"Spirit Works: Christianity Is"
(Sermon #3)

John 14:8-18  "Philip saith unto him, Lord, shew us the Father, and it sufficeth us. [9 ] Jesus saith unto him, Have I been so long time with you, and yet hast thou not known me, Philip? he that hath seen me hath seen the Father; and how sayest thou then, Shew us the Father? [10]  Believest thou not that I am in the Father, and the Father in me? the words that I speak unto you I speak not of myself: but the Father that dwelleth in me, he doeth the works. [11] Believe me that I am in the Father, and the Father in me: or else believe me for the very works' sake. [12] Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that believeth on me, the works that I do shall he do also; and greater works than these shall he do; because I go unto my Father. [13]  And whatsoever ye shall ask in my name, that will I do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son. [14]  If ye shall ask any thing in my name, I will do it. [15] If ye love me, keep my commandments. [16]  And I will pray the Father, and he shall give you another Comforter, that he may abide with you for ever; [17]  Even the Spirit of truth; whom the world cannot receive, because it seeth him not, neither knoweth him: but ye know him; for he dwelleth with you, and shall be in you. [18] I will not leave you comfortless: I will come to you."
 
 

Ravi Zacharias in his book "Can man live without God?" tells the following story. A young somewhat cocky cowboy was riding his horse one day when he spied a hunched over old farm hand on a mule. Deciding to have a little fun the young cowboy drew his 6 shooter and told the old man to get down of his mule. He then asked the old man "if he had ever danced" and began to empty his revolver at his feet with great laughter. The old man slowly turned back to his mule (unamused) and put his hand into his pack and drew a shotgun and aimed it at the now bulletless young cowboy and he said "did you ever kiss a mule?" To which the young cowboy said with fright "no but I have always wanted to!" There is nothing like a bullet for motivation. While the Lord does not put a gun to our heads he does give us the stories of the Bible for direction and motivation.

When is Jesus just not enough? When is the Word of God not enough? When is the precious indwelling Holy Spirit not enough? For the Christian Jesus should always be enough, the Word should be sufficient (if God said it, I believe it), and the Spirit should be enough. Yet for many Christians, sadly, Jesus just isn't enough. To many Christians the Word has become the "word" with a little "w", and we must add other things to Christianity to make it more palatable to the worldliness around us. When God's Word become "just something we say" then the power of God has been quenched, grieved. When we say to Jesus "Well, I know what you said but" then the Spirit of God is quenched, grieved - and the Church becomes powerless.

My brothers and sisters, these things must not be so. Christianity is more than words, it is Christ in Action. When Christ is in action in your life, then you are enabled to be a blessing to God and to this Church. When Self is in action in your life, you become a curse to God, a curse to those around you, a curse to yourself. Let's look at the Word of Truth.
 

- The two opposing forces in the world today are Satan and Jesus. How often do I (be honest now) follow after Satan, and how often do I follow after Jesus?

John 14:8-11  "Philip saith unto him, Lord, shew (deiknuo, to put on display. Philip expected Jesus to show them a theophany, like the burning bush, etc.) us the Father, and it sufficeth us. [9] Jesus saith unto him, Have I been so long time with you, and yet hast thou not known me, Philip? he that hath seen me hath seen the Father; and how sayest thou then, Shew us the Father? [10]  Believest thou not that I am in the Father, and the Father in me? the words that I speak unto you I speak not of myself: but the Father that dwelleth in me, he doeth the works. [11] Believe me that I am in the Father, and the Father in me: or else believe me for the very works' sake."

Here was the great cry of Israel, a longing that Philip put into words "shew us the Father". Our Lord Jesus had just explained to His disciples that He was the only Way to the Father, that He was the only Way to Heaven - and more than this, He was going to go ahead of us to prepare a place for us in Heaven. Jesus then said that He had seen the Father and this intriguing statement made Philip say "shew us the Father".

