Greater Works | Abundant Life Ministries

today that we know the Lord and we can

come and enjoy his warm loving presence

so would you just stand up as we get

ready to praise him this morning let's

pray father we thank you for this day

thank you for your love for us we pray

that you'd be glorified in this place as

we sing praises of your awesome name we

love you and pray in Jesus name amen can

you say amen to that church let's

sing i was lost in shame could not get

past my blame till he called my

name i'm so glad he changed me darkness

held me down but Jesus pulled me out and

I'm no longer

bound i'm so glad he saved me see

I now a new creation in

Christ and the old is gone there's new

life i live by faith not by sight

[Music]

there is a new name written down in

glory and it's

mine yes it's

[Music]

mine i've met the author of my story and

he's

mine yes he's

mine oh sin had left me blind but Jesus

opened my eyes now I see the light

i'm so glad he changed me now I'm

walking free i've got the victory see

it's all over

me i'm so glad he changed me see

I'm now a new creation

Christ the old is gone there's new

life i live by faith not by sight

[Music]

there is a new day written down in

glory and it's mine yes it's mine yes

it's mine

oh and I met the author of my

story and he's

mine yes he's

mine there is a new name written down in

glory and it's mine

yes it's

mine i met the author of my story and

he's

mine yes he's

mine and I am who I am because the I am

tells me who I i am who I am because the

I am tells me who I i am who I am

because the I am tells me who I am i am

who I am because I am tells me who I am

and I am who I am because the I am tells

me who I am i am who I am because the I

am tells me who I am i am who I am

because the I am tells me who I am i am

who I am because the I am tells me who I

am

there is a new name written down in

glory and it's mine yes it's mine yes

it's mine i met the author i met the

author of my story and he's mine yes

he's

[Music]

mine oh yes he's mine

there is a new name written down in

glory and it's

mine yes it's

[Music]

mine i met the author of my story and

he's

mine yes he's mine he's mine and he's

mine yes he's

mine and he's

mine yes he's mine

oh yes he's

mine

hallelujah oh thank you

Lord oh thank you for

Thank you

[Music]

alone in my sorrow and dead in my

sin lost without hope no place to begin

your love made a way to let mercy come

in when death was arrested in my life

began ash was redeemed only beauty

remains my orphan heart was given

away my morning grew quiet my feet rose

to dance when death was rest in my

way oh your grace so free washes

over

me you have made me new now life begins

with you

it's your

endless love pouring down on us you have

made me new now life begins with you

released from my chains I'm a prisoner

no more

my shame was answered me

faithfully he cancelled my debt and he

called me his

friend when death was arrested and my

life

[Applause]

be your grace so free washes

over

me you have made me new now life begins

with you

it's your

endless love pouring down on us you have

made me life begins with you

a savior displayed on a criminal's cross

darkness rejoiced as though heaven had

lost but then Jesus arose and thought

freedom in

[Music]

hand that's when death was arrested in

my

beginning for your grace so free washes

over me you have made me new now life

begins with

you it's your

endless love pouring down on us you have

made us new now life begins with

you oh we're free oh we're free free

forever we're free come join the song of

all the redeemed yes we're free free

forever amen when death was arrested in

my life oh we're free free forever we're

free come join the song of all the

reason yes we're free free forever amen

when death was rested in my life when

death was arrested my life began and

when death was arrested my life began

oh we're free come on just confess that

here we're free i'm free i'm free in

Jesus name

hallelujah oh your

grace so

free washes

over me

you have made me new now life begins

with you

it's your

endless love pouring down on

us you have made me new now life begins

with you

wow

[Music]

oh how great you

[Music]

are you give

light you will

love you bring light to the darkness

you give

hope you

restore every heart that is

broken and great are you

Lord you give

light you are

love you bring light to the darkness

you give

hope you

restore every heart that is

broken great are you

Lord it's your

breath in our

lungs so we pour out a praise we pour

out a praise it's your

breath we are

lost so we pour out our praise to you

[Music]

only and greater are you

[Music]

Lord you give

light you are

love you bring light to the

darkness you give hope

you

restore every heart that is

broken and great are you

Lord oh you're

great it's your

breath in our

lungs so we pour out our praise we pour

out our praise it's your breath in our

lungs

so we pour out a praise to you only it's

your

breath in our

lungs so we pour out our praise we pour

out our praise it's your

breath in our

lungs so we pour out our praise to you

[Music]

great are you

Lord oh great are

you oh shout it out oh you're

great and all the earth will shout your

praise our hearts will cry these bones

will sing

great are you

Lord and all the earth will shout your

praise our hearts will cry these bones

will sing how

great are you

Lord and all the earth and all the earth

will shout your praise our hearts will

cry these bones will sing "Oh

great are you Lord

[Music]

it's your

breath in our

lungs so we pour out our praise we pour

out our praise it's your

breath in our

lungs so we pour out our praise to you

holy it's your

breath in our

lives so we pour out our praise we pour

out our praise it's your breath

in our

lungs so we pour out our praise to you

only great are

[Music]

you great are you

and all the earth will shout your praise

our hearts will cry these bones will

sing

"Great are you Lord."

And all the earth will shout your praise

our hearts will cry these bones will

sing oh

great are you

Lord oh shout it

loud and all the earth will shout your

praise our hearts will cry these bones

will sing oh

great are you

Lord it's your breath it's your

breath in our

lives so we pour out our praise we pour

out our praise it's your

breath in our lives

so we pour out our praise to you

only it's your

breath in our

lives so we pour out our praise we pour

out our praise it's your

bread in our

lives so we pour out our praise you want

me and great are you

Lord and great are you Lord

[Music]

i worship

you i worship

you you are

here working in this place

i worship

you i worship

you you're

here moving in

honest i worship

you i worship

you you are

here working in this

place i worship

you i worship

you you are way maker miracle worker

promise keeper light in the darkness my

God that is who you are

you are we make

miracle promise keep light in the

darkness my God that is who you

are you are

here touching every

heart i worship

you i worship

you you are here

heal in every

heart i worship

you i worship

you you are

here turning lives

around i worship

you i worship you

you are

here mending every

heart i worship

you i worship

you you are we make

miracle promise keep light in the

darkness my God that is who you are

you are waiting

miracle promise keeper light in the

darkness my God that is who you

are that is who you

are that is who you are

[Music]

