STUDY ARTICLE 47
Don’t Let Anything to Stop You From Serving Jehovah
“I trust in you, O Jehovah.”—PS. 31:14.
SONG 122 Be Steadfast, Immovable!
WETIN WE COMING LEARN? a
1. How we know that Jehovah want be close to us?
JEHOVAH tell us to get close to him. (Jas. 4:8) He want be our God, our Father, and our Friend. He can answer our prayers and help us when we going through hard time. And he can use his organization to teach and protect us. But wetin we must do to get close to Jehovah?
2. How we can get close to Jehovah?
2 We can get close to Jehovah by praying to him, reading the Bible and thinking on what we read. When we do it, our love for Jehovah will grow and we will be grateful to him. It will make us to obey him and give him the praise that he deserve. (Rev. 4:11) The more we get to know Jehovah, that the more we will trust him and the organization he using to help us.
3. How the Devil can try to stop us from serving Jehovah, but wetin will help us to never leave our God and his organization? (Psalm 31:13, 14)
3 But the Devil can try to stop us from serving Jehovah, especially when we going through hard times. How he can do it? He can try to make us to stop trusting Jehovah and his organization small-small. But we can protect ourselves from his attack. When we get strong faith and trust in Jehovah, we will not leave our God and his organization.—Read Psalm 31:13, 14.
4. Wetin we coming talk about in this article?
4 In this article, we coming talk about three problems that could come from outside the congregation; and each of this problem could make our trust in Jehovah and his organization weak. How these problem them could make us to stop serving Jehovah? And wetin we can do to fight against Satan?
WHEN WE GOING THROUGH HARD TIMES
5. How hard times can make our trust in Jehovah and his organization weak?
5 Some time, we can go through hard times. For example, when our family go against us or when we lost our job. How hard times like this can make our trust in Jehovah organization weak and make us to stop serving him? When we going through problems for long time, we can start feeling discourage. Satan can use situation them like this to make us feel that God not care for us. The Devil want us to think that Jehovah or His organization making us to suffer. Something like that happen to some of the Israelite them in Egypt. From the beginning they believe that Jehovah was using Moses and Aaron to free them from slavery. (Ex. 4:29-31) But later on when Pharaoh started suffering them bad way, they put the blame on Moses and Aaron for their problems. They said: “You have made Pharaoh and his servants despise us and you have put a sword in their hand to kill us.” (Ex. 5:19-21) They blame Moses and Aaron who were faithful to God. It was too bad! If you na stay long going through hard times, how you can keep your trust in Jehovah and his organization strong?
6. Wetin we learn from the prophet Habakkuk about how to bear hard times? (Habakkuk 3:17-19)
6 Pray to Jehovah and tell him everything that in your heart and depend on him for help. The prophet Habakkuk went through plenty hard times. One time, he started feeling that Jehovah not care about him. So he pray to Jehovah and told him how he was feeling. He said: “How long, O Jehovah, must I cry for help, but you do not hear? . . . Why do you tolerate oppression?” (Hab. 1:2, 3) Jehovah answer his faithful servant prayer. (Hab. 2:2, 3) Habakkuk was happy again after he think good-good on how Jehovah save his people in the past. He was convince that Jehovah care for him and was going to help him go through any problem. (Read Habakkuk 3:17-19.) What the lesson for us? When you facing hard times, pray to Jehovah and tell him how you feeling. Then depend on him for help. When you do it, you can be sure that Jehovah will give you the strength to bear the problem. And when you see how he helping you, your faith in him will get more strong.
