 Hello David Diga Hernandez here, and you are watching Spirit Church here on the Encounter TV network. The scripture says that they were all together in one place when suddenly they heard a sound from heaven. This of course is talking about the day of Pentecost. When the church first was filled with the baptism with the Holy Spirit, I want to talk to you about waiting on the Holy Spirit. This is so important that you learn not only for your life, but also for your ministry. We need to learn as believers, as ministers, as pastors, evangelist, teachers, prophets, apostles. We must learn to wait on the person of the Holy Spirit because in the waiting there is power. I'm going to talk to you about that right now, but first Stephen Maktuzuma is here with me. He's going to lead you in some very anointed worship, and then we're going to get right into this message. Here is Stephen Maktuzuma. He's going to lead you in some very anointed worship. He's going to lead you in some very anointed worship. We are here for coming to what we are here for. Said I need to move to this room. Miracles happen when heaven is coming to this room. Miracles happen when heaven is coming to this room. Well, as you can tell, I'm not in the studio. In fact, I'm coming to you from my hotel room in Chicago. The event schedule and the film schedule conflicted, and rather than just leave you with no content this week, I thought, why not film something right from Chicago? So if you hear background noise anywhere, just know we're in the city of Chicago, and it's just part of the ambience. But let's go now to Acts chapter one, verse number eight, where the scripture says this, but you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes upon you, and you will be my witnesses telling people about me everywhere, in Jerusalem, throughout Judea, in Samaria, and to the ends of the earth. Now this is a powerful verse. There's a lot in here, and we're going to get into some of it right now. But just to give you a little bit of context, Jesus is talking to the disciples, to the followers that he has ministered to during his ministry here on earth, and he's just about to ascend, and he gives them instructions to wait for the promise of the Father, which is the coming of the Holy Spirit or the baptism with the Holy Spirit. And then he tells them that when that happens, then you will receive power, but you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes upon you. So I'm talking to you about waiting on the Holy Spirit. And here we see, first of all, the church waiting on the person of the Holy Spirit. And I thought this was interesting. This was interesting to me because these were people who had heard the teachings of Jesus. In fact, they likely heard him say things that weren't even recorded in scripture. These are people who had heard his parables. They saw the miracles. They saw the healings. They watched him raise the dead. They witnessed the authority of Christ as he cast out devils from those who were tormented by demonic beings. But I realized something. If the teachings alone were enough to build the church, they would not have been told to wait. If the parables alone were enough to build the church, they would not have been told to wait. If the miracles and the authority that Christ demonstrated while casting out devils, if those were enough to build the church, they would not have been told to wait. But they're told, wait for the promise of the Father. Wait for the coming of the Holy Spirit. Now today you and I don't have to wait in the same way. We're not waiting for the arrival of the Holy Spirit. Rather, we're waiting to be attentive to the Holy Spirit. We're waiting for instructions from the Holy Spirit. While we obey the written Word of God, we wait to hear the Word of God spoken to our hearts by the Spirit of God. Now, moving on as we continue to read in this verse, the Scripture goes on to say, And you will be my witnesses telling people about me everywhere, in Jerusalem, throughout Judea, in Samaria, and to the ends of the earth. Now you notice he says, you'll be my witnesses. I preached a message titled, The Purpose of Pentecost. And that message I talked to you about the reason we receive the power of the Holy Spirit. That reason is evangelism. We don't receive the power to show off. We don't receive the power to be esteemed. We receive the power that we might preach the gospel and snatch souls from the kingdom of hell. So there we glean that from that portion of the Scripture. But then it goes on to say, in Jerusalem, throughout Judea, in Samaria, and to the ends of the earth. I want you to notice there that there is this progression of ministry. Now this is what happens when you wait on the Holy Spirit. God begins to promote you. God begins to elevate you. In Jerusalem, which is a city, in Judea, in Samaria, which are regions, and to the ends of the earth, which is obviously the entire world. Now this pattern, though not exact in our lives, demonstrates to us how God works through his church. How God works through the believer who waits on the Holy Spirit. You see, some believers, when they get into