The Divine Crash

Today’s sermon was about making disciples.  You can listen to it on iTunes or at the bottom of this post. Enjoy!

Scripture: John 14:12-14

Jesus says we are going to do greater things?  I don’t often feel like that.

If we are going to do greater things than Jesus, what did Jesus do?

- For John Jesus only did 8 miracles. (John 21:24 there are more but the world could not contain the books)

- Water into wine

- Official’s child

- healing at the pool of Bethsada

- Feeding multitudes

- Water Walking

- Blind man healing

- Lazaarus back to life

- Resurrection on Easter morning.

John is a literary genius. He writes two stories.

- Telling another story a bigger story.  Each miracle starts small and gets bigger to the resurrection.  Matching Creation week.  Miracle 8 is a new creation starting here.

- Miracle 8 is the first miracle of a new week.  A new Creation that is happening in the midst of this one where the whole world is being put back together and made better than we have ever imagined.

We get to do greater things than that? I don’t know about any of you but the one time I tried to turn water into wine I only ended up wet and cold. Not drunk like the guys at the party in Cana.

John 14:12 – Believers are Jesus’ successors and Jesus returns through their works.  When we do things in the name of Jesus we are bringing the world closer to his return and closer to a restoration of the way God intended it.

- This is the ancient idea of Shalom. It is a world where everything is as it should be.  It is not the absence of conflict or difficulty but it is the way the world was intended to be.

- Rev. 21 A perfect city.  With everything as it should be

- As successors to Jesus great things happen in the name of Jesus.

- In Acts 5:15 the shadow of Paul would touch some sick people and they would be healed.

- Acts 19:12 a piece of cloth that touched Paul’s skin would heal people.

- In China missionaries stand in opposition to the government and meet and share the gospel knowing it may cost them their lives.

- I have a friend who was in the navy and he was on a submarine trying to convince a friend about ravioli’s for dinner

- but I have never done anything like that, and if I think about it I begin feel like less of a christian because I don’t feel like I am doing greater things than Jesus.

John 14:12 – Jesus’ followers are empowered and informed

- God has not abandoned this world.  God is putting this world back together again, and you get to be a part of what God is doing.

- Story: guy fired for attending Rob Bell conference left with 10k in a backpack (severance package from pastors) now has largest church in minnesota.

Jesus never gave 10k to one pastor for being fired….does that count as greater?

Jesus empowers us to do greater things than he did.

- If you have change in your pocket you have more money than 95% of the world.

- If you have a car you are in the top 1% of the world.

Jesus also tells us what needs to be done.

- Jesus has placed in our hearts what we can do.

If you are not doing greater things than Jesus you need to ask yourself do you really believe the words of Jesus? Because if you did believe in Jesus you would be doing greater things than him.

Which, again makes me feel guilty because I have never raised anyone from the dead, and I think that what happens is we hear this message about doing greater things than Jesus and we look around, realize we haven’t done greater and we become depressed and withdraw into ourselves and we stop telling people about Jesus because if we haven’t done anything greater why would people want to follow us? and so we stop doing anything.

John 14:12 – Jesus is so powerful he can give power to others to do miracles

Jesus is so big he can even give you power while he is in heaven.

- Jesus sits at the right hand of the father and is still active in your life.

- Jesus is giving you power to do things that he never did.

- Jesus never evangelized Harrisville, PA

- Jesus never brought a bug net to Zimbabwe

- Jesus never gave water to a rwandan refugee

- Jesus never went to work in an office and told his cubicle neighbor about being saved.

- But you can.  ”The conversion of one sinner is a greater work than all these.” – John Wesley

- Good leadership is empowering others to be better than the leader and Jesus has given you everything you need to do that.

- And through the cross, the resurrection, and the gift of the Holy Spirit you have all you need.

Think about it this way, if you do miracles and raise the dead and prophesy and speak in all sorts of tongues but you do not tell others about Jesus then you are not doing better things than Jesus did.

Jesus finished his ministry with 11 disciples.  Without those disciples we wouldn’t be here…they shared the gospel with more people than Jesus.  Are you?

If the Bible is true and John Wesley is right then the conversion of one person who does not know Jesus is better than anything else and if you are not sharing the gospel then no matter how much you go to church, how many miracles you do, or how good you are.  You have missed the point of Jesus.

I want to empower you to be better than Jesus.  To make more disciples than Jesus. I want to give you the ability to Go and Do more than Jesus.

Sermon Audio

 

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