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Location: Hattiesburg, Mississippi, United States

Sunday, April 20, 2008

5th Sunday in Easter 4/20/08 Text: John 14:12-14 Title: You have been given the power of Jesus.

5th Sunday in Easter
4/20/2008
Text: John 14:12-14
Title: You have been given the power of Jesus.
In the last verse of today's gospel reading Jesus says, "If you ask me for anything in my name, I will do it." Now you have to admit that is pretty powerful statement. Let me ask you. What is that you crave? What would feel your wildest desire? What blessing do you ask God for? Would you ask for riches, good health, peace for the world? What would you ask for? Think of the possibilities new car, a new home, a cure for baldness. All we have to do is ask.
I remember back when I was in High School. I was not a good student and prayed often that God would help me pass whatever test I was taking at the time, for I was familiar with this verse, “If you ask me anything in my name, I will do it.”
I firmly believed in that verse and I knew God wanted me to make a good grade or at least pass the test. I hate to admit it, but that prayer, those prayers that I prayed did not work. I think I failed more of the tests that I asked God to help me pass, than I passed. I have to admit that my faith wavered at times. I started to doubt that what that verse promised was true. And of course if that verse were not true, then what about all the other verses in the Bible. Were they true?
It did not take me long before I realized that God was not going to keep his promise and if I was going to get out of High School I was going to have to work harder. I managed to pull off some decent grades. You see I found that I could do it by myself. All I had to do is work hard enough and I could pretty much count on getting what I wanted. That continued for several more years when I was out of school and I started my business. Hard work will succeed.
I think that this is a conclusion that many of us reach. We need something, we want something, we pray for it and when we do not see the results that we want we conclude, at the very least that we can, or we must, get along by ourselves.
Fortunately, after quite a few years of doing it myself God worked in a way that caused me to understand that my own powers and abilities were in reality the power that God had given to me. I began to realize that God had already given me the power to pass those tests in High School and all the other things that I had done in life. The problem was that I just had not used the power.
You see that God never gives us more power than we need. Dr. Charles L. Allen once made a profound statement when he said, "Until we are willing to use what God has already given us, there is no need to ask for any more."
"If you ask Me anything in My name," said Jesus, "I will do it." Quite a claim. But let's examine it a little closer. Notice first of all that Jesus is talking to his disciples. He asks them, "Do you not believe that I am in the Father, and the Father is in me?" "The words that I say to you I do not speak on My own authority, but the Father abiding in me does His works. Believe me that I am in the Father, and the Father in me, or else believe on account of the works themselves. Truly, truly, I say to you, he who believes in Me, the works that I do shall he do also; and greater works than these shall he do; because I go to the Father. And whatever you ask in My name, that will I do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son." And then the verse that is so hard for us to believe, “If you ask me anything in my name, I will do it.”
Jesus is giving his disciples words of encouragement, "You've seen the blind recover their sight," he is saying, "You've seen the lame made whole. Hey, you're going to do greater works than that!" And they did.
Remember that the disciples are going to be the start of the Christian Church, so I don’t think it is a stretch to say that he is talking to the church. He was not talking about new houses or new cars or passing examinations. He was talking about doing Kingdom work. He is saying that when his disciples are given their marching orders on Pentecost that when they are doing the work God has called them to do, and when they depend on God's help, nothing is impossible! And that's true. Nothing is impossible for the church of Jesus Christ!
When I came here almost 6 years ago, I saw something in this congregation that I am not sure if anyone else saw. I saw the potential to be Kingdom congregation, not a congregation that focused on itself, as so many are, but a congregation that is focused on what happens outside the walls of this building. In other words, a congregation that is doing what God what God’s followers are supposed to be doing, Kingdom work.
