In this sermon, the speaker emphasizes the importance of preaching the word of God in different languages without the need for an interpreter. He mentions that he can go to Queens to obtain transcripts in various languages and assist in communicating with people in their own language. The speaker also acknowledges the power of words and works that bring conviction and conversion. He discusses the foundation that has been laid and mentions the upcoming topic of exploring the gift of faith. The sermon concludes with a reference to a hymn and a mention of various influential teachers and their impact on the speaker's understanding of the Bible.

...subject this evening, and we're beginning what I call the long trail into the truth about tongues, this great subject of tongues. And of course I want to put the introduction to it properly this evening. There's a great lot about tongues in this letter to the Corinthians, and I want to have a look at the church that was encouraged. So we're commencing in 1 Corinthians this evening, and we're in the very first chapter, and I want to do what I'm calling the cardiograph of the church. And I think you all know about cardiographs just now. The word cardio means heart, and the word graph means writing. And when the specialist brings you in and straps you up to a cardiograph machine, you will know that that machine will take every movement of your heart, and it will write it down, and there'll be no mistakes about it. So we're going to have a look at the cardiograph of this church, just to find out what the people were like, and know a few things about them before we get along to where we should be at. It always thrills me to see Paul commencing these letters of his in the New Testament, and there are 14 letters from Paul in our New Testament, and 13 of them begin with the word Paul, not Dr. Paul, nor the very reverend Dr. Paul either, just Paul. That's all. Paul never fooled around with this ecclesiastical nonsense that we see. He was just a very humble follower of the Lord Jesus, and he opened his letters like this, Paul, just as plain as that. Then he said Paul called to be an apostle. Yes, this was the great gift the Lord gave him, because you know, an apostle was a gift to the church. In fact, the church was built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets. He says, Paul called to be an apostle of Jesus Christ through the will of God. And Sothenes, our brother, you know, he was a great character, and all the Lord was using him and bringing this inspired message through him to the Corinthians. He names his dear brother, who may have helped him in some way, and he's writing on to the church of God, which is atoned for them that are sanctified in Christ Jesus, and for any sakes don't get off the deep end about sanctified here. A schoolmaster argued with me once. He said, do you see this word sanctified? It means the second blessing. I said, Master, you need to go back to school again. It's a pity of you. He said, that's what the word means. All right then, it means this, that this church that turns, these saints that turn, they've got the second blessing. Is that what it means? Yes, he said. All right, come to the third chapter to you see. Have a look at it now. Paul's writing to them and he's saying, and I brethren could not speak unto you as unto spiritual, but as unto carnal. He says in verse three, we are yet carnal. Is that the second blessing? My how stupid we can get. Oh no, it's got nothing at all to do with second blessing. These saints here, they were believers. I know they were believers. Paul makes us very clear about that. They were indwelt by the Spirit of God. He said in one of the chapters, know ye not that your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost which is in you, although they were carnal. It's true that the Spirit was in them, but it's equally true they had got the Spirit, but the Spirit hadn't really got them. You see, when you believe and place your trust in the Lord Jesus, by the one offering he made on the cross, that one offering for sin, he has set you apart. Ye are sanctified by the offering of the body of Jesus. One for all. It's when he talks about the sin offering, he talks about the bodies of those beasts whose blood is brought into the sanctuary by the right beast for sin. He talks about them being burned without the tent. It says, wherefore Jesus that he might sanctify the people with his own blood. I'm set apart tonight because my faith is in Christ. I'm set apart tonight because I'm depending on the blood. Therefore in that sense I am sanctified. I'm not talking about being holy. You can have all that and be carnal. All this book says, I hope you're learning. Don't be arguing with the book now, or you'll get no blessing. They were sanctified but they were carnal. Is it quite clear? Yes, we've got to see that, you know. And he says, unto the church of God which is at current for them that are saintified in Christ Jesus called to be saints. And the two B's there are in italics. Just called saints, that's all. Of course if you're set apart in that sense you're a saint. It's the very same root word of sanctified. With all that's in every place call upon the name of Jesus Christ our Lord, both theirs and ours. If even we two here tonight, we believers from so many different communions, you know, we're set apart like they are. All that's in every place call upon the name of Jesus Christ our Lord. And he said to them, Grace be unto you and peace from God our Father