Great Bible Truths with Dr David Petts

Titus Talk 2 The Importance of Right Leadership Titus 1:4-16

Welcome to Talk 2 in our series of podcasts on Titus.

Today our subject is: The Importance of Right Leadership.

We'll be looking at Titus 1:4-16, so, if you've not read it recently, I suggest you do so before listening to the rest of this podcast. At least have your Bible open there.

It would also be good to read 1 Timothy 3:1-7.

Today we'll be considering:

· Paul's relationship with Titus (vv. 1-4)

· The urgent need for church leaders in Crete (vv.10-16)

· What does Paul mean by the term elder?

· The qualifications necessary to be a church leader (vv.5-9).

Paul's relationship with Titus – authority with love

As we saw last time, Paul starts his letter to Titus by introducing himself as a servant of God and apostle of Jesus Christ.

But Titus must have known this already, so why does Paul bother to introduce himself in this way?

And why did he introduce himself in much the same was in most of his letters?

Probably because some Christians did not like to submit to authority.

There is certainly evidence that not everyone recognised Paul's apostolic authority (e.g. 1 Corinthians 9:2).

Of course, Titus was certainly not among them. If he had been, Paul would hardly have entrusted him with the task of appointing church leaders (v4)!

Another possible reason is that Paul is reminding Titus of the importance of leaders being conscious of their authority and, where necessary, unafraid to remind others of it.

This is something he will go on to say to Titus himself quite explicitly in 2:15:

Encourage and rebuke with all authority. Do not let anyone despise you.

And the elders he is to appoint must be aware of their authority too. They must be able to refute false teaching (v9) and silence rebellious people (vv.10-11).

But Paul's relationship with Titus was far more than as an apostle of Jesus Christ.

In verse 4 he describes him as his son and, therefore, himself as a Titus's father. He calls him my true son in our common faith.

This teaches us something very important about authority.

It works best when it springs from right relationships.

We're not talking about a hierarchical authority that's enforced by legalism, which can so often be the danger with some systems of church government.

Paul addresses Titus affectionately as his son. His authority springs from a loving relationship.

He describes his relationship with the Corinthians and with Onesimus in much the same way (1 Corinthians 4:15, Philemon 1:10).

He sees himself as having fathered (Greek gennao) those he has won for Christ.

The word is often used to refer to the part a man plays in causing the conception of a baby. But being a father means much more than that!

Fatherhood is an ongoing role

It involves caring, providing, teaching, encouraging, guiding, setting the right example, disciplining, and bringing children to maturity and able to make sensible decisions for themselves.

This is certainly what my father did for me, and I will always be grateful.

I could submit to his authority because I knew he loved me and I loved him.

Even though we eventually saw each other more like equals, until the day he died, I always respected his opinion.

Perhaps there's a hint that Paul saw his relationship with Titus in the same way. He certainly saw his 'son' as capable of making decisions like appointing the leaders that were so urgently needed on the island of Crete.

This principle of authority based on fatherly love is so important and is a model for all levels leadership in the church, including the authority given to the elders we'll be talking about shortly.

The urgent need for church leaders in Crete (vv10-16)

The situation in Crete was desperate. There was a deep-seated corruption in society. This had its roots in what they believed, and was manifested in what they said and how they lived. This, of course, is typical of all humanity.

Notice what Paul says in Romans 1:18-32. The existence of God is clearly seen in the ordered structure of the universe. Mankind knows this but refuses to acknowledge it and has chosen to worship idols instead. That deliberate choice has resulted in other bad choices, particularly regarding distinguishing between what is right and what is wrong. And society reaps the results.

This, of course, is clearly evident in British society today.

But different societies express their rebellion against God in different ways.

In Crete the major problem seems to have been telling lies which was widely recognised as a national characteristic (v12). Paul describes them as deceivers (v10) because they are teaching things they ought not to teach (v11).

What's more, it's clear that even some people in the churches were tarred with the same brush. Note the reference in verse 10 to those of the circumcision group.

As we saw last time, these were the people who were teaching that for a gentile to become a Christian he must first undergo the Jewish right of circumcision. They are people who reject the truth in favour of what he calls Jewish myths (14).

Notice Paul's scathing accusation of such people in verses 15-16:

…both their minds and consciences are corrupted. 16 They claim to know God, but by their actions they deny him. They are detestable, disobedient and unfit for doing anything good.

So the situation was, indeed, desperate. But there was a solution – the fearless declaration of the truth of the gospel and the exposing of error. Titus is to rebuke these people sharply, so that they will be sound in the faith (13). But the task is too great for one man alone. He must appoint elders in every town (5).

But what does Paul mean by the word elder?

You'll notice that I've been using the term leader rather than elder. That's because the word elder is often misunderstood, depending very much on people's church background.

To get a correct understanding, we need to look at the New Testament as a whole. There we discover that there are several different Greek words that refer to people in church leadership.

These include presbuteros (elder), episcopos (overseer), and poimen (shepherd or pastor).

Now despite the practice of many churches today, in the New Testament these three words all refer to the same role.

The people Paul calls elders in verse 5 he refers to as overseers in verse 7.

1 Peter 5:1-4 refers to elders as shepherds (or pastors).

And in Acts 20 Paul tells the elders of the church (v17) to:

Keep watch over yourselves and all the flock of which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers. Be shepherds of the church of God, which he bought with his own blood (v28).

So it's quite clear that when Paul uses the word elders he's talking about the people who are the overseers and shepherds or pastors of the church. In short:

Elder=pastor=overseer!

So to keep things simple, I've chosen to use the word leader instead.

The NT is quite clear about the role of these leaders and the qualifications they need to be appointed.

I have gone into this in much more detail in the chapter on pastors in my book Body Builders, where I show that, in the NT, churches were led by a team of such leaders and that their role can be summarised as:

· shepherds , looking after the flock

· teachers , instructing God's people

· overseers , supervising the affairs of the church .

Based on the teaching and example of the New Testament, I've suggested that:

1. There should be several such leaders in each church

2. Although there is room for a system of recognising someone as 'team leader', to call that person 'pastor ' and the others 'elders ' is not in line with the New Testament and may detract from the pastoral role that all elders are to fulfil

3. When a new church is planted by someone with apostolic gifting, the church leadership team could be appointed by them

4. After that, the existing members of the leadership team should appoint new members to it provided they conform to the NT guidelines with regard to character, experience and gifting.

The qualifications necessary to be a church leader (Titus 1:5-9, 1 Timothy 3:1-7)

Hopefully, you've already read both these passages which are very similar.

In Body Builders, by taking the two passages together, I've summarised Paul's overall instructions on what sort of people should be appointed.

However, we'll concentrate mainly on what he says specifically to Titus.

Plurality

In verse 5 Titus is to appoint elders (plural) in every town, so when a person is appointed as a church leader they are appointed as part of a team (cf. Acts 14:23 elders [plural] in each church [singular]).

Character

Team members are entrusted with God's work (v7) so must be people of good character.

Paul uses words like blameless (6,7), self-controlled, upright, holy and disciplined (8).

This includes not being overbearing, quick-tempered, given to drunkenness, violent, or dishonest (7).

All this is because church leaders are to be examples to the flock (1 Peter 5:3), something which was vital in Crete, bearing in mind the corruption in society.

And their example must extend to their family life by right relationships with their spouse and children (v6) and their hospitality to all (8).

So church leaders must be of good character, as should all Christians. But to be a leader requires more than that. Look at verse 9:

They must hold firmly to the trustworthy message as it has been taught, so that they can encourage others by sound doctrine and refute those who oppose it.

Ability

The trustworthy message refers to the truth of the gospel.

A leader must know it and adhere to it.

But to do that they must first have been taught it!

And they must know it well enough to refute false teaching.

Refute is a very strong word.

The false teachers must be silenced (v11) and rebuked sharply (v13).

Church leaders must be able to disprove their false teaching by referring to the trustworthy message as it has been taught.

And to do that will require not just knowledge of what the Bible teaches, but:

· ability to explain it, and

· courage to do so in a hostile environment.

Titus was to appoint such people as leaders of the churches in Crete, and the same principles must be applied in our churches today.

It's not a question of conforming to a rigid pattern.

In Acts the leadership system of each church developed as the church grew.

It varied somewhat from one church to another.

The same applies today.

Church leaders need to follow the principles of leadership seen in the New Testament and seek to be led by the Holy Spirit as to how to apply them.

Will you pray for your church leaders as they seek to do so?

Questions (for group discussion or personal reflection)

1. What similarities do you see with the situation in Crete and our society today? What can we learn from today's passage that might provide part of the answer?

2. Does the church you attend follow the principles of leadership taught in this podcast? If not, why do you think this is?

3. Do you see in today's passage any indication of different levels of leadership in the church?

4. Should all the leaders have equal responsibilities?

5. Is there a recognised 'team leader' in your church? If not, do you feel the church needs one? How should they be appointed?

6. Are you personally prepared to acknowledge the authority and responsibility that God has given to your church leaders and to prayerfully consider their teaching and guidance?

7. What do you feel is the most important lesson you have learnt from today's podcast?

Titus. Talk 1. Introducing Titus

Welcome to the first talk in a new series of podcasts which are designed to be suitable for both individual Bible study and for use for study and discussion in small groups. This talk will introduce you to Titus – both the man and the New Testament book which bears his name. But first, if you haven't done so already, it would be good to read it before you listen to the podcast. It will probably take you less than 10 minutes to do so.

At the end of this talk we'll be looking at just the opening three verses, but before we do so, we'll consider:

· Titus, the book – why study it?

· Who Titus was

· Why Paul wrote to him

Why study Titus

The New Testament book we know as Titus was a letter written by the apostle Paul to encourage and give helpful instructions to a young church leader that Paul had left in Crete to take care of the Christians and churches there. Although written nearly 2000 years ago it's still of great importance to us today because it teaches us important principles about:

· church leadership (Chapter 1)

· how we should relate to our fellow-Christians (Ch. 2)

· how we should relate to the society and culture in which we live (Ch. 3).

Cretan society was corrupt in many ways and there was a danger that Christians were beginning to conform to its standards rather than to those of God's word. This tendency was enhanced by false teachers who were leading them astray.

Sadly, much the same can be said of our society and of some churches today. The solution was, and still is, the appointment of right leaders in the church who, by teaching and example, will model a different society. Just as in the Old Testament Israel was intended to be a light to the gentiles, so the church today is to be the light to the nations. Israel had failed in its mission. The church of Jesus Christ must not.

So, if we follow its principles, Paul's letter to Titus has much to teach us that will help us to be a light to those around us and a transforming influence in our society.

Who was Titus?

As I've already said, Titus was a young church leader that Paul had left in Crete to take care of the churches there. He's mentioned several times in the New Testament but the number of details about his life is limited. So, I'll begin by listing some of the things we know for sure and then try to fill in the gaps and suggest possible answers on areas where the New Testament isn't entirely clear.

