Why You Need Jesus to Accomplish Anything Great

The fact that we need Jesus goes without saying. We need Him for salvation, that’s the gospel but the need doesn’t stop with salvation. If after coming to Jesus, we aspire to build the Kingdom, if our heart yearns to do anything great for God, we still need Jesus. He boldly declared in John’s gospel that apart from Jesus, disconnected from the vine, we can do nothing. We have been looking at ‘vine life’ the past couple of podcasts and this week is no different. In studying further along this line, I ran into this tremendously insightful testimony. This gentleman declared that two years ago, worn out by three years of spiritual battle, I found myself asking the question: “Jesus, if Your Spirit abides in me in the person of the Holy Spirit, who is my comforter, why do I so often feel alone and You seem so far away?” What came to me in response were Jesus’ words in Jn. 15:5: “I am the vine; you are the branches. If a man remains in me and I in him, he will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing.”

Jesus was saying, “Living spiritually requires something more than just not sinning or doing good works. In order to live in the kingdom of heaven, you must abide in Me. Your identity is in Me.” If I’m not abiding in Jesus, then where is it that I abide? I asked myself.

I began to notice that when I was tired or anxious, there were certain sentences I would say in my head that led me to a very familiar place. The journey to this place would often start with me walking around disturbed, feeling as if there was something deep inside that I needed to put into words but couldn’t quite capture. I felt the “something” as an anxiety, a loneliness, and a need for connection with someone. If no connection came, I would start to say things like “Life really stinks. Why is it always so hard? It’s never going to change.” If no one noticed that I was struggling and asked me what was wrong, I found my sentences shifting to a more cynical level: “Who cares? Life is really a joke.”

Surprisingly, I noticed by the time I was saying those last sentences, I was feeling better. The anxiety was greatly diminished. My “comforter,” my abiding place, was cynicism and rebellion.

From this abiding place, I would feel free to use some soul cocaine—a violent video with maybe a little sexual titillation thrown in, perhaps having a little more alcohol with a meal than I might normally drink—things that would allow me to feel better for just a little while. I had always thought of these things as just bad habits. I began to see that they were much more; they were spiritual abiding places that were my comforters and friends in a very spiritual way; literally, other lovers.

The final light went on one evening when I read Jn. 15:7 in The Message. Peterson translates Jesus’ words on abiding this way: “If you make yourselves at home with me and my words are at home in you, you can be sure that whatever you ask will be listened to and acted upon.” Jesus was saying in answer to my question, “I have made My home in you, Brent. But you still have other comforters you go to. You must learn to make your home in Me.” I realized that my identity had something to do with simply “staying at home.¹ Can you say wow! to this insightful story? We’ll talk a little bit about this and with it dive into the idea of Why You Need Jesus to Accomplish Anything Great. That’s our focus on this week’s Light on Life.

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#S3-017: Why Is the Name of Jesus So Powerful? [Podcast]

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You can view a basic transcript of this podcast at the bottom of this section.

Accept the Challenge

Each week’s podcast contains a call to action. The Word of God will not produce in your life unless you put it into operation.
This week’s call is:

You need Jesus to accomplish anything great. Great means significant, or impactful. Great means the Kingdom was better off with your contribution.

Join the Conversation

Testimony is vital to a believer’s life. We overcome by it (Rev. 12:11). Each week’s podcast also contains a question designed to encourage testimony.
This week’s question is:

Question: Share your God story of how Jesus working through produced a great result for the Kingdom of God. You can give your personal testimony in the comments section below.

Episode Resources:

If you would like to know more about growing in faith, see the links below to listen to some of these podcasts.

We are currently teaching in the Gospel of John. You can click on the links below to listen to some of these podcasts.

About Emery

Emery committed his life to the Lord Jesus Christ over 48 years ago and has served as both a full-time pastor and an itinerant minister. He and his wife Sharon of 43 years emphasize personal growth and development through the Word of God. The ministry of the Holy Spirit is the focus and the hallmark of their mission. Read more about them here.

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Prayer

Well again, welcome.
Let’s talk to God for a moment.

Father God, we approach the Throne of God with respect asking for your help — you said let us come boldly to the Throne of Grace, that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need. Our need today is to have a clearer understanding of something Jesus told us: ‘apart from me you can do nothing.’ Help us to see this essential truth in Jesus Name, Amen.

You Need Jesus: Remaining in Him

John 15:5–7 (ESV) — 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. 6 If anyone does not abide in me he is thrown away like a branch and withers; and the branches are gathered, thrown into the fire, and burned. 7 If you abide in me, and my words abide in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you.

