1. Why are Jehovah's Witnesses happy and proud?
How happy and proud we are to be Jehovah's Witnesses! We bear God's name and show that we are his Witnesses when we preach and teach people about him. We are happy to help someone who has “the right attitude to gain eternal life” to become Jehovah's servant . - Acts 13:48. We feel like Jesus, who “felt immense happiness through the holy spirit” when his disciples returned from a preaching campaign and told him of the good experiences they had had (Luke 10: 1, 17, 21).
2. How do we show that preaching is very important to us?
For us, preaching is very important. The apostle Paul gave this advice to Timothy: "Pay constant attention to your conduct and your teaching." And he added: "In this way you will save yourself and also those who listen to you" (1 Tim. 4:16). These words show us that lives are at stake. We pay constant attention to our behavior because we are citizens of the Kingdom of God. We always want to conduct ourselves in a way that honors Jehovah and shows that we believe the good news we announce . --Philip. 1:27. And we pay attention to our teaching by preparing ourselves well for the preaching work and by asking Jehovah to help us when we are going to talk about him to others.
3. What might people's reaction to the Kingdom message be, and what example shows it?
However, even when we do our best in ministry, people in our territory may show little or no interest in the Kingdom message. Consider Brother Georg Lindal, who preached all over Iceland alone from 1929 to 1947. He left thousands and thousands of publications in the hands of the people, but no one became a Witness. He wrote: "Some have turned against the truth, but most have remained totally indifferent." Later missionaries from Gilead came to help with the preaching work, but the people were not responding either. Finally, nine years later, some people in the country dedicated their lives to Jehovah and were baptized. *
4. How can we feel when people reject our message?
When people reject our message, we feel disappointed. It may be like Paul, who said that he had “great sadness and constant pain” because the Jews in general refused to accept that Jesus was the promised Messiah (Rom. 9: 1-3). What if we teach someone the Bible, but they don't make progress despite our efforts and prayers, and in the end we have to fail the course? Or what if we have never brought anyone to baptism? Should we feel guilty and perhaps think that Jehovah is not blessing our work? In this article, we will answer two questions: How do we know if our ministry is successful? And what realistic expectations should we have?
HOW DO WE KNOW IF OUR MINISTRY IS SUCCESSFUL?
5. Why doesn't what we do for Jehovah always work as expected?
When the Bible speaks of the person who does God's will, it says, "Whatever he does will be successful" (Ps. 1: 3). But that does not mean that everything we do for Jehovah will turn out the way we want it to. Our imperfection and that of others make life “full of problems” (Job 14: 1). Also, our enemies may be able to interrupt our free preaching for a time (1 Cor. 16: 9; 1 Thess. 2:18). So how does Jehovah measure the success of our ministry? Let's look at some principles from the Bible that will help us answer this question.
6. How does Jehovah measure the success of our ministry?
Jehovah takes notice of our efforts and our endurance . For him, our ministry is a success if we carry it out with diligence and love, regardless of people's reaction. Paul wrote, "God is not unjust and he does not forget your works and the love you showed for his name by serving the saints and continuing to serve them" (Heb. 6:10). Jehovah does not forget our efforts and our love, even if those efforts have not paid off. So, we can apply Paul's words to the Corinthian Christians: "Their work related to the Lord is not in vain" (1 Cor. 15:58). And this is so even if that work has not resulted in what we expected.
ILLUSTRATION:
Series of images: Brothers and sisters preaching. 1. A brother goes from house to house. 2. A sister writes a letter. 3. A brother calls on the phone.
Jehovah values our efforts, whether we preach in person, by letter or by phone. (See paragraph 6.)
7. What do we learn from what the Apostle Paul said about his ministry?
The apostle Paul was an extraordinary missionary and founded congregations in many cities. Even so, when some Christians who believed themselves superior to him criticized him and said he was not a good teacher, he did not mention how many people he had brought to baptism. Instead, he defended himself by saying, “I have worked harder” (2 Cor. 11:23). Let us follow the example of Paul and remember that the most important thing for Jehovah is our efforts and our endurance.
8. What should we remember about our ministry?
Our ministry pleases Jehovah. On one occasion, Jesus sent 70 of his disciples to carry the Kingdom message to others. When they finished, the Bible says that they "came back feeling happy." Why were they so happy? They said, "Even demons are subject to us when we use your name." But Jesus corrected them with these words: “Do not rejoice because the spirits are subject to you. Rather, rejoice because your names have been written in heaven ”(Luke 10: 17-20).Jesus knew that they would not always have such spectacular experiences in ministry. In fact, we don't know how many of those people who listened to the disciples became Christians. The disciples had to be happy not only because the people listened to them, but especially because they knew that Jehovah was pleased with their efforts.
9. According to Galatians 6: 7-9, what will be the result if we don't stop preaching?
If we don't stop preaching, we will get eternal life. When we make every effort to sow and cultivate the seeds of truth, we also sow "with the spirit in mind," as we allow the holy spirit to act freely in our lives. “If we do not get weary,” Jehovah promises that he will give us eternal life, even if we fail to help anyone reach baptism. --Read Galatians 6: 7-9.
WHAT REALISTIC EXPECTATIONS SHOULD WE HAVE?
