Pastor, teacher, and author Adrian Rogers has introduced people all over the world to the love of Jesus Christ and has impacted untold numbers of lives by presenting profound truth simply stated. Thanks for joining us for this message. Here's Adrian Rogers. Be finding John chapter 14 and verse 12.
Today I want to talk to you about being a spirit filled church. I heard about a man who was working in his woodworking shop. He was a retiree. He nicked his finger. His wife said, well, you better go down to the minor medical place and have them take a look at that. So he drove down there and they saw it, said front door. He went in the front door and not a soul was in that room. And he saw two other doors. One said male, the other said female.
Said, well, I'm a male. He went in that door. Then he saw two more doors. One said over 60 and the other said under 60.
Said, well, I'm over 60. So he went in that door. Then he saw two more doors, minor or major. He said, well, that's minor. And he went in that door. And then two more doors above the waist or below the waist. He said, well, I think that's above the waist if I hold it up this way. And he went through that door and he was back out in the alley. He came home. His wife said, did they help you?
He said, no, but they sure were organized. You know, I believe people come to church that way and we process them. We grade them.
We put them here and here and here and here. And they come in one door, they go out the other door, but there is no radical, dramatic change. Now friend, when you worship God, you ought to be changed. Amen? Well, Jesus said that we're to be in a wonderful business. Look in verse 12. Verily, verily. Now when Jesus says verily, verily, that means pay attention, pay attention. Verily, verily, I say unto you, he that believeth on me, the works that I do shall he do also, now listen, and greater works than these shall he do because I go to my Father.
Wow. He that believes on me. Now there are only two classes of people in this building this morning. Believers and unbelievers. How many believers? Let me see your hand.
All right. You're a believer. I'm a believer. He that believeth on me, the works that I do shall he do and greater works than these shall he do.
What shall he do? How many of you who say that you believe are doing the works of Jesus and greater works? Well, you say I'm a believer, but I'm not doing this. Well, something's wrong and it's not the scripture. I heard about a battle where a man got out, the flag bearer got out in front of the regiment in enemy territory and someone said to the captain, shall we bring the flag back to the regiment?
The captain said, no, bring the regiment up to the flag. Now, when we read a scripture like this, we're tempted to bring the flag back to where we are. Amen. We're tempted to dumb it down so it fits our experience.
But Jesus said, if we are a believer, if we believe in him, the works that he does, we will do and greater works than these shall we do. Four things I want to lay on your heart this morning as we're talking about a Spirit-filled church. First of all, Bellevue's exciting program. What is Bellevue's exciting program?
Very clearly, very plainly. It's not an activities program. It's not a music program. It's not an educational program.
It's not a benevolent program. Bellevue's exciting program is to do the works of Jesus and to excel the works of Jesus. They said, well, wait a minute, pastor, how can we excel the works of Jesus or how can we do them, much less excel them? Jesus walked on water. Jesus raised the dead.
What can we do that is greater than what Jesus did? Well, friend, I want to tell you that what our Lord is talking about is not raising the dead. Matter of fact, when I die, I don't want you to try to raise me. Let me alone. Now, just make sure I'm dead.
But don't try to raise me up. Our Lord here is talking, when he's talking about greater works, he is not talking about quality. He's talking about quantity of doing more than the Lord Jesus did. Now, he's talking about leading people to himself. He's talking about evangelism. He's talking about soul winning.
He's talking about multiplication. He is talking about bringing people to Jesus Christ. Church, you listen to me. Bring the soul to Jesus Christ is greater than raising a man from the dead. Now, I know you may not believe that, but I'm telling you, as surely as I stand here, it is absolute rock-ribbed truth to bring the soul to Jesus Christ is greater than raising someone from the dead. Now, just turn backward to John chapter five and look in verses 20 through 24. Jesus is speaking. He says, for the Father loveth the Son and showeth him all things that himself doeth and will show him, now notice this, greater works than these.
Again, now we're talking about greater works. I'm going to skip on down to verse 24 now. Verily, verily, I say unto you, he that heareth my word and believeth on him that sent me has everlasting life and shall not come into condemnation, but is passed from death unto life. Even the people that Jesus raised, they died again. But when we believe on him, when we trust him, we have everlasting life. If you want to see a miracle, look up here, right here. You're looking at a man who cannot die.
