Interview with a Charismatic

These are common questions on the topic on things like visions, tongues, healing, prophecy.. 

Certainly this subject is not something we can respond to with a fleeting "that's nice."  The fire of God's love is too much for that.
  

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The gift of tongues seems odd. Why should I look into it?

NY Times on Tongues (08/2013)

Advantage of Tongues
YouTube [Kreeft]

Gift of Tongues

Good news! You're normal. I don't know anyone, including myself, who initially approached the gift of tongues like "boy, that's what I've always wanted to do in my prayer, speak in a language I can't understand." Those who receive the gift usually need a lot of encouragement. It takes a little work to 'uncork' it, like opening a bottle of wine.

I've been praying in tongues almost every day since Oct 88. It's a fabulous aid to worship. I'll never go back. But I can understand if it seems a little difficult to get used to. If it appears a bit of a shocker, that's a healthy reaction.

Do you ever think you're holier because you experience this?

The experiences are not awards, but gifts. They do not imply holiness; but make holiness easier—if they're used.

Do I have to get the gift of tongues?

It seems that God commohly gives tongues first, probably because 1. It's a direct aid to worship—the Holy Spirit praying on your behalf. 2. It therefore releases other charisms, so it makes a great "starter gift"! 3. As the saying goes "if you're ready to do the ridiculous, God is ready to do the miraculous."

You have to get them in a certain order. But since tongues is the logical place to start, I would ask for it first. It's rare that someone is hungry for it who doesn't get it. (It's so common that some Pentecostals think you're not really a genuine Christian without it. Of course, that's a misunderstanding but makes the point of desire.)

Actually, the real kicker is not tongues, but prophecy, i.e., God communicating directly in the spirit . The Apostle Paul says "if you pray in tongues, but aren't experiencing prophetic revelation, then newcomers will think you're out of your mind, but if they hear prophecy they'll go 'Whoa, God really is among you.' " (1 Cor 14).

That sounds too incredible. God still speaking? Isn't that adding to the infallible revelation of the Bible?

Think of it like this. If the Bible were a record album, then prophecy would be analogous to dropping the needle on the album so you could hear a specific part. It would not be like adding more songs to the record.

There are two Greek words that translate to the English noun "word." They are "logos" (the eternal, unchanging word of God), and "rhema" (that part of the logos brought into the present moment.) Modern prophecy is rhema. So there is no addition to the Bible. The Bible is the right truth; prophecy is the right truth for the right time.

Note that if we take this question to an extreme, then we could never be guided by God about anything, because that information could be also accused of adding to the Bible; e.g., the prophecies received in Christian communities referred in the book of Acts that weren't written down are just like ones received today.

Everything should be tested. It might be the devil.

Absolutely. Does it harmonize with: the Bible, permanent commitments you’ve made, Christian revelation through the centuries, other prophetic words from proven prophets? Are the messages self-consistent?

In my experience it would be hard to conclude they're from the devil since they consistently promote surrender to Christ. The fruit is certainly:worship, joy, repentance, healing, unity, etc.

When I first heard my friends receiving prophecies I was very skeptical, so I asked them to pray for specific requests independently and was amazed how frequently they received the same message. This still continues. It's definitely something to experience.

In fact, if you're familiar with the "Lord, Liar or Lunatic" argument that Jesus is God, you can see that the same reasoning applies to the Holy Spirit (either these manifestations are mass hallucinations, or people are all lying about them, or it really is God).

Yes, everything has to be tested, but after it becomes obvious they're from God, then we do the devil a far greater favor by wallowing in disbelief. Whenever Jesus denied a request it was usually because of a lack of faith.

Did I hear you say physical healings are happening, too?

That's right. I have experience with this. And yes, I know there are some people that attribute the supernatural to the natural: "I had a headache and it went away: Jesus healed me!" I'm not talking about that (but praise the Lord they're feeling better!)

However, we are talking about people with tumors disappearing, lifelong deafness cured; lifelong numbness cured, etc. That certainly doesn't happen every time we pray, but it is happening. God is active.

There are many experiences of God. One of my favorites is Visions

This is too much.  

Yes. But actually, it gets even better—you can experience it yourself.

How's that?

Great question.  Things get even more interesting in:
Interview With a Charismatic—Part 2