OCTOBER  17

LASTING FRUIT

JOHN 15:1-16


“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.” (John 15:16

The Lord didn’t instruct us to just bear fruit; He ordained us to bear fruit that remains. There’s a difference!

In our world of statistics today, there is tremendous emphasis on evangelizing the world for Christ. The predominant way the church goes about trying to accomplish this goal isn’t the way Jesus instructed. He clearly told us to go into all the world and make disciples, not just converts (Matt. 28:19). Disciples are converts who have matured in their relationship with the Lord to the point that they’re stable and can share their faith with others. Disciples are lasting fruit.

It’s shortsighted to push for converts more than disciples. It’s easier to make converts than disciples, but the kingdom of God isn’t really built that way. Today, we have millions of people who prayed the sinner’s prayer to escape hell, but they aren’t committed to God and aren’t a good testimony for the kingdom. Since we’re so big on statistics, someone should count the number of people who have been forever turned off from the Lord because of the example of some hypocritical converts.

Jesus sees the end from the beginning. Therefore, He doesn’t rejoice with us over some of the inflated numbers we proclaim. He wants lasting fruit. Make sure you’re in that group today, then help others bring forth fruit that remains. (AW)