Join Cherri Campbell in this enlightening episode as she explores the various categories of tongues and their purposes. From private prayer tongues that require no interpretation to public ministry tongues that empower and edify the church body, Cherri dissects the intricacies of this divine gift. Discover how prayer, especially in unknown tongues, serves as a formidable spiritual weapon capable of thwarting adversities and advancing the Kingdom of God.
SPEAKER 01 :
Good morning. Welcome to Victorious Faith. I’m Cherri Campbell. This morning, I’m going to continue sharing with you the message I’ve been sharing with you that I preached in one of our Victorious Faith services called The Baptism in the Holy Spirit and the Benefits of Speaking in Tongues. So join me now in our live service for the continuation of this message, The Baptism in the Holy Spirit and the Benefits of Speaking in Tongues. 1 Corinthians 13, 1, if I speak in the tongues of men and of angels, you could say languages of men and of angels. Notice angels have languages. Men have languages. Now, if you hear someone else speaking in tongues, or if you ever speak in tongues yourself and you question, but that just doesn’t sound like a language. Who are you to be the judge? Do you know what the language of angels sounds like? Do you know what the language of angels sounds like? No, you can’t be a judge of that. And you know, there are weird sounding languages. I heard in Africa, like even the clicking of the tongue and they can talk to each other like that and they know what it means. And different clicks mean different things. And that’s a language in a tribe. So how would you know what a language should sound like? So don’t be afraid of something that sounds weird to you. Because there can be weird. There are weird ones on earth. Like I told you, that clicking of the tongue is a language in some place. I don’t even know where. And then we never know what the sound of the language of angels is. Amen. So we have no way to judge. We can’t be a judge of what sounds like a good language. Amen. Praise the Lord. And then this is a supernatural gift. It is not natural. Some people try, some theologians who try to excuse away the supernatural and make everything normal, natural. And they say, well, the gift of wisdom is just somebody who has a lot of wisdom. Gift of knowledge is somebody who has studied a lot and has five doctorate degrees, you know. And the gift of tongues is someone who has learned several languages and they can speak in several languages. Wrong, wrong, wrong. These are supernatural. These are all supernaturally given by the spirit that are unlearned. You do not know it in your own natural knowledge. Amen. Gift of the word of wisdom is a wisdom that you never knew God spoke to you and through you. A word of knowledge is something you don’t know in the natural. Nobody told you, but God, the Holy Spirit told you. And then gift of tongues is a supernatural language that you never learned and you don’t know what it means in your own head and knowledge. Amen. These are supernatural gifts. They’re not natural. Hallelujah. And the Holy Spirit gives you a language that you don’t know with your natural understanding, and he teaches you what to say. And I’ll be getting into this a little bit more, but maybe I’ll just say it right now, is that when you are receiving the baptism of the Holy Spirit and receiving the gift of tongues, which is for every Christian. Because remember, Jesus told all the disciples, he didn’t say, now you and you and you and you and you, but the rest of you forget it. No. when he said, wait for the baptism of Holy spirit, he was saying it to the whole crowd, the whole crowd. There were 120 in the upper room. And there were, I think 500 out there on the mountain before he went up in the clouds. And he told everybody, wait, and the baptism will come on you. So he wasn’t picking and choosing who would get it and you’ll get it. And then you’ll get it, but not the rest of you. No, it was for the whole crowd. Everybody could have it because everybody needs the power. Amen. It’s not just for a few. And so then the Holy Spirit will teach you what to say. And it’s, let me just use this example. I want you to say copying. And then say coat. Now, do you know what you said? Do you know what it means? You just praise God. That’s the Pompeian language in the Micronesian Islands. Kapingakot means praise God. So all through the seminar, through the messages, I’ll go, Kapingakot, Kapingakot, you know, because I like to praise the Lord a lot. You know that. And so Kapingakot is an earthly language, the Pompeian language, and Kapingakot means praise God. You praise God in a language you didn’t learn and you didn’t know. How did you do it? I taught you what to say. But did I get over there and move your jaw and wiggle your tongue for you? Did I open your mouth and make your tongue force out those words? No, I’m over here. You’re over there and I’m telling you what to say. Well, that’s the same way the Holy Spirit does. The Holy Spirit doesn’t, you know, some people not knowing what to expect. They’re waiting for a force or a power to make them say something. And it’s not going to happen. There will not be a power take you over. You are a free will. You choose to speak or not. You could have sat there and said, Terry, I’m not going to say it. You can’t make me. And you keep your lips pursed. But you all willingly said what I told you to say. Because you trusted me. And you can trust the Holy Spirit. And so the Holy Spirit who now lives in you because you’re born again. right? He’s within you. So you’re not going to hear voices on the outside. Say this, say copying a coat. No, you’re going to hear it down on the inside, on the inside where the Holy Spirit lives. And there’s going to be thoughts and unctions. And sometimes you don’t even really think because it doesn’t sound