Dear Friend, How are you? I’m well. In my previous blog, I wrote about tongue and I would like to continue. Today, I would like to talk about the Tongue, the gift of the Holy Spirit. In my twenties, once in a while I attended the early morning prayers in my Seoul church. When I heard someone in the church pray in tongue, I was made so uncomfortable that I left the prayer meeting soon. Many years later in my church in Shanghai, I started to feel ok when I hear some people pray in tongue. My late pastor in Korea church and the American pastor in Shanghai church once asked people, “Did you receive the Holy Spirit?” Then, I wasn’t sure whether I received it. Precisely, I didn’t know what it meant. Years later in my Singapore church, I started to attend a prayer meeting at 9am before Sunday service at 10:30am. The prayer meeting was open to everyone, but not so many people came up, although I saw regular members in there. I somehow felt I must join the prayer meeting. Then, one Sunday in the prayer meeting, my pastor asked, “Who has not gotten the Tongue yet?” So, I raised my hand. I got to know most of them in the prayer meeting had received the gift of Tongue. Then, a sister next to me said, “Yunee, try to stick out your tongue, when you pray.” She kept forcing me to do it. I was made so uncomfortable and a bit annoyed with her in all honesty. And I thought to myself, “What is this all about? Why should I stick out my tongue, to pray? It’s ugly and stupid. Why is it so important to pray in tongue?” After a week or two in a prayer seminar, however, I received the gift of Tongue! I didn’t even have to stick out my tongue nor worry about the weird sound. Graciously, He gave me the Tongue that sounds like humming. Nobody notices when I’m praying in tongue. It just sounds like I sing or hum with La La La. My late pastor in Korea church once said tongues are very different. Some people speak in tongue in a very aggressive way and some people speak in tongue as if they sing. I was grateful that He put a new song in my mouth. I learned the gift of Tongue is the evidence of receiving the Holy Spirit from the Lord’s faithful servants. And I like David Pawson’s teaching and his metaphor on speaking in Tongue. He said that when we are full of laughter and joy and we can’t contain the laughter anymore, we laugh out. When we are filled with sorrow and we can’t contain the sorrow anymore, we cry out. When we are filled with the Holy Spirit and cannot contain Him anymore, we speak in Tongue. That’s the baptism of the Holy Spirit. We can’t control our tongues when the Dove rains down on us and fills us. I think Derek Prince mentioned that praying in tongue in a sense needs humility, as it sounds weird. And he said the people in Pentecostal church in the UK couldn’t believe he spoke in tongue, as they knew he used to be a philosopher and professor in Cambridge university and thought the intelligent people like him wouldn’t speak in tongue. After my baptism by the Holy Spirit in the prayer seminar and total change with joy in my life, I got to be curious as to how other people were baptized by the Holy Spirit too. I found out He doesn’t have any formula, and He uses different ways, just as He gives each one of His children different tongues. A friend of mine in Singapore slept at night and had a dream. She was simply happy and joyful in her dream. Interestingly, she received the tongue when she was sleeping. I heard the story of a man who felt the thick presence of the Holy Spirit while driving his car that he couldn’t drive any further. He stopped driving and came out of his car and knelt down next to his car. And the Holy Spirit came upon him. Derek Prince also shared his story. In the military during the World War II, he received the Holy Spirit in his room that he shared with his roommate soldier. First, he sobbed and then he burst out in laughter in the middle of the night and his roommate thought even if he threw water onto Derek Prince, it wouldn’t stop him. In my sister’s church in San Diego, the wife of an evangelist shared her story over our lunch and coffee. She said she seldom asks people to do something for her or give her something. When she was young, it was hard for her to ask even her parents for something. Then, one day in her church revival meeting, she wanted the Holy Spirit’s baptism. Many participants received it in that meeting. But, she didn’t. After coming back home, she closed the door of her room and said to the Lord, “Lord, T... T... Tongue! I want to receive Tongue.” Then, the Holy Spirit came down. (Indeed, we must ask Him!) In 2017 when I took the Aquaponics seminar in Hawaii, I had quite an awesome experience in YWAM (Youth With A Mission) Kona. In a Thursday evening gathering, before the students in Discipleship school went to three month of outreach trip, the audience was told to pray for them. Some students might have been worried about the trip or might have lost confidence. So, we were asked to gather around those who would leave Kona soon for the outreach trip and pray for them. People gathered around the young people to go, making circles around them. In front of me, I saw a middle-aged lady standing next to a young female student to pray for her. They were only two, while other circle of groups had many. So, I thought I would pray for the young lady, as she only had one to pray for her. Then, I was standing behind her and carefully laid my hand on her. I recalled Derek Prince warned in one of his books that we must be careful in laying our hands on others, if we don’t know the spirits inside them. (“Do not lay hands on anyone hastily, nor share in other people’s sins; keep yourself pure.” 1 Timothy 5:22) Though I didn’t know her in person nor knew the spirits inside her, somehow I carefully laid my hand on her. When I prayed in tongue together with the middle-aged woman for the young girl, she started to sob. And it seemed she couldn’t stand on the ground anymore, as the Presence of the Holy Spirit was overwhelming. She knelt down, weeping, and finally, she started to speak in an unknown language. It really reminded me of my receiving the Holy Spirit after weeping out uncontrollably loud for so long. The young girl seemed to want to lie so we helped her lie on her back on the ground. Then she laughed for a while and seemed to be at peace. I was in awe watching all of these. The next day, in a building inside the YWAM campus, I overheard a young girl speaking on her phone to her friend. Somehow, I felt it was her who received the Holy Spirit the other day. She said, “I received Jesus in our meeting. It was an awesome experience. I can’t describe it, but He came to me and I couldn’t contain myself. I was filled with Him!” Her tone told how excited she still was. I do not know why He put me in that circumstance and made me witness the awesome moment of the Holy Spirit raining down on her. Maybe for writing at such a time as this or for ministering to the youth at home or in small community gathering in the future? I do not know, but I believe He has His providential purpose. Dear Friend, I would like to share more on the Holy Spirit, Dove, in my future blog. In the meantime, if you have not received the Holy Spirit, I wish my blog makes you start to long for it or even more, yearn for it. Ever since I received it, I prayed for my loved ones who have not received it yet. As I experienced it’s such a precious gift from the Lord, I want many to enjoy it and be transformed. I believe this is our Heavenly Father’s heart to give the best thing to His children. Like I found out, there is no formula from Him in receiving the Holy Spirit. All you need is to A.S.K. “Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you.” (Matthew 7:7) Please keep on asking the Heavenly gift from the good Father. I stand with you in prayers! Have a bliss! Yunee “If you love Me, keep My commandments. And I will pray the Father, and He will give you another Helper, that He may abide with you forever-- the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees Him nor knows Him; but you know Him, for He dwells with you and will be in you. I will not leave you orphans; I will come to you. (John 14:15~18) Comments are closed.
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