"Very truly I tell you, whoever believes in me will do the works I have been doing, and they will do even greater things than these, because I am going to the Father." ~ John 14:12
Jesus told the disciples (which applies to all disciples) that His TIME on earth was up but that they would carry on the works He had done and they would do a greater number of those works because they would remain working in the earth. I have heard a number of times this taught to mean we would do even more amazing things than Jesus did but it just doesn't translate that way. The word "greater" means we would do a larger number of the works than Jesus did not that the works we would do would be even more amazing. The original word used was "meizōn" which means "more". (quantity, not quality) What works could we do that would be more amazing than bring the dead to life, healing the sick, and bringing the lost to be reconciled in salvation? Jesus said we would do even more of the works the disciples had seen Him do over the three years of His ministry. Why would they do more? Jesus said, "Because I go to the Father." It is simple. Jesus said, "You will do more...because I am leaving." In Jesus' place a Comforter and Helper, the Holy Spirit, would come, fill the disciples with power to spread the Gospel world wide and for the rest of time on earth, this gospel would be preached. That is the greater work. It is not only the work of those who are evangelist or of those who work in missions. It is the work of every follower of Christ, every single Christian should be doing what Jesus did. Feeling a little convicted? Well, it's okay because I don't know anyone, myself included, who has raised someone from the dead or walked on water, but there might be a conditioned reason for that. It's not that we can't, it's that we DON'T. The word don't, I mean quite literally. We "do" "not". We aren't "DOING"; we're waiting and watching and believing instead. There are some who are doing it, but I'm not talking to those few who are, I'm talking to the vast majority who are disengaged. I believe the Word describes it by saying it this way, "....but the laborers are few."
So, here's my question for my brothers and sisters? What great and exciting thing are we waiting for God to show up and do all the time? "God's about to do something amazing" "Get Ready, Get Ready" "God's about to use us in amazing ways" "It's coming, here it comes........." and then the great cricket sounds... *chirp chirp* I've heard this for so so long. And it's wonderful to encourage people, I am not knocking the value of that down. It's exciting, it get's people looking around in expectation. But then what? Speaking straight from the hip now, many are just looking around and waiting to see something happen apart from their own participation, and they're waiting and waiting and waiting. Here's an idea!! MAYBE God has done it? Maybe when He sent the Holy Spirit and prepared us to do those greater works, THAT WAS IT! That was the big thing God was going to do. We just haven't SEEN the fruition of it because frankly, we are clogging things up. The next step in the miracle is for us to stop waiting for some wonder or fantastic favor, and literally begin to roll up our sleeves and actually feed and cloth the poor, heal the sick, educate the unemployed and share the gospel with a lost and dying world? But that would require that we go to them. Not just fund someone else to go do it in some other part of the world, but for US to go into OUR part of the world doing it also. That is a good thing, funding evangelist and missionaries, but it does not negate what we should also be doing. Jesus told us that the poor would always be with us. Why? So that the gospel could be shared in every corner of the earth. The need is the access point to both show the love of God and share His Son as well. The world is working as hard as it can to create world peace and feed every hungry person apart from a Godly purpose and yet still we have hungry people and raging nations.
There is purpose in suffering. So we feed and cloth the poor, visit the lonely, strengthen the weak and live right, that is pure religion. All that is left for us is to add works to our faith! When WE begin to add works to our faith we will begin to SEE the hope for which we have. We can't really reach those in need if we keep hiding in places where they aren't. What do I mean by "add works to our faith"? Well, faith without works is dead. It does nothing, it has no power to bring anything to fruition. But faith with works becomes apparent, real, and active. Faith combined with works is alive and powerful. It is the thing of which miracles are made. Did Jesus wait for God to do everything apart from His participation or did He stretch out and lay upon his hands? Did He hide Himself away and wait for everyone to come to Him or did He go to them? I'm not saying we should go spit in every blind man's eye literally (that might get you in a bit of trouble) but certainly we could stop so much talking and start a little more doing. In many churches today, outreach is dead. In a number of them I have personally experienced, outreach is nothing more than serving the churches own members when there is a need. That's not outreach. And church ministers, if your congregation is ready to "go" and do the work, don't hold them back. Preparing congregations to do the work is only half the job. The other half is sending them out. Give them the support they need to step out and start doing the work. We're pretty good (at times) at preparing them and getting them excited, but now they have to be sent out. That also takes faith on the part of leaders.
Here is the point I am making and it really is simple. Yes, God is going to do great things, but not until we get off our seats and start DOING something that even kinda resembles what Jesus did. Our "doing" is the work we have to add to our faith which is believing that God will be IN our work and show powerful miracles as a result of our obedience and faith. Our "doing" needs to rise up to our "believing" so we will be "seeing" rather than forever, "waiting". So what are YOU going to DO?