The Importance of Before (2017)

The Importance of Before

It wasn’t raining when Noah built the ark - Howard Ruff

We are all quite familiar with the story of Noah, as laid out before us in the book of Genesis. Jehovah saw “that man’s wickedness was great on the earth, and that every inclination of the thoughts of his heart was only bad all the time”, and also that “the earth was filled with violence.” (Gen 6:5,11) That is not unlike how the world is today, is it not? People are going from bad to worse, love is dying, and violence courses hot through its veins.

Noah was given a warning from Jehovah about the future destruction of the wicked, and then a commission to build an ark to house all manner of animals as well as any faithful humans. In the end, the only ones who boarded the ark were Noah and his family, and the rest of mankind at that time was swept away in the ensuing Deluge.

What I would like to draw your attention to right now is the quote above. “It wasn’t raining when Noah built the ark.” What does that really mean? Of course we know that, before the Flood, there had never been rain upon the earth, only “a mist would go up from the earth, and it watered the entire surface of the ground.” (Gen 2:6) There was no precedent for what Noah and the rest of the world would soon experience. So, then, the phrase is making a different point entirely.

It wasn’t raining when Noah built the ark. Do you see it yet? Here, how about a few more: Jericho had not yet fallen when Rahab hung the scarlet cord from her window; the promised destruction of Nineveh had not yet happened when the people of Nineveh repented (nor did it transpire at all, thanks to their repentance).

What do all of these things have in common? Before the Flood occurred, Noah build the ark to keep himself, his family, and all the many animals safe during the Flood. Before Jericho was destroyed, Rahab listened to the instruction of the Israelite spies and hung a scarlet cord from her window, which ultimately kept her and her family safe from destruction. Before Nineveh was destroyed, upon hearing the warning from Jonah they repented, and their repentance moved Jehovah to forgive them and change His mind about the calamity he had foretold.

All of them took action before the calamity.

All of them prepared themselves before the destruction came.

Just like in Noah’s day, our world, this system of things, is destined for destruction. We know that it is. Are you doing all that you can to prepare yourself for it? Are you taking action now? These questions are of vital importance to you, and to all of us who serve Jehovah. What can be done to prepare yourself for the coming judgment? How can you make sure that you are giving it your all, that you are giving to Jehovah as much as possible within your current circumstances?

The New Personality

“...Strip off the old personality with its practices, and clothe yourselves with the new personality, which through accurate knowledge is being made new according to the image of the One who created it[.]” (Col. 3:9,10)

This is the key. This is what we all need to prepare ourselves, to improve ourselves. Like disrobing from ratty, dirty old rags and donning new, bright, beautiful vestments, we need to strip off the old personality and replace it with the new. Of course, this goes beyond mere superficial appearances. The Apostle Paul said that “even if the man we are outside is wasting away, certainly the man we are inside is being renewed from day to day.” (2 Cor 4:16) Clothing can, over time, waste away. So can our flesh, our health, despite healthy living habits. But even though the physical can waste away, the spiritual and the moral can always be made more firm. Can be renewed. The new personality is renewal, and not just a one time event. It is a path of constant renewal, constant action. Constant positive action.

The building of Noah’s ark took 40 years. For those of you who are 40 and up, you have a sense of that length of time. For those younger, like myself, it can be hard to get a feel for that amount of time. In our day and age, our years are “70 years, or 80 if one is especially strong.” (Ps. 90:10) In Noah’s day, people lived a lot longer, hundreds of years in fact. What is 40 years to 600 or more? But to those of us who are fortunate if we see 80, 40 years is no small amount of time. That is half a lifespan (or more, if one does not reach 80). To spend that amount of time on one project requires true commitment. If Jehovah approached you today and asked you to build an ark just like the one Noah built, and informed you that it would take 40 years for you to complete, would you do it? Would you spend half of your life, or more, building what appeared to be little more than a massive box?

“Of course I would!”

But would you? Would you really? I am not asking this because I doubt you (I do not). I am asking this so that you might be free from doubt. If you agreed to the commission, then it would be incumbent upon you to do it. “Whenever you make a vow to God, do not delay to pay it, for he finds no pleasure in the stupid ones. What you vow, pay.” (Eccl. 5:4)

Say that you have agreed to take on this commission, that you have taken this vow. Work begins on the ark. A day goes by. Is it done? No, you’ve only just begun. You’ve only just begun to clear the area, and are not even near the measuring stage yet. There’s no ark yet. One day down, 14,609 to go.

With the sun sinking on the horizon, you flop back on your bed, tired from a long day of felling trees. There are more trees yet to fell, and then after that you need to make the proper measurements. And then after that you will begin cutting and hauling and shaping the wood for the ark. And then after that...

