Decently And In Order

"Wherefore, brethren, covet to prophesy, and forbid not to speak with tongues. Let all things be done decently and in order."

1 Corinthians 14: 39-40

There are a lot of things that go on in a church service, there are a lot of “moves of the Holy Spirit” aligned with shouts of praise and adoration… Even though these things are apparent, it is imperative that we come to understand and realize today that “…all things be done decently and in order…” We intentionally examine these verses from back to front knowing that we serve a God of order… We all desire to please God and walk in the gifts that He has bestowed upon us; however, it is of the utmost importance that in walking in our gifts, we travel the path that has been laid before us instead of putting the cart before the horse… There is nothing wrong with prophesy or speaking in tongues; however, there is a correct order in which these things are to be carried out… I can recall a story that my father has shared with me several times; this particular story depicts a woman who attended his home church in Washington D.C. Every Sunday at the same time this individual would catch the “Holy Ghost” and begin to shout… One Sunday, at the appointed time this lady jumped up, swung her hand out, and knocked another ladies hat off of her head… 

To my knowledge, no fights broke out or words were exchanged; however the following Sunday the lady who had her hat knocked off confronted the lady with the “timed praise” and told her that she better not touch her hat again… Wouldn’t you know when the clock struck her appointed time to shout, she lifted her hand up ensuring that she would miss the ladies hat… I recall this story today to highlight the importance of sincerity within our praise… The Holy Spirit flows without a timetable; however, there are some people in the church who want to display gifts that God has not given them and so when they do this they are not “done decently and in order…” I have been to a lot of churches and have been turned off by what I gathered as stumbling blocks of praise… A lot of people have been misled or are being misled by the gift of speaking in tongues, this is not for everyone nor is it to be done at any given time… The bible says that there is a time and place for everything and I believe that this rule applies as well in Paul’s letter to the church of Corinth… Again, our God is a God of order, He desires for things to be done in an organized manner and conduct… If we don’t align our desires with the will of God things will always be chaotic…  

ALL FOR HIS GLORY!