I've recently been told by someone claiming to follow Christ: "I don't talk to people who don't approach me first". Does that come from the Bible
(Matthew 4:19) And he said to them: “Come after me, and I will make you fishers of men.”
(Matthew 10:7) As you go, preach, saying: ‘The Kingdom of the heavens has drawn near.’
(Matthew 10:11-13) “Into whatever city or village you enter, search out who in it is deserving, and stay there until you leave. 12 When you enter the house, greet the household. 13 If the house is deserving, let the peace you wish it come upon it; but if it is not deserving, let the peace from you return upon you.
(Matthew 14:24) By now the boat was many hundreds of yards away from land, struggling against the waves because the wind was against them.
(Matthew 28:19, 20) Go, therefore, and make disciples of people of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the holy spirit, 20 teaching them to observe all the things I have commanded you. And look! I am with you all the days until the conclusion of the system of things.”
(Acts 1:8) But you will receive power when the holy spirit comes upon you, and you will be witnesses of me in Jerusalem, in all Ju·deʹa and Sa·marʹi·a, and to the most distant part of the earth.”
(Acts 10:42) Also, he ordered us to preach to the people and to give a thorough witness that this is the one decreed by God to be judge of the living and the dead.
(Acts 20:20, 21) while I did not hold back from telling you any of the things that were profitable nor from teaching you publicly and from house to house. 21 But I thoroughly bore witness both to Jews and to Greeks about repentance toward God and faith in our Lord Jesus.
(Acts 20:26, 27) So I call you to witness this very day that I am clean from the blood of all men, 27 for I have not held back from telling you all the counsel of God.
(Acts 5:28, 29) and said: “We strictly ordered you not to keep teaching on the basis of this name, and yet look! you have filled Jerusalem with your teaching, and you are determined to bring the blood of this man upon us.” 29 In answer Peter and the other apostles said: “We must obey God as ruler rather than men.
(Acts 5:42) And every day in the temple and from house to house they continued without letup teaching and declaring the good news about the Christ, Jesus.
(Isaiah 43:10) “You are my witnesses,” declares Jehovah, “Yes, my servant whom I have chosen, So that you may know and have faith in me And understand that I am the same One. Before me no God was formed, And after me there has been none.
(Luke 24:48) You are to be witnesses of these things.
(John 15:26, 27) When the helper comes that I will send you from the Father, the spirit of the truth, which comes from the Father, that one will bear witness about me; 27 and you, in turn, are to bear witness, because you have been with me from the beginning.
(Luke 6:46) “Why, then, do you call me ‘Lord! Lord!’ but do not do the things I say?
(1 Timothy 4:15, 16) Ponder over these things; be absorbed in them, so that your advancement may be plainly seen by all people. 16 Pay constant attention to yourself and to your teaching. Persevere in these things, for by doing this you will save both yourself and those who listen to you.
(2 Timothy 4:2) Preach the word; be at it urgently in favorable times and difficult times; reprove, reprimand, exhort, with all patience and art of teaching.
(1 Corinthians 11:1) Become imitators of me, just as I am of Christ.
Where does keepers of the aquarium fit in?
Churches around here just work at keeping the believers they already have like an aquarium full of already believers rather than going out fishing for men, teaching and making disciples as Jesus commanded.
It seems that you all are more than making up for the rest of us. I just read where the Watchtower mag, is the most distributed mag. in the world. Quiet a feat for any group.
Yes, from my understanding it is the most widely distributed magazine in the world. JW's take Jesus words seriously. Mostly door to door. Last I heard was open preaching in every Country but two, underground there with their lives on the line. North Korea for sure. I don't remember what the other one was.
(Acts 1:8) But you will receive power when the holy spirit comes upon you, and you will be witnesses of me in Jerusalem, in all Ju·deʹa and Sa·marʹi·a, and to the most distant part of the earth.”
(Matthew 28:19) Go, therefore, and make disciples of people of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the holy spirit,
(Matthew 24:14) And this good news of the Kingdom will be preached in all the inhabited earth for a witness to all the nations, and then the end will come.
Today's 'Daily Text' seems relevant so I thought I would post it:
He ordered us to preach to the people and to give a thorough witness.—Acts 10:42.