Jesus said, he that liveth and believeth in me shall never die. Now, what is the greater miracle? What is the greater work? To raise a man from the dead or to help a man to come to the Lord Jesus Christ and receive him so that they can never die? These greater works refer to the salvation ministry of the Lord Jesus Christ. Now, Jesus said, my food is to do the will of him that sent me. What did God send Jesus to do? To heal the sick?
Nope. To feed the hungry? No, he did these things. But Luke 19 10 says, what he came to do is this. The son of man has come to seek and to save that which is saved. Jesus came as not as the great healer, not as the great teacher.
He is that, but he came as a savior. And Jesus said, I have finished the work thou gavest me to do. John chapter 17 and verse four. So what did God the father give Jesus to do?
Well, listen, let me just go back and read John 17 one through four. These words, fake Jesus and lifted up his eyes to heaven and said, father, the hours come glorify thy son. Now listen that thy son also may glorify thee. Just underscore that, that thy son also may glorify thee as thou has given him power over all flesh that he should give. Now watch this eternal life to as many as thou has given him. And this is life eternal that they might know thee, the only true God and Jesus Christ, whom thou sent. I have glorified thee on earth. I have finished the work thou gavest me to do. Do you get it?
Do you see it? Jesus said, father, I have given them eternal life. That's what you came. That's what you sent me to do. And Lord, that is the way that I glorify you. The work of God is to bring souls to Jesus Christ and that glorifies God. Say amen. Now don't miss this.
Don't miss this. Well, why does he say greater works than these that I do show you do? He's not talking about greater in quality, but in quantity. We as a church are going to do far more than Jesus did when he was here on this earth walking in the flesh. Friend, on the day of Pentecost, more souls were saved in one day than came to Jesus in his entire ministry. Now what our Lord wants is souls, multiplied souls coming to Jesus and church. God wants you to be a part of it. God wants Bellevue to be a spirit-filled church doing the works of Jesus, that is giving eternal life, and greater, more multitudinous than Jesus ever did. I heard about a man in Washington who passed a government building, and up there on the facade it said, the past is prologue. He said, what does that mean?
The taxi driver said, it means you ain't seen nothing yet. Now that's the way it is with the church. When we saw what Jesus did, that is minuscule to what needs to be done, what ought to be done. Our Lord is saying, Bellevue, Bellevue, listen, greater works than these that I do will you do if you believe on me. Do you believe on Jesus?
Do you believe on Jesus? All right, now listen. This is Bellevue's exciting program. Choir is wonderful, the orchestra is fine, the preaching, mediocre. The educational program, fine.
All of these are fine, but they all are only a part of a great program. That is doing the works of Jesus. And what is the work of Jesus? He said, I finished the work thou gavest me, sent me to do. The Son of Man has come to seek and to save that which is lost. Never, never, never, never minimize bringing souls to Jesus Christ.
There is no substitute. And if this church moves away from evangelism, it signs its death warrant. A church exists by evangelism like a fire exists by burning. Now, that's Bellevue's exciting program. Let's shift gears.
And I want you to see Bellevue's explicit promise. Now, in verse 12, he speaks of these greater works. And notice that verse 12 and verse 13 are conjoined.
And he says, and, that is, it's part of the same thing. Greater works than these that I do shall you do, and whatsoever ye shall ask in my name, that will I do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son. If ye shall ask anything in my name, I will do it. Now, how do we do these greater works? We do these greater works by believing prayer. I mentioned a while back about 3,000 saved in one day, the day of Pentecost. Well, they prayed for 10 days, preached for 15 minutes, and 3,000 got saved. We prayed for 10 minutes and preached for 10 days and have a handful saved.
You see, this program, this exciting program, is based upon a promise. And that promise is God will answer our prayers. Now, prayer is not a substitute for our work. Prayer is not preliminary to our work. In many sense, it is our work in many senses. Do you believe that God will do greater things through your prayer?
Now, don't answer out loud because the next question will be embarrassing. How much do you pray? Jesus said, greater works than these that I do you will do because I go to my Father.
And if you ask anything in my name, I will do it. Now, you can go a lot without prayer. The pyramids were built without prayer to our true God.
They may have prayed to their pagan gods. But this church, in order to do the greater works that Jesus commands us to do, we must do it by prayer. And notice what kind of prayer it is.
