In 1577, Sir Francis Drake set out from England with five ships, bound eventually for the Pacific Ocean through the Strait of Magellan on the southern tip of South America. Three years and 36,000 miles later, at the perennial risk of their lives, he and his men had circumnavigated the globe. This prayer motivated his courage:

.

Today we conclude our annual Unified Missions Emphasis. We have been challenged to pray for missions and missionaries, and to give to support their work. Now we are called to join them. To set out for whatever New World is God's next step for us.

Why? You don't have enough margin in your life as it is. You don't have discretionary time you are not sure how to spend. Why be more risk-taking and sacrificial with your life and faith? Why get involved in missions and ministry more than you already are? It's a good question.

"I am the true vine, and my Father is the husbandman" (v. 1).

Jesus is dealing with the very heart of Jewish national consciousness, their sense of themselves. Jesus was probably pointing to the golden vine on the door of the Temple as he spoke these words. It was the emblem on their coins when the Jews were an independent nation.

As the eagle is our national symbol, the vine was theirs: "You brought a vine out of Egypt; you did drive out the nations and planted it" (Psalm 80:8); God says, "I had planted you a noble vine, wholly a right seed" (Jeremiah 2:21a).

But their vine was corrupt and decayed: "how then are you turned into the degenerate branches of a foreign vine unto me?" (Jeremiah 2:21b). They had lost their focus on God, and turned it on themselves--on their rituals, traditions, and laws. They were decaying and barren and dying.

The people thought they had a relationship with God because they were related to the nation of Israel. The nation was the vine into which they were planted. But their vine was corrupted and ruined. They were connected to the wrong vine, the wrong source for life.

Jesus is the only "true vine." Unfortunately, we can make the same mistake people made in his day. Most people think that a Christian is someone who is connected to the church, in the same way that a Rotarian is connected to a Rotary Club and goes to its meetings. You are connected to a country club by purchasing a membership there and going to its golf course or restaurant or tennis courts. You are connected to the Dallas Women's Club by gaining membership and attending functions there. You are a Christian if you have joined a church and attend its meetings.

I must tell you that the Church is no more the vine than the nation was. We are just people. My words are not God's words, unless the Spirit uses them in that way in your life. I am as fallen as any of you.

I've watched our garage go down and the Community Life Center go up, and I can tell you that our buildings are made in the same way as any other buildings in the city. Our concrete is not any more sanctified than theirs.

Last week, Brian Newman and I helped prepare the Lord's Supper for our Monday morning prayer meeting, and discovered how they do it. I'd always wondered how they get the grape juice in those tiny little glasses. Turns out they have blue rubber bulbs which they squeeze; it takes in juice, which they can then squeeze out into the cups. As I was squeezing the juice and crushing up the crackers up for the plate, I turned to Brian and said, "Sort of takes the mystique out of it, doesn't it?"

The baptistery is just water. Our musicians and staff and deacons are just people. If you're connected to us, thinking that being a church member makes you a Christian, you've attached to the wrong vine. I cannot forgive a single sin you've committed, or guarantee you a single day in heaven. I'm just as much a decayed vine as ancient Israel. And so is everyone else who's sitting in worship with you this morning.

I once read of a group of churches in serious decline. A missionary in the area said he felt that the people had been converted to Christianity, not to Christ. To religion rather than relationship.

Which is true of your soul today?

How would you know if you are connected to Jesus today? If you are a success in his eyes? "Every branch in me that bears not fruit, he takes away; and every branch that bears fruit, he prunes so that it will bear more fruit" (v. 2).

Grape vines in Israel produce two kinds of branches. Some bear no fruit, and never will. Others bear fruit. The "husbandman," the vine dresser, cuts away the branches which do not bear fruit so they will not take away from the energies of the plant. The branches which do bear fruit are pruned each December and January so they will bear more fruit the next spring.

How do we know if we are connected to Jesus this morning? "I am the vine, you are the branches; he that abides in me, and I in him, the same bears much fruit" (v. 5a).

You know the vine by examining the fruit. If you are connected to a withering, dying vine, clearly you cannot expect it to help you bear fruit. It cannot give what it does not have. If it is unable to bear fruit, it cannot help you bear fruit.

