The content displayed below is for educational and archival purposes only.Unless stated otherwise, content is © Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society of Pennsylvania
You may be able to find the original on wol.jw.org
Video above © Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society of Pennsylvania
00:00:01 So this scripture 00:00:02 we’re all very familiar with: 00:00:05 “No man 00:00:06 “can come to me unless the Father, 00:00:09 who sent me, draws him.” 00:00:11 So that’s a statement inspired by God. 00:00:15 And when we reflect on it —give it a lot of thought— 00:00:20 we can sense that Jehovah 00:00:23 really cares about us as individuals. 00:00:26 And that’s what we want to develop this morning. 00:00:29 If you think of this verse, 00:00:31 it just proves Jehovah cares about us as individuals. 00:00:34 Now, that’s important because regardless of whoever we are, 00:00:38 from time to time negative emotions can affect us. 00:00:44 For instance, ‘I know Jehovah loves all these brothers and sisters, 00:00:49 but I’m just not sure about me.’ 00:00:52 Well, if you reflect on this verse, 00:00:55 see, it reassures us that Jehovah cares about us 00:00:59 as individuals. 00:01:01 And to help us appreciate this verse 00:01:05 in our revised New World Translation, 00:01:09 find John chapter 21, if you would, please. 00:01:13 And we’ll consider this account here, 00:01:17 and you’ll see how it connects with Jehovah caring about us as individuals 00:01:22 in the Scripture text, John 6:44. 00:01:27 You find in verse 2, Simon Peter, Thomas, 00:01:32 and the other disciples here. 00:01:34 And Peter says in verse 3: “I am going fishing.” 00:01:38 So they go along with him, 00:01:41 and they go to board the boat and spend all night, 00:01:44 and they didn’t catch a thing. 00:01:46 Now, what’s interesting is Jesus 00:01:49 manifests himself here, according to verse 4, 00:01:52 and in verse 5, he questions: 00:01:55 “‘Children, you do not have anything to eat, do you?’ 00:01:58 They answered: ‘No!’” 00:02:00 Now he directs them: 00:02:02 “‘Cast the net on the right side of the boat and you will find some.’ 00:02:07 “So they cast it, 00:02:09 “but they were not able to haul it in 00:02:13 because of the large number of fish.” 00:02:15 And the number was large, 00:02:18 and it’s specified in verse 11 as “153,” 00:02:21 and they’re called “big fish.” 00:02:24 Now, for years the 1984 revision 00:02:28 had said in this verse —and literally in the Greek it’s appropriate 00:02:32 (doesn’t mean it’s a bad translation)— 00:02:35 the New World Translation had said they weren’t “able to draw it in.” 00:02:40 That’s appropriate 00:02:42 —nothing technically wrong with it. 00:02:45 However, the revision helps us appreciate that if you have 153 big fish, 00:02:50 even if you’ve got strong fishermen, they’re hauling. 00:02:55 The word “draw” doesn’t capture it 00:02:57 in translation. 00:03:00 And that helps us appreciate now John 6:44. 00:03:06 We wouldn’t say “haul.” 00:03:08 It still says “draws him.” 00:03:13 See, it’s a different word, and words do matter. 00:03:16 And we appreciate the revision here. 00:03:19 This makes sense even though 00:03:21 the literal Greek is there “to draw.” 00:03:24 But, see, at John 6:44, “draws” is different. 00:03:28 Jesus knew his Father 00:03:32 and still knows more about his Father 00:03:35 than any person alive. 00:03:38 And in no way would he want us to be thinking 00:03:41 that He hauls us in or, we might say, 00:03:44 drags people into the truth. 00:03:48 Now, that’s a priceless lesson 00:03:50 for all of us to remember in our preaching activity, 00:03:55 in the Bible study activity, 00:03:57 as a parent or parents raising a child. 00:04:00 See, sometimes you can come across like you’re dragging them. 00:04:06 That doesn’t work. 00:04:08 Jehovah is gentle with his drawing of a person. 00:04:12 He respects their free will. 00:04:15 By means of his holy spirit and his Word, 00:04:18 he’ll tug at the heart and he draws them. 00:04:21 And that’s important because we have a comment there 00:04:24 about what young people might reason, 00:04:27 ‘Well, he drew my parent or parents, but not me.’ 00:04:31 Well, that’s erroneous thinking when you look at what Jesus said here: 00:04:35 “No man [and that includes the women] can come to me 00:04:38 unless the Father, who sent me, draws him.” 00:04:42 So that’s individual attention that Jehovah gives, 00:04:46 and that’s priceless. 