A Synthwave Reflection on Spiritual Gatekeeping in the Church!⚡️🌈

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Yo, fam — pull up a chair, crank that vaporwave jam, and let’s go full throttle into a tale of Holy Ghost fire, 80s heart, and some real talk about discernment in the digital age and beyond.

So here’s the sitch: I was fresh in the Lord, baby-faced in my faith, 18-years-old with a Walkman full of dreams and a heart burning like a neon flame for Jesus.

I’d just had my life flipped right-side-up — baptized with water, reborn, and baptized with the Holy Ghost power. It wasn’t just church as usual, oh no. I got introduced to something radical — the Baptism of the Holy Spirit, just like in the Book of Acts. Tongues. Prophecy. Miracles. The works. Straight-up supernatural.

The Baptism of the Holy Ghost and Fire! — The Baptism of the Holy Ghost and Fire

📖 “And they were all filled with the Holy Ghost, and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance.” (Acts 2:4)

So I did what any Spirit-filled new believer would do — I told folks! Shared the Good News like a mixtape you just had to blast from your boom box.

But whoa, hold the phone — the attack that came next was not so tubular.

✝️ Enter the “Prophetess” and the Cafeteria Confrontation:

I was vibin’ high, telling this young man named Jose — a cool dude from Brazil — all about Jesus, the baptism, the promise, the glory. He was into it! Came to church, even got baptized in Jesus' name. Straight fire.

But then... cue the plot twist. Outta nowhere, this woman — who called herself a prophetess (mmm-hmm) — swoops in like a glitch in the matrix. Tells Jose some cryptic prophecy about a young lady and an older man leading him down the "wrong" path. Say what?

The only young lady around was yours truly. Older man? Unless she meant Jesus, there wasn’t one.

Still, I didn’t think too much of it until the Cafeteria Showdown. I was just trying to eat lunch, minding my business, and that's when I saw her talking with Jose at a table a block from me. Boom — that spiritual radar went off. You know the feeling: like the Holy Spirit tapped me on the shoulder and whispered, “Danger, girl.”

But I didn’t bounce, and that was a mistake. I walked right into it.

And y’all... she attacked me. Not with fists, but with scripture, twisted like a pretzel at a roller rink. She quoted 1 Corinthians 14, and suggested that speaking in tongues should be accompanied by either revelation, knowledge, prophecy, or teaching for it to be beneficial.

As it is written in 1 Corinthians 14:6:

Now, brothers, if I come to you speaking in tongues, how will I benefit you unless I bring you some revelation or knowledge or prophecy or teaching?

So now, with a judgmental glance, she went full throttle on me, saying: ((If someone speaks in tongues without interpretation, it is considered unproductive, as it doesn't edify the church or lead to understanding for others. It serves the purpose of edifying someone else.))

That’s true for the gift of tongues, but why was she using it as a pretext to discredit someone who prays in the Holy Ghost every day? Has she not read Acts chapter 2? And what if there is no interpreter present? The scriptures also says:

1 Corinthians 14:2:

For one who speaks in a tongue speaks not to men but to God; for no one understands him, but he utters mysteries in the Spirit.

Boom. Mic drop. I'm not talkin’ to the crowd — I’m talkin’ to God. Private line. Holy hotline. You can't intercept this frequency, sis.

And in verse 28, Paul’s like,

But if there is no one to interpret, let each of them keep silent in church and speak to himself and to God.

Uh-huh. So unless I’m rockin’ the mic for the whole congregation, I’m free to pray in the Spirit between me and the Lord. Not everything needs your approval stamp, Karen... I mean, “prophetess.”

And then she hit me with this wild claim:

((“You shouldn’t pray in tongues over people.”))

Whoa. Let’s pause the synthtrack and rewind that cassette.

Listen — I may not know what evil vibes are tryna creep up on you like a shadowy figure in a neon alley, but the Holy Spirit inside me? Oh, He knows. And when I let Him flow, I’m not just prayin’ — I’m intercedin’ with power from another dimension, baby.