even when I don't see it you're working

even when I don't feel it you're working

you never stop you never stop working

even when I don't see it you're working

even when I don't feel it you're working

you never stop you never stop working

even when I don't see it you're working

even when I don't feel it you're working

you never stop you never stop working

even when I don't see it you're working

even when I don't feel it you're working

you never stop you never stop working

you never stop you never

stop maker miracle worker promise keeper

light in the darkness my God that is who

you are

you are way maker miracle worker promise

keeper light in the darkness my God that

is who you

are that is who you

are that is who you are

that is who you

are that is who you

are we praise the

Lord our deliverer our strength

the word calls him our mighty

fortress our strength our rock our

banner our victory lord you are those

things to

us you're our

healer you're the one who first loved us

and we're so grateful lord we just

worship you would you all just close

your eyes for a moment and just thank

the Lord for all that he is lord we

thank you for being who you are we

praise you for who you are lord you've

done amazing things but who you are Lord

you're incredible you are the one who

was and is and is to come before all

other things lord was you the Alpha and

the

Omega Lord you are unlike any other you

are holy set

apart the word tells us that that is

something sung in heaven holy holy holy

is the Lord God Almighty so Lord we just

agree with that you are holy just tell

them that right now church lord you are

holy holy holy you

are you're unlike anyone else it's such

a privilege to know you such a privilege

to see clearly as you lift the veil open

blind eyes and enable us to see you for

who you really

are a loving father who is good and

mighty and strong able to fulfill his

every word to us his children lord we're

so grateful to be your children this

morning we praise you we honor you we

magnify your name as awesome holy holy

holy you are Lord amen church I invite

you to take your seats this morning we

are uh going to receive communion here

in just a moment and so um before we

look to the word to be encouraged about

communion and why we receive it um our

ushers are going to prepare the tables

and as they're doing this um just so you

know once they are ready to go I'll

invite the first row to come forward and

you can take a cup of juice and a piece

of bread and then return to your seats

uh once the first row is all back then

the second row can come up and wait to

wait to eat and drink of those things

until everybody has received them and

then all together we as a church will uh

receive communion after we've prayed and

given God thanks for it and so um once

the ushers are done let's have the first

row come forward and get the communion

elements and then head back to their

seats once they're back second row come

forward and uh we'll just wait and we'll

stay in this place of praise and singing

um and we invite you to just sing with

us let's continue singing out that

chorus lord that is who you are your way

maker let's just sing that together as

we receive the elements front row you

can come up and get those elements now

please do

promise keeper light in the darkness my

God that is who you

are we make miracle work promise keeper

light in the darkness my God that is who

you are

way maker miracle worker promise keeper

light in the darkness my God that is who

you

are way maker miracle worker promise

keeper light in the darkness my God that

is who you are

[Music]

way maker miracle worker promise keeper

light in the darkness my God that is who

you

are i'm holy you are way maker miracle

worker promise keeper light in the

darkness my God that is who you

are that is who you are

that is who you

are that is who you

are oh that is who you

are oh that is who you are

you are way maker miracle worker promise

keeper light in the darkness my God that

is who you

[Music]

are plain maker miracle worker promise

keeper light in the darkness my God that

is who you are

oh you are way maker miracle worker

promise keeper light in the darkness my

God that is who you

are that is who you

are oh that is who you

are that is who you are

that is who you

are that is who you

are who you are

yes that is who he is to us isn't it he

is our way maker he's the one who's done

incredible things

he's the one that we can always count on

always trust in never be disappointed by

don't you know that about the Lord our

God that he is unlike anyone else can

you agree with me on that church he's

unlike anyone else isn't he that's why

we praise him well as we prepare to

receive these elements the juice and the

bread recognizing Jesus blood and his

body that was given on our behalf I'd

like to look at 1 Corinthians in the

10th chapter the 16th verse paul's

writing to the church about the Lord's

supper about this symbolic juice and the

symbolic bread that we hold in our hands

this morning and this is what Paul

writes to the church to explain he says

"When we bless the cup at the Lord's

table aren't we sharing in the blood of

Christ and when we break the bread

aren't we sharing in the body of Christ

and though we are many we all eat from

one loaf of bread showing that we are

one body."

