The Language of Heaven (Speaking in Tongues) // Are You Ready To Be Built Up? // The Upgrade (Week 5) – Pastor Mike Todd – Transformation Church

Mike Todd’s Introduction

• The only we get anchored is to become connected with something with substance/weight
• By faith, put your hands out and say, “Holy Spirit, I’m ready to receive”
• Today we’ll be discussing a controversial topic – to untangle something that has been generationally confused – the language of heaven, i.e. speaking in tongues
• When thinking about speaking in tongues, people can think about weird people at their church growing up, parodies, or even people that were bad people after they left the church. Some people have feelings of fear or just have no idea about the topic at all
• Today, the aim is to systematically teach us about the language of heaven (speaking in tongues)
• The fear, mystery, and hurt will be taken out of this today
• Depending on where you grew up, there was hurt associated with it because some people used it to make others feel “less than” if you didn’t have “the evidence of speaking in tongues” – today, people who felt this can be healed

Message Title: The Language of Heaven

History: this whole idea of speaking in tongues has an origin in the western church. In 1906, there was a group of people who started a prayer movement in LA. The group was led by William Seymour and the group experienced a revival on Azusa Street. Seymour studied under someone named Parham, and for the first time in centuries, they were teaching that you get baptized in salvation, but that there is also a second baptism in which you get baptized in the Holy Spirit. People began to experience such a move of God, that thousands of people would gather night after night, and it made it to the LA Times. A revival was happening in the church and people were coming from all over the world to be healed, delivered, and set free. Before this, there was a Welsh revival in Wales, and people saw the spirit of God moving over there and believed it could happen here, and it started on Azusa Street. When this happened, when the power of God started to pour out, the enemy came to pervert and divide as he always does. He is our adversary. He has always done this.  

1. The Enemy Only Tries to Pervert What Brings You Power 

Adam and Eve had power until it was perverted. The Holy Spirit is a controversy because the enemy comes to pervert it and divide us with “what ifs” because if we ever got united on this one subject, it would bring us great power. To live in 2021, with everything going on, how is anyone living without the power of God?

At the revivals, the spirit of debate came in. People began to come with arms folded spectating, to see if it was real or not.

They found in the scripture that it was the initial sign of having the spirit (not all the time, but an initial sign). Instead of it being considered and experience, it then became spoken as “the evidence”, or the “initial evidence” of whether or not you had the Holy Spirit.

Then race became a factor. The spirit is moving on everybody, but somebody’s flesh got in the way. The assemblies of God and the church of God in Christ was formed out of this Azusa movement, but they split off into denominations/divisions because of the color of their skin. The enemy came to pervert and divide. In 1906, God wanted this to be an ethnic coming together, but we didn’t do what we needed to do.

In 1988, Pastor Carlton and Bishop Gary had a conference called the Azusa conference. Mike’s parents got him into the atmosphere, and the conference went on for decades. There would be 10,000 people outside signing songs with no musicians. The Holy Spirit ascended on that place, until division. It was the most ethnically diverse conference at the time.

Bishop Gary started a church in 1999 and God told him to reverse the curse. Then Bishop Gary passed the baton to Pastor Mike.

This generation will be marked by power – not our power – but the power of the Holy Spirit.

Speaking in tongues, praying in the spirit is one of your greatest weapons as a believer. Mike has to apologize though, because speaking in tongues became a demand instead of a desire for many. He’s sorry for anyone that made you feel less than or like you couldn’t be used by God. Speaking in tongues shouldn’t be a demand, but a desire.

2. Speaking in Tongues Should be a Desire, not a Demand

Last week, people got filled with the Holy Spirit with the benefit of speaking in their Holy language.  

3. God Never Meant for Tongues to be a Burden, He Meant for It to Be a Blessing

It’s the upgrade.

Illustrations: It’s similar to the different levels of hotels. Mike didn’t realize that a part of the upgrade was that all of his meals were taken care of. He settled for snacks on the bottom floor when he could have had sirloins. He was paying for less than what was already provided for him and paid for.

In spiritual walks, many of us have had the ability to walk in a different level of power and spiritual maturity, but we keep going to the bottom floor and settling for snacks.

All you have to do is access.  

4. Praying in Tongues Is Scriptural  

1 Corinthians 14:2 New International Version (NIV)

2 For anyone who speaks in a tongue[a] does not speak to people but to God. Indeed, no one understands them; they utter mysteries by the Spirit.

