GREATER MIRACULOUS WORKS

 JN. 14:12-14 KJV

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.

These words of Jesus, as perplexing as they are at one level, are powerfully inspiring and encouraging when you ponder them in their context. And I mean powerful for your life today and for Bethlehem’s life today and tomorrow.

What a surge of excitement when through me when David Livingston texted me that at the auction last Friday we got the land on 35W in Lakeville! And then when we talked and I heard the price my heart leaped up with gratitude to God. I thought about Jason Meyer preaching for the next three weeks on our way to a congregational vote on May 20 and it struck me what a perfect plan God has for us as a church — it is so fitting that there are energies and excitement rising about a third anchor campus and energies and excitement rising for a new Pastor for preaching and vision to lead the way in that dream.

Words for Your Life, and Our Together

And these words of Jesus in John 14:12–14 bear directly on your life and our life together in these exciting days. What they say is that all of us who believe in Jesus will carry on with his work, and in some wonderful way, do something greater than the works of Jesus, and as a means to that end will have access in prayer to Jesus today so that everything we need we can ask for and receive it.

So let’s take those three parts of the text one at a time. 1) All of us who believe in Jesus will carry on with his work. 2) In some wonderful way, we will all do something greater than the works of Jesus. 3) And as a means to that end will have access in prayer to Jesus today so that everything we need we can ask for and receive it.

1. Carrying on the Work of Jesus

John 14:12a: “Truly, truly, I say to you, whoever believes in me will also do the works that I do.” Two crucial observations. This promise is not made to the apostles alone, but to all who believe. And second, this is a promise that we will do Jesus’ works. It’s not yet a promise that we will do greater works, just Jesus’ works.

Just Normal Christianity

It’s a promise to all believers. This is astonishing. So there is no exclusion here if you are a Christian. You shouldn’t think: O this is for pastors, or veteran Christians, or highly spiritual, mature Christians, or professional Christians, or missionaries, or elders, or evangelists, or highly gifted Christians. No. The text says, “whoever believes in me.” Believers, pure and simple, will do the works I do.

We have seen this exact phrase before: “Whoever believes in me.”

• “Whoever believes in me shall never thirst.” (John 6:35)
• “Whoever believes in me . . . ‘Out of his heart will flow rivers of living water.’” (John 7:38)
• “Whoever believes in me, though he die, yet shall he live.” (John 11:25)
• “Whoever believes in me will not remain in darkness.” (John 12:46)

In other words, this is normal Christianity. This is what it means to be a Christian. Believing on Jesus is what unites you to him for eternal life. So when it says, Whoever believes in Jesus will do this or that, it is describing the normal Christian life.

That’s the first observation: The promise in verse 12 is not made to the apostles alone, but to all who believe.

All Believers Will Do His Work

The second observation is that Jesus promises all believers will do his works. It’s not yet a promise that we will do greater works, just Jesus’ works. Verse 12a: “Truly, truly, I say to you, whoever believes in me will also do the works that I do.”

Now we create problems for ourselves immediately by thinking of Jesus’ most amazing miracles. At this point in the Gospel of John

• Jesus has turned water into wine (John 2:1–11).
• He has read the mind of the woman of Samaria (John 4:18).
• He has healed the official’s son (John 4:46–54).
• He had healed the man crippled for 38 years (John 5:1–9).
• He had fed 5,000 people with five loaves and two fish (John 5: 1–14).
• He had walked on water (John 6:19).
• He had healed a man born blind (John 9:1–7).
• And he had raised Lazarus from the dead after four days in the grave (John 11:43–44).

What did Jesus mean when he said, “Truly, truly, I say to you, whoever believes in me will also do the works that I do.” Did Jesus mean that every Christian would do all these? Or that every Christian would do one or two of these? And if you don’t, you don’t believe?

That’s not likely in view of the fact that in the New Testament letters where miracles are mentioned they are a gift that some Christians have and not others. For example, in 1 Corinthians 12 Paul says,

To each is given the manifestation of the Spirit for the common good. For to one is given through the Spirit the utterance of wisdom . . . to another faith by the same Spirit, to another gifts of healing by the one Spirit, to another the working of miracles . . . Do all work miracles? Do all possess gifts of healing? Do all speak with tongues? (1 Corinthians 12:7–10, 29–30).

