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Paul knew that if we are to walk worthy of the Lord and be pleasing unto Him, if we are to live victorious Christian lives, we must have our consciences cleansed and we must be set free from the dominion of sin in our lives. But how can we experience this cleansing and this deliverance from the control that sin has over us? The only way to enter into this experience is to believe in Jesus and be baptized by Him with the Holy Spirit. It is only by being born again, by having the Spirit of Christ indwell us and abide in us that we could have our consciences cleansed and be set free from the dominion of sin to live holy lives that would glorify God. Paul says in Romans 8:9, “If anyone has not the Spirit of Christ, he does not belong to Him.” It is clear from this verse that what we need, to become a Christian, is the Holy Spirit. Without the Holy Spirit, we will never be able to please God. Without the Spirit, we are not genuine Christians. Jesus said in John 3:6, “That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit.” We must be born again. Our spirit must be born or made alive by the Holy Spirit coming to dwell in, abide in, our spirit. The question then is, how can we receive the Holy Spirit? What do we have to do to receive the Holy Spirit, to be born again? Are there some secret words we must say? Is there a certain prayer we must repeat? Is there some kind of penance we must do to make ourselves acceptable so that the Holy Spirit will be given to us? Luke 11:9-13 tells us that Jesus said to His disciples, “I tell you, keep asking, and it will be given you. Keep seeking, and you will find. Keep knocking, and it will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives. He who seeks finds. To him who knocks it will be opened. “Which of you fathers, if your son asks for bread, will give him a stone? Or if he asks for a fish, he won’t give him a snake instead of a fish, will he? Or if he asks for an egg, he won’t give him a scorpion, will he? If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him?” (WEB). It is clear from this passage that our Father, who is in heaven, wants to give us what is most needful for us to live lives that are totally pleasing to Him. Our heavenly Father wants to give us the Holy Spirit. All He requires is that we, believing in the Lord Jesus Christ, ask Him. It is that simple. I believe that many people never received the Spirit when they believed because they never even heard that there is a Holy Spirit. They had merely heard the gospel of repentance. They may have been led to feel sorry for their sins. They may have been baptized in water. They may have even gone through the motions of repeating a prayer asking for forgiveness and asking Jesus to come into their heart. But through this entire process, they never even heard that there was a Holy Spirit. Since believing, they may have joined a church. They may have begun reading the Bible. They may have made vows about living for the Lord and ceasing from sin. Yet, instead of embarking on lives overflowing with love, joy, and peace, they have experienced lives of struggle and frustration. They continually try to be better. They try to please God. But they find they do not have the power or the ability to do it. They need the Holy Spirit! Can someone be born again and not know it? Can someone’s spirit be made alive by the Holy Spirit and not know it? Can someone become a new creation and not know it? Can someone be transferred from darkness to light and not know it? If you have been born again, if the Holy Spirit has come to indwell you, you will know it. He makes all things new. He empowers you. He teaches you. He comforts you. He equips you to hear the Lord and to obey His voice. He overflows in you with love for the brothers, with joy in the Lord, and with praise and worship of our Father in heaven. The Spirit will completely change your life. If you are not living a victorious Christian life, if you did not receive the Holy Spirit when you believed, I encourage you to simply ask our Father who is in heaven and He will give the Holy Spirit to you. Be persistent, keep asking, keep seeking, keep knocking and the door will be opened to you. The Father will give the Holy Spirit to those who ask Him. We have Jesus’s assurance on this. If we truly believe Jesus, we will believe His promise regarding the Father’s faithfulness to give us the Holy Spirit. Remember, God wants the best for us. He wants us to know everything that is ours in Christ. It is for this reason that He wants to give us His Holy Spirit, that we might be enabled to live holy lives to His praise and to His glory.