00:04:48 So whatever you’re dealing with, 00:04:50 you have to pause and think, ‘Well, Jehovah, you drew me.’ 00:04:54 And that’s precious. 00:04:56 That’ll get you through all sorts of negative thinking, 00:04:59 and you just get rid of it because the Sovereign of the universe 00:05:04 drew you into your baptized relationship with him. 00:05:08 And that’s something we should always feel special about. 00:05:12 And I thought of different circumstances 00:05:15 as I was meditating on this text. 00:05:17 And it brought to mind 00:05:19 an experience I had back in Providence, Rhode Island. 00:05:23 This was before my wife and I had children. 00:05:25 And I remember being at the meeting, and it was a nice experience. 00:05:29 And here’s this young person, late teens, 00:05:34 not looking like one of Jehovah’s Witnesses. 00:05:37 And he just kind of came in, and I had observed him. 00:05:40 And he sits down, and nobody is talking to him at that point. 00:05:45 So I went over and sat next to him: 00:05:47 “How are you?” and mentioned my name. 00:05:51 “Glad to have you here” and trying to get to know him. 00:05:55 Well, it turns out his mom was a baptized Witness 00:05:59 and for long not doing anything. 00:06:01 The family had all sorts of issues. 00:06:04 And yet in spite of all of this, it occurred to me, 00:06:09 Jehovah drew this young person to Him —right to the Kingdom Hall. 00:06:14 He wanted a Bible study. 00:06:16 He had all sorts of thoughts. 00:06:19 Just because he was so quiet, see, sometimes that means they’re deep thinkers. 00:06:23 And it was a privilege to be used by Jehovah to help him. 00:06:26 And I always appreciated it. 00:06:28 And he came along, had different things to deal with, 00:06:32 ended up married to a nice pioneer sister. 00:06:36 They had children they raised in the truth. 00:06:38 And he’s been an elder for a long time. 00:06:40 Why? 00:06:42 Because Jehovah noticed his mom 00:06:46 —He may have drawn her at some point in her life. 00:06:49 But in the midst of all of this wrong that’s going on 00:06:54 (and this has happened to more than one individual Witness, 00:06:57 where their parent or parents weren’t living up to it), 00:07:00 here they are serving the true God. 00:07:02 Well, it just proves Jehovah cares for them as an individual. 00:07:06 He drew them into the truth. 00:07:08 That’s priceless. 00:07:09 It’s something that we should always treasure. 00:07:12 And parents can learn, too, 00:07:15 as you’re working with a child or children, 00:07:19 to stay away from the dragging them into the truth. 00:07:22 That’s not God’s way. 00:07:24 He doesn’t do it. 00:07:25 I don’t know who we think we are, but you cannot drag anybody, 00:07:29 whether it’s a Bible study or your own child, 00:07:32 into a relationship with God. 00:07:34 Jehovah is not that way. 00:07:36 We can do all we can to set a good example, 00:07:39 teach the truth, live the truth. 00:07:42 But if Jehovah draws them, they’ve got to connect with him. 00:07:46 So it’s just something to appreciate and treasure 00:07:50 and recognize —that Jehovah is the one who draws people. 00:07:55 Now, just to keep this in mind, 00:07:59 if you’ll look at John 6:44 once again, 00:08:04 and bear this in mind 00:08:08 whenever you’re dealing with something 00:08:11 that is disturbing your relationship with God. 00:08:15 Think about how much Jehovah cares about you as an individual, 00:08:19 verse 44: 00:08:21 “No man [see, this is the Son of God himself: No man] 00:08:26 can come to me unless the Father, who sent me, draws him.” 00:08:30 And so that’s priceless. 00:08:32 Jehovah has drawn us. 00:08:34 He gives us personal attention, and we love him for that. 00:08:38 And finally, Psalm 73, after Jehovah draws us, 00:08:43 we have this personal responsibility, 00:08:47 and Jehovah expects us to fulfill it. 00:08:51 In Psalm 73 00:08:53 (remembering how much Jehovah truly cares for us 00:08:57 and then that we have this personal responsibility) 00:09:00 in the A part of verse 28, 00:09:03 this should be our resolve personally: 00:09:07 “But as for me 00:09:09 “[you have to say this; I have to say this: But as for me], 00:09:13 drawing near to God is good for me.” 00:09:17 So how good it is that after Jehovah has drawn us 00:09:21 —given us this personal attention and care— 00:09:23 now it’s our responsibility through personal study, meditation, 00:09:28 meaningful prayers that we draw near to God, 00:09:31 because that’s “good for [us]”!
