The God of Revival
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Introduction: The choosing of a Name
Introduction: The choosing of a Name
Choosing our kid’s names:
Luke Wesley: (Favorite gospel and the gospel of the Holy Spirit + John Wesley)
Rylie Grace (girls names are sometimes a little harder, but Grace was intentional. We were surprised by her. We were surprised that she was a girl. We experienced a lot of God’s love in the preparation for her coming. She has always been a reminder of God’s love)
James Shepherd (James is our prayer for our lives and for our kids. That they would not just be hearers of the word but doers. And we believed God was going to raise him to be a leader)
Names are important. They have been that way in Scripture:
1. Objects
1. Objects
Ark of the Covenant — Not just a "box," but named to represent God's covenant with His people (Exodus 25:22).
Manna ("What is it?") — When God provided bread from heaven, the people named it Manna because they didn't know what it was (Exodus 16:31).
Nehushtan — The bronze serpent Moses made was later called Nehushtan and became a negative symbol that Hezekiah destroyed (2 Kings 18:4).
2. Places
2. Places
Bethel ("House of God") — Jacob names the place where he dreamed of the ladder to heaven Bethel, because he encountered God there (Genesis 28:19).
Ebenezer ("Stone of Help") — Samuel sets up a stone and names it Ebenezer to mark God's help in victory over the Philistines (1 Samuel 7:12).
Jehovah-Jireh ("The LORD Will Provide") — Abraham names the mountain where God provided a ram instead of Isaac Jehovah-Jireh (Genesis 22:14).
Peniel ("Face of God") — Jacob names the place where he wrestled with God Peniel, because he "saw God face to face" (Genesis 32:30).
3. Changing Names (People)
3. Changing Names (People)
Abram → Abraham — God changes Abram's name to Abraham ("father of many nations") as part of His covenant promise (Genesis 17:5).
Sarai → Sarah — Similarly, Sarai becomes Sarah, meaning "princess" or "mother of nations" (Genesis 17:15).
Jacob → Israel — After wrestling with God, Jacob's name is changed to Israel, meaning "he struggles with God" (Genesis 32:28).
Simon → Peter — Jesus renames Simon to Peter ("rock") as a foundation for the Church (Matthew 16:18).
Saul → Paul — After his conversion, Saul is called Paul, marking a major shift in his mission to the Gentiles (Acts 13:9).
Quick Summary:
Quick Summary:
Objects: Names often explain divine function or human misunderstanding.
Places: Names memorialize encounters with God or major acts of deliverance.
People: New names signify a new mission, covenant, or transformed identity.
Naming is important. And it is especially important when God names something close to his heart.
Message: The House of Prayer and the Living Temple
From the beginning, God intended His house to be a place where His people would encounter Him through prayer. In Isaiah 56:7, God said,
"My house shall be called a house of prayer for all peoples."
This straighforward naming of the house of God is simply clarifying what God had been saying all along. Dedication of the temple with Solomon….
“Now, my God, may your eyes be open and your ears attentive to the prayers offered in this place.
then
Now my eyes will be open and my ears attentive to the prayers offered in this place.
God says YES!
This was a radical vision: that God's presence would not be limited to one nation or one people, but would welcome all who would seek Him.
When Jesus entered the temple in Jerusalem and found it overtaken by merchants and greed, He zealously defended God's vision. In each of the Synoptic Gospels, Jesus quotes Isaiah to remind the people:
Matthew 21:13 — "It is written, 'My house shall be called a house of prayer,' but you make it a den of robbers."
Mark 11:17 — "Is it not written, 'My house shall be called a house of prayer for all the nations'? But you have made it a den of robbers."
Luke 19:46 — "It is written, 'My house shall be a house of prayer,' but you have made it a den of robbers."
And reference to that as well.
His disciples remembered that it is written: “Zeal for your house will consume me.”
Jesus' words reveal His passion for the temple to be a sacred space — devoted to prayer, open to all nations, and centered on communion with God.
Jesus believed the house of God should be in accordance to his naming.
But after His resurrection, the New Testament reveals an even deeper truth: God’s presence would not only dwell in a building, but in His people themselves. The followers of Jesus, both individually and together, would become His living temple:
Don’t you know that you yourselves are God’s temple and that God’s Spirit dwells in your midst? If anyone destroys God’s temple, God will destroy that person; for God’s temple is sacred, and you together are that temple.
Do you not know that your bodies are temples of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own; you were bought at a price. Therefore honor God with your bodies.
What agreement is there between the temple of God and idols? For we are the temple of the living God. As God has said: “I will live with them and walk among them, and I will be their God, and they will be my people.”
Consequently, you are no longer foreigners and strangers, but fellow citizens with God’s people and also members of his household, built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, with Christ Jesus himself as the chief cornerstone. In him the whole building is joined together and rises to become a holy temple in the Lord. And in him you too are being built together to become a dwelling in which God lives by his Spirit.
you also, like living stones, are being built into a spiritual house to be a holy priesthood, offering spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ.
John’s Gospel has a promise….
Jesus replied, “Anyone who loves me will obey my teaching. My Father will love them, and we will come to them and make our home with them.
What does it mean to be a house of prayer? How do you see FMC as a house of prayer? How is it not yet a house of prayer?
David and the God of Revival
David and the God of Revival
Let us bring the ark of our God back to us, for we did not inquire of it during the reign of Saul.”
The ark was returned to them 20 years or so from the Philistines. They inquire of their gods….boils.
A man sits on it for 20 years. Saul knows this and does nothing about it.
How will people know you are with us:
Exodus: the presence of God
but they would think morality
looks
circumcision
dietary restrictions“
“oh…that is a hebrew.”
They reject Samuel’s discipleship….give us a king.
Saul leads. The people scatter. Out of fear, I offer a sacrifice. Saul leads on natural realms and human control. 1 Samuel 13, 14, 15. Saul finally inquires on the Ark.
David: God has a man, a man in obscurity. Before Scripture mentions him, God knows him.
A prophetic parallel.
People like Saul who builds without the presence.
What does David do when he gets power is to get the presence back with His people.
From the days of Saul to the days of David.
Then David tries to do it with human means.
Walks 6 steps and offers a sacrifice. Samuel’s recording. 3500 sacrifices.
The God of Revival:
God is raising a generation that want it
That generation is realizing fear of the Lord and holiness is the way. Not human means
presence does not come in a moment like we want. It is built on sacrifice.
We hold worship services and expect people to show up. We have children events and expect kids to show up. We have student gatherings and expect students to show up. But what do we do to expect God to show up?