Well, if Jesus doesn’t mean that all believers will do miracles like his, what does he mean when he says, “Whoever believes in me will also do the works that I do”? Let’s look closely at the connections here and then at a more distant parallel.

Works to Believe

First the connection between verse 11 and 12. Verse 11: “Believe me that I am in the Father and the Father is in me, or else believe on account of the worksthemselves.” So the word “believe” and “works” occur together in verse 11 just like they come together in verse 12. Jesus’ works are designed to help people believe. Right? “Believe on account of the works.” If my verbal testimony is leaving doubts in your mind about who I am, look at my works. Let the works join with my words and lead you to faith. That’s what verse 11 says.

Then verse 12 follows: “Truly, truly, I say to you, whoever believes in me will also do the works that I do.” Now put verse 11 and 12 together and let the function of the works be the same in both verses. Verse 11: My works function to lead people to faith in me. Verse 12: When you believe in me, I will work in you (like a vine works in a branch, John 15:1–7), and your works, like mine, will lead people to faith.

So the connection between verses 11 and 12 goes like this: Believe in me on account of my works — let my works lead you to faith (verse 11), because whoever believes in me (verse 12a), will also do works that lead people to believe in me.

Works That Point to Jesus

So whatever the specific works are that Jesus has in mind, what defines them here is that they are pointers to Jesus which help people believe in him. They are a witness along with Jesus words that lead people to faith. That’s what his works do, and he is saying, at least, that’s what all believers’ works do. "Whoever believes in me will do the works I do" — the works that point people to faith. If you are a believer in Jesus, that’s what your life is. Your works, your life is a display of the trustworthiness of Jesus.

Here’s another support for this. If we search for the exact phrase in verse 12a, “the works that I do”, it occurs in one other place in John, namely John 10:25, “Jesus answered them, ‘I told you, and you do not believe. The works that I doin my Father’s name bear witness about me.” So again the function of the “works” in John 10:25 is exactly the same as here in John 14:11–12. My works are the things I do that bear witness about me.

So at least we can say with confidence that in John 14:12a Jesus means that all believers will be marked by this: they will be so united to Jesus that they will carry on his work by his power and do the kinds of things that will “bear witness” about Jesus. They will point people to Jesus, and through Jesus to the Father.

In his prayer in John 17 Jesus prayed, “[Father,] I glorified you on earth, having accomplished the work that you gave me to do.” His work was what he did to draw attention to the glory of his Father.  In John 13:35 Jesus said, “By this all people will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another.” A life of love will draw attention to the truth of Christ and the reality of our own new life in him. And in Matthew 5:16 Jesus said, “Let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven.” Christians are defined by works or life which flow from faith in Jesus and point to the glory of Jesus.        

So I conclude that, however many Christians God may give gifts of miracles and healing, all of them (and that is what the text is about, “whoever believes in me”) — all of them will do the works of Jesus in the sense that all his works of every kind testified to his truth and deity. And every Christian does these works — that is, lives this life. We are the aroma of Christ. We are the light of the world. We were dead. And we are alive, “created in Christ Jesus for good works — the works that Jesus did — which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them” (Ephesians 2:10). A life of words and deeds that help people believe in Jesus. That's the first part of our text: verse 12a, "Whoever believes in me will do the works that I do."

2. Doing Greater Works Than Jesus

The second part of this text (John 14:12b) is that, in some wonderful way, we will all do something greater than the works of Jesus. “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.”

Again it is every believer, not just the apostles, not just pastors or elders or charismatics or evangelists. “Whoever believes in me . . . greater works than these will he do.” This is the mark of being a Christian, not being an apostle.

If you think “greater works” means “more miraculous” you will be hard put to exceed walking on water, feeding five thousand with five loaves and two fish, and raising the dead. I don’t know of any Christian who has ever lived — inside or outside the New Testament — who has ever done all three of those miracles, let alone something more miraculous. Let alone every Christian having done these miracles or something more miraculous.

And again, remember that the New Testament tells us not to expect it for all Christians. “Do all work miracles? Do all possess gifts of healing? Do all speak with tongues?” The answer, Paul expects, is No (1 Corinthians 12:29–30). Which means that when Jesus said, “Whoever believes in me . . . greater works than these will he do because I go to the Father,” he probably did not mean that every Christian was expected to do things more miraculous than Jesus — at least not more spectacularly miraculous. No apostle, no missionary, no Christian has ever done this.

