FIRST MISSIONARY
BAPTIST CHURCH
HANDSBORO

 

 

SOMEBODY CARES

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PSALM 142: 4-5

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HOW OFTEN INDIVIDUAL HEARTS BLEED, AND BODIES ACHE, AND FEET STUMBLE, AND EYES WEEP, AND KNEES SHAKE, AND SHOULDERS DROOP, AND SOULS PERISH, SIMPLY BECAUSE THEY START TO FEEL LIKE NOBODY SEEMS TO REALLY CARE ABOUT THEM NOR THEIR CIRCUMSTANCES?  SO, AS A RESULT OF FEELING ISOLATED OR ALONE…

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THEY BECOME:

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1. DEPRESSED

2. DEFEATED

3. DISCOURAGED

4. DEJECTED

5. DESPONDENT

6. DELIRIOUS

7. DEMENTED                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                           

• THIS ATTITUDE AND FEELING IS CAUSED BY SATAN.  SATAN, WHO BEING OUR CHIEF ENEMY AND ADVERSARY, ENDEAVORS TO CONVINCE ANYBODY AND EVERYBODY HE CAN, TO THINK AND EVEN BELIEVE, THAT THERE IS NOBODY WHO IS CONCERNED ABOUT, OR EVEN INTERESTED IN ANYTHING EXCEPT THEIR OWN SITUATION, AND THEIR OWN PROBLEMS; ALTHOUGH THIS MAY BE TRUE, ALL TO OFTEN WITH TOO MANY PEOPLE, NEVERTHELESS, THERE IS ONE WHO CARES AND WHO WILL ALWAYS CARE, AND HIS NAME IS JESUS!                                                                                                                                                                                                                                          

• THE DEVIL WILL DO HIS BEST TO CONVINCE YOU THAT, SHOULD YOUR:

1. HANDS BECOME TIRED, THAT NOBODY CARES.

2. FEET BECOME WEARY, THAT NOBODY CARES.

3. EYES BECOME DIM, THAT NOBODY CARES.

4. SHOULDERS BECOME DROOPED, THAT NOBODY CARES.

5. BODY BECOME FRAIL, THAT NOBODY CARES.

6. HEART BECOME BROKEN, THAT NOBODY CARES.

 

BUT JESUS CARES!

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MARK 4: 35-39

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QUESTION:

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HAVE THERE EVERY BEEN A POINT IN YOUR LIFE, INWHERE YOU FELT THAT NOBODY CARES ABOUT YOU?

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• SATAN WILL DO ALL THAT HE CAN TO GET INDIVIDUALS TO FEEL SORRY FOR THEMSELVES BY THINKING THAT THERE IS NOBODY WHO REALLY CARES WHETHER THEIR:                                                                                          

1. LOAD IS HEAVY

2. JOY IS GONE

3. DAY IS DREARY

4. NIGHT IS LONG

5. POCKETS ARE EMPTY

 

“BUT SATAN IS A LIAR, FOR SOMEONE DOES CARE, SOMEONE IS CONCERNED, SOMEONE DOES UNDERSTAND, AND HIS NAME IS JESUS!

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1 PETER 5: 7-8

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• SATAN WILL TRY HIS HARDEST TO RECRUIT MEMBERS FOR HIS “POOR ME CLUB,” BY TELLING YOU THAT NOBODY IS IN THE LEAST BIT INTERESTED OR CONCERNED IN THE FACT THAT YOUR:

1. LAUGHTER HAS GIVEN WAY TO WEEPING.

2. HEALTH HAS BECOME AFFLICTED WITH DISEASE.

3. NERVES HAVE BEEN WRECKED BY FRUSTRATION.

4. CONSCIENCE HAS BEEN TORMENTED BY YOUR PAST.

 

BUT JESUS CARES!

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1. HURTING INSIDE, JESUS CARES.

2. BEING ABUSED, JESUS CARES.

3. FACING DANGER, JESUS CARES.

4. TREATED POORLY, JESUS CARES.

 

JESUS CARES ABOUT:

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1. BIRDS OF THE AIR.

2. THE FISH OF THE SEA.

3. THE FLOWERS OF THE FIELD.

4. THE TREES OF THE FORESTS.

 

JESUS CARES!

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PSALM 55: 22

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WHEN YOUR:

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1. EYES ARE FILLED WITH TEARS, JESUS CARES.

