The Promise, continued

The day of Pentecost signaled the beginning of the church age, since it marked the first occurrence of the baptism of the Spirit by which the Church, the body of Christ, would be able to work with power and miracles as Christ intended. The supernatural tongues, which all present were given, signaled the proclamation of the gospel of grace to every race and nation,the 'whosoever' of John 3. The initial adventof the Spirit was a giving by the Father and a receiving by the believer, who received the ability to perform the ministries which Christ had directed him to perform, the witnessing of the truth and power of salvation through Jesus Christ. The Holy Ghost speaks only to glorfy Christ, and is a fulfillment of the program of evangelization for the new church age commanded by the risen Lord in Acts 1:8.
This experience in the upper room and the preaching of Peter in Acts 2 was not the final out-pouring of the Spirit, only the beginning. The Baptism of the Holy Ghost was being spread wherever believers gathered to worship the risen Lord. The Baptism of the Holy Ghost is still relevant for every believer, perhaps more necessary than ever before as we see the evil of the last days increasing in this world. We must be fully equipped and enabled to be successful workers in the Kingdom. We must earnestly seek and surrender our spirit to Him, allowing Him to empower us in our life for Christ and in our ministry so that we may reap the fields that are ripe unto harvest. Like those in the upper room on that first Pentecost infilling, we must remove all SELF from the equation, submitting our thoughts, our voice, our praise and our will to the Holy Spirit (Ghost). As you surrender your will to Him, He will fulfill the 'promise of the Father' in your life. Full submission of your clean heart is the only requirement,just as repentance was the only requirement for the New Birth. Acts. 2:38-40.
The initial baptism is only the beginning, as it was for those who first experienced the event in the upper room. They went forth doing wonders, preaching the Word with signs and miracles following and eventually were known as the people who turned the world upside down because of their work for the Lord.
To be continued!