I want to preach for a few moments today on the danger of losing the language.
The death of a language is not a trivial matter. The demise of the dialect is a terrible, terrible tragedy. Because that dialect represents the culture of the people. There are more raise that are embedded in that language through the words that are like invisible strings of DNA that actually represents the culture of that people. For generations, things have been passed down through the language. When a language is lost, it is such a serious thing because there is no bridge to the past, there is no bridge to the history; there is no bridge to anything that exists on the glories or the mistakes of the people.
You can ask the Baniwa tribe, a remote Amazonian, Indian tribe in the jungles of the Amazon, one of the only tribes that still know how to make, Korey. It’s a poisonous concoction that they place on their arrows. And as it marinades on their arrows they have weapons that can kill a man within seconds because they have passed down this poisonous concoction with their language. They passed it down with their native tongue. But now that language is an endangered language and they are not teaching the next generation how to defend themselves.
You should consider the Piraha tribe that was studied by linguist Daniel Everett. A tribe that rejects the use of outside languages and they are fighting to teach their language to their children. Here is the reason why they will not allow anybody to speak another language in their tribes in the jungle. Because they believe that their language is exclusively what their gods in the spirit world understand and only in the enchantment in their language can get through to the spirit world.
▶Well we are seeing the same threat being imposed in our Christian reality and our Pentecostal reality. It is possible for us and it is possible that there is a threat of a generation being raised that cannot speak the spiritual language that our forefathers spoke. They are speaking out of the two sides of their mouth. They are bilingual but they are speaking Pentecost as a second language. Christianity is a second language and the culture of our time in the language of the culture that we live in is their first language.
Gone is the language of the ancients Abraham, Isaac, Jacob. And like the Baniwa, if we lose our spiritual language, and I’m talking to Pentecostals who understand particularly the power of praying in the spirit, praying as the spirit gives you the utterance. There is a real danger that another generation will come up without the language that God has given us in our prayer closet. This praying in the spirit is powerful. This praying in the spirit is like the poison on the end of our darts that we shoot at Satan and his forces. It is our spiritual warfare and without the language of God, the next generation doesn’t know how to do war like they need to do it.
We speak the language of the crucified Christ. Where is that language? We need to become a fluent in the language of sacrifice and the language and in the dialect of commitment as our first language or we are at risk of rising up a generation that will not experience the victory. In other words, it’s dangerous when they begin to speak half Bible half Oprah. Half word of God and half secular humanism. Half living for Jesus and half living in the world. And when this begins to happen, something precious is lost.
▶In Nehemiah chapter 13, the people had broken the covenant of God. As a result, Jerusalem had been destroyed. The walls were in rubble and there were people that were left there. They were Jewish people who spoke the Hebrew language. But when Nehemiah comes back and he began to rebuild the walls, he notices the children playing in the street and he says they are the children of the Jewish people who had married into other religion. He names them as gods and some of these other religions, and as a result, they were speaking in that native tongue of that nationality and that religion. And he hears these half Hebrew children every now and then saying the Hebrew word but mostly the Hebrew language was the secondary language and the language of the culture had become their first language. And then it made the statement and the Jewish language was gone from that generation.
▶What I’m saying to you is, the 21st century church is in danger of marrying the spirit of this age. And thereby releasing and raising up the generation of children who do not know God as our forefathers knew God. Nor do they know the language of the spirit. Nor do they understand the language of praise. Nor do they understand how to pray and prevail until they pull down strongholds, because this generation says all of that it is not necessary.
We have adopted the language of our culture. We are living in a time when we don’t hear the language of sacrifice. Most of our children don’t even have the thought of giving themselves in going on a missionary trip. They are not even taught that way. It’s not important. That is because we have married the culture that we live in more than we have married ourselves to the word of God and His priorities.
I want you to understand the most common way a language veers towards extinction. It’s a community of people become bilingual and they begin to speak less and less in their native tongue. And when we begin to speak less and less, the language of God, the language of faith in our homes and in our families, the language of Jesus and the blood the language that’s sung in every message of Jesus being the center of our lives. We must not lose that language.
▶Parents, what language are you teaching your children? For in Deuteronomy 6:4 It’s says,
Deut.6:4 And these words, which I command thee this day, shall be in thine heart.
6:7 And thou shall teach them diligently unto thy children, and shalt talk of them when thou sittest in thine house, and when thou walkest by the way, and when thou liest down, and when thou risest up.
