Call to Worship: Psalm 135:5 “I know that the Lord is great, that our Lord is greater than all gods.” Malachi 1:14 “I am a great king,” says the Lord Almighty, “and my name is to be feared among the nations.”
Songs: I Will Bless the Lord - Steve Green
Sing - Travis Cottrell
Every Giant Will Fall - Rend Collective
Days Of Elijah - Robin Mark
Scripture: Luke 10:1-24
Song: While I'm Waiting -Travis Greene
Sermon: “Greater Things Ahead”
Closing Song: Revival - Robin Mark
Benediction: Deuteronomy 10:12 “And now, Israel, what does the Lord your God ask of you but to fear the Lord your God, to walk in obedience to him, to love him, to serve the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul, 13 and to observe the Lord’s commands and decrees that I am giving you today for your own good? 14 To the Lord your God belong the heavens, even the highest heavens, the earth and everything in it. 15 Yet the Lord set his affection on your ancestors and loved them, and he chose you, their descendants, above all the nations—as it is today. 16 Circumcise your hearts, therefore, and do not be stiff-necked any longer. 17 For the Lord your God is God of gods and Lord of lords, the great God, mighty and awesome, who shows no partiality and accepts no bribes. 18 He defends the cause of the fatherless and the widow, and loves the foreigner residing among you, giving them food and clothing. 19 And you are to love those who are foreigners, for you yourselves were foreigners in Egypt. 20 Fear the Lord your God and serve him. Hold fast to him and take your oaths in his name. 21 He is the one you praise; he is your God, who performed for you those great and awesome wonders you saw with your own eyes. 22 Your ancestors who went down into Egypt were seventy in all, and now the Lord your God has made you as numerous as the stars in the sky.”
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Sermon: “Greater Things Ahead”
I looked back to a Sunday where I asked a whole lot of “what if” questions and asked you to ponder them. My belief is that most people will look at them and say yep I’m a child of the King with nothing to fear or worry about but truthfully that is just churchianity talking because most are not all right and should be very afraid. One of the questions I had asked was, “What if God was serious when he said do not add to His word or subtract from it?” Of course He was serious but most people ignore his command. Today we are talking about how the church has nullified the word of God by doing just that and no longer having power. They say these verses don’t mean what they say and give their own definition. An example of this is when Jesus said in John 14:12 “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. 13 And I will do whatever you ask in my name, so that the Father may be glorified in the Son. 14 You may ask me for anything in my name, and I will do it.” Jesus even says very truly I tell you, yet the church doesn’t believe.
The problem is that for most Christians, their modified salvation is not as secure as they think it is and many will die with the belief that they were secure even though we were warned. 2 Peter 3:17 “Therefore, dear friends, since you have been forewarned, be on your guard so that you may not be carried away by the error of the lawless and fall from your secure position.” Today most have been carried away by the error of the lawless. The church today should be crying out to God to save them from the desolation, deception and delusion that we find ourselves in but instead Luke 17:26 “just as it was in the days of Noah, so also will it be in the days of the Son of Man. 27 People were eating, drinking, marrying and being given in marriage up to the day Noah entered the ark. Then the flood came and destroyed them all. 28 “It was the same in the days of Lot. People were eating and drinking, buying and selling, planting and building. 29 But the day Lot left Sodom, fire and sulfur rained down from heaven and destroyed them all. 30 “It will be just like this on the day the Son of Man is revealed.” Yes Jesus will return one day and that will be the end but before that men and women around the world need to repent of their wicked ways so that God’s face will shine on us and his power will flow once again just as I read in Luke 10. Right now we see the desolation Jesus warned us about so we must take heed of these words. Jesus warned us Mark 13:37 “What I say to you, I say to everyone: ‘Watch!’” Yet the church did not keep watch even though Jesus said Matthew 24:4 “Watch out that no one deceives you. 5 For many will come in my name, claiming, ‘I am the Messiah,’ and will deceive many. 6 You will hear of wars and rumors of wars, but see to it that you are not alarmed. Such things must happen, but the end is still to come. 7 Nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. There will be famines and earthquakes in various places. 8 All these are the beginning of birth pains. 9 “Then you will be handed over to be persecuted and put to death, and you will be hated by all nations because of me. 10 At that time many will turn away from the faith and will betray and hate each other, 11 and many false prophets will appear and deceive many people. 12 Because of the increase of wickedness, the love of most will grow cold, 13 but the one who stands firm to the end will be saved. 14 And this gospel of the kingdom will be preached in the whole world as a testimony to all nations, and then the end will come.” Since this is already happening we must prepare ourselves for the end. 2 Peter 3:11 “Since everything will be destroyed in this way, what kind of people ought you to be? You ought to live holy and godly lives 12 as you look forward to the day of God and speed it’s coming.” Jesus gave us this warning. Matthew 24:15 “So when you see standing in the holy place ‘the abomination that causes desolation,’ spoken of through the prophet Daniel—let the reader understand— 16 then let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains. 17 Let no one on the housetop go down to take anything out of the house. 