How To Get Closer to God Through Fellowship with the Holy Spirit

A lot of Christians think, "Well, I didn't pray enough, so I guess I don't have the Holy Spirit this week." Or, "I didn't read enough chapters of the Bible, so so I don't have the Holy Spirit today." They don't recognize the Holy Spirit in the New Testament dwells with us in an entirely different way than he did in the people in the Old Testament. If they're struggling to believe that they have the Holy Spirit, they just need to get in the word. Cuz we don't live by feelings. We live by faith. I don't feel the Holy Spirit every moment of every day, but I'm aware of him. Uhhuh. I don't feel his love or feel his peace or feel that joy every moment of every day but I live in that the influence of [Music] that.

I am your host today Ruben Vargas alongside Britain Mays. Howdy Steven Mcazuma. Hello. And our very own David Hernandez. And one thing I want to talk about the Holy Spirit and it just so happens David is also releasing a book called Holy Spirit God within you. Um, and I think this is perfect timing. Um, I want to go ahead and dive into some things in this book. Um, like I said, I think it's very key for right now, what this generation, um, is maybe experiencing, you know, just I know people can say, oh, the prophecies and end times and stuff like this, but the Holy Spirit in particular, I think is needed right now and something that we really, really, you know, back away from. And it's funny because you're you're not the first one to tell me that. There are so many different pastors and leaders who I've been in conversation with lately who have been telling me this is the message of the hour. We have to get back to recognizing, acknowledging, celebrating the person of the Holy Spirit.

I wanted to discuss a few things. Um, I know right off the bat you discuss a 4-hour moment of desperation and surrender. And um, I want to know in particular, what was God teaching you specifically through that encounter? Well, when I had that encounter with the Holy Spirit, it was after a season of frustration. So many Christians get to the place in their life where maybe even after some spiritual momentum that they've been experiencing, they hit like a brick wall. So some Christians they hit that right at the beginning right after they get saved. It seems like they have a rough start. Other Christians they get saved and there's sort of this honeymoon phase where everything seems to be flowing just like it should and then suddenly there's just this stop to the momentum. So it was similar with me because I had experienced spiritual momentum. I was saved at the age of 11. I began to seek the face of God reading books, watching Christian programs, sitting down with key mentors. I was the pastor's kid, so I was able to sit with all of our guest speakers. I would sit and converse with them, ask them a million questions. And I just really felt like in that season, I was experiencing a lot of growth. I felt very close to God. Mhm. And then out of seemingly nowhere, that closeness that I felt just dissipated and immediately I began thinking, okay, what did I do wrong? Mhm. Where did I miss it? Did I pray a bad prayer? Is it because I didn't pray enough? that I not read enough chapters of the Bible today. And so it came to a point of frustration where I said, "I'm going to I'm going to lock myself in the room." And Lord, I'm not leaving this room until I have an encounter with you. And I often say that I didn't even know what I meant by that. When I said encounter, I didn't know what I was picturing, but I knew I needed something. I wanted anything that would make me feel close to God again. Mhm. Because I was under the impression that he had distanced himself from me for some reason. So I'm praying for 4 hours. And after 4 hours of prayer, nothing happened. I tried emotion. I tried spiritual warfare tactics. I tried aggressive prayers. I tried to think my way into the presence, figure my way into the presence of God. Nothing happens. And so after four hours of this, I finally come to the point where I give up. And I said to the Lord, I don't know how to pray. Please help me pray. Help me find Jesus. And after this four hours of trying it on my own, I finally come to this place where I recognize it's not in my ability to do this. Like nothing I can do can conjure the power of the Holy Spirit. Nothing I can do in my own strength can cause me to have an encounter with God. And so it's funny because that portion of my testimony actually went viral just a few months ago from the time of this recording where several people used it in short form video. There was I think I was told like hundreds of videos that were garnering hundreds of thousands of views in total. And it just became kind of this viral moment where they would point to my picture above their heads. They say this man prayed for 4 hours. That was like the hook for the video that they use and what happened next d and and I I really appreciated that. And I'm not of course complaining about that. That was great. But I saw in the comments that a lot of people misunderstood what I and what others were saying. You know, they were sharing my story and I think they understood it for the most part. But many people in the comment section were saying like, "Oh man, well, so I have to pray for 4 hours to encounter God or what happens if I can't pray for 4 hours?" Or other people saying, "Well, I prayed for 3 days and nothing happened." And I get all that, but all of those questions like that were based on the misunderstanding of the testimony. I wasn't saying that because I prayed for 4 hours that therefore the Holy Spirit moved in my life or because I prayed for four hours that I earned this encounter with God. That's not it at all. What it actually was is that after 4 hours I finally came to the realization that there's nothing I can do in my own strength to conjure a move of the spirit. There's nothing I can do in my own power to make me feel the presence of God. It's just him. And so in that moment and it's actually in the first chapter of the book that I I wrote about it in that moment. Let me see if I can find it because I I tell it but then sometimes I think you know when when I write it's more precise like more detailed. After I asked the Lord to teach me how to find him once I admitted that I wasn't an expert at praying I heard a simple instruction just wait and expect. Essentially, he was telling me to be still and have faith. Within my spirit, I felt a gentle inspiration that once more stirred the embers of my soul. A soft leading prompted me. Turn off the music, close the book, turn off the light, and switch off the fan. These were all things I had set up, right, for an encounter with God. I I had it all prepared. Though hesitant, I did just that. My way had failed anyway. I turned off the worship music. I closed my Bible for the moment. I turned off the light and the fan. Calm came over the room. Everything was so quiet except for the noise within me. I wondered how I might quiet the thoughts that brought about such distracting restlessness. I heard a very polite instruction. Close your eyes. So I closed my eyes. But my thoughts still raced. I prayed again. Holy Spirit, what do I do? A whisper guided, look at me. Somehow I knew exactly what that meant. It meant to just meditate on the person of Christ, all that he is and does. There in the quietness of my room, my attention turned toward Jesus. The Holy Spirit was telling me to look at Jesus with the eyes of my heart. I gazed upon him by means of internal reflection. I thought of the love I might see in his eyes, the power I might feel in his hands, the authority I might sense on his shoulders, and the wisdom I might hear from his voice. I pictured him. It was an image painted from the strokes of scriptures truth. It was the word being manifest in my thoughts. I thought, "What if I approached him, as many did in scripture? What if I were to kneel before him and plead for his attention?" And then I imagined his response. He wouldn't turn me away. He wasn't turning me away. Jesus was becoming real to me at that moment.