One day down, 14,609 to go.

It seems so daunting, the work ahead of you. The stretch of time ahead of you. Do you lay back and begin to wonder what sorts of activities you could do in a 40 year span had you not agreed to this? Do you let the weight of your vow dishearten you, press down upon you like a heavy stone?

Or do you banish such thoughts and instead think about what a privilege it is that Jehovah has chosen you for this task? There are millions of Jehovah’s faithful servants today, but he chose you. Does that not warm your heart, that Jehovah believes in you? He saw good in you; he saw a person who could do this work. He knows you can do it. He has faith in you. If the God who created everything, who made the heavens and the earth, who has done many powerful works and will yet do many more--if he has faith in you, then what truly stands between you and the completion of the task?

Only one thing. Only one person. You.

A Single Step

A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step - Chinese Proverb

Let’s go back to the end of that first day. You’ve felled some trees, but you still need to clear more before you have enough room to work with. What is it you’ve done? You’ve taken a single step. The first step.

The completed ark will be a wonderful sight when it is complete, but that is 39 years and 364 days away, and only if you keep at your commission. But now that you’ve taken the first step, you’re one step closer to that goal. If you taken another step, another day of work, how far will you be then? 39 years and 363 days away. But that is still closer than before. If you take another step, and then another, that number will gradually diminish. The distance will diminish as the ark grows.

Now what if I told you that you are the ark? Each step towards renewing yourself and cultivating the new personality is growth, is improvement, is a step in the right direction. Each step seems so small, and you might feel that you’re not changing, that you’re not getting anywhere, that your goal is so far off that it is impossible to reach.

But you are. You’re getting there. But what you need to do is to stop looking for results. We all need to stop looking for results.

Say that you pioneer, that you go out faithfully day after day, 50 or 70 or more hours per month. You spend a good deal of your time in the preaching work, in the ministry, fulfilling the commission that Jehovah has given to each of us. Instead of building an ark, we’re looking for honest-hearted individuals to bring into the figurative ark of Jehovah’s organization. We’re looking for potential brothers and sisters, looking for the lost lambs, looking to save as many as possible.

So, you’re pioneering, and you put in all this time and effort, and...you get no response. Those whom you call upon you can never seem to find home again. Some you’ve called upon many times tell you to stop coming by. Your return visits are minimal, and you have no Bible studies. How does this make you feel?

If it makes you feel disheartened, then you are not alone. Many brothers and sisters have felt the same after similar things have happened to them. So much time preaching and teaching, with nothing to show for it. You don’t see any results. “Jehovah, why don’t I have any studies? I’ve been going out, I’ve been searching, I’ve been doing all that you have commanded me, and yet still it seems like I’m not getting anywhere!”

The purpose of the ministry is indeed to “make disciples of people of all the nations...teaching them to observe all the things” that Jesus commanded us. (Matt. 28:18,20) But there is more to it than that. Why do we do it? Because Jesus commanded us to, relaying the command from his father, Jehovah. We do it because we obey, because we want to obey, Jehovah. It is a lifesaving work, but it saves more than just those that we call on. It saves us as well.

In his first letter to Timothy, Paul wrote: “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.” (1 Tim. 4:16, italics mine) When you go out in the ministry, you are giving of your time and resources, giving of yourself, losing your soul that you might find it. You are obeying Jehovah. Your study and preparation in advance of going out to preach expands your knowledge of God’s word, and brings you closer to him.

So much more results from our ministry than just numbers on a sheet of paper. X amount of hours, return visits, placements. For each of those hours you spent out in the ministry, you were reviewing the material in your head, going over your presentation, committing the scriptures to memory, and praying without letup. Maybe you have no return visits, studies, or placements to show for it all, but you have obedience to God, you have meditation on his word, and you have an ever-strengthening friendship with him. The ministry saves the lives of those we find, saves our lives...and brings all into the bosom of Jehovah.

Nothing is impossible for Jehovah. He could have done the ministry without us. He didn’t need humans to accomplish this work, and yet he gave us the privilege and the honor of doing it. He has faith in us. He knows we can do it. He had faith in Noah as well. He knew Noah could build the ark. The faith he has in us imperfect humans, the love he has for us...

If he asked you to build the ark, would you?

The Importance of Cultivation

When you plant a seed in the ground, you do so with the expectation of growth, do you not? Beyond nutritious soil and the light of the sun, what else does it need? It needs water.

But is watering it once enough? And will it be fully grown tomorrow?

You and I both know that that isn’t enough. Plants need to be watered regularly, and their rate of growth varies, but it isn’t accomplished in a mere day. So what do you do? You water it, again and again, and you wait. Planting and harvesting are fairly quick things, but cultivation takes time.

