We turn for our scripture reading in the inspired Word of God to John chapter 15. John 15. The Word of God in John 15. I am the true vine, and My Father is the husbandman. Every branch in Me that beareth not fruit, He taketh away, and every branch that beareth fruit, He purgeth it, that it may bring forth more fruit. Now ye are clean through the word which I have spoken unto you. Abide in Me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself except it abide in the vine, no more can ye except ye abide in me. I am the vine, ye are the branches. He that abideth in me and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit, for without me ye can do nothing. If a man abide not in me, he is cast forth as a branch and is withered, and men gather them and cast them into the fire, and they are burned. If ye abide in me, and my words abide in you, ye shall ask what ye will, and it shall be done unto you. Herein is my Father glorified, that ye bear much fruit, so shall ye be my disciples. As the Father hath loved me, so have I loved you. Continue ye in my love. If ye keep my commandments, ye shall abide in my love, even as I have kept my Father's commandments and abide in His love. These things have I spoken unto you, that my joy might remain in you and that your joy might be full. This is my commandment, that ye love one another as I have loved you. Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends. Ye are my friends, if ye do whatsoever I command you. Henceforth I call you not servants, for the servant knoweth not what his Lord doeth, but I have called you friends. For all things that I have heard of my Father I have made known unto you. Ye have not chosen me, but I have chosen you, and ordained you that ye should go and bring forth fruit, and that your fruit should remain. That whatsoever ye shall ask of the Father in my name, he may give it you. These things I command you, that ye love one another. If the world hate you, ye know that it hated me before it hated you. If ye were of the world, the world would love his own. But because ye are not of the world, but I have chosen you out of the world, therefore the world hateth you. Remember the word that I said unto you, the servant is not greater than his lord. If they have persecuted me, they will also persecute you. If they have kept my saying, they will keep yours also. But all these things will they do unto you for My name's sake, because they know not Him that sent Me. If I had not come and spoken unto them, they had not had sin. But now they have no cloak for their sin. He that hateth Me hateth My Father also. If I had not done among them the works which none other man did, they had not had sin. But now have they both seen and hated both Me and My Father. This cometh to pass, that the word might be fulfilled that is written in their law, they hated me without a cause. But when the Comforter is come, whom I will send unto you from the Father, even the Spirit of truth, which proceedeth from the Father, he shall testify of me. And he also shall bear witness, because ye have been with me from the beginning. If you read the Word of God that far tonight, the text for our sermon is found in the last phrase in verse 5. Just that last phrase which reads this, for without Me you can do nothing. Beloved in the Lord Jesus Christ, We continue our series tonight on the Five Points of Calvinism by looking at the Tea of Tula, the Doctrine of Total Depravity. As we mentioned before, at the time of the Synod of Dort, the original Five Points of Calvinism, our Reformed Fathers did not follow the order of Tula. They followed the order according to the acronym, Old Tip. Unconditional election, limited atonement, total depravity, irresistible grace, and the preservation of the saints. That order is both chronological and logical. It begins in eternity, with the eternal source of our salvation, and God's eternal and unconditional decree of election. followed by the basis of our salvation. The atoning death of Jesus Christ on the cross only for His elect. Now tonight, we consider the necessity of that saving work of God in the natural condition of us and our children as we're conceived and born into this world. That's our total depravity. This truth was denied by the Arminians at the time of the Senate of Dort. They made their attack upon the sovereignty of God in salvation at this point also. And they did so by teaching that natural man has some good that remains in him. And the good that remains in him is a free will, a will that's free to choose for Christ's As we noted before, their doctrine of the cross is that Christ died for all men to make salvation possible. And now God comes and offers that to a man. God sincerely desires their salvation. Offers them salvation. Now it's up to man to exercise his natural ability, his free will to accept and receive that offer to make a decision for Christ. Denial of the biblical truth of total depravity. And our Reformed fathers saw that clearly. They rejected that as heresy, as a denial of the word of God. And they set forth plainly in the canons, biblical and confessional truth of total depravity. That truth of total depravity is still denied by many today. Very few who uphold still biblical truth of total depravity. Even those in reformed churches trace their spiritual lineage back to the Synod of Dorton who perhaps in this coming year will commemorate the Synod of Dorton. Deny the very truths that the Synod of Dort stood for and set forth in the canons. We have the calling before God to defend, faithfully to proclaim, the important biblical truth of total depravity. In doing that and defending the biblical truth of total