 Hello, David Diger Hernandez here, and you are watching Spirit Church on the Encounter TV Network. Almost everywhere he goes, the Holy Spirit is rejected. Even in many churches around the world, the Holy Spirit is not welcomed. So, I want to teach you how to welcome the Holy Spirit in your life. But first, Stephen Mock the Zuma is here with me. He's going to lead you in some very anointed worship. This time it's a little different. He's doing an instrumental worship song. So, just prepare your heart, worship the Lord as Stephen Mock the Zuma leads you in this anointed music. I want to show you something interesting that I saw in the scripture. Now, the context here is that Jesus is driving multiple demons out of a man. And the demons ask for permission to be cast into a herd of pigs. And this is where the story picks up. Mark chapter 5 verse number 13 says, So Jesus gave them permission. The evil spirits came out of the man and entered the pigs. And the entire herd of about 2,000 pigs plunged down the steep hillside into the lake and drowned in the water. The herdsmen fled to the nearby town in the surrounding countryside, spreading the news as they ran. People rushed out to see what had happened. Verse 15 says, And they saw the man who had been possessed by the legion of demons. He was sitting there fully clothed and perfectly sane and they were all afraid. Then those who had seen what happened told the others about the demon possessed man and the pigs. Verse 17 says, And the crowd began pleading with Jesus to go away and leave them alone. Now, I found this interesting because here we see that Jesus is delivering a man who had been tormented by demonic beings for many years. He had gone insane because of the demonic torment. So these people, instead of focusing on the miracle that Jesus had performed, became preoccupied with the fact that 2,000 pigs had died. Now, of course, that would upset the economy. Of course, that would be bad for business to the person who owned the pigs. But still, these people did not recognize who they had with them. All they focused on was the liability or what they perceived as the liability. And so they began to plead with Jesus, please go away from us. Imagine that. Seeing a miracle, someone delivered from a demonic being and all of a sudden you're filled with this fear of the one who set the man free. So this is what happens and the people say, Jesus, please get out of here, please go. You know, whenever God is performing a miracle, sometimes there will have to be some pigs that die. Sometimes the miraculous will make you uncomfortable. Sometimes the supernatural will put you in a place that is not familiar to you. So as Jesus was getting into the boat, the man who had been demon possessed begs to go with him. But Jesus said, No, go home to your family and tell them everything the Lord has done for you and how merciful he has been. So the man started off to visit the 10 towns of that region and began to proclaim the great things Jesus had done for him. And everyone was amazed at what he told them. So on one side of the lake, we see people saying, Jesus, please leave. We don't want you here. And now we see what happens when Jesus went to the other side of the lake. Verse 21, Jesus got into the boat again and went back to the other side of the lake where a large crowd gathered around him on the shore. So on one side, Jesus is pushed away. On the other side, they're waiting for him. Now I want to read a portion of Scripture to you found in Acts chapter 16. And then I'm going to make my point. Acts chapter 16 verse 7 says, Then coming to the borders of Mycia, they headed north for the province of Bethany. But again, the Spirit of Jesus did not allow them to go there. Now here I want you to recognize that the Scripture refers to the Holy Spirit as the Spirit of Jesus. And I want to be perfectly clear. I believe in the Trinity. I believe in the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit. I believe that the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit are all distinct from one another. And I believe that the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit are each equally divine. So I believe that God is three and one, the Trinity. But here the Scripture is focusing more on the fact that they are one. So just because I'm focusing on the oneness of the Spirit of God and Jesus Himself and the Father does not mean that I don't believe in the Trinity. So having said that, I want to tell you this truth. The Holy Spirit truly is the continuation of Jesus Himself here in the earth. Everything that Jesus was anointed to do while here physically on the earth, the Holy Spirit continues to do for and through you. I'm going to say that again. Everything that Jesus was anointed to do while here physically on the earth, the Holy Spirit continues to do for and through you. So here's my point. Just as people rejected Jesus, so people today reject the Holy Spirit. Just as people welcomed Jesus, so people today welcome the Holy Spirit and with the same results. So here's the question. How do I welcome the Holy Spirit? What must I do to make the Holy Spirit feel at home in me? He can be welcomed anywhere. So how do we make room for him? How do we acknowledge his presence? How do we say to the Holy Spirit, Holy Spirit, abide with me? Holy Spirit, everywhere else you go, I know you're most likely rejected. But here with me, you are welcomed and you are wanted. And that's a powerful way to live. So I want to show you how to do it. And these are things you can actually begin to do today. As soon as you hear the truths, you can immediately apply these truths and see the work of the Holy Spirit begin to intensify in your life. So number one, consider his likes and dislikes. Ephesians chapter 4 verse 30 says, Remember, he has identified you