Sermon Tone Analysis

Introduction

Greetings & Welcome

I grew up in a conservative, traditional Baptist home.

My father was a minister of music and, later, in another church, he became a deacon.

Our church wasn’t a large, megachurch, though it was large for our small, college town in Southwest Arkansas.

It was a proper Baptist church that never strayed far from proper Baptist ways.

I have a twin brother and this is probably what we looked like as we sang in the youth choir in our Baptist church...

I recall the controversy that boiled up when people began to clap along to certain songs or get too boistrous in their foot-tapping as the church choir sang a special.

I also recall the strange feeling of dread when a particularly moving song made me want to lift up my hands in praise.

I recall looking upon myself with suspicion for wanting such a thing, as if I was seeking the attention or fearing the judgment of those around me.

I recall peeking around to see if anybody else was feeling spiritual in those moments (they generally weren’t showing it though, those that were, we jokingly called “Bapticostals”).

When I was a teen, my older brother married a Pentecostal girl and he started going to her church.

My fellow pastor and former missionary friend, Joe Powell, used to say that “meeting a girl has the power to change a man’s religion.”

I suppose that there’s some truth in that.

I remember at one point—I might have been in High School or College—my brother invited me and my twin brother to a concert or a revival or some form of meeting at their church out in the piney woods of Arkansas.

Well, let’s just say that this traditional Baptist boy hadn’t ever seen anything quite like what he saw that night.

We probably looked like this that night as we saw people jumping and hollering in that country Pentecostal church...

And then as the night went on, we may have looked more like this...

I have gotten over my fear of lifting my hands in praise.

I realize now that I may have been infected with some of the legalism that existed in my old church and I certainly have broadened my exposure to the variety of ways that people enter into a worshipful experience with Father God.

I have worshiped in all manner of churches in Africa and South America.

I have worshiped in Catholic and Presbyterian churches, Pentecostal churches and Methodist churches.

I have worshiped in small churches and large churches.

I have found that it helps to have a good understanding of Scripture.

The Apostle Paul gave the young missionary pastor, Timothy, some advice in his first letter...

I will admit that there are things about the Holy Spirit that still confound my proper Baptist sensibilities.

But I try now to approach these Pentecostal mysteries with a bit of grace, rather than outright suspicion.

The Day of Pentecost

I’ve told you several times in our study of the Holy Spirit that Jesus promised he would ask God to send a Counselor...

And we can see the record of this in Acts 2...

[pray]

Our text explains the initial empowering of Christians by the Holy Spirit, as promised by Christ to his disciples.

In this case, we see an empowering of the gift of tongues.

The truth is that there are many different kinds of gifts.

When we look back at our base text, the gift of known tongues being spoken by people who had no reason to be speaking these different languages prompted the question: “What does this mean?”

Some of the bystanders mocked them saying, “They’re drunk on new wine.”

But that certainly wouldn’t explain how these believers were speaking languages that were unknown to them.

And they weren’t simply babbling.

They were “declaring the magnificent acts of God in [their] own tongues.”

They were proclaiming the Gospel message in such a way that it could be understood by others and spread to other nations and cultures.

I believe that this moment was a pivotal moment in the spread of the gospel of Jesus Christ beyond the walls of Jerusalem into the known world.

Many of these people who heard the gospel in their own language believed and became devout and active Christians.

They took the Good News home to their friends and family.

In the following passage, we can see that the Apostle Peter took advantage of this event to proclaim clearly the gospel message.

He told them about the “pouring out of the Spirit on all people.”

He was quoting a prophecy from the minor prophet, Joel, regarding the dissemination of the spiritual gifts...

Our text, in Acts 2, addresses only one of the gifts, speaking in unknown languages.

There are many spiritual gifts that we can identify in the New Testament record.

However, there is no a single definitive list of spiritual gifts recorded in Scripture.

There are three key texts that tell us what we know about the spiritual gifts: Romans 12; 1 Corinthians 12; and 1 Peter 4. There are others, but these are the main texts.

And these lists are debated and discussed.

We’re not going to debate the list of gifts or their merit today, or even during the course of this series.

There is some room for interpretation and discussion in how these gifts are used in the local church.

Our position here is that the spiritual gifts exist and many of them are active and necessary in the life of the church.

