Greater Things

We’re going to jump right into some red-letter words of Jesus, recorded in the Gospel of John…

“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 NIV emphasis added.)

Other translations use the phrase, “greater works than these”.

I’m going to ask a very direct question… Do you believe that? Do you believe what Jesus said in that passage, that “whoever believes in (Jesus)” will be able to do “greater things, or greater works, than Jesus did? Or, said another way, that we – as Believers – are able to do even more than Jesus did?

My guess is that many of us would say we believe it at a theological level, or in the sense that, “Jesus said it, so of course it’s true, and we have to believe it.” However, I wonder how many of us believe it on a practical level. How many of us truly believe that we can perform miracles and heal and receive supernatural help – and not only perform them, but do so even more than Jesus did?

I recall seeing Miles McPherson, Pastor of the Rock Church in San Diego, speak at a conference in Atlanta over 20 years ago. When preaching on this passage he said, passionately, “But y’all don’t believe that do you?” It was equal parts convicting and motivating. (And, since I’m including it here, it obviously stuck with me.)

I believe there are at least three reasons why most of us have a hard time believing that we can do these greater things – these greater works – and even more than Jesus did…

1. We Disqualify Ourselves

Allow me to ask a follow-up question… Do you think there are “Super-Christians” out there, with some kind of special, crazy, wild faith who are actually able to do these greater things? Did you even just have a name or a face come to mind of who that someone is, or could be? If this is the case, why do you think they can do these things, but you can’t? That’s not a rhetorical question. I want you to take a minute and answer that question in your head, before you continue reading. (It’s OK, I’ll wait…)

So, what excuse did you come up with that releases you from the blessing of being able to pray for miracles and not have them come to fruition? How have you convinced yourself that your prayers don’t have healing power? Let me tell you that those “reasons” – whatever they may be – are lies from the enemy. How do I know this? Because I’ve read the text, and nowhere in that passage do I see conditional phrases like, “except for” or “but not those who”. All I read is “whoever believes in me will”. That’s not a high bar, really.

“Christ is the culmination of the law so that there may be righteousness for everyone who believes.”(Romans 10:4 NIV emphasis added)

2. We’re Afraid to Ask

There is so much to this aspect of why we don’t pray like we could. For the sake of our time now, though, let’s just focus on one aspect. A common reason we don’t believe for these greater things is that we’re afraid what we ask for won’t actually come to be, which leads to disappointment at best, and even disbelief, at most. And so, to avoid that, we don’t pray at all, thus avoiding the hurt and potential ramifications (even if just in our own head) of what it means when our prayer is not answered.

My first rebuke of this approach is we should never start an answer or reason for doing (or not doing) something with, “I’m afraid that…”. Fear should never be your motivation. For anything. Period. Remind yourself where fear comes from – rather, let me just remind you – fear comes from the enemy. And the enemy should play no part whatsoever in your prayer life, except if you are declaring your power, in Christ, to overcome him and his ways. (Anyone who knows me or had read much in this space is well-aware of my feeling towards making decisions based on fear.)

“You don’t have because you don’t ask.” (James 4:2 NIV)

3. We Truly Do Not Believe What Jesus Said

If this is your camp, well then, let me ask you a question or two… Do you think that Jesus lied to us? (And why would He do that?) Do you think that the Apostle John lied in how he recorded Jesus’s words? Or maybe John just “misheard” what Jesus said and it was an honest mistake? Either way, since the entire Bible is inspired by The Holy Spirit, do you think that He missed this part in his Divine editorializing of the Biblical text? Or – and this is a big one – does your disbelief go a step further back, and you don’t fall into the, “whoever believes in me” category?

If it’s that last category, at least your reason is intellectually honest. I would encourage you to keep pursuing truth and Jesus will reveal Himself to you. If that’s not it, and you just have a hard time believing what the scripture says, I would encourage you to spend time with your Heavenly Father in prayer about your disbelief. He will respond and He will give you answers.

“Immediately the boy’s father exclaimed, “I do believe; help me overcome my unbelief!” (Mark 9:24 NIV)

And so, what if we did believe? Not just in a broad theological way, but in a day-to-day practical way, what Jesus said? What miracles are to be had? What healings are waiting to be performed? What else in your life is there to be had, but for the lack of belief of supernatural help, will remain elusive?

What are you waiting for?

Start believing like you’ve never believed before!

Start praying like you’ve never prayed before!

And, as a result, get ready to see things happen that you’ve never seen before!