We’re coming into an hour when we need that empowering.  There was some discussion not long ago just about that aspect of the necessity of the infilling of the Holy Spirit.  This was one of the things that brought division in the body in the early 1900’s.  Also, there was a group that taught that if you we’re not baptized in the Holy Spirt with the evidence of speaking in other tongues, you were not saved.  Speaking in tongues has nothing to do with your salvation; amen?  It’s by grace, how?  Through faith, and it’s not of any work, the Scripture makes it very clear.  “Repent,” was the message that Peter brought forth on the day of Pentecost.  Those that believed the message of the resurrection and received the free gift of redemption through the blood of Jesus Christ were saved and then, subsequently, filled with the Holy Spirit.

As it relates to the church in 1 Corinthians 12, we want to take a little time and go through these passages.  We saw that at Samaria in Acts 10:46, that the people, having received the Holy Spirit, had seen signs and wonders, miracles, all of these things that were taking place.  They then were filled with the Spirit.  They spoke in tongues, the Scripture says, and they magnified God.  They magnified God.  One of the things that brings us together tonight is, as a corporate people, we gather to magnify our God (amen?) to make God big.  We come to worship Him.  We come to bring Him thanks, praise God.  The church, being one, gathers together and in a unit, as the gifts of the Spirit might operate in our midst, what the Holy Spirit does through these diversities of gifts is edify the body and magnify God.  Hallelujah.  We need this presence of the Holy Spirit.

Somebody brought me a statistic that said that research had been done, I haven’t myself researched this out so I’m repeating something that was spoken to me.  But they said that there was research that had been done that only sixteen percent of Assemblies of God members speak in tongues.  Sixteen percent.  That doesn’t surprise me.  For years, for decades now, the Assemblies of God, wanting to again be accepted by a greater audience…  I know of Assembly of God churches, I know of pastors who have made these decisions to restrain the gifts of the Spirit in the public services.  They say they’re for “private meetings,” that are not of the public service or of the general body.  If the gifts of the Spirit are not for the general body, then Paul was way off course.  I don’t know about you (well, yeah, I do), I choose the Word; amen?  God has made it very clear that these gifts are for the general body and should even be coveted.  There are a lot of things that are not to be coveted, but the reality is, this is one of the things that is to be coveted and that is the working of the Spirit, the gifts of the Spirit to manifest themselves among us.

First Corinthians 12:1, Paul says, “Now concerning spiritual gifts, brethren, I would not have you ignorant.”  It’s very obvious by his opening statement, there was a problem.  There was a lot of ignorance in the body as to what were these supernatural manifestations.  Did these operations in the life of someone certify them as being spiritually mature or spiritually—let me say it this way—more spiritual than others?  Am I more spiritual now because I speak in tongues?  Am I more spiritual now because I prophesy?  “I would not have you ignorant of these things,” Paul said.  What about these supernatural utterances that are taking over services and people, just one after another, speaking in tongues and then another person speaking in tongues?  It goes on continually.