John 14 (Seven) Faith For Miracles

"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, because I am going to the Father" (John 14:12). Every time I read this verse I ask myself why we then see so few miracles today. We have touched on it previously. We have mentioned that Jesus was completely sold out to the Father and we also mentioned that there are a few individual groups doing great things. If I, however, read this passage, two facts come to my attention. Firstly Jesus stated "anyone" (the KJV says he), which indicates an individual. Today we see great things being done by churches or organisations that lean quite heavily on money, marketing and numbers. Yes, the power of God does convince and convict people, but is this what Jesus had in mind here – great crusades, healing services, large churches and so on? Maybe partly, but He is talking about individuals having faith.

Having faith is the second aspect we notice in this passage. Jesus said if an individual believes in Him he will do the same things He has been doing and even greater things. What has Jesus done? Just read the Gospels - John 21:25: "Jesus did many other things as well. If every one of them were written down, I suppose that even the whole world would not have room for the books that would be written." What did Jesus truly and actually expect when He spoke these words. I believe He expected His individual followers to spend their life healing, preaching and doing miracles – doing greater things than He has done. This is what the Disciples and the Apostles have done (Mark 6:8-13, Luke 10:1-24). Imagine the different place the world would have been if that had been the situation. Doctors, other health workers and undertakers would have had a hard living and the church would have grown mightily because Christians would have been everywhere healing and raising people from the dead and preaching the Gospel. Why would it be that we do not see these kinds of miracles regularly among all the followers of Jesus today? We see and hear about miracles by certain well known ministers, but it is not general. Jesus said in Matthew 17:20, when the disciples asked Him why they were unable to drive the demon out: "'Because you have so little faith. I tell you the truth, if you have faith as small as a mustard seed, you can say to this mountain, 'Move from here to there' and it will move. Nothing will be impossible for you'".

We seem not to even have faith as big as a mustard seed. We think too easily: What if it does not work? Except for our faith, our focus is also wrong. Why are we concerned that it will not work? Is it because the Lord would then be embarrassed? No, it is because we might be embarrassed – what would people think of me? We also rely too easily on material things such as doctors and medicine and the power of money. All this modern technology destroy our faith. It is easy to think for example: If the Lord does not heal him, there is always medicine. Why do you think healing ministry in Africa is so powerful? It is because the people in the poor third world countries have nowhere else to turn to. Medicine in those countries is not what the developed countries are used to. Apart from that the people are too poor to afford good, expensive doctors. What are the options left - sickness, suffering and death? When one man therefore thinks he has faith like a mustard seed, enough not to wonder whether it will work or not, the Lord sees a golden opportunity to show off His power and the people benefit from the greater-things-than-Jesus-did opportunity.

Materialism destroys our faith because faith is the "substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen" (Hebrews 11:1). Faith that cannot be seen is the voucher, which is the evidence that God will act. Money can be seen as well as be manipulated and can accomplish many of the things God wants to do for us, so why would we rely on faith if we can rely on money? Therefore what happens? Those who can afford to create their own miracles do so and sell it also to others who can afford to buy it. Those who cannot afford either, suffer in silence because they envy those who have money. Everybody is so busy being concerned about money that very few Christians even consider faith. Have you wondered why the Lord so much hate Mammon (Mat. 6:24, Luke 16:13)?

Lord, I choose faith.

John 14 (Six) Jesus’ Power Though Us

Good morning

We continue with our discussion of John chapter 14.

“Jesus answered: ‘Don't you know me, Philip, even after I have been among you such a long time? Anyone who has seen me has seen the Father. How can you say, 'Show us the Father'? Don't you believe that I am in the Father, and that the Father is in me? The words I say to you are not just my own. Rather, it is the Father, living in me, who is doing his work. Believe me when I say that I am in the Father and the Father is in me; or at least believe on the evidence of the miracles themselves,’” (John 14:9-11).

