00:00:01 This month I’d like to talk about “Presenting Your Gifts to God.”
00:00:04 We certainly have every reason to consider this topic.
00:00:08 Well, why is that?
00:00:10 It’s because Jehovah gives us so much.
00:00:13 James 1:17 says:
00:00:15 “Every good gift and every perfect present is from above,
00:00:20 coming down from the Father of the celestial lights.”
00:00:25 For example, Jehovah allows us to enjoy the gift of life,
00:00:29 even though our first parents tried to take that from us.
00:00:34 He’s provided us with a variety of foods.
00:00:38 The environment is just right to support life.
00:00:42 He’s given us his precious Word, the Bible,
00:00:46 so that we can come to know him and his purposes.
00:00:50 And the greatest “perfect present” Jehovah has given us is the ransom.
00:00:55 Jehovah sacrificed a great deal to arrange for Jesus
00:01:00 to buy back for us the hope of everlasting life.
00:01:04 This was at no obligation on Jehovah’s part.
00:01:07 It was totally a gift of love.
00:01:11 Please read with me 1 John 4:9:
00:01:15 “By this the love of God was revealed in our case,
00:01:18 “that God sent his only-begotten Son into the world
00:01:22 so that we might gain life through him.”
00:01:25 What a gift of love from Jehovah, our God!
00:01:28 What does that move us to do?
00:01:30 Maybe you’ve had the experience of a close friend or family member
00:01:35 unexpectedly giving you a valuable gift.
00:01:39 Immediately, what are you thinking?
00:01:42 You are probably trying to think of what you can give in return.
00:01:46 How much more so would we want to ‘present our gifts to God’
00:01:51 so as to show our sincere appreciation for all he’s done!
00:01:57 Let’s consider some possible gifts
00:01:59 that Jehovah would be pleased to receive from us.
00:02:03 Many of you in our viewing audience
00:02:06 have been moved to give your life to Jehovah,
00:02:09 dedicating yourself to do his will.
00:02:12 That’s commendable!
00:02:14 That’s what Romans 12 urges us to do.
00:02:18 However, there are some of you listening
00:02:21 who have thought about this way of giving back to Jehovah,
00:02:25 but you haven’t yet taken this vital step.
00:02:28 Notice the appeal the apostle Paul makes
00:02:31 at Romans 12:1:
00:02:33 “Therefore, I appeal to you by the compassions of God, brothers,
00:02:37 “to present your bodies as a living sacrifice,
00:02:40 “holy and acceptable to God,
00:02:43 a sacred service with your power of reason.”
00:02:47 Your life is precious.
00:02:49 Presenting your body, your whole soul,
00:02:52 to God is one of the best gifts you can give to him.
00:02:57 This involves our sacred service to Jehovah
00:03:00 —that’s for sure.
00:03:02 But what about the daily activities of life?
00:03:05 Some of you do housework on a daily basis.
00:03:09 Others of you have school to attend and homework to do.
00:03:13 Many of you perform secular work.
00:03:15 There’s shopping to do.
00:03:18 Others enjoy using a small percentage of their time
00:03:21 to engage in some type of recreation or entertainment.
00:03:26 Once you’re dedicated and baptized,
00:03:30 this is all part of your gift to Jehovah.
00:03:33 Please consider with me
00:03:35 Colossians 3:23, 24.
00:03:40 After discussing a whole list of daily activities of life,
00:03:45 what does Jehovah tell us?
00:03:47 Colossians 3:23, 24:
00:03:50 “Whatever you are doing,
00:03:52 “work at it whole-souled as for Jehovah,
00:03:55 “and not for men,
00:03:57 “for you know that it is from Jehovah
00:04:00 you will receive the inheritance as a reward.”
00:04:03 It’s true that a Christian’s day-to-day activities
00:04:07 are not part of his sacred service.
00:04:10 However, the fact that Paul urges us
00:04:14 to work “whole-souled as to Jehovah”
00:04:17 makes us think of our entire course of life.
00:04:21 Yes, our life course can become a gift presented to God.
00:04:26 For example, do we act and dress with proper decorum at all times?
00:04:32 Understandably, we don’t wear a suit and tie or a dress
00:04:36 for every activity of life.
00:04:38 But in “whatever you are doing,”
00:04:41 is your behavior and dress a gift to Jehovah?
