Well, this morning as we come to the Word of God, we come to what I like to call the Pentecostal passage.
Of course, all of you know that there are many different expressions of the Christian faith.
There are different denominations, different churches.
Even in our own little town of Davidson here, we have six different churches.
And I'm not going to get into all the differences between our churches this morning.
But we come now in the Gospel of John to some words that Jesus spoke, which are at the very heart of our differences with our brothers and sisters over at the New Life Pentecostal Church.
Jesus is in the upper room at the Last Supper with his disciples.
He's been giving them comfort, encouragement, instructions.
He's been telling them what to expect in the days ahead.
We'll pick up the conversation in verse 11 of John chapter 14.
John chapter 14, verse 11.
Jesus says to them,
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 works themselves.
And we talked about this two weeks ago.
Jesus is calling his disciples to believe something astounding and wonderful.
He's calling them to believe that God the Father is in him.
And that he is in God the Father.
And the evidence that Jesus points them to is the works that he's been doing.
The miracles.
The signs.
The wonders.
Things only God can do.
But now we imagine Jesus looks at the men around the table.
And he says this to them.
Very truly, I tell you.
Whoever believes in me will do the works I have been doing.
And they will do even greater things than these.
Because I am going to the Father.
And as soon as we read this, many of us go,
What?
Did I hear that right?
Whoever believes in me will do the works I have been doing.
And they will do even greater things than these.
Because I am going to the Father.
This is what I call the Pentecostal passage.
And for those of us who aren't Pentecostal, probably many of us in this room,
We hear the plain sense of these words and we say,
What?
Whoever believes in your name will do the works you have been doing?
Will do miracles?
Signs?
And wonders?
I mean, Jesus kind of seems to be saying that, right?
And for many of us, we think,
I mean, he can't mean that.
He can't mean that every believer will do miracles.
Can he?
The plain sense of Jesus' words here
Make all of us who are not Pentecostal
Squirm.
Or, in the words of my old professor,
These words make us do a little dance,
Trying to explain what they mean.
Well, it can't mean this.
And we look at this passage over here and bring it all together.
It must mean this.
And we don't like to dance.
Because we're not, most of us, Pentecostals.
I'm kidding.
So why do these words make us so uncomfortable?
Why do they make us squirm?
Why do they make us do a little interpretive dance?
Well, let's just acknowledge the facts.
These words make us uncomfortable
Because they seem to say that whoever believes in Jesus
Will perform miracles.
They seem to say that performing miracles,
Doing the kinds of things that Jesus did,
Is a normal part of the Christian life
For every believer.
And so it makes us uncomfortable
Because, dare I say, for all of us,
That has not been our experience.
What miracles have you performed lately?
Many of us have heard of miracles happening.
We've even prayed for miracles to happen.
Especially for friends and family to be healed.
And in some cases, God has answered our prayers.
And we have seen that.
But performing miracles?
I'll tell you the truth.
I've never done that.
Not anything like Jesus did.
Have you?
And it's not just either.
It's not just us either.
There are some people over at the Pentecostal church
Right now who are likely wondering the same thing.
Miracles like Jesus did.
They don't happen every day over there.
And why not?
If these words of Jesus mean what they seem to mean,
Shouldn't they all be performing miracles?
At least occasionally.
Like maybe once a month.
Or even once a year.
Now I don't know how many brothers and sisters
We have over there at New Life right now.
But let's say it's about 30.
Assuming all of them are genuine, born-again believers.
Who each do just one miracle a year.
We can expect to see at least 30 miracles per year
Happening over there.
Like 30 of the kinds of things that Jesus did on a regular basis
That can only be explained by the power of God
Done by the hands of our brothers and sisters at New Life.
Do we see that?
Well, if you were to ask them,
Many of our Pentecostal brothers and sisters
Are quite optimistic in their answer
Because they also believe that faith in God's power
Is a requirement to see miracles happen.
They believe that doubt is a diminisher of miracles.
But there are some of them
Who will straight up tell you
I don't know why we aren't seeing God
Work in these kinds of ways
More in our church
And in our community.
