Celestial Diary

“Unless you speak in tongues, you haven’t truly received the Holy Spirit.”

“If you can’t speak in tongues, you’re not fully surrendered to God.”

“Those who don’t speak in tongues are spiritually immature or lacking in faith.”

“Speaking in tongues is a supernatural ability that sets you apart from ordinary believers.”

“If you want to experience the full power of God in your life, you must speak in tongues.”

“If you’re not speaking in tongues, you’re missing out on the fullness of the Christian experience.”

Wisdom – 1 Corinthians 12:8, Knowledge – 1 Corinthians 12:8, Faith – 1 Corinthians 12:9, Healing – 1 Corinthians 12:9, Miracles – 1 Corinthians 12:10, Prophecy – 1 Corinthians 12:10, Discernment – 1 Corinthians 12:10, Tongues – 1 Corinthians 12:10, Interpretation of Tongues – 1 Corinthians 12:10, Teaching – Romans 12:7, Exhortation – Romans 12:8, Giving – Romans 12:8, Leadership – Romans 12:8, Mercy – Romans 12:8.

The gifts of tongues is just 1 out of the 14 gifts the Holy Spirit can bless us with. Just like in the parable of the talents (Matthew 25:14-30) some of us have multiple gifts while others might just have one. We can ask for a gift but ultimately it is up to the Giver to grant us that which They want to. The different gifts have their own purpose and manifest at a different time so I don’t believe statements like “Those who speak in tongues are more spiritually enlightened and advanced than those who don’t” are true.

Before you attack me and caution me by quoting scriptures, I want to make it clear that I’m not against the gift of tongues. I do not doubt the power of tongues and I also don’t claim everyone is faking it.

However I do have some issues with how the body of Christ has turned this Holy gift into a spectacle. I would like you to watch the clips down below and try to follow my train of thought until the end before commenting.

The first two clips I shared really pissed me off the first time I watched it. Making up words and throwing them around in the air all in the name of spiritual maturity isn’t only hypocritical but also blasphemous.

• Being able to start and stop as you wish like you control the Holy Spirit (really?)
• Suspiciously repeating the same set of words all the time (some people even practice the words to say!)
• Putting people on the spot and making them say things that may/may not be true (just ridiculous).

Things like this genuinely piss me off and reduce the effect of the gift of tongues.

The third clip also shows a man speaking in tongues but in this video I see it happening the way God intended the gift to be used.
1 Corinthians 14: 27-28
²⁷ If anyone speaks in a tongue, two—or at the most three—should speak, one at a time, and someone must interpret. 
²⁸ If there is no interpreter, the speaker should keep quiet in the church and speak to himself and to God.

Let’s see where the Spirit of God came down upon man in the bible to bless them with His gifts.

In Acts 2: 1-17

And when the day of Pentecost was fully come, they were all with one accord in one place.
² And suddenly there came a sound from heaven as of a rushing mighty wind, and it filled all the house where they were sitting.
³ And there appeared unto them cloven tongues like as of fire, and it sat upon each of them.
⁴ And they were all filled with the Holy Ghost, and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance.
⁵ And there were dwelling at Jerusalem Jews, devout men, out of every nation under heaven.
⁶ Now when this was noised abroad, the multitude came together, and were confounded, because that every man heard them speak in his own language.
⁷ And they were all amazed and marvelled, saying one to another, Behold, are not all these which speak Galilaeans?
⁸ And how hear we every man in our own tongue, wherein we were born?
⁹ Parthians, and Medes, and Elamites, and the dwellers in Mesopotamia, and in Judaea, and Cappadocia, in Pontus, and Asia,
¹⁰ Phrygia, and Pamphylia, in Egypt, and in the parts of Libya about Cyrene, and strangers of Rome, Jews and proselytes,
¹¹ Cretes and Arabians, we do hear them speak in our tongues the wonderful works of God.
¹² And they were all amazed, and were in doubt, saying one to another, What meaneth this?
¹³ Others mocking said, These men are full of new wine.
¹⁴ But Peter, standing up with the eleven, lifted up his voice, and said unto them, Ye men of Judaea, and all ye that dwell at Jerusalem, be this known unto you, and hearken to my words:
¹⁵ For these are not drunken, as ye suppose, seeing it is but the third hour of the day.
¹⁶ But this is that which was spoken by the prophet Joel;
¹⁷ 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:

1. While they were speaking in tongues, others could hear their native language (meaning they were able to understand and translate what was being said). They clearly weren’t making up words.
2. There are multiple gifts in this passage; Prophesy, Visions, Dreams, Interpretation of tongues (meaning that yes the Holy Spirit descended on them and they were able to speak in different tongues BUT it wasn’t the only gift of the Spirit that manifested that day).

Back to the issue I have with the excessive speaking in tongues: we have it everywhere now—in songs, in prayers, in speeches, and in Bible readings. There are literally people out here who can’t pray without ‘shakaboshing’ at the beginning.
Which is why I love the way 1 Corinthians 14 explains the reasoning behind speaking in tongues and how it should be done properly.

1. Verse 2: You’re speaking to God whenever you speak in tongues. There’s no need to blast tongues into the microphone all because you’re praying. Have you ever stopped to think about how distracting it must be for others who’re trying to pray?
2. Verse 2: No one understands them; the lack of understanding isn’t because of the tongues itself but rather the message behind it. If someone with the gift of interpretation translates something like; Hear my voice, children for your lack of fear has grieved my Spirit. Thanks to the translation we understand what the person is speaking (in tongues) but we still might not fully understand what the message means (maybe because it’s meant for someone specific). Hence ‘no one understands them’.
3. Verse 4: When we speak in tongues, we edify ourselves. Again there is really no profit to the general congregation. So try to minimize your volume while praying in tongues.
4. Verse 5: Speaking in tongues isn’t the greatest accomplishment a Christian can have. We need to stop making our fellow brethren feel inferior because they don’t have the gift of tongues.
5. Verse 6-12: This is basically the summary of my post. Read it over and over and meditate on it.
6. Verse 13-17: Another sentiment I have. I know a woman who sometimes will have an outburst in the church speaking in tongues BUT she also has the Spirit of interpreting tongues. I love it when she prophecies and the whole church is silent, soaking in what she has to say. Imagine if she was only shouting and saying things no one understands….the message would be lost and people would be distracted (annoyed even).
7. Verse 26-33: I mentioned this earlier. It’s about proper conduct in the church.
8. Verse 34-35: This verse doesn’t mean women have no place in the church and can’t minister (1 Corinthians 11:5 But every woman who prays or prophesies with her head uncovered dishonors her head—it is the same as having her head shaved). The original word used can also be seen in verse 28: If there is no interpreter, the speaker should keep quiet in the church and speak to himself and to God. This refers to temporary silence as we women like to ask (unnecessary) questions which isn’t proper in the church. So Paul says that women should go home and bother their husbands with their questions.
9. Verse 39-40: In all things let us act accordingly. Let there be order in the church.

At the end of the day people will do whatever they want to do. I’m not here to forbid anyone from speaking in tongues. Rather I’m voicing out my frustrations due to the excess emphasis the church has placed on the gift of tongues. We forget that there are false prophets out there who also ‘speak in tongues’ (beware of who you let pray over you). We also forget the other gifts like ‘Giving’, ‘Wisdom’ or ‘Mercy’ but run straight to ‘Miracles’, ‘Prophecy’ and ‘Tongues’.

For ministers; avoid statements like ‘Let us all begin to pray/worship in the language of the spirit‘.
It is the fastest way to force people into speaking strange tongues or feeling inferior to those around them.
You don’t need to ‘Kabosh’ for 10 minutes before the Spirit of the Lord comes down if you’re praying/worshipping correctly.

I also believe that ministers who release professional recordings or albums featuring extended periods of speaking in tongues should include an interpreter’s translation in the lyrics.
What am I singing? What is the Spirit leading you to say? Is it a warning, is it a prayer or is it just a combination of made up syllables that sound good on tape?

To my friends: If your church is guilty of this and you don’t see me come by often, now you know why 🙂

Stay Blessed x