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00:01 We go back to Wednesday, 00:05 June 23, 1943, 00:09 and the principal talk of the Gilead graduation 00:11 was delivered by Brother Knorr, 00:13 who spoke on the subject 00:15 “Work, Patience, and Faith.” 00:19 Don’t write that down because that’s not the theme 00:22 that we’re going to consider today. 00:24 But we have another member of the Governing Body, Brother Sam Herd, 00:27 and he’s going to speak on the intriguing theme 00:30 “Humbly Humble.” 00:39 If I should ask you, Are you humble students? 00:42 and you say yes, then you’re not humble. 00:48 But you look humble. 00:54 It’s been a good program up until now. 00:56 We’ll see what follows. 01:03 We all know that we must be humble 01:06 through and through. 01:08 This is something that Jehovah requires of all his servants 01:12 —not proud to be humble, 01:15 but humbly humble. 01:18 That’s what pleases God. 01:20 So that’s what we’re going to talk about. 01:23 But what do we mean by humble? 01:25 Well, it’s lowliness of mind. 01:28 Certainly, it’s not pompous 01:31 —filled to the gills with self-importance. 01:34 Jehovah says at Proverbs 8:13: 01:36 “I hate self-exaltation and pride.” 01:42 So we want to let that sink into our hearts. 01:45 Pride is something that Jehovah hates, 01:49 but he is pleased with those who are humble. 01:53 Now, you’ve increased your spiritual knowledge 01:56 while attending Gilead School, 01:59 but you have not scratched the surface 02:02 of what you will know in the future. 02:06 Your understanding of many things has been sharpened 02:09 in these few months that you’ve been here, 02:12 and now you are eager to tell others about what you’ve learned. 02:16 And there’s certainly nothing wrong with that; 02:18 we can say it’s good. 02:21 But here’s a caution: 02:24 Be careful; 02:28 be extremely careful 02:33 not to become a show-off, 02:37 standing head and shoulders above your brothers and sisters 02:42 in your branches or in your congregations. 02:47 Don’t toot your horn. 02:51 “Get someone else to blow your horn 02:53 and the sound will carry twice as far,” 02:56 said Will Rogers. 02:59 Better yet, consider what Jehovah inspired 03:03 to be written at Proverbs 27:2: 03:08 “Let someone else praise you, 03:11 “and not your own mouth; 03:14 others, and not your own lips.” 03:19 Now, while it may be true 03:21 that they may not know as much as you, 03:26 what they do know will carry them 03:29 through the end of this system of things 03:32 into the new world. 03:34 Jehovah loves them just as much as he loves you. 03:39 Now, I heard an experience years ago 03:41 about a Bible student who was just starting to study. 03:45 He knows a few things and loves the truth, 03:48 as much as he knows. 03:50 Then he comes down sick unto death, 03:54 and the doctor at the hospital says, “You must have a blood transfusion.” 03:58 But he knows enough, “No blood for me, no blood transfusion.” 04:02 His family is not in the truth, “Take that blood, Boy!” 04:05 “No. No blood for me.” 04:07 Others try to get him to take blood. 04:09 “No blood for me.” 04:11 And so the doctor operates and is successful; 04:14 everyone is happy. 04:17 Then his teacher 04:21 and others in the congregation 04:24 are invited to the hospital. 04:27 He has something to say. 04:29 What is it? 04:31 After they gather around his bed, 04:34 they’re thinking that something has gone wrong. 04:37 He’s going to have to take blood, and he’s willing to do it, 04:40 when he says, “Why is it that we don’t take blood?” 04:49 Now, he does not know 04:52 that the Gentile Times ended in 1914; 04:57 he doesn’t know the difference between sovereignty 05:01 and all the other things that people talk about today. 05:06 But he knows the truth 05:09 —just a little bit of the truth. 05:12 He’s not concerned with the vindication of God’s name 05:16 and his sovereignty —the rightfulness of God’s rule. 05:21 He doesn’t know that much, 05:23 but he knows enough that when his life is on the line, 05:27 he’d rather die than break God’s law, 05:30 even if he can’t explain that law. 05:35 Now, why say all that? 05:37 It’s not how much we know that pleases Jehovah, 05:40 but how we feel about what we know 05:43 and how we have allowed that knowledge 05:46 to increase our love for Jehovah. 05:49 Now, I’m going to invite you to open your Bibles, Bible students 05:53 —Gilead students. 05:55 Let’s turn to Romans. 05:59 We’re going to read the 12th chapter. 06:04 We’re going to read a couple of verses. 06:06 Where are they found? 06:07 Well, verse 3 starts us off. 06:10 It says: “For through the undeserved kindness given to me, 06:14 “I tell everyone there among you not to think more of himself 06:18 “than it is necessary to think, 06:21 “but to think so as to have a sound mind, 06:25 “each one as God has given to him 06:28 a measure of faith.” 06:31 There it is. 06:33 We can’t get too stuck on ourselves 06:37 and how much we know. 06:39 That’s not what Jehovah wants out of us. 06:43 Now look at verse 16: 06:46 “Have the same attitude toward others as toward yourselves; 06:50 “do not set your mind on lofty things, 06:53 “but be led along with the lowly things. 06:56 Do not become wise in your own eyes.” 07:02 That’s good counsel isn’t it, Gilead students? 07:05 Excellent counsel. 07:07 But, you know, sometimes we need a little more than a couple of verses 07:12 for it to reach the heart. 07:16 We need to know a few more things. 07:20 Knowledge has been given to us 07:25 in great abundance these few months 07:27 that we’ve been here at Gilead School, 07:30 and we’ve just loved it. 07:33 But at 1 Corinthians 8:1, 07:35 it tells us something that we want to think seriously about. 07:38 It says: “We know we all have knowledge.” 