18 Let no one in the field go back to get their cloak. 19 How dreadful it will be in those days for pregnant women and nursing mothers! 20 Pray that your flight will not take place in winter or on the Sabbath. 21 For then there will be great distress, unequaled from the beginning of the world until now—and never to be equaled again. 22 “If those days had not been cut short, no one would survive, but for the sake of the elect those days will be shortened. 23 At that time if anyone says to you, ‘Look, here is the Messiah!’ or, ‘There he is!’ do not believe it. 24 For false messiahs and false prophets will appear and perform great signs and wonders to deceive, if possible, even the elect. 25 See, I have told you ahead of time.” This has been happening for 2000 years now, yet many teach that it is coming in the future but the truth of the matter is these words will be spoken to you if you do not turn from your wicked ways. Matthew 25:12 “But he replied, ‘Truly I tell you, I don’t know you.’ 13 “Therefore keep watch, because you do not know the day or the hour. 41 “Then he will say to those on his left, ‘Depart from me, you who are cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels. 46 “Then they will go away to eternal punishment, but the righteous to eternal life.”
The problem is that people have not been prepared to meet Jesus at least the real Jesus, as there are many versions of Jesus out there. Most have been given a fictional version of Jesus, which is the god of their understanding. I say fictional because most churches have added and subtracted from God’s word and have worshiped other gospels in vain. I saw a sign at a church that said call on the name of the Lord and be saved. While this is true, people calling on the Lord are not always saved as it depends on the Lord they are calling on. Matthew 7:21 “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. 22 Many will say to me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name and in your name drive out demons and in your name perform many miracles?’ 23 Then I will tell them plainly, ‘I never knew you. Away from me, you evildoers!” We are supposed to test the spirits and check to see if this is really Jesus. Jesus wasn’t Baptist or Catholic or or or…, he was the way, the truth and the life. So when you call on the Jesus of the Baptists, Methodists, Catholics, Reformed, Brethren, Pentecostals…, you are not calling on the Lord but a distorted version of God’s word, a word altered to serve their own purposes and understanding. Yes I know most will not receive this word but it is better to work out your salvation now than waiting till it is too late. By teaching all that Jesus has warned us about is coming later and teaching a false return and a powerless church has nullified the word of God. If the kingdom comes later then there is no present church, no present power and no eternal life! By following these empty ways, we find ourselves back in the Old Testament where we need to hear these words all over again. As I read this put yourself in these verse. 2 Chronicles 30:6 “People of Israel, return to the Lord, the God of Abraham, Isaac and Israel, that he may return to you who are left, who have escaped from the hand of the kings of Assyria. 7 Do not be like your parents and your fellow Israelites, who were unfaithful to the Lord, the God of their ancestors, so that he made them an object of horror, as you see. 8 Do not be stiff-necked, as your ancestors were; submit to the Lord. Come to his sanctuary, which he has consecrated forever. Serve the Lord your God, so that his fierce anger will turn away from you. 9 If you return to the Lord, then your fellow Israelites and your children will be shown compassion by their captors and will return to this land, for the Lord your God is gracious and compassionate. He will not turn his face from you if you return to him.” We need to hear this over and over until we actually turn away. 1 Chronicles 9:1 said, “All Israel was listed in the genealogies recorded in the book of the kings of Israel and Judah. They were taken captive to Babylon because of their unfaithfulness.” When taken captive by Assyria we are told again 2 Kings 17:7 “All this took place because the Israelites had sinned against the Lord their God.” They would not listen and were as stiff-necked as their ancestors, who did not trust in the Lord their God. 15 They rejected his decrees and the covenant he had made with their ancestors and the statutes he had warned them to keep. They followed worthless idols and themselves became worthless. They imitated the nations around them although the Lord had ordered them, “Do not do as they do.” 16 They forsook all the commands of the Lord their God and made for themselves two idols cast in the shape of calves, and an Asherah pole. They bowed down to all the starry hosts, and they worshiped Baal. 17 They sacrificed their sons and daughters in the fire. They practiced divination and sought omens and sold themselves to do evil in the eyes of the Lord, arousing his anger. 18 So the Lord was very angry with Israel and removed them from his presence. Only the tribe of Judah was left, 19 and even Judah did not keep the commands of the Lord their God. They followed the practices Israel had introduced. 20 Therefore the Lord rejected all the people of Israel; he afflicted them and gave them into the hands of plunderers, until he thrust them from his presence.”
