Ricky Drake 06/21/26 Another Look at the Greater Works

Devotional

Day 1: Dwelling Places: Becoming the Father’s Home

The Father’s house isn’t a distant mansion but the living temple of believers. Jesus prepares dwelling places not as physical rooms but as transformed hearts where God resides. When believers grasp their identity as God’s dwelling, they become vessels for His presence. This revelation shifts focus from chasing blessings to hosting the divine. The Father’s abiding in us makes His works possible, not our striving. [03:44]

“But Christ is faithful as the Son over God’s house. And we are his house, if indeed we hold firmly to our confidence and the hope in which we glory.”
(Hebrews 3:6, NASB)

Reflection: What practical step could you take today to more fully embrace being God’s dwelling place? How might hosting His presence reshape your priorities?

Day 2: Abiding Love: The Root of Obedience

Obedience flows not from duty but from abiding in Christ’s love. Just as Jesus remained in the Father’s love through obedience, believers bear fruit by staying rooted in divine affection. Keeping commandments becomes natural when love, not fear, drives the heart. This abiding connection makes supernatural works possible as the Father’s life flows through surrendered branches. [14:21]

“As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you. Now remain in my love. If you keep my commands, you will remain in my love, just as I have kept my Father’s commands and remain in his love.”
(John 15:9-10, NIV)

Reflection: Where does your obedience feel forced rather than rooted in love? How might resting in Christ’s affection change your approach to difficult commands?

Day 3: Greater Works Flow From Abiding, Not Striving

Miracles emerge from union with Christ, not human effort. Jesus did works through the Father’s indwelling presence, not personal power. When believers prioritize abiding over achieving, they position themselves for divine works that glorify God. The “greater works” Jesus promised become possible when our focus shifts from outcomes to intimacy with the Source. [20:11]

“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 the Father.”
(John 14:12, NIV)

Reflection: What “greater work” have you been striving to achieve that might actually flow from simply abiding? How could you shift from striving to abiding in this area?

Day 4: Fellowship Before Function: Knowing the Father’s Heart

True spiritual power begins with relational intimacy, not religious activity. Jesus emphasized knowing the Father over performing works. Fellowship with God involves more than prayer requests—it’s sharing life’s moments with Him. When believers prioritize relationship over results, they align with the Father’s heart, becoming conduits of His will rather than architects of their own plans. [31:17]

“We proclaim to you what we have seen and heard, so that you also may have fellowship with us. And our fellowship is with the Father and with his Son, Jesus Christ.”
(1 John 1:3, NIV)

Reflection: What mundane moment from today could become an opportunity for fellowship with God? How might seeing Him as a companion change your daily routines?

Day 5: Unshaken in Wreckage: The Safety of Abiding

Coming storms test where we’ve built our lives. Abiding in Christ becomes spiritual shelter when wreckage hits. Just as the preacher’s truck crash left him unharmed, those rooted in God’s love withstand life’s collisions. Protection comes not from avoiding trials but from dwelling in the One who rules over them. [39:32]

“In that day you will ask in my name. I am not saying that I will ask the Father on your behalf. No, the Father himself loves you because you have loved me and have believed that I came from God.”
(John 16:26-27, NIV)

Reflection: What current “wreckage” in your life reveals where you’re abiding? How might clinging to Christ’s love transform your experience of difficulty?

Sermon Summary

Jesus’ words in John 14 start with the Father’s house, and Hebrews 3 turns that house right back onto God’s people. Christ is faithful as a Son over the house, and that house is not just a far-off mansion idea. In this layer of revelation, the house is the dwelling place where the Father longs to live, stay, abide, and remain.

John 14:10 makes the whole thing plain. Jesus says the Father abiding in Him does the works. The works do not come out of flesh, human strain, or somebody trying to make something happen. John 6:63 says the words Jesus speaks are spirit and life, so the flesh profits nothing here. The Lord is the Spirit, and knowing the Father, knowing Jesus, and knowing Holy Ghost only happens in the Spirit.

