Can You Believe What Jesus Said? Part 2

Can You Believe What Jesus Said? Part 2

Pastor Glenn Newton Jan. 4, 2003

John 14: 12-21

12 “I tell you the truth, anyone who has faith in me will do what I have been doing. He will

do even greater things than these, because I am going to the Father. 13 And I will do

whatever you ask in my name, so that the Son may bring glory to the Father. 14 You

may ask me for anything in my name, and I will do it.

JN 14:15 "If you love me, you will obey what I command. 16 And I will ask the Father, and

he will give you another Counselor to be with you forever-- 17 the Spirit of truth. The

world cannot accept him, because it neither sees him nor knows him. But you know him,

for he lives with you and will be in you. 18 I will not leave you as orphans; I will come to

you. 19 Before long, the world will not see me anymore, but you will see me. Because I

live, you also will live. 20 On that day you will realize that I am in my Father, and you are

in me, and I am in you. 21 Whoever has my commands and obeys them, he is the one who

loves me. He who loves me will be loved by my Father, and I too will love him and show

myself to him."

Have you ever wondered, “Does my prayers ever make a difference?” That’s an honest

question, God can handle a question like that.... He’s not offended when we ask that kind

of question...... If you have been a Christian for very long, there are times when that

question could come floating through your mind.

Our passage this morning is the passage that we looked at last week.... earlier Jesus

proclaimed that He was the Way, the Truth and the Life.....Jesus proclaimed that He is

one with the Father, if you know the Son, you know the Father.....

Part of what our Faith consists of is Believing what Jesus tells us in Scripture. We as

Christians must put our Faith in what we know to be God’s Word.... Jesus’ teachings... If

we truly believe that Christ is the Way, the Truth and the Life... it makes a difference in

our everyday life.... Amen?

Does knowing Christ as your Savior make a difference in your everyday life? Is Jesus

relevant to your life today?

If you believe that Christ is who he claims he is, the Son of God.... then we need to pay

attention to what He has said to us..... that’s where our study of His Word takes on life

and relevance in our life......Let’s look at what Christ says to us today in this passage... I

think it’s literally life changing.

12 “I tell you the truth, anyone who has faith in me will do what I have been doing. He will

do even greater things than these, because I am going to the Father. 13 And I will do

whatever you ask in my name, so that the Son may bring glory to the Father. 14 You

may ask me for anything in my name, and I will do it.

In verse 12, Jesus tells simply.... those who have faith in Him, will live their lives following

His example, doing what He has been doing..... Loving people, pouring out his life for

others, discipling new believers, Jesus spent time in prayer, in Worship, Jesus constantly

prayed for the Father’s Will to be done in His life.... there’s so much more we could add

to that list.... Christ carried out the Father’s mission... that’s what we should be doing

also.

There’s alot more I could say on that, but I want to get to the meat of this message......

Can I really believe what Jesus said about Prayer? Listen again to what Jesus says,

13 And I will do whatever you ask in my name, so that the Son may bring glory to

the Father. 14 You may ask me for anything in my name, and I will do it.

This isn’t a secret formula to get God to do for you whatever you want him to do..... This

is a promise from Jesus to you.... If you will pray with faith, by the power of His name for

God’s will to be done in your life.....Jesus says.... “I will do it.” The key for us to

understand, this promise is for those who pray for God’s Will to be done, for His glory,

for His purpose, and through the power of Jesus name....

It’s vital that we see this important point: it is not that we wait for God, but that he waits

for us to come into agreement with his will and to speak it in prayer. Prayer is not the