What Am I Doing Wrong?

Nov 26, 2010
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My girlfriend's brother (Phil) is a Pentecostal preacher in the town where I live. I had never given Pentecostalism a thought before, seeing as I was born and saved in a Southern Baptist church. God has blessed me in many ways, and to this day I continue to get closer to God.

I was talking with Phil a few months ago about what God was doing in my life. We began to talk about doctrinal issues, and it was then that I first gave Pentecostalism some serious consideration. I was told that it was fine to be a Baptist, but that I was missing the miraculous things that God could do.

Naturally, I was skeptical at first. I read the Bible, attended some Pentecostal church services, and was amazed at what people were claiming. Some claimed to see gold fall from the sky. Others claimed to be raised from the dead. I was becoming more convinced that this was the right thing for me. I opened myself up to the idea. I wanted in on the charismatic movement.

I began to get involved, and this is when problems arose. I had people pray for me, lay hands on me, etc. I felt nothing. I looked around to see people convulsing with the Spirit. They felt a "fire" within them. I told them that I couldn't feel anything, and they kept trying with me. Still nothing. I was told that I wasn't open to the idea, but I know that I was. I was not closing my heart off to God, but on the contrary, my heart was wide open.

I returned three other times, but I felt nothing. I wasn't going to lie to the church or to myself. I began to seriously doubt the charismatic movement.

I tore my ACL over the past summer, and since I am running short on some money, I have yet to get it fixed. Instead, I limp around with pain and discomfort. I was approached by Phil who knew I was struggling with the idea of Pentecostalism. He told me that he would heal my knee, and that I would become a believer. He spoke with 100% surety that I would be healed. I was excited. I told him that I was willing to believe, and let him pray for me.

Nothing. My knee still hurts. I have given up on Pentecostalism and the charismatic movement. During the two to three months of experimenting with this type of Christianity, my relationship with God suffered more than ever. I was unhappy and distraught. I have worked hard to rebuild my relationship with God since then, and I feel closer to him now after going through my trial.

This is not a critique of Pentecostalism. I am coming here to ask...

What am I doing wrong?
 

byhisstripes

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Hello :),
I do not believe you were doing anything wrong per se .... There were many times in my Christian walk when I felt so very far from God. I remember endless times at Bible camp, Youth Convention etc. when People all around me were experiencing the power of the Holy Spirit, and I never did (not like that). I wasn't doing anything wrong and I wanted so badly to be "touched" as they were, but no. So I just continued on in my worship and prayer. You see, there is a difference in an emotional high with Christ (meaning its all about how we feel) and a real high with Christ, one with out the emotional agrenalin rush. We shouldn't have to be coaxed into feeling christ it should just come. With our with out music, yelling, or what ever tactic preachers and such use to get the emotions going. We can not trust our emotions as they are up and down constantly. Just keep pressing into Jesus, seek him out. Knock and he will open the door, seek and he will show you the way. Please don't go off emotion, it can be decieving. I hope that makes sence.
Often times when we feel so far from God, its because we have become too comfortable where we are, we need to step out of our comfort zone and act in faith.
God does hear and answer prayer, it may not be when we expect but he does and he promises this to us. God's time is not our own. He has promised to take care of our needs. Please don't give up because you do not feel him. That is what the enemy would love for you to do. Instead press in all the more. Read your Bible more, pray more, worship more etc, but please do not give up. I prayed for my moms salvation for 27 years. I gave up speratically in those 27 years because I thought it would happen when I wanted, SHe just gave her heart to Christ this month and now I get the blessing of mentoring her, helping her understand and grow in the Lord. It just melts my heart everytime she calls wondering about something she read. My husband who abused me for 10 years gave his heart to Christ this past year after 11 and a half years of praying for him. When you feel discouraged, seek someone out you trust and talk to them, go to your pastor or brother in law when you struggle and need lifted up. Im sure he would love to pray for you and with you, but just keep waiting on the Lord because HE IS FAITHFUL!!
Blessings,
 
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Presbyterian Continuist

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A classic mistake to those new to the Pentecostal/Charismatic movement is to look for sensory experiences in response to seeing others have manifestations that appear to them that the Holy Spirit is moving on them.

The reality is that the work of the Holy Spirit in a believer is through the spirit and not the emotions. In some way, you were closer to the Holy Spirit before you got involved with the Charismatic church because those people led you along a path that made you think that to be "in the Spirit" is to have certain emotions and feelings. This is simply not true. If you are looking for a sensory experience, the devil is always on hand to give you one; or he is there to tell you the lie that you are not a real Christian because you don't have sensory experiences.

When I met Christ on a personal basis, I did not have an emotional or sensory experience, and yet I just knew that He was real and present. It was more of an insight and an inner knowledge that He is real. It was a frosty April evening about 11pm and I was in the middle of a large park.

