{"id":18484,"date":"2018-06-10T00:00:00","date_gmt":"2018-06-10T05:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sugar-land-bible-church.local\/sermon\/ecclesiology-025-spiritual-gifts-5\/"},"modified":"2018-06-10T00:00:00","modified_gmt":"2018-06-10T05:00:00","slug":"ecclesiology-025-spiritual-gifts-5","status":"publish","type":"sermon","link":"https:\/\/slbc.org\/es\/sermon\/ecclesiology-025-spiritual-gifts-5\/","title":{"rendered":"Ecclesiology 025: Spiritual Gifts 5"},"content":{"rendered":"","protected":false},"featured_media":0,"template":"","book":[91],"series_event":[484],"sermon_service_type":[473],"speaker":[6],"class_list":["post-18484","sermon","type-sermon","status-publish","hentry","book-1-corinthians","series_event-ecclesiology","sermon_service_type-sunday-school","speaker-dr-andy-woods","no-post-thumbnail"],"acf":{"sermon_title":"Ecclesiology 025: Spiritual Gifts 5","sermon_date":"20180610","sermon_month":"6","sermon_year":"2018","sermon_notes":5825,"sermon_slides":5826,"sermon_mp3":5840,"sermon_id":"610181155384","series_or_event":484,"service_type":[473],"speaker":6,"books_of_the_bible":91,"chapter_and_verse":"14:21-22","sermon_transcript":"Dr. Andy Woods\n\nEcclesiology 25; Temporary Spiritual Gifts. Part 3\n\n6-10-18\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Lesson 25\n\nLet me open in a word of prayer.\u00a0 Father, we\u2019re grateful for today, grateful for the freedom that we have to assemble and worship according to our conscience and we know that many of our brothers and sisters around the world don\u2019t have that same freedom, but for whatever reason You\u2019ve given it to us here and so we glorify You in that.\u00a0 I do ask, Father, specifically that You will be with us both during Sunday School and the main service that follows.\u00a0 I ask that the illuminating ministry of the Holy Spirit, particularly here in the first session as we look into some things that has divided Christians and so I just ask that You would give us understanding. And I just ask that all those listening and studying along with us would be edified.\u00a0 And I ask that You would change people because of the studies.\u00a0 And I ask these things in Jesus\u2019 name and God\u2019s people said\u2026 Amen.\n\nThese props, I didn\u2019t bring these in today as teaching lessons for object lessons but these are for our upcoming VBS\u2026 for the uninitiated that stands for Vacation Bible School.\u00a0 That\u2019s coming up at the end of this month\u2026 can you believe it?\u00a0 So preparations are well underway and I would invite you to keep that in prayer because a lot of kids get reached through VBS.\u00a0 As a matter of fact, how many people, just a show of hands, how many people came to Christ through VBS in their background?\u00a0 That\u2019s three.\u00a0 How many people have ever been to a BVS.\u00a0 How many people were blessed by BVS as a kid.\u00a0 Wow, look at that, so VBS is a big deal.\u00a0 God, for whatever reason uses VBS in a very special way.\n\nHaving said all that let\u2019s open up our Bibles this morning to the Book of Acts, chapter 2, verses 5-13.\u00a0 And we are continuing our study on ecclesiology or the doctrine of the church.\u00a0 And one of the things we\u2019re really drilling down on here is Roman numeral VII, the purpose of the church.\u00a0 And one of the great purposes of the church is not to pacify the people in the church but it\u2019s to edify the people in the church, to build them up in the things of God.\u00a0\u00a0 And so that\u2019s why God has given us His Word to be taught in the local church.\u00a0 That\u2019s why He\u2019s put gifted men (and women for that matter) in the body of Christ, for purposes of edifying the saints.\u00a0\u00a0 We\u2019re going to be talking about the place of women in the church and all of that down the road so don\u2019t get upset that I said men and women because we believe men and women have the same gifts of the Spirit.\u00a0 Amen!\u00a0\u00a0 They just have different outlets for the use of those gifts.\u00a0 I probably shouldn\u2019t have even brought that up but we\u2019ll be getting into that subject.\n\nOne of the purposes of the church is to edify God\u2019s people in such a way that they discover their own gift and\/or gifts.\u00a0 So if the purpose of the church is to prepare you for your ministry then part of understanding the doctrine of the church is to understand the doctrine of spiritual gifts because unless you understand your gift, gifting or gift mix you really don\u2019t know exactly where you fit in the body of Christ.\u00a0 So that\u2019s why we\u2019re doing sort of an excurses here on the gifts of the Spirt.\u00a0 And as I\u2019ve mentioned before this is normally something you talk about under pneumatology, the doctrine of the Spirit, but I\u2019m bringing it here under ecclesiology also because of your view on spiritual gifts and what they and what they\u2019re not largely dictate to your philosophy of a local church.\n\nSo to that end we\u2019re asking and answering four questions.\u00a0 Number 1, what are some general observations of spiritual gifts?\u00a0 And you\u2019ll recall that in a couple of sessions I gave you about nineteen observations, just general things about spiritual gifts.\u00a0 And then the second question that we\u2019re asking and answering, and this is sort of the elephant in the room because the body of Christ is divided on this subject, we\u2019re trying to ask and answer are all the spiritual gifts for today.\u00a0 So it\u2019s hard to talk about spiritual gifts unless you deal with this subject and I\u2019ve never really dealt with it at this church, I\u2019ve just sort of referred people to our doctrinal statement that have questions about it, but I\u2019m trying to actually deal with this head on so at least we have in our audio library a body of teaching that we can refer people to that are struggling with this issue, because it is a struggle.\n\nSo to that end we have put together this outline; we\u2019ve offered some preliminary thoughts.\u00a0\u00a0 I\u2019ve tried to make the case that look, this is an important issue but at the same time we also have to understand that those that disagree with us on this subject we have a lot more in common than we do that divides us.\u00a0 So we sort of have to approach this with the right tone, not ignoring the issue but also not demonizing people that think differently on it.\n\nHere\u2019s what you\u2019ll discover when you start to study spiritual gifts: I\u2019ve given you this pneumonic device, 12\/12\/4\/4.\u00a0 That stands for Romans 12, 1 Corinthians 12, 1 Peter 4, Ephesians 4.\u00a0 Those chapters are the chapters that delineate the gifts of the Spirit, actually itemize them or enumerate them.\u00a0 There\u2019s probably about 22 gifts total that are mentioned specifically in the Bible.\u00a0 And if you read through those various lists there are six gifts that you\u2019re going to hit, 6 gifts that you\u2019re going to his, 6 of the 22, and you\u2019re going to ask yourself well, why aren\u2019t these in practice at Sugar Land Bible Church.