“Desire spiritual gifts, but rather that you may prophesy.  For he that speaketh in an unknown tongue speaketh not unto men, but unto God” (1 Corinthians 14:1-2).  The subject title is “Why Tongues?”  Well, the first reason why tongues is because the prophet Joel said, “In the last days, I’m going to pour out My Spirit”; amen?  Jesus told the church, “Go to Jerusalem and wait for the promise.”  Acts, Chapter 2, verse 4, the promise came, the Holy Spirit came upon them.  They were all filled with the Holy Spirit and spoke with tongues as the Spirit gave utterance.  We saw in reference from that, that the five major verses in the Scriptures.  Acts 8:17—Get them in your notes—Acts 10:44; Acts 19:6; Act 2:4, as we just spoke.  Every Scriptural reference to the church being filled with the Holy Spirit, the individuals spoke in tongues.  There was an utterance.  The only one that does not use the phrase “tongues,” we saw that it was Simon who wanted to buy the gift, but Peter tells him, “You have no part, nor lot, in this matter.”  “I want to buy this gift that on whomever I lay my hands; they’ll receive the Holy Spirit.”  He said, “Your money perish with you.  You can’t buy the things of the Spirit.”  And he told him, “You don’t have any part or lot in this matter.”  It’s interesting, the word “matter” there, in the Greek, is the Greek word logos, for “word,” or “speech,” or “utterance.”  So, it’s referred to, “You don’t have anything to do with this supernatural utterance.  Your money can’t buy it.”  Every time, tongues is the manifest evidence.

The church, today, is wanting to tell us, now, “No, no, no. That’s not necessary, because it’s not very popular, it’s kind of mysterious,” and we’ll get into this in the study, “it’s just kind of like a gibberish.”  No, it is not a gibberish that is taking place.  It is a language.  “Though I speak with tongues of men and angels,” Paul said; amen?  Thousands and thousands of languages, of dialects—just think about how many dialects there were that are no longer in existence, that existed over 2,000 years.  They’re still unknown, today—languages.  And many, of course, that are still not in print.  So, these are languages that are spoken that are unknown to the speaker.  They’re supernaturally, then, motivated, initiated by the Holy Ghost.

The problem in Corinth was they had all of these people enjoying this new infilling of the Holy Spirit.  Now, when the Holy Spirit comes in you, there comes with it a power.  There comes with it a joy, praise God.  So, this new-found gift of speaking in tongues, everybody was coming together, and if you can imagine all of us here, tonight, we come in here, and everybody’s praying in tongues at the top of your voice.  Just having good time, praise God.  Paul said, “Now, here’s what I want you to understand: the purpose of these gifts is, primarily, to edify the church, not the individual.”  Don’t put yourself above everybody else, Chapter 13, love; amen?  “…For greater is he that prophesieth than he that speaketh in an unknown tongue.”  Watch, verse 2, “He that speaketh in an unknown tongue speaketh not unto men, but unto God: for no man understands him; howbeit in the spirit he does speak mysteries.  But he that prophesieth speaks to men,” get it in your notes, young people, get this in your notes.  “He that prophesieth speaketh… to edification, and exhortation, and comfort” (1 Corinthians 14:2-3).  That’s what prophecy does.

The Pentecostal church, today, has taken this gift of prophecy that’s for edification, exhortation, and comfort, and has begun to use it amiss to prophesy or speak over other people to give guidance into their lives.  To foretell things that are going to happen in their lives.  Prophecy in the New Testament church never foretells.  All of the Old Testament prophets that were speaking under inspiration, foretelling things that were going to happen in the future, some that are still yet to come; amen?  It’s not what this is about.  It’s being misused when it is used in churches, today.  We’ll speak toward some of these things, momentarily, in one of our sessions of questions and answers.