You Are Being Trained for Greater Works: Don't Stop Now!

As we come to the final part of our Preparing for Greater Works series, I want to leave you with one final truth: You are being trained for greater works.

We have spent the last several weeks talking about preparation. We have talked about seeking the Lord early. We have talked about seeking Him continually. We have talked about submission, humility, and teachability. We have talked about understanding that the enemy has limits—but God does not.

John 14:12 says: “Most assuredly, I say to you, he who believes in Me, the works that I do he will do also; and greater works than these he will do, because I go to My Father.”

Jesus said that those who believe in Him would do the works He did—and even greater works.

That is an incredible statement, and it should shape the way we think about our potential, our calling, and the work God may still have ahead of us.

You Are Being Trained for Greater Works: Have an Expectation Without Losing Your Humility

Sometimes we become uncomfortable with the idea of expecting God to do great things through us.

We don’t want to sound presumptuous. We don’t want to seem prideful. We don’t want anyone to think we believe too highly of ourselves. But there is a difference between believing in ourselves and believing what Christ said about those who believe in Him.

You can have an expectation that God may use you in significant ways and still remain completely humble. In fact, humility should make us more available to God, not less. Humility doesn’t require us to deny the gifts He has placed within us. It requires us to recognize where those gifts came from.

You don’t have to minimize what God has given you in order to remain humble. You simply need to remember that the gifts were never given to make much of you.

They were given to make much of Him.

You Are Being Trained for Greater Works: You Have a Place at the Table

Jesus did not limit John 14:12 to one type of person.

The invitation to believe and participate in the work of God is not based on whether you are male or female. Don’t allow anyone to convince you that you are somehow less capable of being used by God because of who you are. You come to the table with the same potential for God to work through your life.

He is just as interested in developing you as He is in developing anyone else.

God has invested in you. He has given you gifts. He has given you experiences.\ He has given you opportunities to grow.

The question is not whether God is interested in using you. The question is whether you are willing to allow Him to prepare you.

You Are Being Trained for Greater Works: Greater Works Require Greater Preparation

This is where everything we have discussed in this series comes together.

It is one thing to say that we want God to use us. It is another thing entirely to submit ourselves to the preparation required.

We cannot expect to carry greater responsibility if we refuse to develop the character necessary to carry it. We cannot expect to lead others if we refuse to learn from those who have gone before us. We cannot expect to be trusted with greater opportunities if we are unwilling to be faithful with the opportunities we have today.

If we are unwilling to submit to training, discipleship, and godly authority, then we may be asking for something we are not yet prepared to carry.

Preparation matters. And preparation often happens long before we understand why we are being asked to learn something.

God may be developing your patience. He may be teaching you how to receive correction. He may be placing you in situations that require humility. He may be teaching you how to work with people who are different from you. He may be asking you to remain faithful in a season that feels small.

None of it is wasted.

You are being trained.

You Are Being Trained for Greater Works: Find Someone Who Can Call Out Greatness in You

One of the greatest gifts you can give yourself is finding someone who can recognize the gifts God has placed within you and help develop them.

You need people in your life who are willing to challenge you. People who will tell you the truth. People who will correct you in love. People who will celebrate what God is developing within you.

Growth is rarely comfortable. There will be growing pains. Expect them.

Refuse to be stopped by them.

When you experience frustration, uncertainty, or discouragement, don’t automatically assume that something is wrong. Sometimes discomfort is evidence that something is growing.

Talk to someone who can help you understand the process. Express how you are feeling. Ask questions. Remain open to correction.

The right mentor will not only celebrate your gifts. They will also help you strengthen the areas that still need development.

That is part of the training.

You Are Being Trained for Greater Works: Celebrate the Gifts Developing in Others

Here is something else we need to understand if we want to grow into the people God is preparing us to become:

We must learn to celebrate the gifts developing in others. There is no competition in the Kingdom of God. There is no need for comparison.