Two Clues for Clarity

So what does he mean? There are many suggestions and I don’t claim to have the final or decisive word here. But here’s what I see. There are two clues that lead me. The first is the phrase at the end of verse 12, “because I am going to the Father.” “And greater works than these will [every believer] do, because I am going to the Father.” (John 14:12). And the other clue is the text we looked at on Easter (John 20:21–23). Jesus said to his disciples after he was raised from the dead,

As the Father has sent me, even so I am sending you.” And when he had said this, he breathed on them and said to them, “Receive the Holy Spirit. If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven them; if you withhold forgiveness from any, it is withheld.” (John 20:21–23)

So in John 14:12 Jesus is saying that his disciples will not only continue his works, but will do greater ones because he goes to the Father. And on the way to the Father he goes to the cross and lays down his life for the sheep (10:15; 1:29), rises from the dead and ascends to God, from where he sends the Holy Spirit so the disciples can do the works they are called to do.

And in John 20:21-23 he is saying that his disciples are to continue his work by receiving the Holy Spirit and, in that power, imparting the forgiveness of sins in the name of Jesus — on the basis of Jesus death and resurrection.

Is there, in the connection between John 14:12 and John 20:21–23, a pointer to what Jesus means by the greater works they are all going to do? My suggestion is this: What’s new and greater is that never before in the history of the world had anyone ever been forgiven by faith in the already crucified, already risen, already reigning, already indwelling Christ.

All salvation up until now had been by anticipation, by promise of the coming Redeemer. But now — now that Jesus has gone to the Father, now that he had been crucified, buried, raised, exalted, and sent in the person of the Holy Spirit, the great purchase of forgiveness by substitution was finished once for all.

So I think Jesus would have said, “Even when I have forgiven sinners during my earthly life, I have forgiven them in anticipation of that. But you will forgive them in my name on the finished basis of that. The Spirit in you will be the Spirit of the crucified and risen Christ. The message you preach will be the message of not of a promised ransom but a paid ransom, a complete payment, a finished propitiation."

Your Greater Works

What are the “greater works” that you will do — all of you? You will receive the Holy Spirit as the Spirit of the crucified and risen Christ. Before the resurrection of Jesus, nobody in the history of the world had ever done that, not even Jesus. And in the power of that absolutely new experience — the indwelling of the crucified and risen Christ — your works of love and your message of life in union with Christ, will point people to the glory of the risen Son of God, and you will be the instrument of their forgiveness on the basis of the finished work of Christ (John 20:23). This will be new. This will be greater than Jesus' earthly miracles, because this is what he came to accomplish by his death and resurrection.

Which leaves just a moment for the third part of the text. And I won’t begrudge the brevity because this truth turns up again in chapters John 15:7, 16 and John 16:23–24.

The first part of our text was: all of us who believe in Jesus will carry on with his work. The second part was: we will all do something greater than the works of Jesus. And now the third part is

3. As a Means to That End, We Have Access in Prayer to Jesus, So That Everything We Need We Can Ask for and Receive It

John 12:13–14, “Whatever you ask in my name, this I will do, that the Father maybe glorified in the Son. 14 If you ask me anything in my name, I will do it.”

As you seek to carry on my work in the world, and as you seek to let your light shine, and live in love, and offer forgiveness of sins in the name of the crucified and risen Christ, ask me for whatever you need and I will give it to you. “Whatever you ask in my name, I will do it.”

No condition as in John 15:7, “If you abide in me, and my words abide in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you.” No condition as in 1 John 5:14–15, “If we ask anything according to his will he hears us. 15 And if we know that he hears us in whatever we ask, we know that we have the requests that we have asked of him.” No condition as in Mark 11:24, “Whatever you ask in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours.”

Only one condition: “in my name.” Verse 13: “Whatever you ask in my name, I will do it.” Verse 14: “If you ask me anything in my name, I will do it." So, does Jesus mean we can ignore all those other conditions: abide in him, ask according to his will, believe his word? Or are all these included in the meaning Ask in my name?

