John chapter 14 if you're thankful the Lord love you say amen and and John chapter 14 and verse 1 John chapter 14 and verse 1 Think of this first John where the Lord said he we love him because he first loved us And I appreciate that song John chapter 14 stand with me as you turn and our text verses verse 12 But we'll be to some of these verses around it. So we're gonna read verses 1 through verse 14 this morning John chapter 14 in verse 1 Let not your heart be troubled. Ye believe in God, believe also in me. In my Father's house are many mansions. If it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you, and if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again. I receive you unto myself, that where I am, there ye may be also. And whither I go, ye know, and the way ye know. Thomas saith unto him, Lord, we know not whither thou goest, and how can we know the way? Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life. No man cometh unto the Father, but by me. If he had known me, ye should have known my father also. And from henceforth ye know him and have seen him. Philip saith unto him, Lord, show us the father, and it sufficeth us. Jesus saith unto him, Have I been so long time with you, and yet hast thou not known me, Philip? He that hath seen me hath seen the Father. And how sayest thou then, Show us the Father? Believest thou not that I am in the Father, and the Father in me? The words that I speak unto you I speak not of myself, but the Father that dwelleth in me, he doeth the works. Believe me that I am in the Father, and the Father in me, or else believe me for the very work's sake. Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that believeth on me, the works that I do shall he do also, and greater works than these shall he do, because I go unto my Father. And whatsoever ye shall ask in my name, that will I do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son. If ye shall ask anything in my name, I will do it. If ye love me, keep my commandments. And I will pray the Father, and he shall give you another Comforter, that he may abide with you forever, even the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it seeth him not, neither knoweth him, but ye know him. For he dwelleth with you, and shall be in you. Read verse 12 aloud with me, would you? Verily, verily, I say unto you, he that believeth on me, the works that I do shall he do also. And greater works than these shall he do, because I go unto my Father. Lord, we love you and we thank you for this passage of Scripture that you've given to us. And you've given it to us not only for the day in which you said it and for that early church, but for us this morning. And I pray that as I preach your word, that you would give me the wisdom and the words to say. I pray, Holy Spirit, that you'd fill me and use me, and I yield myself over to you, and I pray that you'd speak to the hearts of all of us that are here this morning. Strengthen us, draw us near to you. Lord, encourage us in our witness and in our labor for the Lord. We love you, and we ask these things in Jesus' name. Amen. You may be seated. This is an incredible verse. Now you know the setting of this story, and if you were to read chapter 13, you'd read some of the Last Supper. The Lord Jesus is a matter of fact Judas has slipped out of the room and he's he's just gone out of the Lord He's betrayed him He sold him for 30 pieces of silver and Lord sitting around there in that upper room with his disciples having these this final conversation I I would love to have slipped into the room that night if I could go back also in me He begins to encourage him and comfort him and Philip not quite grasping what the Lord's saying and and and Thomas and Philip say well Lord How can we go with you? And of course Lord gives him instruction and then as he comes to this verse here He's he's reminding them that in his absence In his absence, he said, Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that believeth on me, the works that I do, shall he do also, and greater works than these shall he do, because I go unto my Father. He's leaving them with a work to do, isn't he? As a matter of fact, he would even say, greater works than these that I have done, ye shall do. Boy, the Lord has done some pretty amazing works. If you took a moment, you just Googled, and I can tell you what you might pull up, because I did it. Great works, all right? You'd find some great works of literature that folks would mention. As a matter of fact, there's a series of books that you can get. I think it's about 500 different books that, through the course of history, have been written that have shaped history. You can read those great works of literature. You could go see some great works of architecture, some of them among the seven wonders of the world, voted as one of the seven wonders of the world. The Great Wall of China, built over centuries. And it would be listed. You could look to the pyramids. There's some incredible works that you may see in the world. You can drive through downtown Atlanta, as I did yesterday, stop and go, stop and go, stop and go, right? And you can see some pretty amazing works of architecture in our day, right? And accomplish very quickly. You can see great works of medicine. Brother Stephen Mills is here. We're praying for him this week. Had an oblation done this week. And going in and searing part of the heart. It's an amazing thing what happens. We're thankful for those works of medicine, aren't we? And it's an amazing thing. But when it comes to the works of God, I