if you were to ask someone in today's charismatic movement, the modern day charismatic movement, what was the purpose of speaking in tongues? Why did God give this gift? They would probably say something to the effect that it is a mark of spirituality, an indication of being filled with the Holy Spirit, and the evidence that one has experienced the baptism of the Holy Spirit. However, this isn't what the Bible says. In fact, when the Bible speaks of being filled with the Spirit, there is no mention at all of tongues anywhere in the context, anywhere in the setting. Here's what we read in Ephesians 5.18 about the filling of the Spirit. Paul said, and do not get drunk with wine, for that is dissipation, but be filled with the Spirit. Now, this verse simply tells us that God commands us to be under the Holy Spirit's control rather than under the control of wine or any kind of alcohol. So, how does one come under the Spirit's control? Is it by speaking in tongues? Well, notice what we read in another of Paul's letters, Colossians chapter 3, verse 16. Paul said, here, let the word of Christ richly dwell within you with all wisdom, teaching and admonishing one another with psalms and hymns and spiritual songs. singing with thankfulness in your hearts to God. I want you to notice what Paul says are the evidences or the marks of a Christian who lets the Word of God, the Word of Christ, saturate them, or as Paul puts it, richly dwell within you. He says we will sing all different kinds of songs, we'll sing unto the Lord, and we will express thanksgiving to the Lord. So if the word of Christ is dwelling in you, then this is what will come out in your life. Now I'd like you to go back to Ephesians chapter 5, and I want you to notice what Paul says are the evidences or marks of being filled with the Spirit. We'll read verses 19 and 20 right after the command to be filled with the spirit. Paul said, speaking to one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody with your heart to the Lord, always giving thanks for all things in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ to God, even the Father. Now notice that Paul says that the results of God's Word dwelling in us richly and being filled with the Spirit, they're essentially the same thing. And why is that? That's because when the Word of God dwells within you, when it saturates your life, you become under its control, so that you are filled with the Spirit, because you have come under the Spirit's control, which is through the Word of God. So, according to the Bible, the filling of the Spirit has absolutely nothing to do with speaking in tongues. And the same thing is true for the baptism of the Holy Spirit. Here's what Paul wrote to the Corinthians, 1 Corinthians 12 verse 13, about the baptism of the Spirit. He says, for by one Spirit were we all baptized into one body, whether Jews or Greeks, whether slaves or free, and we were all made to drink of one Spirit. Now, Paul says this has happened to all of us, meaning every single Christian. And the only way that the Apostle could say that, that all believers have been baptized into the body, is if this happened at the moment of our salvation, the moment of our conversion. And that's exactly what the Apostle means by this. The moment you placed your faith in Christ, the Holy Spirit then placed you in the body of Christ. You were not aware of this, but this is reality. This is what happened. This is true of every single Christian without any exceptions. That's why Paul could say this. But a little bit further, in the same chapter, notice what Paul says concerning tongues. 1 Corinthians 12, now verse 30. All do not have the gifts of healings, do they? All do not speak with tongues, do they? All do not interpret, do they? So if all Christians are baptized by the Holy Spirit, But not all Christians speak in tongues, which is what Paul clearly said here, and speaking in tongues is not the evidence of the Holy Spirit's baptism. So then if the purpose of tongues isn't a mark of spirituality, or the evidence of being filled with the Holy Spirit, or being baptized by the Holy Spirit, then what is the purpose of tongues? Why did God create this unusual and controversial gift of tongues? Well, that's what we're gonna discover tonight as we continue our study of 1 Corinthians 14. So I wanna read to you verses 20 through 25. Follow along in your Bibles. Brethren, do not be children in your thinking, yet in evil be infants, but in your thinking be mature. In the law it's written, by men of strange tongues and by the lips of strangers I will speak to this people, and even so they will not listen to me, says the Lord. So then tongues are for a sign, not to those who believe, but to unbelievers. But prophecy is for a sign, not to unbelievers, but to those who believe. Therefore, if the whole church assembles together and all speak in tongues, and ungifted men or unbelievers enter, will they not say that you're mad? But if all prophesy and an unbeliever or an ungifted man enters, he is convicted by all. He is called to account by all the secrets of his heart. are disclosed and he'll fall on his face and worship God