as his own, guaranteeing that you will be saved on the day of redemption. Here, the scripture is telling us not to grieve the Holy Spirit. In other words, don't hurt him. Don't offend him. The Holy Spirit has feelings. The Holy Spirit is a person. Now, here's what's interesting to me. The Holy Spirit has likes and dislikes. The Holy Spirit has preferences. There are things that make him feel uncomfortable. I don't know if you've ever gone to somebody's house where nobody knew you or you've gone to a social gathering where you had no idea who anybody was. Or perhaps you found yourself in a situation that made you uncomfortable. Maybe as a believer, you went to a family gathering and they began to drink or they began to smoke or they began to do drugs and you felt uncomfortable being there. Well, in the same way, many of the things that we do, many of the things that we think, many of the things that we say make the Holy Spirit uncomfortable. When you're listening to music, when you're watching a TV show or a movie, when you're reading something, ask yourself, is this something that would offend the Holy Spirit? I don't want to put anything on my TV screen that reminds the Holy Spirit of things that break his heart. Now, I know this is not necessarily a standard that every believer thinks they should follow. And look, I'm not here to put my convictions on you. I'm here to simply tell you about the nature of the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit has likes and dislikes. The Holy Spirit has preferences. You've often heard it said, well, that's your conviction. This is my conviction. Now, wait a minute. What about the Holy Spirit's conviction? Because your conviction and my conviction don't really matter, do they? Not when we're trying to live a life that's welcoming to the Holy Spirit. So am I saying you'll lose your salvation? No, that's not what I'm saying. But I am saying that we as believers should want to make the Holy Spirit feel as welcome as possible in every situation. And that has to do with the things we say. That has to do with the things we think. That has to do with the places we go. That has to do with all of the actions that we take in life. The atmosphere that we create, the Holy Spirit has likes and he has dislikes. Now, as I said to you earlier, the Holy Spirit can really be welcomed anywhere. I believe this to be true. So I have three stories I want to share with you. All of them take place in a car. And I'm telling you these stories to illustrate that the Holy Spirit goes with you everywhere you go. This first story has to do with the Holy Spirit's likes and dislikes. I was in the car. I received a phone call and on the other line was a minister. And so we began to talk and all of a sudden this minister began to talk negatively about another pastor that he and I both know. Now, this made me feel a little bit uncomfortable and I went along with the joking because I didn't really have a dislike of the pastor he was talking about. And I remember thinking, maybe you should say something. Maybe you should confront him. Maybe you should not go along with it. But I didn't want to make anyone feel uncomfortable. I thought it was harmless. You know, it wasn't anything cruel or nasty this other minister was saying. He was just sort of being negative, maybe complaining a little bit. So I made a couple of jokes, made light of it. And when I hung up with that minister, the Holy Spirit convicted me. The Holy Spirit convicted me because I didn't put a stop to the gossip. The Holy Spirit convicted me because I made light of the gossip. The Holy Spirit convicted me because I didn't defend my friend. And again, I didn't think anything of it, but the Holy Spirit did. And so as I'm driving, I felt the conviction of the Holy Spirit fill my car and I began to apologize. I said, I said, Holy Spirit, I am so sorry. I should have spoken up. I shouldn't have participated by making light of it. The Holy Spirit was grieved. He did not like that. After I repented, after I apologized, I again felt that sweet presence that he likes to fill the atmosphere with. But that's number one, consider his likes and dislikes. Number two, consider his presence. This has more to do with being aware that he's there with you constantly. John chapter 14 verse 16 says, and this is Jesus speaking, and I will ask the Father, and he will give you another advocate who will never leave you. The Holy Spirit never leaves you. Another car ride story, Steve and I and Mr. Timothy Lay, who works behind the cameras and is the director of Encounter TV and our keyboard player, we're all ministering in Chicago. And you know, I like to prepare for services before I go and preach at services. But you know, we had an Uber driver pick us up and Uber drivers, I don't really like taking Uber because they always drive crazy and they think they're doing you a favor by driving crazy. And I always have to tell them when I get in. Listen, I don't care about you driving fast. I don't care about you being aggressive. I don't care about you maneuvering or having to get in the fast lane. I said, just be calm, get me there. There's no rush. And I tell them a good driver to me is someone who goes to speed limit. So that's just what I tell every driver. So I get into this Uber drivers car. We all get in. We have all our equipment and everything. And this lady is playing some music that is not necessarily conducive to an atmosphere that you want to be in before ministering at a service. Mind you, she's driving us directly to the service. And so I remember I was about to tell her to change the station. I was going to say, hey, can you change it? And I was going to give her my whole speech about how she's supposed to drive. And the Holy Spirit spoke to me and he told me to create my own atmosphere. So I put on some