\u00a0\u00a0 They are: apostle, prophet, workers of miracles, tongues, interpretation of tongues and the gift of healing.\n\nAnd there is, in this area, I would say rampant and totally confusion on these subjects.\u00a0 So that\u2019s sort of why I\u2019m drilling down here in Sunday School.\u00a0 One camp says, we would call the continuationists, every gift you see in the New Testament, including in the Book of Acts, is fully in operation today.\u00a0 We\u2019re more of the camp of what I like to call selective cessationism where we believe that 6 of those 22 gifts passed with the concluding of the Biblical canon in the first century.\n\nI\u2019ve given you our position statement on this, position statement number 7, I don\u2019t know if I need to re-read this but if you go to position statement number 7 you\u2019ll see that our church takes a position on this subject.\u00a0 And the question is well why do we believe the way that we believe; should we believe it just because it\u2019s in the doctrinal statement or is there more to it than that?\u00a0 And part of, I believe, coming out correctly on the subject of spiritual gifts is understanding that there are four categories of gifts.\n\nThe first set of gifts are foundational gifts.\u00a0 These are gifts that God used to lay the foundation of the church and one of the things that we have said over and over again is you lay a foundation how many times?\u00a0 One time!\u00a0 So that would be the gift of apostle and prophet and we\u2019ve talked about what those mean in prior sessions.\u00a0 Paul is very clear that the church was laid on the foundation of the apostles and the prophets.\u00a0 So now that that foundation has been laid God is not re-laying the foundation and so there\u2019s a logical belief that the gift of apostle and prophet, the way they\u2019re defined in the Bible, are things that have passed in the first century.\u00a0\u00a0 We dealt with that.\n\nThen there\u2019s a second section of gifts called confirmatory gifts.\u00a0 Another way of saying it, these are the sign gifts.\u00a0 Those would be workers of miracles, tongues, which we\u2019re going to talk about today, and then the gift of healing, and we\u2019ll talk about healing today as well, as time permits.\u00a0 And we\u2019ve talked about how in this chart these gifts and miracles don\u2019t just flow in the Bible in a continuous sense.\u00a0 The Bible is not a story of unbroken miracles.\u00a0 Miracles in the Bible are kind of sporadic, they\u2019re abnormal in terms of the total chunk of history that the Bible records, and they have a tendency to cluster around time periods.\u00a0 There\u2019s at least six of them where God is doing a new work.\u00a0 And why do miracles cluster around those time periods?\u00a0 Because God is authenticating to the world that this new thing that\u2019s happening is truly of Him.\n\nSo in that vein we\u2019ve talked about workers of miracles.\u00a0 We\u2019ve talked about how miracles were given, Hebrews 2, 3 and 4, some verses we looked at last time, to confirm the message as it traveled from the apostles to the first generation of receivers.\u00a0 Miracles were a sign of an apostle, so if the office of apostle ceased then so would the sign gift of miracles, or miraculous power.\n\nNow I want to be very careful here because we still believe God does miracles.\u00a0 If I didn\u2019t believe that I wouldn\u2019t pray for people.\u00a0 Amen!\u00a0 We believe God can and does do a miracle; we believe can and does heal people.\u00a0 The issue is do you have someone in the church that has the gift of signs and wonders, and the gift of healing which they can perform at will?\u00a0\u00a0 And what we\u2019re saying is no to that; yes God can and does intervene in history but you don\u2019t have somebody, like the Apostle Peter, who would just lay hands on anybody and they would immediately receive their healing.\u00a0 That\u2019s the gift that we\u2019re talking about that ceased in the first century, called a sign gift.\n\nWe saw last time a number of passages, Acts 2:43 for example, that connects working wonders as a sign gift to the apostles.\u00a0 [Acts 2:43, \u201cEveryone kept feeling a sense of awe; and many wonders and signs were taking place through the apostles.\u201d]\u00a0 Why was God doing that?\u00a0 Because something brand new was starting, called the age of the church.\u00a0 And after that foundation was laid that gift petered out.\u00a0 And I showed you and I will continue to show you examples where late in Paul\u2019s ministry it looks as if that gift disappeared.\n\nThat takes us to a second sign gift and this is the gift of tongues.\u00a0 And what do people think of when they think of tongues?\u00a0 As you read through these various lists of spiritual gifts you\u2019ll see this gift that is translated tongues and here\u2019s the image that you\u2019ll get: tongues, what does that mean?\u00a0 Well, if I was to take a poll or a survey here\u2019s basically the definition most people have of tongues because this is what they see in charismatic services that they\u2019ve gone to or they turn so-called Christian television and they see this going on.\n\nTongues, to your average Christian means babbling sort of on and on in a secret language that\u2019s unintelligible, that\u2019s really known only to the person speaking in the tongue.\u00a0 And how can that person speak in a tongue but I can\u2019t?\u00a0 Well, they have the spiritual gift of tongues (we\u2019re told) but we do not.\u00a0\u00a0 And that\u2019s basically how your average person understands the gift of tongues.\u00a0 And part of the confusion on this is the King James translation of the Bible because the King James translation of the Bible was the first to take some Greek expressions, meaning languages, or dialects, and translate them as tongues.\u00a0 And so since our modern English translations are following the King James Version all of our Bible versions, most of them anyway, say \u201ctongues.\u201d\u00a0 And so when we think of tongues we think of babbling sort of in an unknown language.\n\nBut what I want to show you is that in 1600 when the King James translators translated those words using the English word tongues, tongues did not mean a secret language; tongues meant a known language.\u00a0 Now does it mean that today in our language?\u00a0 Not necessarily because language has changed since 1600.\u00a0 Amen!\u00a0 But back in the days of the King James translation tongues meant a known language, not a secret language, not an unknown language.\n\nNow how do I know this?\u00a0 It becomes obvious by seeing how the King James translators also translated Revelation 9:11. Revelation 9:11 speaks of two languages, Greek and Hebrew; it translates Apollyon or\u00a0 destruction in both languages.\u00a0\u00a0 And notice what Revelation 9:11 says:\u00a0 \u201cAnd they had a king over them, which is<\/em> the angel of the bottomless pit, whose name in the Hebrew\u201d what\u2019s the next word, \u201ctongue,\u201d why did they say \u201ctongue\u201d?