When you lie there and when you rise up. Jesus! Faith! Jesus! You get in the car Jesus! Faith!
Oh you’re a little fanatical aren’t you? Know the cultures are always talking too and that language can take over so I’m going to counteract it with some gospel music, so I’m going to counteract it with some Holy Ghost language, so I’m going to counteract it with some praise. That is why we come to church because we better teach them the language of God. But He said it’s not enough to get the language in church. It’s got to be happening in the home. Every morning, every night, all day. Any chance you get through faith in there, through Jesus in there, through blood in there. I’m praying for you, before you get out of the car, in Jesus name!
My kids tell me all the time, “You are a fanatic, you are crazy. Why can’t you be like other parents?” I don’t want to be like other parents. They’re letting the culture take over. But you know what? They may not know but I’m getting the language in them and by the time they get up on their own. They are going to turn up to than language and say, “Light! Light! Where else could I go? You have the words of life!” (Jn.6:68)
▶Joshua chapter 3 said they rose another generation after them that knew not the Lord. Nor the works which He had done in Israel. When there is an abandonment of teaching the word of God in becoming disciples in our own home. There is the threat of another generation coming up that knows not God nor the things that He has done in Israel. Therefore it is the responsibility of parents and the grandparents to talk about the glory of God. Talk about the how He protected you. Talk about how He saved you. Talk about how you were messed up. Talk about how you started that business with nothing but a dollar and you gave 10 cents of it to the Lord and now you may tell the story. Tell them in the morning, tell them at night time. Teach them the language of faith. Speak it! Proclaim it! Yell it! Shout it! Sing it! Go to church and don’t sit there like a nut on a pickle.
▶Children of Israel marched out into the wilderness. And after a few years, even though God had commanded, “That My mark upon My people will be circumcision.” And He said every child that is 8 days old male child shall be circumcised. And that was a clear commandment but after 20 years in the wilderness they stopped talking about it. They just didn’t bring it up anymore. And anything you don’t talk about, any theology that you don’t talk about will soon be lost.
That is why I have got to talk about the baptism and the Holy Ghost. I have got to teach about speaking in tongues. I have got to teach about anointing. I have got to talk about praying the prayer of faith. I have got to teach about the gifts of spirit because if we don’t teach it and talk about it, it will become extinct.
▶So they had gone out in the wilderness. Before Joshua was to take them over to the Promise Land, the bible said he had to circumcise the whole new generation. What happened? They quit talking about it. And even though they had the Ark of the Covenant which was all about worship, they didn’t have the mark of the covenant on their bodies. I want you to understand that God doesn’t just want this generation to have the Ark of the Covenant. They know how to worship. They know how to clap their hands and raise their hands and be entertained by the music. But He said, “I want the mark of God on their life. I want the mark of sanctification. I want the mark of being different. I want the mark”. There is a clear distinct difference between a real Christian and somebody who lives just like the world. And you can’t just have the Ark of the Covenant, you’ve got to take the mark of the covenant and the mark of the covenant will make you different. You can hang with anybody. You can do if everybody is sleeping around, you can’t sleep around! If everybody asked why? “Because I got the mark of the covenant.” Oh man! I know a language and it’s my first language, not my Sunday religion.
▶Why are you screaming?! Why not?!
Paul said to Timothy in 2Tim.1:5
"When I call to remembrance the unfeigned faith that is in thee,
which grandmother Lois, and thy mother Eunice; and I am persuaded that in thee also."
When I call your great faith the man, “I think of how I first saw it in your grandmother Lois and in your mother Eunice and I’m persuaded that it is also in thee.” He said, “You know I saw your grandmother Lois and she has faith! And it got in your mother, and I remember your mother and she had these big tears and she would say, “Faith! Faith! Faith! Faith!” Helping all her life and your mother had the same spirit, she wanted to have Faith! And now, Timothy, she must have been doing that to you because I see the same stuff in you that I saw in your grandmother and in your grandmother. I see something in you that came from yesteryears.
God, I hope our children can get something in them that came from yesteryears. Our spiritual forefathers didn’t live this loosey, goosey, drunk on Friday night and walking up and singing, “Praise God!” Pumping in cigarettes out on them.
