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WhyTongues?

byKENNETH E. HAGIN

THE BIBLE WAY TO RECEIVETHE HOLY SPIRIT

The infilling of the New Testament be-lievers with the Holy Ghost should be ourpattern today. I propose that we look at theActs of the Apostles, see how they did· it,and follow their example in getting peoplefilled with the Holy Ghost.

In the first chapter of Acts, just beforeJesus ascended on high, we see this greatscene:

ACTS 1:4-54 And, being assembled together withthem, (Jesus) commanded them that theyshould not depart from Jerusalem, but waitfor the promise of the Father, which, saithhe, ye have heard of me.5 For John truly baptized with water;but ye shall be baptized with the HolyGhost not many days hence.

And then on the day of Pentecost:ACTS 2:1-41 And when the day of Pentecost wasfully come, they were all with one accordin one place.2 And suddenly there came a sound fromheaven as of a rushing mighty wind, andit filled all the house where they weresitting.3 And there appeared unto them cloventongues like as of fire, and it sat upon eachof them.4 And they were all filled with the HolyGhost, and began to speak with othertongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance.

Many years ago as a young denominarionalpastor reading the New Testament, the HolySpirit enlightened me and I was convincedthat if I received the same Holy Ghost theyreceived I would have the same initial signthey had-the Bible evidence-speaking with

tongues. I wasn't satisfied with anything else.Speaking with tongues is not the Holy Ghost.And the Holy Ghost is not the speaking withtongues. But they go hand in hand.

Believers Filled in SamariaThe events in the Book of Acts cover a

number of years. Eight years after the day ofPentecost we see Philip carrying the gospel tothe people of Samaria:

ACTS 8:5-8; 125 Then Philip went down to the city ofSamaria, and preached Christ unto them.6 And the people with one accord gaveheed unto those things which Philip spake,hearing and seeing the miracles which hedid.7 For unclean spirits, crying with loudvoice, came out of many that were possessedwith them: and many taken with palsies,and that were lame, were healed.8 And there was great joy in that city . . .12 But when they believed Philip preach.ing the things concerning the kingdom ofGod, and the name of Jesus Christ, theywere baptized, both men and women.

These scriptures helped me to see that thereis an experience subsequent to salvation calledreceiving the Holy Ghost. I had been taught

that when you are saved you have the HolyGhost-which is true in a sense. But my de·nomination taught you had all the Holy Ghostthere was.

Jesus said, "Go ye into all the world, andpreach the gospel to every creature. He thatbelieveth and is baptized shall be saved; buthe that believeth not shall be damned1! (Mark16: 15-16). These Samaritans believed andwere baptized (Acts 8: 12). Were they saved?According to Jesus they were.

There is a work of the Holy Spirit in thenew birth, but that is not called receiving theHoly Ghost-that is called being born-again,receiving Eternal Life. There is an experiencefollowing salvation called receiving, or beingfilled with the Holy Ghost.

When the apostles at Jerusalem heard ofthe wonderful things God had done throughPhilip's ministry in Samaria, they sent Peterand John to lay hands on the new convertsthat they might receive the Holy Ghost.

ACTS 8:14·1714 Now when the apostles which were atJerusalem heard that Samaria had receivedthe word of God, they sent unto themPeter and John:

15 Who, when they were come down,prayed for them, that they might receive theHoly Ghost:16 (For as yet he was fallen upon noneof them: only they were baptized in thename of the Lord Jesus.)17 Then laid they their hands on them,and they received the Holy Ghost.

Now some who object to speaking withtongues argue that the Bible doesn't mentionthe Samaritans spoke with tongues when theyreceived the Holy Ghost. But-it doesn't saythey didn't! Students of church history knowthat the early church fathers agree they didspeak with tongues in Samaria. And it alsoseems apparent from this passage that they didspeak with tOngues for:

ACTS 8:1818 And when Simon (the sorceror-seeverse 9) saw that through laying on of theapostles' hands the Holy Ghost was given,he offered them money,19 Saying, Give me also this power, thaton whomsover I lay hands, he may receivethe Holy Ghost.

"When Simon saw ... " the Word says.You can't see the Holy Ghost. He is a Spiritand cannot be seen with the physical eye.

