Father so that he can use us to the greatest extent possible? Most certainly! But what can we do? We need to put ourselves in a position that will make it possible for God’s spirit to operate fully in our case. Since the spirit is holy, we need to maintain a holy, pure or clean standing before our heavenly Father. Furthermore, God’s spirit does not grant us miraculous knowledge today, but it functions as a remembrancer and teacher. (John 14:26) So if we will fill our minds with God’s Word, his spirit will recall points from the Scriptures and enable us to apply them correctly. Hence, when discussing the truth with others, we need not be fearful that we will misrepresent the “good news.” As long as we are doing our part and look to Jehovah for aid, his spirit will not fail us.—Compare Matthew 10:18-20.

⁵ God’s spirit will also help us when there is unfavorable response in the territory. As we go about our work prayerfully, the spirit may recall Scriptural thoughts to our minds as to what God’s servants faced in times past and what strengthened them to continue. When we note how unhappy the unresponsive ones are, we come to appreciate even more what a blessing the truth is. God’s spirit will make clear to us just how grand a privilege it is to be a disciple of Jesus Christ.

⁶ Yes, with the help of the holy spirit, we can be successful if we let nothing stop us from obeying Jesus Christ’s command to preach and make disciples.—Matt. 24:14; 28:19, 20.

Surplus Yearbooks

Good quantities of the following Yearbooks are available now at fifteen cents each: 1972 and 1977 in English; 1975, 1976 and 1977 in Spanish. Be sure you have these in your library. Why not place them with newly interested persons. Order now.

Presenting the Good News—With Kindness

¹ When sharing in the field service, have you ever awakened someone from sleep? How did you handle the situation? Or, if a householder is very busy and cannot listen, what do you do?

² Showing kindness in the above and similar circumstances would certainly be in order. We personally appreciate receiving someone at our door who is polite and cheerful, and asks in a sincere way, “How are you?” So if we realize that we have called at an inconvenient time, it would be the kind thing to excuse ourselves for the disturbance, and not to insist on giving a lengthy presentation. Possibly a handbill or magazine could be left and arrangements made to call again.

³ Unexpected opportunities may present themselves to show kindness. Perhaps a woman is having difficulty in carrying heavy shopping bags. Might not an offer to help be appreciated and lead to giving a fine witness?

⁴ Jesus Christ set an excellent example for us in showing kindness. On one occasion, after having helped many people spiritually, he said: “I feel pity for the crowd, because it is already three days that they have stayed with me and they have nothing to eat; and I do not want to send them away fasting.” (Matt. 15:32) Yes, Jesus took into consideration how people felt and was alert to respond to their needs.

⁵ The value of kindness is well illustrated by the following experience from Canada: “One Saturday afternoon during the circuit overseer’s visit, my husband and I were making our last call in the field service for the day. The lady who lived next door was just locking up her house to go away. We asked her if she would like a ride, as we were going to Andover, and it turned out that this lady was going to Andover also to visit some friends. When we arrived there, we found that her friends were just leaving to go across the border to a funeral and would not be back that night. As a result this lady was stranded. So we invited her to go to the meeting with us and indicated that after the meeting we would take her home. She enjoyed the meeting so much that she went with us to the public talk the next week and has expressed the desire to be one of Jehovah’s Witnesses.” What a blessed result from an act of kindness!

⁶ While carrying out our vital witnessing in a way that reflects dignity and seriousness, we should not approach people in a cold, businesslike manner. Be friendly. Greet people as the opportunity arises. (Matt. 5:47) Be polite and thoughtful. Your friendliness and kind approach may provide the opening for an extended witness, to Jehovah’s praise.

Congregation Book Study

Schedule for congregation book studies in Holy Spirit book:

June 5: Pages 5 to 12*

June 12: Pages 12 to 19

June 18: Pages 20 to 26

June 26: Pages 27 to 34

*To subheading.

Theocratic News

◆ The brothers in Hong Kong used their time in special magazine activity during a worldly holiday (Chinese New Year) and had their best month ever; almost 45,000 magazines were placed by their new peak of 645 publishers. They also had a fine number of auxiliary pioneers, 91 compared with 25 the previous year.

◆ Uruguay reports: Outstanding was the hard work done by the brothers in connection with district assemblies for the Argentinean brothers. In Paysandú the congregation obtained rooming for 4,500, built bathrooms and put a covering over stadium bleachers. Total attendance for the three assemblies was 16,118 with 283 baptized.

◆ Reports coming from Romania say that no brothers in Romania were killed in the March earthquake.

◆ The government of Burundi in Central Africa officially prohibited the activities of Jehovah’s Witnesses throughout the country on March 2, 1977.

Question Box

● What is the proper view of commercial activities within the congregation?

When we have clearly in mind the purpose of our meetings and association with our brothers, this question is not difficult to answer. We attend meetings and associate with our brothers to be encouraged spiritually. (Heb. 10:23-25) Therefore, it would be inappropriate to introduce anything, including commercial activities, that would detract from the Scriptural reasons for coming together.

Some have expressed concern because, in some cases, advertising has been sent to them individually or to the Kingdom Hall by persons requesting that material advertising such things as group travel to other cities or countries be read to the congregation, circulated among the brothers or posted on the information board. In other instances brochures and letters are received concerning chain letters, employment opportunities, secular training programs, merchandise, and so forth, which have nothing to do with the advancement of Kingdom interests. We will avoid raising needless questions in the minds of others if we keep commercial endeavors separate from activity at our meetings for worship.—1 Cor. 10:23, 24, 31-33; Phil. 1:9, 10.

So it is best not to exploit theocratic associations by either initiating or advertising the sale of any goods or services for commercial advantage in the Kingdom Hall, at congregation book studies and at assemblies of Jehovah’s people. This will aid us to give spiritual interests the full attention they deserve and to keep commercial activity in its proper place.