But for whatever reason
It hasn't been happening.
So what do we do
With these words of Jesus?
Well, as I've implied
One option is to just take these words
Of Jesus at face value
And become Pentecostal.
We can begin to expect
That everyone who believes
Will do miracles like Jesus did
And even greater things
Than he did.
But then what do we do
With this great absence
Of this ability
To perform miracles
In the lives of countless believers
Over the past 2,000 years?
This can become a real source of doubt
And disillusionment
With our faith.
I mean, he says
Whoever believes in me
Will do the works I have been doing
And even greater ones.
So maybe the problem
We might wonder
Is with my believing.
Is my believing genuine?
Am I not believing enough?
Am I not believing the right things?
Am I maybe just not
Taking those steps of faith
Or acting
Or taking hold of that power
That I have?
And what a knot
We can get ourselves into
Over this thing that Jesus said.
The alternative is that we
Don't take these words
At face value
And we end up having to squirm.
We end up doing some kind of
Interpretive dance
To explain what Jesus meant
And how
All of us are okay
Even though we're not
Performing miracles.
So
We're going to look at a couple
Of the interpretive dance moves
That we
Often do
To make ourselves
Comfortable with these words
Of Jesus
And I don't mean any disrespect
To any of our brothers
And sisters
Who have said these things
Or hold these views
I don't mean any irreverence either
But allow me a bit of humor
As we consider the various
Interpretive dance moves
That Christians like us
Do
With these words of Jesus
The first interpretive dance move
We might see
Is the works of Jesus
Wiggle
Some will point out
That Jesus did
All kinds of works
And not just miracles
He did works of compassion
Works of service
He did the work of proclaiming
The good news of the kingdom
And there is some truth to this
If we remember back
To John chapter 4
And the Samaritan woman
At the well
You'll remember there
That there was this whole bunch
Of Samaritan townsfolk
That were coming out
To see Jesus
And in the midst of this
The disciples were trying
To get Jesus
To eat some lunch
And Jesus basically said to them
Open your eyes men
The fields are ripe for harvest
We've got work to do
We've got to do this work
Of harvesting the crop
That's about to come in
And so it's true
Jesus thought of his works
His work
As more than just miracles
His works included teaching
And preaching
Sharing the good news of the kingdom
Acts of compassion
And service
And so some will then
Go from there
To say
Well
Jesus didn't mean
That every believer
Would do miracles
He meant that every believer
Would do
Some kind of the works
That Jesus
Had been doing
That in some way
Every believer
Would take up
The works of Jesus
And well I guess
For most of us
It seems that it's mostly
Acts of compassion
And service
And spreading the good news
Because most of us
We're not performing miracles
Are we?
But you know
This interpretive dance move
Has never really satisfied me
For a couple of reasons
First of all
Jesus says here
In the same breath
That they will do
Even greater things
Than the things
That he has been doing