07:41 Now, here it’s coming: 07:43 “Knowledge puffs up, but love builds up.” 07:48 Now, you’ve got a lot of knowledge, 07:50 so be careful that it does not puff you up 07:54 so that you stand head and shoulders higher 07:58 than your brothers and sisters in the congregation. 08:02 Jehovah loves them just as much as he loves you, 08:06 who have this advanced knowledge now 08:08 because of your schooling. 08:11 Be as humble as a little child, 08:16 and Jesus tells us a little bit about that in Matthew chapter 18. 08:21 This is what he said in verses 3 and 4: 08:23 “Truly I say to you, unless you turn around 08:25 “and become as young children, 08:27 “you will by no means enter into the Kingdom of the heavens. 08:31 “Therefore, whoever will humble himself 08:34 “like this young child 08:36 “is the one who is the greatest 08:39 in the Kingdom of the heavens.” 08:42 So we say, humbly be humble. 08:48 Jehovah God, the Most High, 08:50 the Universal Sovereign, “the King of eternity,” is humble. 08:55 This is what King David said of him 08:59 in Psalm 18, 09:01 ‘Your own humility will make me great.’ 09:06 And it’s God’s humility that makes us great too. 09:11 If Jehovah were not humble, we would not be here. 09:15 Not one of mankind would be alive. 09:20 He’s humble, and He has a right to expect humility 09:24 out of each and every one of us. 09:28 And we need to help each other to be humble 09:33 —not glorify a human. 09:39 So we say this because sometimes some of our brothers and sisters 09:44 look at us —as members of the Governing Body— 09:46 as if we’re already angels, 09:48 and all you have to do is ask our wives if we’re angels. 09:52 You’ll get a true story. 09:55 We’re not. 09:56 We’re just sinners like all the rest of you. 09:59 So don’t elevate us 10:01 above where we are or what we are. 10:04 If we want to elevate anything, elevate Jehovah. 10:08 Now, that doesn’t mean that we feel 10:12 that you have wronged us in some way. 10:14 No, you haven’t. 10:16 You’re just human. 10:17 And as humans, we’re filled with sin 10:20 and we get carried away. 10:22 But help us to be humble, too, 10:27 rather than elevating us. 10:31 The Bible tells us of Jehovah: 10:33 “He stoops down to look on heaven and earth” 10:36 —Psalm 113:6. 10:38 What does that mean? 10:39 Well, he unbends; 10:41 he waives the privilege of rank. 10:46 Jehovah does that. 10:48 So he’s teaching us to waive the privilege of rank. 10:53 We’re all brothers; that’s all we are. 10:57 We don’t measure up as tall as Jesus, we just try to. 11:01 We try to dog his steps as best we can. 11:06 Follow the example of Jehovah. 11:08 He allowed Abraham to question His righteousness 11:11 in purposing to destroy the wicked cities of Sodom and Gomorrah. 11:15 In Genesis chapter 18, 11:17 Abraham says, ‘If there are 50 righteous men, 11:21 are you still going to destroy everything?’ 11:23 He says, ‘No, I will not.’ 11:25 Then Abraham comes back, ‘45?’ 11:27 He says, ‘No, I will not destroy them.’ 11:29 ‘40?’ 11:29 ‘No, I will not.’ 11:31 ‘30?’ 11:31 ‘No.’ 11:32 ‘20?’ 11:33 ‘No.’ 11:33 ‘10?’ 11:34 ‘No.’ 11:36 OK, Abraham, that’s enough; close your mouth. 11:41 Now, I added that. 11:44 Do you know what the Bible really says? 11:46 It says: “When Jehovah finished speaking to Abraham, 11:48 he went his way” 11:51 —still humble. 11:53 On a couple of occasions He allowed Moses to reason with Him 11:57 as if He was another human. 12:01 It took humility for Him to grant Moses’ pleas, but He did. 12:07 Now, what about Jesus? Was he humble? 12:10 Well, let’s take a look 12:12 at Philippians 2:5-8. 12:17 Can we do that? 12:18 Philippians 2:5-8. 12:22 Now, we understand that some of you 12:25 do not have your iPad or your Bible, 12:29 but that’s all right. 12:32 You’ll have time to get it later. 12:34 Now, here in the second chapter, 12:39 we’re able to read starting with verse 5. 12:44 It says: “Keep this mental attitude in you 12:47 “that was also in Christ Jesus, 12:49 “who, although he was existing in God’s form, 12:52 “gave no consideration to a seizure, 12:54 “namely, that he should be equal to God. 12:56 “No, but he emptied himself and took a slave’s form 13:00 “and became human. 13:03 “More than that, when he came as a man, 13:08 “he humbled himself and became obedient to the point of death, 13:13 yes, death on a torture stake.” 13:17 So, yes, Jesus was humble, 13:21 and Jesus washed the feet 13:24 —the dirty feet— of his apostles 13:27 to show them how to be humble. 13:30 That was a job that a servant should have done, or a slave’s job. 13:35 He lowered himself in front of them. 13:38 Perhaps he was on his knees when he washed their feet 13:42 —John 13. 13:43 Now, why would I say that? 13:44 Well, I saw a picture— 13:47 I saw a picture 13:50 in the office building in Warwick, 13:55 a beautiful picture. 13:57 Jesus is washing the feet of his apostles. 14:00 And where is he at? 14:02 He’s on his knees. 14:03 Now, the Bible doesn’t say he was on his— 14:05 I looked that up; 14:06 it didn’t say that in John the 13th chapter. 14:08 But, how are you going to wash feet if you don’t get down toward the feet? 14:13 So there he was —on his knees— 14:17 teaching them a lesson. 14:19 The apostle Paul set a fine example of humility. 14:22 He called himself ‘a slave of Jesus Christ’ 14:25 —Philippians 1:1. 14:28 Now, if he had not been humble, 14:31 he would not have written these words that I’m about to read: 14:35 “For I know that in me, that is, in my flesh, 14:38 “there dwells nothing good; 14:40 “for I have the desire to do what is fine 14:42 “but not the ability to carry it out. 14:45 “For I do not do the good that I wish, 14:48 “but the bad that I do not wish 14:50 is what I practice” 14:52 —Romans 7. 14:55 And he was given a supernatural vision, 14:58 or visions, I should say, and revelations. 