How?

Intro

Good morning church family! The Lord will not let me let go of a message that I shared with you at the beginning of the month.

I posed the question “What if we actually believed what Jesus said in John 14:12?”

John 14:12 NASB95

12 “Truly, truly, 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 the Father.

Those who believe. Believe means to put your trust in. Those who put their trust in Jesus WILL DO the works that Jesus did.

Works is defined a few different ways.

Business, employment

Any product accomplished by hand, art, industry, or mind

An act, deed, thing done

Jesus was in the business of quite a few things. If you were to take all that Jesus did, that we have record of, they fall into 1 of 8 categories.

Healing

Deliverance

Miracles

Feed People

Teaching

Acts of Compassion & Humility

Redemptive works

I am sure there is more, but just looking at these 8 categories, Jesus said “he who believes in Me, the works that I do, he will do also”.

Being a follower of Christ is not merely accepting Him as Savior and then sitting down in a church every week just to hear a sermon. Our faith is a work order. We are to be busy about the Father’s business!

The economy of our culture may not be good and businesses may be shutting their doors, but God’s economy is BOOMING and business has never been better!

Matthew 9:35–38 NASB95

35 Jesus was going through all the cities and villages, teaching in their synagogues and proclaiming the gospel of the kingdom, and healing every kind of disease and every kind of sickness. 36 Seeing the people, He felt compassion for them, because they were distressed and dispirited like sheep without a shepherd. 37 Then He said to His disciples, “The harvest is plentiful, but the workers are few. 38 “Therefore beseech the Lord of the harvest to send out workers into His harvest.”

The harvest is ready and ripe! But I fear the church for too long has reflected the cultures work ethics. We simply don’t want to.

Church we cannot have this spiritual apathy where we just sit and wait for Jesus to return. The harvest is ready! And Jesus is calling you to go and gather it up! We have a redemptive work to do!

The redemptive work we are called to do as believers is to proclaim, live out, and participate in the message of reconciliation through Jesus Christ.

While we are not the Redeemer, we are ambassadors of His redemptive work, continuing His mission on earth.

2 Corinthians 5:20 NASB95

20 Therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God were making an appeal through us; we beg you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God.

The question is how?

How are we to do these works and greater than Jesus? How are we going to bring this message of redemption to this lost and broken world?

The answer:

The same way Jesus did.

Holy Spirit

We know that Jesus is God, but He is also man. He is literally the God man. While divine in nature, Jesus did not do everything on His own or of His own will even.

John 5:19 NASB95

19 Therefore Jesus answered and was saying to them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, the Son can do nothing of Himself, unless it is something He sees the Father doing; for whatever the Father does, these things the Son also does in like manner.

Here is what we need to know.

Jesus was fully divine and fully human, but during His earthly ministry, He chose to live and operate as a man empowered by the Holy Spirit, not by independently exercising His divine power.

Philippians 2:6–7 NLT

6 Though he was God, he did not think of equality with God as something to cling to. 7 Instead, he gave up his divine privileges; he took the humble position of a slave and was born as a human being. When he appeared in human form,

Jesus emptied himself and gave up His divine privileges.

Now this is important to understand.

Jesus did not stop being God, but He laid aside the independent use of His divine attributes to live as a man.

Why is this important to understand? It is so we can relate to Jesus. If Jesus operated with His divine attributes as God and then tells us that we will do the same works, that means we would have to have the same attributes of God and we ourselves would have to be God.

We are not God, we were created in the image of God. So then how was Jesus able to do these works?

Jesus was able to feed people, heal people, teach, ect. because He was EMPOWERED by the Holy Spirit.

Acts 10:38 NLT

38 And you know that God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and with power. Then Jesus went around doing good and healing all who were oppressed by the devil, for God was with him.

We too have access to this same Holy Spirit to do the works that Jesus said that we WOULD do!

I want to share with you some things the Lord showed me this week that I believe will help us understand that we can do what Jesus said we will do. Remember Jesus said we would do those same things. In order to do those same things, there has to be some similarities between us and Jesus.

Born of a Virgin

Jesus was born of a virgin who was conceived by the Holy Spirit. Since the beginning of Jesus Earth journey He had the Holy Spirit living in Him.

The angel of the Lord told Mary:

Luke 1:35 NASB95

35 The angel answered and said to her, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you; and for that reason the holy Child shall be called the Son of God.

Jesus could have entered this world as a full grown adult ready to save the world. But He didn’t. He entered the world the same way as every other human. Jesus was born through the Holy Spirit.

While you and I were born in the same manner, we however did not have the indwelling of the Holy Spirit.

We are born spiritually dead.

Ephesians 2:1 NASB95

1 And you were dead in your trespasses and sins,

Romans 5:12 NASB95

12 Therefore, just as through one man sin entered into the world, and death through sin, and so death spread to all men, because all sinned—

This tells us there needs to be a rebirth. A rebirth liken to that of a virgin birth.

