Jesus Is Enough: Believing, Asking, and the Greater Works He Promised

If you brought your word, I just want you to hold it up in the air. And every person that's with me today, we're going to shout word on the count of three because we want to receive a word from God today. Everyone shout word on the count of three. Here we go. 1 2 3. Word. We're getting into God's word that God's word gets into us. We want to hear from God today. Uh part of my testimony is I never really knew my dad. He walked out on our family when I was just two years old. So I really don't have any memories of him. He never wrote any letters, never gave any gifts. He never paid any child support, was never in my life. And as as a result of that, one of the things I did as a kid is I had a lot of questions about my dad. And as I asked those questions about my dad, those questions were met with resistance. So I never got any answers about really who he was. And so I just learned to quit

asking questions. And and by the time I was 18, I was now an adult. I got to do things on my own and I decided I'm going to meet my dad. I don't really know what my expectations were. I I think I had a lot of fantasies in my head of what would happen when I I met him. What but I decided to take matters into my own hands. Now, this is way back in the day. Uh this is before the days of iPhones, so you couldn't talk into your phone to help you. Uh you couldn't ask AI how to do these things. I did it the oldfashioned way. I I was I heard some rumors that my family had some roots in Oregon. Uh I was born and raised in California. So when I came through Oregon at the age of 18, what I did is I went to these big books called phone books where it it just it gave

everybody's phone numbers. Now today, I don't even know my kids' phone numbers, you know? I just tell my phone to call them and it does. But back in the day, we used to have to memorize phone numbers and we used to look them up in these book big books. You remember how we'd get them once or twice a year? just they were delivered on your front doorstep and it was like what a job that would be to deliver phone books and uh I don't know what those people are doing today but uh I was I was just I was on a mission and I I I would go through and my last name is the paternal name is Kirk Patrick and uh I would look up Kirkpatrick's and believe it or not there's a lot of Kirkpatricks in Oregon. So, I just went through every single one of them and just started dialing the phone number. You know, it wasn't push but just dialing the phone number, right? And I to be honest, like I'm just I'm really a person of faith. It's the way God made me even early. And so, I don't even know what I was expecting to say or do when I got him on the other

line, but I eventually got him. And I was like, "Hey, do you want to meet and uh decided to meet with me?" And uh we met at every place that you meet your dad for the first time, we met at a casino. uh on right on I5. That was the first time I met my dad at age 18. And uh I took some pictures with him is when you printed pictures back in the day. And I'll tell you, although I was meeting him face to face for the first time and I was asking questions and uh all of a sudden all these childhood fantasies of questions were were right in front of me, he shared my DNA, but he didn't feel like my dad. And I'll tell you the years to come. Nor did he ever make up for all those long lost years. I mean, we just kind of lost contact again. And and I one of the

things I've discovered in my life because I met Jesus as a young person. I was about the age of 15 years old when I heard about Jesus and I gave my life to him. I believed in Jesus for the forgiveness of my sins. I got the hope of heaven. But I got so much more with Jesus. I got a heavenly father. And this heavenly father has been faithful. This heavenly father has been kind. This heavenly co father has been a protector, a provider. This this heavenly father has been so good and so great. And I get all of this in Jesus. And today my aim is that you understand that you two have a heavenly father that's far superior than any earthly father. And this heavenly father is found in none other than the person of Jesus.

We've been on a journey in the book of John looking at the life of Jesus through the lens of someone who walked with Jesus. He talked with Jesus. We even read in the book of John that he touched Jesus. He leaned into Jesus. And John writes about who Jesus really is. And in the last hour of Jesus life, he he records the words of Jesus. And this is where we find ourselves today. This is what matters most. Last week, we started off in John 14:1. And Jesus says, "When your hearts are troubled, you have one thing to do. Believe in me." Jesus says, he says, "In times of trouble, believe in God. Believe also in me." The implication that I'm reading between the lines here is is that during times of trouble, you're you're going to be prone to wander. You're going to be

prone to to do some dumb things. You're going to be you're going to turn away from God. And Jesus says, "In trouble, believe in God. Believe also in me." And then he lifts our heads up a little higher and says, "It's not just that. I'm leaving you to prepare a place for you." And he describes our our eternity as a home, as a father's home. I don't know what you think about heaven, but Jesus wants you to think well of heaven. That this earth is not your home. This is temporary. This is just a journey to something far greater. And Jesus says he's getting it ready for you right now. That you would turn your hope heavenward, not to the things you can see, not to the things you can feel, but the things you can believe in.