And so as soon as we hear that
I mean we can't help
But think
Of miracles
It's comparative language
This is what Jesus
Was known for
He was known for
Doing all kinds
Of very great things
Things like healing
Casting out demons
Walking on water
And so the natural
Sense of this
Comparative language
Suggests that
At the least
They will do
The same kinds of things
That Jesus did
If not things
That surpass
What Jesus did
Second
Let's remember
Why Jesus is talking
About his works
In the first place
He was giving
The disciples
A reason to believe
That God the Father
Is in him
And he
Is in the Father
That's a big claim
Which requires
Big evidence
To back it up
And so
The works
That Jesus
Did
Is what he
Pointed them to
So that they
Might believe
They must
Include his miracles
And signs
So I'm not too sure
About redefining
Works here
I don't think
Jesus means
That everyone
Who believes
Will only
Do the
Non-miraculous
Works of Jesus
And even
Greater
Non-miraculous
Works than he
Did
So that's
The works
Of Jesus
Wiggle
One of several
Interpretive dance
Moves that we
Find ourselves
Doing with a
Passage like this
So that we can
Be comfortable
The next dance
Move in our
Repertoire
Is the
Lexicon
Limbo
And usually
We see people
Do this move
Right after the
Works of Jesus
Wiggle
People will hear
This statement
Of Jesus
Whoever believes
In me
Will do the
Works I've been
Doing
And they will
Do even
Greater
Things than
These
And we look
At that word
Greater
And we just
Think
Well it
Can't be
It can't
Be that
We'll do
Works that
Are greater
Than Jesus
Did
And since
None of us
Seems to be
Doing works
That are
Greater in
Quality
Than Jesus
Did
He must
Mean that
Believers
As a
Collective
Whole
Will do
More amazing
Will do
More works
Greater in
Quantity
Than Jesus
Did
I mean
Surely
Jesus is
Not saying
That every
Believer
Will do
More amazing
Things than
He did
He raised
People from
The dead
He walked
On water
He calmed
Storms
He fed
Multitudes
What could
Possibly be
Greater than
These things
Surely
Jesus meant
That we would
All do
Greater
Things
As in
Together
We would
Do
Things
Greater
In number
As in
More things
Because now
There are
More of us
And with
Each passing
Year more
And more
People are
Being added
To the church
And we're
Doing more
And more
Things
Carrying on
The works
Of Jesus
For years
And years
To come
But I call
This the
Lexicon
Limbo
Because it
Bends that
Word greater
Beyond its
Customary
Meaning
The word
Greater
In the
Original
Language
When it's
Used like
This
It doesn't
Really mean
Greater
In amount
It means
Greater in
Size
Greater in
Importance
Better
Quality
Superior
Not
More
Numerous
And as
Several scholars
Have noted
There are
Plenty of
Other Greek
Words that
Would naturally
Convey
More
Numerous
Or many
More
Works
If that's
What Jesus
Meant
So what
Does
Jesus mean
When he
Says that
They will
Do even
Greater
Works
Than he
Did
In my
Mind
The
Lexicon
Limbo
Doesn't
Quite
Make it
Under
It
Bends
That
Word
Just a
Little
Too
Far
Back
Trying to
Get under
The
Bar
So what
Do we
Do with
These
Words of
Jesus
This
Seeming
Promise
That
Every
Believer
Will
Do
Miracles
And
Even
Greater
Miracles
Than
Jesus
Performed
Taking
It
At
Face
Value
Doesn't
Seem
To
Work
It
Leaves
