1. What did we learn at the 2023 annual meeting?

 AT THE 2023 annual meeting, a we received thrilling clarifications on some of our beliefs and we heard some exciting announcements about our ministry. We learned, for example, that some individuals may have an opportunity to side with Jehovah’s people even after Babylon the Great is destroyed. We also learned that as of November 2023, Kingdom publishers would no longer be asked to report all their activity in the ministry. Do such changes make our ministry less important, less urgent than before? Absolutely not!

2. Why does our ministry become more urgent with each passing day? (Mark 13:10)

² With each passing day, our ministry becomes more urgent. Why? Because time is running out. Consider what Jesus foretold about the preaching work in the last days. (Read Mark 13:10.) According to Matthew’s parallel account, Jesus said that the good news would be preached in all the inhabited earth before “the end” comes. (Matt. 24:14) That expression refers to the complete end of Satan’s wicked system of things. Jehovah has set the “day and hour” for the events that will soon unfold. (Matt. 24:36; 25:13; Acts 1:7) Each day brings us one day closer to that time. (Rom. 13:11) Meanwhile, we must keep preaching until the end comes.

3. What motivates us to preach?

³ As we reflect on our ministry, we do well to consider a soul-searching question: Why do we preach the good news? Put simply, love motivates us to preach. What we do in the preaching work reflects our love​—our love for the good news, our love for people and, above all, our love for Jehovah and his name. Let us consider these one at a time.

WE PREACH BECAUSE WE LOVE THE GOOD NEWS

4. How do we react when we receive good news?

⁴ Can you recall how you felt when you received some good news​—perhaps the birth of a new family member or even the offer of a much-needed job? No doubt you were eager to share that good news with your family and friends. Did something similar happen when you heard the best news of all​—the good news of God’s Kingdom?

5. How did you feel when you first learned the truth from God’s Word? (See also pictures.)

⁵ Think back to how you felt when you first learned the truth from God’s Word. You discovered that your heavenly Father loves you, that he wants you to be part of his family of worshippers, that he has promised to end pain and suffering, that you can hope to see your dead loved ones come back to life in a new world​—and much more. (Mark 10:29, 30; John 5:28, 29; Rom. 8:38, 39; Rev. 21:3, 4) Those truths warmed your heart. (Luke 24:32) You loved what you were learning, and you could not keep those precious truths to yourself!​—Compare Jeremiah 20:9.

6. What do you learn from the experience of Ernest and Rose?

⁶ Consider an experience. A brother named Ernest b was about ten years old when his father died. Ernest recalls: “I wondered: ‘Has he gone to heaven? Or has he ceased to exist forever?’ I envied other children who still had a father.” Ernest would regularly go to the cemetery, kneel at his father’s grave, and pray: “Please, God, I want to know where my dad is.” About 17 years after his father died, Ernest was offered a Bible study, which he readily accepted. He was thrilled to learn that the dead are unconscious, as if in a deep sleep, and that the Bible promises a future resurrection. (Eccl. 9:5, 10; Acts 24:15) Finally, he found the answers to the questions that had troubled him for so long! Ernest was very excited about the Bible truths he was learning. His wife, Rose, joined him in the study and shared his love for the Kingdom message. In 1978 they got baptized. They eagerly shared their treasured beliefs with family, friends, and any others who would listen. As a result, Ernest and Rose have helped more than 70 individuals to progress to baptism.

7. What happens when love for Bible truth takes root in our heart? (Luke 6:45)

⁷ Clearly, when love for Bible truth takes root in our heart, we cannot keep silent. (Read Luke 6:45.) We feel like the first-century disciples of Jesus who said: “We cannot stop speaking about the things we have seen and heard.” (Acts 4:20) We love the truth so much that we want to share it with as many as possible.

WE PREACH BECAUSE WE LOVE PEOPLE

8. What motivates us to reach others with the good news? (See the box “ Love People​—Make Disciples.”) (See also picture.)

⁸ Like Jehovah and his Son, we love people. (Prov. 8:31; John 3:16) We feel deep compassion for those who are “without God” and who have “no hope.” (Eph. 2:12) They are drowning in life’s problems, and we have the life vest that they need​—the good news of God’s Kingdom. Our love and compassion for such ones motivates us to make every effort to reach them with the good news. That precious message can fill their hearts with hope, help them find the best possible life now, and give them the prospect of “the real life”​—everlasting life—​in God’s new world.​—1 Tim. 6:19.