headphones, began to play some worship music. I don't know what anybody else in the car was talking about. I didn't even notice that they had been driving crazy. All I knew is that I had my headphones on. I had the worship music playing. I was reading the word and I got lost in the presence of the Holy Spirit. I could feel the car shaking this way and that way. I could I could hear faintly in the background car horns going off and I could feel the brakes being pushed very harshly and I still was raptured in the presence of the Holy Spirit. Why? Because I considered his presence. I was aware of his nearness. You would be amazed at how many experiences with the Holy Spirit you will have and how much more intense the power of God will be upon your life if you simply slowed the pace of your mind, slowed the pace of the inner life and you began to become aware of the presence of the Holy Spirit. So number one, consider his likes and dislikes. This is not just holiness I'm talking about. I'm talking about his likes and his dislikes. Number two, consider his presence or be aware of his presence. Number three, consider his voice. Romans chapter 8 verse 14 says, for all who are led by the Spirit of God are children of God. You know, this is another story where we were on our way to minister at a church service and this was a Sunday morning church service and Mr. Mark Azuma and I were picked up from the hotel and they were driving us to the church. It was very early in the morning. I'm not a morning person so I was still a little bit dazed. I don't drink coffee because I don't like the way it makes me feel and we're driving and the Holy Spirit told me to ask the driver who was a lady to ask her how she was doing but ask it in a way that was sincere. I didn't think anything of it but I knew it was the voice of the Holy Spirit. So I said her name and I said, is everything okay? It seems like something's on your mind. And she began to weep. As she told Stephen and I about all of the trouble that her family was facing and it was a very sad thing to hear but suddenly there was this this unction that I felt rise within me and the Holy Spirit told me instead of having her drive you to the church have her drive you to her home. Go in and pray with her family. And I thought, Lord, there's a church service. There's hundreds of people waiting for us. That service was packed. They told us it was it was the most crowded Sunday morning in the history of the church. They had people outside who could not get in. People were lined up hours before it even started and they told us that there was much expectancy. There was much anticipation. But the Holy Spirit spoke to me. Go to the woman's house and go and pray with her family. We arrived at the home. We could hear weeping from the driveway as we walked in. We walked in and we found this young man in his room. He's he's sitting on the floor. He's holding his knees and he is just weeping. The family had gone through some trouble. I won't give you personal details, but they had gone through some trouble, tragedy. And instead of coming to church, he was at home weeping. Steve and I go into his room. I kneel down. I begin to pray with him. We begin to minister to the family at this time. Worship is going on at the other place. The church service had already begun, but Jesus leaves the 99 to go after the one. That's what the Holy Spirit told us to do. So we went. We prayed with the family. They actually left the house and came to church with us to hear the ministry. And that night we were told that for the first time in a very long time, the family had dinner together. The family laughed together. The family had conversations. The peace of God filled their home. Why? Because I considered the voice of the Holy Spirit, because the Holy Spirit was so kind as to speak to me in a car while I was on my way to minister at a church service. But he was welcome to move in my life. The presence was there. I didn't need to go to the church service. He went with me to the house. Why? Because he's welcomed around me. How? Because I consider his voice. You know, sensitivity to the voice of the Holy Spirit isn't just about how clearly you hear him. It's about how quickly you respond. Delay is disobedience. What is the Holy Spirit speaking to you? Are you considering his voice? Does the Holy Spirit feel at home in you? Does he feel welcomed near you? The things you do, the things you say, the things you think, do they make him feel uncomfortable? Or is he pleased with those things? When you have the presence of the Holy Spirit, you're not like the people on the side of the lake that said, go away from us. You say, Lord, don't leave. Please stay. You say, Holy Spirit, you are welcome here. Holy Spirit, this is your home. Holy Spirit, abide with me. Well, that is it for the lesson. I want to pray with you now. I want to pray that God would help you do these things, that he would help you to consider the likes and the dislikes of the Spirit, that he would help you to consider his presence and consider his voice. So let's pray. Father, in the name of Jesus, I stretch my hands forward in faith. I am asking you, Lord, to touch your people and fill them with fresh power from heaven. Help us to be sensitive to your voice. To be obedient to your voice. Help us to be aware constantly the fact that you abide with us 24 seven every moment of every day. And Holy Spirit, please speak to us. Remind us. Tell us of your likes and your dislikes. We want to know you more that we might please you and live lives for your glory in the name of Jesus. I want you to say it because you believe it. Say amen. Well, again, that's 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 like information on how you can join the Spirit family, go to davidhernanisministries.com slash Spirit Church. Listen, when