16. ARE TONGUES FOOLISHNESS?

     1COR 2:14  The person without the Spirit does not accept the things that come from the Spirit of God but considers them foolishness, and cannot understand them because they are only discerned through the Spirit.

     It occurred to me recently that God seems to have healed me of obsessive disorder.  That's what I'd been hoping for in my first message from Him 3 months ago, "Keep seeking Him, something big will be resolved for you and you'll find your purpose."  I was hoping that the big issue wouldn't just be forgiveness of my father which was big for me at the time but the bigger problem of obsessive disorder which has haunted my life for decades now.
     No one else can see this, my mind still won't turn off, it runs this way and that, is sometimes difficult for me to focus, do my work if I'm thinking of something else, etc.  I've been a bit bothered by what I've been saying about how cessationist churches won't have anyone in them qualified to teach the Bible because they don't believe in the gifts of the Spirit, (1 COR 12), or don't believe they are still active.
     The above verse has been my reference for this idea.  The problem in my head was that all believers get a bit of the Holy Spirit when coming to believe, but we baptized in the Spirit people get a big infusion of him at once.  The verse starts with the phrase "The person without the Spirit...," but all believers will have a bit of the Spirit so I can see the difficulty in proper understanding. Something unexplainable by science happens as we "baptized in the Spirit" individuals suddenly come to understand and enjoy our Bibles much better.  As I keep saying, it's a mostly spiritual world and most can't conceive of how much so.  I can intellectualize it but belief is still difficult for me.
     Yesterday I made the connection.  Cessationist churches, the huge baptist organization among them, consider tongues "foolishness."  They don;t understand John 16:13, that Jesus is behind all the gifts, the Holy Spirit isn't a third being, he's Jesus's spirit.  As Paul tells us, tongues are worthless in church, only meaningful with an interpreter and should be kept to oneself as a personal prayer language.
     Those in the know are aware that tongues are the most common manifestation of the baptism in the Spirit, but in churches that have tongues, others are likely to have different gifts.  I've found that interpreting tongues is rare.  As I've mentioned many times, my former companion has an extremely rare gift, tongues, interpretation of them and prophecy, three rolled into one person.  It's a shame that she hides this incredible gifting from the world because of its skepticism and I would think she could find gainful employment using it but she won't try.  Word of knowledge is fairly common, prophecy also.  I had experiences with both of these though not lately.  I believe the information in my dreams was from the Father, not Jesus.  Discerning the spirits is also rare and seems to only come in the occasional glimpse with no control by the holder.  Dr. Keyton seems to have miraculous power on call when the need arises.
     I'm expecting healing and miraculous power, would have had it Sunday if the desire of my heart hadn't changed her mind about meeting me the Torch.  It will be exciting to see where God will have me use this.  Unfortunately He just gives us what we need when we need it as far as future events go. I know my next project but nothing after that.  It will require miraculous power but unfortunately may not require a wife, my hoped for teammate.  I'm told He can give me whatever He wants whenever He wants regardless of the deal I thought I had with Him.
     I don't know how God will sort out things with the cessationists.  I've been good friends with some pastors and know they truly believe they were "called," and have a heart for serving God.  Their intentions are pure but they just can't understand they aren't supposed to be teaching the Bible and their members won't know any better either.  In my case, I see a distinct difference in the sermons from a church like the Torch as compared with a large baptist church.  The "in the Spirit" pastors are able to get deeper meanings from their Bibles and teach more accurately.

In his service, a Misfit Child of God