don't think anything compares. Everything that you and I have ever seen done on this work is really on loan from God, isn't it? Boy, the Lord is the one who gives the ability to get wealth. The Lord is the one who gives us our intellect and our physical capability and our knowledge. All of those things come from the Lord. It's on loan. Nothing compares. And when you read this verse, your mind immediately goes to it at first blush to some of His miracles, don't you? I mean, turning the water into wine. None of us could attempt that. Turn the water into wine. How about just walking on water, standing up and walking on water? Your mind may go to something like how he would make lame men walk, or blind men made to see. Or maybe your mind goes to how he would feed 5,000 with a few loaves and fishes. That's where our mind immediately goes, but I would tell you that's not really what he's talking about. When he makes this statement, he's not talking about you'll be able to heal more lame men, or you'll be able to make more blind men see, or you'll be able to feed more than 5,000 with a few loaves of fishes, or you're going to walk on water like I did, only over bigger waves. No, he's talking about the reason he came here. He's talking about the reason for which he arrived. See, the nature of these works, the nature of these works, we begin to get a glimpse of in this passage of Scripture when he says this. If you go back to chapter 13 in the same conversation in verse 30, it says, He having received the sop went immediately out, and it was night. That's Judas. He slips out. Therefore when he was gone out jesus said now is the son of man glorified and god is glorified in him If god be glorified in him god shall also glorify him in himself and he shall straightway glorify him little children Yet a little while i am with you ye shall seek me and as i said unto the jews whither i go you cannot come So now i say unto you see that night that very night as he was speaking with them in the upper room as they would slip out of the upper room and they'd go sing a hymn and they'd go into the garden and then they would begin to pray god's great work that he came for was about to unfold. The greatest of works, he would say this in the scripture in Matthew 28, or verse 20, verse 28, even as the Son of Man came not to be ministered unto, but to minister and to give his life a ransom for many. John 12, 32 through 33, Jesus said this, and if I be lifted up from the earth will draw all men unto me. This he said signifying what death he should die. If I be lifted up, lifted up on a cross. Lifted up on a cross. See, the Lord didn't come just merely to heal some lame men so they might die of a later disease. He didn't come to cleanse a leper so they might die of a later disease. He didn't come to feed 5,000 so they could be hungry the next morning. He didn't come for those reasons. No, He came to die on Calvary. Those miracles were merely the evidence of who He was. Oh, man, if you get pulled over on the way home today, I hope you don't, but if you do, they're going to say, would you show me your ID? Would you show me your ID? And you're going to have to reach for your pocket and pull out your ID. Some of you are smiling. I guess you've been pulled over recently, and I wouldn't know who that is. All right. But here's the Lord. See, he would say he was the son of God, and he would show, let me show you my ID, and he would feed 5,000. Let me show you my ID, who I am, and he'd feed a 4,000. Let me show you my ID and my power over creation, and I'll walk on water. Let me show you who I am, and I'll say, peace be still, and creation itself will calm itself. Let me show you my ID, and I'll cleanse this leper, and he'll be free from his disease. Let me show you my ID, and I'll cast demons out of a man. Let me show you my ID, I'll say, Lazarus, come forth, and you'll know that I am the resurrection and the life, that I am the great I am, is who he would say. He goes, let me prove to you who I am. They were the evidence of his person. That's not why he came. He came so he could be taken that night. So he would be let out, let away and allow himself to be let out. He came so that they would drive nails through his hands and through his feet. According to Psalms 22, his bones would be made bare as they beat him. His hands and his feet would be pierced. He would hang on that cross. He would be bruised for our iniquities, according to Isaiah chapter 53. He would give up the ghost and die on a cross that you and I might be saved. That's why he came. When he says greater works, friend. He's talking about you and I. Fulfilling why he left us here. See, the reason he came is the reason you're still here. He came the first time so that men might be saved. He left us here so that men might be saved. The reason you and I are still walking on this earth is the whole reason he came the first time. Greater works, 120 in the upper room after his ascension, 3000 saved at Pentecost. By the time you arrive at the end of the book of Acts, you'll find that they had turned the world upside down. See, the greater miracle he was talking about was not the miracle of a lame man being able to walk, or a blind man being able to see, or a leper being cleansed, or a man possessed of a devil being freed from Satan. He wasn't talking about that. He was talking about what Colossians writes about. It says, who hath delivered us from the power of darkness and hath translated us unto the kingdom of his dear Son. The miracle that he's talking about is when a man, when old things are