“And these signs will follow those who believe: In My name they will cast out demons; they will speak with new tongues; they will take up serpents; and if they drink anything deadly, it will by no means hurt them; they will lay hands on the sick, and they will recover.”
MARK 16:17, 18
At Pentecost, the Holy Spirit manifested like a tongue of flame on each of the 120 disciples present. It was a sign of Divine presence and empowerment. Divine fire was given for Divine commission and protection.
FIRE IS THE SIGN OF GOD—HIS LOGO. THERE ARE OVER 100 references in Scripture to the fire of God. “Our God is a consuming fire” (Hebrews 12:29). Two of the greatest spiritual events were inaugurated by Divine fire: the beginning of the nation of Israel at the Exodus and the beginning of the Church with tongues of fire. A curtain of fire hung between Israel and the Egyptians at the Exodus, like a banner assuring Israel that the Lord of hosts was with them. The assurance that God is with us is the same today. The tongues of Pentecost signal that God is with us. Jesus said, “I came to send fire on the earth” (Luke 12:49). Like a fire-tipped arrow, God shoots you into the camp of the enemy to bring salvation to the captives.
The Holy Spirit Baptism is a permanent and total revolution in the life of the Church. The Spirit falling on all people was the greatest change possible. The benchmark is a sign-gift. It was a revelation. They knew power had come; the Holy Spirit was with them, and they never asked for Him again. The same Holy Spirit sign was accepted by the apostles: “And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance” (Acts 2:4). There is no other power except the Holy Spirit. This sign-miracle proved that any miracle is possible.
THROUGHOUT TIME, MEN AND WOMEN HAVE ALWAYS demanded or been given signs to boost their faith. After the floods of Noah, God gave the rainbow as a sign that there would never again be a worldwide deluge (Genesis 9:12-17). While still childless, God gave Abraham a sign to assure him that he would be a father of many nations (Genesis 15). Praying in tongues is a sign but not an empty one. It is dynamic, supernatural proof that speaks to the presence of the Holy Spirit in the believer. It reassures our faith, but it is also a means for communicating; it helps us as we pray, sing, prophesy and minister. Tongues is also a benchmark, marking a new season in God’s dealing with humanity: “In the last days, I will pour out my Spirit on all flesh” (Acts 2:17).
Speaking in tongues is a sign of the presence and power of the Holy Spirit in your life. It introduces certainty into the dynamics of the Spirit, making a spiritual phenomenon a natural and personal experience. Pentecost means: God and man rejoice together as one in the charismatic language.
“UTTERANCE” IS AN ENDORSING SIGN THAT THE HOLY SPIRIT IS in and with us. Otherwise, we can never be certain. (Have I prayed enough? Am I holy enough? Have I witnessed enough?) But God shaped us for His Spirit. The baptism in the Spirit is a physical and spiritual event (1 Corinthians 6:19) with both a spiritual and physical sign.
Next to salvation of the soul, praying in tongues is the most wondrous phenomenon of all. What can be more powerful than the regenerated spirit of mortal man quickened and made righteous, speaking in a heavenly language with his Father? Praying in tongues proves that there is nothing impossible.
ON THE DAY OF PENTECOST, THE 120 SPOKE IN TONGUES, AND the crowd listened and was shaken. In my life, I have witnessed how 1 million people, in one meeting, received the same fire baptism and prayed to the Lord in new languages by the Spirit. It was like the roar of mighty waters. “’And it shall come to pass in the last days,’ says God, ‘that I will pour out of My Spirit on all flesh . . . ’” (Acts 2:17). These are the days!