILLED WITH THE HOLY GHOST. Keep searching, my sister!

May the Lord continue to bless you in your search! In Jesus'Name!

Thank you all for trying to help me out here. It seems like most of you agree with me that everybody has different gifts and everyone with the Holy Spirit does not speak in tongues. I really feel I amm believing the right thing,but this friend of mine insists she is right. She has known the Lord alot longer than I have and she's a Pastor's wife!!!!!

I keep quoting to her 1 Cor 12:4-7

"4There are different kinds of gifts, but the same Spirit. 5There are different kinds of service, but the same Lord. 6There are different kinds of working, but the same God works all of them in all men.
7Now to each one the manifestation of the Spirit is given for the common good."

And also 1Cor12:29-30
"29Are all apostles? Are all prophets? Are all teachers? Do all work miracles? 30Do all have gifts of healing? Do all speak in tongues[4] ? Do all interpret?"

These seem to say that we all have different gifts,but she just insists that if you don't speak in tongues,you don't have the Holy Spirit!!!!!

[This message was edited by kimmygirl on October 23, 2002 at 11:47 AM.]

Some of my best friends maintain the same belief as your friend. I'm sure there are many on the God's Daily Word mailing list who also have this belief. This is an area where we can have a difference of opinion and continue to fellowship together. However, when you find someone saying that speaking in tongues is the absolute identification of salvation, then we must divide. This is clearly error and represents a false gospel.

She says that Mark 16:17 clearly states that we are all supposed to speak in tongues:

17And these signs will accompany those who believe: In my name they will drive out demons; they will speak in new tongues;

But look what verse 18 says:

18they will pick up snakes with their hands; and when they drink deadly poison, it will not hurt them at all; they will place their hands on sick people, and they will get well."

So does that mean we are all supposed to go around picking up snakes and drinking poison??? I think not!!!!!!

The bible also say in 1 Cor 14:28:

28If there is no interpreter, the speaker should keep quiet in the church and speak to himself and God.
and

23So if the whole church comes together and everyone speaks in tongues, and some who do not understand[1] or some unbelievers come in, will they not say that you are out of your mind?

I told my friend that there are people in my church ( I go to a new church now and there are some there who speak in tongues) speaking in tongues without interpretation and I said that I don't think they should be doing that without an interpreter. It says it right in the Bible!!!!
But she said "how can you tell the Holy Spirit when not to speak or manifest?????"

Praise The Lord, Kimmygirl!

You don't have to argue with anyone over interpretations about the Word of God. Instead, pray about this and ask the Lord to reveal to you the truth.

There are many scriptures in the Bible which make it seem like some of the different verses contradict each other. This is why we have the Holy Spirit-to help us to understand the Word. I am taking a class at my church (Apostolic Church of God)called, The Introduction to Bible Study. We are reading a book called, HOW TO SEARCH THE SCRIPTURES, by Dr. Fuchsia Pickett. I recommend you get this, I believe it will help you out.

Also, I must say that I think it is a work of the enemy to have the Saints arguing over what the Bible means. The bottom line is this, the Lord provides the right people at the right time to help us along in our Christian walk, but above everything and everybody is the Lord. It is He and His Word which must be put above all else. Fellowshipping with other Christians is wonderful, don't get me wrong. I have made many friends, but anytime I feel like something may cause an arguement, I let go of it, pray on it and don't discuss it anymore.

Thank you Kathy I will check out that book!!!!

Sorry, I didn’t really answer your question. A believer can be filled with the Holy Spirit without manifesting any gifts, and therefore no particular gift identifies one as being saved. God gives the gifts to and through whomever He decides, including speaking in tongues. (I Cor 12-14) The important thing is they are used for the right purpose and in the proper way -- when they are, lives are changed.

I wish you the best in your studies!

Lamentations 3:24

"The Lord is my portion."

Praise The Lord, Chelki!

