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- Anthony Morris III: A Proper View of Discipline Keeps Us Close to Jehovah (Jer. 30:11)
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00:01 This morning I thought I’d discuss the matter 00:03 of how a proper view of discipline 00:06 keeps us close to Jehovah. 00:09 Now, in the context of today’s text 00:11 about Jehovah correcting 00:12 to the proper degree, 00:14 he’s talking to his people about being brought back to their land. 00:19 He was not going to exterminate them or leave them, 00:23 and it helps us to appreciate that he wanted them 00:26 to keep their relationship with him. 00:29 Now, today we receive discipline in various ways. 00:34 It might be from personal Bible study. 00:37 And I was excited this morning 00:39 (I don’t know when it happened, maybe last night) 00:42 to see that we have in JW Library® 00:44 where we can put our personal notes, 00:46 and I got started with some already. 00:49 So that’ll be like thoughts or discipline from Jehovah 00:53 that is just between him and ourselves 00:56 —a very beneficial and wise way to go when it comes to discipline. 01:00 It keeps us from veering off in our relationship with him. 01:04 It might be something we read in a publication; 01:07 might hear in a talk at a meeting, at an assembly, 01:10 or convention; something in a JW Broadcast 01:14 —various ways, any number of ways Jehovah will discipline us. 01:19 And we need to remember 01:21 that he does it so that we remain close to him. 01:25 The problem is discipline is not easy to take. 01:29 It requires humility. 01:31 And the proper view of discipline is found here in Proverbs chapter 3, 01:37 and this gives us the Scriptural basis 01:41 to have this proper view of discipline 01:43 that’ll keep us close to Jehovah God. 01:47 Now, notice verses 11 and 12 of Proverbs chapter 3: 01:52 “My son, do not reject the discipline of Jehovah, 01:56 “and do not loathe his reproof, 01:58 “for those whom Jehovah loves he reproves, 02:02 just as a father does a son in whom he delights.” 02:06 So how might we reject the discipline of Jehovah? 02:11 Well, put yourself in a position of being counseled. 02:15 It’s come to the point where overseers and elders 02:18 have had to sit down with you. 02:21 Now, for some, as soon as the counsel begins to flow, 02:24 there’s this quickness to be upset, 02:28 to justify, to feel picked on. 02:32 Well, Jehovah is saying, ‘Don’t reject this.’ 02:35 If they’re using the Scriptures and thoughts from publications, 02:39 view it as coming from Jehovah so that we can stay close to him. 02:44 Now, to give you an idea, 02:47 sometimes reading something will bring us close to Jehovah, 02:52 especially if we veered off and didn’t even realize it. 02:55 I’m going to go way back to some examples 02:59 of Jehovah’s sheep reading something in The Watchtower, 03:03 and it just disciplined them so that they could get close to Jehovah. 03:08 And it goes way back to 1982, 03:10 and it had to do with TV serials, or soap operas. 03:14 Some are saying, “Well, that’s a long time ago.” 03:18 Well, the fact is nothing has changed. 03:21 Some of these soap operas are still on that had the name 03:24 that they had in 1982. 03:26 They still have it. 03:28 So many readers personally benefited from the counsel. 03:32 The counsel still applies that was found there. 03:35 But I think it’s very touching and commendable 03:38 for the ones who read that that they recognized it. 03:42 It impacted their relationship with Jehovah, 03:44 and they wanted to get close to him. 03:46 Now, the cover on The Watchtower was 03:50 “TV Serials—Can They Corrupt the Heart?” 03:52 And in the opening article, we did say: 03:56 “Millions of women and men of all ages, 04:00 races and backgrounds will rarely miss a show.” 04:03 Well, now you can record them and have them anytime that you like. 04:08 It’s still an ongoing problem and an issue for a true Christian, 04:12 a worshipper of Jehovah, to make sure we’re not being corrupted 04:17 by soap operas, or TV serials. 