15:02 He was used mightily by Jehovah God. 15:05 At Acts 19:11-16, 15:10 we’re able to see that. 15:12 It says: “And God kept performing extraordinary powerful works 15:16 “through the hands of Paul, 15:21 “so that even cloths and aprons that had touched his body 15:25 “were carried to the sick, 15:27 “and the diseases left them, 15:29 “and the wicked spirits came out. 15:31 “But some of the Jews who traveled around casting out demons 15:35 “also tried to use the name of the Lord Jesus 15:40 “over those who had wicked spirits; 15:43 “they would say: ‘I solemnly charge you 15:46 “by Jesus whom Paul preaches.’ 15:49 “Now there were seven sons 15:52 “of a Jewish chief priest named Sceva doing this. 15:56 “But in answer the wicked spirit said to them: 16:00 “‘I know Jesus and I am acquainted with Paul; 16:03 “but who are you?’ 16:06 “At that the man with the wicked spirit leaped on them, 16:10 “overpowered them one after the other, 16:13 “and prevailed against them, 16:15 “so that they fled naked and wounded 16:19 out of that house.” 16:22 Evidently, they were not humbly humble 16:26 for Jesus to let them use his name to cast out the wicked spirits. 16:31 Paul was inspired to write 14 of the 27 books 16:36 of the Christian Greek Scriptures. 16:38 Now, he did not get bigheaded, but he stayed humble. 16:46 He’s not the only humble soul. 16:48 Here’s another one: Nathan H. Knorr, 16:51 the third president of the Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society, 16:55 wants to visit a member of the Writing Department 16:58 in the member’s office. 17:00 And he stated, that is, Brother Knorr stated, 17:04 this—the member’s office— 17:07 this is where “the most important 17:09 “as well as the most difficult work takes place. 17:13 That’s why I do so little of it.” 17:17 Isn’t that beautiful? 17:20 That’s a humble statement. 17:22 You know what I say behind it? I say “Amen” to it. 17:25 I’m on the Writing Committee of the Governing Body 17:29 for some unknown reason. 17:33 I can’t write, 17:35 not a lick, 17:38 but there I am. 17:40 The humility shown by Brother Knorr 17:43 made me think back in time 17:45 to when a group of traveling overseers 17:47 were attending school in Crownsville, Maryland. 17:49 Brother Ted Jaracz was one of the instructors, 17:52 and he got up early one morning 17:54 and prepared a hot breakfast for all of us. 17:56 He did that on his own. 17:59 I was one of the instructors, 18:01 but it didn’t cross my mind to do a thing like that. 18:05 Maybe I wasn’t humbly humble, 18:08 or if I was, I didn’t show it. 18:16 I can’t cook either, 18:18 not a lick. 18:23 What does it take to be exalted? 18:26 Let’s let the Bible answer at Luke 14:11: 18:29 “For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, 18:32 and whoever humbles himself will be exalted.” 18:35 What does it take? 18:37 It takes humility. 18:39 Don’t learn that others are superior 18:42 the hard way. 18:44 Take a lesson from my old hound dog named Booser. 18:50 Sometimes he would follow us to town. 18:55 And one day, we passed a home 18:59 where usually there was a little dog that lived there, 19:02 but he had died. 19:04 And something caught Booser’s nose, 19:07 and so Booser was sniffing around, sniffing around. 19:09 And he went over near the house, 19:11 and a big Dalmatian came charging around the side of the house, 19:15 and he attacked Booser. 19:17 Booser put up a fight, 19:19 but he lost, 19:22 and the Dalmatian won. 19:25 Booser tucked his tail between his legs, 19:28 and he darted out of there like a streak of lightning. 19:32 Well, a couple of weeks later, 19:34 Booser wanted to go to town with us again—walking. 19:37 But we noticed that when we got to the Dalmatian’s house, 19:40 Booser was gone. 19:42 Booser took a long trip around the house 19:46 and met us downtown. 19:52 We’re about to wrap this up. 19:59 He was humbly humble. 20:03 He viewed the Dalmatian as superior. 20:07 Now, students, do you get the point of Booser’s example? 20:12 View others as superior. 20:15 They probably are. 20:38 That was a fantastic talk 20:41 —and I assure you, Sam is a very humble person. 20:46 He just can’t cook. 20:52 Well, we have a few announcements for you. 20:57 First of all, you’ll be interested in the attendance. 21:01 In Canada, there are 902. 21:06 And here in the United States, 9,702 21:10 for a total of 10,604. 21:15 Now, of course, we know that with the streaming many, 21:18 many more are going to be looking in on the program later. 21:23 So it’s going to be a lot more than 10,000. 21:26 Now, we’ve had some beautiful expressions 21:30 from the branches —greetings to our students. 21:34 We don’t have time to read all of them. 21:37 They will go in the archives of the Teaching Committee. 21:40 If I can’t read all of them, 21:42 I don’t want to read just one or two. 21:45 But here are the countries that are represented 21:48 that have sent beautiful expressions to us: 21:50 Angola, Argentina, 21:53 Belgium, Bolivia, Brazil, 21:57 Britain, Bulgaria, Burundi, Canada, 22:01 Finland, France, Georgia, 22:05 Ghana, Haiti, Hong Kong, Italy, 22:09 Japan, Kazakhstan, Korea, 22:13 Madagascar, Mozambique, 22:16 Netherlands, Nigeria, 22:18 Papua New Guinea, Portugal, 22:21 Sierra Leone, Thailand, and Ukraine. 22:26 And that’s just about the end of the alphabet. 22:28 So we appreciate all of these greetings 22:31 —beautiful expressions of appreciation 22:34 from the folks in these branches. 22:38 Well, we go back to 1943, 22:42 and following the principal talk, what happened? 22:46 Here’s what we read —here’s the report: 22:49 ‘A large case containing the diplomas 22:53 ‘was opened and put on the podium table. 22:56 ‘One by one all the students were called 22:59 to come forward to receive their diplomas.’ 23:02 Well, we’re going to follow that pattern right now; 23:06 that pattern established 75 years ago. 23:09 And I’m very happy to have Brother David Schafer with me. 23:13 If you were present for the introductions of the class, 23:16 you know what a beautiful job David did with all the names of the students. 