and from the Lord Jesus Christ. I thank my God always on your behalf. And they said, it's really, he knew they were carnal. He knew they were fighting. But you know he could thank God for the grace that had saved them at least. I think we ought to always say that about one another. Maybe you'll not agree with everything I say but I hope you'll have enough grace to know that grace saved me. He says, I thank my God always in your behalf for the grace of God which is given you by Jesus Christ. That in everything ye are enriched by him. The grace that saved them was the grace that had enriched them. And they were enriched, yea, in everything, in all utterance and in all knowledge. Even as the testimony of Christ was confirmed in you, so that ye come behind in no guest. This was a church that was enriched with gift, enriched by God. So we want to get that into our minds as we think about the church at certain. They were saved. It's true that carnality raised its head more than once. Yet it's equally true that grace had saved them and grace had enriched them. They had come behind in no guest. They had many gifts. But it's equally true about this, verse 10. Now I beseech you brethren by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ that ye all speak the same thing. That there be no divisions among you but that ye be perfectly joined together in the same mind and in the same judgment. For it hath been declared unto me of you my brethren by them which are of the house of glory that there are contentions among. You know when Paul's laying a charge he's not afraid to say who told. It has always been the principle with me as I helped to rule this church. I'm one of the rulers here. If somebody comes and says to me I want to tell you about John So-and-so, I said all right but you'll go with me to John So-and-so while you say it. And I assure you I'm not too much bothered with folk coming because I just tackle it like that. If you have anything to say about John So-and-so you might as well say it just to his face when I'm there. And very often you know I've never no bothered. And when Paul was speaking his text he says I'll tell you what you're doing and I'll tell you who told me. It was the house of glory. And of course this was true of this church at Cairns. This proves their canality. You know verse 12 says now this I say that every one of you said I am of Paul. And there was another group who said I am of Apollos and another group that said I of Cephas and another group I of Claston. Here they were standing in factions in the assembly. They were divided by canality. You can see they were enriched by God. They were divided by canality. They were carnal Christians here. Let's flip over because we only want to get the cardiograph. Let's flip over to chapter five. And this is what Paul had to say here in verse one. It is reported commonly that there is fornication among you. And such fornication as is not so much as men among the Gentiles that one should have his father's wife. You see this church while they were saved by grace and while they were set apart by the blood of Christ and while they were enriched with all gifts by God they were divided by canality and they were blighted with fornication. And they weren't doing anything about it you know. And when the church is blighted and it's commonly reported everybody knows about it then it needs to be dealt with because one rotten apple in the barrel can fix the rest. And that's the time when you know where the leaders are and what they're made of because they sometimes need to take a fellow or a lass aside and say listen you. And sometimes we need to ask for the resignation because fornication cannot run rampant. But that's what it was doing at times remember. So you want to be careful about this church. There's a lot of carnal Christians here. They're divided by factions. I'm not a good example for anybody. There's fornication in them. Don't tell me they were spiritual because you'll bother getting it over to me. I'll tell you Paul said I could not speak unto you as unto spiritual for we don't need to follow too closely you know. We need to read the cardiograph very correctly. You see in chapter six if we were to take it up they were going to law the one with the other out of the same assembly. He says in verse one dare any of you having a matter against another go to the law before the unjust not before the saints. And I think the original says how dare you go to law against one another before the unsafe. So an assembly that's carnal and blighted by fornication and who are so at such a low ebb as they're going even to law with one another you would need to be careful in following closely wouldn't you. I think you'd better see them. That's why I thought we'd better do this cardiograph. You know when it comes to chapter seven it's all about marriage and I don't need to go into that so much. I'll get murdered going home if I go into this. How a man should live at home with his wife and what's expected of his wife and all the rest of it. Yes you know this church we want to see it properly. You can see their carnality and you can see the fornication that was there and you can see this terrible thing of them going to law before the unsaved church members going to law. I know a Baptist church in America and the choir master he's been married seven times. He just took them one after another out of the choir and they're all in the choir yet. I don't think he would reign long in this place. I don't think he deserves to reign