PREPARE THY CHARIOT
by: Pastor Donny Granberry
Tonight we will look at the fact that we must prepare ourselves if we desire to have a great move of the Holy Spirit.
The Holy Spirit was given purposefully on the day of Pentecost, not accidentally.
He still comes upon the church to those who are purposefully seeking Him.
Let’s look at four distinctive preparations for Pentecost.
1. Pentecost’s Sound
1 Kings 18:41 NIV
And Elijah said to Ahab, "Go, eat and drink, for there is the sound of a heavy rain."
Pentecost has a sound all its own.
This afternoon as we were eating lunch I began to hear a sound.
I began to hear thunder and feel the effects of it.
I did not see it, not did I see the effects of it yet.
I was inside the restaurant, but I knew it was coming by the sound I was hearing.
As we went outside it was not raining, nor was the ground wet, but rain was coming for I could hear the sound of it.
As we got over here we came into a downpour, and everything was effected by it and saturated.
This morning, as I was about to go to the platform, the Holy Spirit began speaking to me telling me to prepare the chariots, for something was a coming.
I did not seek the effects of the Holy Spirit yet, but I could hear the sound of Him coming.
The believers in the Early Church did not build a practice upon waiting for the wind or the cloven tongues like as of fire; they built a practice of speaking in other tongues as the Spirit gave utterance.
God wants His church to experience the thrill of Pentecost.
Laughter may accompany the experience of being baptized in the Spirit; one might be slain in the Spirit; one might dance in the Spirit.
But we don’t build practices on those manifestations.
The reason for the Baptism in the Holy Ghost is the enduement of power.
The result of the Pentecostal experience is that Jesus is glorified.
Acts 2:11 NIV
…(both Jews and converts to Judaism); Cretans and Arabs-we hear them declaring the wonders of God in our own tongues!"
If the experience satisfies only the flesh, we will need to find something else when the newness wears off.
But if the experience results in a revelation of and a deeper relationship with Jesus Christ, the result will be the same as what happened to those in the Early Church: they turned their “world upside down” (Acts 17:6).
The church must have spiritual maturity to determine what is of the Spirit.
If we will allow our worship to result in a revelation of who Jesus is and a relationship with who He is, the church will continue to move under the dynamic of Pentecost.
God told me this morning, lead the people in the song “You deserve the glory.”
The song speaks of who He is and who is worthy.
Revelation 5:1-5, 8&9 KJV
And I saw in the right hand of him that sat on the throne a book written within and on the backside, sealed with seven seals.
2 And I saw a strong angel proclaiming with a loud voice, Who is worthy to open the book, and to loose the seals thereof?
3 And no man in heaven, nor in earth, neither under the earth, was able to open the book, neither to look thereon.
4 And I wept much, because no man was found worthy to open and to read the book, neither to look thereon.
5 And one of the elders saith unto me, Weep not: behold, the Lion of the tribe of Juda, the Root of David, hath prevailed to open the book,
8 And when he had taken the book, the four beasts and four and twenty elders fell down before the Lamb, having every one of them harps, and golden vials full of odours, which are the prayers of saints.
9 And they sung a new song, saying, Thou art worthy to take the book, and to open the seals thereof: for thou wast slain, and hast redeemed us to God by thy blood out of every kindred, and tongue, and people, and nation;
Aren’t you thankful tonight that we serve one who is worthy?
Revelation 4:11 KJV
Thou art worthy, O Lord, to receive glory and honour and power: for thou hast created all things, and for thy pleasure they are and were created.
God will accomplish His purpose and the supernatural will happen effortlessly and so miraculously that only Jesus will receive the praise, the honor, and the glory.
2. Pentecost’s Prayer
(Verse 42) Elijah climbed to the top of Carmel, bent down to the ground and put his face between his knees.
Travailing, prevailing prayer must be an important part of what God is doing.
Elijah was in a cave when the Lord came to him: “The Lord passed by…but the Lord was not in the wind…and earthquake…a fire.”
After the still, small voice “Elijah heard it…and wrapped his face in his mantle (1 Kings 19:11–13).
3. Pentecost’s persistence
“Go up now, look” (verse 43).
There’s timing in God for those who will walk in obedience—those shut in with God.
The Holy Ghost will birth faith in your heart.
Hebrews 11:1
For “faith is the substance (title deed) of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.”
Persistence was rewarded.
At the seventh time Elijah’s servant went, he said, “Behold, there ariseth a little cloud out of the sea, like a man’s hand”
To many it would have not seemed very big—except when it’s God’s hand.
Someone wrote a song, “Don’t give up on the brink of a miracle.”
If I looked outside tomorrow and I saw a small cloud the size of a man’s hand, I would probably rejoice.
Maybe it’s not going to rain today.
Yet if we were in a time of drought.
When you get up every morning and the heat is already sweltering, no dew on the ground.
You go out and look several times a day and have the same results.
Days turn into weeks, weeks into month’s, month’s into years, and still nothing.
When the servant went to look he did not expect anything to be different.
Go look again, nothing, go look again, nothing, go look again, nothing, for six times.
When God tells you He’s going to do something, get ready, pray, be persistent, and get prepared.
4. Pentecost’s Preparedness
(Verse 44) "Go and tell Ahab, `Hitch up your chariot and go down before the rain stops you.’"
You have to hunger. You have to desire. You have to thirst. You have to pursue God. If you draw nigh to Him, He will draw nigh to you (James 4:8).
Preparation time becomes a time of purifying.
There will never be a revival in the church until first it is pure and holy.
When Isaiah confessed he was a man undone (“ruined,” confessing his sin) and a man of unclean lips and that he dwelt in the midst of a people of like character, then a live coal from off the altar was laid upon his mouth (Isaiah 6:5).
We need to get our chariots ready, so when the rain comes in torrents our wheels won’t come off—we won’t be caught up in some fleshly exercise that profits nothing.
Be ready to fulfill the purpose for which God raised us up.