But if you are connected or "abide" in Jesus, you will bear fruit. His Spirit will flow through you, working with you, using you. And "fruit" will be the inevitable result.

This fact is so important that Jesus repeats it: "Herein is my Father glorified, that you bear much fruit; and so shall you be my disciples" (v. 8). The one test of discipleship is fruit bearing. The one test of the health of an apple tree is whether it bears apples; the one test of the health of a tomato plant is whether it produces tomatoes.

What is the "fruit" Jesus seeks from us? What kind of apples prove that we are healthy apple trees?

In the botanical context of our text, it is clear that he means fruit in the sense of reproduction. A plant or tree produces fruit as a means of reproducing. A peach tree doesn't know it is feeding you when it produces peaches; it is interested in making peach seeds which will reproduce itself. Fruit is a plant's means of reproduction. Watermelon seeds are a nuisance to you, but crucial to the watermelon.

In the same way, spiritual fruit is spiritual reproduction. In short, we are Jesus' disciples to the degree that we reproduce spiritually, that we help others follow him, that we lead others to faith in him. All healthy things grow. Spiritual reproduction is the mark of genuine discipleship; nothing else or less.

God measures spiritual success by reproduction. You and I are successful in his eyes to the degree that we reproduce spiritually. He does not measure us by church attendance, financial contributions, or committee service. He does not measure us by hours spent in choir rehearsal or Sunday school preparations. An apple farmer measures a tree not by the beauty of its leaves or diameter of its trunk or size of its branches, but by its fruit.

How successful are you in God's eyes? Who follows Jesus today because of you? When was the last time you shared your faith? Prayed for a lost person to come to Christ? Invited someone to a worship service or spiritual event? Forwarded a spiritual email? Dropped someone a spiritual note? Made a spiritual phone call? Went on a mission trip? Volunteered in a local mission ministry? When was the last time you sowed the seed of God's love and word?

If you don't, why not? Sometimes we're afraid of being rejected. Or we fear questions we cannot answer. Or we're not sure how to go about it. At its heart, this is a spiritual battle. If Christ is your Lord, Satan has lost your soul. Count on him to do everything he can to keep from losing another soul because of you. Expect a tightening of your throat, a knot in the pit of your stomach. Know that God has not given you a spirit of fear (2 Timothy 1:7), but that Satan does. Expect opposition.

How do we counter it?

"Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, except it abide in the vine, so neither can you, except you abide in me" (v. 4). How do we "abide" in him? "If you keep my commandments, you shall abide in my love; even as I have kept my Father's commandments, and abide in his love" (v. 10).

So start the day in his word and prayer and worship. Stay close to him through the day. Stay surrendered to him as your Lord, and trust that he will give you his power to fulfill his purpose. We cannot give what we do not have. We must be in a strong relationship with Jesus before we can lead anyone else into such a relationship.

And then he gives you his heart for the lost people you know. If you care for someone, you'll risk their rejection for the sake of their eternal salvation. God will give you the compassion, courage, and answers you need to help others follow Jesus.

But only if you are obedient first. Obedience positions you to receive his courage and power. In the moment that you actually begin to write the email or speak the words which will help someone follow Jesus, you find the words to write and say: "Whenever you are arrested and brought to trial, do not worry beforehand about what to say. Just say whatever is given you at the time, for it is not you speaking, but the Holy Spirit" (Mark 13:11). Step onto the bridge you cannot see until you step onto it.

Then souls will spend eternity in heaven because of you. Then your life will glorify God forever: "Herein is my Father glorified, that you bear much fruit" (v. 8). And you will know his joy: "These things have I spoken unto you, that my joy may be in you, and that your joy may be made full" (v. 11). There is no joy on earth like the joy of helping people escape an eternity in hell for an eternity in heaven.

So now the next step is yours. God is challenging you not just to give to missions and pray for missions, but to do missions. Will you make it your goal to reproduce spiritually this year? To bear fruit? To be his disciple? To be a success in God's eyes.

As you decide whether or not to risk it, perhaps these words will help. Occasionally I need to remember this assurance by President Theodore Roosevelt:

Which soul is yours?