The things we know include:

a. Titus was a Greek, a gentile, not a Jew (Galatians 2:3).

b. Paul describes Titus as my true son in the faith (Titus 1:4). This strongly suggests that he had been converted through Paul's ministry.

c. He accompanied Paul on some of his travels (Galatians 2:1).

d. Paul describes him as a partner and coworker (2 Corinthians 8:3) and chose him to organise the financial collection in Corinth and take it to Jerusalem (2 Corinthians 8:6, 16).

e. Although the NT doesn't tell us how and when the church in Crete was founded, Titus was certainly with Paul at a very early stage of its existence (Titus 1:5).

However, there is much we don't know. For example, precisely when was Titus converted? How was the church in Crete started? Why did Paul choose Titus to accompany him on his travels? And so on. But based upon some of the information we have in Acts it's possible, I believe, to make some intelligent guesses. Let me suggest the following:

We know that Paul and Barnabas had been part of the leadership team in Antioch (Acts 13:1), and that on one occasion Titus had travelled with them from Antioch to Jerusalem (Galatians 2:1), which may indicate that Titus had been a member of the church at Antioch.

Now we also know that there were a great number of gentile Christians in the church at Antioch (Acts 11:20-21). So, it's quite possible that it was there that Paul led Titus to Christ.

We also know from Galatians 2:1 that Paul had chosen Titus to accompany him and Barnabas on their journey from Antioch to Jerusalem to discuss with the other apostles their approach to gentiles (non-Jews) who had come to faith in Christ. (This was probably before the meeting in Jerusalem referred to in Acts 15).

The fact that Titus was a gentile may well have been one of the reasons for this. At a time when some Jewish Christians were insisting that gentile Christians should be circumcised, it was significant that Titus had not been compelled to be circumcised. But there were many other gentile Christians in Antioch and the fact that Paul had chosen to take Titus on this important journey indicates how highly he thought of him.

As far as the founding of the church is Crete is concerned, we know that there had been Cretans present at Pentecost (Acts 2:11) and it's possible that the good news about Jesus had first been spread on the island by them.

Certainly, by the time Paul and Titus arrived – and again, we don't know exactly when this was – there were Christians in every town, but with no clear leadership. However, when the time came for Paul to move on, Paul had confidence in Titus to leave him in overall charge of the work and to appoint elders in every church. But Titus is nowhere described as an apostle and yet he received apostolic authority to appoint elders. So what was he? Another question the New Testament leaves unanswered!

Why Paul wrote to him

Paul doesn't say why he is writing, but his reason for doing so is fairly clear from the contents of the letter. He wants to encourage Titus in the task he has given him to do in Crete because there is much opposition. This is evident in three ways:

· The cultural environment in Crete is totally contrary to the Christian message (Titus 1:12-13).

· Christian households are being ruined by the false teaching of rebellious people (1:11).

· The people need teaching about how to relate to other Christians and to society as a whole (Chapter 2-3).

Paul's solution for all this is to encourage Titus to teach sound doctrine and to appoint church leaders who will do the same. We will go into this in more detail in future talks, but for now it might be worth asking ourselves what parallels we see between the situation in Crete back then and ours today.

But now, let's make a start on the text of the letter by looking at the first few verses.

The opening verses – Titus 1:1-3

Paul, a servant of God and an apostle of Jesus Christ for the faith of God's elect and the knowledge of the truth that leads to godliness, a faith and knowledge resting on the hope of eternal life, which God, who does not lie, promised before the beginning of time, and at his appointed season he brought his word to light through the preaching entrusted to me by the command of God our Saviour…

Paul, a servant of God and an apostle of Jesus Christ (v1)

Paul begins his letter by saying who it's from. That was the custom in those days, unlike today when we don't say who our letter is from until the very end.

I wonder, do you always sign off your letters in the same way each time? I don't. The way I sign off depends on who I'm writing to and why I am writing.

For example, I might sign off as Dad, Grandad, David, David Petts, or even, on very rare occasions, as Revd. Dr. David Petts, MA, MTh., Ph.D.

It all depends on who I'm writing to and why I'm writing.

Paul does something similar here. His purpose in writing is to give instructions to a young church leader, so he begins by establishing his authority for doing so. He's not just Paul. He's a servant (slave) of God and apostle of Jesus Christ. His authority comes from God. He has been sent by Jesus Christ (the word apostle means sent one).

But that authority has been given him

a. Because he's completed submitted to God (a slave)

b. For a specific purpose:

the faith of God's elect and the knowledge of the truth that leads to godliness.

The main purpose of Paul's calling and ministry was that people might come to faith in Christ. It's by faith that we are saved. It comes through the knowledge (recognition, acknowledgement) of the truth about Jesus.

And that knowledge leads to godliness. We're not saved just to get us to Heaven, important though that is. We're saved to live godly lives down here. This message was particularly important for the people of Crete, who, as we shall see, were notoriously ungodly and prone to telling lies (v12).

Very much the same could be said of the society in which we live today. Right living results from the knowledge of the absolute truth as it is in Jesus, not from the so-called 'relative truth' of postmodernism.

So, the faith and knowledge that come from hearing the message of the truth about Jesus should lead us to godly living, and especially because they are based on…

the hope of eternal life (v2)

Hope in the NT is not wishing for something that may or may not happen.

It's the sure and certain knowledge that something which has not yet happened will happen because God has promised it.

In the NT eternal life is sometimes seen as something we have already, and sometimes as something which is yet in the future.

Both are true. There are both present and future dimensions to eternal life.

It's part of what we sometimes refer to as the already/not yet of our salvation.

We're already enjoying many of its benefits now, but we have yet to experience it in all its fulness.

But we can be absolutely sure about it because it's something which…

God, who does not lie, promised before the beginning of time.

God doesn't lie. Let me suggest three reasons we can be sure about this:

1. He cannot lie – he is the truth. To lie would be a contradiction of his very nature – of who he is.

2. He doesn't need to lie – people lie for a variety of reasons – to avoid shame or embarrassment, to achieve some purpose which they would otherwise be unable to achieve, etc. God has no need to lie. He is holy. He is all-powerful. He has nothing to be ashamed of. He can and will achieve all his purposes.

3. The Bible says that God doesn't lie:

Numbers 23:19 God is not a man, that he should lie, nor a son of man, that he should change his mind. Does he speak and then not act? Does he promise and not fulfil?

No doubt Paul had this verse in mind when he said that we can be sure that we have eternal life because God, who cannot lie, has promised it. It was his intention right from the beginning, and in eternity before time began. In God's eternal purposes, the Lamb was slain from before the foundation of the world (Revelation 13:8).

So the means of our salvation was determined from before time began, but…

at his appointed season he brought his word to light (v3)

God has his appointed time for things – for the birth and death of Jesus (Galatians 4:4-5), and for bringing the truth of the gospel to light through the ministry of the apostles, including Paul who had a specific calling to the gentile world. And he did it…

through the preaching entrusted to me by the command of God our Saviour

Please note:

1. The truth is brought to light through preaching

2. This preaching entrusted to Paul is also entrusted to us (Matthew 28:19-20)

3. This is the command of God our Saviour.

Summary

Paul opens his letter to Titus by talking about his own ministry and calling as an apostle sent by Jesus Christ. The purpose of that calling was to bring people to faith through telling them the truth about Jesus which would show them the way of salvation giving them the assurance of eternal life and teaching them to live godly lives.

In doing this Paul was reminding Titus, and by implication the Christians in Crete who were under his care, of his God-given authority to give the instructions that he was about to write in the rest of his letter. They are of equal importance to Christians and churches today.

And of equal importance too is the encouragement he gives us in verses 1-3. God does not lie. The gospel message about Jesus is the truth. We have believed it and know it's true. Because of this we have the certain hope of eternal life. God had a plan for Paul's life, and he has a plan for ours too. He has entrusted to us all the truth of the gospel. It's our responsibility as churches and as individuals to demonstrate its truth by the kind of lives we are living.

Questions

These questions are optional. You could use them as a basis for group discussion or personally as a kind of revision test.

1. Why do you think it's important to study Titus?

2. Which aspects of the letter do you think will be the most relevant to you and to your church at the moment?

a. Church leadership?

b. Relationship with fellow Christians?

c. Relationship with the society and culture in which we live?

3. What parallels can we see between the situation in Crete and ours today?

4. What does the passage teach us about God's plan of salvation?

a. When did God promise it?

b. How did he implement it?

c. What part have we to play?

Talk 6 A Summary, a Reminder, some Suggestions, and a Final Word of Encouragement

Hello again and welcome to my final talk in our series where we've been looking at New Testament Guidelines for Small Group Meetings.

My purpose in this series, which has been largely based on my book When You Come Together, has been to show that we should take seriously Paul's teaching in 1 Corinthians 14:26, and to encourage more Spirit-led participation in our meetings. The things that Paul wrote are after all, the commandments of the Lord (14:37). Let's begin with:

A quick summary of what we've said so far

To put 1 Corinthians 14:26 in context, we began by briefly examining chapters 12-14 and saw that there's a supernatural dimension to the worship of the church which is expressed in the manifestation of supernatural gifts given by the Holy Spirit (12:1-11).

We saw that the church is the body of Christ, that every member of the body is different, and that everybody is needed (12:12-30). This lies behind Paul's teaching in 14:26 that everyone should have opportunity to contribute to the meeting.

But for that to work properly, everything we do must be motivated by love (13:1-13) and as an expression of that love, we must always seek to put other people first (14:1-25). This is directly relevant to how 14:26 should be applied in practice. This includes taking responsibility for our actions (14:26-40) and using the spiritual gifts God has given us correctly.

We went on to examine Paul's teaching on tongues, interpretation, and prophecy in chapter 14, and sought to clarify the meaning of verses that are open to differences of interpretation. I suggested how these verses might be applied in practice, acknowledging that in everything we must submit to the authority of scripture (14:37).

And in our last talk we identified three key principles on which 1 Corinthians 14:26 is based. These are participation, variety, and edification. Most important of these is edification, building other people up spiritually. We said that this involves:

a) Putting other people first

b) Making sure that people can understand what's being said

c) Taking responsibility for what we do and say

d) Preserving order in our meetings

e) Ensuring there's a healthy balance in our activities (i.e. not too much of the same thing).

Finally, we have also admitted that certain verses in 1 Corinthians 14 are open to more than one interpretation. So let me now remind you of my answers to some of these controversial questions.

A reminder of my answers to some controversial questions

a) About speaking in tongues when unbelievers are present

As I understand 1 Corinthians 14, Paul does expect speaking in tongues to be a frequent part of our meetings, but he forbids speaking out loudly if there is no interpreter present. He also discourages this if there are unbelievers present. But we may speak quietly to ourselves and to God. However, speaking in tongues does not always put people off, particularly if they can understand it. So, in my view, we should probably discourage speaking out loud in tongues in the presence of unbelievers, but if it does happen, someone should interpret it and whoever is leading the meeting should explain what has just happened.

b) About the gift of interpretation of tongues

Here's how I answered the following questions:

i. Should this sound like praise or prophecy?

My answer was that, although it can take the form of a prophecy (often referred to as a 'message'), it can also be the interpretation of someone's praise or prayer in tongues.

ii. What does Someone must interpret mean (NIV v. 27)?