Now these are rhetorical questions that

Paul's asking because the truth is that

yes this is all one and the same we we

don't have different ways that we get

forgiven we don't have different means

of receiving life there is only one life

only one redemption only one forgiveness

only one way into covenant with our

father and it's through Jesus it's

through his blood and his body and what

he's done for us and I particularly love

this verse in relation to the Lord's

supper because it speaks of the

communion in another translation in New

Living it says "Is it not the sharing

aren't we sharing in the blood of Jesus

in the body of Jesus?" That's what the

word communion really means and so when

we take time on these first Sundays of

the month to receive communion later

this month on Easter when we receive

communion what we're doing is

symbolically recognizing our

participation our sharing in our

communing together in what the body and

what the blood of Jesus has done for us

sharing has such a benefit to each and

every person you know what's wonderful

about sharing is you get to enjoy

something that doesn't belong to you

isn't that the truth when you share

something with someone else that belongs

to you what is it you're giving them the

benefit of the wonderful thing that you

have by sharing it with them when we get

the opportunity to share with others we

are receiving the benefit of what they

have or what they've done and it's

really such the same with Jesus when we

are in communion with him when we enter

in when we participate when we say yes

to the blood yes to the body we share

what he has done in his blood and in his

body you know Jesus he he really didn't

need the sacrifice of his blood to

purify himself because he was already

pure jesus really didn't need the

sacrifice of his body to give him life

because he was already fully alive he

was already fully dwelling in the life

and presence of the father but but we

had a need amen can you say that this

morning i had a

need and today without Jesus I still

have a need it's not in myself it's not

in my wisdom it's not in things I've

figured out some framework of theology

that I've I've made it with but it's

only in sharing what Jesus has

accomplished that I'm forgiven that I'm

cleansed that I'm sealed into a

relationship with God Almighty forever

it's only because of sharing the body of

Jesus that he chooses to share it with

us and we say yes to receiving that

wonderful benefit of it shared with us

that's the only reason that we can

expect or we can claim or we can ask and

receive of abundant fully satisfying

rich and satisfying eternal life it's

only because Jesus chose to share with

us aren't you glad Jesus chose to share

with us church i love that Jesus shared

with us and so all of us together this

morning we have the opportunity to once

again affirm the fact that I choose to

participate i choose to commune i choose

to share in what Jesus blood and body

has done for me so church I'd ask you if

you want to participate then would you

take the bread with you this morning and

let's just look to the Lord let's thank

him for what this body his body

symbolized by this bread we hold in our

hands this morning let's thank him for

what that's done and then claim our

participation claim our share in it as

we receive it into our physical body so

I'm going to pray i ask you to agree

with me and just think on the life Jesus

has given you father I thank you for the

life of Jesus that was offered for me

once for all time on the cross it is by

him who is the bread of life offering

himself to be beaten and broken and hung

on a cross to die but then raised again

for me it's because of him that I have

life it's because of him that I'm born

again born a new it's because of his

body that my life is rich abundant

satisfied my every need met Lord because

Jesus gave his body i thank you for that

provision of eternity knowing and

connected and alive to you God i thank

you for healing power that was offered

in the body of

Jesus i say yes to it i share in it and

I thank you God that I have the

opportunity in Christ to receive of this

life and so I receive it with much

gratefulness which m with much thanks

and gladness we receive the body in

Jesus name can you say amen church

receive

it and now Lord in the similar way we

look to your blood which was set shed

for us which was poured out and spilled

on the ground at Calvary lord I thank

you that it is the blood that has bought

us it's because of this blood that we

are now yours and you are ours Lord it's

because of this blood that we have been

forgiven of our sins and so whatever sin

whatever

sin would accuse me of guilt would

accuse me of condemnation whatever sin

people may have walked into this room

this morning carrying the weight of

whatever sin people may be aware of

right now even as I'm saying that word

sin and something's coming to mind and

Lord the enemy loves to remember sin and

recall sin and remind of sin but Lord

you choose to cast those sins far as the

east is from the west lord you choose by

the blood of Jesus to remember our sins

no more lord you have fully and finally

forgiven us who share this blood of

Jesus once and for all time and Lord you

seal us forever in a sure good covenant

of relationship as your son or your

daughter and so I am so thankful for the

blood i choose to share in it and I

receive all that it's done for me in

Jesus name

amen just take a moment and thank the

Lord for what he's done in your life

remember and give him praise for the

change that he's made how much better it

is Lord to be connected to you how much

better it is Lord to share in your life

and your covenant and your forgiveness

we praise you we glorify you we love you

in Jesus name we pray amen can you say

amen to that church we do love the Lord

we're so grateful for what he's done in

our lives and uh tell you what I just

for a few minutes this morning I'm I'm

going to give you some announcements as

our ushers transition and then um after

these announcements we will be receiving

tithes and offerings if you came to give

this morning you can uh you can open

your Bible to Proverbs chapter 3 we'll

Proverbs 3 · chapter mention

look at the word before we do that um

but let me make a few announcements to

you this morning the first one uh I said

this last week but uh Midwest Wellness

and Recovery asked that if anybody in

the church has magazines just leftover

magazines spare magazines that uh you've

got maybe piles or stacks of them and

you would like to see those have a

purpose kind of get a a new a new reason

to be then uh please bring those into

the church and they are looking for

magazine donations so that they can uh

use them in some projects that they want

to do with their group and so if you've

got extra magazines at home please feel

free to bring those you can leave them

on the south desk in the foyer or um

find myself or um maybe an usher and we

can take those uh for you and we'll get

them to Midwest so they had asked about

magazines um another announcement this

week on Tuesday is Women of Life and so

that's just a couple days away ladies I

know you probably have your calendars

marked i I know you know that second

Tuesday is always coming up and I think

there was a text that went out uh this

morning already and so if you got that

text and you are planning to come to

Women of Life this Tuesday 6 p.m at

Pastor Becky's house please do respond

attending to that text so we know how

much to prepare and uh if you didn't get

a text about women of life but you're a

woman and you'd like to go and get some

life from that group then uh please do

talk to Pastor Becky or you could talk

to Taylor or come and talk to me and uh

we'll get you on the text list for the

future and make sure you're accounted

for on Tuesday night at uh at 6 so uh

couple more quick announcements we have

an Easter egg hunt coming up on uh

Saturday April 19th that is the Saturday

before Easter and uh we've got some

exciting things in the works for that

Saturday we're going to have over 2,000

candy filled eggs spread out all across

our lawn we'll have three different

areas uh I think 0 to three 4 to 7 6 and

then 7 to 11 and so we'll have room for

all young ages kids 0 to 11 we'd love to

have them come up and join the egg hunt

with us we'll have some other things a

coloring contest with prizes some free

food that we'll be distributing until we

run out and um a train ride around our

our property and so we're really excited

about these things we believe it's going

to be a great Sunday in past years this

has been one of the opportunities that

our church has to really reach out into

the community and touch people with the

light and the love and the celebration

of Jesus resurrection and so uh we just

love Easter weekend i love Easter

weekend and what it's all about and so

uh we want to celebrate big and I hope

that through this event people will

encounter the love and the light of

