God didn’t design you to sustain life, but to bring life. Genesis 1:28 (NIV) God blessed them and said to them, “Be fruitful and increase in number… John 7:38 (NIV) Whoever believes in me, as the Scripture has said, streams of living water will flow from within him.”
“Our purpose is not survival; it’s revival.”
1 Kings 17:17-24 (NIV) 17 Some time later the son of the woman who owned the house became ill. He grew worse and worse, and finally stopped breathing. 18 She said to Elijah, “What do you have against me, man of God? Did you come to remind me of my sin and kill my son?” 19 “Give me your son,” Elijah replied. He took him from her arms, carried him to the upper room where he was staying, and laid him on his bed. 20 Then he cried out to the LORD, “O LORD my God, have you brought tragedy also upon this widow I am staying with, by causing her son to die?” 21 Then he stretched himself out on the boy three times and cried to the LORD, “O LORD my God, let this boy’s life return to him!” 22 The LORD heard Elijah’s cry, and the boy’s life returned to him, and he lived. 23 Elijah picked up the child and carried him down from the room into the house. He gave him to his mother and said, “Look, your son is alive!” 24 Then the woman said to Elijah, “Now I know that you are a man of God and that the word of the LORD from your mouth is the truth.”
Releasing Revival 1. It’s already in you. Romans 8:11 (NLT) The Spirit of God, who raised Jesus from the dead, lives in you. And just as God raised Christ Jesus from the dead, he will give life to your mortal bodies by this same Spirit living within you.
Luke 17:20-21 (NIV) 20 Once, having been asked by the Pharisees when the kingdom of God would come, Jesus replied, “The kingdom of God does not come with your careful observation, 21 nor will people say, ‘Here it is,’ or ‘There it is,’ because the kingdom of God is within you.”
2. Take responsibility Verse 19 “Give me your Son”
Revival is our responsibility!
3. It starts in an upper room. Verse: 19...He took him from her arms, carried him to the upper room where he was staying.
4. Costs us our comfort 1 Kings 17:21 Then he stretched himself out on the boy… Stretch yourself.
5. Consistency Counts Verser 21 Then, he stretched himself out on the boy three times.
DON’T GIVE UP ON TWO!
“A lifestyle of consistency is more effective than a moment of Intensity.”
Matthew 7:7 (NLT) “Keep on asking, and you will receive what you ask for. Keep on
“The spoken word is a catalyst for bringing death to life!”
Proverbs 18:21 (NIV) The tongue has the power of life and death.
Matthew 8:5–13 (NLT) 5 When Jesus returned to Capernaum, a Roman officer came and pleaded with him, 6 “Lord, my young servant lies in bed, paralyzed and in terrible pain.” 7 Jesus said, “I will come and heal him.” 8 But the officer said, “Lord, I am not worthy to have you come into my home. Just say the word from where you are, and my servant will be healed. 9 I know this because I am under the authority of my superior officers, and I have authority over my soldiers. I only need to say, ‘Go,’ and they go, or ‘Come,’ and they come. And if I say to my slaves, ‘Do this,’ they do it.” 10 When Jesus heard this, he was amazed. Turning to those who were following him, he said, “I tell you the truth, I haven’t seen faith like this in all Israel! 13 Then Jesus said to the Roman officer, “Go back home. Because you believed, it has happened.” And the young servant was healed that same hour.
The weight of words “Our words are a catalyst for bringing death to life!”
1. Words carry authority 2 Corinthians 5:20 (NLT) So we are Christ’s ambassadors; God is making his appeal through us…
We have to be under his authority to speak his authority. Hebrews 11:3 (NKJV) We understand that the worlds were framed by the word of God….
2. Words work with faith. Mark 11:23 (NIV) "I tell you the truth, if anyone says to this mountain, 'Go, throw yourself into the sea,' and does not doubt in his heart but believes that what he says will happen, it will be done for him.
3. Words are a weighty responsibility. Psalm 141:3 (NIV) Set a guard over my mouth, O Lord; keep watch over the door of my lips.
Matthew 12:36-37 (NLT) 36 And I tell you this, you must give an account on judgment day for every idle word you speak. 37 The words you say will either acquit you or condemn you.”
Life-giving Words Proverbs 10:11(NIV) The mouth of the righteous is a fountain of life...
