 Hello, David Digger Hernandez here and you are watching Spirit Church on the Encounter TV Network. I want to now begin a brand new series on the prophetic and on this first installment of this new series I want to talk to you about hearing the voice of God as well as talk to you about the role of the prophet in the Church and in the world, but first Stephen Mock the Zuma is here with me He's gonna lead you in some very anointed worship and then we're gonna get right into this message here is Stephen Mock the Zuma You are worthy of it. Oh You are worthy of it From you to you You deserve the Has So let's begin by going to first Samuel chapter number three And here we see an interesting story, and this is about when God called Samuel into the prophetic ministry. So again, 1 Samuel chapter 3, and as usual I'm reading out of the New Living Translation, 1 Samuel chapter 3, beginning at verse number 1. The scripture says, meanwhile the boy Samuel served the Lord by assisting Eli. Now in those days messages from the Lord were very rare, and visions were quite uncommon. One night Eli, who was almost blind by now, had gone to bed. Now let's stop there for a second. I want you to notice something here. Samuel was assisting Eli, who was also prophetic. Now we read a lot about Eli in the scripture, and we know that Eli was by no means a perfect person. In fact, he had a very flawed character. There were many things that he allowed in his life and in the lives of those around him that were very displeasing to the Lord. But still we see this prophet of God, Samuel, serving his leader, serving the man who God placed over him, serving his spiritual covering. In other words, he was serving his soul. It doesn't matter how flawed your spiritual covering. You have to honor what God has placed in your life. And this is one of the first keys to the prophetic, really. We also see that Samuel is serving. So continuing with verse 3, the lamp of God had not yet gone out, and Samuel was sleeping in the tabernacle near the Ark of God. Suddenly the Lord called out to Samuel. So first of all, we see that he's serving his spiritual covering. He's serving in general. God will not call the lazy. Whenever he calls a man or a woman, he calls someone who is doing something. He calls someone who is active, not someone who is apathetically waiting around for things to change about. These are people who God uses. They are people who put their hands to the plow. These are people who are busy with the Lord's work. So we see him serving his spiritual covering, we see him serving in general, and we see him sleeping in the tabernacle. He's actually near the Ark of God. Samuel stood near to the presence of God. A great problem we see in the prophetic is that many people want the power but not the presence. They want the gifts but not the glory. They want to demonstrate what they can do in their spiritual gifting, but they don't demonstrate how Christ wants them to be in their everyday character as believers. So Samuel, here's the voice of God. Yes, Samuel replied, what is it? He got up and ran to Eli. Here I am. Did you call me? I didn't call you, Eli replied. Go back to bed. So he did. Now Eli right then and there should have recognized that it was the voice of God who was calling out to Samuel. But again, the Scripture tells us that the Word of God was rare in those days. So Eli failed to recognize the voice of God. So he wasn't necessarily the best mentor, but we go on reading. Verse 6, then the Lord called out again, Samuel. And again, Samuel got up and went to Eli. Here I am. Did you call me? I didn't call you my son, Eli said. Go back to bed. Samuel did not yet know the Lord because he had never had a message from the Lord before. So the Lord called out a third time and once more Samuel got up and went to Eli. Here I am. Did you call me? Then Eli realized it was the Lord who was calling the boy. So finally, the spiritual covering recognizes him. His mentor recognizes that God is calling the boy. What's interesting to me is that Samuel heard the voice of God and it sounded a lot like the voice of his spiritual covering. Now, you'll notice I'm emphasizing spiritual covering because generally speaking, and yes, I'm using a generalization, because generalizations generally work. Generally speaking, not all the time, but generally speaking, prophetic people, they don't necessarily like to be under a spiritual covering, which is a biblical idea. I know we don't hear much taught about that in our generation, especially nowadays, but it's the biblical truth. God has given to each of us a spiritual covering not to Lord over us, but to guide us in holiness and in the Word of God to teach us. But Samuel heard the voice of God and mistook it for the voice of his mentor. So Eli finally recognizes, okay, this is God. So the Lord called out the Samuel third time. We see Eli recognizes it continuing to read in verse nine. So he said to Samuel, go and lie down again. And if someone calls again, say, speak, Lord, your servant is listening. So Samuel went back to bed and the Lord came and called as before Samuel, Samuel and Samuel replied, speak, your servant is listening. Now what's interesting to me here is that Samuel heard the voice of God before he recognized the voice of God. In John chapter 10 verse 27, Jesus said, my sheep hear my voice. So the question when it comes to the prophetic is not, can I hear the voice of God? The question is, are you his sheep? Do you belong to him? And if you belong to him, then you will most certainly hear the voice of God. In fact, the most powerful truth I can give to