And as he's explaining these things, there's a man named Thomas. Do you guys know what he's been nicknamed over the years? He's been called doubting Thomas. But I actually appreciate Thomas because he's asking the question that all of us really want to know. Jesus, I don't know where you're going. Could you give us the address or at least like just tell us the way? How do we get to that home? How do we get to that place? And that's where we pick up today where we left off that I'm so glad Jesus didn't leave Thomas lingering like, "If you can't pass this test, Thomas, you're not getting there." No, he didn't say that. He's like, "I'll tell you, Thomas." So, this is where we pick up today where we left off. We're in John chapter 14. We're going to start with verse 6 and we're going to work our way through verse 14 today. It looks

like a little, but we got a lot to cover today. Would you stand for the reading of God's word? I'll read this to you and then I'll try to give you an application for your life today. John 14 6-14. Jesus said to him, "I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the father except through me. If you had known me, you would have known my father also. From now on, you do know him and have seen him." Philillip said to him, "Lord, show us the father and it is enough for us." Jesus said to him, "Have I been with you so long and you still do not know me, Philillip? Whoever has seen me has seen the father. How can you say, "Show us the Father?" 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 who dwells in me does his works. Believe me that I am in the Father and the Father is in me, or else believe on the account of the works themselves. Truly, truly, I say to you, whoever believes in me will also do the works that I do, and greater works than these will he do, because I am going to the Father. Whatever you ask in my name, this I will do that the Father may be glorified in the Son. If you ask me anything in my name, I will do it. This is the word of the Lord. You may be seated.

It's curious to me that over the ages many have still come to the conclusions that there are many ways to God. In fact, we are living in a world today that so many will say there are many different truths. But Jesus explicitly says here exclusively that he is the way and the truth and the life. He lets us know that you you can't come up with your own conclusions. You can't say there are many religions and they're all equal. You can't come up with your own conclusions of what you think truth is or what someone else has told you truth is. Truth is found in Jesus. And as we learned last week, every single one of your needs, it doesn't matter how old you are or who you are or where you came from, every one of your needs can be found in Jesus.

He is the answer to every single one of your questions. He's the solution to every single one of your problems. Everything you need that the greatest counsel I could ever give you is to turn to Jesus, to trust in Jesus, to hope in Jesus, to believe Jesus. You want the hope of eternal life? It's not found in being a better person or being more religious or going to church. The hope of heaven is found in Jesus. And Jesus refers to God not as a distant deity, not with a name that none of us can relate to. He tells us God is a father. And if you have seen Jesus, you've seen the father. You can know the father through Jesus. Jesus doesn't need to

explain the father. He just simply has to say, "Look at me and you've seen the father. You want to know who God is? Just look at me. It's like the way that Paul words it to the Colossians in chapter 1 verse 15 when he says, "He, Jesus, is the image of the invisible God." That is God eternal who's forever been God and will forever be God, all powerful, all knowing. If you want to know him, just get to know Jesus. He is God. So the more you know Jesus, the more you know God. And then there's Phillip. I don't know why we don't call Philillip the doubting Phillip, but Philillip's here. He's hearing Jesus say these things. And Philillip simply says,

"Lord, show us the father and it is enough for us." Thomas wanted to know the way to the father's house. And Philip wants to now know the father. What I love about Jesus just in a few verses here, because at the end of chapter 13, it was Peter who said, "Oh Lord, I will die for you." And the Lord's like, "No, Peter, you will deny me three times before the rooster crows." And Jesus doesn't do what most of us would do. He does not cancel Peter. He does not cancel Thomas. He does not cancel Philillip. He meets them in their doubts. He meets them right where they are. Which today, you need to know this about Jesus. He's going to meet you right where you are. You don't have to have it all figured out. You don't have to be perfect. You don't have to be

smart enough or more talented enough or be born into the right family or or or go to the right church. What you really need is Jesus because he's going to meet you and all your questions and all your overconfidence. He's going to meet you right there in that place. And you got to give it to Philillip that he at least wants more of what Jesus is talking about. It reminds me of Jacob who is running from his brother Esau and he meets God in the flesh. And what does he do with God that day? He says, "Bless me." He simply says, "I will not let go of you until you bless me." And what does God do that day? He not only blesses him, he gives him a new name, a new destiny. you will fulfill this promise that was found

in your grandfather Abraham and in your father Isaac. And he gives him a new name, not just Jacob, but Israel. And just as a reminder today that you've wrestled with God and you have prevailed, I'm going to touch your hip so you have a gangster limp the rest of your life and remember where you've been. You remember who you are. You remember who I am. And I imagine here Philillip is like, "Come on, I just want to know the father." Like like Moses who who so longed for more of God. He met with God on Mount Si. He met with God in the burning bush. He he he met so much with God, but it wasn't enough. It was Moses that petitioned in Exodus 33:18. Please show me your glory.