depravity, we are defending and upholding God's judgment of the spiritual condition of natural man. Those who deny total depravity are at a loss to find support for that in the Bible because the Word of God teaches this doctrine clearly. And what often happens then is that they resort to their own evaluation of what they see around them. They look at the unbelieving world and they see supposedly good things that unbelieving men and women do. And on that basis, their evaluation of things, they deny the truth of total depravity. But it's foolish. To make our judgment on the basis of our own thinking and understanding of man's natural condition. It's like asking a cancer patient to self-diagnose. His body is filled up with cancer, but maybe all that he's realizing is that he has a cold. And his evaluation of himself is, I have a little bit of a cold. When the reality is his body is wracked with cancer. It's foolishness to make man's evaluation of things to be the standard. Sin makes us blind to the reality of sin. Man's own evaluation can't be trusted. We need an objective and unfailing standard. And that's the standard of God in His Word. God is the only one who can make the accurate evaluation of man's spiritual condition. God's evaluation in His Word is that apart from Christ, Man can do nothing. No spiritual good. Let's consider a text tonight under the theme, Nothing Without Me. Notice just two points. First of all, this doctrine humbles man. Secondly, this doctrine exalts Christ. Nothing without me, humbling man, exalting Christ. In the words of our text, those last words in verse 5, Jesus is teaching clearly the doctrine of total depravity. Jesus is describing there the natural spiritual condition of every man, woman, and child. He does so when he speaks of one who is without him. Without me ye can do nothing. Word without can also be translated as apart from or even severed from. Jesus says apart from, severed from me without any living connection between yourself and me, you can do nothing. And that fits with the illustration that Jesus is using here in John 15. The well-known illustration of himself as the vine in which there is all of spiritual life and salvation. We are branches, dead branches by nature, lying on the ground without any connection to the vine. And that's the natural condition of every man, woman, and child when they're conceived. Their spiritual condition is that they are without Christ, apart from Him, severed from Him. They come into this world as a dead branch without living connection to the vine. And what is Jesus' evaluation of natural man? What does He say about every man, woman, and child when they come into this world? His evaluation is, apart from Me, ye can do nothing. Jesus is not referring there to performing earthly things, the ordinary things of earthly life when he says you can do nothing. Natural man, apart from Jesus Christ, still remains a man. At the fall, man didn't become a beast, he remains a man. He still has a mind that can think in reason. He still is moral. He knows the difference between right and wrong. What our canons refer to as the glimmerings of natural light. Man is able to eat and drink. He's able to work and play and sleep. He's able to develop new technology. He's able to discover new things in the creation. apart from Christ. It's not necessary to be united to Christ to be able to do those earthly things. Jesus isn't talking about that here. Jesus says, without me ye can do nothing. He's referring to spiritual things. He's referring to goodness in a man, spiritual goodness, and the ability to do good works. It's plain from the context. Jesus in the context is talking about bearing fruit. He talks about abiding in Him. And then in verse 8 he says, Herein is my Father glorified, that ye bear much fruit, so shall ye be my disciples. The fruit bearing that Jesus talks about is such that brings honor and glory to God. It's what characterizes a disciple, a follower of the Lord Jesus Christ. And that's obviously a reference to spiritual things, spiritual good and the doing of good works. Jesus' evaluation of man's spiritual condition is that he can do nothing. He can do no spiritual good. He can't produce any fruit. Nothing that he does is pleasing in the eyes of the Lord. Nothing that he does is approved of by God. Nothing that he does is glorifying to God. Nothing that he does is good in the eyes of the Lord. He can do no spiritual good. Jesus condemns all of the works of natural man. Jesus doesn't say here, without me, You can do a little bit. Jesus doesn't say here, without me there's still just a little bit. It's not much, but you're able to do just a tiny little bit yet. There's some native ability in you. Jesus says, without me ye can do nothing. There's nothing good. It's all characterized by sin, disobedience, rebellion, hatred for God. That's what Jesus goes on to describe later in the chapter in describing the world. They hate Jesus Christ and they hate the Father. Spiritual condition of man apart from Christ is that he's unable to do any good and he's inclined to all evil. This is one of the clearest passages in the Word of God that teaches the doctrine of total depravity. The issue with regards to this doctrine is not so much with the idea of depravity. Most will acknowledge that there is some depravity in man. Even those who elevate man so highly as being inherently good have to acknowledge there's still some flaws in man. The question isn't about depravity as such, it's about the extent of that. Whether that's only a partial depravity or whether it's total and complete. And Jesus teaches here total depravity. The doctrine of total depravity means