JOHN & ACTS

It is Monday morning in Indiana, and I will be heading off to Hyles Anderson College to teach this morning and this week.  I will preach at Chapel tomorrow and I hope to be a blessing to some young people.  I missed the good people of Grand View yesterday, but enjoyed being in the services of First Baptist Church of Hammond.  It has been over twenty years since I was in one of their Sunday services, and enjoyed observing the services.  As I read in John & Acts this morning, here is what spoke to me: 1) SO MUCH IN SUCH LITTLE TIME-  It struck me that in John 13 we have the last Supper, and then we have one of the longest sections of teaching come from Jesus on the very night He would be betrayed.  They leave the upper room in chapter 13, but then Jesus teaches them on the way to the betrayal in chapters 14, 15, 16, and 17.  It is in chapter 18 He is betrayed.  Now Matthew, Mark, and Luke have the last supper and the betrayal in the same chapter, but John has four good sized chapters in between.  Much teaching from Jesus is going on here, and it is all power packed chapters.  I hope you will read them keeping in mind that Jesus is walking to the betrayal in the garden as He is talking with His disciples.  2) MANY INFALLIBLE PROOFS- In Acts 1:3, this is what the scriptures tell us.  Jesus proved Himself alive by many infallible proofs for forty days being seen of men.  John later tells us in I John, that our eyes saw, and our hands have handled, the Word of Life... Jesus!  Peter talks about hearing, seeing, and handling Jesus, but the more sure word is the Word of God given to us.  The resurrection was carefully proven by Jesus to His disciples before they began their great start of sharing the Gospel on the day of Pentecost. 3) TONGUES- What does the Bible say about tongues?  Well, there is what is called:  The Law of First Mention in Scripture  Interpretation that says that the first time a thing is mentioned it sets the foundation for all of the other times to build upon.  In Acts 2:4-11, we see the foundation.  vs. 4- "All filled with the Holy Ghost, and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance."  vs. 6-"and were confounded, because that every man heard them speak in his own language."  vs. 8-"And how hear we every man in our own tongue, where in we were born?"  vs. 11- "we do hear them speak in our tongues the wonderful works of God".  Here is the teaching: a. Tongues were a language  vs. 6,8, 11 b. Tongues were miraculous vs. 4 c. Tongues were a foreign language spoken to men about the wonderful things of God vs.11 d. Tongues had a purpose.  1Co 14:22  "Wherefore tongues are for a sign," e. The Tongues were all in Gentile languages  vs. 6 and vs. 9-11a list the different nations. f. These men who were there, were Jews who lived outside of Jerusalem  (vs. 5 says- "And there were dwelling at Jerusalem Jews, devout men, out of every nation under heaven." ) g. It was not JUST for sharing the Gospel, but every Jew knew Hebrew!!  It was a SIGN that the Gospel was open to the Gentiles, and tongues were used UNTIL the Jewish Christian finally understood this, and then tongues ceased!  It never was a HEAVENLY LANGUAGE or a PRAYER LANGUAGE, but a TOOL to show the JEWS that the GOSPEL was for ALL PEOPLE!!  This is the meaning of tongues according to the BIBLE.  Well, I've got to go for today!  Have a blessed day!  Pastor Mike Mutchler