Many Christians claim that they speak in tongues, just like Christians did in the early church. Is this possible? Should Christians seek for this gift or should they avoid it? I will tell you what the Bible says. I want to go to the prophecy in the book of Joel, chapter 2 verse 28 and 29. Now, this is the Old Testament. Yet, we are going to find that, that prophecy was fulfilled the 1st day that people spoke in tongues in the New Testament. Here is what the prophecy said.

Joel 2 28 to 29.
-And it shall come to pass afterward, that I will pour out my spirit upon all flesh; and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, your old men shall dream dreams, your young men shall see visions: 
-And also upon the servants and upon the handmaids in those days will I pour out my spirit.

So there it is. It is a prophecy in the Old Testament. It was given about 500 years before it actually occurred. Yet it foretold, that God would someday pour his spirit out on the human race. Now, I want to go to the New Testament, to the fulfillment. This is in Acts chapter 2 verses 1 through 4.  Jesus, one chapter prior to this he had left the earth. He had led his disciples out to Bethany. He raised his hands and blessed them. Then his feet left the ground and he was caught up into the sky. They watched him go. Now, just before he went, he told them don’t leave Jerusalem until you are in doubt with power from on high. Then he said, after the Holy ghost is come upon you, you shall receive power. You will be witnesses unto me in Jerusalem, Judaea Samaria, and unto the uttermost parts of the earth. So that was the last thing that Jesus said to his disciples. They obeyed him. He left, and some 7 days later, they continued in Jerusalem waiting for the promise that Jesus had told them would come to them. It happened in Acts, Chapter 2, verses 1 to 4. It reads:

Acts 2 1 to 4.
-And 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 of a rushing mighty wind, and it filled all the house where they were sitting. 
-And there appeared unto them, cloven tongues like as of fire, and it sat upon each of them. 
-And they were all filled with the Holy Ghost, and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance.

Well, this happened on the day of Pentecost. It was the 1st time it was poured out. People came together and said, what in the world is going on here. Because, as the people were speaking in these other languages, there were visitors from all over the world in Jerusalem on that day. This was the feast of Pentecost. This was one of the 3 big feast where Jews would gather together in Jerusalem. There was the feast of Passover, the feast of Pentecost and the feast of Tabernacle. This was the feast of Pentecost. So, since there was a lot of foreigners present, the news that something special was going on, scattered through the streets of Jerusalem quickly. So they all came running into this place. It was an upper room. In Acts Chapter 2 verse 15 through verse 18, here is what happened. They were all making fun actually. They were saying, all these people are acting drunk. They are speaking all of these languages, but yet they asked, how is it that these are all Galileans and yet we are hearing every person talking in our own language. There were many languages listed there in Acts Chapter 2, that the people heard. So this was in incredible phenomenon. Well, in order to answer their inquiries the apostle Peter stood up, and here is what he said, starting with verse 15 of chapter 2.

Acts 2 15 to 19.
-For these are not drunken, as yee suppose, seeing it is but the third hour of the day.  (It is only 9:00 in the morning. We haven’t even had time to get drunk yet.)
-But this is that which was spoken by the prophet Joel;  (now he is referring back to the prophecy that we had read earlier.) 
-And it shall come to pass in the last days, saith God, I will pour out of my Spirit upon all flesh: and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, and your young men shall see visions, and your old men shall dream dreams: 
-And on my servants and on my handmaidens I will pour out in those days of my Spirit; and they shall prophesy:

Now Peter said, you have just now witnessed what Joel prophesied about in the Old Testament. Never before had this happened, that God’s Spirit would come on people and as they were under the influence of the Holy Ghost they would speak words that they did not learn in school. They would speak words that they themselves did not understand. Yet, they were speaking words that other foreigners that were there, did understand. So, I want to dive into this a little further, because some people say that this is not for us today. Others say, oh yes it is for us today. I will just let you know right up front I have received this experience myself. Believe me, it is for us today.

Let’s talk now about speaking in tongues. What is it all about? It is the sign of receiving the gift of the Holy Ghost. We do not have to guess about this. The Bible is our guide. Acts Chapter 10 versus 44 through 48. The apostle Peter went to preach to the Gentiles for the 1st time. Now, up until then they had thought that they should not preach to anyone but Jews. Yet, Peter had a supernatural experience. He saw a vision. God through this vision spoke to him. God said, Peter what I have cleanse do not call common or unclean. There will be 3 men at the gate waiting for you, and I will tell you what I want you to do. Well, they were from this Gentile of the name of Cornelius. God had told them to come to Peter’s house to take him to Cornelius. God said that Peter would give to Cornelius and his household the words of eternal life. Well this was undeniable to Peter. So, he submitted himself. He buried his prejudices. He submitted himself to what God told him to do. Now we pick up the account and Acts 10 verse 44. Here Peter was now preaching to the Gentiles about God and about Jesus Christ. In verse 44 it tells us:

Acts 10 44 to 48.
-While Peter yet spake these words, the Holy Ghost fell on all them which heard the word. 
-And they of the circumcision, which believed were astonished, as many as came with Peter, because on the Gentiles also was poured out the gift of the Holy Ghost. 

