Impossible Possibilities

“Most assuredly, I say to you, he who believes in Me, the works that I do he will do also; and greater works than these he will do, because I go to My Father. And whatever you ask in My name, that I will do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son.If you ask anything in My name, I will do it." John 14:12-14

The promise sounds too good to be true. He who believes in Jesus will do the same works, and even greater works than Jesus Himself did.

Anything.

Just ponder for a moment the magnitude of the promise here. Greater works than Jesus did.

Greater works.

I've been a Christian since I was 13 years old, and I must have read this passage hundreds of times and heard a great many people teach about it, but it quickened in me only about 5 or 6 years ago. Greater works than Christ Himself asked for in His name.

Now I'd love to see someone raised from the dead, open blind eyes and lame limbs grow strong. Heck, I'd turn cartwheels if I see a hangnail healed at this point. I've not seen it.

Yet.

My brain gets in the way. So I start small. Peter needed cash to pay for the Temple Tax so he went to Jesus. Jesus tells him the first fish he pulls out that day will have a coin in it of sufficient value to pay their taxes. So I jumped on this. Start small and grow. It's like training to run a marathon. You don't do your first practice session the day before. Your muscles need to strengthen and adapt to that kind of pressure. You need to see yourself run a mile, 5 miles, 10 miles and so on to reach the goal of a marathon distance.

Finances are hard, but healing is harder. So I start small. We hit a rough patch with our finances and I asked God to help us in Jesus name. A small amount, the equivalent of just a few hundred dollars. It came in. I asked for work to increase our income and God opened a door which in turn led me to meet an amazing person who has become my closest friend other than my wife. Talking to her and swapping testimonies I saw my faith grow from a few hundred dollars to a few thousand a month. Then the time came for me to leave the job last month. I still trust God to provide the finances as the need is still there.

It only hit me a few days ago that a few thousand a month for 2 years now is greater than 1 coin in the mouth of a fish.

What seemed impossible when I set out was a possibility now.

I'm dedicating myself to spending more time writing and doing what God sends me out to do now. In addition, my wife and I have a business that I may end up managing full-time at some point. My name is on the ownership papers, but I don't really do much there. My passion is for my writing and teaching.

Greater works. The impossible possibility of seeing healing, financial freedom, the dead raised back to life. It all seems closer now.

I keep pondering and chewing over the passage from John's Gospel. Anything in Jesus' name.

Anything.

Why not? Water into wine, calming a storm with a word. These should be a part of our daily life as Christians. The works Jesus did seem impossible, but when we see ourselves as He sees us, the impossible becomes a possibility. Miracles follow the believer.

The miracles follow the believer.

Peter didn't get out of the boat then call to Jesus. He called to Jesus, then he walked on the water. He put his faith in a single word from Jesus. He believed. And then the miracle flowed.

The impossible is only so because we believe it to be. Our focus is such that as we look out we see through either our old self or our born-again self, and the focus determines the reality.

Now I'm not spouting some new-age theory like some nut-job guru. It's what Jesus said. First believe in Him - give our hearts and minds over to Him - then signs and wonders follow. But only to the extent we allow them to.

Read what Jesus did. See yourself there with Him. Imagine the response when he sends out the disciples to the towns and they come back having seen healings, demons cast out - and yes, I do believe that demons are real - all at the name of Jesus. See yourself standing with Jesus at Jairus's home and watching the girl rise from the dead at a simple command. See yourself giving the command! Jesus said we will do the works He did, so visualise yourself doing what He did. See yourself laying hands on the sick in your imagination to start with. Practice with the eyes of Faith, then move out with that faith and declare with Boldness like Peter and the others did that strength come into the lame, the outcast be restored and the brokenhearted be comforted.

But remember, it's only possible when we remember it's not impossible. When our focus is on the problem we will doubtless fail, but by the same token, when we focus on the solution, Jesus and the Holy Spirit in us, we can't help but see the impossible become possible.