Going back a little bit because I know you talk about that in your book towards the beginning. But also you also mentioned which I found very curious is you mentioned a history of generational spiritual warfare and then you talk about I I saw the hesitation there. I like that. Were you going to say generational curses? Uh something along like that. And then uh I was trying to you know reprogram my mind. And then I was also like your family being warlocks. Did that in any way like shape your view of like the Holy Spirit or your everyday life to that? No. Yeah. I mean, I love the way you phrased it. Just, you know, your family a warlock. No, it was I mean, it was it was a it was a wild part of the testimony and and and I it's funny because even I sometimes will use that terminology. That's why I thought it was it was interesting. I saw you stopped yourself from saying generational curses. Uh because I do share this part of my testimony and that's always been my hesitation because if you if you've read any of my books on spiritual warfare, watched any of my teachings on spiritual warfare, you know I'm adamant that Christians can't be cursed or demonized. And that is 100% biblical truth, 1,000%. I used to I used to teach just the opposite of that. I taught that Christians could have demons. I taught Christians could be cursed. It was a very religious framework that led to that type of thinking. and the Holy Spirit had to help me mature past that. Had to help me understand the scripture and finally I received breakthrough in that. So I do hesitate because in sharing that portion of my testimony, people will infer a generational curse and that's not what I'm saying. I'm saying that my great great-grandfather was a warlock from Zacus, Mexico. And that is an interesting part of the story. There are testimonies of different things that he did. In the book, I wrote about how people would bring their sick to him to be healed. He would put curses on their enemies. And I was talking to you, Steve, just a couple days ago. I didn't put this in the book because to me, this wasn't something that was necessary in the book. And and frankly, I personally think it's an exaggeration of what his power could do, but there were people who claimed that he could summon this orb of fire in the sky and control it and then bring it down on people. I think that's an exaggeration. You know, it could be. I'm not saying the enemy can't do that. I just personally I thought, you know, I I I just I just hesitated to put that in the book cuz I got I I want to be conservative, you know, so I just took that out. Uh but these were the types of displays of power he would perform. And so what I believe happened is demonic powers strategized against our family. And when I talk about generational demonic strategy, it's different than generational curse in this one very important regard. When I use the term curse, I'm basically implying fatalism or the idea that you are doomed to repeat this mistake. you are doomed to repeat the patterns unless you can somehow solve some spiritual riddle or or unveil some demonic ancient mystery in your family's history. And if you don't do that, then the Holy Spirit is powerless for you. And that's kind of the mindset around curses. Now, I've heard some attempt to say and like they try to do a roundabout explanation by using the biblical concept of iniquity, in which case basically you're just talking about the choices that you make that ultimately bring about consequences. So, I would say it like this. Demonic beings strategize their attacks against each generation based on the previous generation. But those attacks can only gain influence if you repeat the choices of a previous generation. in which case you're not dealing with the curse. You're dealing with a consequence of a choice. And so by describing it the biblical way, you take away the enemy's exaggeration of his power in that now people can see, oh, so it's not like I'm bound by this hex that I just can't break no matter how much I pray, no matter how much I obey God, no matter how I try, and I need some spiritual warfare guru to come break it off of me. No. Now, it's as simple as if I draw near to God, he will draw near to me. Or if I submit to God, I can then resist the devil, he will flee. So, I want to clarify that. And I think a podcast is a perfect format for that's more conversational. But, you know, so, so yes, there was that aspect. But I do believe that demons strategize generationally. Just read Matthew 12. I mean, they come back around to search out what influence they can find. Now, in the case of the born again believer, they can't re-enter, but they can find a place of influence. And I don't mean a literal spatial place in your physical being. I'm talking about the actions that you choose or the opportunities that you give them to attack you. And so, demonic beings do strategize in that regard. Uh, we know that because it's consistent with biblical teaching on demonology and it's something that people can point to in their experiences. And if the two can be blended without contradiction, then I think you have a case for what you're describing. But when it came to what my great great-grandfather had done, he did invite demonic entities. And so these demonic entities would attack our family generationally. And each generation would respond on their own. Are we going to serve God or are we going to serve the enemy? And this came all the way down to influence me as a young man, a young boy really. And from the ages of 7 to 11, I dealt heavily with depression and anxiety. And not just that, demonic harassment. And I mean voices. I mean seeing faces in the walls. And I'm talking about I can I I'm not going to share it here, but there was an actual conversation I had with an actual demonic entity in front of me. I'm not boasting about that. I only share that to say and like that's even a reason to boast. I I only share that to say that the darkness was really deep. Mhm. And so when I got saved finally at the age of 11 where I'm like, I I'm done with this. I get saved. That stopped. Then spiritual momentum picked up and then I hit that brick wall in the spirit, so to speak. And really, it was the Lord teaching me after I was saved that it didn't depend on me, depends on the Holy Spirit.

You know, it seems like at least from what I see on on social media, like the Christian movement is really really interested, at least right now, into the supernatural, the spiritual. Something you do in this book that I really really appreciate. You give them the steps, but in a completely different way. You show them how to be empowered, how to be empowered with righteousness, boldness, and joy, and peace. And it's not some formula to to say like, "Hey, this is how you get the power of the Holy Spirit, the supernatural, cast out demon." No, you show them the way it's supposed to be, right? So, so it's not formulaic. I'm not g and this is the difference between a formula and a principle because sometimes it can seem like a contradiction. If I say there's no formula, but here are the keys to sensitivity to the Holy Spirit or it's not a methodology, but here are three steps to, you know, this and that. So there's a difference between principles and practices or specific practices because a practice is something that's ultra specific to the situation in the individual that can't be duplicated in a universal way. It can't be applied to the body of Christ as a whole because everyone's in a different situation. But a principle is something that is true for all time. And that truth can be gleaned from based upon the circumstance. So for example, I can tell you there's no formula to receiving the power of the Holy Spirit. So a formula would look something like, well, for the next seven days, I want you to pray for 3 hours a day. And on the seventh day, I want you to get oil, pray around your room, anoint your bed, anoint your pillow, anoint your doorpost. And what that's going to do is it's going to set the atmosphere for the Holy Spirit to come. That that's ritual. That's very specific in what what they're doing there. But if I say in principle, if you want to walk in the power of the Holy Spirit, you've got to walk in obedience. Well, that's a general principle that's true biblically and now it can be applied to specific situations. Here's the danger with specific rituals is that people will apply the rituals while living disobedient lives to God and then expect that the power will come because they did the ritual. Rituals can be the amount of time that you pray. Like people try toh formulize what I was doing in my room when I was praying for 4 hours. They try to reduce that. Okay, so 4 hours is the cut off and then I can encounter the Holy Spirit, right? But that wasn't it at all. It was just God using that to teach me the principle that it has nothing to do with me. It's just yielding to the Holy Spirit. So again, there could be some confusion. There's a there's a big difference between those specific practices and general truthfilled principles. So keys and principles are biblical. You want to you want to take those on. I mean, obviously, if there was no such thing as biblical principles, we wouldn't need the Bible. If there was no such thing as truthfilled principles, we wouldn't need scripture. So, in fact, there are principles. There are general things that we ought to be doing. But to reduce those then and to say what was what worked for one individual will definitely work for the other individual in those specific practices. Now, you're getting in formula and that's where it gets dangerous. Mhm.