Number one, you've got to have the right people. Verse 12 tells us that we must believe. Now, if you're not a believer, your prayer doesn't get any higher than the light bulbs. But if you believe, if you're the right person, if you know the Lord Jesus Christ, and by the way, if you don't find in your heart an earnest desire to pray, I wonder if you're saved because God sends forth his Spirit into our hearts crying, Abba, Father, Abba, Father, there must be the right person. Verse 12, there must be the right power. And if you ask anything in my name, I will do it. Now, you can't just forge his name to a prayer and say, this is in the name of Jesus, I want a swimming pool.
No. What does it mean to ask in his name? The name stands for authority. You put your name on a check, that gives the cashier the authority to take some money out of the bank and hand it to you because you have some in your account. Now, if you don't have anything in your account, you put your name on that check, they don't put the check in jail, they put you in jail. Because you see your name stands for you. Jesus said, if you ask anything in my name, that is with my authority, my approval, then I'll do it.
Then I'll do it. Very much like a policeman, made a wild party and he goes and knocks on the door. And they come, he says, open up in the name of the law.
Might be 150 pounds full of bananas and soaking wet. But he says, open in the name of the law. He has a badge on, he has authority. We as believers have authority.
We don't have to have physical strength, monetary strength, intellectual superiority. We have the authority of Jesus Christ. Do you believe that?
I hope you do. Now, the right person, he that believes. And if you ask anything in my name, the right power. Now, let's suppose that policeman goes home. And he goes to his neighbor and says, may I borrow you a lawnmower in the name of the law? Doesn't fit, does it?
Here it doesn't fit. Because you see, he cannot take that authority and apply it to something where it does not belong. And don't you think you can just tack in the name of Jesus on a prayer and get your prayer answered? In the name of Jesus, it means for the right purpose. Now, what is the right purpose?
Well, just continue to read here in this scripture, verse 13. And whatsoever ye shall ask in my name, that will I do, now watch this, that the Father may be glorified in the Son. What is the purpose of prayer? To glorify God.
Not to have our little selfish desires met. When you get the right person praying with the right power for the right purpose. Let me tell you how to get your prayers answered. Let your purpose and God's purpose come together that you want God glorified. We are to do greater works than the Lord Jesus Christ. And the way we do that is through, first of all, believing prayer. And God has given us an explicit promise. Don't take from it. Don't add to it. Believe it and practice it.
Number three, there's Bellevue's expected practice. All of these things are conjoined, the greater works, the prayer. And now notice verse 15. If you love me, keep my commandments. Now, if you say you love the Lord Jesus Christ and you're not keeping his commandments, you are a liar. Do you keep his commandments? Now, if you don't keep his commandments, it's no wonder that you're not doing greater works. And what is his commandment?
It's the Great Commission. Go and make disciples. What are the greater works?
Bringing people to Jesus Christ. Jesus said, you'll receive power after that. The Holy Ghost has come upon you and you shall be witnesses unto me.
He didn't say you're to go out and argue. You say, pastor, I'm not educated. I don't know a lot of theology. I can't witness.
Oh, yes, you can. If you're saved, if you believe on Jesus, you can witness. If you're saved, you know how you got saved, don't you?
Say, uh-huh. Well, if you know how you got saved, can't you tell somebody else? How you got saved? You see, our Lord has not called you to be a lawyer, but to be a witness.
A lawyer argues a case. A witness tells what he's seen and heard. And the only reason some people don't witness is they haven't seen or heard anything. I mean, if Jesus Christ has saved you, can't you tell somebody else? The first soul I ever led to Christ, all I did is tell him how I got saved and he got saved. It was very simple, very glorious, very wonderful.
Now, there's no cheap, easy way to do it. The word witness and the word martyr are the same word in the Greek language. You see, a bullet doesn't make a martyr.
It just reveals one. And you say, oh, I'd die for Jesus. Put that on the shelf. Will you live for Jesus? Will you? I'm telling you that the word martyr and the word witness are the same word. Now, he says, if you love me, you will keep my commandments.
That is Bellevue's expected practice. Over and over and over again, he tells us in the Bible that we're to share the Lord Jesus Christ. Look at this church. Look at the manpower. Look at the ability. When I look back upon the ministry that God has given me, there's a great sense of failure.
