Take These 15 Minutes to Start Your Day with the Holy Spirit (Filmed in Nigeria)

I know you probably got a lot going on, but I want you to take just these 15 minutes to begin your day with the Holy Spirit, to begin your day correctly, that you might live a life today that glorifies God through word, through thought, through action, and through attitude. Here's what we're gonna do. We're gonna go through various different biblical truths that will help to set you up correctly for today. And then I'm also gonna pray with you through these truths so that these truths can become solidified in your heart so that you can apply them. But you have to make the determination now that you're gonna live a day today that glorifies God. Just as a sports team will practice before a game, and just as an army will train before a battle, so the believer must prepare himself before they face temptations and trials and struggles. So here's the first thing you're gonna do and the first truth we're gonna pray through. Number 1, commit to listening to the Holy Spirit Spirit's instructions instead of your emotions and impulses. That is, don't allow your emotions to control your life. Don't allow your flesh's impulse to control your life. What do I mean by impulse? Well, the flesh's impulse comes with different cravings. Maybe you have an impulse for lust and you catch yourself looking when you shouldn't be looking. You catch yourself typing things into the search bar that you shouldn't be typing. Maybe you have an impulse of greed, and your impulse is to hoard and not be generous. Your impulse is to prioritize material gain above spiritual gain. Maybe you're dealing with emotional stirring, and you come to the place where you're so angry that you have outbursts of anger. You, you lash out on your family, on your spouse, on your children, on your parents. Maybe in those emotional outbursts, you say things you know you shouldn't say. But we as believers are not led by the sin nature. We ought to be led by the Holy Spirit. And you need to make that determination now. You are gonna live today as we see instructed in Galatians 5:16. So I say, let the Holy Spirit guide your lives. Then you won't be doing what your sinful nature craves. So I say, let the Holy Spirit guide your lives. I love the way that's phrased. Let the Holy Spirit guide your lives. That is yield to his work, surrender to his voice. That's where we get the term surrender to the Holy Spirit. When your flesh says to do one thing and the Holy Spirit says to do another, yield instead to the voice of the Holy Spirit. When you want to be impatient or unkind or unloving, yield instead to the voice of the Holy Spirit. When you want to rush through without wisdom so you end up walking in foolishness, listen instead to the voice of the Holy Spirit. Let the Holy Spirit guide you in how you respond to your emotions and impulses, that you might be a testimony to your family, to your friends, to your coworkers. Maybe you got a boss at work who just Absolutely angers you. Don't allow that unforgiveness to take root. Instead, say no to that emotion and say yes to the voice of the Holy Spirit. So we're going to pray through this first truth and then we'll move on to the next one. But I want you to receive this. You're going to receive strength right now. You're going to receive strength, especially listen, especially in those split seconds where you want to lash out or do something or say something that you know you shouldn't be doing. The Holy Spirit speaks in those split seconds. May you be living in such a way that you're so aware of him that in those split seconds he can get your attention before you say or do something foolish. Let's pray for that right now. Father, in the name of Jesus, I lift that one to you now who is asking for your grace in the area of their emotions and impulses. And Father, I pray that you would strengthen them even now as they begin their day determined to glorify you. I pray that you would give them grace, give them sensitivity to your Holy Spirit, and Holy Spirit be their Be a reminder in those moments when they want to give in to the flesh. Help them to say yes to you and no to emotions and impulses that contradict your nature. Lord, I thank you that you have given them self-control. I thank you they absolutely have mastery over self. Begin to thank him now by faith. Say, Thank you, Lord, that you've given me power over myself. Thank you, Lord, that you've given me self-control. And if you agree with that, you receive that by faith, I want you to type it in the comment section. Type a big amen. Okay, the second thing you're gonna do here is you're gonna choose to believe that the Holy Spirit is close even in moments you feel that he's far away. In John 14:16, we read, And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another advocate, who will never leave you. Perhaps one of the greatest truths that Christians so often overlook, and I'm gonna say it to you and you're probably gonna say, oh yeah, I know that, but then I want you to listen to the application of it. The Holy Spirit does not abandon you. The Holy Spirit abides faithfully with you. Just because you make a mistake, just because you don't walk in perfection doesn't mean that the Holy Spirit is just going to ditch you and move on to somebody else. I don't think often that we allow that truth to permeate our thinking holistically. I think that sometimes there are pockets where we still believe, pockets in our minds, pockets in our thoughts, pockets in our feelings where we still believe that the Holy Spirit abandons us. Like, for example, let's say that you're reading the Word and you read the Word Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, and you're doing 20 chapters a day. But then on Friday, you can only do 5 because maybe A loved one went to the hospital, or maybe you were late for work, or maybe your alarm didn't go off and somehow there was a new update on your phone and you just have to move on through your day and you're realizing that you're kind of stumbling there. Now, some believers would take that and they would say, well, well, surely now the Holy Spirit just kind of took a few steps back from me. Surely I have less of his power now. That's just not the way it works. Or perhaps you pray consistently. And then one day circumstances make it so that it's just difficult to pray a dedicated time of prayer. You're talking to the Lord throughout the whole day, but now you don't feel as spiritual, right? You feel like maybe now you're a little distant from God. Maybe now you've gone a little bit lower in the spirit and you say to yourself, I gotta get back what I had with God. Do you really believe that it depends on you? Do you really think that we can take the credit For