long anywhere. Surely that's disgusting that a man leading the praises of the lord has been married to seven of these women in the choir and he's probably going to dump this seventh one and get another one soon. I don't think it would be a good church to follow would it? For this is the Corinthians and in the eighth and ninth and tenth chapters he's talking to them about meat offered to idols. There was a great lot of going on about these meats that were offered to idols. Some of them were so holy that they couldn't eat it and others they could devour it all right and there's a great long stretch about that. And when you come to chapter 11 it has to do with women's hair and women's hats and women's heads. I love to take a night on hats. I'll tell you ladies you need a tin hat on that night so you wouldn't. Sometimes I think that some of you don't know what God says and I think you don't want to know. Let me tell you it's important you are not allowed to walk on the word of God just as you like and I mustn't get up a side alley or I'll be all night. You need to have both hair and hats. Remember. So this is the church you know. You can see it can't you? It's carnal. You can see the fornication that was going on. A young fellow was having sex with his father's wife. You can see them going to law. You can see that they knew nothing about marriage. You can see how they argued about meat. You can see what Paul had to teach them. And then we come to this great twelfth chapter. I think I needed to do that you know. I needed to look at the cardiograph of the church if I'm going to be fair to the subject. And now we are changing from the cardiograph of the church to the galaxy of the gifts. Because there was quite a number of gifts all clustered together. And we are at chapter twelve now. And at verse one. Now concerning spiritual gifts, brethren, I would not have you ignorant. I wonder did he think they were a little bit ignorant about some of these things. You know that you were Gentiles carried away onto these dumb idols. Once upon a time you know they did worship idols even as you were led. Wherefore I give you to understand that no man speaking by the Spirit of God calls Jesus accursed. I wonder did he know something. Because I can tell you and I think you would know without any debate about it. That if the Spirit of God was leading a man to speak he would never say anything against the Lord Jesus. That's one thing sure. And for Robert Anderson who wrote a book about tongues called The Flame of Fire, he was a very careful preacher you know. He was made a servant because he was the founder of Scotland Yard. That's where they got Scotland Yard from, a good old brethren believer called Robert Anderson. And he was made a servant of that. He could speak I think twelve, some people say fourteen languages perfectly. And he had a great interest in this subject that we are after. And he went round a lot of meetings to try to find somebody getting up on Sunday morning and speaking in a language which the gift means of course, as we shall see. And in a little back street in London he found a young man getting up one Sunday morning and speaking in perfect Chinese. Young fellow that had personally been to school. And in perfect Chinese he blasted the Lord's name. He bound Christ's name and cursed Christ's blood. That's not of God. Paul's just saying to this church this evening, he's saying, wherefore I give you to understand that no man speaking by the Spirit of God calleth Jesus accursed. You would know that as well as me. Then you might listen for years and not know what was being said you see. That would be your danger. So we have every right to be very careful with what we're thinking about. Wherefore I give you to understand that no man speaking by the Spirit of God calleth Jesus accursed. And that no man can say that Jesus is the Lord by the Holy Ghost. It is the Holy Ghost that helps each one of us to exhort him in the very highest. And then he's beginning to talk about gifts now in the church. Now there are diversities of gifts, different kinds of gifts. It is always the same Spirit who gives and who moves and who helps. There are differences of administrations, not the same Lord. There are diversities of operations, but it is the same God which worketh all and all. And I think you can see the Trinity at work there. But the manifestation of the Spirit is given to every man to profit withal. The Holy Ghost has something for you to do. Then we come to this galaxy of gifts. For to one person in the church, one member of the body, for to one is given by the Spirit the word of wisdom. Now that gift was in the early church. You see for quite a long time when the church met on the first day of the week, let's remember please that they had no New Testament. I think sometimes we forget. Let's remember they had no hymn book. Let's remember that they had difficulties because the most of them were slaves and the Sabbath day was on Saturday. And the day they wanted to remember the Lord was the first day. And they had bother getting to the meeting sometimes. I think we've got to get the thing right you know. It wasn't just a building like this and it wasn't an organ like ours and it wasn't a whole lot of things. They had no New Testament. But God saw to the needs. There would always be one in the assembly who could stand up and give a word of wisdom. Now that gift is gone. They don't need a man now. We need the book now. It's completed. All that God wants to say to you is within the