Would you say that that story of you praying for 4 hours and your understanding that you got out of it of surrendering, trusting in God, not making it all mechanical is key to people understanding the rest of the book that comes after that? I think so because I mean obviously each chapter stands on its own. Um well, I don't know if that's obvious but that's how I wrote the book to to where you could pick up a chapter and it should for the most part uh work. But there there is a common running thread throughout the entire book. And that is uh this idea of he's already in you. You already have him. You're already one. And so the Holy Spirit's not this reward that you and I Britain have had conversations. We've talked hours about this because that kind of thinking affects so many different aspects of our lives where it's not that we're getting more of him or working to acquire more of his power. It's that we are already united with him. have that union and now we live from the union of the Holy Spirit and that really is the the you already have you already are not by your own merit but based upon what Christ has done.

I think that's a great segue into the next question I had lined up is um a lot of people know the Holy Spirit as like this power or this feeling or like even over the pulpit I hear it as just like fill a word like the Holy Spirit. Why is it important that believers recognize him as a person? And I know in your book you wrote like when you know the Holy Spirit is a person, you'll say, "Holy Spirit, use me. Use me." Yeah. How would that how why is it important not only for people to recognize the Holy Spirit as a person, but how can that just like that mentality of the way you say things ex like can you expand on how that would like shift someone's perspective today in everyday faith? And that that that is the answer in a nutshell that if you think the Holy Spirit isn't it, you'll want to use it. When you know the Holy Spirit is a person, you'll say, "Holy Spirit, use me." Recognizing that he is God. So if you reduce him to just a force or a feeling or an emotion or the chills that you feel during worship or maybe you picture him kind of like a mist or a cloud or an electric substance just hovering in the atmosphere. Well, well, that's distance. That's impersonal. Where where is the fellowship then? 2 Corinthians 13:14, the fellowship of the Holy Spirit. Where is the relationship? Where is the friendship? Where is the daily comfort? How can you know him as teacher if he's just a substance? How can you know him as friend if he's just a substance? How can you know him as a companion when you feel lonely if he's just a substance? And so, I think it's important to recognize that he's not just some force or a filling. He can be known as a friend. And in knowing this, it is life transforming because now it's not like God is off at a distance on the throne and Christ sitting at his right hand. But the Holy Spirit, God the Spirit dwells in me and he's with me and he's in me and he works around me and through me and he has a voice and he has a will and he has a mind and he has feelings. I mean, Ephesians 4:30 tells us not to grieve him. So that means he has feelings. And so it's it makes it makes up for that gap where you know that God is with you as a personal being. Now I want to be careful because when I say he's a person, people get offended by that notion because they think I'm saying he's a man. Yeah. I'm not saying the Holy Spirit is mortal or fallible or that he's physical. I'm saying the Holy Spirit is personal in that he has a mind, will emotions.

Now, what do you say then to somebody who is, for me, example, if I were asking you this question, I feel like you've gotten it a few times to someone who's unsure whether or not they truly do have the Holy Spirit. If it depends on whether you know the Lord, again, it comes back to that concept of like thinking that the Holy Spirit is some reward for being a really good Christian. That's just not the case. A lot of Christians think, "Well, I didn't pray enough, so I guess I don't have the Holy Spirit this week." Or, "I didn't read enough chapters of the Bible, so so I don't have the Holy Spirit today." Or maybe I made a sinful mistake, so surely he must have left me like he left Saul and like he left Samson. And they they don't recognize the Holy Spirit in the New Testament dwells with us in an entirely different way than he did in the people in the Old Testament. Uh, but if they're struggling to believe that they have the Holy Spirit, they just need to get in the word because we don't live by feelings. We live by faith. I don't feel the Holy Spirit every moment of every day. But I'm aware of him. Uhhuh. I don't feel his love or feel his peace or feel that joy every moment of every day, but I live in that the influence of that. And so I would say look at Ephesians 1 where it describes the Holy Spirit as the seal of salvation. Look at what Jesus said about the Holy Spirit in John chapter 3. Look at how Jesus describes his involvement in the process of salvation. Look at Romans chapter 8:9 where the Bible tells us that if we don't have the Holy Spirit, we're not even children of God. So that is a fact. The Holy Spirit dwells in you the very moment you are born again. That is the baptism with the Holy Spirit. Now here I have to be especially careful because I grew up charismatic. Charismatic Pentecostal and I'm proud of it. not not in the fleshly sense, but I celebrate what God's doing in that movement. And if somebody wants to, you know, label me hyper charismatic, okay, I'll take it. It just means I really, really love the Holy Spirit. Uh, but, you know, I understand that even in our movement, and again, I'm not trying to do an us against them, and I want to be clear that the Holy Spirit isn't just for charismatics. That's one of the themes in the book, too. He's for all believers everywhere, all around the world. But but I will say that when it comes to charismatic Christianity, um there's this idea that we kind of have this, you know, monopoly on the Holy Spirit and that he's just ours and nobody else has him but us. And some of that is pride, some of that is ignorance. Uh but but you know, things thinking like that leads you to conclusions that just aren't biblical, like this idea of the baptism with the Holy Spirit. I I I'll get a lot of push back from people in my own stream, if you will. And again, I'm not trying to divide the body, but we all have varying beliefs within the foundational truths. And I think it's important we acknowledge those. So I would say that, you know, this this secondary experience that people describe is actually just the influence of that first experience. Whereas the baptism with the Holy Spirit takes place at salvation. You draw from the influence of that initial experience all throughout your life. Mhm. So then you receive him at salvation. You release him for the rest of your life. You receive him when you are saved. You release him when you are surrendered. The baptism with the Holy Spirit is both an initial experience and a continual state of being. It's a well and a river. The baptism, not the Holy Spirit's not in it, but the baptism isn't it because it's it's an experience that you have at the moment you are saved. So when you're born again, 1 Corinthians 6:17, I believe, tells you that you are one with him. now. Okay, that's what happens when I'm born again. His spirit merges with my spirit. The essence of who he is uh merges with who I am, cleansing me, saving me, um bringing me to life in Christ. So now I'm one with the Holy Spirit in my spirit. Now my soul is not perfected. My body obviously not perfected. And so the baptism with the Holy Spirit begins there. John 7:38, out of your innermost being, the NASB says, will flow rivers of living water. So then the Holy Spirit dwells in me at the moment of salvation. I don't have to work for him. I don't have to check a bunch of things off a list to get God's approval to have him. I have him and and that's it. He he the question is does he have me? Do I surrender? It's not a matter of you getting more of the Holy Spirit. It's a matter of the Holy Spirit getting more of you. And so now when I begin to surrender, I begin to see that influence increase. And in fact, you can see this in scripture. Mhm. John 20:22, Jesus breathes on the disciples, says, "Receive you the Holy Spirit." Are you telling me they didn't receive anything there? Of course they did. There was some measure of the Holy Spirit's influence that they received. If Jesus breathes on you and tells you to receive the Holy Spirit, that's going to happen. And then you see in Acts chapter 2 where they're in the upper room, the Holy Spirit comes upon them. They're all filled and begin speaking in other tongues. Then that group of believers or a portion of that group of believers are seen in Acts chapter 4 receiving the Holy Spirit again and they begin speaking with tongues. So it's not that they received the Holy Spirit again and again and again. It's that they were filled at salvation. They became one with him at salvation. And these experiences we have are increases of influence as we yield. And I think that that can be again I just made that case in that we saw the same group of people or at least portions of the same group of people experiencing that again and again. And that's what kind of creates the confusion. It's not either or. It's both. And the baptism with the Holy Spirit is both that experience you have at salvation and those continual experiences you have throughout your your life. But it's not you receiving more of him. It's you seeing the increase of his influence.