1. Gift of Tongues – To Man and Needs Interpretation
2. Grace of Tongues – To God – Prayer Language

Every believer can pray in the spirit.

How?

1 Corinthians 14:14-17 New International Version (NIV)

14 For if I pray in a tongue, my spirit prays, but my mind is unfruitful. 15 So what shall I do? I will pray with my spirit, but I will also pray with my understanding; I will sing with my spirit, but I will also sing with my understanding. 16 Otherwise when you are praising God in the Spirit, how can someone else, who is now put in the position of an inquirer, say “Amen” to your thanksgiving, since they do not know what you are saying? 17 You are giving thanks well enough, but no one else is edified.

This teaches times and places of when to pray in the spirit and when to pray in the understanding.

There’s a blessing in praying in both.

Paul decided that he would pray both in the spirit and in English.

I will pray in the spirit

I will pray in English

I will sing in the spirit

I will sing in English

The Holy Spirit did not stop speaking in 393 when the Bible was canonized. You can pray the mysteries of God if you would just open your heart and mind and know that you have the grace of tongues.

You don’t have to earn this. You don’t have to do spiritual aerobics. The bible tells us that this is a gift that any believer can walk in, and it’s scriptural.

Repetition Breeds Revelation

This is important for anyone going deeper in their Bible study. Try reading this two times every day and watch God open a revelation of the scripture that will change your life.

1 Corinthians 14:18 New International Version (NIV)

18 I thank God that I speak in tongues more than all of you.

The enemy has perverted what we think about the Holy Spirit. We don’t always want to do what we want to do. The Holy Spirit steps in and gives us power.

The Holy Spirit rises and prays the mind and will of the Father on our behalf.

5. Praying in Tongues is a Benefit 

How are you staying married, parenting, or running a business without the spirit of God. The spirit helps you.

1 Corinthians 14:4 New International Version (NIV)

4 Anyone who speaks in a tongue edifies themselves, but the one who prophesies edifies the church.

This means to build up. You’re getting buff in the spirit. You need both. You need to be able to prophecy at your small group to build them up and to speak in tongues at home to build yourself up.

You could save a lot of time if you could stop going to social media to be built up.

6. Praying in The Spirit Builds You Up 

Prophecy builds the church, but praying in the spirit builds you up.

Jude 20 New King James Version (NKJV)

Maintain Your Life with God

20 But you, beloved, building yourselves up on your most holy faith, praying in the Holy Spirit,

If you want to get buff in the spirit, pray in the spirit.

It builds you up.

Life comes to poke at you and take pieces from you.

Without the spirit, you’re trying to hold it all together.

Then one situation comes that causes it to crumble. Then you go to substances etc. But the word says that the Holy Spirit, and praying in the spirit, will help you to build it back up.

As soon as it gets out of line, the Holy Spirit begins to start putting it back in place. Build yourself up by praying in tongues.

For Pastor Mike, MJs diagnosis wasn’t a brick, the whole thing came tumbling down.

That’s why it’s important to pray in the spirit and let the Holy Spirit, the advocate help you up.

Releasing the power of Holy Spirit is what held Mike together and built him up.

If you don’t speak in tongues for any other reason, speak in tongues because it builds you up.

You can be built up any time, anywhere, without anybody.

Mike knows that today he is standing in the result of the mysteries of God. When you pray in the spirit, you’re praying for things your mind doesn’t even know to pray for you.

When you’re speaking in the language of heaven, the mysteries of God unravel.

In vacation bible school, they would talk about the whole armor of God. They left out a part of the armor that is right there.

Ephesians 6:17-18 New King James Version (NKJV)

17 And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God; 18 praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit,

Speaking in the spirit is a benefit.

7. Praying in Tongues is a Choice 

There are things that build us up that we know to do, but choose not to do. Similar to the gym, you know it will build you up, but you won’t stop there.

We know reading our word will help us, but it’s a choice. God will never violate your gift to choose.

If you put your faith in Jesus, and you never speak in tongues, you’re still going to heaven.

You also don’t have to drive a car to go to California. You can walk from Tulsa to California. It’ll take you forever, but you’ll still get there. Why wouldn’t you take the upgrade from you feet to the car, or even better, from the car to the plane, or from the commercial, to the private jet? If the upgrade is available and costs you as much to go from walking to the private jet, why wouldn’t you accept the upgrade?