There had to be some physical sign wherebySimon would know they had received the HolyGhost-something which would register onSimon's senses. All evidence indicates the signmanifested was speaking in tongues.Believers Filled in Cornelius' HouseholdAbout ten years after the day of Pentecost

the Word tells us about Peter's going to Cor-nelius' house to carry the gospel.

ACTS 10:44-4644 While Peter yet spake these words,the Holy Ghost fell on all them whichheard the word.45 And they of the circumcision which be-lieved were astonished, as many as camewith Peter, because that on the Gentilesalso was poured out the gift of the HolyGhost.46 For they heard them speak with tongues,and magnify God.Reading the entire account of this we see

how an angel appeared to Cornelius and toldhim to send to Joppa, and to inquire in thehouse of a certain individual for Simon Peter,"Who shall tell thee words, whereby tho# andall thy house shall be saved." Neither Cornel-ius nor his household was saved. They wereJewish proselytes. A person can't be saved

6 And when Paul had laid his hands uponthem, the Holy Ghost came on them andthey spake with tongues, and prophesied.

As we see from the verses above, these be-lievers at Ephesus had never heard about theHoly Ghost. But when Paul laid his hands onthem, the Holy Ghost came upon them, andthey spoke with tongues. Everyone of them-without waiting, without praising. withouttarrying-was filled with the Holy Ghost andspoke with other tongues as the Spirit of Godgave them utterance.

Paul's Infilling of the SpiritPaul, who laid hands on these folks, was

previously known as Saul of Tarsus. The ac-count of his experience of receiving the HolyGhost is found in the ninth chapter of Acts.

ACTS 9:10-12,1710 And there was a certain disciple at Da-mascus, named Ananias; and to him said theLord in a vision, Ananias. And he said, Be-hold I am here, Lord.11 And the Lord said unto him, Arise, andgo into the street which is called Straight,and inquire in the house of Judas for onecalled Saul, of Tarsus: for, behold, heprayeth,

without hearing the gospel. They didn't knowabout Jesus. So Peter preached to them. Theybelieved while they were standing there andwere born again as Peter preached. Then theyreceived the Holy Ghost and spoke in tOnguesbefore he finished his message.

Notice that it was the speaking with tongueswhich convinced Peter's company that theseGentiles had received the Holy Spirit. TheJewish believers were astonished that the HolySpirit was poured out on the Gentiles.

Believers Filled in EphesusThen 20 years after the day of Pentecost,

Paul journeyed to Ephesus. There he met somebelievers and introduced to them the Personof the Holy Ghost.

ACTS 19:1-3,61 And it came to pass, that, while Apolloswas at Corinth, Paul have passed throughthe upper coasts came to Ephesus: and find·ing certain disciples,2 He said unto them, Have ye receivedthe Holy Ghost since ye believed? Andthey said unto him, We have not somuch as heard whether there be any HolyGhost.3 And he said unto them, Unto what thenwere ye baptized? And they said, Unto John'sbaptism.

12 And hath seen in a vision a man namedAnanias coming in, and putting his hand onhim, that he might receive his sight.17 And Ananias went his way, and enteredinto the house; and putting his hands onhim said, Brother Saul, the Lord, evenJesus, that appeared unto thee in the wayas thou camest, hath sent me, that thoumightest receive thy sight, and be filledwith the Holy Ghost.

Saul, later to be known as Paul, received theHoly Ghost immediately. He didn't have totarry or wait. He received instantly.

"But it doesn't say he spoke with tongues,"someone might object. It is true it doesn't sayit specifically right here. But Paul himself saidthat he spoke with tongues. He said, "1 thankmy God, 1 speak with tongues more than )'eall" (I Cor. 14:18). We know he didn't starttalking with tongues before he received theHoly Ghost. It shouldn't be too difficult tofigure Out when he started. He started whenhe received the Holy Ghost, just as the restof us did, for the tongues go along with it.

Speaking with tongues is an initial super-natural sign or evidence of the Holy Spirit'sindwelling. It is the beginning of it all. I havefound in my own life that the more I pray and

worship God in tongues, the more manifesta-tion of other gifts of the Spirit I have. Theless I talk in tOngues, the less manifestation I!lave. Speaking with tongues is the door intothe rest of the spiritual gifts.

