And he said unto them, Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature. He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved; but he that believeth not shall be damned. And these signs shall follow them that believe; In my name shall they cast out devils; they shall speak with new tongues; They shall take up serpents; and if they drink any deadly thing, it shall not hurt them; they shall lay hands on the sick, and they shall recover.
The first reason why every Christian should be filled with the Holy Spirit and Speak in tongues is that speaking in tongues is one of the signs that ought to follow Born again Christians.
Jesus said it will be a sign that follows those who believe in Him. So if you believe in Jesus, one of the scriptural evidences of your faith in Christ is that you are supposed to be speaking in new tongues. This scripture tells us that every believer ought to speak in other tongues.
Mark 16:17 says ‘these signs shall follow them that believe;’ It does not say these signs shall follow some who believe or pastors who believe, rather it says ‘…them that believe.’ This the number one reason why every believer should speak with tongues.
It is one of the first proofs that you are a believer. If you believe that you can cast out devils in the name of Jesus you ought also to believe that speaking in tongues is for you.
You cannot select some of the signs that ought to follow you while leaving the gift of tongues out. Every believer ought to lay hands on the sick and expect them to recover.
When a believer drinks any deadly thing it shall not hurt him because of the power of the Holy Spirit at work in such a believer. These are the signs that must follow every Christian. If you are a Christian these signs should follow you.
You shall In the name of Jesus:
ü Cast out Devils
ü Speak with new tongues
ü Take up serpents and feel no harm (This does not imply that you should go around chasing rattle snakes. That would be foolish. It rather implies that demonic powers cannot have affect on you. It does not mean though that if a snake bites you, it will have no effect on you.)
ü If you drink any deadly thing it will not harm you
ü If you lay hands on the sick they will recover
Deuteronomy 19:15b ….at the mouth of two witnesses, or at the mouth of three witnesses, shall the matter be established.
We will examine three scriptural references in the book of Acts where speaking in tongues was an evidence of people being filled with the Holy Spirit.
Acts 2:4 And they were all filled with the Holy Ghost, and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance.
The first physical evidence of being filled with the Holy Spirit here is speaking with other tongues. The apostles began speaking in other tongues when they were filled with the Holy Spirit because the Holy Spirit gave them power to do so. The Holy Spirit is not partial. What He gives to one He would give to another under the same circumstance.
Secondly, we will look at the incidence in the house of Cornelius;
Acts 10:44 – 46
• 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 that on the Gentiles also was poured out the gift of the Holy Ghost.
• For they heard them speak with tongues, and magnify God. Then answered Peter,
While peter was speaking about redemption from sin through Christ Jesus, the Holy Spirit fell on all those who heard his words. The Jews who went with Peter to Cornelius’ house were surprised that the Gentiles had received the Holy Spirit too. They did not know that the Holy Spirit was for every believer, Jews and Gentiles alike. They only discovered this truth here.
How did they know that the Gentiles had been given the Holy Spirit? Acts 10:46 tells us that their astonishment was because they heard them speaking with tongues and magnifying God.
It was obvious that they had received the Holy Spirit because they had the proof for it, and the proof was that they were speaking with tongues as the apostles did when the Holy Spirit first came on them on the day of Pentecost.
Let’s look at another account where 12 disciples received the Holy Spirit
Acts 19:1-3, 6 And it came to pass, that while Apollos was at Corinth, Paul having passed through the upper coasts came to Ephesus: and finding certain disciples, He said unto them, Have ye received the Holy Ghost since ye believed? And they said unto him, we have not so much as heard whether there be any Holy Ghost. And he said unto them, unto what then were ye baptized? And they said, unto John’s baptism. And when Paul had laid his hands upon them, the Holy Ghost came on them; and they spake with tongues, and prophesied.
In this account, Paul came to the city of Ephesus where he found twelve disciples who though they believed in Jesus, were only baptized into John’s baptism. From verse 2, it is clear that these disciples had not even heard about the Holy Spirit prior to this time, for they said, ‘we have not so much as heard whether there be any Holy Ghost’.
As Paul laid his hands upon these disciples, the Holy Ghost came on them; they spoke with tongues as a result and prophesied. They could not speak with tongues until the Holy Ghost came. When the Holy Ghost comes on a believer, that believer begins to speak with other tongues because the Holy Spirit gives him utterance and ability to do so.
Note: One of the reasons why many do not speak with tongues is because they claim that people only spoke in tongues on the day of Pentecost as a sign to the unbelievers in Jerusalem. This way of thinking is wrong because this account in Acts chapter 19:6 occurred many years after the day of Pentecost.
The third reason why every believer should be filled with the Holy Spirit with the evidence of speaking in tongues is because it is the will of God for every believer to do so.
Ephesians 5:16 – 20
Wherefore be ye not unwise, but understanding what the will of the Lord is.
And be not drunk with wine, wherein is excess; but be filled with the Spirit;
Speaking to yourselves in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody in your heart to the Lord;
Giving thanks always for all things unto God and the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ;
Submitting yourselves one to another in the fear of God.
Many people ask, ‘what is the will of God for my life?’ this is a constant question in the hearts of many believers today. In Ephesians 5:16, Paul writing to the church admonishes us to understand or discover what the will of God for our lives is. He then goes on in verse 17 to begin to enumerate what God’s will for us is.
The will of God for the believer is to be filled with the Holy Spirit continuously. If this is so, then surely it is also the will of God for every believer to speak with tongues constantly because being filled with the Holy Spirit continuously is evidenced by speaking with tongues as we saw in the previous section. The result of the infilling of the Spirit is speaking in tongues. Hence if you have to be filled with the Spirit continuously; which is the will of God for your life, you will have to speak in tongues continuously.
In Ephesians 5:18, in order for us to be filled with the spirit continuously we must speak to ourselves in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs. Psalms and hymns are supernaturally granted utterances through the Holy Spirit. Psalms and hymns fall into the category of the gift of prophesy. They are actually the gift of prophesy in operation.
A psalm is a word spoken through the utterance of the Spirit in a known language to praise or worship God. A hymn is a song received through the utterance of the Spirit in a known language to also praise and worship God. The difference is; one is a word given or merely spoken while the other is a song which you sing unto the Lord.
Spiritual songs are also supernaturally granted songs through the Holy Spirit. Spiritual songs fall under the category of the gift of tongues. They are songs you sing without knowing the meaning thereof except you receive the interpretation. To sing in the spirit, you must be able to speak in the spirit.
Have you ever wondered what it means to give your life to Christ and be saved? Are you born again? God sent Jesus to die for all your sins so that you will not have to be punished for the same. To be saved means to simply accept Christ Jesus as your substitutionary sacrifice for your sins and to make him lord over your life. Surrender your life to Christ today by asking Jesus to forgive you your sins; ask Him to come into your life and to make you a new person. If you are facing challenges and require counseling/prayers do not hesitate to contact me. I will be willing to assist as much as I can. You can also subscribe to the soft copy of our daily devotional by sending a text message, ADD ME, to +27631814824, +2348052800948 or +27720809077 or through an email, using the email address shown here and we will be glad to reach you. You can also listen to our internet radio via this link: http://www.diplomatsassembly.co.za/index.php/diplomats-radio