Oh common here! We need to see some of that stuff from yesteryear where a man’s words were his bond and if he said id, he’d back it up. And he didn’t have any skeletons in the closet. Married to one wife and no girlfriends on the side.
▶I’m so thankful! Because here is what you got to understand. The next generation will never speak of what we don’t speak because if they don’t ever hear you speak a language, they will never speak a language. The only way another generation speaks a language is that they hear you're speaking. That is why praise is body language. It doesn’t really matter whether you think that it takes all of that. It is body language. And what we are doing is passing it all. When I am a dad, I’ll raise my hands. I’m passing it on to my kids saying, “It’s alright to come to church and give Jesus praise.” What I don’t do and I’m teaching them to just sit there and kind of do religion and church.
Oh common here! You need to teach them how to dance. You need to give service just like we just had. We just let them go, let them dance a little bit. Let’s teach them our praise. Teach them your dance. Teach them that old stuff. Teach them how to bleed the blood. Let them hear you. Let them see you swing anoint with all cost. We will make them all remember that language when the devil comes after the kids. Your kids ought to see you cry. You kids ought to hear you pray. Your kids ought to see you every now and then prevail in the floor. They ought to see you fast. They ought to see you pray.
▶Let your children hear you, each speaking faith, each speaking the language of prayer. Grandma, you can’t afford to lose your passion because your kids are watching.
The bible says, Jesus, He said, “I only speak of those things which I hear my father speak.” And the scripture said that it was so powerful that he taught what he heard what His father speaks to His disciples. And the scripture said, even when they tried to deny the Lord. Either was at a fire warming his hands he said, “I swear I don’t know Jesus.” A woman listened to him and she said these words, “Surely thou are also one of them for thy speech betrayeth they.”
You know what I’m praying for? I’m praying that we’ll preach Jesus so much. Sing Jesus so much. Shout Jesus so much. Faith so full of Jesus that when our kids try to camouflage. When they get out, they get rebuked by the world’s teenagers. We can party and be alright. But you can’t! We can have sex but you can’t because something is in you. Something is on you and your speech betrays you.
Let the world rebuke you. “Get out of our party.” “You don’t belong here.” “You go to Free Chapel.” “Get away.” “I’m scared. Your daddy will start praying.” ”Your mama speaks in tongues. Don’t come to our party!”
Halleluiah! I like this sermon. Anybody hear what I’m saying? My God we better get some of that old stuff back here in the church. It will make you live right. It will make it do right.
This mix language this bilingual Christianity. “I love the Lord but I keep falling to adultery.” ”I love Jesus but you know I like my liquor.” You need to get Jesus as you first language.
If we don’t watch it, the next generation, that language of the praying in the spirit can become extinct. That’s why we need to get desperate. Fill not only us but our children and our children’s children with the anointing and the power of the Holy Spirit. It is the force that will keep them, in this filthy world that we live in, you can live it when the Holy Ghost is in you.
And I’m not about to lose this language. I’m not about to lose the language of faith. I’m not going to let another generation come up and not know who Jesus is. Not know 'about Him' but 'know Him'.
▶Lift your hands up towards heaven open up your mind and verbally begin to cry out to God.
Every dad needs to cry out to God. Every mom needs to cry out to God. Every husband, every wife, every teenager. You understand that there is something that the ancients and the forefathers experience that are becoming extinct because nobody is hungering for it. Nobody really wants God to use him in a miraculous way because if He could find somebody, He would do the same today as He did in the past. And even greater things.
God give us a generation of people. Don’t let our language die, the language of God die. As we become married to the culture that we are living in. And all we talk about is money and success, and houses, and cars, and careers and we forget about Jesus! Faith! The word! The Holy Spirit!
Help us Lord. (Stand up on your feet.) Halleluiah!
Lift up your hands towards heaven and praise God with me. You got 30 seconds to use your language to praise him! Use your language to praise God!
Don’t let another generation rise up that knows not God nor His words and His greatness.
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We must keep the language of faith alive so we can share our faith with the next generation.
If you are watching this program and you do not know Jesus Christ as your personal savior, I want to give you the opportunity to accept Him in your life right now. Just say these words with me:
“Father in Jesus name, I receive you today as my savior.”
“I want to pass on the blessing to the next generation. And I know that it starts with me surrendering my life to you.”
Just say these words, “Lord Jesus I give you my heart. I surrender my life. Take me and use me for your glory. In Jesus name, Amen!”
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