Christ UMC Jackson Weblog

“Claim the Promise”

John 14:6–14

October 26, 2008

The pages of the Old and New Testament are scattered with promises—all kinds of promises: God’s offer of life and meaning to us. The New Testament is especially packed with promises—many of those promises from Jesus Himself. Listen to Him:

Because I live, you also will live. (John 14:19) 

I am come that they may have life, and have it to the full. (John 10:10) 

Come to me, all of you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. (Matt. 11:28) 

One of the most fantastic promises of Jesus is in our Scripture lesson, John 14:12. Listen again to when he says: “I tell you the truth, anyone who has faith in me will do what I have been doing. He will do even greater things than these…”

Isn’t that a spectacular promise?  If this is even remotely possible, then shouldn’t we admit that we have never taken Jesus seriously?  The least we have to confess is that we have certainly been satisfied with far less than he has in mind for us as his followers.  So I want to challenge you to claim this fantastic promise of Jesus himself: we will do even greater things than him.

Charles Schultz, the artist who provided us with the Peanuts cartoons, is really an astute theologian.  In one of his cartoon series, Snoopy is saying of Woodstock, “Someday, Woodstock is going to be a great eagle.”  Then in the next frame he says, “He is going to soar thousands of feet above the ground.” Woodstock takes off into the air and as Snoopy watches he sees the bird upside down whirling around crazily.  So he has second thoughts.  In the third frame Snoopy says, “Well, maybe hundreds of feet above the ground . . .”  But hardly had the words gotten out of his mouth when Woodstock plummets to the ground and lies there, on his back looking dazed, and Snoopy concludes, “Maybe he will be one of those eagles who just walks around.”

Isn’t it amazing how quickly we settle for less than is promised, and for far less than is possible?

The dramatic power in these words, “Greater works than I have done will you do,” becomes more pronounced when we keep in mind Who said it.  Jesus said it.  The One who came to save the world.  The One who forgave and loved, and washed his disciples’ feet.  The Man who made the lame to walk and the blind to see.  The Man who calmed the storm and took little children on his lap and blessed them.  The Man who ate with sinners and confronted the raw and rampant prejudice of his day by talking with the Samaritan woman at the well.  The Man who finished all the work God gave him to do, and is now seated at the right hand of the Father, crowned with glory and honor.  Can you believe it? That’s the one who said to you and me that we would do greater works.

Do you believe it?  Don’t answer too quickly. Do you believe it enough to start the process in your mind of claiming the promise?  Our problem is that we trust in Jesus in some things when we need to trust Him with all things.  I want to give two affirmations that give meaning to this promise of Jesus. 

The first affirmation is this: You are more than you think you are.  I believe this is at least a part of what Jesus is saying.  You are more than you think you are.

I read recently of an elderly bachelor and an elderly never-married woman who started dating.  Each had lived alone for many years.  Gradually, the old gentlemen recognized a real fondness and a definite attachment to her.  But he was shy and afraid to tell her his feelings.  Finally, one day he mustered up the courage to say, “Let’s get married!” 

Surprised, she threw up her hands and shouted, “It is a wonderful idea, but who in the world would have us?”

It is easy to sink into that kind of self-understanding that is negative.  In those situations try to remember the eighth Psalm. 

When I consider the heavens, the work of your fingers, the moon and the stars, which you have established, what are human beings that you are mindful of them, mortals that you care for them? Yet you have made them a little less than God (some translations have it a little lower than the angels) you have made them a little less than God and crowned them with glory and honor.

If you can put this word of the psalmist together with what Jesus said, then you can know that you are more than you think you are.

But you press the question. How can I believe that I am more than I think I am? Listen! You are important to God. In fact you are a unique, unrepeatable miracle of God. You have that on the authority of God’s Word. You are important to God. That ought to transform your self-depreciating thinking. This is the witness of Scripture. That means there is a place in God’s heart that only you can fill. That is the message of the Bible.  God loves each one of us as though each one of us were the only person in the world to love.  

So will you claim the promise—Greater things than I have done will you do. You are more than you think you are.

Maxie Dunnam talks of his wife, Jerry who attended a women’s retreat led by a Roman Catholic nun, Sister Susan.  A few days after returning from the retreat, Jerry received a letter from Sister Susan which concluded with this prayer, “Oh, God, help me to believe the truth about myself, no matter how beautiful it is.”

What a prayer.  Maybe it shocks you. “Oh, God, help me to believe the truth about myself, no matter how beautiful it is.”  Let’s memorize it together. … Will you make a commitment today to pray that prayer every morning this week?  As you begin your daily Bible reading and prayer time, and the daily reading in Irresistible Invitation, pray the prayer: “Oh, God, help me to believe . . .”

Now a second affirmation: there is something you can be and do, but will never be and do apart from Jesus Christ.  I believe this at least a part of what Jesus is saying.