You want to know what kind of prayer you should be praying on the way to church? Please show me your glory. That's the prayer I'm praying over this place before you even arrive is God. Let your glory fall on this place because that's when you know it's it's God. This is a strip mall. But how can this place be a place of transformation? But God, he will meet with a shepherd up on a mountain through a burning bush because it's God that does it. He doesn't need the best. He is the best. And so if you just petition and ask God, he's going to give it to you. And Philillip is over here Jesus saying, "If you've seen me, you've seen the father." And Philip's like, "Hey, could you show us the father? I got to give it to him. His heart's in the right place." But Jesus said to him in verse 9, "Have I been with you so long, Philillip, you

don't even know me? Because if you know me, you know the father. Do you not believe?" He says in verse 10, "Do you not believe that I am in the Father and the Father is in me. The words I say, I'm not saying this on my own, but the Father who dwells in me, he does his works. He does it." Jesus, fully man, fully God, pointing us to the one triune God, the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, perfectly one. Not three gods, one. We are united. We are one. You want to know the father? Just get to know me. And then he says in verse 11, believe. Everyone shout believe. Believe me that I am in the father and the father's in me. Here it is. You want to get to know the father?

Believe me, but or else believe on the account of the works themselves. Philip said it would be enough to see the father. If I could get a glimpse of God, Jesus, that would be enough. And Jesus is simply saying I am enough. Jesus is enough. You do not need another revelation. You do not need another prophet. Oh my friend, you you do not need another encounter somewhere else. What you really need is Jesus. Amen. You don't need another sign. You need Jesus. Jesus is enough. I would just say it again today so you get this. Jesus is enough. Amen. Would you say that with me? Jesus is enough. Come on. That's something you ought to shout to yourself always

because at some m moment you're going to say I'm not sure you're enough Jesus. Like Philillip, you're going to say, "I just need something else." Like Philillip, you're going to say, "I just need something more." And at some place, you got to speak to your heart and say, "Jesus is enough." He doesn't cancel you when you question him. Rather, he keeps coming back to the reality. He is the answer to every one of your questions. This is what makes Jesus so unique. There's never been a man like him and there will never be one like him because Jesus is God. Jesus is the revelation of God. He's not just a man. He is almighty God. It's not 5050. It's 100 and 100. He's demonstrated the power of God in man. And he shows the potential of what happens when we believe in him. He's not

just a reflection of God. He's not just a good guy or a good teacher or even a prophet. He is Messiah, the one and only Christ. He is God who's come in the flesh. The writer of Hebrews says in chapter 1 verse three, he referring to Jesus is the radiance of the glory of God and the exact imprint of his nature. He Jesus, he upholds the universe by the word of his power. Come on. I don't know how much power you have today, but I would just say this. Jesus has all power. He has all authority. He's holding the universe together as we're here right now. Some of y'all had a hard time getting out of bed and getting here. But I just tell you, Jesus, he

stayed up all night just singing over you with his love. He's just getting ready to give you what you ask for, but he needs you to awaken your soul to who he actually is. that you pray to an actual God who's actually alive who actually holds everything together. He is God Almighty. That means if you want to get to know God, get to know Jesus. You want to know what kind of father God is? Look to Jesus. He's the God that just doesn't leave you hanging at your wedding when you run out of wine. That's what kind of a father you have. And when he gives you wine, he doesn't give you the least. He doesn't give you the worst. He actually gives you so much wine, you're going to have so much left over. And he gives you the

best of the best of the best because he wants you to know that you're made in his image and he's the best. That's what kind of a father you have. We We have a father that will take the lame, who can't walk, and he will actually say, "Go ahead and get up and carry your mat. You're not going to be like this any longer." That mat's not going to define your story anymore. You're not going to stay in that place. I know you've been there a long time, but you want to know who the father is? He's going to tell you, "I got greater plans than you staying in that place. You're going to take up that mat and walk." That's your heavenly father. How do you get to know that father? Look to Jesus. He is the father that touches the untouchable. At a time when lepers who had soores all over their bodies were unclean, Jesus is the one that touched