covers and there's no adding to it. But the gift was very necessary just then. To one is given by the Spirit the word of wisdom. To another the word of knowledge. And you know this gift of knowledge, Paul talked about it you see. You don't tell me when God has given us everything that we need to know that there can be somebody to tell us something more. Surely it would be adding to it. We only need teachers to dig it out for us. It's all here. The trouble is that the best of us are lame. For to one is given by the Spirit the word of wisdom. To another the word of knowledge. To another faith. Now that's not the faith that you believed with. That's the gift of faith. Remember the faith that you believed with and the gift of faith are two different things. I think that old George Muller had the gift of faith even in our day because old Muller got six million pounds for the orphan homes and he never asked a man for a penny. He just talked to God. And I'll tell you this if you read the story of Muller's orphan homes and they're filled and you go away and try to do it you'll make a fool of yourself. For you wouldn't have the gift of faith. For me either. When Hudson Taylor founded the China Inland Mission I believed this man had the gift of faith. And if you try doing the same you'll fail. We read these stories and we try to work our lives into them. You'll need the gift first. And I don't think you have it and I don't know anybody who has just now. What's this? We're at verse 9. We're looking at this galaxy to another faith by the same spirit. To another the gifts of healing by the same spirit. And there is an S there. And it's never called the gift of healing. It's always called the gift of healing. Because there's two things implied here. But I'll tell you about them just after a little while. We're just looking at the galaxy. To another the working of miracles. And I hope you're able to differentiate now between the gifts of healing and the working of miracles because they were both different. You see I get into trouble with some of these so-called healers at times. But when I say something enough for anything don't think that I don't believe that God can heal. I would be stupid if I didn't believe that God. I know that God can heal. But I also know that God can heal miraculously. Yes. And I know that God can heal surgically. Yes. And I know that God can heal medically. And I know there are times when God's not good to heal. There are folks going to die you know. And it happens to be the healers die too. Let's differentiate. I can't take up all these gifts or we'll never get to where we're going. To another the working of miracles. To another prophecy. This was one of the great gifts in the early church. You see the apostles and prophets nearly always put together. You see the prophet was the man who could stand up on Lord's day morning and face the whole assembly and he could bring the word of the Lord to that assembly to edify them or to comfort them or to exhaust them when they had no New Testament to read out of. Although they were then a New Testament church. But when the New Testament was completed the prophecy faded away. Surely it's the teaching of the book we need isn't it? Or are you trying to instruct me that God hasn't said it all? You will never get that over to me. I believe the book's complete and there's nothing to be added. And the prophets are the day. And in a moment we will be looking at the apostles and prophets. You know the church was built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets and you don't carry the foundation up to the roof you know. You leave it there left behind. But look at this galaxy. To another the working of miracles, to another prophecy, to another descending of spirits. That's how Peter knew that Simon the sorcerer was not right in heart. He looked at this man and just blinked his eyes. He said you're in the gall of bitterness. You're not ranked with God at all. I'm not able to do that. I haven't got this. People can bluff me. Just a common 5A. Happened to be a teacher of the book and a preacher of the gospel. And you could bluff me as easy as you like but you'll never bluff God. But you couldn't have bluffed Peter when Ananias and Sapphira came in and did the big show and said we sold the farm and given it all to you. Peter said you're a liar. I wouldn't be able to say that. I wouldn't know. If you can see these gifts can't you? To another the working of miracles, to another prophecy, to another descending of spirits, to another diverse kinds of tongues. There's different kinds of languages as we're going to learn. And to another reinterpretation of tongues. Oh yes these were gifts. Of course they were gifts. They were gifts from the early church. Quite simple I think. So you've got the revelation of all these gifts. Now let's go down the chapter a little bit. Let's read here just for a moment. Verse 11. But all these worketh that one unto self in spirit, dividing to every man separately as he will. For as a body is one and hath many members, and all the members of that one body being members are one body, so also is Christ. For by one spirit are we all baptized into one body. If you're saved whether you're carnal or not, you've got the baptism of the Spirit haven't you? Otherwise you're not in the body. That's how you're put into the body. Whether we be Jews or Gentiles, whether we be bond or free, and have been all made to drink into one spirit, for the body is not one member, but many. They're all baptized