Why would you settle for the lowest level of what God has to offer you and not accept the upgrade?

1 Corinthians 14:14-15 New International Version (NIV)

14 For if I pray in a tongue, my spirit prays, but my mind is unfruitful. 15 So what shall I do? I will pray with my spirit, but I will also pray with my understanding; I will sing with my spirit, but I will also sing with my understanding.

“I will” is the indication of it being your choice. Paul wouldn’t have given instructions of when and how to do it if it was uncontrollable.

The Holy Spirit is not going to make you.

We decide if and how often we will pray in the spirit.

It is a choice that you will make.

You need to know the mind and will of God for your life. Instead of asking all your family and friends who don’t know what your future holds, but they like a certain player on a football team, the best thing you can do is choose to pray in the spirit.

1 Corinthians 14:5 New King James Version (NKJV)

5 I wish you all spoke with tongues, but even more that you prophesied; [a]for he who prophesies is greater than he who speaks with tongues, unless indeed he interprets, that the church may receive edification.

The Holy Spirit influenced Paul to pen this.

Romans 8:26-27 New International Version (NIV)

26 In the same way, the Spirit helps us in our weakness. We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us through wordless groans. 27 And he who searches our hearts knows the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for God’s people in accordance with the will of God.

8. Praying in the Spirit Communicates the Exact Will For Your Life 

When you allow your flesh to pray, opinions and biases get mixed in. We need to pray in the spirit.

When you pray in the spirit, Holy Spirit goes from Earth to Heaven and makes sure there’s an exact translation of what needs to happen for what time and for what season.

If you will allow Him, He will make you pray perfect prayers.

This is the only area that you can pray perfect prayers.

The only perfect prayer is praying in the spirit because it searches the heart and translates from Heaven to Earth what really should be communicated, by faith. This is the mystery of God.  

9. We Don’t Know What to Pray, but The Spirit Never Misses 

The greatest thing you can do is normalize praying in the spirit in your house. It’s the weapon that will save your child from divorce, break the generational habit of poverty – the spirit never misses.

10. Your Heavenly Language is the Language of Humility 

Most people pray in the heavenly language when it’s above their paygrade – when it’s bigger than them.  However, it should be done by everything, because it’s humility, versus saying, “I know”, you’re saying, “Father I need you.”

You need to tune in to the spirit of God as opposed to everybody’s podcast.

Some people have felt like if it’s spiritual it’s evil or you can get a demon. All psychics are are perverted prophets. It’s just the perversion of the real thing.

Luke 11:11-13 New King James Version (NKJV)

11 If a son asks for [a]bread from any father among you, will he give him a stone? Or if he asks for a fish, will he give him a serpent instead of a fish? 12 Or if he asks for an egg, will he offer him a scorpion? 13 If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask Him!”

HOW?

1.   Ask God

2.   Be Available to be Obedient

3.   Be Okay with Awkward

4.   Use the Access You’ve Been Given

You don’t need another conference, worship album, or extended life group, you can be built up if you surrender your whole self to the holy Spirit to speak in the holy language. It is your benefit.

20,983 people have signed up to be baptized at next week’s Flood Sunday. This is not a production, but a transformation.

Altar Call and Prayer: If you would give God your heart, He will help you change your habits. If you would just believe in Him (Romans 10:9), not change everything yet, people ask you to do that, religion asks you to do that, just give Him your heart, and He will help change your habits. If you would just believe He died for you, and rose again with all power, you will be saved.  This is your moment. Today, God wants to give you the previous gift of salvation.

Lord, thank you for sending Jesus, just for me. Today, I believe that you lived, you died, and you rose again, for all of my sins. Today, I ask you to be the Lord of my life. Change me, renew me, transform me, I’m yours, in Jesus name, Amen.

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SUMMARY NOTES

1. The Enemy Only Tries to Pervert What Brings You Power
2. Speaking in Tongues Should be a Desire, not a Demand
3. God Never Meant for Tongues to be a Burden, He Meant for It to Be a Blessing
4. Praying in Tongues Is Scriptural
5. Praying in Tongues is a Benefit
6. Praying in The Spirit Builds You Up
7. Praying in Tongues is a Choice
8. Praying in the Spirit Communicates the Exact Will For Your Life
9. We Don’t Know What to Pray, but The Spirit Never Misses
10. Your Heavenly Language is the Language of Humility

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