the leper because he lets us know that we have a father that touches us. He sees you even when you're unclean. Even when the whole world sees you as untouchable, he's the God that comes into your story and says, "Oh, my love is with you." When your heart is broken because of the loss of a loved one, God is not distant. We see Jesus when he's at Lazarus's tomb. What does he do? He weeps. The father's heart weeps with you. You want to know what kind of heavenly father you have? Just look to Jesus. He He longs to meet you where you are. If you're blind, oh, we should learn from Bararddameus who called on the name of Jesus.

And when everyone else tried to push Barameus away, Jesus said to Bararddameus, "What can I do for you? What do you want? Are you ready to answer that question from Jesus today? Barnameus knew exactly what he wanted. He wanted a new vision for his life. Give me my sight. That's what I want. You're the giver of vision and I want some today. And you know what Jesus gave him? He gave him his eyesight back. But lest you think that our father works the exact same way with every single person, that's not how Jesus works. He healed many blind men with Bararddameus. He just did it. But there's another man in John chapter nine that he spit in the dirt, made a mud pie, and said, "You go wash it off on your own." Sometimes Jesus going to include you in the story.

For another man, he healed a man and he asked him, "Well, what do you see?" And he said, "Well, I see trees walking around." Sometimes you're going to ask for something. It's not going to be complete because Jesus doesn't work in the same way with every single one of us. Because like a father who's going to meet with his kids in the way they need to be met with, he's going to meet with us. You want to know what kind of a father you have in heaven? Look to Jesus. You can know the father's love through the love of Jesus. When Jesus washed our feet and now said, "Now you go do this." He's a living example of the father's love. when he gave a new commandment that you go love one another, not the way that you would love yourself, but the way I've loved you. You go love one another. That's the father's love. You want to know who God is? Look to Jesus.

I don't know where you were yesterday, and I'm not going to judge you. If you carried a sign somewhere, I'm not going to judge you. I would just say this. If you want to know where the hope of this world is, I need to make it explicitly clear at this church. It's all about Jesus. And I have no problem calling him who he is. He is the king. And we will surrender to him. We will be unashamed of the gospel of Jesus Christ. For it is the power to save the worst of sinners. So I'm here to say our hope is not in the government. So quit thinking that they're going to fix our problems. Our hope is not in religion. Our hope is in Jesus Christ. So I say to you, look to Jesus.

Jesus brings power. Jesus brings God's presence. Some of us have had some really poor examples of a father. And maybe today, like my story, you had no earthly father. I know I'm not alone. I I know some dads are gone before the baby's even born. I may have helped make that child, but I'm not going to help raise that child. I know some dads walk out when it's tough. And so, if you're in my situation where you just did not know your earthly dad, I've come here to let you know that you have a heavenly father who's more consistent than you could ever imagine. And Jesus with his own words said, "I will never leave you. I will never forsake you." And it was Jesus that says, "I've actually not only been with

you, but I will be with you even to the end of the age." So, if you didn't have a dad, I want to let you know, you can have the same heavenly father I have. You just have to be adopted into this family. And John says it's simple. Believe in Jesus and you're a child of God. He's your heavenly father as well. And you don't have to call him an adopted dad. You can actually call him Aba. You can call him the dad that disciplines you, the dad that provides for you. He is the dad that becomes your all and all and you have access to him through Jesus Christ. Now I know some of you did have an earthly dad and some of your dads were distant. Maybe they misused you or they abused you with words or even worse physically. Some of your dads were distant in love. You wanted to be hugged. You wanted to be told that you're loved by your father.

And although he was in your life, he did not demonstrate to you the love that God created in you to experience. And if you had an earthly dad that let you down, may I just tell you, do not look to that earthly father for your identity. Turn to your heavenly father. Turn to your heavenly father for hope. And there are many people today that have trauma in their lives. They have to turn to counseling. And I will say that because it's real. But I also want you to know that Jesus can fix in a moment what a counselor couldn't do in a lifetime. You don't need to pop a pill. You you don't need to sit here and work out who you were as a child. You just simply now need to identify and understand your identity. I'm a child of God. I always feel like I need to preface because I'll get some email. Listen, counseling is not bad. The Holy Spirit's called the counselor. If you need counseling right now, that's good because we all need counseling.