Jesus and that God will use this event

to turn people's hearts toward him and

so I'm praying for that please join me

in these weeks leading up to it please

join me that people's hearts in this

season would just be turned toward the

Lord and if you can make it out on that

Saturday if you have kids bring them and

enjoy all the activities and if you

don't have kids hey you can still come

out and you can uh hang out for the day

you can meet some people love people uh

encourage people invite people back to

church the next Sunday morning and uh so

this will be a great opportunity please

plan to join us on that April 19th at

11:00 a.m uh for the Easter egg hunt if

you can make it and then the next day on

Easter Sunday we will of course be

having service here at our regularly

scheduled 10:00 a.m service time we'll

have a great time of worship we will

receive communion you you may uh be

encouraged by some some additional uh

music some testimony and so we're

expecting great things on Easter Sunday

morning just as we gather to celebrate

Christ's resurrection and before service

we have an opportunity for you our

annual Easter breakfast by Pastor Becky

will be put on in the redemption center

at 8:30 a.m and so starting at 8:30 I

think going until about 9:30 we will be

serving breakfast out in the redemption

center we would love to have you join us

um I am going to I meant to do it this

week but I lost track of all the things

that needed to get done and I don't have

a sign up for you today but I will have

a sign up next Sunday and maybe I'll put

a text thing out where you can text in

and say "I'm coming." Hey you know what

if you have uh if you have the church

number the church messaging number on

your phone if you get Women of Life text

or anything else go ahead and text that

now and say breakfast if you're planning

to come to the Easter breakfast and

that'll be one way we can get sign up

and I'll have a I'll have a paper form

maybe one of our ushers could even just

grab a paper put breakfast on the top of

it slap it on the back table and just

let us know you're coming i I know we

like to have an alert on how much to

prepare anytime we're doing a big meal

like that so please let us know if you

plan to come to Easter breakfast text us

sign up on the back or uh we'll have a

more formal sheet next week uh but we

will be having breakfast and it will be

a free will offering for our kids and

youth camps in the summer so that we can

scholarship and send students to uh our

week-long camps that run at the end of

July and so that'll be Easter Sunday

morning breakfast as well um one more

note about Easter Sunday we will not

have student ministry classes on Easter

Sunday and so we won't have a preschool

class a first through six cra and we

will not have uh caretakers in our

nursery on Easter Sunday morning um if

you're a parent with young young kids

like nursery age kids and you're having

a hard time keeping them in for the

service then we'll have that space open

and available for you to take your kids

down to and uh we'll just have the

service on and the TV down there uh but

we will not have class where you can

drop kids off on Easter Sunday and we

only want like nursery age kids going

down to the nursery class um three more

things real quick i know that seems like

a lot but they'll be quick one uh our

group that is making blankets for Agape

Pregnancy Center in De Moines they are

up and running the name of that group is

abundantly blessed and uh we are

believing that those mothers who receive

these blankets that are made with love

and prayed over will be abundantly

blessed by the Lord that those will be

just an item that as they as they touch

it as they receive it they will

encounter the love of God and he will

minister to their hearts and they will

be blessed so we're praying blessing

over those blankets and the mothers who

get them if you would like to give and

participate in that group and in that

project but you're someone like me who

says "I don't crochet I don't sew I

don't knit I'm not making a blanket but

you'd like to participate in a different

way." Um you can give toward that to buy

materials like fabric and yarn and those

types of things we have a little black

box out on our south uh foyer desk and

if you want to write a cash or a check

donation specifically for those blankets

to be made you can do that and and put

it in that box on the south for your

desk and we'll get those funds to it and

we also have a fund option on our online

giving systems where you can give to

abundantly blessed and anything given to

that fund uh will go into supplies to

make blankets for those mothers and so

we're excited about that um want to say

a big thank you today to three guys who

spent multiple days out here at the

church this week i want to say thanks to

Mike McKenzie Neil Dolinger and Bill

Sutton uh for building us some picnic

tables and benches that will go out in

our pavilion and we'll use those you

know every summer for time to come if

you haven't seen them yet they are nice

and they're sturdy and they're all out

there they're going to look really good

they're going to be useful and very

functional for us so um you can check

those out today on your way out to come

together lunch i mean if you're brave

enough to be out in 50° you can even sit

at one today they're ready to go but uh

we just want to thank those guys your

your serving your gift really blessed

our church and so thank you Mike thank

you Neil thank you Bill we appreciate

what you guys have done to to get that

project going then one last thing for

this morning and I I I want to talk

about it but I also want to want to move

quick and then we're going to go to

Proverbs chapter 3 um and receive

Proverbs 3 · chapter mention

offering and if you need an envelope

today you can put your hand up an usher

will come find you with one of those uh

last announcement for today is uh we've

we've done a refresh uh Morgan

Jaspersonson has taken the lead on this

refresh but our church app um has not

had any updates for a number of years

now and so she went in over the last

month or so and updated some things

there's a new format so if you have the

church app our Abundant Life Ministries

church app then you can log on there and

check it out there's a new format so

it's laid out a little bit different

than it used to be um and we've started

some new things we've added some new

digital tools to our church app um if

you want to go back to that last page

Jaden we have an audio only podcast on

there now so if you're someone that

wants to listen to messages through the

week but you don't want to have to watch

a video to do it that feature is now on

there where you can just play audio and

listen to it kind of hands and screen

free um we are going to be publishing

devotionals on a weekly basis once again

as well as periodic Bible reading plans

and so uh I'll be talking more about

that in the upcoming weeks i think uh we

may be looking at starting a Bible

reading plan the week leading up to

Easter so we're kind of excited about

that the prayer wall um periodically

does get used and and people post and

ask for prayer there and so if you are

wanting believers to pray and agree with

you on something that is a place where

you can make a request hey please agree

with me for this hey this happened can

can the church pray and uh people are

really good about getting on there and

praying together and then this is

another new feature on the app and

something we're expecting um to really

use over this next year is groups and uh

on on the app if you go down to the very

bottom there's a bar and on that it will

say groups if you click on that group

it'll open up a page um and if you look

at all groups it'll list several groups

that you can uh join and be part of and

so on there we have um a group for the

home group attendees to talk about the

lesson and the material that they're

learning and studying through the week

we've got a group on there where people

can go in and share things that you you

liked about the Sunday message or

questions you have about the Sunday

message so after the Sunday morning

sermon I mean if there are notes and

things that really encouraged or

inspired you uh you can go in there and

share those things for others to hear

and be encouraged by as well um we've

got another group in there where I'll

I'll just post kind of periodic thoughts

and little like snippet kind of

devotional content and then we've got a

women of life group and so uh there's

just some different groups that we're

going to start using to have

conversations that are church and

scripture-based through the week don't

you know that that's a good thing to

interject into your week more is is more

more church more Christian belief more

values more word more ministry and so

that's really the effort with this

church app update is we just want to

provide uh better quality and more

frequent uh ministry to all of you who

