Guest Speaker: David Diga Hernandez

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=phfbKtqlfkA

“You’ve never failed me yet,” we sang. Those powerful words mean so much to me this afternoon as I begin to write this reflection. We were singing to the Lord the fact that He had never failed us. We may fail ourselves; others may fail us, but the Lord will never fail us. We need to trust Him and believe Him when He tells us He loves us through His words and His actions. His history is evidence of His love.

Next Joel Munoz admonished us,”Give the Holy Spirit the right of way.” The Holy Spirit wants the best for each of us. He is our advocate and intercessor. He loves us so much that He is willing to convict you and me of our sins so that we can recognize, confess, and repent of them. Therefore, we should give Him the right of way to our minds, souls, spirits and bodies.

Then Pastor Josiah emphasized the power of testimonies and introduced David Moreno, the son of Charlie and Janelle Moreno. David, who is serving in the military, is leaving for Florida on Tuesday. He recounted that on Thursday he had hurt himself and was concerned how that injury would affect his duty. David asked his dad to put his displaced rib back in place, but he found out that ribs do not displace. They be bruised or broken but not displaced. Janelle took David to the hospital, where x rays were taken because as David lifted his shirt, the medical staff could see the broken rib. Janelle and her daughter prayed. Charlie went to the hospital room, and Charlie and David started praying until Charlie encouraged David to pray for his healing. David declared that the Lord heard his prayers and healed his broken rib. Charlie even read the doctor’s report that there was no broken or bruised rib. Our Lord heals!

After David’s testimony of his miraculous healing, Pastor Josiah introduced the guest speaker David Diga Hernandez. David explained how the Lord opened a place in his schedule for him to speak to our FC family. He encouraged us to surrender to the Holy Spirit, and his encouragement echoed what Joel Munoz said about giving the Holy Spirit the right of way.

One verse that David cited was 1 Corinthians 2:9-10. 

“But as it is written, ‘What no eye has seen, what no ear has heard, 

and what no human mind has conceived'-the things God has 

prepared for those who love him-these are the things God has 

revealed to us by his Spirit. The Spirit searches all things, even 

the deep things of God.” (NIV)

The verse emphasized the Spirit. Human wisdom and perception cannot compare to the things the Spirit reveals. Even further “But whoever is united with the Lord is one with him in spirit.” 1 Corinthians 6:17 (NIV) We are united with the Lord in Spirit. That is an inconceivable and yet wondrous fact. Hallelujah.

To illustrate his point David called up three volunteers; one represented the Spirit, one the soul, and one the body. The body is our “earth suit.” The soul is a combination of the mind, will, emotions/feelings, and personality, and this place is where you make decisions.  The spirit is the connection to the Lord. Your true identity is in the spiritual area; thus, you need to be trained to listen to the Holy Spirit not just hear but listen to His still, small voice.

People often confuse two separate events concerning the Holy Spirit. The first is the infilling  and the second is being filled. When you have accepted the Lord as your Savior, the Holy Spirit infills you. The in-filling is like filling a cup. The second is being filled by the Holy Spirit which is an on going process. The filling of the Spirit is like the wind in a sail; it is continuous. You are fellowshipping with the Holy Spirit 24-7. He is one with you. David explained, ”We don’t work for union with the Spirit with God. We work in the Spirit.”

Another significant issue is that too often Christians are focused on the body. We spend an inordinate amount of time trying to improve our bodies; we go to the gym to improve our “earth suits.” Our emotions and feelings are embroiled in how we look and feel. But what if we shifted our attention to the spirit instead.  What miracle would occur from that small, yet monumental shift? “Whoever believes in me. As Scripture has said, rivers of living water will flow from within them.” John 7:38 (NIV) Living water because of fellowship with the Spirit would happen.

In addition, David revealed, ”You don’t need to grow spiritually. The rest of “Who I am” needs to catch up with “Who I am in the spirit.” Talk about a shift in thinking. That is a gigantic one. The soul and body need to embrace and apply what the spirit has been given. He explained that the rest of the person needs to change to be more spiritually focused. Maybe that means instead of only spending an hour at the gym, you can spend an hour worshiping, praising, and listening to the Lord and reading His Word.

The Spirit is mysterious. We do not need to strive to grow spiritually. We do not need to perform. We need to rely on Him. Surrender our minds, bodies and souls to Him. We need to rely on the Spirit for our work, for our lives, for our families. “Don’t shout and clap to earn anything,” David admonished. 

If your ministry is tiring you out, you’re giving from the wrong place. That is where you need to surrender it all to the Lord. Trust and obey. Relax. Trust and obey. Greater power is in trusting and obeying than striving and performing. For example, when we do the work, we get credit. When He does the work, He gets the credit.

Let us relax, trust and obey Him so that we can be salt and light in this troubled world.

Calendar:

1/30/26-Ed Moore’s and Bernie Moore’s celebration of lives at noon. LBs, please bring finger food for the reception immediately following the celebration.

2/20/26-Potlucking, worshiping, and hearing Felipe Villa, Michel’s grandpa, share his walk with the Lord. He might even play his trumpet for us!

Blessings,

Larry and Annette