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I also know that because God uses them—particularly initially—to tweak up folks’ humility—that satan is particularly doubly eager to trash them every way he can.

When I hear people claim that speaking in tongues is a sign of having been filled with the Holy Spirit, it immediately creates a class of have's. It does NOT contribute to humility.

For the record, when one is truly filled with the Holy Spirit, they KNOW it. You don't NEED a *sign* to tell you that a God thing happened. It's such a powerful experience that it stands on its own.

If someone has or had an experience that is so indeterminate that they need a sign to validate that it was from God, then it wasn't. You CANNOT have an encounter with the living God and not know it.

By using tongues as the sign, people are sent away being told and sometimes believing, that something happened to them that in fact did not happen at all.

As far as being slain in the Spirit, I wish just one person would show me just ONE verse of Scripture to back that one up. Nobody 's done that yet.

When I hear people claim that speaking in tongues is a sign of having been filled with the Holy Spirit, it immediately creates a class of have's. It does NOT contribute to humility.

I agree and some even intimate that this is the ONLY way for anyone to truly experience the filling of the Holy Spirit. That couple in my old church that I talked about before believed that "praying in the Spirit" meant praying in tongues, even though we are told not everyone will be given that gift. We are told in Ephesians 6:18, And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. So much for everyone being able to obey that if they don't have the gift of tongues! That's what I meant by judging experiences by Scripture and not the other way around. Too many people simply swallow whatever they're told and never search out the Scriptures to see if these things be so. How many people are NOT living their Christian lives to their fullest because they have the wrong teaching about the gifts of the Spirit? How many miss out because they never realize that their gift is faith, guidance or helping instead of tongues?

I Corinthians 12:27-31
Now you are the body of Christ, and each one of you is a part of it. And God has placed in the church first of all apostles, second prophets, third teachers, then miracles, then gifts of healing, of helping, of guidance, and of different kinds of tongues. Are all apostles? Are all prophets? Are all teachers? Do all work miracles? Do all have gifts of healing? Do all speak in tongues? Do all interpret? Now eagerly desire the greater gifts. And yet I will show you the most excellent way.