ministry, they imagine that they'll be standing before thousands. They imagine that they'll receive accolades, that they'll be famous preachers, that they'll have followings, that they'll be esteemed. But that really isn't the purpose of power. That really isn't the purpose of ministry. And that really isn't the purpose of having a relationship with the Holy Spirit. But we do see that God promotes progressively. God gives to us as we steward what he's already given to us. Now, the power of the Holy Spirit as we wait upon him, the anointing will do several things in our lives. But first, it will touch us personally. Only those who've been touched by the glory of God can be used for the glory of God. I say that often because it's so important. If your life has not been personally touched by the anointing of the Holy Spirit, how can you ever move past to the next step? And don't make a mistake. There are levels to the anointing. There are levels to power. There are levels to ministry. There are levels to authority. If you don't believe that, there's no room for growth. Sure, we've received all things in Christ already, but are we able to use those things to the full capacity? The potential is there. The power is there. But this doesn't necessarily mean that we're making full use of what God has given to us. That comes progressively. So the anointing has to touch you personally if you've not had a personal relationship with Jesus. If you've not had a personal revelation that's transformed your own life. If he's not touched you in a way that he's broken you away from the bondage of sin. If he's not delivered you, if he's not set you free, then how are you supposed to go and tell people of a deliverer that you've never experienced? How are you supposed to tell people about a healing power, a delivering power, a power in general that you've never experienced? You must be touched by God. You must be transformed by him. You must be marked by his presence permanently before you can climb, before you can move to different degrees, before you can move in different levels of power. Next, the anointing will flow through you relationally. So first it touches you personally, then the anointing flows through you relationally. Now what do I mean by that? I mean that the anointing of God is flowing through you touching people in your life. Now, I did not begin the ministry behind a camera. I did not begin the ministry behind a pulpit. I began in ministry in a sound room. I began in ministry ministering to kids in my school on my lunch break Monday through Friday from 12 to 1230. I had a healing service on campus. People would be saved, delivered, healed, and all of this came out of a personal overflow. The moment you cut off that personal overflow, though there may be a reservoir of the anointing left, though there may be some residue of his power left on your life, the moment you cut off that personal connection, his power begins to weaken on you and on your influence. Now, here's the thing about the Holy Spirit. He will give you influence very, very, very sacredly, I should say, very reverently. In other words, you have to prove yourself. You have to spend time with him. You have to spend time in prayer and you have to let that anointing touch you personally. And then as he starts to expand your influence, he gives that to you slowly. But here's the thing. Once he's given you influence, he will let you have that influence even if you cut yourself off personally from him. Now, there will come a time where he will take that influence from you to save your own soul. He's very patient with us. He's very gracious with us. He doesn't want to necessarily ruin us. So he waits. He's patient. But some of us, we've left that personal connection and our other aspects of ministry and life are being affected by that lack of the connection. And we don't even realize it. So that personal flow begins to move through you relationally. Other people start getting touched by the power of God through your life. And if you don't maintain that personal flow, eventually all of that will dissipate. So it's important that we maintain that connection, not just on a daily basis, but on a moment by moment basis. And as your influence begins to grow, as God begins to use you to influence those around you, to impact those with the gospel around you, after you're influencing friends and family, then something begins to happen. You begin to devout leadership capabilities, leadership qualities, and the Holy Spirit begins to promote you. Now, understand that this promotion is not a reward. This promotion is a responsibility. So then he begins to use you corporately. What do I mean by corporately? I'm not talking business here. I mean, he uses you corporately to impact the actual body of Christ, the local church. So maybe there's a local church that you attend. And you're looking around. You're saying, I know I have spiritual gifts. Why aren't they using me? Why isn't God giving me influence here? Well, it's probably because you haven't earned the influence yet. And yes, that influence must be earned. It must be proved. This is just a