passed away and behold, all things become new, when a child of wrath and of Satan becomes a child of God, when a man dead in trespass of sin is born again and quickened unto life eternal. He's talking about not a physical healing of man or the feeding of a man's belly, but the changing of a man's eternity. The greatest of miracles is not when a physical need is met. The greatest of miracles is when a soul is changed and their eternal future is secured for heaven. And he's saying this word, greater works than these shall ye do. He's saying, I came to die that man might be saved and I sent you forth with a message that man might be saved. Greater works than these shall ye do. Isn't it a wonderful privilege to be a part of that mission? It's an amazing thing. You remember the day that you were saved? Your life was changed. Your life was changed. That was the greatest of miracle. Greatest of miracles is when a soul. When a child of the devil becomes a son of God. A child of wrath is destined for eternity. That's the greatest of miracles, and the nature of God's work is that men would be saved, and the nature of the work in which He is talking about in this passage of Scripture is not that you and I might gather here today and have a healing service, right? And folks fall over and be healed, and I hope you get healed from whatever your ailment is, but that's not the greater work that He's talking about. The greater work isn't that we can all go to a bigger buffet at the end of the service and be well-fed. That's not the greater work that He's talking about. The greater work that He's talking about is that souls are saved and lives are changed. It's what took place in your life the day that you were saved. It's what takes place as someone puts their faith and their trust in the Lord Jesus Christ. Their whole life is changed. They become a child of God. The nature of the work. He looks at his disciples and says, there's a good reason I'm leaving you folks behind. And if you think what you have seen has been amazing, what's coming is going to be even more so. If you think what you have watched already is an amazing thing, what is coming is going to be even more amazing to watch God work through you. The nature of the work. And the amazing thing for you and I is we're still a part of that work. We're still part of that work. I think of this, the nature of the work, the necessity of the work. Look at verse six of this chapter. Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life. No man cometh unto the Father but by me. If ye had known me, ye should have known my Father also, and from henceforth ye know him and have seen him. I am the way, the truth, and the life. No man cometh unto the Father but by me. In Acts chapter 4 verses 10 through 12 it says this, Be it known unto you all and to all the people of Israel that by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth whom ye crucified, whom God raised from the dead, even by him do this man stand before you whole. This is the stone which was set at Nod of you builders, which has become the head of the corner. Neither is there salvation in any other, for there is none other name under heaven given among men whereby we must be saved. No other name but Jesus' name, friend. No other saving one other than Jesus. There is no greater work, there is no other work that can save a soul other than the work of what Jesus did at Calvary. He said as he hung on that cross, it is finished, and he gave up the ghost, and he went to that tomb for three days, and on the third day he rose again, and some 40 days later he ascended up into glory. Friend, he has finished the work. He has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. Do you know there are people today that are still trying to work their way into the presence of God? Do you know there are people today in our own community have gone to church today in hopes of their good deeds being sufficient to getting them into glory? Do you know there are people today that are trying to pray, not in the prayer of a call for salvation, but a work that would get them saved? Do you know there are folks today that are counting on going under the water and coming out of the water to save their soul? It won't work. No, there's one work that does it all. That's what Jesus did at Calvary. For by grace are ye saved through faith, and not of yourselves, but the gift of God, not of works, lest any man should boast. You know there's only one mediator between man and God, the man Christ Jesus? 1 Timothy 2, 3-6, For this is a good and acceptable in the sight of God our Savior, who will have all men to be saved, and to come to the knowledge of the truth. For there is one God and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus, who gave himself a ransom for all to be testified in due time. One mediator. Do you know there are people in our own church, in our own city today, who will go into a dark box with some other man who needs to be saved and look for a mediator between them and God? Do you know there are some that will pray to a woman named Mary as a mediator between them? The same woman who, when she glorified God at the announcement, as she was told about His birth, would call Him, My Savior. She knew she needed a Savior. There are people today looking to another mediator than the only mediator that can save their soul. There are people today counting on works that they could do that would save their soul. In reality, there is one savior, one work and one mediator. And he left us here for a reason. To make sure they know his