\u00a0 Because in 1600 tongue meant language.\u00a0 \u201c\u2026whose name in the Hebrew tongue is<\/em> Abaddon, but in the Greek\u201d what\u2019s the next word, \u201ctongue hath his<\/em> name Apollyon.\u201d Why does the King James Version use the word \u201ctongue\u201d?\u00a0 Because in 1600 tongue meant a known language and you see what the King James is doing here\u2014it\u2019s using the word \u201ctongue\u201d in a translation to describe not two unknown languages but two very well-known dialects, Hebrew and Greek.\n\nAnd the problem is our vernacular since 1600 as we now move into the 21st<\/sup> century has changed radically and when we see the word \u201ctongue\u201d in the Bible we think it means something different than how the King James translators translated the word.\n\nSo what am I trying to get at?\u00a0 I\u2019m trying to say this: when you see the word \u201ctongue\u201d in Romans 12, in 1 Corinthians 12, it is a lousy translation if you compare how we use the word \u201ctongue\u201d to how the Bible uses those words translated as tongues.\u00a0 It made perfect sense in 1600 but it doesn\u2019t make any sense today.\u00a0 In fact, if you are looking at the word \u201ctongue\u201d you\u2019ll likely miss the meaning.\n\nWhen you go to 1 Corinthians 12:10, which is a passage translated \u201ctongues\u201d in many Bibles this is actually what it says.\u00a0 \u201cTo another the working of miracles; to another prophecy; to another discerning of spirits; to another divers<\/em> kinds of tongues\u2026.\u201d now in brackets I have the actual Greek word translated tongues which used to mean languages and today really doesn\u2019t mean languages, known languages.\u00a0\u00a0 The Greek word is gl\u014dssa<\/a><\/em> and by the way, can anybody think of what English word we get from the word gl\u014dssa<\/a><\/em>?\u00a0 [Revelation 9:11, \u201cAnd they had a king over them, which is<\/em> the angel of the bottomless pit, whose name in the Hebrew tongue is<\/em> Abaddon, but in the Greek tongue hath his<\/em> name Apollyon.\u201d KJV]\u00a0 Glossary, you don\u2019t consult a glossary because it\u2019s some unknown language; it\u2019s a clear language.\u00a0 And then it goes on and it says, \u201cto another the interpretation of tongues,\u201d \u201ctongues\u201d is not in the original, it\u2019s the word gl\u014dssa<\/a><\/em>, where we get the word glossary.\n\nLet me give you another example.\u00a0 Over in Acts 2:6, which is the first known instance of tongues\u00a0 in the New Testament church.\u00a0 It says, \u201cNow when this was noised abroad, the multitude came together, and were confounded, because that every man heard them speak in his own language.\u201d [KJV]\u00a0\u00a0 Now some of your Bible translations say tongues but the Greek is dialectos<\/em>, where we get the word dialect.\u00a0 What is a dialect?\u00a0 It\u2019s not a secret language, it\u2019s not a babbling language, it\u2019s a known language.\u00a0 So what I\u2019m trying to say is when you see the word \u201ctongues\u201d in the New Testament in your English translations I\u2019m just trying to communicate a simple point that part of the confusion on this is tongues is a lousy 21st<\/sup> century translation.\u00a0 It was a great translation in1600, a lousy translation today because a tongue is not a secret language; a tongue is a known language of such a caliber that you could actually develop a glossary or a dialect from it.\n\nSo having said all that, that\u2019s just background.\u00a0 I\u2019m now prepared to give you a definition of what a tongue (so-called tongue) is.\u00a0 A tongue is a miraculous ability\u2026 watch this very carefully, to speak in a known but unlearned language.\u00a0 You see that?\u00a0 If I\u2019m speaking in tongues, let\u2019s say this is the first century and I break out in tongues I\u2019m not breaking out into some kind of babbling.\u00a0 What I\u2019m breaking out into is a language known to the listener that I\u2019ve never studied.\u00a0 So tongues is the miraculous ability to speak in an unlearned yet known language.\u00a0 For example, if the only thing you spoke was Spanish and the only thing I spoke was English, and suddenly I broke out in perfect Spanish, what would you think?\u00a0 You would think that\u2019s a miracle, wouldn\u2019t you?\u00a0 And that essentially is what happened with the gift of tongues.\n\nWhat happened in Acts 2, we\u2019ll read the passage in just a minute, Acts 2:5-13, these apostles were breaking out or speaking I should say in a language that they had never studied or learned but it was well known.\u00a0 I\u2019ve always struggled with languages in school, I took Spanish, I took German, I took French, studied Hebrew, studied Greek.\u00a0 I\u2019ve always prayed for the gift of tongues but I\u2019ve always had to learn languages the hard way.\u00a0 So having said all that, with that background, take a look at Acts 2:5-13, the first known instance of tongues and let\u2019s try to figure out what exactly this spiritual gift is.\n\nActs 2:5, \u201cNow there were Jews living in Jerusalem, devout men from every nation under heaven. [6] And when this sound occurred, the crowd came together, and were bewildered because each one of them was hearing them speak in his\u201d what? \u201cown language. [7] They were amazed and astonished, saying, \u201cWhy, are not all these who are speaking Galileans? [8] And how is it that we each hear them<\/em> in our own language to which we were born? [9] Parthians and Medes and Elamites, and residents of Mesopotamia, Judea and Cappadocia, Pontus and Asia, [10] Phrygia and Pamphylia, Egypt and the districts of Libya around Cyrene, and visitors from Rome, both Jews and proselytes, [11] Cretans and Arabs\u2014\u201csee all these people groups?\u00a0 \u201c\u2026we hear them in our own<\/em> tongues\u201d now there again tongues is a lousy translation, it should be translated languages, \u201cspeaking of the mighty deeds of God.\u201d [12] And they all continued in amazement and great perplexity, saying to one another, \u201cWhat does this mean?\u201d [13] But others\u201d watch this, \u201cwere mocking\u201d see the unbelief, \u201cothers were mocking and saying, \u201cThey are full of sweet wine.\u201d\u00a0\u00a0 In other words, they were intoxicated.\n\nSo what was happening on the day of Pentecost, Acts 2?\u00a0 You have Jews from all over the Greco-Roman world, I have there on the map all of the different people groups that are represented.\u00a0 The Jews had been in worldwide diaspora or in diaspora, as\u00a0 you know, before they came back into their lands so there are synagogues, Jewish meeting places, all over the Greco-Roman world.\u00a0 And according to Leviticus 23 all these Jews are commanded to show up on a particular feast day called the day of Pentecost.\u00a0 So they\u2019re all assembled.\n\nAnd it just so happens that the Holy Spirit had a surprise for everybody.