 confusion, guilt, fear, pride. These are just some of the symptoms of religious thinking. Religious mindsets reduce joy. Religious mindsets rob you of your peace. Religious mindsets bind you in confusion. And I believe that right now, as the word of God goes forward, there will be light bulbs going off in your head. You're going to hear some things about religious mindsets and you're going to go, oh my goodness, that's me. Some of you are under the power of religious thinking and you don't even realize it. All you see are the symptoms and you might not know where these symptoms are coming from, but often they're rooted in religion, religious thinking. And so I believe this is going to be a time of great liberty and freedom. I believe that the anointing is present here right now to break that cycle of fear. To break that cycle of confusion. To break that cycle of pride and isolation. God will set you free by His word. The word of God is going to go forward like a hammer. An absolutely shatter, devastate mindsets that have kept you bound. If you believe that the work that Christ finished on that cross is what sets you free. If you believe that His death purchased your liberty then I want you to write these three simple words in the comment section right now. You can write them whether you're watching live and I especially encourage you to write it when you're watching on the replay. Three simple words, it is finished. And it's really understanding this finished work of the cross that ultimately brings you liberty from these mindsets. Let me define for you what I mean by religious thinking because often when people use the term religious or religious mindset or religious spirit they use it as a criticism against someone who they don't agree with. So if someone doctrinally disagrees with them they'll say, oh that's just your religious spirit or if someone insists on biblical accuracy the people who insist on biblical accuracy are accused of having a religious spirit. But no, a religious spirit is not the insistence on biblical accuracy because biblical accuracy is good. Rather, this is how I define a religious mindset. At the core, the religious mindset believes that one has to work to earn their right standing with God in believing this one either believes this is possible and therefore becomes prideful or believes this is impossible and therefore becomes paranoid. So the religious mindset will lead either to pride or to paranoia. More often than not it leads to paranoia. Believers who are weighed down by fear constantly second guessing their salvation living in the paranoia that they might make one more mistake and then God would be finished with them. That they might make one more mistake and then God cuts them off and says that's it I'm removing from you salvation. That is the result of religious thinking and it comes from this idea that we have to work to earn what Christ has purchased. Now, this right here leads to, as I said, two different types of mindsets. You see, when someone believes that they have to work for their salvation or that they have to work in order to earn God's favor and pleasure, then they're stuck in this religious cycle. Now, you may not believe that you believe that you have to work to earn God's favor. You may hear what I'm saying and then say, well, I don't know if I've ever really struggled with that but no believer will struggle with this outright because if that was exposed, then the deception would be lifted but often this type of thought pattern comes in a very subtle way. In very subtle ways, the enemy gets God's people to think religiously and therefore because of the subtle nature of his deception, they never detect that attack and because they never detect that attack, they live with the symptoms of a religious mindset all the while never realizing and maybe even denying that they're being religious. So I'm gonna expose this spirit tonight. I'm gonna expose this using the word of God and as the word of God goes forward, exposing these religious mindsets, as I said, there will be like light bulbs that go off in your head. Some of you will be listening to this teaching and you'll say, oh my goodness, I never saw it like that before or oh my goodness, I can't believe all this time I've been under that power and as I said, we're gonna go deep tonight, the enemy is going to be exposed, the enemy is going to be defeated in this area and I believe you're going to experience God's freedom such as you never have before. There is going to be a flood of joy. There is going to be a flood of peace. I truly believe that as I was putting this together, the Holy Spirit was showing me that as people would be listening to this that just the word alone would break the bondage and then as the people heard the truth, this is you, as you hear the truth, you're going to be flooded with relief. You're going to be flooded with joy. You're going to be flooded with peace. You're going to receive a new heavenly clarity. Things are going to come into focus and begin to make sense. So as I said, there are two manifestations of a religious mindset. The first manifestation of a religious mindset is guilt and fear or some might categorize this as paranoia. Now the reason that someone would come under guilt and fear is because, A, they believe that they have to work to earn God's salvation and God's favor and they realize that man is not able to earn those things on his own and therefore they become filled with fear. They become weighed with guilt. Shame becomes a lifestyle. The second response that man will have to this religious mindset, namely that he believes that he can earn favor with God. He believes that he can earn his salvation is he'll think that he's actually doing it. This was the case with the Pharisees and because they actually thought that they were earning their way into heaven, they were filled with pride and looked down at other people who themselves recognized as sinners. They recognized themselves as sinners but the Pharisees looked down on those people who knew they were sinners and they considered them lesser than. So let's look at this first manifestation of the religious mindset because this is the one that's so often battled by the everyday believer. I can't tell you how many emails, how many texts, how many Instagram messages, Facebook, you name it. If there's a social media platform I'm on, I'm getting messages from believers who are so filled with guilt, they are so filled with fear that they're bringing up all sorts of very specific sins that they want me to make sure or assure them of that they're going to be forgiven of. So they'll say ultra specific things like Brother David, I was sitting in a worship service and a cuss word came to my mind. Did I commit the blasphemy of the Holy Spirit? Or Brother David, I knew that what I was doing was wrong and I did it anyway. Is that it? Am I cut off from the Lord? Did he forever reject me because of the mistake that I made? Or they'll say, Brother David, I spoke ill of a man or a woman of God who was anointed and who walked with the Holy Spirit. Now I feel guilty for having spoken evil of them. Is that it? Is God done with me? Did I lose his presence? Did I lose his favor? Did I lose his touch? Did I lose my calling? Did I lose the gifts that he placed inside of me? And this is all coming based upon this religious mindset that we have to perform in order to receive. That we have to perform in order to accomplish what was already accomplished on the cross. Remember this. Jesus said it is finished, not you take it from here. And because he didn't say you take it from here, we can trust and rest in that finished work. Now, of course, at this point, people will interject, Brother David, you've got to talk to them about holiness. You have to talk to them about right living. And we'll get to that in a moment because every true believer will desire to live holy. That's a fact. But let me share a little bit about what the Lord did with me. Many of you know some of my testimony, but there are certain aspects that I don't really heavily emphasize, though I mention them from time to time. And I think this is now this right now is as good a time as any to share with you how I battled with this this heavy attack of religious thinking. Let me show you something in Luke chapter 10. Luke chapter 10. This is a very famous narrative in the Bible. It's a