you concerning the voice of God, if you're a believer, is that you already hear the voice of God. It's just a matter of recognizing him. Generally speaking, there are three categories of voices that speak to us. Everything that we will ever hear in life falls under one of these three categories. There is the secular, there is the satanic, and there is the spirit. The satanic will always contradict the word of God. So we have to know the word of God to be able to discern what is satanic. So we know that's anti-Christ or that's against the word and therefore that must be of the enemy. Now the second type of voice is a bit more subtle. So we have to know God in greater ways in order to recognize it. The second voice is the secular. Now the secular doesn't always necessarily contradict the word of God outright, but it does always contradict the nature of God. This is why it's important that we draw close to him through devotion to the word, through worship, through prayer, through meditating on what he has spoken in his word. So we come to know his nature, and thereby we also come to discern that which is secular. But the spirit will always align with both the voice of God in his word and the nature of God in his word. So the spirit always aligns with both the nature and the word of God. Now, how do you recognize this voice? Someone asked me one time, in fact, many people ask me, what does the voice of God sound like? How do I know it's God speaking? Well, it's very difficult to explain sight to someone who was born blind. It's very difficult to explain sound to someone who was born deaf. In the same sense, you can't explain the voice of God to someone who's never heard him before, or to someone who has never come to recognize that voice before. We saw with Samuel, he was hearing God, he just didn't know he was. My point is that God is speaking to you right now. There's something he's trying to get through to you. If you are his child, he is declaring something to you for the season of your life, whether you know it or not. So the key is not learning to hear him, you already hear him, your spiritual sense is already there. The key is to silence the other two voices, the voice of the satanic and the voice of the secular, which by the way includes the flesh. Once those two voices have been silenced, then and only then can you hear the Spirit through his word and through the Holy Spirit speaking to your heart. Silence is one key. That's Matthew chapter 6 verse 6. This is where you go away privately. You turn off electronics, you turn off your phone, you put away all of the distraction. Silence is the putting away of outer distraction. It's a discipline. But stillness, Psalm 46-10, be still and know that I am God. Stillness is the quieting of the soul. So silence is the putting away of outer distraction. Stillness is the quieting of the soul within. All of those things that come up when you go to pray, the troubles that are tormenting your mind, the responsibilities that are pooling you and your attention away from the Lord, those things that you think about in regards to your past, those questions you have on whether or not God is truly hearing you or whether or not God is mad at you. All of those things can be summarized in one term that I've used and it's called inner chaos. All of those things that bombard your mind when you go to pray are called inner chaos. Now, someone has said to me once, well, you know, it's interesting that nothing is really happening inside my mind in my heart until I go to pray. And then and only then am I suddenly bombarded with all of these thoughts. But the truth is that those thoughts, that inner chaos, does not begin when you pray. It's revealed when you pray. That inner chaos is there all the time. You're just never quiet enough and reflective enough to recognize what's happening inside of you. So when you go to pray and you put away the things of this world and you silence your atmosphere and you steal what's within you, then and only then do you start to recognize, oh my goodness, there's a bunch of chaos within me. Now worship and the word will silence the soul. So the putting away about a distraction, silence is done through discipline. Silence is done through action. You put away the phone. You put away the computer. You make an appointment with God. You lock yourself in some private place. But stillness is done. Stillness is accomplished through worship and the word and focusing your mind on Christ. Once that is done, then the other voices begin to grow weary or they grow silent. They grow weak, I should say. And then you start to hear the spirit very clearly. You can hear the voice of God with both confidence and clarity. So that's just a quick overview on the voice of God. I have other teachings with this same material that go in greater depth into hearing the voice of God. And there's much more to this, but I wanted to give that to briefly because it's something that you need to understand for the prophetic ministry. Now whether or not you consider yourself prophetic, the truth is that every believer is somewhat prophetic. This is what the scripture says in Ephesians chapter 4 verses 11 through 12. Now these are the gifts Christ gave to the church, the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, and the pastors and teachers. Their responsibility is to equip God's people to do his work and build up the church, the body of Christ. So here we see the five-fold ministry. This is the structure of the church. This is the ecclesiastical authority, if you will. A prophet, I'll give you a simple definition. A prophet