But what I do want to speak into your life is something even greater that we have a real God that can do more in just a moment than anyone else. Do not put your hope in that counselor. Put your hope in Jesus. So see the counselor, but make sure you're actually seeing the Holy Spirit even more. Now, some of you today, you actually had a great dad. Your dad loved you well. He was a good earthly father. He was a provider for you. Your your family's home was protected. It was a place of peace. He gave you hugs. And maybe he told you he loves you. And if that's you and you had a great dad, that's good. You should never feel guilty for that. I've just come to tell you that what your dad's given you a glimpse of is just a taste of something even greater. Your heavenly father who loves you even more. So don't long for something on earth that God can even give you greater

in heaven. So you can celebrate your earthly father but I also want you to celebrate something greater. Your father who is supreme over all that is your heavenly father. That when you get to know him it changes everything. What do I mean by it changes everything? Well, what I mean is the presence of God is the power of God, and that ought to change everything. Look at Jesus. John 14:12, he says, "Truly, truly, I say to you." Now, does Jesus mean everything else he's been saying isn't the truth? No. No. No. That's actually he he's trying to get your attention. He's about to drop a bomb on you, and he needs you to like pay attention. All right, y'all didn't get the father thing. You you you didn't get the trouble thing. So, all right. Truly, truth. I'm gonna share with you a truth. So Jesus wants to awaken something inside of you. Listen up. Whoever believes in me. Can I just get everyone to shout whoever? Whoever.

Are there any whoevers in the room today? Aren't you glad that Jesus did did did not give any type of qualification for whoever is. You better be good enough. You better be born into the right family. You better make sure you join the right church or right religion. No, the whoever's pretty wide open. Reminds me of the invitation in John 3:16 when Jesus is speaking to Nicodemus. For God so loved the world that he gave his only son that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. Which is why a three-year-old could do it, a 13-year-old could do it, a 30-year-old, or some of you still need to say yes to Jesus. And you're much older than 30. It's never too late with God. Whoever means whoever, but the condition here is you must believe.

is not go do and then God's going to do something for you. It's believe and look what God's going to do. Whoever believes in me will also do the works that I do and greater works than these will he do because I'm going to the father. Did he just say you'll do greater works than him? Yeah, that should mess with your theology just a little bit. The word theology just means the study of God. And we ought to all be theologians. You you should all study the Bible. You should doctrine matters. You You should get to know God. Even if you don't feel like you know m much now, you can still study God. And this is one of those verses that ought to mess with your theology. And I'll tell you two extremes. And I saw it this week when I even studied this text. Here's the two extremes. On one extreme, someone will say, "Well, Jesus didn't really mean what he said." So, let me use some theological gymnastics to jump around the Bible and tell you why you can't do

what Jesus just said you could do. So, so one person will really discourage you and say, "Oh, settle down. Uh, don't take Jesus too seriously here. Uh, we want to make sure that you understand this. What Jesus meant is not what he meant. So, make sure you don't believe this." And so, there are preachers, there are pastors, there are messages that will say this, and it's not just some. I will just say there there's a great deal of people that will actually say Jesus didn't mean what you're reading here. And then on the other opposite extreme, there will be some people that will that will call you into craziness. They're fanatics. What I mean by that is that if Jesus walked on water, then I want you to take off your shoes and you'll walk on fire. Come on, somebody. Uh, we're going to do it right now. Come on. He said you're going to hold snakes. You're going to hold snakes. Here's a snake. All right.

So, there's some people on one side of the pendulum, it's you're not going to do this at all. And then on the other side of the pendulum, we're actually going to be really dumb. What I don't want you to think I'm trying to convince you to do is be in the middle ground. I want you to know the truth. And Jesus says,"I am the way and the truth." So, so we want to learn from Jesus. And when we learn from Jesus, we we teach this all the time here. The best way to learn about God is scripture. And the best way to learn scripture is with scripture. You can go to seminary and learn from teachers, but you should really learn from God. and and that I'm not saying it's wrong to learn from a preacher or teacher, but really the greatest rabbi of all is Jesus. And so I want to just give you an idea of what he is saying and what he's not saying. Let's just