A better translation is, Let one person interpret. I suggested that Paul probably meant that only one person should interpret each utterance in tongues.

iii. Should a fourth utterance in tongues be interpreted?

My answer was yes, on the basis that it would be more edifying to the church than if it were not interpreted. However, this is unlikely to happen if church leaders teach clearly on how spiritual gifts should be operated.

c) About the gift of prophecy

The two main questions we answered here were about judging a prophecy.

i. Who should judge it?

I answered that church leaders like pastors, because of their role as shepherds of the flock, have a special responsibility here, but that we all need to do so.

ii. How do you judge it?

I emphasised that, although God's gifts are perfect, we are not!. God's gifts come through imperfect human channels, and that's why prophetic words need to be weighed carefully. To do so we should first ask ourselves if the prophecy is in line with Scripture. If it is, we should then ask ourselves questions like, Is this for me, or is it perhaps for someone else? Etc.

But that brings me to:

Some suggestions for church leaders

I deal with this in the final chapter of WYCT which is written particularly for church leaders. So it's not highly relevant in this series of talks to home groups. However, it could be useful for those of you who may be emerging church leaders, so I'll just mention the key points I make in that chapter and suggest that you might read it for yourselves. The points I make are about:

· Being fully persuaded in your own mind what the Bible teaches about this

· Praying for guidance

· Consulting your fellow leaders and making sure that you're all of one mind

· Teaching the people

· Setting an example in the use of the gifts

· Making space in the church programme

· Creating a loving atmosphere where the gifts can flourish.

If you'd like to know more, read WYCT Chapter 9 for yourself. But now:

A final word of encouragement to you all

Now that we've come to the end of this series, I want to encourage you all to put Paul's teaching into practice. He clearly wants everyone of us to participate in our meetings. As I've already said, leaders need to make time for this and encourage everyone to take part. And if you're one of those people who rarely if ever say anything, that's fine, but I want to encourage you to get started, even if it's something as simple as quoting or reading a favourite Bible verse. And if you're one of those who already has a lot to say, please consider holding back a bit to make time for others.

But this series has not just been about participation. It's been about variety. And that includes not only having a hymn or a word of instruction. It also involves supernatural gifts like tongues, interpretation, and prophecy. So I want to finish by sharing with you how to get started in this important area.

As many of you will know, I have recently preached on this in our church, and a video is available on YouTube. You can find the link by visiting our website www.brixhamcc.co.uk. Alternatively, you could listen to two podcasts I gave on the same subject in February 2019 by going to my website www.davidpetts.org. I mention this now because there's not time to cover the subject fully in this series of short talks, and what I'm about to say is just a quick summary of the main points.

A. We should desire them eagerly

Paul uses the same word three times in 1 Corinthians 12 and 14 (12:31, 14:1, 12). This is the most important thing. If you're not thirsty, you won't drink! To whet your appetite, maybe consider reading more about them.

B. We shouldn't make excuses

1. I'm not worthy

Paul refers to the gifts as charismata (12:4). This comes from charis 'grace'.

We don't receive them because we deserve them. We receive them because of God's grace.

Don't hold back from seeking spiritual gifts because you feel unworthy.

2. I'm not suitable

Paul also uses the word pneumatika (12:1), which in the context means supernatural.

So these particular gifts have nothing to do with our natural ability.

We shouldn't make excuses like I'm not talented enough – old enough – clever enough etc.

Our lack of ability doesn't limit God.

3. They're beyond my reach

Another word he uses is phanerosis (12:7) which means an outward evidencing of a latent principle.

The light that shines from a lightbulb is the evidence of electricity that's at work in it.

Supernatural gifts are the outward evidence of the power of the Holy Spirit at work in us.

They are not beyond your reach. They don't come from God in outer space. They come from the Holy Spirit who is in you.

C. We must keep filled with the Spirit

My little book, A New Dimension, explains what this means. The disciples were first filled with the Spirit when they were baptised in the Spirit at Pentecost. They then began to speak in tongues. Once we have been baptised in the Spirit, we need to fan this gift into flame (2 Timothy 1:6-7). Speaking in tongues regularly will build us up spiritually (14:4) and help us maintain the fulness of the Spirit.

D. We must pray for the gifts The Holy Spirit determines which of the gifts he will give us, but that doesn't mean that we may not pray for them (see 1 Corinthians 14:13). But how do I know what to pray for? Don't wait until you know which gift or gifts God wants you to have. Pray for what you would like. If the gift you're praying for is not for you, the Lord will guide you to what he desires. The important thing is to pray and to pray persistently.

E. We must act in faith

Mark 16:17,18 and Romans 12:6 reveal that spiritual gifts are operated by faith. And James 2:17 makes it clear that, if we really have faith, we will act. In the longer version of this talk I illustrate this by describing how I received the gift of interpretation of tongues.

So, that's it from me. Today I've not suggested any questions for discussion. Why not spend the time in prayer together for spiritual gifts? If you earnestly seek, you will receive.

Talk 5 Key Principles in 1 Corinthians 14:26

Hello again, and welcome to Talk 5 in our series on NT Guidelines for Small Group Meetings.

Today we're going to be seeking to identify the key principles underlying our key verse for this series, 1 Corinthians 14:26:

What then shall we say, brothers and sisters? When you come together, everyone has a hymn, or a word of instruction, a revelation, a tongue or an interpretation. All of these must be done for the strengthening of the church.

I see three key principles in this verse, Participation, Variety, and Edification. Paul wants everyone to participate in the meeting. This will happen in a variety of ways. And the purpose of it all is to strengthen or edify the church.

Participation

Paul hardly needed to recommend that the Corinthians participate in their meetings. That was something they were doing already. The problem was not lack of participation, but too much participation in things that did not edify the church, like speaking in tongues without interpretation, and everyone speaking in tongues at the same time.

But despite these problems, Paul still wants them to participate. He just wants them to participate in the right way – for the strengthening of the church.

As we saw from chapter 12, every part of the body is needed. There should always be opportunity, whenever we gather, for the expression of the many gifts and graces that the Spirit has imparted to the members.

This should be easy enough in home groups, even if it's not always possible in church. But even there, I believe there should always be opportunity for them to do so

And they should be encouraged to do so. People are more likely to participate when time is specifically allocated for this, and it's made clear that participation is welcome. If we really want people to participate, we must make room for it.

Variety

Paul refers to:

a hymn, or a word of instruction, a revelation, a tongue or an interpretation.

These are, of course, just a representative sample of what might happen in a meeting, but they suggest three main areas:

· The musical dimension (a hymn)

· The doctrinal dimension (a word of instruction)

· The supernatural dimension (a revelation, a tongue, etc).

We have already dealt with the supernatural dimension at some length. So we will confine our attention to the musical and doctrinal dimensions.

The musical dimension – everyone of you has a hymn

The first thing Paul refers to in 14:26 is a hymn. Actually, the word in Greek is literally a psalm, and everywhere else in New Testament it refers to one of the Psalms in the Old Testament. However, a psalm has been defined as a song or poem used in worship, so the translation hymn is quite appropriate.

But what exactly did Paul mean by having a psalm? At the very least, Paul is saying is that everyone should have the opportunity to contribute to the worship by having a song. But how do you have a song?

This must mean more than joining in the songs chosen in advance by the worship leader! So does he mean that everyone should have the opportunity to sing a solo?! Clearly not! So how can we put Paul's recommendation into practice?

Well, one way would be to do what we used to do years ago. We could give opportunity for people to choose a hymn for everyone to sing, or, in a time of open worship, to spontaneously start singing a well-known hymn or chorus for everyone to join in – but please don't do that if you've got a voice like mine! It's not your ministry!

I realise that this may not easily fit in with modern styles of worship where the pursuit of excellence in performance is important, but I do know from experience what a blessing it can be when someone in the congregation spontaneously has a song in one of the ways I have just suggested – and this should be easy enough to make room for in home groups .

But now I want to look at the only other reference to singing in 1 Corinthians 14, where in verse 15, talking about singing in tongues, Paul says:

I will sing with my spirit (in tongues), but I will also sing with my mind (in a language I understand).

We've already seen that this is part of what Paul is recommending for the use of tongues in private, but this raises the question as to whether singing in tongues is appropriate in public. There may be a reference to this in Ephesians 5:19, where Paul mentions spiritual songs along with psalms and hymns. KJV is more literal than NIV when it translates this as

speaking to yourselves in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody in your heart to the Lord…

We know from 1 Corinthians 14 that speaking in tongues is one way of speaking to ourselves and to God (28) and that in doing so we are praying or singing with our spirit (14-15). However, in Ephesians 5:19 it's unclear whether Paul is envisaging a public or private situation. The reference to heart rather than hearts might suggest that he is speaking to them as individuals, whereas speaking to yourselves (plural) could be taken to refer to when they are gathered in worship.

Perhaps he intends both. At Pentecost the disciples were filled with the Spirit both collectively and individually. And we need, both as a church and as individuals within it, to keep on being filled with the Spirit. If I can sing in tongues privately to maintain the fulness of the Spirit, cannot the church do so collectively?

I confess that I was once rather concerned about this, especially when unbelievers were present, on the basis of what Paul says about them thinking we are mad (14:23). But then something happened that made me think again.

During part of the time when I was Principal of Mattersey Hall Bible College, the college chapel was across the road from the main part of our campus, and the students' worship could easily be heard by anyone passing by. There would often be times when everyone was spontaneously singing in tongues to worship the Lord, and I wondered what the local residents might think of it.

But I was greatly reassured when I heard that one of them had asked:

What is that beautiful singing I sometimes hear when I walk past your chapel? It's so unusual, and it gives me a great sense of peace.

The Corinthians were undoubtedly out of order in the way they were exercising the gift of tongues and clearly needed the strong warning that Paul gave them. But perhaps today he might be encouraging some churches at least to move in the opposite direction!

As at Pentecost, there will always be those who criticise the moving of the Spirit, but if we are able to give an explanation of what's happening, as Peter did, there may well be more who are persuaded by our message than those who oppose it.

The doctrinal dimension – a word of instruction

The Greek word translated in NIV as a word of instruction is didache, which literally means teaching. It can also mean doctrine. Paul says relatively little about this in 1 Corinthians 14, but in verse 19 he stresses the importance of teaching when he says:

But in the church I would rather speak five intelligible words to instruct others than ten thousand words in a tongue.

And of course, most of the contents of Paul's letters were written to instruct the churches in the truth and to expose false doctrine. What we believe is of vital importance and every genuine experience of the Spirit finds its foundation in the truth of God's word.

There are many scriptures that emphasise the importance of doctrine. In WYCT Chapter 8, for example, I refer to Matthew 15:9 and 16:12, John 8:32, Colossians 2:22, 1 Timothy 4:13, 16, 2 Timothy 3:16, Titus 1:9 and 2:10, and 2 John 7-10.

The sound exposition of the Scriptures is essential whenever we come together. The teaching of the Word of God shouldn't be neglected in favour of other things. As we'll see later, there needs to be balance in our meetings.