Why is it that the church seems so powerless? In the passage we’ll discuss next time, Jesus mentioned that His Disciples would do greater things than He did, yet we don’t often see it. Is it not maybe that we are not one with Him as He is one with the Father? He said that the Father lives in Him and the works that the disciples saw and the teaching that they heard was actually not His, but the Father working through Him. Jesus was completely surrendered to His father. He did not think of His own comfort for one minute. He had no material possessions and no place to stay (Matthew 8:20). He spent all His time and energy either praying or ministering. His life consisted of receiving from the Father and giving it out. There was no time for entertainment, watching television, keeping a luxurious or even ordinary home and so on, if we could speak in modern terms.

How do you compare with Jesus? If we want to do greater things than He did, if we want revival – even as a church – how does our availability compare with His? There are a few individual groups doing great things, but what about the rest of the body? As the Father in Jesus did the work while He was on earth, so Jesus in us wants to do the work. Jesus said to the Father in His last hours before the crucifixion as recorded in John 17:4: “I have brought you glory on earth by completing the work you gave me to do.” Now He wants us to do the same through Him that lives in us. He wants us to complete the work Father gave us. 

Do you know the work the Lord wants you to do? Maybe you do not have a specific Christian mission, but are placed in an ordinary day job and therefore think you are not called. Whether we are called to full-time ministry or full-time secular work with part time ministry, we still need to hear from the Lord on a daily basis what work He wants us to complete.

Jesus had to take action. He had to pray during the night to hear from His father what He wanted Jesus to say and do in order for the Father to be able to do for people what He intended to. Jesus had to exercise faith to do and say what His Father told Him to do and say. It was not any easier for Jesus to act by faith as it is for us, because whilst on earth He was a man just like us. Do you think it was easy to spit in the mud and smear it onto the blind man’s eyes, having to believe that he will see, or to believe that Peter would find the coin in the fish’s mouth?

Jesus was exactly like any Spirit-filled Christian when He was on earth. He had the Holy Spirit, the Word in Him and He had open communication to the Father living in Him. Under guidance of the Holy Spirit He had to hear from the Father through the quickening of the Word in His heart. This would have created faith in Him to do what He had to. The more time He spent in prayer, the more power He had available to do miracles. 

Because we have the fullness of Christ living in us, we should be able to do the same if we devote the same time and energy to it.

Lord, I want to be like Jesus.

John 14 (Five) Do You Have the Life?

Good day

We continue with John 14:6: "I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.”

Jesus is the life

This passage can easily be interpreted that Jesus is life, the opposite of death. In other words in Jesus a believer is alive, which is good, but it does not say life, but the life. The Greek word for life in this context is zoe, which means vitality, fullness of life that is animate, real and genuine, a life active and vigorous and devoted to God.

Because of Adam’s sin and resulting death we are all dead outside of Christ. Although we are physically alive, life is empty, senseless and without meaning and purpose – in short without the life, Jesus. But once Jesus’ life is poured into us through the Holy Spirit, life becomes fun. We, however, still have a choice. We can live life as per the definition above - full of vigour, vitality, animation and fullness or we can be carnally religious and sad.

Jesus said that He is the life and no one gets to the Father but by Him. The definition of the Greek word for life, zoe, has words like vitality, animate, absolute fullness, real and genuine, active and vigorous. This is how Jesus lived and is what He desires for us to have in Him; a life that suggests productivity, fruitfulness, transparency and a testimony of something worthwhile to be desired by outsiders.

If Jesus in all His life and fullness lives in you through the Holy Spirit, your life will have these qualities. However, if you do not experience these qualities, it is quite possible that you have not exercised the faith required to allow Jesus to live through you in all His fullness, in other words you still rely too much on yourself and on people, or allow the sinful nature and Satan to rob you of your joy. It is then that, for instance, circumstances control you instead of faith, and worry often manipulates you.

Right, let's move on to verses seven and eight.

“If you really knew me, you would know my Father as well. From now on, you do know him and have seen him." Philip said, "Lord, show us the Father and that will be enough for us," (John 14:7-8).