In the opening illustration that opened this podcast, there was a great question that this struggling believer asked of himself.
‘If I’m not abiding in Jesus, then where is it that I abide?’
This man was had found comfortable substitutes to abide with.
The word abide means to settle down and remain.
This man settled down with what he called ‘soul-cocaine.’
That’s marvelously descriptive.
So, here’s a point of realization for all of us..
If we’re are not hooked to Jesus, we’re hooked to something else.
What exactly is that?

You Need Jesus: What Does Nothing Mean?

Jesus said, ‘Apart from me, we can do nothing.’
What does the word ‘nothing’ mean?
Let’s break that down and with that thought here is the Definition of the Day.
Does ‘nothing’ mean ‘absolutely nothing’?
Yes, it does!
It means nothing that is acceptable to God.
It means nothing that honors Him as God.
We’re talking no fruit.
How about no spiritual achievement?²
Driving the point home a little deeper is the grammar.
The phrase ‘without me’ is emphatic in the Greek.
That means the two words are being ‘shouted loudly’ in the sentence.
So take your marker and underline the words ‘without me.’
Bold-face.
Highlight it — circle it — put stars.
Without me you can do nothing!!
Following these two words ‘without me’ comes the words ‘can do nothing.’
This is a double negative in the Greek.
Translated literally? — ‘you are not able to do nothing.’
The double negative means ‘not no way, not no how’ emphasizes the futility of independent action apart from Jesus.³
Philippians 4:13 is the flip side of John 15:5.
‘Without me you can do nothing, but…

Philippians 4:13 (ESV) — 13 I can do all things through him who strengthens me.

Without Jesus — can’t do nothing — we’re in the basement.
With Jesus — can do all things — we’re in the penthouse.
Plain and simple, everybody is hooked to somebody.
Jesus said there are only two families on Planet Earth — the family of God and the dysfunctional family of Satan.
Everybody is hooked to somebody.

John 8:44 (ESV) — 44 You are of your father the devil, and your will is to do your father’s desires. He was a murderer from the beginning, and does not stand in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he lies, he speaks out of his own character, for he is a liar and the father of lies.

You Need Jesus So You Won’t Be Average

Now, the title of this podcast is Why You Need Jesus to Accomplish Anything Great.
Put emphasis on the word ‘great.’
Great means significant, or impactful.
Great means the Kingdom was better off with your contribution.
We don’t want to name this podcast Why You Need Jesus to Accomplish Anything Mediocre.
Who wants mediocre?
Mediocre means moderate quality — not so good.
Medicore means the Kingdom was not better off with your contribution.
In the same way, we wouldn’t want to name this Why You Need Jesus to Accomplish Anything Average.
What is average? – It’s a whole host of things.
Is average okay with you?
Do you go out to eat to spend good hard-earned money for average?
Or do you want your money’s worth?
Being average is not the target we should seek.
And with that thought, here is the Illustration of the Day.
What does it mean to be average?
“Average” is the top of the bottom, the best of the worst, the bottom of the top, the worst of the top.
“Average” means being run-of-the-mill, insignificant, and also-ran, a non-entity.
“Average” is the lazy person’s copout; it’s lacking guts to take a stand in life; it’s living by default.
Being “Average” is to take up space for no purpose; to take a train through life but never to pay the fare; to return no interest for God’s investment in you.
Being “Average” is to pass away one’s life with time, rather than [the other way around] to pass one’s time away with life; it’s to kill time, rather than working it to death.
To be “Average” is to be forgotten once you pass from this life. The successful are remembered for their contributions; the failures are remembered because they tried; but the “average,” the silent majority, are just forgotten.
To be “Average” is to commit the greatest crime against oneself, humanity, and one’s God. The saddest epitaph is this: “Here lies Mr. and Mrs. Average – here lies the remains of what might’ve been, except for their belief that they were “average.”⁴
I don’t know about you, but phooey on average.
Your goal is not to accomplish mediocre work or average work for the Kingdom.
In line with the text then, medicocre fruit is out.
Average fruit is out.
We want fruit that’s great, that’s signficant, that’s impactful.
In line with the scripture.
It’s fruit, more fruit, and much fruit per John fifteen.
Or, we could say it this way thirty, sixty, or one-hundred fold.

Matthew 13:23 (ESV)— 23 As for what was sown on good soil, this is the one who hears the word and understands it. He indeed bears fruit and yields, in one case a hundredfold, in another sixty, and in another thirty.”

So in your heart, focus on accomplishing great things with the help of Jesus.