Let us see how close we are to being there. Maybe we have arrived. To find out all we have to do is go to the Epistle reading 1 Peter 2:2-10 and see if it fits us. What do you crave, what do you desire the most? Do you thirst for pure spiritual milk? Do you yearn to do the works that Jesus did? Do you desire that the church, that the people of God, that you yourself, might make a great witness to the world and bring glory to God's name? If you answered yes to those questions we are there.
While I don’t agree with some of Dr. Robert Schuller teachings, he once said that there are two words that have killed more God-inspired dreams and hopes in the church than anything else he can think of. The two words are "Be realistic!"
Think about it for a moment. If the first Christians and all those that followed them were "realistic" then nothing would be accomplished. There wouldn’t have been 3000 new Christians, followers of the Way on that day. Amazing things are accomplished in this world by people who believe and will not give up. Our text for the day says that you and I are capable of amazing things when we set out to serve Jesus Christ. Jesus was speaking to his church when he said, "If you ask Me anything in My name, I will do it." Nothing is impossible for the church of Jesus Christ.
That is, if it does it for the glory of God, for Jesus adds, "And whatever you ask in My name that will I do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son."
Christ will do anything we ask if it glorifies the Father. Here is where we generally stumble. Not everything we do in the church is done to the glory of God. I remember a story about a pastor that was having a lot of trouble with the governing council of the church. If he said it was white they said it was black. If he said it was black then they said it was white.
One day after a particularly hard meeting the vote was called and the vote was 12 to one with one being the pastor’s vote. The president stood up and said, “Pastor you lose and we win.” The pastor was pretty upset so he jumped up and waving his arm he said, “So you now think because of the vote that you are right and I am wrong. Well, that is not so. I stand here and call upon the mighty arm of God to give a sign that you are wrong.”
As he said it, there came a frightful crack of thunder and a brilliant flash of lightning that struck the conference table they were sitting around and cracked it in two. The room was filled with smoke and fumes, and the council and chair were hurled to the floor. Through the carnage, the pastor remained erect and untouched, his eyes flashing and a grim smile on his face.
Slowly, the president lifted himself above what was left of the table. His hair was singed. His glasses were hanging from one ear and his clothing was in disarray. Taking a deep breath, he finally said, "All right, 12 to 2. But we still have the majority."
We all know that not everything that is done in the church is done to the glory of God. But wouldn't it be great if we had a dream for this church that was big enough that we would have to depend on God to accomplish it? And wouldn't it be great if we searched our hearts and souls with prayer so that our dream would match God's dream? What would happen?
I firmly believe that if what we are asking will give God glory the answer will always be yes. It is always yes. Yes I thought you would never ask or sometimes it is yes, just wait to see what else I have in store for you.
That is our God. He keeps his promises. God always answers prayer and he always works for the good. That is true for individual believers and it is doubly true for church, for us as the people who gather in God's name to worship and work together the works he calls us to work. Let us take a moment to dream. I want you to focus on one thing that you could see God doing through you. I want you to take a moment to imagine and feel what that one thing would be like. I will give you a moment to picture God doing this through you. First, I will pray and then you picture one thing that you could see God doing through you. “Father, please stir up your Holy Spirit upon us as we take a moment picturing our place in your Kingdom. Amen Well what do you think? Was it scary or did you feel good? Was there joy and enthusiasm? I would like to conclude with the last words of our Epistle reading 1 Peter 2:2-10 where Peter writes, "You are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people belonging to God, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light. Once you were not a people, but now you are the people of God; once you had not received mercy; but now you have received mercy."
We the people of God, here at Saint John in Hattiesburg, Mississipi, have a purpose. We have what we need to accomplish that purpose, so much so that we can do even greater things than did Christ, should we desire to, for Jesus said, "You may ask me for anything in my name, and I will do it." Amen.