together into the body, these individual members. See verse 27 now. Now ye are the body of Christ. That's what happened on the day of Pentecost. The Holy Ghost came down and took the individual followers of Christ, they were all individual followers up to that moment, and baptized them into one body, the church of Christ began on the day of Pentecost. Ye are the body of Christ and members in particular. And God hath set some in the church first apostles. That's a great thing to remember. These were the first gifts. In fact the church was founded on them, foundation of the apostles. Sometimes my friends who were way out on their millennial limb, on the round me up, he says, you know you're getting worse. I could have told them that with my head falling up, I know about me. He said, you don't seem to realize that the church was in the Old Testament. I know that there was an assembly of saints in the Old Testament, Israel, the nation, I know about that. No, no, no, no, the church. I said, when did it begin now, would you like to come to the spot and let me see who was in Eden's garden? He'd have bothered getting the church into Eden's garden, wouldn't he? They said it was one of the elders and she was one of the deacons and they'd have to wait for some of the saints to come along. But the New Testament church is composed of bishops, don't like the word too well, shepherds would do better, elders is just the same word, and deacons and saints. We hold very tight to that here, you'll need to be saved before you come along here. You won't get in. You wouldn't deserve to get in. If you don't know the Lord, what are you talking about? In the New Testament, it says, the rest do not. They wouldn't dare to come to join the church, they knew better. But we have so much potpourri around us now that the folks think they can be in the church even if they're bookies, rather better here. Yes, I said to the friend, if the church was in the Old Testament, tell me this, how did the apostles get first? Sure, the patriarchs would have been first. You would have to have Abraham or some of those characters in. How did the apostles get first? Because God founded the church on these people. That's the very reason that they had to choose another before the day of Pentecost was come, because Pentecost came in chapter 2 of Acts, and in chapter 1 they had to elect another man to have a solid foundation. Some people say they were too soon, they should have waited on Paul coming. I'll tell you, Paul never thought he was in this world. Paul says when Christ arose, he was seen of 500 brethren, he was seen of James, he was seen of Cephas, he was seen of the 12, then last of all he was seen of me, and he didn't put himself in the 12 at all. Oh no, the apostles were first, and the foundation wasn't broken when the church was founded, you know, they were all there. And watch this, and God has found in the church first apostles, secondarily prophets, of course. When there was no New Testament, they needed these fellows. I believe that the apostles and prophets were gone, and now in the last days what we need? We need teachers. Now, why do you think this place is clouded? Just because I'm a good walker? God help you. No, I believe, I suppose I can say this, I believe that God gave me the gift of opening up this book. There's another hundred more teachers in the land. I have sat many times at the feet of Davy Craig, Scott Craig they're called, and I think the best teacher I ever sat under in this land was Willie Hagan. I sat and frilled and frilled and frilled. Now, I know there are many brethren present tonight, and some of the type boys tweeted him detestably. You think it's a shame when God gives a gift, and some carnal creature tries to strap him up. I think that Dr. Ironside was probably one of the best teachers the world has ever seen in our latter years. So, the teachers come into the picture now. Oh, after that miracles, then gifts of healing, helps, governments, diversities of tongues, and they come last. They've got to a place now around the north of Ireland, where if you mutter in the upper room, you're the whole cheese. I think you should read over this book, you know, instead of being daft. Now comes the question time, the interrogations, watch them. Are all apostles, every member in the body of Christ, are they all apostles? Answer you the question now. Do you know the answer? No, sir. No, they're not all apostles. Watch this again. Are all prophets? No, sir. Are all teachers? No, sir. Are all workers of miracles? No, sir. Have all the gifts of healing? No, sir. Do all speak with tongues under the cloud in the north of Ireland? Yes, sir. You're off your balance. You're not being fair. They want everybody to talk in tongues. If you're not talking in tongues, you're not right. Well, we'll see, won't we? We've got a good book in our hands. I think if you were honest, you would answer the question. No, sir. Do all interpret? No, sir. So we've got the revelation of this galaxy, and now we have listened to these interrogations, and the answer every time, without exception, is no. Now, let's go to Mark's gospel for a moment or two. Mark's gospel, and we're at that last chapter, that sixteenth chapter, and the latter part of this chapter is left out in some of the translations, and with this I don't agree, of course. I know why it's left out, I think. There are difficult questions here, but I don't think that's the way to treat God's Word. I wouldn't tear a bent out of this book for anything. I think