Edification

This is the major theme of the whole chapter. If love is the dominant theme of chapter 13, in chapter 14 edification is the way that love is expressed in the context of the gathered church. That's why Paul says everything must be done for the strengthening of the church.

We have already looked at Paul's specific teaching on tongues, interpretation, and prophecy in some detail, but now we need to consider the key principles that underly that teaching and see if they can be applied more widely than the specific issues Paul was addressing in Corinth. As we do so, we will discover five principles that need to be applied if our meetings are to be edifying.

Putting other people first

This is the principle underlying Paul's teaching in verses 1-5. There he is saying that in church prophecy is more valuable than tongues because when you speak in tongues you edify only yourself, but if you prophesy you will edify others. He picks up the same theme in verse 17:

You may be giving thanks well enough, but the other person is not edified.

The principle underlying this teaching is putting others first. And that principle can be applied far more widely than the issue of speaking in tongues. For example, it's good that I have the freedom to stand and worship the Lord while others are sitting down, but if by standing I prevent the person behind me from singing because they cannot see the words on the screen in front, I may be 'giving thanks well', but the other person is not edified. We need to be considerate to others in the way we worship the Lord.

And perhaps those of us who frequently lead in prayer, and sometimes several times in a meeting, might consider holding back to make space for others so do so. As my old pastor, Alfred Webb, used to say, Please don't take more than your fair share of the cake!

Intelligibility

Another of the ways we can build up our fellow Christians is by making sure they can understand. In verse 9 Paul says:

Unless you speak intelligible words with your tongue, how will anyone know what you are saying?

Of course, he's talking about the futility of speaking in tongues in church unless it's interpreted. It's pointless unless people can understand it. But that's true of everything we do in church. Not everything we say in English is easy to understand – but it should be!

This applies to our preaching, our prayers, the songs we sing, our praise and worship – everything. In verse 16 it's clear that Paul expects that everyone present should be able to say Amen to whatever we say, but to do that they must first understand it,

…how can one who… does not understand say "Amen" to your thanksgiving, since he does not know what you are saying?

For example, how can I say Amen to someone's prayer or praise if I can't make out what they're saying because the people around me are making too much noise, or if the background music is too loud? Saying Amen means expressing your agreement with what's been said, and you can't do that if you haven't heard it properly.

Responsibility

As we saw in the last talk when discussing prophets and prophecy, Paul says that

The spirits of prophets are subject to the control of prophets (32).

This implies that both prophets and those who have the gift of prophecy are responsible for what they say and how they use their gifts. But the need to take responsibility for our actions goes far wider than the gift of prophecy. If God has entrusted us with any spiritual gift, we are responsible for how we use it.

For example, the Holy Spirit does not force us to speak in tongues. He enables us to do so. We are responsible for when, how often, and how loudly. This principle applies to everything we do in church. We are to follow the teaching of Scripture and of our leaders (37-38) and we cannot make the excuse: I couldn't help it. The Holy Spirit made me do it. And, as we have already said, the very fact that Paul gave us instructions on how these gifts should be used shows that we are responsible for how we use them.

Order

Paul says that God is not a God of disorder but of peace (33), and it's our responsibility to see that everything is done in a fitting and orderly way (40). In the context this meant ensuring that speaking in tongues should be done one at a time and that only one person should interpret each utterance (27). And the same principle applied to the use of prophecy (30).

Paul's specific teaching on this still applies today, but the wider principle holds good for everything we do. Everything should done in a fitting and orderly way.

Balance

Finally, it's clear from Paul's teaching that there needs to be a measure of balance in our meetings. In Corinth there was too much speaking in tongues. In another church it might be too much music, or even too much teaching! If there is to be the variety of which Paul speaks in verse 26, and if each member is to have the opportunity to contribute, leaders need to ensure that there is a healthy balance in each meeting.

But that is not to say that there cannot be special occasions when an entire meeting is given over to teaching, or to prayer, or to worship, for example. Such occasions are not to be confused with our regular meetings, where preserving a measure of balance will be essential to the edification of all God's people.

Summary

1. There are three principles underlying Paul's teaching in 1 Corinthians 14:26 – participation, variety, and edification.

2. Our meetings should include the supernatural, the musical and the doctrinal.

3. Most important of all, everything should be done for the edification of the church.

4. That will be achieved by:

a) putting others first

b) making sure that what is said is intelligible

c) taking responsibility for our actions

d) preserving order and balance in our meetings.

That's it from me for today. Now over to group leaders for questions for discussion.

Questions for discussion

1. How could we implement Paul's recommendation to have a song in our meetings?

2. How much time should be allocated for teaching in our home groups?

3. How can we show more consideration for others by what we do in our meetings? Consider different ways of putting other people first.

4. How can we ensure that everything is done in a fitting and orderly way?

5. How can we encourage those who rarely, if ever, say anything in our meetings to participate more, and those who participate regularly (and maybe a bit too much?) to participate less? Which category do you come into?

Talk 4 The Right Use of Prophecy

Hello again and welcome to Talk 4 in our series on NT Guidelines for Small Group Meetings.

In our last two talks we were looking at Paul's teaching on tongues and interpretation. Today our subject is the gift of prophecy. We will consider what it is, its value and purpose, its limitations, and how it should be used in our meetings.

What is prophecy?

People sometimes confuse prophecy with foretelling the future, but its basic meaning is speaking on behalf of someone else. In the Bible it's usually used to refer to speaking on behalf of God. And obviously, if you're going to speak on behalf of God you need to hear from him first. This happens by the revelation of the Holy Spirit.

In Old Testament times and right up to Acts 2 in the New Testament, the Spirit was given to relatively few people, but from Pentecost onwards the gift of the Spirit was made available to all God's people. So prophecy in the New Testament worked rather differently from how it worked before Pentecost. There are now three different ways in which we may be said to prophesying:

1. When we tell others about Jesus we are speaking on God's behalf and so there's a sense in which we're 'prophesying'. This is something all Christians can, and should, do.

2. If we have received the spiritual gift of prophecy, when we use it we are prophesying. But this gift is not given to everyone. See 1 Corinthians 12:8-11, Romans 12:6).

3. If we have the ministry of a prophet, our prophecies may well contain supernatural revelation about the future. See, for example Agabus (Acts 11:27-28, 21:10). Not all Christians, and not even all who have the gift of prophecy, have this ministry.

There isn't time to go into all these three ways in these talks, but if you want more on this you'll find it in WYCT Ch. 7, and Body Builders Chapters 9 and 12. In this series we'll be limiting our attention to the spiritual gift of prophecy, because that's mainly what Paul is talking about in 1 Corinthians 14, where he describes it like this:

… everyone who prophesies speaks to people for their strengthening, encouragement and comfort (v3).

It's listed among the supernatural gifts Paul mentions in 1 Corinthians 12:8-10. So, perhaps we could best define it as:

The supernatural gift of the Holy Spirit which enables us to speak to others on behalf of God by the direct inspiration of the Holy Spirit for their strengthening, encouragement and comfort .

So, it's not the same as when we bring a brief encouraging word during an open time of prayer or worship. It's only when there's a distinctly supernatural element that such 'words' are really the gift of prophecy.

The value and purpose of prophecy

Paul valued prophecy very highly indeed. He begins 1 Corinthians 14:1 by saying:

Follow the way of love and eagerly desire spiritual gifts, especially the gift of prophecy.

This is the main theme of the chapter. And he ends the chapter as he has started it:

Therefore, my brothers, be eager to prophesy… (39).

And we've seen in previous talks why he values it so highly. It's because it edifies the church (1 Corinthians 14:4-5). That's why he wants to us be passionate about it! Because …everyone who prophesies speaks to men for their strengthening, encouragement and comfort (v.3).

This, in the context of church worship, is the practical outworking of Paul's teaching about love in chapter 13. We are to love our fellow Christians, and if we love them we will want to be a blessing to them, to strengthen, encourage, and comfort them. And that's what prophecy does.

But that's not all. Prophecy can also have a powerful effect on unbelievers who may come into the church.

24 …if an unbeliever or someone who does not understand comes in while everybody is prophesying, he will be convinced by all that he is a sinner and will be judged by all, 25 and the secrets of his heart will be laid bare. So he will fall down and worship God, exclaiming, "God is really among you!"

So, prophecy is to be valued very highly, not only because it strengthens, encourages, and comforts believers, but also because of the powerful effect it can have on people who do not yet believe.

But having said that, prophecy is not without its limitations. In 13:9-10 Paul says:

For we know in part and we prophesy in part, 10 but when perfection comes, the imperfect disappears.

This is because at present our knowledge is incomplete. We see but a poor reflection as in a mirror (12). Our prophecies are imperfect because they are our prophecies, and we are not perfect yet.

That's why in 14:12 Paul tells us to try to excel in it. If our use of God's precious gifts were perfect, we would not need to try to excel in them – in fact all Paul's instructions about their use would have been unnecessary!

And that's why we're told in 14:29 that we should weigh carefully what is said.

But that brings us to how prophecy should be used in our meetings.

The use of prophecy in our meetings

Perhaps the first thing to say about the use of prophecy in our meetings is that we should always bear in mind its purpose, which is to strengthen, encourage, comfort, and edify God's people (3-4).

There is no suggestion that it should be used to rebuke them, or even to give them guidance.

Paul tells us in Romans 8:14 that it's our privilege as God's children to be personally led by the Spirit . Guidance received through prophecy should simply serve as confirmation of something that God has already spoken to us about in our hearts.

A good example of this is found in Acts 13:1-3 where the prophets and teachers in the church at Antioch were told by the Holy Spirit to set Barnabas and Paul apart for the work to which he had already called them. Similarly, in Acts 21:1-15, Agabus predicts what will happen to Paul, but he does not tell him what to do.

Paul's specific teaching (29-32)

29 Two or three prophets should speak, and the others should weigh carefully what is said. 30 And if a revelation comes to someone who is sitting down, the first speaker should stop. 31 For you can all prophesy in turn so that everyone may be instructed and encouraged. 32 The spirits of prophets are subject to the control of prophets.

Two or three prophets should speak (29)

Paul may be using the word prophet here to refer to people like Agabus, or he could be meaning those who exercise the simple gift of prophecy. Either way, the principles he is teaching apply to both. The first of these is that, although prophecy is to be encouraged, its use is to be limited, and it needs to be judged or weighed carefully.

The others should weigh carefully what is said (29)

The verb translated weigh carefully is the same as is used for distinguishing between spirits in 12:10. The clear implication is that every prophecy needs to be evaluated. It's not infallible.

However, despite its limitations, Paul tells us in 1 Thessalonians 5:19-20 that it's not to be despised. But even that may indicate the possibility of human weakness in the operation of the gift. This could be why the Thessalonians had been despising it!

So prophecy needs to be judged or weighed carefully. But this raises two questions. The first is: Who is responsible for judging it?

Looking at the immediate context, Paul seems to mean the other prophets. The things of the Spirit are spiritually discerned (2:14), and those with a prophetic gift are more likely to weigh a prophetic revelation accurately.

But surely the others may be applied more widely than that? Certainly, pastors or teachers have a special responsibility here, and in the context of a small group perhaps the group leader has too. We need to be alert for anything that might mislead God's people.