We have done the same by following other gospels and because we have, we have missed out on the power that I read about in Luke 10 and therefore Nehemiah 9:37 “because of our sins, its abundant harvest goes to the kings you have placed over us. They rule over our bodies and our cattle as they please. We are in great distress.” The problem is the church isn’t in great distress as they change God’s word to suit their own needs and feel all is well. Haggai 1:6 “You have planted much, but harvested little. You eat, but never have enough. You drink, but never have your fill. You put on clothes, but are not warm. You earn wages, only to put them in a purse with holes in it.” Jeremiah 8:13 “‘I will take away their harvest, declares the Lord. There will be no grapes on the vine. There will be no figs on the tree, and their leaves will wither. What I have given them will be taken from them.” Jeremiah 5:20 “Announce this to the descendants of Jacob and proclaim it in Judah: 21 Hear this, you foolish and senseless people, who have eyes but do not see, who have ears but do not hear: 22 Should you not fear me?” declares the LORD. “Should you not tremble in my presence? I made the sand a boundary for the sea, an everlasting barrier it cannot cross. The waves may roll, but they cannot prevail; they may roar, but they cannot cross it. 23 But these people have stubborn and rebellious hearts; they have turned aside and gone away. 24 They do not say to themselves, ‘Let us fear the LORD our God, who gives autumn and spring rains in season, who assures us of the regular weeks of harvest.’ 25 Your wrongdoings have kept these away; your sins have deprived you of good.” Judges 6:6 “The Israelites did evil in the eyes of the Lord, and for seven years he gave them into the hands of the Midianites. 2 Because the power of Midian was so oppressive, the Israelites prepared shelters for themselves in mountain clefts, caves and strongholds. 3 Whenever the Israelites planted their crops, the Midianites, Amalekites and other eastern peoples invaded the country. 4 They camped on the land and ruined the crops all the way to Gaza and did not spare a living thing for Israel, neither sheep nor cattle nor donkeys. 5 They came up with their livestock and their tents like swarms of locusts. It was impossible to count them or their camels; they invaded the land to ravage it. 6 Midian so impoverished the Israelites that they cried out to the Lord for help.” Deuteronomy 28:38 “You will sow much seed in the field but you will harvest little, because locusts will devour it.” Micah 6:15 “You will plant but not harvest; you will press olives but not use the oil, you will crush grapes but not drink the wine.”
I think you get my point. We are supposed to be a people of the harvest. Deuteronomy 11:8 “Observe therefore all the commands I am giving you today, so that you may have the strength to go in and take over the land that you are crossing the Jordan to possess, 9 and so that you may live long in the land the Lord swore to your ancestors to give to them and their descendants, a land flowing with milk and honey. 10 The land you are entering to take over is not like the land of Egypt, from which you have come, where you planted your seed and irrigated it by foot as in a vegetable garden. 11 But the land you are crossing the Jordan to take possession of is a land of mountains and valleys that drinks rain from heaven. 12 It is a land the Lord your God cares for; the eyes of the Lord your God are continually on it from the beginning of the year to its end. 13 So if you faithfully obey the commands I am giving you today—to love the Lord your God and to serve him with all your heart and with all your soul— 14 then I will send rain on your land in its season, both autumn and spring rains, so that you may gather in your grain, new wine and olive oil. 15 I will provide grass in the fields for your cattle, and you will eat and be satisfied.” Galatians 6:9 “Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up.” King Asa was told 2 Chronicles 15:7 “But as for you, be strong and do not give up, for your work will be rewarded.” Hebrews 12:11 “No discipline seems pleasant at the time, but painful. Later on, however, it produces a harvest of righteousness and peace for those who have been trained by it.” Malachi 3:10 “Bring the whole tithe into the storehouse, that there may be food in my house. Test me in this,” says the Lord Almighty, “and see if I will not throw open the floodgates of heaven and pour out so much blessing that there will not be room enough to store it.” Deuteronomy 28:8 “The Lord will send a blessing on your barns and on everything you put your hand to. The Lord your God will bless you in the land he is giving you.” Leviticus 26:3 “‘If you follow my decrees and are careful to obey my commands, 4 I will send you rain in its season, and the ground will yield its crops and the trees their fruit. 5 Your threshing will continue until grape harvest and the grape harvest will continue until planting, and you will eat all the food you want and live in safety in your land.”