23:21 And so, behold 23:23 the 144th class of Gilead. 23:29 And first, we have Brother and Sister Abou 23:31 who will be returning to the Middle East. 23:41 Brother and Sister Aloi will be serving in the Middle East. 23:52 Brother and Sister Arruda will be returning to Brazil. 24:02 Brother and Sister Bascopé will be returning to Bolivia. 24:12 Brother Buchan will be returning to Britain. 24:20 Brother and Sister Chilton will be serving in South Africa. 24:32 Sister Choatkaew will be returning to Thailand. 24:42 Brother and Sister de Rooij will be returning to the Netherlands. 24:51 Brother and Sister Esabunor will be returning to Nigeria. 25:02 Brother and Sister Guillén will be returning to Venezuela. 25:13 Brother Juhtver will be returning to Estonia. 25:22 Brother and Sister Kelly will be returning to Hong Kong. 25:31 Brother Lartey will be returning to Ghana. 25:40 Brother and Sister Menjou will be returning to Britain. 25:50 Brother and Sister Miçani will be returning to Albania. 25:59 Sister Nguyễn will be returning to Asia. 26:08 Sister Ningi will be returning to Papua New Guinea. 26:17 Brother Nkurunziza will be returning to Burundi. 26:26 Brother Ouédraogo will be returning to Benin. 26:34 Brother and Sister Pétursson will be returning to Denmark. 26:44 Brother and Sister Sandy will be returning to Sierra Leone. 26:56 Brother and Sister Santos will be returning to Portugal. 27:06 Brother Scarmato will be returning to Argentina. 27:15 Brother and Sister Stepanov will be returning to Azerbaijan. 27:25 Brother Tito will be returning to Mozambique. 27:33 Brother Tugushi will be returning to Georgia. 27:42 Brother Voyevodin will be returning to Asia. 27:49 Brother and Sister Wembalola will be serving in Madagascar. 27:59 And Sister Wójcik will be returning to Poland. 28:25 And here they are. 28:46 Let’s go back to 1943. 28:51 Once all the diplomas were handed out, what happened? 28:54 Well, the report tells us that a representative of the class 28:58 read a statement expressing the students’ appreciation 29:01 for the privilege of attending Gilead 29:03 and assuring the Governing Body of their loyalty 29:06 to Jehovah and his organization. 29:09 We’re going to follow the same pattern today, 29:12 and Brother Richard Chilton is going to read 29:14 a class letter on behalf of the class. 29:24 “To the Governing Body. 29:26 “Dear Brothers: 29:29 “Few things in life bring greater satisfaction 29:32 “than meaningful discussions on spiritual topics with dear friends. 29:37 “Over the last five months, 29:39 “we have enjoyed the blessing 29:41 “of being immersed in such discussions on a daily basis. 29:45 “As we studied the Bible book by book, 29:49 “the examples of faithful men and women of the past 29:53 “came to life and touched our hearts in new ways. 29:57 “Reliving the modern-day history of Jehovah's organization, 30:01 “we marveled at the faith, 30:03 “courage, and self-sacrifice 30:06 “of those who have gone before us. 30:09 “Our skills in the ministry were refined through workshops, 30:13 “and our desire to share in the preaching work intensified. 30:18 “As the weeks passed, 30:20 “fellow students became our close friends. 30:25 “Now, as the class has come to an end, 30:29 “tears come to our eyes as we think about parting ways, 30:33 “but we will treasure the memories 30:35 “of the stimulating ‘interchange of encouragement’ 30:38 “with our new group of friends. 30:41 “And what a blessing to be guided by mature, devoted instructors 30:46 “who combined ‘spiritual matters with spiritual words.’ 30:50 “We are grateful for their loving support as they nurtured our spiritual growth, 30:55 “and we will never forget their example of zeal for God’s Word. 31:00 “Getting to know the Bethel family has been a real delight 31:05 “—young people who expend themselves energetically 31:08 “in the service of the God they love 31:10 “and older ones who display the wisdom 31:13 “that comes with decades of experience 31:15 “in applying Christian principles. 31:17 “Their kindness, friendship, 31:20 “and hospitality have touched our hearts. 31:24 “Sometimes we think we know our friends well, 31:27 “but our appreciation for them is enhanced 31:30 “as we find out more about good deeds they have done in the past. 31:34 “This has been the case in our relationship with our God. 31:39 “Jehovah constantly surprises and delights us. 31:44 “As we reflect on all that he is 31:47 “and all that he has done, 31:49 “we feel moved to praise his beautiful name. 31:54 “While this school has far exceeded our expectations, 31:59 “it has also left us longing for more. 32:02 “We are resolved to continue our program 32:05 “of meaningful personal study. 32:08 “As Moses said at Deuteronomy 30:11: 32:12 “‘This commandment . . . is not . . . beyond your reach. 32:17 “It is not in the heavens, . . . nor . . . on the other side of the sea.’ 32:22 “In any situation, we know we will always find 32:26 “an illuminating Scriptural principle, 32:29 “an encouraging thought, or an informative article 32:32 “to help us to do what is right. 32:35 “Our Gilead course may be over, 32:37 “but we are left with an even greater appreciation 32:40 “for the wealth of spiritual food in our publications 32:44 “which remains to be explored. 32:47 “We would not exchange the past five months for anything! 32:52 “We sincerely thank the Governing Body for arranging 32:55 “for us to benefit from this magnificent spiritual education, 33:00 “and we assure you that we will do all we can 33:03 “to use these treasures to build up others. 33:07 Your brothers and sisters, the 144th class of Gilead.” 33:39 Well, what more can we add? 33:43 All we can say is that we love you, 33:46 and we pray Jehovah’s rich blessing upon you, 33:49 and may this school of Gilead 33:52 continue to serve as a symbol 33:56 of the peace and unity of Jehovah’s organization.