\u00a0 The Holy Spirit was starting something brand new called the what?\u00a0 Called the church.\u00a0 And to authenticate it as a sign of God, God gave temporarily a sign gift which was the apostles were speaking fluently in the tongues of all of these other people groups that had assembled, which the apostles had never learned.\u00a0 See that?\u00a0 That\u2019s what tongues is.\u00a0 That\u2019s what tongues was.\n\nAnd a very, very, VERY, did I say very enough there\u2026 important passage on the gift of tongues is\u00a0 1 Corinthians 14:21-22\u2026VERY, VERY important.\u00a0 As my former professor, Robert Lightner, used to say, he would say central Scripture, which meant that was going to be on the test when he said central Scripture.\u00a0 That was his \u201ctongues\u201d to us.\u00a0 And in 1 Corinthians 14:21-22 Paul makes a comment on the gift of tongues.\u00a0 He says, \u201cIn the Law it is written, \u201cBY MEN OF STRANGE TONGUES AND BY THE LIPS OF STRANGERS I WILL SPEAK TO THIS PEOPLE, AND EVEN SO THEY WILL NOT LISTEN TO ME,\u201d says the Lord.\u201d\u00a0 Look at verse 22, \u201cSo then tongues are for a sign, not to those who believe but to\u201d what? \u201cunbelievers; but prophecy is for a sign,<\/em> not to unbelievers but to those who believe.\u201d\n\nSo of the two, which ought to be practiced in the church regularly?\u00a0 Tongues or prophecy?\u00a0 Prophecy, which I think today has given way to modern day preaching, not receiving new revelation but proclaiming what God has already said in this book.\u00a0 That\u2019s the ministry to the saved; the tongues, as we\u2019ve defined it, is a ministry to the unsaved.\n\nNow you\u2019ll notice in verse 21, you see how it\u2019s in quotation marks there, or all caps?\u00a0 What does that mean?\u00a0 It means that Paul is quoting the Old Testament to make his point.\u00a0 And what is he quoting?\u00a0 When you track it down you\u2019ll discover that he\u2019s quoting Isaiah 28:11.\u00a0 So what, then, is the context of Isaiah 28:11. Here\u2019s the context, remember Isaiah wrote his book under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit seven centuries before Jesus even showed up.\u00a0 What was Isaiah saying in Isaiah 18:11. [Isaiah 28:11, \u201cIndeed, He will speak to this people Through stammering lips and a foreign tongue,\u201d]\u00a0\u00a0 It must be important because Paul quotes it to the Corinthians concerning the gift of tongues in the first century.\n\nHere\u2019s what Isaiah 28:11 is saying: the foreign languages or language of the Assyrians, and who are the Assyrians?\u00a0 They were the instrument of discipline that God used to scatter the northern tribes; so the Assyrians were an instrument of divine discipline against the northern kingdom, the ten northern tribes called Israel, headquartered in Samaria.\u00a0 The foreign language of the Assyrians, who God used to scatter the ten northern tribes, was a sign of judgment on Israel.\u00a0 The fact that they were being scattered by a people group whose language they did not recognize was an indication to the nation of Israel that they were under the rod of divine discipline.\u00a0 So tongues in that sense was not given to a believing nation but to an unbelieving nation.\n\nBy way of analogy, 1 Corinthians 14, now into verse 22, by way of analogy, he\u2019s building an analogy here; tongues was a sign that God had temporarily transferred his program, divine program, from first century Israel to the church, as first century Israel was moving off into discipline which would be meted out in A.D.\u00a0 70, about forty years later.\u00a0 So just as an unknown language was a sign of discipline of the ten northern tribes scattered by the Assyrians, Paul says here\u2019s what the gift of tongues is all about.\u00a0 It is a sign to the unbelieving Jew that God has taken His hand off of \u2026 watch this very carefully, not permanently of Israel, if I were to say God has removed His hand permanently from Israel I\u2019d be teaching replacement theology, which we don\u2019t believe here.\u00a0 We don\u2019t believe it because it\u2019s not in the Bible.\u00a0 Amen.\n\nBut here\u2019s what God did, He took His hand off, not Israel, watch this, first century Israel.\u00a0 See the difference?\u00a0 And He placed His hand of blessing on the church, and this is why the church exists, Romans 11, to provoke who to jealousy?\u00a0 Unbelieving Israel.\u00a0 Why?\u00a0 Because God had removed and continues to in terms of an exact direct relationship Israel today is under discipline, even though the Jews just made a coin with our own President on it, comparing him to Cyrus.\u00a0 And we\u2019re all excited about that and rah, rah, rah, and I\u2019m part of that cheer leading choir because I think it\u2019s great.\u00a0 But the reality is I think sometimes in the excitement of the whole thing we\u2019ve forgotten that the nation of Israel is still under the disciplinary hand of God.\u00a0 Benjamin Netanyahu is not a Christian.\u00a0 Do we all understand that?\u00a0 So let\u2019s not let the politics of the day\u00a0 bling us to what\u2019s happening.\u00a0 The nation of Israel came under the disciplinary hand of God in the first century for rejecting their king and in Acts 2 God took His hand of blessing off first century Israel and put it onto a brand new being called the church.\n\nNow would you say that\u2019s a change in God\u2019s outworking?\u00a0 It\u2019s a total change, I mean, that\u2019s a complete change from God\u2019s dealings, going all the way back 2,000 years.\u00a0 So how in the world were these Jews\u2026 remember, all these people gathered on Pentecost are Jews, unbelieving Jews.\u00a0 How would they know that this transition has happened?\u00a0 Well, they ought to just read their New Testament, for goodness sakes.\u00a0 Well we\u2019ve got a little problem there, we don\u2019t have a New Testament yet.\u00a0 They knew that this had happened because they saw a sign from God; a sign not for the believer but for the\u00a0 unbeliever.\n\nAnd just as the foreign language of the Assyrians was a sign that the ten northern tribes were under the disciplinary hand of God in the exact same way tongues, which was an ability to speak in a known but unlearned language, was the sign to all of these unbelieving Jews that they were again under disciplinary hand of God, because all of these people groups assembled with their own dialect and here are the apostles, who had never learned those dialects, able to expound the deep truths of God in a language that they had never known.\n\nNow you either look at that and you say well, that\u2019s got to be the hand of God or you go into the amoeba or umbrella of unbelief and you just try to re-explain the obvious.\u00a0 I mean, the Jews couldn\u2019t even handle the fact that Jesus rose from the dead and they started to develop a bunch of theories, the disciples stole the body and all that kind of stuff.\u00a0 That\u2019s unbelief.\u00a0 The unbelieving mind comes up with excuses for what the heart already wants to do.