TEN REASONS WHY EVERYBELIEVER SHOULD SPEAK

IN TONGUES

"And these signs shall follow themthat believe .. , they shall speak withnew tongues" ( Mar k 16: 17) .

The apostle Paul wrote much about the sub-ject of speaking in other tongues. He ap-parently practiced what he preached for hesaid, "1 thank my God, I .rpeak with tonguesmore than ye all" (I Cor. 14:18). I too, thankGod that I speak in tongues with regularity,and would wish for every believer this sameblessing and source of power in his everydaylife. The purpose of Part II of this book is toset forth major reasons why every Christianshould speak in tongues, and to help believerssee the blessings which can be theirs throughappropriating the power of the Holy Spiritdaily.

Reason 2 - Tongues ForSpiritual Edification

I CORINTHIANS 14:44 He that speaketh in an unknown tongueedifieth himself.

In writing to the church at Corinth, Paulencouraged them to continue the practice ofspeaking with other tongues in their worshipof God and in their prayer lives as a meansof spiritual edification. Greek language schol-ars tell us that we have a word in our modernvernacular which is closer to the meaning of theoriginal than the word "edified," That word is"charge"-as used in connection with charginga battery. Therefore we could paraphrase thisverse, "He that speaketh in an unknown tongueedifies, charges, builds himself up like a bat-tery," And this wonderful, supernatural meansof spiritual edification-notice that it is notmental nor physical edification-is for everyone of God's children.

I CORINTHIANS 14:22 For he that speaketh in an unknowntongue speaketh not unto men, but untoGod: for no man understandeth him; how-beit in the spirit he speaketh mysteries.

4 And they were all filled with the HolyGhost, and began to speak with othertongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance.

The Word of God teaches that when we arefilled with the Holy Ghost, we speak with othertongues as the Spirit of God gives utterance.It is the initial evidence or sign of the Bap-tism of the Holy Spirit. Therefore, the firstreason people should speak with other tonguesis-this is a supernatural evidence of theSpirit's indwelling.

In the tenth chapter of Acts we read wherethe Jewish brethren who came with Peter toCornelius' house were astonished when theysaw that the gift of the Holy Ghost was pouredout on the Gentiles, They thought it was justfor the Jews, How did these Jews know thatCornelius' household had received the gift ofthe Holy Ghost? "FOT they heaTd them speakwith tongues, and magnify God" (Acts 10:46),Speaking in tongues was the supernatural signwhich convinced them the Gentiles had thesame gift as they.

Weymouth's translation of this verse says,"He speaks divine secrets." God has given tothe church a divine, supernatural means ofcommunication with Himself.

I CORINTHIANS 14:1414 For if I pray in an unknown tongue,my spirit prayeth, but my understanding isunfruitful.

Notice that this says, "my spirit prayeth."The Amplified translation reads, "my spirit,by the Holy Spirit within me, prays."

God is a Spirit. WThen we pray in tongues,our spirit is in direct contact with God, who isa Spirit. We are talking to Him by a divine,supernatural means.

It is amazing how people can ask in thelight of these scriptures, "What is the valueof speaking in tongues?" If God's Word saysspeaking in tongues is of value-then it isof value. If God says it edifies-then it edifies.If God says it is a supernatural means of com-munication with Himself-then it is a super-natural means of communication with Him-self. If God says every believer should speakin tongues-then every believer should speakin tongues. Jesus did not say that JUSt a fewshould speak in tongues. He said, "And these

Continuing to pray and worship God intongues helps us to be ever conscious .of Hisindwelling presence. If I can be consclOUSofthe indwelling presence of the Holy Ghostevery day, it is bound to affect the way Ilive.

A minister's twelve-year-old daughter oncelost her temper and was talking rudely andhatefully to her mother. A visiting evangelistoverheard the scene. When the girl looked upand saw him, knowing he had witnessed. hertantrum, she was embarrassed and broke IntOtears.

"I'm so sorry you saw me act this way andheard what I said," she cried.

