Storms - The Language of Heaven

This excellent new book by Sam Storms is solidly biblical, deeply spiritual, and very practical. Im confident this highly readable and pastorally sensitive book will inspire you to love Jesus more. If you have ever wondered about speaking in tongues, Sams book is a must-read for you. It will prove especially helpful for all who long to grow in prayer and experience all that Jesus has for them.

MIKE BICKLE

DIRECTOR, INTERNATIONAL HOUSE OF PRAYER

OF KANSAS CITY

In an engaging way Sam Storms addresses a wide range of questions about the gift of tongues. Systematically and carefully, yet graciously and fairly, he examines the various interpretive options, providing readers of any persuasion better understanding of the range of perspectives on this issue. Most importantly he also provides solid and, I believe, persuasive guidance in choosing the answers most consistent with the biblical witness.

CRAIG S. KEENER

F. M. AND ADA THOMPSON PROFESSOR OF BIBLICAL STUDIES,

ASBURY THEOLOGICAL SEMINARY

The more controversial a subject is, the more wisdom, care, and clarity are needed in addressing it. Which makes it great news for all of us that Sam Storms has written a book on the gift of tongues, bringing straightforward and biblical answers to thirty important questions. Even those who disagree with some of his conclusions will benefit from being walked through the issues by such a thoughtful and experienced pastor-scholar. A super guide to a sometimes-divisive topic.

ANDREW WILSON

TEACHING PASTOR, KINGS CHURCH LONDON

Sam Storms has blessed the church with his book The Language of Heaven. I urge the Reformed, Evangelicals, Catholics, Charismatics, and Pentecostals to read this book. You will not be able to put it down. It is engaging, thorough, biblical, convincing, sensible, and scholarly, and yet simple. You will not find a better treatment on this subject.

DR. R. T. KENDALL

MINISTER OF WESTMINSTER CHAPEL, LONDON

FROM 19772002

This is the best book Ive read on the gift of tongues. But it is more than that. It is a great book on the spiritual life. With the wisdom of a skillful theologian and the tender heart of a pastor, Sam leads us to a God who longs for us and wants us to feel His affection.

JACK DEERE

AUTHOR OF SURPRISED BY THE POWER OF THE SPIRIT

Dr. Sam Storms has asked all the right questions and provided solid, Bible-based, eminently practical answers about a very important topic. Tongues-speakers will be enriched by his in-depth exposition of the Scriptures, while those who have rejected tongues will be challenged to reconsider their views and embrace the Spirits fullness in their lives. Praying in tongues has helped shape my own walk with God, and Im so glad a solid theologian like Sam Storms has provided us with a timely manual at a critical time in church history.

DR. MICHAEL L. BROWN

PRESIDENT OF FIRE SCHOOL OF MINISTRY,

AUTHOR OF PLAYING WITH HOLY FIRE: A WAKE-UP CALL TO THE

PENTECOSTAL-CHARISMATIC CHURCH

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THE LANGUAGE OF HEAVEN by Sam Storms

Published by Charisma House

Charisma Media/Charisma House Book Group

600 Rinehart Road

Lake Mary, Florida 32746

www.charismahouse.com

This book or parts thereof may not be reproduced in any form, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form by any meanselectronic, mechanical, photocopy, recording, or otherwisewithout prior written permission of the publisher, except as provided by United States of America copyright law.

Unless otherwise noted, all Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, English Standard Version. Copyright 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a division of Good News Publishers. Used by permission.

Scripture quotations marked KJV are from the King James Version of the Bible.

Scripture quotations marked NASB are from the New American Standard Bible, copyright 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. www.Lockman.org

Scripture quotations marked NIV are taken from the Holy Bible, New International Version, NIV. Copyright 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc. Used by permission of Zondervan. All rights reserved worldwide. www.zondervan.com. The NIV and New International Version are trademarks registered in the United States Patent and Trademark Office by Biblica, Inc.

Copyright 2019 by Sam Storms

All rights reserved

Visit the authors website at www.samstorms.com.

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data:

An application to register this book for cataloging has been submitted to the Library of Congress.

International Standard Book Number: 978-1-62999-607-3

E-book ISBN: 978-1-62999-608-0

This publication is translated in Spanish under the title El lenguaje del cielo, copyright 2019 by Sam Storms, published by Casa Creacin, a Charisma Media company. All rights reserved.

While the author has made every effort to provide accurate internet addresses at the time of publication, neither the publisher nor the author assumes any responsibility for errors or for changes that occur after publication. Further, the publisher does not have any control over and does not assume any responsibility for author or third-party websites or their content.

Dedicated to

Jackie Pullinger

With profound, heartfelt appreciation

for your Christ-exalting life and

sacrificial ministry to the weak and broken.

AS I THOUGHT about the people responsible for this book being published, my mind turned first to Jason McMullen of Charisma House. Jason was relentless (without being pushy!) in his encouragement of me to write this book. He was the first to see the potential in it, and I am grateful for his pursuit of me to provide this resource to the body of Christ. Thank you, Jason!

I should also say thanks to Debbie Marrie, vice president of Product Development at Charisma House, who has been incredibly supportive of my writing and remarkably helpful in keeping me pointed in the right direction.

A huge debt of gratitude is due to Adrienne Gaines, my editor. She worked tirelessly to make this book easier to read and to hold me accountable for proper citation of sources. Editing is often a thankless job done behind the scenes. So I want to make certain that Adrienne is properly thanked (!!!) and brought into the well-deserved limelight for all she did to make The Language of Heaven better than it would otherwise have been.

I also want to express my gratitude to the elders of Bridgeway Church in Oklahoma City. These men have supported my writing ministry in every conceivable way. Had they not given me time and opportunity to research and write, this book would never have seen the light of day.

Finally, as always, I must thank my wife of forty-seven years, Ann. Her prayers for me (often in tongues!) have been the foundation for my work and ministry all these many years. She always speaks words of encouragement and love, especially at those times when I questioned the importance of what I was doing. I love you, Annie!

SAM

LIKE MANY PEOPLE, I grew up loving Christmas. I couldnt wait until Christmas morning when my sister and I would tear into the many gifts our parents had worked so hard to purchase for us. Even more enjoyable was when I became a parent of two daughters and experienced the satisfaction of blessing them with gifts they so passionately desired.