“I tell
you the truth, anyone who believes in me will do the same works I have done,
and even greater works, because I am going to be with the Father. 13 You
can ask for anything in my name, and I will do it, so that the Son can bring
glory to the Father. 14 Yes, ask me for anything in my name,
and I will do it! John 14:12-14
This
scripture and specifically the phrase "even greater" is the rallying
cry of my church in this new year.
2013 was
a year of incredible growth and eternal impact for CommonGround Church.
Just to
name a few...
• We saw over 1,000 decisions for
Christ
• Our attendance numbers nearly
doubled (numbers equal souls, that's what counts)
• Our Food Pantry gave away over 480
tons of food to families in need
We are
humbled by what God has done!
We are
hungry for more!
When I
look at those statistics from 2013, I can't help but be amazed and grateful for
the eternal impact that the past year brought. So what do we do with that?
Celebrate? Sure. There's nothing wrong with celebrating - in fact, we should
praise God who made it all happen! The truth is, without his hand on us and on
our church body, we couldn't have achieved any of it. Thank you Lord! So
what next?
First of
all, "even greater" isn't a phrase that I thought of or that any of
our church leadership thought of - it is a direct promise from Jesus to his
people.
One of my
favorite scriptures is from Numbers 23:19, "God is not a man, so he does
not lie. He is not human, so he does not change his mind. Has he ever spoken
and failed to act? Has he ever promised and not carried it through?"
God keeps
his promises. We tend to forget that sometimes.
The
promise of "even greater" resonates with our church today - it
should resonate with every believer. We must not forget it. As I dwell on
that phrase "even greater", I am compelled to take it
personally.
"Collin,
anyone who believes in me will do the same works I have done, and even greater
works…".
Fill in your name. No really, do it.
Did you do it? Done? Ok, carry on.
At this point in the gospel of John,
Jesus had already raised Lazarus from the dead, he had already fed
the 5,000, he had already healed the blind and the lame among many other
miracles. Those are some pretty great miracles don't you think? So, Jesus is
saying that through the power of the Holy Spirit, we can do the same works
as these and even greater works! Holy smokes.
That's a lot to take in.
Do we believe that? Do we believe
that Jesus meant it? Maybe he was dehydrated or perhaps he misspoke… Maybe
Jesus meant every word. Jesus knew exactly what he was saying and exactly who
he was saying it to. He was speaking to every believer for the rest of time,
including his disciples who were with him in that moment. It's time that we
start taking God's promises to heart.
I believe that God is alive and well
- I believe that his promises last forever. It's time to get bold.
I want to be available for the
Holy Spirit to do even greater works through me. I want to see the sick healed!
I want to be a part of whatever God wants to do in me and through me. I want
eyes to see and ears to hear as the Holy Spirit moves and speaks. I'm not going
to miss out on any of it. Not for the sake of my name or my credentials, but
all for the glory of God.
Where do
we go from here? It's a lot of information to process huh? No, it's not. I'm
merely spilling my thoughts onto a computer, but it all boils down to this one
thing - Jesus promised the same works and "even greater" works
than he did while on the earth, but we don't live like we believe it. We
usually don't act like we believe it and we don't move in faith and boldness
like we believe it. It's time to decide to live like we believe that God's
promises are true and that he is alive and moving among us.
It's time
to get bold.
…"Has
he ever spoken and failed to act? Has he ever promised and not carried it
through?"
Don't
leave it to your pastoral staff or to your spouse or anyone else to live for
"even greater". Take it personally and trust God. 2014 is going to be
a year of even greater.
"Not
to us, O LORD, not to us, but to your name goes all the glory for your
unfailing love and faithfulness." - Psalm 115:1
