True Christians need courage to remain holy, delegates to the on-going “Be Courageous” Regional Convention of Jehovah’s Witnesses across Nigeria have been told.
Addressing the more than 2,000 delegates gathered for one of the Saturday sessions of the convention at the Assembly Ground of Jehovah’s Witnesses, Ota, Ogun State, one of the speakers, Sylvester Edordu, linked courage with holiness. Developing the subject “Why True Christians Need Courage to Remain Holy” as part of a three-part symposium, he noted that it is challenging to be holy in an immoral world. “Jehovah”, he said, “wants us to remain holy despite the world’s contrary view.” He, however, clarified that “Jehovah did not say we must be holy as He is, but he wants us to work toward been holy.”
Edordu enjoined the audience, and especially young people, to be courageous in reflecting holiness in their dress and grooming, their thinking, their speech and their associates. “God’s word the Bible,” he said, “urges us to adorn ourselves in appropriate dressing and to be modest.”
He related an experience of a Christian sister who was determined to remain holy and chaste despite temptations in her workplace. The experience is about a man he described as an unbeliever, who approached this Christian sister for a date. When the lady rejected the man’s proposal, he later confessed that he only wanted to add her to the list of women with whom he had had sexual intercourse.
Edordu further stated that “holiness involves more than simply reading the Bible, attending Christian meetings and going out to preach to others; rather it involves been pure, chaste, living by Jehovah’s standards, and actively participating in pure worship.” Paraphrasing Romans chapter 12 verse 1, he charged the audience to be “presenting their bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, a sacred service with their power of reason.”
He encouraged all in attendance to be courageous in being different from their colleagues in school, at places of work, an in their neighborhood.
Edordu concluded his presentation quoting from the book of James chapter 4 verse 4: “Adulteresses, do you not know that friendship with the world is enmity with God?”
“We want to be cautious and alert to dangers that can hinder our good relationship with Jehovah,” he concluded.
The convention series focuses on how to face contemporary challenges with courage, and holds every weekend until Sunday, December 23. There would be 17 conventions in all at the Ota Assembly Hall – nine in English Language, five in Yoruba, two in Pidgin and one in American Sign Language. There would be conventions in 34 different locations across Nigeria, to be held almost every weekend from Friday, August 3, to Sunday, December 23.
The three-day programme consists of 54 presentations that include talks, audio dramas, interviews, and short videos. Highlights include the baptism, on Saturday morning, of new members who have completed a Bible Study programme, and a Public Discourse on Sunday morning, on the theme, “The Resurrection Hope Imparts Courage —How?” Additionally, a feature film entitled The Story of Jonah—A Lesson in Courage and Mercy is shown on the final day of the convention programme.
The programme commences at 8:20 a.m. each day of the convention, closing at 3:50 p.m., except on Sunday, when it closes at 2:45 p.m. There is no admission fee and no collection is taken.
Apart from Nigeria, the conventions are being held at venues in about 180 different lands. The date and location for each convention can be found on the Witnesses’ official website, jw.org.