Jesus’ standard is clear - we will only know the Father once we know Jesus. If for example you are an ordinary citizen of the country, a meeting with the president would be very difficult to accomplish. If, however, you are a close friend of the president’s son, you would be able to walk with him into the president’s office and meet with him if he is not occupied. Why? It is because the president and his staff know you personally as a friend of the family. If we know Jesus as a close friend, we will enter heaven one day saying: “Hi Lord Jesus, here I am – thanks to you I’ve made it.” He will then say: “Hi Pete, good to see you. Come let me introduce you to my Father, whom you already know.”

“Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only he who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. Many will say to me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and in your name drive out demons and perform many miracles?’ Then I will tell them plainly, ‘I never knew you. Away from me, you evildoers!’” (Matthew. 7:21-23)

Imagine the surprise when a person has done all these wonderful things in the name of Jesus with the attitude to be seen or to get recognition from men, but never went to the trouble of knowing Jesus and doing His Father’s will. When she walks into heaven and very confidently say: “Hi Lord Jesus here I am, do you remember me?”Jesus will look at her with a frown saying: “I never knew you.” I don’t want to be in that position. Do you?

Lord, help my faith please.

John 14 (Four) The Way to Be

Good day to you

We are currently discussing John 14:6-7: "I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. If you really knew me, you would know my Father as well. From now on, you do know him and have seen him."

Jesus is the way we should go.

Does that mean that we only need to accept Jesus and would then get right to the Father? If this was true, the Bible could have been only one page and it would have been sufficient. The Bible, however, is packed with teaching to guide us in our discovering of the Way. We need to discover the way Jesus does things, the way He relates to us and to Father. We also need to discover Father’s ways. I have found the Old Testament excellent for that purpose. We learn their way by reading about it in the Bible and applying the principles in our own lives. Experiencing their response in our spirit and circumstances confirms to us whether we were right about our understanding of what they are like.

Say for example as a result of our background we believe God is a nasty judge, sitting in heaven just waiting for us to make a mistake so He can zap us. As we study the Bible though, we discover His love and forgiveness. We find that when we make a mistake and ask God’s forgiveness, peace fills our heart. We don’t even feel guilty about our mistake. When we forgive others we feel we’ve done the right thing; in fact a strange freedom and joy enter our heart. We also notice that people forgive us our sins and their love towards us brings joy. What has happened? We have discovered a way of the Lord, which we were unable to comprehend by just reading about it. In the same time we came a bit closer to the Lord, since we have experienced some of His character which we hadn’t known before.

Jesus is the truth we should live.

Into all individuals are programmed the urge to follow some direction, leading to a point in their life that will bring meaning and fulfilment. Many people, however, float around purposeless, desperately seeking for some meaning in life. They are usually frustrated, lonely and desperate.

Spiritually there are many directions to follow. Buddhism, Islam, New Age, Jehovah’s Witnesses, and many other directions of thought make it their business to direct the minds of seeking individuals to some “meaningful” life and purpose. These religions, however, are instruments of the devil designed to deceive, leading to destruction. Each of these religions proclaims something they hold as truth. There can, however, only be one truth.

“To the Jews who had believed him, Jesus said, ‘If you hold to my teaching, you are really my disciples. Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free’” (John 8:31, 32). Free from what? Free from the burden of hopelessness, lack of peace, purposelessness and fear. The truth contained in Jesus and His teachings has the answer to every issue that life presents. It is important, however, to stick to the truth and to do the truth.

Jesus said in other words that He is the truth and no one gets to the Father except through the truth. It's no use we try to please the Father through our own ways of worship and service. It will bring us nowhere. No, we must “worship the Father in spirit and truth, for they are the kind of worshipers the Father seeks. God is spirit, and his worshipers must worship in spirit and in truth,” (John 4:23, 24). This means we must know the truth presented by Jesus, and through realising this truth under guidance of the Holy Spirit we worship the Father through our spirit.

I'm reminded of Gideon in Judges 7:15: "As soon as Gideon heard the telling of the dream and its interpretation, he worshiped." He saw the Lord in action and realised a truth about Him. He then couldn't but worship him. When we acknowledge something great about somebody, such as an entertainment star, we express worship to such a person. 