04:20 Now, after the articles came out, 04:23 we had some write in to explain what happened to them. 04:27 And so months later, after this 1982 issue of The Watchtower 04:32 (that was December 1), 04:35 we went to the ’83 Watchtower, December 1, 04:38 and here’s the response from some of the readers. 04:41 And I found it very commendable. 04:43 I think you’ll appreciate the humility because it takes humility 04:47 to accept and have the proper view of discipline. 04:50 So one of the dangers 04:53 that the brothers were warned about is that 04:56 you can get emotionally attached to the characters in the show. 05:00 So here’s what one wrote: 05:03 “I had grown up watching this one soap opera 05:05 “and the character ‘Julie’ was just like my ‘friend.’ . . . 05:10 “One day ‘Julie’ had an accident 05:12 “that left her beautiful face badly scarred . . . 05:16 “I was in front of the TV set every day 05:19 “to make sure she was going to pull through. 05:22 “That night as I was saying my prayers, 05:26 “before I even thought what I was saying, 05:28 I prayed, ‘And Jehovah, please bless Julie.’” 05:35 Well, she admits: “‘I was shocked. 05:37 “‘[She should’ve been.] 05:40 “‘This plea to Jehovah for Julie had come from my heart!’ 05:45 “Realizing how involved she had become, 05:48 “she stopped watching these programs. 05:50 “She wrote: ‘If all readers 05:52 “‘will take your article on TV serials to heart, 05:56 “‘they will feel a real sense of freedom, 05:59 since our own everyday problems are enough to cope with.’” 06:03 So, you see, our sister had the proper view of discipline, 06:07 and she was able to keep close to Jehovah. 06:11 Now, another one, after expressing appreciation, wrote: 06:15 “I realized that I was ‘addicted’ to soap operas, 06:18 “and that I had to do something about it. 06:20 “I wondered, too, if my relationship with Jehovah could be affected. 06:25 “How could I have ‘them’ as friends 06:28 “and also be a friend to Jehovah? 06:30 “I had to quit all at once 06:32 —it was the only way, and how hard it was!” she admits. 06:36 So, what did she have to do to break free? 06:39 She had to unplug her TV. 06:41 She’d go outdoors and work in the garden, call somebody 06:45 —anything to stay busy so that she wouldn’t go back 06:48 to watching those soap operas. 06:51 She took time for personal Bible study 06:53 —that’ll keep you close to Jehovah— 06:55 preparing for her meetings, and other spiritual things. 06:59 And then she confesses: “How much better I felt! 07:03 “It has been over two years now [from this last writing] 07:07 “since I have seen those so-called friends. 07:10 “I must admit that at times I still wonder 07:12 “what is going on with them, but I fight it. . . . 07:16 Perhaps many others who have not yet broken free will now.” 07:20 She says: ‘Thank you, Jehovah and you brothers, 07:25 for exposing this “good-for-nothing thing.”’ 07:28 Then, finally, this third one says: 07:31 “I cried when I read the articles, 07:34 “for I discovered that my heart was no longer complete toward Jehovah. 07:39 “I promised my God 07:40 “that I would no longer be a slave to these serials 07:43 “and asked him to help me to get out of my home 07:46 “on the day of the program. . . . 07:49 “Two days later, I was invited to attend a Bible study 07:52 “on the very day and time of ‘my’ serial. 07:56 “I happily accepted. . . . 07:58 “[and notice] I now feel closer to Jehovah, 08:02 “and my relationship with him is more intimate. 08:05 How good Jehovah is to discipline us through his Word!” 08:09 Yes, she had the proper view of discipline. 08:13 Now, finally, let’s look in Hebrews chapter 12, 08:19 and we appreciate these sincere comments 08:22 and the counsel there certainly applies. 08:25 Any kind of entertainment 08:27 that has that corrupting influence 08:30 would be avoided by a true Christian. 08:34 So here at Hebrews chapter 12, 08:37 notice verse 11: 08:39 “True, no discipline seems for the present to be joyous, 08:43 “but it is painful; 08:45 “yet afterward, it yields the peaceable fruit of righteousness 08:49 to those who have been trained by it.” 08:51 So discipline is painful, 08:54 but “the peaceable fruit of righteousness” 08:56 makes it worth it to have a proper view of the discipline 09:01 and to accept it humbly 09:03 so that we can remain close to our precious Father, Jehovah.
