David Diga Hernandez - Abiding in the Spirit

Did you know that over 1,500 pastors quit the ministry every single month? I want to talk to you about abiding in the vine. You see, I believe that you are called by God to do something incredible for the glory of His Son, Jesus, and anyone who is called has to give of themselves to the ministry and to the Lord. They have to devote themselves; they have to sacrifice; they have to go through challenges and trials. But I want to talk to you about remaining in the source, abiding in the vine. When you abide in the power of the Holy Spirit, when you abide in the secret place of prayer, you’ll not know what it is to burn out. You can walk without growing faint; you can run without growing weary; you can continue the ministry; you can continue to accomplish the work and will of the Father here on earth without growing weary, and this is the key: abiding in the vine.

I want to read you this quote from Leonard Ravenhill. When I read it, it really struck me, and it was one of those quotes that stuck with me from a very early age. I believe I was 13 or 14 when I first heard this, but I want you to hear this: Leonard Ravenhill says, «No man is greater than his prayer life. The pastor who is not praying is playing. The people who are not praying are straying. We have many organizers but few agonizers, many players and payers but few prayers, many singers but few clingers, lots of pastors but few wrestlers, many fears but few tears, much fashion but little passion, many interferers but few intercessors, many writers but few fighters. Failing here, we fail everywhere.» Jesus said in Matthew 11, «Come to me, all of you who are weary and carry heavy burdens, and I will give you rest.» The scripture says in Isaiah 40, verse 31, «But those who trust in the Lord will renew their strength; they will soar high on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary; they will walk and not faint.»

Doing things in your own effort is as simple as living a life without prayer. So often we give of ourselves in ministry; we give of ourselves in prayer; we give of ourselves, and I’m talking about prayer for other people. We give of ourselves in preaching; we give of ourselves in teaching; we give of ourselves in doing the work of God. While we are giving from what we have received from the Lord, and that is a wonderful thing to do, we must, at the same time, be refilling ourselves daily. The scripture tells us to be filled with the Holy Spirit, and that word «filled,» in the context of Ephesians, is actually talking about a constant filling of the Holy Ghost—a constant, not hour by hour, not day by day, not week by week, but moment by moment, clinging to the presence of Jesus. You see, the key to sustained ministry, the key to continuing in power without growing weary, is the daily seeking of the Lord. If you are not daily seeking the Lord, the truth is you’ll run out of strength. If you are not daily in the Word, the truth is, when you minister the Word, it will be dry; it will lack passion; it will lack the anointing. But when you daily tap into the source of the power of God’s Holy Spirit through prayer and devotion to the Word, you are accessing something that is eternal; you are tapping into something that is energizing, which will cause you to be faithful in the ministry.

I’ve seen so many pastors burn out. I’ve seen many begin this race with me, but today, when I look around, they are no longer here. I’ve seen many become excited about ministry, become excited about preaching, and become excited about writing books or about putting out products such as audio sermons or even music. But many of those who I’ve seen become excited about those very things are no longer here today. They’ve fizzled; they’ve gone out. I’ve seen some who begin quickly, and they are off to the races, so to speak, and they are beginning in the ministry with all they have. But as time goes by, they start to lose passion; they start to lose focus. I’ve seen some ministers who come in, and I’ve been guilty of this myself, with a vision, but as the years go by, they stray from that vision. I’ve seen men who are called to be prophets focus instead on being evangelists. I’ve seen men who are called to pastor churches instead focus on book writing or TV ministry, and I’m not saying that God…