three things especially. In the first place, the fact that this depravity is total means that this is true of the totality of the human race. This is the spiritual condition of every man, woman, and child as they are conceived and brought forth into this world. In the second place, This depravity is total, means that every part of every man is depraved and corrupted by sin. Not only a man's words and actions, but also his mind and thoughts, also his will and his desires, his emotions and feelings, his body, every aspect of who we are, is corrupted by sin. Then in the third place, total depravity means that the whole of every part of every man is depraved. It's not just that each one of those parts is depraved a little bit. For example, that a man's mind is partly depraved and partly good, or that a man's will is partly depraved but partly good and still has some inherent goodness and ability in it. That's not what total depravity means. It means the whole of every part of every man is depraved, characterized by sin and inability to do good. The whole of our mind, the whole of our will, our body, our emotions and every part of us depraved in sin. Think of this illustration. Have a bushel basket full of apples. Total depravity does not mean, does not mean that there's maybe just a little spot of rot on all of the apples in that basket. Total depravity means that every single apple in that basket is rotten right to the core, through and through, without anything good left in it. That's the doctrine of total depravity. All men are depraved in the whole of their being. Every part of who they are corrupted by sin. That means that total depravity has to do not just with a person's actions, but has to do with their nature. Jesus has that in view here as well. Jesus does not say, without me you don't do anything good, although that's true. Jesus says, without me you cannot do anything good. That goes farther and deeper. It speaks to the absolute inability of man. It's absolutely impossible for natural man to do anything in the eyes of the Lord that's good. And that too is further confirmed by the illustration Jesus uses here. He's the vine. We are the branches. By nature we are dead branches. There's no living connection between ourselves and Jesus Christ. We're dead branches laying on the ground. And a dead branch not only does not bear fruit, but that dead branch cannot bear fruit. It's physically impossible. And so too for us spiritually, by nature. Not only do we not do good works, but we cannot do good works. It's impossible. We're spiritually dead without any spiritual life. The problem is not then just with what we do. The problem is with what we are. It's not just in our sinful words and actions. It's deeper than that. It's in our nature. That's the doctrine of total depravity. A nature which is unable to do good and inclined to all evil. That truth of total depravity rests upon the fall of Adam into sin. The question might come, why is this the case? How is it that this is true of us? The answer is found in the fall into sin. Say in Head 3 and 4, Article 2, man after the fall begat children in his own likeness. A corrupt stock produced a corrupt offspring. And then at the end, this happened by the propagation of a vicious nature. In the beginning God spoke to Adam and said, he may not eat of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. And in the day in which he did so, he would surely die. Death was the sentence of God against Adam's rebellion. And when Adam fell into sin, that sentence was carried out. And the death that God proclaimed included spiritual death. So that Adam now possessed a totally depraved, sinful nature. But Adam didn't fall into sin as some isolated individual, just by himself without any connection to anyone else. Adam stood in paradise as our head. as our legal representative and our first father so that what he did and what happened to him wasn't just having effects and consequences for him, but for the whole of the human race that he represented. From Adam on downward, parents have passed on to their children Insane, corrupt, totally depraved nature. So that every man, woman and child born into this world is conceived dead in sin and by nature, child of wrath. That truth is not popular. It's not popular to speak of the total depravity of man. It's denied by many today. It's denied by the ungodly world. The world looks at man as being inherently good. He might have a few flaws. No one's perfect. We all have a few flaws. But man is viewed as being inherently good. And that in spite of what stares them in the face when they look all around and see all of the wickedness and ungodliness that's found in this world. With the murders and the rapes and the abuse and the homosexual sin that abounds. And yet the world closes its eyes to the reality of their depravity that stares them in the face. Their evaluation of man is still, he's inherently good. Not only is this doctrine denied in the world, it's denied also in the church world. It was denied at the time of the Senate of Dort by the Arminians and it's still denied today by all who hold to Arminianism. It's denied by their teaching of the free will of man. Man fell into sin, he lost many of his good gifts, they say. He's depraved in many aspects of his being, but what he still retains is a free will. The ability in himself to choose for Christ and salvation, to desire that. The canons describe the doctrine of the Arminians that way. Third and fourth head, the rejection of errors. Error three. The Reformed Father said this is the teaching of the Arminians. They believe that the will of itself is able to will and to choose or not to