declaring that God is certainly among you. Now in these verses Paul not only states the true biblical purpose of tongues but he also very bluntly but lovingly tells the Corinthians why they were abusing this spiritual gift of tongues and the negative effect it was having upon their church. Now the way that this passage unfolds is that Paul addresses four issues in these verses related to speaking in tongues. And as we said, speaking in tongues would be speaking in a foreign language, not ecstatic utterance or gibberish. First, he addresses the reason that the Corinthians were so consumed with tongues. We're going to discover that tonight. Why they were so absorbed into this. Then he addresses the purpose of tongues. For what purpose did God give it? Next, he deals with the negative effect tongues was having upon their church. And finally, he writes about the positive effect that preaching could have upon their church. And so we begin tonight where Paul begins in verse 20 by addressing the reason the Corinthians were so consumed, so absorbed, so focused on speaking in tongues. Now, before we look at the births, it has become rather obvious and evident throughout our studies in 1 Corinthians 14 that Paul recognized that the Corinthians were too focused on speaking in tongues. And Paul has made it clear to them that the problem with speaking in tongues is that it simply does not edify others in the congregation, because being a foreign language, The people don't understand the message. Though it comes from God, they don't understand it, unless it is interpreted, meaning unless there's someone there who could translate it into their own language. On the other hand, prophesying, which is the equivalent of biblical preaching, is very edifying. And he's been saying this throughout this chapter, because the congregation can understand its message, since it is spoken in their native tongue, meaning their language. But in spite of this fact that tongues does not edify and preaching does, the Corinthians were still enthralled with tongues and continued to emphasize this gift when the church gathered on Sundays. And so having already spelled out to them not only that their attention to tongues is a problem and why it's a problem, because it just doesn't edify anybody, Paul now for the very first time in verse 20, tells them the reason they were so consumed with tongues. As he very bluntly tells them the truth about themselves, the truth that he wants them to correct. This is where you're wrong, correct this. Verse 20, the beginning of it says, brethren, do not be chokren in your thinking. Now knowing that these words are going to sting, They're going to hurt the Corinthians because he's rebuking them. Notice how Paul tenderly addresses this church. He calls them brethren, indicating to them his affection, his concern for them. And that what they are about to hear about themselves, he is saying to them out of love. So he tells them the truth about themselves. And when it came to their thinking, this is what they needed to hear. This is the truth. When it came to their thinking, when it came to their understanding of this spiritual gift of tongues, they, Paul says, you're like children. You're like little kids. In other words, they lacked a true, mature, biblical understanding of tongues. Look at the verse again. Brethren, do not be children in your thinking. This is exactly what they were. This is precisely why they were so consumed with this gift, lacking a clear biblical understanding of tongues. They were like little children with a new toy. Tongues being that toy, and it amused them. Dr. Robert L. Thomas, in his commentary on 1 Corinthians 12-14, explains the childishness in which the Corinthians treated tongues. Here's what he says. He said, do not be children in your thinking. Verse 20 is translated more precisely, stop being children in understanding. He said, the Corinthians had already become guilty of childishness by their undue attention to the tongue's gift in church. Their craving for what was amusing rather than useful, for the glittering and the spectacular rather than the solid, was a token of their shallow understanding. The disposition that is pleased with and puts a false estimate upon trifles has not begun to comprehend the true essence of spiritual progress. Termination of such a state of affairs is the clear mandate." Now folks, think about how this rebuke must have stung the Corinthians. No one, no one wants to hear that they're like children in the way they think. and childish in their understanding of things. But the Corinthians would have been especially wounded by this accusation, more so than most. Why? Because they prided themselves on being wise, on being intelligent. by having great understanding. I want to remind you, and this was way back when we started 1 Corinthians, that the first few chapters of this letter, Paul addressed their sinful pride over their attraction to worldly wisdom, specifically Greek philosophy. Here's what Paul wrote way back in chapter 1, starting in verse 19. For it is written, I will destroy the wisdom of the wise and the cleverness of the clever I'll set aside. Where's