You know, I've had like many experiences with the Holy Spirit. But then when I really think about those experiences that mark my life, I could probably say I have maybe one to two. I would say even three. And one of them is really cool. I'll share with you guys. So I shared with you the other day, uh, Pastor David, um, when your dad was preaching, uh, back in a little city called Paramount, California. And this was one of the first times I really started understanding the tangible touch of the Holy Spirit. Cuz before I was always like, "Oh, I know his presence is here." Um, this was even before I started worship and I knew his presence was here. I knew I knew God. But to feel that and I'll explain to the listener and you guys watching what I felt because it was so interesting to me the tangible touch that truly marked my life. And you're talking about the experiences and and the influence of how powerful he really is. And I remember I was lifting my hands. We were singing a song called Wrap Me in Your Arms. And I was singing it over and over and over again. And I just remember your dad coming up to me and and if you guys don't know Pastor David's dad, he is one of the coolest guys. He is such a he's a spiritual father for me. Um I remember lifting my hands and he just tapped the top of my fingers on this hand and I remember it was like electricity. But have you you guys ever like fallen asleep and then your arm you can't feel it? Like it feels like dead. I felt that slowly going through my whole body. first started with my my left hand and then it started working through my whole body and it got to my feet and it felt like my feet were anchors and I could not like I was being like almost like blown down and I could not stand up anymore and after that I just remember opening my eyes and I was on the floor and I was like what just happened that must have been the true power of the Holy Spirit and that was one of the first times I really understood that and that's what I would refer to as a manifestation of his power and when I when I when I talk about something manifesting It's being revealed. It's becoming tangible. So, this is again where I think people misunderstand even what that might be. It's not that we seek these physical experiences just for those experiences themselves. It's that we seek Jesus. And in seeking Jesus, sometimes we have these encounters with his manifested presence.

I'll go to that that the section in Acts 4. Watch this. Now, you're talking about the baptism. When when is he received? And you know, what is this ongoing experience? Okay. So Peter and John, when did they receive the infilling of the Holy Spirit and the evidence of speaking in tongues? Acts chapter 2. Acts 2. So they received an influence, a measure. You're right. They received some measure there. And then they received this this new manner of influence in Acts chapter 2. Okay. So Peter and John were there, right? Peter stands up. He's preaching on the day of Pentecost. Watch this now. Acts 4:23. As soon as they were freed, Peter and John returned to the other believers and told them what the leading priests and elders had said. When they heard the report, all the believers lifted their voices. Who who who did it? All the believers. So Peter and John are there with them. Mhm. All the believers lifted their voices together in prayer to God. And so they began this prayer and I'll I'll skip down here. Let's go to look at verse 30. They say, "Stretch out your hand with healing power. May miraculous signs and wonders be done to the name of your holy servant Jesus. Weren't they already seeing that? They were already seeing the manifestation of that power. Yet here they are praying for it again. Uhhuh. Now watch this. Verse 31. So who's there with them? Peter and John. Okay. Watch this. Verse 31. After this prayer, the meeting place shook and they were all filled with the Holy Spirit. Wow. Peter and John were there and they were among that group. Then then watch this. Then they preached the word of God with boldness. Well, didn't didn't Peter already preach with boldness in Acts two? So So, so some might say, "Well, wait a minute. Was that a second?" No, it wasn't it wasn't it was another experience for sure, but it wasn't a second receiving of the Holy Spirit. Again, this is just another manifestation. So, I've already received him. He's within me. So, everything I experience of him is not rain from heaven. It's a flood from within. It it's an expression of what is in my spirit already. And so you you see that again and then you'll see like the believers who hadn't even known there was such a thing as the person of the Holy Spirit. We haven't even heard of such we don't know Holy Spirit. Who's that? Yet the Bible calls them believers. Uhhuh. Which means they believed. Well, who caused them to believe the gospel? Who was at work in their lives for them to be saved? The Holy Spirit. So just because they hadn't heard of him doesn't mean he wasn't already at work within them. So that that portion of scripture is often used to kind of say well here look here's Christians who didn't even have the Holy Spirit. It's not that they didn't have they they didn't know and they were filled but not filled again from from from above to within but from within to without. It's the filling of the soul and and the exterior being the physical body from the spirit. Uhhuh. Yeah.