The key to God’s blessing is “If you follow my decrees and are careful to obey my commands.” God has promised that if we obey him, greater things would come. So while people have trouble with the power of John 14, they forget to learn from the Old Testament. We know that God had blessed David abundantly and also gave him a promise that we saw fulfilled once again with the Harvest Moon the other night. I hope you pause often and thank God for his beautiful creation but when you do that know that God’s promise to David will never be broken till the end of time. Jeremiah 33:14 “The days are coming,’ declares the Lord, ‘when I will fulfill the good promise I made to the people of Israel and Judah. 15 “‘In those days and at that time I will make a righteous Branch sprout from David’s line; he will do what is just and right in the land. 16 In those days Judah will be saved and Jerusalem will live in safety. This is the name by which it will be called: The Lord Our Righteous Savior.’ 17 For this is what the Lord says: ‘David will never fail to have a man to sit on the throne of Israel, 18 nor will the Levitical priests ever fail to have a man to stand before me continually to offer burnt offerings, to burn grain offerings and to present sacrifices.’” 19 The word of the Lord came to Jeremiah: 20 “This is what the Lord says: ‘If you can break my covenant with the day and my covenant with the night, so that day and night no longer come at their appointed time, 21 then my covenant with David my servant—and my covenant with the Levites who are priests ministering before me—can be broken and David will no longer have a descendant to reign on his throne. 22 I will make the descendants of David my servant and the Levites who minister before me as countless as the stars in the sky and as measureless as the sand on the seashore.’” Because of Jesus this applies to us also as does the promise to Abraham. Matthew 1:1 “This is the genealogy of Jesus the Messiah the son of David, the son of Abraham.” Galatians 3:29 “If you belong to Christ, then you are Abraham’s seed, and heirs according to the promise.”
That gives us great hope as we trust in God’s word. We will not be heirs to the throne unless we believe. Notice the Jews rejected their Messiah when he came and now most Gentiles are following other gospels in vain bringing upon us God’s wrath. Even so, God does want to do great things among his faithful followers and will keep his promise to David. When Athaliah ruled the land it appeared all was lost but then in God’s perfect timing 2 Chronicles 23:3 “Jehoiada said to them, “The king’s son shall reign, as the Lord promised concerning the descendants of David.” If we want to live under the promise to David as a descendant in Christ, we must walk faithfully before Him. David said to Solomon 1 Kings 2:2 “I am about to go the way of all the earth,” he said. “So be strong, act like a man, 3 and observe what the Lord your God requires: Walk in obedience to him, and keep his decrees and commands, his laws and regulations, as written in the Law of Moses. Do this so that you may prosper in all you do and wherever you go 4 and that the Lord may keep his promise to me: ‘If your descendants watch how they live, and if they walk faithfully before me with all their heart and soul, you will never fail to have a successor on the throne of Israel.” 2 Chronicles 27:6 “King Jotham grew powerful because he walked steadfastly before the Lord his God.” 2 Chronicles 16:9 “For the eyes of the Lord range throughout the earth to strengthen those whose hearts are fully committed to him.” Psalm 112:1 “Praise the LORD. Blessed are those who fear the LORD, who find great delight in his commands. 2 Their children will be mighty in the land; the generation of the upright will be blessed. 3 Wealth and riches are in their houses, and their righteousness endures forever. 4 Even in darkness light dawns for the upright, for those who are gracious and compassionate and righteous. 5 Good will come to those who are generous and lend freely, who conduct their affairs with justice. 6 Surely the righteous will never be shaken; they will be remembered forever. 7 They will have no fear of bad news; their hearts are steadfast, trusting in the LORD. 8 Their hearts are secure, they will have no fear; in the end they will look in triumph on their foes. 9 They have freely scattered their gifts to the poor, their righteousness endures forever; their horn will be lifted high in honor. 10 The wicked will see and be vexed, they will gnash their teeth and waste away; the longings of the wicked will come to nothing.”
