I have been trying to get closer to God and draw near to him, but for some reason fear has really affected the way that I live and connect with him. Recently, it seems like I have a fear of the holy spirit and being under his influence/control. I know that I am not supposed to fear him, but it seems like fear tends to overwhelm me often. I also tend to fall under legalism. Please pray that God will take away the spirit of fear and legalism and replace it with peace. Thank you!
Hello Flowergirl69, I would like to pray for you, but what is your reason for fearing the Holy Spirit? Maybe you fear the Holy Spirit because you do not understand Him (We often fear what we do not understand). What negative effects do not think will happen if you are under the influence of the Holy Spirit?
I remember when I started attending the Pentecostal church. I saw what they called the “manifestations” of the Holy Spirit. And when people were under the “influence” of the Holy Spirit, they spoke in tongues, or laughed uncontrollably or fell over and rolled on the floor. When I saw these things I felt very uncomfortable with the idea of having the Holy Spirit. Many people thought these manifestations were great, but I did not really want to be part of them. I also felt insecure that I could not speak in tongues, because I was told that not being able to speak in tongues meant that you did not have the Holy Spirit. And every Sunday, the pastor would say “God is starting a new thing” because these manifestations are not in the bible.
One day, I came across an ex-church member and I asked her why she had left our church and she told me that she got tired of pretending to have the manifestations! She could not speak in tongues also and would often pretend to faint. It made feel soooo much better!. I studied my bible more and the sign that you have the Holy Spirit is found in Galatians 5:22. A person who has the Holy Spirit will have love, joy,
peace, patience, gentleness, goodness, and faith. So if you have the Holy Spirit you are going to get all these positive attributes, which is wonderful!
Tongues are not a sign of having the Holy Spirit, (what a relief!) it is one of the gifts of the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit has many gifts according to 1 Corinthians 12:4-11, which includes gift of wisdom, knowledge, prophecy discernment, healing and tongues. The Holy Spirit decides which gift a person can have and not everyone receives the same gift (1 Corinthians 12:11), which means that it is unlikely that everyone in a church knows how to speak in tongues (That means most people are faking it). There is also no uncontrollable laughter and shaking or barking and falling over and rolling on the floor. Either than the fact that some people are faking these manifestations, some critics say that some of these pastors are using hypnosis to cause people to behave like this. I suspect that in some cases it could be signs of demonic possession (But I do not really know). Also like TabinRivCA said, the Holy Spirit is a comforter, guide and counsellor. Also read 2 Corinthians 3:17, John 14:26, John 16:7-8 and John 16:13.
I hope the above helps in getting a better understanding of the Holy Spirit and hopefully you will be less fearful of Him.
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