00:00:01 So this scripture 00:00:02 we’re all very familiar with: 00:00:05 “No man 00:00:06 “can come to me unless the Father, 00:00:09 who sent me, draws him.” 00:00:11 So that’s a statement inspired by God. 00:00:15 And when we reflect on it —give it a lot of thought— 00:00:20 we can sense that Jehovah 00:00:23 really cares about us as individuals. 00:00:26 And that’s what we want to develop this morning. 00:00:29 If you think of this verse, 00:00:31 it just proves Jehovah cares about us as individuals. 00:00:34 Now, that’s important because regardless of whoever we are, 00:00:38 from time to time negative emotions can affect us. 00:00:44 For instance, ‘I know Jehovah loves all these brothers and sisters, 00:00:49 but I’m just not sure about me.’ 00:00:52 Well, if you reflect on this verse, 00:00:55 see, it reassures us that Jehovah cares about us 00:00:59 as individuals. 00:01:01 And to help us appreciate this verse 00:01:05 in our revised New World Translation, 00:01:09 find John chapter 21, if you would, please. 00:01:13 And we’ll consider this account here, 00:01:17 and you’ll see how it connects with Jehovah caring about us as individuals 00:01:22 in the Scripture text, John 6:44. 00:01:27 You find in verse 2, Simon Peter, Thomas, 00:01:32 and the other disciples here. 00:01:34 And Peter says in verse 3: “I am going fishing.” 00:01:38 So they go along with him, 00:01:41 and they go to board the boat and spend all night, 00:01:44 and they didn’t catch a thing. 00:01:46 Now, what’s interesting is Jesus 00:01:49 manifests himself here, according to verse 4, 00:01:52 and in verse 5, he questions: 00:01:55 “‘Children, you do not have anything to eat, do you?’ 00:01:58 They answered: ‘No!’” 00:02:00 Now he directs them: 00:02:02 “‘Cast the net on the right side of the boat and you will find some.’ 00:02:07 “So they cast it, 00:02:09 “but they were not able to haul it in 00:02:13 because of the large number of fish.” 00:02:15 And the number was large, 00:02:18 and it’s specified in verse 11 as “153,” 00:02:21 and they’re called “big fish.” 00:02:24 Now, for years the 1984 revision 00:02:28 had said in this verse —and literally in the Greek it’s appropriate 00:02:32 (doesn’t mean it’s a bad translation)— 00:02:35 the New World Translation had said they weren’t “able to draw it in.” 00:02:40 That’s appropriate 00:02:42 —nothing technically wrong with it. 00:02:45 However, the revision helps us appreciate that if you have 153 big fish, 00:02:50 even if you’ve got strong fishermen, they’re hauling. 00:02:55 The word “draw” doesn’t capture it 00:02:57 in translation. 00:03:00 And that helps us appreciate now John 6:44. 00:03:06 We wouldn’t say “haul.” 00:03:08 It still says “draws him.” 00:03:13 See, it’s a different word, and words do matter. 00:03:16 And we appreciate the revision here. 00:03:19 This makes sense even though 00:03:21 the literal Greek is there “to draw.” 00:03:24 But, see, at John 6:44, “draws” is different. 00:03:28 Jesus knew his Father 00:03:32 and still knows more about his Father 00:03:35 than any person alive. 00:03:38 And in no way would he want us to be thinking 00:03:41 that He hauls us in or, we might say, 00:03:44 drags people into the truth. 00:03:48 Now, that’s a priceless lesson 00:03:50 for all of us to remember in our preaching activity, 00:03:55 in the Bible study activity, 00:03:57 as a parent or parents raising a child. 00:04:00 See, sometimes you can come across like you’re dragging them. 00:04:06 That doesn’t work. 00:04:08 Jehovah is gentle with his drawing of a person. 00:04:12 He respects their free will. 00:04:15 By means of his holy spirit and his Word, 00:04:18 he’ll tug at the heart and he draws them. 00:04:21 And that’s important because we have a comment there 00:04:24 about what young people might reason, 00:04:27 ‘Well, he drew my parent or parents, but not me.’ 00:04:31 Well, that’s erroneous thinking when you look at what Jesus said here: 00:04:35 “No man [and that includes the women] can come to me 00:04:38 unless the Father, who sent me, draws him.” 00:04:42 So that’s individual attention that Jehovah gives, 00:04:46 and that’s priceless. 00:04:48 So whatever you’re dealing with, 00:04:50 you have to pause and think, ‘Well, Jehovah, you drew me.’ 00:04:54 And that’s precious. 