The greater works in John 14:12 are real, needed, and honorable to desire, but they are not the main thing Jesus is driving at in John 14, 15, and 16. Jesus keeps bringing everything back to the Father. His relationship with the Father, His love for the Father, His oneness with the Father, and His desire to glorify the Father keep showing up again and again. The greater works sit inside that relationship, not outside of it.

Abiding becomes the key word. Jesus says to remain in His love just as He remains in the Father’s love. Love receives His commandments, keeps His word, gives attention to it, embraces it, and lets it live out through obedience. The Father and the Son make Their dwelling with the one who loves Jesus and keeps His word. That is not just religious talk. That is God making His home in a person.

The intent of the heart matters. Asking in Jesus’ name means asking from His nature, His character, His will, and His desire to glorify the Father. If the intent is to chase power, signs, or greater works, that intent pulls the heart away from Jesus. If the intent is to love Him, obey Him, honor Him, glorify the Father, and remain in Him, then the Father dwelling within opens the opportunity for His works to come through.

The wrecked truck becomes a warning and a mercy. Wreckage is coming, yet the Lord says harm does not have the final word for those who abide, love, obey, and remain. The call is not panic. The call is to check the heart and ask Jesus to make John 14, 15, and 16 real inside.

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Key Takeaways

1. Greater works are not the goal. The greater works become dangerous when they become the heart’s main chase. Jesus puts the Father’s glory, love, obedience, and abiding at the center, and the works flow from that place. Power without that center can make a person dangerous instead of fruitful. [29:53]
2. The Father dwells in His house. The Father’s house is not only a future place with rooms; in this layer, God’s people are the dwelling places. The Father longs to live, stay, and remain in those who belong to Christ. Greater works come from the Father dwelling within, not from religious effort trying to manufacture results. [19:01]
3. Spirit revelation makes truth real. Jesus’ words are spirit and life, so flesh cannot grab them and make them live. Revelation changes a person because Holy Ghost makes the word alive inside, not merely understood in the head. False doctrine grows where the flesh tries to know the Lord without the Spirit. [08:32]
4. Love keeps what Jesus says. Love does not merely admire Jesus’ commandments; love receives them, keeps them, and gives attention to His word. Jesus says the Father and the Son make Their dwelling with the one who keeps His word. Obedience is not cold performance here; obedience is the shape love takes when Jesus is truly treasured. [25:50]
5. Wreckage cannot harm abiding hearts. The warning about coming wreckage is not meant to feed panic. The warning presses the heart toward abiding, loving, keeping, and remaining in Jesus. Safety is not found in knowing every detail about what is coming, but in being where the Lord says to be.

## [39:11]

Youtube Chapters

[00:00] - Welcome
[00:53] - Another Look at Greater Works
[01:21] - The Father’s House
[03:10] - Christ Faithful Over the House
[05:00] - The Father Does the Works
[07:25] - Spirit and Life, Not Flesh
[11:24] - Greater Works in Context
[13:58] - Abide and Remain in Love
[18:24] - God’s People as Dwelling Places
[20:45] - The Father Must Be Glorified
[23:19] - Love Keeps His Commandments
[29:53] - Chasing Jesus, Not Works
[34:39] - The Truck Wreck Testimony
[39:11] - Wreckage Is Coming
[41:01] - The Father Himself Loves You

Bible Study Guide

Bible Reading

John 14:10-12
“Do you not believe that I am in the Father and the Father is in me? The words that I say to you I do not speak on my own authority, but the Father who dwells in me does his works. Believe me that I am in the Father and the Father is in me, or else believe on account of the works themselves. Truly, truly, I say to you, whoever believes in me will also do the works that I do; and greater works than these will he do, because I am going to the Father.” [04:48] [05:13] [06:15]

John 15:9-10
“As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you. Abide in my love. If you keep my commandments, you will abide in my love, just as I have kept my Father's commandments and abide in his love.” [14:11]

Hebrews 3:6
“But Christ is faithful over God's house as a son. And we are his house, if indeed we hold fast our confidence and our boasting in our hope.” [03:15]

John 6:63
“It is the Spirit who gives life; the flesh is no help at all. The words that I have spoken to you are spirit and life.” [07:44]