powerful story. Watch this. Luke 10. I'm going to read verses 38 and onward. As Jesus and the disciples continued on their way to Jerusalem, they came to a certain village where a woman named Martha welcomed him into her home. Her sister Mary sat at the Lord's feet listening to what he taught. But Martha was distracted by the big dinner she was preparing. Here it is, right here, religious spirit. And when I say spirit, it's not always religious demon. Religious spirit is a religious attitude, a religious mindset, a religious inclination or way of being. But Martha was distracted by the big dinner she was preparing. She came to Jesus and said, Lord, doesn't it seem unfair to you that my sister just sits here while I do all the work, tell her to come and help me? This is some of us right here. I'm going to show you in a moment. But the Lord said to her, my dear Martha, you are worried and upset over all these details. There is only one thing worth being concerned about. Mary has discovered it and it will not be taken away from her. What a powerful revelation seen here. We see that these two women welcome Jesus into their home in physical form. Look, I understand that the presence of God is with us 24-7. We know that from Psalm 139-7 that there's nowhere we can go to escape the omnipresence of God. His spirit is everywhere at all times. But here we see a story about Jesus in his physical form entering into the home of Martha and Mary. What a privilege and an honor. I don't know what you would do but I would look to make sure that every detail was worked out. I would try everything in my power to make sure that everything was absolutely perfect. And this, of course, is the nature of Martha. So Jesus arrives and Martha is there preparing a big dinner, doing all of the details that need to be done, performing as best she could. Martha and Mary both recognized who Jesus was. Martha and Mary both understood that it was a great privilege and an honor. Martha and Mary were working to please the Lord. They were just going about it in two different ways. So Martha's there and Martha begins to prepare. Martha begins to do. Martha begins to perform. All the while Mary's there sitting fellowshiping at the feet of Jesus communing with him, talking with him, knowing him. And so Martha was so distracted. Watch this now. Martha was so distracted by what she was doing for Jesus that she forgot to enjoy her time with him. I want to say that again. Martha was so busy, distracted by what she was doing for Jesus, that she forgot about spending time with Jesus. This is the very nature of what it is to get caught up in a religious cycle. Look, I grew up in church. I was a pastor's kid, fourth generation Christian, third generation preacher. And when I tell you that at a very early age that I was under heavy demonic assault, I can tell you that with sincerity, with a straight face, I can look right at you and tell you that I saw demons in physical form. Many people don't realize that it was actually several generations ago that my family was a part of the occult and very powerfully so they were high ranking members in certain sects of the occult. And this is not something I'm necessarily proud of. I'm not proud of the fact that I was high ranking in witchcraft. But I can tell you that I was aware of the supernatural at a very young age and I would see demonic powers. And so I didn't realize that one of the attacks of the enemy was through religious twisting and through religious thinking and thought patterns that they're able to actually get you to look at the scripture and be tormented. This is something that so few believers are even aware of and they may not even spot it and again they live with the symptoms without ever knowing the root. There were times when I would sit down to read the Bible and as I would read the scripture I would read certain things in the Bible that would terrify me. I'm not just talking about the conviction of the Holy Spirit. Look there are sometimes when people who are involved in certain sins will read what the scripture has to say about those certain sins and of course they should be struck with the fear of the Lord that they might repent but I'm talking about certain doctrines of demons that were formed in my mind simply because the demonic powers were twisting the word of God and then using that twisting of the word to harass my mind. For example I read in Romans where Paul wrote to the vessels of wrath. Now at the time I wasn't aware that this was Paul writing about the fact that God used the people of Israel and their rejection of the Messiah to ultimately bring about salvation to the Gentiles. I didn't know that at the time. What I thought was oh my goodness I must be a vessel of wrath and therefore if I'm a vessel of wrath there's nothing I can do I will always have been predestined for hell and I'm telling you that for months I was tormented by this thought of being a vessel of wrath I could not get over it. I would lie awake in my bed at night till one or two in the morning just visualizing that day that I would stand before God and he would judge me harshly and tell me depart from me I never knew you. I would try to conceive of the fear and the paranoia would cause me to try to conceive of an eternity in hell. How long would it be? How much would I regret it? How terrible would I feel that for all of eternity I would be separated from God and I would lie there at night and I would break out in sweats. I'm telling you the truth this was a tormenting battle I would break out in sweats and think oh my goodness I'm a vessel of wrath God's never going to redeem me I would literally shake sometimes the fear would grip me so heavily and I just could not get past this fear of hell, this fear of God's judgment and wrath. Now as I said there's a healthy fear in that sense because obviously we shouldn't go on sinning but this was a religious perspective of the judgment of God in that I believed that even though I had trusted Christ as my savior that somehow I was still going to be responsible for my own salvation. Now I understand the scripture says things like work out your own salvation with fear and trembling which is another scripture that was twisted to torment my mind but this was just a heavy heavy and very toxic pattern that the enemy used in my study of the scripture and so this became ingrained in my nature this became a thought pattern that took me years to break because I lived in this mindset thinking all the while any mistake I make that's it God's going to cut me off. I felt like I was just hanging by a thread I didn't feel like God loved me with an everlasting love I felt like God was tolerating me with a limited tolerance I thought that perhaps he was looking down from heaven at me and saying okay I love you and I sort of like you but you are just on your last leg and in a minute I'm going to cut you off and this is how many of us approach God we think that God is just about done with us we think that God is on his last leg with us we think that we're hanging by a thread that God is just barely tolerating it but that man we're right there and that any minute now he's just going to completely cut us off well this was not a biblical perspective at all but it was one that was rooted in demonic power it was one that was rooted in deception and so what happens is believers come to be like Martha working for the Lord's pleasure working to try to get his attention doing for him not realizing that their connection is not found in what they do for him but that their connection is found in what he's already done for them that connection is the establishment of our faith that connection is the starting point we don't serve to connect with God we serve from connection with God we don't live holy to connect with God we're able to live holy out of our connection with God so fear and guilt begin to dominate my thinking and it actually was the filter through which I saw the scriptures so now when I would look through the scripture there would be this horrific interpretation on everything and everything was about in my mind at least I thought how God hated me and so one night I was lying awake and I'm telling you this was supernatural I'm not big on people just opening their Bible and saying okay Lord speak to me that's not something I'm necessarily big on because that's not the way the Holy Spirit speaks sometimes