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Apart from Jesus we can do Nothing

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John 15:5
5 I am the vine; you are the branches. Whoever abides in me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing.
Apart from Jesus we can do nothing. Both as a church and as individuals. One of the things we must do as Christians and as a church is to periodically check to see if we are doing what we do in our own strength or if we are rightly abiding in Jesus and doing out of the strength He provides through the Spirit. If we try to do the things we are called to do in our own strength, one of two things will eventually happen.

The first thing that can happen if we do things in our own strength is great frustration and obstacles. God wants our hearts to be His. And knows that reliance on His Son is the only reliance that is ultimately good for us. Where we are the most frustrated in our Christian life or in ministering to others is usually the place that we are trying to do it in our own power. If we are not abiding in Christ the vine we try to work really hard to try to produce fruit. And yet the fruit doesn't come.

Sometimes we even toil away and end up with artificial fruit that doesn't end up abiding (vs 16). Wax fruit that looks like fruit is not ultimately what blesses others and satisfies the hearts of those around us. When frustration and obstacles arise and all your effort seems wasted or thwarted, ask the question: Am I abiding in Christ and relying on him for the strength and love and grace and motivation I need to do this? Or am I relying on my own ability to get it done? If you are abiding in Christ frustration may still come, but enduring it will be a whole different ballgame.

The second thing that can happen when we don't abide in Christ is actually success. That's right, success. God will sometimes allow us to bear fruit out of our own strength and use it to bless people in spite of us. You see this at times in pastors who have a vibrant successful ministry and then suddenly the scandal is revealed. What happened? God saw fit to use them in spite of them, and though they stopped abiding in Christ at some point, people were helped and blessed. But God, in His graciousness, cannot let that go on forever. Why? Because He loves us too much for that. Eventually as an act of his grace to us, He lets the bottom fall out.

And in the midst of the pain and heartache God's hope is that we stop trusting our own strength and begin instead to refocus our hearts on the Lord Jesus Himself. In short, God's hope is that we would abide in the vine as the branches that we are and gain the strength and nutrients from God himself. God wants your hearts and your reliance and trust. Abide in Christ, enjoy Him, be strengthened by Him, trust Him, knowing that as you abide in Him and He abides in you, you will bear much fruit.

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