is one who is called by God to deliver a message or messages on his behalf for a specific time, typically for a specific people or person. I'll say that again. A prophet is one who is called by God to deliver a message or messages on his behalf for a specific time, typically for a specific people or person. Ezekiel, Jeremiah, Isaiah, Jonah, these were all prophets of God. And a prophet basically is one who gets an assignment, a message from the Lord, someone who could boldly and clearly contradict the culture of his day. We need some prophets today. And no, prophets are not people who can read your fortune. Prophets are not people who can read your personality and give you a little breakdown of who you are. Prophets are not people who can tell you what your bank account number is or who can tell you what your address is. Prophets are people who take a message directly from heaven and communicate that message with boldness, despite the opposition, despite what people say. Often, prophets are unruly. Often, prophets are a little combative. Often, prophets are a little confrontational. They have to be because God put a message in them to bring correction, to bring guidance, to bring encouragement, to bring some sort of clarity to any given situation. Prophets are God's mouthpieces in the earth. Now, this doesn't mean that there are limitations necessarily on who can prophesy, because a prophet is someone who God has ordained in a very specific way. And I'll touch more on that later on in this series, the difference between the office of the prophet and the gift of the prophetic. And it's very simple actually, and I'll give that to you later. But let's read now in Revelation chapter 19 verse 10 where the Scripture says, Then I fell down at his feet to worship him. But he said, No, don't worship me. I'm a servant of God, just like you and your brothers and sisters who testify about their faith in Jesus. Worship only God, for the essence of prophecy is to give a clear witness for Jesus. Now, think about that. The essence of prophecy is to give a clear witness for Jesus. Your testimony, your preaching of the gospel, your evangelism, that is prophetic. That is, if you will, and forgive me for using this terminology, but it's accurate. That is the lower level of prophesying, because it is closer to the foundation of prophesying, but every believer can do that. Every believer can share an encouragement. Every believer can repeat what the word of God says. Every believer can share their testimony about the person of Christ. That is the essence, what the Scripture says, of prophecy. And if you're doing that, then you are somewhat prophetic. So every believer, as far as I can tell from Scripture, and I can't take the opinions of man, I have to look at what the Bible says, every believer is somewhat prophetic. As far as what their assignment is, or what their office is, or what their giftings are, as it pertains to the spiritual gifts, that all differentiates between, that all differs between people. But what God has given to every believer is the ability to declare the truth, to hear him and repeat him. In that sense, we are all prophetic. A prophet is a declarer of truth. A prophet is one with a message. A prophet is bold and courageous. God must call you and you must hear him and you must speak what he says. So I want to encourage those of you who feel that message burning in your heart. Whatever God has given you to say, say it. Whatever God has given you to do it, express the heart of God in the earth through obedience to his voice and you will be participating in the prophetic ministry. Well, that's it for part one of this series. I know I gave you a lot in just a short time, which is why I kind of had to rush through it. But there is so much to this series and I'm going to try to keep it down to just a few weeks. But I don't even think I'll be able to cover all the material in this series. So take that for what it is. You might have to rewatch it again. And I know I went very quickly on this one. There was a lot of information I wanted to give to you, but I hope and pray that it's edifying to you and I hope and pray that it's inspiring something in you. Let's pray now that God would awaken that prophetic gift in you. Come on, in the name of Jesus, I declare that that gift will be stirred up. I pray by the power of the Holy Ghost that those who are watching this will sense that prophetic unction coming out from them. Father, set those words in their hearts and let it be like fire in their bones. Let them not be able to contain the words that you speak. I awaken in the name of Jesus today. I awaken the prophetic in you. I awaken that prophetic gift that is like dormant. And I speak in the name of Jesus, a stirring of that gift from this day forward in the name of the one whom we serve and everyone who agreed said Amen. That is it for the lesson. I want to welcome now the new members of Spirit Church. There you are up on the screen. It's been a while since we could list the new members. I know we've been traveling a lot. So our format has been differing. By the way, the studio is coming along nicely. I am like, I am overjoyed to show this to you. We're taking our time with the little details so that when we reveal it, you'll be able to see the finished product. But there you are up on the screen. As I said, we love you and we are always praying for you. We love our spirit family. If you'd like information on how you can join the spirit family, then go to davidhernandezministries.com slash spirit church. When you do that, you will receive an email every single