when God moves in our lives because we're praying and reading the Word. You should pray and read the Word. I have lots of teachings on this. But don't think that the credit belongs to you. And on the other side of that coin, don't think that just because you don't walk in perfection in your devotion that the Holy Spirit's going to abandon you. Or maybe you make a sinful mistake and your first inclination is to be given over to the thought that the Holy Spirit has now stepped away from you. No, that's not true. The Holy Spirit remains not to excuse your sin, but to help you correct it. And he's there because he doesn't wanna leave you in that bondage. Or maybe you had a season of your life where you felt the beauty of the presence of Jesus resting on you, like you were physically and emotionally aware of the presence, like he just felt close. And maybe something happened Where things took a few turns and now you felt, in your mind at least, you feel like that lifted off of you. Well, let me ask you, did the presence of the Holy Spirit lift off of you, or are you simply just not feeling him in your emotions? There's a big difference. So Father, in the name of Jesus, I pray for that one receiving this truth now, and I ask you to comfort them with the truth. Let them be totally convinced That you abide with them. I rebuke every lie of the enemy that would try to confuse them because of what they feel or don't feel. I rebuke every harassing demonic spirit that would try to convince your people that you've abandoned them just because of their circumstances, just because of some mistake that they made. And I pray, Holy Spirit, that you would cause your truth to prevail today. No matter what happens, no matter what they feel, cause them to cry, Abba Father. No matter what happens, no matter how they feel, cause them to know by faith that your presence is with them. In the mighty name of Jesus, we pray. I want you to type it again if you believe. Say amen. Number 3, you need to now decide to live in the joy and peace of the Holy Spirit no matter what happens. Romans 14:17 declares, for the kingdom of God is not a matter of what we eat or drink, but of living a life of goodness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit. There are lots of things that can go wrong. Maybe there's financial trouble. Maybe you're having trouble in a relationship. Maybe you're just struggling internally and you don't even understand what's happening with you. You feel tired and weak and confused and maybe even a little disconnected from reality you can't quite put your finger on. But that joy and peace is available to you. No matter what's happening in our world, it's tempting to read the headlines and become fearful. It's tempting to look at some of the circumstances happening in our lives and lose our peace a little bit. Or maybe there's loss and there's tragedy and there's disappointment, and that brings heartache. Oh, but the joy of the Spirit is still there as your strength. So no matter what comes your way, determine now that you're not going to be shaken by the powers of this world. Amen. Or the power of circumstance, but that you will live in the joy and the peace of the Holy Spirit. Precious Holy Spirit, stir your joy and peace within their hearts. Cause them, Lord, to be firmly planted in your presence, that whatever comes their way, they might rise above the noise. And soar on the winds of the joy and peace of the precious Holy Spirit. Take them to higher places, Lord. In the mighty name of Jesus, we pray. And again, type amen. Finally, listen for Spirit-led opportunities and corrections. Acts 16:6-10 declares, next Paul and Silas traveled to the area of Phrygia and Galatia because the Holy Spirit had prevented them from preaching the word in the province of Asia at that time. Then, coming to the borders of Mysia, they headed north for the province of Bithynia. But again the Spirit of Jesus did not allow them to go there. So instead they went on through Mysia to the seaport of Troas. That night Paul had a vision. A man from Macedonia in northern Greece was standing there pleading with him, Come over to Macedonia and help us. So we decided to leave for Macedonia at once, having concluded that God was calling us to preach the good news there. So here we see that Paul is prevented from, from one region and then led to another. You have to listen for the instruction of the Holy Spirit because he brings guidance and correction. He tells you when to go and he tells you when to stop. But if you're rushing past his voice, if you're ignoring him, neglecting him, you're not going to hear these important instructions. So I encourage you today, look for divine opportunities. There are There are open doors waiting for you. There are divine connections waiting for you. There are breakthrough moments. There are miracles. There are testimonies. There are opportunities to share the gospel. But you have to listen for the voice of the Holy Spirit leading you, telling you when to stop, telling you when to go. So let's pray right now that you would be sensitive to the voice of the Holy Spirit, that you would listen for Spirit-led opportunities and correction. I believe opportunities are coming to you. Today, Father, in the name of Jesus, I lift that one to you now who is receiving this word of truth. And help them to be sensitive to the precious Holy Spirit, to look for divine opportunities where you've placed them, to move at the pace of grace. Help them to listen for your correction, for your guidance. Help them to go when you say go. And to stop when you say no. In the mighty name of Jesus, we pray. And if you'll yield to that, I want you to type in the comment section, I surrender. One more thing before you go. If you've been blessed by this ministry and you want to help us on our mission to expand the kingdom of God through media, events, and church planting, get involved today. We are growing fast and I need your help. I'm asking you as your brother in Christ, help us with our mission. Get involved today by going to davidhernandezministries.com/partner. There you can sign up to become a monthly ministry supporter. I know the Lord will bless you for that. So in faith, go and sign up today. Just pull up that page, davidhernandezministries.com/partner, and ask the Holy Spirit, what would you like me to partner at today? You can also give a single gift by going to davidhernandezministries.com/give. Everything goes to the work of the ministry, helping us on our mission to win the soul of this generation. And it is working. Light is advancing, darkness is losing, the kingdom is expanding, souls are being saved, believers are being raised, and the church is marching forward in victory. Until next time, remember, nothing is impossible with God.