May 28th, 2026
This week, a verse of Scripture has been on my heart, and I want to share some thoughts with you. John 15:5 says,
“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.”
He didn’t say “apart from Me, you can do less.” He said unless we abide in Him, we can do nothing. Every work and effort except those that come from abiding in Him will be entirely fruitless. It is possible to labor and strive for a lifetime and produce nothing that remains. 1 Corinthians 3:10-15 teaches about a day when the work of every believer will be judged. It says,
“For no one can lay a foundation other than that which is laid, which is Jesus Christ. Now if anyone builds on the foundation with gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, straw— each one's work will become manifest, for the Day will disclose it, because it will be revealed by fire, and the fire will test what sort of work each one has done. If the work that anyone has built on the foundation survives, he will receive a reward. If anyone's work is burned up, he will suffer loss, though he himself will be saved, but only as through fire.”
This Scripture is about a person’s work, not their salvation. The last sentence says that even though a person’s work may be burned up, they can still be saved. That means it’s possible to be saved and spend your life working and building in vain. However, that’s not God’s intention. Jesus said in John 15:16,
“You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you so that you might go and bear fruit—fruit that will last—and so that whatever you ask in my name the Father will give you.”
Jesus has appointed us all to bear fruit that will last. His intention is for us to be so aligned with Him that we receive anything we ask the Father in His name. This is how we see the Kingdom of God expand effortlessly. We are meant to abide in Him and build eternal things that will survive the test of fire on judgment day.
However, abiding is an offense to our flesh. We cannot abide without truly understanding that we can do nothing apart from Him, and that is humbling. It is possible to do a work “for Jesus” that Jesus has nothing to do with. Only abiding will keep us from that kind of fleshly labor. If we are exhausted from the work we’re doing, we have undoubtedly stepped out of the place of abiding. Grace will empower us to do the work we’re called to do without growing weary when we do it from a place of abiding in Jesus.
Abiding begins by realizing we have no adequacy or sufficiency apart from Him. If we feel adequate to do the work we’re doing, we won’t rely on Him to accomplish it. If we feel qualified for everything we do, we won’t lean into His wisdom. When we operate from our abilities, we step out of His grace. God will always call us to do things beyond our ability, so we will know it’s only through Him that the work can be done. Let’s look at a few verses along these lines.
John 6:63 says,
“It is the Spirit who gives life; the flesh is no help at all.”
2 Corinthians 3:5 says,
“Not that we are sufficient in ourselves to claim anything as coming from us, but our sufficiency is from God.”
2 Corinthians 9:8 says,
“God is able to make all grace abound to you, so that having all sufficiency in all things at all times, you may abound in every good work.”
2 Corinthians 12:9 says,
‘But He said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.”’
There is a connection between grace and sufficiency that is clear in these verses. God’s intention is for us to have all sufficiency, in all things, at all times.
We’ll have the provision we need when we need it.
We’ll have the wisdom we need when we need it.
We’ll have the gifts we need when we need them.
We’ll have the healing we need when we need it.
All those things come from Him.
If we are striving to be adequate, sufficient, successful, or enough, our efforts will exhaust us and hinder His grace from flowing in our lives. It is only by grace that we will be victorious in life and accomplish the things He has for us to do.
This doesn’t mean that we aren’t supposed to work hard, but that our efforts must be aligned with His will and empowered by His grace. If they are not, we will grow weary and produce nothing that will last! Paul said in 2 Corinthians 2:1-5,
“And I, when I came to you, brothers, did not come proclaiming to you the testimony of God with lofty speech or wisdom. For I decided to know nothing among you except Jesus Christ and him crucified. And I was with you in weakness and in fear and much trembling, and my speech and my message were not in plausible words of wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power, so that your faith might not rest in the wisdom of men but in the power of God.”
Paul was wise and extremely educated. We know he was a leader prior to His conversion on the road to Damascus. He could have ministered from his knowledge and gifting, and that may have worked for a time. However, he chose to “know nothing except Jesus Christ and Him crucified.” Why? So the people’s faith would rest in God’s power and not the wisdom of men.
1 Corinthians 1:27 says,
“God chose what is foolish in the world to shame the wise; God chose what is weak in the world to shame the strong.”
If you follow a preacher or a ministry because of an individual’s giftings, it will be easy to be deceived. Since the birth of the church in the book of Acts, we have seen that the expansion of God’s kingdom requires dependency on the Holy Spirit. The church didn’t grow because people were drawn to the wisdom, charisma, or gifting of men. Only the Word of God made alive in people’s hearts by the power of the Holy Spirit will turn the world upside down!
This week, we encourage you to remember that your sufficiency comes only from abiding in Him. You will never work hard enough in your ability to be worthy of God’s grace. You will never strive with enough effort to produce fruit that will abide. The only lasting accomplishments come when we rely on the one who is all-sufficient. This is not just about ministry—it’s about our lives. It applies to our jobs, our families, our churches, and our communities. Apart from Jesus, we can do nothing. When we truly believe that and abide in Him, we will see Him do more than we could ever ask or think!