10. What does people's reaction to our message depend on?
The reaction of people depends mainly on what is in their heart. Jesus explained this truth in the parable of the sower. In this story, a man sowed seeds in different types of soil, but only those that fell on good soil bore fruit (Luke 8: 5-8). Jesus said that the different types of earth represent the hearts of people, who respond in different ways to "the word of God."(Luke 8: 11-15). As happens to the sower, we do not have control over the fruit of our work, because it depends on what type of heart the people who listen to us have. Our duty is to continue sowing the seed of the Kingdom message. As the apostle Paul said, “each person will receive his reward according to his work,” not according to the results of his work (1 Cor. 3: 8).
11. Why can we say that Noah was successful as a “preacher of righteousness”? (See the drawing on the cover).
Throughout history, many of Jehovah's servants have preached to people who have not listened to his message. For example, Noah was a "preacher of righteousness," probably for several decades (2 Pet. 2: 5). No doubt he expected the people to listen to him, but Jehovah did not hint that this would happen. On the contrary, when he instructed him to make the ark, he commanded: "You must enter the ark with your sons, your wife, and your daughters-in-law" (Gen. 6:18). And when he told him how big the ark would be, Noah may have realized that very few would listen (Gen. 6:15). So it was. Not a single person from that violent world heeded his message (Gen. 7: 7). Did Jehovah think that Noah was a failure? Not at all. For him, Noah was very successful because he faithfully did what he was commanded to do (Gen. 6:22).
ILLUSTRATION:
Noah and his family enter the ark with many animals and provisions.
Noah faithfully preached for years, but the only ones who entered the ark with him were his wife, sons, and daughters-in-law. Even so, he was obedient and successfully carried out the work that God gave him to do. (See paragraph 11)
12. What did Jeremiah do to enjoy the preaching despite the indifference and opposition of the people?
The prophet Jeremiah also preached for decades despite the indifference and opposition of the people. The insults and teasing so discouraged him that he even considered giving up his assignment (Jer. 20: 8, 9). But he did not give up. What helped you fight negative thoughts and enjoy preaching? Focus on two important issues. First, in that the divine message he carried to the people could give them “a future and a hope” (Jer. 29:11). And second, that Jehovah had chosen him to bear his name (Jer. 15:16). We too carry a message of hope in a world that is in darkness and bear the name of Jehovah because we are his Witnesses. When we focus on these two important issues, we enjoy preaching no matter how people react.
13. What does the parable of Jesus that we read in Mark 4: 26-29 teach us?
Spiritual growth takes time. Jesus taught this truth in the parable of the sleeping sower (read Mark 4: 26-29). The sower saw the fruit of his efforts little by little and could not do anything to make the seeds grow faster. Similarly, it may take some time for us to see a student apply what they learn, as progress occurs little by little . Just as a sower cannot make his crops grow at the speed he wishes, we cannot force the students to progress at the speed we want. So let's not get discouraged or give up if your progress is taking longer than we bargained for. Both cultivating and disciple-making require patience (James 5: 7, 8).
14. Which example shows that it can take a long time before people start listening to us?
In some territories, years go by and no one responds to our message. Let's look at the experience of Gladys and Ruby Allen, two carnal sisters from Canada. In 1959, they were sent as regular pioneers to a city in the province of Quebec. * The people were afraid of the priests of the Catholic Church and the opinion of the people, so they did not listen to them. Recalls Gladys: “We preached door-to-door for eight hours a day for two years without anyone answering. People just looked at us through the door window and closed the blinds. But we did not give up ”. Over time, people's attitudes softened and the territory became more productive. Today, there are three congregations in that place (Isa. 60:22).
15. What does 1 Corinthians 3: 6, 7 teach us about the disciple-making work?
Disciple-making is teamwork. It has been said that a congregation is needed to help someone get to baptism (read 1 Corinthians 3: 6, 7). For example, a publisher might leave a tract or magazine with an interested person. Then, the brother realizes that his schedule does not allow him to visit her again. So he asks another publisher for help. This publisher starts a Bible course and invites different brothers and sisters to join him, each one encouraging the student in some way. Each publisher the student meets helps water the seed of truth. In this way, as Jesus said, the sower and the reaper can rejoice together as they participate in the spiritual harvest (John 4: 35-38).
16. Even if your strength or health fails, why can you be happy with what you do in the ministry?
What if you can no longer preach and teach as much as before because your strength or health fails? Still, you may be happy about what you can do in the harvest. Let's see what happened when King David and his men defeated a band of Amalekite raiders and recovered their families and everything they had stolen from them. Two hundred men were too tired to go fighting, so they kept an eye on the belongings. After the battle, David said that the spoil would be shared equally among all (1 Sam. 30: 21-25). Something similar is happening today with our worldwide disciple-making work. All of us who give Jehovah the best we have, including you, can rejoice equally every time a person is rescued and helped to enter the path that leads to life.
17. Why can we thank Jehovah?
We thank Jehovah for lovingly appreciating our service to him. He knows that we cannot control the outcome of our efforts, but he takes notice of our hard work and the love we put into it, and he rewards us for it. It also teaches us to be happy with what we can do in the great harvest (John 14:12). Let us not hesitate: God will give us his approval if we do not give up.
WHAT WOULD YOU ANSWER?
How can we feel when people reject our message?
We feel disappointed and sad. It may happen to us like Pablo, who said that he had “great sadness and constant pain”.
How do we know if our ministry is successful?
Because the Bible says that people who do the will of God, would be successful in everything they do. Jehovah looks at our efforts and endurance.
Why should we not give too much importance to how many people we have personally brought to baptism?
Just as a sower cannot make his crops grow at the speed he wishes, we cannot force the students to progress at the speed we want. So let's not get discouraged or give up if your progress is taking longer than we bargained for. Both cultivating and disciple-making require patience.
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