I think and this is a great segue to what I was about to ask is you at least in the tone that I get from the book is you stressed that even Jesus himself relied on the Holy Spirit here on earth. Why do you think that truth alone is so important for believers to understand today? Because he was modeling for us how we ought to do it. And I got to be careful with this because anytime anyone has tried I shouldn't say that's an exaggeration. I should say often when people have tried to explain Jesus's dependency on the Holy Spirit, others kind of take a cheap shot because it sounds because it's so easy to criticize because it's so easy to twist because of the language that's involved in describing it. But often hypercritical people will will take what you're saying about Jesus's dependency on the Holy Spirit and they'll accuse you of removing Jesus from the place of divinity. They think you're removing from him the the the element of his deity. Not at all. And this is what I stress in the book. Jesus was always God, is God, will always be God. There was never a moment he wasn't God. So then Jesus was Jesus Jesus's dependence on the Holy Spirit was more a demonstration of humility than it was of inability. So he willingly relied on the Holy Spirit. At any moment he could have in his own power done whatever he wanted but he chose to subject himself to certain limitations. Like for example is God all knowing? He possesses all wisdom. Yes. Luke 2:52, Jesus grew in wisdom, in stature, in favor with God and man. Is Jesus God? Yes, of course. So, let's reread that. But recognizing Jesus' identity. So, God grew in wisdom, in stature, in favor with God and man. Mhm. Okay. Again, this is why you have to be careful because some have taken this to an extreme to kind of imply that because, you know, Jesus Jesus had this lower state, we can have a higher state. And it's I I get what you're saying when you say that, but but the language you use here has to be very very precise because again, one, it could confuse people and cause them to believe something that's pretty much heretical. And two, there are lots of people waiting to take those cheap shots that will just take out of context the whole context of what you're saying and just make it seem as though you're saying that Jesus wasn't God. So that's where you have to be careful. But but that doesn't change the fact that the Bible clearly describes that Jesus depended on the Holy Spirit. I I present the case in the introduction that Jesus various instances. I mean, we'll just go there now. I mean, since you brought it up, Mr. Vargas, we will open up the introduction. I do the Luke 2:52 scripture there and I say again, Jesus was always God. Jesus always knew he was God. From beginning to end, he was and is God. This does not demonstrate inability, but humility. He chose to embrace human limitation. What love and humility that we would that he would leave the heavenly to experience the earthly, even death. When the time of his crucifixion had come, Jesus prayed, "Father, if you are willing, please take this cup from me." This is why Hebrews declares, "Because God's children are human beings, made of flesh and blood, the Son also became flesh and blood. For only as a human being could he die, and only by dying could he break the power of the devil, who had the power of death." Well, that's right there, Hebrews 2:14. And so Jesus was led into the the wilderness by the Holy Spirit. That's Matthew 4:1. Well, well, who leads God? Think about that. So again, this is not Jesus. It's not like he would been stumbling around without the Holy Spirit. I mean, the three R1, and this is where you now get into the doctrine of the Trinity, and this is just beyond that's beyond my scope to to to go into depth on, but I'll just stick to what I know, the work of the Holy Spirit. And so, after his baptism, he was led. And then you see uh here in Matthew 12:28, Jesus very clearly tells us how he's casting out devils. He says it himself. Look, but if I am casting out demons by the spirit of God, then the kingdom of God has arrived among you. Acts 10:38, how God anointed Jesus with Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Ghost and with power. And what did that enable him to do? Go about doing good, healing all who were oppressed of the devil. For God was with him. Now, now watch this. Even the resurrection. Romans 1:4. And he was shown to be the son of God when he was raised from the dead by the power of the Holy Spirit. How was he raised from the dead? Says it right here. Romans 8:11. The spirit of God. Who raised Jesus from the dead? Who raised Jesus from the dead? The spirit of God, the Holy Spirit, and he lives in you. That's Romans 8:11. So, um, I I I I present other scriptures there um to to make that case. And again, in making that case, you have to be very careful because again, one, you don't want to confuse people. And two, you open yourself up for those cheap shots who they know what you're saying, but they're going to take advantage of the opportunity.

Now, you talked about like these encounters with the Holy Spirit, like example, the baptism, and it also being a continual experience. And I think one thing that sometimes Christians get wrong is like they think that an encounter with the Holy Spirit has to be this dramatic thing. M do you think that people can also experience the Holy Spirit powerfully in their life but in a very subtle way? Absolutely. But I will say he's very dramatic. The Encounter podcast is sponsored by the partners and donors of David Hernandez Ministries. Help support this evangelistic healing ministry today by going to davidernnand ministries.com/partner to become a monthly ministry supporter. And you can give a single gift by going to davidhernandisministries.com/donate. Every amount counts because every soul matters. Give today. Do you think that people can also experience the Holy Spirit powerfully in their life but in a very subtle way? Absolutely. But I will say he's very dramatic. So the work of the Holy Spirit is loud, vibrant, and offensive to the natural mind. I can't tell you how many times I've heard critics of the power of the Holy Spirit say, "Could God do that?" Yes. But do I think he did? No. And so we have to accept that the work of the Holy Spirit's a little strange. And there are going to be those dramatic moments where I've seen people overcome by the power of the Holy Spirit. They're shaking. They're crying, you know, and then the Pharisees looking on, well, what's the purpose of this? There's no fruit in this. I'm thinking, how do you know? Did you hire a private eye detective to go follow them and observe their habits thereafter? No. It's an assumption being made based on a presupposition. But when it comes to the power of the spirit, often what we call biblical balance is actually just personal preference. In other words, we want to be esteemed in the world's eyes. We don't want to look foolish in front of the world. And so we're kind of like embarrassed like, no, no, no. We're not all like that. Some of us are normal and think if okay, well, well, Jesus said, "Beware when all men speak well of you because we are going to be different." And so I I'm I'm 100% convinced of these manifestations of power being of the Holy Spirit that biblically you can show that too. I mean, it's not that difficult. Yeah. As long as you're not being okay. For example, you had the priests who weren't able to stand in the cloud of glory. When Jesus said, "I am he." The soldiers fall back and they exper they didn't fall back voluntarily. I read one commentary someone tried to say they fell backwards in shock. So here you have these highly trained these highly trained soldiers. They're so shocked they fall backwards. They're clutching their pearls going backwards, right? No, that did not h it was a it was a wave of power that knocked them back. Now here uh the the the skeptic might say well nobody laid hands on them or they didn't fall backwards or you know in all instances and they want to hyper contextualize these hypersp specific descriptions with chapter and verse of the occurrence happening in the exact same way as we seeing it manifest in churches today. Otherwise they reject the notion altogether. And I'm thinking, okay, half the doctrines that some of the critics have aren't even based on a single chapter and verse, but a collective holistic understanding of the nature of God through biblical values uh in the Old and New Testament. So, I would say that it's very easy. You ask the question, does God manifest his power? Biblically speaking, we'd have to say yes. Does the manifested, that is the tangible physical touch of his power, does that sometimes, not every instance, does that sometimes cause temporary physical reactions? The answer is yes. And for a bonus, is it possible that people can receive power, gifts, or impartations of the Holy Spirit through the laying on of hands? That's in the scripture, Old and New Testament, by the way. So you tie together these premises and you come to an inescapable conclusion that these manifestations of his power are biblical in principle. Now again, if someone wants to be nitpicky uh because of their personal preferences, they might be able to say, "Yeah, but you can't show one single chapter and verse where this specific instance happens." And again, I'd point back to the fact that half half of the doctrines we believe are based on the holistic understanding of scripture. But that just reveals a resistance to the power of the Holy Spirit. It's not academic. It's not biblical. It's simply personal preference. And so unless you're willing to deny basic biblical principles, you can't deny that the power of the Holy Spirit moves today in manifested ways. So to answer your question, yes, he can come subtly, but I also very adamantly defend that he can

Come upon us dramatically, as he often does. And yes, it can be a spectacle. Does God show signs to hide? Does God show wonders to keep a secret? That's the point of a miracle or a wonder or a sign. It's a demonstration of his power.

