After I left the Catholic church, I went to a congregation which ultra exalted talking in tongues. 
If you were not talking in tongues there, you were mostly treated like a third class Christian, if you were saved at all! To some who magnify tongues to that degree, talking in tongues is the epitome of spiritual maturity. 1 Corinthians refutes that notion of tongue talkers being mature spiritually! But in reality, what is it really like to be filled with the Holy Spirit? Only the Bible can reveal the answers and here they are!
What Is It Like To Be Filled With The Holy Spirit
The Seven were all filled with the Holy Spirit (Acts 6:3). The same were all humble enough to wait on tables (Acts 6:1-3). We only have the details about Stephen and Philip. Both were exemplary, but WHY? They were SOUL WINNERS, who were fearless and bold. They knew the scriptures and had miracle producing faith! Stephen stood alone as he scathingly rebuked the murderous Sanhedrin, which led to his martyrdom. Philip, the evangelist, was a super zealous soul winner, who traveled and won souls.
Barnabas was another Christian filled with the Holy Spirit:
When he arrived and saw the evidence of the grace of God, he was glad and encouraged them all to remain true to the Lord with all their hearts. He was a good man, full of the Holy Spirit and faith, and a great number of people were brought to the Lord. (Acts 11:23,24)
As with others his emphasis was SOULS too, not a financial prosperity message, as with Joseph Prince or the other gospel of greed teachers. For Barnabas, at Acts 11:23,24 it was after initial salvation (with new converts) remaining true to the Lord Jesus, and later as he traveled with Paul on missionary trips, SOULS coming to initial salvation.
With Peter, on the day of Pentecost and afterwards his messages showed the emphasis was the salvation of the souls always being primary (Acts 2; Acts 4; Acts 10). He traveled with his wife (1 Cor. 9:5).
Peter never made excuses for wickedness, as many preachers do in our day. He confronted Ananias and Sapphira for their lies, before God struck them dead. People filled with the Spirit of God hate lies and injustice. Paul was like that too, who boldly confronted Elymas:
Then Saul, who was also called Paul, filled with the Holy Spirit, looked straight at Elymas and said, “You are a child of the devil and an enemy of everything that is right! You are full of all kinds of deceit and trickery. Will you never stop perverting the right ways of the Lord?” (Acts 13:9,10)
It is God’s will for souls to be saved. Getting filled with the Holy Spirit is for all Christians (Eph. 5:18) and will give Christians POWER to witness (Acts 1:8). NOTE: Do not think just because someone is “witnessing” they are filled with the Holy Spirit, for that is NOT true! Jehovah’s Witnesses, Mormon missionaries, eternal security proponents, Moonies and others do that too at times! They take their false gospel, devoid of power, to the lost which makes it harder for real Christians with the one and only gospel.
