CHAPTER 28
“For Every Corner for the Earth”
Jehovah Witness continue the work wey Jesus Christ disciples start nearly 2000 years ago
1. How Christians for the time of the apostles and Jehovah Witness today take resemble?
THEM really put body for the preaching work. Them carry body down and allow holy spirit to help and direct them. Them no stop to preach even as people de suffer them. And God bless them well-well no be small. All this na wetin happen to the Christians for the apostles time and na so e still be for Jehovah Witness today.
2, 3. Wetin dey special about the book of Acts?
2 We dey sure say wetin you don learn from this book of Acts wey full with plenty better story, don encourage you and make your faith strong. The story for the book of Acts dey special as na the only Bible book wey tell us about the work wey the Christians for the apostles time do, after Jesus go heaven.
3 The book of Acts mention name of 95 people from 32 lands, 54 cities, and 9 islands. Na story of people—ordinary people, politicians and religious leaders wey de carry body up, and people wey de attack God people. But the one wey important pass be say, na the story of our brothers and sisters for the time of the apostles. Them face problems wey people de face for life, but them still put body for the preaching work.
4. Why we dey close to people like apostle Paul, Tabitha, and other faithful witness for old time?
4 E don nearly reach 2,000 years since the time of people like Luke wey be doctor wey people love, Barnabas wey sabi give well-well, Stephen wey get strong heart, Tabitha wey get kind heart, Lydia wey sabi welcome and care for people, apostle Peter and apostle Paul wey really put body for the preaching work, and plenty other faithful witness. Even though say them live long time ago, as we de read about them we feel close to them. Why? Because just like them, Jesus command us to make disciples. (Matt. 28:19, 20) Na big honor for us to do this work!
“. . . for every corner for the earth.”—Acts 1:8
5. Where Jesus followers for the apostles time start their preaching work?
5 Think about the work wey Jesus give im followers. “Una go get power when una receive holy spirit, and una go tell people about me for Jerusalem, for everywhere for Judea and Samaria, and for every corner for the earth.” (Acts 1:8) First, the holy spirit give them power to preach “for Jerusalem.” (Acts 1:1–8:3) After, holy spirit come direct them to preach “for everywhere for Judea and Samaria.” (Acts 8:4–13:3) Then, them start to preach the good news “for every corner for the earth.”—Acts 13:4–28:31.
6, 7. As we de do our preaching work, wetin we get wey the disciples for the apostles time no get?
6 Your brothers and sisters for the time of the apostles no get the complete Bible to use for their preaching work. Na from 41 C.E. the book of Matthew come dey. The letters wey Paul write before the book of Acts complete around 61 C.E., no plenty. Christians for that time no get their own personal copy of the complete Holy Scriptures and them no get publications to give people wey them meet for their preaching work. Before them become Jesus disciples, Christians wey be Jew de listen for synagogue as them de read the Hebrew Scriptures. (2 Cor. 3:14-16) This Christians need to work hard make them no forget wetin them hear, so that when them dey preaching them go fit quote wetin them remember.
7 Today, many of us get our own Bible and plenty publications. We de help people to be Jesus disciples as we de preach the good news for 240 lands and for many different-different language.
Holy Spirit De Give Us Power
8, 9. (a) Wetin holy spirit help Jesus disciples do? (b) Wetin God spirit de help the faithful slave to do?
8 When Jesus give im disciples work to tell people about-am, e tell them say: “Una go get power when una receive holy spirit.” God holy spirit go guide Jesus followers so that them go fit preach for every corner for the earth. Na holy spirit help Peter and Paul to cure sick people, comot demons, and even make people wey don die to come back to life! But the holy spirit give them power to do another work wey dey important pass all this one. This work na to help other people understand the truth wey go make them get life wey no go end.—John 17:3.
9 For Pentecost 33 C.E., Jesus disciples speak “different-different language, just as the holy spirit give them power to speak.” Them talk about “the wonderful things of God” for many language. (Acts 2:1-4, 11) Today, we no de speak different-different language for the same way wey holy spirit help them to speak. But holy spirit de help the faithful slave to produce books wey de explain Bible for many-many language. For example, na millions of Watchtower and Awake! them de print every month, and for our website jw.org, plenty books and videos dey for more than 1,000 language. All this one de help us to tell people wey come from all nations, tribes, and different-different language about “the wonderful things of God.”—Rev. 7:9.