\u00a0 See that?\u00a0 This is why you cannot rationalize people into Christianity.\n\nI grew up under sort of the Josh McDowell era of apologetics (and I\u2019m for apologetics, believe me) but you kind of got the impression that if you just go out there unto your campus, I learned a lot of this through Campus Crusade, and give them five evidences for the Bible that you\u2019re just going to have swoons of converts.\u00a0 NO, because if the heart has already decided not to believe then it doesn\u2019t matter what evidence you give them.\u00a0 And this is what happened here; the evidence was there, the miracle was there and instead of saying you know what, we blew it as a nation, we should have trusted in Christ as our King, what they said is well, they\u2019re talking in this language because they\u2019re intoxicated.\u00a0 Does that make any sense, by the way?\u00a0 I mean, how could I break out into a language I\u2019ve never learned while I\u2019m drunk?\u00a0 I mean, usually when you\u2019re drunk you say all kinds of things of a low intelligible value, let\u2019s put it that way.\n\nSo this is the gift of tongues.\u00a0 This was the message to these people groups what were assembled.\u00a0\u00a0 If my count is right there were about sixteen people groups assembled and they heard the deep truth of God, spoken by apostles, in a language, not a babbling, not a mystical language but in a language that they had never\u2026 they knew that those apostles had not studied and that was a sign to unbelieving Israel that they were now under the divine discipline hand of God, just like as had happened back in the days of the Old Testament.\u00a0 See that?\n\nSo this is the gift of tongues.\u00a0 This was the message to these people groups what were assembled.\u00a0\u00a0 If my count is right there were about sixteen people groups assembled and they heard the deep truth of God, spoken by apostles, in a language, not a babbling, not a mystical language but in a language that they had never\u2026 they knew that those apostles had not studied and that was a sign to unbelieving Israel that they were now under the divine discipline hand of God, just like as had happened back in the days of the Old Testament.\u00a0 See that?\u00a0 That\u2019s what the gift of tongues is.\n\nNow I also believe that tongues had a dual purpose; not only did it exist to confirm Israel in unbelief, but it also existed to confirm the church, that yes, this new project that God has started in Acts 2 called the church, was true.\u00a0 So it was a sign to the unbelievers, just like Paul says but it\u2019s also a sign gift given to confirm that what is now happening in the church, is in fact, of God.\u00a0 See, this fits the pattern, does it not, where miracles cluster around; they cluster around eras where God is doing something new.\n\nAnd so since the disciplinary hand of God has already been exercised or executed, A.D. 70, and since the project of the church is not a new thing, we\u2019ve been in the age of the church for the last 2000 years, we would understand the gift of tongues, properly understood, as a particular spiritual gift that appeared at a time in history that disappeared.\u00a0 See, there\u2019s no need for it today because the church age has been rolling along fine for 2,000 years and there\u2019s no need for it today because we all know that the nation of Israel is under the disciplinary hand of God.\u00a0 So tongues, then, or languages better, is something we believe ceased in the first century.\n\nNow having said all that there\u2019s another spiritual gift mentioned here, the gift of healing.\u00a0 So take your Bible if you could and go to Acts 3.\u00a0 I showed you what the gift of tongues was and how it operated, I want to show you what the gift of healing was because there\u2019s an awful lot of people today running around claiming they have the gift of healing.\u00a0 To me, if you\u2019re claiming you have the gift of healing you\u2019re not praying for God to heal somebody, which He can and does when He wants to, but you say you have the gift of healing then\u00a0 you have to be able to heal on a level that the apostles healed on.\n\nSo look at Acts 3:1-10 as you see the sign gift of the gift of healing coming into operation.\u00a0 It says, \u201cNow Peter and John were going up to the temple at the ninth hour,<\/em> the hour of prayer. [2] And a man who had been lame from his mother\u2019s womb\u201d so he doesn\u2019t have a case of sniffles here, you\u2019re dealing with someone with a documented injury that everybody knew about, \u201ca man who had been lame from his mother\u2019s womb was being carried along, whom they used to set down every day at the gate of the temple which is called Beautiful, in order to beg alms of those who were entering the temple. [3] When he saw Peter and John about to go into the temple, he began<\/em> asking to receive alms.\u201d\u00a0 Notice that this man doesn\u2019t even ask to be healed, he wants money.\u00a0 Verse 4, \u201cBut Peter, along with John, fixed his gaze on him and said, \u2018Look at us!\u201d\u2019\u00a0 See, we\u2019re the instrument that God is going to use to heal you.\u00a0 It\u2019s not a case of praying for someone to get healed, it\u2019s look at us, the apostles, because we have the gift of healing.\n\nVerse 5, \u201cAnd he began<\/em> to give them his attention, expecting to receive\u201d what? \u201csomething from them.\u201d Which was money, so this guy had no faith at all.\u00a0 He didn\u2019t go to a prayer meeting claiming he had enough faith to be healed.\u00a0 See that.\u00a0 Verse 6, \u201cBut Peter said to him\u201d and I can sympathize with this, \u201cI do not possess silver and gold, but what I do have I give to you: In the name of Jesus Christ the Nazarene\u2014walk!\u201d Not a suggestion, get up and walk.\u00a0 [7] \u201cAnd seizing him by the right hand, he raised him up; and immediately his feet and his ankles were strengthened.\u201d\u00a0 Boom, right there on the spot, not some gradual process over time, go back to your doctor three or four times and we\u2019ll see if we\u2019ve got this thing cranking up yet, and bring your X-rays.\u00a0 I mean, this is an immediate healing, there\u2019s no contest that this is an immediate healing.\n\nIt says, \u201cand immediately\u201d that\u2019s a very important word to understand.\u00a0 If you\u2019re an under liner in the Bible you should under-line the word \u201cimmediately.\u201d\u00a0 \u201c\u2026his feet and his ankles were strengthened.\u201d\u00a0\u00a0 And look at this, he didn\u2019t sort of gradually get up, gradually come back to three or four healing meetings to see how you\u2019re doing, I mean, this guy immediately his ankles and his feet were strengthened, and\u00a0 [8] \u201cWith a leap he stood upright and began<\/em> to walk; and he entered the temple with them, walking and leaping and praising God.