first better understand that Jesus is not saying then you'll be he's not saying that you will be greater than his nature. So Jesus is God and you are not. So you could just be really comfortable with that today. Jesus is not calling you to try to be God like he is God. One with the father and one with the Holy Spirit. So that's a big relief today. That should make you relax a little bit. All right? So he's not saying, "Hey, I need you to be God." Not not what he's saying here. He's saying you'll do greater things not in nature, but in the scope. What do I mean by scope? What I mean by that is Jesus, if you actually look at his life, he did not get on a train or a plane or or any type of self-driving automobile. Uh if you look at the life of Jesus, he he stuck around

in a relatively safe space in terms of the planet within a hundred miles. He mostly hung out in a place that most people wouldn't hang out. It was a place called Galilee. When you go to Jerusalem or go to Israel with us next year, we'll actually go to the Sea of Galilee. We'll go to Tiberius. And it's a bunch of fishing villages. it it's it's a bunch of bluecollared normal people. That's who Jesus liked to hang out with. And Jesus did a lot of that in his life. He was raised in a little town called Nazareth. And it was said, "Could anything good come out of Nazareth?" So, so if we look at the life of Jesus, it actually looked pretty simple for being God.

But we see God in Jesus. And what did he do? Well, we we know exactly what he did because the Bible tells us he preached. He cast out demons. He healed. He raised the dead. And as we'll see in just a moment, he tells us to do the same. So, how in the world could we do more than Jesus if he raised the dead, cast out demon, and healed the sick? Well, right away, we see this in the early church, and it's awesome. You want to see the potential of Jesus? In just one minute, God can do more with us than he did in his lifetime if we believe in him. Let me give you an example. Jesus told his followers after he ascended into heaven, "I want you to go to Jerusalem and wait." While they were waiting, they were praying. I'll tell you more about that prayer in just a moment. They were praying and the Holy Spirit falls on 120 people and there was a sound of a mighty

rushing wind in the room of 120 people and there was tongues of fire on each of their heads and they started speaking different languages. And as they're doing this, God is showing us what greater works looks like. There were thousands of people that could hear them because it was Pentecost in Jerusalem and there was confusion. But we do not have a God of confusion. Someone said, "You must be drunk." But Peter stood up in boldness and with clarity by the power of the Holy Spirit. And he preached Jesus crucified. He preached that Jesus rose from the grave. And the Bible tells us on that first day that the church was born in Acts 2:41. So those who received his word were baptized and there were added that day about 3,000 souls.

Come on somebody. One sermon did more ministry than we look at Jesus lifetime. Meaning when you look at the followers of Jesus, he started with 12. Then we see 72. And then we see as this thing grows, Jesus often grew it smaller as we see in John chapter 6. When people heard the hard sermons, those disciples were out. There weren't many followers of Jesus. In fact, how many were there in the upper room in Acts chapter 1? 120. That's not a big megaurch. But when the Holy Spirit meets you in that place, you go from a tiny church to a mega church in just one moment. Let me give you just one more quick example.

Jesus mostly stuck in in Galilee. this upper part of Israel. It's called the northern part of Palestine at the time. That's what the Romans called it. They didn't know what to call this this region. And and and they he stayed in this relatively uh small space. But the early church spread. They went to Asia, Africa, all over. They didn't they weren't confined to Palestine. It was Paul that that commanded that he go to Rome to speak to the greatest emperor ever on earth. It here they are spreading in the infancy of the church by the first century. It spreads so wildly. Here we are 2,000 years later still celebrating that God can use fishermen, tax collectors, sinners, prostitutes. He

will use anybody that's willing to believe in him. And you will do greater things than these. So, you might be here today thinking, "I'm not sure what I can do." Well, the disciples Jesus chose was a rag tag, rag a muffin team. And in Acts chap uh Acts chapter 10, we see that Jesus would send a message even to the Gentiles, the non-Jews. These were the ones that didn't follow the Torah, the Jewish scriptures. And when Peter made it into their house, here's what Peter preached. As for the word of the Lord that he sent to Israel, Acts 10:36, preaching the good news of peace through Jesus Christ, he is Lord of all. So, so Peter's now preaching to people who don't even trust in the scriptures, but he's saying Jesus is the Messiah. You yourselves know what happened throughout all Judea. You've heard about this beginning from Galilee after the baptism that John proclaimed.

