The stone the builders rejected has become the chief cornerstone (see Psalm 118:22 & Luke 20:17). “This was the Lord’s doing; it is marvelous in our eyes. This, is the day that the Lord has made; we will rejoice in it” (Psalm 118:23-24). “Open the gates of righteousness; I will go through them, and I will praise the Lord. This is the gate of the Lord, through which the righteousness shall enter; I will praise You, for You have answered me and have become my Salvation” (Psalm 118:19-21). “The right hand of the Lord is exalted; the right hand of the Lord does valiantly. I shall not die, but live, and declare the works of the Lord” (Ps. 118:16-17). “I will declare Your name to brethren; in the midst of the assembly I will praise You” (Psalm 22:22).

The Lord saw fit to give to us the Holy Spirit and to some of us the Spirit gave the gift of tongues and to some interpretation. If I prophecy in tongues in the midst of the assembly and there is no interpretation, it does no one good. Is that truth? If the prophecy is interpreted, the thing is known only if the Spirit gives understanding. Speaking a prophecy in the common language of the assembly does not mean it is understood by all. What if I praise in tongues in the midst of the assembly? The praise is to God. Does it need another interpreter? Does God not know? What if I pray in tongues between God and myself? Paul said I should keep silent (see 1 Corinthians 14:28), but the Spirit is not silent within me. So I pray between God and the Spirit in me. Is it wrong if my neighbors in the seats around me hear my prayers to God in tongues because they cannot interpret? I have given my tongue to the Lord’s Spirit; can I keep Him silent?

If we are to keep the Holy Spirit suppressed in the assembly, then when shall we let Him be free? Paul wrote to the Corinthians that women should be silent in the churches (see 1 Corinthians 14:34). Paul also wrote, “If anyone thinks himself to be a prophet or spiritual, let him acknowledge that the things I write are the commandments of the Lord” (1 Corinthians 14:37). That is an invitation to seek the Word of God beyond what Paul wrote in 1 Corinthians 14. Paul also wrote, “Desire intense sincerity to prophecy, and do not refuse to allow tongues” (see 1 Corinthians 14:39). I can testify that when one filled with the Holy Spirit is in a room with others filled with the Holy Spirit, the gifts of the Spirit come alive – the Spirit leaps within the belly of the believer. “When Mary walked into the room, the baby in Elizabeth was moved by the Holy Spirit because of the child within Mary” (Luke 1:41). The Holy Spirit is not still, but moves. How can I bind the Holy Spirit in the midst of the body of Christ?

This was the Lord’s doing; it is marvelous in our eyes. This, the day that the Lord has made; we will rejoice in it (Psalm 118:23-24). How can I rejoice if my feet cannot move and there is no room for my legs to dance? How can I rejoice if I must contain the power of the Holy Spirit that rushes in, moves within, and moves me? Should then there be a time of rejoicing and singing and dancing in the midst of our brothers and sisters in Christ? Should there be a time when the Holy Spirit can pray from the tongue of one that has given his or her tongue over to the Lord? Do we asked the Holy Spirit to pray only in our common language?
“Open the gates of righteousness; I will go through them, and I will praise the Lord. This is the gate of the Lord, through which the righteousness shall enter; I will praise You, for You have answered me and have become my Salvation” (Psalm 118:19-21). How can you hear that God has become our Salvation and keep still? You cannot be still and go through the gate. You go through the gate with praise. How am I helping my Apostle, Pastor, Prophet, Evangelist, or Teachers if I ask the Holy Spirit to be silent when we are gathered together? How are they helping me if we gag the Comforter?

“The right hand of the Lord is exalted; the right hand of the Lord does valiantly. I shall not die, but live, and declare the works of the Lord” (Psalm 118:16-17). “I will declare Your name to brethren; in the midst of the assembly I will praise You” (Psalm 22:22). There is a time to rejoice with gladness in your heart and the Spirit flowing out. Jesus is the stone the builders rejected and is the chief cornerstone, and we are the stones of the temple – we are the temple. Jesus said, “I tell you that if these should keep silent, the stones would immediately cry out” (Luke 19:40). We are the stones that are crying out, “In the midst of the assembly I will praise You!!!”