But it's not just leaders who have this responsibility. We all have! We all have the capacity, and the responsibility, to weigh prophetic words. But that leads us to the second question:

How is prophecy to be judged?

There are two areas of importance here, its authenticity and its application.

By authenticity I mean, first of all, its conformity to Scripture. Paul is very clear in verse 37 that what he is writing… is the Lord's command. All prophecy must be judged in the light of what the Spirit has already said in the Bible. But judging is more than an intellectual exercise based on our Bible knowledge. There is a spiritual dimension to it too. A 'word' may be in line with Scripture, but it may not be what the Spirit is emphasising to us right now.

By application I mean that we need to consider to whom the prophecy may apply. Is it for me? Is it for the whole church? How do we apply it in practice?

These are decisions that we all must make after hearing a prophecy. Clearly, we cannot judge it until we have heard it! However, in some churches people who feel they have a prophetic word to bring are expected to share it with the church leadership before bringing it publicly. The church leaders evaluate it before it is given. The advantages of this are twofold:

· It prevents any unauthentic or inappropriate prophecy being given in public.

· Those who are inexperienced, but eager to prophesy, feel more secure in having their prophecy confirmed by the leaders before bringing it.

We sometimes encourage this in our church, but at the same time we don't want those who have a proven track record in prophecy to feel they have to consult the church leaders before they prophesy. Their prophecies should be judged after they have delivered them, which is clearly what Paul had in mind in the verse we're looking at.

What's more, to insist that leaders must be consulted before prophecies are given seems out of keeping with the encouragement Paul gives in verse 26 for all to participate, and with the spontaneity implicit in his teaching on the matter in verse 30.

And if a revelation comes to someone who is sitting down, the first speaker should stop (30)

This shows:

· the spontaneity that Paul envisages in Christian meetings – there was no set liturgy

· prophecy may also contain an element of revelation

· the importance of making room for others.

For you can all prophesy in turn (31)

This doesn't mean that everyone in the meeting can prophesy, because not everyone has the gift. And I think it's unlikely that he means that everyone with the gift can prophesy in every meeting! Like tongues and interpretation, he limits prophetic words to two or three (v29). There's good sense in this, because if we get too many people bringing too many 'words' we can't possibly take it all in!

The spirits of prophets are subject to the control of prophets (32)

All the gifts God gives us are under our control. This is clear from the fact that specific instructions are given for their use. If the use of the gifts were only dependent upon the Holy Spirit himself, such instructions would be both inappropriate and unnecessary.

That's why Paul teaches that we are able to:

· regulate the number of prophetic utterances in any one meeting (14:29).

· cease prophesying if something is revealed to someone else (14:30).

· prophesy rather than speak in tongues if unbelievers are present (14:23-25).

Our ability to control the gift of prophecy also implies that we are responsible for the way we express the message God has given us. I may believe that God has given me something to say, but I am not God, and I should not talk as if I were! And neither should you!

So please, prophesy, but don't say 'I'.

For example, it would be better to say

The Lord loves you... than to say, I love you.

Avoid giving the impression that you are God!

But that now brings us to the final verses of 1 Corinthians 14. Note that verses 34-35 relate to women asking their husbands at home. It does not relate to women praying or prophesying in meetings, which Paul clearly allowed subject to the social conditions prevailing at the time (11:5).

In verse 37 he insists that what he is writing is the Lord's command. Paul was a church leader and he was writing Scripture. Anyone who is truly spiritual will submit to the authority of Scripture and respect their church leaders.

Finally, prophecy is to be encouraged, and tongues should not be forbidden (39). And whatever happens, everything should be done in a fitting and orderly way (40).

That's it. That's all from me for now. Thanks for listening. Now, over to group leaders for questions for discussion. The Lord bless you.

Questions for discussion

1. From what you've heard, how do you think we can distinguish between a brief encouraging 'word' and the gift of prophecy?

2. Why do you think Paul wants us to be eager to prophecy?

3. How can we encourage the use of this important gift in church and in our home groups?

4. Might a group discussion be a good way to evaluate a prophetic word?

5. You feel that a prophecy might be specifically for you, but you're not quite sure. What should you do?

Talk 3 The Right Use of Interpretation of Tongues

Hello again. Welcome to Talk 3 in our series on NT Guidelines for Small Group Meetings.

Last time, our subject was speaking in tongues and its right use in our meetings. We saw that we should not speak in tongues loudly unless it's for interpretation and that it must only be spoken loudly if someone is there to interpret it.

So today we'll be looking in more detail at the important gift of interpretation of tongues. Apart from two references in chapter 12 (v10 and v30), our main source of material for understanding this gift is found in 1 Corinthians 14, so it would be good to have your Bible open there. In this talk I will:

· Examine the references to interpretation of tongues

· Discuss certain practical issues that arise from this

· Finish with a brief summary.

A. References to interpretation of tongues

1 Corinthians 12:10-11, 30

10 …and to still another the interpretation of tongues. 11 All these are the work of one and the same Spirit, and he gives them to each one, just as he determines.

30 Do all have gifts of healing? Do all speak in tongues? Do all interpret?

These verses make clear that not everybody has this gift. Each gift is given as the Holy Spirit determines. (By the way, speaking in tongues in verse 30 refers to its use in church, not to its private use as prayer with one's spirit).

1 Corinthians 14:5

The person who prophesies is greater than the person who speaks in tongues, unless they interpret so that the church may be edified.

This verse reveals the purpose of the gift – the edification of the church. As we saw in our last talk, prophesying is preferable to speaking in tongues because prophecy edifies the church whereas speaking in tongues does not, because no one can understand it (2).

However, if speaking in tongues is interpreted, it can edify the church, in which case it is as valuable as prophecy. But this need not mean that it's necessarily the same as prophecy. We will discuss this in more detail in a moment.

1 Corinthians 14:13

In verse 12 Paul tells the Corinthians to try to excel in gifts that build up the church. This gives the reason for what he says in verse 13.

Anyone who speaks in a tongue should pray that they may interpret…

Why? Because the only way that speaking in tongues will edify others is if it is interpreted.

Notice too that the verse does not mean that all interpretations should be given by the person who has spoken in tongues. The interpretation may very well be given by someone else. To allow someone other than the speaker in tongues to interpret means that more people are participating in the meeting, something Paul is keen to encourage, as the next passage makes clear.

Verses 26-28

26 What then shall we say, brothers? When you come together, everyone has a hymn, or a word of instruction, a revelation, a tongue or an interpretation. All of these must be done for the strengthening of the church.

27 If anyone speaks in a tongue, two – or at the most three – should speak, one at a time, and someone must interpret.

28 If there is no interpreter, the speaker should keep quiet in the church and speak to himself and God.

Verse 26 is the key verse upon which this series is based. It gives clear guidance on the sort of things we should expect in our meetings. Notice that tongues and interpretation are included in what Paul is recommending. But note the use of the word if in verse 27:

If anyone speaks in a tongue…

This shows us that Paul does not automatically assume that there will be speaking in tongues in the meeting. The things mentioned in verse 26 are not obligatory ingredients for every meeting. They are the kind of things to expect, but not necessarily in every meeting.

The manifestation of spiritual gifts will vary from meeting to meeting as the Spirit leads. The main point is that whatever is taking place, everything must be done for the strengthening of the church.

So, if anyone speaks in tongues, what should happen next? Paul is quite clear on this:

If anyone speaks in a tongue, let it be by two or at the most three people. And let one person interpret (my translation).

This doesn't refer to private use of tongues in church, which is allowed, provided it's done quietly, speaking to yourself and to God (28). It refers to the use of tongues for the purpose of interpretation, because Paul says, Let one person interpret. So, during the course of a meeting, no more than three people should speak in tongues with a view to interpretation.

Another practical issue that we will need to consider in due course is how to understand and apply the final part of verse 27, which NIV translates as, Someone must interpret, but which KJV translates this as,

Let one interpret (my emphasis),

which is the literal translation of the Greek word that Paul uses here. That's why, in the translation I offered earlier, I translated it as

Let one person interpret.

But this doesn't mean that Paul is saying that if there are two or three utterances in tongues, the same person should give the interpretation for all of them. But more on this in a moment.

Finally, Paul's use of the word interpreter in verse 28 is interesting. He says:

If there is no interpreter, the speaker (in tongues) should keep quiet in the church and speak to himself and God.

The term interpreter clearly indicates that those who exercised the gift of interpretation were seen as permanently possessing the gift. If that were not so, how could the speaker in tongues know whether there was an interpreter present or not? A person who has interpreted once can be expected to do so again.

So, if we want to speak in tongues publicly, we need to check that there's an interpreter present. And if there is, we are free to go ahead. Obviously that places a serious responsibility on the interpreter to be ready to interpret at any time, because we do not know when someone is going to speak in tongues. To know more about receiving spiritual gifts, you might like to visit my website (www.davidpetts.org) and listen to two short podcasts I gave in February 2019 (podcasts 018 and 019).

B. Practical issues arising from Paul's teaching

i. The form the gift should take – prophecy or praise?

There's no time to go into much detail about this now, but I have said a bit more in WYCT pp77-79 and more still in Body Builders pp141-144.

However, the short answer is this. As we saw last time, tongues can take the form of prayer or praise or giving thanks. So, if the gift of interpretation enables us to understand what is being said when someone speaks in tongues, it follows that the interpretation should take the same form as the tongue, whether prayer, or praise, or thanksgiving etc.

But what about 'messages' in tongues where the interpretation sounds like a prophecy? Those who take the view that interpretation should take the form of a prophecy base their argument on 14:5 where Paul says:

The person who prophesies is greater than the person who speaks in tongues, unless they interpret so that the church may be edified.

The argument goes like this. Prophecy edifies the church. Interpretation edifies the church. Therefore, the interpretation of tongues equals prophecy. But there is a logical flaw in this argument.

It's like saying, Tea is a drink. Coffee is a drink. Therefore, tea equals coffee!

Paul says that both prophecy and interpretation edify the church, but that does not necessarily mean that they do so in the same way. If, for example, interpretation were to take the form of praise, rather than prophecy, wouldn't it edify the church? And who is not edified by the psalms of praise? I have personally been greatly edified by both forms of interpretation.

However, other people insist on praise interpretations and base their argument on the NIV translation of 14:2, which reads:

For anyone who speaks in a tongue does not speak to men but to God. Indeed, no one understands him…

So, it is argued, if the tongue is to God, the interpretation must be to God, in the form of either praise or prayer. However, a more literal translation would be:

For the person speaking in a tongue does not speak to men but to God, for no one understands him… (my translation).

This makes clear that the reason for saying that speaking in tongues is to God is that no one can understand it. When the disciples spoke in tongues at Pentecost, did it not speak to men? And why was this? Because they understood what was being said.

It follows, therefore, that if tongues in church can be understood through the use of the gift of interpretation, it can most certainly speak to us. So in my view both praise and prophecy style interpretations are legitimate manifestations of the gift, and we should accept and encourage both.

ii. Two or at the most three…

The meaning is clear, but what should we do if someone brings a fourth utterance in tongues? Should it be interpreted?

