Not Ready Yet

I remember when I was a student in Rhema Bible Training Center (now Rhema Bible Training College) back in the 80’s, Rev. Kenneth E. (Dad) Hagin used to tell us that there were things that he could not share with us. There were things that he was walking in as part of his revelation and personal walk with God that he said he could not share as much as he wanted to. He said that no one was ready to hear it yet.

Lately I have been thinking about this quite a bit. Every time I begin to think about it I am reminded of the words of Jesus:

“I still have many things to say to you, but you cannot bear them now.” John 16:12 NKJV

When Jesus walked the earth he had the same issue with His disciples. He had many things to share with them but they were not ready yet. So it was with Dad Hagin, he had many things to share with us, but we were not ready yet…nobody in the Body of Christ was.

I look at much of the revelation of the Apostolic & Prophetic Restoration, Worship Explosion & Emphasis on the Kingdom that has been released to the Body of Christ in the last 25 or so years and realize now that these were some of things that Dad Hagin was referring to when he spoke to us back in the 80’s. My first year at Rhema was 1983 and I graduated in 1987. Most of the real growth of the Apostolic and Prophetic began to be released around the early 90’s and forward.

Dad Hagin went to be with Jesus in 2003; and much of what was released in the Body of Christ from the early 90’s to the time of his home going were things I believe that he referred to when he spoke to us back in the 80’s when I was a student. It wasn’t that dad did not understand them, have revelation of them or walk in them; he just knew the timing of God and that we were not ready yet.

If Jesus knew that the disciples were not ready for certain things that He knew and walked in, and Kenneth Hagin knew that we as Bible school students were not ready for certain things that he knew and walked in; isn’t it quite possible that as leaders today there are things that we may know and walk in but we cannot share them yet? Why? Because those we are called to minister to are not ready yet!

There is timing and season to everything and that includes new things that we are experiencing and walking in that maybe others are not. Do we always have a green light to share what we see and know? Or do we need to get the timing of God?

I can look back over my life and ministry and can remember around 1993 - 1995 I was working with a group of men doing Revivals, Leadership Seminars & Holy Ghost Meetings. We saw some things in the Word and were walking in them and began to share them and try to bring them to folks who were in the circles we were in, but most were not ready yet. In retrospect I can see that we were ahead of our time.

As God continues to give us revelation and show us new things to walk in and experience…before we begin to release them to our circles…let us keep in mind Jesus and Kenneth E. Hagin…and make sure that they can bear them…because sometimes…they are not ready yet.

Confusion Over Tongues

One of the things that I constantly marvel over in today’s New Testament church is the widespread confusion over Tongues. The Apostle Paul wrote in his first letter to the church at Corinth:

“Now concerning spiritual gifts, brethren, I do not want you to be ignorant.” 1 Corinthians 12:1 NKJV

I find it so interesting that the very thing that the Apostle Paul said that he did not want the church to be ignorant about; seems to be the very thing that most people in the church are ignorant about. When I was attending Rhema Bible Training Center in Broken Arrow, Oklahoma back in the 80’s Rev. Kenneth E. (Dad) Hagin used to tell us that there were two reasons for this ignorance:

1.      No Teaching

2.      Poor Teaching

If we have no teaching on a subject, we will be ignorant on that subject. If we have poor teaching on a subject, we will also be ignorant on that subject. Both are bad, and both are prevalent in the church today regarding Tongues.

It has been my observation over the last thirty-seven years since I was first filled with or baptized in the Holy Spirit at fifteen years of age, that most of the confusion stems from the fact that most folks don’t recognize or understand that there are two different manifestations or operations of Tongues in the New Testament:

1.      Your Prayer Language (what I call ‘Private Tongues’) – used in prayer and worship for your benefit. (Special note this type of Tongues can also be interpreted)

2.      The Public Gift of Tongues (what I call ‘Public Tongues’) – which must be interpreted by either you or someone else who has the “Gift of the Interpretation of Tongues”.

