 I want to give you seven things that you need to begin doing right now to draw closer to the Holy Spirit in this next season. And I do believe that you are entering a next season, a new season. You're stepping into it. Now, some of these keys that I give you will be reminders. There'll be things that you know you should be doing already, but there'll be encouragements to cause you to take hold of what God has for you. And a few of these things that I mentioned, maybe things that you've never considered before. But as we move through these various different keys, I want you to commit to applying these biblical truths to your life. And as you do, you'll notice that a friendship with the Holy Spirit becomes cultivated. If you're ready for this, write in the comments section right now. Draw me closer. Let that be your public prayer. Type it in faith. Draw me closer. Type it in the comments section right now. Let's take a look at number one. Commit to daily Bible reading. Second Timothy chapter three, verses 16 and 17 say this, all scripture is inspired by God and is useful to teach us what is true and to make us realize what is wrong in our lives. It corrects us when we are wrong and teaches us to do what is right. God uses it to prepare and equip his people to do every good work. The word of God is Holy Spirit breathed. The Holy Spirit inspired people to write the scriptures. So as you begin to know the word of God, you begin to cultivate and strengthen that friendship with the Holy Spirit because every word was inspired by him. You can ask the Holy Spirit to teach you as you go through the word, but you have to make a commitment to become a Bible reader. Now this may be something that you're already doing, or this may be something that you know you should do, but maybe you've had false starts or maybe there have been inconsistencies in your commitment to daily scripture reading. It's important that you implement this spiritual discipline because the word of God is the foundation upon which we build that friendship with the Holy Spirit. In fact, the word of God is the substance with which the Holy Spirit creates the character of Christ in you. If you're serious about drawing closer to the Holy Spirit, you're going to get serious about the word of God. If you're serious about hearing the Holy Spirit, you'll get serious about the word of God. Now this can be challenging sometimes because in our lives there are many different distractions. After all, the flesh craves entertainment. The flesh always craves something else or what's next. And because of that, we have to learn to subject the flesh, say no to the flesh, and instead stay focused on the things of God. Even now, maybe your flesh is desiring to click on something that you may deem as more entertaining, but not necessarily edifying. Maybe now you're being distracted by some responsibility or some worry that isn't necessary to address right at this moment. So I want you to say no to the flesh and yes to the Spirit. Start today and determine within your heart that you're going to make a commitment to receiving from that which is God breathed, that which is Spirit inspired. This is more than just the scripture of the day. This is more than just reading a post on Instagram or Facebook or on other social media platforms. This has to do with a daily devotion to truly giving yourself over to the Word. Not just a superficial commitment to the Word of God, but a commitment to the Word of God that brings forth depth, to truly understand the riches found in scripture, to understand the Bible from start to finish, to not skip around and just read little bits here and there and say, well this is what this means to me, and that's what that means to me for this season, but rather to really dig into the scripture and say to yourself, to ask yourself, what is the Holy Spirit speaking through this verse? What were his intentions when he inspired people to write these particular words? And that's the question we have to ask ourselves as we read the Word. And as we do this, we lean more on what the Holy Spirit actually said as opposed to what we want him to have said. Because sometimes we come to the Word of God with preconceived notions, things that we want to believe or things that we've been told, or maybe we hear things repeated even in church over and over and over again. And because of that, we try to take that framework or that perspective and then force it onto the scripture, but that's not the approach we should take. Rather, we should come to the scripture and say, what was the Holy Spirit communicating and how does it apply to me today? But you have to make that commitment to become a daily Bible reader. If you don't know where to start, start with the book as simple as the book of John or the book of James. In fact, the book of James is where I began my journey of scripture reading and devotion to the Word as a born again believer, as a new convert. That was the first book that I read. Now I had learned the scriptures growing up in church. I had learned the scriptures because I went to a Christian school. But as a born again believer, as a new convert, the first book that I approached was the book of James. And in the book of James chapter one, there's this promise for wisdom to those who ask wisdom from God. So I asked the Holy Spirit, please give me wisdom and show me what the scriptures mean. Help me to understand what it is that you're trying to communicate. And so you can speak to the Holy Spirit, of course, anytime, anywhere, and