Of course, this is unlikely to happen if the church has been taught how spiritual gifts should be operated in our meetings.

However, if it does happen, what should we do? My view is that it should be interpreted because this would be more edifying for the church which is the basic principle behind Paul's teaching in this passage.

For more detail on this, please see WYCT pp79-80.

iii. 'Let one person interpret' (v27)

I said earlier that the Greek in verse 27 is best translated as, Let one person interpret. This in fact reflects how the Authorised Version translates it and, as a result, some churches have taught that, if there are two or three utterances in tongues, the same person should give the interpretation for all of them.

This is a valid application of what Paul is saying, but I think it more likely that his intention is to say that each utterance in tongues needs only one person to interpret it. The unruly members of the Corinthian church needed to hear this.

C. Summary

1. Everything we do in church should be edifying to others.

2. Tongues edifies you, but it doesn't edify others, unless it's interpreted.

3. So, the purpose of the gift of interpretation is to edify the church.

4. Tongues may take the form of prayer or praise or prophecy, so interpretations may take any of these forms.

5. We should not speak loudly in tongues unless there is an interpreter there. So we need to be sure there's an interpreter there before we speak out loudly in tongues.

6. If we speak in tongues aloud in church, we should pray for the gift of interpretation, bearing in mind that it's not given to everyone.

7. If you have the gift of interpretation, you have a responsibility to interpret.

8. Tongues and interpretation should occur no more than two or three times in each meeting.

9. Only one person should interpret each message, but it doesn't have to be the same person each time.

10. Since it's so important for tongues in church to be interpreted, we should all wait for the interpretation to be given before doing anything else (like leading in prayer etc.).

D. Questions for discussion

1. Why do you think we should all wait for the interpretation to be given before doing anything else?

2. Someone speaks out loud in tongues, but no one else interprets it. You have interpreted tongues in the past, but you don't feel you have the interpretation of this time. What should you do? Hint: See my personal testimony about this, in WYCT pp.81-83 or Body Builders, Ch. 8.

3. Do we need to alter our group's way of doing things to make way for the operation of gifts like tongues and interpretation (and indeed other gifts of the Spirit)?

Talk 2 The Right Use of Speaking in Tongues

Welcome to Talk2 in our series on NT Guidelines for Small Group Meetings.

We started last time by suggesting that 1 Corinthians 14:26 should be taken as a serious indication of the sort of thing God wants to happen when we meet. Let me remind you what it says:

What then shall we say, brothers? When you come together, everyone has a hymn, or a word of instruction, a revelation, a tongue or an interpretation. All of these must be done for the strengthening of the church.

We then did a quick survey of chapters 12 and 13 to see how they might influence our understanding of this verse.

Today we're going to talk about speaking in tongues which was very important in the life of the early church and is still a very valuable gift today. So we'll be talking about why it's so important both in our personal prayers at home and in our gatherings. And we'll finish by looking at 1 Corinthians 14 and seeing what Paul has to say about exactly how it should be used when we meet together.

A. The importance of tongues

1. Its importance in the early church

a. As we all know, speaking in tongues was the first spiritual gift that the disciples were given when they were filled the Spirit on the day of Pentecost (Acts 2:1-4). empowering them for service (Acts 1:8). [For more on this, please see A New Dimension – how to be filled with the Holy Spirit (details on my website – www.davidpetts.org].

b. After Pentecost, when others received the Spirit, it was the first manifestation recorded after the Spirit came upon them (Acts 10:44-46, Acts 19:1-6).

c. This was almost certainly because speaking in tongues was to become an important part of a Christian's prayer life, enabling them to pray with their spirit (1 Corinthians 14:14), but more of that in a moment.

2. The value of the gift today

Speaking in tongues was a valuable gift in New Testament times and it's just as valuable today:

a. It can be used as a powerful sign to unbelievers as happened in Acts 2 and led to some 3000 people becoming Christians.

b. It is an important aspect in our private prayer times

c. It can be a blessing in church when it is accompanied by the gift of interpretation, which will be the subject of out next talk.

So let's now turn to 1 Corinthians 14 and see what Paul has to say about the use of tongues in our private prayer times, before we turn to its use in our meetings.

B. The use of tongues in private

Consider the following:

2 For anyone who speaks in a tongue does not speak to men but to God. Indeed, no one understands him; he utters mysteries with his spirit.

4 He who speaks in a tongue edifies himself, but he who prophesies edifies the church.

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 mind; I will sing with my spirit, but I will also sing with my mind.

16 If you are praising God with your spirit, how can one who finds himself among those who do not understand say "Amen" to your thanksgiving, since he does not know what you are saying?

17 You may be giving thanks well enough, but the other man is not edified.

So when we speak in tongues:

· we don't know what we're saying (14),

· but we're speaking to God (2)

· which may be prayer (14-15), or praise (16), or giving thanks (16-17) to God,

· and in doing so we're edifying ourselves (building ourselves up spiritually) (4).

This is probably why in 2 Timothy 1:6-7 Paul says:

6 For this reason I remind you to fan into flame the gift of God, which is in you through the laying on of my hands.

7 For God did not give us a spirit of timidity, but a spirit of power, of love and of self-discipline

Every time we speak in tongues in our prayer time we are fanning into flame the gift of God that we received when God gave us the Holy Spirit.

So speaking in tongues is a great thing to do in private, but what about in our meetings?

C. The right use of tongues in our meetings

1. Edification – the underlying principle

It's clear that Paul valued very highly his ability to speak in tongues. In verse 18 he says:

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

This was because it enabled him to pray with his spirit rather than just praying with his mind.

But please note what he says in verse 19:

But in the church I would rather speak five intelligible words to instruct others than ten thousand words in a tongue.

So, although he spoke in tongues a great deal when he was not in church – that is, when he was in private – he did not do so in public. He is much more guarded about the use of tongues in church. Look at verses 3-5 again:

3 But everyone who prophesies speaks to men for their strengthening, encouragement and comfort. 4 He who speaks in a tongue edifies himself, but he who prophesies edifies the church. 5 I would like every one of you to speak in tongues, but I would rather have you prophesy. He who prophesies is greater than one who speaks in tongues, unless he interprets, so that the church may be edified.

He wants everyone to be able to speak in tongues, but it has no value in church if it's not interpreted (v5).

Tongues are unintelligible unless they are interpreted and without interpretation the speaker is just speaking into the air (9).

But when interpreted they can fulfil a similar function to prophecy, which also edifies the church (4) bringing strengthening, encouragement and comfort (3).

We'll come back to that in our next talk when we consider Paul's teaching on the gift of interpretation of tongues, but for now it's enough to note that what's important is:

whatever we do in our meetings should be for the edification, strengthening, encouragement and comfort of those present.

For example, Paul is concerned about what happens if unbelievers come into our meetings.. He deals with this in verses 21-25 where it's clear that, despite the miracle that happened at Pentecost where speaking in tongues led to the conversion of some 3000 people, far from expecting unbelievers to come to faith when hearing speaking in tongues, Paul thinks it more likely that they will conclude that the Corinthians are out of their mind!

Why did he think this? Perhaps because situations like the day of Pentecost are very rare. On the vast majority of occasions, it's not likely that any foreigner will recognise their language when we are speaking in tongues. So Paul advises caution. On the basis of all this, it's better, in my view, to consider the use of tongues as a sign to unbelievers as something exceptional.

Having said that, verses 21-25 are extremely difficult because they contain an apparent contradiction and have long been a source of debate among scholars. We don't have time to go into them in now, but if you want to see a possible solution, please read WYCT pp. 66-68.

The main point is this:

Whatever we do in our meetings we should always be sensitive to the needs of others, especially if there are newcomers present.

You may be worshipping well, but if others are not helped by it, you are not acting in love! (My paraphrase of verse 17).

In the context Paul is talking about tongues, but the principle surely applies to everything we do in our meetings!

2. Paul's teaching on how to apply this principle

Despite Paul's clear teaching that prophecy is preferable to tongues (1-5), he by no means discourages the use of tongues in church. He expects speaking in tongues to be a regular part of the worship of the church (26) and it is certainly not to be forbidden (39).

However, the key to its use in church is that it needs to be interpreted so that everyone may be edified. In fact, in verse 28 he tells us that

If there is no interpreter, the speaker should keep quiet in the church and speak to himself and God.

This suggests that the personal use of tongues in church is not prohibited, but it must be done quietly as it will edify no one except the speaker (cf. 4). Speaking out loud in tongues, therefore, is to be strongly discouraged unless it is intended that it be interpreted, and that of course will require someone with the gift of interpretation to be present.

This may, of course, be the person who has spoken in tongues, as in verses 12-13 Paul encourages those who speak in tongues to pray for the gift of interpretation:

So it is with you. Since you are eager to have spiritual gifts, try to excel in gifts that build up the church. 13 For this reason anyone who speaks in a tongue should pray that he may interpret what he says.

So, if you want to speak out loud in tongues and don't have the gift of interpretation, you must first make sure that someone is present who does, and, if you're not sure, you must speak quietly to yourself and to God (28). There's just as much blessing in speaking in tongues quietly as in speaking loudly!

However, if an interpreter is present, you may speak out loud in tongues with a view to its being interpreted for the edification of the church. But this is subject to the following conditions:

If anyone speaks in a tongue, two, or at the most three, should speak, one at a time, and someone must interpret (27).

So please, if someone speaks out loud in tongues in a meeting, wait until it's interpreted before you say anything.

D. Summary

Speaking in tongues is the ability to speak a language we have never learned.

It may be expressed in a variety of ways, including, prayer, praise, thanksgiving etc.

When we speak in tongues it's our spirit that is praying, not our mind.

God gives us this gift to help us edify ourselves – to build ourselves up spiritually.

It is also given so that when it's interpreted it will edify the church.

It can also be used as a sign to unbelievers when, as at Pentecost, they understand the language that is being spoken.

We should expect this gift to be in operation in our meetings, but it should be used quietly if it is not for interpretation.

It must only be spoken aloud if an interpreter is present, and it must be used only two, or at the most three, times in a meeting.

We will consider this further in the next talk when we examine Paul's teaching on the gift of interpretation.

For more on this, please see WYCT Ch. 5.

But there's much more that could be said, and, if you have a copy, you might like to read Chapter Eight of my book Body Builders – Gifts to make God's people grow.

E. Questions for discussion

1. If you do not yet speak in tongues, bearing in mind its value in prayer, do you feel you would like to? Have you ever prayed for this gift?

2. If you do speak in tongues, how much use do you make of it in your personal prayer life?

3. In church or in your small group, do you always consider the edification of others before you take part?

4. How best could we make use of this wonderful gift (tongues) in our small group meetings?

NT Guidelines for Small Group Meetings Talk 1 An Overview of 1 Corinthians 12-13

Welcome to our new series. I'm calling it New Testament Guidelines for Small Group Meetings.

We'll be looking at what the New Testament has to say about what we should expect and how we should behave in our meetings. This includes what we do on Sunday mornings and in our home groups.