\u00a0 [9] And all the people saw him walking and praising God; [10] and they were taking note of him as being the one who used to sit at the Beautiful Gate of the temple to beg<\/em> alms, and they were filled with wonder and amazement at what had happened to him.\u201d\n\nNow that\u2019s the gift of healing.\u00a0 So for that gift to be in operation you have to see these character\u00adistics.\u00a0 Number 1, no prayer at all.\u00a0 You notice that Peter didn\u2019t pray; you notice the man didn\u2019t pray.\u00a0 Number 2, no faith, at least on the part of the beneficiary; he never asked to be healed, there\u2019s no record of him ever exercising faith.\u00a0 Number 3, he was healed indirectly, God working through an apostle possessing the gift of healing.\u00a0 Number 4, the instrument was an apostle, who was Peter.\u00a0 Number 5, the healing was instantaneous, not gradual, Acts 3:7.\u00a0 Number 6, the healing was automatic.\u00a0 Number 7, the healing was undeniable.\u00a0 And that\u2019s the case with the gift of healing.\u00a0 There\u2019s nothing to dispute.\u00a0 In fact, the fact that it\u2019s beyond dispute is so obvious that even the enemies of Christianity can\u2019t explain it away.\n\nIf you go back to Acts 2:22, I\u2019ll give you some examples here.\u00a0 \u201cMen of Israel, listen to these words: Jesus the Nazarene, a man attested to you by God with miracles and wonders and signs which God performed through Him in your midst, just as you yourselves know\u2014\u201d there\u2019s no debate about did this miracle occur when miracles actually occur in the Scripture.\u00a0 If you go over to Acts 4:16 you\u2019ll see another example of this.\u00a0 \u201csaying, \u2018What shall we do with these men? For the fact that a noteworthy miracle has taken place through them is apparent to all who live in Jerusalem, and we cannot deny it.\u201d\u00a0 That\u2019s the Sadducees saying that; that\u2019s the enemies of Christianity saying that.\n\nIf you go over to Acts 5:12, as these miracles are taking place, \u201cAt the hands of the apostles many signs and wonders were taking place among the people; and they were all with one accord in Solomon\u2019s portico. [13] But none of the rest dared to associate with them; however, the people held them in high esteem.\u201d\u00a0 You see what\u2019s happening here with these signs and wonders?\u00a0 In early Acts they\u2019re indisputable, there\u2019s no medical debate looking at someone\u2019s X-ray.\u00a0 It\u2019s something that\u2019s obvious.\n\nAnd I\u2019ll tell you something else about the gift of healing; it seems to me that there\u2019s no geographical barriers.\u00a0 Now this gets into the ministry of Christ; when Christ healed people they didn\u2019t have to come to him to get healed.\u00a0 Do we understand that?\u00a0 There\u2019s an example, I think Alex covered this in a recent sermon, the centurion in Acts 8:5-13, was not the centurion\u2019s son?\u00a0 That was the centurion\u2019s son, right?\u00a0 He healed him, Jesus did, without traveling to where the sick person was.\n\nIf you go over to John 4:49-53, this is what it says: \u201cThe royal official said to Him, \u2018Sir, come down before my child dies.\u2019\u00a0 [50] Jesus said to him, \u2018Go; your son lives.\u2019 The man believed the word that Jesus spoke to him and started off.\u00a0 [51] As he was now going down, his<\/em> slaves met him, saying that his son was living. [52] So he inquired of them the hour when he began to get better. Then they said to him, \u201cYesterday at the seventh hour the fever left him.\u201d [53] So the father knew that it was<\/em> at that hour in which Jesus said to him, \u2018Your son lives\u2019; and he himself believed and his whole household.\u201d \u00a0\u00a0No geographical barriers at all.\n\nAnd when the gift of healing is in operation the healing is often very spontaneous.\u00a0 In other words, something happens and someone needs a healing and the gift of healing goes into operation, like Eutychus, who in Troas, Acts 20:7-10, we read the verses last time, fell asleep while Paul was preaching, fell out of the window sill, I think it was two stories, he hit the ground and died, and Paul went right then and brought him back to life.\u00a0 So you notice the spontaneity of all of this.\n\nAnd the healing was common place; this was a miracle that was happening with somewhat great regularity at the advent of the church, as you read the Book of Acts. And you\u2019ll notice that people, when this gift is in operation they don\u2019t leave the coliseums and stadiums still on their crutches, still in their wheel chairs because the gift is of such power that everyone is getting healed.\u00a0 When you go over to Acts 5:12-16 it says, \u201cAt the hands of the apostles many signs and wonders were taking place among the people\u2026.\u201d\u00a0 And then when you jump down to verse 16 it says, \u201cthey were all\u201d not some, \u201cthey were all being healed.\u201d\u00a0 [Acts 5:12-16, \u201cAt the hands of the apostles many signs and wonders were taking place among the people; and they were all with one accord in Solomon\u2019s portico. [13] But none of the rest dared to associate with them; however, the people held them in high esteem. [14] And all the more believers in the Lord, multitudes of men and women, were constantly added to their number,<\/em> [15] to such an extent that they even carried the sick out into the streets and laid them on cots and pallets, so that when Peter came by at least his shadow might fall on any one of them.\u00a0 [16] Also the people from the cities in the vicinity of Jerusalem were coming together, bringing people who were sick or afflicted with unclean spirits, and they were all being healed.\u201d]\n\nSo if someone today is claiming to have the gift of healing then I need to see all of these criteria in full operation; no prayer, no faith, indirect through a person, by an apostle, instantaneous, automatic, undeniable.\u00a0 I don\u2019t need to see a bunch of people being summoned to a healing meeting because as I understand the gift of healing, at least practiced by Christ, geography is no problem.\u00a0 I need to see spontaneity, not happing at specific times but as injuries occur.\u00a0\u00a0 I need it to be common place and I need it to be universal.\u00a0 That\u2019s the gift of healing.\u00a0 See that?\n\nSo what is the gift of healing?\u00a0 The gift of healing, like the gift of tongues, was one of those sign gifts that God used to authenticate the testimony of the apostles.\u00a0 It fits exactly with the biblical pattern because miracles cluster around time periods where God is doing something new.\u00a0 So when\u00a0 you look at Acts 4:30 it says this: \u201cwhile You extend Your hand to heal,\u201d and what? What\u2019s the next word?\u00a0 \u201cand signs\u201d that\u2019s a key word, \u201cand wonders take place through the name of Your holy servant Jesus.\u201d You see how healing in the Book of Acts is connected to the word sign or signs because it\u2019s a sign gift that God used to authenticate the testimony of the apostles, which reversed 2,000 years of God\u2019s dealings with man.