Israel was not alien to God. No, Israel had, from its beginning, seen God in one form or another. Israel saw God in the form of angelic visitors. Israel saw God in the form of a burning bush, or in a pillar of fire and cloud. Israel had seen God in theophany, in representative form, but never had Israel seen God face to face. Jesus proclaimed to have seen the Father face to face, so Philip blurted out "show me, Lord. Put the Father on display". To which Jesus replied:

[9] ... "Have I been so long time with you, and yet hast thou not known me, Philip? he that hath seen me hath seen the Father"

Philip was looking for a dramatic experience, a burning bush, a pillar of fire. Men look for the dramatic experiences in their faithlessness. They think that if they have a dazzling sight of God then peace will come, their problems will be solved, their world will be nothing but sweetness and light. But Jesus told Philip "You've seen the Father, for He is in Me and I am in Him". If Philip had stopped and thought about his statement before he made it he would have know to see Jesus was to see Father. Israel thought of God as "God", just as unbelievers today think of God as "God" or "that Nameless Force". But Jesus, by His very life, introduced God as "Father". Here is a personal God, Someone who cares about His creation. Father is not distant and far off. Father did not create, then leave the world to run on its own. Father is not unconcerned and uncaring, but Father wants to be active and in a relationship with every facet of our lives.
 

- When Philip said "Show us the Father", what was he looking for? Was Philip's attitude right or wrong? Why? - Do I regard my Creator as "God" or "the Nameless One", or is He "Father" to me?  - If my Creator is "Father" to me, then how must I behave myself in this life? (1 John 4:16; John 13:21)

Father presented Himself to the world, this time not through a burning bush but through Jesus. Father presented Himself to the world, this time not through a pillar of fire but through Love Incarnate. Love had come down from Heaven, walked among men, and blessed wherever He went. When others ran from the leper, Love put out His hand and touched, healed. When others ran from the filthy beggar, or in superiority put a mite in the beggar's plate, Love reached down and lifted the beggar out of the filth while restoring his sight. When others condemned the whore caught in sin, Love touched and healed the torn soul, and brought her to salvation, not stoning. When others decided it was better to sell the anointing oil, Love allowed that redeemed whore to was His feet with her tears, and anoint His feet with that oil.

1 John 4:16  "And we have known and believed the love that God hath to us. God is love; and he that dwelleth in love dwelleth in God, and God in him."

God is Love, and Love walked the earth as Jesus Christ. Love came not to condemn, but to save. Love sat at a table and ate a final meal with His disciples. As He ate, Love felt God the Indwelling Holy Spirit tell Him that something was about to happen:

John 13:21  "When Jesus had thus said, he was troubled in spirit, and testified, and said, Verily, verily, I say unto you, that one of you shall betray me."

Love knew that He was going to be betrayed, knew that time time of agony was coming. He knew that greed and avarice would start the process that would only be completed when nails were pounded through His hands, His feet. Yet rather than condemn, rather than slap Greed for his evil, Love reached down and took a mouthful of food. Love placed the food in Greed's mouth. Love returned kindness for evil. Jesus showed Philip the Father in action, rather than a theophany.
 

- In my life is Christianity merely "words without substance"? Can I place food in the mouth of those who wronged me just as Jesus did? - How do I interpret Luke 23:34 in my life? - The Christian life is not about _________________, but it is about Jesus over the ways of Satan.

What is Christianity? Is it merely words that we say, words without substance? No, Christ was more than words. Christ showed us the Father through His life, and Christ showed us the Father through His death. When left alone and hanging on that Old Rugged Cross Jesus refused to condemn those who spiked Him. Jesus said:

Luke 23:34  ... "Father, forgive them; for they know not what they do. And they parted his raiment, and cast lots."

Christianity is focus on Jesus, not on the things of this world. Christianity is not about right and wrong. Jesus was right, Judas was wrong, Jesus was right, the world is wrong. Christianity is about God and Satan. Christianity is about Christ, focusing on Christ, and refusing to focus on Satan and his world. We cannot be saved to eternal life if we divide our attention between Christ and Satan. We also cannot be saved to victorious earthly life if we divide our attention between Christ and Satan. Christianity is, first and foremost, a life that is focused on Christ. When we forget that, we lose sight of the Father!

John 14:12-15  "Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that believeth on me, the works that I do shall he do also; and greater (meizon, greater in quantity) works than these shall he do; because I go unto my Father. [13]  And whatsoever ye shall ask in my name, that will I do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son. [14] If ye shall ask any thing in my name, I will do it. [15] If ye love me, keep my commandments."

Here Jesus makes a great promise to the believer - and He wants us to pay attention to this promise. Jesus started out by saying "Verily, verily" or amen, amen. This is equivalent to saying "pay attention" or "I agree and you should agree, too". Jesus then followed this double amen by saying that we would do greater (meizon) or many more of the same types of works than He did. Now think about that statement for a minute. What was Jesus talking about? Jesus raised the dead, have you raised the dead? Do you know of anyone today who has, without a doubt, raised the dead in the name of Jesus? Have you stood on the Mount of Transfiguration like Jesus did? No? Did Jesus tell us a lie? If not, then what did Jesus mean by "greater works than these (that I have done) shall (you) do".