maybe he may do something like that but generally speaking that's not how he speaks but in this one particular instance I recall that I was lying awake at night again tormented by this overbearing fear of hell and I'm just saying Lord I need your help I don't know how I'm going to overcome this fear I don't know how I'm going to overcome this thought pattern this seemingly unbreakable barrier until the Lord led me to pull out this thick concordance it was like I kid you not the book was like this thick it was a Bible commentary and I thought if I could just serve him well enough maybe I can escape hellfire and so I pull out this thick commentary and I just open it the Holy Spirit led me to I kid you not I just decided I'm going to open this and see what it says I open it there must have been 2000 pages in that book I open it and the page I just so happened to land on has a highlight on it and the highlight said something to the effect of we don't just worship God so that we can escape hell we worship God because we love him and when I read that it was a real turning point something began to shift in me let me show you another scripture that might help those of you who live with this heavy burden of religious thinking again religious thinking not just being this notion of I disagree with you and I don't like your insistence on biblical accuracy so I'm going to label you as religious but rather religion really is this attempt to take things into our power to connect with God when that really is his finished work watch this now Ephesians 2 8-10 God saved you by his grace when you believed and you can't take credit for this it is a gift from God salvation is not a reward for the good things we have done so none of us can boast about it for we are God's masterpiece he has created us a new in Christ Jesus so we can do the good things he planned for us long ago so here the Bible is very clearly telling us that salvation comes by faith and it is the grace of God that empowers that faith so then it is by believing that we enter into this salvation here's how religion looks at salvation religion will tell you well if you perform well enough you will earn your salvation and if you perform well enough to earn your salvation and then you stop performing well enough well then you're going to lose that salvation now this is not a statement on the debate concerning one saved always saved people ask me all the time about the David do you believe you can lose your salvation I honestly don't even believe that debate matters because both sides look at the same individual and the person who believes that you can't lose your salvation will look at the backslidden individual and say that person was never saved to begin with the person who believes you can lose your salvation will look at the backslidden person and say well that individual lost their salvation but they both agree that that individual needs Jesus so I don't think it really has any bearing on any real life application but concerning salvation still some believe that it's very fragile some believe that they're just one thought away one word away one mistake away one sin away from falling off the edge and no longer being redeemed and because of this they live in great torment this is to not recognize how salvation actually works Ephesians gives us a very clear picture of how salvation works salvation is such that if I put my faith in Christ then from there I experience the new nature of redemption so it's not that I do good works to be saved it's that by putting my faith in Jesus I am saved and that salvation when it's genuine produces good works so here's some of the fears that the enemy may control you through the fear of hell the fear of being deceived this is a subtle one because we have a lot of especially on the internet I've noticed that around certain doctrines around certain theological groups there seems to be this attraction of those who are hyper paranoid it's almost as if Christianity has its own subculture of conspiracy theorists and so what happens is online people who are conspiracy minded gather around certain theology points and really you'll hear these believers whenever anyone talks about salvation coming by faith through grace or by grace through faith whenever they hear someone talking about how salvation is a work of the Holy Spirit is a work of Christ finished on that cross and that we receive it by faith they'll instantly interject and say no you can't deceive them because then they're going to live on holy lives now wait a minute wait a minute wait a minute that's a place of paranoia isn't it that someone is so terrified that people aren't going to obey the rules if you tell them the gospel don't give them the good news the news sounds too good to be true and if you tell them something that sounds too good they may just continue to live in sin well this is a certain type of paranoia but it still is paranoia and it cries out every time someone talks about grace well what about holiness well what about it I would dare say that it's those who believe that salvation comes by faith that live the most holy lives why because they're coming at it grateful for having been saved yes holiness matters and yes true believers live holy and yes you should fight overcome your sin and yes you should resist temptation no one is saying that you can go on sinning because God has saved you rather it's recognizing the security that comes from the finished work of the cross now watch this this this fear of being deceived cries out it calls for division it calls for isolation it calls for separation this fear treats others like they're a contamination so I treat my fellow brothers and sisters in Christ like they're somehow going to contaminate my faith like they're somehow going to pervert me well I want to be real spiritual and they say things like well you know I want the truth and they don't have the truth and I'm far above them when it comes to spiritual knowledge and again it's this form of isolation and they're like conspiracy theorists in that they isolate behind their computers and tablets and phones and they live lifestyles that are disconnected from other believers all the while living in the constant fear of losing their salvation and calling out anyone who speaks against religious spirits and saying that they're deceiving them it's a terrible way to live but it's another way that fear controls us so there's the fear of hell and you can't you can't rest you can't recognize that Christ has completed the work you're just afraid of hellfire constantly look it's time to move beyond the fear of hell if you're born again believer and start stepping into the joy of holiness instead of being motivated by some punishment that was taken care of on the cross we ought to be motivated by pleasing God again let me be clear just in case anyone tries to clip this out and say well here's what David Hernandez is preaching no I preach holiness matters we should preach against sin we should call out sin we should strive for holiness and genuine believers will strive for holiness but we must stop with the paranoia we must stop wearing our spiritual tin foil hats and calling out false preaching when we talk about the grace of God this is not a productive way to live grace is not the enemy of holiness I sense the anointing on this right now grace is not the enemy of holiness grace is the catalyst for holiness grace is what empowers holiness and so believers live in the fear of hell they live in the fear of being deceived and this is not to say that you should let your guard down but my goodness we're so paranoid about being deceived we won't listen to anyone but ourselves and then we're self deceived every preacher is a false prophet every church is in error everyone and every man and woman of God is a heretic that's the mindset of the fear-based Christian the one who lives in this religious spirit so there is fear of going to hell this fear of being deceived constantly questioning your salvation constantly wondering if you missed it constantly thinking that you're right on the edge and these are the messages I get people of God these are the messages I get where you can hear a message on the power of God's forgiveness you can hear a message on how the blood of Jesus cleanses us from all unrighteousness and then still go home and say well the preacher didn't specifically address that one