\n\nOver in Acts 5:12 and verse 16 you see the word apostles.\u00a0 What\u2019s the next word I\u2019ve got underlined there?\u00a0 \u201csigns\u201d and you go to verse 16 and what sign is he talking about, \u201call,\u201d not some, \u201cwere being healed.\u201d\u00a0\u00a0 [Acts 5:12, \u201cAt the hands of the apostles many signs and wonders were taking place among the people; and they were all with one accord in Solomon\u2019s portico.\u201d\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 [16] Also the people from the cities in the vicinity of Jerusalem were coming together, bringing people who were sick or afflicted with unclean spirits, and they were all being healed.\u201d]\n\nSo what I believe is this: that there was something very significant, something very unique, something very special happening in the ministries of the apostles at that time in history which authenticated a brand new work that God was doing and He was using tongues simultaneously (the way we\u2019ve defined it) not just to confirm God\u2019s new project called the church but also to solidify Israel in her unbelief.\n\nAnd what begins to happen is that gift of healing, as you get late into Paul\u2019s ministry, starts to dissipate, it starts to peter out.\u00a0 I\u2019ve given you the story of Acts 20:7-10, where Eutychus was healed on the spot, brought back to life, really, from the dead.\u00a0\u00a0 [Acts 20:7-10, \u201c7<\/a><\/strong>On the first day of the week, when we were gathered together to break bread,\u00a0\u00a0 Paul began<\/em> talking to them, intending to leave the next day, and he prolonged his message until midnight. [8] There were many lamps in the upper room where we were gathered together.\u00a0 [9] And there was a young man named Eutychus sitting on the window sill, sinking into a deep sleep; and as Paul kept on talking, he was overcome by sleep and fell down from the third floor and was picked up dead. [10] But Paul went down and fell upon him, and after embracing him, he said, \u201cDo not be troubled, for his life is in him.\u201d]\n\nHere are the order of Paul\u2019s letters chronologically:\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 [1. Galatians, A.D. 49\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a02. 1-2 Thessalonians, A.D. 51.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 3. 1-2-Corinthians, A.D. 56.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 4. Romans, A.D. 57.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 \u00a05. Ephesians, Colossians, Philemon, Philippians, A.D. 60-62\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 6. 1 Timothy, Titus, A. D. 62-66\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a07. 2 Timothy, A. D. 67]\n\nYou\u2019ll notice that he writes 1 Timothy and 2 Timothy late.\u00a0 1 Timothy is his third to last book, Titus is his second to last book, 2 Timothy is his last book.\u00a0 And you get into those books and you don\u2019t find Paul doing these miracles like he was doing early on in the Book of Acts.\u00a0\u00a0 What you\u2019ll find is language like this: 1 Timothy 5:23, \u201cNo longer\u201d as he writes to Timothy, \u201cdrink water exclusively <\/em>but use a little wine for the sake of your stomach and your frequent ailments.\u201d\u00a0 Well, if I were Timothy I would be kind of disappointed in that.\u00a0 I mean, Paul, you brought Eutychus back from the dead, can\u2019t you help me with my upset stomach?\u00a0 Apparently, what had happened is the sign gift of healing that Paul exercised begins to disappear.\u00a0 You see that?\n\n2 Timothy 4:20, his last letter, he\u2019s about to die as he writes this because he\u2019s told us in verse 6 of chapter 4 that he\u2019s about to be poured out as a drink offering and the time of his departure is at hand.\u00a0 [2 Timothy 4:6, \u201cFor I am already being poured out as a drink offering, and the time of my departure has come.\u201d]\u00a0\u00a0 He says, \u201cErastus remained at Corinth, but Trophimus I left\u201d what? \u201csick at Miletus.\u201d\u00a0 But Paul, you healed Eutychus at Troas, I mean, why do you heal one guy but not the other?\u00a0 Very simple; the sign gift had served its purpose and was starting to disappear.\u00a0 The sign gift of healing that I\u2019ve tried to describe, using the criteria from Acts 3:1-10.\n\n[Acts 3:1-10, \u201cNow Peter and John were going up to the temple at the ninth hour,<\/em> the hour of prayer. [2] And a man who had been lame from his mother\u2019s womb was being carried along, whom they used to set down every day at the gate of the temple which is called Beautiful, in order to beg alms of those who were entering the temple. [3] When he saw Peter and John about to go into the temple, he began<\/em> asking to receive alms. [4] But Peter, along with John, fixed his gaze on him and said, \u201cLook at us!\u201d [5] And he began<\/em> to give them his attention, expecting to receive something from them. [6]<\/a> But Peter said, \u201cI do not possess silver and gold, but what I do have I give to you: In the name of Jesus Christ the Nazarene\u2014walk!\u201d [7] And seizing him by the right hand, he raised him up; and immediately his feet and his ankles were strengthened. [8] With a leap he stood upright and began<\/em> to walk; and he entered the temple with them, walking and leaping and praising God. [9] And all the people saw him walking and praising God; [10] and they were taking note of him as being the one who used to sit at the Beautiful Gate of the temple to beg<\/em> alms, and they were filled with wonder and amazement at what had happened to him.\u201d]\n\nNow watch this very carefully.\u00a0 The Sugar Land Bible Church statement of faith on healing says this: \u201cthe gift of healings were temporal gifts given by the Holy Spirit solely to authenticate both the apostles and their message before the close of the canon of Scripture.\u201d\u00a0 That\u2019s what I\u2019ve been trying to teach.\u00a0 Now watch this, \u201cWe do not believe that these are active as gifts today.\u00a0 However,\u201d and it\u2019s a big However, \u201cwe affirm that God is sovereign and may\u201d notice the word \u201cmay\u201d there, \u201cmay heal \u2026 today.\u201d\n\nSo even though we believe that the gift of healing ceased in the first century we\u2019re completely open to the idea that God still can and does heal when He wants to.\u00a0 See that?\u00a0 We believe in prayer, we believe in laying hands on people that are sick, we believe in anointing people\u2019s heads with oil, but we don\u2019t do it saying we have the gift of healing thus saith the Lord, get up and walk.\u00a0 The apostles could do that as transitional figures.\u00a0 We can\u2019t.\u00a0 See the difference there?\u00a0 And I bring that up because when I talk like this here\u2019s what people say: well, you\u2019re putting handcuffs on God.\u00a0 You always get accused of this as a selective cessationist, you\u2019re limiting God.