David Diga Hernandez - Holy Spirit, Your Guide to God's Word

The Holy Spirit brings illumination. The Bible says in John chapter 14, verse 26, «But when the Father sends the Advocate as my representative, that is the Holy Spirit, he will teach you everything and will remind you of everything I have told you.» So here we see that the Holy Spirit has a two-fold job. He does, of course, many other things, but in this particular verse, we see that he reminds and reveals. He reminds us of the teachings and revelations that we’ve received from Christ, from His Word. He reminds us of those things that we ought to put into memory. He reminds us of those things that we need to correct. So, when we hear the teachings of Christ and we receive that revelation, when the words of Christ dwell in us richly, when His truths permeate our beings, when what He says transforms who we are, when the words that the Father breathes begin to transform our nature, our minds, and our behavior patterns, the Holy Spirit reminds us of those truths that we need. I want you to write this in the comments section; let it be your prayer, whether you’re watching live or on replay, and I want you to write this sincerely: «Teach me, Holy Spirit.» Often, if you find yourself discouraged, the Holy Spirit will remind you to be encouraged. If you feel as though God has rejected you or abandoned you, the Holy Spirit is the spirit within us who causes us to cry, «Abba, Father.» So, the Holy Spirit reminds you of the truth that you belong to Him, that He has not rejected you, that He’s not left you or abandoned you, that He’s not tired of you, and that He’s not run out of patience for you, but that He abides faithfully with you. The Holy Spirit reminds us of those truths that we need at the moment we need them. When you go before those who are questioning your faith, or you’re evangelizing and trying to help someone understand the gospel, the Holy Spirit will bring to your remembrance the things that you have learned. But He also reveals. He reveals those truths that we’ve yet to fully receive or realize. So the Holy Spirit reminds us of what we’ve heard, and then He reveals to us the truths of the Word of God. I remember when I first began to study the Scripture. At the risk of embarrassing myself, I’m just going to tell you that I didn’t understand most of what I read. And I’m a slow reader by nature anyway, so I would begin with, let’s say, James chapter 1, verse 1, and just a few verses down, as I began to read, I would have to stop because I realized, wait a minute, I didn’t understand anything that I just read. I literally got nothing out of what I just read, so I’d have to start over. Then, as I would read that chapter, I would find myself just being distracted in my mind and my heart. So I was reading the words; my eyes were scanning across the pages, but internally, I was somewhere else. I realized, wait a minute, I wasn’t even paying attention to half the things that I was just reading in this moment. And so it was the Holy Spirit who began to help me. I cried out first, «Help!» I said, «Holy Spirit, Jesus talked about you being my Advocate; Jesus talked about you being my Teacher. Holy Spirit, not only do I need you to remind me of the truths that I’ve received, but Holy Spirit, I need you to teach me.» And there is no greater Teacher, for it was the Holy Spirit Himself who inspired men of old to write revelations from Heaven. The Holy Spirit was the one who breathed on the prophets, causing them to declare the oracles of God. The Holy Spirit was the one who caused the apostles to write, who caused the epistles to come into existence. The Holy Spirit inspired the Word of God through the men who would write it, who would record what the Spirit was saying. So what greater Teacher is there than the one who inspired the Scripture? The one who inspired the Scripture is the very same who sits with you today and desires to teach you the meaning behind those Scriptures. Yes, you can study the Word; yes, you can understand some of the basic concepts; yes, you can understand the history and maybe even some of the philosophy. Atheists can read the Bible and memorize it; historians who don’t know Christ can. And I’m not saying no historians know Christ; I’m saying specifically historians who don’t know Christ can study the Scripture and be enriched by the history that’s unfolding before them as they read the Scripture. But they can’t truly receive revelation. Why? Because the Holy Spirit is that light. He illuminates the Word; He brings it to life; He causes that Word to be life-giving to us. Jesus said that the words He speaks are life-giving; they are spirit and life. When Jesus speaks and He declares, and when those men recorded the inspiration of the Spirit, that Word, those truths hang in eternity; they never change. The Word of God never changes. The Word of God cannot be bent by man’s will. You cannot convince God to change His mind on certain issues that He’s already spoken about. So the Holy Spirit reveals to us those truths. The Holy Spirit causes us not to try to mold God into our own image, but instead, He causes us to be molded into the image of Christ as we go over the Word. When you read Scripture, you’re not just reading a book. The Word is revelation, and that revelation brings transformation. The Word of God is the substance.