Let us first deal with your prayer language or ‘private tongues’:

“And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance.” Acts 2:4 NKJV

“For if I pray in a tongue, my spirit prays, but my understanding is unfruitful. What is the conclusion then? I will pray with the spirit, and I will also pray with the understanding. I will sing with the spirit, and I will also sing with the understanding.” 1 Corinthians 14:14 & 15 NKJV

In Acts chapter two on the Day of Pentecost when the Holy Spirit was first poured out fulfilling Joel’s prophecy and beginning the Church Age we see that it says speaking of those that those who were gathered in the upper room who were obedient to the Lord’s command in Luke 24:49 to wait to be endued with power by the Promise of the Father; “And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance.”

Notice that this manifestation of Tongues that these folks displayed has no mention of any Interpretation. Now if Tongues always needs to be interpreted to be in order by the teaching of some; then these folks who birthed the church were out of order. Now if we take the account in context we will find that they were speaking of “the wonderful works of God.”

So this was a manifestation of Tongues that was not interpreted and was used to give glory to God. If we look at what Paul said in 1 Corinthians chapter fourteen we find that the Apostle Paul is talking about praying in Tongues…then he calls it Praying with the Spirit and Singing with the Spirit.

Notice that Paul said that when I pray in a Tongue, my spirit prays, but my understanding is unfruitful, or does not understand what I am saying. One of the lies that the enemy has used against praying in Tongues goes something like this: “Well that is just gibberish; you don’t even know what you are saying.” WELL DUH! Paul clearly stated that I would not understand what I was saying when I prayed in Tongues, but that my spirit was praying. Sometimes I think this translation of this verse can help us in our understanding:

“For if I pray in an [unknown] tongue, my spirit [by the Holy Spirit within me] prays, but my mind is unproductive [it bears no fruit and helps nobody].” 1 Corinthians 14:14 Amplified Bible

Notice in the Amplified it brings out that my spirit by the Holy Spirit in me prays. So even though our mind may not have understanding of what we are praying, we are praying by the Holy Spirit within us. Notice this was first manifested in Acts chapter two when the Holy Spirit was poured out. Also notice Paul’s conclusion in verse 15: “What is the conclusion then? I will pray with the spirit, and I will also pray with the understanding. I will sing with the spirit, and I will also sing with the understanding.”

Paul said that he would pray with the spirit, (tongues) and pray with his understanding as well as sing with the spirit (tongues) and sing with his understanding. Notice that Paul made this determination which means that he controlled both operating by tongues that which he did not understand as well as operating from his understanding. From our text in Acts we see that it was the Spirit who gave the utterance, but the individual believers were the ones that did the actual speaking, or we could say the Holy Spirit gives the ability to operate this way but we must still open our mouth and give voice to that prompting within us. It does not say that the Holy Spirit spoke…they did. Paul did not say that the Holy Spirit prayed, he said that he prayed by the Holy Spirit (enabling him).

Now we will deal with the Public Gift of Tongues:

“…to another the working of miracles, to another prophecy, to another discerning of spirits, to another different kinds of tongues, to another the interpretation of tongues.” 1 Corinthians 12: 10 NKJV

“In the law it is written: ‘With men of other tongues and other lips I will speak to this people; And yet, for all that, they will not hear Me,’ says the Lord…How is it then, brethren? Whenever you come together, each of you has a psalm, has a teaching, has a tongue, has a revelation, has an interpretation. Let all things be done for edification. If anyone speaks in a tongue, let there be two or at the most three, each in turn, and let one interpret. But if there is no interpreter, let him keep silent in church, and let him speak to himself and to God.” 1 Corinthians 14: 21, 26-28 NKJV

In these two texts of Scripture we find Paul giving instruction on the Public Gift of Tongues. Notice here in both texts it stresses the importance of the Tongue being Interpreted (special note that it is an interpretation not a translation, which we don’t have time to teach on here) where when the Prayer Language was talked about there was no such mention. So it is imperative that any Public Message given in Tongues MUST BE INTERPRETED! Tongues & Interpretation working in tandem equal the Gift of Prophecy…Tongues & Interpretation of Tongues does it in two steps; Prophecy does it in one step.