fact. Now, after the Holy Spirit touches you personally, that's not your qualification to then go and be used corporately. The Holy Spirit touches you personally. Then that overflow from your prayer life, from waiting on the Holy Spirit on a daily basis, overflows from you. God promotes you. And after you've been proven faithful by being used by God to touch those around you, your friends and your family, then God raises you to an influence that is corporate or to the body of Christ. From there, and many believers actually don't get past this point. I'm just being real with you. Most believers don't go beyond that. They've influenced their friends and family. They've been touched by God personally. They're impacting the body of Christ, but very, very few ever cross over into being used regionally. Now, this is where not only are you impacting the local church, not only the body of believers, not only evangelizing those who come to that church, not only evangelizing those in your life that you come across in your path, but God gives you a voice that touches a region. God gives you a voice or an influence that is recognized in a region, whether that be a city. I know many pastors who have influence in their cities. They have radio programs and TV programs and political influence in that city that's able to be used for the kingdom of God. Now, I'm not saying you have to have radio and television and political power to be of an influence there. I'm simply saying that that's an example of influence. But from there, it goes from regionally and even fewer cross over this place. Then the anointing, the influence begins to grow to a national level. So then you go nationally. From there, God uses you globally. And again, with each step that you climb, with each step that is there, there are fewer and fewer on the next one. Global influence doesn't mean that I travel from country to country. I've met a lot of evangelists who say, yeah, I'm an international evangelist. I'm internationally known. I have a global influence. And what they mean by that is they visit the countries from time to time and they have services there. That's not global influence. When I say global influence, I'm talking Billy Graham. I'm talking Benny Hinn. I'm talking Catherine Coleman. I'm talking the people who have actual influence on that level to where when they speak, it influences things globally. So that's a global influence. After that, if God continues to allow that anointing that was flowing through you to be promoted or to increase, then you move to generationally. Now we all want generational influence. Generational influence comes when the work that God has done through our lives continues to move and to touch people for generations to come. And again, not just that one-on-one influence. I'm talking about massive impact around the world. Now all of us, hopefully, can have the most important kind of influence, which is eternal influence. This is where a life has been so impacted by how God has used us that they are forever changed and that change follows them throughout all of eternity. So here are the different levels of ministry that come how God will use you when you wait on the Holy Spirit, first personally, then relationally, then corporately, then regionally, then nationally, then globally, then generationally, then eternally. I remember when I first began in ministry, I preached at a youth service. And then from there, I preached at a youth conference. From the youth conference, I went on to preaching in regular Sunday morning services of what I call them or the adult services of what I call them. And then from those services, I went to doing regular conferences. And from there, God expanded us to media and to television and so forth and so on. What am I saying to you? I'm saying that when you wait on the Holy Spirit, when you wait for that power to flow, God begins to raise you. God begins to promote you. Now, it's not going to be found in our ability. This is why they had to wait in the first place. It's found in the ability of the Holy Spirit. There is no limit to what God can do with a life surrendered to the Holy Spirit. And I'm talking to you. God wants to use your life. So what does it mean truly to wait on the Lord? Well, it's spending time with him. It's carving out that hour or a few hours in your day that are wholly devoted to the presence of the Holy Spirit, that are wholly devoted to him. And when you take that time out to silence everything around you, to become still within your soul and to focus entirely on Jesus, that is where you are waiting on the Lord. And that, my friend, is the price. Now, the price is a wonderful price. It's time with the Lord, but it's a price nonetheless because there are things you have to sacrifice. And the more valuable things become to you, the more difficult it becomes to pay that price. You see, me and my teenagers, much easier to pay that price. There wasn't a lot going on. But now, to pay the price, that's time away from my Jess. That's time away from my daughter Aria. That's time away from my friends and family who I've grown to love even more. When I do