If ye then being evil, know how to give good gifts unto your children: how much more shall your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to them that ask Him – Luke 11:13.

The Holy Spirit has been placed on the back shelf in many churches and among Christians. He’s not talked about how Christians need the Holy Spirit, and He is a gift for those who will accept Him and live a dedicated life to the Father.

Sadly, many Christians want to live according to their standards and not the Word of God. Christianity has taken on a new meaning than it did ten or twenty years ago. When a person professed to be a Christian, you could tell by their character and dress. Christianity does not mean one has to dress like a spinster, but it did mean Christian men and women dressed modestly. They weren’t dressed as though they were going to a party or a club. They recognized who they were in the kingdom of God, and they naturally and spiritually dressed the part.

Christians didn’t have to be told how to dress because the Holy Spirit would let them know what was appropriate and what was not. Because so many Christians have made a mockery of Christianity, His presence is not in their lives nor in their churches. The Holy Spirit is a teacher; He leads us to truth and not fashions or fades.

Yes, a portion of God’s Spirit enters the individual when they accept salvation, but there is another realm of being baptized in the Holy Spirit. Meaning He just doesn’t come upon you, but He lives within the individual. The Holy Spirit came upon the disciples when Jesus breathed on them (And when He had said this, He breathed on them, and saith unto them, Receive ye the Holy Ghost – John 20:22). The Holy Spirit came upon them, but when He instructed them to go to Jerusalem and wait on the Promise they were filled with the Holy Spirit (And they were all filled with the Holy Ghost, and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance – Acts 2:4).

Satan does not want Christians to receive the Holy Spirit, so he influences them to think they don’t need the Holy Spirit or makes them afraid to receive the Holy Spirit. Not having the Holy Spirit is like choosing to have a Toyota when they can have a Mercedes-Benz. The Holy Spirit was not just for Jesus’ disciples; it’s for today’s disciples and followers of Christ.

John the Baptist baptized for repentance (I indeed baptize you with water unto repentance; but He that cometh after me is mightier than I whose shoes I am not worthy to bear, He shall baptize you with the Holy Ghost, and with fire – Matthew 3:16). John identified people with himself and his message of repentance by water baptism. The one coming after him was so much greater that He would unite people to Himself by means of the Holy Spirit.

He shall baptize with the Holy Ghost refers to the spiritual rebirth of the regenerate who shall receive the baptism of the Spirit. The Holy Spirit is a gift God gives to His people to enable them to live according to His written instructions. Without the indwelling of the Holy Spirit, those who profess to be Christians will still live according to their desires and not the will or the Word of God. They attend church, but they don’t consistently schedule time to spend with God. The only time they read the Bible is when they attend Sunday worship, and the pastor asks them to turn to a certain Scripture. Even then, some don’t have a Bible; Satan has influenced people, so they don’t need their Bible, they can use their phones.

God left a manual to read, and it was not from our phones. The Bible is holy; phones aren’t. We use our phones for everything, whereas the Bible is the written Word of God; it’s sacred. The Bible should be respected. If God wanted us to use our phones to read His Word, He would have had a Holy Phone, not a Holy Bible! The Holy Spirit indwelling will enable the individual not to go along with all the fashions of the secular world because it’s quicker or easier.

When one is filled with the Holy Spirit, they are sealed until the day of redemption (And grieve not the Holy Spirit of God, whereby ye are sealed unto the day of redemption – Ephesians 4:20). The Holy Spirit of God should never be pushed away, ignored, or rejected. If we remembered that the One who lives in us is God’s own Spirit, we would be much more selective about what we think, read, watch, say, and do.

Christianity is more than saying I believe in Jesus; it’s a lifestyle that represents Christ’s dwelling in us. When salvation is truly accepted in the heart, the person becomes a new person in character and desires. In the first stage of salvation, the person becomes a Christian; thereafter, they become a saint, a living saint, not a dead saint. A saint is fully committed to God, spirit, soul, and body (Therefore, if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new – 2nd Corinthians 5:17). Both outward and inward sin must pass away, or one cannot claim to be in Christ.

Only through the Holy Spirit, when He’s allowed to take control of one’s life, can one actually live as a saint. People who live as Christians are still living according to their fleshly desires; their actions are those of the world, and holiness is nowhere to be found in them. We are to live as our Heavenly Father, holy, not compromising with the world.

The Holy Spirit enables Christians to live holy lives when He has given full control of one’s life. When one is filled with the Holy Spirit, the Fruit of the Spirit will be manifested in their lives: love, joy, peace, long-suffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, and temperance. The word “fruit” is significant for three reasons: (1) It means the result, product, outcome, or effect produced by the Spirit in the believer’s life. (2) Unlike the gifts of the Spirit (plural), only some are given to a Christian; each believer is to have all nine virtues composing the Fruit of the Spirit (singular). (3) Fruit on a tree takes time to grow and mature, so the Spirit does not cultivate these virtues in the believer’s life overnight. The Fruit of the Spirit can be produced only by God when He indwells individuals.

The indwelling of the Holy Spirit plays an important role in Christians; without Him, Christians can’t live according to God’s standards. Those who are filled live according to Scripture in their daily lives. They don’t compromise with the world’s actions; they allow the Holy Spirit to have full control of their lives.

Holy Spirit is a gift to those who sincerely want Him (If ye then, being evil, know how to give good gifts unto your children: how much more shall your Heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to them that ask Him – Luke 11:13). When the Holy Spirit enters, He begins to clean out the things of the world from our spirit and desires. The Holy Spirit creates in us the image of Him and His Son. If you desire to go to heaven, allow the Holy Spirit to come and dwell in your spirit, making you heavenly ready!