In the Scriptures, we are told by the Lord Jesus Christ Himself that we will do greater works than He did. “Truly, truly, I say to you, he who believes in Me, the works that I do shall he do also; and greater works than these shall he do; because I go to the Father.” John 14:12. It is difficult for us to understand what those greater works are. We wonder how anybody could do something greater than the works Christ performed, but consider this: He was ministering during a time in which His works had to be for a sign. However, our works can be for a greater purpose than signs. We are not pulling rabbits out of a hat so that people will believe; we are bringing down principalities and powers.
I have heard some pastors say, “This is a hidden time in which we do not see many miracles,” but I do not agree with them. I know what miracles God has wrought in our midst over the years. How numerous have been the times He has wrought miracles, signs, and wonders! We have seen absolute changes of character, healings, deliverances, and miraculous reversals of weather. If any of us were interested in publicity, we could publish accounts of these miracles, but we will not do it.
The greater works will not be done for a sign or for publicity, but out of necessity. They will be done because there is a need for them. The works that Christ did were not always necessary; the people were healed, lived a few more years, and died. Christ compared that generation to a man who was delivered from an unclean spirit, but was later possessed by seven other spirits more wicked than the first. When they took over, the latter state of that man was worse than the first. Christ said, “So shall it be of this evil generation” (Matthew 12:43–45). Christ was crucified, resurrected, and He ascended on high; yet His generation was worse off after He had left them than they were before He came, because they did not continue on in His Word.
Christ’s miracles were signs that attested to His Messiahship. The greater works will be for another purpose.
The miracles today are not signs; they are a means of deliverance from the limitations of one age into the freedom of His Kingdom. We do not need recognition or publicity. We see people healed because God wants them healed, so that they may serve and function in the will of God.
As far as I am concerned, I am dead to the desire for publicity. I do not need to perform a miracle to build up my ego as a man of God. I can endure the persecution because that does not bother me either, as I walk on with the Lord. What people say for me or against me will not be the issue. We have only one cry, “Thy Kingdom come!”
Do you understand that the greater works are coming? We have been in them for a longer period than people realize. With a little careful research we could publish a book about the greater works that we have already participated in, but I would absolutely forbid it to be done. People should not believe in this move of God because of the number of miracles they see.
Look at the traditional church world—they publish magazines filled with testimonies, showing pictures of abandoned wheelchairs and crutches. Much of what has been heralded as God’s moving in the earth has actually been quite futile and empty. Although there were many claims of healing success by various evangelists and faith healers, current investigations of numerous case histories give us a different insight. In thousands of cases, time after time, the original afflictions returned to the people and they died. We do not want that. One of the methods which faith healers used was to tell cancer victims. “God will heal you of cancer because He healed others of cancer.” But that approach raised the question, “Were those others really healed of cancer?” and so the people were thrown back into a realm of uncertainty. Nothing will happen to a person simply because he hears many testimonies. But if someone is told to stand on the Word of God—which is true and is forever settled in heaven—then he can believe in a Living Word and be healed.
I personally believe we are seeing more signs and wonders that are hidden than the world knows about. In instance after instance, individuals are being released and then moving actively and progressively into sonship. The releases are really working in their lives. I am aware of answers to prayer every day. The minute I pray, things start happening. Soon, God’s answer is in my hand. When God gives a Word, we do not need any other resources except the fact that if He says it, we believe it.
May we never try to build up a case for ourselves by calling attention to the many miracles we have done. We are coming into a dedication to do the greater works, and to do them in such a way that they still remain hidden to the world. We will take no credit. Thousands of false prophets will come along and say, “I made that happen,” but two or three prophets humbly walking down the road will do the greater works in such a way that the Father will be glorified. We will not bite on the temptation to be praised. This Gospel of the Kingdom will be preached, and men will stand or fall by the way that they receive a Word from God, not on any other basis.
