John 14:1-14

Today’s passage takes place the night of Jesus’s arrest. This is His last night with His disciples, and we read in John the extensive wisdom He imparts to them in this brief period. Jesus assures them that their work on earth will not be over once He leaves to sit at the right hand of the Father in heaven. Instead of being out of work, Jesus promises that the things He began would continue and increase—not greater kinds of work, but in a greater sphere of influence. Because Jesus was sending the Holy Spirit, His work would continue through His prayerful people who asked and acted in His name.

In Acts 2, after Jesus’s ascension into heaven, He sent the Holy Spirit to fill his believers just as He promised (John 14:16). On that day, Peter, filled with the Holy Spirit, stood up and preached to a jeering crowd. Through the power of the Holy Spirit, this hostile crowd was “pierced to the heart,” and 3,000 believers were added to the kingdom. What a great work! More believers were converted in one day than were recorded during Jesus’s entire ministry on earth. This was not because of Peter’s eloquent words or his charismatic speaking ability; this work was because of the power of the Holy Spirit. Jesus promised greater works, and man, did He deliver. After the day of Pentecost, the church continued to grow in love and number (Acts 2:47).

The great works of Jesus didn’t end at his death, resurrection, or ascension into heaven. His boundless works didn’t stop when the church began to experience persecution. Jesus has repeatedly fulfilled the promise He made to His disciples in John 14. The Holy Spirit continues to draw people in the jeering crowds and grow the community of believers. Because of the power of the Holy Spirit, Jesus’s work has never stopped—it's spread!

As spirit-filled believers, we are a part of this Kingdom work too. Peter saw an opportunity when the crowd mocked; the early church saw needs they could meet and people they could love. Like Peter, the early church, and countless believers who have followed, God desires to use us to continue His work and grow His Church. Jesus promised to do anything we ask that aligns with God's character and purpose. We aren’t expected to do these God-sized tasks by our own power; He wants us to obediently step into opportunities that He has revealed to us and allow the Holy Spirit to work through us. He calls us to prayerfully ask and act in His name. As we prepare our hearts for a new year of worshiping our King, consider how God is calling you to join Him in this work.

Be prayerful about the needs and opportunities around you. How is God calling you to join Him in His work?

Lord, thank You for inviting us to be a part of Your Kingdom work! How humbling that You would give us Your Holy Spirit to continue the great works you began thousands of years ago. All the glory and praise are Yours. Open our eyes to where You would have us serve and give us the boldness to step into opportunities of obedience. We trust Your promises and Your spirit. Amen. 

Author: Amy Fontenot