Did you notice that Paul quoted Isaiah 28:1 saying that God would speak to men through this Manifestation or Gift?

“For with stammering lips and another tongue He will speak to this people.” Isaiah 28:11 NKJV

God chooses to speak to men through this Public Gift of Tongues. Whenever we come together Paul says that everyone should participate with something to share and that some would have a Tongue and some would have an Interpretation. Again he stresses that if there isn’t an Interpreter the message in Tongues should not be given. A Mike Rule…NOT a Bible Rule is: “If you can’t give the Interpretation yourself…Don’t give the Message!” If this was adopted it would solve a lot of issues and problems.

The last point I want to tackle regarding the Public Gift is where it speaks of two or at the most three and each one in turn. Most who teach this interpret it to mean that there should only two or at the most three messages in Tongues in a particular meeting. Allow me to submit to you contextually that is an incorrect interpretation. All the through this whole context Paul is speaking about people using words like ‘each one’; so why would he all of sudden shift his focus from people to the number of messages? I submit to you that he is speaking in terms of two or three people allowed to give messages; there is no limit to the amount of messages, and each one in turn with it being Interpreted.

Finally, this is by no means an exhaustive study on the two different manifestations of Tongues. There is much more that could be shared, but the purpose of this Blog was simply to try and remove some of the confusion that is so prevalent in the Church regarding Tongues because folks are trying to make the rules that apply to the Public gift to the Prayer Language and vice versa. If we could just those two things we will go a long way towards eliminating the confusion over Tongues.

The Balance of the Spirit & the Word

I can recall during my teenage years my Father having an expression that he used quite frequently: “Stay balanced and have fun.” When I got to Rhema Bible Training Center, Kenneth E. Hagin used to say: “Most Christians get in the ditch on one side of the road or the other, when the truth is right down the middle." We need to be balanced in our Christian lives and must avoid the ditches.

I have noticed two extremes in the Body of Christ over the last several years that have me quite concerned. One extreme is the group of people I will call “Word” people. These are people who only want to hear the teaching of the Word of God. They make no allowance for the move of the Spirit of God at all. The other extreme is the group of people I will call "Spirit” people. These are people who only want to have manifestations of the Holy Spirit. They don’t think that the teaching and preaching of the Word of God is important. There is an element of truth in each, however, neither one can stand alone without the other. We need to have balance. We need to have both. It’s not one or the other that we need, but both working together.

“For I am not ashamed of the Gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek.” Romans 1:16 NASB

Paul was not ashamed of the Gospel because the Gospel was and is the power of God. That word power in the Greek is the word dunamis, which is a self-energizing explosive power. We get our English word dynamite from this word. Not only is the Gospel the power of God, but it is the power of God unto salvation. That word salvation in the Greek is the word soteria, which means total deliverance in every area of your life, spirit, soul, and body. The importance of the preaching of the Word of God is paramount in Scripture. According to Romans chapter 10, faith cannot come without hearing the Word of God preached. According to 1 Corinthians 1:18 the preaching of the cross is foolishness to those that are perishing, but it is the power (dunamis) of God to those who are being saved. According to 1 Corinthians 1:21 God was pleased to use the foolishness of preaching for man to be saved.