9. What warning do we give about the future, and why? (Ezekiel 33:7, 8)

⁹ Our love for people also moves us to warn them about the approaching end of this wicked world. (Read Ezekiel 33:7, 8.) We have pity for our neighbors and our unbelieving family members. Many go about their daily lives unaware of what is coming​—a “great tribulation such as has not occurred since the world’s beginning until now, no, nor will occur again.” (Matt. 24:21) We want them to know what will happen during that time of judgment​—false religion will be removed and the destruction of the entire wicked system will follow at Armageddon. (Rev. 16:14, 16; 17:16, 17; 19:11, 19, 20) We pray that as many as possible will respond to the warning and join us in pure worship now. But what about those who do not heed the warning at this time, including beloved family members?

10. Why is it urgent that we keep sounding the warning?

¹⁰ As explained in the preceding article, it may be Jehovah’s will to save people who have a change of heart when they see the destruction of Babylon the Great. If so, then it is all the more urgent that we keep sounding the warning. Consider this: What we tell them now may give them something to remember then. (Compare Ezekiel 33:33.) Perhaps they will reflect back on the warning they heard from us and be moved to join us in pure worship before it is too late. Like the jailer in Philippi who had a change of heart only after “a great earthquake occurred,” perhaps some who do not respond now will have a change of heart after the world-shaking destruction of Babylon the Great.​—Acts 16:25-34.

WE PREACH BECAUSE WE LOVE JEHOVAH AND HIS NAME

11. How do we give Jehovah glory, honor, and power? (Revelation 4:11) (See also pictures.)

¹¹ The most important reason why we preach the good news is that we love Jehovah God and his holy name. We view our ministry as a way to praise the God we love. (Read Revelation 4:11.) We wholeheartedly agree that Jehovah God is worthy to receive glory, honor, and power from his loyal worshippers. We give him glory and honor when we share with others the convincing evidence that he “created all things” and that we owe him our very existence. We give him power​—our power—​when we use our time, energy, and resources to share in the ministry as fully as our circumstances allow. (Matt. 6:33; Luke 13:24; Col. 3:23) Put simply, we love to speak about the God we love. We also feel compelled to tell others about his name and what it stands for. Why?

12. How do we sanctify Jehovah’s name in our ministry?

¹² Our love for Jehovah moves us to sanctify his name. (Matt. 6:9) We want to have a part in clearing his name of the reproach that Satan has brought on it by his malicious lies. (Gen. 3:1-5; Job 2:4; John 8:44) In our ministry, we are eager to stand up for our God, telling the truth about him to all who will listen. We want everyone to know that his greatest quality is love, that his way of ruling is righteous and just, and that his Kingdom will soon end all suffering and bring peace and happiness to the human family. (Ps. 37:10, 11, 29; 1 John 4:8) When we defend Jehovah’s reputation in our ministry, we sanctify his name. We also have the satisfaction of knowing that we are living up to our name. How so?

13. Why are we proud to be called Jehovah’s Witnesses? (Isaiah 43:10-12)

¹³ Jehovah has called us to be his “witnesses.” (Read Isaiah 43:10-12.) Some years ago, a letter from the Governing Body stated: “The greatest honor that any of us could enjoy is that of being called one of Jehovah’s Witnesses.” c Why is that so? Consider an illustration. If you needed someone to be a character witness for you in a court case, you would choose someone you know and trust, someone whose reputation would make his testimony trustworthy. By choosing us to be his Witnesses, Jehovah shows that he knows us well and that he trusts us to testify that he is the only true God. We feel so honored to be his Witnesses that we seize every opportunity to make his name known and to combat the many lies that have been told about him. By doing so, we live up to the name that we are so proud to bear, Jehovah’s Witnesses!​—Ps. 83:18; Rom. 10:13-15.

WE WILL KEEP PREACHING UNTIL THE END

14. What exciting prospects lie ahead of us?

¹⁴ What exciting prospects lie ahead of us! With Jehovah’s blessing, we hope to see many more accept the truth before the great tribulation begins. Also, we are thrilled at the possibility that even during the darkest time in human history​—the great tribulation—​we may see still more people turn away from Satan’s dying world and join us in praising Jehovah!​—Acts 13:48.

15-16. What will we keep doing, and until when?

¹⁵ Meanwhile, we have work to do. We have the privilege of sharing in a never-to-be-repeated proclamation​—the preaching of the good news of God’s Kingdom throughout the earth. At the same time, we must keep sounding the warning. People need to know that the end of this wicked system of things is rapidly approaching. Then when that time of judgment arrives, they will know that the message we preached came from Jehovah God.​—Ezek. 38:23.

¹⁶ What, then, are we determined to do? Motivated by love​—love for the good news, love for people and, above all, love for Jehovah God and his name—​we will keep preaching with eagerness, urgency, and zeal until Jehovah says, “It is enough!”