The second group of people we have to visit is our neighbors. We all have neighbors, and we may have lived by our neighbors for many years. We are Christians who love the Lord and are in His recovery. We are seeking Christ and desire to live Christ, abide in Christ, enjoy Christ, and experience Christ; yet after so many years, our next-door neighbor may still not be saved.
Is this a proper situation? The Lord says: “He who abides in Me...bears much fruit. [But] every branch in Me that does not bear fruit, [the Father] takes it away. 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” (John 15:5, 2, 16). The Lord said, “I appointed you.” Because we are branches in the vine, we have been chosen and also appointed. Our appointment, our future, and our destiny is to bear fruit. This is why Paul says, “For necessity is laid upon me; for woe to me if I do not preach the gospel” (1 Cor. 9:16). We all must have this kind of realization.
Some may say, “As long as I have been saved, I will go to be with the Lord in the heavens.” Surely they will go to the heavens, but in the heavens the Lord will ask, “How much fruit have you borne for Me?” If we do not bear fruit, there is the danger that we will lose the enjoyment of Christ in this age. Then in the future at the Lord’s coming, He will ask us to give Him an account of ourselves (Rom. 14:10, 12). If we have not gained a profit for the Lord, He will say, “Cast out the useless slave into the outer darkness” (Matt. 25:26-30). This word in Matthew 25 is quite serious.
The Lord has burdened me to warn all of the brothers and sisters concerning our solemn responsibility to bear fruit and the serious consequences of not doing so. If I did not warn you, I would be responsible before the Lord, and your blood would be upon my hands (Ezek. 3:18-19; Acts 20:26-27). If you do not bear fruit, you will be cut off from the enjoyment of the riches of Christ today, and in the future, you will be condemned as an evil, slothful, and useless slave and cast into the outer darkness. This is the necessity that has been laid upon you to preach the gospel.
We should not be discouraged; the Lord still allows us to live. Even as an old one, I believe the Lord will give me more years to live that I might bear more fruit. We need only bring one person to the Lord and to the church within one year. Some may feel that it is too hard to bear one fruit per year. I would tell them to try going out for fifty-two weeks, only once a week. If within fifty-two weeks they still could not gain one, they should not worry; the Lord is teaching them patience. They must continue to go out for another fifty-two weeks without worrying about not gaining one. They must simply do their duty one week at a time. If after the second year they do not gain anyone, they still have the third year. If in three years they could bear only one fruit, they should not consider that a small thing.
According to my study of history, there has never been one church on this earth which has continually increased by thirty-three percent each year. If every saint could get one person saved within three years, this would produce a thirty-three percent increase each year. In history, there never has been such a church, so we should not despise gaining only one in three years. If we could all do this, it would be marvelous.
Many sisters do not have a job, but they stay home to take care of their little children. A sister can build up quite a good relationship with her neighbors so that all the neighbors know that she is a good and proper person and that she is training her children very well. They may like to have their children go to her home, and she can open a small childrens’ meeting class with about five children. The best time is in the afternoon when the children come back home from school. Many mothers would like to have a good neighbor to take care of their children, and their children need the other little ones to be their friends. Gradually, she could have more children, perhaps as many as fifteen. Through these children, every family’s door will be open to her.
There are many ways to reach people. If you cannot think of a way, pray: “Lord, I want You to tell me what I should do. I am desperate. I must bring some person to You. You must give me a way.” The Lord may tell you to just go out and stand in front of your house every day from five to six in the afternoon. You would stand there and do nothing but watch all your neighbors coming home. This may seem very strange, but after one week, someone may stop and talk to you. This is your opportunity.
In a big denomination in Seoul, South Korea, they trained the sisters to contact their neighbors. Seoul is a big city of about ten million people. They have many large high-rise apartment buildings. Many ladies go to the grocery store with their children. They have to buy their things and bring them home while trying to care for their children. That denomination found out that there was such a need, so they sent some sisters to wait at the elevator door for the ladies returning from the grocery store. When one would come to the elevator, they would say: “May I help you? I will carry this bag for you. I will take care of this child.” That opened many doors to those sisters.
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