the Holy Spirit can speak to you. But the clearest way that the Holy Spirit will speak to you is through His Word. So you want to draw closer to the person of the Holy Spirit. Number one, you have to make a commitment to daily Bible reading. Start somewhere. And you may say, well, how many chapters do I have to read? How many books do I have to read a day? Just read until the Holy Spirit speaks something through it. And then your commitment can grow. Of course, if you're already further along and you've been committed to the Word of God, obviously, you want to increase your capacity and you want to add more and more volume of the Word of God to your day every day. But if you're just starting, start simply and just ask God to speak to you on a daily basis. Receive something from the Word. Make that connection. And then, of course, begin to develop upon that. Number two, you have to make a schedule that involves daily prayer. You're going into this new season and you're saying, okay, I want to become someone who's more like Christ. I want to get more serious about my walk with the Lord. I want to draw closer to the Holy Spirit. You're going to have to make a schedule that involves daily prayer. Now, again, at the top of this message, I mentioned that there would be some here, some keys that I give to you that maybe you've already thought of before. Maybe you already know that you should do these things. But these will serve as encouraging reminders that you ought to commit to these spiritual disciplines. And in a moment, I may say a few that perhaps you haven't heard before. But this is an important reminder that you make a schedule that involves daily prayer. There's an old saying and it's very true. If you fail to plan, you plan to fail. If you just wake up each day with no intention, with no direction, with no structure, with no organization, you can't expect to just scramble and put everything together last minute. There has to be some degree of structure and discipline that's implemented in your everyday life. Now, as it pertains to prayer, the Holy Spirit will give you the desire to pray, but it's up to you to implement the discipline to pray. And you implement the discipline to pray when you choose to decide to pray. So the Holy Spirit gives you the desire, the discipline, and the decision is on you. 1 Thessalonians chapter 5, verses 16 to 18 says, rejoice always, pray without ceasing. Give thanks in all circumstances, for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you. Now here in verse 17, what's being communicated is the simple idea that prayer should be a lifestyle. And this of course involves both spontaneous prayer and scheduled prayer. You can pray all throughout your day, but also make sure that you're carving out sections of the day wherein you are totally focused on God, not distracted by anything, not doing anything else. Again, it's okay to pray while you work or pray while you drive or pray when you're amongst friends internally, fellowshiping with the Holy Spirit, constantly being aware of His presence. But you must also add to that spontaneous prayer throughout the day a scheduled prayer in which there are no distractions and it's just you and the Lord. When we go a day without prayer, we're saying to the Holy Spirit, I can go today without you. When we go a week without prayer, we're saying to the Holy Spirit, I don't need you this week. When we go a lifestyle without prayer, we're saying to the Holy Spirit, I can live in my own strength and power and ability. Prayer is the involvement of the Holy Spirit. Prayer is how we involve the Holy Spirit in our daily activities. Prayer is how we commune with Him consistently. Prayer is how we get the mind of the Holy Spirit and the wisdom of the Holy Spirit for everyday use. You have to make that schedule. And if your schedule doesn't allow for prayer, rework everything else. Begin to make some prioritization there. Make a list of things in order, what deserves your time as the highest priority. Make that list. Go from there. Get practical with the way you do. Everything that is spiritual is a partnership with God. And when I say partnership with God, I don't mean that God needs us, but I mean that God has made it so that movement is required on our part. God will save us. That's His work. He does it. All He asks is that we believe on His Son, Jesus. God connects with us. All He asks is that we have faith. The Lord does miracles. All He asks is that we believe. So there is some simple act to be done on your part. For example, the spiritual gifts. There's another example. God will heal the sick, but you got to go lay hands on them in faith. God may have given you a gift of prophecy. So in order for you to prophesy, you have to choose to respond to what you believe the Holy Spirit is speaking and then open your mouth and speak. Everything that we do that is spiritual requires our participation and prayer is no different. So if we are to see prayer become a part of our everyday lives, we have to get practical with it too. And those practical structures, that practical implementation is actually what ends up helping us to develop a very deep spiritual connection with the Holy Spirit. So you may be saying, well, what do I do then? And it's quite simple. In order to pray more, you have to choose to pray more. In order to pray consistently, you have to choose to pray consistently. It comes down to choice. Again, the Holy Spirit gives you the desire. You must make the decision and implement the