STUDY LESSON 25
Eldas—Learn From Wat Gideon Wen Do
“No mo time fo tell eryting bout . . . Gideon.”—HEB 11:32.
MELE 124 Ever Loyal
WAT STAY ABOUTa
1. In 1 From Peter 5:2, NWT wat importan work da eldas gotta do?
JEHOVAH’S sheep iz wort plenny to him so he wen go pick da eldas fo take kea dem. Dey tankful dey can work fo dea braddas an sistas, an dey work hard fo be “real kine sheep guys fo take kea dem.” (Jer 23:4; read um 1 From Peter 5:2, New World Translation) Us in da local huis so tankful fo dese braddas.
2. Wat kine problems some eldas go thru?
2 Eldas deal wit plenny problems wen dey take kea dea kuleana. Iz plenny work fo take kea da local hui. Tony, one elda in da United States, had fo learn his limits on how much work he could take on. He wen say, “Wen da COVID-19 pandemic wen start, I wuz doin moa an moa fo set up meetins an field service. No matta how plenny I wen do, always had some moa fo do. Afta a while I wen get so busy I neva have time fo read my Bible, study, o pray.” Ilir, one elda in Kosovo, had one odda problem. Wen he wuz in one war zone, no wuz easy fo him follow wat God’s hui wen tell him fo do. He wen say, “Wen da branch office wen aks me fo go one dangerous place fo help da braddas an sistas out, dat wuz hard. I wuz sked cuz seem like neva make sense.” Tim, one missionary in Asia, had hard time jus doin da stuff he had fo do eryday. He wen say, “Sometimes I wen feel like I neva have nottin lef in da tank fo take kea da braddas an sistas.” Wat can help da eldas who goin thru da same kine problems?
3. How come iz good fo erybody learn from wat Judge Gideon wen do?
3 Eldas can learn from wat Judge Gideon wen do. (Heb 6:12; 11:32) He wen proteck an take kea God’s peopo. (Leadas 2:16; 1 Rec 17:6) Da time we stay live now wea erybody stay presha out, Jehovah wen pick eldas fo take kea his peopo jalike how he wen use Gideon. (Jesus Guys 20:28; 2 Tim 3:1) We can learn from how Gideon wen know his limits, wuz humbo, an wen lissen. No wuz easy fo him fo keep doin da tings Jehovah wen aks him fo do. Even if we not one elda, all us like be moa tankful fo oua eldas. Erybody can help dese hard workin braddas.—Heb 13:17, NWT.
WEN IZ HARD FO KNOW YOA LIMITS AN BE HUMBO
4. How Gideon wen show he wen know his limits an wuz humbo?
4 Gideon wuz one guy who wen know his limits an wuz humbo.b Wen da angel wen go tell Gideon dat Jehovah wen choose him fo save da Israel peopo from da Midian peopo, he wuz so humbo he wen say, “My bloodline not strong. Dey da mos weak bloodline inside da Manasseh ohana.” (Leadas 6:15) He wen feel like he no wuz good enuff fo do wat Jehovah wen aks him fo do, but Jehovah knew he could do um. Jehovah wen help Gideon pau his job an do um good.
5. Wen might be hard fo one elda know his limits an be humbo?
5 Eldas try dea bes fo know dea limits an be humbo in erytin. (Mic 6:8; Jesus Guys 20:18, 19) Dey no brag about da stuff dey can do o da stuff dey wen do befo. But same time dey no tink dey one loser jus cuz dey make mistakes. But no matta wat, can be hard fo one elda. Maybe one bradda say yes to moa work den he can hando, an den he no can finish um. O could be peopo tell him he did one good job at sometin, o maybe could be da odda way wea dey tell him he wen do one lousy job. Wat eldas can learn from Gideon fo help dem wen dat kine stuff happen?
One elda who know his limits can be jus like Gideon an no shame aks fo help fo take kea tings like da carts (Go look numba 6)
6. How eldas can copy Gideon fo know dea limits? (Go look da picha.)
6 Aks fo help. Somebody who know dea limits know dey no can do erytin. Gideon wen know his limits an he no wuz shame fo aks fo help. (Leadas 6:27, 35; 7:24) Akamai eldas do da same. Tony, da bradda we wen talk about earlia, wen tell, “Cuz da way I was raised, wuz normal fo me take on moa work den I could hando. Fo oua ohana study I wen choose fo learn about knowin oua limits an den I wen go aks my wife wat she wen tink about how I wuz doin. I wen even go check out da video on top jw.org Train, Trust, and Empower Others, as Jesus Does.” Tony started fo aks oddas fo help him wit his work. Wat had happen? Tony wen say, “Da work in da local hui got done, an I had moa time fo get tight wit Jehovah.”