sin I committed three years ago so I wonder if that counts this is a great marker of a religious mindset is more concerned about practice than principles what do I mean by that well we can teach a principle like forgiveness like the fact that God forgives us and washes us and cleanses us from all unrighteousness but the religious spirit will insist that we specifically mention their specific sin in their specific scenario under their specific conditions committed in their specific mindset before they can go oh okay I'm glad that one is covered too so let's just be clear there's no sin other than the blasphemy of the Holy Spirit which we can cover another time that can't be forgiven every sin you repent of will be forgiven so never mind this constant questioning of your salvation never mind this constant fear of being deceived never mind this constant fear of hell what about the joy of the Spirit what about the joy of the Lord religious thinking tells you that the more miserable you are the more God is pleased with you we think that it's spiritual to be miserable this is why people embrace things like heaviness and confusion and poverty and spiritual battle this is not to say again please don't hear what I'm not saying this is not to say that your life is going to be nothing but health, wealth and happiness I've addressed the prosperity gospel before but this other extreme to think that the more miserable I am it makes no sense as if you can't enjoy your salvation didn't David write let me rejoice in my salvation again doesn't the scripture promise joy and peace and love and clarity we have to get rid of this martyr complex and this is what the religious spirit does the mindset I have to punish myself constantly for the sins I committed in my past because the punishment that Christ received on the cross wasn't good enough so what do we do we choose depression we choose confusion we wear our spiritual battle I'm going to step on some toes right now I'm going to step on some toes right now we get this martyr complex and we wear our spiritual embattlement like it's a badge of honor oh you know I'm just always under heavy demonic attack oh man you know the enemy really wants me oh you know the enemy really has a target on my back I'm just always defeated trial after trial and this is worn like a badge of honor look I'm not saying you should never face spiritual assault and especially if you're a threat to the kingdom of of darkness the enemy is going to try to attack you and stop you we understand that but to literally spirit so we there's it was their penance that they were giving I'm whipping myself on the back to show just how sorry I am for my sin and we don't whip ourselves physically hopefully not but instead what do we do we do it emotionally we do it mentally we give ourselves lashes I ought to suffer for that sin I committed I ought to suffer for that thing I thought I ought to suffer for my past I ought to suffer demonic assault and torment all the time because it's just a badge of spiritual honor no we have to be broken from this God is not pleased with our dysfunction our dysfunction is not a sign of our spiritual rank and that is directly rooted in the religious mindset and so what do you get you get believers who are not walking in victory and who claim that that lack of victory is proof that there's somehow a threat to the kingdom of darkness no way it is true that you will face hardships it is true that you will have trials and no I am not saying that you will never have issues Jesus said in this world you'll have tribulation but be of good cheer why because I have overcome the world in other words even in those difficult circumstances we live victorious we don't try to intensify our suffering by our own doing just because we imagine that God is pleased with it and this also manifest in the realm of fasting as another example and again I'm using these as examples but please try to hear the principle behind the practice that I'm showing you we do this when we fast some people think that the purpose of fasting is to become really really miserable that they might be closer to God well that's not the purpose of fasting at all there are many benefits of fasting for example it shows you how to discipline the flesh another example would be that it shows you how to control the flesh when you're at your weakest because if you can be kind and patient with others when you haven't eaten for three days then you can be kind and patient with others when you have eaten so it's a great exercise over the flesh is a great demonstration of our our submission to God's commands it also helps to disconnect from the material and more closely become aware of the supernatural but there's nothing about fasting where God looks down and says are you suffering there good I'm glad you are are you in pain good that's pleasing me that's going to earn you some spiritual points why because it was already taken all that punishment all that pain was already taken on the cross so guilt and fear are manifestations remember I'm only on the first manifestation we're going to address pride and anger in a moment but this paranoia this this this confusion this constant cloud hanging over you that is a religious mindset manifested until you realize that you are the righteousness of Christ until you realize that God has called you to walk in victory until you realize that you were created for the destiny that God has purposed for you until you realize that that you're seated in heavenly places with Christ until you realize that you will live in dysfunction and accept it as a badge of honor and that's not the end of it there's more to what guilt and fear can do in our lives I mean my goodness some of us are so ridden with guilt that we feel shame for enjoying anything that God has blessed us with I mean I knew a woman and I know she won't mind me sharing her testimony because I've shared it publicly before and we've talked about this and and I know this is okay with her I'm still not going to name her but I knew a woman who had an abortion and because of that abortion that she had years prior she thought that she wasn't allowed to enjoy her life after she was forgiven of course we know that's wrong you know I very publicly stood against abortion several weeks ago so we're on the same page there and we're on the same page of Scripture but still there's forgiveness for people who've committed this sin and so this woman was living in this guilt she thought that she wasn't allowed to enjoy her life she thought that that was it it's done it's finished for the rest of my life I have to feel the pain of that guilt and here's what she thought this is how twisted it gets with religious spirits she was under the impression that the guilt and the shame that she felt that was tormenting her mind she thought the mental torment that came from her sin was God's way of punishing her for the rest of her life so that she could earn her forgiveness and so when she would go out with the family when she would go out with dinner when God blessed her with a new job she didn't enjoy it she didn't allow herself to enjoy it because she was constantly looking back and saying well you know I can't enjoy this because I took a life I can't enjoy this because of what I did and so she came under this heavy guilt and she never enjoyed the joy of her salvation she never enjoyed the peace of God why because of this demonic lie this religious spirit that was assaulting her mind this is what first John 4 17 through 19 says and as we live in God our love grows more perfect so we will not be afraid on the day of judgment but we can face him with confidence because we live like Jesus here in this world such love has no fear because perfect love expels all fear if we are afraid listen to this if we are afraid it is for fear of punishment and this shows that we have not fully experienced his perfect love we love each other because he loved us first the power of God's love and forgiveness is the ultimate liberation now guilt begins to work in that fear as well and they feed off of one another first John 1 8 9 says if we claim we have no sin we are only fooling ourselves and not living in the truth verse 9 but if we confess our sins to him some of you need to hear this again and you probably heard this verse a thousand times but I want to break this down for you and hopefully it's broken down