"Honey," he said, "there is One greater thanI am who saw you and heard you. You are aChristian, aren't you?"

"Yes.""And filled with the Spirit?" he asked."Yes.""Well then, the Holy Ghost is in you. He

knows what you said, and how you acted. Butif you will repent, the Lord will forgive you."

They prayed together. Sh~ repen~ed and ina little while began to worshIp God tn tongues.

signs shall follow them that believe .. ""Them" is plural-it means all. And one of thesigns was, ". . . they.lhall speak with newtongues ... " (Mark 16:17.)

Reason 3 - Tongues Remind us ofThe Spirit's Indwelling Presence

JOHN 14:16·1716 And I will pray the Father, and heshall give you another Comforter, that hemay abide with you for ever;17 Even the Spirit of truth; whom theworld cannot receive, because it seeth himnot, neither knoweth him: but ye knowhim; for he dwelleth with you, and shall bein you.

Howard Carter, who was general supervisorof the Assemblies of God in Great Britain formany years, and founder of the oldest Pente-costal Bible school in the world, pointed Outthat we must not forget that speaking withother tongues is not only the initial evidenceof the Holy Spirit's infilling, but is a can.tinual experience for the rest of one's ;ife.For what purpose? To assist us in the worshipof God. Speaking in tongues is a flowingstream which should never dry up, and willenrich the life spiritually.

Then he said to her, "Here is a secret thatwill help you curb your temper. If you willpray and worship God every day in tongues,it will help you to be conscious of the in-dwelling presence of the Holy Ghost. If youwill remember that He is in you, you won't actthat way."

Some years later the evangelist returned topreach at that church, and the pascor's daugh-ter told him, "I have never forgotten whatyou said. Every day for the past few years Ihave prayed and worshiped God in tongues-and I have never lost my temper again."

Unfortunately, we all know people whohave been filled with the Holy Ghost, yet stilllose their temper and say and do things theyshouldn't. This is only because they haven'tbeen walking in the Spirit as they should. It isso easy, when we are not conscious of Hispresence, to become irritated and frustrated.But if we will take time co fellowship withHim, we can be ever conscious of His indwell-ing presence.

Reason 4 - Praying in Tongues isPraying in Line With God's Perfect Will

ROMANS 8:26-2726 Likewise the Spirit also helpeth our in-firmities: for we know not what we shouldpray for as we ought: but the Spirit itselfmaketh intercession for us with groaningswhich cannot be uttered.27 And he that searcheth the hearts know-eth what is the mind of the Spirit, becausehe maketh intercession for the saints ac-cording to the will of God.

Speaking in tongues keeps selfishness outof our prayers. A prayer our of one's own mindand thinking has the possibility of being un-scripmral. It may be selfish. Too often ourprayers are like the old farmer's who prayed,"God bless me, my wife, my son John, his wife-us four and no more."

In the scripture quoted above Paul didn'tsay we didn't know how to pray-for we do.We pray to the Father in the name of the LordJesus Christ, which is the correct way to pray.But just because I know how to pray doesn'tmean I know what to pray for as I ought.Paul said, "... We know not what we shouldpray for as we Olight: but the Spirit itself

to dwell in us as a Helper and an Intercessor.He isn't responsible for our prayer lives - Heis sent to help us pray.

Praying with other tongues is praying as theSpirit gives utterance. It is Spirit-directed pray-ing. It eliminates the possibility of selfishnessin our prayers.

Many times when people have prayed outof their own minds, they received things thatwere actually not the will of God and werenot best. If God's people insist on havingthings a certain way, even if it isn't best forthem, or is not God's perfect will, He willoften permit it. God did not want Israel tohave a king, but they kept insisting that theywanted one. So He permitted them to haveone. But it was not His perfect will.

Reason 5 - Praying in TonguesStimulates Faith

JUDE 2020 But ye, beloved, building up yourselveson your most holy faith, praying in the HolyGhost.Praying in tongues stimulates faith and helps

us learn to trust God more fully. If the HolySpirit supernaturally directs the words I speak,

(himself) maketh infercession for us withgroanings which cannot be uttered."

