Supernatural Sunday
When the holy day of Pentecost came 50 days after Passover, they were gathered together in one place. Picture yourself among the disciples: A sound roars from the sky without warning, the roar of a violent wind, and the whole house where you are gathered reverberates with the sound. Then a flame appears, dividing into smaller flames and spreading from one person to the next. All the people present are filled with the Holy Spirit and begin speaking in languages they’ve never spoken, as the Spirit empowers them. Acts 2:1-4 (The Voice, VOICE)
Pentecost was originally a celebration to commemorate the giving of the Torah (the first five books of the Old Testament) to Moses. The Jewish people also celebrated the harvest at that time by binging their first fruits offerings to the Lord. It occurred 50 days after the Passover, and so it has been referred to as Pentecost, which means fifty in Greek.
For those of us who live in New Testament times, we know it as the day that the Holy Spirit came upon the first disciples of Jesus, empowering them for service to the Lord. The infilling of the Holy Spirit gave them power and boldness to speak the Word and it was evidenced by their ability to speak in tongues. Tongues, a supernatural prayer language that is not understandable by the natural mind, allows us to speak directly to God without our limited intellect getting in the way. When we pray in tongues, we pray the perfect will of God, not our understanding of His will. We bypass the mind, and we also bypass the devil because he cannot understand what is being said.
We can speak in tongues as a prayer language and we can pray to get the interpretation. The Holy Spirit working through our mouths, will enable us to speak to God exactly what God wants us to pray, and will tell us what we are saying in tongues and what God is saying in return. It is a truly supernatural thing.
We don’t have to fear tongues. When we are filled with the Holy Spirit, the Lord works with us to speak forth a supernatural dialect. He does not take us over or override our wills to do this. He works with us AS WE OPEN OUR MOUTHS AND BEGIN TO SPEAK.
People who have been filled with the Holy Spirit with the evidence of speaking in tongues are not better than other believers- they have just been given additional power by God and a special hotline in prayer. Tongues is something for all of us to desire and something that every Christian can have. It has been said that Jesus is the Father’s gift to the world and that the Holy Spirit is Jesus’ gift to believers.
A person who speaks in tongues is strengthened personally, but one who speaks a word of prophecy strengthens the entire church. I wish you could all speak in tongues, but even more I wish you could all prophesy. For prophecy is greater than speaking in tongues, unless someone interprets what you are saying so that the whole church will be strengthened. I Corinthians 14:4-5 (New Living Translation, NLT)
The Apostle Paul tells us several things about tongues in this passage. First, when a person speaks in tongues, they are strengthened personally. Secondly, he mentions that he desires that all believers speak in tongues, meaning it is highly desirable for a Christian to be filled with the Holy Spirit and be able to speak in a supernatural, God-given language. Thirdly, he tells us that tongues as a public ministry gift is equal to prophecy, but only if the tongue is interpreted so people can understand what has been uttered. So, according to the Apostle Paul, who wrote two-thirds of the New Testament, tongues is a big deal.
Today, as we celebrate Pentecost, if you have not been filled with the Holy Spirit with the evidence of speaking in tongues, simply ask God to fill you with His Spirit. He will not turn you down. And then open your mouth and allow your tongue to begin making noises. The Holy Spirit will inspire you regarding the noises to make. It will sound strange at first, but as you do it more and more, it will flow naturally from your lips.
If you are already filled with the Holy Spirit, let today be a day that you exercise your supernatural language even more. It can be easy to let speaking in tongues fall by the wayside, but it is important to pray in the Holy Spirit every day to stay strengthened in your inner man, to speak forth the mysteries of God, and to pray His perfect will. Ask the Lord to fill you afresh so your prayer language is reinforced and even expanded.
Whoever believes in me, as Scripture has said, rivers of living water will flow from within them. John 7:38 (New International Version, NIV)
Pentecost is a supernatural day and we are to be supernatural people. So, let your prayer language flow forth in mighty rivers today!
