What Wondrous Works Will You Ask To Be Done?
Good Morning Friends,
Today we look at some amazing divine declarations. That Jesus is the way, the truth and the life. And that Paul saw Jesus after Jesus had ascended into heaven. And perhaps the most amazing declaration, that we who believe and ask in the name of Jesus will do greater works than Jesus. It this last declaration that should prompt us to ask who we really are. It should nudge us with an unmovable force, as it moved Paul, to contemplate how we all should think of ourselves. Today’s scriptures therefore ask us what attitude we should have when contemplating the miracle of Jesus Christ in our lives today. What Wondrous Works Will You Ask To Be Done?
Scripture: Now I would remind you, brothers and sisters, of the good news that I proclaimed to you, which you in turn received, in which also you stand, through which also you are being saved, if you hold firmly to the message that I proclaimed to you—unless you have come to believe in vain. For I handed on to you as of first importance what I in turn had received: that Christ died for our sins in accordance with the scriptures, and that he was buried, and that he was raised on the third day in accordance with the scriptures, and that he appeared to Cephas, then to the twelve. Then he appeared to more than five hundred brothers and sisters at one time, most of whom are still alive, though some have died. Then he appeared to James, then to all the apostles. Last of all, as to one untimely born, he appeared also to me.
1 Corinthians 15:1-8 (NRSV)
Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. If you know me, you will know my Father also. From now on you do know him and have seen him.” Philip said to him, “Lord, show us the Father, and we will be satisfied.” Jesus said to him, “Have I been with you all this time, Philip, and you still do not know me? Whoever has seen me has seen the Father. How can you say, ‘Show us the Father’? Do you not believe that I am in the Father and the Father is in me? The words that I say to you I do not speak on my own; but the Father who dwells in me does his works. Believe me that I am in the Father and the Father is in me; but if you do not, then believe me because of the works themselves. Very truly, I tell you, the one who believes in me will also do the works that I do and, in fact, will do greater works than these, because I am going to the Father. I will do whatever you ask in my name, so that the Father may be glorified in the Son. If in my name you ask me for anything, I will do it.
John 14:6-14 (NRSV)
And he did not do many deeds of power there, because of their unbelief.
Matthew 13:58 (NRSV)
May I never boast of anything except the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, by which the world has been crucified to me, and I to the world.
Galatians 6:14 (NRSV)
For by the grace given to me I say to everyone among you not to think of yourself more highly than you ought to think, but to think with sober judgment, each according to the measure of faith that God has assigned.
Romans 12:3 (NRSV)
Message: Friends, to answer today’s question we must do it through the perspective of the cross of Jesus. With sober judgement, we must realize that the desire to do wondrous works is a call to both self-denial and self-affirmation. Jesus is the gift giver and so we must discern what gifts we have been given from above. Ultimately doing something in the name of Jesus it is about doing with self-understanding in the context of community. Jesus teaches this by example. He preached the Gospel. He healed the sick, raised the dead, fed people miraculously, turned water into wine, calmed the seas, stopped storms and so many other things that John said it would fill the world in just a three-year ministry. But we are not really seeing a lot of those kind of miracles being done today, and it is probably, in part, because we don’t believe and the world around us does not believe either. Maybe we are centuries behind and not ahead in seeing what He promised in this passage. John records Jesus as saying whoever believes on Him would do greater works than He did. And this is not a promise for the early church alone, but for us today as well wherever God’s word in Christ is bringing out new life. Friends, Jesus did His works through the Spirit and we now have that same Spirit in us if we are truly born of God. That being so, why would the Spirit stop empowering the Church to do beyond what Christ did especially in an age such as ours where the mystery of iniquity is so bold? Friends, some amazing things are happening in the world, but people still need deliverance, healing and purpose. Maybe we have the wrong theological perspective on this scripture. Maybe we really do not understand this passage at all. Friends, the issue here is beyond the issues of human potential. The greatest miracle is of the resurrection itself and that Jesus came not to destroy but to redeem. So, whatever we are by creation that has been tainted by sin must change. The Bible speaks of three deaths and resurrections that are relevant in this discussion. The first is the legal death of sin provided by Christ so that we might have a life with God. The second is a moral death of self…the taking up of our own crosses and the third is a physical death, the carrying about in our bodies the dying of Jesus so that the life of Jesus may be revealed in us. And the miracle of resurrection friends is a miracle worth asking for in Jesus’ name for all other miracles flow from it.
Pray the words of Christ would be fulfilled. Pray the Holy Spirit empower the Body of Christ to glorify God. Pray we believe that not only the Apostles but all of us as well can be filled with the Holy Spirit and doing mighty works. Pray the miraculous acts and Holy Spirit gifting of the members of the early Church would be gifted to us today. Pray we are empowered to be alive in the Spirit of Christ.
Blessings,
John Lawson
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