But yes, he does move in subtle ways, too. I mean, sometimes it can be a simple little correction in the heart. And if you're constantly looking for those emotional experiences or those physical manifestations, you're going to be very disappointed because those don't always come. People think that I'm living in this constant state of feeling the presence and power of God physically on my being. I people literally think I'm walking around my house singing, "Holy, holy, holy are you, Lord." And I'm like, "No, you know, I get tired. I share meals with my family. I have uh family time. I sit down and watch cartoons with Arya. I have date nights with Jess. We we we spend time with friends and family and we do normal things."

And and that speaks to the point of living right in that line where it's not some huge workup to get there. Now, if I'm preparing for a service, mentally, I have to be prepared to deliver the message and and basically minister for three and a half, four hours. So, before a service, I'll lock myself away, pray, study, and all that. But in everyday life, that that thin that's that line is very thin, moving back and forth between the natural and the supernatural. But yeah, sometimes it's just a simple "I trust that he's with me because the word says he is." And so again, we have extremes on both sides. But um I think it can be said that yes, he does move subtly, but I want to emphasize he absolutely moves dramatically. And if that offends somebody, if that makes them look if that if you think that looks strange or you're uncomfortable with it, that that's um that's a fleshly issue. That's ego. That's pride. And uh we can try to explain it away supposedly through biblical grounds, but that would just be to try to make the scripture fit your preference.

Now, I want to talk about like the fruits of the Holy Spirit. Um you mentioned, correct me if I'm wrong, that fruit is more important than gifting? Absolutely. Would you say you believe character is the truest the truest measure of the Holy Spirit's work in someone's life? I would say salvation first and then yes, the fruit of the spirit. I mean, that's what the scripture tells us plainly. Galatians 5:22 and 23. That is the manifestation of the Holy Spirit's work. You know, because here's the scary thing. Even hypocrites can move in power. Yeah. You see, God's God's power backs his word, the truth of the gospel. Mhm. So that if I'm preaching this truth, it's going to yield fruit. It's going to have an effect. The word of God is so powerful that even if a hypocrite preaches it, there can be divine results. Paul even said there's some who preach out of impure motives. But so long as the gospel is being preached, what does it matter? Now God will back his word with his power. Mhm. But only his people are backed by his presence. That's the distinguishing factor. So the power upon you is for doing. The presence within you is for becoming. And so the presence within me develops me, makes me more like Jesus. And so that's why I would say, yeah, you can you can cast out devils, you can work miracles. Just read Matthew 7. Uhhuh. Did we not? Now, it's funny because some will take that verse and say, "Aha, see if you cast out devils, you're being described here." And that again is a misapplication. It's not that it's not that God said, "Depart from me because you work miracles or because you cast out devils." He said, "Depart from me despite the fact that you worked miracles or cast out devils." And it that's a subtle um point that often goes over people's heads because they're so passionate about speaking against miracles for today. U but the truth of the matter is the people in Matthew 7 who were denied by the Lord ultimately they weren't truly born again. He said, "I never knew you." And it shows us plainly what they were relying upon for their salvation. Did we not? Did we not? In other words, did our works not save us? So, they were relying upon their own works. Um, but of course, yes. So, so the power backs the word, his presence backs his people.

Would you say with that though that there's also genuine believers who would read something like that and they feel like they don't have enough fruit and so they might wonder if they have the Holy Spirit? Um, yeah. Yeah. I mean, that would be a concern where they're saying, "Well, I'm not seeing myself be very loving. Um, I don't I don't I don't necessarily have a lot of patience, so I'm a work in progress." But he that begun a a good work in you is faithful to finish it. He's going to complete that work. And the fact of the matter is, none of us have reached perfection. But the fact that we have this desire to be like Jesus, who put that desire there? That's also a work of the Holy Spirit.

You mentioned you differentiate between doing for Christ and becoming like Christ. And I was going to ask how can believers today because I think they get that wrong sometimes by just reading scripture and they just misinterpret it. How do they avoid performance-based spirituality? It's understanding the place of works because we know we should do works, but it's understanding that we don't do good works to be saved. We do good works because we are saved. And once you've made that shift, there's this confidence that comes. I mean, when Paul writes of salvation, he very clearly describes this confident knowing that causes us to rejoice, to celebrate, to be at peace, to have a clear conscience because we are so confident in what God has done and what Jesus has done. And so that to me is in stark contrast with what we see in a lot of Christianity today where we imagine saved today, not saved. Saved today, not saved. I lost my salvation, I regained my salvation. I made enough mistakes to lose it. I I did enough good to get it back. And I'm not trying to comment necessarily on the once saved, always saved debate. But we can all agree, I'm sure, that you aren't saved, not saved, saved, not saved, saved, not saved, minute to minute, hour to hour, day to day. It doesn't work like that. And so when we come to finally realize that we can rest in confidence knowing that we've received the Holy Spirit as the guarantee, you say, "Wait a minute. So I don't have Wait, wait, wait, wait. I don't have to fear wondering if I'm going to make it. I can live my life with peace knowing, "Oh my goodness, I am saved now. There's joy, there's confidence, there's faith because and it's not a false confidence." And that's where people get hung up. Mh. Because then they're they're saying to themselves, "Well, if I relax too much and I become too confident in my salvation, I just may lose it." Yeah. Confidence in your salvation will not cause you to lose your salvation. That confidence produces fruit, the fruit of righteous living, the fruit of peace, the fruit of boldness in approaching God, who ultimately is going to help you correct all the mistakes that you're making. So, so again, and there's that need to control it, right? I don't want to be too confident in the work of the cross because now I've released my trust in myself and I put it completely on Jesus. Well, you know, I don't want to do that. Some Christians might think. They may not say that outright, but that really is the attitude if they truly allow themselves to be honest in their thinking about it. So, coming to this place where you say, "I cannot save me. I cannot do enough good works to earn my salvation, to earn the Holy Spirit, but I trust that he has saved me. And in faith, I place my hope in Christ. And once I'm rooted in that faith, that hope, that confidence, out of that now begins to sprout love and joy and peace and patience and so forth.

