The most memorable line spoken by singer Al Jolson in the 1927 movie classic The Jazz Singer was the ungrammatical but prophetic word, "You ain’t seen nothin’ yet". I don’t remember what that line contributed to the story, but it was really there as a kind of canment about this wonderful new invention, the talking motion picture. The Jazz Singer was the first movie to match pictures and sound, and its producers were in effect saying, "This is only a small beginning. We’re going to do a whole lot more than this. If you think this scratchy, sketchy indistinct sound is something, if you believe this grainy black-and-white film is something special, well, you ain’t seen nothin’ yet.
It’s easy enough now in 1989 to look back at 1927 or 1947 or for that matter 1987 and see how much has been accomplished, how many wonderful inventions there have been, how even great things become greater. It’s easy to look back and see a host of improvements ... but it’s not so easy to see that you can play a part in making things even greater. It’s not so easy to imagine how you or I can really make a difference in our world.
People don’t always have a vision of greater things to come. Sometimes they just feel that there is nothing new to do. They just cannot cook up a vision of what might be ... and so there is no vision of greatness, no vision of new possibilities. A book was published once in which the author made the assertion, "Nearly everything that can be invented has already been made. There are few places where we can expect scientific or technical advancement". How about that …few things that can be invented?! When was that book written? In 1895! The author thought his world had reached its peak ... no greater things to be done.
Or sometimes we lose that vision of greater things to be done because we don’t really believe we have the ability ourselves to matter. We can’t see how our little lives can possibly make a difference, and so we just cut off the discussion before it starts, in our nobodiness, and settle for too little. I wonder, to be honest about it, how many blessings this world has been deprived of because people were put down so hard, were told so often that they were stupid, and they really began to believe it, and before long, they just quit trying to achieve. I just have to wonder how many of the greater things that could have come we still don’t have because somebody lacked faith in himself.
But you know here we are at the time of the year when we are recognizing our graduates ... junior high school, high school, college, and graduate school ... and everyone of these folks has had to sit through a commencement exercise by now ... and if these exercises are at all typical, what does the speaker say? Well, he inevitably begins by observing that the word is commencement -- that it means a beginning, not an end ... that now you have to go out into the real world ... and that we expect great things of you ... greater things than we have done. I imagine by now you have heard 500 speeches of this kind ... we expect you make this world a better place ... we expect you to correct our mistakes … we want you to cure our failures ... greater things are needed from you, this year’s class. Isn’t that right? Didn’t we all hear something like that?
Well, this morning I bring you a very, very special graduation speaker, Dr. Jesus. And Dr. Jesus not only issues a challenge to this year’s graduates .. he also offers a promise .. and not to graduates only, but to every one of us. Dr. Jesus’ challenge and promise is this, "He who believes in me will also do the works that I do; and greater works than these will he do, because I go to the Father."
In other words, "You ain’t seen nothin’ yet". "He who believes in me will also do the works that I do; and greater works than these will he do, because I go to the Father."
But, as I have said, so often we don’t have much sense that we matter. We don’t really believe that we can do greater things. And now when Jesus comes along and tells us that we can do even greater things than He, it really is mind-boggling, isn’t it? Greater things than Jesus?! Why, he healed the sick; how can I do that? And he raised the dead; I know I’ll never be able to do that. Jesus … why Jesus taught in such a sublime fashion that 2000 years later we still remember what He said ... and, well, I can’t even teach a bird to sing or a puppy to bark. Greater things than Jesus? How can this be true?! And to cap it off, in the end He rose up from the grave, and I don’t ever expect to do that. How can I do his works and greater to boot?!
But listen, Jesus Christ has promised it: "He who believes in me will also do the works that I do; and greater works than these will he do" "You ain’t seen nothin’ yet".
There are two key words in this passage .. two key words that tell us how we can do even greater things than Jesus did during his days on earth. And I want to lift these up, not only for the graduates, but for everyone.
The key words are "believe" and "ask" ... "believe" and "ask".
First, "He who believes in me will also do the works that I do". If you believe in Christ ... and that means trusting him, not just giving intellectual assent to propositions about him ... if you trust him, let yourself be guided by him, then you and I will be able to do what He has done.
I believe that it has been the testimony of Christians across the ages that the presence of Christ in their lives has been an enabling presence ... an enabling presence. He gives power to the faint, and to him who has no might he increases strength."
And so men and women of rather ordinary talents, just garden-variety folks, found that they could accomplish with faith in Christ and they also found faith in themselves.