discipline. So that is make a schedule that involves daily prayer. Going into this next season, you need to sit down. Yes, you need to look at your calendar. Yes, you need to write the vision down, make it plain. You need to get practical even in the Book of Acts. They were very practical with the way that they implemented ministry. Even Jesus would pray in the morning. Jesus would go away in the evenings. Jesus would isolate himself so that he could spend time alone with God. Even looking at the lifestyle of Jesus, we see that there were practical implementations that ultimately helped him to carry out those disciplines of the Spirit. So number one, commit to daily Bible reading. Number two, make a schedule that involves daily prayer. So those two, of course, we know we ought to be doing. And I pray that that served as an encouragement for you, a reminder that you should make the decision to implement these for the next season. Number three, and this may be something you haven't thought of, and that is start saying no to more. In Proverbs chapter 21, verse five, the Bible says, the plans of the diligent lead to profit, as surely as haste leads to poverty. So you can either live in planning and wisdom, or you can live in foolishness and haste. You know, typically, and there are some exceptions to this, so I'm not making a sweeping generalization, but for the most part, if you have to hurry and worry, it's because you didn't plan properly. If you have to hurry and worry, it's because you're carrying things that maybe you shouldn't be carrying. Ephesians five, 15 through 16, the Bible says this, be very careful then how you live, not as unwise, but as wise. Verse 16, very key, making the most of every opportunity, because the days are evil. So how do you maximize, optimize opportunity? You do so by saying no to that which is not for you. There are many good things, but not every good thing is a God thing. Pastors, preachers, real briefly, I'll directly address you specifically. You don't have to say yes to every preaching engagement. In fact, you should probably be spirit led, not not probably, you should be spirit led on what you accept as a ministry invitation. You should be spirit led on which live streams you say yes to, on which interviews you say yes to. Now I'm just going to be very transparent with you. This is something that the Holy Spirit has had to help me work through, because sometimes we can develop this Superman complex, right? Where we think it's our responsibility to do everything, and there's some ego involved in that kind of thinking. But when you recognize that God has given you an assignment, God has given you specific tasks, God has given you responsibilities in the areas of certain family members, certain friends, certain connections, then you can begin to say no to that which is not of God. If you have trouble saying no, you're going to have a major distraction in your life eventually that will cause that fellowship with the Holy Spirit to be disrupted. Now let me say this carefully. I'll go off on a bit of a tangent, but I think it's necessary to explain this. The Holy Spirit does not leave the born again believer, and we don't earn the Holy Spirit by the level of holiness in which we're walking. In fact, we can't even be holy without the presence of the Holy Spirit. So the Holy Spirit doesn't leave the born again believer, the Holy Spirit grieves within the born again believer when they're walking in disobedience. This is why I say that disobedient Christians are probably the most miserable group I know because of that conviction that becomes overwhelmingly intense and they can't even focus on anything else. So I'm not saying that the Holy Spirit leaves you or abandons you when you make a mistake. I'm saying that your focus on that fellowship, your ability to receive from that fellowship, your ability to hear his voice can often become negatively affected when your life is filled with distractions. You don't have to say yes to every invite. You don't have to say yes to every favor. You don't have to say yes to every obligation. You don't have to say yes to every project. You don't have to say yes to every hangout. Every time somebody goes to fellowship and some Christians have the fear of missing out. It's called FOMO is what they have. And they think that if they miss that one outing or that one thing that it's just going to be the end of the world for them. And in fact, many are in financial stress because of that kind of thinking. But when you begin to say no to what is not of God for you, then you begin to become focused. In order to become dynamic, you must first become specific, focused. So I'll use myself as an example because this has been my experience to where I used to say yes to every conference, every church, every radio interview, every television interview where I was invited to go. Now we are very selective as a ministry. I don't even really preach in churches all that often. We pretty much decline 99.999% of all conference invitations. Now some may say, well, David, is that something you should be doing? Well, yes, because I hear from the Holy Spirit, what do you want me to do and what do you not want me to do? Now this doesn't necessarily negatively reflect upon the people who invite you. This just means it's not for you. And you have to be willing to maybe even offend some people if you're going to stay focused. I've had people be very upset with me because I couldn't stay for a dinner after preaching or because I couldn't accept an