You Need Jesus: Some Have Walked Away

Now unfortunately, there are folks who have known God but have walked away from Him.’
They will find out the living reality of Jesus words: apart from me, there is no peace — apart from me, nothing you do is of positive eternal value.
Apart from Jesus, plain and simple, we’re a zero.
Now, there are those who pay lip service to the Lordship of Jesus.
Living out your confession of faith — you know, you confessed Jesus as Lord when you came to Him — that’s how you got saved.
You must bow your knee to His Lordship.
‘Jesus is Lord’ is the key to vine life and it means only one thing, — Jesus is the boss.
This particular boss has one outstanding trait — everything Jesus says, He is one-hundred percent right about.
If any of this describes you, that is you walked from God, I want you to know that it’s the easiest thing to get back to Him.
Just bow your head and your heart and ask the Lord to forgive you.
Jesus has not forsaken you — He’s right where you left Him.
Hook back up to the Vine in your heart and let’s bear signficant fruit for God.

You Need Jesus: Some Were Never Connected

With that, there’s another class of folks that we must mention.
These group are the ones who only pay lip service to God.
They are of that portion of humanity that are trying to capitalize on the person Of Jesus while having no genuine interest in Jesus.
Don’t confuse this group with the backslider.
This is a whole different bunch.
These are the false followers of Jesus — they are among the rebellious of Planet Earth.

Matthew 7:22 (ESV) — 22 On that day many will say to me, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and cast out demons in your name, and do many mighty works in your name?’ 23 And then will I declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from me, you workers of lawlessness.’

‘Did we not prophesy in your Name? — You see they are trying to capitalize on Jesus.
What does the sentence mean, ‘I never knew you’ mean?
Well, what does the Word ‘never’ mean?
‘Never’ is an indefinite negated point of time, —‘never, not ever, at no time’ according to the Greek dictionary.⁵
Now, that should cinch this.
‘Never, not ever, at no time’ could only mean that we’re not talking about a backslider here or a marginal believer.
This person referenced here says that they cast out demons.
This person says that they did mighty works in Jesus name without ever being connected to Jesus the Vine.
God never knew them in relationship!
They were never born again!
Jesus never knew.
They were never sons of God.
The Holy Spirit didn’t flow through them as the scripture said, ‘out of your belly shall flow living water.’
These falso ones never abode in Jesus at any time.
They have helped no one eternally because apart from Jesus, no one can do anything.
This person described in Matthew seven is a pure sinner trying to act religious — trying to profit from Jesus.
These are wolves in sheep’s clothing.
We’re talking spiritual imposters here, an antichrist even, or a false prophet trading in Jesus’ Name.
So, there are several groups of people who are producing nothing of eternal value.
Either they have not connected to the vine at all or they are the withering branches of the vine.
We have believers who, by walking off from God, are disconnected.
We have marginal believers who like to hear but refuse to do what they hear.
Then, we have flat-out unbelievers who are ‘false prophet style’ faking the connection to the vine and God has never known them from the get go.

You Need Jesus: Connected But Not Robotic

Now in the margin of my Bible, next to John fifteen five, I have a note in my Bible I want to share with you.
It’s a quote from Bill Johnson and with that thought here is the Quote of the Day.

God never intended that the believer be a puppet on a string. God actually makes Himself vulnerable to the desires of His people. In fact, it can be said, “if it matters to you, it matters to Him.” While much of the Church is waiting for the next word from God, He is waiting to hear the dream of His people. He longs for us to take our role, not because He needs us, but because He loves us.⁶

God never intended for you to be a puppet on a string — or a robot that responds to commands — I like that — it’s right and true.
God intended one thing for your life, which is to be a branch connected only to Jesus the Vine, so that His life can flow through you and produce fruit for God.
Remember, the vine life is a fine life.
The point of this vine connection from God’s point of view is ‘let’s do life together!’
But again, not life as you define it.
Not the life of your choosing.
Not the plans you engineered or that you used your brain to figure out — but life as He sees it for you.
His life not your life.
His will not your will.
The will of God is the best life.
It’s the high life.

Matthew 10:38–39 (AMP) — 38 And he who does not take up his cross and follow Me [cleave steadfastly to Me, conforming wholly to My example in living and, if need be, in dying also] is not worthy of Me. 39 Whoever finds his [lower] life will lose it [the higher life], and whoever loses his [lower] life on My account will find it [the higher life].

Now, let’s think in line with the Word of God for a moment.
Let’s reason together within the framework of God’s Word.
If apart from Jesus you can do nothing, and you believe that to be right and true, why wouldn’t you check in with Him on major decisions in your life?
If you know from the scripture that there’s a chance that you might lay a goose egg trying to do things on your own, why would you risk that?
Aren’t you concerned that the decision you came up with on your own could lead to ‘nothingness.’
If connected to Him you bear fruit — more fruit — much fruit, if connected to Him you can do all things, why wouldn’t you continually cash in on that by continual going to Him for wisdom?
Makes sense doesn’t it?
All you have to do is ask Him.