All of us are subject to “the law of the Christ.” (Gal. 6:2) That law includes all that Jesus taught. Foremost among Jesus’ teachings is that his followers should display love. (John 13:35; Jas. 2:8) And one of the primary ways we show love for God, for Christ, and for our neighbor is by preaching the good news of the Kingdom. (John 15:10; Acts 1:8) Jesus commanded only a relatively small number of his followers—those to whom he appeared after his resurrection—to preach. (Acts 10:40-42; 1 Cor. 15:6) But all his faithful first-century disciples recognized that the command applied to them, even if they had not personally heard Jesus speak. (Acts 8:4; 1 Pet. 1:8) Likewise today, Jesus has not personally spoken to any of the eight million active Kingdom preachers. But all recognize their obligation to exercise faith in Christ and to express that faith by means of the witnessing work.—Jas. 2:18. w15 3/15 4:14, 15
To what do you contribute your great success to?
Holy spirit and continuing in the faith of the Apostles on the foundation of Jesus.
(Acts 1:8) But you will receive power when the holy spirit comes upon you, and you will be witnesses of me in Jerusalem, in all Ju·deʹa and Sa·marʹi·a, and to the most distant part of the earth.”
(John 15:26, 27) When the helper comes that I will send you from the Father, the spirit of the truth, which comes from the Father, that one will bear witness about me; 27 and you, in turn, are to bear witness, because you have been with me from the beginning.
(Acts 5:33-42)
(Colossians 1:23) provided, of course, that you continue in the faith, established on the foundation and steadfast, not being shifted away from the hope of that good news that you heard and that was preached in all creation under heaven. Of this good news I, Paul, became a minister.
https://www.jw.org/en/publications/magazines/watchtower-study-may-2...
Just found this on youtube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tnVGjeQ2ttc
Wow, what an interesting observation tex! did you learn this from information you've read, or is this a personal conclusion? The work witnesses do on behalf of our fellow men is compared to none. We do it first out of love and obedience to our God, and then to our fellow man. Today in the door to door service at 9:30 a.m. it was already close to 100 degrees and humid. Our summers are quite extreme, but this is no excuse to not go out in search of those who show interest in the message of the good news of the kingdom. (witnesses fish in all kinds of weather) :)
Someone a long time ago compared Churches to 'Keepers of the aquarium'. The recent comment by someone (mentioned in my description) reminded of that as an answermugger said: "I don't talk to people who don't approach me first".
I am confident that what Jesus said about his sheep is true. He said that they would all hear his voice. Sometimes what is very obvious to a person that is a footstep follower of Jesus is not so to a person that is not. This is not to say that a person can't change, Saul of Tarsus, who later became the Apostle Paul was just such a person. So understanding the bible has more to do with heart than it does with one's superior intellect. In fact what is held out to be superior intellect is also the breeding place for pride and an inability to see that they are wrong. It is not an accident that Jesus early disciples were simple common people that had good hearts. That does not exclude people that are highly educated, but they too must have the humble heart needed to be a foot step follower of Jesus.
https://www.jw.org/en/publications/magazines/g201404/frederic-dumoulin-interview/#?insight[search_id]=7b8dad3c-819b-48dd-9d86-deeaecf5f9ca&insight[search_result_index]=10
Jesus is a fisher of men then and today. Here is a Jehova's Witness who is born again and left JW. God changed his heart. I pray the same for you Texasescimo. I care about you.
Not going to watch some video about an apostate.
(1 Timothy 4:1) However, the inspired word clearly says that in later times some will fall away from the faith, paying attention to misleading inspired statements and teachings of demons,
(2 Timothy 4:3, 4) For there will be a period of time when they will not put up with the wholesome teaching, but according to their own desires, they will surround themselves with teachers to have their ears tickled. 4 They will turn away from listening to the truth and give attention to false stories.
(Acts 20:30) and from among you yourselves men will rise and speak twisted things to draw away the disciples after themselves.
(1 John 2:18, 19) Young children, it is the last hour, and just as you have heard that the antichrist is coming, even now many antichrists have appeared, from which fact we know that it is the last hour. 19 They went out from us, but they were not of our sort; for if they had been of our sort, they would have remained with us. But they went out so that it might be shown that not all are of our sort.
(Matthew 24:48, 49) “But if ever that evil slave says in his heart, ‘My master is delaying,’ 49 and he starts to beat his fellow slaves and to eat and drink with the confirmed drunkards,