2. FRIENDS HAVE FORSAKEN AND FLED, JESUS CARES.

3. CHILDREN BECOME REBELLIOUS AND UNRULY, JESUS CARES.

 

DOES JESUS REALLY CARE? JUST ASK THE WOMAN WHO HAD SUFFERED AN ISSUE OF BLOOD FOR TWELVE YEARS (MARK 5: 28-29)

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DOES JESUS REALLY CARE? JUST ASK THE MAN WHO WAS SICK OF THE PALSY (MARK 2: 3-5)

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DOES JESUS REALLY CARE? GO AHEAD AND ASK A CERTAIN MAN OF JERICHO, WHO HAD BEEN BLIND AND SAT BY THE WAYSIDE BEGGING (LUKE 18: 35-43)

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DOES JESUS REALLY CARE? JUST ASK THE FIVE THOUSAND MEN, PLUS WOMEN AND CHILDREN

(MARK 8: 1-6)

 

IT DOESN’T MATTER WHETHER:

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1. YOU ARE RICH OR POOR, HE CARES.

2. YOU ARE ATTRACTIVE OR HOMELY, HE CARES.

3. YOU ARE BLACK OR WHITE, HE CARES.

4. YOU ARE YOUNG OR OLD, HE CARES.

5. YOU ARE FREE OR INCARCERATED, HE CARES.

 

JESUS CARES!

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1. HE CAME TO EARTH, BECAUSE HE CARED.

2. HE BORE THE CROSS, BECAUSE HE CARED.

3. HE SHED HIS BLOOD, BECAUSE HE CARED.

4. HE DIED FOR YOU, BECAUSE HE CARED.

5. HE ROSE FROM THE DEAD, BECAUSE HE CARED.

6. HE ASCENDED TO THE FATHER, BECAUSE HE CARED.

 

“YES, SOMEBODY CARES, AND HIS NAME IS JESUS!”

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YOUR SPIRITUAL GIFT LESSON 11

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THE GIFT OF TONGUES AND THE GIFT OF INTERPRETATION

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THIS LESSON WE WILL CONCLUDE OUR STUDY OF THE FOUR SIGN GIFTS BY CONSIDERING THE GIFTS OF TONGUES AND INTERPRETATION. PROBABLY NO GIFT HAS CAUSED MORE DEBATE AND CONFUSION BOTH IN THE FIRST CENTURY CHURCH AND TODAY THAN THE GIFT OF TONGUES.

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THERE IS MUCH DISAGREEMENT AMONG COMMITTED CHRISTIANS CONCERNING THE GIFT OF TONGUES. SOME BELIEVE THE GIFT ENDED WHEN THE NEW TESTAMENT WAS COMPLETED. FOR EXAMPLE, IN HIS BOOK, THE HOLY SPIRIT, I PERSONALLY CANNOT FIND ANY BIBLICAL JUSTIFICATION FOR SAYING THE GIFT OF TONGUES WAS MEANT EXCLUSIVELY FOR NEW TESTAMENT TIMES, THEREFORE, WHEN IT DOES OCCUR TODAY IT MUST BE SURROUNDED VERY CAREFULLY WITH THE BIBLICAL SAFEGUARDS PAUL SET FORTH.

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REGARDLESS OF ONE’S CONVICTIONS OF THIS GIFT, OF THIS GIFT, WE MUST BE CAREFUL NOT TO CONDEMN BELIEVERS WHO DISAGREE, BECAUSE CLEARLY THERE ARE FINE PEOPLE OF GOD ON BOTH SIDES OF THIS ISSUE.

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• MEANING OF THE GIFT

 

TONGUES ARE REFERRED IN 1 CORINTHIANS 12: 10; 1 CORINTHIANS 14: 5 & MARK  16: 17. TO UNDERSTAND THIS GIFT, WE MUST LOOK AT TONGUES IN THE EARLY CHURCH.

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ACTS 2: 4

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THEY SPOKE NOT WITH “UNKNOWN” TONGUES BUT WITH OTHER TONGUES. GOD NEVER DOES ANYTHING FOR MERE EXCITEMENT OR ENTERTAINMENT; HE ALWAYS HAS A REASON. SO, THE QUESTION WE SHOULD ASK ABOUT THE TONGUES ON THE DAY OF PENTECOST IS WHY?

