"Tongues and Interpretation" Kathryn Kuhlman Gifts of the Spirit talk 11 of 13

Again, I want to remind you that even though we have been discussing the nine gifts of the Spirit, do not limit the Holy Spirit to just nine. There are members of the body of Christ, members of His church, who have been given gifts that are not numbered among these nine. I believe that the gifts of the Spirit... are in operation today. I do not believe that the giving of the gifts by the Holy Spirit was limited just to the early church. He will continue to give gifts to members of the body of Christ until that day when the church will be taken out of the world at the time of the rapture. when the Holy Spirit himself believes. There is no scripture whatsoever to substantiate the fact that we are no longer to expect the giving of gifts to individuals by the Holy Spirit. I believe with every atom of my being that we have in operation today the gift of the Word of Wisdom. the gift of the word of knowledge, the gift of faith, the gifts of healing, the working of miracles, the discerning of spirits, the speaking in tongues, the interpretation of tongues, and on and on. We have every right, every scriptural right, to expect to covet these gifts today. in the body of Christ? Well, sir, now let's consider the gift of tongues. And I'm going to try to speak as simply as possible because this is something that has been grossly misunderstood and misinterpreted. And yet it's so simple that even a child can understand. In exactly the same way, Jesus left no doubt whatsoever in those last words that he spoke before he went back to heaven. When he said, ye shall receive power. After that, the Holy Ghost is come upon you. Now, everyone knows what power is. And when you have spiritual power, that... is something. And those who have received the Holy Spirit, those who have been filled with the Holy Ghost, those who have experienced the baptism of the Holy Spirit should have power, the power of God, the power of the Holy Spirit in their life. Jesus said you would have. Jesus said we would have power. In our lives, after that wonderful experience of being filled with the Holy Spirit, power for what? Power to be witnesses. The only Christ that the unsaved man sees today in the world is the Christian. The only living Christ. that many women where you work sees today is you. If you are a Christian, you represent Christ where you work. The only Bible that the unsaved man, the unsaved woman reads today is the life of the person who professes to be born again. That's what the scripture means. For me to live, for me to be living, for me to be alive today is Christ. I represent him. And he is love. And I must manifest his love through my life. And it's the Holy Spirit who gives me that power that enables me to be a witness, to represent Him, to manifest His love. That's what it means to really be filled with the Spirit. We need to get back to the Bible again. We need to realize what it actually means to be a Christian. It's something more than just escaping hell. You know, a lot of folk, oh, they're so glad they're born again because they're not going to hell. There's a whole lot more involved in being a Christian than to just escape hell. Yes, ma 'am, there's a lot of living that needs to be done right here on earth. Great is our responsibility. Now, I want you to see something. difference in being filled with the Spirit. And in that experience that they had in the upper room, the experience of the 120 they had in the upper room. Oh, that was glorious. When the day of Pentecost was fully come, they were all with one accord in one place. And suddenly there came a sound from heaven as a rushing mighty wind, and it filled all the house where they were sitting. And there appeared unto them cloven tongues like as a fire, and it sat upon each of them. And they were all filled with the Holy Ghost and began to speak with other tongues. Now remember, this was not the gift of tongues. It is one thing to speak in an unknown tongue. It is another thing to have the gift of tongues. First of all, we're going to talk about this experience that they received in the upper room. They were all filled with the Holy Ghost. Jesus said they would be. He told them to tarry. He told them to wait until the Holy Spirit came. And it was even as Jesus said it was. They waited. They knew he'd keep his word. The Holy Spirit came. And they began to speak with other tongues. As the Spirit gave them utterance. Now I'll tell you something. I'm giving you the word. You can't just take a penknife out and rip out. certain chapters of the Bible and accept only what you want to accept, you have to accept that all are none. It has to be that way. You know, we're living in a peculiar time where men and women only believe what they want to believe. The thing that pleases them most. And if they don't want... to do something, they're not going to do it. You know, that's the way I feel about people when they come and ask me advice. They might just as well not ask me because I know good and well that no matter what I say, whatever advice I give them, they're going to do what