in a way where the truth is more readily available to you but if we confess our sins to him he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all wickedness Revelation 12 10 reveals the enemy as the accuser first John 2 1 I believe reveals Christ as the advocate it's the enemy who constantly accuses you it's the enemy who constantly brings up your past it's the enemy who constantly reminds you of the wrong doing that you committed and tells you that you cannot enjoy what God has for you now that is a religious spirit the mindset of I have to work to earn it now again remember I said this at the beginning of the broadcast that some of us we say well I don't necessarily believe that I have to earn my salvation I don't believe that I have to work for God's pleasure but in this it's manifested in this it's shown that some of us do actually believe that because we sin we commit wrong doing and then we allow guilt and shame to harass our minds long after we've repented I remember a couple of years ago I should say several years ago now more than a couple I took my car in because the check engine light had gone off now I'm the type of person that when my check engine light goes on I take it right in a because I'm very paranoid in that regard and B because I don't know anything about cars and if anything were to happen to me on the road I wouldn't know what to do with my vehicle so I take my car in and I say listen the check engine light went off I have no idea what it's for whatever the problem is fix it let me know and then I'll come back and pay you when it's all done so I left I came back he says hey everything's done he told me what it was but I didn't even know what it was when he said it so why I would remember it I wouldn't okay so I don't know what he said I don't know what they fixed but they fix something and the problem stopped and so I take my car off the lot and I'm driving home now as I'm driving home I look down at the dashboard and low and behold after I took my car into the expert after I paid him for his work that he said he did I look down at the dashboard and there it was the check engine light still on I got mad I'll be honest with you I was I was this close to jumping out in the flesh but it's okay let me see what's going on here I turn around I go back to his shop I said to him I say hey the check engine light is is on what what what happened here I thought I I thought I paid you to get this done he says no no no the problem is solved listen to this now he said the problem is solved I just have to reset the light I thought interesting and immediately a sermon went off in my mind this is what it is with the forgiveness of God so first on 189 tells us that God is faithful and just to forgive us well what does that mean he's faithful in that he will continually do it people often ask me brother David will God forgive past sins and I think that's an interesting question being is how pretty much all sins you have committed are in your past so I don't know what our thinking is in this area of course God will forgive your past sins and here's the great thing it says he's he's faithful to forgive us meaning he'll do it consistently he's continually forgiving our wrongdoing now this right here is not a license to sin again that tin foil hat comes back on and someone might jump and say brother David you can't tell them that then they're just going to go on sinning no no no not a true believer a true believer wouldn't do that but rather a true believer is going to be encouraged to live holy knowing that they've been forgiven of their past and so it's a consistent forgiveness here's the good news God will even forgive those who should have known better that's going to be liberating for some of you because you say I knew better I shouldn't have done it but here's the reality as long as it's true repentance he's going to offer that forgiveness to you so he'll consistently do it and then the bible says he's faithful and just meaning he's justified in doing it he's not wrong to do it he has the legal right to do it because of what Christ did on that cross it is finished here's the problem many of us will commit a sin we'll go to God I'm sorry and you truly mean it and then you turn from that sin you forsake that sin and then the enemy comes back and starts throwing that guilt and shame at your mind again that's the check engine light that needs to be reset the problem has been solved time to reset that light this is what guilt and shame does godly sorrow work at repentance the bible says godly sorrow leads to repentance so it's good that you feel bad for your sin it's good that you feel shame for what you did but beyond guilt and shame there is forgiveness and once you've repented and that guilt and shame no longer serves a purpose time to reset the check engine light time to move on to the next phase here's the problem some of you are so focused on that check engine light that you don't look at the road ahead and that's more dangerous than if you were to just leave it alone you need to just leave it alone sometimes we say god forgive me for this and the bible says that he separates our sins from his mind as far as the east is from the west this is an eternal separation it's a gap that cannot be filled he chooses to forget he chooses to not remember he chooses to not deal with you according to that sin and then we come to him we say lord forgive me for this I'm sorry it was wrong I won't do it again he says I forgive you move on walk now in the joy of your salvation but religion won't let you do that because it says no you have to pay your penance still and you have to be filled with guilt and shame and torment until you finally have done your time no Jesus did your time for you and so he forgives you and then here's the problem we come back around and we ask for forgiveness for the same sin that was already dealt with and that's how you know part of it is a religious cycle so I imagine the conversation looks something like this lord forgive me of my sin he looks back and says I forgive you I've separated from my mind as far as the east is from the west and then we go on with our day and suddenly that memory comes back again that's the accusation of the enemy which is rooted in religious thinking and so that accusation comes back and then we come right back around and we go lord forgive me of my sin and god looks at you bewildered and he says what sin are you talking about because he doesn't remember it anymore and so we're bringing up things that god chose to forget the enemy is the one who remembers the past god does not bring up your past if something is bringing up your past that's the voice of the enemy again I have it right here on my notes Revelation 12 10 yes it was Revelation 12 10 is the accuser that's the enemy first on 2 1 that's the advocate that's Christ and he commits himself to forgive us again and again and again why because we need it I mean think about how religious we are sometimes when we visualize salvation is something that we have to earn think about it this way somebody asked me one time brother David if I'm driving my car and I look at a woman to lust let's say there's a woman jogging and I look at that woman to lust and as I'm driving I run a red light a diesel truck slams into my car and I'm killed instantly do I go to heaven or do I go to hell well this is to misunderstand what salvation actually is it's not as though we're saved by our works our standing our legal standing is justification saved the process is sanctification is the process so justification is the position sanctification is the process no matter where you are in the process of sanctification it does not affect your position in justification shall we go on sinning then no it's because we've been justified that we really do have a new desire now to live holy so think about that scenario if you believe that the person who looked at the woman to lust and then got hit by a car went to hell then you believe that salvation doesn't just come through the cross but also good timing well you know it's not good enough that Christ died and completed the work it's not good enough that Jesus did complete the total sacrifice that was needed as Hebrews chapter 9 tells us but not only does Christ have to make that perfect sacrifice but now you have to have perfect timing because if you die without having named a sin then you're going