will and not to choose all manner of good which may be presented to it. A teaching of free will and the denial of total depravity fits with the Arminian understanding of the cross. Recall from last time that the Arminian understanding of the cross is that Christ died for all men. To pay for their sins. But His death didn't make salvation a reality. It just makes it a possibility. And now God comes to The ungodly and the unbelieving in the gospel and He presents them with this offer. God wants to save them. Salvation is available. Christ died for them. It's there. God really wants them to accept that and take that. It's up to me. Man has the decisive role in salvation to exercise his free will to choose that and accept that offer to make a decision for Christ as it's often put. Man has that ability in himself because he's not totally depraved they say. The truth of total depravity is also denied by the false doctrine of common grace. Teaching of common grace is that there is some goodness yet in man. He's not able to do saving good, something good in order to save himself, but civil good, they say, he's still able to do good in society. And not just good according to the evaluation of others, but good according to God. God looks down upon that. God says that's good. It meets with God's approval. God is pleased with that. It's for that reason then, that they can promote this idea of kingdom building. Christianizing the world and society. The child of God can join hand in hand with the ungodly because there's still some good in man. They're still able to do some good in society. So join together. Work to make the world a better place. Christianize society. Bring about the coming of Jesus Christ here and now. It seems they failed to notice is that that project isn't working. It's not that the world is being Christianized. The reality is that the church is being, coin a phrase, world-ized. The world isn't becoming Christianized, the church is becoming world-ized. More and more worldly with the breakdown of the antithesis. It's a denial of the truth of total depravity. The truth of total depravity is taught clearly by Jesus here, and taught clearly throughout the scriptures. A few passages to consider. First of all, Psalm 51, verse 5. David says, Behold, I was shapen in iniquity, and in sin did my mother conceive me. Ephesians 2 verses 1 and 3, and you hath he quickened who were dead in trespasses and sins and were by nature the children of wrath even as others. And then one more from the book of Jeremiah. Jeremiah 13 verse 23, very striking passage. God says, can the Ethiopian change his skin or the leopard his spots? then may ye also do good that are accustomed to do evil. God compares our sinful nature to the dark skin of the Ethiopian and the spots of the leopard. If the Ethiopian can change his skin, dark to light, if the leopard could change his spots so that now they're gone, now they're stripes maybe, Well, then it may be possible for you who are totally depraved to do good, to save yourself. And the answer is, of course not. That cannot happen just as the Ethiopian doesn't change his skin, the leopard doesn't change his spots. It's impossible for us to do any good who are totally depraved by nature. That's God's judgment and evaluation of the natural spiritual condition of man. We make base this truth on our own evaluation of things. Yes, if we look out in society and we judge things only from the outward appearance, we might see things that at first glance look good. An unbeliever that gives a bunch of money to charity and to feed the poor and to dig wells in Africa. Or, an unbelieving couple that lives, apparently, faithfully in their marriage. They never divorce and remarry. They rear their children. They're outwardly moral people. As far as we can tell, not living wickedly in any outward sin. Man's evaluation of that then may be, well, they're doing good. We may not judge according to the outward appearance. We may judge according to man's evaluation of things. It's God's evaluation that counts. It's God's evaluation that's truth, objective, unfailing. God's judgment upon man. is that he is totally depraved. Apart from Christ, he can do nothing, absolutely nothing good in the eyes of God. He's inclined to all evil, incapable of doing anything good. The truth is, and must be, humbling to man. The truth strips man of all his apparent accomplishments and abilities. It strips man of his own supposed inherent goodness. And it exposes natural man for what he truly is. Totally depraved sinner. The truth ought to humble us. The reality is, as we confess in the baptism forum, we are conceived and born in sin. Our natural spiritual condition when we are conceived is being apart from Christ. Not with respect to the decree of God, His sovereign decree of election. God decreed us always in Christ. But our actual spiritual condition were conceived and brought forth dead in sin, totally depraved, without the actual living connection to Christ. The bond of faith that unites us to Him. That comes at the moment of our regeneration, which I believe often happens in infancy. The natural condition being conceived and brought forth into this world is as totally depraved sinners. And that's how we bring our children forth into this world. It's not that we who are branches now united to Christ by the gift of faith, give birth to another branch that is already connected to Jesus Christ. We bring forth children, or dead branches, No living connection at that moment to Jesus Christ who stand in need of the regenerating grace of the Holy Spirit. Our children aren't saved just by the fact that they're born to believing parents. Bring