See, I think that's why this book is so powerful. And I truly truly believe it needs to be in everyone's hands that that's listening and all your friends cuz you help us embrace our identity as true vessels of God's spirit. And it really is an incredible thing. I encourage you guys get this book. Well, I do address um in the book I talk about um the process of salvation and how the Holy Spirit is involved in that process. And I'm having trouble finding it now. I don't want to go through it. there. It's that's the that's the uh this is the author copy. So, it's a little different than the actual copy, but um no, we I do throughout the book try to address a lot of that legalism because when it comes to the work of the Holy Spirit, I think there's been a lot of legalism tangled up in that like, oh, you want the anointing, you got to pay the price for it. And I get it and I to some degree believe that. But the price to pay isn't that I've done so much spiritual good that God now rewards me with power. It's simple obedience. It's simple obedience and he uses that. Yeah. I believe in your book you said abide don't strive. That's it. How like my thing wasn't to be to follow up with that was like how can someone who's been trained in performance all their life go how can I embrace this truth when this has been my just making that shift to understand why we do the works why we perform that performance is not to gain something that performance is because you're so confident you already have it and that is the that's that's the game changer and and for me I'll be completely honest it's still coming off in layers there are still things to this day where I go, "Oh, that was works based or oh, that was that was my trust in me as opposed to the Lord." And then Britain, you and I have had you you think a lot like me. And so you you you know what I'm saying when I say that there are a lot of layers that come off with this thing. Oh yeah. I've noticed like we've had several times where we go over the same truth. Um, we're sitting on the couch just talking through like different situations in life. We go over the same truth but how it applies to a different situation. And then you go, "Oh, yeah." And then you feel freedom. You know, the truth sets you free.

I think it's great. One thing I want to touch on is um the Holy Spirit and and like prayer and communion. You're right that the spirit is the power of prayer. Mhm. How does someone transition from this? Like me back then, I would just be I would live a life where I'm like, man, prayer became such a routine. How do I transition from that to where okay this is an everyday thing because it's actually my relationship with and a follow-up question on that is two-part is like when there are moments where I'm just like man I really don't want to pray today like I have no words like I just don't want to do anything right now how can believers learn to lean on the spirit to pray through them it's going to come back to trusting that he is with you trusting that you have access. Even on the days that you don't want to pray, you still have access to the presence of God. Even on the days where days prior you haven't been keeping your commitment to prayer, you still have access to the presence of God. Even on the days where you made a big mistake, you still have access to the presence of God. And again, it's it's what what what often discourages us in prayer is this idea that we have to work for it. Like if I went if I took my my my Jessica out, we we do date nights on Monday nights. Every week it's like a I make sure date every Monday date night. Whether it's something simple or we go out has to be date night and I make sure of that because I want to make those deposits. And I think how difficult would it be for her if every date night we sat there at the dinner table and I just sat there silently waiting for her to say the right password or start the right conversation before I began talking with her. How that would be abusive. I mean even hearing it like that people when you visualize it like that you go yeah that that is pretty abusive. Yet we think God is petty like that. M we think God is petty that we're going to we're going to approach him and he's going to go well well you know you haven't been praying all week but now you decide to show up or or oh well if you don't want to be here I don't want to talk to you either right like like do we really think he thinks like that? No. He he's he's all sufficient. And so he understands our frailties, our weaknesses. He understands that our bodies get tired. Our minds become fatigued. He understands that we become distracted. And so, it's knowing that when I go pray, God's not going to be angry with me if I go to pray and I'm tired. Now, you should give your best to the Lord. I think he honors that. But he's not going to condemn you and reject you and disconnect from you and abandon you because when you went to pray, you were a little fatigued or you didn't really feel like doing it that day. He's He's gracious. He He's so gracious. He's so gracious. And I think we forget that. Like he's going to he's not going to make you feel awkward and unwanted. He's going to like if he was there in physical form. He'd be like, "Hey man, don't worry about it. Just have a seat. Let me just you sit there and rest. Let's just let's just share the moment here."

Now, there's a lot of skeptics, a lot of people who just want answers and they're already Christians. How do you respond to those Christians who are maybe like resistant or even like cautious about charismatic teachings about the Holy Spirit? Yeah. And I do want to be clear, this is not necessarily a charismatic book. I'm a charismatic Christian. Again, I'm I'm I celebrate that move of the Holy Spirit and it's where I come from. And and again, even in talking about the different denominations, I don't I don't like tribalism or you against me. I think we're all one body. And um we just have to acknowledge that there are varying beliefs within the body and these are disagreements among family that we can we can accept. And so these labels, people say, "Well, I'm not I'm not I don't accept any labels. I'm just a Christian." Like, "Okay, well that's a label." These labels are just literal definitions of these groups of beliefs that we have. And so whether we like it or not, yes, we do fall into certain categories. Um, but when it comes to those who are hesitant, I I I don't think there should be any issue there. Now, when it comes to those who are cynical, I can't help them anyway. If someone comes to this book and they're saying, "Ah, you know, I'm not really a charismatic Christian. I'm a, you know, of a different denomination. I've heard so many different things." Let me tell you, there may be some things you disagree with, but at the core of this, the core principles are going to be life-changing for any Christian. Mhm. And and they take those core biblical principles and I think it's going to make a major difference in their lives. Now, if they approach that way and they're open to hearing the teachings of the word, I think there's going to be personal revival in their lives. I think they're going to notice that the dryness of the spirit is now filled with spiritual rain, if you will. Now, someone's cynical and they're just like, I don't I don't believe any of this. I don't. Okay. Well, there's nothing you can do for a cynic unless they change their attitude. But the true believers who are open to this and who want to experience more of the Holy Spirit's power. Again, I want to say this is this is more than just a charismatic book. This is this the Holy Spirit is for all Christians everywhere. We charismatics do not have a monopoly on him.