have it through the week and so we hope

you'll utilize that app tool uh it's

called Church app by Tithely church app

by Tithely on the Apple or Google Play

Store and then you can select our church

within there and so if you have

questions about that just see myself or

Morgan after church today and we'll get

it sorted out for you uh but that's all

I that's all I have for announcements

all right and so uh let's let's get

ready this morning to receive the

offering um just real quick church I'd

like to look at Proverbs chapter 3 we

Proverbs 3 · chapter mention

believe the offering tithing is part of

our worship it's part of this life of

sacrificing ourself giving oursel uh in

service of the Lord in love of the Lord

and um giving financially is one of the

ways that we do that in Proverbs 3:9 we

Proverbs 3:9

get this this word of encouragement this

word of instruction was written to

Israel but it applies to us says "Honor

the Lord with your wealth and with the

best part or the first fruit of

everything you produce then he will fill

your barns with grain and your vats will

overflow with good wine." The principle

here is pretty simple honor the Lord and

the result is going to be great blessing

and if you look through the Bible that

is that is true and that is the way God

interacts with people when he is honored

by people there is blessing that comes

as a result of that and so honoring him

is is something we should seek to do

with our life in our actions in our

doing in our speaking in our giving in

our working our desire should be to

honor the Lord and as I think about

honoring a person one of the ways we

honor somebody is by giving them

something you know in my family my

extended family this there are two times

of a year that are like birthday season

and right now is one of them where in

the extended family we'll have five or

six birthdays all stacked within like a

two or three week period of time anybody

else's family have that kind of thing

going on you know through that time one

of the ways that we honor the

individuals that are having a birthday

is well we give them presents we give

them things to celebrate them to uh

express our love for them to express our

care for them and so one of the ways we

honor is by giving and when we give to

God with a heart that seeks to honor him

well it's kind of like giving somebody

that has a birthday a present it's I I

love you i care about you and I want you

I want you to know that and so this

action of giving to you today it's not

because I'm expecting to get something

back i'm not trying to earn something

i'm not you know vying for some kind of

position or some kind of favor because

we already believe the favor of God has

been given to us in Christ amen we

receive his favor favor by grace not by

works but this action of giving it ought

to come from this heart that's seeking

to honor God we can honor God by giving

and the truth is this honor does come

with the promise in our home groups this

next week i think it is we're looking at

um the family dynamics and one of the

scriptures that we'll look at is honor

thy father and mother for if you do you

receive wellness and long life and so

there is a promise attached to honoring

parents how much more is there a true

promise attached to honoring God you see

the way God made this world to work the

way he made things to function is that

when honor is given there is a promised

benefit that comes with that and so we

ought to certainly live a life seeking

to honor those to whom honor is due

honoring one another but we also ought

to absolutely honor the Lord our God can

you say amen to that he is most worthy

of all of our honor and so I just want

to encourage you today as our ushers

come forward and we prepare to give this

tithe and offering we are honoring God

in this place we are honoring God as we

give today and so I just want to

encourage you this action is an honoring

action to God but choosing your heart

that that's why you're giving if there's

any other consideration any other you

know thought or temptation or thing this

morning I just invite you as we pray set

those things down and say "No Lord I'm

giving today because I I love you i

recognize your glory i I want to honor

you with my life and so this action of

giving today this is an action of honor

for you and I pray that you receive So

let's pray that way together and let's

give to bless the Lord father I do thank

you for your word which instructs us i

thank you for promise what a wonderful

thing it is to receive word that tells

us and promises us beneficial things

lord I thank you that as we give today

that promise that you made here is true

that when we honor you when we give in

this way Lord you do bless us you fill

our barns with grain our vats with wine

lord you provide for our needs and then

some lord you prosper us so that we can

continue being generous in great ways

glorifying you and honoring you uh with

our life as well as with these physical

things that we give today and so Lord I

pray that as we give our heart would be

such i choose today that my heart is

such that as I offer my offering to you

as I offer my tithe to you it is because

I honor you i I recognize how awesome

you are and it is my desire to be

honoring to you in the way I live the

things I say the things I do and so this

action of giving is just one of many

many actions many examples of worship

where I seek to honor you so Lord be

honored be honored Lord with this

offering this morning be glorified may

your name be made great not only through

our giving in this place but through

what happens as a result of this giving

lord use this offering for your kingdom

for your name and for your glory i pray

it in Jesus name amen amen i believe for

that i agree that it will be done and

hey we're going to dismiss our kids as

the ushers pass our plates i hope that

won't create a conflict in the rows but

um once they go by or before they get to

you kids and teachers can head out to

their

classes and everyone else with me here

we are going to get into the word

together um if you'd like to open your

Bibles to the Gospel of John the Gospel

of John it's just four books into the

New Testament we're going to begin this

morning in chapter 14 of the Gospel of

John and uh you know I've already

mentioned some about Easter coming up we

just a few moments ago received

communion and of course communion is is

so tied to Easter weekend and what we

celebrate on Easter because it was it

was the offering of Jesus' body the

offering of his blood as a sacrifice him

giving himself to be put to death for us

is why we can celebrate a resurrection

that because he gave himself to be put

to death and then three days later rose

out of that grave we have a resurrection

to celebrate and you know as we come up

on this season I I just I always think

about the things that happened before

the cross i'm always drawn in this

season preceding Easter Sunday where we

think on the cross and we think about

the empty tomb and we celebrate

resurrection i'm always thinking about

that time that that week that was

leading up to the cross to the death to

the burial to the resurrection and you

know before Jesus went to the cross if

you read in the book of John it's I

think it's like chapter 12 through the

end of John is all about that last week

and really more so even than the last

week really just the last couple of days

you see Jesus begins this final teaching

in John and he starts talking about

things that disciples his disciples his

people really need to know really need

to hear he speaks about all kinds of

things he talks about his impending

sacrifice that it's any any moment now

he's going to go and offer his life he

talks about the promise of the Holy

Spirit a number of different times he

talks about instituting the Lord's

supper of communion he speaks about the

bread and the wine and and what they

mean he talks about unity among the

brethren he talks about walking in love

the greatest commandment which is to

love the Lord as well as the one which

is like it to love thy neighbor as

thyself and so Jesus is talking about

all of these really important things all

of these fundamental things to you know

walking out this way of life that he's

modeled for them over the last three

years and in John 14 this isn't you know

the whole of Jesus message but it's I

think a pretty important piece of it a

pretty important part of what Jesus

wanted to teach and communicate to his

disciples before he was put to death

this is what he says in John

John 14:12

14:12 i tell you the truth don't you

know Jesus is always telling the truth

but when Jesus says this what he's doing

is emphasizing the point he's about to

make he's saying "Hey this is

important." Jesus is always telling the

truth so when he says "I am telling you

the truth right now." He's saying "Hey

you really you really need to get a hold

of this because this is this is really a

true statement that I'm about to make."