10. Since 1989, wetin don happen for Bible translation?
10 Since 1989 the faithful slave don really make sure say people wey de speak different-different language fit get New World Translation of the Holy Scriptures for their language. Them don print this Bible for more than 200 language, and e pass 240 million copy wey them don print—and them still de print more. Na only God and im spirit go don fit make all this one happen.
11. How we take de translate our publications?
11 For more than 150 countries and lands, thousands of Christians wey don volunteer de do translation work. This one no surprise us, because no other organization dey again for this earth wey God holy spirit de direct to de “preach well” for the whole world about Jehovah God, the King of God Kingdom, and the Kingdom wey don start to rule for heaven!—Acts 28:23.
12. Wetin help Paul and other Christians to fit preach well?
12 When Paul preach to Jew people and people wey no be Jew for Antioch wey dey Pisidia, “all the people wey show say them want get life wey no go end believe the good news.” (Acts 13:48) For the end of the book of Acts, Luke write say, Paul “de preach about the Kingdom of God . . . e really dey free to talk no be small, with nothing to stop-am.” (Acts 28:31) Where apostle Paul dey when e de preach? E dey for Rome wey be the capital of the government wey de control the world that time! Whether them give talk or preach for other ways, na holy spirit help and guide Jesus followers for that time to fit preach.
We No De Tire Even When People De Suffer Us
13. Why we need to pray when people de suffer us?
13 When people suffer Jesus disciples for that time, them beg Jehovah for strong heart. Wetin come happen? Holy spirit full inside all of them and give them power to de talk the word of God and them no fear. (Acts 4:18-31) We too de pray for sense and power to continue to de preach even when people de suffer us. (Jas. 1:2-8) Because God de bless us and e de use im holy spirit help us, we de fit continue to preach. Even if people dey against us or them de attack us, the preaching work no go stop, nothing fit stop-am. We really need to pray for holy spirit and for sense and strong heart to fit tell people the good news when people de suffer us.—Luke 11:13.
14, 15. (a) Wetin happen after Stephen die? (b) For this our time, wetin make-am possible for many people for Siberia to learn the truth?
14 Before Stephen enemies kill-am, e no fear to preach to them. (Acts 6:5; 7:54-60) For the time wey “people start to really suffer the congregation” well-well, all the disciples except the apostles scatter go the whole areas of Judea and Samaria. But this one no stop the preaching work. Philip go Samaria “to preach about the Christ” and e help to make new disciples. (Acts 8:1-8, 14, 15, 25) Bible talk say: “After Stephen die, the disciples wey scatter because them de suffer them, go far reach Phoenicia, Cyprus, and Antioch, but them preach the word to only Jew people. But, some of the men among them from Cyprus and Cyrene come Antioch and start to talk to the people wey de speak Greek, and de preach the good news about the Lord Jesus.” (Acts 11:19, 20) The good news really spread go many place because of the suffer wey them suffer the disciples.
15 For this our time, something like this still happen for the former Soviet Union. Especially around 1950, them carry thousands of Jehovah Witness by force go Siberia. Because them scatter them go different-different place for that area, this one help to make the good news continue to spread for that place wey big well-well. Many Witness for no fit get the money to travel reach 10,000 km go preach the good news for there. But na the government come send them go there. One brother talk say: “E come happen say na the government theirself make-am possible for many people for Siberia wey want really know God to come know the truth.”
Jehovah De Bless Us Well-Well
16, 17. How the book of Acts show say Jehovah bless the preaching work?
16 E clear say Jehovah really bless the Christians for the apostles time. Paul and other disciples plant and put water, “but na God continue to make-am grow.” (1 Cor. 3:5, 6) Many story for the book of Acts show say plenty-plenty people become Jehovah servant because Jehovah bless the preaching work. For example, “the word of God continue to spread, and the number of disciples continue to add no be small for Jerusalem.” (Acts 6:7) As the preaching work de spread go other places “the whole congregation for Judea and Galilee and Samaria get peace for some time, and them dey strong. And as them continue to show say them de fear Jehovah and de live their life with the comfort wey them receive through the holy spirit, them continue to plenty more-more.”—Acts 9:31.
