In Jesus Name

In Jesus Name

John 14:12-14

Online Sermon: http://www.mckeesfamily.com/?page_id=3567

Imagine what it must have been like to be a disciple and while entering Jerusalem hear the leader of your group called “The Way” predict His own death was about to occur! They who had “left everything to follow Jesus” (Matthew 19:27) to “fish men” (4:19) would have been greatly troubled for what would they do without He who ushered in the kingdom of God (Luke 17:20-21)? And if Rome could crucify the Messiah who had performed all those miracles, then what chance would they have to continue the ministry and not be executed as well? To comfort His disciples Jesus told them to fear not for while His crucifixion and resurrection were the climax of His three-year earthly ministry it was certainly not the end but the beginning of the kingdom of God! Jesus explained He was about to return to the Father to prepare a place for them and upon His return He would take them there to be with Him (14:1-4). When Thomas questioned where this place was and how to get there Jesus reassured the apostles that He was “the way, truth and life” and as such the only means of going to the Father. (14:5-6). In the meantime, what would they ever do without their Master’s love and wisdom as their compass? Jesus reassured the apostles that “the intimacy they had enjoyed with Him” (13:36-37) during His earthly ministry was not going to end for He would send the Spirit of God Himself to live within their hearts. The Spirit would not only lead them into “deeper revelations” and a better understanding of the teachings of Jesus but would also enable them to continue to do miracles, signs, and wonders. And if all of this were not encouraging enough Jesus promised He would do for them “anything asked in His name, so that the Father may be glorified in the Son” (14:13)! Even though Jesus’ words revealed that God’s plan for His disciples was indeed glorious and therefore should have been very comforting, the disciples remained filled with doubt and fear right up until they saw the resurrected Christ and received the Holy Spirit!

Lest we be too judgmental of the disciples and too lenient on ourselves we must admit that we often feel that applying the Great Commission to our culture is beyond our abilities as well! For instance, how does one convince a culture that believes in many gods and paths to heaven, that Christ is the only way, truth, and life to come before the only God that truly exists (John 14:6)? Also, how does one convince those who only “want to hear what their itching ears want to hear” (2 Timothy 4:3) that truth is not situationally dependent and a mere fabrication of each person’s mind but is instead only contained within God’s word which is “useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness” (3:16)? And how often do we get discouraged when we let our Light shine amongst what we hope are “fields that are ripe” (Matthew 5:15-16, 9:37) only to find out that those who are given over to their reprobate minds (Romans 1:28) have stone hearts and not only do they reject the Gospel message but persecute those who even suggest that God has the right to rule over them? And since we are being brutally honest with ourselves then we simply must admit there are times when we ask God for help and either due to our cherished sin (Psalms 66:18), asking with wrong motives (James 4:1-3) or asking outside of His will (1 John 5:14) that we end up hearing silence or a NO to our requests and it feels like Christ has abandoned us! O how desperately Christians today need to hear and believe in the comforting words Jesus gave to His disciples! Please open your Bibles to John 14:12-13 and let’s review the incredible promise of divine help Christ provided to those are His own.

Continuing Jesus’ Works

The first thing Jesus promised the disciples was that “whoever believes in Me will do the works I have been doing” (14:12). It is not those who merely believe Jesus existed, was a great prophet, or that He died on a Roman cross that Christ’s promise of divine aid refers too but only too those who specifically believe in His atoning sacrifice (John 3:16) and have surrendered their live to Him (Romans 10:9). Such individuals become born again not of flesh and blood but of the Spirit (John 1:12-13)!

Since it is by grace we have been saved, through faith, and not works (Ephesians 2:8) this means Jesus’ help for us to do works in His kingdom is guaranteed not just for the apostles, pastors, veteran Christians, the spiritually mature, missionaries or evangelists alone, but for every single believer!