I think you made some good points in your first statement. There are a lot of false teachers who can have a tendency to be biased toward everyone else's feelings, especially when it comes to "Religion". When someone believes something, it can become difficult to see your point of view. That's exactly the reason why it's so important to place the Lord before anyone else. Once you seek Him through prayer and supplication, He will reveal to you the answers.

We must seek Him in His fullness, with prayer and thanksgiving!

kimmygirl - you stated your friend said "how can you tell the Holy Spirit when not to speak or manifest?????"

It occurs to me that if the scripture was indeed written by the Holy Spirit, then the Holy Spirit clearly established His own guidelines. This means we can be pretty sure that anything outside the guidelines of scripture are not of the Spirit.

Just something else to think about......

is anything too hard for the lord? maybe that is what he meant when he spoke of the signs accompanying those who believe

he said to them go into all the world and preach the good news to all creation

whoever believes and is baptized will be saved

but whoever does not believe will be condemned

thus signs will accompany them that believe

paul said tongues are a sign not for believers but for unbelievers

so he working through us bring his to him

Thank you all for your input You have pretty much just confirmed what I believed all alone. I guess maybe I just needed that confirmation. Would you guys please go over to the payer forum and read my post over there and pray please?????

I think the problem is the way it is interpreted today. I see many people speaking all at once and surely to no one's edification. I really think that is where the problem comes in. The bible gives instruction on using this gift but I have never seen it manifested in the biblical way, for example, someone just starts speaking spanish when they had never been taught the language.
Paul said that he would rather speak five words that could teach someone rather than ten thousand words in an unknown tongue (Interesting note: the term "Prayer Language" isn't in the bible).
I don't see why such importance is placed on that one particular gift anyway. Prophecy was considered more important, so go figure???? The most important gift though was love. For without love, all we are doing is making noise.
My own personal revelation was in Mark 16:17. Jesus said that his believers would speak with new tongues. Well, for me that has been manifested. Prior to being saved I had another language. It was vulgar and full of every kind of wickedness you could imagine. After my confrontation with Jesus, my tongue spoke of him and what he had done for me. For me, That was my new tongue!

Dear Ragmanrob

Just for your information, although "prayer language" are not words found in the bible, neither is the word "trinity" yet we use it to discribe God. Same goes for words like "prayer-walk" yet Christians all over the world walk and pray for our cities and neighbourhoods.

What I suggest is that the Word of God should always be read in proper context. We should not only read the verses in 1 Cor 14 in isolation, but to look at all other verses including those in Acts that are on the subject of speaking in tongues. There is always a danger of our reading the Word of God to look for sufficient arguments to suit or match our understanding.

At the end of it all we serve one God and one Saviour that is Jesus Christ our Lord.

Peace to all

Shalom

Dear Shalom
No problem with that. I agree that there are things that the bible illustrates without the actual wording being in the text. My own personal study though (I am not a theologian by any means) led me to believe that the tongues spoken of in the bible were other languages that were discernable to the people that spoke them. I think that the term "Prayer Lanuage" would be harder to illustrate from scripture than "Trinity" which is pretty clear. It can't be argued that most Tongues today, edify no one but the one doing it and it isn't in accordance with scripture guidelines. I can't say that I have ever heard anyone interpret.

I'm a newcomer to this board, but I have done a great deal of study on the subject of tongues. There are 2 main chapters in the Bible dealing with speaking in tongues. Acts 2 describes the "true" gift of tongues, which the Holy Spirit gave to the disciples at Pentacost so that they could preach in the languages of the multitudes that came to Jerusalem for that festival. The people were astonished, realizing that these were uneducated men, and yet they could speak other languages they had not been taught. At that time, a wonderful blessing resulted in the baptism of 3000 new believers. 1 Corinthians, Chap 14, however,
gives a very different picture of the subject. Apparently, members of the Corinth church were boasting about their ability to speak in tongues, maybe even having an exclusive club of folks who did so. Paul chastises them, saying that speaking in an unknown tongue was unprofitable and "unfruitful." He pointed out that "God is not the author of confusion," and believe me, if you have attended some of the charismatic churches, you can truly feel confused and left out of the worship service if you don't babble along with everyone else. We should pray that God gives us the gifts we need to witness in our particular situations. I happen to know Spanish, so I can speak in that tongue and witness to folks here in Miami, many of whom know little English. But the fruits of the Spirit, as outlined in Galatians 5:22-23 are all that are needed to identify someone who truly has the Holy Spirit within. May we all have love, joy, peace, etc., especially in these sad days for our world.