“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.”
He didn’t say “apart from Me, you can do less.” He said unless we abide in Him, we can do nothing. Every work and effort except those that come from abiding in Him will be entirely fruitless. It is possible to labor and strive for a lifetime and produce nothing that remains. 1 Corinthians 3:10-15 teaches about a day when the work of every believer will be judged. It says,
“For no one can lay a foundation other than that which is laid, which is Jesus Christ. Now if anyone builds on the foundation with gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, straw— each one's work will become manifest, for the Day will disclose it, because it will be revealed by fire, and the fire will test what sort of work each one has done. If the work that anyone has built on the foundation survives, he will receive a reward. If anyone's work is burned up, he will suffer loss, though he himself will be saved, but only as through fire.”
This Scripture is about a person’s work, not their salvation. The last sentence says that even though a person’s work may be burned up, they can still be saved. That means it’s possible to be saved and spend your life working and building in vain. However, that’s not God’s intention. Jesus said in John 15:16,
“You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you so that you might go and bear fruit—fruit that will last—and so that whatever you ask in my name the Father will give you.”
Jesus has appointed us all to bear fruit that will last. His intention is for us to be so aligned with Him that we receive anything we ask the Father in His name. This is how we see the Kingdom of God expand effortlessly. We are meant to abide in Him and build eternal things that will survive the test of fire on judgment day.
However, abiding is an offense to our flesh. We cannot abide without truly understanding that we can do nothing apart from Him, and that is humbling. It is possible to do a work “for Jesus” that Jesus has nothing to do with. Only abiding will keep us from that kind of fleshly labor. If we are exhausted from the work we’re doing, we have undoubtedly stepped out of the place of abiding. Grace will empower us to do the work we’re called to do without growing weary when we do it from a place of abiding in Jesus.
Abiding begins by realizing we have no adequacy or sufficiency apart from Him. If we feel adequate to do the work we’re doing, we won’t rely on Him to accomplish it. If we feel qualified for everything we do, we won’t lean into His wisdom. When we operate from our abilities, we step out of His grace. God will always call us to do things beyond our ability, so we will know it’s only through Him that the work can be done. Let’s look at a few verses along these lines.
John 6:63 says,
“It is the Spirit who gives life; the flesh is no help at all.”
2 Corinthians 3:5 says,
“Not that we are sufficient in ourselves to claim anything as coming from us, but our sufficiency is from God.”
2 Corinthians 9:8 says,
“God is able to make all grace abound to you, so that having all sufficiency in all things at all times, you may abound in every good work.”
2 Corinthians 12:9 says,
‘But He said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.”’
There is a connection between grace and sufficiency that is clear in these verses. God’s intention is for us to have all sufficiency, in all things, at all times.
We’ll have the provision we need when we need it.
We’ll have the wisdom we need when we need it.
We’ll have the gifts we need when we need them.
We’ll have the healing we need when we need it.
All those things come from Him.
If we are striving to be adequate, sufficient, successful, or enough, our efforts will exhaust us and hinder His grace from flowing in our lives. It is only by grace that we will be victorious in life and accomplish the things He has for us to do.
This doesn’t mean that we aren’t supposed to work hard, but that our efforts must be aligned with His will and empowered by His grace. If they are not, we will grow weary and produce nothing that will last! Paul said in 2 Corinthians 2:1-5,
“And I, when I came to you, brothers, did not come proclaiming to you the testimony of God with lofty speech or wisdom. For I decided to know nothing among you except Jesus Christ and him crucified. And I was with you in weakness and in fear and much trembling, and my speech and my message were not in plausible words of wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power, so that your faith might not rest in the wisdom of men but in the power of God.”
Paul was wise and extremely educated. We know he was a leader prior to His conversion on the road to Damascus. He could have ministered from his knowledge and gifting, and that may have worked for a time. However, he chose to “know nothing except Jesus Christ and Him crucified.” Why? So the people’s faith would rest in God’s power and not the wisdom of men.
1 Corinthians 1:27 says,
“God chose what is foolish in the world to shame the wise; God chose what is weak in the world to shame the strong.”
If you follow a preacher or a ministry because of an individual’s giftings, it will be easy to be deceived. Since the birth of the church in the book of Acts, we have seen that the expansion of God’s kingdom requires dependency on the Holy Spirit. The church didn’t grow because people were drawn to the wisdom, charisma, or gifting of men. Only the Word of God made alive in people’s hearts by the power of the Holy Spirit will turn the world upside down!
This week, we encourage you to remember that your sufficiency comes only from abiding in Him. You will never work hard enough in your ability to be worthy of God’s grace. You will never strive with enough effort to produce fruit that will abide. The only lasting accomplishments come when we rely on the one who is all-sufficient. This is not just about ministry—it’s about our lives. It applies to our jobs, our families, our churches, and our communities. Apart from Jesus, we can do nothing. When we truly believe that and abide in Him, we will see Him do more than we could ever ask or think!
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