invitation across the United States or because I couldn't stay an extra day after I preached because they wanted me to remain for fellowship. This is because we're very focused. And I know the Lord's given me an assignment. We as a ministry, we do media and events, media and events, and we're very focused on those things. And because I've said no to many other things, I can carry out my assignment without unnecessary pressure and stress. My marriage is not strained. My relationship with my daughter is not strained. My relationship with my friends and family, that is not strained. The relationships I have with the ministry staff, that's not strained. And we're able to focus. We're able to walk peacefully. We're able to walk gracefully. We're able to walk with excellence, execute with power and might because we're laser focused on what God has called us to do. And we're able to walk with a slower pace. And that slower intentional pace actually enables you to be more attentive to the presence of the Holy Spirit in your life. So maybe in this next season, I really sense strongly, if I'm talking to you, let me know in the comment section. Maybe in this next season, you need to say no to more people and more invitations and more responsibilities. I'm not suggesting you become a hermit and go hide up in the mountains somewhere. I'm simply saying that you have to learn to say no to more things so you can say yes to the right things, cut out obligations that are not of God. And I'm just going to say it, cut out relationships that are not of God. Let me tell you this, if there is a relationship or connection in your life that's causing you to become distracted from the Lord. That means you are drifting further from God or his purpose for your life because of that relationship. You either need to set down some very serious boundaries, or you need to cut that relationship off completely. And we have to get serious, especially for the days ahead because Ephesians 5, 16 says, because the days are evil. Number four, make it a point to think about the Holy Spirit more often. Now, this is a very practical thing that you can do that will yield surprisingly spiritual results. This is just a matter of choosing to implement the discipline of thinking about the Holy Spirit more often. Now, remember, that which is Spirit-led will always be Jesus-centered. So the Holy Spirit will help to guide your mind back to the things of God, back to Christ Jesus himself. And so when you learn to slow down and make it a point to think about the Holy Spirit more often, to be mindful of His presence, then something begins to take place in you. This is what is referred to as the practice of the presence of God. Colossians 3, 23 through 24 says this, And whatsoever ye do, do it heartily as to the Lord and not unto men. Knowing that of the Lord, ye shall receive the reward of the inheritance, for ye serve the Lord Christ. Excuse me. So here the scripture is telling us that whatever we do, we need to do it as unto the Lord. Obviously, this is not talking about secular or sinful ways. This is talking about how we live our lives. Everything that we do ought to be done with the Lord in mind, or with the presence of the Holy Spirit in mind. I once heard a statement that went something like this. The job of the Christian shoemaker isn't to put a bunch of little crosses on all of the shoes. The job of the Christian shoemaker is to make really good shoes. In other words, it is in our excellence. It is in our character. It is in our conduct that we in a way preach Christ. Now, we need to preach the gospel and we need to preach it clearly. We need to preach against sin clearly. We need to explain the way of the Lord Jesus. We need to very clearly state things like salvation is found alone in Jesus. You need to repent of your sins. You're saved by grace through faith, not of workless any man should boast. So we should clearly verbalize, communicate, preach the gospel message. Yes. But in addition to our clear communication of the gospel, we should also be living lives of excellence. We should also be living lives where we represent the kingdom of God. Now, I'm going to share something. Somebody asked me recently. They said, I noticed you started wearing suits when you go to preach. And I'm going to say this. This is my personal conviction. I'm not putting this on anyone. I'm not saying the Holy Spirit spoke this to everyone. I'm not saying this is the standard for all preachers and that if they don't do this, they're doing something wrong. No, all I can tell you is what the Holy Spirit spoke for me and for my assignment for our ministry. The Holy Spirit told me, why don't you dress like you're my ambassador? Why don't you represent where you are from? And so after that, I said, okay, Holy Spirit, in honor of what this represents, in honor of what we get to steward, in honor of your word, we are going to dress appropriately. Why? Because we represent the king. We represent the heavenly realm. So if you see me on the platform now, that's what I'm wearing. I'm telling you, that's why. Now, again, let me be clear. I'm not saying all preachers should do that. In fact, some preachers probably shouldn't do that because everyone has different assignments and everyone is called to do something very unique. As for us, that's our assignment. We feel God has called us to certain spheres and platforms that require that, very specific ways of communication. And so because of that, we have said we want to make sure we're representing the