Us
Doubting
And
Disillusioned
The
Works
Of
Jesus
Wiggle
Doesn't
Seem
To
Work
Because
While
The
Works
Of
Jesus
May
Have
Included
More
Than
Just
Miracles
It
Certainly
Doesn't
Include
Less
And
The
Lexicon
Limbo
Doesn't
Seem
To
Work
Because
It
Seems
To
Challenge
The
Word
That
Jesus
Chose
And
Force
On
It
A
Meaning
That's
Rather
Unusual
To
It
There
Has
To
Be
Another
Meaning
One
That
Acknowledges
The
Plain
Sense
Of
The
Text
The
Logical
Flow
Of
Jesus
Statements
And
Also
Fits
With
The
Story
Of
The
Christian
Church
Well
Let
Me
Suggest
An
Alternative
Understanding
It's
Probably
Not
The
Most
Popular
And
I'm
Not
Going
To
Claim
That
I
Know
For
Sure
That
This
Is
The
Right
One
I'm
Okay
If
At
The
End
Of
This
You
Have
A
Different
View
A
Different
Belief
About
This
If
You
Want
You
Can
Even
Have
Fun
With
My
View
You
Can
Call
It
The
Joshua
Jive
Or
Something
Like
That
But
This
Is
How
I've
Come
To
Handle
These
Words
Of
Jesus
Said
Whoever
Believes
In Me
Will
Do
The
Works
I
Have
Been
Doing
And
Even
Greater
Things
Than
These
So
The
First
Question
That
I
Ask
Is
Does
Jesus
Mean
That
Every
Believer
Will
Do
Miracles
To
The
Relief
Of
Many
There
Is
An
Authoritative
Answer
To
This
Question
In
The
Bible
Paul
Makes
A
Statement
About
It
In
His
Letter
To
The
Corinthian
Church
Over
A
Decade
Later
First
Corinthians
Chapter
Twelve
Verse
Twenty
Seven
Paul
Writing
To
Them
Says
Now
You
Are
The
Body
Of
Christ
And
Each
One
Of
You
Is
A
Part
Of
It
And
God
Has
Placed
In
The
Church
First
Of
All
Apostles
Second
Prophets
Third
Teachers
Then
Miracles
Then
Gifts
Of
Healing
Of
Helping
Of
Guidance
And
Of
Different
Kinds
Of
Tongues
Are
All
Apostles
Are
All
Prophets
Are
All
Teachers
Do
All
Work
Miracles
Do
All
Have
Gifts
Of
Healing
Do
All
Speak
In
Tongues
Do
All
Interpret
Paul
Asks
A
Series
Of
Rhetorical
Questions
To
Make
His
Point
He's
Been
Talking
About
How
God
Has
Given
Different
Gifts
Of
The
Spirit
To
Each
Member
In
The
Church
He's
Been
Talking
About
How
Each
Person
In
The
Church
Is
Like
A
Different
Part
Of
The
Body
Each
One
Has
Their
Unique
Gifts
And
Functions
And
Role
That
They
Play
In
The
Body
Of
Christ
And
Each
One
Is
Important
And
Then
He
Comes
Around
To
Emphasizing
This
Point
That
There
Are
Many
Different
Roles
To
Play
Within
The
Body
Within
The
Church
Using
These
Rhetorical
Questions
And
The
Answer
To
Each
One
Of
These
Questions
Is
No
Of
Course
Are
All
Apostles
No
Are
All
Prophets
No
Are
All
Teachers
No
Do
All
Work
Miracles
No
The
Point
Is
To
Each
Person
In
The
Church
Their
Gifts
And
Abilities
And
Roles
Just
As
He
Sees
Fit
And
They
Shouldn't
Think
Themselves
Superior
To
Others
Or
Inferior
To
Others
Because
Of
Their
Different
Giftings
And
Abilities
Now
I
Know
That
This
Raises
A
Whole
Another
Set
Of
Questions
Because
Of
Some
Of
The
Things
Paul
Says
Here
But
Let's
Stay
Focused
On
The
Question
Does
Jesus
Mean
That
Every
Believer
Will
Work
Miracles
Let
Me
Put
These
Two
Passages
Side
By
Side
Paul
Answers
The
Question
For
Us
By
The
Spirit
Of
Christ
In
Him
He
Says
Do
All
Work
Miracles
Implied
Answer
No
They
Don't
Not
Every
Member
Of
The
Church
Not
Every
Believer
Will
Work
Miracles
We
Shouldn't
Expect
That
That's
Not
How
God
Has
Arranged
The
Body
Of
Christ
Which
Means
That
Likely
We've
Misunderstood
