To Those Who Ask
by mark baker


Luke 11:11 "If a son asks for bread from any father among you, will he give him a stone? Or if he asks for a fish, will he give him a serpent instead of a fish?
12. "Or if he asks for an egg, will he offer him a scorpion?
13. "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!''

I would like to ask this same question of you, if you have received Jesus as your Savior then you are a child of God, and God is your Heavenly Father, (This is always the first step, acknowledging Jesus Christ as the Messiah, the anointed one, and receiving Him as both Savior and Lord in your life. Messiah means the anointed one.) If you asked your Heavenly Father for the gift of the Holy Spirit would He give it to you? Many people say, well I received Jesus Christ as my Savior, that means I have received the Holy Spirit. Yes you were sealed with the Holy Spirit but I am talking about the gift of the Holy Spirit that Jesus was talking about. He was not talking to sinners. He was talking to people who called God their Heavenly Father. Sinners can not do that. God is not their Heavenly Father. He was talking to children of God. Are you God's child?

Acts 19:1 And it happened, while Apollos was at Corinth, that Paul, having passed through the upper regions, came to Ephesus. And finding some disciples
2. he said to them, "Did you receive the Holy Spirit when you believed?'' And they said to him, "We have not so much as heard whether there is a Holy Spirit.''
3. And he said to them, "Into what then were you baptized?'' So they said, "Into John's baptism.''
4. Then Paul said, "John indeed baptized with a baptism of repentance, saying to the people that they should believe on Him who would come after him, that is, on Christ Jesus.''
5. When they heard this, they were baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus.
6. And when Paul had laid hands on them, the Holy Spirit came upon them, and they spoke with tongues and prophesied.

These disciples whom Paul was talking to knew nothing about the Holy Spirit, they said, We have not so much as heard whether there is a Holy Spirit, yet they were called disciples, and they were believers of Christ Jesus, weren't they? Yet they had not the gift of the Holy Spirit.

There is an out pouring out of the Holy Spirit that is subsequent to the initial salvation experience. The prophet Joel prophesied. Joel 2:28 "And it shall come to pass afterward that I will pour out My Spirit on all flesh; your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, your old men shall dream dreams, your young men shall see visions;

We see this is not talking about salvation, but an outpouring out of God's Holy Spirit, with the subsequent evidence of prophecy and visions.
This outpouring of the Holy Spirit is accompanied by the evidence of tongues and sometimes prophesy as we saw with the disciples in Ephesus and as the prophet Joel prophesied.

The prophet Isaiah prophesied Isaiah 28:11 For with stammering lips and another tongue He will speak to this people,
12. to whom He said, "This is the rest with which you may cause the weary to rest,'' And, "This is the refreshing''; yet they would not hear.

Many people will not hear but it does not have to be that way. Listen to what the Word of God has to say. Receive the refreshing of God's Holy Spirit!

Acts 2:1 Now when the Day of Pentecost had fully come, they were all with one accord in one place. 2. And suddenly there came a sound from heaven, as of a rushing mighty wind, and it filled the whole house where they were sitting. 3. Then there appeared to them divided tongues, as of fire, and one sat upon each of them. 4. And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance.
5. Now there were dwelling in Jerusalem Jews, devout men, from every nation under heaven. 6. And when this sound occurred, the multitude came together, and were confused, because everyone heard them speak in his own language. 7. then they were all amazed and marveled, saying to one another, "Look, are not all these who speak Galileans? 8. And how is it that we hear, each in our own language in which we were born? 9. Parthians and Medes and Elamites, those dwelling in Mesopotamia, Judea and Cappadocia, Pontus and Asia, 10. Phrygia and Pamphylia, Egypt and the parts of Libya adjoining Cyrene, visitors from Rome, both Jews and proselytes, 11. "Cretans and Arabs we hear them speaking in our own tongues the wonderful works of God. 12. So they were all amazed and perplexed, saying to one another, "Whatever could this mean? 13. Others mocking said, "They are full of new wine.'' 14. But Peter, standing up with the eleven, raised his voice and said to them, "Men of Judea and all who dwell in Jerusalem, let this be known to you, and heed my words. 15. For these are not drunk, as you suppose, since it is only the third hour of the day. 16. But this is what was spoken by the prophet Joel: 17. `And it shall come to pass in the last days, says God, That I will pour out of My Spirit on all flesh; your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, your young men shall see visions, your old men shall dream dreams. 18. and on My menservants and on My maidservants I will pour out My Spirit in those days; and they shall prophesy.