kingdom in that way. But I say that to emphasize this point, that we're thinking of the Holy Spirit even in the way that we dress. Now, be careful that this doesn't turn into what we would call religious OCD. Religious OCD is like this obsession that maybe you miss the Holy Spirit on something very specific and very small. Like, sometimes maybe you're walking through the store and you may get this urge, like I need to go around that corner, turn right on that aisle. I need to go stand in aisle seven for 10 minutes. Okay, that may be the Holy Spirit, but it could also be your own imagination. And if you're not careful, you begin to torment and torture yourself mentally and emotionally because you're attributing something to the voice of the Holy Spirit that actually came from your own mind and emotions. So I'm not talking about that way of living, but I'm talking about a simple mindfulness, recognizing that the Holy Spirit is with you, recognizing that you represent the King, that there's a very regal presence on you, a royal presence on you. And so in your conduct, the way you talk, the way you carry yourself, the way you treat other people, that's all going to be expressed in a different way as you begin to become mindful of him. Philippians 4-8 says this, and now, dear brothers and sisters, one final thing. Fix your thoughts on what is true and honorable and right and pure and lovely and admirable. Think about things that are excellent and worthy of praise. So here the Bible is telling us to choose what we think about. Now let me make this clear. God would not instruct us through His Word to do something that was impossible for us to do. God only instructs us to do something if it's possible for us to keep that command. So here, in this New Testament instruction, we are told that we should choose to fix our thoughts on the things that are honorable and true and right and pure and lovely and admirable. Think about things that are excellent and worthy of praise. Well, that, of course, naturally, would include the presence of the Holy Spirit. And so as a born-again believer, when you walk through this life mindful of the presence of the Holy Spirit, it changes the way that you live because you're aware that he's next to you at all times. And when you're aware of that beautiful presence that rests upon your life, the way that you live begins to change. So make it a point to think about the Holy Spirit more often. And of course, this will help to cultivate that friendship with the Holy Spirit. So far, we have, one, commit to daily Bible reading. Two, make a schedule that involves daily prayer. Three, start saying no to more. Four, make it a point to think about the Holy Spirit more often. Five, make it a point this one is so key. Make it a point to respond as soon as the Holy Spirit speaks. This is reactive obedience. Take a look at Isaiah chapter six, verse eight. Let's look at the prophet's example here. Then I heard the voice of the Lord saying, whom shall I send and who will go for us? And I said, here am I, send me. There we see an immediate response to the voice of the Holy Spirit. It was a reactive obedience. We need to practice reactive obedience. Now again, let me emphasize this because if you're one who struggles with intrusive thoughts, you've got to be very careful to make sure that you're not mistaking your intrusive thoughts for the voice of the Holy Spirit because if you do and you try to practice reactiveness to that, that could spell disaster for you. So remember, the Holy Spirit does not push, push, push with pressure, pressure, pressure. There may be times that he speaks urgently, like the time that I was driving in the Holy Spirit told me not to drive through a certain intersection and I didn't, and some man ran right through a stop sign. So that was an urgent word from the Holy Spirit. So sometimes he does speak urgently, but generally speaking, the Holy Spirit does not pressure, pressure, pressure, push, push, push. But here we see that Isaiah the prophet responded instantaneously. It was reactive obedience. How often have you heard somebody brag about the fact that they're sensitive to the voice of the Holy Spirit? And they say things like, oh, I hear him all the time. Oh, he's constantly talking to me. But that's not very impressive if they're not listening to him. What's more impressive is if you actually listen to the voice of the Holy Spirit. Sensitivity to the voice of the Holy Spirit isn't just about how clearly or how often you hear him. Sensitivity to the voice of the Holy Spirit is also about how quickly you respond when he speaks. Think about the fact that if you have a sensitive tooth and you touch it maybe with food or a toothbrush, that instantly there's this reaction. Why? Because sensitivity causes reactiveness. Sensitivity causes reactiveness. So when I'm sensitive to the voice of the Spirit, when he speaks, I move. When he speaks, I switch. When he speaks, I change directions. When he speaks, I respond, I obey. And we need to make the habit of practicing this. We need to make it a point to respond as soon as the Holy Spirit speaks. So reactive obedience, that's what we want to take into this next season. And as we do, we're going to see this cultivation with the friendship of the Holy Spirit. You'll begin to sense his nearness. You'll be more aware of the presence that abides with you. Again, he doesn't leave you or abandon you just because you make mistakes or you don't get all these things right. But your awareness of, and your