00:00:10 Jesus’ teaching reached the heart.
00:00:12 Luke 24:32 records the reaction
00:00:16 of some of his disciples following a teaching session:
00:00:19 “Were not our hearts burning within us
00:00:22 “as he was speaking to us on the road,
00:00:25 as he was fully opening up the Scriptures to us?”
00:00:29 When we teach, how can we reach the heart?
00:00:33 We can (1) use rhetorical questions to help our listeners think,
00:00:39 (2) urge listeners to examine why they perform good works,
00:00:44 and (3) highlight how Bible principles and commands
00:00:48 reflect God’s qualities and his love for us.
00:00:52 In the following example, does the speaker
00:00:55 help the audience to make a self-examination?
00:00:59 What’s one thing you must do to gain everlasting life?
00:01:02 At Matthew 19:21, Jesus said to a rich young ruler:
00:01:07 “Go sell your belongings and give to the poor,
00:01:10 “and you will have treasure in heaven;
00:01:12 and come be my follower.”
00:01:14 Clearly, you must cut out of your life anything
00:01:18 that interferes with your worship of Jehovah.
00:01:21 Were the words accurate?
00:01:23 Yes.
00:01:24 Were you moved from the heart?
00:01:25 Probably not.
00:01:27 Although the speaker told us what we needed to do,
00:01:30 he didn’t help us to examine our own feelings on the matter.
00:01:34 Let’s watch him try again.
00:01:37 What’s one thing we must do to gain everlasting life?
00:01:40 At Matthew 19:21, we find Jesus’ response
00:01:45 to this question as posed by a rich young ruler:
00:01:48 “Go sell your belongings and give to the poor,
00:01:52 “and you will have treasure in heaven;
00:01:55 and come be my follower.”
00:01:57 Although this man had kept the commandments of the Mosaic Law since his youth,
00:02:02 Jesus detected that something was missing.
00:02:06 Each of us does well to ask himself:
00:02:09 ‘What might Jesus detect about me?
00:02:12 ‘Although Jehovah doesn’t expect me to part with all of my belongings,
00:02:16 ‘is there anything in my life that interferes with my worship?
00:02:20 ‘Does my job prevent me from attending congregation meetings?
00:02:25 ‘Do I catch myself thinking about material things
00:02:29 ‘when I’m engaged in sacred service?
00:02:32 ‘Material things may be valuable,
00:02:34 but are they worth more than my everlasting life?’
00:02:39 Well done!
00:02:41 The rhetorical questions helped us to examine ourselves.
00:02:45 Also, instead of using the personal pronoun “you,”
00:02:49 the speaker showed respect for his audience by including himself
00:02:53 as one who needs to apply the counsel of God’s Word.
00:02:57 In order to reach the heart,
00:03:00 we must also appeal to good motives.
00:03:03 In other words, we should motivate our audience to act
00:03:06 because they love Jehovah, fellow humans, and Bible teachings.
00:03:11 Does the Bible teacher do that in the following demonstration?
00:03:16 The question asks: “What do we need to avoid?”
00:03:20 Bad habits, like smoking
00:03:23 and abusing alcohol and drugs.
00:03:26 That’s right, but I noticed you’re still smoking.
00:03:30 So, what do you need to do?
00:03:33 I know I need to quit, but it’s not easy.
00:03:36 Well, we’ve been studying for over a year.
00:03:40 How much more time do you need?
00:03:42 How much time do you think is left before the end comes?
00:03:46 Did the teacher appeal to proper motives?
00:03:49 No.
00:03:51 Instead, he tried to pressure and shame the student.
00:03:54 Let’s watch a better way to motivate.
00:03:58 The question asks: “What do we need to avoid?”
00:04:01 Bad habits, like smoking
00:04:04 and abusing alcohol and drugs.
00:04:07 That’s right.
00:04:09 Of course, it’s not always easy to give up bad habits.
00:04:14 But what can be a powerful motivator?
00:04:17 Well, I’ve got to stop smoking so I won’t be destroyed at Armageddon.
00:04:22 Actually, there’s a stronger motivation.
00:04:26 Why do you get up early every day to go to work?
00:04:31 To provide for my family.
00:04:33 I do it because I love them.
00:04:35 Exactly!
00:04:37 In the same way, strong love for Jehovah
00:04:39 can help you to break habits in order to please him.
00:04:43 And what does he provide
00:04:45 that can help you win the battle against smoking?
00:04:49 Holy spirit?
00:04:51 Yes.
00:04:52 Anytime you have the urge to smoke,
00:04:55 you can freely call on Jehovah for his help to resist.
00:04:59 Let’s now consider five Bible principles that will help you further.
00:05:05 Not only did the teacher appeal to good motives
00:05:08 but he also helped the student to think about how he could please Jehovah.
00:05:13 When we do our best to reach the heart of our listeners,
00:05:17 we’ll be appealing to the best of motives: love for God.
00:05:22 Love for Jehovah will move them to draw close to him and become his friends.
00:05:27 It will motivate them to praise him,
00:05:29 not just for a short time but for all eternity!