2 Corinthians 3:17
“Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom.” [09:56]

Observation questions

In John 14:10, who does Jesus say is doing the works, and where is that One dwelling? [05:37]
In Hebrews 3:6 and John 14, what connection is made between “God’s house” and “dwelling places”? [19:01]
In John 15:9-10, what actions are tied to abiding in Jesus’ love? [14:35]
In John 14:21 and 14:23, what words are repeated about the person who loves Jesus? [23:19]

Interpretation questions

If Jesus says the Father dwelling in Him does the works, what does that suggest about the source of any true spiritual work in a believer’s life? [27:16]
John 14:12 speaks about greater works, but John 14–16 keeps returning to the Father, love, obedience, and abiding. How does that wider context shape the way “greater works” should be understood? [12:10]
Jesus says that asking in His name is connected to the Father being glorified. What might it mean for a request to come from His character, will, and desire rather than from human ambition? [22:02]
John 6:63 says the flesh profits nothing, and 2 Corinthians 3:17 says the Lord is the Spirit. Why would trying to know Jesus only in natural understanding leave a person confused or unsteady? [08:32]

Application questions

When the heart thinks about spiritual power, answered prayer, or greater works, what honestly rises first: love for Jesus and the Father, or a desire to see something impressive happen? [29:53]
If God’s people are His dwelling places, what habits in daily life help make room to stay, remain, and fellowship with Him instead of rushing through the day untouched in heart? [31:24]
Jesus ties love to keeping His commandments and keeping His word. What is one specific word of Jesus that needs more attention, guarding, or obedience right now? [25:52]
Asking in Jesus’ name means asking from His will and for the Father’s glory. Is there a prayer request that may need to be reexamined so its deepest intent becomes more about honoring the Father than getting a desired outcome? [20:53]
The call to abide is not panic but heart-checking. What would it look like this week to truly check the heart before the Lord rather than assume everything is fine? [40:35]
Wreckage may come, yet harm does not have the final word for those who abide, love, obey, and remain. When pressure, fear, or uncertainty rises, what helps the soul stay with Jesus instead of being pulled into anxiety or control? [39:11]
Jesus says, “Abide in my love.” Where has remaining in His love become difficult lately—weariness, distraction, disappointment, disobedience, or something else—and what would returning look like in a real and practical way? [14:18]

Sermon Clips

39s

“``Oh, somebody gotta hear this. If you're chasing greater works, but you're not chasing Jesus, there are no greater works. The whole thing here, that he and the lord, they're foremost in our hearts, foremost in our minds, foremost in our bodies. The greater works are not the goal. Yes. It's wonderful, but they are not the goal. He's the goal.”

69s

“Love the father. Know the father's love for you. Believe that the father and Jesus are one. Love me as the father loves me. Let let me go back. When we believe that the father and Jesus are one so that we can become one with them. That's the key. So we can become one with them. Love me as the father loves me. Love one another. Abide, dwell, remain. Live in me. Keep my commandments. Obedience, Live, our lives to honor, glorify the father and Jesus. Live. Let this be the soulful intent of our existence. When this becomes real in us, this opens an avenue for us to do the greater works because the greater works are not our end goal or the intent of our hearts. All of what we just looked at is foremost in our hearts, souls, and minds, and even in our bodies.”

44s

“That's who this is. In that in that revelation, in this fear, we are those dwelling places. In other words, we are a place where the father dwells and longs to dwell, live, and remain. Because of him dwelling in us, it gives us the opportunity listen real closely. Because of him dwelling in us, it gives us the opportunity to do his greater works. Okay? Because of him dwelling in us, remaining in us, abiding in us, we in him, it gives us the opportunity to do his greater works. Okay?”

57s

“Jesus has purpose and reason. So that what what reason? This is important. So that the father may be glorified in the son. If that's not our reason, nothing is gonna happen. If we don't have the same intent that Jesus has toward his father, nothing is going to happen. He moves on the intents of the heart. That's what he moves on. That's why I come over in Hebrews, he says that he judges the intents of our hearts. And if the intents of our hearts are not the same as his, nothing is going to happen.”

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