David Diga Hernandez - The Holy Spirit SIMPLY Explained: He's NOT an "It"

Growing up in church, I imagined that the Holy Spirit was a power, an energy, a force, or an atmosphere. It wasn’t until later that I discovered that the Holy Spirit is a person. Now, what do I mean by that, the Holy Spirit is a person? I don’t mean that he’s equal with you or I. I don’t mean that he’s a human being. I don’t mean that he isn’t God. What I mean by that is that the Holy Spirit has a mind, a will, he has feelings. He is his own person who can fellowship with you and I. When I first met the Holy Spirit, it transformed my life because I learned that he wasn’t just a feeling in the room or a sensation that you could feel during a worship service or a revival meeting. When I learned that the Holy Spirit is a person, it changed the way that I interacted with God in prayer. It changed the way that I evangelized. It changed the way that I pursued holiness. That knowledge changed the way I lived as a Christian. And I know that once you discover that the Holy Spirit is a person, once you discover that he’s walking with you, speaking to you, interacting with you, guiding you, then it will transform your life. The truth that is will transform your life. Now, I had grown up in church. I was saved when I was 11 years old. But after a season of seeking the face of Jesus, I discovered this friendship with the Holy Spirit. and I’ll never forget that moment because I was standing in my room having prayed for four hours. Each hour that went by, I became more and more discouraged thinking to myself that I wasn’t going to be able to make contact with God that I wasn’t going to have an encounter in his presence. I was seeking the face of Jesus. And one day after four hours of prayer, something changed. The ordinary plain settings of my bedroom suddenly became heavenly. The presence of the Holy Spirit came upon my life. I could feel his power pulsing up and down my body like electricity. It was a moment I’ll never forget. It was a moment that marked me. It was the moment that I discovered the Holy Spirit as a person who is here with me, interacting with me, present and attentive to the details of my life. Now, looking to the scripture, we see that the Holy Spirit is referred to as a who.

In 1 John 5:6-8, the scripture says this: «And Jesus Christ was revealed as God’s Son by his baptism in water and by shedding his blood on the cross, not by water only, but by water and blood. And the Spirit, who is truth, confirms it with his testimony. So we have these three witnesses, the spirit, the water, and the blood, and all three agree». So the scripture time and time again refers to the Holy Spirit as a who or a he. It refers to him as a person and not just as an energy or a force.

We see in Acts 8:29, that the Holy Spirit speaks. «The Holy Spirit said to Philip, 'Go over and walk along beside the carriage.'» I thank God that the Holy Spirit speaks. Time and time again, he’s rescued me from things that could have destroyed my life, and time and time again, he will rescue you from things that could derail the call of God on your life. The scripture says he has a will.

In 1 Corinthians 12:11, the Bible says, «But all these worketh that one and the selfsame Spirit, dividing to every man severally as he will». So the Holy Spirit has a voice. The Holy Spirit has a will, which means he has intentions. The Holy Spirit has feelings.

Ephesians 4:30, «And grieve, not the Holy Spirit of God, whereby ye are sealed unto the day of redemption». I can recall one time while sitting with one of my ministry partners saying something out of frustration. And when I said what I said, I sensed the conviction of the Holy Spirit come upon me. I could sense that he was hurt and angered by what I had said. Now, it was nothing drastic, but what I had said was actually quite irreverent toward the Holy Spirit, though I didn’t realize it. And what I said caused me to feel that hurt. It caused me to feel the stirrings of the Holy Spirit’s anger. It was so intense, in fact, that the person who I was talking to looked up at me and said, «Did you feel that»? I said, «Yes, I did». And I said, «Holy Spirit, forgive me for speaking so foolishly, for speaking so apathetically, for just speaking without thinking, for speaking without wisdom». And the Holy Spirit, of course, forgave me, but it demonstrated to me that what you do, what you say, what you think, how you behave in this world, in this life, affects how the Holy Spirit feels. The scripture says don’t grieve the Holy Spirit. Don’t do things that hurt him. When you see the Holy Spirit as a person who is present there with you in the room at all times, then it changes the way that you live, for the awareness of his presence causes you to live in a certain way. You know, when I was single, I would drive a certain way, probably had more fun driving than I should have. Then when I began to date and eventually marry my Jessica, it changed my driving habits again. I was more mindful of her comfort, and when she would put on makeup I would have to drive in such a way that there wasn’t too much chaos causing the car to move. But nothing changed my driving habits quite like the day that I drove my Aria home for the first time. I stopped at every stop sign perfectly and then counted a few seconds. I went the speed limit. I was driving with perfection, why? Because I was aware that my daughter was in the car with me. In the same way, when you’re aware that the Holy Spirit is present with you in this life, you begin to change the way that you behave. You begin to change the things that you do, the habits that you form. Once you’re aware of the presence of the Holy Spirit, they begin to change who you go around, what you listen to, what you watch. I don’t know about you, but I don’t want to watch or listen to anything that reminds the Holy Spirit of things that break his heart.

The Holy Spirit can fellowship. 2 Corinthians 13:14 says, «May the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, the love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all. Philippians 2:1-2 says, „Is there any encouragement from belonging to Christ? Any comfort from his love? Any fellowship together in the Spirit? Are your hearts tender and compassionate? Then make me truly happy by agreeing wholeheartedly with each other, loving one another, and working together with one mind and purpose“. You can fellowship with the Holy Spirit, meaning you can have a relationship with, you can have a friendship with, you can have communion with, you can have a conversation with the person of the Holy Spirit.

„He has feelings, it’s possible that He can be hurt. He has a will, it’s possible that He can be resisted. He has a voice, He can be ignored. He desires fellowship, He can be rejected. He is a person, He can be disrespected. And this is why we must be careful of how we live our lives. The Holy Spirit does many things for us, through us, and around us. The Holy Spirit is the one who calls us to those moments of prayer. Yet, when we reject that voice, when we say no to the Royal invitation, we’re actually saying no to the Holy Spirit himself, and in doing so, we disrespect the person of the Holy Spirit. When we live a life that is so fast-paced, that we never stop to consider the direction and guidance of the Holy Spirit, we say to the Holy Spirit, „I can do this without you“. When we read the scripture without calling upon him to teach us, we’re disregarding what he brings to the table. When we go on sinning and doing things that we know that are ungodly, unholy, we are doing things with the Holy Spirit’s body for the scripture says, „But know ye not that your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost“. When you do those things, you are taking the Holy Spirit’s body and doing unholy things with what belongs to him. When the Holy Spirit in those moments of anger, in those moments of impatience, in those moments of riled emotions, when the Holy Spirit speaks to us in those split seconds and we ignore that slight hesitation that he gives us, and he does give us those moments to gain control over the flesh, when we ignore those things, we are training ourselves to ignore the most important person here on Earth: The Holy Spirit. I don’t know about you, but I don’t want to ignore the Holy Spirit. I want to treat 'em with honor and with respect and with reverence. I wanna live a life that is aware of the presence of the Holy Spirit. I wanna live a life that is honoring of that which he’s doing in and through me. The Holy Spirit is a person.