Listen carefully. How God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and with power. There's a triune God right here. God the Father, Jesus the Son, and the Holy Spirit. With power, Jesus was anointed. He went about doing good and healing all who were oppressed by the devil. For God was with him. Today, we have that same authority that rose Jesus from the grave. That is the same authority he gives you today to go about doing good, to go about setting people free from the devil's plans. The devil steals, kills, and destroys. But in the name of Jesus, you can set people free. You can heal them. You can cast out demons. And you too can raise the dead. So, how can you do those things? I'm glad you asked. Look at verse 13 and 14.

The promise of the potential in your life to do greater works is found right here. Whatever you ask in my name, Jesus said, this I will do that the father may be glorified in the son. If you ask me anything in my name, I will do it. The power of God's presence at work in you is only fulfilled through prayer. You want to do greater works than these, you must pray. It doesn't happen by trying harder or being a better person. It happens when you pray. Because when you pray, you are in communion with God. There's an intimacy with God. In fact, when Jesus ascended into heaven, uh those who were there were gawking up at the sky in Acts chapter 1, an angel actually had to come and say, "What are you looking at?" And you got to imagine those people are like, "Are you dumb?

Jesus just ascended up into the heavens." But Jesus gave them a message to go to Jerusalem. So now they had to decide, will we do what Jesus tells us to do or will we do our own thing? And they went to Jerusalem and did what Jesus told them to do. And in Acts 1:14 it says, "And these were within one accord devoting themselves to what?" Prayer. The priority was not preaching. It was not doing good works. It was prayer. And you know what followed with prayer? The power of the Holy Spirit. And with the power of the Holy Spirit came anointed preaching. It came anointed outreach. It came anointed fellowship. And it all started with what? Prayer. So here's the key. Jesus said, "Whatever you ask in my name,"

this is really important. You don't have to just repeat your prayers over and over. You don't have to share eloquent words, but you do need to pray in the name of Jesus. Which is why often at Journey Church when someone prays, they close their prayer saying, "In Jesus name." Now, let me just clarify that. That is not a magic word. It's not a magic phrase. It's not a formula. We want to be really careful that you just hear this and misunderstand the heart behind what Jesus is saying. This is not a magical charm that if you just say in the name of Jesus I get whatever I want. He is not a genie that you rub this lamp and then he says what do you wish in Jesus name I want to win the lottery because there's some conditions to this. He said you can ask and you will receive it. But he said that the father would be glorified. Now, if you're bad with money right now and you're asking to win the

lottery, that's not going to glorify God. Because some people are going to say, "Wait, you were bad with money and God gave you what?" And the likelihood is if you're bad with money now, you'll probably be bad with money when you get it. Because statistics say that people that win the lottery still are broke. They lose it all. So, we don't wish that God would just give us a million more wishes. We say in Jesus' name, I want to accomplish what you accomplished. I want to do what you did. I want the father to work through me. So if Jesus preached good news, I want to preach good news. If Jesus healed the sick, I want to heal the sick. If Jesus raised the dead, I want to raise the dead. If Jesus cast out demons, I want to cast out demons. And there will always be someone that says, "I don't think I can do it." I'll tell you today, Jesus said, "If you just have faith like a mustard seed, it's not

you that does the work. It's who you believe in." So, you're believing in Jesus. You're believing that the Father's going to be glorified. We're believing that God's not done yet. That if he could save the worst of sinners, he could do it again. We can believe that if God did so much, if he could take five loaves and two fish and multiply it, what kind of miracles can he multiply here? But you got to put it in his hands. You got to give it to Jesus. Oh church, what are you asking for? Like Philillip, maybe we just need to ask for some more. I believe revival can come to this city, but it won't come unless we ask for it. I'm believing God could do more in your life with the last breaths of your life than you could ever imagine because he's the God that's able. But you got to ask

for it. Oh my friend, if you've got a child that's long and far from God, don't stop praying for that child. You keep asking because it's not based on your timing. Peter says that God's timing is always perfect. He's never late. He's always on time. You keep praying and you're going to get it. God's going to be glorified and he might be teaching you something. My wife and I were talking about this and I'll just close with this and then I want to ask you if you want to believe in Jesus today. Last night we were talking about how as a child you think like a child. That's 1 Corinthians 13. Y'all know what I'm talking about. When you're a child, you you think you you know how you would do things differently until you grow up and you realize, oh, I was just a child. Uh you see, as a child, you think, why do my parents do the things they do? I don't understand why my parents do the things that they do. But then all of a