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QUESTION

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WHY DID GOD WANT THE DISCIPLES TO SPEAK IN TONGUES ON THAT DAY?

ACTS 2: 5-6

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THE REASON GOD CAUSED THEM TO SPEAK IN TONGUES WAS BECAUSE JEWS FROM ALL OVER THE ROMAN EMPIRE NEEDED TO HEAR THE GOSPEL.

 

 

THE TONGUES WERE LANGUAGES, AND THE TONGUES WERE UNIQULY DIRECTED TO DEVOUT JEWS. THE TONGUES WERE TO BE A SIGN OF FULFILLED PROPHECY TO CONVINCE THESE DEDICATED JEWS OF THE GOSPEL.

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ACTS 2: 15-16

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IT IS NO ACCIDENT THAT THE HOLY SPIRIT DESCENDED ON THE DAY OF PENTECOST IN JERUSALEM WHEN DEVOUT JEWS FROM ALL OVER THAT PART OF THE WORLD HAD COME TO KEEP THE LAW. IT IS CLEAR GOD WAS REWARDING THEIR FAITHFULNESS BY GIVING THEM THE OPPORTUNITY TO HEAR THE GOSPEL WITH ACCOMPANYING SIGNS THAT WOULD CONVINCE THEM TO BELIEVE.

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THE SECOND OCCURRENCE OF TONGUES IN THE NEW TESTAMENT IS IN ACTS 10: 44-48.

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WITHOUT THE GIFT OF TONGUES, THE JEWS WOULD HAVE BEEN RELUCTANT TO ACCEPT GENTILES AS FELLOW BELIEVERS, BUT SINCE THE GIFT OF TONGUES WAS THE VERY SAME GIFT THAT THE DISCIPLES RECEIVED ON THE DAY OF PENTECOST, THEY COULD NOT POSSIBLY DENY GENTILES ACCEPTANCE INTO THE CHURCH ON AN EQUAL LEVEL

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QUESTION

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HOW DOES PETER CLARIFY THIS TRUTH TO THE JERUSALEM CHURCH IN ACTS 11: 15-18?

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IN ACTS 2, THE JEWS SPOKE IN DIFFERENT LANGUAGES, AND PETER SAID GOD GAVE THE GENTILES THE LIKE GIFT AS HE DID UNTO US (ACTS 11: 17).

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FIRST, THE GREEK WORD TRANSLATED TONGUES IS ALWAYS GLOSSA (GLOW-SUH) IN ALL THREE CHAPTERS, WITH THE EXCEPTION OF 1 CORINTHIANS 14: 21, WHERE THE GREEK WORD (HETEROGLOSSOS), WHICH MEANS “STRANGE TONGUES” OR A “DIFFERENT SORT, IS USED.

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ISAIAH 28: 11-12

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TO ADD TO THE CONFUSION OVER THE GIFT OF TONGUES, THE WORD UNKNOWN PRECEDED TONGUES IN 1 CORINTHIANS 14. THE WORD UNKNOWN IN THE KING JAMES VERSES ARE ALWAYS ITALICIZED, MEANING IT WAS ADDED BY TRANSLATORS AND IS NOT IN THE GREEK TEXT.

 

 

REGARDLESS OF THE ARGUMENTS, THE ONLY CONCRETE BIBLICAL EVIDENCE AS TO THE NATURE OF TONGUES IS FOUND IN ACTS 2, WHERE IT WAS CLEARLY THE ABILITY TO SPEAK IN AN UNLEARNED LANGUAGE.

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THE GIFT OF SPEAKING IN TONGUES MAY BE DEFINED AS “THE GOD-GIVEN ABILITY TO SPEAK AN UNLEARNED FOREIGN LANGUAGE.” THE PURPOSE OF THE GIFT IN THE NEW TESTAMENT WAS TO BRING PEOPLE OF DIFFERENT NATIONALITIES AND LANGUAGES TOGETHER.

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• MODELS OF THE GIFTS

 

THIS GIFT IS THE FIRST OF WHICH THE ULTIMATE MODEL IS NOT JESUS CHRIST. THERE IS NOT A RECORD ANYWHERE IN THE NEW TESTAMENT OF JESUS SPEAKING IN TONGUES. THE ONLY PLACE WHERE WE SEE THE GIFT OF TONGUES AND THE EXPLANATION OF EXACTLY WHAT WAS HAPPENING IS IN ACTS 2.