to go to hell well that's just again another religious way of looking at it now look again I have to save this over and over again because I don't want anyone to misunderstand me that that means you can go on sinning don't sin don't do it what I am saying is that God's salvation is not some fragile thing that we can break with one or two mistakes so that's the first expression of religion is guilt and fear now I won't cover the second expression as extensively because not that many believers deal with this particular one and if they do deal with it they're probably not watching a program like this they're probably more isolated but I'm still going to say it in case there is someone who's dealing with this watch this now in Matthew 22 15 the Bible says then the Pharisees met together to plot how to trap Jesus into saying something for which he could be arrested so here we see the conniving nature of the Pharisees and religious leaders who had it out for Jesus I believe they were jealous of what God was doing through him and the people no longer look to them as the final authority they saw that Jesus taught with real authority and so we also see in John chapter 8 in the story where the woman was brought to Jesus by the Pharisee remember the woman caught in the act of adultery did you ever ask yourself this ok so these Pharisees they go they grab this woman in the act of adultery they bring her before Jesus they make their accusations and then they say ok Jesus you got to do something you got to punish her the law says that she should be stoned and I'm looking at that how on earth did they catch this woman in the act of adultery what were they doing looking perhaps I think they had set her up I think they set her up why because where was the man where was the man who was sinning why did they only bring the woman I believe the man they hired was in on it and so they wanted to catch this woman in the act of adultery that they might trap Jesus in something now this is what's so sad is that the religious leaders were so concerned about being right that they were willing to take a life this is why I say people are so concerned with winning arguments that they forget to win their brothers and their sisters and that is the essence of religious pride it's this this this ego that needs to prove itself as righteous that needs to prove itself as right as correct so in this portion of scripture John chapter 8 the narrative with the woman caught in adultery and in the reference I just gave you Matthew 22 15 we see several signs of a Pharisee number one Pharisees look for reasons to argue I just recently did a video on ministries that I recommend I did a a whole teaching on it I recommended eight solid ministries that I highly recommend now if I were to recommend everyone that I love and honor it would be like a four hour teaching I kid you I know that many men and women of God who I love and honor and so I did this teaching on I did this video on all these ministries I recommend and wouldn't you know it there were people in the comment section who said something they said one person even went as far as shame on you for not mentioning so and so I thought oh my goodness there's just there's just no there's no peace why because some people are just looking for reason to argue some religious people another sign of a religious Pharisee is there looking for reasons to disconnect you see the Bible says in Romans chapter 12 verse 18 that we should do everything in our ability to live at peace with one another Pharisees do just the opposite they do everything in their ability to live in division they're going to find that one thing you can agree with them on a hundred doctrines all but they're going to get you on that one where you disagree and they are not going to let it go and they're not going to have unity despite the agreement on the many other things and this is what we do and it's funny that the world doesn't even do this to each other the church does this so harshly where the world is so united in their causes they may differ on their opinions on their methodology on their culture on even some of the nuances of some of the things that they believe but man they're marching in sync with the body of Christ is divided the body of Christ is instead of uniting they're saying what's that one little detail I can find where we disagree aha there it is that's it I have to disconnect and people leave churches like this well you know the sermons were great the word was taught people were being delivered saved the prophetic was flowing lives were being transformed and my children had somewhere to go to church but man they sang this one worship song and I just didn't like the theology behind that one worship song and I talked to the pastor and they weren't going to change so I had to leave my goodness we're talking religion now and it comes from the spirit of pride that thinks that you can earn that righteousness and so now they're saying I'm earning it why isn't anybody else earning it but I guarantee you if you had the if you had the courage to point that that that scope right back at yourself you would find flaws religious spirits look to condemn so they look for reasons to argue look for reasons to disconnect look for reasons to condemn they look for reasons to show off the knowledge they think they have everything these days is a debate my goodness it's time we as the body of Christ rise above the noise and the chatter it's not about you showing off your knowledge and how smart you think you are that's a religious spirit they look for reason to criticize and so these are the signs of that prideful religious spirit and again it's rooted in this idea that I have earned my righteousness I am earning my righteousness and everyone else should do the same and that is the hallmark of a true Pharisee now again I can't go too deep into this because it's the first of all there's not enough time to go into everything I wanted to discuss with you but my goodness you see at least how damaging a religious mindset can be and think about this here's what's crazy all of these things all of these deceptions all of these practices all of these confusing ways of seeing the word in the world are rooted in one simple idea that we can earn our right standing with God wow that's the power of a simple lie and so out of these out of this simple lie comes confusion pride comes guilt comes fear all of those things are manifestations of this one lie no wonder the enemy works so hard to propagate this lie now I'm going to show you how to overcome this legalism but first I want everyone watching live on replay everyone leave a like on the video right now it helps you more than we realize leave a like don't log out leave a like right now because I'm going to show you we have a little bit more to cover here I want to show you how to overcome this legalism overcome this religious way of seeing the world so I want you to leave a like it'll help spread the message and I also if you haven't done so already want you to subscribe to encounter TV encounter TV is Bible based Jesus centered spirit filled so do that right now I need everybody watching live on replay everybody leave a like if you're not subscribed I think 60% of you who watch have not subscribed yet so make sure you're subscribed and also everyone say something in the comments section right now tell me chat how is this message blessing you is it opening your eyes Tim you don't have to put it on the screen but tell me in the chat how is this message breaking bondages what what are some areas the enemy is really being defeated right now let me know okay back to our Mary and Martha story what did Jesus tell Martha said Martha you're worried about all these little things Mary has found the one thing that matters and it will not be taken away from her well what was that one thing that matters it was fellowship it was rest it was recognizing her connectivity with Jesus see both women wanted to please the Lord they went about it in two separate ways both women wanted to put a smile on Jesus his face one thought it was through works the other new it was through fellowship and so the Bible says this in Matthew chapter 23 23 what sorrow awaits you teachers of religious laws and you Pharisees hypocrites for you are careful to tide even the tiniest income of your herb gardens but you ignore the more important aspects of the law