Asking for a Friend, Part 5 - 9.3.2023

Can you help me to understand speaking in tongues?Acts 2:1-8 NLTOne camp believes that it served the purpose of spurring the beginning of the church and for serving as a sign as the church was in its formational stages. They believe that the gift was for the Apostles and that when the ministry of the Apostles ended, the gift and its purpose ended as well. (1 Cor 13:8).The second camp believes that the gifts were for the church and that their purpose never concluded and that as such we should still be seeking and utilizing this gift. Their are labeled Pentecostals and Charismatics.Since there are two camps, we must wrestle with the obvious question. Which one are we and why? We are an Assemblies of God Church and our doctrinal belief is Pentecostal.Witnesses & Skeptics- The initial outpouring of the Spirit took place about 2 weeks after Jesus ascended into Heaven. As we read in Acts 2, there were two reactions at the onset of Pentecost. There were people who instantly believed and saw the power of God moving (most commentators believe this to be a miracle of hearing over a miracle of speech xenolalia) and then there were people who said, “Those guys are just drunk, crazy fanatics!” It’s most astounding that these people all witnessed the same thing, at the same time but the Bible notes that their reactions were completely opposite. Skeptical Second Look- Cessationist – Believe Gifts of the Spirit ended with the ministry of the Apostles.1 Cor. 13:8 - prescriptive or descriptive?University of Penn Neurological Study on Speaking in Tongues – Dr. Andrew B. NewbergOral Roberts Univ. study on Immunity Health through Praying in Tongues – Dr. Carl R. PetersonBiblical Walkthrough-Gifts of the Spirit are imparted after salvationSpiritual Gifts should be pursuedThey are a gift for everyone, but are individually ordained for each believerTongues has a private and a public expression Private Tongues are for Spiritual PrayerPublic Tongues must be interpreted to be orderlySpeaking in Tongues is a sign to believersAfter Salvation: Acts 2:4, 10:44-46Everyone: 1 Cor. 14:5Private vs. Public: 1 Cor. 14Rom. 8:26-28 NLTThe Spirit prays for me when I don’t know what to pray- 1 Cor. 12:4-7 NLTGod gives us gifts to bless others.