you join the Spirit family, you get a brand new teaching from me every single week, a brand new worship cover from Stephen Mock the Zuma that comes to your email inbox every single Sunday. And the best part, you can reply to that email for prayer support from our ministry staff. Join the Spirit family today. Now over 8,000 members. So go ahead and do that, davidhernanisministries.com slash Spirit Church. Now to your comments. And these comments are from last week's teaching, Waiting on the Holy Spirit. If you haven't watched that one, go and watch that one. I talk about how the Holy Spirit takes you to different levels of influence as you wait upon Him. So if you're someone who's in ministry and you're saying I want this thing to grow, go watch it. I talked about the different levels of ministry and then how the Holy Spirit helps you through those levels as you learn to wait on Him. But again, these are the comments from that lesson. And if you'd like me to potentially read your comment next week, then go ahead and leave your comment in the comment section now. Jacob Isaac writes, This is so, so good, my dear brother and evangelist, David. Thank you. I've been starting to study on the Holy Spirit and it is such perfect timing to see this. John Allen writes, I am still excited that I got a chance to meet David Hernandez and Stephen Mockezuma in Chicago, Illinois. We're excited that we got to meet you too. And we would love to meet you as well watching. If you'd like to know where we're going to be next, go to davidhernandezministries.com slash events that's updated regularly. Sarah W writes, I just have to say that this ministry is changing my life. I've watched a couple of your YouTube videos now and wow, the spirit is moving. Praise Abba, our Father in Heaven. Well, Sarah, we like to say this is the Holy Spirit's channel. So His power is free to move however He wishes. And the final commenter, Martha Alvarado writes, Thank God for this wonderful message. I was at your service in Chicago and there were two things that touched my heart in a very special way. Number one was that salvation message and how many souls it saved that night. Number two was when you said the Holy Spirit is rejected everywhere He goes. That will forever be engraved in my heart. I pray that God will continue to move through your ministry with even greater influence and continue to give your team and family strength. God bless. Well, thank you, Martha, for writing into us. We were glad that you were there in Chicago. And yes, the salvation message was preached. That's an emphasis of this ministry. We preach the salvation message, but we also preach the power of the Holy Spirit. And this is something that's missing today. Look, I'm not saying nobody's doing it. I'm just saying it's very rare that you hear people preaching about sin, heaven, hell, the cross, repentance, the gospel. You don't hear it all that often. So this is why this ministry is needed now more than ever. If you're tired of seeing the culture shift to the darkness, if you're tired of seeing that takeover and it seems like it's impossible that any difference be made, then this is how you get involved. You and me together standing for the gospel, saying to the world, Jesus is Lord. We proclaim that message boldly. We proclaim that message without apology. We proclaim that message with love and with power. Help me do it. Don't say no to the Holy Spirit. I believe the Holy Spirit is speaking to your heart right now. You know that there's a connection with this ministry. You feel something unique. You've been blessed by the teachings. You've been blessed by the books or maybe you've come to the events and you know that God is linking us. I'm telling you right now, don't disobey the voice of the Holy Spirit. Don't grieve him like that. Just say, Holy Spirit, I trust you and I am going to step out and I'm going to support that ministry. So here's what I want to challenge you to do. Give a one-time gift. Some of you watching, you could sew $1,000 into this ministry. Some of you watching could sew $100 into this ministry. Some of you watching could sew $5, $10, $15, $25 into this ministry. That's all going to the gospel. That's all going to win souls. They need to hear this message. We need to spread it as far as it can go. So give a one-time gift right now or become my monthly partner. If you will partner with me for $30 or more a month, 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. That will be my thank you gift to you and initiation gift. I'll sign it, send it off to you and say thank you for supporting us. Look, we want to keep this content free. We want to keep the events free. We want to keep everything free. This is how we do it, by people like you. Obeying the voice of the Holy Spirit and supporting this ministry. So here's what you're going to do. Soon as this video is done, you're going to go to davidhernandezministries.com slash donate or slash partner. Slash donate to give a one-time gift slash partner to sign up to become my partner. $30 monthly. Let's do this. Let's do this for Jesus. Let's continue to win souls and build believers with the gospel of Jesus Christ and the power of the Holy Spirit. We do that through events and media. It's simple. Get involved today. Push back on the darkness. We can make a difference. We're seeing it already. The events are becoming packed out with people ready to hear the gospel. This media is reaching millions. So jump on board. Let's join forces together. And with one voice proclaimed, there's only one way and his name is Jesus. Do that today, please. Partner with me and I know God will bless you for it. Obey his voice and he can be trusted. Well, that is it for this edition of Spirit Church on the Encounter TV Network. Until next time, remember, nothing is impossible with God.