Jesus drew a direct line between the way He was sent and the way He sends us — same power, same authority, same Holy Spirit, no exceptions.
After the resurrection, Jesus appeared to the disciples behind locked doors. And the first thing He commissioned them with was this:
"Peace to you! As the Father has sent Me, I also send you." — John 20:21 (NKJV)
He didn't say, "Go do a little bit of what I did." He didn't say some things would stop after He left. He said as. The same way. A direct correlation.
The Father sent Jesus to preach the gospel, heal the sick, set the captives free. And Jesus is making the point that there is no difference between the life He lived and the life you are to live.
Religion has spent centuries telling people they can't walk in what Jesus explicitly said they could — and most of us have believed it without realizing it.
Jesus didn't say, "I did a lot of healing, but you guys are just going to comfort people in their illness. It'll be a subpar type of thing." That is not what He said.
That's what religion says. That's what's been taught across the world for who knows how long.
Because people are, for some reason, timid about stepping into the same life that Jesus lived. We're unsure, so we make excuses. We act like He sent us out in some other manner. But He was very clear: as the Father sent Me, I am sending you.
Jesus promised that anyone who believes in Him would do the same works He did — and even greater ones.
He says it plainly in John 14:
"Most assuredly, I say to you, he who believes in Me, the works that I do he shall do also; and greater works than these he shall do, because I go to My Father." — John 14:12 (NKJV)
Jesus is not insecure like most leaders we know. He didn't need to hold it all for Himself. He looked at His disciples and said, go do greater things.
Some people will say you're out of line for believing that. I'm not going to apologize for it. Jesus said I could, and I'm just working every day to rid myself of doubt and unbelief so I can actually walk in what He has for me. That's what we're all working on.
A doubtful thought showing up doesn't ruin your faith — refusing to take it captive does.
I remember the night I was prophesying over someone I had never met. The Spirit told me exactly what to say, and the whole time my mind was screaming at me. But I took those thoughts captive and said, "I will obey the Spirit. I will not obey my insecurities."
That's what it looks like to have faith without doubting. You become a person who takes every thought captive and forces it to obey Christ. You don't just let your thoughts run.
Here's what most people miss: doubt comes when we allow our thoughts to keep going. A doubtful thought pops up, and we assume the whole thing is ruined. It's not. The scripture says take every thought captive and bring it into the obedience of Christ.
The word "hard" is not in that verse — faith without action is dead, but your faith is never supposed to be placed in your own effort.
Some people read "faith without works is dead" as if it says "faith without hard work is dead." But that changes everything.
Jesus said, "My yoke is easy and My burden is light." He told the disciples to go fishing, and the first fish they caught had a gold coin in its mouth. They had to put action to it. But they didn't have to toil all night.
The moment you move your faith from God to your own works, you've left faith entirely. You start thinking, "If I do everything right, then God will..." That is not how this works. God doesn't require your perfection. He required the perfection of Jesus Christ, which has now been credited to you.
Jesus doubled down and said it twice — you can ask for anything in His name and He will do it.
"Most assuredly, I say to you, he who believes in Me, the works that I do he shall do also; and greater works than these he shall 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 (NKJV)
There is no "JK" in the scriptures. Anytime Jesus doubles down on something, it's because He knows we're going to hear it the first time and still not believe it. So He says it again.
Faith comes by hearing and hearing and hearing. One day it finally clicks: Jesus said I can ask Him for anything and He will do it.
James tells us the two reasons people don't receive from God: they don't ask, or they ask with wrong motives.
"If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to all liberally and without reproach, and it will be given to him. But let him ask in faith, with no doubting, for he who doubts is like a wave of the sea driven and tossed by the wind. For let not that man suppose that he will receive anything from the Lord; he is a double-minded man, unstable in all his ways." — James 1:5-8 (NKJV)
And then James gets even more direct:
"You lust and do not have. You murder and covet and cannot obtain. You fight and war. Yet you do not have because you do not ask. You ask and do not receive, because you ask amiss, that you may spend it on your pleasures." — James 4:2-3 (NKJV)
If you're in this church, I can already tell you — you're following after the Lord. Your heart's desire is to be known as a follower of Christ. The people who will discourage you from asking God are the ones described in James 4. They're quarreling and jealous. You don't have to argue with them. Go home and draw a line: I don't receive what they said, because it doesn't line up with the Word.
