Today’s Bible Verse
Very truly I tell you, whoever believes in me will do the works I have been doing, and they will do even greater things than these, because I am going to be with the Father.
John 14:12 (NIV)
Greater Things Shall You Do
When Jesus Christ walked the earth, He was the most powerful spiritual influence on the earth! This was not just because He was the Son of God. Remember, Jesus was both God and man; He was the Son of God, but He was also the Son of man (Matt 18:11). Just like us, He had natural parents, an everyday job with responsibilities, and from what little the Bible shares with us about His childhood, He led a somewhat normal adolescent life. That is, until Jesus, as the Son of man, was encountered by God and empowered by the anointing.
When the spirit of the Lord came upon Jesus, it came upon Him with purpose (Luke 4:18, NKJV). It didn’t come upon Him for His own good, but rather for the glory of God. In other words, He was anointed and set apart by God not just to do “good” things, but to do “God” things!
There are two different types of anointing: one is physical, as when the tabernacle was anointed, and the other is spiritual, as when David was anointed. To anoint something means to dedicate, separate, sanctify, consecrate, atone, cleanse, and make holy. It also means to separate and place into position.
The sons of Aaron could not be put into position as priests until they were anointed (Numbers 3:1-25). Samuel anointed Saul before he was appointed and placed in position as King (1 Samuel 10:1-7). In Luke 4:18, Jesus declared that the anointing came upon Him to preach the Gospel, heal the broken-hearted, give sight to the blind, and set the captives free.
Consider this, before the anointing, He was known as simply Jesus, the son of a carpenter. But after the anointing, He was known as Jesus “Christ,” “the Messiah,” “the Anointed One” and “His Anointing.” The name “Christ” was given to him, not as His last name, but it was given to Him because of how He functioned and how God intended for Him to operate in the earth!
Pastor Art taught us that the anointing in our lives makes the difference. Notice how the anointing made the difference even in the life of Jesus. Jesus, under the anointing, did great things, but in John 14:12, Jesus said that we would do greater things because He goes to the Father.
How can we be expected to do greater things than Jesus? Well, when Jesus physically left the earth, His Spirit went to be with the Father, but the anointing that was on Him never left the earth. The anointing of Jesus just transferred from one body to the next, from the physical body of Jesus to the spiritual body of Christ. That is why we are called the body of Christ—because we are now the body of the Anointed One under His anointing.
Now there is not just one man, the person of Jesus in the earth with an anointing, but many. Now, each one of us, as the body of Christ, carries His anointing and likewise has been set apart to do greater things because of Jesus Christ. The Anointed One and His anointing lives in us and works through us! (Marques Farmer)
Change My Story
What Greater things have you been set apart to do? What has God set before you to do this year? In the upcoming months? Have you set your heart to do the greater things that Jesus proclaimed you would do?
Remember, being a part of the body of Christ means that the same anointing that was upon Jesus is now upon you, and just like it was for Jesus, it came upon you with a God purpose. If we surrender, let go, and fully trust God to use His church for His good and for His glory, I guarantee the anointing will change our stories while making a God-sized difference in our personal lives and in the lives of so many others. These are the greater things that we, the church, have been set apart to do. (Marques Farmer)
Today’s Declaration
I declare that the anointing is upon me, and it makes the difference in my life. I commit today to accomplish the greater things that Jesus said the church would do. I have been appointed and anointed to do great things for the name of Jesus. I am His anointed, and I am under His anointing. I have been set apart to win souls, make disciples, and to win the multitudes for Jesus. Amen.
Today’s Bible Verse
- Old Testament: Esther 7-8; Proverbs 17:1-14
- New Testament: Luke 20:9-19; Philemon 1:1-11