the wise man? Where's the scribe? Where's the debater of this age? Has not God made foolish the wisdom of this world? For since the wisdom of God, the world through its wisdom did not come to know God, God was well pleased through the foolishness of the message preached to save those who believe. For indeed, Jews ask for signs and Greeks search for wisdom. So like unsaved Greeks, the Corinthians were still searching for wisdom, but it was worldly wisdom, not God's wisdom. This is the battle Paul has in the first few chapters of this letter. This is why they wanted him to embrace Greek philosophy into the gospel message. And he said, no, when I came to you, I determined to know nothing but Jesus Christ and Him crucified. And while they considered themselves wise in their own eyes, Paul brought them back to reality when he said this at the end of chapter 1. Notice verses 26 through 29. For consider your calling, brethren, that there were not many wise according to the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble. But God has chosen the foolish things of the world to shame the wise, and God has chosen the weak things of the world to shame the things which are strong, and the base things of the world and the despised God has chosen the things that are not so that he may nullify the things that are so that no man may boast before God. What he's telling them is that look around your congregation. There are not many of you who are wise and noble and mighty. That's reality. You pride yourself on with this worldly wisdom, but in reality, you're really the simple ones of this world. And now, here in chapter 14, verse 20, Paul confronts them with the root cause as to why they were so enamored with tongues. It's because they had no mature adult understanding of tongues. They were like children. in that they were immature in their thinking about tongues. As I said, and I'll say it a few times, they treated tongues like a child treats a play toy that he's amused with. It's always wrong for a Christian, always, to be like a child in his understanding. He needs to mature. And he matures by growing in his understanding, growing in his knowledge of biblical truth. This is why Peter says in 2 Peter 3.18 that we are to grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. All Christians are to grow up. However, there is an area of life where it is good and it is appropriate for a Christian to be childlike. And Paul mentions that in the second part of verse 20. Notice. Brethren, he said, starts off brethren, do not be children in your thinking. Yet in evil be infants. Now what Paul is saying in these words is that while it's always wrong for a Christian to be like a child, when it comes to using his mind in relation to biblical truth, in this case tongues, it is always right, it is always godly to be like a child when it comes to sin. Experiencing sin, knowledge of sin. You see, the Greek word that the apostle uses that is translated infants means exactly that. It's different than the word child. He's talking about babes, a very young child, as opposed to someone who's still a child but a little bit older. What Paul is telling the Corinthians is that when it comes to an understanding of evil and sin, they should be like infants who are ignorant of the subject. You and I should not know a great deal about sin experientially. I realize some of us come from backgrounds where that was our background, but as believers, we ought not to experience that. We ought not to be worldly wise and sin, though certainly infants are sinners like the rest of us. What Paul means here is that an infant hasn't lived long enough, nor do they have the mental capacity to have a mature understanding or personal experience of moral evil. So what Paul is telling the Corinthians is that when it comes to their minds, they ought to be like mature adults in their understanding of biblical truth, tongues in particular. However, they should be like infants in their understanding and experience of moral evil. Now this must have deeply stung the Corinthians because they weren't like infants when it came to sin. This was a horrible church, a horrible church with all kinds of sinful attitudes and behavior. Writing about how unlike infants they were in their knowledge of sin, John MacArthur said this. He said, in evil the Corinthians were anything but babes. They were highly advanced in every sort of sin. They had virtually all the manifestations of the flesh and almost none of the fruit of the spirit. There were children tossed here and there by waves and carried about by every wind of doctrine, by the trickery of men, by craftiness and deceitful scheming, Ephesians 4.14. By their selfish, ego-building abuse of the gift of tongues, they were, amongst other things, ignoring the rest of the family of God. Now, in light of the fact that Paul was just so forthright in rebuking the Corinthians by calling them childish in their understanding of tongues and handling this gift like a child handles a new toy. There is a lesson, though, for us to learn, to understand, that lesson being that we know of a fellow Christian who's in sin. It is right and it