Do you know what it is? Somehow, I have not engendered a soul winning heart in the life of our people. Oh, we have soul winners. But there are a lot of people who think they've done God a wild favor when they get here on Sunday morning. You ask them, do you serve Jesus? They say, I go to church. Praying you to do the works of Jesus and greater works shall you do. And you are expected to obey the Lord if you love the Lord. Now, next, I want you to notice Bellevue's exceeding power.
For an excelling purpose and an exciting purpose and an expanded purpose, you're going to need exceeding power. Now, we continue to read here. We're still in John 14. Now, let's start with verse 16. And I will pray the Father. Now, he says, you pray. Now, what is what he says?
And I will pray the Father, and he shall give you another comforter that he may abide with you forever. Even the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive because it seeth him not, neither knoweth him, but ye know him, for he dwelleth with you and shall be in you. Who was dwelling with them? Jesus.
Who would be in them? Jesus. I will not leave you comfortless. I will come to you.
The Holy Spirit is Christ in the Christian. Now, the Lord says, look, you have a mission impossible. You to do the works that I do and greater works than these. Pray.
Obey. And I am going to send you the comforter. Another comforter. The word comforter is the word parakletos. And the word means somebody who will come alongside of you, someone who will get into yoke with you, to empower you and to strengthen you.
You'll never be alone. Another comforter. And he uses the word another. There are two Greek words for another. One means another of a different kind. For example, you say, I've got a horse, but I need another horse. But then there's the word another in the Bible that means another of a different kind.
I've got a horse, but I'm going to get an automobile. There's a different word for another there. Now what Jesus, the word that Jesus uses is not the word another for a different kind.
Another of the same kind. I will send you another comforter. I'm right here with you, but I'm going to send the Holy Spirit. And then he says, I'll be with you. Do you get it church? Do you understand it? Listen, I will not leave you comfortless.
I will come to you. In a Christian, Jesus lives again. That's the way we can do the works that Jesus did in the greater works.
You know what he said there in verse 13? If you ask anything in my name, what? I'll do it. I'll do it. He didn't say I'll help you to do it.
I'll do it. I'm crucified with Christ. Paul said, nevertheless, I live yet not I, but Christ lives in me. You see, listen, God moves in and God begins to work in you through you with you when you believe him for greater works than raising the dead. When you pray believing prayer in the name of Jesus with his authority for the glory of God, when you obey him, when he says ye shall be witnesses unto me, then God will empower you. God sends the Holy Spirit.
God sends another comforter. Who is Jesus Christ in you? Stuart Briscoe, a preacher friend of mine, said that when I first got saved, I was so full of joy, I walked out and I said, man, this is easy. This is wonderful. Then after he lived a while and got his nose bumped a few times, he said, this is difficult. And then as he repented and tried to get better and stronger and made more resolutions and resolves and fail more, he said, oh, this is impossible. But then he learned the secret of Christ in him and he says, this is wonderful.
This is wonderful. I've told you, church, listen to me, there's only one who's ever lived the Christian life. His name is Jesus. And if the Christian life is lived in your house, in your club, on your team, in your choir, there's only one person who'll be doing it. It's Jesus. We're not to be a little tin imitation of Jesus. It is Christ in us.
Oh, God, help us to understand this. Help me, Lord, to understand it, that Jesus Christ is alive in me. And he said, if you ask anything in my name, I will do it. He's the one who steps in.
This is the exceeding power that we have to do these greater works than the Lord Jesus Christ. And he says, I'm going to come. A comforter will abide. That means to dwell forever. God, the late, great Ron Dunn said, your heart is not a hotel with checkout time 12 noon on Sunday. He lives with us and is with us. Now, you think about it. Do you remember what Jesus said in John chapter 16, verse 7?
He says, nevertheless, I tell you, it is expedient for you that I go away, for if I don't go away, the comforter will not come. Now, how many of us would say, you know, I just wish I could have been here when Jesus was on earth. Man, I just wish I could have walked with Jesus.
Breathe that air. Be there in the miracle times when Jesus was here. Wouldn't that be better? No, Jesus said it wouldn't be better.
It is better for you. It is expedient for you that I go away. When Jesus left this earth, it went back to heaven. That was glorious because when he went away, he then sent the Spirit to take his place.
Now, what's the difference? Well, when Jesus was here on earth, he was limited by time and space. Mary and Martha said to Jesus, Master, if you had been here, Lazarus wouldn't have died. But when Jesus was here on earth, if he was there, he couldn't be there.