awareness of, and your appreciation for his presence can be affected by whether or not you're walking in obedience. Number six, allow the Holy Spirit to work through you to help others. You know, when you begin to walk in, now I'm talking about ministry, the spiritual gifts. I'm talking about the power upon you. Obviously, 1 John 2, 27, there's the anointing within you. The Holy Spirit's work within us, that's the work of sanctification. That is obviously a work that comes about as a result of our salvation. But the Holy Spirit's power upon us, Acts chapter one, verse eight, that is for ministry. The anointing within you is for you. The anointing upon you is for others. The anointing within you is the work of salvation. The anointing upon you is the work of ministry. Take a look at 1 Corinthians chapter two, verses four through five, my message and my preaching were not with wise and persuasive words, but with the demonstration of the Spirit's power. So that your faith might not rest on human wisdom, but on God's power. Wow, this is a powerful scripture, wherein Paul the apostle talks about the fact that there was a demonstration that went along with the message. Now, you and I, as we allow the Holy Spirit to work through us in things like prophecy, the gift of healing, the gift of discernment, the gift of speaking in tongues, all of these wonderful spiritual gifts and ministries, ministries like deliverance, ministries like preaching and evangelism, soul winning, witnessing. All of these are expressions of the ministry of the Holy Spirit. And as you begin to allow the Holy Spirit to use you in these areas, as you begin to allow the Holy Spirit to demonstrate His power through you, you actually begin to see a facet of the Holy Spirit's presence of His nature that you haven't seen before. So walking in His power in this way will actually cause you to see a side of Him that you might have missed had you not walked in that power. Perhaps this is the season to begin to stir up spiritual gifts. Perhaps this is the season to begin to walk in that power. Perhaps, in fact, it is the season to begin to become a greater witness, a bolder witness, to begin to allow the spiritual gifts to be stirred up within you, that you might be used unto the glory of God. And as you begin to see this power flow through you to help others, you're going to see a facet and you're going to understand a side of the power and the presence and the nature of the Holy Spirit that you would not have otherwise understood. Number seven, and this one I really want to challenge you because in my experience, I don't necessarily have statistics on this. So this is an anecdotal observation. This is something I believe that most Christians struggle with. And I think this is perhaps one of the biggest struggles that Christians have simply because of the way that we're taught legalism and salvation based on works, these types of things. We got to be very careful of the Pharisees and that kind of teaching that can creep into the body of Christ. In fact, when Paul wrote to the Galatians that the one who preaches another gospel should be accursed, he was talking about a works-based gospel. And in fact, if you read Matthew chapter 7, you see that those who were rejected by the Lord, you know that very frightening portion of Scripture, Lord, Lord, do we not prophesy in your name? Make an observation there and notice that they were relying upon their works, which is why they weren't saved. They were never known by the Lord because all along they thought it was their works that had saved them. So what actually because of that mindset begins to develop is this constant questioning of the Holy Spirit's presence. My prayer is that the body of Christ would stop questioning whether or not the Holy Spirit was with them. So number seven, trust that he's with you. In fact, write it in the comment section right now. He's with me. Type that out. Say it by faith, even if you don't believe it completely, even if your feelings tell you otherwise, even if your circumstances seem to indicate something else, I want you to write something like that. He's with me or he abides in me or the Holy Spirit lives in me. Write whatever it is, a declaration of faith that indicates that the Holy Spirit dwells in you. You have to trust that he's with you. Tell him I trust you, Holy Spirit. You have to trust that he's with you. So often we imagine that when we make a mistake, the Holy Spirit panics and flutters away. But that's not the case at all. Remember, the Holy Spirit doesn't leave the believer. The Holy Spirit grieves within a believer. Are there consequences to sin? You bet. Are there consequences to sin even for the believer? Absolutely. Sin is a destructive force. But the Holy Spirit isn't going to abandon you just because you made some mistakes. He's going to abide with you so that he can help you get it right. Is this sloppy grace by no means? Because the Holy Spirit abides with you, you've been given the power to live holy. Grace is not a license to sin. Grace is the empowering presence of the Holy Spirit. The indwelling, empowering presence of the Holy Spirit enabling you to walk in holiness. Why would God remove from you your only chance of being holy as a punishment for you not being holy? It doesn't make any sense. So Romans 8, 14 through 17, for those who are led by the Spirit of God are the children of God. The Spirit you received does not make you slaves so that you live in fear again. Rather, the Spirit you received brought about your