00:04:56 That’ll get you through all sorts of negative thinking, 00:04:59 and you just get rid of it because the Sovereign of the universe 00:05:04 drew you into your baptized relationship with him. 00:05:08 And that’s something we should always feel special about. 00:05:12 And I thought of different circumstances 00:05:15 as I was meditating on this text. 00:05:17 And it brought to mind 00:05:19 an experience I had back in Providence, Rhode Island. 00:05:23 This was before my wife and I had children. 00:05:25 And I remember being at the meeting, and it was a nice experience. 00:05:29 And here’s this young person, late teens, 00:05:34 not looking like one of Jehovah’s Witnesses. 00:05:37 And he just kind of came in, and I had observed him. 00:05:40 And he sits down, and nobody is talking to him at that point. 00:05:45 So I went over and sat next to him: 00:05:47 “How are you?” and mentioned my name. 00:05:51 “Glad to have you here” and trying to get to know him. 00:05:55 Well, it turns out his mom was a baptized Witness 00:05:59 and for long not doing anything. 00:06:01 The family had all sorts of issues. 00:06:04 And yet in spite of all of this, it occurred to me, 00:06:09 Jehovah drew this young person to Him —right to the Kingdom Hall. 00:06:14 He wanted a Bible study. 00:06:16 He had all sorts of thoughts. 00:06:19 Just because he was so quiet, see, sometimes that means they’re deep thinkers. 00:06:23 And it was a privilege to be used by Jehovah to help him. 00:06:26 And I always appreciated it. 00:06:28 And he came along, had different things to deal with, 00:06:32 ended up married to a nice pioneer sister. 00:06:36 They had children they raised in the truth. 00:06:38 And he’s been an elder for a long time. 00:06:40 Why? 00:06:42 Because Jehovah noticed his mom 00:06:46 —He may have drawn her at some point in her life. 00:06:49 But in the midst of all of this wrong that’s going on 00:06:54 (and this has happened to more than one individual Witness, 00:06:57 where their parent or parents weren’t living up to it), 00:07:00 here they are serving the true God. 00:07:02 Well, it just proves Jehovah cares for them as an individual. 00:07:06 He drew them into the truth. 00:07:08 That’s priceless. 00:07:09 It’s something that we should always treasure. 00:07:12 And parents can learn, too, 00:07:15 as you’re working with a child or children, 00:07:19 to stay away from the dragging them into the truth. 00:07:22 That’s not God’s way. 00:07:24 He doesn’t do it. 00:07:25 I don’t know who we think we are, but you cannot drag anybody, 00:07:29 whether it’s a Bible study or your own child, 00:07:32 into a relationship with God. 00:07:34 Jehovah is not that way. 00:07:36 We can do all we can to set a good example, 00:07:39 teach the truth, live the truth. 00:07:42 But if Jehovah draws them, they’ve got to connect with him. 00:07:46 So it’s just something to appreciate and treasure 00:07:50 and recognize —that Jehovah is the one who draws people. 00:07:55 Now, just to keep this in mind, 00:07:59 if you’ll look at John 6:44 once again, 00:08:04 and bear this in mind 00:08:08 whenever you’re dealing with something 00:08:11 that is disturbing your relationship with God. 00:08:15 Think about how much Jehovah cares about you as an individual, 00:08:19 verse 44: 00:08:21 “No man [see, this is the Son of God himself: No man] 00:08:26 can come to me unless the Father, who sent me, draws him.” 00:08:30 And so that’s priceless. 00:08:32 Jehovah has drawn us. 00:08:34 He gives us personal attention, and we love him for that. 00:08:38 And finally, Psalm 73, after Jehovah draws us, 00:08:43 we have this personal responsibility, 00:08:47 and Jehovah expects us to fulfill it. 00:08:51 In Psalm 73 00:08:53 (remembering how much Jehovah truly cares for us 00:08:57 and then that we have this personal responsibility) 00:09:00 in the A part of verse 28, 00:09:03 this should be our resolve personally: 00:09:07 “But as for me 00:09:09 “[you have to say this; I have to say this: But as for me], 00:09:13 drawing near to God is good for me.” 00:09:17 So how good it is that after Jehovah has drawn us 00:09:21 —given us this personal attention and care— 00:09:23 now it’s our responsibility through personal study, meditation, 00:09:28 meaningful prayers that we draw near to God, 00:09:31 because that’s “good for [us]”!
