The Only Way to Grow
The Only Way to Grow
The Only Way to Grow
The Only Way to Grow
We are all either growing or dying. There is only one way to grow. There are countless books, articles, podcasts, and speeches on personal growth and effectiveness produced every year. Many of these resources are helpful, but without the soul Source of life, growth, and effectiveness, we cannot truly grow into greatness.
We are all either growing or dying. There is only one way to grow.
There are countless books, articles, podcasts, and speeches on personal growth and effectiveness produced every year. Many of these resources are helpful, but without the soul Source of life, growth, and effectiveness, we cannot truly grow into greatness.
What if I told you that with The life-giving, transformative Source, you could be sure of who you are and what you are supposed to do — so that with complete confidence, you are able to do the right work, the right way, with the right people?
What if instead of forcing mechanical compliance to new habits, you had true internal, ongoing, dynamic change — so that your confidence and assurance in your work increased alongside your effectiveness?
What if you knew the reason (the “why”), methods and strategies (the “how”), and duties (the “what”) of your work perfectly — so that as a leader, you knew exactly what to say, do, and ask next to propel the mission of your organization forward?
What if this Source led you to work for a leader who cared for you more than you cared for yourself — so that you were positive you were working with a friend instead of for a boss?
Followers of Jesus have a distinct personal growth advantage because they are already connected to the Source for all of their life and work.
He Is the Vine, We Are the Branches
Just hours before Jesus was betrayed and handed over to be crucified, Jesus gave His closest disciples The Way to remain with Him so that they would have everything they need for their life and work. These 17 verses are perfectly applicable for us today.
[1]“I am the true vine, and my Father is the gardener. [2]He cuts off every branch in me that bears no fruit, while every branch that does bear fruit he prunes so that it will be even more fruitful. [3]You are already clean because of the word I have spoken to you. [4]Remain in me, as I also remain in you. No branch can bear fruit by itself; it must remain in the vine. Neither can you bear fruit unless you remain in me. [5]I am the vine; you are the branches. If you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing. [6]If you do not remain in me, you are like a branch that is thrown away and withers; such branches are picked up, thrown into the fire and burned. [7]If you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you. [8]This is to my Father's glory, that you bear much fruit, showing yourselves to be my disciples. [9]As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you. Now remain in my love. [10]If you keep my commands, you will remain in my love, just as I have kept my Father's commands and remain in his love. [11]I have told you this so that my joy may be in you and that your joy may be complete. [12]My command is this: Love each other as I have loved you. [13]Greater love has no one than this: to lay down one's life for one's friends. [14]You are my friends if you do what I command. [15]I no longer call you servants, because a servant does not know his master's business. Instead, I have called you friends, for everything that I learned from my Father I have made known to you. [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. [17]This is my command: Love each other." - [.no-reftag]John 15:1-17 [.no-reftag]
The Only Way to Greatness
Right away, we see this is the most-life giving of all illustrations, that we have not just one Source, giving us all all we need, but two. Jesus is the Vine, the source of Life (John 1:3-4), providing all we need internally. The Father is the Gardener, The Great I Am (Exodus 3:14), nurturing and providing all we need externally.
Since the beginning of time, God the Father has always been demanding fruit (Isaiah 5:1-4) and here we see that Jesus, His Son, is the Vine — the channel through which the fruit of God's life flows.
Being connected to Jesus is not like other self-improvement programs where you are changing a few things or starting to force some new disciplines. This Way is about becoming like Jesus through Jesus. Tim Keller says in his sermon “I Am The Vine,” “Jesus is after organic change, through internal dynamic transformation… not mechanical compliance.”
No Other Way
The only way to grow is to be pruned (v2). Suffering and setbacks produce perseverance, character, and learning, which leads to growing and bearing fruit. The only way to do anything of value — to bear much fruit — is to remain connected (v4-5) — and if you don’t remain connected, you cannot do anything of value — you can do nothing.
Those who are not actively part of the vine by growing, being pruned, and bearing fruit — are not following Jesus. Those branches are picked and cast out — thrown into the fire and burned (v6). And while this is a dire warning to those not following Jesus, it is also an incredible two-pronged promise.
First, it means that if you are being pruned, you are His — you are called — and you will bear fruit. Secondly, this is not a call to performance to produce fruit in order to become part of the Vine. Tim Keller says, “The branch doesn’t say to the vine, 'look at me and all this fruit, will you accept me?' No, the branch receives from the vine — the branch is grafted in, then can bear fruit.”
