Good morning. We ended last time with Paul saying to desire earnestly spiritual gifts, but especially that you may prophesy. Remember though, you must operate spiritual gifts in love or you are not benefited, even though the other person may have their need met. Why did he say “but especially that you may prophesy”? For one who speaks in a tongue does not speak to men but to God; for no one understands, but in his spirit he speaks mysteries. He’s not talking about speaking in another “learned“ language, like French or German. True, if one spoke in a foreign language that no one there spoke, it would be a “mystery“. Only God would be able to understand what he or she said; but the mysteries that Paul is talking about are not mysteries just because people do not understand that language. They are mysteries because they are spiritual things that are unknown to the people in the church. Not long after I received the baptism in the Holy Spirit, I visited a church of a friend who was Pentecostal. During the pastor’s sermon, someone started speaking out loud in tongues. The Pastor kept preaching. Even though I was new to the experience, I knew that that was not proper. It was not the gift of tongues, but merely the person expressing themselves to God. As Paul will say later, in that situation, people should speak to themselves and not out loud. Father go with the reader and help him/her and his/her family to have many spiritual and physical blessings today and every day.

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