Greater Things: Being A Follower!

2015-06-14 
Pastor Jonathan Falwell 

Memory Verse: John 14:15 [NKJV]

“If you love Me, keep My commandments. 16 And I will pray the Father, and He will give you another Helper, that He may abide with you forever.”

John 14:12 [NKJV]

“Most assuredly, I say to you, he who believes in Me, the works that I do he will do also; and greater works than these he will do, because I go to My Father.”

We’ve been talking about what this verse means and what it can mean in the life of the believer. I was asked this week, “What’s the difference between a Christian and a disciple?”

Luke 14:33 [NKJV]

“So likewise, whoever of you does not forsake all that he has cannot be My disciple.”

The difference is clear: “Christian” is a title, “Disciple” is a definition of who you are. It is impossible to be a disciple without being a Christian, it is possible to be a Christian without being a disciple.

“disciple” – mathētēs [moth-a-TASE] = pupil, learner, follower

“No one, having put his hand to the plow, and looking back, is fit for the kingdom of God.” Luke 9

So today, let’s talk about how the Greater Things will occur. They will occur when people are not merely labeled Christians, it is when they are true disciples – followers – of Jesus Christ.

John 14:15 [NKJV]

“If you love Me, keep My commandments. 16 And I will pray the Father, and He will give you another Helper, that He may abide with you forever— 17 the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees Him nor knows Him; but you know Him, for He dwells with you and will be in you. 18 I will not leave you orphans; I will come to you. 19 A little while longer and the world will see Me no more, but you will see Me. Because I live, you will live also. 20 At that day you will know that I am in My Father, and you in Me, and I in you. 21 He who has My commandments and keeps them, it is he who loves Me. And he who loves Me will be loved by My Father, and I will love him and manifest Myself to him.”

John 14:15 [NLT]

“If you love me, obey my commandments. 16 And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Advocate, who will never leave you. 17 He is the Holy Spirit, who leads into all truth. The world cannot receive him, because it isn’t looking for him and doesn’t recognize him. But you know him, because he lives with you now and later will be in you. 18 No, I will not abandon you as orphans — I will come to you. 19 Soon the world will no longer see me, but you will see me. Since I live, you also will live. 20 When I am raised to life again, you will know that I am in my Father, and you are in me, and I am in you. 21 Those who accept my commandments and obey them are the ones who love me. And because they love me, my Father will love them. And I will love them and reveal myself to each of them.”

To be a follower:

1. You must be obedient

vs 15 “If you love Me, obey My commandments.”

– Obedience to Christ in all is the first step to doing Great Things for Him.

– If Christ does not reign over the mundane events in our lives, He does not reign at all. — Paul Tripp1

2. You must know you are not alone

vs 16 “And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Advocate, who will never leave you. 17 He is the Holy Spirit, who leads into all truth. The world cannot receive him, because it isn’t looking for him and doesn’t recognize him. But you know him, because he lives with you now and later will be in you.”

– We are not in this journey by ourselves. We have an advocate who will enable us

18 No, I will not abandon you as orphans — I will come to you.

3. You must fully trust Him

vs 19 “Soon the world will no longer see me, but you will see me. Since I live, you also will live. 20 When I am raised to life again, you will know that I am in my Father, and you are in me, and I am in you.”

– Dependence on God that He will do as He promised

4. You must look for Him

vs 21 “Those who accept my commandments and obey them are the ones who love me. And because they love me, my Father will love them. And I will love them and reveal myself to each of them.”

“Get moving — begin to abide now. In the initial stages it will be a continual effort to abide, but as you continue, it will become so much a part of your life that you will abide in Him without any conscious effort.” – Oswald Chambers2

That revealing of Himself to us is where the Greater Works become reality. Where faith becomes sight. We will see the power of His work.

Stones of Remembrance

Joshua 4:21 [NLT]

“Then Joshua said to the Israelites, ‘In the future your children will ask, ‘What do these stones mean?’ 22 Then you can tell them, ‘This is where the Israelites crossed the Jordan on dry ground.’ 23 For the LORD your God dried up the river right before your eyes, and he kept it dry until you were all across, just as he did at the Red Sea when he dried it up until we had all crossed over. 24 He did this so all the nations of the earth might know that the LORD’s hand is powerful, and so you might fear the LORD your God forever.'”

Footnotes:

1 http://www.tentmaker.org/Quotes/discipleshipquotes.htm

2 My Utmost For His Highest, Oswald Chambers, June 14 Reading, http://utmost.org