Jesus meant that those who are His saved will do:

1. The same kind of work that He did. The Christian is focused on working a work for Jesus that is characterized by loving and caring. Jesus forgot Himself in order to minister to others. Our Lord said:

Matthew 8:20  "And Jesus saith unto him, The foxes have holes, and the birds of the air have nests; but the Son of man hath not where to lay his head."

Jesus forgot His own comfort in order to be a blessing to others. Jesus ministered with love, healed with a light touch. He witnessed the Will of the Father to a lost and dying world. Yes, He performed many miracles - but raising the dead is a small miracle when compared to healing broken lives. Causing the scales to fall from the eyes of the blind is a small thing compared to showing the lost how to be found. The Christian and the Church of Christ fulfills the promise of Christ by doing the same kind of work He did - and by rejecting the selfish "me first" attitude of the world. Those who know Jesus will also be enabled to show:

2. The same purpose of God that Jesus did. Mankind will promote one above another, to seek various reasons for living outside of God's Plan. Our Lord Jesus knew what His mission was, and He willed Himself, through the power of God the Holy Spirit, to fulfill this mission at all cost. The Church and Christian fully focused on Jesus will look for opportunities to do what Jesus told us to do:

Matthew 28:19-20  "Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost: [20]  Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world. Amen."
 

- When Jesus said we were going to do greater works than He did, what did He mean by this? - What kind of work should characterize my life in Christ? - What purpose should my work in Christ be devoted to? (Matthew 28:19-20) - If I ignore Jesus' agenda of love, am I living the Christian life? If I fail to try and love as Jesus commanded, what does this say about my relationship to Him? (John 14:15)

Jesus gave us an agenda that we must follow, an agenda of love in Him. Just as the disciples should have been able to see the Father in Jesus, the world should see Jesus in us. But sadly, often the world looks at us and only sees a mirror image of itself. This is outside of Jesus, not His fault - but ours. If we focus on Jesus, follow in His footsteps through the power of the Spirit, we will do greater things than our Lord did. We have Jesus' word on that!

Christianity is working for Jesus because we love Jesus. Christianity is not working to be seen of men. Christianity is not working so that you will earn great fame in the Church. Christianity is not fighting to see who's best or greatest in the Kingdom of God. Christianity is working for the One who saved us. Christianity is loving one another, just as Jesus taught us to love. Christianity is acting like a servant to Almighty God, denying the desires of your flesh, and telling others about the One who saved you. Christianity is empowered and Spirit filled love, as God is Love.
 

- What is the new commandment Jesus gave us? (John 14:15). Is this a commandment, or a request?

Jesus warns us all at the end:

Do you love Jesus? Then work for Him in the parameters that He has set. In John 13:34-35 Jesus said:

John 13:34-35  "A new commandment I give unto you, That ye love one another; as I have loved you, that ye also love one another. [35]  By this shall all men know that ye are my disciples, if ye have love one to another."

Jesus spoke these words right after He sensed Judas' betrayal. Jesus loved Judas, though He was betrayed by Him. Jesus demanded that His disciples' work and lives be characterized by love for one another. We are enabled to love, we are commanded to love, we must love if we love Jesus!
 

Chris Carrier of Coral Gables, Florida, was abducted when he was 10 years old. His kidnapper, angry with the boy's family, burned him with cigarettes, stabbed him numerous times with an ice pick, then shot him in the head and left him to die in the Everglades. Remarkably, the boy survived, though he lost sight in one eye. No one was ever arrested.  Recently, a man confessed to the crime. Carrier, now a youth minister, went to see him.  He found David McAllister, a 77-year-old ex-convict, frail and blind, living in a North Miami Beach nursing home. Carrier began visiting often, reading to McAllister from the Bible and praying with him. His ministry opened the door for McAllister to make a profession of faith.  No arrest is forthcoming; after twenty-two years, the statute of limitations on the crime is long past. In Christian Reader (Jan/Feb 98), Carrier says, "While many people can't understand how I could forgive David McAllister, from my point of view I couldn't not forgive him. If I'd chosen to hate him all these years, or spent my life looking for revenge, then I wouldn't be the man I am today, the man my wife and children love, the man God has helped me to be."  (Leadership Journal Spring 1998, Vol.XIX, No. 2, p. 73)

John 14:16-18  "And I will pray the Father, and he shall give you another Comforter, (parakletos, an intercessor, an advocate) that he may abide with you for ever; [17]  Even the Spirit of truth; whom the world cannot receive, because it seeth him not, neither knoweth him: but ye know him; for he dwelleth with you, and shall be in you. [18] I will not leave you comfortless: I will come to you."

