Before I truly encountered God, I was living according to my own desires and the ways of the world. I had no idea that the Holy Spirit could completely transform a person from the inside out. But when God touched my life and filled me with His Spirit, everything slowly began to change—my heart, my desires, my thoughts, and even the things I loved. In this testimony, I want to share how the Holy Spirit transformed my life, taught me to walk with God, and led me from my old self into a new life in Christ.
The first time I spoke in tongues was when I was still in Tagbilaran City (Philippines). After that, I went back to our hometown, and that was when God started working in my life. That was also when I experienced the strong presence of God. Whenever I played worship songs, His presence was so powerful that I would dance, walk around the living room, or even around the kitchen while worshiping Him. I was amazed because whenever I read the Bible, God was speaking to me. I mean, whatever was in my thoughts or in my heart, He would answer through Scripture.
There was also one verse that suddenly became clear to me, telling me that someone would come to our house because of my faith. It meant that someone would question my faith, especially because news about me speaking in tongues had already spread. And it was true—someone really came to our house early the next morning.
I was also amazed because I knew a Prophet from the US who had a YouTube video about speaking in tongues. While I was still in Tagbilaran, I watched her video before I spoke in tongues. Then, after I received that gift, I emailed her. Even after I returned to our hometown, I continued communicating with her about my relationship with God. Since she was a Prophet, I honestly did not know whether she was truly a Prophet of God because there are also false prophets. That is why I had doubts about whether she was genuine or not. But I was amazed because while I was reading the Bible, God answered me again and revealed that she was truly His servant.
Before all of this, I really had no knowledge that God could speak to us. Since I was young, no one had ever told me that God speaks to His people. That is why I was confused when my Christian friend, during one of our Bible studies, told me that God had revealed something to her or spoken to her. I was confused at that time, but I quietly listened while she was speaking. So when God finally started revealing things to me personally, I truly had no idea that experiences like that were possible. But I became more and more amazed because He truly knew everything I did that day, everything in my thoughts, everything in my heart, and even the situations happening around me. At first, I still did not fully understand that it was already God speaking to me, but I was deeply amazed because He truly knew everything.
Aside from that, I also noticed that I no longer liked worldly songs. I only wanted to listen to Christian praise and worship music. Whenever my family sang karaoke at home, which is very common in our place, I did not enjoy it when the songs were not about God. I would even remind them. I also did not like people dancing in ways that were not godly. Even my younger brother, who constantly played on his cellphone, I would remind him to put God first and stop spending too much time playing games. I wanted all of their actions to glorify God.
I was never like that before the Holy Spirit came into my life. Back in high school and college, I used to enjoy worldly songs. But suddenly, my desires completely changed, and I no longer liked those things.
I also no longer wanted to mingle much with other people because my desires had already become different. I mean, I no longer enjoyed worldly activities. I preferred spending time with God, which is why I enjoyed being alone with Him.
Then later, as my relationship with God continued to grow, He revealed to me the meaning behind the moment when Jesus cleansed the temple. Jesus overturned the tables, threw out the money, and spoke about destroying the temple. Here is the full passage:
JOHN 2:13-22 (NLT)
13 It was nearly time for the Jewish Passover celebration, so Jesus went to Jerusalem. 14 In the Temple area he saw merchants selling cattle, sheep, and doves for sacrifices; he also saw dealers at tables exchanging foreign money.15 Jesus made a whip from some ropes and chased them all out of the Temple. He drove out the sheep and cattle, scattered the money changers’ coins over the floor, and turned over their tables. 16 Then, going over to the people who sold doves, he told them, “Get these things out of here. Stop turning my Father’s house into a marketplace!”
17 Then his disciples remembered this prophecy from the Scriptures: “Passion for God’s house will consume me.”
18 But the Jewish leaders demanded, “What are you doing? If God gave you authority to do this, show us a miraculous sign to prove it.”
19 “All right,” Jesus replied. “Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up.”
20 “What!” they exclaimed. “It has taken forty-six years to build this Temple, and you can rebuild it in three days?” 21 But when Jesus said “this temple,” he meant his own body. 22 After he was raised from the dead, his disciples remembered he had said this, and they believed both the Scriptures and what Jesus had said.
In this passage, we can read that Jesus spoke about destroying the temple, but it was prophetic. When He said that the temple would be destroyed and rebuilt in three days, the true meaning was that after three days Jesus would rise again. After His resurrection, everything changed because the true temple is now our body. After Jesus was glorified, every person who accepts Him as Lord and Savior is baptized by the Holy Spirit through Him. And that Holy Spirit now lives within us. That is why, if the Holy Spirit lives in a person, we must be holy because the One living inside us is holy.
So whenever there is something in us that is not pleasing in the eyes of God, He destroys and removes it—whether it is sin, impurity, or even connections and relationships that cause us to fall into sin. He cleanses us and replaces those things with what comes from Him, teaching us how to live holy and righteous lives.
1 CORINTHIANS 3:16-17 (NLT)
16 Don’t you realize that all of you together are the temple of God and that the Spirit of God lives in you? 17 God will destroy anyone who destroys this temple. For God’s temple is holy, and you are that temple.
1 CORINTHIANS 6:19-20 (NLT)
19 Don’t you realize that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit, who lives in you and was given to you by God? You do not belong to yourself, 20 for God bought you with a high price. So you must honor God with your body.
So when a person becomes born again in the Spirit, it means that once the Holy Spirit lives within them, God gradually renews and transforms that person. He changes your heart, your desires, and your actions so they will align with His will. That is why a person is transformed by the power of God through the Holy Spirit.
Your old self begins to die with Jesus, and what replaces it is what comes from God. That is why your desires become God’s desires, and the things that God does not like, you also begin to dislike. Anything ungodly no longer attracts you. God Himself becomes the One who leads your life. You are no longer a slave to the flesh or to sinful nature.
That is why a person who has the Holy Spirit is different from worldly people. As a born-again person, your desire becomes a desire to live for God’s glory—not your own selfish desires, fleshly desires, or worldly desires, but instead to live everything for the glory of God.
GALATIANS 2:20 (NLT)
My old self has been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me. So I live in this earthly body by trusting in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.
ROMANS 6:6 (NLT)
We know that our old sinful selves were crucified with Christ so that sin might lose its power in our lives. We are no longer slaves to sin.
GALATIANS 5:24 (NLT)
Those who belong to Christ Jesus have nailed the passions and desires of their sinful nature to his cross and crucified them there.
2 CORINTHIANS 5:17 (NLT)
This means that anyone who belongs to Christ has become a new person. The old life is gone; a new life has begun!
Then, little by little, a person gradually becomes more like Jesus Christ. This is how the Holy Spirit works—He teaches you, corrects your mistakes, guides you, comforts you, reminds you of God’s Word, and convicts you whenever you sin. That is how a person becomes holy in the eyes of God.
Looking back on my journey, I now understand that true transformation is only possible through God. The Holy Spirit does not simply change a person outwardly—He changes the heart, the mind, and the desires within. The things I once loved slowly faded away, and God replaced them with a desire to live for Him and glorify Him. Step by step, He continues to teach, correct, guide, and shape me to become more like Jesus Christ. This journey has reminded me that being born again is real, and when the Holy Spirit lives within a person, their life will never remain the same.
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