forth children who are by nature children of wrath, dead in sin. They ought to humble us regarding any earthly abilities or any earthly achievements that we think we've made. Apart from Jesus Christ, that's nothing. It's worthless. They ought to humble us with regard to our attitude toward others, including the ungodly. The reality is I'm no different, no better naturally in myself than anyone else. I'm no more deserving of God's gift of salvation than the most hardened reprobate. We're unworthy, entirely undeserving of salvation. That ought to humble us with regard to our salvation. Our salvation is entirely a work of God's grace. It's not based on me and my worthiness. It's not based on the good things I may have done. It's not based on some supposed merit with God. If that were the case, then salvation is absolutely impossible. Absolutely impossible. If left to ourselves in our own natural spiritual condition, dead branches fit only for the fire. Truth of total depravity is deeply humbling. but a very important truth. Not only because it humbles man, but in humbling man, it exalts Jesus Christ. For that reason, the truth of total depravity, as sobering as it is, is a precious truth, dear to the hearts of reformed people, because it exalts our Lord Jesus Christ. That's the point that Jesus is making here in John 15. Without me, you can do nothing. Which means that being united to Jesus Christ, only because we're united to Jesus Christ, we can do something. Not works to merit with God, but works of gratitude as the fruit of that salvation. But united to Christ we can bear fruit. Good fruit to the glory of God. Living a life of good works before Him. Branches in themselves. According to the illustration of Jesus, here are dead branches. They're laying on the ground. They can't bear any fruit. Graciously, those branches are engrafted into the vine by the bond of faith, so that with the life of the vine now flowing in them and through them, they're able to bear good fruit. Jesus uses that as an illustration of His saving of us by nature. Our condition is that of dead branches laying on the ground with no spiritual life, not able to do anything good in the eyes of God. Graciously, He saves us, His people. He engrafts us into Himself, uniting us to Him in regeneration and with the gift of faith. Now we have the life of Jesus Christ flowing within us and that life of Christ shows itself. And thus branches bearing fruit. Verse 4, Abide in me and I in you, as the branch cannot bear fruit of itself except it abide in the vine, no more can ye except ye abide in me. Verse 5, I am the vine, ye are the branches, he that abideth in me and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit. The explanation. For our bearing of fruit as God's people, our doing good works to the glory of God, is entirely because of Jesus Christ. Without the vine, we're nothing. We are entirely dependent upon the life-giving vine, Jesus Christ. He is divine because He is Second Person of the Trinity, God the Son. God is good and the overflowing fountain of all good. Which means that Jesus Christ is good and the fountain of good in His chosen people. Jesus is divine because what He accomplished by His death and resurrection, by His death on the cross Jesus dealt with, The root of our spiritual death. He took upon Himself the guilt of our sin and depravity. And He bore that to the cross and endured the punishment that we deserved. On account of that, He endured the hellish agonies we deserved. He paid in full all the sins of all His people. He rose again victorious over death. His resurrection was a shout of victory. That He'd fully conquered death and sin and our spiritual enemies and given to us the victory. He has life, resurrection life. That life flows in Him, the Vine, with all of the blessings of salvation. Graciously, He bestows that upon His chosen people in saving us. And that work, being united to Christ, is entirely the work of Jesus Christ. You wouldn't expect a dead branch to somehow leap up off the ground in itself to unite itself to a vine so that now it has life and it bears fruit. It's impossible. The same is true with regard to our salvation. We're not able to will and to choose for Christ, to accept Him or some supposed offer of God or to make in our own power some decision for Jesus Christ. absolutely impossible, which means that our union to Christ is entirely Christ's work. It's entirely the sovereign work of God in His grace to us. He takes us dead in undeserving branches and He unites us in the life-giving vine, Jesus Christ. That means also that the good fruit that we do bear as God's people. It's not anything done in our own strength, by our own inherent abilities. The explanation is our union to Jesus Christ. Christ is always our ability to do good. Even today as God's people regenerated, united to Christ by faith. We cannot do anything good apart from Jesus Christ. It's Christ that works within us to will and to do with God's good pleasure. Which means that our works can't merit with God. They're not done to earn something. Our works are fruit. They are the fruit of Christ's saving work in us. The fruit of our union to Christ. They are the revelation and manifestation of the grace of God at work within us. The truth of total depravity. humbles man and therefore exalts Jesus Christ as the only and the complete Savior of His people. And that's why our Reformed fathers stood so firmly for this doctrine 400 years ago and down through the history. That's why they defended this doctrine with such zeal and vigor and enthusiasm, with boldness to condemn the lie. Not simply because it pushes man's face down into the mud