this belongs to the Word of God, the inspired Word, and we must keep it. Now, verse 9, we're at Mark's gospel, 16, verse 9. This is the bit they leave out from here to the end. Now, when Jesus was risen early the first day of the week, he appeared first. If anybody ever argues with you about who he appeared first to, you know the answer now. He appeared first to Mary Magdalene. I had an argument about this the other day, somebody who didn't do any reading. God with whom he had cast seven devils, and she went and told them that had been with him. You know who they were, don't you? And they, when they had heard that he was alive and had been seen of her, I want you to get this, believe not. She went and told the apostles. I know that Judas was gone, there were 11 there. She went and told them. I want you to get the word, believe not. Verse 12, after that he appeared in another form unto two of them as they walked and went into the country. The two on the road to Emmaus, you know, they were thrilled, and they went and told it unto the residue. Look it up sometime, residue. It's the 11. Watch what it says about, neither believed they them. These 11 apostles were hard to move. They wouldn't believe Mary, and I'm sure her face was shining. And they wouldn't believe these two, and their hearts must have been burning. Afterward, I think the Lord got fed up with them, afterward he appeared unto the 11 and he got them out. Is that what it says? You're quite all right now. Afterward he appeared unto the 11 as they started to meet, and God braided them with her unbelief. They were 11 unbelieving believers. Dr. James Scoggin wrote a book about unbelieving believers, and the church has told them, yes, they wouldn't believe anything. They believed not them which had seen a master, he was written. Now, when he had dealt with their unbelief, he said unto them, Go ye into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature. He that believeth the gospel you preach, the Christ you present, and is baptized. When he talks about he that believeth and is baptized, is he talking about a believer or a baby? Ah well, you would know. You've all passed 11 plus, and if you haven't, you would know that quite easily. These are believers, not babies. He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved. He that believeth not shall be damned. Oh, look at verse 17 very carefully, And these signs shall follow them that believe. Does that mean that these signs shall follow every believer? Now you want to be careful with this. In my name shall they cast out devils. They shall speak with new tongues, they shall take up serpents, and if they drink any deadly thing, it shall not hurt them. They shall lay hands on the sick, and they shall recover. And there are five signs. These signs shall follow them. Now, let's be absolutely fair about this. If these five signs are to follow every one that believeth, then there's something wrong with a whole bunch of us in this place. I would venture to say there's nobody here that's had these five signs. Does anybody here ever drink, sit in line and look for more? Now, if this is referring to believers, and it says they shall speak with tongues, then there's a contradiction in this book, for over there it says do all speak with tongues, and the answer was no. And you can't have a contradiction, because there are no contradictions in this book. And too often, you see, the thing has been bleached upside down. Remember, he's dealing with unbelieving apostles. Let's get the scene right, and we'll maybe get it all right. It says, verse 14, afterward he appeared unto the eleven. Okay, there's only an eleven here then. Can you see him in the midst of it? There are non-believing bunch, look around each one of them. Peter was there, and John, and all the rest, and then the wouldn't believe a word. Just them talking about Thomas, the whole bunch of them was the same. And after he had upbraided them, and tried to put them right, he commissioned them. He says, now you boys went all the world and preached the gospel. And I'll tell you this, these signs shall follow them that believe among you eleven. Because there's an old translation which says, these signs shall follow them among you that believe. Because even if you were an apostle, and had the signs of an apostle, if you are full of unbelief, you can't do anything without faith, you know. Impossible to please God, I don't care what kind of gift you have. Even if you are the gift of a teacher, even if you're the gift of an evangelist, you'll do no good if you're stuffed full of unbelief. My dear friends, these are the signs of an apostle. And every apostle that's had faith at all, have these five signs. Oh, you follow them through the book, and you'll see. In my name they shall cast out devils, shall they cast out devils. Well, you saw Paul casting out the demon in the woman who followed him when he was at Philippi, the woman with the spirit of divination. And if he cast out the devil, they shall speak with new tongues. Many times Paul spoke in a new language, many times. They shall take up serpents. You remember him gathering sticks at Malta, lighting the fire, and the viper fastened onto his arm, and he should have fallen down dead and swollen up. But he didn't. These five signs belong to apostles, and you're going to mix it up if you don't get it right. Because if you want all the believers to speak with tongues, you're going to put me on a bit into a hex. Do all speak with tongues? No. To one is given the