name. And know his work. Jesus said, I am the way, the truth, and the life. No man cometh unto the Father but by me. If you go to the Old Testament tabernacle, go back further than that. Go back to just after the Garden of Eden as Adam and Eve sinned and sinned under this world. And there's Cain, and he said, I want to worship God my way. I want to give him of the fruits of the ground. And I want to give him of the works of my hands. And God said, no. Your works are insufficient. A lamb and a sacrifice must be made. I am the only way, and you must do it my way. How about the tabernacle of the Old Testament, that one eastern gate into the tabernacle courtyard that brought us to the place of God? There was one gate. Baal couldn't get you there. Moloch couldn't get you there. Ashtaroth couldn't get you. Nebuchadnezzar's image couldn't get you. No, there is one God. And I will tell you this today, his name is Jesus, and he sacrificed him at Calvary. And there is one way and anybody putting their faith in any other person, any other work, any other option will miss it all. The absolute necessity of the greater work is that there is only one way. There is only one. And it doesn't matter how good someone tries to be, if they don't know Jesus, it's not good enough. Doesn't matter how many times they go to church, if they haven't trusted in Jesus, it is not enough. It is not enough. The greater work of the gospel is a necessity. For all and for this world, You ever ask yourself, who might go to hell if I don't witness? You ever ask yourself that question? We often ask ourselves the question, do I have time? But if you ask yourself the question, what might happen if you don't? I can tell you it's a necessity that people know. It's an absolute necessity. Why should they believe in whom they have not heard? The absolute necessity of it. The nature of God's work, the necessity of God's work that He's called us to. How about the nourishment for the work? Look at verses 13 through 17. Look at what God promises here for those that are busy about doing His work. And whatsoever ye shall ask in my name, that will I do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son. If ye shall ask anything in my name, I will do it. If ye love me, keep my commandments. And I will pray the Father, and He shall give you another comforter, that He may abide with you forever." There's some incredible promises in these verses. For some, for the one who says, Lord, this work that you've given to me, it's a hard work. It's a busy work. Well, He gives us some nourishment, some options, someone to turn to, the first thing a father to turn to. He says in that verse, verse 13 again, and whatsoever ye shall ask in my name, that will I do that the Father may be glorified in the Son. If ye shall ask anything in my name, I will do it. Go to chapter 15 in verse 7 of John. He says this, If ye abide in me, and my words abide in you, ye shall ask what ye will, and it shall be done unto you. Look at verse 16 of chapter 15. Ye have not chosen me, but I have chosen you and ordained you that ye should go and bring forth fruit, and that your fruit should remain, that whatsoever ye shall ask of the Father in my name, he may give it. Now go, if you will, to chapter 16 in verse 23, and look at these verses in chapter 16. In that day, ye shall ask me nothing. Verily, verily, I say unto you, whatsoever ye shall ask of the Father in my name, he will give it you. Hitherto have ye asked nothing in my name. Ask, and ye shall receive, that your joy may be full. It's as if in this conversation, he wanted his disciples to know that if you're busy about my work, when you ask, you'll get an answer. This is one conversation. In case you think I repeat things a lot in the message, Jesus did the same thing, all right? Over and over and over again, he says in the scripture, ask. Ask. Ask. A father who answers. You know, if I send my sons out, guys, I want you to go cut the grass. I want you to go outside and cut the grass, and they go out there, and they get the mower, and they start cutting the grass, and then something breaks. They come in, Dad, the mower is broken and we can't fix it. Guess what I'm going to do? Find a way to fix the mower so they can go back and cut the grass. If they ask, I'll answer, right? Guys, I want you to go power wash the driveway. You still got to finish that, all right? I want you to go power wash the driveway. Well, Dad, you tried it and you blew the hose out on the power washer, I know. Guess who's going to fix it or buy it and then put it on? Dad, why? They've got a work that I asked them to do. So I'm gonna ensure they have what it takes. Now how about this? What if I say, son, go cut the grass? And they come in a few more minutes later and they said, dad, my basketball is flat. I need it filled. Look, son, that's not what I told you to do. I'm not filling your basketball. Go get the mower. Hey dad, the chain came off my bike and I think it's broken. Son, I didn't tell you to go ride your bike. I told you to cut the grass. Now I might on occasion say, hurry up and get back there and go back and mow the grass and we'll worry about your bike later. But if they keep coming to me, at some point I'm gonna say, you lost focus and I'm gonna help bring it into focus. You know what he's talking about in this verse? When he says, in my name, He's not saying just stick my name to whatever you want and I'll give it. He's saying under my authority. You know what the Great Commission is? You know how the Great Commission begins before he says, go and teach? He