This kind of expressing worship to God is different from singing songs in church. This awe comes from our hearts. Then, according to John 4:23 we are true worshipers and will enter Father’s presence through the Truth, namely Jesus. Singing songs is a way of worship, a way of expressing our love for the Lord, but true worship is pleasing the Lord through faith-based obedience to the truth, in submission to and under guidance of the Holy Spirit. Following human guidance in religious activity is therefore not necessarily true worship, even if the songs are powerful and the atmosphere is electrified. One needs to ensure that the Holy Spirit is in control, which is why we received the gift to discern spirits.

Lord, show me your way and truth.

John 14 (Three) Do You Know Him?

Good morning

When Jesus told the poor disciples where He was going, they had not yet understood. They still relied on their physical senses. Up to then everything they observed had to be seen or heard. They still expected Jesus to become their physical king. I can therefore imagine Thomas thinking in terms of the geographical map of the Middle East. I can picture him paging in his mind through all the possible places in the surrounding areas where Jesus’ Father’s house possibly could be. He might even have thought of Joseph as Jesus' father - who knows. So he asked the most logical question, “Lord, we don't know where you are going, so how can we know the way? (John 14:5)” to which Jesus answered: "I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. If you really knew me, you would know my Father as well. From now on, you do know him and have seen him (John 14:6, 7)."

Did the disciples really attempt to know and understand Jesus or were they just focusing outwardly on His works and their own concerns? It’s difficult to say. We do find much evidence in the Bible of their carnal thinking and their anticipation of Jesus as an earthly king. Think of their reactions when the children wanted to come to Jesus, during the multiplication of the food, when the blind man called after Jesus, when Jesus was glorified with Moses and Elijah, and so on. Their response was protecting Him physically, caring for His physical needs. They saw the physical miracles, but did not connect it to a spiritual Kingdom. They simply didn't have an idea of who He really was and why He came to earth?

Do we take trouble to get to know Jesus? Do you, dear reader, know the Way? It is not whether you know about the Way, whether you heard a description of the Way or an explanation of His character or His abilities. Have you personally experienced the Way?

If one travels a road for the first time, one carefully follows the instructions given you and looks out for road signs and turnoffs, but by the second and third time you have established beacons and eventually have no difficulty finding the place. 

In your relationship with the Lord, do you know how He would react to some of your behaviour? In an earthly relationship we eventually know our friend/spouse/employer so well that we know what turns her on and off, what irritates her and what frustrates her. We know when she is happy and what makes her sad. Do you know this about your Saviour and Master? Jesus actually said to Thomas: “If you know Me and are one with Me you would have no trouble to relate with my Father because we are the same”.

Why did Jesus say He is the way, the truth, and the life? Why did He not only say the way, in other words the door to the Father? He had already answered Thomas’ question. Why did he carry on saying “If you really knew me, you would know my Father as well?” I believe it is because He wants us to know His way of doing things on a daily basis, what He truly is like (the truth about Him) and the life that is in Him. He wants to show Himself to us; what it's like to have the right purpose and direction (Psalm 32:8), how to live in truth (John 8:32) and how to live life to the full (John 10:10).

The disciples knew Jesus very well. They walked very closely with Him every day. They, however, according to the record in the Bible, had no experience of His spiritual relationship with His Father. They were not there when He prayed, they could not hear when His Father answered back and they could not hear the Word of Knowledge and Wisdom that Jesus received whenever He needed it in His ministry. In fact, when He invited them to pray with Him during His time of anguish in Gethsemane, they they seemed to have been so bored they fell asleep. They just did not have any insight into the spiritual realm.

How many modern day Christians have understanding of the spiritual realm? My observation is that too many only see the physical. We tend to focus on our physical needs and outward worship activities, don't we?

But the disciples would, once they received the Holy Spirit, know that side as well, which is why Jesus said: “From now on, you do know him and have seen him”.

The Holy Spirit is the connection between the Father and us. Through Him we view Jesus and therefore Father God. It is impossible to get to know everything about a person by reading about such a person. The only way you get to know someone is by living with him.

Lord, help me to obey so you could reveal yourself to me.