Finally, Christianity is union with God. Jesus knew that the requirements He put on us were impossible for us, mere mortals, to fulfill. "Love one another? You've got to be kidding!". Each of us are human, and as humans we are weak, prone to condemn one another, prone to ignore the wishes of our God. We proved this in the Garden that, even in a sinless state, we can be induced to sin. Even well intentioned we can choose to follow after the wrong thing. But the Christian is more, much more.

The Christian is blood bought, someone who recognized his or her weakness and predisposition to sin then cried out in agony "My God, please - in Jesus' name - give me peace". If the action of salvation were to stop at this point though, the Christian would be no different from the Buddhist or the Hindu, no different from the Islamic worshipper. These faiths believe that, with cunning and power, I must work my way from where I am to where I want to be. Not so Christianity.
 

- Jesus sent the Parakletos, the Comforter, to live inside of us. Why? - As partakers of the Divine Nature (2 Peter 1:4) the Christian is a supernatural creature, who should rise above the things of this world. Is this true or false? Why? - How does Christianity differ from Islam, Buddism, and Hinduism?

No, for the Christian is not only blood bought, he is indwelt by the "parakletos", the Intercessor. At the point of salvation God the Holy Spirit comes into our lives, as real as my flesh is real. God comes to be with us, God the Spirit, the Spirit of Christ, to guide us, to empower us. This Spirit is called "truth" because the Christian knows right from wrong. When we fall into the wrong this Spirit convicts us of our sin, leads us to repent. This Spirit pushes us to love, so much so that if we decide to follow after schism and hate, anger, our lives are disoriented and pitiful while we are so disobedient. The Spirit cannot condone hatred or evil, but is grieved when these states are present in the Christian's life. The Spirit is released to operate in the Assembly of the Saints when we cooperate, when we love one another in spite of our faults, when we recognize that we are partakers of the Divine Nature:

2 Peter 1:4  "Whereby are given unto us exceeding great and precious promises: that by these ye might be partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust."

and strive to follow that Nature, that "parakletos", though the world recommends another way. Had the Church fully submitted itself to Christ and His Spirit long ago, perhaps the world would already be evangelized for Him. Sadly, we always seem to get off on peripheral things. Okapilco, don't get off on peripheral things. Refuse to allow Satan the victory in this flock. Refuse to follow after the things of the flesh, and bow your knee to Love, Christ, the Spirit who indwells you. Look for opportunities to minister to one another and the world around you rather than for faults in one another. The faults, though they may be there, were washed with the Blood of the Lamb at the point of your salvation. Let's be about our Father's business, seeking His presence in this Place, telling others about Jesus. The time is short, and judgment day is right around the corner. We will all give an account for our actions in this life. Make sure the life you live will stand up to the scrutiny of Jesus. Amen? Amen!
 

John D. Rockefeller built the great Standard Oil Empire. Not surprisingly, Rockefeller was a man who demanded high performance from his company executives. One day, one of those executives made a two million-dollar mistake.  Word of the man's enormous error quickly spread throughout the executive offices, and the other men began to make themselves scarce. Afraid of Rockefeller's reaction, they didn’t even want to cross his path.  One man didn't have any choice, however, since he had an appointment with the boss. So he straightened his shoulders and tightened his belt and walked into Rockefeller's office.  As he approached the oil monarch's desk, Rockefeller looked up from the piece of paper on which he was writing.  "I guess you've heard about the two million dollar mistake our friend made," he said abruptly.  "Yes," the executive said, expecting Rockefeller to explode.  "Well, I've been sitting here listing all of our friend's good qualities on this sheet of paper, and I've discovered that in the past he has made us many more times the amount he lost for us today by his one mistake. His good points far outweigh this one human error. So I think we ought to forgive him, don't you?"                                                                                        (The Tale Of The Tardy Oxcart Charles R. Swindoll, Word, p. 215-216)