and into the dust and humbles him. They defended this doctrine so vigorously because it exalts Jesus Christ. And that's our zeal for the truth of total depravity. That's why we defend it with such zeal and vigor and enthusiasm and boldness. Is this true? Like none other, it establishes the sovereignty of God in our salvation. Salvation is absolutely impossible in ourselves and in our own strength because we're totally depraved and dead in sin. It must be, and it is, the sovereign work of God alone. It exalts our Savior Jesus Christ. And as sobering as this truth is, then we love this truth. This truth is precious to us. Because the exaltation of Christ our Savior is precious to us. This truth has the effect of worship, praising and glorifying God. If our salvation was in some way dependent on us, our exercising our free will and some inherent goodness yet in us, our salvation would always be in question. We'd always doubt whether we willed enough or done enough to save ourselves. The fact of the matter is if our salvation was dependent upon that, then we could boast that we had the decisive role in salvation. All the glory would go to mighty man for what he's done in saving himself. But that's thievery. Stealing the glory that belongs to God alone. Truth of total depravity establishes without a doubt the sovereignty of God and His grace in our salvation, which means that God gets all the glory in salvation. It's not that God gets some and man gets some. It's not that God gets most and man gets just a little bit. God gets all the glory in salvation. Knowing that, being conscious of this truth, Our hearts are lifted up in praise and worship and gratitude to God who saved such a wretch as I am. Wholly undeserving and unworthy of that salvation as a totally depraved sinner. Knowing our salvation by the grace of God, God gets all the glory. Truth gives confidence. Certainly not confidence in ourselves, but confidence in our salvation. It means our salvation isn't dependent upon ourselves. And if it was, then we doubt and we wouldn't have assurance and confidence knowing that it can't be of me. Because I'm totally depraved by nature. It's all of God and Christ. Then our salvation is secure. There's no doubt about it. It's the sovereign grace of God. We rest in that confidently and have assurance of that. We have confidence then to go forward in the Christian life. Apart from Jesus Christ, we can do nothing. But being united to Jesus Christ and through Him, we can do what God demands of us. Philippians 4 verse 13, I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me. Being united to Christ, we can fight against sin. Being united to Jesus Christ, and only being united to Him, we can battle besetting sins. Being united to Christ, we can carry out the callings that He gives us in this life. Whether as a single, or as married, as a husband and wife, or those without any children, or those with children, and the responsibility to rear those children, The ability to carry out faithfully our callings from day to day. Being united to Christ, we can live as faithful members of the church. Being united to Christ, we can do the work that God gives us as office bearers, as elders and deacons and pastor in the church of Jesus Christ. Being united to Christ, We can bear every trial and hardship, every sorrow, every loss, every pain that God sends into our life. Not in ourselves, not in our own strength. Only being united to Him. This truth then reminds us The importance of abiding with Jesus Christ. How many times through John 15 doesn't he say, abide in me? As children of God, born again, united to Christ by faith, we can never lose that bond and connection. It's never gone, it's never lost, and yet as children of God, there are times when in our own consciousness we don't depend on Jesus Christ. We think we can go forward in our own strength and in our own abilities. And that's one of the great lies of the devil. that we so easily fall for. One of the great lies and myths of the devil is that we are self-sufficient. We're independent. We're strong in ourselves. The world preaches that. Just believe. Dream high enough. Work hard enough. You can do anything you want. Be anything you want. All in your own strength. Too easily we swallow that lie. Go forward in the Christian life, fighting against sin, trying to carry out our callings from day to day, bearing up under a trial, without consciously depending upon Jesus Christ. Going at it in our own strength and in our own abilities and forgetting to look to Christ in prayer and through His Word for the strength that we need. Beloved, we're united to Christ, not separated and apart from Him. We're united to Christ Divine. Abide in Him, with Him. Look to Jesus Christ daily for the grace and the strength that you stand in need of. Abide in Christ by faith. Numbership in a true church of Jesus Christ by the use of the means of grace through prayer, through a close walk with Him. Because without Him, you and I cannot do anything. But in Him, united to Him, Only through Him, the strength and grace He provides, we can do all things. Amen. Let us pray. Father in Heaven, we thank Thee for Thy Word to us. Word that deeply humbles. We pray that I will make it to have that effect upon us. We're deeply humbled before Thee and before one another. Also, Father, encourage us by Thy Word. Comfort us with the knowledge of our belonging in body and soul to Jesus Christ. Comfort us in the truth of what we have in Jesus Christ alone. We praise Thee, Father. With one heart we lift up praise and worship to Thee, for Thy grace in saving such miserable wretches as we are. Hear us, for Jesus' sake. Amen.