With His love,

Karin

[This message was edited by Karin on March 20, 2003 at 02:59 PM.]

Wow, lots have been said about speaking in tougues. To me, whether you speak in tougues or not what is your relationship like with God? "At the end of it all, we serve one God & Saviour Jesus Christ" And dont forget, it's not us to judge here on earth, whether you are a Pastor, his wife, evangelist or whoever. It's God who does so by looking at the heart. By the way many a christian try so hard to do so because somebody else is doing it; and I have always said I would never and will never pretend in church; raise my hands so high, fall heavily on the floor and all that kind of thing. Please get me right "I WOULD...WILL NEVER... am talking about me. Yes there are many more out there who feel genuinely that way towards the Lord and it is VERY VERY OK. But just as several of you have said here on board, it's a gift from God and Chelki said: "God gives the gifts to...whomever He decides, including...tougues(1Cor12-14) The important thing is they are used for the right purpose & in the proper way". Though the word says: Mark 16:17 17And these signs will accompany those who believe: In my name they will drive out demons; they will speak in new tongues..." it does not say THEY MUST ALL speak in new tougues. Somebody can further help me on that one.

Kimmygirl, you cant argue with the fact that 2+2=4 when somebody else insists that 2+2=5!! Do you struggle making that person believe your equation??? You already have satisfying responses from friends here on the board.

Please try not to argue with anyone over christian issues because it becomes an avenue for the devil to strike. I guess you dont want to loose your good friend simply over speaking in tougues. You can fellowship over other interesting things. When she brings it up take her in prayer that both of you may know the truth. When I got saved in 1992, I was cautioned never to argue with people over christian issues. So you can do the same. It's good to be in the Lord. God bless U abundantly.

Also refer to 1 Samuel 16:7 "But the Lord said to Samuel, "Do not consider his appearance or his height, for I have rejected him. The Lord does not look at things man looks at. Man looks at the outward, but the Lord looks at the heart." So whether you speak in tongues or not, He is keenly looking at your heart. You have to know why you have to speak in tougues. It will only be God's purpose and it will come at the right time. Be blessed Kimmy.

Hi Family,

Browsing through old posts I found this interesting topic which is as current today as it was then.
I thought of bringing it back for further comments in view of an article I read recently which can be found here: http://www.apologeticspress.org/articles/2569
What do you think?
God bless you all.
Jorge S.

In response to the origonal question posted by kimmygirl - I agree with you as Steve pointed out a few scriptures I agree with him also that not everyone gets the same gift - if you look at the parable of the talents it says the same thing - one guy got one talent another got 5 & another got 10. There is no way that all 3 got the same talents as they had different amounts.

Angela said she believes that we get all the gifts but I find no evidence of this in scripture - but I have seen something smimlar in my experiece - as I have had an occasional word of wisdom or word of knoledge or have been able to decern a spirit from time to time but do not have those gifts operating 24/7 in my life. I do not believe that I have been given all the gifts of the spirit & I am not fully convinced that all the gifts that the spirit gives is wrtitten down in the Bible. Namely because God gave me a gift to be able to play music & he also gave me a gift to be able to study his word. Now studying & music making are not listed as gifts of the spirit but I am sure that I have been gifted by the spirit to do those things.