00:04:47 If while engaging in any activity,
00:04:49 we’d be embarrassed to identify ourselves as one of Jehovah’s Witnesses,
00:04:54 then can we really claim to be presenting
00:04:58 a gift to Jehovah in our daily life?
00:05:01 What other gifts are in our possession that we can present to God?
00:05:06 What about godly morality?
00:05:09 Keeping your dedicated body clean morally
00:05:12 is a gift to Jehovah.
00:05:14 Did you notice what Romans 12:1 said?
00:05:18 It said that the bodies we present to Jehovah
00:05:21 should be “holy and acceptable to God.”
00:05:27 If we give in to temptation unrepentantly,
00:05:31 that could be likened to asking Jehovah
00:05:34 to give our gift back;
00:05:36 we’re taking back our dedicated life from him.
00:05:41 Worse yet, it is tantamount to taking the gift away from Jehovah
00:05:46 and giving that precious gift to Satan.
00:05:50 That does not make sense.
00:05:53 Keep clean morally.
00:05:55 It’s a precious gift presented to God.
00:05:58 It’s true, when we’re dedicated and baptized,
00:06:02 there are other gifts that we’d be expected
00:06:05 to present to Jehovah on a regular basis.
00:06:09 One of the most obvious ways
00:06:11 is mentioned here at Hebrews 10:23.
00:06:15 Did you already guess what this gift to Jehovah would be?
00:06:20 Hebrews 10:23:
00:06:24 “Let us hold firmly the public declaration of our hope without wavering,
00:06:29 for the one who promised is faithful.”
00:06:33 The public declaration of our hope
00:06:35 is a gift to those we speak to,
00:06:38 but it’s also considered a gift extended to Jehovah.
00:06:43 In fact, Hebrews 13:15 calls our preaching work
00:06:48 “a sacrifice of praise,
00:06:51 “that is, the fruit of our lips
00:06:53 that make public declaration to his name.”
00:06:57 Israelites used to regularly offer
00:07:01 the best of their animals or grain
00:07:04 as sacrificial gifts to Jehovah.
00:07:07 Sharing in the ministry formally or informally
00:07:10 is a gift to God.
00:07:13 Regularly attending our Christian meetings
00:07:15 and participating in them
00:07:17 is part of our worship and pleases Jehovah.
00:07:21 We are familiar with Hebrews 10:24, 25.
00:07:25 It speaks of our custom of meeting together.
00:07:28 And for what purpose do we meet?
00:07:32 If I was there in your home with you,
00:07:35 how would you answer?
00:07:37 You might quickly say,
00:07:39 “I go to the meetings to be built up and to be encouraged spiritually.”
00:07:44 Well, no doubt you do.
00:07:47 But at Hebrews 10:24, 25,
00:07:49 the purpose of attending is expressed
00:07:52 in a totally different way.
00:07:56 Instead of going with the sole intent of being encouraged,
00:08:01 verse 24 says
00:08:03 we are to “consider one another
00:08:06 “so as to incite [others]
00:08:09 to love and fine works.”
00:08:12 Verse 25 says
00:08:14 we are to be “encouraging one another.”
00:08:19 We should attend our meetings with the goal of being a gift to others.
00:08:24 Encouraging others is the goal.
00:08:27 We do this by our sincere interest in others
00:08:31 before and after the meeting.
00:08:34 Do you come to the Kingdom Hall early
00:08:36 to encourage others?
00:08:38 When in the traveling work, years ago,
00:08:41 my wife and I drove in to the parking lot
00:08:44 and got out of our car.
00:08:46 Two brothers approached us and warmly said:
00:08:49 “Brother and Sister Herd, we were waiting for you.
00:08:53 We are so happy to have you with our congregation this week.”
00:08:59 Were they elders, ministerial servants, or pioneers?
00:09:04 No, they were two little preteenage boys!
00:09:10 That boost gave us a fine start
00:09:13 for a special week of activity.
00:09:16 We also encourage others by participating in the meetings.
00:09:21 What an encouragement to the whole congregation!
00:09:24 Of course, if we all go to the meetings
00:09:28 with that goal and motive,
00:09:31 what will be the result to us individually?
00:09:35 We all will come away built up
00:09:38 and encouraged spiritually.
00:09:42 But we must never forget
00:09:44 that being at our Christian meetings and participating,
00:09:47 including singing the songs
00:09:50 and saying “Amen” to the prayers,
00:09:53 is actually worshipping Jehovah.
00:09:56 You are presenting a gift to him at every meeting you attend.