What does that mean? A virgin birth is without the corrupt seed of an earthly father, therefore Jesus was perfect without sin.

This is why we need to be born again, not with corruption, but that which is incorrupt.

1 Peter 1:23 NLT

23 For you have been born again, but not to a life that will quickly end. Your new life will last forever because it comes from the eternal, living word of God.

Without being born again, our sin rules over us leading to death. Because we are born again, the Holy Spirit now enables us to live our lives without sin ruling over us. This doesn’t mean that we are sinless, but rather we are empowered to overcome sin and live in righteousness.

This is why Jesus didn’t emphasize His deity. If you listen to how He speaks, He wanted us to know that He came as a man who was empowered by the Holy Spirit.

We can’t follow deity and do the things that deity can do, but we can follow Christ who was empowered by the Holy Spirit and do the same things because He was operating as a man empowered by the Spirit of God.

We Have the Same Spirit

You and I have access to this SAME Holy Spirit. Looking back before Jesus did any miracles, healed any sick, doing any great works, we see the Holy Spirit descend on Him.

Luke 3:21–22 NASB95

21 Now when all the people were baptized, Jesus was also baptized, and while He was praying, heaven was opened, 22 and the Holy Spirit descended upon Him in bodily form like a dove, and a voice came out of heaven, “You are My beloved Son, in You I am well-pleased.”

Before you and I can do any good works let alone great works, we must be empowered by this same Holy Spirit.

Luke 3:16 NASB95

16 John answered and said to them all, “As for me, I baptize you with water; but One is coming who is mightier than I, and I am not fit to untie the thong of His sandals; He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire.

For some reason the church has backed away from seeking the Holy Spirit. Not here. We pray every week, Holy Spirit baptize those in the service. We pray for the gifts of the Spirit to be activated - speaking in tongues, prophecy, healing, a word of knowledge - why? Because we cannot do the greater things without being empowered by the Holy Spirit!

I am glad the kids are in here for this message too. Our kids have access to this same Spirit that every adult in here does.

There is no junior Holy Spirit

Church, there is no age limit on God’s Spirit. These kids can be baptized and empowered by the Holy Spirit just as much as we can.

Acts 2:17 NASB95

17 ‘And it shall be in the last days,’ God says, ‘That I will pour forth of My Spirit on all mankind; And your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, And your young men shall see visions, And your old men shall dream dreams;

Acts 2:39 NASB95

39 “For the promise is for you and your children and for all who are far off, as many as the Lord our God will call to Himself.”

Church my prayer is that our kids get baptized in the Holy Ghost that when they go to school they would be so EMPOWERED by God that they will preach, teach, heal, and do greater things than Jesus!

1 Corinthians 12:7 NASB95

7 But to each one is given the manifestation of the Spirit for the common good.

Each one includes children who believe in Jesus. They can:

Speak in tongues

Prophesy

Pray for healing

Share wisdom

Show boldness in faith

They too can be led by, taught by, empowered by, the Holy Spirit!

What are we afraid of? Church we should be praying for an outpouring of the Holy Spirit over our church and community.

Are we afraid of being labeled weird? Are we afraid of losing people if we operate in the gifts?

2 Timothy 1:7 NASB95

7 For God has not given us a spirit of timidity, but of power and love and discipline.

Listen church, I know the supernatural aspects — like speaking in tongues or prophecy — can make people nervous…especially if they don’t understand them. The idea of losing control can be unsettling.

Here is the thing. I don’t want control. When I have control, I mess things up. When I am in control I walk in the flesh and if I am walking in the flesh I cannot bring life to myself nor to those around me. I will crumple under the pressures of this world.

Empty Soda Can vs. Full Soda Can

The difference between these two cans is what is on the inside. What’s on the inside gives the can structure, strength , and stability.

Ephesians 5:18 NASB95

18 And do not get drunk with wine, for that is dissipation, but be filled with the Spirit,

Just like the empty can, when a person isn’t filled with the Holy Spirit, they may look okay outwardly, but when pressure comes—temptation, trials, fear, discouragement—they collapse under the weight.

But when we are filled with the Holy Spirit, we have inner power to:

Stand strong under pressure (Ephesians 6:10)

Resist temptation (Galatians 5:16)

Live boldly for Christ (Acts 1:8)

Acts 1:8 NASB95

8 but you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be My witnesses both in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and even to the remotest part of the earth.”

Led by the Spirit

When you are filled with the Holy Spirit, it helps with direction in your life.

Luke 4:1–2 NASB95

1 Jesus, full of the Holy Spirit, returned from the Jordan and was led around by the Spirit in the wilderness 2 for forty days, being tempted by the devil. And He ate nothing during those days, and when they had ended, He became hungry.