1. Prophetic Declarations “If it doesn’t possess the spirit of Jesus, it’s not a prophetic word; it's a pathetic word.”
2. Point to Jesus
Isaiah 61:1-3 (NIV) 1 The Spirit of the Sovereign LORD is on me, because the LORD has anointed me to preach good news to the poor. He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim freedom for the captives and release from darkness for the prisoners, 2 to proclaim the year of the LORD's favor and the day of vengeance of our God, to comfort all who mourn, 3 and provide for those who grieve in Zion-- to bestow on them a crown of beauty instead of ashes, the oil of gladness instead of mourning, and a garment of praise instead of a spirit of despair. They will be called oaks of righteousness, a planting of the LORD for the display of his splendor.
3. Proclaiming blessing Proverbs 11:11(NIV) Through the blessing of the upright a city is exalted.
What comes out of your mouth identifies you.
Ezekiel 37:1-10 (NIV) 1 The hand of the LORD was upon me, and he brought me out by the Spirit of the LORD and set me in the middle of a valley; it was full of bones. 2 He led me back and forth among them, and I saw a great many bones on the floor of the valley, bones that were very dry. 3 He asked me, "Son of man, can these bones live?" I said, "O Sovereign LORD, you alone know." 4 Then he said to me, "Prophesy to these bones and say to them, 'Dry bones, hear the word of the LORD! 5 This is what the Sovereign LORD says to these bones: I will make breath enter you, and you will come to life. 6 I will attach tendons to you and make flesh come upon you and cover you with skin; I will put breath in you, and you will come to life. Then you will know that I am the LORD.'" 7 So I prophesied as I was commanded. And as I was prophesying, there was a noise, a rattling sound, and the bones came together, bone to bone. 8 I looked, and tendons and flesh appeared on them and skin covered them, but there was no breath in them. 9 Then he said to me, "Prophesy to the breath; prophesy, son of man, and say to it, 'This is what the Sovereign LORD says: Come from the four winds, O breath, and breathe into these slain, that they may live.'" 10 So I prophesied as he commanded me, and breath entered them; they came to life and stood up on their feet--a vast army.
“NO DEAD THINGS ALLOWED!
Can these bones live? Ministry
Romans 10:9–10 (NIV) 9 If you confess with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. 10 For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you confess and are saved.
Proverbs 10:11(NIV) The mouth of the righteous is a fountain of life...
Proverbs 10:20(NIV) The tongue of the righteous is choice silver….
Proverbs 10: 21(NIV) The lips of the righteous nourish many….
Proverbs 15:4(NIV) The tongue that brings healing is a tree of life, but a deceitful tongue crushes the spirit.
Hebrews 11:3 (NKJV) We understand that the worlds were framed by the word of God….
Luke 7:11–13 (NLT) 11Jesus went with his disciples to the village of Nain, and a large crowd followed him. 12 A funeral procession was coming out as he approached the village gate. The young man who had died was a widow’s only son, and a large crowd from the village was with her. 13 When the Lord saw her, his heart overflowed with compassion. “Don’t cry!” he said.
Psalm 34:18 (NLT) The Lord is close to the brokenhearted; he rescues those whose spirits are crushed.
Luke 7:14–15 (NLT)14 Then he walked over to the coffin and touched it, and the bearers stopped. “Young man,” he said, “I tell you, get up.” 15 Then the dead boy sat up and began to talk! And Jesus gave him back to his mother.
Mealtimes & Fellowship
Resurrected Jesus shows up a mealtimes.
Luke 24:36–43 (NIV) 36 While they were still talking about this, Jesus himself stood among them and said to them, “Peace be with you.” 37 They were startled and frightened, thinking they saw a ghost. 38 He said to them, “Why are you troubled, and why do doubts rise in your minds? 39 Look at my hands and my feet. It is I myself! Touch me and see; a ghost does not have flesh and bones, as you see I have.” 40 When he had said this, he showed them his hands and feet. 41 And while they still did not believe it because of joy and amazement, he asked them, “Do you have anything here to eat?” 42 They gave him a piece of broiled fish, 43 and he took it and ate it in their presence.
John 21:12 (NIV) Jesus said to them, “Come and have breakfast.”
More than a nice guy, Jesus is God who is good.
The ancients believed that if you saw God you died, Jesus showed us that you have to see God to Live.
John 5:25 (NLT)“I assure you that the time is coming, indeed it’s here now, when the dead will hear my voice—the voice of the Son of God. And those who listen will live.