Sunday from us with a brand new teaching from heaven and a brand new worship cover from Mr. Stephen Machnazuma, my absolute favorite worship leader. By the way, the best part, when you get that email, you can reply to that email for prayer support from our ministry staff. So join the ministry. Join the spirit family today. It's now almost 10,000 members. We have almost reached 10,000 members for Spirit Church. That's amazing to me. And now to your comments. These comments are from last week's teaching, How to Go to Heaven. By the way, we formatted last week a little differently because we wanted the video to be shareable. You know, evangelism is an important part of what we do as a ministry. And while most of our media that we post is geared toward the believers, we wanted to make sure that we gave you something that you could give to your loved ones that would present the gospel in a very clear way. That's what we released last week. So go check it out and make sure to share that video because it is the uncompromised gospel of Jesus Christ. It's the gospel of salvation. And it's something you're going to want to share with your loved ones. So go check that out. And also while you're at it, make sure you subscribe to us when you do subscribe. Click that notification bell so that you can receive all of the notifications that come from our channel. And finally, if you want me to potentially read your comments on next week's edition of Spirit Church, then go ahead and leave a comment in the comment section right now. Now I'm going to read these comments from that teaching, How to Go to Heaven. The first comment comes from Jacqueline Palmer Cortez, who writes, Thank you for bringing this beautiful truth and the salvation message in such a loving, kind way. Truth remains through God's messengers. Gloria Felix writes, The simple but powerful life-changing gospel of Jesus Christ. My life and theology have been incredibly blessed by this message. Thank you, Pastor David. Greetings from the Dominican Republic. Melissa Lindsey writes, Glory to God for the things he is doing through your ministry. Pastor David Hernandez, Your ministry is timely and effective. Your presentation of the gospel is simplistic and precise. There is an anointing that sits on you to present the unadulterated truth, which is the gospel of Jesus Christ. And Lenin Robago writes, Thank you encounter TV for bringing glory to God with your lives. This channel is one of the Holy Spirit's ways to keep me on my call and build me as a believer. It's been almost four years now since I started watching, but still can't stop crying every time I watch your videos. Keep glorifying God. I love you all and you all are prayed for. Well, thank you so much. I sure do appreciate that. You know, that's the heart of this ministry. We want to build believers and win souls. We win souls through the preaching of the gospel, unadulterated. Look, we're not afraid to preach the truth. We preach repentance from sin. We preach the blood of Jesus. We preach the message of the cross and we demonstrate it in the power of the Holy Ghost. And then we release content constantly that helps to build the believer. And this is where I need your help. I never want to charge for this content. I never want to charge for our events. You know, these days, so much of the content that's floating around there, especially the high quality stuff, is now behind a paywall. People want you to pay for the content or the e-course or this or that. Look, we as a ministry don't feel called to doing it that we want to freely give because we freely receive. You should never charge for the preaching of the gospel. So we release this content freely that people might receive it in places where they could not have received it otherwise. 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You are so tired of the darkness that surrounds all of us and you want to push back with the light of the gospel of Jesus Christ, then join me. Join me and thousands of others who have together joined arms to spread the gospel of Jesus Christ all around the world. There is no other hope for our world. Jesus is the only hope. That's it. So maybe you're watching this and you're in ministry. When you give to other ministries, the scripture says you reap what you sow. When you give to other ministries, God will raise people to support your ministry. Maybe you're a business person and God has blessed you or maybe you're struggling. When you give to the gospel, Matthew 633, seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness and then all these things will be added unto you. When Jesus said all these things, he was talking about material things. Maybe you're a business owner. I challenge you. Give something to the gospel and see what God will do for your business. 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It will be my initiation gift to say thank you for partnering with me. By the way, we're adding a new thing for our partners. I don't know quite know how we're going to do it yet, but there's a new partner monthly gift coming out very soon. You're going to hear all about it. But for now, just give to the gospel. Go to davidhernandezministries.com slash donate or partner. Do it today. Don't wait. Don't say some other time, some other place. Today's the day. Obey the voice of the Holy Spirit. Step out in faith. Support us today. Well, that is it for this edition of Spirit Church on the Encounter TV Network. Until next time, remember, nothing is impossible with God. Make a one-time donation or become a monthly supporter by clicking on the donate link now.