David Diga Hernandez - The Friendship of the Holy Spirit

So, one of the first keys to developing a friendship with the Holy Spirit is dependency or involving Him. So, number one is dependency. We have to recognize that we need the Holy Spirit in our lives and in our ministries. But the Holy Spirit doesn’t just empower preachers and prophets; He empowers moms and dads, brothers and sisters, and parents. The Holy Spirit empowers business owners, students, and teachers. My point is simple: whatever you do, you can be empowered by the Holy Spirit, whoever you are, so long as you are a believer in Christ Jesus. The Holy Spirit is your helper. He’s waiting for you to involve Him, seeking His counsel, and inviting Him into your life, into the church service, into ministry planning, and into your life planning. The Holy Spirit wants to be by your side, involved in your day-to-day activities. Sadly, many in the church today are shying away from the power of the Holy Spirit. Many treat Him as if He’s a liability or something to be embarrassed about. But the Holy Spirit is a person, a person who is our friend, and we must involve Him in our everyday lives.

Now, here’s something I teach believers: it’s a very simple practice that you can implement immediately if you want to depend on the Holy Spirit and involve Him more. I recommend making it a point to think about the Holy Spirit as often as possible. Every moment of every day can be filled with the acknowledgment of His presence. This is not a prison; it’s not something we’re to do while being paranoid that God will be angry with us if we’re not thinking about Him 24/7. This is a good practice because I think we tend to go the opposite way. I don’t believe that we think about the Holy Spirit often enough, and that’s why we must make this our practice: to think about the Holy Spirit as often as we can and to have as many thoughts about Him throughout our day. When we do this, we become dependent upon Him; we become aware of His presence. When we do this, we walk in that awareness, realizing that He is near to us. When we realize He is close, we begin to live according to that reality. We don’t forget so easily that the Holy Spirit is with us when we constantly include Him in our thoughts.

So, my recommendation to you, if you want to become more dependent upon the Holy Spirit, is to constantly keep Him in your thoughts.

Number two: understanding. This means embracing Him. Don’t be suspicious of Him. 1 Corinthians 2:14 says, «But people who aren’t spiritual can’t receive these truths from God’s Spirit. It all sounds foolish to them, and they can’t understand it, for only those who are spiritual can understand what the Spirit means.» He is very misunderstood; in fact, He’s the most misunderstood person I know. Many believers are afraid to let His power move in their lives because they think they’ll become unbalanced if they allow Him to have full control. You cannot go wrong by giving the Holy Spirit full control of your life. Now, I know that by what you’ve seen, you might judge the Holy Spirit. Maybe you’ve seen things in services where people act foolishly, being loud and clamorous. Or perhaps you’ve seen those services where people crawl on the floor, bark like dogs, and act silly; that is not the power of the Holy Spirit. At the same time, neither is the Holy Spirit’s power that stoic, angry presentation that some believers give of Him. Some people fall to either extreme, but we must recognize that the Holy Spirit is a gentle person—but He is also powerful. The Holy Spirit is a mighty rushing wind, but He is also a whisperer. The Holy Spirit has many different dynamics to His nature, and we must embrace them all. We must not be ashamed of Him; we must not treat Him as if we are suspicious of Him. We must give ourselves entirely to Him.

So, number one: dependency—that’s involving Him in your decisions, involving Him in your life, and thinking about Him as often as possible. Number two: understanding—embracing Him. Understand His nature; defend Him. I’m very defensive of the Holy Spirit, not that He needs it, but I love Him so much that when I hear people speak about Him or His power in a negative way, it hurts me. I say, «Holy Spirit, they may not welcome You; You may not be welcome everywhere, but I want you to know that here with me, You have a home, and I want You to feel at home in me.»

So, number one is dependency; number two is understanding—that’s embracing Him. Number three is reverence—that’s obeying Him. Ephesians 4:30 says, «And do not bring sorrow to God’s Holy Spirit by the way you live. Remember, He has identified you as His own, guaranteeing that you will be saved on the day of redemption.» Don’t grieve the Holy Spirit. Obey Him; reverence Him. Know what pleases and displeases Him. When you know His likes and dislikes through the Word of God and your experience walking with the Holy Spirit, you become aware of those things you do that displease Him.