jhaynes@ohstpy.mps.ohio-state.edu (06/26/91)
[In the following I believe A.G. means Asssemblies of God. --clh]
Tongues for Today? Part II
After reading some of the email about the first posting I feel I should at
least share some more of my experences with the Pentecostal movement. Yes
I was a member of a Pentecostal church for 18 months or so. And I shared
many of my findings with my friends and family. Most I am happy to say
have changed churches and confessed that the prayer language of tongues
was self or imitating what the preacher or others were doing.
Example one: While in the Philippines I was stationed at Clark Air Force
Base. I just started with the wealth of knowledge that comes from reading
the bible. You could say I was had I couldn't put it down, I read and
read and started to reread. I witnessed door to door on monday night,
Tuesday night a bible study with a baptist couple, wednesday and saturdays
I was free, Thursdays a singles fellowship group, Fridays the navigators,
and Sundays church. Wow it was no wonder I learned a lot but never really
started to form my own doctrines from the word until the tuesday night
study and the friday night study were studying the same topic and they did
not agree with each other. At the Tuesday night study my friend Mike and
I became very close friends. He had some tapes of Jimmy S. the T. V.
Evangelist about revelation. So we started listening to them to gether.
He invited me to come to his church A. G. Well after attending one of his
church service which I was really excited to go because he told me about
the gifts of tongues were used and the other gifts of the spirit were
present as well. But I ask him after hear the utterance in tongues why
were the philippinos not present at the service. He told me that they did
a philipino sevice at a different time and that the services he went to
were for the Americans from Clark. I had to ask I thought that from
studying the second chapter of Acts that the gift of tongues were to
enable us to speak in another man's language to share the gospel. The
differance from the tuesday night study and the friday night study. Well
Mike and I started to study the second chapter of acts for ourselves.
Mike was the one who looked at me and said Joel this isn't what I do. So
I questioned him on what he did. He said I really am not sure because the
pastor of his church used that chapter alot to prove that the gift of
tongues is present when one is Baptized in the Holy Spirit. Mike
and I back up to Acts chapter one to see what Jesus said about the Baptism
of the Holy Spirit.
Acts 1:5 For John baptized with water, but in a few days you will be
baptized with the Holy Spirit." (NIV)
Acts 1:8 But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and
you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and
Samaria, and to the ends of the earth." (NIV)
We both concluded that as written in verse 8 that receiving the Holy Spirit
gives us power to be witnesses which is the baptism from verse 5. And
that Acts 2 tongues was a gift to power the apostles to witness to the
different languages present on the day of pentecost. About 2 weeks later
Mike started to attend the sevice on base and also said that he wouldn't
be practising tongues anymore because anyone who misuses the scriptures
to prove their point after sharing his findings didn't want to remain in
their church.
Example two: Archie and I were roommates and prayer partners. He
attended A. G. when he was back in the states for aslong as he could
remember. I had told him about Mike and I's talk about tongues and what
had happen with the church off base. Archie said he believed that the
pastor might have been wrong with his use of the scriptures but still
wanted to remain with the church he grow up with. I had no problem with
that we attended the navigators together and the singles fellowship and
were prayer partners. We continued this way for about two months and
Archie started to question the gift of tongues because he had gone up
three times and never started speaking or praying in a tongue. Being
prayer partners we asked the Lord to reveal the truth about this matter.
Well he had to go to second shift and we didn't get much study time
together or prayer. But one day when we were both in the room he shared
with me, about a week after we asked about the tongues issue, a letter
that had come from his parents concerning the A. G. church. They told him
that they believed it to be a cult and were changing churches. Archie
told me the Lord had answered the question he changed churches.
Puzzling but true as God as my witness there are other accounts and I will
share one more later. I continued to witness and fellowship with the
navigators until I returned to the states.
Back in my home town I went to all of my friends that were still living
there and shared with them my conversion and awaking to the truth in the
bible and wanted them to be in heaven with me. Some prayed others laughed
and some were attending Christian Assembly. Well that sounded good to me
I want to get back into a study group to continue my faith and growth in
the Lord.
In only a short while I was approached by a ladie to help in a youth bible
study after school hours. I was unemployed at the time and said sure.
Shortly after that we started dating and today the young ladie is my wife.
I found out on one Sunday evening church service that they stared praying
in tongues and had a healing service. I looked carefully at what was said
and done. A man in a wheel chair Corky had come forward for a healing but
by the same wheel chair he left. I guess I didn't want to hurt my
relationship with Mary Ann so I left the issue behind and just hoped that
it was a passing thing. Come to find out they practised this all the time
on Sunday nights for I guess the elite christains. Well I asked Mary Ann
to marry me and thought well if she is not caught up in this to much we
could find another church. Wow I really didn't know alot about my new
wife until one night she started to pray in tongues. I asked how long had
she been doing this and what was she praying. She had started back in
college and didn't know what she was praying so I asked her if she didn't
know than don't do it around me because I cann't say Amen. 1 Cor 14:14-17
Well that work well I stop the praying I thought until we were having our
first child Aaron. She started babbling during every contraction. After
the birth I told her it sound like she was cursing than praying. She
confessed that it was cursing on her mind rather than prayer. Shortly
after that we changed churches and she has renounced the so called prayer
language.
Maybe I am totally confused on this issue and am willing to listen to any
one on the topic. But I find it hard to believe that just in the example
I have shared in Part one and Part two on Tongues for today? That through
prayer and study of the scripture the answers I keep getting is that
tongues have ceased and tongues of today are from the pit.
In His Hands,
Joel
1 Thes 5:21 Test everything. Hold on to the good. (NIV)
Prov 27:17 As iron sharpens iron, so one man sharpens another. (NIV)
[I will simply comment that while the use of tongues is controversial
in the Church, I know of no evidence that the Assemblies of God are a
cult in the sense in which I suspect the term is being used here.
--clh]