1 John 1:1–4 (NLT) 1 We proclaim to you the one who existed from the beginning, whom we have heard and seen. We saw him with our own eyes and touched him with our own hands. He is the Word of life. 2 This one who is life itself was revealed to us, and we have seen him. And now we testify and proclaim to you that he is the one who is eternal life. He was with the Father, and then he was revealed to us. 3 We proclaim to you what we ourselves have actually seen and heard so that you may have fellowshipwith us. And our fellowship is with the Father and with his Son, Jesus Christ. 4 We are writing these things so that you may fully share our joy.
κοινωνία (koinōnia). n. fem. fellowship, communion, sharing, participation. A term that conveys a sense of commonality, solidarity, and shared responsibility among households or individuals.
χαρά (chara). n. joy. The experience of gladness.
Resurrected into fellowship
1. Know you are loved & wanted Revelation 3:20 (NLT) “Look! I stand at the door and knock. If you hear my voice and open the door, I will come in, and we will share a meal together as friends.
2. Take a seat at the table. Don’t blame God for the distance.
3. Fellowship shows up in the follow-ship. 1 John 1:5–7 (NLT) 5 This is the message we heard from Jesus and now declare to you: God is light, and there is no darkness in him at all. 6 So we are lying if we say we have fellowship with God but go on living in spiritual darkness; we are not practicing the truth. 7 But if we are living in the light, as God is in the light, then we have fellowship with each other, and the blood of Jesus, his Son, cleanses us from all sin.
John 13:8–9 (NIV) 8 “No,” said Peter, “you shall never wash my feet.” Jesus answered, “Unless I wash you, you have no part with me.” 9 “Then, Lord,” Simon Peter replied, “not just my feet but my hands and my head as well!”
John 13:9 (TPT)“...Then you will not be able to share life with me.”
Philippians 3:10–11 (NIV) 10 I want to know Christ and the power of his resurrection and the fellowship of sharing in his sufferings, becoming like him in his death, 11 and so, somehow, to attain to the resurrection from the dead.
"When we are aquatinted with his death, we experience His resurrection."
Colossians 2:9–15 (NLT) 9 For in Christ lives all the fullness of God in a human body. 10 So you also are complete through your union with Christ, who is the head over every ruler and authority. 11 When you came to Christ, you were “circumcised,” but not by a physical procedure. Christ performed a spiritual circumcision—the cutting away of your sinful nature. 12 For you were buried with Christ when you were baptized. And with him you were raised to new life because you trusted the mighty power of God, who raised Christ from the dead. 13 You were dead because of your sins and because your sinful nature was not yet cut away. Then God made you alive with Christ, for he forgave all our sins. 14 He canceled the record of the charges against us and took it away by nailing it to the cross. 15 In this way, he disarmed the spiritual rulers and authorities. He shamed them publicly by his victory over them on the cross.
The resurrection of 2 daughters
One from death to life, one from disease and exclusion to beloved identity and wholeness.
One claimed one and one unclaimed.
One loved and one forgotten.
One was bringing Jesus to the need, the other bringing the need to Jesus.
See Also: Matthew 9:23-26, Mark 5:35-43. Luke 8:40–47 (NIV) 40 Now when Jesus returned, a crowd welcomed him, for they were all expecting him. 41 Then a man named Jairus, a ruler of the synagogue, came and fell at Jesus’ feet, pleading with him to come to his house 42 because his only daughter, a girl of about twelve, was dying. As Jesus was on his way, the crowds almost crushed him. 43 And a woman was there who had been subject to bleeding for twelve years, but no one could heal her. 44 She came up behind him and touched the edge of his cloak, and immediately her bleeding stopped. 45 “Who touched me?” Jesus asked. When they all denied it, Peter said, “Master, the people are crowding and pressing against you.” 46 But Jesus said, “Someone touched me; I know that power has gone out from me.” 47 Then the woman, seeing that she could not go unnoticed, came trembling and fell at his feet. In the presence of all the people, she told why she had touched him and how she had been instantly healed. 48 Then he said to her, “Daughter, your faith has healed you. Go in peace.”
“In the midst of the move of God, He is not so consumed with the “bigger miracle” or the agenda to address your need!”
“Daughter, your faith has made you well. Go in peace.” “She didn’t just get healed. She got identified as His Own.”
Twelve a Connection? A 12 year old daughter & (2)A 12 year old issue
“He has authority over issues we bring him to and the issues we bring to him.”