17 For Antioch wey dey Syria, servants of Jehovah wey really get strong heart preach to Jew people and other people wey de speak Greek. Bible talk say, “Jehovah hand dey with them and plenty-plenty people believe the good news and start to follow the Lord.” (Acts 11:21) When the book of Acts de talk about how the preaching work continue to grow, e say: “The word of Jehovah continue to grow and de spread.” (Acts 12:24) And as Paul and other disciples really preach well to people of the nations, “for powerful way, the word of Jehovah continue to grow and to win.”—Acts 19:20.
18, 19. (a) How we take know say “the hand of Jehovah” dey with us? (b) Give example wey show say Jehovah de help im people.
18 Today too, e clear say “the hand of Jehovah” still dey with us. Because of this one, plenty people de believe the truth, de promise Jehovah say them want use their life serve-am and de baptize. Apart from this one, we de fit endure when people de go against us or even suffer us well-well, and we de continue to preach because Jehovah de bless us. Na so e still be for the Christians for the apostles time. (Acts 14:19-21) Jehovah God go continue to help us. Im “hand wey no de fail” de always help us for all our problem. (Deut. 33:27) Make we still remember say, Jehovah no go ever leave im people because of im name.—1 Sam. 12:22; Ps. 94:14.
19 For example, because Brother Harald Abt continue to preach, Nazi government send-am go Sachsenhausen concentration camp the time wey them de fight World War II. For May 1942 the Gestapo wey be secret police for Germany that time go im wife house. Them carry their small pikin and arrest Elsa wey be im wife. Them send Elsa go many camps. Sister Elsa come talk say: “The years wey I spend for different Germany concentration camp teach me one important lesson, I learn say Jehovah fit use im spirit really give us power when people de suffer us well-well. Before them arrest me, I don read one letter wey one sister write, inside the letter the sister talk say when you de face serious problem, Jehovah spirit de help you dey calm. I no too believe-am before, but when them start to suffer me, I come know say wetin the sister talk na true. Wetin the sister talk really happen to me. If e never happen to you, you no go fit know how e be. But e really happen to me.”
Continue to De Preach Well!
20. Wetin Paul do when them arrest and keep-am for one house, and how this one fit encourage our brothers and sisters?
20 The book of Acts end with how Paul really preach well “about the Kingdom of God.” (Acts 28:31) Because them arrest and keep Paul for one house for Rome, e no fit preach from house to house. Even with this one, e continue to preach to everybody wey come meet-am. Today, many of our brothers and sisters no de fit comot from their house, some no de even fit comot from their bed, and other ones de live for place wey them de take care of old and sick people. Even with all this ones, the love wey them get for Jehovah and the mind wey them get to preach about-am continue to dey strong. We fit pray for them and we fit beg Jehovah make e help them to meet people wey want learn about-am and all the wonderful things wey e don promise.
21. Why we need to really put body for the preaching work now?
21 Many of us fit preach from house to house and we fit still de use other method preach. So make we do everything wey we fit do, to be people wey de really preach well, wey de help to preach “for every corner for the earth.” We need to really put body for this work now, because e dey clear say we de live for the last days. (Matt. 24:3-14) We no get time to waste, we really get “plenty things to do for the work of the Lord.”—1 Cor. 15:58.
22. Wetin we need to do as we de wait for the day of Jehovah?
22 As we de wait for “the great and wonderful day of Jehovah [to] come,” make we really put-am for mind say we go continue to preach without fear. (Joel 2:31) The people for Beroea “accept the word of God with all their heart.” Plenty people like this still dey and we fit meet them. (Acts 17:10, 11) So, make we continue to preach until the work complete and Jehovah tell us say: “You do well, you be better slave wey them fit trust.” (Matt. 25:23) If we continue to dey faithful to Jehovah and really use all our heart do our part for this work to preach and make disciples, we go happy forever say we get the honor to de “preach well” about the Kingdom of God!