And it's something that I I really want

you to believe and I really want you to

get it i really want you to receive it

into your life and live like it's the

truth and act on it so this is important

jesus is saying,"I will tell you the

truth anyone who believes in me will do

the same works I have done and even

greater works because I am going to be

with the father." Says "You can ask

anything in my name and I will do it so

that the son can bring glory to the

father." Yes ask me for anything in my

name and I will do it what a great

promise what a great word that Jesus

gives his disciples he says "Anyone who

believes in me will do the same works I

have done and even greater works because

I'm going to be with the father." This

is one of the last things that Jesus

chose to teach about before he went to

the cross it was important enough that

it was in you know his I mean you could

call it his last will and testament so

to speak i mean he knew he was going to

rise again but this was this was the

thing preceding his death these were the

final words that what he wanted his

disciples to hear and know and he's

saying I'm telling you the truth about

this i really want you to get this you

are going to do the same works I have

done and more than that you're going to

do even greater works because I'm going

to be with the father and I'll elaborate

on that some more in a moment we're

going to open that up today that we'll

do the same works and greater works than

Jesus has done

we must recognize Jesus has a purpose in

teaching this you know he's not just

throwing out statements for no reason he

wants his disciples to know this because

he wanted their expectation to increase

jesus wanted his disciples to expect

that him going to the cross was not the

end of the work that he came to do and

not just for them but for you as well i

I my prayer and my hope for this message

today is that you are inspired and

encouraged to believe that God wants you

to expect more for to happen for his

kingdom through your life that there are

great works greater works that he wants

to do even today and he wants to do them

through you and so this morning we're

going to talk about the greater works

that Jesus has in store for our lives

but before we get into the greater works

that Jesus left his disciples to do the

greater works that he left us to do I

believe it's important that we

understand the great works that Jesus

completed while he was ministering on

earth because that's the standard this

is the starting point is Jesus says the

same works I have done and greater works

also and so we need to understand some

things about the works Jesus did if

we're ever going to have a shot at doing

those same works don't you think so i

mean if I'm trying to do the same thing

then I need to know what that thing is

we can't just be guessing and hoping and

and questioning wondering if I'm kind of

getting close to Jesus works the Bible

reveals some things about the works

Jesus did and I don't think anybody

would discount this jesus lived a great

life jesus lived a miraculous life jesus

lived an amazing life you could call it

a heavenly life a a powerful life a

purposeful life jesus lived great didn't

he greater than perhaps probably than

any man who's walked the earth jesus

lived a great life and he did many great

things during the 33 years he was on

earth really the three years that he

ministered on earth before dying on the

cross and raising from the dead and I

say this the great works Jesus did were

not by accident they were not by luck no

the works Jesus did these great works

that he was sent by the father to do

they happened I believe because he lived

in perfect connection and fellowship

with the father jesus was in perfect

unity with the father and the holy

spirit he was empowered by the holy

spirit directed by the father and

obedient and the result of this is his

life accomplished many great works his

time on earth accomplished many great

works the greatest of those I would say

was the atoning work where he paid the

price for all humanity's sins shedding

his blood giving his body what we just

remembered a moment ago with communion i

believe that was the greatest work as it

relates to me because without that work

none of the other work would really

matter without that work none of the

other work would have eternal impact

eternal purpose and so the greatest work

I believe is that he redeemed us amen i

mean if you think multiplying bread into

5,000 that's I think that's impressive

but man salvation's a whole lot greater

as much as I'd love to have loaves of

bread to eat for 5,000 days ahead I am

so glad that I have an eternity secured

in heaven forever can't you say amen to

that

so Jesus did many great things other

than the atoning work we see Jesus in

his ministry through the gospels

proclaiming the good news of the kingdom

speaking preaching offering forgiveness

of sin and new birth to the people he

encountered we see him doing this

lifegiving work of feeding people who

were hungry multiplying loaves and fish

healing the sick delivering the

oppressed restoring the broken

transforming those who were lost and

resurrecting people who had died we see

him correcting errored teaching of the

day modeling fellowship with God so

perfectly and providing this perfect

example of the new birth new life born

of the spirit for all believers who

would follow after

him and what I would offer for your

consideration today the great works

Jesus did all stemmed from his

connection with the father and holy

spirit all these works Jesus did it

wasn't just because it was

Jesus although I do think him being God

in the flesh had something to do with it

but what I see Jesus saying if we go to

John chapter 5 and John chapter 6 if you

John 5 · chapter mention John 6 · chapter mention

just want to get into that region of

your Bible we see Jesus allude to the

fact that it wasn't just him in his

amazing power on earth but it was

actually the connection he had with the

father that enabled him to do these

amazing works let's look at John 6:38

John 6:38

first jesus says this "I have come down

from heaven to do the will of God who

sent me not to do my own will." That

tells me the directive for the works

that Jesus was doing through his life

where did it come from he says "I've not

come to do my will but the will of God

who sent me the will of the father who

sent me." So Jesus was perfectly aligned

perfectly connected to you could say

perfectly in sync with the will of the

father and so what he was doing was the

will of the father the works that were

so great that he was working they

weren't of his own decision they weren't

because Jesus woke up one day and said

"Hey I think today's a healing day and

so let's go heal some people hey I think

today is a walking on water day so let's

go walk on some water Peter." No you see

Jesus says "I haven't come to do my

thing i've come to do the will of the

father who sent me." So we see Jesus

perfectly in unison perfectly in

connection in fellowship in communion in

partnership with the father in John 5

19-20 I think this speaks even more

clearly to this point jesus explains and

he says "I tell you the truth." See

there he is again emphasizing this is

really the truth this is really the

truth jesus is saying the son can do

nothing by himself now listen I believe

Jesus is God i believe he is the son of

the trinity i believe he is the one who

was and is and is to come he is alpha

and omega he is the one that created the

world through him for him and so I

believe in the power of Jesus but I'm

I'm just presenting to you what Jesus

said here to his disciples i tell you

the truth the son can do nothing by

himself he does only what he sees the

father doing whatever the father does

the son does also for the father loves

the son and shows him everything he's

doing in fact the father will show him

how to do even greater works than

healing this man then you will truly be

astonished so this is cool jesus says

"The greater works come from my

fellowship with the father the father is

the one who shows me these greater works

to be done." I and I believe it's the

Holy Spirit who empowered Jesus to do

these works because it was it was when

the spirit descended upon him like a

dove when he was baptized in the river

Jordan that's when all of these

miraculous things started happening when

he started teaching and speaking with

such power and authority and delivering

the demonically oppressed and healing

those who had for life been sick and

broken and so Jesus is saying here it's

this connection with the father and we

see elsewhere the power of the spirit

present in Jesus' life and ministry this

is what enabled him to do great works

and greater works like it said in John

John 5:20

5:20 the father will show him how to do

even greater works and so greater works

come from unison with God come from

fellowship with God come from connection

and relationship with God i don't

believe there is a system to

accomplishing greater works other than

knowing him and being in him and being

with him and following him seeking his

will and obeying him it all is about him

and my relationship with him it's all

about him and my connection to him you

see Jesus reveals that the great works

all came from his relationship with the

father this is what I see him saying do

you agree with me on this church am I am

I off base this morning or or did Jesus

say it's him who shows it's him who

wills it's him who makes me able he says

I can do nothing in myself it's all out

of this connection with the father and

so his agenda was set by the one who

sent him jesus did great works because

the father showed and the spirit

empowered and these great things were

the result of the agreement shared

between father son and holy spirit and

the greater works that will happen in

your life the greater works God wants to

do in my life they will happen as I am

in connection with the father son and

holy spirit i can do nothing apart from

them i I I can teach nothing apart from

them i mean you you take the word away

and I've got nothing to

say you you take the Holy Spirit away

and and I've got no leading to go on you

take Holy Spirit away I I I've got no no

power to act with you take Jesus away

I've got no authority no name to stand

on no one to put my faith in and so it's

only by connection with him that great

works and greater works will be done can

you say amen to that church and so these

great things in Jesus life were a result

of the connection and in our life the

greater works God wants to do will be

resulting from this connection i would

say it this way to you this morning

church there is there is power where

things are in there is power where

things are in one another in our life

there is there is power there is hope

there is life when we are in when we are

in Christ you know there's this book

that uh brother Kenneth Hagen published

many years back in him simply the title

of it that's the whole name and all it

does is go through all of these promises

in the word about what happens when

we're in him what changes when we're in

him what's promised when we're in him

and what it reveals to us is this it's

all about him and it's all about me

being in him connected to him plugged in

with him i was thinking about that

example that that kind of illustration

of being plugged in and I was actually

thinking about my electric guitar you

know this one it it's got some hollowess

and so it actually has some sound but

I've got another guitar in the back that

doesn't have any of that hollowess and

so it doesn't resonate sound very loud

if I pulled it out up here right now I

could strum it and you probably wouldn't

hear it in fact if I go over and pluck

this bass guitar tell me who can hear

that right now can anybody hear the note

that's being played how about this one

can you hear the differences no why not

well because it's not plugged in you see

it has ability there is potential in

that guitar but the power comes when

it's plugged into the power source amen

and with you and I we have all kinds of

potential god created us to do great

greater works that's what he made you to

do greater works but it will only happen

if you're plugged into him it will only

happen if you're connected in fellowship

in relationship with him i can do

nothing by myself is what Jesus said and

you know what as as I get older and

perhaps a little bit wiser and I see

more in the word that becomes more and

more a revelation of truth in my life i

can do nothing by myself

i need him i can do nothing by myself i

mean man if Jesus is saying that I can

probably say that right i mean if Jesus

who was perfect and did amazing things I

mean the book's all about him if Jesus

is saying "I can do nothing by myself,"