gift, and to another. But the whole five belong to apostles. Yes, let's get this bit quite correct. You know, we want to get this bit absolutely sure, that even in the early days there were false apostles. Let's make any mistakes about that. Let's go to 2 Corinthians for a moment. We're at 2 Corinthians, and we're at chapter 11. This chapter never fails to fascinate me. 2 Corinthians 11. Paul says, Would the God ye could bear with me a little in my folly, and indeed bear with me, for I am jealous over you with godly jealousy. For I have as close to you one husband, that I may present you as a chaste virgin to Christ. But I fear, I'm afraid, lest by any means of the serpent beguile thee, for he believed in the Genesis story. As the serpent beguiled Eve through his subtlety, so your minds should be corrupted. Mind you, he's writing to saints, and he's afraid that their minds might get corrupted. So you have to be very careful, or the devil will do it. He says in verse 5, I suppose I was not a wit behind the very chiefest apostle. Yes, he was an apostle, all right, one born out of due time. Verse 10, Of the truth of Christ is in me, no man shall stop me of this boasting in the regions of the care. Wherefore, because I love you not, God north. But what I do, that I will do, that I may cut off occasion from them which desire occasion, that wherein they glory they may be found even as we are. As we. For such are false apostles, deceitful workers, transforming themselves into the apostles of Christ. And no marvel, for Satan himself is transformed into an angel of light. Therefore it is no great thing if his ministers also be transformed. Paul was warning them that the old devil was going to come along and blossom and corrupt their minds. Then he goes on in this chapter to prove his apostleship through his sufferings, and we'll not look at that, and in the next chapter proving his apostleship through the thorn in the flesh given to him. After he has said all this to them in chapter 12 and verse 11, he says, I am become a fool in glory. He has compelled me, for I ought to have been commended of you. For in nothing am I behind the very chiefest apostles, though I be nothing. Truly the signs of an apostle. That's the bit we want to get the hold of. Where he brought all these signs, the whole five of them, they had seen this with their own eyes. Don't let's make any mistakes about this. These five that are in Mark, that they're all afraid of, these are the signs of an apostle. Not one of them, remember, you need to have the five. Some boys tell me they're apostles. I tell you they can't even read. Now let's skip this bit. We've got the galaxy of the gifts of the sky. I need to have a bit of time now at the tapestry of the tongues. We're just starting now. Boy, you're doing well tonight. Yes, let's go back to the Acts of the Apostles, and we're at the second chapter. The Acts of the Apostles, chapter two, going to have another big week on this, you know, next week, but let's lay the foundation just now. So, chapter two, Acts of the Apostles, verse one. When the day of Pentecost was fully come, they were all with one accord in one place. And suddenly there came a sound from heaven, hours of a rushing mighty wind. And let's get the hours of into perspective. You know, it wasn't a rushing mighty wind. The only way that Luke, Dr. Luke, who writes the Acts of the Apostles, the only way that he can describe it, it's hours off. It's like the sound of a rush. He knew it wasn't a rushing mighty wind. It was hours off. And suddenly there came a sound from heaven, hours of a rushing mighty wind. And it, this noise that he's trying to describe, filled all the house where they were sitting. Let's get the wood sitting properly, and shall we have to roll on the floor now for the Holy Ghost to come? We're just sitting, and even praying, just sitting. That's what the wood doing, sitting. You let go of the wood or you'll not be able to. And there appeared unto them cloven tongues like hours off, fire. It wasn't fire, the only way he can describe it. I hear a lot about fire. It was hours off, fire. And it struck upon each of them, and they were all filled with the Holy Ghost. There is no question about it. They were all filled, every one of them. And they began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit, of course, who was directing affairs, gave them utterance. As some people try to make out of this, that you have to be filled with the Holy Ghost, and the moment you're filled, you'll speak in tongues. I wonder where you got that from. Now, we'll hold it for a moment. Let me go to the fourth chapter, and Peter and John, they have been arrested, and they're standing before the Sanhedrin, it's the old Jewish council. It had seventy-one members, twenty-two old priests on one side. They sat in a half-circle, just in a half-circle like that in the temple, twenty-two priests and twenty-two lawyers, and twenty-two of the old elders of Israel, you staring them in the face, twenty-four of the old elders of Israel, and then the high priest in the center. Stood these two men before them and began to question. It says here, after they had questioned in verse eight, we're in chapter four, verse eight, then Peter, filled with the Holy Ghost, with a grit and a tongue. Oh no, he answered very rationally and sensibly and soberly, and didn't get excited at all. It says, then Peter, filled with the Holy Ghost, said unto them, he wasn't filled now to talk in tongues, he was filled just there and then for