is appropriate for us to speak the truth to them, to tell them why they are biblically wrong and where their attitude and conduct is wrong, and to call them to change, repent, This not only takes courage, but it also takes love. This is why Proverbs 27 verse 6 says, faithful are the wounds of a friend, but deceitful are the kisses of an enemy. See, only someone who truly loves you will tell you the truth about yourself. Why? Because they genuinely care about you. But an enemy doesn't care about you. He just pretends to be your friend by making nice to you and saying all kinds of complimentary things. Folks, it is the loving thing to do to tell a brother or a sister in Christ that they're wrong in either their attitude or their behavior or their doctrine. It's all right to say you're wrong. However, we have to say it in love. We have to say it in love and be gracious. That's exactly how Paul is. And love, by the way, love wants the best for others. What's best for others is that they obey the Lord. And the key to rebuking someone is simply to be kind, to be gracious, never harsh in the way you speak to them. Let them know that you care about them and not simply that, well, I'm just getting this off my chest, so I'm just telling you. This is why Paul referred to the Corinthians as brethren. That's an important statement, important word. He said brethren before he rebuked them. He did this because he wanted them to understand that he was talking to them not only as an apostle, but also as a brother in Christ, as a family member. Now in light of Paul's rebuke that they were immature in their understanding of tongues, notice the last few words of verse 20. but in your thinking be mature. That's what we've been saying. He wants them to grow up. He wants them to make progress in the way they thought about tongues. He wants them to think like mature adults. And to help this become a reality, they needed to understand a very basic truth about tongues. They needed to understand its purpose. And so having just told the Corinthians that the real reason they were so consumed with speaking in tongues is because they were like little children in their understanding. They didn't have mature understanding. They were ignorant about tongues. Paul now proceeds to enlighten them, enlighten their understanding, so that they will think maturely and biblically about tongues. And he does this by telling them the purpose of tongues. Verse 21. In the law it is written, by men of strange tongues and by the lips of strangers I will speak to this people, and even so they will not listen to me, says the Lord. Now, to explain to the Corinthian the purpose of tongues, Paul turns to the Old Testament, and he quotes here from Isaiah chapter 28, verse 11. where God warned the nation of Israel that due to their rebellion, due to their unbelief, due to their apostasy, he was going to send judgment upon them in the form of a foreign nation who spoke a foreign language who would conquer them. Concerning the historical setting and the meaning of this verse, one Bible teacher wrote this. He said some 15 years or so before Isaiah prophesied about the strange tongues from the lips of strangers, the northern kingdom of Israel had been conquered and taken captive by the Assyrians. That took place in 722 BC. Because of unbelief and apostasy, the prophet then warned the southern kingdom, Judah, that the same judgment awaited her at the hands of the Babylonians. The proud religious leaders of Judah would not listen to Isaiah. And so the strange tongues that Isaiah was referring to was the foreign languages, first of the Assyrians, then of the Babylonians. And God's purpose in speaking to the Jewish nation in these foreign languages was to warn them that due to their rejection of him, he was going to judge them at the hands of these foreign nations. This wasn't the only time. This is not an isolated statement in scripture about God warning Israel that their disobedience would result in a foreign nation who spoke a language they didn't understand conquering them. For example, we read way back in Deuteronomy 28, 49. This is before the nation was even in the land of Canaan. Moses said, the Lord will bring a nation against you from afar, from the end of the earth as the eagle swoops down, a nation whose language you shall not understand. Same thing is said in Jeremiah 5.15. Behold, I'm bringing a nation against you from afar, O house of Israel, declares the Lord. It is an enduring nation. It is an ancient nation, a nation whose language you do not know, nor can you understand what they say. Now the point of all this is to say that these foreign languages, these strange tongues or strange languages that Israel did not understand was a sign, a sign to the Jewish people that God, the sign pointed to the fact that God was going to judge the nation. And that's exactly the point that Paul is making in telling the Corinthians about tongues here in Chapter 14, as we see in the very next verse, verse 22. So then, here's his point, here's his reason for going back to the Old Testament, Isaiah 28. So then tongues are for a sign, not to those who believe, but to