The Baptism of the Holy Ghost?

What Happened to Emphasis on the Pentecostal Blessing

Act 10:37-46 that word which was published throughout all Judea, and began from Galilee, after the baptism which John proclaimed; (38) how God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and with power, and He went about doing good, and healing all those who were oppressed by the Devil, for God was with Him. (39) And we are witnesses of all things which He did, both in the land of the Jews and in Jerusalem. They killed Him and hanged Him on a tree; (40) but God raised Him up the third day and showed Him openly, (41) not to all the people, but to witnesses hand-picked before by God, even to us who ate and drank with Him after He rose from the dead. (42) And He commanded us to preach to the people, and to testify that it is He who was ordained of God to be the Judge of the living and the dead. (43) All the Prophets give witness to Him, that through His name whoever believes in Him shall receive remission of sins. (44) While Peter was still speaking these words, the Holy Spirit fell on all those hearing the Word. (45) And those of the circumcision, who believed (as many as came with Peter), were astonished because the gift of the Holy Spirit was poured out on the nations also. (46) For they heard them speak with tongues and magnify God.

In the above scripture, this is the first time the gift of the Holy Ghost was poured out on the Gentile believers. They were receiving the preach Word of God, and they were all baptized with the Holy Ghost, just as those on the day of Pentecost. The early church message was repent and receive the gift of the Holy Ghost. We see that Peter preached this on the day of Pentecost and in Samaria. The example above, caused Gentiles to understand the Holy Ghost. It was then the apostle Paul who took up the banner of the Holy Ghost to the Gentiles.

Every example of believers being filled with the Holy Ghost, was followed by the evidence of speaking in tongues. The early church put great emphasis on the Holy Ghost. This just continued the preaching of John the Baptist and Christ. As time passed, the church allowed perversion of the gospel. It was not until the turn of the 20th Century that emphasis on the Pentecostal blessing, picked up steamed. The Azuza Street revival brought great fervor to the church. The church saw a resurgence on the baptism or gift of the Holy Ghost.

However, in todays Pentecostal church, some put all the emphasis on soul winning (which is definitely our agenda), but little emphasis is put on the Baptism of the Holy Ghost. The church in many cases has come so complacint , that they have said that speaking in other tongues is not the initial evidence of the Holy Ghost.

This saddens me. Our young people, are not seeking for the Holy Ghost baptism. We have churches that our addressing other ways to receive the baptism of the Holy Ghost. We have churches that try and teach people to speak in tongues. This is a God orchestrated gift. Man is just the receiver, God does not need our help in baptizing people with the Holy Ghost. We in the church are to be careful, as not to become the church that Paul spoke of in 2 Timothy. The church that has a form of godliness, but denys the power.

May we wake up out of our sleep, and start preaching seek for the Holy Ghost. It will change our whole church outlook.