I have always believed there has to be more than what we have been raised with. So far all I have seen is nothingness and a powerless church that people call christianity but that is not the church of scripture. It doesn’t matter if there are three or thousands; going to church is far different than being the church empowered by the Holy Spirit. As we see in the church today, believing that the empty powerless way is the way, is deception. Yes many churches will say they have thousands even millions following but what are they following and have they really been saved. I believe it is one of the great deceptions. It happens because of our disobedience. God also brings delusion upon his people if they disobey so that they actually think they are His people when if fact they are not. In some cases they will only find out when it is too late. Thankfully, due to David’s promise, there will always be a remnant. I say again, work out your salvation and make sure. Don’t just say you are a good Catholic….etc., who follows all the rules. Make sure you are following the way, truth and life. The rich man in this passage represents the modern church, as there are many faithful followers of churchianity. Mark 10:20 “Teacher,” he declared, “all these I have kept since I was a boy.” 21 Jesus looked at him and loved him. “One thing you lack,” he said. “Go, sell everything you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me.” 22 At this the man’s face fell. He went away sad, because he had great wealth. 23 Jesus looked around and said to his disciples, “How hard it is for the rich to enter the kingdom of God!” Most in the church have been deceived and most will not give themselves fully to God. God is asking that you give yourselves wholeheartedly to Him yet Mark 7:7 “‘These people honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me. “They worship me in vain; their teachings are merely human rules.’ 8 You have let go of the commands of God and are holding on to human traditions.” 9 And he continued, “You have a fine way of setting aside the commands of God in order to observe your own traditions!”
God wants to do so much more than what we are seeing and because of the covenant to Abraham and the promise to David being fulfilled in Jesus Christ; we can plead for more. Right now as we talked about last week we are only seeing what it is like to serve other kings and the gods of our understanding. 2 Chronicles 12:8 “They will, however, become subject to him, so that they may learn the difference between serving me and serving the kings of other lands.” But are we really learning the difference? Do we really want to know God in the fullest? Do we really want Him to pour out his blessing upon us? Do we really trust his word? I believe most don’t because they refuse to repent of their wicked ways. Jeremiah 5:3 “Lord, do not your eyes look for truth? You struck them, but they felt no pain; you crushed them, but they refused correction. They made their faces harder than stone and refused to repent.” If we would just turn from our wicked ways, trust in God’s word and live wholeheartedly and steadfastly before him, God will pour out so much blessing we will not have room for it. Just a reminder read Deuteronomy 28 and Leviticus 26 again.