Our thoughts will centre on what Paul says in 1 Corinthians 14:26 where he makes the following recommendation:

What then shall we say brothers and sisters? When you come together, everyone has a hymn, or a word of instruction, a revelation, a tongue or an interpretation. All of these must be done for the strengthening of the church.

The churches in the New Testament would often have gathered in homes and that was almost certainly the case in Corinth. So, Paul's instructions are particularly relevant to smaller churches or home groups.

Small group meetings can take many different forms. Some meetings can be a real blessing and a source of edification to all, but sadly this is not always the case. The apostle Paul had to tell the Corinthians that their meetings were not for the better, but for the worse (1 Corinthians 11:17) because of their inconsiderate behaviour towards one another.

And that was when they were celebrating the Lord's Supper! Some were getting drunk while others were going hungry! And this selfish behaviour was not limited to food and drink. Some of them were 'hogging it' when it came to how they expressed themselves in worship – and that, as we will see, was perhaps their major problem.

Paul's teaching in the rest of chapter 11 and in those that follow was an attempt to put things right and to show what Christian gatherings should be like. And that will be the basis for our consideration of how we may make our small group meetings as beneficial as possible. We'll begin in this talk by giving a brief overview of Paul's teaching in chapters 12 and 13. This will help us to understand our key verse in the wider context.

As many of you will know, I have already written a short book on this subject entitled, When you come together – God's plans for when his people meet (WYCT). This contains much more than I have time to include in these notes, so please see me if you'd like a copy.

Before the meeting it would be really helpful if you read 1 Corinthians, chapters 12-14. And if you have a copy you might like to read WYCT chapters 1-3 if you have time.

So, as I was saying, our key verse is 1 Corinthians 14:26 and we need to begin by looking at the context in which it's set.

Setting the context – an overview of 1 Corinthians 12 to 14

There were plenty of problems with the church in Corinth. Chapters 1-10 make it clear that there were divisions, they were immature, they tolerated immorality, they were taking each other to court, and some of them lacked a basic understanding of the basic truths of the Christian faith. And on top of all that, their behaviour when they met together was at times appalling! They were thoughtless and inconsiderate.

No wonder Paul said that their meetings did more harm than good. We need to remember this as we look at what he says in chapters 12-14. The main problem he is addressing throughout is their thoughtless behaviour and attitude towards each other. It's clear from chapter 12 that some of them thought that they were superior to the others because of the spiritual gifts they possessed. And this was particularly true of speaking in tongues which was being used excessively in their meetings. So in chapter 12 he begins by giving some basic teaching on spiritual gifts.

Teaching on spiritual gifts (12:1-11)

I'm hoping you've read these verses before coming to the meeting. What's clear is that the supernatural gifts of the Holy Spirit were a regular part of their meetings, but the Corinthians were exercising them in ignorance. Paul had to teach them that:

1. The supernatural gifts of the Holy Spirit must be distinguished from demonic manifestations by the acknowledgment that Jesus is Lord (vv1-3)

2. Though the gifts are different they are all given by the same Spirit (vv4-10)

3. They are given as the Holy Spirit determines (v11)

What can we learn from this?

1. If you acknowledge Jesus as you Lord and Saviour, you need not fear that you will receive a demonic gift. Our heavenly Father doesn't give 'snakes' to his children (Luke 11:11-13).

2. In Spiritualism, where counterfeit gifts are given by demons, different gifts are given by different spirits.

3. Though they're different, all the gifts are important because it's the Holy Spirit who gives all of them.

4. As the Holy Spirit is the giver, He decides who gets what.

NOTE: Paul will say much more about spiritual gifts in the next two chapters.

Every member of the body is needed (12:12-30)

In this passage we learn that:

1. The church is one body which has many different members (v14)

2. Every member of the body is important and needed because God has put it there (vv14-27)

3. There should be no division in the body, but all the members should have equal concern for each part of it (v25)

These are all important principles to bear in mind in our group meetings. There isn't time to go into them now, but we'll pick up on some of them when we come to chapter 14.

1 Corinthians 13 We're Nothing without Love

Paul's teaching on love in this chapter is valuable in every situation, but in its context Paul is still talking about what should go on in our meetings. Chapter 14 is a practical application of what he's teaching about love here in 13.

Let's divide the chapter into three sections:

1. It's all meaningless without love (1-3)

2. The nature of love (4-7)

3. Recognising our limitations (8-12)

It's all meaningless without love (1-3)

If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I am only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal. 2 If I have the gift of prophecy and can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have a faith that can move mountains, but have not love, I am nothing. 3 If I give all I possess to the poor and surrender my body to the flames, but have not love, I gain nothing.

What can we learn from these verses?

1. Nothing is more important than love. Whatever gifts we may have and whatever we may do, if our motive is not love, it counts for nothing. Without love I am nothing (2) and I gain nothing (3).

2. This principle applies to every function of the body of Christ, not just to the things mentioned in these verses, which are just illustrations of it.

3. What he's taught about the body in chapter 12 will only be possible when we love one another. So the things he refers to in verses 1-3 are just illustrations of the great principle of the paramount importance of love.

But why does he choose these particular illustrations to make his point?

Because these were the particular problems facing the church in Corinth at the time.

It's evident from chapter 14 that there were problems in Corinth with their use of gifts like speaking in tongues and prophecy which are the two gifts he mentions first here.

So as we later consider Paul's encouragement in 14:26 for all to participate by bringing a contribution to our meetings, we need to remember that whatever we may bring must be brought in love.

The nature of love (4-8)

4 Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. 5 It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. 6 Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. 7 It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.

These verses have a far wider application than our understanding of chapter 14. But in the context, chapter 13 is set right in the middle of Paul's teaching in chapters 12 and 14. Notice the development of thought in these chapters:

12: The importance of the role of every Christian within the church as the body of Christ

13: The importance of LOVE

14: Specific direction on how this should work in our meetings.

Maybe we could summarise verses 4-7 as putting other people first.

As we will see when we come to look at chapter 14 in more detail, this is the underlying principle of all he says which is surely the main way in which we express our love for them. Prophecy, for example, is to be desired more than tongues because it edifies others, not just ourselves (14:1-5).

Think about how we can apply putting other people first to what we say and do in our meetings.

Recognising our limitations (8-12)

8 Love never fails. But where there are prophecies, they will cease; where there are tongues, they will be stilled; where there is knowledge, it will pass away. 9 For we know in part and we prophesy in part, 10 but when perfection comes, the imperfect disappears. 11 When I was a child, I talked like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child. When I became a man, I put childish ways behind me. 12 Now we see but a poor reflection as in a mirror; then we shall see face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I am fully known. 13 And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love.

What can we learn from this?

1. Although there will ultimately be no need for supernatural gifts, love will remain for ever. It never fails (8). It remains (13).

2. Wonderful though gifts like tongues and prophecy are, their operation is not infallible. We know in part and we prophesy in part. What Paul is encouraging in 14:26 must be understood in this light. God's gifts are perfect, but we are not. We do not yet see face to face. The gifts come from God, but they come through us, and we are fallible.

This must affect our understanding of all that Paul says in chapter 14, not just verse 26. As we eagerly desire spiritual gifts we are to try to excel in our use of them (12). This clearly implies that it's possible to exercise them without excelling in them.

That's why words of prophecy need to be weighed carefully (29) and why Paul found it necessary to give instruction as to how the gifts should be used. Had the operation of the gifts been infallible, such instruction would have been unnecessary.

But that's something we will consider in more detail later in the series.

Next time we'll start on Chapter 14 and will be looking at The Right Use of Speaking in Tongues.

So, that's it from me for today. Thanks for listening.

Now, some questions for discussion. Group leaders, over to you.

Questions for discussion

1. How important are the supernatural gifts of the Holy Spirit in the context of our small group? Do we make room for them? Have we all received the baptism in the Spirit?

2. What practical application does Paul's teaching that every part of the body is needed and to be valued equally make to what happens in our group and in church?

3. How might Paul's teaching on love (especially 13:4-7) affect our attitude as individuals in our group meetings and in church?

Hint: Key phrases could be: Love is patient…Love is kind… it is not rude…Love does not boast…It is not proud… It does not envy …Love is not self-seeking… Love rejoices with the truth… It always protects.

NT GUIDELINES FOR SMALL GROUP MEETINGS – INTRODUCTION

Welcome back to Great Bible Truths with Dr David Petts. If you've been a regular listener to my podcasts, you may have been wondering what's been happening since January, when I finished my series where I was reflecting on God's goodness to me throughout my life.

Well, for first few months of the year I was working on turning the contents of those podcasts into a new book and preparing it for publication. The good news is that it's now available from my website and I've given it the title:

All the Days of My Life – a Story of God's Unfailing Love.

I'm already receiving many encouraging reports from those who have read it, and if you'd like a copy, full details are on my website.

Since then, I've been working on six podcasts for use in our church home-groups and have now decided to make them more widely available as a new series. You may remember a series I did in 2023 under the heading When You Come Together. I later turned that into a book with the same title. The podcasts I have now produced are based on some of the teaching in that book, which is itself based on Paul's teaching in 1 Corinthians 14 – especially verse 26.

This new series of talks is specially designed for use in small groups such as home groups. It contains six talks of less than 20 minutes each. We look particularly at 1 Corinthians 14 to see what God had to say about how Christians back then should 'do church', and seeing how this might affect what we do today, particularly in small groups.

As usual, the full text of each talk will appear on my website along with the recording. This should be helpful particularly to group leaders, who would also benefit from my book When you Come Together – God's Plans for when His People Meet (WYCT), which could be useful background reading, as also could Body Builders – gifts to make God's people grow (on the subject of spiritual gifts).

The first talk in the series will be posted at the same time as this, and the rest will follow shortly. To help you prepare for that, I'm making a few suggestions. But first let me say that it's not my intention that the notes and podcasts should be slavishly followed. They're just there to help you and your group to discuss and pray about what God's word might be saying about what should be happening in your meetings.

Things to do ahead of the group meeting – seven suggestions

1. Make space in your diary to prepare for the meeting.

2. Read the relevant scripture passages. See the list below.

3. Listen to the podcast and study the notes.

4. Encourage group members to listen ahead of time too.

5. Plan the format of your meeting and ensure that the podcast is played towards the beginning of the meeting to leave time for discussion and prayer afterwards.

6. Think about the discussion questions I have included at the end of the talk. (N.B. You'll find these in the notes. They're NOT in the recording).

Consider if you will have time to discuss all of them. If not, which are the most relevant to your group?

7. Pray for the leading of the Spirit when the group gathers.

Finally, here's a list of relevant background reading for each talk. You might like to keep a copy of this for future reference. Obviously, the Bible passages are the most important. For your guidance, WYCT contains a bit more than the notes, and Body Builders even more. But how much background reading you do is up to you.

RELEVANT EXTRA READING

1 CORINTHIANS WYCT BODY BUILDERS

Talk 1 12-13 Chs. 1, 3, 4

Talk 2 14 Ch. 5 Pages 131-140

Talk 3 14 Ch. 6 Pages 141-151

Talk 4 14 Ch. 7 Chapters 3 and 9

Talk 5 12-14 Ch. 8

Talk 6 14 Ch. 9

God bless you and grant you much blessing in your group meetings.

