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00:00:01 Proverbs 3:5, 6 00:00:03 made a tremendous impression on me: 00:00:05 “Trust in Jehovah with all your heart.” 00:00:10 When I was younger, I probably said: 00:00:12 “All right. Let me try it and see if it works.” 00:00:16 As much as I loved 00:00:17 what I was learning from Jehovah, 00:00:19 I was still leaning a lot 00:00:20 on my own understanding. 00:00:23 Obviously, when we make 00:00:25 decisions in our lives— 00:00:26 A spiritual person 00:00:27 will review and think, 00:00:30 ‘Let’s do this Jehovah’s way.’ 00:00:31 And that was something that I had lost sight of 00:00:34 at that moment in my life. 00:00:40 There was considerable opposition to the work. 00:00:43 We expected that when we did street work, 00:00:47 we might be picked up and taken to jail. 00:00:51 But Jehovah’s organization had explained to us 00:00:56 how we were to handle it. 00:00:59 I do remember when the police finally picked me up, 00:01:02 and they drove me down to Chicago. 00:01:05 It was about an hour’s drive, 00:01:07 and they asked me, “So, what did you do wrong?” 00:01:10 So I had one hour to witness to them. 00:01:13 And as I recall, I kept track of it, and I counted the time too. 00:01:18 Things didn’t disturb us 00:01:20 because we were being trained by Jehovah’s organization. 00:01:24 We knew what to do. 00:01:26 So I ended up in a jail in Chicago for a weekend, 00:01:31 and there was nothing I could do about it, 00:01:35 so I put up with it. 00:01:38 So I was home for a day or two. 00:01:40 And then I went back to my assignment, and I kept on working. 00:01:43 I left the rest in Jehovah’s hands, 00:01:45 and he handled it very nicely, 00:01:48 whether we were in jail or whether we were not. 00:01:57 Eventually, I stumbled upon the punk rock anarchist scene. 00:02:02 And this really called out to me because here I could be myself; 00:02:07 I could establish my own standards. 00:02:09 But that scene eventually led me down 00:02:11 to a very dark path of immorality, 00:02:14 drug abuse, drunkenness, and a lot of violence. 00:02:20 I felt lonely. 00:02:22 I felt betrayed. 00:02:23 I felt that nothing made sense. 00:02:28 I remember thinking back 00:02:30 to when I was learning about Jehovah and how simple things were. 00:02:35 I decided to give Jehovah another shot. 00:02:39 Reading Matthew 16:24 hit me really hard, 00:02:43 where it says to ‘disown yourself,’ 00:02:46 because I knew that scripture, but I still hadn’t really focused 00:02:49 on what it meant for me. 00:02:53 I knew I had to let go of certain parts of my personality 00:02:57 and of my old lifestyle. 00:02:59 I’d never really given Jehovah a completely fair chance. 00:03:03 So I started applying more fully the principles I found, 00:03:06 and I started trusting Jehovah more. 00:03:09 Very quickly things started falling into place: 00:03:11 the determination that I had to serve him, 00:03:13 the changes that I needed to make —changes that I never thought I could make. 00:03:22 I felt that spiritual progress was 00:03:26 appointments and assignments. 00:03:28 I think pride got the best of me there. 00:03:35 Very shortly after we got to the congregation in Brooklyn, 00:03:38 I’m out in service with the coordinator, 00:03:41 and he says to me: 00:03:43 “The letter came back, and you weren’t recommended as a servant. 00:03:49 Do you know what happened?” 00:03:51 So I said, “Well, you know, 00:03:53 I think those brothers have some problems over there.” 00:03:57 And he said: “Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa! 00:03:59 “Stop for a second here. 00:04:01 “You don’t need to tell me anything negative about the brothers in that hall. 00:04:06 “Focus on what you need to do, 00:04:09 and Jehovah will take care of the rest of it.” 00:04:12 It really did feel like Jehovah was just saying: ‘OK, stop. 00:04:16 Right now you need to focus on you.’ 00:04:19 And that really just allowed me to relax 00:04:22 and focus on what was really a lot more important 00:04:25 than whether I had a certain position in Jehovah’s organization. 00:04:30 The humility and the patience 00:04:32 and the love and the adjustments that I needed to make 00:04:36 —being a more obedient servant of Jehovah— 00:04:38 those were the things that were so important 00:04:40 that I had forgotten about for a while. 00:04:45 All the time that I spent pursuing my own interests 00:04:49 always led to disappointment. 00:04:51 And now that I’ve learned about Jehovah 00:04:54 and living by his principles, 00:04:57 I have been having the time of my life. 00:04:59 To know that Jehovah just simply wants 00:05:01 to make me the best version of me 00:05:03 and teach me to enhance my personality 00:05:07 and to become better, 00:05:09 that really endeared me to Jehovah. 00:05:12 Jehovah really cared about me enough 00:05:17 to mold my thinking. 00:05:20 It was kind of like my life was back in focus, 00:05:23 and I was able to just relax and serve Jehovah happily. 00:05:29 And then, of course, the blessings started really pouring in after that. 00:05:33 Everything I’ve done connected with the truth, 00:05:37 I have enjoyed every speck of it. 00:05:42 You might have some great idea, but 00:05:46 I found out: You do things Jehovah’s way 00:05:51 and the end result is nothing but good.
