David Diga Hernandez - The Holy Spirit of Jesus

Have you ever been in a place in life where Jesus felt distant, where God seemed to be a million miles away? It can seem in these seasons that our faith is causing us to pray prayers that reach heavens of brass that are shut. I want to encourage you today to know that He who formed the ear can hear, and He who formed the eye can see. The Holy Spirit wants to make Jesus more real to you than you’ve ever known possible. The Holy Spirit wants to bring Jesus to life; He brings the Son of God alive and can cultivate this closeness that you sense with His presence, where the Lord will seem as if He’s standing right here in front of you.

I’m David Diga Hernandez, and you are watching Spirit Church here on Encounter TV. This lesson is going to be a bit longer than usual, and I want to say this: it’s for those of you who are especially in your hearts this season, saying, «Lord, I’m hungry for more of Your presence. Lord, I want more of the substance that is You.» I know we often go through lessons that are in depth about the Holy Spirit, the presence, prayer, and all sorts of topics that are hallmarks of this ministry. But today, something special I believe is going to happen as you watch this. I truly believe that the distance you sense between you and the Lord is going to vanish, and that you are going to experience the reality of Christ like you never have before.

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Many of you have written to us about how you’ve attended our Miracle services and experienced the presence of Jesus like never before. I remember one time when I was preparing for one of those Miracle services with my team. We were standing in the venue where the service was to be held; it was empty, and nobody was seated yet. It was just myself, the worship team, a few ushers, and my brother, who was with me. We were gathered in a circle, preparing for what God was going to do that night. Outside, there was a line of people waiting to get in, and we began to pray over that venue, as we do at every one of our events. We pray over the seats, we anoint the room, and we walk around making declarations of faith. In that moment, with my team, I began to pray, and I believe I was inspired by the Holy Spirit to pray differently than I had ever prayed before.

As we gathered around, we sought the Lord, asking Him to perform miracles, asking Him to save souls, and asking Him to do as He willed in that service. Then, out of nowhere, a passion rose up within me, and I began to sense the Lord very near to me. My eyes were closed, and my hands were firmly gripped with those next to mine as we prayed. I began to declare, «Jesus is here!» Each time I spoke those words, «Jesus is here,» the presence of the Lord became more manifested and intense around me. I sensed Him stronger and stronger every time I made the confession that Jesus was there. I emphasized it again, saying, «Jesus is here!» I started to receive the typical amens from the group, but I said, «Guys, no, you don’t understand! Jesus is here!» I continued to speak that again and again. Each time I declared it, not only did the presence of the Lord intensify, allowing me to sense it, but my team began to sense it, too. Some of them started to tremble, some began to weep, and others fell to their knees in worship. One of them even started walking around the room. They were so excited and inspired by what God was doing in that moment. The presence of Jesus had become so real, so intense, and so vivid that we sensed Him near to us. It was as if He were standing in the room with us. That is how the Lord wants you to experience His presence!

Now, I acknowledge that there are times when God can seem very distant. However, I encourage you in those seasons not to judge your relationship with the Lord by what you feel, but by what the Word of God says. Our faith is based on fact, not feelings. Facts don’t change, but feelings do. Therefore, in those seasons, we must seek Him. I believe there are special moments when you can experience the manifested presence of Jesus to the point where you can physically sense Him. Also, I believe in the truth of walking in a constant 24/7 awareness of the power of the Holy Spirit with Jesus.

There are times in services and in my own prayer life when I sense the Lord so near to me that I don’t even want to move. I’m telling you, there are times when I have my eyes closed and can feel Him in the room with me. I sense His glory, and everything within me freezes because I’m afraid that I might do something that would disrupt the moment. I don’t even want to move my hand. There have been times when I said, «Lord, I don’t even want to move my hand.» I thought that if I did, I might brush against His robe and, in that moment, become so distracted that I would disturb everything God was doing. But the truth is, the Holy Spirit makes Jesus come alive. He reveals Jesus; He glorifies Jesus and magnifies Him. He puts the substance of Christ before you.

Now, the Holy Spirit is Jesus everywhere. The Holy Spirit is the Spirit of Jesus. When Jesus walked the Earth, He was limited to a physical body and could only touch certain people at certain intervals. I think of Jairus when he came to Jesus and pleaded on behalf of his daughter, saying, «Lord, my daughter is at home; she’s dying, and I need you to come heal her.» The woman with the issue of blood was watching this, and perhaps that’s why she didn’t approach the Lord verbally or command His attention. Instead, she went up behind Him and touched the fringe of His robe, possibly not wanting to distract Him from what He was going to do for that little girl.

Nonetheless, the little girl died, and one of the servants came and said, «Don’t bother the Master anymore; your daughter is dead.» In that moment, I can’t imagine what Jairus was feeling. Perhaps he was angry with that woman for having disrupted Jesus and distracted Him. I would have thought, «You waited 12 years; could you not wait another hour to give Jesus time to come and heal my daughter before she died?» We know the end of the story: Jesus resurrects the girl, and everything is well because Jesus is a miracle maker. However, that story reflects a limitation that Christ had while here on Earth.