If you want to know the will of God for your life, read the Bible. Study it and find out who you are as a New Covenant Christian. Then to be "in the Spirit" you need to do what Christ commands you to do. This is not only in personal Christian living, but also in ministry (heal the sick, cast out demons, preach the Gospel). When you start doing what the Bible tells you to do, then the Holy Spirit will back you up with the supernatural work that He does in response to believers' faith.

If you believe that you are filled with the Holy Spirit, you have the Holy Spirit dwelling in your being. Jesus said that He and the Father would also come and dwell in you. We don't know how that happens, but if Jesus said it,then it is true.

Living and ministering in the Spirit does not consist in going to church on Sunday and getting your "weekly blessing fix". This is what many Charismatics do, and it is contrary to what the Bible teaches that New Covenant Christians should be doing. Getting the "blessing fix" is just self indulgence, and could be more psychological than of the Holy Spirit. You will not find any gathering of Christians in the early church getting just "blessings" for themselves. They had ministry to the unsaved more in mind and how they could be bold in their preaching and wanting the Holy Spirit to confirm their preaching with supernatural signs following.

If you have a sore knee that needs healing, just look at how Jesus healed people. He was very simple in His approach. Many times He told them simply that they were healed. He did not do the dramatic laying on of hands thing that happens in some churches. I can use my faith right now and say to your knee, "Be healed, and start to function normally without pain." That is enough to get you healed. I can say that from right here, and all you have to do is to say, "I receive that healing," and the Holy Spirit will do the rest. I believe that your knee will then start recovering. You can say the same thing to your knee, and expect healing to come, because you have enough faith to do that, you have enough faith to be healed.

I am contending with a painful arthritic joint in my hand. I have had hands laid on it, and I have cast the arthritis out and told the joint to function without pain. I am being really tested on that because the joint became worse! I said that I was not going to put up with that and although the devil can continue to test me, I am going to prove God for as long as it takes. I am going to win and not be defeated. This is not "believing" to be healed. God has already provided healing through the stripes of Jesus, so I keep quoting 1 Peter 2:24, "By the stripes of Jesus I have been healed.", and I tell my hand to come into line with God's Word. This is what faith is: Believing God's Word that I am already healed and that the symptoms need to come into line, not with my faith, but with what God's Word says about my hand.

So, don't reject the ministry of the Holy Spirit and His gifts. Find a church that believes in them, but does not expect you to have all those manifestations. There are churches that have a low-key, non hype way of operating the gifts and a more realistic way of enjoying the Spirit filled Christian life.

But reject the requirement to have sensory experiences to indicate that you are in the Spirit, and base your believing on what God's Word says about you and what it requires of you.

I hope that this helps.
 
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stormdancer0

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Please remember that signs and wonders FOLLOWED believers. People believed, preached, and walked in the Spirit, THEN there were signs and wonders. If you are basing your decision to believe or not on whether your knee gets better, it won't. It's almost like saying the signs and wonders are a side effect of our faith. Not everyone experiences the same side effects, and some are more noticeable than others.

Also, you need to thank God for healing your knee. I know you don't feel healed yet, but you must be faithful in your beliefs. God provided for healing in Jesus' sacrifice. You will be healed in His time. Know this 100%, and thank Him for it.

BTW, most manifestations of the Spirit that I've observed are very personal, and not a lot of hype. If that church insists on certain manifestations, find one more in line with God's word, which says the Holy Spirit gives gifts according to God's will, not man's.
 
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Please remember that signs and wonders FOLLOWED believers. People believed, preached, and walked in the Spirit, THEN there were signs and wonders. If you are basing your decision to believe or not on whether your knee gets better, it won't. It's almost like saying the signs and wonders are a side effect of our faith. Not everyone experiences the same side effects, and some are more noticeable than others.

Also, you need to thank God for healing your knee. I know you don't feel healed yet, but you must be faithful in your beliefs. God provided for healing in Jesus' sacrifice. You will be healed in His time. Know this 100%, and thank Him for it.

BTW, most manifestations of the Spirit that I've observed are very personal, and not a lot of hype. If that church insists on certain manifestations, find one more in line with God's word, which says the Holy Spirit gives gifts according to God's will, not man's.

:thumbsup::thumbsup::thumbsup:
 
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saved24

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I don't think you are doing anything wrong, but not all Pentecostal churches are the same and not all believe the way Phil does. Jesus still heals, but we do not always get healed or sometimes we have to wait, like the man at the gate Beautiful I could say more but the other posters have said lots of good things already that don't need repeating. God bless.
 
