David Diga Hernandez - The True Power of God

Hello, I’m David Deer Hernandez, and you are watching Encounter TV. The scripture says in Luke 4:18, «The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, for he has anointed me to bring good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim that captives will be released, that the blind will see, that the oppressed will be set free, and that the time of the Lord’s favor has come.» On this edition of Encounter TV, I’m talking to you about the true power of God, and the true power of God is the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Everywhere the Gospel is preached, lives are transformed, souls are saved, the sick are healed, and the captives are delivered. I believe today that as you hear this message, it’s going to stir your faith. I’m preaching a message today called «The True Power of God,» which is about the Gospel of Jesus Christ. I presented this message at the Carson Civic Center in Carson, California. We’re going to show you the footage of this message in just a moment, and then at the end of the program, we will show you footage from that same event where the power of the Holy Spirit moved in a tremendous way. I want you to experience the presence and power of the Holy Spirit like never before, and I believe that as you watch this message and see how the Holy Spirit moved at the end of the service that we’re going to show you, you will experience the power and presence of the Holy Spirit. Again, I’m talking today about the true power of God, which is the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Let’s go now to Carson, California, where I’m ministering this message. Watch this!

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What is the power of the Holy Spirit? Well, no, he’s a person. A person can have power, but a person can’t be power. The power of the miracles that you may see here tonight is the power when someone comes out of a wheelchair and when they’re healed. I think about this all the time. I’m in the Healing Ministry, but I don’t emphasize healing; I emphasize Jesus. I emphasize Christ. It is the power when people come to the front, they begin to tremble, and they’re slain under the power of the Holy Spirit. Not necessarily is it an effect of the power, but it’s not the power. Is the power when I worship really loudly and pray in tongues really loudly? No, because noise does not equal power. You can be as loud as you want; if you’re not living holy and you’re not living a lifestyle of prayer, it’s just volume. It’s just noise. What is the power of God? What is the power that advances the kingdom? What is the power that overtakes nations? What is this power that overtook Rome? What is this power that moves throughout the Earth as a force that affects change and transforms things everywhere it goes? Romans 1:16 says, «For I am not ashamed of the Gospel of Jesus Christ, for it is the power of God unto salvation to everyone that believeth.» The gospel is the power of God. The gospel and the power of God are attached to each other. Look at this verse in Mark 1:14–15. This is after Jesus’s baptism and before he selects his disciples. It says this: «Now after John had been taken into custody, Jesus came into Galilee preaching the gospel of God and saying, 'The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand; repent and believe in the gospel.'» His first message that he began to preach was that the kingdom of God was now. It was here; it was among you; it was within you, and therefore it’s now time to repent of your sins and believe the good news about what he did on the cross. This is what the Bible teaches: the power of God is the gospel. For centuries, tyrants, governments, kings, and wicked men and women have tried to silence the gospel. They’ve tried through persecution to silence the gospel. They’ve tried through political pressure to silence the gospel. They’ve tried through social pressure to silence the gospel. But you cannot stop the power of God. The power of God moves throughout the Earth through all these centuries, despite what men and women have tried to do, and it’s still affecting lives today. You have the kingdom in you. You have the power of God. You have the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Everywhere we go, the gospel should be preached. Everywhere we go, we’re taking dominion. Why? Because we carry the gospel message with us. The Scripture equates the gospel message or identifies the gospel message with your feet. Why? Because Jesus said, «Go.» Ephesians 6:15, which refers to the armor we should take up for spiritual warfare, says, «And your feet shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace.» Romans 10:14 says this: «But how can they call on him to save them unless they believe in him? And how can they believe in him if they have never heard about him? And how can they hear about him unless someone tells them? And how will anyone go and tell them without being sent?» This is why the Scripture says, «How beautiful are the feet of the messengers who bring good news!» Matthew 10:14: When someone rejects the gospel, what does it tell you? Does it say «stop talking»? Does it equate it with your mouth? No. What does it say? «If any household or town refuses to welcome or listen to your message, shake the dust from your feet as you leave.» The gospel is powerful. There is nobody more capable of changing the world than the one who goes with the gospel. That’s not rhetoric; that’s not cliché; that’s truth. If you’ve ever looked upon this world and felt sad, distressed, or frustrated; if you’ve ever seen all that is occurring on a global scale and become discouraged, I’m here to encourage you tonight: you have the power to change the world. You have the power to affect change. It is the Gospel of Jesus Christ that transforms everything it touches. In fact, the gospel is so powerful that it maintains its power even when hypocrites preach it. Philippians 1:18 says, «But that doesn’t matter. Whether their motives are false or genuine, the message about Christ is being preached either way. So I rejoice, and I will continue to rejoice.» Think of those in Matthew 7 saying, «Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name?» He doesn’t deny that they did good works; he denies that he knew them. The gospel is so powerful that even when a hypocrite preaches it, it can change a life. Yet Christians don’t preach it. It has the potential to change everything. Now, you can have the gospel, and there may be power on it—that’s true—even if a hypocrite preaches it. But this also means that even if you’re a Christian who preaches, if it’s not the gospel, there’s no power. We’ve become so distracted with so many other messages, and then we wonder why we’re having trouble transforming our cities, our regions, the world, or our lives. The enemy knows the power of the gospel. Even Satan knows he can’t remove the power from the gospel, but he can remove the gospel from your mouth. Church, if we don’t preach the gospel, nobody will. It has been entrusted to us to declare this message. I’ve heard it said, and you’ve heard it too.