Tongues & Out of Body Experiences. Part 3. Rev 2:7 He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches; Has the church stopped listening to the Spirit? In the dark ages, when the Catholic Church had total control of Biblical interpretation, spiritual gifts were not used or even taught, it seems that over the last couple hundred years, some scholars and lay members of the church have fought to reestablish the use of these gifts with a lot of infighting within the church. Jesus warned the Pharisees not to hinder those that would inter into the kingdom and I feel that He is saying the same thing today. Not to say that you don’t believe in these gifts but rather that you don’t practice them. To say that a portion of the scripture is incorrect is to say that all of the scripture is incorrect. The Bible states that,”if you offend at one point of the law then you are guilty of all the law.” Each Spiritual gift has a purpose within itself. God designed them to help us in this life of, pain and uncertainty. To build the faith of not only the church but also the individual. Just think of all the miracles that could be preformed if the entire church would suddenly believe that they could do all the things that Jesus did and greater things. Is it a lack of faith or a lack of understanding? Biblical scholars have hindered many in fulfilling their destiny with God, because of a lack of understanding that all spiritual gifts are for all the church and not a select few. Which bring us to another point of out of body experiences, misunderstood and afraid of.
2Co 12:2 I knew a man in Christ above fourteen years ago, (whether in the body, I cannot tell; or whether out of the body, I cannot tell: God knoweth;) such an one caught up to the third heaven.
2Co 12:3 And I knew such a man, (whether in the body, or out of the body, I cannot tell: God knoweth;) I knew a man, what was Paul indicating here? He was saying that, what He was saying was true, there was a man. Many people try to take the scriptures and turn them around to suite themselves because they don’t understand them. But here Paul was leavening it up to God to know weather this man was in or out of the body. If it were not possible to be out of the body in performance of God will, then Paul would have never mentioned it. Lets put it this way, Have you ever thought that you were witnessing to people and all of a sudden you woke up from a nap? Preachers, have you ever went to bed at night and dreamed that you were preaching a sermon in found of a congregation that you didn’t know? A thought isn’t it? Remember that the power of God is unlimited and sometimes unreachable in our thoughts. Act 8:39 And when they were come up out of the water, the Spirit of the Lord caught away Philip, that the eunuch saw him no more: and he went on his way rejoicing.
Act 8:26 And the angel of the Lord spake unto Philip, saying, Arise, and go toward the south unto the way that goeth down from Jerusalem unto Gaza, which is desert.
Act 8:27 And he arose and went: and, behold, a man of Ethiopia, an eunuch of great authority under Candace queen of the Ethiopians, who had the charge of all her treasure, and had come to Jerusalem for to worship,
Act 8:28 Was returning, and sitting in his chariot read Esaias the prophet.
Act 8:29 Then the Spirit said unto Philip, Go near, and join thyself to this chariot.
Act 8:30 And Philip ran thither to him, and heard him read the prophet Esaias, and said, Understandest thou what thou readest?
Act 8:31 And he said, How can I, except some man should guide me? And he desired Philip that he would come up and sit with him.
Act 8:32 The place of the scripture which he read was this, He was led as a sheep to the slaughter; and like a lamb dumb before his shearer, so opened he not his mouth:
Act 8:33 In his humiliation his judgment was taken away: and who shall declare his generation? for his life is taken from the earth.
Act 8:34 And the eunuch answered Philip, and said, I pray thee, of whom speaketh the prophet this? of himself, or of some other man?
Act 8:35 Then Philip opened his mouth, and began at the same scripture, and preached unto him Jesus.
Act 8:36 And as they went on their way, they came unto a certain water: and the eunuch said, See, here is water; what doth hinder me to be baptized?
Act 8:37 And Philip said, If thou believest with all thine heart, thou mayest. And he answered and said, I believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God.
Act 8:38 And he commanded the chariot to stand still: and they went down both into the water, both Philip and the eunuch; and he baptized him.
Act 8:39 And when they were come up out of the water, the Spirit of the Lord caught away Philip, that the eunuch saw him no more: and he went on his way rejoicing.
Act 8:40 But Philip was found at Azotus: and passing through he preached in all the cities, till he came to Caesarea.
Verses 8:39-40 are very important to our discussion, has anyone ever been able to explain this, was Philip in or out of the Body? Did the Holy Spirit move the body of Philip or just His spirit? Either way it was a notable accomplishment, showing the Power of the Holy Ghost to do the will of God. In verse 26 it appears that the body of Philip was moved, through not only space but of time also. Now lets look at the temptation of Jesus. Mat 4:1 Then was Jesus led up of the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted of the devil.
Mat 4:8 Again, the devil taketh him up into an exceeding high mountain, and sheweth him all the kingdoms of the world, and the glory of them;
Luk 4:5 And the devil, taking him up into an high mountain, shewed unto him all the kingdoms of the world in a moment of time. from him for a season.
Luke 4:14 And Jesus returned in the power of the Spirit into Galilee: and there went out a fame of him through all the region round about.
Luke 4:5,in a moment of time. Another question, was this in the body or out? Sometimes with the scriptures we end up with more questions than answers, which is the reason that we have to continue to seek out the hidden mysteries of the kingdom of Heaven. Remember the rich man and Lazarus? This was out of the body. Remember John in Revelations?
Rev 4:1 After this I looked, and, behold, a door was opened in heaven: and the first voice which I heard was as it were of a trumpet talking with me; which said, Come up hither, and I will shew thee things which must be hereafter.
Rev 11:12 And they heard a great voice from heaven saying unto them, Come up hither. And they ascended up to heaven in a cloud; and their enemies beheld them.
Now sense we know that flesh cannot inter into the Kingdom of Heaven, {For God is Spirit}, John was out of the Body. Being out of the body and in the spirit is being one with the Lord. These things are possible according to Gods will. Take some time and think about it, discuss it and research it, the possibilities are endless with God. I hope these three sermons have been help and an eye opener, getting Christians to think about the possibilities and power of God is always a good thing. The last issue that I will leave you with is the account of doubting Thomas and his discussion with Jesus, also look at the fish dinner Jesus had with his disciples, consider all the accounts of the sightings of Jesus after the resurrection, out of His original body and into His new body. Just a thought. Ars.
