How could God’s people miss what should have been the greatest revival in all of history? God’s people were so disoriented to God that when God Himself (in the person of Jesus Christ) came to lead the revival, they rejected Him and His message. Jesus explained that they were supposed to be a house of prayer, but they had become a den of thieves and robbers. Inspired by a message by Henry Blackaby on Luke 19:41-45, I’ve contrasted a house of prayer for the nations (described in Isaiah 56:1-8) and a den of robbers (described in Jeremiah 7:9-11). Lest we miss the revival and spiritual awakening we are longing for, we must flee from the sin and idolatry characteristic of a “den of robbers;” and we must become a house of prayer for the nations. Based on Isaiah 56:1-8 a house of prayer for the nations is…
1. A place where God’s people keep His covenant and do what is right (vv. 1-6)
2. A place where God’s people love, worship, and serve the Lord (v. 6)
3. A place of God-given joy (v. 7)
4. A place where offerings and sacrifices are accepted (v. 7) (see Matt. 5:23-24, Mark 11:25)
5. A place where God’s people have a love like God’s for the nations (v. 7)
6. A place where God gathers the exiles of His people back to Himself (v. 8a)
7. A place where God gathers a lost world to Himself (v. 8b)