My Story Talk 35 Hope for the Future

Throughout this series I have tried to show how, in the words of another David, God's goodness and mercy have followed me all the days of my life (Psalm 23:6). Of course, to give an account of every single day would be completely impossible, not least because my life is not over yet!

So this, the fiinal talk in this series, will not be the end of my story. That's in the hands of the One who has loved and pardoned me, protected and provided for me, and who will guide my steps until his purpose for my life is finally accomplished. So I'll conclude my story with:

a reminder of God's past blessings

a record of my most recent activities, and

my reason for hope for the future.

A reminder of God's past blessings

First, I'm so grateful for Christian parents who prayed for me before I was born, brought me up to believe in Jesus, taught me the way of salvation, encouraged me to believe that God answers prayer and that nothing is impossible with him. They showed me how much they loved me and taught me that God loves me too. So even through the terrible years of World War 2, I always felt loved and protected.

I'm thankful, too, for the good teaching I received at Sunday School and Church and that I was educated at a time when the truths of the Christian faith were still widely accepted in our society, so that there was little conflict between what I learnt at school and what I was taught at home and at church. And that, when there was a difference of emphasis, my father was always able to give me an intelligent answer and show me why the Christian message made sense.

As I have already mentioned, it was clear from my earliest years that I was academically gifted, and I'm grateful for the good education I received at Brentwood School which led by God's grace to my gaining admission to Oxford University. A hymn we often used to sing at Elm Pak Baptist was Take my life and let it be consecrated, Lord, to thee… and I remember feeling strongly about the verse where it says, Take my intellect and use every power as though shalt choose. For as long as I can remember I have always wanted to use whatever abilities God has given me to spread the good news about Jesus.

But I was soon to learn that intellectual ability is not enough. Our battle is not primarily intellectual but spiritual, and when I first heard about the baptism in the Holy Spirit I was eager to receive. I'm so grateful for Laurie Dixon who shared his testimony with me, for Harold Young who laid hands on me when I first spoke in tongues, and for Pentecostal pastors like Alfred Webb and Richard Bolt who taught me so much about the things of the Spirit.

In those early years I was also greatly influenced by the writings of some of the pioneers of the Pentecostal Movement, notably Harold Horton, Donald Gee, and Willie Burton. Much of my thinking on the baptism and gifts of the Holy Spirit has been founded on their teaching and I thank God for such men of God who were willing to break free from the cessationist traditions of their forebears to pursue the all the fulness of life in the Spirit.

My experience at Oxford is a source of many happy memories. Coming only four weeks after I was baptised in the Spirit, my studies in Philosophy, Politics and Economics were, I confess, of relatively little importance to me. I was more interested in telling others about my Christian experience, witnessing about Christ to unbelievers and about the Holy Spirit to those who were already Christians. Of particular importance were the prayer meetings we held which led to the formation of the Students' Pentecostal Fellowship and which were, by the grace of God, part of the beginnings of the Charismatic Renewal.

The years we spent in pastoral work, both at Colchester and Basingstoke led not only to the considerable growth of both those churches with souls being saved, bodies healed, and believers filled with the Holy Spirit, but also to a deeper understanding of the Word, a wider ministry beyond the local church, and a growing recognition within the Pentecostal Movement of the teaching gift the Lord had given me. For this I am truly thankful.

Despite the rocky road to Mattersey which I described in an earlier talk, the 27 years we spent there were possibly the most productive period of my life. Life was not without its problems, but I thank God for every minute of it. The privilege of training hundreds of future church leaders and the joy of seeing the fruits of their ministry more than made up for the difficulties we faced.

And the founding of EPTA led to an international ministry of Bible College teaching was an unexpected privilege which I could never have dreamed of when I felt God's call to ministry at the age of sixteen. The opportunity to share with so many students the importance of the baptism in the Spirit and spiritual gifts, illustrated by personal experience that was firmly rooted in biblical truth, and to present a balanced understanding of God's promises of healing were and still are sources of great joy and personal satisfaction.

I'm even grateful today for the difficulties we faced only some of which I have outlined in this book. Of course, at the time we would have preferred not to have them, but as I look back I have no doubt that the Lord had a purpose in it all. That does not mean that I know precisely what that purpose was, but because I believe in an all-powerful God who loves me and gave himself for me, I have learnt that problems produce patience and ultimately deepen our faith. And it is by faith and patience that we inherit his promises.

Which brings me to Eileen, my faithful wife, who devoted her life, first to serving Jesus, and then to serving his purpose for me as we journeyed through life together. The concluding words of the tribute to her that I wrote for her farewell service express well how I still feel:

Although I am missing her already, I am full of joy, knowing that she is now where she wanted to be. Until we meet again in Heaven, I will remember her for her love, her faithfulness, her devotion, her patience, her sense of humour, her impact on our children's lives, her smile, her perseverance in suffering, her courage in face of adversity, and above all, her childlike trust in Jesus and her total commitment to him. I thank God for the precious gift of Eileen and the privilege of being her husband for sixty-two years. The Lord gives and the Lord takes away. Blessed be the name of the Lord.

Eileen went to be with the Lord on 28th February 2024 and, although I still miss her every day, her departure to Heaven has meant that I am now free to resume some of the activities that were curtailed by the severe stroke she had in 2016. Which brings me to a brief statement of my most recent activities taken from my Christmas newsletter 2025.

A record of my most recent activities

A year ago, I was brought back onto the Leadership Team of our church and have been preaching and leading regularly every month. I have also been able to accept invitations to minister and attend at churches and conferences further afield. Here's a quick summary:

o January – 2 days' teaching at Light and Life conference

o March – was privileged to pay a tribute at Keith Monument's funeral in Nottingham

o June – a weekend preaching at Walthamstow (when I also took the opportunity to visit Eileen's sister, Joan, and her husband, David)

o July – participated in the EPTA conference held in Malvern at Regent's Theological College

o September – attended the wedding of Jotham (grandson) and Chesca in Brighton

o October – a weekend's preaching in Leyland followed by the Ocean Wings Conference in Llandudno where I was one of the speakers

o November – attended Sarah's Graduation (MA in Applied Theology with Distinction) at Moorlands College and Christchurch Priory. So proud of all my wonderful children!

o December – participated in the Charismatic and Pentecostal Leaders' Gathering in Northamptonshire

As most of these activities involved long journeys, I was grateful for the comfort of my E-Class Mercedes, acquired earlier this year. I'm also grateful for the health and strength God gives me to do all this, although I confess I do get more tired than I used to! However, I do manage to swim 500 metres about twice a week. This has helped me lose a couple of stones in weight.

Finally, I'm still writing and doing regular podcasts. All this year I've been writing my memoirs and am almost finished. Let me know if you'd like a copy.

So, have a wonderful Christmas and may the Lord bless you and use you in the coming year.

So thankful for Jesus – for all he has done and continues to do for us.

With much love

David

My reason for hope for the future

At the time of recording this I will be 87 years old in a few days' time. When she was in her eighties, referring to some of her aches and pains my mother used to say, Oh David, don't get old, to which I would reply, Why? You don't want me to die young, do you?! She knew of course that I was joking, and I, of course, fully understand what she was saying. Humanly speaking there isn't much to look forward to when you're old. So, what reasons do we have for hope for the future?

As I conclude the story of my life so far, let me give you three reasons:

My past experience of God's goodness

My present observation of what he is doing

My understanding of what the Bible says about our future.

I shall say little about the first of these as all that have written so far has been a record of how God's goodness and mercy have followed me all the days of my life. Now it's enough to summarise all this by saying that God's goodness to me in the past informs my belief for the future.

The God who has loved me, saved me, protected me, and provided for me throughout my life will not fail me now.

My second reason for hope is my observation of what God is doing right now. I see this particularly in the lives of my children and grandchildren. Debbie, Sarah, and Jonathan are all faithfully serving the Lord and using the many gifts and talents God has given them. And the same is true of most of my grandchildren, four of whom are either recently, or soon about to be, married to wonderful Christian partners. I see in them the same passion to serve the Lord Jesus as Eileen and I have carried down through the years and know that this will continue when I am gone.

But of course, what God is doing is far wider than just our family. There is a fresh expectation in the hearts of God's people as we see an increasing openness to the gospel among those we meet. The tide is beginning to turn. The apathy and antagonism that have for so long been prevalent in our society are being replaced, particularly among young people, by a genuine interest and desire to know more. Yes, we have every reason to hope.

And finally, and most important of all, I have hope because of what the Bible says. One of my favourite verses is Romans 15:13, where Paul says:

May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.

Paul's prayer is that we should overflow with hope. Not just have hope, or even be filled with hope, but overflow. God wants us to have so much hope that it overflows to others!

But how can we overflow with hope? The surrounding verses show us four main things. Two of these are found in verse 4:

For everything that was written in the past was written to teach us, so that through endurance and the encouragement of the Scriptures we might have hope.

The first secret to having hope is endurance. However difficult our situation we must press on. One thing's for sure – if we give up, there is no hope. As Pastor Stan Hyde used to encourage us, we must keep on keeping on.

But God has not left us to ourselves on this. He enables us to keep on hoping through the encouragement of the Scriptures. This happens in two ways. First, the Bible is full of examples of men and women who, like the heroes mentioned in Hebrews 11, endured despite great difficulty. And secondly, it gives us great promises and assurance of God's love – see the last few verses of Romans 8 for example.

But it's not just the examples and promises in the Bible that give us hope. As we have already seen, we can overflow with the hope through the power of the Holy Spirit (v 13). A few verses later Paul goes on to connect the power of the Spirit with the power of signs and wonders (v19). Miracles give us hope. Nothing is impossible with God. Whatever our situation, God has the answer, and it may well be miraculous. But the power of the Spirit is not limited to miracles. It's manifested in fruit as well as gifts (Galatians 5:22-23). Sometimes God does not deliver us from our troubles, he delivers us in them.

He fills us with joy and peace as we trust in him (v13 again). And in doing so he gives us hope.

So the final key to overflowing with hope is trusting in the God of hope. We simply have to trust him. That his promises will be fulfilled. That he will bring us through. That he will perfect that which concerns us. And we can do that through endurance and the encouragement of the Scriptures and having confidence in the power of the Holy Spirit.

But what are we hoping for? Our ultimate hope is found in verse 12 where Paul quotes the prophet Isaiah:

The Root of Jesse will spring up, One who will arise to rule over the nations; the Gentiles will hope in him

We are waiting for the One who is to rule over the nations! We are waiting for that blessed hope – the glorious appearing of our great God and Saviour, Jesus Christ (Titus 2:13). Why do I have hope? Because Jesus is coming again! Every eye shall see him. Every knee shall bow before him. Every tongue will confess that he is Lord. He is coming to reign. He is coming to judge. He is coming to make all things new. He is coming to take us to be with him forever. There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain. We will be like him because we shall see him! Glorious hope! All other hopes pale into insignificance.

I'm so grateful that God's goodness and mercy have followed me all the days of my life and

I shall dwell in the house of the Lord forever.

Will you?