"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.
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