00:10:02 From ancient times until now,
00:10:04 Jehovah’s faithful servants have contributed materially
00:10:08 to the support of true worship.
00:10:11 That’s presenting a gift to God as well,
00:10:14 and we thank all of you for your support.
00:10:18 The Governing Body is able to provide so much
00:10:22 for the benefit of the worldwide brotherhood
00:10:25 because of your generosity.
00:10:28 Thank you.
00:10:30 Thank you very much!
00:10:33 What about you Christian parents?
00:10:35 What gift can you present to Jehovah?
00:10:38 Your children!
00:10:39 When you do your best to ‘bring your children up
00:10:42 in the discipline and admonition of Jehovah,’
00:10:45 you are preparing a gift to your God.
00:10:49 Think of the number of brothers
00:10:51 taking the lead in the organization at this time.
00:10:55 Some are Governing Body members, helpers,
00:10:58 Branch Committee members, circuit overseers,
00:11:02 elders, and ministerial servants.
00:11:06 Where did so many of these come from?
00:11:09 Hundreds of thousands were children of Christian parents.
00:11:13 The parents followed the admonition of Ephesians 6:4.
00:11:19 There are thousands more brothers and sisters
00:11:22 that have been raised in the truth by godly parents
00:11:26 who are spearheading the work in the ministry,
00:11:30 in Bethel service,
00:11:32 on construction projects, and in relief work.
00:11:36 We thank you, parents, for all that you’ve done
00:11:39 and the precious gifts you have offered up to Jehovah
00:11:43 and his organization.
00:11:45 And what about the older ones in our congregations?
00:11:48 I’m 84 years young with eternity in view.
00:11:53 But at some point, we start to admit that we’re getting old.
00:11:58 We start to feel that we’re getting old.
00:12:01 We start to look like we’re getting old.
00:12:05 Some of us find ourselves slipping physically or even mentally.
00:12:10 Are we becoming less and less valuable to Jehovah?
00:12:15 Is our gift now tarnished by age?
00:12:19 We might begin to think so,
00:12:21 but that’s not at all how Jehovah views older ones
00:12:25 who have dedicated themselves to him,
00:12:28 possibly many decades ago.
00:12:31 A tarnished gold coin
00:12:34 has as much value as a shiny new one.
00:12:38 Proverbs 16:31 instructs us
00:12:41 that “gray hair is a crown of beauty
00:12:44 when it is found in the way of righteousness.”
00:12:48 It’s not so much the color of the hair that Jehovah admires.
00:12:53 Instead, it’s the life of self-sacrifice
00:12:57 that gray hair represents.
00:12:59 Jehovah views older ones
00:13:01 who are still found in the way of righteousness
00:13:05 as precious gifts to him.
00:13:09 Why do pieces of antique furniture often cost
00:13:12 much more than a brand new piece of furniture?
00:13:15 Or why is an older bottle of fine wine
00:13:20 often more expensive than a newer vintage wine?
00:13:25 Age brings value to a gift.
00:13:29 You older ones have wisdom and experience
00:13:34 that others in the congregation can benefit from.
00:13:38 It’s not that you need to be holding the microphone
00:13:42 and waxing eloquent on every paragraph at a meeting,
00:13:46 but modestly sharing your experience
00:13:49 and wisdom with others on a personal basis
00:13:52 can be so helpful and encouraging.
00:13:55 Jehovah loves you older ones.
00:13:58 So even if you’re bent with age in your mind,
00:14:03 stand tall as a precious gift presented to Jehovah.
00:14:09 May all of us, young and old,
00:14:12 consider how we can enhance our gifts presented to Jehovah.
00:14:17 If we have not yet dedicated our life to God,
00:14:21 is it time to seriously consider this gift?
00:14:25 Can we enhance our gift
00:14:27 by more closely monitoring our view of Christian morality?
00:14:32 What we look at or think about
00:14:35 could compromise our gift to God.
00:14:38 How about our ministry or attendance and participation at the meetings
00:14:42 or contributing materially
00:14:45 to the worldwide work?
00:14:47 You parents,
00:14:49 do your best to package
00:14:52 the gift of your children
00:14:55 so that they will be useful to Jehovah.
00:14:58 And you older ones,
00:15:00 never forget that when it comes to wisdom and experience,
00:15:05 you only get better with age.
00:15:09 Jesus is the best of Jehovah’s servants.
00:15:13 He’s been around the longest.