unbelievers. Let's stop there. So then tongues are a sign, not to those who believe, but to unbelievers. Now folks, This is a critical statement. This is the only time in the entire New Testament where we read anything about the purpose of tongues. Only place. The purpose of tongues. It's a sign for unbelievers. Paul clearly states that tongues, like the foreign languages of the Assyrians and Babylonians, served as a sign to unbelievers. In other words, tongues pointed to something that was going to happen. That's what a sign is. It points to something. What did tongues point to? The very same thing that tongues or languages pointed to in the Old Testament, that God was sending judgment upon Israel. In other words, tongues was a sign to unbelieving Jewish people that divine judgment would soon be upon them for their rejection of the Messiah, the Lord Jesus Christ. This is what happened in the Old Testament. Foreign languages are a sign of judgment by a nation that you don't understand their language, tongues too was a sign that God was gonna judge Israel for rejecting Jesus. Concerning this judgment, John MacArthur wrote these important words. When the apostles spoke at Pentecost and were heard in their own language by Jews from many countries, those Jews should have known that God's judgment was imminent. His judgment had fallen on rebellious Israel and then on rebellious Judah. How much more would it fall on those of his people who now had crucified the Son of God? In AD 70, that great judgment fell when Jerusalem was utterly destroyed by the Roman general Titus. Over one million Jews were slaughtered. Thousands more were taken captive. The temple was plundered, desecrated, and then utterly destroyed, and the rest of the city was burned to the ground, just as Jesus had predicted when he wept over the city. He said, your enemies will throw up a bank before you and surround you and hem you in on every side and will level you to the ground, and our chogrim, within you, and they will not leave in you one stone upon another, because you did not recognize the time of your visitation." MacArthur continues, after the destruction of Jerusalem and especially of the temple, the reason for tongues ceased to exist. The judgment of which it was a sign had come. After Pentecost, manifestation of tongues, Peter, by implication, reminded his hearers of the judgment. Therefore, he said, let all the house of Israel know for certain that God has made him both Lord and Christ, this Jesus whom you crucified. So in light of all of this, it is important to understand that not only doesn't the biblical gift of tongues exist today, But even in Paul's day, it wasn't a gift that targeted Christians, believers. It was a gift that targeted unbelievers and specifically Jewish unbelievers. Therefore, what is called tongues today is just false. It's counterfeit. It's not the real thing. Since the year 70 AD, there's been no purpose for tongues to exist. Since the judgment that tongues pointed to, it arrived. It arrived. In other words, there's no need for a sign pointing to something when what it was pointing to already happened. It happened. There's no need for the sign anymore. But notice what else Paul said in the second part of verse 22. He said, but prophecy is for a sign, not to unbelievers, but to those who believe. So after stating that tongues is a sign to Jewish unbelievers, the apostle says that prophecy, again, meaning the preaching of biblical truth in a language that people understand, is for those who believe. Preaching is for believers. And in fact, the Greek text doesn't actually say that prophecy is a sign. That word sign has been added by the translators because they thought it gave clarity to the text. Translators tend to do that, and in most cases, they're very helpful in doing that, but not in this case. In this case, it doesn't give clarity because preaching isn't a sign that points to anything. Paul simply means that preaching is for believers. Why? Because it edifies them. That's why. Now, so far, Paul has given two truths related to tongues. He told the Corinthians the reason they were consumed with this gift is because they were childish. in their understanding and behavior. And to help them mature, he told them the purpose of tongues. It wasn't even directed at them, but rather it was a sign for unbelieving Jewish people. And now as Paul continues addressing this issue of tongues with the Corinthians, he tells them a third truth related to tongues, and that is the negative effect their use of tongues was having upon their church. Verse 23. Therefore, if the whole church assembles together and all speak in tongues and ungifted men or unbelievers enter, will they not say that you're mad? Having just made the point that the purpose of tongues was that it was a sign of God's coming judgment to unbelieving Jewish people, to the nation of Israel, Paul now illustrates his point by presenting a scenario for which tongues was never given by God, but very likely was being used this way in the Corinthian church. His scenario is that of the entire congregation of the Corinthians, they have gathered together on a Sunday And in