That’s what I think Jesus would say. I give you the Holy Spirit. I give you the power of the crucified and risen Christ. And I now promise you that you can ask for anything in my name for this mission — for the glory of my Father.

“In my name!” That is, for my fame and not yours. Because of my divine worth and my infinite payment on the cross. And according to my sovereign wisdom. Put every request though that filter — my fame, my worth, my purchase, my wisdom. And every prayer will be answered. You will have everything you need to do the works that I do, and even the greater works.

How can believers do greater works than Jesus did?

1. Most assuredly: Jesus began the first of three assurances given to His disciples on the night of His departure. The first assurance answered their fear, “This is the end. The work is over and we all got fired.” They didn’t get fired; they got promoted, and promoted to greater things.

2. He who believes in Me: Jesus just encouraged the disciples to trust in, rely on, and cling to Him in faith, because of who He is, the words He spoke, and the miracles He has done. Now Jesus described the benefit or blessing that comes to this one who believes.

3. The works I do he will do: Jesus expected those who believe in Him to carry on His work in the world. He did not expect the disciples to disband after His departure, but to carry on His work in even greater magnitude (greater works than these he will do).

a. “The ‘greater works’ of which he now spoke to them would still be his own works; accomplished no longer by his visible presence among them but by his Spirit within them.” (Bruce)

4. Greater works than these he will do: Jesus did not mean greater in the sense of more sensational, but greater in magnitude. Jesus would leave behind a victorious, working family of followers who would spread His kingdom to more people and places than Jesus ever did in His life and ministry.

a. This promise seems impossible; yet after Peter’s first sermon there were more converted than are recorded during Jesus’ entire ministry. 

b. “The literal rendering of the word translated by av greater works is ‘greater things’; and probably this should be retained. The works of the apostles after the resurrection were not greater in kind than those of Jesus, but greater in the sphere of their influence.” (Tasker) 

c. “The word ‘works’ does not actually occur. There is no word at that point, so our best translation would be ‘and greater things.’ The point is that Christians will do something greater even than the works of Jesus.” (Boice) 

d. “What Jesus means we may see in the narratives of the Acts. There there are a few miracles of healing, but the emphasis is on the mighty works of conversion. On the day of Pentecost alone more believers were added to the little band of believers than throughout Christ’s entire earthly life. There we see a literal fulfillment of ‘greater works than these shall he do.’” (Morris) 

e. William Barclay considered the difficulty of taking this to mean that Jesus intended His followers to do more miracles and more impressive miracles than He Himself did: “Though it could be said that the early Church did the things which Jesus did, it certainly could not be said that it did greater things than he did.” (Barclay) 

f. There are some who believe that Jesus meant that individual believers can and should do more spectacular works than Jesus did in the years of His earthly ministry. We earnestly await proof of those who have repeatedly done greater works than walking on water, calming storms with a word, multiplying food for thousands, raising people from the dead (more than the three recorded in Jesus’ work). Even if it were proved that one person after Jesus had done such things, it still does not explain why there are not now or have been thousands of people who have fulfilled this wrong and sometimes dangerous understanding of what Jesus meant when He said, greater works than these he will do. 

g. Greear: In John 14:12, Jesus says, “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.” Greater works than Jesus’s? That’s a little hard to believe. Have any of us ever preached with greater clarity, healed the sick with greater power, or prayed with greater compassion . . . than Jesus? No one in their right mind would claim that. But, because of the Spirit, our works are greater in two ways. 

The Greater Miracle 

The first is that while Jesus’s earthly miracles illustrated his power to save from sin, the greatest miracle of all is conversion from death to life. Jesus fed five thousand to show us that he was the all-satisfying bread of life. He walked on water to show that he was sovereign over all dimensions of the believer’s life.  Missionary Nik Ripken tells of Russian believers who are currently seeing miraculous signs that would rival anything in the Book of Acts. But these believers only use the word “miracle” to refer to conversion — because amazing acts of deliverance pale in comparison to what God does when he draws someone to himself (The Insanity of Obedience, 19). When we preach the gospel and sinners believe, we are doing the greater work: Jesus’s miracles were only signs. We get to participate in what those signs point to. 

