TWOFOLD SAVING PROGRAM 4 It will be difficult to obtain this balance of caring for yourself and those who listen if you retain the personality and thinking of this present system of mankind. In it the majority think of self, but that is all. Of course, it is proper and Scriptural to be concerned about ourselves. That concern should mean feeding on God’s Word daily. It should find us attending meetings of God’s people to take in faith-building knowledge and to be assisted by other mature ministers. It would mean we would be actively living out a personal program of these essentials and the all-important one, sharing weekly in telling out the good news of God’s kingdom. But unless we enlarge our vision and exercise this knowledge, we will not be balanced and we will not be able to hold onto this essential quality, faith. Jesus said to Martha: He that “exercises faith in me will never die at all.” (John 11:26) Again, at Romans 10:10, we read: “For with the heart one exercises faith for righteousness, but with the mouth one makes public declaration for salvation.” One marvels and feels great contentment and satisfaction when gaining understanding of Jehovah’s purposes, but really the greater joy comes in telling others what we have learned.—Ps. 71:1-24. 5 Paying attention to ourselves is done with the motive in mind of pleasing God, not catering to our selfishness, and several things are involved if one is to please God successfully. Daily food, spiritual food that is, is a must to keep up spiritual strength. Do you eat from God’s Word at regular, scheduled times? Are you grabbing a bite here and there and then wondering why you do not have the strength to work in God’s service? Are you enjoying spiritual food to the full or are you too busy to eat these nutritious faith-building meals? Is personal study a chore on your schedule that you must do, or is it a delight, something you look forward to with keen anticipation? Personal study not only satisfies that hunger, but it builds up your working fund of truths and ideas with which you can effectively teach others. If you cannot seem to get your point across, then you have a supply, a storehouse of other ideas and other ways to teach. Clean ministers have God’s backing, and that means being clean not only in the actual preaching work but at home, at secular work, in relaxation and recreation; for though we may not be speaking the truth, we are still living it and are examples to others. These things will be possible for us if we have as basis for worship the motive made known at Matthew 22:37: “You must love Jehovah your God with your whole heart and with your whole soul and with your whole mind.” Coupling this with the encouragement at 1 Timothy 4:16, we will be growing into a solid, unselfish balanced minister: “Pay constant attention to yourself and to your teaching. Stay by these things, for by doing this you will save both yourself and those who listen to you.”
Posted on: Tue, 09 Jul 2013 13:02:15 +0000
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