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LinkH

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Lots of Pentecostals can tell you about real, genuine experiences with gifts and manifestations of the Spirit. Some Pentecostal churches have people prone to emotionalism, too. Some people, IMO, get the moving of the Spirit mixed up with their emotions.

I don't think you should fake falling down, speaking in tongues, or anything like that. You should believe what the Bible has to say about these things, be zealous for spiritual gifts, and seek the Lord to be constantly filled with the Spirit and exercise the gifts He would have you use. You've had hands laid on you. Believe God now for a manifestation of the Spirit in your life. It may not be the same as what another person has experienced, and that's okay. The Lord uses different parts of the body in different ways (See I Corinthians 12.)

I've seen people get prayed for when they were sick or injured and wanted healing and saw nothing happened. But I've also seen people who were healed. So healing is real. If you pray and it doesn't happen right away, keep on praying and believing God. Remember the parable of the persistent widow and the unjust judge.

The issue isn't Pentecostalism. It's believing the word of God. Your identity is a follower of Christ, not Pentecostal or Baptist or whatever. And we should all believe and follow His word.
 
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ByTheSpirit

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You have received plenty of great advice from the above comments, but I think I can add something for you seeing that I myself came from Baptist doctrine to Pentecostal. I know what you mean about not feeling anything when seeking when others were seemingly losing their minds and bodies in the process. Made me feel inadequate and lacking, but then I got the best advice in awhile from my Pastor and that was, don't seek an experience, seek the Giver. So in God's Word, He tells you when you seek Him, you will find Him (Jeremiah 29:13). He tells you all who believe in Him and desire the Holy Spirit will receive when they ask for Him (Luke 11:9-13; John 7:37-39; Acts 2:38-39) It all comes down to your faith. Faith is believing beyond natural sight, sound, feeling, and touch. If you earnestly want God, and you asked Him for the Holy Spirit to fill you, then believe that when you asked you received, because God says you will. :) Don't let Satan convince you because you didn't feel weird or tingly you didn't receive. Sometimes I think that those who come from denominations outside of Pentecostalism purposely have our faith in God's Word tested by God in this way. We tend to think we have to be tingly in order to have received, when God is telling us, forget all that non-sense about feelings, and just believe that when you ask Me for the gift of the Holy Spirit, you will receive, because I am God and My Word will never fail. I dunno, maybe that was a word of knowledge or prophecy for you. God bless you as you seek Him. Remember above all else, Romans 8:1, "There is therefore NOW NO CONDEMNATION to them who are in Christ Jesus." God will not give you a spirit of condemnation so if you feel condemned because you haven't received, rebuke that non-sense, it's not God it's satan.
 
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Laura Phillips

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hey at least you didn't get brainwashed like me
then again it felt great


My girlfriend's brother (Phil) is a Pentecostal preacher in the town where I live. I had never given Pentecostalism a thought before, seeing as I was born and saved in a Southern Baptist church. God has blessed me in many ways, and to this day I continue to get closer to God.

I was talking with Phil a few months ago about what God was doing in my life. We began to talk about doctrinal issues, and it was then that I first gave Pentecostalism some serious consideration. I was told that it was fine to be a Baptist, but that I was missing the miraculous things that God could do.

Naturally, I was skeptical at first. I read the Bible, attended some Pentecostal church services, and was amazed at what people were claiming. Some claimed to see gold fall from the sky. Others claimed to be raised from the dead. I was becoming more convinced that this was the right thing for me. I opened myself up to the idea. I wanted in on the charismatic movement.

I began to get involved, and this is when problems arose. I had people pray for me, lay hands on me, etc. I felt nothing. I looked around to see people convulsing with the Spirit. They felt a "fire" within them. I told them that I couldn't feel anything, and they kept trying with me. Still nothing. I was told that I wasn't open to the idea, but I know that I was. I was not closing my heart off to God, but on the contrary, my heart was wide open.

I returned three other times, but I felt nothing. I wasn't going to lie to the church or to myself. I began to seriously doubt the charismatic movement.

I tore my ACL over the past summer, and since I am running short on some money, I have yet to get it fixed. Instead, I limp around with pain and discomfort. I was approached by Phil who knew I was struggling with the idea of Pentecostalism. He told me that he would heal my knee, and that I would become a believer. He spoke with 100% surety that I would be healed. I was excited. I told him that I was willing to believe, and let him pray for me.

Nothing. My knee still hurts. I have given up on Pentecostalism and the charismatic movement. During the two to three months of experimenting with this type of Christianity, my relationship with God suffered more than ever. I was unhappy and distraught. I have worked hard to rebuild my relationship with God since then, and I feel closer to him now after going through my trial.

This is not a critique of Pentecostalism. I am coming here to ask...

What am I doing wrong?
 
Upvote 0
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