The Greater Range 

The second way that our works are “greater” than Jesus’s is that they are greater in their range. When Jesus was on earth, the Holy Spirit focused his ministry in and through Jesus. But now he is on every believer, and the collective impact, Jesus says, of ordinary Christians filled with the Spirit would be greater than if even he himself stayed to lead the church. 

In Acts 1:1–2, Luke says that in his former book — the Gospel of Luke — he “wrote about all that Jesus began to do and to teach, until the day he was taken up.” The implication is that Acts records what Jesus continues to do, through his church. It’s not that in the Gospels Jesus worked, and now we, in his absence, work for him. It’s that during his incarnation Jesus worked through his earthly body and now he works through the entirety of his earthly body, the church. 

Jesus’s vision for transforming society never consisted of platforming a few hyper-anointed megapastors to pack an auditorium with their electrifying sermons. His vision of the greatness of the church consisted in each believer being filled with, and used by, the Holy Spirit. 

How we’ve built megachurches turns this on its head. We’ve acted like it’s about gathering a group of people to hear from one anointed guy. Did you know that of all the miracles in Acts, 39 of 40 were done outside of the church? Is that where most of our people expect to encounter the power of God? Most see the power of God as something that belongs to the pastor, in the typical routines of church life. But in a post-Christian age, fewer and fewer people casually “make their way” into our gatherings. That means people in our day will increasingly have to be reached outside the assembly, which makes it more important than ever that individual believers live filled with the Spirit. 

If we want to see God’s power in our cities, we need to teach our people to listen for the Holy Spirit, to closely follow his guidance, the way the apostles did — not simply to think up a bunch of good ideas for ministry, but to tune their hearts to hear a few God-ideas.

5. Because I go to My Father: Jesus would soon explain that when He ascended to heaven, He would send the Holy Spirit (John 14:16, 14:26, 15:26, 15:7-9, 15:13). It was because Jesus went to the Father that the Holy Spirit came upon His people, enabling them to do these greater works.

a. “The reason why you shall do these greater works is, on account of the all-powerful Spirit of grace and supplication which My going to the Father shall bring down upon the Church.” (Alford)

Will God give us anything we ask for by praying in Jesus' name? 

1. Whatever you ask in My name, that I will do: Jesus further explained how greater works would be possible for His followers. It would be possible because Jesus would do His work through His prayerful people, who asked and acted in His name. He promised to do anything that His trusting followers asked for in His name; that is, according to His character and authority.

a. "In My name (vv. 13–14) is not a magical formula of invocation. But the prayers of believers, as Christ’s representatives doing His business, will be answered. John expanded this teaching in his first epistle. He wrote, “If we ask anything according to His will … we have what we asked of Him” (1 John 5:14–15). To ask Me for anything in My name means to ask according to His will (cf. “in My name” in John 15:16; 16:23–24, 26)." (Walvoord)

In My name is not a magic incantation of prayer; it speaks of both an endorsement (like a bank check) and a limitation (requests must be in accordance with the character of the name). We come to God in Jesus’ name, not in our own.

 "So the LORD said to Moses:

'See, I have made you as God to Pharaoh...'"
-Exodus 7:1

This is an hour where the Lord is manifesting His glory upon the earth. He is calling us to a place of radical faith—faith that releases the miraculous. He is pouring out on the church, the same anointing for miracles that was upon both Moses and Elijah. In this lesson, I desire that your eyes would be opened to see God as "Creator God," to see yourself in the likeness of God, and to grasp the possibility of the miraculous flowing through your life. You'll learn the difference between healings and creative miracles, discover the power contained in the spoken word, and receive keys for cultivating faith for the miraculous.