Yes, He healed the sick; but follow his lead, trust him to see you through medical school or a counseling program or just the late night shift on the floor, and you too will heal the sick ... if you trust Him.
Yes, he taught the multitudes .. but He didn’t have a room chock full of lively, sassy seventh grade kids ... but if you trust Him, if you let Him empower you, make you believe in yourself … you will teach them and they will even stay taught.
And yes, he raised the dead ... only a few times, by the way. He didn’t get into the resurrection business wholesale. But you trust Him, you let Him guide you and lead you, and I tell you, there is enough talent in this room today, there is enough capacity in this congregation this morning, that can raise from the dust a life that is in a mess, can reach down into the drug destruction and lift up the fallen, can march into the prisons and resurrect some lives that are all the way down, can enter a homeless shelter and bring vitality and life back to weary eyes ... do you understand what I am saying? You and I have the power to raise from the dead ... if we trust Christ and through Him learn to trust ourselves.
Believe it or not, it took me the longest time to learn to preach. I would prepare a message and then feverishly try to memorize it, every word, every comma, every gesture. I was so afraid so fearful that I would not do well, that in fact I made perfectly sure that I would not do well. I was too nervous to preach, couldn’t relax enough to do more than just recite a memorized talk. It wasn’t until I learned that I really could trust Him to work through me, with me, to get His message across that I achieved any success at all in preaching.
Believe .. trust .. "He who believes in me will also do the works that I do". You ain’t seen nothin’ yet.
And the other key word is "ask". "ask ... greater works than these will he do … whatever you ask in my name, I will do it."
If we lead powerless lives it is because we lead prayerless lives. If doing what Jesus did and even greater looks insurmountable to us, it is because we have not asked, we have not prayed consistently, faithfully, frequently. We give it up too soon. And we have not because we ask not.
When I was growing up the Fuller Brush man used to come around to our house about once a month. He would stand at the door and talk and talk and talk about everything under the sun; he would gossip about all the neighbors, he would comment on politics, he would predict the weather … and after about ten or fifteen minutes of this, he would say, halfway under his breath, "Don’t suppose you need anything today?". Guess what: we didn’t. He had not, got not, because he asked not.
I submit to you this morning that if we recover the lost art of praying diligently for some skill, some need, it will be answered. And we will not have to flounder around and wonder if we can make the grade or keep the job or make a difference ... because as someone has aptly said, "One man with God makes a majority." To invite His participation in our lives ... to approach life with His vision in our hearts ... to follow the channel of prayer to tap His power ... that is the way to do greater things even than Jesus here on earth.
Jesus fed the five thousand ... a wonderful miracle. But someone in this room, with a consecrated imagination, fed by prayer, could go as a missionary to a nation in subSahara Africa and devise methods of feeding millions. Greater things shall he do ...
Jesus offered comfort to the grieving … but he lived in a small world and contacted only a few. His Nielsen ratings wouldn’t count for much! But someone here who is into journalism or communications could offer comfort and hope to uncounted thousands.
Jesus restored health to those who touched the hem of his garment. But I cannot help but wonder whether somebody here who is in touch with this same Jesus might find the cure for AIDS or something that removes the threat of cancer ... do you see? Greater things ... greater things ... .but you must ask. Whatever you ask in my name, I will do it. You ain’t seen nothin’ yet … but if we ain’t ... we haven’t ... it’s because we have not yet asked.
If this morning you are at that threshold in your life where you are now ready to be more, achieve more … then I urge you to cross that threshold in the company of Christ … to trust His guidance and thus to trust yourself. He has loved you, and has died for you, and that makes you somebody.
Or if this morning you feel as though there are no more thresholds like that for you ... not only no graduations, but no new worlds to conquer no more energy, no more oomph ... then I would urge you too to trust the Christ who has brought you this far by faith ... and see if there are not yet greater things for you too. I do not believe that any of us are tossed out onto the scrapheap by our God … we may pitch ourselves out there, but He has not put us there, and He doesn’t want us there. Greater things He wants from us all ... ask ... whatever you ask, he has promised to offer.
And come in faith to this Table, waiting here for His empowering presence, waiting here to feel again the power of His dying life and His lively death ... come in prayer to this Table, discerning the Lord’s body and blood laid down for you in order to give you the immeasurable riches of His grace. For I tell you, as full as this sight is ... as magnificent a reminder as this Table is ... the day will come in the presence of the living Christ when you will know that it is true what I say now, "You ain’t seen nothin’ yet"