Matthew 7:7–8 (ESV) — 7 “Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. 8 For everyone who asks receives, and the one who seeks finds, and to the one who knocks it will be opened.

Ask and it will given to you — what is this?
What is this answer to prayer? — it’s prayer fruit.
So, congratulations, you’re fruitful.
Seek and you will find — what is that in God?
Again, it’s being fruitful — that is what it is!
Knock and the door shall be opened to you.
What is the open door? — the same thing, fruitfulness!
Ask, seek, knock, open doors are all forward progress that happens because you have taken your place on the vine.
You’re coming to God in prayer — you’re connected to Him.
He’s answering — that life is flowing through and you are bearing prayer fruit.
And, it’s all because you refuse to be moved off of the Vine.
Mark it down.
If we stay in contact with the right thing, we will gain the victory over the wrong thing.
F. W. Robertson of Trinity Chapel, Brighton, was one of the great preachers. There was a tradesman who had a little shop who, in the back room, he kept a photograph of Robertson, for he was his hero and his inspiration. Whenever he was tempted to carry out something wrong, he would rush into the back room and look at the photograph, and the temptation was defeated. When this tradesman was asked about the secret of his life, he said these words: ‘I had a friend.’ [This man had a connection, a…] contact with this photo helped make this man an overcomer.⁷
Did you get this?
Your continued contact with Jesus the Vine will help you overcome.
Stay connected – because being disconnected produces zero.
Apart from Jesus, you can do nothing.

You Need Jesus: A Life of Dependance

Now, maintaining a vineyard is hard work.
In Bible days, small farms often planted vine, fig, and olive trees close together, but specialized vineyards existed.⁸
You see this specialized vineyard in Mark’s gospel.

Mark 12:1(ESV) — 1 And he began to speak to them in parables. “A man planted a vineyard and put a fence around it and dug a pit for the winepress and built a tower, and leased it to tenants and went into another country.

Vines required more work than olive trees but the vineyard is God’s work.
It’s His hard work.
Your job is to just stay connected.
So all of this boils down to this.
The Jesus life is a dependant life.
Apart from Him you can do nothing.
You can produce no fruit pleasing to God.
The Jesus life is a dependent life.

Ephesians 2:12–13 (ESV) — 12 remember that you were at that time separated from Christ, [separated from the vine] alienated from the commonwealth of Israel and strangers to the covenants of promise, having no hope and without God in the world. 13 But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ.

At one time, you were a dead branch.
This was your former life — separated, alienated, disconnected, and withering.
Your life before Jesus was but a pile of deadwood whose only use was to be burned.
But today, you are blessed connected branch bearing amazing fruit for God.
Aren’t you glad about this?

Now, Father God, we are so thrilled and so happy to be living a life of significance. It’s only by your grace that we are fulfilled within even as you designed us to be. We give you all the praise, glory, and honor for the Jesus life — a life connected to the vine.

Why You Need Jesus to Accomplish Anything Great.
You guys have a great God week and we will see you next time for another edition of Light on Life.

Why the Jesus Way Means Total Trust All the Time

___________
References:

Discipleship Journal, Issue 128 (March/April 2002) (NavPress, 2002). ↩
Ronald L. Trail, An Exegetical Summary of John 10–21, Exegetical Summaries (Dallas, TX: SIL International, 2018), 249. ↩
ibid ↩
David. Lewis Jr. Personal Development Page, Facebook, November 12, 2014, https://www.facebook.com/DreamUnstuck/posts/743099232444718. ↩
Johannes P. Louw and Eugene Albert Nida, Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament: Based on Semantic Domains (New York: United Bible Societies, 1996), 627. ↩
Johnson, Bill. Dreaming With God: Co-laboring With God for Cultural Transformation (p. 27). Destiny Image. Kindle Edition. ↩
Adapted from William Barclay, The Gospel of John, vol. 2, The New Daily Study Bible (Louisville, KY: Edinburgh, 2001), 204–205. ↩
Craig S. Keener, John, ed. Clinton E. Arnold, vol. 2A, Zondervan Illustrated Bible Backgrounds Commentary (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 2019), 154. ↩

emeryhorvath.com

Equipping people to pursue God's glory

Why You Need Jesus to Accomplish Anything Great

Podcast: Light on Life Season Eleven Episode Thirty-Five

by Emery Horvath

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