their church service, everyone with the gift of tongues was using their gift so that they all spoke in a foreign language. Maybe at the same time, but more likely one right after the other. Paul said if that were to happen, And most likely, this is exactly what was happening at Corinth. And some individuals, some visitors, walked into the church who were either ungifted. What does that mean? Well, it means that they didn't understand the language that was being spoken. Or they were unbelievers, meaning they weren't Christians at all. And they heard all these people speaking in foreign languages that no one in the church understood. Their conclusion would be, You're mad, you're out of your mind. I've walked into a crazy church. In other words, Paul is telling them, if someone from the outside walked into your church service, while all with the gift of tongues were speaking in various foreign languages, the outsider would think that the whole church is nuts, that these Christians have lost their minds. What kind of a place is this? They're all speaking and nobody understands what anyone's saying. Listen, even if an unbelieving Jewish person heard all of this going on back then, he would never conclude that this is God giving a sign of coming judgment, because all he would hear is bedlam, confusion, chaos, rather than solemn worship and clear Bible teaching, which is why he visited the church in the first place. He would just be shocked by such outrageous behavior going on and turned off by such nonsense. He would never be drawn to Christ. Folks, and you probably never visit this church again, what Paul just described with the Corinthians, this is the kind of stuff that actually does go on in some churches within the charismatic movement. with many people shouting out their so-called tongues message. And while they may think that this is the mark of being spirit-filled, in reality, it's just confusion, it's bedlam. And it would be something that would actually turn off an unbeliever who was visiting their church that day, turn them away so that they would never visit again. They would conclude, this is a crazy house. Listen to all these people speaking and nobody knows what they're saying. Although I realize it's not quite the same, I did get to see close up how an unbeliever reacted to a group of charismatics going through some pretty bizarre things. It happened during one of our trips to Israel when our tour group, the tour group from Lakeside, went to visit what many believe is the upper room in Jerusalem. I have no reason to doubt that this was the legitimate upper room. We had to wait, and this is what you do in Israel, you wait your turn while the tour group in front of you gets to go, but we were waiting our turn to tour the upper room. While we were waiting, our group was able, because we're just standing there waiting to go in, being told we can come, we were able to observe a group of charismatics who were there before us, and they were in the upper room. What we saw were a number of people going through the very strange antics of what they considered to be slain in the spirit and they did this by becoming Individuals became stiff as a board and they were going to fall back but they waited until they were sure someone had rushed behind them to catch them and They did and this was going on all over the upper room understand this is This is the Mecca of the charismatics, the upper room. That's where tongues first started. So this is their home base. So this was obviously fake. It was phony. And our unsaved Jewish tour guide, who was taking all of this in, I heard him say in a disgusted voice, the next thing they'll do is hang from the rafters. Listen, unbelievers, they look upon this stuff not as spiritual. They look upon it as weird, as bizarre. I believe it was at that time that I said to Kenny, our tour guide, you understand, we're not like this group. He got it. So unbelievers would look at this stuff as weird and bizarre, especially when it takes place in a local church, as it did in Corinth. And that's because God never intended tongues to be carried out as a ministry in a local church, because its purpose was to be assigned to unbelieving Jewish people and not Christians gathered for a worship service. God has given instead the gift of preaching to Christians when they come to church because this is what builds them up, this is what edifies them since they can understand this message from God. And so having told the Corinthians the negative effect that their speaking in tongues had upon their church in that it completely turned off unbelievers who said you're mad. Paul now closes this section by giving one more truth related to tongues and that is the positive effect preaching could have upon their church. Could have in the sense if they would do this. Verses 24 and 25. But if all prophesy and an unbeliever or an ungifted man enters, he's convicted by all. He is called to account by all. The secrets of his heart are disclosed. And so he will fall on his face, worship God, declaring that God is certainly among you. Now, as you recall, Paul's primary argument and point that he's been making to