Just
Who
These
Words
Of
Jesus
In
John
14
12
Apply
To
And
It's
Here
That
I'll
Suggest
That
If
We
Dig
A
Little
Bit
If
We
Study
A
Little
Bit
If
We
Reflect
On
This
A
Little
Bit
An
Alternative
Presents
Itself
We
Can
Start
By
Looking
At
Some
Of
The
Other
Translations
Of
This
Passage
In
English
And
Very
Quickly
We
Notice
That
There
Are
Some
Differences
Some
Have
Whoever
Believes
In
Me
NIV
ESV
Probably
A few
More
Of
The
Majority
Translations
Say
The
One
Who
Believes
In
Me
The
Person
Who
Believes
In
Me
He
Who
Believes
In
Me
Will
Do
The
Works
That
I
Have
Been
Doing
So
What's
Hiding
Under
The
Differences
In
These
Translations
Well
The
Most
Literal
Rendering
Of
The
Original
Language
That
I
Can
Give
Is
This
The
One
Believing
In
Me
The
Works
I
Do
That
One
Also
Will
Do
And
It's
Here
That
I
As
I
Was
Reflecting
On
This
And
Studying
This
I
Noticed
That
There's
A
Little
Word
That
Was
Missing
In
The
Original
Language
There is
In
Greek
A
Word
For
Whoever
But
That's
Not
The
Word
John
Used
Here
And
There's
Also
A
Little
Particle
Which
I'll
Call
The
Ever
Particle
In
Greek
And
You
Can
Add
That
On
To
Who
To
Make
Whoever
Or
To
What
To
Make
Whatever
Or
To
When
To
Make
Whenever
And
That
Particle
That
Little
Ever
Particle
It's
Not
Here
Either
And
John
Could
Have
Used
It
In
Fact
He
Uses
The
Ever
Particle
In
The
Very
Next
Verse
To
Capture
What
Jesus
Said
When
He
Said
Whatever
You
Ask
In
My
Name
I
Will
Do
But
He
Doesn't
Use
That
Particle
Here
It's
Literally
The
One
Who
Believes
In
Me
Will
Also
Do
The
Works
That
I
Do
Now
There
Are
Some
Scholars
Who
Would
Push
Back
On
That
And
They
Would
Say
Hold
On
A
Minute
Don't
You
Try
To
Pull
A
Fast
One
On
Those
People
We
Left
We
Got
To
Look
At
Those
Other
Passages
Because
Jesus
Left
Out
The
Ever
In
A Lot
Of
Other
Statements
He
Made
John
6
35
For
Example
Jesus
Said
The
One
Who
Believes
In
Me
Shall
Never
Thirst
He
Didn't
Use
The
Ever
Particle
There
It
Clearly
It
Means
Anyone
Everyone
Whoever
Believes
In
Me
Shall
Never
Thirst
Same
Thing
In
John
7
38
The
One
Who
Believes
In
Me
Out
Of
His
Heart
Will
Flow
Rivers
Of
Living
Water
It's
Obvious
Jesus
Means
Whoever
Believes
In
Me
This
Will
Happen
For
Them
John
12
46
The
One
Who
Believes
In
Me
Will
Not
Walk
In
Darkness
And
Again
It's
Obvious
That
Jesus
Really
Does
Means
Whoever
Believes
In
Me
This
Will
Be
True
For
Them
They
Won't
Walk
In
The
Darkness
But
In
All
Of
These
Cases
We
Have
To
Remember
The
Context
Jesus
Makes
All
Of
These
Other
Statements
In
Public
Teaching
Moments
To
The
Crowds
To
All
Kinds
Of
People
And
So
Of
Course
When
He
Says
The
One
Who
Believes
In
Me
In
These
Moments
He
Means
Whoever
Believes
In
Me
But
Now
Look
At
Who
Jesus
Is
Talking
To
In
John
Chapter
14
Verse
12
He's
Not
Talking
In
Public
He's
Talking
To
The
Eleven
Men
Seated
Around
The
Table
With
Him
When
He
Says
To
Them
The
One
Who
Believes
In
Me
Will
Do
The
Works
I
Have
Been
Doing
And
Even
Greater
Works
Than
Is
Jesus
Stating
A
Timeless
Principle
For
All
Believers
When
He
Says
The
One
Who
Believes
In
Me
Will
Do
The
Works
I
Have
Been
Doing
And
Even
Greater
Or
Is
Jesus
Only
Speaking
To
The
Men
In
The
Room
Is
This
A
Statement
Of
What
All
Believers
Should
Expect
As
The
Norm
In
Their
Christian
Life
To
Perform
Miracles
Like
Jesus
Did
Or
Is