Cue Romans 8:26:

Likewise the Spirit helps us in our weakness. For we do not know what to pray for as we ought, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words.

This ain’t just sighin’ or vibin’ — this is next-level, inexpressible prayer power! The Spirit knows what I can’t even say. We're talkin’ serious soul backup here!

And yet this chick was tryna forbid me from speakin’ in tongues, even when I was layin’ hands and lettin’ God move?

1 Corinthians 14:39 says it plain as day:

So, my brothers, earnestly desire to prophesy, and do not forbid speaking in tongues.

Girl, how you gonna argue with that? That’s scripture, not a fashion tip from a 1987 Teen Beat magazine.

Then let’s not forget 1 Corinthians 14:26 —

What then, brothers? When you come together, each one has a hymn, a lesson, a revelation, a tongue, or an interpretation. Let all things be done for building up.

So how does praying in the Holy Ghost build up?

14:4 hits it home on this:

"He that speaks in an unknown tongue edifies himself,"

So lemme ask you this — why would God give me this turbo-charged prayer language and not let me use it to build up myself? And why would God let me do that and not you? This is the prayer language that builds you up — the evidence of the Holy Spirit. Are you saying we can't intercede for others by allowing the Holy Spirit to pray through us? That’s like givin’ someone a DeLorean and tellin’ them they can’t hit 88 MPH. Makes no sense.

Oh, and she completely disregarded it in Acts 2, tried to say everyone understood the languages spoken, like it was just multilingual preaching.

But c’mon — the Word says they spoke as the Spirit gave utterance. It wasn’t a translation party. It was a miracle moment.

And in front of Jose, this “prophetess” tried to shut me down. But I wasn’t about to let my faith be punked like that. I showed her the Word, but her heart was on lockdown.

😢 When Church People Throw Shade:

It hit me hard, dudes. Like, totally. I was just starting out, fired up for Jesus, and here I was getting judged, not by the world — but by someone claiming to be spiritual. And instead of celebrating a new believer discovering truth, she tried to shut it down! That hurt!

It was like the same religious spirit that hated on Jesus was gunning for me. The one that called Him a heretic, that called Him a devil, that tried to trap Him in His words.

Jesus called them vipers. And that’s real.

I took Jose aside and broke down the word. But... he never came back to church. 😔 Total bummer! This just shows how one bad fruit can spoil the lot.

People like that confuse new believers. They mislead, twist the Word, and choke the fire out of the young and hungry. It’s like the enemy sends them in with just enough scripture to sound deep, but they ain’t walking in love or truth.

That’s why you gotta know the Word for yourself. Because people can talk the talk, rock a title, but still be walking in the flesh.

🎶 A Word to the New Believers: Stay Lit. Stay Sharp. Stay Free.

If you’re reading this and you’re new in the Lord — don’t trip. Don’t let the haters dim your neon. The Holy Spirit is real. Speaking in tongues is real. And yes, the fire is still falling in 2025 like it did in Acts Chapter 2.

Just because someone’s been in church longer than you doesn’t mean they’re walking in revelation.

Some people been sitting on the pew for years and still don’t know the power and freedom that God has for them.

So stay in the Word. Stay prayerful. And when the spiritual bullies show up, don’t get bitter — get bold. Walk away when you have to, but never let them put out your light. Because guess what?

Jesus is with you. He’s the “older man” walking beside every new believer, guiding, protecting, and teaching. He is the Spirit of Truth — and the best interpreter of scripture you'll ever meet.

💿 Final Thought: Discernment Is The Ultimate Spiritual Gift!

In this crazy neon world, full of noise and confusion, one of the most righteous gifts you can have is discernment. Don’t believe every flashy word, every “prophet,” or every spiritual-sounding voice. Test it. Pray about it. And line it up with the Word.

‘Cause at the end of the day, you don’t need a million opinions — you need truth, Holy Ghost boldness, and some radical faith that glows like a neon cross in the midnight hour.

Keep glowing, believer. You're not alone out here.

✝️🌈💾 Stay Synth, Stay Saved, Stay Sharp.– Retro Sonya