It is a tendency of us imperfect humans to want to see results quickly, sometimes instantly. But that’s not how life works. Life isn’t an instantaneous thing. When you were conceived, were you born the next day? No, you developed over the course of 9 months in your mother’s womb.

There is no instant life. Neither are there instant results.

When you first call on someone out in the ministry, will they be baptized the very next day? Not likely. You will have to call again and again, you will have to teach them, and eventually, hopefully, they will come to a knowledge of the truth and get baptized.

Will everyone you call on respond? Again, not likely. While we wish to help as many as possible, not everyone will respond to the good news that we preach. Not every heart is “fine soil.” (Matt. 13:8)

How will you respond to not seeing the results that you personally wish to see? Does a farmer not plant seed at all because he knows the promised fruit will take weeks, if not months, to grow? Or does he plant, and water, and have faith, waiting patiently for his crop?

Plant, water, and have faith. Let that be enough. Let the doing be enough. We were told to “go and make disciples”, but no number was specified. Be joyful in doing what you have been asked, and when the harvest eventually comes, then your joy will be made even greater.

Make Yourself Better

Don’t wish it were easier, wish you were better - Jim Rohn

Wouldn’t it be nice if serving Jehovah were easy? I’m sure we’ve all wished at some point or another that it were easy, or at least easier than it is now.

The Apostle Paul was a wonderful example of zeal. He ate, lived, and breathed his ministry. But it wasn’t easy for him. Paul himself listed for us the many trials and tribulations he experienced during his ministry: “I have done more work, been imprisoned more often, suffered countless beatings, and experienced many near-deaths. Five times I received 40 strokes less one from the Jews, three times I was beaten with rods, once I was stoned, three times I experienced shipwreck, a night and a day I have spent in the open sea; in journeys often, in dangers from rivers, in dangers from robbers, in dangers from my own people, in dangers from the nations, in dangers in the city, in dangers in the wilderness, in dangers at sea, in dangers among false brothers, in labor and toil, in sleepless nights often, in hunger and thirst, frequently without food, in cold and lacking clothing.” (2 Cor. 11:23-27)

And on top of all of that, he reports that he was “given a thorn in the flesh, an angel of Satan, to keep slapping me, so that I might not be overly exalted.” (2 Cor. 12:7) While we do not know the precise nature of this ‘thorn’, we do know that it was distress to our brother Paul. He already dealt with so much in serving Jehovah, only to have this added on top of the pile! In verse 8, he says: “Three times I begged the Lord about this, that it would depart from me.” He prayed fervently, more than once, for the thorn to be removed. He prayed for relief from this thorn, so that things would go easier for him. What was Jehovah’s response?

“My undeserved kindness is sufficient for you, for my power is being made perfect in weakness.” (vs. 9) Jehovah would not remove the ‘thorn’ from his flesh. His undeserved kindness was enough. It would not be made easier for Paul; he would have to accept this decision and continue on serving with what Jehovah was already giving him.

Look again at the quote above. “Don’t wish it were easier, wish you were better.” It is all right to pray to Jehovah, asking for relief from some problem, some ‘thorn’. Jehovah will not punish you for that. But he may, like Paul, answer your prayer in a different way. He might not remove the thorn, but he may help you to find the strength to endure it.

However, brothers and sisters, I encourage you to pray, not for it to be easier, but for you to become better. Pray for holy spirit, not to cure your aches and pains, but to help teach you, to help you look into the deep things of God, to help you become better preachers and teachers of his word, to help you find honest-hearted ones. Don’t wish that the ministry or your personal study be easier, but that you may have more opportunities to preach and to study.

Don’t wish it were easier, wish you were better. Make yourself better. Work on putting on and cultivating the new personality. We are imperfect and weak, but Jehovah’s “power is being made perfect in weakness” and we can always improve. If your daily Bible reading has lapsed, then start it up again. Read a little bit at a time, meditate on it, grow, and most importantly, continue. Prepare for the meetings, not just this week, but the next, and the one after that, and so on. Continue. Cultivate. Cultivate yourself. Water yourself, so that you might water others. Put on the new personality, so that you might encourage and help guide others to do so. Be joyful in the doing. Be happy in doing what is right.

But do it now. Now, before the calamity. Before the Flood comes, build an ark to safeguard your heart, and do your best to bring others into Jehovah’s protective ark, the congregation. Before the walls fall down, hang the scarlet cord out of the window, declaring that you are a servant and a witness of the Most High God, Jehovah. Before the judgment comes, repent and put on sackcloth, and “seek righteousness, seek meekness. Probably you will be concealed on the day of Jehovah’s anger.” (Zeph. 2:3)