5th Sunday in Easter 4/20/08 Text: John 14:12-14 Title: You have been given the power of Jesus.

5th Sunday in Easter
4/20/2008
Text: John 14:12-14
Title: You have been given the power of Jesus.
In the last verse of today's gospel reading Jesus says, "If you ask me for anything in my name, I will do it." Now you have to admit that is pretty powerful statement. Let me ask you. What is that you crave? What would feel your wildest desire? What blessing do you ask God for? Would you ask for riches, good health, peace for the world? What would you ask for? Think of the possibilities new car, a new home, a cure for baldness. All we have to do is ask.
I remember back when I was in High School. I was not a good student and prayed often that God would help me pass whatever test I was taking at the time, for I was familiar with this verse, “If you ask me anything in my name, I will do it.”
I firmly believed in that verse and I knew God wanted me to make a good grade or at least pass the test. I hate to admit it, but that prayer, those prayers that I prayed did not work. I think I failed more of the tests that I asked God to help me pass, than I passed. I have to admit that my faith wavered at times. I started to doubt that what that verse promised was true. And of course if that verse were not true, then what about all the other verses in the Bible. Were they true?
It did not take me long before I realized that God was not going to keep his promise and if I was going to get out of High School I was going to have to work harder. I managed to pull off some decent grades. You see I found that I could do it by myself. All I had to do is work hard enough and I could pretty much count on getting what I wanted. That continued for several more years when I was out of school and I started my business. Hard work will succeed.
I think that this is a conclusion that many of us reach. We need something, we want something, we pray for it and when we do not see the results that we want we conclude, at the very least that we can, or we must, get along by ourselves.
Fortunately, after quite a few years of doing it myself God worked in a way that caused me to understand that my own powers and abilities were in reality the power that God had given to me. I began to realize that God had already given me the power to pass those tests in High School and all the other things that I had done in life. The problem was that I just had not used the power.
You see that God never gives us more power than we need. Dr. Charles L. Allen once made a profound statement when he said, "Until we are willing to use what God has already given us, there is no need to ask for any more."
"If you ask Me anything in My name," said Jesus, "I will do it." Quite a claim. But let's examine it a little closer. Notice first of all that Jesus is talking to his disciples. He asks them, "Do you not believe that I am in the Father, and the Father is in me?" "The words that I say to you I do not speak on My own authority, but the Father abiding in me does His works. Believe me that I am in the Father, and the Father in me, or else believe on account of the works themselves. Truly, truly, I say to you, he who believes in Me, the works that I do shall he do also; and greater works than these shall he do; because I go to the Father. And whatever you ask in My name, that will I do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son." And then the verse that is so hard for us to believe, “If you ask me anything in my name, I will do it.”
Jesus is giving his disciples words of encouragement, "You've seen the blind recover their sight," he is saying, "You've seen the lame made whole. Hey, you're going to do greater works than that!" And they did.
Remember that the disciples are going to be the start of the Christian Church, so I don’t think it is a stretch to say that he is talking to the church. He was not talking about new houses or new cars or passing examinations. He was talking about doing Kingdom work. He is saying that when his disciples are given their marching orders on Pentecost that when they are doing the work God has called them to do, and when they depend on God's help, nothing is impossible! And that's true. Nothing is impossible for the church of Jesus Christ!
When I came here almost 6 years ago, I saw something in this congregation that I am not sure if anyone else saw. I saw the potential to be Kingdom congregation, not a congregation that focused on itself, as so many are, but a congregation that is focused on what happens outside the walls of this building. In other words, a congregation that is doing what God what God’s followers are supposed to be doing, Kingdom work.
Let us see how close we are to being there. Maybe we have arrived. To find out all we have to do is go to the Epistle reading 1 Peter 2:2-10 and see if it fits us. What do you crave, what do you desire the most? Do you thirst for pure spiritual milk? Do you yearn to do the works that Jesus did? Do you desire that the church, that the people of God, that you yourself, might make a great witness to the world and bring glory to God's name? If you answered yes to those questions we are there.
While I don’t agree with some of Dr. Robert Schuller teachings, he once said that there are two words that have killed more God-inspired dreams and hopes in the church than anything else he can think of. The two words are "Be realistic!"
Think about it for a moment. If the first Christians and all those that followed them were "realistic" then nothing would be accomplished. There wouldn’t have been 3000 new Christians, followers of the Way on that day. Amazing things are accomplished in this world by people who believe and will not give up. Our text for the day says that you and I are capable of amazing things when we set out to serve Jesus Christ. Jesus was speaking to his church when he said, "If you ask Me anything in My name, I will do it." Nothing is impossible for the church of Jesus Christ.
That is, if it does it for the glory of God, for Jesus adds, "And whatever you ask in My name that will I do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son."
Christ will do anything we ask if it glorifies the Father. Here is where we generally stumble. Not everything we do in the church is done to the glory of God. I remember a story about a pastor that was having a lot of trouble with the governing council of the church. If he said it was white they said it was black. If he said it was black then they said it was white.
One day after a particularly hard meeting the vote was called and the vote was 12 to one with one being the pastor’s vote. The president stood up and said, “Pastor you lose and we win.” The pastor was pretty upset so he jumped up and waving his arm he said, “So you now think because of the vote that you are right and I am wrong. Well, that is not so. I stand here and call upon the mighty arm of God to give a sign that you are wrong.”
As he said it, there came a frightful crack of thunder and a brilliant flash of lightning that struck the conference table they were sitting around and cracked it in two. The room was filled with smoke and fumes, and the council and chair were hurled to the floor. Through the carnage, the pastor remained erect and untouched, his eyes flashing and a grim smile on his face.
Slowly, the president lifted himself above what was left of the table. His hair was singed. His glasses were hanging from one ear and his clothing was in disarray. Taking a deep breath, he finally said, "All right, 12 to 2. But we still have the majority."
We all know that not everything that is done in the church is done to the glory of God. But wouldn't it be great if we had a dream for this church that was big enough that we would have to depend on God to accomplish it? And wouldn't it be great if we searched our hearts and souls with prayer so that our dream would match God's dream? What would happen?
I firmly believe that if what we are asking will give God glory the answer will always be yes. It is always yes. Yes I thought you would never ask or sometimes it is yes, just wait to see what else I have in store for you.
That is our God. He keeps his promises. God always answers prayer and he always works for the good. That is true for individual believers and it is doubly true for church, for us as the people who gather in God's name to worship and work together the works he calls us to work. Let us take a moment to dream. I want you to focus on one thing that you could see God doing through you. I want you to take a moment to imagine and feel what that one thing would be like. I will give you a moment to picture God doing this through you. First, I will pray and then you picture one thing that you could see God doing through you. “Father, please stir up your Holy Spirit upon us as we take a moment picturing our place in your Kingdom. Amen Well what do you think? Was it scary or did you feel good? Was there joy and enthusiasm? I would like to conclude with the last words of our Epistle reading 1 Peter 2:2-10 where Peter writes, "You are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people belonging to God, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light. Once you were not a people, but now you are the people of God; once you had not received mercy; but now you have received mercy."
We the people of God, here at Saint John in Hattiesburg, Mississipi, have a purpose. We have what we need to accomplish that purpose, so much so that we can do even greater things than did Christ, should we desire to, for Jesus said, "You may ask me for anything in my name, and I will do it." Amen.