how much more should we approach God

with the attitude of humility to say "I

can I can do nothing by myself lord I

need you it's all about you it's all

about my connection with you my

relationship with you this covenant I

have with you by the blood of Jesus

thank you Lord for bringing me close

it's all about receiving what happens

when we're in him you see the spirit the

Holy Spirit dwells in us fills us

because we're in Christ if we're not in

Christ no Holy Spirit i can enjoy the

presence of God because I'm in Christ

you're not in Christ no presence no

nearness no drawing close in him in you

nope it's only in him these greater

works in like way they happen when we're

in they happen when we're plugged in you

see connection is the key the connection

to Christ to the father the son the holy

spirit that is the key to greater works

it was the key in Jesus life and

ministry that there was this connection

this fellowship between them this

agreement that they shared and it's true

in our life as I mean how are we going

to do it a different way than Jesus did

it he is our pattern he is our example

to follow and the way he did it was

through connection it it wasn't you know

by puffing himself up and and saying

things a certain way or making formulas

and systems that were going to make

things happen no he just he was close to

the father he communed with the father

he shared time with the father and the

he was led and empowered to do great

things one other note I'll I'll give you

about this this well the greater works

and something that I believe is

essential to seeing greater works happen

is uh in 1 John 4:1

1 John 4:1

16 this connection with God is

inseparable from love that's my next I

guess point for you this morning if I'm

giving you points the first one would be

this jesus amazing works stemmed from

his connection with the father and holy

spirit so connection is the key maybe

that's point number one my second point

for you this morning is connection with

God is inseparable from love connection

with God is inseparable from love uh say

it this way you you cannot have

connection with God without also having

connection with love we cannot have

fellowship with God except also having

fellowship with love because the word

tells us and we're going to see it in 1

1 John 4:16

John 4:16 that God is love here in 1

1 John 4:16

John 4:16 the word says "We know how

much God loved us loves us and we have

put our trust in his love." God is love

and all who live in love live in God and

God lives in

them we all know how much God loves us

we've put our trust in his love god is

love all who live in love live in God

all who live in love live in God and God

lives in them you see we cannot be

living in God and not also be living in

love the Bible makes it so clear here

god is love and and so to be living in

him to be in fellowship with him in

connection with him means that hey love

has entered the room love is in this

space i I'm you know a visual person and

if we're just thinking about like hey

you know right up here on this platform

this is the shared space of my life and

here's the father and here's the son and

here's the holy spirit and here's me but

love you don't get to be here then I

don't have a

party because if I kick love out I must

also kick out father son and holy spirit

because god is love and there there is

no separation between them if I have god

present then love is present now I can

choose not to obey love I can choose to

not listen to love I I at times may may

give into flesh or old habits or wrong

ways of thinking I may fall back into

the conformity of the world because I

haven't renewed my mind to the word and

the truth of God and his

love but the truth is this if God is

going to be present in my life and I'm

going to be you know in with him then

love has to be in as well there is no

way to

separate love from God because God is

love god is perfect love god is the the

image the example the perfection the

expression of love it's God he is love

and so when we encounter God when we

fellowship with God when we receive God

when we trust God we are also doing all

of those things with

love and so the point to this is is we

must recognize that this fellowship this

connection that fuels the greater works

that enables the greater works love is a

piece of that jesus we see through his

life and his ministry that many of the

great works he did were motivated by

love and really if if God is love you

could interchange like hey you know the

father the father motivated Jesus to do

this well love motivated to Jesus Jesus

to do it and it's it's one and the same

because God is love and so we see

that love is a part of greater works

love is is a key to greater works

happening in Jesus life and in our life

you see um two things that I see about

the connection of love with with

fellowshipping with God is Jesus

greatest works many of his great works

were done in love you see it was the

love that God had for the world that

Jesus came and died so that that great

work of atonement it was a work

motivated by what by love by love for

you aren't you glad God loved you enough

that Jesus loved you enough to go do

that great work i think about other

times through the word you know when

Jesus multiplied i've been talking some

this morning about you know the big meal

plan right 5,000 getting fed from some

loaves and fish when Jesus did that it

says he looked at the multitudes and he

had compassion on them for they had not

eaten for three days that compassion was

a was a love motive which led to perhaps

the greatest multiplication miracle that

we have recorded it's pretty cool that

great work motivated by love many times

through the gospels Jesus would

encounter multitudes of sick or

demonically oppressed people and it

would say he had compassion on them and

so he healed all their sick great works

miraculous works works of healing and

victory over the enemy worked through

love and so Jesus motivation in his

great work was never selfish wasn't

about getting himself the glory in fact

we see him at times saying "Don't

glorify me but glorify the father."