[.text-color-blue]So how do you remain connected to the vine?[.text-color-blue]
Know You Are Loved
Like all gifts of Jesus, you must first receive what He is offering. You are loved fully, unconditionally, perfectly, and transformatively by Jesus. The key to being and growing in Jesus is to know you are loved. How loved are you? You are loved as much as the Father loves His Son, Jesus - As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you (v9).
In Jesus, you are called before the foundation of the world (Ephesians 1:4). These verses are written to His followers so they will know how loved they are, and know that they are appointed to bear much fruit — fruit that will last (v16).
These verses apply to you the very same way. This is your “why” for being on earth — the reason we are here — your purpose is to glorify God by bearing fruit. The Way you bear fruit is through Jesus.
Kennon Vaughan, in his sermon “I Am The Vine,” sums up the perfect love, connection, and intimacy of Jesus that allows us to grow this way: “With Christ there is a permanent continuous transforming presence alive in you."
[.text-color-blue]So what is our responsibility?[.text-color-blue]
Remain
Our God is so good to us. He does not need us to accomplish His purpose, but He chose to make us in His image and give us the responsibilities of ruling, subduing, and bearing fruit in this earth in order to put all things under His lordship (Genesis 1:26-28).
Our chief responsibility is to remain in Jesus. Jesus repeats the word “remain” ten times in the first eleven verses of this passage on purpose! So what does it mean to remain? Remain means to abide, continue, dwell, endure, or prevail – to stay connected and to never leave.
As branches in the vine, we are commanded to remain in Him — His love, His word, His commandments. The way we know we are loved is to keep His commands. "If you keep my commands, you will remain in my love, just as I have kept my Father's commands and remain in his love" (v10).
Jesus’ culminating command is to love each other (v17). We remain – or stay connected to – Jesus when we love others as He has loved us.
So That
In life, leadership, and especially in business, we always look to outcomes. You might say we are even addicted to seeing the fruit of our labor. Jesus doesn’t push back on outcomes — outcomes that are lasting fruit from Him.
The major outcomes of remaining in Jesus are assurance of perfect Love (v9), complete lasting Joy (v11), and Glory to God the Father (v7)!
The entire growth process of staying connected to Jesus and bearing fruit produces love that leads to joy and joy that leads glory.
Here are 7 incredible outcomes:
1. Assurance of Love - These very words from Jesus are love. He assures we are His in verses 3, 4, and 9. Assurance of love gives us confidence and identity to do the work we are called to do without doubts.
2. Bearing Fruit - The vine illustration constantly points to the fruit we will bear — much fruit. We have an innate desire to matter. Jesus makes us to bear fruit and supplies everything we need to be productive.
3. Pruned for Growth - While we may not enjoy pruning while it’s happening — no one likes to be cut — in retrospect, we have to admit we have never really grown without first being pruned with suffering, setbacks, and challenges. This is the way to perseverance and great work.
4. Friendship with Jesus — We all imagine a partner we enjoy and respect as much as they enjoy and respect us. In this rich promise in verses 13, 14, & 15, Jesus declares we are way more than servants. He lays down His life for us. We are friends when we work the way He commands.
5. Knowledge of God’s Business - How many times have we said if we just had clarity and transparency and all the information, we could do a great job? Our friend Jesus is no boss or corporate board. He is our friend and has given us everything we need to do great work.
6. Ask & Receive - Most of us are good at asking for what we need, but this promise is so much more than giving us the answers. The promise verses 7 & 16 gives us — through friendship and connectivity to Jesus — is changed desires and hearts that ask for the right thing and then receive it in confidence.
7. Lasting Fruit - We often wonder about the impact we’re making. We wonder if anyone will remember us. Jesus is saying that through connecting to him, our work will bear fruit that will last forever. This fruit is the souls of the people we live and work with and have an opportunity to influence every day. We will get to live abundantly and joyfully with coworkers in heaven as a result of our faithfulness to make disciples.
The benefits of our growing in connection to Jesus are infinitely innumerable, and they are immeasurably inconceivable!
Growing In Jesus for Glory
As humans, our purpose on this earth is to give glory to God (Romans 11:36). This is our ”why”!
Jesus came to this earth to connect us perfectly to God through Himself. Jesus is able to do this as the only Son of God, full of glory, grace, and truth (John 1:14).
We have daily opportunities to grow by remaining in Jesus — working this way so that we receive these benefits all day everyday. There is no more Glorious Way to live, work, and grow — bearing much fruit — than to stay connected to your friend Jesus!
Resources:
Video: Grow into Greatness This Way | Howard Graham
Survey: Tell Us! How do you want to grow?