adoption to sonship. And by him we cry, Abba Father. The Spirit himself testifies with our Spirit, we are God's children. Now, if we are children, then we are heirs, heirs of God and co-heirs with Christ. If indeed we share in his sufferings in order that we may also share in his glory. So the Bible very clearly here says that the Holy Spirit causes us to cry, Abba Father, the Spirit testifies with our Spirit. What a beautiful truth. Thank you Jesus for this. The Spirit testifies with our Spirit that we are God's children. Think about that. When your emotions say God has rejected you, the Holy Spirit takes issue with that and he says, I have not rejected you. When your circumstances indicate that perhaps God abandoned you, the Holy Spirit reassures you that he's never left. When everything in you is questioning whether or not you still belong to God, the Holy Spirit assures you that you belong to God as an adopted child. You're a co-heir with Christ. So sometimes we feel distant from God. We feel rejected by God. We feel like we've been put out of the family. We feel like we've been cut off. But we go by faith, not by feelings. We go by the truth of the Word of God and the confirmation and the witness of the Holy Spirit. So as you enter this next season to be drawn closer to the Holy Spirit, and of course when I say drawn closer, I'm using that as a turn of phrase. I don't really mean that the Holy Spirit comes closer or goes further. I mean that His influence has increased in our life or our awareness of and appreciation for His presence is increased in our lives. But if you want to walk in that awareness, you want to walk in that closeness, you want to experience what it is to live out of that connection or from that connection, I think is a clearer way to put it. You want to learn what it is to live from that connection with the Holy Spirit. Well, you're going to have to begin to implement these spiritual practices because they're based on the Word of God. As you trust that He's with you. Look it, maybe you've been abandoned by people. Maybe you've been rejected. Maybe your whole life has just been a series of rejections and a series of abandonments and a series of heartaches. And it's very difficult for you to trust people. And maybe somewhere deep down in the back of your mind, deep within your heart, you believe that there's just something so broken in you that nobody wants you around, that nobody likes when you're near, that nobody wants to accept you. Maybe you believe something like that. Well, the Holy Spirit speaks against that lie. And the Holy Spirit confirms within you, I have not abandoned you. I do want you. I've not rejected you. You are mine. And you have to choose to believe that, even when you don't feel that you have to choose to believe it. By Him we cry, Abba Father, Father, I pray you would help your people to implement these spiritual disciplines, cause them to remember these things. Holy Spirit, they might cultivate a friendship with you and walk more closely with you than ever before. Thank you for your abiding presence. And Lord, I pray for healing and deliverance to take place even now. Father, I speak healing to their bodies, deliverance to their minds, break every addiction. Now receive a fresh touch of His power right now. Come on. That's the presence of the Holy Ghost. Lord, I thank you that your power is present. And I thank you that you're filling Him afresh. Refreshing is coming upon you for this next season. In Jesus' name we pray. I want you to say it because you believe it. Say amen. Hey, don't forget to leave a like if you enjoyed this teaching so that others can be blessed by it. You know, when you leave a like, it spreads the video even further. And don't forget to subscribe to this channel. When you subscribe, you'll get teachings on the Holy Spirit, prayer, spiritual warfare. So if you want to know more about the Holy Spirit, you want to draw close to Him. You want God to use your life and maybe you're wondering about your calling, you're wondering about prayer, you're wondering about spiritual warfare. 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We believe souls will be saved. We believe what Jesus said. The harvest is plentiful. The laborers are few. So get behind this ministry today. Become a monthly supporter or give a single donation. Help to fund all of the live streams, all of the content, the Holy Spirit School, the Holy Spirit School internship program. Help to fund the events that we're doing around the world. Go right now to davidhernandezministries.com slash partner to become a monthly ministry supporter. This ministry perhaps has been a blessing to you. Maybe it's helped you to understand some things. Maybe you've received breakthrough, deliverance, healing, salvation through this ministry. Pay it forward. Help others begin to experience what God is doing through this ministry. Become a monthly supporter today. Maybe you're saying, you know, there's already so many things I have monthly. Well, I challenge you. If you're having trouble adding that monthly support, cancel a streaming service if you have to. 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If and only if that does not work, then we recommend giving to something like Facebook or through YouTube. Go right now, make a difference, get involved and let's win this world to Jesus. No more doomsday sayings, no more fear mongering. The job can be done. The Great Commission will not fail. And until next time, remember, nothing is impossible with God.