justice mercy and faith you should tide yes but do not neglect the more important things so Jesus wasn't angry at the Pharisees because they kept the law he was angry at the Pharisees because they they were teaching something that was highly damaging and they were neglecting the way to your matters the more important matters of the law Matthew 23 13 says what sorrow awaits you teachers of religious law and you Pharisees hypocrites watch this now for you shut the door of the kingdom of heaven and people's faces you won't go in yourselves and you don't let others enter either let me just tell you something the works based gospel is heresy and anyone who preaches it is a heretic period the works based gospel says that you have to earn your salvation no holiness doesn't earn me my salvation salvation produces in me holiness well let me show you that Philippians 111 and 212 look at what the Bible says here this is Philippians 111 and Philippians 212 may you always be filled with the fruit of your salvation did you see that now the righteous character produced in your lives by Jesus Christ for this will bring much glory and praise to God wait a minute here in Philippians 111 the Bible clearly teaches that the righteous character of Christ or holiness is produced in us as a result of salvation the religious spirit has it backwards the religious spirit says good works will produce salvation the righteous spirit the holy spirit says the truth no salvation when it's genuine will produce the good works Philippians 212 says this dear friends you always followed my instructions and I was with you and now that I am away it is even more important watch this now work hard to show the results of your salvation obeying God with deep reverence and fear so that obedience to God and his word comes from salvation and the Bible very clearly tells us in 1st John 5 3 loving God means keeping his commands and his commandments are not burdensome in other words we look at obeying God like this long list of things that we have to perform it's tedious it's tiresome it's mentally exhausting to keep track of all those little flaws in our lives all of those little things that displease God when instead what the Bible calls us to do is walk in him I'm going to show you this now this is this is the way to overcome it this is the way to overcome sin this is the way to overcome religious thinking this is the way to overcome confusion and fear and bondage and pride and that heaviness that's constantly on you this is the way to overcome that fear of losing your salvation right here Galatians 5 let's start at verse 16 so I say and if you're wondering why I'm going so fast it's because it's a lot of material to cover in a short amount of time this could have been easily an hour and a half so I had to speed it up a little bit verse 16 but you can watch the replay so I say let the Holy Spirit guide your lives then you won't be doing what your sinful nature craves the sinful nature wants to do evil which is just the opposite of what the spirit wants and the spirit gives us desires that are the opposite of what the sin nature desires these two forces are constantly fighting each other so you are not free to carry out your good intentions verse 18 but when you are directed by the spirit you are not under obligation to the law of Moses whoa whoa whoa this is powerful verse 18 let's read this again I don't know if you caught that but look at what the Bible says but when you are directed by the spirit you are not under obligation to the law of Moses so you have a choice you can live by the law or you can live by the spirit you see living by the law is to attempt to do things in your own power and therefore take the credit for when things are done correctly but if you live by the law in your own power you need to catch this if you live by the law in your own power and you can take credit for the things you do correctly then you also must take the punishment that you do wrong look, I'm not saying you won't face consequences to foolish actions or sinful actions you will face consequences but what I'm talking about is our right standing with Christ if I think that I get credit for my right doing then I also have to get the credit for my wrong doing but to live in the spirit is to live vicariously I'll give you an illustration in just a few seconds it is to live by the spirit and allow him to do the work in you and therefore he is the one who receives the credit for right doing and the wrong doing is absorbed by the cross now watch this I often use this illustration it's another car illustration, funny I didn't intend to do that but I'm the type of person who gets annoyed when people drive really fast like super fast way above the speed limit in a way that's completely unnecessary I often imagine that when they're speeding through lanes of traffic that they're driving thinking that everyone else is saying wow, look how cool that person is look how fast they're going and I'm thinking to myself, wait a minute everybody knows that you're not actually that fast everybody knows that it's actually the vehicle that's going fast all they're doing is putting their foot on the gas pedal and the engine takes over that's what it is to live in Christ it is like being in a car it's like being in Christ at least for the sake of this analogy what is that gas pedal? that gas pedal is faith to simply put your foot on the gas to simply put your trust and faith in him and then the engine begins to rev and the Holy Ghost takes it from there as a believer your responsibility is to abide in him he'll produce the fruit as a believer your responsibility is to obey and submit to him and he will complete the work in you as a believer it's your responsibility to repent of sin and to confess those things to God and he will continue the project of making you Holy from day to day he is the one who sanctifies he is the one who makes Holy he is the one who transforms our nature day by day, step by step when we get in the Word, when we are in worship when we pray when we fellowship with other believers slowly but surely the Holy Spirit carving that image of Christ into your very life and you are his workmanship God the Father has commissioned a painting Jesus is the model the Holy Spirit is the painter and your life when it is surrendered becomes the blank canvas upon which the Holy Spirit paints the beauty of the countenance of Christ it is his work in you he is the one who does it he is the one who completes it he is the one who is causing you to be Holy yes, repent of sin yes, deal with wrongdoing but my goodness, rest in the cross as well you will find that it is easier to live Holy when you believe you are forgiven than it is to live Holy believing that you are condemned once you know you are free once you know your record is wiped clean once you know that you have come under the power of his forgiveness that changes everything I become secure confident in what he has done on the cross I become secure in the promises that he has made not trusting in my ability to save myself but trusting in his ability to save me his hand is not too short that it cannot save there is nothing that is impossible for God you are his project you are his responsibility if you put your faith in him and he will complete that work I bind every lying spirit in the mighty name of Jesus I come against every lie that contradicts the word of God oh father I pray that the spirit of truth would make this information revelation that it might bring transformation I pray now Holy Ghost that you would do your work let this word dwell in them naturally let this word go to the deepest part of who they are let this word take root in their very lives Lord let there be shattered religious mindsets in the mighty name of Jesus come on I want you to begin to pray right now in the Holy Spirit the anointing is flowing don't you dare log off the anointing is flowing right now God is doing something in you I want you to begin right now if you pray in tongues pray out loud in tongues write your prayers in the comment section I want you to begin to publicly declare that you're being set free by the truth of God's word thank you Holy Spirit that you're touching your people thank you Holy Spirit that you're doing a work in us I give you the glory and the honor and the praise honor you we bless you in the mighty name of Jesus we pray I want you to