David Diga Hernandez - The Ministry of the Holy Spirit

In the previous installment of this series, I talked to you about the power of the Holy Spirit. Now I want to show you how that power manifests in your life. The Holy Spirit is something more; the Holy Spirit is the one who helps the believer go to the next level in Christ. Now I’m going to show you several verses here, and some of the verses we read will be repeated often, but that’s because there is a richness in those scriptures, and they describe many aspects of the Holy Spirit’s ministry. So, what does the Holy Spirit do?

Number one: the Holy Spirit is heaven’s greatest evangelist. John chapter 16, verses 7 through 11 say, «But in fact, it is best for you that I go away, because if I don’t, the Advocate won’t come. If I do go away, then I will send Him to you. And when He comes, He will convict the world of its sin, and of God’s righteousness, and of the coming judgment. The world’s sin is that it refuses to believe in me. Righteousness is available because I go to the Father, and you will see me no more. Judgment will come because the ruler of this world has already been judged.» The Holy Spirit will convict the world of its sin. The Holy Spirit is the greatest evangelist alive; the Holy Spirit is the greatest evangelist on earth; the Holy Spirit is the greatest evangelist in all of church history.

Now, so much of evangelism today is emotional pleading and persuasion, but remember that evangelism is not persuasion; evangelism is power. Evangelism is not persuasion; evangelism is the presenting of the Gospel message of Jesus Christ. As you are faithful to present the Word of God, the Holy Spirit will be faithful to convict the sinner. If you want the Holy Spirit’s convicting power behind your message, then be sure that it’s not your message. If you want the Holy Spirit to back the words you are saying, then be sure that the words you are saying are found in the Word of God. The Holy Spirit will always back His message; the Holy Spirit will always back the Gospel. So, as you share the Gospel of Jesus Christ, the Holy Spirit comes and convicts the sinner; He opens the heart of the sinner.

Now sure, we should persuasively present the Gospel. I mean, Paul the Apostle reasoned with the Jewish people, but it is not our persuasion alone that brings forth the convicting power of the Holy Spirit. Only the Holy Spirit can do that, and this is why we must be careful to present the true Gospel. If you want true conversions, present the true Gospel, and if you want false conversions, well, I’m sure you can finish that thought.

Now, our carnal efforts cannot produce spiritual results. That which is born of the flesh is flesh; that which is born of the Spirit is spirit. It’s easy to become frustrated when presenting the Gospel message, and it’s easy to become frustrated because sometimes we take the responsibility upon ourselves; we try to nudge people with conviction when, again, it’s only the Holy Spirit who can do that. Now when we recognize that the Holy Spirit is the one who convicts, this takes that burden off of us. This takes that unnecessary responsibility that we try to place on ourselves. You couldn’t save a soul if you tried; you couldn’t convict a sinner if you tried. In fact, when man tries to convict, it actually comes about his guilt, and guilt drives someone away from God, whereas the conviction of the Holy Spirit pulls them toward the cross, pulls them toward Christ.

So, we must present the Gospel message. Jesus said, «If I be lifted up, I will draw all men unto me.» As we lift Christ and as we lift the message of the cross, the Holy Spirit will be faithful to convict the sinner of sin. I remember one time I was giving an altar call in a church service, and no one was responding. I had the music playing; I was being as persuasive as I knew how to be, yet no one was responding to this altar call. I grew frustrated, but then the Holy Spirit spoke to me; He told me to pray in tongues for the next 15 to 20 minutes. So I did, and as we prayed in tongues, the presence and power of the Holy Spirit filled that room, and I’m telling you, the convicting power was there too. As we were praying in tongues, a man about my age ran into the room. He ran into the room from off the street, crying, came to the front, fell on his knees, and began to weep. I leaned over and asked him, «Sir, why are you crying?» He said, «Because for so long I’ve been trying to find God, and today He found me.» That is the result of the power of the Holy Spirit; it was not the work of man; it was the work of the Holy Spirit.

Now, am I saying that we should only pray in tongues and that God will use that to present the sinner with conviction? In some rare exceptions, maybe, if the Holy Spirit leads you to do so, but the Word of God makes it very clear that we are to preach the Gospel message, and the Holy Spirit will back that message with His convicting power.

So, number one: the Holy Spirit is heaven’s greatest evangelist. That responsibility is not on you; that responsibility is on the Holy Spirit. So, be free of that frustration. All you have to do is present the Gospel, water the seeds of truth with acts of love, and trust the harvest to the Holy Spirit. Number two: the Holy Spirit is a masterful…