says, all power is given unto me in heaven and earth. You know what he's saying? All authority, all might, all power belongs to me, and I am telling you, and that authority, go into all the world, teach all nations, baptize them when they're saved, disciple them when they come to know the Lord, and lo, I am with you always unto the ends of the world. He said, go in my power and in my authority, and when you have a need, do in my will, ask it and I'll answer it. That's his promise that you and I in his service would find his answer. You ever say I'm trying to witness but I don't really know I have the boldness? Ask. I don't know that I have the words to say. Ask. I have some needs along the way, Lord. If I carve this out to be a witness for you, Lord, ask. I need an open door. Ask. I have what you need. Friend, if you're doing it your way in your time, you can ask. And when you ask, you'll find you ask amiss. Ask, and ye shall receive. The nourishment for the task that lies ahead. How about not only prayers that are answered, but how about a love that motivates us? Look at verse 15. If you love me, keep my what? Commandments. Boy, these fellas were about to see the greatest expression of love ever in the history of the world. These guys were on the cusp of it. They're in the upper room, but within a few minutes, I don't know exactly how long, God would pray with them in chapter 17, that prayer would be concluded, and they'd go out, they'd sing a hymn, they'd go down to the Garden of Gethsemane, and there the Lord would pray. He'd say, watch and pray with me for one hour. He'd go back a little deeper into the garden, they'd fall asleep. This would happen a few times, and then there'd be a rustling through the Garden of Gethsemane as Judas and his band came. And they would get the Lord. The Lord would ask them, whom seek ye? And they'd say, Jesus of Nazareth. He'd say, I am he, in John chapter 19. They'd all fall over backwards. Because the Lord wasn't being taken, he was being led. He was allowing himself to be led away. And none of those disciples would be lost. They would flee, Peter would deny, Jesus would be beaten. Blasphemed, crown of thorns upon his head, nails through his hands and through his feet. He'd hang upon the cross for God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten Son. That whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. And the love that was seen that day, was to be the motivating factor of why they lived for him. Love. Love, he would say this. In 2 Corinthians 5, 14 through 15, for the love of Christ constrained us, because we thus judge that if one died for all, then we're all dead, and that he died for all, that they which live should not henceforth live unto themselves, but unto him which died for them and rose again. He would say in 1 John 4, 8-10, He that loveth not knoweth not God, for God is love. And this was manifested, the love of God toward us, because that God sent His only begotten Son into the world, that we might live through Him, hear in His love, not that we love God, but that He loved us and sent His Son to be the propitiation for our sins. The love of God. You need no more reason to serve than the love of God for you and your love for Him. And I tell you this, he would warn the church at Ephesus, didn't he? I have someone against thee because you've left your first what? Love. You're losing your motivation. God loves you. Love God. If you look at these disciples, you're about to see some amazing things unfold as souls are saved, but you're about to face some difficulties as well. In the world, ye shall have tribulation. But love me. You know what he's saying? If you love me, you'll have no problem keeping my commandments. That's what he's saying. You know why we struggle to keep his word? L-O-V-E. He said, if you love me, you're going to have no problem with what I'm asking you. But if you don't, you're going to have a problem, friend. you're going to have a problem. Love is the chief motivator of a greater works life. He has loved me and I love him. So how could I not serve my Lord? How could I not? The question isn't for the one who loves God, should I serve him? It is how should I serve him? It is where should I serve him? It's not whether I should or not. It's just how. Love. We see it's motivating. Then we see this. Not only do we see a love that motivates us, not only do we see a father who answers, but look at this one, a Holy Spirit that empowers. Look at verse 16. And I will pray the father and he shall give you another comforter that he may abide with you forever. even the spirit of truth whom the world cannot receive because it seeth him not neither knoweth him but ye know him for he dwelt with you and shall be in you that word comforter perically it means the one who comes alongside it means the advocate he's talking about one who would come and encourage them and comfort another comforter like the first comforter but one comfort of the other comfort he's talking about is himself but he's about to leave and he said in my absence i'll give you another i'll give you the holy spirit of god that will indwell the believer when he puts his faith and his trust in the Lord Jesus Christ who will seal him under the day of redemption who will be the earnest on his inheritance that down payment on glory that same one who will come alongside and encourage strengthen in the book of John he would be referred to as the advocate the same word that one who comes alongside strengthens and encourages and produces that love and that joy and that peace and that