God is Creator

In our meetings and crusades, we've witnessed all sorts of creative miracles. We've seen Psoriasis skin conditions instantly cleared up, dead eyeballs scheduled to be surgically removed, restored completely, and instantaneous supernatural weight-loss of 40 pounds. We've seen eardrums that were surgically removed, put back in, and gold fillings and crowns supernaturally appear. These are creative miracles that occur in the Glory of God. In order to experience the creative power of God in your life, it's important to begin to see God as "Creator God."
"In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth."
-Genesis 1:1
In the passage above, the Hebrew word for God is Elohim (_____). It's critical that we have a revelation of the power of Creator God. Jesus wanted His disciples to understand that He was the Word of power—He was Creator God. As they were on their way across the sea, look how Jesus reveals this to His disciples:
"And a great windstorm arose, and the waves beat into the boat, so that it was already filling. But He was in the stern, asleep on a pillow. And they awoke Him and said to Him, 'Teacher, do You not care that we are perishing?' Then He arose and rebuked the wind, and said to the sea, 'Peace, be still!' And the wind ceased and there was a great calm."
-Mark 4:37-39
The disciples were amazed that even the wind and the sea obeyed Jesus. However, if they had a revelation of God as Elohim, they would have rebuked the wind, and spoke to the sea themselves.
If we have a revelation of God as the Creator, we will have faith for creative miracles. When we see the creative nature of the Holy Spirit and His creative power, we will see that as children of God, creative miracles and healings should be normal occurrences in our everyday lives. It's important for us to begin to ask God for faith to step into the miraculous. God is creative in His very nature; He does creative things. Similarly, as His children we should follow in His footsteps—we have the capacity to release the creative nature of God on this earth.

The realm of glory is the manifested presence of God. Out of this atmosphere creative miracles are released. When God's glory is present in the room, His creative nature is there also. This is the realm of, "All things are possible." It's the nature of the Holy Spirit to create, we see Him at work in the beginning: "The earth was without form, and void; and darkness was on the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God was hovering over the face of the waters" (Genesis 1:2). When the Holy Spirit begins to brood and move over us, creative substance is available to be called forth and manifested. "You send forth Your Spirit, they are created; and You renew the face of the earth" (Psalm 104:30). It's the work of the Person of the Holy Spirit that makes creative miracles and healings possible.

Healings vs. Creative Miracles
There is a difference between healings, and creative miracles. According to Mark 16:17, one of the signs that follow believers is, "...they will lay hands on the sick, and they (the sick) will recover" (emphasis mine). Recovery is the process of getting better over a period of time; it's not instantaneous or miraculous.

Miracles, on the other hand, are instantaneous. Once in a meeting, the Holy Spirit was moving over the congregation, and I called out, "God is healing Multiple Sclerosis!" A ten year old boy with Multiple Sclerosis, whose body on one side was eight inches longer than on the other, stood up from his chair. He stepped out in faith, into the Glory—he was instantly made whole. His mother later testified that she could hear the bones crack as he was receiving a creative miracle in his body. The boy was completely restored. This is a great example of the miraculous power that can be released through us.

The Creative Power of God Dwells Inside of Us
When we are born again, we receive with the Spirit of God, all of the DNA and genetics that He is. The God who created the seen and unseen worlds dwells inside of us—this is a mystery of beauty. The Godhead, the fullness of Deity, makes His home inside our hearts. Paul says that we should not behave as mere men (see 1 Corinthians 3:3). This is because we are far from being mere men—we are possessed by Creator God.

Think about another statement of Paul's: "...the Spirit of Him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you" (Romans 8:11). What type of human beings does this really make us? Creative miracles are as easy as Romans 8:11! With this single revelation exploding on the inside of me, I can release faith for creative miracles. The same Spirit that raised Jesus from the dead lives in my belly. Out of faith, as I begin to loose the river of life inside me, when the Holy Spirit is present in an atmosphere of glory, creative miracles will happen! They will manifest. They will explode in my spirit, be released through my mouth, and create and recreate substance from the realm of glory. IT WILL HAPPEN! And it's all done by speaking words of faith.

The Power of Spoken Words
"Death and life are in the power of the tongue..."
-Proverbs 18:21
"In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God" (John 1:1). Jesus, as the Word, created all things. In this passage, the Greek word for Word is logos. Logos can also be interpreted into the English word, matter. Therefore, we can see that words spoken in a faith-decree, come out of the spirit-realm as energized matter that materializes in the natural-realm. We see this happen all the time in our crusades and conferences. As we speak faith-decrees, when the glory is thick in the room, spontaneously, creative miracles occur.
"By faith we understand that the worlds were framed by the WORD of God, so that the things which are seen were not made of things which are visible" (emphasis mine).
-Hebrews 11:3
The worlds were framed by God's WORD—the seen being brought into existence from the unseen. Likewise, we can call matter from the unseen realm into the visible realm. Isaiah 48:6-7 in the Amplified Bible says, "You have heard [these things foretold], now you see this fulfillment. And will you not bear witness to it? I show you specified new things from this time forth, even hidden things [kept in reserve] which you have not known. They are created NOW [called into being by THE PROPHETIC WORD], and not long ago; and before today you have never heard of them, lest you should say, Behold, I knew them" (emphasis mine). By our spoken words, we can decree a thing, and it shall come to pass.

