Is the BAPTISM of the Holy Spirit a REAL Thing?! (What the Bible ACTUALLY Says) | Live Free with Josh Howerton

“I will give you a new heart,” God promised in Ezekiel 36, “and I will put my spirit in you, and move you to follow my decrees.” That promise—the democratization of the Spirit, written not on stone tablets but on human hearts—is the throughline of this episode of Live Free with Josh Howerton. Pastor Josh, joined by Carlos Razman and Pastor Paul Cunningham, unpacks what the Bible actually says about the baptism of the Holy Spirit, why it matters for overcoming fear, and how it connects to the larger story of the Old and New Covenants. The conversation ranges from archaeological evidence in Ephesus to the meaning of Pentecost, all aimed at helping believers understand and seek a real, felt encounter with the Spirit of God.

The Spirit of Fear vs. the Spirit of Power

The episode begins with a sermon excerpt from 2 Timothy 1, where Paul writes, “God gave us a spirit not of fear, but of power and of love and of self-control.” Pastor Josh distinguishes between feeling scared—a normal human emotion—and having a spirit of fear, where fear moves from being a feeling on you to being a controlling force in you. “If you ever get a spot in your life where you're realizing, bro, fear is actually telling me when I will obey God and when I won't obey God,” he says, “you're no longer controlled by the Holy Spirit. You're being controlled by an unholy spirit, the spirit of fear.”