gentleness and that long-suffering that one who gives us boldness in our witness and our strength in his service he said I'm not going to leave you alone. I'm going to give you the strength to serve. It was who he was talking about when he told Peter, my grace is sufficient for thee. What I have for you and the one I have for you will be sufficient. It's what he bookends. You know, I love how the Great Commission is bookended. On one end it's his power. All power is given unto me in heaven and on the earth. On the other one he said, in lo I am with you always, even unto the end of the world. His presence and his power are what's on either side of the Great Commission. My power is here and my presence is here. I'm sending you forth to do greater works, but don't think for a moment that you're doing it on your own. The strength to serve Him. God never says serving Him will be easy, but He says, I'll love you. I'll strengthen you. I'll give you my grace. I'll give you my strength. I'll carry you through. even unto the end of the world. Do you know how this world ends? Do you know what happens when the world ends? It's not over. It's just the beginning. And it is the beginning of a new heaven and a new earth and the eternal presence of God. It is the pinnacle of it all, friend. I mean, don't get lost in this being all great right here, because when that day comes, that's pretty amazing. And he has promised me his presence until I see his presence. He said, Lo, I am with you. A wonderful blessing. I tell you this, the answered prayer, the motivated life, the spirit filled life, all center around that bush, right? Around his purpose. His purpose. You lose his purpose. God doesn't promise all his provision. Oh, his presence will never leave you. But that fellowship can be strained. That love can be the very reason we lose sight of his purpose. Lastly, and I'll be finished with this, he says this, the nobility of the work. Look at verse 19. Yet a little while and the world yet a little while, and the world seeth me no more. But ye see me, because I live, ye shall live also. Now look at this, verse 20. At that day ye shall know that I am in my Father, and ye in me, and I in you. He talks about the comforter. He talks about the presence of God in our heart and in our life. Greater is he that is in you than he that is in the world. Here's the amazing thing about this service. Let me read 2 Corinthians 5, 18-21. And all these things are of God, who hath reconciled us to himself by Jesus Christ, and hath given to us the ministry of reconciliation, to the wit that God was in Christ, reconciling the world unto himself, not imputing their trespasses unto them, and hath committed unto us the word of reconciliation. Now then, we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God did beseech you by us, we pray you in Christ's stead. Be ye reconciled to God, for he hath made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin, that we might be made the righteousness of God in him. Ye are ambassadors for Christ. David Livingston, that missionary, said this, if a commission by an earthly king is considered an honor, how can a commission by a heavenly king be considered a sacrifice? If a commission by a earthly king is considered an honor, how can a commission by a heavenly king be considered a sacrifice? If you were to be called up by a president and say, I would like you to represent me in a foreign country as my ambassador, we would say, what a high honor. How is it that the commissioning of a God who looks down upon us and said, I've committed unto you the word of reconciliation, tell people about me. is considered a sacrifice. A sacrifice. In 1 Corinthians 3, 7 through 9, it says, So then neither is he that planteth anything, neither he that watereth, but God giveth the increase. Now he that planteth and he that watereth are one, and every man shall receive his own reward according to his own labor. For we are laborers together with God. For we are laborers together with God. Here's the amazing privilege of serving God, friend. You're not serving him, you're serving with him. Now we are serving him, but I'm not serving him on my own. We are labors together with God. The amazing thing about serving God, sharing the gospel, witnessing in your workplace, knocking on someone's door, teaching some class, telling somebody about the Jesus, you're not doing it by yourself. you are serving with him. That one who said, let there be light and there was light steps in alongside. As I share the gospel of Jesus Christ and share what the Bible says about his life and his death and his burial and his resurrection and how all you have to do is put your faith and trust in him. As I speak that word on the outside, the Holy Spirit of God is speaking on the inside. And I am laboring with him. an ambassador of the Lord Jesus Christ, the nobility of the work. There is no higher call. None. I don't know what you got to do this week, but none will compare. Hey, you ever get in your place of work and some things seem so mundane and routine, right? Sometimes work is work, isn't it? Remember that while you're there, You're not just there for that. You're there to be an ambassador of the Lord Jesus Christ. Your earthly vocation is your earthly mission field. That's what it is. Your vocation on this world is your mission field. There's somebody sitting next to you, someone who works with you, someone who goes with you, that is your mission field. You know those places you go through the week? Your mission field. The place that you go to as an ambassador