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Nobleton Community Church
29084 Sentinel Street PO Box 224
Nobleton, Florida 34661
Rev. Paul V. Lehmann, Pastor
813-389-8683
Nobletoncommunitychurch.org
info@nobletoncommunitychurch.org
OUR VISION IS:
To experience SPIRIT-FILLED WORSHIP AND PRAYER
To be involved in EVANGELISM, DISCIPLINING AND TRAINING PEOPLE
To use our SPIRITUAL GIFTS
To SERVE AND REACH PEOPLE FOR CHRIST, BOTH
“ACROSS THE STREET AND ACROSS THE WORLD”
Nobleton Community Church
Date August 24, 2025
Text John 14:8-17 and John 15:5-17
Pastor Paul Lehmann
One of the popular things that parents say to their children, especially teenagers, (maybe your mom or dad said it, or some of you said it to your children): “What part of NO don’t you understand?” This is after the begging and pleading that there would be a different decision. `But the statement means just what I said. Now also in the affirmative, Jesus also means just what He says when he says ANYTHING! (This is a pronoun meaning any occurrence.)
This is hard for us to understand when we don’t see the answer to our prayers right away. It might be prayers for healing, deliverance, open doors for evangelism: —–like we prayed when we first went to France to work with Muslims. It was after we had prayed, walked the streets, had a Bible Stand, and believed the promise that God would do great things,
Habakkuk 1:6 (NIV) “Look at the nations and watch—and be utterly amazed. For I am going to do something in your days that you would not believe even if you were told.” This is very important to see God answer our prayers for “anything” we ask for.
We needed to:
first- Have FAITH, but also to BELIEVE HIS WORD.
In John 15:7 … :If you remain in me, and my words remain in you—–Ask whatever you wish and it shall be done for you.”
We need to understand that this isn’t a magic formula, so that we can ask for just anything our fleshly worldly hearts desire. But if we stay connected to the vine, and stay in a close relationship with Jesus, we will know what his will is, and as I have said before—-His will becomes our will.
There are a number of other conditions that we overlook when we read that we can ask for whatever we wish. The starting point, of course, is to have faith and believe, but we read in verse 7 of chapter 15 that we must stay in a close relationship with Jesus and His word.
. Some people pray for the sick or the disabled to be healed, and when they aren’t, they say that the person didn’t have enough faith. We must realize that many times in scripture, the people Jesus healed didn’t know that they were going to be healed. Faith was important for someone in order for them to be healed, but not necessarily the person receiving the healing. Jesus said to believe that the Father was in Him, and He was In the Father. ( a tremendous declaration of the deity of Jesus).
We see in our scripture passages this morning some other conditions that may explain why we don’t see answered prayer. Verse 16 tells us that:
WE ARE TO BEAR FRUIT,— FRUIT THAT WILL LAST.
Wow!, Not only are we to bear fruit, but we have to see results, and the results must last. Now we know that it is only the Holy Spirit that causes them to desire being discipled and having a desire to grow in the Lord, but our part is to keep sowing. Then at some point we will see a yield of 30, 60 even 100 times what was sown. This is the kind of reproduction Jesus was talking about in Matthew 13:23. Anyone who has faith in Him will do what he had been doing.
Back to chapter 14:
In John 14:12, Jesus makes an amazing statement: “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” Jesus performed many amazing and wonderful works—healing the sick and delivering people from evil spirits, raising the dead, walking on water, and feeding thousands come to mind—how can it be true that those who have faith in Him will perform “even greater” works than those? Like raising people from the dead and He Himself rose from the dead; How do you “top that”
In saying that those who believe in Him would do the works that He did, Jesus was not saying that every Christian would walk on water and raise the dead. The apostles in the book of Acts performed some miracles that were similar to Jesus’ works, but even they did not walk on water or feed multitudes, as far as we know. The Holy Spirit gives different gifts to different people as He sees fit (1 Corinthians 12:4). Not everyone has the same set of gifts. Some believers have more revelatory or public gifts, and others have quieter, more private gifts.
Jesus said that not only would His followers do the same works, but they would do “greater” works than He. Again, this is not a reference to the works’ being greater in power.(qualitatively) Jesus had raised Lazarus, who had been four days in the tomb (John 11); humanly speaking, not even the apostles did a greater work than that. No one has ever exceeded the power or majesty of Jesus’ miracles.
So, what did Jesus mean that His faithful followers would do “greater” works than He? Without a doubt,
The works of Jesus’ followers would be greater in extent (quantitatively). Jesus’ earthly ministry had been largely limited to Galilee and Judea; That’s about 120 miles north to south, and 20 miles east to west. A narrow strip that he and his disciples walked. His disciples, however, were going to extend His ministry to the uttermost parts of the earth. When Jesus ascended to heaven, His followers numbered in the hundreds; forty days later, in response to the preaching of the apostles, that number leaped to 3,000. (Acts 2:41). In Acts 4:4 the number was 5,000 “men”
By the end of Acts, the gospel had made its way to Rome.
I want to emphasize the “quality” of the “greater works” that the disciples and we are able to do. The greatest miracle that God performs in the life of people is their transformation from death to life. It is what I see as an important privilege that we have, that Jesus did not have.
JESUS COULDN’T PREACH THE CROSS. He couldn’t preach the Good News of salvation, like we can. He left that to his disciples and to us.
A Hymn written by Johnson Oatman tells about the fact that even angels can’t sing A SONG OF REDEMPTION. The chorus says:
Holy, Holy is what the angels sing, and I expect to help them make the courts of heaven ring. But when I sing redemption’s story, they will fold their wings, for angels never felt the joy that our salvation brings.
There is also a Southern Gospel song entitled “ A Song Holy Angels Cannot Sing.” The song emphasizes that only human beings can truly share the message of Christ’s redemption. Angels are holy and have not sinned, so they cannot testify to being forgiven and saved by grace. Jesus couldn’t and didn’t either.
Jesus links the works of His followers with the fact of His return to heaven. In fact, He says His absence is the cause of their greater works: “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” (John 14:12, Jesus later told His disciples that the gift of the Holy Spirit depended on Jesus’ return to heaven (John 16:7). It was through the Spirit that the church is enabled to do the work of God.
WE MUST UNDERSTAND THAT IN ORDER TO RECEIVE ANSWERS FOR ANYTHING WE ASK FOR —–THERE ARE CONDITIONS.
FIRST:
- But we must accept Him as the only way to God. And that Jesus is the truth and the life. ( John 14:6)
- We must BELIEVE IN HIM AND HAVE FAITH
3 We must PRAY TO MAKE HIS WILL, OUR WILL
- We must REMAIN IN HIM AND TRUST IN HIS WORD
- We must BEAR FRUIT—-AND DISCIPLE THOSE WHO HAVE BEEN TRANSFORMED
We must LOVE EACH OTHER.
The words of Jesus in John 14
What does John chapter 14 mean? | BibleRef.com
What does John chapter 14 mean? How should I understand John chapter 14? How does John chapter 14 fit with the s…
and 15 were of great comfort to His eleven disciples. He was about to be arrested and suffer a cruel and unjust death. The disciples themselves would be scattered that night. But Jesus assures them that:
No matter what happens, God’s work will continue in the world. Even after Jesus’ earthly ministry ended, His work would go on. The followers of Christ, empowered by the Holy Spirit, would continue to help and heal people. The gospel would have a worldwide impact.
As God’s people pray in Jesus’ name, answers will come, and the greatest miracle of all—the spiritual transformation of a sinful heart through faith in Christ—will become commonplace, to the glory of God.