WHAT ARE YOU DOING?

 

What Are You Doing?

God Has Greater Things for You 

John 14 Part 3,

Today I want to start out with some verses that are perhaps the most challenging verses for Christians to consider. The purpose of this “God’s Heart Beats For You” blog is for us to hear God’s heartbeat and stay in synch with What Makes Jesus Tick. When musicians play together they either use a metronome, follow the drummer or watch the conductor to stay together. fortunately for me, I've been playing solo for the last 10 years or so, freeing me up to just play by however I feel the song at the time. That doesn't work well when playing with others, Without synchronization the music is discordant. Likewise, God’s synchronization tool for our lives is the Bible and it records that Jesus declared,

John 6:63   It is the Spirit who gives life; the flesh profits nothing. The words that I speak to you are spirit, and they are life.

I love that life, don’t you? Do you agree that we want our lives to stay in sync with the Master? If so, let’s look at this challenge, remembering that we cannot do what Jesus says using our carnal mind and flesh.

John 14:12   “Most assuredly, 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 My Father.

Do you see a gap between these verses and what you experience in life? It sure bothers me when I do. If you say you have completely bridged that gap than you’re most probably wrong.

I do believe that the Lord anoints us to do what He did and greater things, and that He does answer prayer spoken in His name. Believers started to walk in such miracle power right after the Pentecostal outpouring in the upper room about 2000 years ago. There is no scriptural precedent for believers to ever stop doing that. Everything that started that day continues. Nothing was just for then and not for now. I also believe that God is no respecter of persons and all the gifts of the Spirit (see 1 Corinthians 12:4-11) are for every believer until Jesus returns. The manifestation of those gifts is according to God’s timing and place. The Spirit is like the wind and we need to flow with Him, NOT according to flesh, uncontrolled zeal, or our limited human intellect.

Some people get radically saved, baptized in the Holy Spirit and explode with the power, they are greatly used by God to heal, save and deliver. Sadly we’ve seen some stumble and fall. I’ve seen that these precious saints fell because they had no depth of character nor had they been sufficiently discipled. With no longevity of really getting to know the Lover of their soul and no commitment to a local church, they had a short lived honeymoon, there was no long term follow through of discipleship and the enemy drew them back into darkness. 1 Timothy chapter 3 describes the qualifications for ministry and this verse describes what can happen of someone lacks those qualifications and steps too far out in ministry.  

1 Timothy 3:6   Not a novice, lest being lifted up with pride he fall into the condemnation of the devil.

The Great Commission is to make disciples. Jesus took His disciples through three years of discipleship, and then they had to wait four months until the Day of Pentecost when they were endued with power when the Holy Ghost baptized them. It was after that that they started doing “the works that I do… and greater works than these.” Those of us who have walked with the Lord for some time, have received the Baptism in the Holy Spirit, have been discipled and stay in the Word, have the responsibility to follow through with the discipleship process for the young believers. His love compels us to be sensitive to Holy Spirit, to always obey His direction. Only then we will be doing what Jesus did and more so with no fleshly effort or self-glorification. This will build the bridge over that gap between what Jesus said and how we live no matter what we see. HALLELUJAH.

The challenge doesn’t end there, it is intricately woven into our prayer life. These verses specifically define that the Father desires to be glorified in the Son and that one way that happens is in answering prayer.

John 14:13   And whatever you ask in My name, that I will do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son.

14   If you ask anything in My name, I will do it.

Repetition = emphasis. The first thing is that we must ask in Jesus name. That is not just a magic phrase added onto the end of a prayer that will magically force God to answer what we want when we want it. When you say anything in someone else’s name you are speaking what that person told you to say. That person either requested, or ordered, you say it and it is in that person’s authority you speak. The other part of the equation is the motive of our asking, “that the Father may be glorified in the Son.”

This brings us to the question, What power, what authority, does Jesus have and what does He want us to do with it? I am sure you are very familiar with the “prime directive”, the “Great Commission,” the “Church’s marching orders,”

Matt. 28:18   And Jesus came and spake unto them, saying, All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth. 

19   Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost:

20   Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you always, even unto the end of the world. Amen. [KJV]

Praise God! He doesn’t lead us to go out into the world with only great words to say. He sends us with the power to do what He did, as you just saw in John 14:12. Jesus did so many supernatural, wonderful things for people that had great and eternal consequences for them. If you are reading this you probably have experienced some in your own life. Your testimony of that to others is incredibly significant. We need to pray for “Devine Appointments” to share Jesus with people, in word, by our lives and by the power of God doing miraculous things through us that demonstrate His great love for them. To be truly effective in such a life style we must have our hearts in sync with God’s, we have to walk in the Spirit, constantly listening for the leading of His still small voice, having that inward knowing of the metronome of What Makes Jesus Tick.

Prayer: Father, we pray for an abundance of Devine Appointments, for times of interaction with people where we share YOU with others. Move Lord, do miraculous things through us, Your people, that will draw multitudes out of darkness into the Light as we see You do “things and greater things” through us. Amen.

Your chance to follow up: We live in a day when, more than ever before in our history, we need to share our portions of manna with each other. All who follow this blog would be greatly encouraged if you would take a few minutes to briefly share some personal testimony of what Jesus did in or through you. Whatever media you are reading this blog in, the intention is for it to be a forum, a place of interaction, not just my teaching.  Please also be sure to click the Like button, emoji a thumbs up and Share these posts, it means a lot.