Sermon: "I Am The Vine" | Tim Keller
Sermon: "The True Vine" | David Platt
Sermon: "I Am (Part 8) - The Vine" | Kennon Vaughan
Interview with John Piper: "What Does It Mean to Abide in Christ?"
We are all either growing or dying. There is only one way to grow.
There are countless books, articles, podcasts, and speeches on personal growth and effectiveness produced every year. Many of these resources are helpful, but without the soul Source of life, growth, and effectiveness, we cannot truly grow into greatness.
What if I told you that with The life-giving, transformative Source, you could be sure of who you are and what you are supposed to do — so that with complete confidence, you are able to do the right work, the right way, with the right people?
What if instead of forcing mechanical compliance to new habits, you had true internal, ongoing, dynamic change — so that your confidence and assurance in your work increased alongside your effectiveness?
What if you knew the reason (the “why”), methods and strategies (the “how”), and duties (the “what”) of your work perfectly — so that as a leader, you knew exactly what to say, do, and ask next to propel the mission of your organization forward?
What if this Source led you to work for a leader who cared for you more than you cared for yourself — so that you were positive you were working with a friend instead of for a boss?
Followers of Jesus have a distinct personal growth advantage because they are already connected to the Source for all of their life and work.
He Is the Vine, We Are the Branches
Just hours before Jesus was betrayed and handed over to be crucified, Jesus gave His closest disciples The Way to remain with Him so that they would have everything they need for their life and work. These 17 verses are perfectly applicable for us today.
[1]“I am the true vine, and my Father is the gardener. [2]He cuts off every branch in me that bears no fruit, while every branch that does bear fruit he prunes so that it will be even more fruitful. [3]You are already clean because of the word I have spoken to you. [4]Remain in me, as I also remain in you. No branch can bear fruit by itself; it must remain in the vine. Neither can you bear fruit unless you remain in me. [5]I am the vine; you are the branches. If you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing. [6]If you do not remain in me, you are like a branch that is thrown away and withers; such branches are picked up, thrown into the fire and burned. [7]If you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you. [8]This is to my Father's glory, that you bear much fruit, showing yourselves to be my disciples. [9]As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you. Now remain in my love. [10]If you keep my commands, you will remain in my love, just as I have kept my Father's commands and remain in his love. [11]I have told you this so that my joy may be in you and that your joy may be complete. [12]My command is this: Love each other as I have loved you. [13]Greater love has no one than this: to lay down one's life for one's friends. [14]You are my friends if you do what I command. [15]I no longer call you servants, because a servant does not know his master's business. Instead, I have called you friends, for everything that I learned from my Father I have made known to you. [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. [17]This is my command: Love each other." - [.no-reftag]John 15:1-17 [.no-reftag]
The Only Way to Greatness
Right away, we see this is the most-life giving of all illustrations, that we have not just one Source, giving us all all we need, but two. Jesus is the Vine, the source of Life (John 1:3-4), providing all we need internally. The Father is the Gardener, The Great I Am (Exodus 3:14), nurturing and providing all we need externally.
Since the beginning of time, God the Father has always been demanding fruit (Isaiah 5:1-4) and here we see that Jesus, His Son, is the Vine — the channel through which the fruit of God's life flows.
Being connected to Jesus is not like other self-improvement programs where you are changing a few things or starting to force some new disciplines. This Way is about becoming like Jesus through Jesus. Tim Keller says in his sermon “I Am The Vine,” “Jesus is after organic change, through internal dynamic transformation… not mechanical compliance.”
No Other Way
The only way to grow is to be pruned (v2). Suffering and setbacks produce perseverance, character, and learning, which leads to growing and bearing fruit. The only way to do anything of value — to bear much fruit — is to remain connected (v4-5) — and if you don’t remain connected, you cannot do anything of value — you can do nothing.
Those who are not actively part of the vine by growing, being pruned, and bearing fruit — are not following Jesus. Those branches are picked and cast out — thrown into the fire and burned (v6). And while this is a dire warning to those not following Jesus, it is also an incredible two-pronged promise.
First, it means that if you are being pruned, you are His — you are called — and you will bear fruit. Secondly, this is not a call to performance to produce fruit in order to become part of the Vine. Tim Keller says, “The branch doesn’t say to the vine, 'look at me and all this fruit, will you accept me?' No, the branch receives from the vine — the branch is grafted in, then can bear fruit.”
[.text-color-blue]So how do you remain connected to the vine?[.text-color-blue]
Know You Are Loved
Like all gifts of Jesus, you must first receive what He is offering. You are loved fully, unconditionally, perfectly, and transformatively by Jesus. The key to being and growing in Jesus is to know you are loved. How loved are you? You are loved as much as the Father loves His Son, Jesus - As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you (v9).