Now, the apostle Peter understood, that he was going against all Jewish tradition by going down to the Gentiles. So, in order to cover himself he had taken several of the Jewish people with him, so that they would witness what was going to happen. When the Jews that were standing by saw the Holy Ghost fall on these Gentiles, they were amazed. As in verse 10 46 says they magnified God. So here it tells us that that is the way that they knew that they had been baptized in the Holy Ghost. Just like on the day of Pentecost in chapter 2 when they received the Holy Ghost, they spake with other languages. Now here we are in chapter 10, the same thing is happening again. Only this is the Gentiles glorifying God. For they heard them speak with tongues and magnify God. That is the way that they knew that they had received the gift of the Holy Ghost.

-For they heard them speak with tongues, and magnify God. Then answered Peter, 
-Can any man forbid water, that these should not be baptized, which have received the Holy Ghost as well as we? 

Because baptism was part of being born again. Therefore Peter said, wait a minute these people receive the Holy Ghost so they also need to be baptized. So in verse 48:

-And he commanded them to be baptized in the name of the Lord. Then prayed they him to tarry certain days.

Wow, this is amazing. Things are happening here. Now there are some people that would offer objections. They say, tongues are only given to communicate the gospel to those of other languages. This is because on the day of Pentecost in acts chapter 2, the Bible says that the crowd that gathered in, marveled that they were speaking the wonderful words of God. They were praising God. They were praising his creation. From that, they come to the conclusion that, that is the only purpose, that God caused these people, to supernaturally speak these other languages. Yet, is it true that the principal purpose of speaking in tongues, is to communicate the gospel? We will find from the gospel that that is not true. I want to take you now to 1st Corinthians chapter 14, verses 2 through 4. Now, this is where the apostle Paul is teaching quite extensively on speaking with tongues. Here is what he said:

1 Corinthians 14 2 to 4.
-For he that speaketh in an unknown tongue speaketh not unto men, but unto God:

Now wait, wait, people say: People say the principle or the only durpose for speaking in tongues is so that you can communicate the gospel to other men. Yet, here the apostle Paul says, he that speaks in an unknown tongue speaks not unto men, but unto God.

-for no man understandeth him; howbeit in the spirit he speaketh mysteries. 
-But he that prophesieth speaketh unto men to edification, and exhortation, and comfort. 
-He that speaketh in an unknown tongue edifieth himself; but he that prophesieth edifieth the church.

So is this a secondary, or even irreelent purpose? So what does this mean this word edify mean. To edify means to build up. So, when a person is praying in tongues the Bible say’s that no man understands him. As a matter of fact, we will learn later that a person doesn’t even understand what they themselves are saying. This is a form of private prayer. Private communication between an individual and God. The Bible says in another place that his spirit pray-eth, but his understanding is unfruitful. What good would this be for a person to pray, speaking words that he does not understand, but it says that his spirit is praying. It is sort of like spirit to spirit prayer. God is a spirit, and as you are talking to him you do not know what you are saying, but you are pouring out your soul. In another place the Bible says that the spirit make-eth intercession for us with groanings that cannot be uttered. For we do not know what we should pray for as we ought. But, the spirit it guides us and leads us in what we should do and how we should pray. So, it is obvious from this passage that the argument that the holy ghost was only given to spread the gospel is simply not true. Corinthians 14, 2 to 4 explicitly proves that to us.

So, the next question is, is the Holy Ghost for everyone. Maybe it is for some people to enjoy and maybe other people are not supposed to receive the gift of the Holy Ghost. Now, let’s go to Acts 2 38 to 39. Now, this is after Peter had preached to the people and they said what must we do to be saved? He preached to them that they had crucified their Messiah. So they said what must we do to be saved in verse 37. In verse 38, Peter said unto them:

Acts 2, 38 to 39.
-Then Peter said unto them, Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost. 

Now that is very similar to what happened in verse number 10. They received the Holy Ghost and Peter commanded them to be baptized. So, in the elements of salvation there are 3 things, repentance, baptism, and receiving the gift of the Holy Ghost. That is what the apostle Peter says here in acts 23 8. Let us review it again. Peter said to them, repent, be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins. Did you catch that? It is for the remission of sins. The word remission comes from the word remit, which means to pay. So, when you are baptized that is payment for your sins. The Bible says in Romans 6 3 that as many are baptized into Christ, are baptized into his death. You and I owed the penalty of sin which is death. The wages of sin is death. The gift of God is eternal life. Yet, Jesus did not want you and me to die. So, he said I am going to go down and live a sinless life. Yet, I will trick the devil into killing me anyway. And when he kills me I will be able to be a substitute for all those who will have faith in me. As many as are baptized into Jesus Christ are baptized into his death. Once you are baptized into his death you do not owe the penalty anymore. That is the reason that the Bible says repent and be baptized, every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins. If you get a bill through the mail that says please remit by the 10th of the month. They want payment. So we baptized for the remittance or the payment of your sins. The payment that you owe for your sins is death. But Jesus loves you. He did not want you to die. So he said I will die in their place. All they have to do is to be buried and baptized in my name. Now, I am going to give them the gift of the Holy Ghost. Then Peter said this wonderful thing and the 39th verse.