If we go back to Solomon becoming king, we see a blessing that gives us great hope. It also gives us understanding of what God wants to do for us. 1 Kings 1:36 “Benaiah son of Jehoiada answered the king, “Amen! May the Lord, the God of my lord the king, so declare it. 37 As the Lord was with my lord the king, so may he be with Solomon to make his throne even greater than the throne of my lord King David! 47 Also, the royal officials have come to congratulate our lord King David, saying, ‘May your God make Solomon’s name more famous than yours and his throne greater than yours!” David had an amazing kingdom but then look what God did for Solomon. He did make it greater yet Solomon was unfaithful and lost it and that is exactly what he was told would happen if he disobeyed. Look at Jeroboam and the amazing promise God gave him, yet he lost it because of disobedience. Look at the promise given to David and see what God wants to make greater. 2 Samuel 7:8 “Now then, tell my servant David, ‘This is what the Lord Almighty says: I took you from the pasture, from tending the flock, and appointed you ruler over my people Israel. 9 I have been with you wherever you have gone, and I have cut off all your enemies from before you. Now I will make your name great, like the names of the greatest men on earth. 10 And I will provide a place for my people Israel and will plant them so that they can have a home of their own and no longer be disturbed. Wicked people will not oppress them anymore, as they did at the beginning 11 and have done ever since the time I appointed leaders over my people Israel. I will also give you rest from all your enemies. “‘The Lord declares to you that the Lord himself will establish a house for you: 12 When your days are over and you rest with your ancestors, I will raise up your offspring to succeed you, your own flesh and blood, and I will establish his kingdom. 13 He is the one who will build a house for my Name, and I will establish the throne of his kingdom forever. 14 I will be his father, and he will be my son. When he does wrong, I will punish him with a rod wielded by men, with floggings inflicted by human hands. 15 But my love will never be taken away from him, as I took it away from Saul, whom I removed from before you. 16 Your house and your kingdom will endure forever before me; your throne will be established forever.’” Solomon even acknowledged his responsibility to be faithful. David responds saying 2 Samuel 7:27 “Lord Almighty, God of Israel, you have revealed this to your servant, saying, ‘I will build a house for you.’ So your servant has found courage to pray this prayer to you. 28 Sovereign Lord, you are God! Your covenant is trustworthy, and you have promised these good things to your servant. 29 Now be pleased to bless the house of your servant, that it may continue forever in your sight; for you, Sovereign Lord, have spoken, and with your blessing the house of your servant will be blessed forever.”
Solomon then says1 Kings 8:25 “Now Lord, the God of Israel, keep for your servant David my father the promises you made to him when you said, ‘You shall never fail to have a successor to sit before me on the throne of Israel, if only your descendants are careful in all they do to walk before me faithfully as you have done.’ 26 And now, God of Israel, let your word that you promised your servant David my father come true.” Yes most have distorted the promise to David thinking they can go their own way with no punishment but just look at Solomon and the Kings who followed that were disobedient. Yes God totally turned away from Saul and David became king. 1 Chronicles 10:13 “Saul died because he was unfaithful to the Lord; he did not keep the word of the Lord and even consulted a medium for guidance, 14 and did not inquire of the Lord. So the Lord put him to death and turned the kingdom over to David son of Jesse.” Solomon because of disobedience lost his kingdom as did Jeroboam and in the end even the remnant went into exile. 2 Chronicles 36:20 “He carried into exile to Babylon the remnant, who escaped from the sword, and they became servants to him and his successors until the kingdom of Persia came to power. 21 The land enjoyed its sabbath rests; all the time of its desolation it rested, until the seventy years were completed in fulfillment of the word of the Lord spoken by Jeremiah.” So when people tell you pray a little pray but don’t tell you to live wholeheartedly or there will be repercussions, find another church.
Even though Solomon had built a great temple, it was destroyed twice because of disobedience. Yet even when they returned from exile to rebuild the temple the second time, God wanted to make it greater. No not structurally but His glory which we see at Pentecost. Haggai 2:9 ‘The glory of this present house will be greater than the glory of the former house,’ says the Lord Almighty. ‘And in this place I will grant peace,’ declares the Lord Almighty.” If they had just obeyed, all would be different. Now move ahead to when the prince of peace, Jesus came and now Ephesians 1:19 “Consequently, you are no longer foreigners and strangers, but fellow citizens with God’s people and also members of his household, 20 built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, with Christ Jesus himself as the chief cornerstone. 21 In him the whole building is joined together and rises to become a holy temple in the Lord. 22 And in him you too are being built together to become a dwelling in which God lives by his Spirit.” But then look at 2 Thessalonians 2:4 “He will oppose and will exalt himself over everything that is called God or is worshiped, so that he sets himself up in God’s temple, proclaiming himself to be God.” Once again the temple was in trouble but this time Jesus is still the cornerstone not destroyed. This happened once again because of disobedience. But it can all change if we turn form our wicked ways and repent. Jesus said, Matthew 12:6 “I tell you that something greater than the temple is here.” God continues to want to make things greater. What does greater looker like now. One thing it isn’t is a mega church with no power. We are not talking about a building being greater yet this is how most judge greatness in the church today. People flocked to Willow creek yet look what happened. That was not great things.