00:01 We go back to Wednesday, 00:05 June 23, 1943, 00:09 and the principal talk of the Gilead graduation 00:11 was delivered by Brother Knorr, 00:13 who spoke on the subject 00:15 “Work, Patience, and Faith.” 00:19 Don’t write that down because that’s not the theme 00:22 that we’re going to consider today. 00:24 But we have another member of the Governing Body, Brother Sam Herd, 00:27 and he’s going to speak on the intriguing theme 00:30 “Humbly Humble.” 00:39 If I should ask you, Are you humble students? 00:42 and you say yes, then you’re not humble. 00:48 But you look humble. 00:54 It’s been a good program up until now. 00:56 We’ll see what follows. 01:03 We all know that we must be humble 01:06 through and through. 01:08 This is something that Jehovah requires of all his servants 01:12 —not proud to be humble, 01:15 but humbly humble. 01:18 That’s what pleases God. 01:20 So that’s what we’re going to talk about. 01:23 But what do we mean by humble? 01:25 Well, it’s lowliness of mind. 01:28 Certainly, it’s not pompous 01:31 —filled to the gills with self-importance. 01:34 Jehovah says at Proverbs 8:13: 01:36 “I hate self-exaltation and pride.” 01:42 So we want to let that sink into our hearts. 01:45 Pride is something that Jehovah hates, 01:49 but he is pleased with those who are humble. 01:53 Now, you’ve increased your spiritual knowledge 01:56 while attending Gilead School, 01:59 but you have not scratched the surface 02:02 of what you will know in the future. 02:06 Your understanding of many things has been sharpened 02:09 in these few months that you’ve been here, 02:12 and now you are eager to tell others about what you’ve learned. 02:16 And there’s certainly nothing wrong with that; 02:18 we can say it’s good. 02:21 But here’s a caution: 02:24 Be careful; 02:28 be extremely careful 02:33 not to become a show-off, 02:37 standing head and shoulders above your brothers and sisters 02:42 in your branches or in your congregations. 02:47 Don’t toot your horn. 02:51 “Get someone else to blow your horn 02:53 and the sound will carry twice as far,” 02:56 said Will Rogers. 02:59 Better yet, consider what Jehovah inspired 03:03 to be written at Proverbs 27:2: 03:08 “Let someone else praise you, 03:11 “and not your own mouth; 03:14 others, and not your own lips.” 03:19 Now, while it may be true 03:21 that they may not know as much as you, 03:26 what they do know will carry them 03:29 through the end of this system of things 03:32 into the new world. 03:34 Jehovah loves them just as much as he loves you. 03:39 Now, I heard an experience years ago 03:41 about a Bible student who was just starting to study. 03:45 He knows a few things and loves the truth, 03:48 as much as he knows. 03:50 Then he comes down sick unto death, 03:54 and the doctor at the hospital says, “You must have a blood transfusion.” 03:58 But he knows enough, “No blood for me, no blood transfusion.” 04:02 His family is not in the truth, “Take that blood, Boy!” 04:05 “No. No blood for me.” 04:07 Others try to get him to take blood. 04:09 “No blood for me.” 04:11 And so the doctor operates and is successful; 04:14 everyone is happy. 04:17 Then his teacher 04:21 and others in the congregation 04:24 are invited to the hospital. 04:27 He has something to say. 04:29 What is it? 04:31 After they gather around his bed, 04:34 they’re thinking that something has gone wrong. 04:37 He’s going to have to take blood, and he’s willing to do it, 04:40 when he says, “Why is it that we don’t take blood?” 04:49 Now, he does not know 04:52 that the Gentile Times ended in 1914; 04:57 he doesn’t know the difference between sovereignty 05:01 and all the other things that people talk about today. 05:06 But he knows the truth 05:09 —just a little bit of the truth. 05:12 He’s not concerned with the vindication of God’s name 05:16 and his sovereignty —the rightfulness of God’s rule. 05:21 He doesn’t know that much, 05:23 but he knows enough that when his life is on the line, 05:27 he’d rather die than break God’s law, 05:30 even if he can’t explain that law. 05:35 Now, why say all that? 05:37 It’s not how much we know that pleases Jehovah, 05:40 but how we feel about what we know 05:43 and how we have allowed that knowledge 05:46 to increase our love for Jehovah. 05:49 Now, I’m going to invite you to open your Bibles, Bible students 05:53 —Gilead students. 05:55 Let’s turn to Romans. 05:59 We’re going to read the 12th chapter. 06:04 We’re going to read a couple of verses. 06:06 Where are they found? 06:07 Well, verse 3 starts us off. 06:10 It says: “For through the undeserved kindness given to me, 06:14 “I tell everyone there among you not to think more of himself 06:18 “than it is necessary to think, 06:21 “but to think so as to have a sound mind, 06:25 “each one as God has given to him 06:28 a measure of faith.” 06:31 There it is. 06:33 We can’t get too stuck on ourselves 06:37 and how much we know. 06:39 That’s not what Jehovah wants out of us. 06:43 Now look at verse 16: 06:46 “Have the same attitude toward others as toward yourselves; 06:50 “do not set your mind on lofty things, 06:53 “but be led along with the lowly things. 06:56 Do not become wise in your own eyes.” 07:02 That’s good counsel isn’t it, Gilead students? 07:05 Excellent counsel. 07:07 But, you know, sometimes we need a little more than a couple of verses 07:12 for it to reach the heart. 07:16 We need to know a few more things. 07:20 Knowledge has been given to us 07:25 in great abundance these few months 07:27 that we’ve been here at Gilead School, 07:30 and we’ve just loved it. 07:33 But at 1 Corinthians 8:1, 07:35 it tells us something that we want to think seriously about. 07:38 It says: “We know we all have knowledge.” 