There isn’t “better than.” There is only truth.

You have a place. I have a place. The people around us have a place.

We are not all called to do the same things. We are not gifted in exactly the same ways. However - that doesn’t make one person’s assignment more valuable than another.

There is great freedom in understanding that you are an important piece of a larger whole. If your teammate is winning, you are winning, too. Their success does not diminish your calling. Their gifts do not threaten yours. Their opportunities do not take anything away from what God has for you.

We can celebrate one another because we are on the same team.

You Are Being Trained for Greater Works: Refuse Comparison and Offense

Living in community creates tremendous opportunities for comparison. Unfortunately, it also creates opportunities for offense.

Someone receives an opportunity you wanted.

Someone else’s gifts are recognized.

Someone seems to move forward while you are still waiting.

Before we realize what is happening, comparison begins to grow. Comparison can make us resent the very people we should be celebrating. Offense can separate us from the relationships God intended to strengthen us.

But we don’t have to live that way.

Psalm 119:165 says: “Great peace have those who love Your law, And nothing causes them to stumble.”

What a beautiful way to live. Pursue peace. Protect unity. Refuse unnecessary offense. Celebrate what God is doing in others.

The Kingdom of God is not a competition.

We are better together.

You Are Being Trained for Greater Works: Look Back at the Training

Perhaps today, you can look back over your life and see things that didn’t make sense when you were going through them:

A difficult season. A correction you didn’t initially appreciate. A disappointment. A closed door. A season that felt small.

Perhaps now, with the benefit of time, you can see how God was developing something within you. Perhaps there are things happening in your life right now that you don’t understand yet.

You may be tempted to ask:

Why am I here?

Why is this taking so long?

Why do I have to learn this?

Why does this feel so difficult?

Maybe you are being trained.

Maybe God is developing something in you before He develops something through you. Maybe the season you are living right now is preparing you for something you cannot yet see.

You Are Being Trained for Greater Works: Keep Growing

So where do we go from here? Keep seeking the Lord.

Early.

Continually.

Remain humble.

Stay teachable.

Submit yourself to the preparation process.

Don’t be intimidated by the enemy. Remember that he has limits.

Remember that the God who is preparing you has none.

You don’t have to become everything overnight. You don’t have to know everything today. You don’t have to have all the answers before you take the next step.

Just keep growing.

Keep learning.

Keep following.

Keep allowing God to develop you.

Because you are being trained for greater works.

You Are Being Trained for Greater Works: Reflection

Take a moment and ask yourself:

Am I willing to submit to the training God is providing in my life right now?

Who is helping me recognize and develop the gifts God has placed within me?

Am I willing to receive correction in love?

Can I celebrate the gifts and opportunities God is developing in others without comparing them to my own?

What difficult season or experience might God be using as part of my preparation?

You may not fully understand the training while you are in it, but that doesn’t mean it isn’t preparing you.

Stay in the process. Remain faithful. Keep growing.

God is still developing you.

Whatever He has ahead, He knows exactly how to prepare you for it.

You Are Being Trained for Greater Works: Let’s Continue the Conversation

Over the past five weeks, we have walked through a journey of preparation together. We began by learning to seek the Lord early, and then we talked about the importance of seeking Him continually. From there, we explored submission and teachability, learned to recognize the limits of the enemy and the limitless nature of God, and finally, considered how God uses the process of training and development to prepare us for greater works.

I hope you’ll join me on the Connect Podcast this Thursday as we bring this series to a close and spend a little more time reflecting on what it means to remain faithful to the preparation process.

If this series has encouraged you, I’d love for you to explore Connect Mentoring Network. There are resources available for every season of ministry and spiritual growth. You can choose individual resources based on what you need right now, or join as a member and receive access to the full library.

The series may be ending, but the preparation doesn’t stop.

Keep seeking. Keep learning. Keep growing.

Remember: You are being trained for greater works. See you next time!