As far as the issue of "if you don't speak in tounges then you don't have the Holy Ghost" goes - I believe that is very unscriptural & it is the very issue that I feel guilty for not confronting an old pastor of mine about. My take on it is like this: When you are babtised in water, what comes off of you after? Water! Well when you are baptized in the Holy Spirit what do you suppose would be dripping off of you after? The Holy Spirit!!! Love will be oozing out of every one of your pores as God is love & the Holy Spirit is God; Karin touched on this very point. And the scripture backs that up because it says regarding evidence that "This is how they shall know that ye are my diciples; by the love ye have one towards another"

As far as speaking in tounges in church the biblical way - with an interpreter (or interpretation) when I was going to a pentacostal church that favord speaking in tounges that almost never happened; but it did happen occasionally. Well as I mentioned I had to run away from that church because I was too scared to confront the pastor about the "if you don't speak in tounges then you dont have the Holy Ghost" bit so the non-interpreting bit was kinda a moot point...

As far as the issue of the tounges being actual languages spoken by other people from other countries - the 1st time in acts that people spoke in tounges that was the case as the believers poured into the streets it was during a festival & there were visitors from all over the known world & people from far-off lands heard their own tounge being spoken by the believers. But I don't see the same thing happening every other time that tounges are mentioned in the bible & there is a passage about how it may be possible for us to speak in the tounges of angels (wich would 9x out of 10 would be previously unheard of on this planet).

Chelki mentioned that "A believer can be filled with the Holy Spirit without manifesting any gifts" but as I mentioned that in the parable of the talents everybody got at least one. The same parable said that the guy who got only one didn't use it tho... It would be possible for someone who had 10 to not use any also I suppose; but because God knows everything I think that the reason that the guy only got one in the first place would be because God knew that if he gave more, they would also be unused. I believe that God has a special mission for each & every one of us & he gives us at least one gift when we are reborn into his family to help us carry out our mission. Eph 2:10 says that we are his workmanship - do you think that the almighty God can put his hands on you & work on you & you not be blessed & changed as a result? But as I already mentioned; I am unconvinced that all the Gifts that the Holy Spirit has avaliable to give are written down for us in the scriptures - so according to my personal understanding God can give us a gift & we may not even recognize it as such if we look to the scriptural guidelines (ver batim), but you gotta remember that "the letter killeth but the spirit giveth life".

In answer to kimmygirl's arguments with her friend all I can say is you gave her the scriptures; if she didn't get the message from them then you just gotta pray that one plants, another waters, but God brings forth the increase - prayerfully with more positive influences your friend will come around to understanding the truth; & if not then it's ok because God told me that we all believe what we believe for a reason - remember the passage that says about Pharoah - even for this purpose did I raise him up that I might make my power known, & the other passage in Rom chapter 8 that says all things work together for the good to them that love God & are the called according to His purpose.

natalie mentioned that "paul said tongues are a sign not for believers but for unbelievers" but he also taught that without interpretation the unbeliver wont benifit; there is no evidence that when God gives us a unknown tounge that we ourselves will know what we are saying so the speaker would need an interpretation even if the hearer did not or at least when the hearer responds in his own tougue someone would need to interpret what he said to the preacher who may then again answer in the other man's tounge & still not know the language he is speaking - do you see what I am saying? Paul also taught that all the gifts except tounges were for exortation of others; wheras speaking in tounges only edifies ourself (I believe that this is mainly in reference to a "prayer closet/language" situation).

As far as the term "Prayer language" I moreso relate it to the passage that says that the Spirit will make intercession for us with groanings that cannot be uttered - that tells me that when I really need it my prayer language won't be a language at all but rather some indecernable mutterings that only God knows because the Holy Spirit itself is the one who is uttering them from my mouth.

