John 14v th February 2018 am Hill and Arcadia Greater works than these

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1 1 John 14v th February 2018 am Hill and Arcadia Greater works than these Setting the disciples mind at ease by telling them about heaven as their future home and the prospect of being reunited with Jesus at some future date is all very well, but what about the present? It is a wonderful prospect to know that as a believer you have a home in glory land that outshines the sun; to know that when the earthly tent you live in is destroyed you will have a building from God; to be able to anticipate the great wedding feast of the Lamb; to look forward to a time when sin will be no more; where there will be no more tears, sickness or death But what about getting through the grind and challenge of life now? For the past three years they have witnessed Jesus do many mighty and great things. Miracles were a regular occurrence for these men who had followed Jesus. But would that all end with him now leaving them and going away? Information about their future prospects of heaven is not all Jesus gives his troubled disciples. Jesus continues his conversation with the disciples giving them huge encouragement about life and ministry in the present unfolding of life. He shows them what usefulness they will have in their years of ministry in this life, before they join Him in the Father s house. For those of you involved in any kind of Christian ministry these promises Jesus makes to his disciples are (should be) of great value; a source of necessary encouragement to keep you going on in ministry. 1 His promise about the kind of work you can do Am I speaking for most of us when I say that we really feel inadequate when it comes to doing God s work? I think I am. Many of us find it hard to believe we can accomplish anything of great significance. We are all conditioned from our earliest years to look up to the few exceptional achievers who appear from time to time in history. In the secular world the likes of Einstein pops into my mind the man was a genius, known as one of history's greatest thinkers. As a physicist and mathematician, Einstein wasn't an inventor in the vein of Thomas Edison or Alexander Graham Bell, but his theories of relativity led to new ways of looking at time, space, matter, energy and gravity. His work led to important advances such as the control of atomic energy, space exploration, and applications of light.

2 2 In the context of the Christian church we are so aware of the great men and women of God; significant contributions like Tertullian, Augustine, Luther, Calvin, Whitfield, Wesley, Hudson Taylor, Elizabeth Elliot. Suzanne Wesley Even in our contemporary Christian world people like Billy Graham, Beth Moore, Conrad Mbewe, John Piper, Tim Keller These men and women can at times discourage us ordinary Christians. We feel we don t have the mental capacity or the magnetic presence or striking personality or the golden voice or the articulate language or the sharp reasoning ability The disciples were ordinary folk like most of us. It was great for them to be with Jesus; seeing him do great things and even letting them be part of His miraculous season of ministry. But what can they do with him gone? Will they go back to their old lives of fishing? The announcement Jesus makes at this point is to address these disciples who doubted themselves, feeling abandoned; lacking courage and confidence about their ability and capacity to achieve anything significant or valuable. John 14:12 "Truly, truly, I say to you, whoever believes in me will also do the works that I do; and greater works than these will he do, because I am going to the Father. What principle matter is Jesus teaching his disciples? Calvin: We must understand what Christ means. The power by which he proves himself to be the Son of God is so far from being confined to his bodily presence that it will be certainly clearly demonstrated by many striking proofs when he is absent In the days of his life on earth Jesus did many miraculous works proving his divinity. He did that which only God can do to show who he was. Did the greater works occur as Jesus promised? Do they still happen? It is true that the Apostles did some amazing things like Peter and the healing of the lame beggar in Acts 3 and further incidents of the healing of the sick and those afflicted with unclean spirits in Acts 5:16 and even Paul unaffected by the Viper biting him in Acts 28 But these works are not greater than Jesus feeding the 5000 from 5 loaves and 2 fish or him walking on water or raising Lazarus from the dead The full meaning of this promise to do greater works is not to be sought in the miracles which the Apostles did after Jesus ascended in heaven. It is to be seen and has been seen and will be seen in the widespread and amazing number of conversions of men and women to Christ down through the ages.

