Catch the Wind

• Repent—turn from your old way of thinking - about God, Jesus, and sin.
• Receive - Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior.
• Be baptized—publicly declare you belong to Him.
• Yield—don't just have the Spirit in you, let the Spirit have you.
  
  The real question for us isn't "Do I have the Holy Spirit?" but rather ...
  
  "Does the Holy Spirit have me?"
  
  Understanding Tongues and Interpretation
  Among the spiritual gifts, speaking in tongues and the interpretation of tongues are perhaps the two most misunderstood. Yet Scripture provides clear guidance. Tongues appear in at least three ways:
  
  
• As a sign to unbelievers (as happened at Pentecost when people heard the gospel in their own languages).
• As a message within the congregation with interpretation. 
• As a private prayer language.
  
  Paul also gives us three important guardrails (as I outlined in my last blog post - Pentecost Power for Today).
  
  
  1. Not everyone has every gift—it's unbiblical to claim you must speak in tongues to be saved or Spirit-filled.
  2. Love and edification must come first.
  3. Gifts aren't for you or for show but are tools to build others up.
  4. Publicly, the use of tongues must be orderly. God is not a God of confusion.

The Gift of Interpretation: From Noise to Melody
Imagine attending a symphony concert. Before the performance begins, you hear the orchestra tuning up—horns blasting, scales played and tuning, strings squeaking, percussion banging. It's a cacophony of noise with no melody, no unity, no direction. Then the conductor walks to the podium, taps the baton. Suddenly every musician looks up, laser focused on the conductor. The conductor raises the baton, and suddenly all those different sounds come together in complete harmony. What was sounding like chaos ... suddenly becomes beauty. This is a picture of the gift of interpretation. Before interpretation, tongues are like that orchestra tuning up—sound without song, beautiful but not understood. But when the Holy Spirit brings interpretation, He puts everything in order. The heavenly conductor taps His baton, and suddenly everyone can hear what God is saying.

The interpretation of tongues is the supernatural ability given by the Holy Spirit to understand and clearly express the meaning of words heard in an unknown tongue. What was hidden becomes understandable, and the whole church is edified. Paul explains in 1 Cor. 14:5 that tongues plus interpretation has the same effect as prophecy. When interpreted, tongues strengthen, encourage, and comfort the church body.

"I would like every one of you to speak in tongues, but I would rather have you prophesy. The one who prophesies is greater than the one who speaks in tongues, unless someone interprets, so that the church may be edified." - 1 Cor. 14:5 NIV

How Interpretation Works 
Interpretation doesn't always look the same. It's not always a word-for-word translation, like watching a foreign film with subtitles. Often it's more like catching the gist of a message—rendering the meaning rather than defining every single word. Think of it as being a thesaurus rather than a dictionary. Interpretation can come in several ways. A clear sense of meaning - You receive an inner knowing, an understanding of what's being said in the unknown tongue. You may not know how you know it; you just know that you know it. It could also come in a general sense with specific words or phrases - You might not get a full paragraph, but you receive key words. When someone is speaking in an unknown tongue - in a worship service, you might suddenly hear the translation as- "Holy, Holy, Holy is the Lord God Almighty. Heaven and earth are filled with Your glory."

You might receive a specific Scripture - Book and Verse in your heart - The Holy Spirit might drop a passage into your mind. Perhaps Isaiah 12 comes to you - you turn there and it says: "Surely God is my salvation. I will trust and not be afraid. The Lord himself is my strength and my defense."

A picture or vision - As the tongue is being spoken, you see a scene in your spirit—perhaps Jesus walking on water and Peter stepping out of the boat. You know the word is about trust and faith.

Testing What We Receive- How do we know if an interpretation is really from God? We're commanded to test the spirits, and interpretation doesn't bypass this requirement—it invites it. First, ask in the moment: "Lord, is this from You?" If there's inner peace, an agreement in your soul, that's confirmation. If you feel disturbance, hold back. Second, does it align with Scripture? God never contradicts His written Word. Third, does it function like prophecy—does it edify, exhort, and comfort? Does it build up the church, encourage, and strengthen? Even warnings or correction should be redemptive.

Stepping Out in Faith If you've spoken in a tongue or heard one spoken, desire to interpret. Ask God for the interpretation. Luke 11:11-13 gives us assurance: "Which father, if his son asks for a fish, will give him a snake instead? How much more will your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask?"

You might feel surprised by what you're saying. It may totally blow your mind. You had no preconceived notion you would say it, but it's coming out of your mouth. That's how the Holy Spirit moves when we yield.

Practical Guidelines for Gatherings- Paul instructs us that - in a church gathering, tongues should be limited to two or three at a time, given one at a time, not over one another. There must be an interpretation if it's spoken out loud to the body. If no one interprets, the person speaking in tongues should keep it to themselves and with God - quietly. God isn't trying to confuse—He wants order and edification.

The Call to Action: God wants to use you—not just pastors, evangelists, or "spiritual folks."

He may give you a word of wisdom for a complex decision, a word of knowledge that unlocks a hidden issue, faith that rises above the natural, gifts of healing, miracles, prophecy, discernment, tongues, or an interpretation. None of this is our own doing, but the same Spirit works all these things, distributing to each one individually as He wills. God has designed each of us to have gifts, to be part of a functioning body in Christ—not spectators.

How will you know what gifts God wants you to use? You won't if you never try. We learn the gifts by using them, the same way we learn to ride a bike. There may be mistakes. We all start somewhere. Don't wait to be perfect; just begin.

Lifting the Sail Think again of the sailboat. God is the wind, but we must get in the boat, loosen the line, hoist the sail, adjust the ropes, keep our balance and allow His wind to set our course. Remember that for a Christian our "good sailing habits" include staying ready to hear and interpret His voice through our -  worship, prayer, Bible reading, and obedience to His promptings. These are the ways we hoist our sail and position ourselves to move in His direction.

Will you allow the Holy Spirit to use you? Will you allow Him to make you not just a "fan" in the stands - but a "player" on the field?

Let's make a commitment to lift our sails once again. Let's not just be a church that talks the talk - but purposefully walks the walk! Let Holy Spirit envelop us and flow - through us. The gifts are real. They didn't end in the first century AD. Pentecost is still ongoing today. The world may try to wear you down, but His love can flow through us to a world desperately in need - of a fresh fire - breeze! The cool thing is this - as you lift your sail for others - you cannot help but be blessed yourself!

The Holy Spirit is waiting. Only one question remains: will you hoist your sail and catch the wind?

Sometimes random - sometimes not - some things I think - measured against scripture.

  "Be diligent to present yourself approved to God, a worker who does not need to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth."  
~ 2 Timothy 2:15