If the Word of God was not important, and all we needed was the move of the Spirit, why would God choose to have men saved by the foolishness of preaching? Without hearing the Word of God preached and taught, faith would not come and nobody would get saved. We need to realize the power that is in the Word of God! We also need to realize that God chose preaching! Man did not choose preaching, God chose preaching. While I’m at it, let me also say that we need both the preaching of the Word as well as the teaching of the Word. Teaching is for education, preaching is for motivation. If all we have is teaching, we have people that know what to do, with no motivation to do it. If all we have is preaching, we have people that are motivated to do something, but don’t know what to do. Both are equally as bad as the other is. We can’t have one without the other. Let us bring the dunamis of God to His church by both preaching and teaching the full counsel of God.

“And my message and my preaching were not in persuasive words of wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of Power.” 1 Corinthians 2:4 NASB

In this verse we see the use of the same Greek word for power (dunamis) describing the demonstration of the Spirit as we saw in Romans 1:16 describing the Word of God. Paul learned not to just rely on the power of the Gospel when he ministered, but he also used the power of the Holy Spirit. He wanted to demonstrate the power of the Holy Spirit. Is it wrong to have demonstrations and manifestations of the Holy Spirit? No! A thousand times no! However, the demonstration without the preaching of the Word goes against the Biblical pattern.

Jesus said in Acts 1:8 that we would receive dunamis when the Holy Spirit would come upon us. According to Peter’s message at Cornelius’s house in Acts chapter 10, God anointed Jesus with the Holy Spirit and with dunamis. We would have the same power made available to us that was made available to Jesus. Is it no wonder that Jesus said: “The works that I do he shall do also.” (John 14:12)

We can do what Jesus did because we have access to the same power of the Holy Spirit that Jesus did. That is why Paul said it was not his preaching alone but also the demonstration of the Spirit and power. In Romans chapter 15 Paul said that he fully preached the Gospel…by word and deed…in the power of signs and wonders…in the power (dunamis) of the Spirit. We must not neglect the deed part. Our preaching the Word is not enough. Paul said word and deed. Let us bring the power of the Spirit to the church of God as we allow Him to move and do as He sees fit!

When we bring the power of the Gospel and the power of the Spirit together we have an explosive force for God. We don’t want them working apart from each other but working in conjunction with each other.

“God also bearing witness with them both by signs and wonders and by various miracles and by gifts of the Holy Spirit according to His own will.” Hebrews 2:4 NASB

This verse of Scripture is talking about the ministry of the apostles. God bore witness to what they preached by signs, wonders, miracles and gifts of the Holy Spirit. This sounds exactly like Mark chapter 16. In verses 15 to 18 we see the command to go into all the world and preach the Gospel as well as the promise of the signs that will follow them as they go. In verse 20 we find: “And they went out and preached everywhere, while the Lord worked with them, and confirmed the word by the signs that followed.” How would you like to have God work with you? To confirm the word that you speak? To bear witness with you by signs, wonders, and miracles? All you have to do is preach the Word and expect God to do it. If we don’t preach it he can’t confirm it. God can only confirm what we preach.

We must have balance! We must have the power of the Word of God! We must both teach and preach the Word! We can’t just have manifestation meetings without the preaching of the Word! We must also have the Power of the Holy Spirit to confirm the Word that we preach! If we do not have the signs to confirm the Word we are nothing more than a form of godliness denying the power there of! If all we have is the “Word” it leads to legalism and dry Christianity! If all we have is the “Spirit” it leads to emotionalism and flaky Christianity! If we preach the Word, and demonstrate the Word by the power of the Holy Spirit, together they make an explosive force as God works with us to confirm His Word!

Ye Which Are Spiritual

I remember when I was a student in my 2nd year at Rhema in 1987. It was the year that Jim Baker and Jimmy Swaggart both fell. Kenneth E. Hagin spoke to us as the graduating class about those public issues with this verse: “Brethren, if a man be overtaken in a fault, ye which are spiritual, restore such an one in the spirit of meekness; considering thyself, lest thou also be tempted.” Galatians 6:1 KJV Brother Hagin said that all those who were not restoring in a spirit of meekness were showing just how spiritual they weren’t! #Selah