07:41 Now, here it’s coming: 07:43 “Knowledge puffs up, but love builds up.” 07:48 Now, you’ve got a lot of knowledge, 07:50 so be careful that it does not puff you up 07:54 so that you stand head and shoulders higher 07:58 than your brothers and sisters in the congregation. 08:02 Jehovah loves them just as much as he loves you, 08:06 who have this advanced knowledge now 08:08 because of your schooling. 08:11 Be as humble as a little child, 08:16 and Jesus tells us a little bit about that in Matthew chapter 18. 08:21 This is what he said in verses 3 and 4: 08:23 “Truly I say to you, unless you turn around 08:25 “and become as young children, 08:27 “you will by no means enter into the Kingdom of the heavens. 08:31 “Therefore, whoever will humble himself 08:34 “like this young child 08:36 “is the one who is the greatest 08:39 in the Kingdom of the heavens.” 08:42 So we say, humbly be humble. 08:48 Jehovah God, the Most High, 08:50 the Universal Sovereign, “the King of eternity,” is humble. 08:55 This is what King David said of him 08:59 in Psalm 18, 09:01 ‘Your own humility will make me great.’ 09:06 And it’s God’s humility that makes us great too. 09:11 If Jehovah were not humble, we would not be here. 09:15 Not one of mankind would be alive. 09:20 He’s humble, and He has a right to expect humility 09:24 out of each and every one of us. 09:28 And we need to help each other to be humble 09:33 —not glorify a human. 09:39 So we say this because sometimes some of our brothers and sisters 09:44 look at us —as members of the Governing Body— 09:46 as if we’re already angels, 09:48 and all you have to do is ask our wives if we’re angels. 09:52 You’ll get a true story. 09:55 We’re not. 09:56 We’re just sinners like all the rest of you. 09:59 So don’t elevate us 10:01 above where we are or what we are. 10:04 If we want to elevate anything, elevate Jehovah. 10:08 Now, that doesn’t mean that we feel 10:12 that you have wronged us in some way. 10:14 No, you haven’t. 10:16 You’re just human. 10:17 And as humans, we’re filled with sin 10:20 and we get carried away. 10:22 But help us to be humble, too, 10:27 rather than elevating us. 10:31 The Bible tells us of Jehovah: 10:33 “He stoops down to look on heaven and earth” 10:36 —Psalm 113:6. 10:38 What does that mean? 10:39 Well, he unbends; 10:41 he waives the privilege of rank. 10:46 Jehovah does that. 10:48 So he’s teaching us to waive the privilege of rank. 10:53 We’re all brothers; that’s all we are. 10:57 We don’t measure up as tall as Jesus, we just try to. 11:01 We try to dog his steps as best we can. 11:06 Follow the example of Jehovah. 11:08 He allowed Abraham to question His righteousness 11:11 in purposing to destroy the wicked cities of Sodom and Gomorrah. 11:15 In Genesis chapter 18, 11:17 Abraham says, ‘If there are 50 righteous men, 11:21 are you still going to destroy everything?’ 11:23 He says, ‘No, I will not.’ 11:25 Then Abraham comes back, ‘45?’ 11:27 He says, ‘No, I will not destroy them.’ 11:29 ‘40?’ 11:29 ‘No, I will not.’ 11:31 ‘30?’ 11:31 ‘No.’ 11:32 ‘20?’ 11:33 ‘No.’ 11:33 ‘10?’ 11:34 ‘No.’ 11:36 OK, Abraham, that’s enough; close your mouth. 11:41 Now, I added that. 11:44 Do you know what the Bible really says? 11:46 It says: “When Jehovah finished speaking to Abraham, 11:48 he went his way” 11:51 —still humble. 11:53 On a couple of occasions He allowed Moses to reason with Him 11:57 as if He was another human. 12:01 It took humility for Him to grant Moses’ pleas, but He did. 12:07 Now, what about Jesus? Was he humble? 12:10 Well, let’s take a look 12:12 at Philippians 2:5-8. 12:17 Can we do that? 12:18 Philippians 2:5-8. 12:22 Now, we understand that some of you 12:25 do not have your iPad or your Bible, 12:29 but that’s all right. 12:32 You’ll have time to get it later. 12:34 Now, here in the second chapter, 12:39 we’re able to read starting with verse 5. 12:44 It says: “Keep this mental attitude in you 12:47 “that was also in Christ Jesus, 12:49 “who, although he was existing in God’s form, 12:52 “gave no consideration to a seizure, 12:54 “namely, that he should be equal to God. 12:56 “No, but he emptied himself and took a slave’s form 13:00 “and became human. 13:03 “More than that, when he came as a man, 13:08 “he humbled himself and became obedient to the point of death, 13:13 yes, death on a torture stake.” 13:17 So, yes, Jesus was humble, 13:21 and Jesus washed the feet 13:24 —the dirty feet— of his apostles 13:27 to show them how to be humble. 13:30 That was a job that a servant should have done, or a slave’s job. 13:35 He lowered himself in front of them. 13:38 Perhaps he was on his knees when he washed their feet 13:42 —John 13. 13:43 Now, why would I say that? 13:44 Well, I saw a picture— 13:47 I saw a picture 13:50 in the office building in Warwick, 13:55 a beautiful picture. 13:57 Jesus is washing the feet of his apostles. 14:00 And where is he at? 14:02 He’s on his knees. 14:03 Now, the Bible doesn’t say he was on his— 14:05 I looked that up; 14:06 it didn’t say that in John the 13th chapter. 14:08 But, how are you going to wash feet if you don’t get down toward the feet? 14:13 So there he was —on his knees— 14:17 teaching them a lesson. 14:19 The apostle Paul set a fine example of humility. 14:22 He called himself ‘a slave of Jesus Christ’ 14:25 —Philippians 1:1. 14:28 Now, if he had not been humble, 14:31 he would not have written these words that I’m about to read: 14:35 “For I know that in me, that is, in my flesh, 14:38 “there dwells nothing good; 14:40 “for I have the desire to do what is fine 14:42 “but not the ability to carry it out. 14:45 “For I do not do the good that I wish, 14:48 “but the bad that I do not wish 14:50 is what I practice” 14:52 —Romans 7. 14:55 And he was given a supernatural vision, 14:58 or visions, I should say, and revelations. 