7. Wetin Shirley relative try to convince her about, and what help her to keep her faith strong in Jehovah?
7 Keep doing the thing them that been helping you to stay close to Jehovah. See how it help our sister Shirley from Papua New Guinea, who was facing hard times. b Shirley family was poor and sometimes, they not use to get enough food to eat. One of her relative try to make her trust in Jehovah weak. He told her: “You say that God holy spirit helping you, but where the help? The family still poor. You just wasting your time preaching.” Shirley said: “I started thinking: ‘I wonder God really care about us or not?’ So right away I started praying to Jehovah and I told him everything that was in my heart. I continue reading the Bible and our publication them and I continue preaching and attending meetings.” It not stay long, she started noticing that Jehovah was taking care of her family. Her family was always having something to eat, and they were happy. Shirley said: “I felt that Jehovah was answering my prayer.” (1 Tim. 6:6-8) If you continue doing spiritual things, then you too will not allow hard times to make you leave Jehovah.
WHEN THEY TREAT OUR BROTHERS WHO TAKING THE LEAD BAD
8. Sometime wetin can happen to our brothers who taking the lead in Jehovah organization?
8 Sometime, on the news or on the internet, our enemies can spread lie-lie information about our brothers who taking the lead in the organization. (Ps. 31:13) They na arrest some of our brothers and they say our brothers that criminals. That the same thing happen to the Christian them way back. The enemies lie on the apostle Paul and arrested him. Wetin the Christian them do?
9. How some of the Christian them way back acted when the apostle Paul was in jail?
9 Some of the Christian them that time stop helping the apostle Paul when he was in jail in Rome. (2 Tim. 1:8, 15) Why? You think they were shame because people felt Paul was criminal? (2 Tim. 2:8, 9) Or you think they were scare that the people will grab them and suffer them too? Whatever reason they were having, just think about how Paul was feeling. He went through plenty hard times and he even put his life in danger for them. (Acts 20:18-21; 2 Cor. 1:8) We must never be like the Christian them who not help Paul when he was in need! Wetin we must remember when they persecuting the brother them who taking the lead?
10. What we must remember when our enemies suffering the brothers that taking the lead?
10 Remember why our enemies can suffer us and who behind it. Second Timothy 3:12 say: “All those desiring to live with godly devotion in association with Christ Jesus will also be persecuted.” So we must not be surprise that Satan can mainly attack the brothers that taking the lead. He want the brother them to not be faithful to Jehovah and to also make us scary.—1 Pet. 5:8.
Even though Paul was in jail, Onesiphorus was brave and help him. Today, our brothers and sisters can help their brother them who in jail, as we can see in this picture (See paragraphs 11-12)
11. Wetin we learn from Onesiphorus example? (2 Timothy 1:16-18)
11 Continue to help your brothers and stick to them. (Read 2 Timothy 1:16-18.) One Christian name Onesiphorus help Paul when he was in jail. “He did not become ashamed of [Paul’s] prison chains.” But, Onesiphorus look for Paul, and when he found him, he try to help him. Onesiphorus put his life in danger just to help Paul. What the lesson for us? We must not let fear of man stop us from helping our brother them who going through persecution. But we must be there to help them. (Prov. 17:17) They need our love and our help.
12. Wetin we can learn from our brother and sister them in Russia?
12 Think about how our brothers and sisters in Russia been helping our other brother them who in jail there. When they carry some of them to court, plenty brothers and sisters can go there to help them. What the lesson for us? We must not be scary when they lie on, arrest, or persecute the brother them who taking the lead. Pray for them, take care of their family members, and look for other ways to help them.—Acts 12:5; 2 Cor. 1:10, 11.
WHEN THEY MAKE FUN OF US
13. When people make fun of us, how it can make our trust in Jehovah and his organization weak?
13 Some of our relatives, workmates, or schoolmates can laugh at us sometime because of our preaching and because we living by Jehovah laws. (1 Pet. 4:4) Sometime they can say: “I like your business but your religion that way back thing and it too strict.” Some of them can criticize us for the way we can treat disfellowship people. They can say: “That how someone who get love can act?” Thing them like this can make us to feel that Jehovah laws not fair. Maybe we will start thinking: ‘Jehovah law too hard for me or his organization can restrict people too much?’ If you find yourself in that kind na situation, how you can stay close to Jehovah and his organization?