Jesus
Only
Granting
This
To
The
Men
Seated
Around
The
Table
In
The
Room
We
Have
To
Remember
The
Context
That
Jesus
Spoke
These
Words
Into
He
Wasn't
Speaking
To
The
Crowds
In
Public
He
Speaking
To
The
Eleven
Men
Whom
He
Has
Designated
Apostles
Those
Who
Are
Here
With
Him
Now
In
The
Inner
Room
Is
It
Possible
That
We've
Simply
Assumed
That
These
Words
Of
John
14
12
Apply
Directly
To
All of
Us
To
All
Who
Believe
In
Jesus
In
Every
Century
When
Actually
All
Along
Jesus
Meant
The
One
Who
Believes
Among
You
Here
With
Me
In
The
Room
Will
Do
Greater
Things
Than
The
Things
That
I
Have
Been
Doing
Will
Do
The
Works
That
I
Have
Been
Doing
I
Got
Thinking
About
This
And
I
Realized
We
Say
Things
Like
This
All
The
Time
On
Friday
Nights
We're
Doing
Youth
Group
Here
At
The
Church
And
We
Often
Play
Games
And
To
Spice
The
Games
Up
Sometimes
We
Like
To
Have
A
Prize
I
Might
Say
Something
Like
And
Yes
We
Do
This
In
The
Sanctuary
Whoever
Lands
Their
Paper
Airplane
In
This
Square
At
The
Front
Of
The
Sanctuary
Wins
A
Prize
Whoever
And
It
Simply
Understood
That
When
I
Say
Whoever
I
Mean
Whoever
Of
You
Here
In
The
Room
Tonight
I
Don't
Mean
Whoever
Tomorrow
And
The
Next
Day
And
On
And
On
And
On
Or
I
Might
Say
The
One
Who
Crosses
The
Finish
Line
With
Their
Partner
First
Gets
To
Have
Snack
First
And
What
I
Mean
Of
Course
Is
The
One
Out
Of
All
Of
You
Here
Tonight
Who
Crosses
The
Finish
Line
First
Gets
To
Have
Snack
First
What
If
We
Assumed
That
Jesus
Is
Giving
A
Timeless
Principle
For
Every
Believer
Just
Like
He
Did
When
He
Taught
In
Public
When
Really
This
Promise
That
The
One
Who
Believes
Would
Do
Miracles
Was
Only
For
The
Men
That
He
Spoke
To
In
The
Room
That
Night
And
It
Kind
Of
Has
To
Mean
That
Doesn't
It
I
Mean
The
Apostle
Paul
Said
Do
All
Work
Miracles
No
So
Jesus
Can't
Mean
My
Faith
These
Men
In
The
Room
These
Eleven
Apostles
Of
Jesus
Will
Do
The
Same
Kinds
Of
Works
That
Jesus
Has
Been
Doing
Miracles
And
You
Know
What's
Funny
That's
Precisely
How
The
Story
Goes
Isn't
It
The
Book
Of
Acts
Which
Comes
After
The
Story
Of
Jesus
Is
It's
Called
Acts
Because
It
Details
Many
Of
The
Acts
Of
The
Apostles
The
Works
That
They
Did
With
That
Special
That
Jesus
Gave
Them
As
Much
As
They
Put
Their
Faith
Their
Belief
In
Jesus
They
Were
Able
To
Do
The
Same
Sorts
Of
Miracles
That
Jesus
Did
We
Could
Think
About
This
From
Their
Perspective
For
A
Moment
Let's
Acknowledge
That
Up
Till
This
Point
In
The
Story
Jesus
Is
Not
The
Only
One
Who
Has
Been
Doing
Miracles
Back
In
Luke
Chapter
Nine
We
This
Is
Much
Earlier
On
In
The
Story
We
Read
This
Jesus
There
Was
A
Time
When
He
Had
Called
The
Twelve
Together
And
He
Gave
Them
Power
And
Authority
To
Drive
Out
All
Demons
And
To
Cure
Diseases
And
He
Sent
Them
Out
To
Proclaim
The
Kingdom
Of
God
And
To
Heal
The
Sick
And
So
They
Went
Out
And
They
Did
Healing
People
Everywhere
It
Happens
Again
In
Luke
Chapter
10
The
Lord
It
Says
Appointed
72
Others
And
Sent
Them
Out
Two
By
Two
Ahead
Of
Him
To
Every
Town
And
Place
Where
He
Was
About
To
Go
And
He
Told
Them
Heal
The
Sick
Who
Are
There
And
Tell
Them
The
Kingdom
Of
God
Has
Come
Near
To
You
And
So
They
Did
They
Came
Back
Rejoicing
Saying
Lord
Even
The
Demons
Submit
To
Us
In
Your
Name
And
Jesus
Says
A couple
Verses
Later