Do you think it's I don't know, this one's a bit random. Do you think it's possible for for just believers that are spirit-filled to live a life without signs, wonders, and like these dramatic manifestations? Now, I may get in trouble for saying this, but yes, because there are different types of manifestations of the Holy Spirit's power. Now, should that be the case? No. I'll say that plainly. I don't think that should be the case. Um, but I've seen people move in signs and wonders who weren't very loving. And I've seen Christians who were very loving, but they didn't necessarily move in signs and wonders. So, it's going to vary case by case. I'm not going to make a blanket statement about every individual. But I will say that I think you should be open to manifestations of power because that's a part of his work. We don't want to reject any aspect of it. And I get it. There's been hesitation because I agree there has been some strangeness. But listen, there there is going to be some strangeness to this. I think there are some who are trying to take all the strangeness out of it. They want to remove all of that so that they can share it with their worldly friends and be like, "See, we're cool, too." Or their academic friends and say, "See, we're intelligent, too." But who cares? I mean, you you embrace this power, the church is going to grow. And so, again, I would say yes, it's possible that they can have the fruit of the spirit without the gifts of the spirit. Because I've seen people use the gifts of the spirit without the fruit of the spirit. Should you? No. Could you? Sure.

I'm curious about the the book and you and the writing. Was there a part of this book that challenged you like most during the writing process? The chronology of it because every time I try to get the chronology down, I can be off by months and like I I all I have to go on is my journals from when I was a teenager. In fact, they're in the uh they're here at the studio in a safe and I just have all the journals from when I was like, you know, 11, 12, 13, 14. And there's like like half a dozen of them and you know I take one right in it take another and so that was a challenge is piecing together the chronology and uh you know I I've I even had to sit down and write a timeline and try to remember which okay I wrote this occurrence when did this one go where that was probably the biggest challenge in terms of the teachings I've been writing this book for 20 years if you will not literally but since I've been since I was 13. The second sermon I ever preached was on the Holy Spirit. Okay.

So if you can give the reader only one chapter, you can take your time, think about it, too. One chapter of the book, what would you give them? Chapter 3, the baptism with the Holy Spirit. It is uh I'll read a little excerpt from it. Um this was just kind of talking about one of my how he how I used to encounter him as a boy. And I say used to not that I don't encounter him today, but this is how I encountered him as a boy. Without fail, at almost the same time every night, I could feel the air around me thicken as if the waves of reality were themselves being altered. It almost seemed that even the color tones in my room shifted. The essence of God pressed against the room, and the earthly realm stood at attention. For hours, I would weep and tremble under the weight and beauty of God's presence. Once during that season, after falling asleep while praying and singing a worship song, I was awakened by something unusual. A breath that filled my body with an energetic cool. The sensation of that breath was so intense that it shocked me awake with a gasp. The breath I took felt like a drink of icy water, refreshing. It was like God breathed into me. My skin tingled as divine life surged through me. I sat up and glanced around my room, which was quiet and still. Joy filled my heart. It was as if the Holy Spirit woke me up just to say hello, like he wanted me to finish the song I fell asleep singing to him. That's good. And I share a lot of encounters like that in chapter 3.

By any chance, did the Holy Spirit reveal anything new to you during the writing process? Help me be more patient. you know, I mean, maybe better ways of explaining core concepts that I had been explaining all along. Um, you know, I believe in the Holy Spirit teaching us, but for the most part, the basic doctrines of scripture, you go over those again and again. Yeah, you're going to get these little nuances and neat little observations, but I'm not saying I've learned it all. Of course, I haven't. And but I'm saying I think the core doctrines of scripture are so that all believers can know them, grasp them, um and teach them to some degree. Maybe not from a pulpit, but teach them at least be ready to give an answer for the hope that's within them. Study to show yourself approved unto God. Um so I would say maybe nuances, maybe different ways of explaining things. I went over the journal, so there was some moments like, "Oh, I forgot about that. I got to include that." and you know um but nothing like uh nothing major in terms of like the core doctrines. Like I said, this has been something I've been working on for 20 years. And in fact, this was the book I wanted to write when I first started with my publisher. Mhm. But they were right. No, nobody nobody knew who I was then. I'm not saying I'm some famous preacher now, but at least now we have um a goodsized readership. We have a nice base of people who who um support the ministry. So they'd be interested maybe in reading the work that comes out of the ministry. Uh but the the publisher directed me, you got to write more specific because if you write something too broad because you don't have that specific um point of uh interest for the reader, they may not pick it off the shelf. And so you know that was carriers of the glory that was on friendship with the Holy Spirit. Praying in the Holy Spirit that was about Holy Spirit and prayer encountering the Holy Spirit in every book of the Bible. That was a you know a new an old and new testament study of the of the Holy Spirit. Then there was Holy Spirit the bondage breaker which was on deliverance and demonology and spiritual warfare. Holy Spirit the cursebreaker which was actually a chapter in bondage breaker but bondage breaker was already too long. So cursebreaker became its own book because I took that chapter and expanded on it. But this is the one not that those aren't important. This is the one I've been wanting to write for a long time. It's just a general look at the Holy Spirit living within you. And and I'm praying it helps helps at least to introduce this generation to the Holy Spirit.

Yeah. I was going to say for someone that maybe already has read all of your books or they already, for lack of lack of better words, already have this deep walk with the Lord, what new perspective do you hope they'll gain from this book? Um, well, they're going to see a lot of I shouldn't say a lot. There there are some core teachings that have to be repeated like union with the Holy Spirit, um surrender to the Holy Spirit, the fact that you already have the Holy Spirit. Those core thoughts, they're present in all my works, but but of course they have to be present here. I would say that anyone from the new convert, the new convert can understand it and the experienced Christian can learn from it. So it's it's it's a it's a wide array. Okay.

My final question to you is, did any stories or chapters not make the final cut? And if so, can you share one you wish that could have been included? Yes, there's certain stories that didn't make the final cut. No, I can't share them because that's the reason they couldn't make the final cut. Um, I would say maybe I would have I maybe some expanded teaching on it. I like to to to keep the pacing going so that the reader's getting information on every page. I try not to be too repetitive to some degree. You have to trust your reader. Now, when I first started writing, u my process was that I would overexplain and I even in my teachings and I I've been learning to not overexplain, but you got to just trust the reader and you got to trust the Holy Spirit to communicate to people. So, I I share a thought and I move on. And I, you know, I'll share a thought or or maybe share a scripture, glean a biblical truth, expand on that, teach them an application, maybe tell a story, and then I move on so that they they receive it in all aspects, you know, mentally for their own personal life, and then there's some inspiration in there with the storytelling. Uh, but uh, no, I mean, I I can't say there's too much in there. If it was, it's probably in the other books that I wrote. Uhhuh. Awesome. Well, I really did enjoy today's conversation. David, Stephen, Brit, thank you so much for joining me today. Guys, once again, I want to encourage you guys, get this book, Holy Spirit, God within you. I encourage you, get it, encounter thespirit.com. You can actually order it now. It's also an Amazon bestseller, so I truly believe it's going to bless not only your life, but a friend's life. Make sure to get them a copy as well. But yeah, that's it for today's episode. Remember, as we always say, nothing is impossible with God.