P. C. Nelson, a scholar of the Greek, saidthat the Greek literally reads here, "The HolyGhost maketh intercession for us in groaningsthat cannot be uttered in articulate speech."Articulate speech means our regular kind ofspeech. He went on to point out how the Greekstresses that this not only includes groaningsescaping our lips in prayer, but also prayingin other tongues. This agrees with what Paulsaid in I Corinthians 14: 14, "For if I pray inan unknown tongue, my spirit prayeth ... " Or,as the Amplified translates, "My spirit (bythe Holy Spirit within me) prays."

When you pray in tongues-it is your spiritpraying, by the Holy Spirit within you. TheHoly Spirit within you gives the utterance-and you speak it out of your spirit. You dothe talking. He gives the utterance. By thismethod the Holy Spirit helps you pray ac-cording to the will of God, as things shouldbe prayed for.

This isn't something the Holy Ghost doesapart from us. Those groanings come frominside us and escape our lips. The Holy Ghostisn't going to do our praying for us. He is sent

faith must be exercised to speak with tongues.For I don't know what the next word will be-I am trusting God for it. And trusting God inone line will help me to trust Him in another.

As a young Baptist minister, 1 pastorecl acommunity church, and stayed in the home ofa Methodist couple. The wife was a fine dearwoman, who loved the Lord. Bm she had anulcerated stomach, which doctors feared wouldlead to cancer. Her husband made goodmoney, but he had spent everything he had onmedical bills. I knew God could and would healher, bur somehow I was never able to lift herfairh LIpto that point. She ate only soft foodsand milk and had difficulty keeping that onher stomach. But one day a wonderful thinghappened! She received the infilling of theHoly Spirit. When I came in she was eatingfoods she'd never been able to eat.

"1 received not only the Baptism of theHoly Ghosr and spoke with orher tongues,"she told me, "but I received my healing too.I'm perfectly welL" And she was.

I've seen this happen many times. What isthe connection' We know that receiving theBaptism of the Holy Ghost does nor heal LIS.However, speaking with tongues helps us tolearn how (Q trust God more fully. Speaking

in tongues helps us to believe God for otherthings because it stimuates our faith.

Reason 6 - Speaking in Tongues, A MeansOf Keeping Free FromWorldly Contamination

I CORINTHIANS 14:282e But if there be no interpreter, let himkeep silence in the churchj and let himspeak to himself, ane to God.

The sixth reason every Christian shouldspeak in tOngues is that this is a means otkeeping free from the contamination of theungodly and the profane, and all the vulgar talkaround us on the job or out in public.

Notice from the scripmre above that wecan speak with tongues to ourselves. Paul saitithat in the church service, "If any man speakin an Itnknown tongue, let it be by two, or atthe most by three, and that by course; and letone interpret. Bllt if there be 110 interpreter,let him keep silence in the church; and let himspeak to himself, and to God" (I Cor. 14:27-28).

It we can speak to ourselves and to God ina church service, we can also do it on the job.It won't disturb anyone. In the barber shop,

prayed in tongues-and it seemed as if I werewrestling. When I finished praying I had avision. I saw you in a little grass hut, sur-rounded by natives. You were sick. Then youdied. I saw the natives pull the sheet overyour head and walk sadly outside the hut. Sud-denly you came out of the hut and stood intheir midst, and all the natives rejoiced."

The missionary rhen asked her if she kepta diary and requested she bring it that after-noon. Comparing diaries, and making allow-ances for time differences in England· andAfrica, they discovered the time of the wo-man's prayer burden exactly coincided withthe time when the missionary was sick with adeadly fever. His partner was away, and hewas alone with the natives. Things happenedJUStas she saw them-the missionary died, thenatives saw him die and pulled a sheer overhis head-then he rose up suddenly well! Be-cause of the Spirit of God!

In 1956 when my wife and I were in Cali-fornia, I was awakened suddenly in the night.It was as if someone laid his hand on me.r sat bolt upright in bed, my heart beatingrapidly.

for instance, when men tell risque jokes, I JUStsit there and speak to myself and to God intongues. Riding the train, bus, or airplane-we can speak to ourselves and to God. On thejob-we can speak to ourselves and to God.Talking in tongues to yourself and to Godwill be a means of keeping free from contami-nation.

