"Barriers to Receiving the Holy Spirit"

Common Bariers to Receiving the Holy Spirit

*(No trust in God)

This is a problem many people face today, we simply are not able to trust God. We have had so many bad experiences trusting people: parents, spouses, friends, children even the people we go out of the way to help tend to let us down. There is so much negativity in the world and we continuously absorb this.
The problems arise when we project all these experiences we have with people on God. We begin to think of God as someone with characteristics of a human being. We transfer these negative experiences from live on to our relationship with God and begin to guard against him.

I am the good shepherd: the good shepherd giveth his life for the sheep ... As the Father knoweth me, even so know I the Father: and I lay down my life for the sheep- John 10 : 11 - 14

This is how far Jesus went to show how much he loves His people(sheep) He says He is prepared to lay His own life down for the sheep. He later did lay down His life for us. God loved the world so much He gave us His only son, He took the first step, He took all the risks and He did it so that we may come to trust in Him.
One other reason that we don't trust God is that we blame Him for some event or bad experience in our life, like the death of a loved one. We tend to hold grudges against God and hold Him responsible for something that happened. This can keep us from trusting Him and receiving the promise of the Holy Spirit.

*(Apathy to God's Word)

God wants you to live your life using His Word as a light, that shows you what to do and what not to do. A possible barrier is apathy or indifference towards His Word.
A lot of sacrifices have been made and a great deal blood has been spilled so that you can have a copy of the Word of God with you. Most christians sadly have not read the Bible even once in their lifetime. Many have not read even the Gospel fully.

Thy word is a lamp unto my feet, and a light unto my path.- Psalm 119:105

The Bible is God speaking to you, if you do not care enough to listen that can come in the way of you receiving the blessings God has planned for your life, including you receiving the promise of the Holy Spirit.

*(Involvement in the Occult)

A serious barrier to receiving the Holy Spirit is involvement in some form of the occult. It could be something that looks harmless on the outside like having your fortunes told or using an Ouija board or something serious like freemasonry, or being part of a society like the Theosophical Society. Worship of pagan gods or involvement with cults like the druids or active participation in witchcraft are all considered part of the occult. Invariably all of these occultist groups are very subtle and secretive, only a select few at the top know whats really going on, most of them promote some form of idol or demon worship.

There shall not be found among you anyone who burns his son or his daughter as an offering, anyone who practices divination or tells fortunes or interprets omens, or a sorcerer or a charmer or a medium or a necromancer or one who inquires of the dead, for whoever does these things is an abomination to the Lord.-Deuteronomy 18:10-12

The sad news is that the occult has penetrated so many parts of our daily life it is hard to stay free from it. Horoscopes in the newspapers, psychics and psychic hotlines, fortune tellers, witches on TV, tarot card readers, demonized and satanic music are some examples. Children are not spared in this large scale invasion of the dark side on society.
The good news is no matter what you have been involved in, if you realize it was a mistake, repent and come to Jesus He will accept you. It does not matter what the group says or if you made blood pacts or oaths with any of these cults, Jesus is the King of Kings and the Lord of Lords, He paid for you with His own blood. You can break all agreements that you made in His name.

LIFE APPLICATION

*Identify what is stopping you from receiving the Holy Spirit, in most cases God will show you if you ask him
*Trust God and treasure His word, it is one of the greatest blessings we have in this life
*Break all agreements and renounce any contact with the occult if you have been involved