International evangelist Mario Murillo didn’t grow up in the church. And that background proved an asset, he says, when he encountered the Holy Spirit.
As host Jennifer Eivaz explains on the “Take 10 With Jenn” podcast on the Charisma Podcast Network, Murillo’s unchurched background meant he had no preconceptions about the Holy Spirit. “He had not been taught to reject Him; he had not been taught to reject [His] power. And he thought that everyone knew how to be filled with the Holy Spirit and receive their heavenly language and to receive His power from on high. But he discovered that many in the church had not been taught that very thing,” Eivaz says. “And then later on, he became very grieved when he noticed that there were other pastors who were actually engaging in ministry without being led by the Spirit of God. That was one thing that he learned early on … to have this as a practical, living, decision-making relationship in his life.
“He learned how to walk in the Spirit; he learned how to be led by the Spirit. And he was shocked when he discovered so many, so many who were professing Christians, ministers, pastors who didn’t have that same kind of relationship,” Eivaz says. “It was painful, and he had to really check himself and not succumb to pressure by those who considered his relationship with the Spirit out of the ordinary or exceptional. And he said, ‘No, this is normal. This is what it should be for everybody.'”
Eivaz explains that, as Murillo experienced, others may sometimes use sophisticated arguments to challenge the believer who genuinely follows the Spirit. But, she adds, “If you want to live in the unbroken fellowship of the Holy Spirit and continue going from glory to glory, then you have to learn, really learn, how to follow Him. You have to learn connection, what it feels like and what breaks it.
“And there’s this contentment hat comes to you when you’ve chosen to follow His clear leading. And His clear leading just happens to be in a way that’s not popular, or it goes against your church or denominational tradition, or it comes under the scrutiny of those in your social circle,” Eivaz says. “And it’s not about being right and others wrong; it’s simply having that connection, that intimate connection with the Spirit of God, even while others are pressuring you not to do so.”
To learn more about true connection with the Holy Spirit and how to walk in the Spirit despite opposition, listen to this podcast. {eoa}
Janet Perez Eckles 
Shawn Akers 
Abby Trivett 