Once I was with Bob Jones and Ryan Wyatt ministering in Cleveland, Ohio. It was Sunday morning and I was preaching. We had just completed a conference so Bob told me, "We've already given them the meat... just go and give them the dessert!" I decided to preach on who we are as authoritative sons of the Kingdom of God. I explained how all of creation was looking for the manifested sons to step into their rightful place as heirs of all things.

As I was preaching, it was obvious that people weren't listening and were waiting for me to finish. I got irritated at what was happening and felt this indignation blanket me. Right in the middle of my preaching I yelled out, "And to prove that what I am saying is accurate and that this is a word from God... the wind is going to start blowing at 65 miles per hour and will keep on blowing as a sign that God has given power and authority to His sons over creation, and we are to exercise dominion over the earth!"

It was a sunny morning, but within 30 minutes the temperature dropped to below freezing and a north wind began blowing off of Lake Michigan. Eventually the streets were covered with snow, and due to the high volume of wind sheer, the airport was shutdown. We were scheduled to fly out that afternoon. The only thing Bob Jones could say was, "I told you, before you ever give a word like that you should say, '...and this word will take place after I leave the city!' Now look at what you have done!" He was sincerely ticked off! After being stranded at the airport for many hours, they finally cleared us to take off.

Bob called me the next day and said, "Well, you missed it... the front page of the Cleveland paper stated that the wind came in at 64 miles an hour!" Immediately, I came back with, "No Bob, I think they need to recalibrate their wind machines!" Bob laughed and said, "That was awesome what you did, I think they got the point."

We are Little gods!

"God stands in the assembly [of the representatives] of God; in the midst of the magistrates or judges He gives judgment [as] among the gods...I said, You are gods [since you judge on My behalf, as My representatives]; indeed, all of you are children of the Most High."
-Psalms 82:1, 6 AMP
Men are called gods. To these men God's message came, and the Scripture cannot be set aside, or cancelled, or broken, or annulled. Look what Jesus says:
"I and the Father are One. Again the Jews brought up stones to stone Him. Jesus said to them, My Father has enabled Me to do many good deeds. [I have shown many acts of mercy in your presence.] For which of these do you mean to stone Me? The Jews replied, We are not going to stone You for a good act, but for blasphemy, because You, a mere Man, make Yourself out to be God. Jesus answered, Is it not written in your Law, I said, You are gods? So men are called gods [by the law], men to whom God's message came—and the Scripture cannot be set aside or cancelled or broken or annulled—"
-John 10:30-35 AMP
Jesus was saying that we are God's children; a family of the Most High God. If we are His family, we are born of Divine seed. Think about it... our children look like us, don't they? Psalm 82:6 says we are gods (small 'g'). This means rulers, judges, divine ones, God-like ones, mighty ones, etc. Because we are His children and His earthly representatives, we are able to judge and act on His behalf. Interestingly, Elohim is the same word for "God," and "god." We are God's "creator gods" on the earth, establishing His earthly government as ambassadors of His supernatural kingdom. Everything brings forth after its own kind—we are His offspring—made in His image. We are of the same family and Species as God.

According to Genesis 1:26, mankind was created in God's image—in His likeness. We have the ability to walk on a divine level through fellowship with Him. We are intelligent beings, capable of creating and inventing. The Father created man to rule over all the works of his hands (see Psalm 8:6), for the purpose of mankind to extend the rule of His kingdom on the earth. It was in God's heart to rule the physical realm of the earth, from heaven, through a family of sons that would set up an earthly extension of His Kingdom.

The word image means, reflection, direct projection of an object, or the exact likeness. Jesus was the image of the invisible of God. He declared boldly, "He who has seen Me has seen the Father" (John 14:9). Jesus and the Father are One. He is the outshining of His glory; the projection of the invisible God—and we are made in His image. As we abide in Him, and He in us, we have access into the heavens; able to move in power and authority on the earth.

