Greater Things
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I asked a group of kids that question for this video. Their answer? “Impossible!”
But that’s precisely what Jesus tells us in John 14:12: “Anyone who has faith in me will do what I have been doing. He will do even greater things than these.” What an amazing promise – and yet how difficult to believe. If most of us were honest, we probably would answer in the same way those kids answered – at least before we read the passage. And after reading the passage we might answer in the affirmative – “because the Bible says so” – without really believing it could be true in our lives.
Our church is in the middle of a stewardship emphasis as we prepare to build two additional wings on our building that we pray will be filled with preschoolers, children, and adults learning and growing in discipleship. The theme for this emphasis is Greater Things, and it has inspired some new music from us.
I hope that in these notes and lyrics we have captured what I think is the essence of this incredible passage: a passionate, Kingdom-centered discontentedness.
A passionate, Kingdom-centered discontentedness is the enemy of complacency. It’s the opposite of self-centered discontentedness, which is actually just another form of culturally acceptable complacency. Kingdom-centered discontentedness refuses to stop at “praying the prayer” and instead inspires a lifelong journey of discipleship. Kingdom-centered discontentedness breaks out of the Christian sub-culture and engages the surrounding culture with the truth of the Gospel. Kingdom-centered discontentedness cannot abide the thought that God’s kingdom is ever “big enough,” but is constantly reaching out for one more soul. Kingdom-centered discontentedness is a heart that beats with God’s heart, a will that is fully submitted to God’s will, a relentless love that pursues the prodigal with unbounded grace.
And the best part about Kingdom-centered discontentedness is that it is empowered by the spirit of Christ living in us. How could we ever hope to do “greater things” on our own? No, our portion of the equation is to surrender – completely, unequivocally – and to be amazed at what Christ can do through a fully-devoted life.
For our church, in this season, Kingdom-centered discontentedness means stepping out in faith and working together to build facilities that will allow us to continue drawing more men, women, and children into faith and discipleship. We are praying and trusting that God’s perfect will would be accomplished in our church body. But Kingdom-centered discontentedness won’t stop when the building is built. Instead we are constantly praying, “God, we believe. From Your hand and for Your fame we want to see greater things!”
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