John 14:11-14 (King James Version)
11Believe me that I am in the Father, and the Father in me: or else believe me for the very works' sake.
12Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that believeth on me, the works that I do shall he do also; and greater works than these shall he do; because I go unto my Father.
13And whatsoever ye shall ask in my name, that will I do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son.
14If ye shall ask any thing in my name, I will do it.
John 14:11-14 (The Message)
11-14"Believe me: I am in my Father and my Father is in me. If you can't believe that, believe what you see—these works. The person who trusts me will not only do what I'm doing but even greater things, because I, on my way to the Father, am giving you the same work to do that I've been doing. You can count on it. From now on, whatever you request along the lines of who I am and what I am doing, I'll do it. That's how the Father will be seen for who he is in the Son. I mean it. Whatever you request in this way, I'll do.
Word in Action:
Make it your mission to outshine Jesus. Many overly religious people will view this command as blasphemous. However, I believe it is EXACTLY what God wants us to do. I’m not saying outshine Jesus as if you are in competition with Him. (Could you even imagine TRYING to play that game? I wouldn’t try it if I were you.) I am saying make it your mission to outshine Jesus so that Jesus can shine through you. The Father still wants to be glorified through His Son. But now, the Son wants to work the works through you.
If we are believers in Christ, we have the power to do every miracle, sign and wonder he performed during the time He walked the earth as a man. In fact, according to John 14:12, we should do GREATER works. The word “greater” used in this context can be translated as larger, elder, stronger. Can we honestly say that we are doing larger, elder, or stronger works than Jesus? My personal response would be a resounding NO.
Why aren’t we doing larger, elder, stronger works than Jesus? In many cases I believe that it is because we do not truly meet the only prerequisite Jesus himself listed as a necessity for us to do the works. DO WE WHOLLY TRUST HIM? If you’re like me, then you really want to respond, “Why of course I trust Jesus…what kind of question is that!?!?!” But the truth is that if we completely trusted Jesus with our whole hearts, with our whole minds, with our whole souls, we would act with a lot more boldness. We would abandon our silly little fears of being embarrassed, rejected, dismissed or ostracized. We would not be so concerned about other people’s impressions of us. We would be willing to respond obediently and immediately to every unction given to us by the Holy Spirit. We would walk away from things that God tells us to leave behind. We would embrace the things that God instructs us to pursue.
Don’t misunderstand. In no way am I suggesting that you need to question your salvation. Romans 10:9-10 gives us the requirements for salvation – all we have to do is believe and confess the death and divine resurrection of Jesus Christ. But, the ability to demonstrate the power of the Holy Spirit will only come through complete trust and submission to Christ.
How do we build this trust? I don’t think we always need to focus on building trust. If the foundation of faith in Jesus Christ is laid, I think instead we can focus on NOT RESISTING TRUST. More clearly, we have to submit to God and actively decide that doubt and unbelief will have no place in our minds or hearts. As Christians, there is something (or should I say someone, namely Holy Spirit) inside us that makes us want to believe in the creative miracles we read about in the gospels and the book of Acts. However, we allow ourselves (or others, or the enemy) to talk us out of grasping the concept as truth. Stop allowing that to happen. Submit every thought to the obedience of Christ. Doubting the validity of divine healing? Find scripture that talks about Jesus performing miraculous healings and couple it with His admonition to us in John 14:12. Having trouble believing in supernatural provision? Find a scripture that talks about it and couple it with Jesus’ admonition to us in John 14:12.
In short:
1. Examine the life of Jesus. Study how he went about doing good. How He was moved with compassion. How He caused the blind to regain their eyesight. How he raised the dead. How He inspired hope in the people.
2. Ask the Holy Spirit to teach you how to do those very same things. Remember John 14:12.
3. Do the works!!
It really is that simple. In the beginning, you may not be so confident but so what! Keep doing it anyway. Eventually, you will be less conscious of your human limitations and more aware and confident that the Holy Spirit is doing all of the work anyway and in Him there are NO limitations!
Declaration of Faith:
My faith and trust in Christ empowers me to do what He did and more!
Song of Worship:
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This was so on on time...I was just feeling bad because this woman here at work just sat next to me and said her head was hurting, and my first thought was to pray for her, but instead I offered her a tylenol. Why didn't I just pray for her?! Why didn't I lay hands on her I kept thinking. I was really beating myself up. It's not that I don't or didn't trust that God would heal her, I was thinking about her reaction. You are so right, if we stop thinking about what people might say or think and just be obedient to what HE is saying and what the Holy Spirit is leading us to do we would be more confident, BOLDER! I remembered the scripture..there is no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus and I stopped beating myself up and prayed that He forgive me and help me to trust Him more and that I allow Him to just move through me!
ReplyDeleteMy faith and trust in Christ empowers me to do what He did and more! Amen!