to stand up and speak for the Lord. Then Peter, filled with the Holy Ghost, said unto them, ye rules of the people. Now I can tell you that when you're filled with the Holy Ghost and you have to stand before the government or the councillors or the magistrates of the land, you'll have to act like a gentleman. And he did. He said, ye rules of the people and elders of Israel. Not getting excited at all yet, not breaking into tongues, he's filled with the Holy Ghost. He finally said this, if we this day be examined of the good deeds done to the impotent man by what means he has made whole. Be it known unto you all and to all the people of Israel that by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom he crucified, whom God raised from the dead, even by him doth this man stand here before you all. My, that was a big day for Peter. To get to heaven he put the arms round, stood up like a man and talked. Now I'll try, I'll put my tongue to everything we get filled. He talked so well that they had to let him go and he went to his own company down the chapter a bit and they had a prayer meeting. And here's how the prayer meeting ended. We're down the chapter, chapter four, we're at verse thirty-one. And when they had prayed, the place was shaken where they were assembled together and they were all filled with the Holy Ghost and they speak with tongues. Run on your life, speak the word of God with boldness. Oh, don't let's get off on this foot now. Let's go back to chapter two. Says verse four, and they were all filled with the Holy Ghost and began to speak with other tongues. As the Spirit gave the mutterance, and they were dwelling at Jerusalem. That's where they took place, Jews. Bizarre men. Men who were seeking after God. Now let's get this bit very clear. Out of every nation under heaven they had come up for the priest, priest of Pentecost. Jerusalem was bursting at the seams with Jews from every nation. And of course in these nations where they were scattered abroad and where they were brought up, they learned the language of the nation. So there were a lot of nationalities there. All Jews. Don't you forget the word Jews. Because the gift that we are thinking about is a signed gift. And it's a sign to the Jews, but we'll come to that in a moment. These are just Jews. And they're out of every nation under heaven, so there's plenty to pick from. Verse six, now when this was noised abroad, the multitude came together and were confounded. You know, they were sort of frightened. They couldn't understand this. They were amazed. Confounded is the word that's used. Troubled in mind is the word that's in the margin. And they were troubled because that every man heard them speak in his own language. Say the word! Is it language? Is it or is it not? Is it language in your book? As you were open about now. It wasn't Babel, remember. It wasn't Allah, Malach, Allah, Kalala in the back room, you know. Oh, I can do it any way you like. It's below me, that. It was a language! It was a language that these other people knew. And they were amazed. A fellow like Peter, who was a fisherman with big rough hands, who'd never hardly been to school, on land, ignorant. That's what they said, like me. I'm proud of that. I'm proud of that. That's it, now he's away with it, you know. Praise the Lord! Friends, let's get the hold of this. On land. These fellows were amazed. They were troubled in mind. They were confounded. They heard this fisherman and others. They heard them speaking in their own language. And I'll tell you, it was God that was at work. Because they were speaking in their own language, we're going to find down a little bit. It says in verse 11, Cretes in Arabian, we do hear them speak in our tongues. The wonderful works of God! Oh, this was the gift at work. Now watch yourself, you that are against me. These men gathered round, and these apostles and others, who had this gift, remember the apostles had five, oh, but there were others who had the gift, as the Spirit gave them, that's right. I want you to get this. They speak a desperate language, without an interpreter. No interpreter. The fellow over there who comes from Arabia, or Mecca for kids, Peter can talk to him in his own language, and he hears in his own language the wonderful works of God. And you get me anybody who can do it. You can get them, I'll join you. Because I can go to Queens tomorrow and get you as many languages as you like, and we'll set them down here, and you get the five here to talk to them in their own language, without an interpreter, and I'm on your side. The boys that do the talking are like me, they can't even talk English. Now, friends, these were wonderful words, and they performed wonderful works. There was no incoherence here, and no interpreter here. These words brought conviction and conversion. This wasn't playing about. Now we have laid the foundation. It's just 22 of 10 yet. That's better for me. Now we shall go on from there, and we'll take the gift apart next week, bit by bit, and phrase by phrase, and we shall sing. I think we'll sing a couple of verses of that old rosy one. I need to do this tonight. 697. Sing in the last two verses. He is founded for the trumpet that shall never call retreat. He is sifting out the hearts of men before his judgment seat. Oh, be swift, my soul, to answer him. Be jubilant, my feet. Our God is marching on. Last two verses. 697, please. With thy blessing, take us to our homes in safety. Through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.