:Reason 7 - Praying in Tongues EnablesUs to Pray For the Unknown

Praying in tongues provides a way to prayfor things for which no one thinks to pray,or is even aware. We already know that theHoly Spirit helps us to pray for what we knownor how to pray as we ought. But in addition,the Holy Spirit-who lmows everything--canllray through us for things about which ournatural minds know nothing.

An English missionary to Africa was homeon furlough speaking at a missionary confer-ence when a woman asked him if he kept adiary. He replied that he did. And she beganto relate to him, "Two years ago I was awak-ened in the night with a burden to pray. IgOt OUt of bed and was talking in tongues be-fore I gor down on my knees. For an hour I

"Lord," I cried, "what is the matter? Iknow something is wrong somewhere. HolySpirit in me, You know everything. You areeverywhere as well as within me. Whateverthis is, You give me utterance."

I prayed in tongues for an hour and thenbegan to laugh and sing in tongues. (Whenpraying this way, always continue prayinguntil you have a note of praise. Then you willknow that whatever it is you are prayingabout, is settled.) I knew what I had beenpraying for had come to pass. I had the an-swer, so I went back to sleep.

I dreamed that I saw my youngest brotherbecome extremely ill in Louisiana. I saw anambulance with lights flashing take him to thehospita1. In the dream, I stood in the corri-dor outside his hospital room door. The doorwas shut. Then the doctor came out that door,pulled it shut behind him, shook my hand andsaid, "He is dead."

"No, doeror, he is not dead," I replied."What do you mean, he is not dead?""The Lord told me he would live and not

die."At that the doctor became angry and said,

"Come with me and I will show you that he

26is dead. I have pronounced tOO many peopledead not to know when someone is dead." Hetook me by the arm and led me into mybrother's room. He walked over to the bed andjerked the sheet back. When he did, mybrother's eyes opened. The doctor saw that hewas breathing. He began to smtter, "Youknew something I didn't know. He is alive,isn't he?"

In the dream r saw my brother rise up fromthe bed, well. That was what I had been pray-ing about.

Three months later we came home to Texas.My brother came by to see me and said, "Inearly died while you were gone." I t?ld himthat I knew he'd had an attack dunng thenight while staying in a motel in Louisiana,and had been rushed to the hospital. Hethought someone had told me about it, butthey had not. I told him about my burden ofprayer followed by the dream. "That's. exactlyhow it happened! They told me that for about40 minutes at the hospital the doctor thoughtI was gune."

Praying in the spirit provides a way forthings tv be prayed for that we wouldn't knowanything about in the natural. The Holy Ghost,however, knows everything.

16 Else when thou shalt bless with thespirit, how shall he that occupieth the roomof the unlearned say Amen at thy givingof thanks, seeing he under standeth .notwhat thou sayest?17 For thou verily givest thanks well, butthe other is not edified.

When Paul said, "He that occupieth theroom of the unlearned .. :', in verse 16, hewas referring to those who are unlearned inspiritual things.

If you invited me to dinner and said, "Pleasegive thanks;" and if I prayed in tOngues youwouldn't know what I said. You wouldn't beedified. Therefore, Paul said it would be betterto pray with my understanding there. If I didpray in tongues, I should interpret it so youwould know what was said.

But notice that Paul says praying in tOnguesprovides the most perfect way to pray and togive thanks, for he said, liT hou givest thankswell." (Verse 17.)

In the presence of people who are unlearn-ed, however, Paul said to pray with your un-derstanding also so that they can be edified;they will understand what you say.

Reason 8 - Praying in TonguesGives Spiritual Refreshing

ISAIAH 28: 11-1211 For with stammering lips and anothertongue will he speak to this people.12 To whom he said, This is the rest where-with ye may cause the weary to rest; andthis is the refreshing: yet they would nothear.

What is the rest, the refreshing, the abovescripture refers to? Speaking in other tongues!

Sometimes the doctor recommends a restcure, but I know the best one in the world.Often when you take a vacation, you have tocome home and rest before going back to work.But isn't it wonderful that we can take this"rest cure" every day? 'This is the rest ...this is the refreshing ... " We need this spirit-ual refreshing in these days of turmoil, per-plexity, and anxiety.