Unforgiveness is one of the biggest hindrances to walking with God, and Jesus attached it directly to answered prayer.
"Have faith in God. For assuredly, I say to you, whoever says to this mountain, 'Be removed and be cast into the sea,' and does not doubt in his heart, but believes that those things he says will be done, he will have whatever he says. Therefore I say to you, whatever things you ask when you pray, believe that you receive them, and you will have them. And whenever you stand praying, if you have anything against anyone, forgive him, that your Father in heaven may also forgive you your trespasses." — Mark 11:22-25 (NKJV)
Holding grudges, staying mad, being mean — I get it. We all have situations where it stirs on the inside. But you have to get to the point where you refuse to let your walk with Christ be hindered because of unforgiveness.
If you struggle to forgive, change your confession. Stop saying, "It's hard to forgive," and start saying, "Jesus made it easy for me to forgive. In the same way He has forgiven me, I am going to forgive others."
The moment you were born again, the fullness of the Word came into your spirit — you are not waiting on anything.
I hear people say, "I haven't been to Bible school. I don't have as much of the Word in me as you." But listen: Jesus is the Word. The Holy Spirit and Jesus are one. The same Spirit that raised Jesus from the dead lives in you right now.
The scriptures say His word is written on your heart. The fullness of it is in your spirit already.
Put the waiting excuse in the trash. You don't need more time, more church attendance, more seminary. You need to quiet your mind and listen. You need to stop analyzing and say, "The Spirit of God already has this figured out. I'm listening to the inside and I'm waiting for instruction."
As the Father has sent Me, so I am sending you. You are sent ones, full of the Spirit of God, full of the power of God. In every situation you come up against, you already have the answer.
What does "As the Father has sent Me, so I am sending you" mean in John 20:21? Jesus was drawing a direct comparison between how the Father sent Him and how He sends His followers. He was sent to preach, heal, and walk in authority — and He's saying we are sent the same way, with the same power and the same Spirit. There is no lesser version of that commission.
Can Christians really do the works Jesus did? Jesus said plainly in John 14:12 that anyone who believes in Him would do the same works — and even greater ones. This is not an exaggeration or a metaphor. The only thing that prevents it is doubt, unbelief, and a failure to walk according to the Spirit.
How do you have faith without doubting? Doubt comes when you allow your thoughts to keep running without taking them captive. The key is becoming a person who takes every doubtful thought captive and brings it into obedience to Christ. A doubtful thought appearing is not the problem. Obeying it is the problem.
Does "faith without works is dead" mean you have to work hard to earn God's response? No. The word "hard" is not in that verse. Faith without action is dead — but your faith is supposed to be in God, not in your own effort. The moment your faith shifts to your own performance, you've left faith entirely. Jesus said His yoke is easy and His burden is light.
Why don't my prayers get answered? James gives two reasons: you haven't asked, or you've asked with wrong motives. God is generous and will not rebuke you for asking. But He does require that your faith be in Him alone and not divided between Him and the world.
Do you have to forgive people to have your prayers answered? Yes. Jesus connects forgiveness directly to answered prayer in Mark 11. Unforgiveness is one of the biggest hindrances to walking with God. Forgive quickly, reconcile quickly, and refuse to allow your walk with Christ to be slowed down by a grudge.
Do you have to go to Bible school or be spiritually mature before walking in these things? No. The moment you were born again, the fullness of the Word came into your spirit because the Holy Spirit came to live in you. You are not waiting to be qualified. You already have everything you need. Quiet your mind, listen to the Spirit, and obey what He says.
What should you do when someone discourages you from believing you can walk like Jesus walked? You don't have to argue with them. Go home, draw a line, and say, "I don't receive what they said, because it does not line up with what Jesus said." Take those thoughts captive and move on. The people who discourage you from asking God are not walking in the same place you are walking.