\u00a0 Well, the reality of the situation is God limits Himself in certain circumstances.\u00a0 Do you know that?\u00a0 Can God tell a lie?\u00a0 Yes or no?\u00a0 No!\u00a0 Now do we say \u201cwell, you\u2019re limiting God\u201d?\u00a0 No, God limits Himself by His own character.\n\nLet me ask you this?\u00a0 Can you be saved by works?\u00a0 You can\u2019t be saved by works.\u00a0 Well, you\u2019re limiting God.\u00a0 No, I\u2019m not limiting God, I\u2019m paying attention to the perimeters of the limits that God Himself has articulated.\u00a0 See that?\u00a0 That\u2019s where the logic of being a selective cessationist comes from.\u00a0 So where do we take our ques then if not really Acts?\u00a0\u00a0 We take our ques from James 5:14-15 which says, \u201cIs anyone among you sick? Then<\/em> he must call for the elders of the church and they are to pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord; [15] and the prayer offered in faith will restore the one who is sick, and the Lord Himself will raise him up, and if he has committed sins, they will be forgiven him.\u201d\u00a0 That instruction that we base our paradigm on is very different than what we call the gift of healing, taking place through the apostles in the first century.\u00a0 You say well, what\u2019s the difference?\u00a0 Here are the differences.\n\nWhat\u2019s the difference between God healing today versus healing through the apostles in the first century?\u00a0 What are the differences?\u00a0 Number 1, the apostolic gift of healing was exercised with no prayer, many times, whatsoever on the part of the victim, or on the part of the leadership.\u00a0 But James tells us to do what?\u00a0 To pray.\n\nNumber 2, the apostolic gift of healing was indirect, God worked through an instrument possessing the gift.\u00a0 Today when God heals He does it what?\u00a0 Directly!\u00a0 The apostolic gift of healing was done, many times, through an apostle.\u00a0 In fact, every time through an apostle or someone who knew an apostle.\u00a0 How does God heal today?\u00a0 He can use anything.\u00a0 Catch this, He could even use a physician to do that.\u00a0 That\u2019s why we pray when people go into a surgery, an operation, what do we usually pray?\u00a0 Lord, guide the hands of the person that has these abilities and the training, that they will be guided and directed.\u00a0 We\u2019re completely open to the possibility that God could work through a physician.\n\nThe apostolic gift of healing was instantaneous; boom and it was done, no questions asked.\u00a0 When God heals today many times it\u2019s gradual.\u00a0 I mean, you see people gradually get better; usually it\u2019s through the resources of the human body.\u00a0 The apostolic gift of healing was common; today I would argue, and for the last 2,000 years it\u2019s less common.\u00a0 Obviously God does it or we wouldn\u2019t waste time asking, but not every single person is healed.\u00a0 The apostolic gift of healing was automatic; today we would say it\u2019s not automatic because 1 John 5:14 says if we ask according to His will, He hears\u00a0 us.\u00a0 [\u201cThis is the confidence which we have before Him, that, if we ask anything according to His will, He hears us.\u201d\u00a0 1\u00a0 John 5:14]\n\nWell pastor, what are you saying?\u00a0 Are you saying that God wants certain people sick?\u00a0 I\u2019m glad\u00a0 you asked that because you\u2019ll have to come back next week to get the answer, because here\u2019s what we\u2019re missing today in the 21st<\/sup> century in America: a theology of suffering.\u00a0 What?\u00a0 A theology of suffering?\u00a0 If God introduces suffering into the life of the child of God to accomplish purposes in terms of their character, our character, which could not be accomplished any other way.\u00a0 In fact, you\u2019ll find that theology starting to get explained in the very first book God even inspired, called the Book of Job.\u00a0 Why would God deal with that subject in His very first book that He ever inspired, the oldest book we have, the Book of Job, during the patriarchal time period.\u00a0 Because God knew that this would be an issue that people would struggle with their whole life.\u00a0 I mean, why does the rain fall on the wicked but the righteous are living for God and they have all these problems?\u00a0 The Book of Job is an answer to that.\n\nSo one of the things that we\u2019re missing where we have brought back in charismatic circles, the apostolic gift of healing, is we\u2019re missing the theology of suffering.\u00a0 Look, I\u2019ll pray for anybody to get well and if and when I get sick you\u2019ll pray for me to get well, but here\u2019s the reality of the situation: whether God answers that or not is not based on me coming, laying hands on someone and commanding an illness to disappear.\u00a0 That was apostolic.\u00a0 Today if God wants to do that, that\u2019s completely His prerogative; we accept the fact that He could do it but we also submit all of these things to the outworking of His divine will.\u00a0 So we\u2019ll get into the subject of automatic healing next week.\u00a0 And if fact, if you believe that it is your right as a child of God to be healed here\u2019s what\u2019s going to happen.\u00a0 At some point in your life a problem is going to come that doesn\u2019t go away and you\u2019re going to conclude, number 1, maybe God doesn\u2019t have the power to do it.\u00a0 Or number 2, maybe there\u2019s some kind of unconfessed sin in my life, maybe I don\u2019t have enough faith.\u00a0 So now you\u2019re going to have to go through life with double jeopardy; you\u2019ve got the physical ailment and then you\u2019re blaming it on yourself.\u00a0 See that?\n\nListen to me very carefully beloved; there is no more damnable and destructive heresy into the life of the Christian that the doctrine of guaranteed automatic healing.\u00a0 If you believe that you will be thrown, by Satan himself, into total confusion.\u00a0 You may even end your life prematurely.\u00a0 You may even stay away from medical care that you need to be healed.\u00a0 My wife and I can tell you some examples about that in people we know.\u00a0 So well, pastor, you know, these shouldn\u2019t be issues that divide the body of Christ.\u00a0 Well, in a certain sense I\u2019m with you on that; I don\u2019t want to split hairs just to split hairs.\u00a0 But the reality of the situation is these issues are very important, wouldn\u2019t you say.\u00a0 That\u2019s why we have to look into them.\u00a0\u00a0 I went over time so we will do Q & A, just not today.\n\nFather, we\u2019re thankful for Your truth, Your Word, help us to get clarity on this because we\u2019re moving in a great deal of confusion today as we look at these sign gifts.\u00a0 And be with us as we walk out and study the doctrine of the church.\u00a0 We\u2019ll be careful to give you all the praise and the glory.\u00a0 We ask these things in Jesus\u2019 name, and God\u2019s people said, Amen.","series_sermon_number":""},"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t