As a church body, FBC Pharr experiences many of the benefits of the healthy use of the spiritual gifts within our local context.

Jesus Promised These Spiritual Gifts to His Disciples

If we back up to read the broader text from John 14, we can see that Jesus made great promises to his disciples regarding the Spiritual Gifts.

Now, just because Jesus says that he will do whatever we ask, does not give us the right to demand things of God.

That would be a silly position to take, however, some people still think they can make demands of God.

Jesus is clear to add the stipulation here that the request be made in his name.

This is so important that he said it twice.

That being said, we cannot just tag on the phrase “in Jesus’ name” to sprinkle magic pixie dust over our request and make it more palatable to God.

All of our requests should line up with the will of the Father and be of benefit to his work and beneficial for the common good of the local body of believers.

Jesus went on to say this...

This Counselor, is the Holy Spirit, the one who we have identified previously as the paraklete (Gr.), the advocate, helper, and counselor who draws us to God, holds us close to God, and equips us for God’s service.

I. What are the Spiritual Gifts?

Let’s take a few moments to look at a quick overview of the spiritual gifts that we can see in Scripture.

The Miraculous Gifts

Tongues: Speaking in either human languages unknown to the speaker or in some unknown “heavenly” language (1 Corinthians 12:10, 28, 30).

Interpretation: the ability to understand and provide interpretation of some language unknown to the hearer (1 Corinthians 12:10, 30).

Miracles: the ability to perform works that defy common expectations or somehow supercede the normal or natural order (1 Corinthians 12:10, 28).

Healing: the ability to cure or heal a person of some infirmity, sickness, or injury through supernatural means (1 Corinthians 12:9, 28).

These miraculous gifts are sometimes hotly contested as having ceased with the age of the apostles appointed by Jesus.

While cessationists believe that the miraculous gifts have ceased, continuists believe that these gifts are still active in today’s age.

Just as some early church historians documented the cessation of these gifts, others documented their continuation.

I’m not going to tell you what you should believe as there are very good arguments on each side of this debate.

I personally believe that these gifts were elevated in the early life of the church and were particularly active when Jesus was alive and active in ministry on this earth.

I also believe that God can and does activate these spiritual gifts when it serves his purposes.

I also believe that as we near the time for Jesus’ return, we will see a resurgence of these gifts as we have never seen before in our age.

That being said, these miraculous gifts can also cause a lot of confusion and should be practiced sparingly in the life of the believer and in the context of the local church.

Enabling Gifts

Faith: This gift is an exceptional reliance upon and trust in God (1 Corinthians 12:9).

Discernment: Discernment is sound judgment in distinguishing between good and evil.

Understanding and recognition of spiritual realities.

The ability to recognize spiritual activity that is beyond the ability of others [Closely related to wisdom] (1 Corinthians 12:10).

Discernment is a beautiful gift that gives the gifted believer an insight into others that can sometimes seem eerie or spooky to those of us who are not gifted in this area.

Speaking a Word of Wisdom: The ability to understand and speak scriptural truth in such a way that it skillfully applies to a situation (1 Corinthians 12:8).

Speaking Word of Knowledge: Understanding truth with an insight that can only come through revelation from God [Closely related to wisdom] (1 Corinthians 12:8).

Some charismatic/pentecostal traditions view these so-called “word gifts” as the Holy Spirit speaking through one believer to another or as being a word given directly on behalf of God.

These usage of the word gifts come dangerously close to denying the sufficiency of Scripture and are treated, at times, as superceding the wisdom or knowledge that can be found in scripture.

I believe there is a way to communicate God’s wisdom and knowledge to a fellow believer, but anyone who boldly proclaims that “God told me to tell you...” might automatically be viewed with suspicion.

This kind of gift should be handled very carefully or it can easily step into a form of spiritual abuse, that is not beneficial to the hearer.

Corporate Gifts (for the church body):

Speaking Gifts

Teaching: the ability to understand and make clear the truth of God’s Word with simplicity and accuracy (Romans 12:7; 1 Corinthians 12:28).

Evangelism: passionately leading others to the saving knowledge of Christ.

Believers with this gift often feel compelled to speak about Christ and salvation.

(Ephesians 4:11).

Evangelism is a task that every believer should practice, though some are more gifted at it than others.

Those with this gift will be passionate about sharing their faith.