sudden, you grow old and you realize, oh, maybe my parents knew exactly what they were doing. like I I just had a limited understanding of what was happening because I was a child. Could it be that you have a limited understanding of what God's doing in your life? And where you're frustrated with God right now, where you're having a hard time with God, may I just encourage you, God is doing more than you know. So, I turned your attention today to Jesus. Jesus is enough. Look at Jesus. So, there there's two points to today's sermon. I'm just going to tell you now, just in case you didn't hear the whole rest of the thing I just spoke about. One is you believe Jesus. Two is you ask Jesus. And when that happens, God is glorified. Those are the conditions. Believe, ask, and give God the glory. That's what kind of a church we want to be. That when you

leave here, your faith is increased. So your prayers will increase. God's going to give you what you're asking for today. If you want to commit your soul to him, you want to surrender your life to Jesus, you will be saved right now. I'll tell you why. Not because of anything you can do, but because you're believing in Jesus. And if you ask Jesus to forgive you your sins, the Bible says he'll do it and so much more. He'll cleanse you of all your unrighteousness and you'll become a child of God. I can't assume just because you came to church today that you've believed in Jesus. The Bible makes it simple, but it also makes it clear that you've got to believe in your heart that Jesus did die on the cross for your sins. And then you've got to be willing to unashamedly confess it with your mouth. I believe in

Jesus. If you believe Jesus rose from the grave, that same power that rose Jesus is in you. That's the Holy Spirit. That's God. And today you can be saved, my friends. Tomorrow's gone. You're not going to get tomorrow. Excuse me. Yesterday's gone. You you you don't know you have tomorrow. Can I just say that? Let me be really clear. Don't wait for a better day because you don't know if you have tomorrow and yesterday is gone. That's what I was trying to say. But neither of them neither of them will help you right now. Who will help you right now is Jesus. So don't don't dwell in yesterday and don't say I'll do this tomorrow. What I'm asking you to do right now is to get

right with God. That that's that's the invitation. And what we're going to do is just pray really simple prayers. I would love to know who would like to give their lives to Jesus and from this day forward you'll be saved. Your next step is to keep following him. Even if you make mistakes, you keep coming back. You get into this book and you you start to study God. You obey God. You pray to God. It changes everything. So with eyes closed, may I just ask you if that's you today and you want to surrender your life to Jesus, believe in him for the first time. Would you just raise your hand nice and high and and wave it at me? You say, "Yes, that's me. I want to believe." You can even open up your eyes so I could see you and see who wants to say yes to Jesus. And be bold. Say, "From this day forward, I've got a father. Praise be to God." Amen. I'm so proud of you right here. Amen. Anyone else? God loves you so much.

I sense the father wrapping his arms of love around you right now. Praise God. Anyone else? Just raise your hand right where you are. Wave it like is praise God. Amen. From this day forward, everything changes. Everything. You've got a God that the prophet Jeremiah says this about God. Is anything too hard for him. Bring everything to God. Everything. I don't know what your deepest need is, but God can meet it. He He's going to love you and forgive you today, but he's going to do more than that. Provide for your needs. Praise God. So proud of you. Anyone else today? Don't want to miss this opportunity right where you are. God loves you. Please don't wait for a better time or another time. This is your moment to change your life forever.

It's more important than who you'll marry or what college you'll go to or what career success you ever have. You're not taking any 401k with you to heaven. So today, if you want the hope of heaven, would you just raise your hand right now? Just say, "Yeah, that's me. That's me." I want to make sure I don't miss anyone. You're never too old. You're never too young. Jesus will forgive all your sins. Anyone else today? Oh, praise God. I see you back there. Amen. I was hoping there'd be one more. Praise God. I'm so proud of you for saying yes. You know, the Bible says in Luke chapter 15 that there's more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents than 99 who need no repentance. So God loves you saying yes there there's a big smile in heaven. There's a celebration. The devil does not win in your life.

You have victory in Jesus. So today for all those that raised their hands, I want you to join with me in prayer out loud. You can pray anywhere at any time, but I'm going to do it just short phrases. I want you to repeat after me. And all those who have believed in Jesus, join with me right now. Lord Jesus, Lord Jesus, I believe in you. I believe in you. Forgive me of my sins. I receive the father's love. I receive the love I receive the power of the holy spirit. I receive the power of the spirit. Use me to do greater works to do greater works in Jesus name. in Jesus name. Amen and amen. Can we celebrate Jesus today? Hallelujah.