In Jesus, you are called before the foundation of the world (Ephesians 1:4). These verses are written to His followers so they will know how loved they are, and know that they are appointed to bear much fruit — fruit that will last (v16).
These verses apply to you the very same way. This is your “why” for being on earth — the reason we are here — your purpose is to glorify God by bearing fruit. The Way you bear fruit is through Jesus.
Kennon Vaughan, in his sermon “I Am The Vine,” sums up the perfect love, connection, and intimacy of Jesus that allows us to grow this way: “With Christ there is a permanent continuous transforming presence alive in you."
[.text-color-blue]So what is our responsibility?[.text-color-blue]
Remain
Our God is so good to us. He does not need us to accomplish His purpose, but He chose to make us in His image and give us the responsibilities of ruling, subduing, and bearing fruit in this earth in order to put all things under His lordship (Genesis 1:26-28).
Our chief responsibility is to remain in Jesus. Jesus repeats the word “remain” ten times in the first eleven verses of this passage on purpose! So what does it mean to remain? Remain means to abide, continue, dwell, endure, or prevail – to stay connected and to never leave.
As branches in the vine, we are commanded to remain in Him — His love, His word, His commandments. The way we know we are loved is to keep His commands. "If you keep my commands, you will remain in my love, just as I have kept my Father's commands and remain in his love" (v10).
Jesus’ culminating command is to love each other (v17). We remain – or stay connected to – Jesus when we love others as He has loved us.
So That
In life, leadership, and especially in business, we always look to outcomes. You might say we are even addicted to seeing the fruit of our labor. Jesus doesn’t push back on outcomes — outcomes that are lasting fruit from Him.
The major outcomes of remaining in Jesus are assurance of perfect Love (v9), complete lasting Joy (v11), and Glory to God the Father (v7)!
The entire growth process of staying connected to Jesus and bearing fruit produces love that leads to joy and joy that leads glory.
Here are 7 incredible outcomes:
1. Assurance of Love - These very words from Jesus are love. He assures we are His in verses 3, 4, and 9. Assurance of love gives us confidence and identity to do the work we are called to do without doubts.
2. Bearing Fruit - The vine illustration constantly points to the fruit we will bear — much fruit. We have an innate desire to matter. Jesus makes us to bear fruit and supplies everything we need to be productive.
3. Pruned for Growth - While we may not enjoy pruning while it’s happening — no one likes to be cut — in retrospect, we have to admit we have never really grown without first being pruned with suffering, setbacks, and challenges. This is the way to perseverance and great work.
4. Friendship with Jesus — We all imagine a partner we enjoy and respect as much as they enjoy and respect us. In this rich promise in verses 13, 14, & 15, Jesus declares we are way more than servants. He lays down His life for us. We are friends when we work the way He commands.
5. Knowledge of God’s Business - How many times have we said if we just had clarity and transparency and all the information, we could do a great job? Our friend Jesus is no boss or corporate board. He is our friend and has given us everything we need to do great work.
6. Ask & Receive - Most of us are good at asking for what we need, but this promise is so much more than giving us the answers. The promise verses 7 & 16 gives us — through friendship and connectivity to Jesus — is changed desires and hearts that ask for the right thing and then receive it in confidence.
7. Lasting Fruit - We often wonder about the impact we’re making. We wonder if anyone will remember us. Jesus is saying that through connecting to him, our work will bear fruit that will last forever. This fruit is the souls of the people we live and work with and have an opportunity to influence every day. We will get to live abundantly and joyfully with coworkers in heaven as a result of our faithfulness to make disciples.
The benefits of our growing in connection to Jesus are infinitely innumerable, and they are immeasurably inconceivable!
Growing In Jesus for Glory
As humans, our purpose on this earth is to give glory to God (Romans 11:36). This is our ”why”!
Jesus came to this earth to connect us perfectly to God through Himself. Jesus is able to do this as the only Son of God, full of glory, grace, and truth (John 1:14).
We have daily opportunities to grow by remaining in Jesus — working this way so that we receive these benefits all day everyday. There is no more Glorious Way to live, work, and grow — bearing much fruit — than to stay connected to your friend Jesus!
Resources:
Video: Grow into Greatness This Way | Howard Graham
Survey: Tell Us! How do you want to grow?
Sermon: "I Am The Vine" | Tim Keller
Sermon: "The True Vine" | David Platt
Sermon: "I Am (Part 8) - The Vine" | Kennon Vaughan
Interview with John Piper: "What Does It Mean to Abide in Christ?"