But friend, when he comes into you with the Holy Spirit, are you listening? Jesus is with me. He's with him. He's with you. He's with you, and he's not limited by space.
He's not limited by time. He lives and dwells in all of us through the Holy Spirit of God, and therefore, the church is the body of Jesus on this earth. The church is the visible body of the invisible Christ, and Christ is the invisible person of the visible church. If you ask anything in my name, I'll do it. You say, how can I do the works of Jesus and greater works? Because he'll still be doing them. But he will now do them in you and you and you and you and me and me and me and me, and don't you cop out.
This is the work of the whole church for the whole age. You know what I want for Bellevue? I want Bellevue to bring not thousands, but millions of souls to Jesus Christ. Millions, millions.
Why not? Jesus lives in me. Jesus lives in you, and he says, if we will believe greater works than these that I do, will you do because you believe in me? Now, there are three miracles that deal with your life. One is the first miracle when you got saved. That new birth is a miracle. The second miracle is when you're glorified at the rapture, the resurrection, when you're made like the Lord Jesus. But there's a middle miracle, and that's when you and I live day by day empowered by the Holy Spirit and say with the Apostle Paul, nevertheless, I live, not I, but Christ who lives in me.
My heartbeat, my prayer for this dear church is that we will be obedient to the Lord Jesus Christ, and God will look down from heaven with a smile and say, look at that. They're doing more than my son did. Greater works than he did because they believe in me, because they pray and obey, and because I dwell in them. Do you think you understand this?
I can't tell. Do you think you understand it? Now, let me tell you something.
That's good. It'd be far better for you not to understand it than to understand it and not obey it. I want you to present yourself to the Lord right now and say, Lord God, here I am.
I am available. I know that you want to do greater works than Jesus did because I believe in you, and I will pray and empower the Holy Spirit for the glory of God, and I will obey. Oh, Lord, help me because I'm so weak, but I will, and Lord, you will empower me with your blessed, precious Holy Spirit to do the job. Now, we can't all do it the same way. We can't all be preachers, but we can all be reachers. Amen? If you can't win an adult, win a child.
If you can't win somebody in your family, bring somebody else. If you can't do it, at least try. Bring souls to Jesus Christ. Now, if you're not a Christian, if you're not saved, you can't be a part of this program until you give your heart to Jesus. He that believeth on me, the works that I do, shall he do in greater works than these. Now, if you'd like to be saved and have your sin forgiven and know that you're going to heaven and know that you have a purpose here beyond drawing your breath and drawing your salary, you want to be a part of something great, a program of God, greater works than Jesus, then you need Jesus in your heart.
Now, let me tell you some facts while heads are bowed, and I pray, God, the Holy Spirit, let these facts sink into your head. First of all, we are sinners, sinners by birth, by nature, by practice, and sinners under condemnation. God will never, ever, ever, ever overlook anybody's sin. The wages of sin is death. The soul that sinneth, it shall surely die. And, friend, I can tell you that there is not anyone in this building today who has not sinned. Second thing I want to tell you is this, that Jesus Christ took the penalty that our sins deserve, and He carried them to the cross.
He was our substitute. He took your sin and mine, suffered, bled, and died alone on the cross, as we sang this morning. And with His blood, He paid the sin debt. The third thing I want you to know is that you must receive that. If you don't receive it, it does you no good. It only increases your judgment. The fourth thing I want you to know is that you receive it by faith.
The Bible says believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and you'll be saved. He doesn't say feel a certain way. As far as I can find, the word feelings only used twice in the New Testament.
The emphasis is on faith, trusting Jesus. It's not an emotional thing. It may show in your emotions. If you really mean it, it probably will.
But the emotions are secondary. Put your faith where God has put your sins on the Lord Jesus Christ. Believe and you'll be saved. I invite you to pray a prayer like this, God. I need you.
I want you. Help me to trust Jesus and to make it public and to make it real today. In your holy name, amen. If you would like to learn more about how you can know Jesus or deepen your relationship with Him, simply click the Discover Jesus link on our website, lwf.org. To receive this message or additional resources, visit our online store at lwf.org or call 1-800-274-5683. .
Whisper: medium.en / 2024-09-18 06:52:38 / 2024-09-18 07:05:22 / 13