Pentecost’s sound—“a sound of abundance of rain” (1 Kings 18:41).
Pentecost has a sound all its own. 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 physical evidence of speaking in tongues is the enduement of power.
The result of the Pentecostal experience is that Jesus is glorified (Acts 2:11). 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 will accomplish His purpose and the supernatural will happen effortlessly and so miraculously that only Jesus will receive the praise.
Pentecost’s prayer—“he…put his face between his knees” (verse 42).
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).
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. For “faith is the substance (title deed) of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen” (Hebrews 11:1).
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” (1 Kings 18:44). Not very big—except when it’s God’s hand.
Pentecost’s preparedness—“Prepare thy chariot” (verse 44).
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,” NIV) 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). God will expose sin.
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.
Thomas E. Trask has been general superintendent since 1993. Prior to being elected superintendent, he served as general treasurer for 5 years. This sermon is adapted from his keynote address at the 45th General Council in St. Louis, Missouri, 1995, and is adapted from the October 22, 1995, issue of the Pentecostal Evangel.