Jesus didn't do great works to increase

his number of followers to gain more

influence he didn't work great works to

have exciting services or to make

himself seem important

jesus great

works were always motivated by the love

of God for people and the desire to

glorify the father in heaven you see

these these are the two ways love works

out through great works number one love

for

God works through great works because I

love God and I want to see people

acknowledge how great he is it's my love

for God that wants me to I want to see

other people glorify him so I'm going to

I'm going to do whatever I can do to

lead other people to giving God glory

what is that that is a love for God

motivating a great work motivated giving

motivated preaching motivated praying

motivated ministering because I want to

I love God so much i want other people

to love him too and so love is the

motivator for great works that point to

God but but here's the other side of

that

love also wants to see other people

enter into this abundant life that Jesus

came to give us love wants to see other

people enjoying this rich and satisfying

life that Jesus has offered us through

his gracious sacrifice and so because I

care about other people I I'm going to

work i'm going to speak i'm gonna give

i'm going to invite i I'm going to do

whatever God would lead me to

do for their benefit because I love them

amen do you see how love is a part of

this this motivation for great works you

know I think you know everybody wants to

see great works but why that's that's

part of the question as I study and I

think on great works i mean the Lord

just always takes me there why why do

you want why do you want great works you

know why why do you want the first

Corinthians 12 gifts of the spirit why

why do you want that happening in your

life or in your church services or or in

your devotional why why do you want that

well I want it because he promised it

and it's a good thing and it's it's a

powerful thing but I also want it

because I love God and I love everything

that he does and and I want more of what

he's doing in my life and I love people

and I want people to be benefited i want

lives to be changed through miraculous

healings through miraculous you know

protections through words that set the

course of their life words of wisdom

words of knowledge words of prophecy

tongues and interpretations that they

would be spoken and redirect somebody's

life toward the kingdom plan that God

has for them

why because I love them and I love God

and so I want greater works can you say

amen church amen we love so we want

greater works and this is the truth just

like Jesus great works flowed from love

our great works our greater works must

also flow from love they must happen in

connection there's no way for greater

work to happen apart from God and God is

love and so it's unavoidable that the

works in our life must be done in

love you know I think about testimonies

I've heard over the years from people

who did great works in fact there's

there's one minister named Smith

Wigglesworth who actually has a book of

sermon collections that's titled Greater

Works

and something I find as I study these

ministers and you know prophets and

these people who planted many churches

and God used them in miraculous ways

great ways so often I would say always

it seems their motivation is love love

for God or love for others it is never

about wanting to build themselves up

greater or you know just have this fun

and exciting time it is always I love

God so much i want his plan to come to

pass i love God so much i love the Lord

Jesus so much i want to I want to expand

his kingdom with my life in any way that

I can so I will spend myself i will give

myself i will serve until my socks fall

off any way I can because I love God and

I love people and I believe the best

thing for people is to get to know God

and so any way I can connect people to

God I'll I'll do that

if we look again to John 14:12 this

John 14:12

promise Jesus said 'I tell you the truth

anyone who believes in me will do the

same works I have done can you believe

that church don't take my word for it

not because Pastor Isaac said it cuz

Jesus said it don't believe because I

said it because I'm preaching it i mean

my word's not worth a whole lot compared

to what Jesus has to say so believe what

Jesus says not what I say i'm just

telling you Jesus says "I tell you the

truth anyone who believes do we have

anyone in here anyone in here believe

just just for a second raise your hand

if you would if you believe in Jesus

because this is the qualifier if anyone

believes in Jesus we got a room full of

people who believe in Jesus amen says

anyone who believes in me will do will

will do i will do so we can make that

personal i believe in Jesus so I will do

the same works that Jesus did i will do

not because I want to though I do want

to but not because of

that not because I'm just saying it and

so it's going to happen because I said

so but because Jesus

said "I will do the same works he did

and even greater works." Because that's

what Jesus said and I believe Jesus my

faith isn't in my want my faith isn't in

what I'm saying my faith isn't in how

badly I can push for it how much I could

pray to do it my faith is in what Jesus

has said and what Jesus says is anyone

who believes in me and that's me will do

the same works that he did and greater

works also and this is the truth

according to Jesus word and I believe

Jesus i believe Jesus more than you i

believe Jesus more than the internet i

believe Jesus more than any book that's

ever been written on the subject of

cessation or do miracles continue did it

end with the apostles does God still do

miraculous things today even more than I

believe the testimonies that I've heard

through my life of healings and

deliverances even more than the

testimonies I could share about times

where God healed me delivered me

protected me provided for me i believe

what Jesus says that because I believe

in him because I follow him because I'm

in connection with him I will do the

same works and greater works than he did

amen anyone who believes in Jesus will

do the same and greater works and so

what are greater works what are greater

works let's talk about this for you and

I with the time we have left what does

it mean for us that we get to do greater

works well this word greater is megas

mega you know we have that word in our

vocabulary mega it's big it's great the

Greek word megas means large and mighty

and so we could say this God has large

and mighty works for you to do i kind of

like that it kind of encourages and

inspires me that God has large and

mighty works for you to do in your life

and you might think about that and then

of course the first place that doubt

wants to come in is well how could you

ever do a work that's large and mighty

like Jesus did i mean have you ever

walked on water have you ever multiplied

5,000 loaves i haven't just for the

record i have not not yet anyway i'm

open to whatever God wants to do and you

know what i'm not pursuing a work so

that I can say I did a great work goes

back to the love thing lord use me

however you want to use me do whatever

work through me you'd like to do because

I want what you want i love what you

love and I I want to see his kingdom

expand and so Lord I'll do whatever

great work you want to do and here's

something else you know what we consider

great works and what God considers great

works might just be different sometimes

have you ever thought about that that

maybe the greatest works in the eyes of

God are not the works that just make our

jaws drop i mean how often do we talk

about salvation like it's just some

little "Yeah I'm saved." I mean that's

like the greatest work that's ever

happened in history you want to talk

about a mixed up perspective just think

about how how pitifully our perspective

is about salvation

sometimes i mean that's the greatest

work that's ever happened bar none

eternal life for every person who will

ever call on the name of Jesus nothing

like that's ever been done before or

ever will be done again i'm so grateful

for that work and yet sometimes in our

little human perspective we can think

"Oh it's just it's just that God did

this it's just that he saved my soul for

eternity it it's just that he made me a

new creation by the power of his spirit

it's just that he made my eyes open to

see the glory of who he is

it's not just that's a great work but

see how this works in our life is with

that same mixed up

perspective we can we can look at

opportunities to speak into somebody's

life and we think "Oh it's it's just a

conversation what if it's more than a

conversation what if it's a greater work

God wants to do what What if you're

talking to somebody that's going to go

and reach a million people for the Lord

one day what what if it's an action of

loving encouragement in a young child

that keeps their life connected to God

forever i mean you know what i I believe

God values that more than if if you

could go out there and pray over a bun

and make a 100 pulled pork sandwiches

for us this afternoon i truly believe

one conversation that reshapes an

eternity that's a greater work can you

agree with me on that church and so see

our perspective on greatness of works is

not necessarily the same as God's

perspective on what a greater work is

and if we think about what greater works

have been done since Jesus ascended to

the throne to be with the father let's

just look at the reach and the scope of

proclamation that's happened you know

Jesus he went through Judea and Galilee

so the nation of Israel and not even the

whole thing but a part of the nation of

Israel jesus went around that region

preaching and some were were some put

their faith in him some followed him

many did

not what's happened since Jesus left

well there have been billions of people

who have called out on the name of the

Lord and been saved there has been a

gentile world a globe that has been

reached with the good news since Jesus

went home now I'm not saying that the

people Jesus ministered to weren't

important but I think that's a greater

work do you agree with me i I know it's

it's dangerous territory for us because

like I don't want to say that we're

doing something better than Jesus but

but this is what he said

that we would do greater works amen and

the whole world being reached I believe

is a greater world work than just the

Jewish nation being reached so praise

God for a greater work amen i think

about the body of Christ and the

cumulative result jesus was just one

person one person who was filled with

the Holy Spirit he could only be in one

place at one time right but now there is

a body of billions of believers spread

all over the world who are able to

preach who are I mean the word says the

Holy Spirit in us will do empowering he

will empower us to go and preach the

gospel and so there's not just one body

of there is one body of Christ but

there's members of the body everywhere

when it was Jesus there was just one guy

now we've got millions of believers

walking over this earth sharing and

proclaiming the good news I think that's

a great work a greater work

see the harvest extends beyond just one

labor that's why Jesus told his

disciples to pray for laborers because

there was greater work to be done than

what just Jesus could do by himself

isn't that cool jesus knew there was a

greater work than what he could

accomplish by himself this is an

interesting thought I didn't plan on

taking today thank you Holy Spirit but

why didn't Jesus just stay and and

disciple the whole world because there

was a work that required more laborers

and he needed to change us so that we

could be empowered to go and do the work

that he started amen jesus wanted a body

of believers to go across the globe and

minister and so we're called to be

laborers in the harvest we are appointed

to do greater works because Jesus

started a good work and he wants to see

it through to the end you know I think

further there's example through

scripture about miraculous things and

and new things that Jesus didn't

necessarily do things that the Bible

doesn't record Jesus doing we see in

Acts uh 19 11 there's healing that

happens as cloths are prayed over and

then distributed to people that wasn't a