-For the promise is unto you, and to your children, and to all that are afar off, even as many as the Lord our God shall call.

This is not a promise for a select few. This is for you, your children, and all those that are afar off, even as many as the Lord our God shall call.

If God has called you, the wonderful, marvelous gift, of the Holy Ghost is for you. You may have wanted to receive the Holy Ghost. Perhaps you sought after it and you did not receive it. So you concluded that it was not for you. Well, that may not be true. Because, sometimes people are told the wrong things about receiving the Holy Ghost, and it hinders them. The reason that I know is because I have had an experienced myself. 

I learned something one night in a dream when I obeyed what was on me. The Holy Ghost is not make people speak in tongues. The Bible says in acts chapter 2 verse 3 and 4 that they spake as the Spirit gave them the utterance. I hope that you remember that verse. The Bible says that they spake with other tongues as the Spirit gave them utterance. The Holy Ghost does not make you speak in tongues. It does not take a vice grip and hook it on to your jaws and make you move. No. It comes only when you obey. You by faith just speak out what threw God comes on you.

Well many times I sought for the Holy Ghost and it would come on me. But, I did not know what it was. I did not understand how it worked. I would have what the Bible calls stammering lips. Isaiah 28 11 says: For with stammering lips and another tongue will he speak to this people. I always tried to stop it. I thought if I could stop it then that must be me and not God. Well how mistaken I was. Actually the Holy Ghost was coming on me, urging me to obey him, but I did not know how. I was totally ignorant about it. Well, one particular night I realized that, I cannot speak 2 languages at the same time. It came to me in this way. You see I am what the bible calls a dreamer.

Joel 2 28 says  And it shall come to pass afterward, that I will pour out my spirit upon all flesh; and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, your old men shall dream dreams, your young men shall see visions: 

I frequently experience what is sometimes called lucid dreams. My dreams are sometimes accompanied with smells, vivid colors, and a strong sense of realism such that it is primarily by logic that I am able to diferentiate the dream from reality. For me, when dreaming, all emotions are in play, including anger, fear, passion, love, all except pain, praise God.

For me, many of my convictions come through dreams. Dreams represent a form of experience from which you can learn without getting beat up and beat down, praise God. Even in dreams I am able to display a keen since of logic. For example I have been known to say to what I perceive as a demon, "in this state I am immortal and you are immortal". Therefore, we can keep this up all day. The demon would just go away until the next time. On the other hand, I have been known to emulate Jesus's threat, because as he is so are we in this world. I would threaten to destroy the demon before his time, if he gets me mad enough, and I would believe what I say. Again he would just go away. Nevertheless, in my opinion he ran, because he was not sure whether or not I could actually do it. I am persuaded, that I have to get that devil off of my back with the word of God. Nevertheless, that is another adventure for another day. Today's topic is speaking in tongues. 

Often times people say that what you are saying is not really speaking in tongues because it lacks the basic requirements of all languages. 

I learned something that night when I obeyed. The Holy Ghost does not make people speak in tongues. The Bible says in acts chapter 2 verse 3 and 4 that they spake as the Spirit gave them the utterance. I hope that you remember that verse. The Bible says that  they spake with other tongues as the Spirit gave them utterance. The Holy Ghost does not make you speak in tongues. It does not take a vice grip and hook it on to your jaws and make you move. No. It comes only when you obey. You by faith just speak out what threw God comes on you. That night I wrestled with speaking in tongues, in my dreams. At the conclusion of my wrestling match in my dreams, I woke up speaking in tongues. Despite the fact that I did not know what I was saying or even if it made sense. Of course in the dream when I spoke in tongues the hearers understood me, I understood myself, and I understood that I was not speaking their native language. Nevertheless, when I awoke I realized the purpose of me speaking in tongues was for me edifying myself and not for me edifying them. That was an experience, rather than simply a philosophy. For it has been said, that you cannot know anything unless you have been through something. Nevertheless, I say that the best way to learn something is to learn by other people's experiences, or to learn through experiences in your own dreams. When you learn from other peoples’  experiences, you do not have to get beat up and beat down.

So what am I telling you? I am telling you that the Holy Ghost is for you. The promise is unto you, your children and all that are off far off, even as many as the Lord our God shall call. Praise God, for the listening and the hearing of his word. So let it be.