Job refuse to believe his so-call friend them who lie to him and made fun of him. But he continue to stay faithful to Jehovah (See paragraph 14)
14. How we must act when other people make fun of us for living by Jehovah laws? (Psalm 119:50-52)
14 Be determine to continue living by Jehovah laws. Job always use to follow Jehovah laws even if people make fun of him. One of Job so-call friend even try to make him believe that it not important to God whether Job obey Him or not. (Job 4:17, 18; 22:3) But Job refuse to believe lie them like that. He knew that Jehovah law about what right and what wrong correct, and he was determine to continue obeying them. He not allow anybody to stop him from staying faithful to Jehovah. (Job 27:5, 6) What the lesson for us? When people make fun of us, we must not let it make us to start thinking whether Jehovah laws correct. Think about some things that happen in your life. You na see for yourself plenty time that when you obey Jehovah, you can benefit and your life can be better. Be determine to continue supporting the organization that obeying Jehovah laws. Then, even if people laugh at us all the time, we will never stop serving Jehovah.—Read Psalm 119:50-52.
15. Why the family people were against Brizit?
15 Let talk about one sister in India name Brizit. Her family people use to make fun of her because she was serving Jehovah. Right after she got baptize in 1997, her husband who was not serving Jehovah, lost his job. So he decided that he, his wife, and their daughters must move in the same house his parents were living in. And his parents were living in different city. But Brizit was going to face more problems. Because her husband was not working again, she use to work full-time to support her family. Apart from that, the congregation that was close her, was about 350 kilometers (220 mi) away. Sad to say, her husband family was against her because she was serving Jehovah. The situation got so serious till it made them to leave the family house. Then her husband just die. Later on, her 12 years old daughter die from cancer. To make matters worse, Brizit family people blame her for all the thing them that happen. They said if she was not coming to be Jehovah Witness, all this bad-bad thing them were not coming happen to her. But still, she continue to trust Jehovah and stay close to his organization.
16. How Jehovah bless Brizit for sticking to Him and his organization?
16 Since Brizit was living far off from the congregation, one circuit overseer encourage her to preach in her area and to have meetings in her house. It was hard for her from the beginning. But she follow the direction. She use to preach to people in her area, have meetings in her house, and do family worship with her daughters. What was the result? Brizit was able to start and conduct plenty Bible studies. Some of her Bible studies even got baptize. In 2005 she started regular pioneering. Jehovah bless her for trusting him and sticking to his organization. Her daughters serving Jehovah faithfully, and they get two congregations in that area now! Brizit convince that Jehovah gave her the strength to bear hard times and the way her family was against her.
STAY FAITHFUL TO JEHOVAH AND HIS ORGANIZATION
17. Wetin we must continue to do?
17 Satan want us to believe that Jehovah will not help us when we facing hard times. And he also want us to believe that, when we support Jehovah organization that the mean time things will get hard on us. Satan want us to be scary when they lie on, persecute, or jail the brothers who taking the lead. And he like for people to make fun of us, so our trust in Jehovah laws and His organization can get weak. But we know his wicked tricks and he can’t fool us. (2 Cor. 2:11) We must never listen to Satan lies. And we must also continue to stay faithful to Jehovah and His organization. Remember, Jehovah will never leave you. (Ps. 28:7) So don’t let anything to stop you from serving Jehovah!—Rom. 8:35-39.
18. Wetin we will talk about in the next article?
18 In this article, we talk about some problem them we can face from people who not Jehovah Witness. But we can face some problems with our brothers and sisters that can also test our trust in Jehovah and his organization. How we can deal with this type of problems and be successful? We will talk about this one in the next article.
SONG 118 “Give Us More Faith”
a For us to be faithful in the last days, we must continue to trust Jehovah and his organization. The Devil can try to use hard times to make us to stop trusting Jehovah and his organization. In this article, we will talk about three things the Devil can use and what we can do to stay faithful to Jehovah and his organization.
b We change some of the name them.