7. If peopo grumbo, how da eldas can copy Gideon? (From James 3:13)
7 No lose um if peopo grumbo. Can be hard fo eldas if peopo grumbo about dem. Can learn from wat Gideon wen do. Cuz he knew he no wuz perfeck, he wen talk nice to da Efraim peopo wen dey wen go grumbo about him. (Leadas 8:1-3) Gideon neva snap at dem. Even tho dey wuz all nutz, cuz he wuz humbo he wen lissen to dem, talk to dem nice, an dey wen all calm down. Akamai eldas goin copy Gideon by lissenin real good an talkin real nice even if peopo grumbo about dem. (Read um From James 3:13.) If dey do dat, da local hui goin come moa solid.
8. If peopo pump up da eldas too much, wat dey should do? Try tell one exampo.
8 Give Jehovah da credit. Wen da peopo wuz pumpin up Gideon cuz he wen win da battle agains da Midian guys, he wen give da credit to Jehovah. (Leadas 8:22, 23) How eldas can copy Gideon? Dey can make shua Jehovah get da credit fo wateva dey do. (1 Cor 4:6, 7) Jalike if somebody tell one elda he one good teacha, he can shift da attention to da Bible o da trainin he wen get from God’s hui. Eldas gotta tink about how dey teach fo make shua az not ony fo look good in front oddas. We go look wat happened to one elda named Timothy. Wen he firs came one elda he used to love givin da Talk Fo Erybody. He wen say, “I would come up wit long, fancy kine intros an word pichas. Plenny peopo would tink wuz awesome. Da junk ting wuz, da spotlight wuz on me radda den Jehovah o da Bible.” Afta a while, Timothy wen figga out he had fo change da way he wen teach so da spotlight no wuz on him. (Smart Guys 27:21) Wat wen happen? He wen say, “Now da braddas an sistas tell me how my talks help dem fo deal wit dea problems, hang in dea, an come moa close to Jehovah. Wat dey tell me now iz way moa betta den da stuff dey wen tell me befo.”
WEN IZ HARD FO LISSEN O NO BE SKED
Gideon wen lissen an make his army moa smalla. He wen choose 300 guys who wen show dat dey stay ready (Go look numba 9)
9. How come wuz hard fo Gideon lissen an no be sked? (Go look da picha on da cova.)
9 Afta Gideon wen get da job fo lead God’s peopo, he had fo lissen an come strong fo no be sked. Wuz one dangerous job fo buss up his fadda’s Baal altar. (Leadas 6:25, 26) Afta Gideon wen hui up one army, God told him two times fo make da army smalla. (Leadas 7:2-7) An den, he had fo attack da enemy camp in da middo of da night.—Leadas 7:9-11.
10. Wat can make um hard fo one elda lissen?
10 Eldas gotta be ready fo lissen an do um. (Jam 3:17, NWT) One elda who lissen goin do wat da Bible an God’s hui tell um fo do. Wen he do dat dass one good exampo fo oddas. Still yet might be hard fo him lissen. Like wen da instrucktions he get change fas, might be hard fo keep up wit um. Maybe he tink da instrucktions no make sense, o no even need um. O maybe he can get lock up if he do wat dey aks um. How da eldas can copy Gideon if dat kine stuff happen?
11. Wat can help eldas fo follow da instrucktions dey get?
11 Lissen good to da instrucktions an do um. Jehovah wen tell Gideon how fo broke down his fadda’s altar, wea fo build da right kine altar, an wat kine animal fo sacrifice. Gideon neva try question da instrucktions—he wen jus do um. Jehovah’s hui tell da eldas wat dey gotta do thru lettas, stuff dey gotta know, an odda kine instrucktions fo keep erybody safe an close to Jehovah. We get love an aloha fo oua eldas cuz dey trus an follow da instrucktions from God’s hui. Dass good fo erybody in da local hui.—Songs 119:112.
12. How Fo Da Hebrew Peopo 13:17, NWT can help eldas if dey gotta change da way dey do tings?
12 Be ready fo change um up. Jehovah wen tell Gideon fo make his army way moa small. (Leadas 7:8) Maybe he had tink, dis really goin work o wat? Still yet, Gideon wen lissen an do um. Eldas today copy Gideon by changin um up wen God’s hui tell dem fo do stuff diffren. (Read um Fo Da Hebrew Peopo 13:17, NWT.) Like in 2014 wen Jesus’ Luna Guys wen change how dey pay fo build da Meetin Place an da Big Kine Meetin Place. (2 Cor 8:12-14) Local huis no need pay back da money dey wen borrow. Now, God’s hui get da money from all da local huis all ova da world an put um togedda fo make buildins fo Jehovah, even in places wea da local hui ova dea no moa dat much money. Wen José wen hea dat, he wen tink dat dey not goin even build one meetin place, cuz dass not how we do tings ova hea. Wat wen help José fo follow da instrucktions? He wen say, “Smart Guys 3:5, 6 wen help me fo rememba fo trus in Jehovah. An so awesome wat wen happen! Now we buildin moa Meetin Places den eva an we wen learn how give in diffren kine ways so dat erybody get nuff.”
