«　WEEK 9　DAY 5　»

　　John 15:16 You did not choose Me, but I chose you, and I set you that you should go forth and bear fruit and that your fruit should remain, that whatever you ask the Father in my name, He may give you.

　　Acts 1:8 But you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit comes upon you, and you shall be My witnesses both in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria and unto the uttermost part of the earth.

　　Are you happy to remain in a barren situation for years? Second Peter indicates that it is possible for us to be idle and unfruitful, barren (1:8). Suppose tomorrow morning the Lord comes back. Then according to His word in Matthew 25, you will have to give Him an account of what you have been doing. What will you tell Him? Will you tell Him that you have had a good church life in your locality, that whatever He has given you is still here? Will you tell Him that He is a hard man, reaping where He did not sow and gathering where He did not scatter? What would the Lord say? Would the Lord say, "Well done, good and faithful slave. enter into the joy of your lord" (25:23)? Or would He call you an evil and slothful slave (25:26)? According to Matthew 25, where will He put you? Do not forget that the one who is put into outer darkness is the one who has received the real gift, one talent. This one is not only saved but also gifted. The Lord is real, He will really come back, and His word spoken in Matthew 25 will be fulfilled. This is a serious and solemn matter.

　　John 15:16 says, "You did not choose Me, but I chose you, and I appointed you that you should go forth and bear fruit, and that your fruit should remain." In this verse there are some words which are quite crucial. The first word is "appointed." We did not choose ourselves, but He chose us. We have no choice in the matter of being a branch of Christ, the vine, because He caught us. He chose us and appointed us to bear fruit. To bear fruit is the Lord's appointment, His assignment. He did not assign us to do anything else. He appointed us to bear fruit. The Lord charged us to go forth and bear fruit. Can a branch go? The branches of a physical tree do not go. But we are not only living branches, but also movable branches. We have to go. This indicates that we have to reach people.

　　The Lord says that we should go forth and bear fruit and that our fruit should remain. In the past we took the wrong way. Occasionally people came to us and they believed and were baptized, but they did not remain because nobody took care of them. This is like a mother delivering a child, and then leaving her newborn baby without any care. How could she expect this baby to remain? The Lord has shown us the way for our fruit to remain. We do not just go out to reach people by knocking on their doors and bringing them into the Triune God through their believing and baptism. After this, we immediately set up a home meeting in their home. To set up a home meeting is to set up a shelter to protect this new babe. The farmers protect the fruit in their orchard. Peaches that are ripe and have just been picked need to be covered. Otherwise, the birds may eat them. This covering helps the fruit to remain. Likewise, to set up a meeting in a baptized one's home is to set up a shelter. Then under the shelter you go back to them regularly to feed them. Surely they will be protected, they will be fed, and they will remain. This is the secret of having remaining fruit.