15:02 He was used mightily by Jehovah God. 15:05 At Acts 19:11-16, 15:10 we’re able to see that. 15:12 It says: “And God kept performing extraordinary powerful works 15:16 “through the hands of Paul, 15:21 “so that even cloths and aprons that had touched his body 15:25 “were carried to the sick, 15:27 “and the diseases left them, 15:29 “and the wicked spirits came out. 15:31 “But some of the Jews who traveled around casting out demons 15:35 “also tried to use the name of the Lord Jesus 15:40 “over those who had wicked spirits; 15:43 “they would say: ‘I solemnly charge you 15:46 “by Jesus whom Paul preaches.’ 15:49 “Now there were seven sons 15:52 “of a Jewish chief priest named Sceva doing this. 15:56 “But in answer the wicked spirit said to them: 16:00 “‘I know Jesus and I am acquainted with Paul; 16:03 “but who are you?’ 16:06 “At that the man with the wicked spirit leaped on them, 16:10 “overpowered them one after the other, 16:13 “and prevailed against them, 16:15 “so that they fled naked and wounded 16:19 out of that house.” 16:22 Evidently, they were not humbly humble 16:26 for Jesus to let them use his name to cast out the wicked spirits. 16:31 Paul was inspired to write 14 of the 27 books 16:36 of the Christian Greek Scriptures. 16:38 Now, he did not get bigheaded, but he stayed humble. 16:46 He’s not the only humble soul. 16:48 Here’s another one: Nathan H. Knorr, 16:51 the third president of the Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society, 16:55 wants to visit a member of the Writing Department 16:58 in the member’s office. 17:00 And he stated, that is, Brother Knorr stated, 17:04 this—the member’s office— 17:07 this is where “the most important 17:09 “as well as the most difficult work takes place. 17:13 That’s why I do so little of it.” 17:17 Isn’t that beautiful? 17:20 That’s a humble statement. 17:22 You know what I say behind it? I say “Amen” to it. 17:25 I’m on the Writing Committee of the Governing Body 17:29 for some unknown reason. 17:33 I can’t write, 17:35 not a lick, 17:38 but there I am. 17:40 The humility shown by Brother Knorr 17:43 made me think back in time 17:45 to when a group of traveling overseers 17:47 were attending school in Crownsville, Maryland. 17:49 Brother Ted Jaracz was one of the instructors, 17:52 and he got up early one morning 17:54 and prepared a hot breakfast for all of us. 17:56 He did that on his own. 17:59 I was one of the instructors, 18:01 but it didn’t cross my mind to do a thing like that. 18:05 Maybe I wasn’t humbly humble, 18:08 or if I was, I didn’t show it. 18:16 I can’t cook either, 18:18 not a lick. 18:23 What does it take to be exalted? 18:26 Let’s let the Bible answer at Luke 14:11: 18:29 “For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, 18:32 and whoever humbles himself will be exalted.” 18:35 What does it take? 18:37 It takes humility. 18:39 Don’t learn that others are superior 18:42 the hard way. 18:44 Take a lesson from my old hound dog named Booser. 18:50 Sometimes he would follow us to town. 18:55 And one day, we passed a home 18:59 where usually there was a little dog that lived there, 19:02 but he had died. 19:04 And something caught Booser’s nose, 19:07 and so Booser was sniffing around, sniffing around. 19:09 And he went over near the house, 19:11 and a big Dalmatian came charging around the side of the house, 19:15 and he attacked Booser. 19:17 Booser put up a fight, 19:19 but he lost, 19:22 and the Dalmatian won. 19:25 Booser tucked his tail between his legs, 19:28 and he darted out of there like a streak of lightning. 19:32 Well, a couple of weeks later, 19:34 Booser wanted to go to town with us again—walking. 19:37 But we noticed that when we got to the Dalmatian’s house, 19:40 Booser was gone. 19:42 Booser took a long trip around the house 19:46 and met us downtown. 19:52 We’re about to wrap this up. 19:59 He was humbly humble. 20:03 He viewed the Dalmatian as superior. 20:07 Now, students, do you get the point of Booser’s example? 20:12 View others as superior. 20:15 They probably are. 20:38 That was a fantastic talk 20:41 —and I assure you, Sam is a very humble person. 20:46 He just can’t cook. 20:52 Well, we have a few announcements for you. 20:57 First of all, you’ll be interested in the attendance. 21:01 In Canada, there are 902. 21:06 And here in the United States, 9,702 21:10 for a total of 10,604. 21:15 Now, of course, we know that with the streaming many, 21:18 many more are going to be looking in on the program later. 21:23 So it’s going to be a lot more than 10,000. 21:26 Now, we’ve had some beautiful expressions 21:30 from the branches —greetings to our students. 21:34 We don’t have time to read all of them. 21:37 They will go in the archives of the Teaching Committee. 21:40 If I can’t read all of them, 21:42 I don’t want to read just one or two. 21:45 But here are the countries that are represented 21:48 that have sent beautiful expressions to us: 21:50 Angola, Argentina, 21:53 Belgium, Bolivia, Brazil, 21:57 Britain, Bulgaria, Burundi, Canada, 22:01 Finland, France, Georgia, 22:05 Ghana, Haiti, Hong Kong, Italy, 22:09 Japan, Kazakhstan, Korea, 22:13 Madagascar, Mozambique, 22:16 Netherlands, Nigeria, 22:18 Papua New Guinea, Portugal, 22:21 Sierra Leone, Thailand, and Ukraine. 22:26 And that’s just about the end of the alphabet. 22:28 So we appreciate all of these greetings 22:31 —beautiful expressions of appreciation 22:34 from the folks in these branches. 22:38 Well, we go back to 1943, 22:42 and following the principal talk, what happened? 22:46 Here’s what we read —here’s the report: 22:49 ‘A large case containing the diplomas 22:53 ‘was opened and put on the podium table. 22:56 ‘One by one all the students were called 22:59 to come forward to receive their diplomas.’ 23:02 Well, we’re going to follow that pattern right now; 23:06 that pattern established 75 years ago. 23:09 And I’m very happy to have Brother David Schafer with me. 23:13 If you were present for the introductions of the class, 23:16 you know what a beautiful job David did with all the names of the students. 