Brotherhood Breakfast: 6/20/2026
Notes
Transcript
5 “I am the vine, you are the branches. He who abides in Me, and I in him, bears much fruit; for without Me you can do nothing.
Satan has led many men to believe that dependence is weakness. From an early age, we’re taught to be self-sufficient. We are told, “Handle it yourself.” We are encouraged to “figure it out.” We are laughed at for asking questions and mocked when we ask for help. So we live in such a way as to not let anyone see us struggle.
The result? A generation of men who appear strong on the outside, but who are quietly being crushed on the inside. This is what makes the hymn I Need Thee Every Hour so refreshing. Written by Annie Sherwood Hawks in the late 1800’s, the hymn is a simple confession of dependence. There is no bravado. No self-reliance. No pretending. Just honesty… “I need Thee every hour.”
Not just in a crisis. Not only in tragedy. Not just for every major decision. But every week, every day, every hour. Jesus said it even more plainly: “Apart from Me you can do nothing.” Notice He doesn’t say “very little.” He says, “nothing.”
Here is a hard truth: most of us live as functional atheists throughout the week. We believe in God, but we operate as though everything depends on us. We carry our families, careers, ministries, finances, and futures on our shoulders. And then we wonder why we’re exhausted.
The Christian life was never intended to be powered by human effort. it was designed to be lived though daily dependence upon Christ. The strongest man is not the one who needs God the least. The strongest man is the one who knows he needs God the most.
Spiritual maturity is not independence from God. It is increasing dependence upon Him. Every day we are given a choice. Will we trust our strength… or His? One always leads to exhaustion. The other leads to abiding.
Right here in this verse, we are given the secret to the Christian life. It is not to study more, to work more, to go to church more, to pray more, to read more, to memorize more, to meditate more, or anything else like that. All of those things are great… and helpful. But the secret to the Christian life is simply to abide in Jesus. He says, “He who abides in Me, and I in him, bears much fruit. We can work ourselves to death, but only God can do something with it. We go to church as much as we want, but only God can open our eyes to see His truth. We can attend every seminar available, but without His presence in our lives, all of that will amount to nothing.
If we truly want to be transformed… if we truly want to experience all of what this life has to offer… if we truly want to make a difference in our families, in our churches, and in our communities, we must learn to abide in Christ. This is the key to the Kingdom. Nothing more, and nothing less. Some of those other things we mentioned, may be a part of abiding in Him, but those things in and of themselves will do nothing apart from Him. We must learn to abide.
Our first and most important task as Christians, and as men, is to lean in close to the One whose name we bear. If we are going to represent Him well… if we are going to make something of that great name, then we must first learn all we can about Him. The more time we spend with Him, the more we will become like Him. The more we learn of who He is, the more compelled we will be to share who He is with others. The more we learn of His will, the more anxious we will be to see it fulfilled.
We must remember that we can do nothing apart from Him. If anything is going to be accomplished that is worthwhile, it must be accomplished in and through Him. He goes on to say in verse 8, “By this My Father is glorified, that you bear much fruit… As the Father loved Me, I also have loved you; abide in My love… There things I have spoken to you, that My joy may remain in you, and that your joy may be full.”
The most underestimated component of the Christian life is the most influential. Jesus invites us right here to lean in close… not just for His sake, but for our own. As we lean in close to Jesus, our joy is made full. Joy is something that this world cannot take away. It is beyond circumstance, beyond reason, and beyond logic. It is implanted from on high when we spend time with the One who loves us the most.
Three simple steps to living the Christian life:
Read to Learn
Learn to Love
Love to Live
As we do these three simple things, we will draw closer to God. We will be transformed. We will come to experience the joy of God within our hearts. And we will make a difference in this life for the next.