like a word, you know, it doesn’t sound like anything you’re familiar with. So you’re not gonna think that’s weird. You know, just flow with it. If you get an unction to say a sound or a syllable, just follow that and start. And it’s often the way it is in tongues, the way it is in the natural. When a baby learns to talk, what’s often the first word? Mama, dada. Now, how hard is mama? It’s one syllable repeated twice. Mama. Daddy is dada or papa. One syllable repeated. You know, a lot of people start tongues like that. That’s all it is. It’s a repetition of a syllable. But that’s the way you learned to speak your English. Mama, dada. And you start with that. Let it flow. And then your vocabulary will grow. You know, and you let it flow. You let it grow. It’ll develop like your own natural language will. But don’t be intimidated when it’s just a repetitive syllable. As a matter of fact, I don’t have the scripture with me right now. But it’s, I think, in Isaiah, where God will speak to you and through you with stammering lips. Well, what is stammering? Yeah. Stuttering, stammering, stuttering. And tongues is a form of stammering and stuttering. So don’t worry if you feel like your tongues are stammerings and stutterings. Just go with it. Flow with it and practice. And the more you do it, the more it’ll develop. And I’ve seen in my prayer language, it just starts to grow. And then I get bolder and broader with my vocabulary, you know, and new words form. But it can start very simple. And let me take a moment here because one of the questions people had is that, well, I thought you’re not supposed to speak in tongues unless someone can interpret you. Okay, let me answer that. There are different purposes for tongues, different categories of tongues. And I’ll just mention two right now. Private, personal, and public ministry. And where Paul writes about don’t speak unless you interpret, he’s talking about public ministry. In 1 Corinthians 14, he’s talking about in the church when you’re ministering to the congregation. What good would it do to you if I come to you and go, and I’m looking at you and you are looking at me with a blank face. Like, what is she saying? You know, there needs to be an interpretation if it’s a ministry. But not all tongues is ministry. There’s the category of public ministry. There’s the second category of private personal ministry. And when it’s private personal, it’s between you and God. And let me show you. Go here. I think I do have this somewhere in my notes and we’ll come to it. But go to 1 Corinthians 14. 1 Corinthians 14, verse 2. For anyone who speaks in a tongue does not speak to men but to God. Now right there, that’s the verse about private personal. And you can also call it prayer tongue. It’s your prayer tongue. Now, when you’re praying, who do you pray to? God. So who’s listening? God. Now, does God need an interpreter? Then there needs to be no interpretation because he understands. You see, there’s your personal private tongue, which is prayer. And you’re talking to God. God doesn’t need interpretation. He understands. He understands your prayer. So no interpretation is necessary. But when it’s in the church for public ministry to the body of Christ, then there should be interpretation so that the body of Christ can understand. So if you’re talking to God, no interpretation necessary. If you’re talking to people, then interpretation is necessary. And it’s public versus personal private prayer. All right. So we’re going to focus on and we’re talking tonight about the personal private prayer tongues, because that’s the part that is for you. The public is for everybody else. It’s ministry. It’s to minister to somebody. The armor. Yeah. You’re thinking of Ephesians chapter six, putting on the full armor of God. Let’s look at that. Ephesians chapter six. Verse 18, and pray in the spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. And there are people and teachers, which I can see it is talking about in verse 13, put on the full armor of God. And then it starts talking about the belt of truth, the breastplate of righteousness, your feet fit with readiness of the gospel of peace, your shield of faith, the helmet of salvation, the sword of the spirit. And then verse 18 says, and. and pray in the spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. Well, that can include tongues, but all kinds of prayers is also prayers of petition, prayers of faith, prayers of authority, you know, all kinds of prayer. So prayer actually in general, including unknown tongues, tongues, and in your known language, prayer in general is a weapon. It goes right with the sword of the spirit, which is the word of God and praying. So those are your weapons. The rest of them are more defensive. You put on the belt and the breastplate and the helmet. Those are all defensive in the shield. And that’s defensive. Those are all defensive. But then it gives you two offensive weapons. Take up the sword of the spirit and pray. Those are your two offensive weapons in the spirit and prayer and all kinds of prayer that could include your prayer in tongues because praying in tongues can thwart the purposes and plans of the enemy. God can intervene and disrupt prayer. What Satan is trying to do. And tear down. Principalities and powers. Tongues is powerful. We’re going to get to more of what it can do. But then you also pray with other prayers. Prayers of faith. Prayers of agreement. Prayer of authority. And these kind of prayers. But just take up prayer and the word. And those are your offensive weapons. Amen. What you just heard was the continuation of a message that I preached in our victorious faith services called the baptism in the Holy Spirit and the benefits of speaking in tongues. And we will continue this message again tomorrow. So join me again tomorrow. And remember, God loves you. You are blessed and highly favored by the Lord.