Greater works than who ………… Jesus?

I know that some of us are not avid readers and if your not that’s fine. But whether you are, are your not. There is not many folks that hadn't heard of the book written by Pastor Rick Warren titled The Purpose Driven Life. If you haven’t read the book its well worth your time.

Pastor Rick lets us know at the beginning of each chapter that he stole all of his material from the bible. Every Pastor if their honest would have to admit that their richest learning came from pouring through the pages of scripture with out exception.

Now with that being said I was reading this morning through John’s Gospel and I had what I often refer to as an “aha moment.” I’ve been really focusing on the comments and teachings of Christ which is why I am on purpose reading and rereading through the four Gospels. At one point Jesus told his disciples that what they saw him do; they would go on to-do even greater works.

Ok, stop the press, hang on wait a minute. Have mine eyes deceived me. I think I need to look at the Greek to verify if the translators got this right. All kidding aside check this out John14:11-12 “Believe me that I [am] in the Father, and the Father in me: or else believe me for the very works' sake. 12 Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that believeth on me, the works that I do shall he do also; and greater [works] than these shall he do; because I go unto my Father.”I often quote this passage of scripture but I never noticed that the “He” is capitalized in mid sentence of verse12. Your thinking what’s the big deal about that. Well it’s a big deal because the translators of the version that I am quoting from often capitalized words like him or he, when they were making reference to God as the direct subject of the personal pronoun they were using in place of the name of God.

So look at the sentence again and pay attention to the words that are capitalized in verse mentioned, “12He that believeth on me, ……….. because I go unto my Father.” It could be a coincidence or the translators could be trying to give us a clue here.

Let me tell you why I think "He" is capitalized. When we see “He” capitalized in verse 12, we should immediately get the idea that the translators are conveying to us that the “He” that is doing the mighty works is not “us at all.” It is actually God working through us to do the great works that Jesus did while he was here on earth. Now that I have that understanding, when I witness men/woman accomplishing mighty supernatural works, I should know that what I am witnessing according to John14 is not the work of man but God working through the man or woman that believes in Him.

So, then if it’s “He (God)” that works in “me” that does the greater works. Then In order for me to do the work that Christ did, my life cannot be about "me." I have to make my life all about Him (God). This is where I believe Pastor Rick Warren nailed it. The very first chapter of his book “Purpose Driven life” exact quote “It’s not about you. The purpose of your life is far greater than your own personal fulfillment, your peace of mind, or even your happiness. It’s far greater than your family, your career, or even your wildest dreams and ambitions. If you want to know why you were placed on the planet, you must begin with God.” Ok, then how does the person think that knows life is not about them? Because this is the mindset you must have if you will accomplish these mighty works that God put you here to do. Keys to accomplishing the supernatural work of Christ

· See Yourself as God Sees you: if God says you can you will

· Make Sure your Goals are God Sized: If God does not do it you won’t and can't get it done

· Make Sure that God is your Senior Partner: Ask yourself Is God directing my steps

· Have more Faith in God than your Resources: IF God truly ordered it He can pay for it

· Make sure that your Plans come from God: Even though you have faith a failure to plan is still lack of faith

· God Centered Goals will Never Grow Cold: A work for or with God is fueled by The Holy Spirit's mighty power

· God gives us assignments but we are still responsible for staying diligent: I am waiting on God should not be an excuse for not being diligent

If we approach life beginning today with the mindset we just discussed. According to Jesus you can and will accomplish greater works than even him. Now get to workJ