Luke 8:49–53 (NIV) 49 While Jesus was still speaking, someone came from the house of Jairus, the synagogue ruler. “Your daughter is dead,” he said. “Don’t bother the teacher any more.” 50 Hearing this, Jesus said to Jairus, “Don’t be afraid; just believe, and she will be healed.” 51 When he arrived at the house of Jairus, he did not let anyone go in with him except Peter, John and James, and the child’s father and mother. 52 Meanwhile, all the people were wailing and mourning for her. “Stop wailing,” Jesus said. “She is not dead but asleep.”53 They laughed at him, knowing that she was dead. 54 But he took her by the hand and said, “My child, get up!” 55 Her spirit returned, and at once she stood up. Then Jesus told them to give her something to eat.
The road to a Resurrection 1. Stay Humble. Stay needy. “Humility keeps us at the mercy of Jesus.”
2. It’s a risky road. “If it isn’t risky it isn’t faith.”
3. Stay on the road. (Remain in faith) “The same faith Jairus had for sickness was the same faith that brought resurrection.”
4. It’s met with opposition
5. It’s His voice that awakens
John 5:25 (NIV) “I tell you, a time is coming and has now come when the dead will hear the voice of the Son of God and those who hear will live.”
1. Martha’s Moment John 11:21–26 (NIV) 21 “Lord,” Martha said to Jesus, “if you had been here, my brother would not have died. 22 But I know that even now God will give you whatever you ask.” 23 Jesus said to her, “Your brother will rise again.” 24 Martha answered, “I know he will rise again in the resurrection at the last day.” 25 Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in me will live, even though he dies; 26 and whoever lives and believes in me will never die. Do you believe this?”
The grave could not hold Him who is THE RESURRECTION!
John 11:27 (NIV) “Yes, Lord,” she told him, “I believe that you are the Christ, the Son of God, who was to come into the world.”
2. Mary’s Moment John 11:32–44 (NIV) 32 When Mary reached the place where Jesus was and saw him, she fell at his feet and said, “Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died.” 33 When Jesus saw her weeping, and the Jews who had come along with her also weeping, he was deeply moved in spirit and troubled. 34 “Where have you laid him?” he asked. “Come and see, Lord,” they replied. 35 Jesus wept. 36 Then the Jews said, “See how he loved him!” 37 But some of them said, “Could not he who opened the eyes of the blind man have kept this man from dying?”
3. Lazarus’ Moment John 11:38–44 (NIV) 38 Jesus, once more deeply moved, came to the tomb. It was a cave with a stone laid across the entrance. 39 “Take away the stone,” he said. “But, Lord,” said Martha, the sister of the dead man, “by this time there is a bad odor, for he has been there four days.” 40 Then Jesus said, “Did I not tell you that if you believed, you would see the glory of God?” 41 So they took away the stone. Then Jesus looked up and said, “Father, I thank you that you have heard me. 42 I knew that you always hear me, but I said this for the benefit of the people standing here, that they may believe that you sent me.” 43 When he had said this, Jesus called in a loud voice, “Lazarus, come out!” 44 The dead man came out, his hands and feet wrapped with strips of linen, and a cloth around his face. Jesus said to them, “Take off the grave clothes and let him go.”
He awakens the sleepers. He awakens the dead. Ephesians 5:14 (NIV) For it is light that makes everything visible. This is why it is said: “Wake up, O sleeper, rise from the dead, and Christ will shine on you.”
His Voice in the darkness 1. “Come Out” Jesus is always calling us to COME OUT & COME IN!
2. “Take off the grave clothes and let him go.”
He is removing everything that doesn’t look like life.
John 11:45–46 (NIV) 45 Therefore many of the Jews who had come to visit Mary, and had seen what Jesus did, put their faith in him. 46 But some of them went to the Pharisees and told them what Jesus had done. .
His invitation to the doubters: Touch and feel him then believe in Him
Seven “I AM” declarations about Himself. (John)
I AM the Bread of Life (John 6:35, 41, 48, 51)
I AM the Light of the World (John 8:12)
I AM the Door of the Sheep (John 10:7, 9)
I AM the Good Shepherd (John 10:11,14)
I AM the Way, the Truth and the Life (John 14:6)
I AM the True Vine (John 15:1, 5)
I AM the Resurrection and the Life (John 11:25)
Romans 5:17 (NIV)17 For if, by the trespass of the one man, death reigned through that one man, how much more will those who receive God’s abundant provision of grace and of the gift of righteousness reign in life through the one man, Jesus Christ.
Revelation 1:18 (NLT) I am the living one. I died, but look—I am alive forever and ever! And I hold the keys of death and the grave.