Erona said that it is not good to argue; & the scripture says the same thing - to avoid foolish questions, geneologies, & contentions but I feel like this - God judges both the mind & the heart; so our motives & our doctrine must be correct; if we only have one of those 2 in order then we may possibly not make it into heaven - so discussion & debate are important to show the truths of God to people who don't know or accept them. There is a passage or 2 telling us that our words (of truth) are to shut the mouths of gainsayers. One of my missions is stated by Paul to Timothy when he said "Preach the word; be instant in season & out of season" that tells me I have to give the word of God regardless wether I feel like it or not & also regardless wether the person who I am talking to wants to hear it or not. But there is another issue to be taken into consideration, the one about not casting our pearls before swine & a hetritic after the 3rd admonition reject. I dont like those passages much as I prefer God's mercy & lovingkindness & his longsuffering. God did not send me here to judge who is a heretic or who is a swine - he just told me as I said before to preach the word, being instantanious in season & out of season. The next line says that we are to reproove & rebuke - now in most conversations I have had when I rebuke someone they don't just recieve it with gladness - they go about justifying themselves & vindicating themselves & therefore an argument ensues so sometimes you just have to give the scripture & simply walk away, because situations can get heated if the proper fuel is applied. Nobody likes being told that they are wrong & few people will examine wether they are wrong or not even after being provided with evidence that they are; & there are yet some people who know they are wrong & don't care or worse yet enjoy leading others down the wrong road. But there is a scripture that says something about how a wise man will hear your words of correction & take it to heart, but a fool will never change even after many beatings with rods...

Jorge S posted a link to an essay & I agreed with the beginning of it like the point that "A miracle in the Bible was a supernatural act. It was an event that was contrary to the usual course of nature" sounds all good & "Miracles in the New Testament served the singular function of confirmation." sounds just as correct. The point about "Tongue-speaking was simply one miraculous capability among many bestowed by God without regard to a member’s spiritual status, let alone his spiritual superiority over another member" is also very important & has not been touched on in this post. Also the point that "relieving suffering was not the purpose of miracles" is a good one; remember the miricle of the witherd fig tree? The point brought up that Faith is not "a necessary prerequisite to miraculous reception" is also a good one. However the essay writer dissagrees with me with his (or her) next point wich is that "Since the purpose of miracles has been achieved, the miracles, themselves, have ceased" I disagree because Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today & forever & He has given me miricles in my own life & I have seen them bestowed unto others. His point was that the miricle was to confirm that the person speaking the word of God was from God - so it is very possible that God can speak through someone today & have a miricle confirm their word (there is a scripture about how God rises up early to send us prophets). Now I don't know any miricle workers & have a strong feeling that most televangelists that do miricles dime a dozen are frauds but I am also convinced that our God is an Awesome God & is able to do above & beyond what we ask or think. Perhaps I will read the rest of the essay later but right now I am tired.

I looked at another paragraph or 2 in that essay & the guy has some good reasons why he doesn't think that miricles are for today - however they are unconvincing: as one of his scripture references seems to be out of context he quotes Eph 4:8 & says that the word "gifts" in that pasage is refering to miricles & he says how it is supposed to last untill verse 13 is fulfilled that says we are going to come into the unity of the faith & of the knoledge of the Son of God (wich according to him has already happened because we have a completed new testament). The problem is that verse 13 is in the context of verse 11 & 12 wich said that God gave us apostles prophets evangelists pastors & teachers - so according to that theory we shouldnt need any of those either & almost every church you go to regardless wether they suscribe to miracles or not has a pastor. I guess what I am trying to say is that it seems that the article writer reads the scripture with his mind made up about what it means & so he jamms the circle peg in the square hole so to speak & makes the scripture say what he wants it to (to make it fit his doctrine) even tho that isn't what the scripture is saying at all. I know this behavior well as I have done it myself; I heard it said that you can proove anything from the bible (there is a joke about how the bible is all about baseball - Baseball? How could it possibly be about baseball? Well just look at the 1st verse - In the BIG-INNING). There is another joke about the dangers of taking verses out of context namely the one about the guy who opened up his bible & the 1st verse that jumped out at him said "And Judas went and hanged himself" & the 2nd read "Go and do thou likewise" & the 3rd said "What thou doest - do quickly". Now it is possible that I am wrong & that he is correct that miracles have ceased - but I doubt it. We just have to read the scriptures & ask God to give us His interpretation because He wrote it & the scripture cannot be broken & is not given to private interpretation. If any man lacks wisdom let him ask of God.

