The Greater Works Of Those Who Believe

Welcome! We are in the middle of a little section of John. We are naming the whole thing Take Heart, because it's a phrase we'll hear numerous times throughout this little section of Scripture, where Christ is addressing the men who are going to lay the foundation for the future of the church, the means through which he intended to continue to extend his grace he most fully revealed through Jesus.

If you are here this morning, you are going to be really glad the men he gave this message to initially listened, because we are the fruit of this message. We are the fruit of those men abiding with him. There are people who are praying you will get in line and be the next generation of fruitful, faithful ones so they too can know what we know, so we can have peace not as the world gives but a peace that passes understanding. That's what we're right here in the middle of. Let me pray for you and let's dive in.

Lord, I thank you for this morning and a chance to be with my friends and just ask that, Lord, you would accomplish in our hearts what you did in the hearts of the eleven men who were in this upper room with you the night before you were crucified. You strengthened their hearts, you encouraged them, you fulfilled the promise of the coming of the Holy Spirit, that they would be vessels through which the kindness of God might continue to be revealed, renowned, and known.

I thank you now that generations later I stand on their shoulders. I jump on their foundation of your work and the preaching and proclamation of those faithful disciples. Lord, we pray today we would join in line with them, that you would quicken our hearts and strengthen us so we too would be a means of grace to others.

I pray for folks who are here because we have loved them already, that they would come to understand more about our Jesus and that we would look more like your bride so they would want to know more about our Bridegroom. So teach us this morning, Lord, and encourage our hearts. In Christ's name, amen.

I don't know if you were with us or not last week, but I hope you were encouraged. In that little section of Scripture, the eleven verses we covered there in John 14:1-11, there was not a single command. It was all about God telling you, "I have this covered. I'm going to wash your feet. I'm going to go before you and do what you can't do. I'm going to go and prepare a place for you. I'm going to come back and get you. All you have to do is chill.

Let not your heart be troubled. You stay here. You be ready for me. You be as beautiful as you can, but you need to know something. I don't love you because you're beautiful; I love you because I am the beautiful One. I am everything you ever dreamed for in a lover, I am everything you ever dreamed for in a provider, I'm everything you ever dreamed for in a king, and I will do what good kings and good lovers do. I will rescue you. I will care for you. I will deliver you." That was last week. That was John 14:1-11, and it just blessed our hearts as we sat in here and heard about the love of God and all he was going to do for us.

Today, now he's going to move forward a little bit, and what he's going to tell you to do is to jump on with him, follow the King, find your lover, and be the man, be the woman, he intended you to be, and have the privilege of offering yourself to God's purposes and enjoying God the same way Christ offered himself for God's purposes and enjoyed God. So let's take a look right here. Let me read to you all we're going to cover today from the gospel of John. It's just a few short verses. We'll pick it up right here in verse 12:

"Truly, truly, I say to you, he who believes in Me, the works that I do, he will do also; and greater works than these he will do; because I go to the Father. Whatever you ask in My name, that will I do, so that the Father may be glorified in the Son. If you ask Me anything in My name, I will do it. If you love Me, you will keep My commandments."

He's going to say, "I'm going to go to the Father. I'm not going to leave you alone. I'm going to send you a Helper who's the Holy Spirit." I'm going to teach some more on that next week. Let me just tell you, this is some great stuff. There are two little verses right here in John that cause a lot of confusion, and I hope to clarify them for you this morning. What are they?