00:00:01 Proverbs 3:5, 6 00:00:03 made a tremendous impression on me: 00:00:05 “Trust in Jehovah with all your heart.” 00:00:10 When I was younger, I probably said: 00:00:12 “All right. Let me try it and see if it works.” 00:00:16 As much as I loved 00:00:17 what I was learning from Jehovah, 00:00:19 I was still leaning a lot 00:00:20 on my own understanding. 00:00:23 Obviously, when we make 00:00:25 decisions in our lives— 00:00:26 A spiritual person 00:00:27 will review and think, 00:00:30 ‘Let’s do this Jehovah’s way.’ 00:00:31 And that was something that I had lost sight of 00:00:34 at that moment in my life. 00:00:40 There was considerable opposition to the work. 00:00:43 We expected that when we did street work, 00:00:47 we might be picked up and taken to jail. 00:00:51 But Jehovah’s organization had explained to us 00:00:56 how we were to handle it. 00:00:59 I do remember when the police finally picked me up, 00:01:02 and they drove me down to Chicago. 00:01:05 It was about an hour’s drive, 00:01:07 and they asked me, “So, what did you do wrong?” 00:01:10 So I had one hour to witness to them. 00:01:13 And as I recall, I kept track of it, and I counted the time too. 00:01:18 Things didn’t disturb us 00:01:20 because we were being trained by Jehovah’s organization. 00:01:24 We knew what to do. 00:01:26 So I ended up in a jail in Chicago for a weekend, 00:01:31 and there was nothing I could do about it, 00:01:35 so I put up with it. 00:01:38 So I was home for a day or two. 00:01:40 And then I went back to my assignment, and I kept on working. 00:01:43 I left the rest in Jehovah’s hands, 00:01:45 and he handled it very nicely, 00:01:48 whether we were in jail or whether we were not. 00:01:57 Eventually, I stumbled upon the punk rock anarchist scene. 00:02:02 And this really called out to me because here I could be myself; 00:02:07 I could establish my own standards. 00:02:09 But that scene eventually led me down 00:02:11 to a very dark path of immorality, 00:02:14 drug abuse, drunkenness, and a lot of violence. 00:02:20 I felt lonely. 00:02:22 I felt betrayed. 00:02:23 I felt that nothing made sense. 00:02:28 I remember thinking back 00:02:30 to when I was learning about Jehovah and how simple things were. 00:02:35 I decided to give Jehovah another shot. 00:02:39 Reading Matthew 16:24 hit me really hard, 00:02:43 where it says to ‘disown yourself,’ 00:02:46 because I knew that scripture, but I still hadn’t really focused 00:02:49 on what it meant for me. 00:02:53 I knew I had to let go of certain parts of my personality 00:02:57 and of my old lifestyle. 00:02:59 I’d never really given Jehovah a completely fair chance. 00:03:03 So I started applying more fully the principles I found, 00:03:06 and I started trusting Jehovah more. 00:03:09 Very quickly things started falling into place: 00:03:11 the determination that I had to serve him, 00:03:13 the changes that I needed to make —changes that I never thought I could make. 00:03:22 I felt that spiritual progress was 00:03:26 appointments and assignments. 00:03:28 I think pride got the best of me there. 00:03:35 Very shortly after we got to the congregation in Brooklyn, 00:03:38 I’m out in service with the coordinator, 00:03:41 and he says to me: 00:03:43 “The letter came back, and you weren’t recommended as a servant. 00:03:49 Do you know what happened?” 00:03:51 So I said, “Well, you know, 00:03:53 I think those brothers have some problems over there.” 00:03:57 And he said: “Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa! 00:03:59 “Stop for a second here. 00:04:01 “You don’t need to tell me anything negative about the brothers in that hall. 00:04:06 “Focus on what you need to do, 00:04:09 and Jehovah will take care of the rest of it.” 00:04:12 It really did feel like Jehovah was just saying: ‘OK, stop. 00:04:16 Right now you need to focus on you.’ 00:04:19 And that really just allowed me to relax 00:04:22 and focus on what was really a lot more important 00:04:25 than whether I had a certain position in Jehovah’s organization. 00:04:30 The humility and the patience 00:04:32 and the love and the adjustments that I needed to make 00:04:36 —being a more obedient servant of Jehovah— 00:04:38 those were the things that were so important 00:04:40 that I had forgotten about for a while. 00:04:45 All the time that I spent pursuing my own interests 00:04:49 always led to disappointment. 00:04:51 And now that I’ve learned about Jehovah 00:04:54 and living by his principles, 00:04:57 I have been having the time of my life. 00:04:59 To know that Jehovah just simply wants 00:05:01 to make me the best version of me 00:05:03 and teach me to enhance my personality 00:05:07 and to become better, 00:05:09 that really endeared me to Jehovah. 00:05:12 Jehovah really cared about me enough 00:05:17 to mold my thinking. 00:05:20 It was kind of like my life was back in focus, 00:05:23 and I was able to just relax and serve Jehovah happily. 00:05:29 And then, of course, the blessings started really pouring in after that. 00:05:33 Everything I’ve done connected with the truth, 00:05:37 I have enjoyed every speck of it. 00:05:42 You might have some great idea, but 00:05:46 I found out: You do things Jehovah’s way 00:05:51 and the end result is nothing but good.