It is significant that at the beginning of Christ’s ministry, Satan tempted Him to do something spectacular: “Cast Yourself down from the pinnacle of the Temple, and when You walk away unharmed, everybody will believe” (Matthew 4:5–7). Jesus refused to do the spectacular thing. He refused to draw the focus to Himself. He came to do only one thing, to reveal the Father. When Jesus had finished His ministry, He said, “If you have seen Me, you have seen the Father” (John 14:9). If we move with His Spirit, we will do greater works and be able to say, “If you have seen us, you have seen the Lord.”
(Following is an exhortation on “eating” the Word.)
The only way you will ever grow spiritually is through the life which flows to you from God. The channel through which that life flows is the Word that God speaks. Have you ever said, “I’d like to really attain greater spiritual growth, but I don’t know what to do. Should I listen to Living Word tapes? Should I read the Word? What is it that I ought to do?”
When I grew up there was a prevailing tide of legalism, and this kind of counsel was often given: “Read the Bible fifteen minutes a day, pray fifteen minutes a day, and testify to an unbeliever fifteen minutes a day. That way you will never backslide and go to hell.” I remember how that was taught to me.
Fortunately, God became real to me and began to speak to my heart, and I loved to read the Word. As I did, I learned one very important key: Readers can be explainers, but only “eaters” are the speakers of the Word. Do not be satisfied with merely explaining the Word; instead, desire to speak the Word.
How do you become a speaker of the Word, instead of someone who is merely expounding or explaining it? Learn to “eat” the Word instead of reading it. If we could grasp this principle and apply it, there could be a worldwide spiritual revolution. Once you learn to eat the Word, it will be very difficult for you to ever return to the old way of reading. Of course, the Lord will still direct you to read the things that He wants you to know, but your overall attitude toward the Scriptures will change. The Word of God always serves as a plumb line by which we are measured. We go through many things while we are assimilating the Word; however, if we learn to eat the Word, it will become a living substance within us. Then we will speak the Word of the Lord.
The early disciples had a deep burden to speak the Word of God. Paul told the Corinthians, “I did not come to you with enticing words of man’s wisdom, for I did not want your faith to stand in the wisdom of man, but in the power of God” (I Corinthians 2:5). His primary concern could be paraphrased in this manner: “I do not want to come to you as an explainer, even if I could be the world’s best preacher and teacher of the Word. Even if I explained everything perfectly, to be an explainer is not enough. I must speak the Word of God to you with power, for that will change you. That will do something for you which nothing else can do.”
Did the prophet Jeremiah say, “Thy words were found and I did read them, fifteen minutes a day”? No! He said, “Thy words were found and I did eat them, and they became the joy and rejoicing of my heart; for I am called by Thy name, O Lord God of hosts” (Jeremiah 15:16). Like Jeremiah, the joy and rejoicing of our hearts is to eat the Word.
As a young man, I felt that I needed to know the Scriptures, and so I read them eagerly. Sometimes people would tell me, “You had better read some good commentaries and expositions too”; consequently, I built up a rather extensive library. Amazingly, I seldom used it, because I had a dedication that did not lend itself to the accumulation and study of books. I have used books for reference and to correlate their information with the Scriptures. Most commentaries tend to be rather worthless because they do not convey the deeper meaning of the Scriptures. Instead of reading commentaries, I determined this: “I will read the Scriptures, but not just for head knowledge. I will find a way for my spirit to take the Bible as a Living Word from God and feed upon it.” Sometimes I had to read for two hours before I found a truth that my spirit could grab and “eat.” At other times, my spirit would grab the very first verse I read. Then I would feast upon it and digest it thoroughly.
The Psalmist said, “Thy Word have I hid in my heart, that I might not sin against Thee” (Psalm 119:11). My love for the Word became the answer to every problem I had as a young person. I did not have to concentrate on my problems; instead, I concentrated on eating the Word. From the time of my youth, my dedication to eat the Word became the answer to every personal problem I had. Once I learned to assimilate the Word of God, I soon began to speak it. You, too, will speak a Living Word when you learn to eat the Word.