they want to do anyway. So they might just as well save their time and my time too. And it's exactly the same when it comes to our belief. Men and women believe what they want to believe. But when you come to the Word of God, you had better believe what God's Word says. You can't just pick out a couple of chapters that you like. The 23rd Psalm, or the Gospels, and just leave the rest and forget all about the rest of the Bible. It's all there. Either all or nothing at all. Because it is all God's Word. Now, what I'm talking to you about now is not the gift of tongues. I'm just reading this wonderful experience that they had in the upper room. They were all filled with the Holy Ghost and began to speak with other tongues as the Spirit gave them utterance. The Holy Spirit did it. I'm all for it when the Holy Spirit does it. When he does it. Anything that he does, I can say amen to, and I'll accept it. Mm -hmm. But I'm going to be dead sure that he's the one who's doing it. I'm not going to just accept anything and everything that comes down the pike. I'm going to be dead sure it's the Holy Spirit. And this was the Spirit. They began to speak with other tongues as the Spirit gave them utterance. And there were dwelling at Jerusalem Jews, devout men, out of every nation under heaven. Now when this was noised abroad, the multitude came together, were confounded, because that every man heard them speak in his own language. It wasn't just spiritual communication. It was literally that they were communicating every man in his own language. And they were all amazed and marveled, saying one to another, Behold, are not all these which speak Galileans? And how hear we every man in our own tongue? wherein we were born. That's it. The power of utterance in languages unknown to the speaker, given to men and women by the Spirit of God. That's it. When you talk about speaking in an unknown tongue, it's exactly what it says that it is. Every man heard one speak in his own language. Tongues is the ability to preach the gospel in languages that people had never learned. The preacher, the child of God, the saint of God, in the power of the Spirit, able to stand up, witness, teach, preach, talk in the language without even having had a course of schooling to learn the language. That's what it actually means to speak in an unknown tongue. It's still one of these things that's beyond our comprehension. But when the Holy Spirit does it, we don't ask to understand. How? I can't tell you how, but I know He does. does it, and I know it is scriptural. Now, we come to the gift of tongues, and I want you to understand something. One might have the most marked gift of God, but that does not mean that he is at liberty to use it wherever he will. The spirits of the prophets are subject to the prophets. That's the 14th chapter of 1 Corinthians, the 32nd verse. And if any are gifted of God, they are to hold that gift in subjection to the Lord Jesus Christ and not make spiritual nuisances out of themselves. Our blessed Lord's authority must be recognized in the use of... all gifts, including the gift of tongues. Yes, ma 'am. If, for instance, God has given you, God has given me some particular gift, I am not to use that gift just whenever I see fit, but only in subjection to the Lord Jesus Christ. All gifts must be used in subjection to. the Lord himself. The Bible teaches that. Now the gift of tongues is the power of utterance in languages unknown to the speaker, given to certain individuals in the church by the Spirit of God, and capable of interpretation by means of an equally supernatural gift in order that these utterances may thereby become intelligible to the assembly. They are given for the edification of the church, for the glory of God. And when the gift of interpretation is in operation together with tongues, the two are equivalent to prophecy. The gift of interpretation of tongues is like the interpretation of a foreign... tongue to us in English by one who knows both languages. It is a supernatural endowment of the Holy Spirit. It implies no natural knowledge by the interpreter of the language spoken in tongues, and thus the interpretation is received not by close attention to the words of the one speaking in tongues, as by close concentration in Spirit upon the Lord, who alone gives the interpretation. The words are given by revelation. And if it is the Spirit who is doing the speaking and the Spirit who is doing the interpretation, no message will ever be contrary to the Word of God. The Holy Spirit will never give to an individual In the gift of tongues or in the interpretation of tongues, anything that is contrary to the Word of God, neither will he add to the Word or take from the Word. It will all be in perfect harmony with God's Word. And the one who has been given the gift, either of tongues or the interpretation, will never use that gift to draw the public to himself or draw attention to himself. Never. I repeat, if you have the gift of tongues or the gift of the interpretation of tongues, you will never, never use that gift to draw attention to yourself. It must be used for the glory of God.