Acts 38-39. Then Peter said to them, "Repent, and let every one of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins; and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. For the promise is to you and to your children, and to all who are afar off, as many as the Lord our God will call.''

Peter speaking of this outpouring said For the promise is to you and to your children, and to all who are afar off, as many as the Lord our God will call. This promise is for all generations and includes us all.

Jesus said .. John 7:37-39. On the last day, that great day of the feast, Jesus stood and cried out, saying, If anyone thirsts, let him come to Me and drink. He who believes in Me, as the Scripture has said, out of his heart will flow rivers of living water. But this He spoke concerning the Spirit, whom those believing in Him would receive; for the Holy Spirit was not yet given, because Jesus was not yet glorified.

I would remind you of what Jesus said in our opening Scripture 13. "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!''

Are you hungry and thirsty for more? We can now say that Jesus has been glorified, you can receive the gift of the Holy Spirit now. All you have to do is ask!

The Holy Spirit has already been given it is up to you to receive Him. You receive the Holy Spirit the same way you received Jesus as Savior and Lord, and that is by faith.

If you are a born again child of God then you are ready to receive the Holy Spirit.
(Luke 11:9-13.)

Many times in the New Testament the Holy Spirit was received by the laying on of
hands, but not always. In either case the Holy Spirit is not given, He is received.
Many seek after the Holy Spirit, but He must be received, just like Jesus was received.

Understand, you are the one who does the speaking, the Holy Spirit is not doing the
speaking. He is giving the utterance but you are the one who does the speaking. If you have no one to lay hands on you, then you can receive Him by faith and begin to speak out of your mouth as the Holy Spirit gives you utterance. (Acts 2:4., Acts 10:44-46.,
Acts 19:6.)

This is the way I received The Holy Spirit, by simply asking the Father, and I then began to speak in faith as the Holy Spirit filled me with His presence and gave me utterance. At first I felt silly, but as I persisted, I had rivers of living water flowing out of me. I knew so little, as I had only been saved 2 weeks at the time, but God honored my step of faith, He will always honor faith in Him.

We should not worry about many of the things we have been taught from others, or how we feel personally, but only look at what God's Word has to say on this. Cast away your fears and receive God's promise by faith. You will receive God's gift. Remember how much more will your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask Him!
(Luke 11:11-13.)

You speak in tongues as the Spirit gives you utterance. It matters not if you feel silly when you do it, or you might say that is only me. Of course it is you, you are the one doing the speaking, but as a yielded vessel to God. His Spirit will speak through you, but not without you yielding yourself to Him.

Now, ask the Father for His very precious gift of the Holy Spirit, say with your mouth Father I am receiving Your Holy Spirit right now by faith, and begin to speak the words that the Holy Spirit gives.

God's Word is true and this promise is for you! He will fulfill His promise!

If you have not first received Jesus as Lord and Savior I would like to invite you to first receive Him now. You simply ask Him into your heart by faith and receive eternal life. You can take this first step by earnestly praying this prayer.

Dear Heavenly Father, I come to you in the name of Jesus. Your word says, "and the one who comes to Me I will by no means cast out." (Jn.6:37),

So I know You won't cast me out, but You take me in, And I thank you for it. You said in your Word, "whoever calls upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.'' (Ro. 10:13).

I am calling on Your name, So I know You have saved me now, You also said, "that if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. For with the heart one believes to righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made to salvation." (Ro.10:9,10).

I believe in my heart that Jesus Christ is the Son of God. I believe He was raised from the dead for my justification. And I confess Him now as my Lord, Because Your Word says, " with the heart one believes to righteousness" and I do believe with my heart, I have now become the righteousness of God in Christ. (2 Cor. 5:21),

And I am saved! Thank You, Lord!
I can now truthfully say, I see myself as a born again child of God!

Glory to God!!!! Amen.


I was raised Catholic, and was born again at the age of 17. I received God's call into ministry at the age of 19 and began to prepare for ministry. I graduated from Rhema Bible Training Center in 1979.  The Lord has called me to teach.  My desire is to help all that are seeking the truth to come into a deeper understanding of what God has done for us through Christ Jesus. Olive Branch Ministries is an outgrowth of that desire.
Please feel free to visit us for more free studies and resources to help you on your journey.
Mark Baker
http://www.olivebranchministries.us

Article Source: http://www.faithwriters.com







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