that, I say to the Lord, you're number one. I will wait on you. I will find that place. I will devote that time to wait on you. Not only is it devoting that hour block or that several hour block to wait on him, to be with him, but it's also being attentive to his presence all throughout the day. It's remaining aware and sensitive of the fact that the Holy Spirit is with you. Slowing the pace of your life, slowing the pace of your thought life, letting there be a moment of pause in which the Holy Spirit can insert instruction. That's what I'm talking about. Waiting on the Holy Spirit. And when you wait on him, there's no limit to what God can do with your life. Well, that is it for the lesson. Let's pray now. I'm going to pray that the Holy Spirit would use you, that he would anoint you, and that he would raise you and take you to new levels of ministry that you never even knew were possible. Father, in the name of Jesus, I join my faith with that one now who's asking you for influence, which is biblical law. They're asking you for gifts. They're asking you for the power to expand your kingdom. I pray, Lord, as they pay that price that you would expand their territory. God, give us the privilege of paying that price. Give us the privilege of paying that price. In Jesus' name we pray. I want you to say it because you believe it. Say Amen. Well, that is it for the lesson. I want to welcome now the new members of Spirit Church. There you are up on the screen. We love you and we are praying for you. I always say that because I always mean it. If you'd like information on how you can join the Spirit family, then go to davidhernandezministries.com. Spirit Church, when you do, it's absolutely free. You're signing up to receive a brand new teaching from me every single week as well as a brand new worship song from Stephen Mock the Zuma. I won't be doing comments this week. As you can tell again, we are here in Chicago. But I do want to talk to you about something just for a minute. You know, one of the ways that God brings promotion to us, one of the ways that God brings breakthrough to our lives is obedience. I want you to say this to the Lord right now. Say, Lord, you can trust me. Say it, say it to him. Say, Lord, you can trust me. We must in our hearts recommit to obey the voice of the Holy Spirit. This is something that's somewhat of a lost spiritual art in the church today. People don't know how to hear and obey the voice of the Holy Spirit anymore. So here's what we're going to do. I right now am raising support for our ministry. We're always raising support because we want to continue to expand the ministry. And I make no apologies about it either because it's 100% biblical. So here's what I want you to do. I want you to ask the Holy Spirit right now how you can support this ministry. Now, I'm asking many of you to become my partner for $30 or more a month. I'm also asking many of you to give a one-time gift to this ministry. We have people who sow six figures into this ministry. We have people who give $1,000 gifts into this ministry. We have people who give hundreds. We have people who give dozens. We have people who give $5. But everyone does what they can. They give at the level that God has them at financially. And as they move in faith, God will grow them. God will increase them. That's a fact. That's a biblical truth. But here is what my challenge is to you. Don't just do what's easy. And don't tune me out right now because the Holy Spirit wants to speak to you. In fact, you know it's the Holy Spirit speaking to you right now because you're trying to in your mind push these thoughts away. You're doing everything you can to say, they know that can't be God or it's not be God because of this. Or it's not God because he knows my situation. No, no, that's not the Lord. God is wanting to speak to you. And if you're a believer, your heart should be to give. So I want you right now to ask the Holy Spirit what you should do for this ministry financially today. So God is speaking to you. I want you to go right now and give a one-time gift to this ministry. Make it generous. Because as you give, we're winning souls. For every one dollar this ministry spends, over 50 people hear the word of God. And that's something you can't put a price on. So give a one-time gift today by going to DavidHernandezMinisteries.com slash donate or become my monthly supporter. Sign up today to become a $30 a month giver. If you will do that, sign up to become a $30 a month donor. I will send you either carriers of the glory, encountering the Holy Spirit in every book of the Bible, or 25 truths about demons and spiritual warfare. And go and do that today. Do that right now. Obey the Holy Spirit. He's not going to lead you wrong. Just do as he's asking. And I promise you this, we'll use every cent for the ministry. Well, that is it for this edition of Spirit Church here on the EncounterTV Network. Until next time, remember, nothing is impossible with God. Help me win souls by spreading the gospel through events and media. Make a one-time donation or become a monthly supporter by clicking on the donate link now.