This is what greater looks like. Jesus gives us authority and power to defeat the work of the devil just as he did. We must have the power to remove him from the temple. He sent out his disciples in power to show us what to expect for all his disciples at Pentecost. Think back to David and Solomon and hear this verse again. Jesus said John 14:12 “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. 13 And I will do whatever you ask in my name, so that the Father may be glorified in the Son. 14 You may ask me for anything in my name, and I will do it.” As I have said before, isn’t it tiring to hear people say we can’t and this verse doesn’t mean what it says or this verse only applied to these few disciples or apostles or the early church only. Luke 9:1 “When Jesus had called the Twelve together, he gave them power and authority to drive out all demons and to cure diseases, 2 and he sent them out to proclaim the kingdom of God and to heal the sick.” Jesus said Luke 11:20 “But if I drive out demons by the finger of God, then the kingdom of God has come upon you.” The kingdom is here and yes God wants to do greater things in his kingdom. He then sends his church to do the same. Matthew 11:4 “Jesus replied, “Go back and report to John what you hear and see: 5 The blind receive sight, the lame walk, those who have leprosy are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, and the good news is proclaimed to the poor. 6 Blessed is anyone who does not stumble on account of me.”
This is supposed to be the church. We need the power of the Holy Spirit so we can defeat our enemies otherwise we will be defeated. We are supposed to have greater power than our enemies. 2 Chronicles 32:7 “Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid or discouraged because of the king of Assyria and the vast army with him, for there is a greater power with us than with him.” We don’t have to be afraid of the enemy who may appear greater than ours because our God is greater than all gods. Because God wants to do greater things, we will once again take the land. Deuteronomy 9:1 “Hear, Israel: You are now about to cross the Jordan to go in and dispossess nations greater and stronger than you, with large cities that have walls up to the sky.” Deuteronomy 4:38 to drive out before you nations greater and stronger than you and to bring you into their land to give it to you for your inheritance, as it is today.” Deuteronomy 20:1 “When you go to war against your enemies and see horses and chariots and an army greater than yours, do not be afraid of them, because the Lord your God, who brought you up out of Egypt, will be with you.”
But do you know that our God is greater. Do you really believe? Deuteronomy 7:17 “You may say to yourselves, “These nations are stronger than we are. How can we drive them out?” 18 But do not be afraid of them; remember well what the Lord your God did to Pharaoh and to all Egypt. 19 You saw with your own eyes the great trials, the signs and wonders, the mighty hand and outstretched arm, with which the Lord your God brought you out. The Lord your God will do the same to all the peoples you now fear. 20 Moreover, the Lord your God will send the hornet among them until even the survivors who hide from you have perished. 21 Do not be terrified by them, for the Lord your God, who is among you, is a great and awesome God.” Job came to a new understanding when he said Job 42:1 “Then Job replied to the Lord: 2 “I know that you can do all things; no purpose of yours can be thwarted.” Exodus 18:9 “Jethro was delighted to hear about all the good things the Lord had done for Israel in rescuing them from the hand of the Egyptians. 10 He said, “Praise be to the Lord, who rescued you from the hand of the Egyptians and of Pharaoh, and who rescued the people from the hand of the Egyptians. 11 Now I know that the Lord is greater than all other gods, for he did this to those who had treated Israel arrogantly.” Nehemiah 8:6 “Ezra praised the Lord, the great God; and all the people lifted their hands and responded, “Amen! Amen!” Then they bowed down and worshiped the Lord with their faces to the ground.” Deuteronomy 4:7 “What other nation is so great as to have their gods near them the way the Lord our God is near us whenever we pray to him?”
This is why we wait. We are supposed to pray and God answers our prayers. We are supposed to defeat our enemies not be defeated by them. God is his great mercy continues to want to do greater things for those who turn from their wicked ways. Just as they wanted greater things for Solomon after David, God wants to do greater things for us who believe. In order for this to happen, we must believe God at his word. God will always keep his promise to those who faithfully seek him. John 10:10 (ESV) “The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may have life and have it abundantly.” Luke 24:45 “Then he opened their minds so they could understand the Scriptures. 46 He told them, “This is what is written: The Messiah will suffer and rise from the dead on the third day, 47 and repentance for the forgiveness of sins will be preached in his name to all nations, beginning at Jerusalem. 48 You are witnesses of these things. 49 I am going to send you what my Father has promised; but stay in the city until you have been clothed with power from on high.” Acts 1:8 “But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.”
