Ok, I know this is hard for a lot of people. It was a major stumbling block in my walk both away from and closer to God. I started out a religious catholic. It was Idolatry and religious rituals, and not a relationship with Christ. Also, if any catholic truly has the Holy Spirit's discernment reading scripture, they would see the evils that abound in it.
On that note I was blind but a believer for a LONG time before I was baptized with the Holy Spirit. It does not just come to most, unless they ask for it with a sincere obedient heart. You have to be ready to USE it as a tool of our faith before it is given. At pentecost they prayed for ten days before receiving it! And these were his apostles and disciples! So how much more should we prepare our hearts to live in the Spirit alive, and not dead in the flesh.
Jesus promised us a helper, and Jesus is NOT a liar! I finally after 5 years of hard-core catholicism, to 5 years as a reformed pre-destination baptist, to a practicing idolater. I never fully understood the Scriptures until I was baptized in the Spirit. For as Jesus spoke in parables many times (90%), He proclaimed I speak in parables so that seeing they may not see, and hearing they may not hear! What a powerful statement explained to His disciples afterwards, that it is because they live in the flesh, and are unable to comprehend His message. Jesus looks for sincere obedient Christians. Not wishy washy ones. Non-flavored salt He called those people who are not committed to serving Him in ALL they do. They only way to accomplish this is with His Helper, the Holy Spirit.
When reading Scripture I always pray the Holy Spirit leads me to see the message in the spirit, and not in the flesh. Dead in the flesh, one cannot see the message given by His Spirit, so it makes sense to pray that you may be guided by His Spirit to see what is TRUE and what is man's interpretation. Many preachers and pastors, professors etc. DO NOT HAVE this simple yet powerful tool. I am no better than them, I just happen to have been blessed with the gift of discernment. If I hear a sermon, I immediately know if it is from God, or about God from his mind. The mind is also the flesh. Only the obedient faith-filled heart can preach the Word in the spirit.
I now hear from Hi, sometimes even clear audible words in my soul. To someone not baptized in the Spirit, this may sound far fetched. But look at how he answered Moses, David, and most of all Jesus. Jesus was fully man, and fully God. He felt things in the flesh, like when he was troubled before His crucifixition. He did not falter though, as he ended his prayer with, "Not my will but Your Will Father." What a powerful thing, and the reason why His sacrifice was accepted by the Father. He felt all we feel, yet never sinned. He had righteous anger, had fear but trusted. I pray any who have not been baptized in the Holy Spirit to cry out from a humble obedient heart, "Abba Father God, I wish to receive the promise Jesus gave before He ascended to sit at Your right hand. I want the Holy Spirit to wash over me, and to never leave me. I want to utilize the gifts I can and will receive after receiving the baptism. AMEN."
It's just that easy to be able to hear Him better, and to be able to understand scripture with the heart and spirit, not the mind and the flesh. The flesh is weak, our spirit is strong. When we walk with the Spirit, we are alive in Christ. When we walk with our mind, no matter how sincere we are, we are still dead in the flesh. Why hold yourself back from this awesome blessing and gift He gave and gives us freely if we but only ask!
-Patrick Hilyard 5/5/15