John 1:12 in the Amplified Bible says, "But to as many as did receive and welcome Him, He gave the authority (power, privilege, right) to become the children of God, that is, to those who believe in (adhere to, trust in, and rely on) His name." Jesus didn't shed His blood on the cross just so we could go to heaven when we die. Jesus Christ came to restore total access to the Father, which was lost through the fall. Now through the blood of Jesus, God has opened to us a new and living way. He has restored to us the long lost relationship title deed, of "Sons of God."

"And you [He made alive], when you were dead (slain) by [your] trespasses and sins..."
-Ephesians 2:1 AMP
When Christ stepped into us, we took on a new nature—we were, in essence, recreated in an instance. We must understand that man was not created simply to serve, but to rule and reign on earth. We were, in fact, created by Father God to be the "gods of this world." God longs for us to begin to understand His nature and His ways. He wants us to take dominion over the elements, sin, sickness, disease, and death—exercising our God-given authority.

When I believe that I possess His Spirit, I am able to administrate His dominion—I have something tangible that I can give. Outside Gate Beautiful, Peter approached the lame beggar and said, "Silver and gold I do not have, but what I do have I give you: In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, rise up and walk" (Acts 3:6). Peter took the crippled man by the hand and immediately his feet and ankle bones received strength. Peter knew he had something to give—I have something to give—the same Spirit that raised Christ from the dead dwells in me! We are joint heirs to the throne with Jesus—we have something to give away.

Partnering with God to Release the Miraculous
God wants us to participate with Him in releasing creative miracles. We see this example in Matthew 14 with the feeding of the 5,000. Jesus took the five loafs of bread and the two fish and broke them into pieces, distributing them to His disciples. The disciples then distributed the food among the crowd. Jesus taught them how easy and natural it was for this to happen. As they took one loaf and gave it away, there was always another.
"...God, who gives life to the dead and calls those things which do not exist as though they did..."
-Romans 4:17
God calls those things that do not exist, into existence. However, it's not that those things didn't exist; they always existed in God. Before time began, in the heart of God, in His very core, those things did exist. He gave birth to them through His spoken word. In this hour, the Lord is calling us to draw near to His heart—so we can release His heart. He is pouring out His Spirit upon His sons and daughters, and releasing an end-time anointing to bring in the harvest. It's time for us to take dominion over the earth—exercising the power of the spoken word to manifest His Kingdom through creative miracles.

Have you ever had the desire to see God's power move through you? Well you can! Below I give you keys to operating in God's miracle power.

God desires to release creative miracles through your life to others. Jesus came preaching the gospel, teaching the good news, healing the sick and setting people free. These four things are the hallmarks of Christ’s ministry on the earth and as His body we are called to release this same ministry today.

I’ll never forget the time I was ministering in Mexico in a crusade. During the worship, God spoke to my heart that He was going to open deaf ears. As I called it out over the crowd, deaf ears began popping open all over the stadium. Then my team brought a young girl onto the platform. When they pulled back her hair, I saw that she had no ears at all. She just had two little holes in the side of her head. She was born without ears and without eardrums. How do you heal an ear when there is no ear there? When her feet touched the platform the power of God went through her body and God worked a creative miracle. She heard a popping noise in her ear as God formed ear drums inside of her head. For the first time since birth she could hear!

God wants to activate you to a new level of walking in the miraculous! Here are a important keys to seeing miracles released through your life!

•   Have revelation from God’s word of His heart and will to heal. Spend time reading the Bible.

•   Build your faith up by reading the Gospel accounts of healing in the life of Jesus.

•   Read and listen to healing testimonies. This will increase your faith.

•   Pray for God’s love to fill your heart. Love activates faith.

•   Worship and invite God’s presence into your prayer time. This will increase His tangible anointing upon you.

•   Pray for the gifts of healing, working of miracles, and gift of faith to be stirred up in you.

•   Spend time listening to messages, preaching and teaching that inspire your faith in God’s power.

•   Spend time hanging around people who have faith for miracles.

•   Spend time receiving from ministries that are operating in miracles. The anointing is transferable!

•   Step out and pray for people in the name of Jesus.