A basic truth of the gospel is this: to be a Christian is to be alive in Christ.  When most of us think about the apostle Paul and what he taught, we think of the basic doctrine of justification by grace through faith.  We forget the other great affirmation that he put as much, maybe more, emphasis upon—a Christian being a person in Christ.

It is interesting that Paul does not tell about his Damascus Road experience in descriptive detail.  Luke records that dramatic event in the book of Acts.  Paul doesn’t retell any outward description of the experience of being struck down by a blinding light and hearing the voice of Christ.  Rather, he talks about the meaning of that experience:

What actually took place is this: I tried keeping rules and working my head off to please God, and it didn’t work. So I quit being a “law man” so that I could be God’s man. Christ’s life showed me how, and enabled me to do it. I identified myself completely with him. Indeed, I have been crucified with Christ. My ego is no longer central. It is no longer important that I appear righteous before you or have your good opinion, and I am no longer driven to impress God. Christ lives in me. The life you see me living is not “mine,” but it is lived by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me. I am not going to go back on that. (Gal. 2)

In the book this week, Maxie Dunam puts it this way: Jesus came for one purpose and one purpose alone—to bring himself to us and in bringing himself to bring God.  Not only does he justify us by providing full pardon for our sin, he dwells in us to give us the power to be and do all those things God calls us to be and do. 

Whatever the language we use, our experience is that as we confess and repent of our sins, we are forgiven.  We are justified, accepted by, and enter into a new relationship with God who then lives in us through the power of the Holy Spirit.

Christians are to be alive in Christ.  Therefore the affirmation: there is something you can never be or do apart from Jesus Christ. 

I could not begin to name all the struggles that are going on in your lives.  Very few of you are without some kind of struggle.

Some of you are struggling in your marriage. Did you know that about the same percentages of the marriages of Christians end in divorce as those who are not?  Some of you here are struggling in your marriage.  You don’t want it to end, but it’s tough to keep it going.

I can guarantee you that there are those here today who are flirting with, even addicted to pornography.   

If this is an average group, more than a few of you are struggling with or you have a family member or a very close friend who is struggling with alcohol and/or some other drug addictions.

Some of you have elderly parents for whom you have to care and it is wearing you down.  I could go on and on: a terminal illness, financial problems, a rebellious child.

Listen!  None of your struggles is beyond the power of Jesus.  There is something you can be and do, but will never be and do apart from Jesus Christ. 

It may be that the primary reason most of us are not empowered to live more effective Christian lives is that we don’t spend enough time on our knees.  We trust Jesus with some things some of the time, when we need to trust Him with all things all of the time.  We don’t believe what Jesus said. 

What did Jesus promise he would do when he returned to the Father?  He said he would send his Holy Spirit.  And what would the Holy Spirit do?  The Holy Spirit would give us power.  That is one of his fantastic promises.  “You will receive power when the Holy Spirit is come upon you,” Jesus said.  And Paul said to the Ephesians that the very power which raised Jesus from the dead, was available to us.

The Holy Spirit that gave power to Christ is giving us power.

Let me ask you a question.  When was the last time you attempted something so great, so demanding, so kingdom-like that you knew you would fail unless you received the power of the Holy Spirit?

When was the last time you heard the call of God to do something bold, and you followed boldly, knowing that the only way you could do what you were being called to was to be guided by the Holy Spirit?  

This summer the Church Council finished a long prayerful process of defining goals for our church over the next 2 to 5 years.  They asked the question, “What is Jesus calling us to do in this town?  Who is Jesus calling us to reach out to? 

That process led us to affirm that we needed to be a church whose motivating strategy to live out our mission was by 2012 we will connect with 1,500 individuals, providing an opportunity for 500 people to seek a deeper relationship with Christ.  Our connections will be motivated by open hearts, open minds and open doors.

Included in those goals are things like burning the mortgage in 2013 (or sooner) so we can expand the ways we offer ministry, being intentional about small group ministry, expanding our understanding of and involvement in missions, expanding the number of people putting their faith into action in service, exploring other worship service opportunities, expanding ways we connect people to the church.  They also outlined that our audience for our ministry are those who do not know Christ-the unchurched.  That makes a big difference in how we go about planning what we do.  One of the most important points of clarity I experienced at the Leadership Institute at Church of the Resurrection this year was that we need to help our ministry leaders understand that we are not asking them to run a program.  We are asking them to make disciples.  That had been on my heart for a couple of years but I hadn’t found a way to express it.  That’s it.  That is a major shift in how we do church.

Are we stretching ourselves to the limit in a kingdom enterprise to the point that we will have to be totally dependent on the Lord’s doings?

If you are going to claim the promise—greater things than I have done will you do—you have to believe also that you are more than you think you are. And second, there is something you can be and do but will never be and do apart from Jesus Christ.

We put those two claims into practice through a total surrender to the power of the Holy Spirit.

 

Sermon for Week 3

 

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