the Corinthians throughout this entire chapter is simply this. that preaching rather than tongues is what their church ought to be emphasizing when people gather for worship on Sundays, as we said, because preaching is understood and it edifies people. And no doubt this wasn't happening at Corinth, because speaking in tongues was the primary focus when they gathered on Sunday mornings. And so here in these two verses that I just read to you, Paul explains the positive effect that preaching would have upon this church if they were to emphasize it instead of emphasizing tongues. And what he essentially tells them is that if an unbeliever or someone who did not understand a foreign language entered their church, on a Sunday, and all he heard was the clear, sound preaching of the Word of God, he would understand the message, come under conviction that he's a sinner who is accountable to God, have the secrets of his heart exposed so that he would see, perhaps for the first time, see himself as he really is, as God just turned him upside and inside out, revealing to him his sinful thoughts, his sinful desires, his sinful motives, with the result of all this powerful Christ-centered preaching being that this individual would then fall on his face in humility, come to the end of himself, repent of his sin, call upon Christ to be merciful in saving him, and then he would join, as a believer, converted believer with other believers in the church who are also worshiping God. In essence, that is what Paul is saying. Paul tells the Corinthians that their church could be like this, transforming lives by the proclamation of the Word of God. If they just stopped playing around with tongues and started preaching, the Word of God is as God wanted them to. You see, folks, preaching is what not only edifies believers, but preaching evangelizes the lost. So that when an unbeliever visits a local church and they hear the word of God being proclaimed, they'll know that God is there and that they need Christ. Christ is there, they need him as Savior and Lord. Now, you've learned a great deal tonight. You've learned a great deal about speaking in tongues. You've learned truths that many, if not most Christians, do not know. They've never studied this. They've never thought through these issues. You've learned that the reason the Corinthians were enthralled with tongues is because they were like little children amused with a toy. They're not a people to be emulated. They're a people to say, we're not going to behave like them. You've also learned that the real purpose of tongues was to point Jewish people to God's coming judgment of Israel due to their rejection of Christ. It has nothing to do with the filling of the spirit, a mark of spirituality, or baptism of the spirit. You've also learned that a church that emphasizes all the antics associated with tongues speaking today is a turnoff to unbelievers who consider Christians to be crazy for doing such stuff. And you've learned that when the word of God is proclaimed, God is honored because those who hear his word, whether or not they're Christians or non-Christians, they know that they are in the presence of truth and that God is amongst them. At Lakeside, we want to be a church that emphasizes the preaching of the Word of God. Not only to edify you on Sunday, but so that unbelievers who visit, who watch a live stream, they'll be convicted of their sin. and they'll come to saving faith in Christ. So I hope that you will join me in praying that this is what will take place on Sundays, that when you pray for our church, pray that the congregation will not only be edified, but that unbelievers, and there are a number of unbelievers amongst us, especially Sunday mornings, that unbelievers would come to faith in Jesus Christ. And if you don't know Christ, and you are today convicted of your sin, your need for him, then please just see me as we close the service. Let's do that now. Our Father, we thank you for the word of God. We thank you. Lord, these are not always easy verses to think through, but we can think them through. You have enabled us to think them through and to connect the dots and to connect through context and the meanings of words and bringing in other scriptures to enlighten us. And Lord, we pray that you'll help us to be a church that always proclaims the word of God. a church that is serious about scripture. And Lord, may we see in our midst many people who will come to faith in you. I know there are unbelievers who are here every Sunday morning. I know there are unbelievers who watch live stream. And Lord, we pray that the preaching of the word of God will convict of sin and will show people who they really are and would bring them to the humility that's necessary for repentance and true saving faith. Lord, we join our hearts in asking this, that people who come here to Lakeside will know that God is amongst us, that there is a sense of his presence here as the word of God goes forth. Lord, protect us from ever doing silly stuff. Protect us from ever going off target. May the word of God be preeminent as Christ is preeminent in our midst. This we pray in Jesus name.