1 Corinthians 14:1-5 English Standard Version

Prophecy and Tongues

1 Pursue love, and earnestly desire the spiritual gifts, especially that you may prophesy. 2 For one who speaks in a tongue speaks not to men but to God; for no one understands him, but he utters mysteries in the Spirit. 3 On the other hand, the one who prophesies speaks to people for their upbuilding and encouragement and consolation. 4 The one who speaks in a tongue builds up himself, but the one who prophesies builds up the church. 5 Now I want you all to speak in tongues, but even more to prophesy. The one who prophesies is greater than the one who speaks in tongues, unless someone interprets, so that the church may be built up.

The basic training in that charismatic church focused on trying to discover which spiritual gifts we had in order to serve the church. The method used to test me to see if I had the gift of tongues was flawed as far as I was concerned. What did I know, I still did not know what I did not know. Their training fostered a bit of unbelief in that gift altogether.

When I fell asleep that night I woke up the next morning speaking in tongues. I was no longer in control of my own voice. When I realized that I became fearful and then it stopped.

Mark 9:24 Immediately the father of the child cried out and said, “I believe; help my unbelief!”

The meaning of that passage became painfully clear to me. My unbelief needed to be corrected. Just because I did not demonstrate that gift did not mean it wasn’t real.

So if I do not get to pick and choose which gifts are granted, how was I to discover them?

When we were offered the Henry Blackaby course Experiencing God it showed me how to deepen my own personal relationship with God and discover my special place in His Kingdom. His Word came alive in me.

What that meant and how to use it to serve the church was another matter. There was still much to learn.

1 Corinthians 12:4-11 English Standard Version

4 Now there are varieties of gifts, but the same Spirit; 5 and there are varieties of service, but the same Lord; 6 and there are varieties of activities, but it is the same God who empowers them all in everyone. 7 To each is given the manifestation of the Spirit for the common good. 8 For to one is given through the Spirit the utterance of wisdom, and to another the utterance of knowledge according to the same Spirit, 9 to another faith by the same Spirit, to another gifts of healing by the one Spirit, 10 to another the working of miracles, to another prophecy, to another the ability to distinguish between spirits, to another various kinds of tongues, to another the interpretation of tongues. 11 All these are empowered by one and the same Spirit, who apportions to each one individually as he wills.

Getting back to the basics, I was studying God’s word alone and one day at the food court of the mall I had an encounter with a Christian. I was writing on a legal pad some of the points of scripture that struck me as important. This man looked over my shoulder and asked, “Are you preparing a sermon?”

What was missing in my life at that point was fellowship and I took this as a sign that I needed to return to attending worship service. But where? My boss at the time was an elder in a church and he had been instrumental in being gracious to me in my distress. So I chose to attend his church.

That first day I found myself crying alone in front of total strangers. When asked what was wrong I said, “The prodigal son has returned.” I had found a home.

What I did not know was that this church was a non-denominational charismatic church. Their focus was in training in the spiritual gifts listed above.

I did not know that. There was much I did not know. That was my basic training ground.