of the Lord Jesus Christ. The nobility of the call. If we're not careful, friend, we treat the highest call like it's the least of calls. We treat what is the greatest honor as if it's some great burden upon us. That which ought to consume us is something we just try to fit in because we lose sight of what a great noble privilege it is to serve the King of kings and the Lord of lords. That the moment of our salvation, it was committed unto us the word of reconciliation. Your first ministry is the first ministry you receive from the moment of your salvation. When the word of reconciliation was committed unto you and you got your soul was saved and you were made an ambassador of the Lord Jesus Christ. to carry the gospel into your home, to carry the gospel into your workplace, to carry the gospel into your community. When you were saved, you received your first call. Your first call. Your first ministry. Your first privilege. To be an ambassador of the Lord Jesus Christ. He looks at his disciples and he says, Greater works than these shall ye do. And I'm sure they scratched their head, because they weren't quite getting it yet. It was going to take maybe three days or so. He was going to be crucified. They were going to scatter. Peter was going to deny. Peter was going to go back to fishing. Jesus would die. He would rise again. He'd say, I know where they went, they went back to Galilee, back to fishing, but I'm not going to let them do that. He went back and found them, and he called them. About 40 days later, Peter stands up at Pentecost, and 3,000 are saved. Added to the church daily. multiplied, the world turned upside down. Paul, confronted on that Damascus road, his life is changed. He puts his trust in the Lord Jesus Christ. He goes from strange city to strange city, preaching the gospel, takes the gospel into Europe, into the Western world. And from there, friend, it's all history. Here we sit. Here we sit. Do you know there's more in church today here at Grace Baptist Church than there was in the upper room after Christ's death? That's pretty amazing. 2,000 years later. Greater works than these shall you do. There's no greater work than a soul saved, no greater miracle than a life changed. And Jesus said, the reason I came is the reason you're still here. I came to die. You've been sent to go. and there is no greater work. When you leave here today, I know you have your workplaces to go. Go with the gospel. Go with the gospel. And when you run into your needs, call upon your father. When you need boldness, lean into his spirit and call upon your father. When you're struggling with motivation, remember what your Jesus did for you and love your God. When you need power, Lean into it, you'll do his Holy Spirit. And God, watch God work in your life. Your purpose, our purpose. And in God's eyes, a greater work can be done than what was done in his time. Because he hasn't quit working. Let's pray together. Lord, I love you and I thank you so much for the privilege of serving you. Lord, you saved our soul. You gave us a home in heaven, and you've given us the wonderful opportunity to be able to serve you. Lord, each of us will leave and go to different places this week, this morning, and I pray that as we go, we'd go with the gospel in our hand. Lord, we'd be bold in our witness, we'd let the love of God constrain us and motivate us and move us forward. We'd call upon you when in need, but we'd remember the great privilege of serving God. We wouldn't let it be just some part of us, but it would be what consumes us, to make sure those around us know the gospel. Or no doubt every one of us in this room knows someone without Christ. And I pray that, Lord, we would make it our purpose to make sure they know the Lord and have the opportunity to put their trust in the Lord. We certainly cannot determine what they do with it. We can certainly determine whether they have it. I pray that as you worked in our heart, Lord, we'd respond. Heads bowed and eyes closed, let me ask you this first of all. Do you know him? How many of you could say this morning, Preacher, I know that I'm saved. There was a time in my life when I've trusted in Christ. That's a settled thing for me. Would you raise your hand as a testimony and thank you may put your hand down. Is there anybody here this morning said, Preacher, I'm unsure about it. Maybe you're one of those relying on another mediator. Maybe we're relying on good work. Friend, it won't work. It is Jesus alone. Anybody here this morning said, Preacher, would you pray for me? I want to know Christ. I want to put my faith and trust in him. Would you raise your hand as a testimony between you and I and the Lord? Say, Preacher, pray for me. Let me ask you this, then, those of you that are here, how many of you say, pretty sure the Lord has spoken to my heart? Maybe just a reminder of a simple truth. I know many of you, this is not new to. But sometimes what becomes familiar, what we are very familiar with becomes common, and as we let it become common, it sits on the back burner of our life. Maybe the Lord just spoke to your heart this morning. Maybe it's a reminder of that comforter or that answered prayer. But you'd say, Preacher, the Lord spoke to my heart this morning. Would you raise your hand as a testimony? And would you stand with me as that pianist begins to play? As God has spoken to your heart, there's an invitation being given. And maybe someone's name specifically was brought to your mind. But as God has spoken to your heart, do business with the Lord this morning. you