23:21 And so, behold 23:23 the 144th class of Gilead. 23:29 And first, we have Brother and Sister Abou 23:31 who will be returning to the Middle East. 23:41 Brother and Sister Aloi will be serving in the Middle East. 23:52 Brother and Sister Arruda will be returning to Brazil. 24:02 Brother and Sister Bascopé will be returning to Bolivia. 24:12 Brother Buchan will be returning to Britain. 24:20 Brother and Sister Chilton will be serving in South Africa. 24:32 Sister Choatkaew will be returning to Thailand. 24:42 Brother and Sister de Rooij will be returning to the Netherlands. 24:51 Brother and Sister Esabunor will be returning to Nigeria. 25:02 Brother and Sister Guillén will be returning to Venezuela. 25:13 Brother Juhtver will be returning to Estonia. 25:22 Brother and Sister Kelly will be returning to Hong Kong. 25:31 Brother Lartey will be returning to Ghana. 25:40 Brother and Sister Menjou will be returning to Britain. 25:50 Brother and Sister Miçani will be returning to Albania. 25:59 Sister Nguyễn will be returning to Asia. 26:08 Sister Ningi will be returning to Papua New Guinea. 26:17 Brother Nkurunziza will be returning to Burundi. 26:26 Brother Ouédraogo will be returning to Benin. 26:34 Brother and Sister Pétursson will be returning to Denmark. 26:44 Brother and Sister Sandy will be returning to Sierra Leone. 26:56 Brother and Sister Santos will be returning to Portugal. 27:06 Brother Scarmato will be returning to Argentina. 27:15 Brother and Sister Stepanov will be returning to Azerbaijan. 27:25 Brother Tito will be returning to Mozambique. 27:33 Brother Tugushi will be returning to Georgia. 27:42 Brother Voyevodin will be returning to Asia. 27:49 Brother and Sister Wembalola will be serving in Madagascar. 27:59 And Sister Wójcik will be returning to Poland. 28:25 And here they are. 28:46 Let’s go back to 1943. 28:51 Once all the diplomas were handed out, what happened? 28:54 Well, the report tells us that a representative of the class 28:58 read a statement expressing the students’ appreciation 29:01 for the privilege of attending Gilead 29:03 and assuring the Governing Body of their loyalty 29:06 to Jehovah and his organization. 29:09 We’re going to follow the same pattern today, 29:12 and Brother Richard Chilton is going to read 29:14 a class letter on behalf of the class. 29:24 “To the Governing Body. 29:26 “Dear Brothers: 29:29 “Few things in life bring greater satisfaction 29:32 “than meaningful discussions on spiritual topics with dear friends. 29:37 “Over the last five months, 29:39 “we have enjoyed the blessing 29:41 “of being immersed in such discussions on a daily basis. 29:45 “As we studied the Bible book by book, 29:49 “the examples of faithful men and women of the past 29:53 “came to life and touched our hearts in new ways. 29:57 “Reliving the modern-day history of Jehovah's organization, 30:01 “we marveled at the faith, 30:03 “courage, and self-sacrifice 30:06 “of those who have gone before us. 30:09 “Our skills in the ministry were refined through workshops, 30:13 “and our desire to share in the preaching work intensified. 30:18 “As the weeks passed, 30:20 “fellow students became our close friends. 30:25 “Now, as the class has come to an end, 30:29 “tears come to our eyes as we think about parting ways, 30:33 “but we will treasure the memories 30:35 “of the stimulating ‘interchange of encouragement’ 30:38 “with our new group of friends. 30:41 “And what a blessing to be guided by mature, devoted instructors 30:46 “who combined ‘spiritual matters with spiritual words.’ 30:50 “We are grateful for their loving support as they nurtured our spiritual growth, 30:55 “and we will never forget their example of zeal for God’s Word. 31:00 “Getting to know the Bethel family has been a real delight 31:05 “—young people who expend themselves energetically 31:08 “in the service of the God they love 31:10 “and older ones who display the wisdom 31:13 “that comes with decades of experience 31:15 “in applying Christian principles. 31:17 “Their kindness, friendship, 31:20 “and hospitality have touched our hearts. 31:24 “Sometimes we think we know our friends well, 31:27 “but our appreciation for them is enhanced 31:30 “as we find out more about good deeds they have done in the past. 31:34 “This has been the case in our relationship with our God. 31:39 “Jehovah constantly surprises and delights us. 31:44 “As we reflect on all that he is 31:47 “and all that he has done, 31:49 “we feel moved to praise his beautiful name. 31:54 “While this school has far exceeded our expectations, 31:59 “it has also left us longing for more. 32:02 “We are resolved to continue our program 32:05 “of meaningful personal study. 32:08 “As Moses said at Deuteronomy 30:11: 32:12 “‘This commandment . . . is not . . . beyond your reach. 32:17 “It is not in the heavens, . . . nor . . . on the other side of the sea.’ 32:22 “In any situation, we know we will always find 32:26 “an illuminating Scriptural principle, 32:29 “an encouraging thought, or an informative article 32:32 “to help us to do what is right. 32:35 “Our Gilead course may be over, 32:37 “but we are left with an even greater appreciation 32:40 “for the wealth of spiritual food in our publications 32:44 “which remains to be explored. 32:47 “We would not exchange the past five months for anything! 32:52 “We sincerely thank the Governing Body for arranging 32:55 “for us to benefit from this magnificent spiritual education, 33:00 “and we assure you that we will do all we can 33:03 “to use these treasures to build up others. 33:07 Your brothers and sisters, the 144th class of Gilead.” 33:39 Well, what more can we add? 33:43 All we can say is that we love you, 33:46 and we pray Jehovah’s rich blessing upon you, 33:49 and may this school of Gilead 33:52 continue to serve as a symbol 33:56 of the peace and unity of Jehovah’s organization.