Yes
I
Have
Given
You
Authority
To
Trample
On
Snakes
And
Scorpions
And
To
Overcome
All
The
Power
Of
The
Enemy
So
The
Twelve
Apostles
Of
Jesus
And
Even
A
Good
Number
Of
Others
They
Were
Given
Special
Power
And
Authority
By
Jesus
To
Do
The
Same
Things
The
Same
Kinds
Of
Works
That
Jesus
Had
Been
Doing
Miracles
And
This
Special
Power
And
Authority
And
The
Miracles
That
They
Did
With
It
Those
Miracles
That
Was
The
Evidence
That
The
Message
Of
The
Kingdom
Was
True
That
Jesus
Really
Was
The
Messiah
The
Son
Of
God
So
This
Whole
Idea
Of
Doing
Miracles
Is
It's
Not
New
For
The
Disciples
For
The
Apostles
At
The
Table
What
Is
New
Is
That
From
Now
On
Jesus
Will
No
Longer
Be
With
Them
He's
About
To
Die
To
Rise
And
To
His
Father
In
Heaven
And
From
Then
On
It
Will
Be
A
Test
Of
Their
Faith
And
So
Jesus
Is
Telling
Them
That
They
Must
Continue
To
Believe
In
Him
Even
After
He
Is
Gone
And
If
They
Do
They
Will
Continue
To
Do
The
Works
That
Jesus
Has
Been
Doing
Miracles
Signs
Things
That
Point
To
Jesus
As
The
Savior
That
People
Must
Accept
And
This
Is
Exactly
What
Happened
If
You
Know
The
Story
Jesus
Died
He
Rose
Again
He
Ascended
And
At
Pentecost
The
Spirit
Came
Down
Upon
The
Apostles
Those
Gathered
In
The
Room
And
They
Began
To
Do
Amazing
Things
That
Only
The
Power
Of
God
Can
Do
We'll
Just
Quickly
Look
At
One
Example
Acts
Chapter
Three
This
Is
After
That
Moment
At
Pentecost
One day
Peter and
John
Were
Going
Up
To
The
Temple
At
The
Time
Of
Prayer
At
Three
In
The
Afternoon
Now a
Man
Who
Was
Lame
From
Birth
Was
Being
Carried
To
The
Temple
Gate
Called
Beautiful
Where
He
Was
Put
Every
Day
To
Beg
From
Those
Going
Into
The
Temple
Courts
When
He
Saw
Peter
And
John
About
To
Enter
He
Asked
Them
For
Money
Peter
Looked
Straight
At
Him
As
Did
John
Then
Peter
Said
Look
At
Us
So
The
Man
Gave
Them
His
Attention
Expecting
To
Get
Something
From
Them
Then
Peter
Said
Silver
Or
Gold
I
Do
Not
Have
But
What
I
Do
I
Give
You
In
The
Name
Of
Jesus
Christ
Of
Nazareth
Walk
And
Taking
Him
By
The
Right
Hand
He
Helped
Him
Up
And
Instantly
The
Man's
Feet
And
Ankles
Became
Strong
He
Jumped
To
His
Feet
And
Began
To
Walk
Then
He
Went
With
Them
Into
The
Temple
Courts
Walking
And
Jumping
And
Praising
God
When
All
The
People
Saw
Him
Walking
And
Praising
God
They
Recognized
Him
How
Beautiful
And
They
Were
And
They
Were
In
The
Name
Of
Jesus
Christ
Walk
Peter
Knew
That
He
Had
A
Special
Authority
And
Power
From
God
To
Do
This
For
This
Man
What
I
Do
Have
I
Give
You
He
Invokes
The
Name
Of
Jesus
And
He
Commands
The
Man
To
Walk
And
By
The
Power
Of
God
Through
The
Faith
Of
Peter
Jesus
Does
The
Work
Of
Healing
Through
Peter
The
Words
Of
Jesus
On
The
Night
Of
His
Betrayal
Are
Beginning
To
Be
Fulfilled
Now
I
Know
That
This
Interpretation
Raises
A
Lot
Of
Questions
For
Starters
You
Might
Be
Wondering
Well
If
This
Promise
Is
Only
For
The
Apostles
In
The
Room
Then
Shouldn't
We
Also
Conclude
That
Everything
Jesus
Said
That
Night
Is
Only
For
The
Apostles
In
The
Room
What
About
The
Next
Verse
That
Jesus
Says
I
Mean
That's
My
Assurance
Of
Answered
Prayer
Verse
Whatever
You
Ask
In
My
Name
I
Will
Give
You
Does
That
Mean
That
Only
The
Apostles
Were
Given
Assurance
Of
Answered
Prayer
Great
Questions
Come
Back
Next
Sunday
We'll
Talk