say it because you believe it say amen now don't log off look we look at the youtube data and the facebook data and the instagram data and we find that more often than not you bring up the comments in a moment Tim we find that more often than not that people who watch the stream will log off right after the lesson is done now I want to challenge you not to do that for a couple of reasons number one is because I really need every believer to hear what I'm about to say everyone who receives from this ministry I need you to hear what I'm going to say right now and number two it's to your benefit that you participate in what I'm about to present I'm serious it is to your benefit let me read a portion of scripture to you I'll take just a few minutes to discuss this with you Proverbs 11 24 to 28 here's what the Bible says give freely and become more wealthy this is the Bible I'm reading it word for word give freely and become more wealthy be stingy and lose everything the generous will prosper those who refresh others will themselves be refreshed people curse those who hoard their grain but they bless those who sells in time of need if you search for God you will find favor but if you search for evil it will find you trust in your money and down you go but the godly flourish like leaves in spring there is so much to unpack here but firstly I want to point out the fact the Bible speaks of this flow of generosity you know I was walking around our television studio that's under construction today and somebody told me on our staff as we were walking through he said this was all Holy Spirit funded wasn't it I said yes it was and I said when we started out with this project I didn't have the finances but I had the faith and really faith so few believers understand this faith is the currency of heaven faith is how the flow of operation comes to be in the material world faith is the driving force behind what we accomplish for the kingdom of God in this world now God has given you dreams look the gospel is not all about our dreams it's about doing God's will I've said this many times but the truth of the matter is this God has given you dreams according to his will some of you God has shown ministries some of you God has shown books some of you God has shown businesses I'm talking about material things now there's a spiritual element to how we handle our material treasures if you will and here's the reality most people in times of need they withhold when the world starts talking about scary things everyone panics and like sheep to the slaughter we do what we're programmed to do we respond in fear I'll tell you this right now that in this hour when everyone else is panicking this is when the wealthiest in the world are expanding and making their moves they know better and so I understand that it can be scary sometimes I understand that in times where people are frightened concerning finances we see that we have is to withhold to gather and to wait and see what's going to happen but that's not faith in this hour we need bold believers who are going to step out in faith not casually not sheepishly but aggressively sees the opportunity that is the expansion of the kingdom and so the Bible very clearly says that if you give freely you become more wealthy I believe being generous because I believe that it was our generosity as a ministry hear this now please I believe that it was our generosity as a ministry that brought about the financial favor that we're experiencing today we are expanding when others are shrinking we are taking steps forward when others are waiting and waiting to see what the world does and waiting to see what's on the other end and what's on the other side of the wall if you will let me tell you this I know what's on the other side opportunity I know what waits for this ministry in the next season growth, expansion, God's favor why? because we put our faith in him this is not the hour to panic this is the hour to seize kingdom opportunity there are things in your heart dreams in your heart, visions that God has shown you and by you participating and demonstrating your generosity to ministries that are experiencing favor like this one that same favor that same generosity flows to you and this is something I've learned in my years of ministry that if we're generous to others that opens the floodgates in our lives in our ministries, in our businesses so do as the scripture says give freely and become more wealthy that's a promise of the Bible of course you have to add to this good stewardship faithfulness and other practical keys of stewardship but let's get this part right too I want to ask you this will you give a gift to the ministry you're watching live or on the replay will you give a gift to this ministry sacrificially, generously to help us continue to do our work around the world when you give your funding the live streams your funding the content your funding the ministry events and right now as we're live you may watch this years from now the project be completed but right now as we're live I can say this your giving also helps in part to fund the studio we are very close to meeting our goal and there are still many people who've not given toward that project now is the time this is the hour to seize the opportunity to expand and you watch what God does you I'm telling you this is the season of faith this is where as they say the rubber meets the road either we practice what we've preached all this time or we step back in fear and say well I'm gonna do as the world does and I'm gonna start freaking out I'm gonna do as the world does and I'm gonna withhold fight the flesh fight that fear resist that pool to withhold and instead release and watch that flow of generosity begin to work through you I can see your names by the way those of you giving on the website here David Hernandez ministries dot com slash donate those names actually come straight into my phone and I'm seeing names loading from around the world also if you haven't done so already in addition to a one-time gift will you also consider becoming a monthly supporter check out the monthly partnership options too at the website while you're at it Benjamin thank you for your gift Carmen thank you for your gift Tammy thank you for your gift Elizabeth thank you for becoming a partner Janish thank you for becoming a partner Samantha thank you for becoming a partner I want to thank the Patrick family for their generous gift Charlene thank you for being a partner thank you for becoming a partner Rolando thank you for becoming a partner forgive me if I'm not pronouncing this correctly but Kaisu thank you for becoming a monthly ministry partner there's someone who signed up with their real estate company who just became a partner thank you so much for your support and the support is continuing to come in from around the world thank you Fernando for becoming a monthly partner I can see every gift that comes in right here on my phone I'm able to see it when I look at the names I can go in I'm able to see who's given and so I thank you for your support so give a one-time gift give monthly support and I need many of you right now who've been waiting, who've been pledging who've been praying now is the time to also help fund Project DTV but whether you're giving a one-time gift or becoming a monthly supporter whether you're giving large or small it all counts give to the ministry today give freely and become more wealthy the bible says that's the scripture we can't argue with that is that the prosperity gospel? No the prosperity gospel teaches that that's the center of the message that we'll never have any trials we'll always have what we want that God wants to give us nothing but health, wealth and happiness that's not what I'm saying I'm speaking specifically and strictly on the principle of generosity now, if you enjoyed this message and it did something in your spirit then I know that you'll greatly benefit from my teaching how to receive and activate the power of the Holy Spirit and I talk about when the Holy Spirit is received which, spoiler alert it's at salvation that power is received he is received at salvation and then I talk about how to walk in that power how to stir up that power how to surrender in such a way to where the power within you becomes manifested through you check that video out and remember until next time nothing is impossible with God