The essay writer has an interesting interpretation of the "tounges of angels" saying that they are not nessisarily unearthly languages but rather they are human languages spoken with the skill or ability of an angel - therefore without any mistakes or human prejudices influencing the words. I have never heard this view before but it almost sounds plausible - but he said that there would be no reason that God would give us an unearthly (angellic) language - but I dissagree as sometimes like in a prayer closet situation such a language would be appropriate & perhaps even more benificial to us than a human one as sometimes it is hard to project the idea we have in the language we speak; not to mention there are many different meanings to the same word sometimes. And in a church setting with interpretation it would also be gloryfing to our father.

This message has been edited. Last edited by: Slade,

I come from a church that believes speaking in tongues is the true evidence of being filled with the Holy Spirit, but I have felt differently lately about that. I have the gift of tongues but I only use it when I am in prayer by myself or corporately when we are not praying specifically to someone, who wouldn't understand what is being prayed. I certainly don't believe a person can't be Spirit filled without tongues. Just doesn't make sense. I think it may help us in prayer, but certainly does not edify another if they don't understand it. I'm on the fence on this issue but I don't obsess about it anymore. I've been told that being able to pray in tongues is a blessing to the individual who has it. Perhaps...

KIMMYGIRL

Also read the book of acts

Hi laurie

It is true that often when we pray, we pray in our heavenly language, however, the speaking of tongues according to the book of acts and other new testemant accounts, was the evidence of recieving the spirit of God, just as a doctor needs to hear the baby cry upon birth, which gives evidence that it is alive. So it is the word that gives us this example. The group that recieved the holy spirit in the upper room were all on one accord, and were operating in the spirit of obedience. They also were from many nations, what help those who looked on know that something was new was happening. It was the fact that no one spoke in their own language, but a new language, a heavenly language. Evidence that something great was happening, which is the in filling of the holy spirit.

I heard this before & this is the same thing that I kept silent before & felt guilty ever since.

1) If "Speaking in tounges" was the "evidence" of being "filled with the spirit" like in Acts 2:4 - I say take a look at Chapter 4 verse 31. Here it says they spake the word with boldness, no mention of another tounge.

2) It stands to reason that if "speaking in tounges" was the "evidence" then it would appear every time someone is "filled with the spirit"

3) Jesus said "By this shall all men know that ye are my disciples, if ye have love one to another. " Jn 13:35

4) You can believe any old story that your pastors tell you; I will believe what Jesus said. It's like this - after you get baptised in water, what is comming off of you? ... Water! Well when you are baptised in the Holy Ghost guess what is dripping off of you after that? ... The Holy Ghost! God is love & love will be oozing out of every one of your pores after being changed by him compare 2 Cor 5:17 "Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new. " & that love according to what Jesus said in Jn 13:35 will be the "evidence" .

Hi Kimmey,

We all know that the word of God needs no debate it is direct and consistent of it meanings and the accounts of the subject at hand is clear. It is my desire that you let nothing confuse you, but that you read the word, ask God for the understanding, and make your request know unto him, and He will surely direct your path.

Kimmy this is for you. Just trust God fully, Ask him to lead and guide you.Ask God what is his will and what is his plan of salvation for all men kind. He will probably lead you back to your pastor.When you want to know the truth about anything!!!!! just ask God himself and he will give you the right answer. You are trying to make it in, don't let men stop you. Get all you can get!!!!!!! Girl ALLLLLLLLLLL OF THE GOD you can get.BE Ye HOLY, For I Am Holy. Then lots of love will come after that. You go Girl. Run run run