Even wea oua work iz kapu, we can come strong an keep preachin (Go look numba 13)
13. (a) Wat Gideon wen know fo shua? (b) How eldas can copy Gideon? (Go look da picha.)
13 No sked fo do wat Jehovah like. Even tho wuz skery an abunai, Gideon wen go do wat Jehovah wen like. (Leadas 9:17) Afta Jehovah wen prove to Gideon he wuz goin be wit him, Gideon knew fo shua dat he wuz goin back him up fo proteck his peopo. Eldas livin wea da work iz kapu can copy Gideon. Dey no sked fo charge um at da meetins an field service even tho dey could get grilled, lock up, lose dea job, o buss up.c In da big trouble, da eldas gotta no be sked an come strong fo follow da instrucktions dey get even tho get danger. Da instrucktions we get can be fo give one strong message o how fo survive wen Gog attack us.—Eze 38:18; Jesus Show 16:21.
WEN IZ HARD FO KEEP GOIN
14. How come wuz hard fo Gideon keep goin?
14 Gideon had fo work hard fo be da judge fo God’s peopo. Wen da Midian guys wen go dig out durin da nite time, Gideon wen chase um probly thru da tick bushes all da way from da Jezreel Valley to da Jordan Riva. (Leadas 7:22) He wen stop dea at da Jordan, o wat? No ways! Even tho dey wuz tired dey wen keep goin. Gideon an his 300 guys wen cross da riva an kept chargin um. In da end, dey wen catch da Midian guys an take um out.—Leadas 8:4-12.
15. Wen can be hard fo one elda fo keep goin?
15 Sometimes one elda can feel like his body an his brain all tired, an his heart stay soa from takin kea da local hui an his ohana. Wen dat happen, how eldas can copy Gideon?
Eldas dat get plenny love an aloha can help us keep goin (Go look numba 16-17)
16-17. Wat wen help Gideon fo keep goin, an wat kine trus da eldas can have? (Isaiah 40:28-31) (Go look da picha.)
16 Trus dat Jehovah goin give you powa. Gideon wen trus dat Jehovah wuz goin give him da powa, an Jehovah neva let um down. (Leadas 6:14, 34) One time wen two Midian kings wuz diggin out probly on dea camels, Gideon an his guys wen go run afta dem wit dea feets. (Leadas 8:12, 21) Jehovah wen help Gideon dem catch um an win da fight. Jalike Gideon da eldas can trus Jehovah goin give dem da powa wen dey need um cuz “he no goin come tired o wore out.”—Read um Isaiah 40:28-31.
17 Try look wat wen happen wit Matthew, one bradda who stay on one Hospital Liaison Committee. Wat wen help him fo keep goin? Matthew wen say, “I wen see wat Fo Da Philippi Peopo 4:13 wen tell iz real. Plenny times I wen feel like I neva have nottin lef in da tank. So I wen pray real hard an beg Jehovah fo give my mind an my body one push fo keep helpin my braddas. Dose times I wen feel Jehovah’s spesho spirit give me da boost I wen need fo keep goin.” Jalike Gideon, oua eldas work hard fo take kea God’s peopo even tho not easy. Of course, dey gotta know how much dey can hando an no go do moa den dat. But dey can trus Jehovah goin lissen dem an give dem da powa fo keep goin.—Songs 116:1; Php 2:13.
18. Wat we wen learn about how eldas can copy Gideon?
18 Eldas can learn plenny good kine stuff from Gideon. Eldas gotta know dea limits wen come to how much work dey try do, an dey gotta be humbo wen peopo give dem all da credit o grumbo about dem. Eldas gotta lissen good an come strong an no be sked, speshly now befo da world come pau. No matta wat, dey gotta trus dat God goin give dem da powa fo help dem. Garuntee we get plenny love an aloha fo dese hard workin braddas an we like “show um plenny respeck.”—Php 2:29.
MELE 120 Imitate Christ’s Mildness
a Jehovah wen choose Gideon fo guide an proteck da Israel peopo wen dey wuz havin one real ruff time. Fo 40 yeas Gideon wen do his job da way God wanted him fo do um. But still yet, no wuz easy, he had problems. We goin talk about wat eldas can learn from him wen dey get problems.
b Knowin yoa limits an bein humbo stay conneckted wit each odda. Fo know oua limits, we undastan get stuff dat we no can do. We show dat we humbo wen we see dat odda peopo can do stuff moa betta den us. (Php 2:3) Pretty much, one guy who know his limits goin be humbo.
c Look da article “Keep Worshipping Jehovah When Under Ban” in da July 2019, issue of The Watchtower, pp. 10-11, pars. 10-13.