Reason 9 - Tongues For Giving Thanks

I CORINTHIANS 14:15-1715 What is it then? I will pray with thespirit, and I will pray with the understand-ing also: I will sing with the spirit, and Iwill sing with the understanding also.

Reason 10 - Speaking in TonguesBrings the Tongue Under Subjection

JAMES 3:88 But the tongue can no man tame; it is anunruly evil, full of deadly poison.

Yielding the tongue to the Holy Spirit tospeak with other tongues is a giant step to-ward fully yielding all of our members toGod. For if we can yield this most unrulymember, we can yield any member.

The Public Side of TonguesIn conclusion I want to point out that, while

we have dealt primarily with tongues in theindividual believer's private life, ir is alsotrue there is a public side to tongues.

First, when people receive the Holy Ghostpublicly they speak with other tongues as theSpirit gives utterance.

Secondly, the church is edified by speakingwith other tongues in public assembly with in-terpretation. Paul plainly stated that to proph-esy is to speak unto men "to edification, andexhortation. and comfort" (I Cor. 14:3), Buthe said, "Greater is he that prophesieth thanhe that speaketh 1fiith tongtres, except he in-terpret" (I Cor. 14:<;).

Paul is saying that tongues with interpre-tation is equivalent to prophecy-Le., if theutterance in tongues is interpreted so that thechurch can understand what is said, then theone prophesying is not greater.

To illustrate, twO nickels equal one dime.However, the two nickels are not a ten-centpiece. Prophecy is the dime, the ten-cent piece.Naturally, it would be better to have the dime(prophecy) than to have the nickel (an ut-terance in tongues) . But, if interpretation(another nickel) went along with it. then thetwo would be equivalent to rhe dime.

let me say here that prophesying is notpreaching. If prophesying were preaching,then you wouldn't have to make any prepara-tion to preach. But you have to study and pre-pare to preach. Paul said, "Study to shew thy-self approved unto God ... " (II Tim. 2: 15).You don't have to study to speak with tongues,or to interpret. You don't have to study tcprophesy. These come by inspiration of theSpirit. Of course, when one is preaching underthe inspiration of the Spirit, and suddenly hesays things he never thought of, that is in-spiration and is an element of prophecy.

Tongues with interpretation edifies thechurch. When used in line with the Word ofGod, speaking with tongues with interpreta-tion convinces the unbeliever of the reality ofthe presence of God, and often causes him toturn to God and be saved.

Jesus said, "And these signs shall followthem that believe; In my name shall they castout devils" ( Mark 16: 17). That can be pei-vate or public. try hey shall lay hands on thesick, and they shall recover" (Verse 18). Thatcan be private or public. Another sign is,'They shall speak with new tongues" (Verse17). This too, is both private and public.

Of course, we don't want prolonged prayingin tongues in the service because unless thereis an interpretation, folks don't know what issaid and are not edified. It is all right to prayin the altar service as long as you want, for yougo there to be edified. If people in the serviceare lifting their hands and praying, it is allright to pray in tongues. I stand on the plat-form and pray that way every night. But whenthe congregation ceases praying, I cease pray-ing. The congregation wouldn't be edified ifI went on and on.

We do need to know how to use what wehave to the greatest advantage.

A Sinner's Prayerto Receive Jesus as Savior

Dear Heavenly Father ...I come to You in the Name of Jesus.

Your Word says, "... him that cometh to me I will in nowise cast out" (John 6:37), so I know You won't cast meout, but You take me in and I thank You for it.

You said in Your Word, "Whosoever shall call upon thename of the Lord shall be saved" (Rom. 10:13). I am call-ing on Your Name, so I know You have saved me now.

You also said "if thou shalt confess with thy mouth theLord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that Godhath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved.For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness;and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation"(Rom. 10:9,10). I believe in my heart Jesus Christ is theSon of God. I believe that He was raised from the deadfor my justification, and I confess Him now as my Lord.

Because Your Word says, " with the heart manbelieveth unto righteousness " and I do believe withmy heart, I have now become the righteousness ofGod in Christ (2 Cor. 5:21) ... And I am saved!