About
It
Then
Some
Of
You
Are
Maybe
Still
Wondering
Well
How
Are
The
Apostles
Works
Greater
Than
The
Works
That
Jesus
Did
You
Didn't
Answer
That
One
Josh
Come
Back
Next
Sunday
We'll
Talk
About
It
Then
For
Others
Of
You
Might
Be
Wondering
About
A
Few
Other
Passages
Which
Seem
To
Imply
That
Ordinary
Church
Members
Performed
Miracles
And
Healings
And
Spoken
Tongues
And
Prophesied
And
Doesn't
That
Suggest
That
We
Should
Expect
To
See
That
Today
Too
And
That
This
Promise
That
Jesus
Gave
Really
Is
For
Us
But
We
Don't
Have
Time
To
Go
Any
Further
In
That
Discussion
This
Morning
But
These
Are
Important
Questions
And
At
The
Heart
Of
Them
What
We
Believe
Is
The
Reason
For
Why
We
Have
Our
Church
And
New
Life
Pentecostal
Church
Here
In
Town
We
Do
Have
Differences
And
If
You
Ever
Want
To
Chat
Further
About
These
Things
Over
Coffee
Or
Anytime
Give
Me
A
Call
Send
Me
A
Text
Come
Talk
To
Me
Let's
Look
At
Some
Passages
Together
And
Just
So
You
Know
I
If
You
End
Up
Believing
A
Little
Differently
Than
I
Do
On
These
Things
Finally
What
Do
We
Take
From
All
This
Well
If
You
Have
Been
Struggling
With
These
Words
Of
Jesus
I
Hope
You
Found
You
If
Been
Bothered
Or
Had
Doubts
About
Whether
You
Ade
Or
Have
bros
Leben
de
우리�
Says
Not
Is
Not
The
Test
Of
Faith
performing miracles is not to be expected as the normal christian life millions of brothers and
sisters in the faith through the centuries have had a similar experience to yours they've trusted
jesus with all their hearts they've loved him they've served him and never once performed a
miracle in their lives do all work miracles no last but not least a quick word about our
pentecostal brothers and sisters we have our differences yes and there's some things maybe
that some of them are into that and believe that concern us yes but here's one passage where
countless of our pentecostal brothers and sisters have simply been trying to take jesus at his word
at the plain sense of his word they believe what they believe because if you simply read these words
in english that's what they seem to say and many of our pentecostal brothers and sisters are just
earnestly trying to be as biblical as we are we can show them a passage or two maybe that makes them
squirm and dance a little bit but when they point to this passage we're the ones doing an interpretive
dance so let's be gracious and humble towards our brothers and sisters in that community i'm sure that
when the lord returns for everything that he sets them straight for he'll have something to set us
straight for as well let's pray
father in heaven thank you so much for your word you did say some difficult things at times
but we thank you that we can wrestle through these things together we thank you that you did give clear
signs that you sent jesus that he is the savior we don't have to wonder or question that
and we thank you that you have arranged your body the church exactly as you wanted it to be that you've
given each one of us different gifts and abilities and roles and i pray and ask that you would help us to
be content with the one that you've given us and to see how we can use it for your glory in the church
and in the community that we live in we ask in jesus name amen