3 3 You don t ever read of a sermon preached by Jesus where 3000 were converted in one day, as they were on the day of Pentecost. And thereafter thousands that have become millions and still growing. Jesus gives a reason for them doing these greater works John 14: because I am going to the Father. With his ascension into heaven and at the right hand of the Father Jesus has taken possession of his kingdom and will demonstrate his power more fully from heaven. He will build his church. This is the best kind of encouragement to ordinary disciples. It now makes better sense to me why Paul speaks of us as jars of clay; fragile and weak instruments 2 Corinthians 4:7 to show that they surpassing power belongs to God and not to us. It is therefore not an impossible task for AJ and Aven to have an impact in conversions with the gospel in Japan. It is therefore not an impossible task for us to reach the people in the central and eastern suburbs of Pretoria or the people in Laudium or the celebrity sportsmen that Quentin spends time with or the people of North Africa or the people of Tanzania or Brazil or Ecuador It is therefore not an impossible task for you to reach your neighbour of family member Remember the power of Jesus is not confined to his bodily presence; leading to the very next promise Jesus gives to his followers John 14:13 Whatever you ask in my name, this I will do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son. 14 If you ask me anything in my name, I will do it. 2 His promise about access to God for help Have you ever wondered why we don t always see so much of these greater works Jesus spoke of to his disciples? I m not sure of all the answers but one answer is that most of us ordinary Christians are not moved to ask God for this kind of help. Prayers for personal wellbeing; for healthy bodies, sufficient supplies of water and food; safety from physical harm; stable employment; for government leaders who won threaten or lives of comfort These kinds of prayers are not normally in short supply after all didn t Jesus say, Whatever you ask in my name The context of this promise is not an open cheque book for anything your heart desires.

4 4 It is an invitation to have access to God with prayers that the Father may be glorified in the Son. It is an invitation to have access to God asking for anything in the name of Jesus. His name is not some kind of abra-cadabra formula; like some kind of magic wand that you can wave to produce a white rabbit from a hat. His name has to do with His work and His purposes and his glory and His kingdom and His church and His people These prayers unlike the ones for personal wellbeing are in short supply. Sadly even among us The interest and participation at our Prayer focus at the beginning of the year was pitiful. Our weekly corporate prayer meetings have a meagre attendance This promise is a reminder and encouragement to you; JC Ryle: We have a friend at Court, an Advocate with the Father; and if we honour him by sending our petitions through him, He pledges His word that they shall succeed whatever is really good for our souls (not worldly prosperity), we need not doubt we shall have, if we ask in Christ s name. How is it that many professing Christians have so little in the way of spiritual growth and fruit? How come they go stumbling and grumbling on the way to heaven, and enjoy so little peace and show so little strength in Christ s service? Is the answer not; James 4:3 You ask and do not receive, because you ask wrongly, to spend it on your passions. Happy are those who never forget the words of Psalms 81:10 I am the LORD your God, who brought you up out of the land of Egypt. Open your mouth wide, and I will fill it. What great works Jesus will do through you and me and us together if only we would take Him up on his promises About the kind of work we could do About the access to God for help 3 His promise about on the job assistance Coping alone is always a huge and at times impossible reality. I am grateful to have a wife; we are partners together in ministry. I have fond memories of a previous elder of this church who has now passed away Roy was rock solid. After a few years of working with him; I could confidently say that he was the kind of friend and partner in ministry that I would happily go to war with. Other people can be of great help in life and ministry. Jesus however promises his disciples help that is infinitely better

5 5 John 14:16 And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Helper, to be with you forever, Jesus promises to provide ongoing divine assistance to his disciples. Just 2 comments today from what Jesus says about the Helper. The first comment is that Jesus promised to send another Helper. The word conveys the notion of another of the same kind. The promised help is divine. The help therefore is of the same calibre / nature as what Jesus gave. In other words, whatever the Spirit would be and do when he came would be a continuation of what the disciples had already known and experienced during the time they had with Jesus. The second comment is that the Spirit is called Helper. This word can also be translated Counsellor, Comforter, Strengthener, or Advocate; often it was the word used for a person s best friend who would stand with them for support when they had to go to law (Johnston). These disciples like us needed to know that they have not been abandoned; that they have not been left alone on the job of life and ministry. We believers have the Holy Spirit to be with us and help us. Much more will be said by Jesus about the person and work of the Holy Spirit in the next chapters; wonderful revelation that you and I need to know in our life and service with God. Conclusion Did Jesus keep His word to his troubled disciples? He did Acts 4:13 Now when they saw the boldness of Peter and John, and perceived that they were uneducated, common men, they were astonished. And they recognized that they had been with Jesus. One cannot avoid seeing the Holy Spirit at work amongst the Apostles, the early church and believers down through the ages in enabling them in and for ministry and transforming their lives. We are no different to them in that the promise of God s help for you and me in life and godliness stands. The help you need to overcome sin in all of its expressions and as well help in time of difficulty and help in ministry is a promise you cannot afford to neglect. Help to do the greater works Jesus promised to do through you. It does not have to be in Timbuktu; for most of us it can be right here in this city. Your family, neighbour, the friend at school, colleague at work