Many people wonder why God would do something so unusual as to give us a new tongue. As Jesus stated in Mark 16, believers would speak in new tongues. Why is this necessary? Is there a purpose? The answer is “Yes.” Words are powerful containers. God spoke the world into existence by His words. Proverbs 18:21 says, “Death and life is in the power of the tongue; they that love it will eat the fruit thereof.” This is how important and powerful words are; they are the difference between life and death. Jesus said in Matthew 12:34, “Out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks.” The word “heart” in the Greek is “cardia”, which literally means the center of the being or the production center of a person. What we meditate and think on ends up becoming the words that we speak. Those words then create the world that we live in.

The problem is that after man fell in the garden, he received a revelation that contained good and evil. From that day, man’s judgment has been flawed and therefore our words can as easily carry death and life. James says that the tongue is an unruly evil full of deadly poison, that with it we bless God and curse our brother. He also states that every beast of the earth has been tamed, but no man can tame the tongue. What that means is that no man can tame his old nature. When Christ came, He gave us a new nature, but our old nature is still in our soul. In John 3, Jesus said that we are born again and since it is our spirit, our spirit has the new nature, which is the Christ nature. Our soul is still affected by the old nature; therefore we have the power to speak destructive words even though Christ’s nature is within us.

So God, in His amazing wisdom, gave us a new tongue that could not be affected by the old nature. When a person speaks in an unknown tongue, the Scripture says in 1 Corinthians 14 that no man understands, including the man speaking. Anything you can understand you will judge by your old nature. When you speak in tongues, you speak directly from your spirit, bypassing the old nature and releasing words of life from your spirit out of your mouth. These are God’s words. They are holy and they are righteous. They are full of power and life. Even as they go through you, they transform you. As it says in 1 Corinthians, when you speak in an unknown tongue, you speak mysteries. This is how God wants to reveal the mysteries of His kingdom to us.

Prophecy is an utterance from God that comes to man, is then spoken through man for man. Revelation 19:10 says, “Prophecy reveals the Spirit of Jesus Christ.” Prophecy edifies or builds up those who hear it. Prophecy is not a word of knowledge or a word of wisdom, as is spoken of in 1 Corinthians 12:8 where God has given the exact knowledge of the present or the future. Prophecy is more generalized, but it does reveal secrets that are in our heart without being as exact as a word of knowledge. In 1 Corinthians 14:23-24, we can see that the whole church can both speak in tongues and prophecy. Every member of the body of Christ has access to the Spirit of prophecy and the benefits of prophecy. Any gift that comes from God is a benefit to us and we should seek it. The church needs prophecy and the church needs prophets to bring the greater gifts. God Bless you in your search for the truth.

Most people can agree that financial lack is a demonic thing, that poverty is demonic. Many people are unaware that the devil can do nothing unless he is given a place, and that much of our financial lack is simply a lack of wisdom. Any person who follows the principles of wisdom as listed in the Proverbs will find himself not only delivered from lack, but also living in a financial abundance. God’s promises do not lie.
Having been a pastor for 25 years, I have watched many people blame their lack on the devil when the reality was that they simply lacked wisdom. It is funny how believers and non-believers who are wealthy all seem to have the same kind of habits. They save, invest, and study what to do with their money before they do it. They then take action and make the right decisions the majority of the time. Breaking free from poverty is not difficult, but breaking free from the habits of poverty is very difficult. Most of us have not been trained on how to walk in abundance. Therefore, we do what we have always done, what we have been trained to do.
To make changes you must study the Proverbs daily, create new habits that produce new results, and stop blaming the devil for your lack. You must take responsibility, go to God sincerely, and he will bless you and cause you to prosper. 3John 2 says, “Beloved I pray above all things that thou mayest prosper and be in health even as thy soul prospers.” This is the will of God for you, Amen.

Many people wonder why people pray for the sick. Is there a reason, a scriptural reason? The answer is “Yes.” In Mark 16, Jesus stated that one of the signs of a believer was that they would lay hands on the sick and that they would recover. Curing sickness and disease is an integral part of the gospel in the New Testament. Wherever Jesus preached the Gospel of the Kingdom, He healed the sick. This was his “M.O”. Acts 10:38 says, “God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Ghost and with power: who went about doing good, and healing all that were oppressed of the devil; for God was with Him.” (LOOK IT UP) Scripture declares Jesus wants to heal the sick. In 1Peter 2:24, it shows us that Jesus died on the cross for our sins, but in a separate act He bore stripes on His back to heal our bodies. Healing is a physical manifestation of the love of God to human beings, His children. I could go on and on, but we wouldn’t have enough space. This column would turn into books.

Many people say that the things Jesus and disciples did have passed away. They believe that there are no more healings, no more miracles, and no more prophecy. Paul spoke to us in 2 Timothy Chapter 3 and told us that these people would arise in the end times, people who denied God’s power. 2 Timothy 3:1-5 speaks of terrible times in the last days and the worst of those things would be people having a form of Godliness, denying the power thereof. Godliness without power is a lie, a fairytale. It is irrelevant truth, which means it is not truth at all, but rather a lie. Paul said in 1 Corinthians 2:1-5 that, “He (Jesus) did not come with enticing words of man’s wisdom, but in demonstration of the Holy Spirit and of Power that your faith should not rest on the wisdom of men, but in the power of God.” There are many self-deceived people who believe that because of their lack of ability to produce healing miracles, cast out devils or speak in tongues, that these things are not part of the Gospel. Their experience, in their mind is the gospel; therefore in the highest form of arrogance, they deny God’s power. That is why Paul told us to turn away from these kinds of people. Jesus trained His disciples to do exactly what He did, and they in turn trained their disciples to do what they did. There is no difference between us and them, except for 2,000 years. Christ is the same today as He was 2,000 years ago. He hasn’t changed.

The first thing you must do is to determine whether the dream has come from your subconscious or from God. Many people have dreams based on what they have been thinking about. A dream that comes from God is much more vivid, more detailed and reveals something defiant from the past that needs to be dealt with, or the future that is yet to come. It is revealed so that when it does come, you don’t miss God and go another direction. When you interpret a dream, the first question you must ask is, “Who is the dream for?” Is it for me or is it for someone else? If the dream is for someone else, what part do you play? If the dream is for you, is it clearly stated what has been shown to you or is it in a parable? God will give things in parables that you are not quite yet ready to understand. This causes you to ponder and think upon it, thus preparing your heart to receive the answer. After you have had a certain amount of dreams, you will be able to determine the ones that are of God and the ones that come from your subconscious. You will also understand that the dreams that come from God will surely come to pass, unless God is giving you a warning so that you may avoid something from coming to pass.