The Holy Spirit was leading Jesus in what was likely a dry, barren, mountainous desert between Jerusalem and the Dead Sea. For 40 days Jesus was alone - well accept for the wild animals Mark 1:13), facing physical weakness and a spiritual testing.

Today’s wilderness often isn’t geographical — it’s spiritual, emotional, or circumstantial.

Feeling spiritually dry or distant from God.

Walking through loss, grief, or hardship.

Facing temptation, identity struggles, or isolation.

A waiting season where prayers seem unanswered.

Testing or transition before entering into greater purpose.

Not if, but when we face these seasons, we too need to be and can be led by the Spirit.

Because Jesus was led by the Spirit, He came out empowered.

Luke 4:14 NASB95

14 And Jesus returned to Galilee in the power of the Spirit, and news about Him spread through all the surrounding district.

When we are led by the Spirit, through any season of life, we can walk empowered by the same Spirit.

Ultimately, when Jesus was in the wilderness, He was led to truth. When the enemy tempted Him, Jesus responded with “It is written…”. In other words, “I hear what you are saying, but this is what God says.”

It amazes me how many Christians go through life and make decisions, go through circumstances, walk through testings, and never once ask God what He says.

Recently I had a conversation with someone who said they are leaving California and headed to a “better state”. I looked them straight in the eyes and said, “You know what I am going to ask you right?”…then I asked, “What did God say?”

They gave me all kinds of reasons to leave, but not once did they say they were being led by the Spirit of God.

Church, when we do not allow the Holy Spirit to lead us, we can drift into confusion, deception, or self-reliance rather than walking in truth and wisdom.

When we resist or ignore the Spirit:

We lean on our own understanding, our own knowledge.

Proverbs 3:5 NASB95

5 Trust in the Lord with all your heart And do not lean on your own understanding.

What tends to happen is we don’t have all the information so we make a judgement and it is not a righteous judgement.

When we ignore the Spirit, we misinterpret or misuse Scripture

When you follow your emotions (your emotions will cloud your judgement), culture, or personal opinion

Too many Christians are being led by their emotions in our culture and we feel lost. We don’t know what to do or where to go.

Jesus didn’t say, “Follow your emotions”, He said “pick up your cross and follow me”!

This is what Jesus means when He said to “crucify yourself daily and follow me”.

If we are not willing to die to self, we cannot follow Jesus…who is truth. If we cannot follow truth, we will be led astray and held in bondage.

But when we put all of our feelings, emotions, knowledge, to the side and listen to the Spirit, He will guide you into truth.

John 16:13 NASB95

13 “But when He, the Spirit of truth, comes, He will guide you into all the truth; for He will not speak on His own initiative, but whatever He hears, He will speak; and He will disclose to you what is to come.

John 8:31–32 NASB95

31 So Jesus was saying to those Jews who had believed Him, “If you continue in My word, then you are truly disciples of Mine; 32 and you will know the truth, and the truth will make you free.”

It is the truth that sets people FREE. That is the greatest work that we could ever do.

Closing

Church, Jesus didn’t say, “You might do the works I’ve done.” He said:

John 14:12 NASB95

12 “Truly, truly, 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 the Father.

That’s not a suggestion — it’s a promise to those who believe and are empowered by the Holy Spirit.

But here’s the truth:

You cannot live out this calling in your own strength.

You will not walk in the power of God without surrender.

You must be filled with the Holy Spirit.

Too many believers are walking around like empty soda cans — saved, but not filled. Forgiven, but not empowered.

Jesus didn’t just die to get you into heaven — He rose again and sent His Spirit to get heaven into you so that you could bring heaven to earth.

The Holy Spirit is not optional.

He is essential.

He is the power, the fire, and the presence of God living in you to do the impossible.

Altar Call

If you’re here today and you know you’re not walking in that power…

If you’re tired of doing life in your own strength…

If you want to be used by God — to teach, to love, to heal, to prophesy, to serve, to witness, to do the greater works…

If you’re dry and you need a fresh filling…

Then this moment is for you.

I want to open these altars right now for two kinds of people:

You want to be filled — or refilled — with the Holy Spirit. You’re saying, “Holy Spirit, baptize me. Empower me. Use me.”

You’ve been resisting the Spirit’s leading. Maybe you’ve made decisions without Him. You’ve walked in fear, not faith. You’ve leaned on your own understanding — but today, you’re ready to surrender and be led by the Spirit.

Come. Don’t wait.

The harvest is ready. The Spirit is here.

You don’t need a title. You don’t need a microphone.

You just need to be filled.

This promise is for you, your children, and all whom the Lord our God will call.

Let’s cry out together:

Holy Spirit, fill us. Empower us. Send us.

We are ready for greater works.