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FIRST IS THE PURPOSE FOR SPEAKING IN TONGUES. IN ACTS 2 IT IS CLEAR THAT THE PURPOSE OF THE GIFT OF TONGUES WAS FOR UNBELIEVERS TO HEAR THE GOSPEL. THOUSANDS OF PEOPLE DID HEAR THE GOSPEL IN THEIR OWN LANGUAGE AND EVEN THEIR OWN DIALECT, WHICH RESULTED IN 3,000 PEOPLE BEING SAVED AND BAPTIZED.

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QUESTION

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WHAT DID PAUL’S CENTRAL TEACHING ON TONGUES?

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1 CORINTHIANS 14: 18-19

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PAUL DID NOT SPEAK IN TONGUES IN THE CHURCH BECAUSE BELIEVERS WERE IN THE CHURCH. HE SPOKE IN TONGUES OUTSIDE THE CHURCH TO UNBELIEVERS SO THEY MIGHT HEAR AND BELIEVE THE GOSPEL.

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1 CORINTHIANS 14: 22

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THE GIFT TO WHICH PAUL WAS REFERRING WAS A SIGN GIFT TO ALLOW GOD TO SPEAK TO LOST PEOPLE IN THEIR OWN LANGUAGE THROUGH A MESSENGER WHO HAD NEVER LEARNED THAT LANGUAGE.

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• MANIFESTATIONS OF THE GIFT

 

IT IS IMPORTANT TO NOTE THE MANIFESTATIONS OF THIS GIFT AND REFERENCES TO IT ARE FEW AND FAR IN BETWEEN IN THE NEW TESTAMENT. PAUL NEVER MENTIONED THE GIFT OF TONGUES OR INTERPRETATION IN ANY EPISTLE EXCEPT IN 1 CORINTHIANS, AND ONLY THERE TO CORRECT ITS ABUSE.

 

• MENACE OF THE GIFT

 

IN 1 CORINTHIANS 14: 12, PAUL MAKES CLEAR ONE PRINCIPLE THAT SHOULD BE KEPT IN MIND WHEN EXERCISING THIS GIFT AND ALL GIFTS TO PREVENT THEM FROM BEING A MENACE.

 

1 CORINTHIANS 14: 14

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THIS STATEMENT OF PAUL’S WAS TO TACTFULLY CORRECT THE ABUSE IN CORINTH OF PRAYING AND SINGING IN TONGUES DURING WORSHIP SERVICES.

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1 CORINTHIANS 14: 15-16

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THE CORINTHIANS WERE USING A GIFT INSIDE THE CHURCH THAT WAS DESIGNED TO BE USED OUTSIDE; THEREFORE, PAUL COMMANDED THEM TO USE TONGUES IN THE CHURCH ONLY WITH AN INTERPRETER. HOWEVER, THERE IS NOT A SINGLE EXAMPLE OF THE GIFT OF INTERPRETATION BEING USED ANYWHERE IN THE BIBLE. PERHAPS THE COMMAND FOR AN INTERPRETER WAS A DIPLOMATIC WAY TO END THE ABUSE OF THE GIFT.

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GIFTS WERE NEVER INTENDED TO BE PRIVATELY USED FOR SELF-EDIFICATION, LIKE THE CORINTHIANS, OR TO HAVE EXPERIENCES THAT THE MIND CANNOT UNDERSTAND, BUT RATHER WIN THE LOST AND BUILD UP THE CHURCH.

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CLOSING

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GOD STILL ENABLES PEOPLE TO SPEAK IN LANGUAGES IF THEY DO NOT LEARN THE LANGUAGE OF THE HEART AND SPIRIT THROUGH THE PREACHING AND TEACHING OF HIS WORD. WHEN THE WORD OF GOD IS PREACHED OR TAUGHT, THE HOLY SPIRIT TURNS THE WORDS OF THE SPEAKER INTO THE LANGUAGE OF THE HEART AND THE SPIRIT SO THE LOST ARE CONVERTED AND BELIEVERS ARE EDIFIED.

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ALSO, I BELIEVE GOD DOES GIVE SOME MISSIONARIES THE ABILITY TO EASILY LEARN A NEW LANGUAGE SO THEY CAN SHARE THE GOSPEL.

 

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