00:01 This morning I thought I’d discuss the matter 00:03 of how a proper view of discipline 00:06 keeps us close to Jehovah. 00:09 Now, in the context of today’s text 00:11 about Jehovah correcting 00:12 to the proper degree, 00:14 he’s talking to his people about being brought back to their land. 00:19 He was not going to exterminate them or leave them, 00:23 and it helps us to appreciate that he wanted them 00:26 to keep their relationship with him. 00:29 Now, today we receive discipline in various ways. 00:34 It might be from personal Bible study. 00:37 And I was excited this morning 00:39 (I don’t know when it happened, maybe last night) 00:42 to see that we have in JW Library® 00:44 where we can put our personal notes, 00:46 and I got started with some already. 00:49 So that’ll be like thoughts or discipline from Jehovah 00:53 that is just between him and ourselves 00:56 —a very beneficial and wise way to go when it comes to discipline. 01:00 It keeps us from veering off in our relationship with him. 01:04 It might be something we read in a publication; 01:07 might hear in a talk at a meeting, at an assembly, 01:10 or convention; something in a JW Broadcast 01:14 —various ways, any number of ways Jehovah will discipline us. 01:19 And we need to remember 01:21 that he does it so that we remain close to him. 01:25 The problem is discipline is not easy to take. 01:29 It requires humility. 01:31 And the proper view of discipline is found here in Proverbs chapter 3, 01:37 and this gives us the Scriptural basis 01:41 to have this proper view of discipline 01:43 that’ll keep us close to Jehovah God. 01:47 Now, notice verses 11 and 12 of Proverbs chapter 3: 01:52 “My son, do not reject the discipline of Jehovah, 01:56 “and do not loathe his reproof, 01:58 “for those whom Jehovah loves he reproves, 02:02 just as a father does a son in whom he delights.” 02:06 So how might we reject the discipline of Jehovah? 02:11 Well, put yourself in a position of being counseled. 02:15 It’s come to the point where overseers and elders 02:18 have had to sit down with you. 02:21 Now, for some, as soon as the counsel begins to flow, 02:24 there’s this quickness to be upset, 02:28 to justify, to feel picked on. 02:32 Well, Jehovah is saying, ‘Don’t reject this.’ 02:35 If they’re using the Scriptures and thoughts from publications, 02:39 view it as coming from Jehovah so that we can stay close to him. 02:44 Now, to give you an idea, 02:47 sometimes reading something will bring us close to Jehovah, 02:52 especially if we veered off and didn’t even realize it. 02:55 I’m going to go way back to some examples 02:59 of Jehovah’s sheep reading something in The Watchtower, 03:03 and it just disciplined them so that they could get close to Jehovah. 03:08 And it goes way back to 1982, 03:10 and it had to do with TV serials, or soap operas. 03:14 Some are saying, “Well, that’s a long time ago.” 03:18 Well, the fact is nothing has changed. 03:21 Some of these soap operas are still on that had the name 03:24 that they had in 1982. 03:26 They still have it. 03:28 So many readers personally benefited from the counsel. 03:32 The counsel still applies that was found there. 03:35 But I think it’s very touching and commendable 03:38 for the ones who read that that they recognized it. 03:42 It impacted their relationship with Jehovah, 03:44 and they wanted to get close to him. 03:46 Now, the cover on The Watchtower was 03:50 “TV Serials—Can They Corrupt the Heart?” 03:52 And in the opening article, we did say: 03:56 “Millions of women and men of all ages, 04:00 races and backgrounds will rarely miss a show.” 04:03 Well, now you can record them and have them anytime that you like. 04:08 It’s still an ongoing problem and an issue for a true Christian, 04:12 a worshipper of Jehovah, to make sure we’re not being corrupted 04:17 by soap operas, or TV serials. 04:20 Now, after the articles came out, 04:23 we had some write in to explain what happened to them. 04:27 And so months later, after this 1982 issue of The Watchtower 04:32 (that was December 1), 04:35 we went to the ’83 Watchtower, December 1, 04:38 and here’s the response from some of the readers. 04:41 And I found it very commendable. 04:43 I think you’ll appreciate the humility because it takes humility 04:47 to accept and have the proper view of discipline. 04:50 So one of the dangers 04:53 that the brothers were warned about is that 04:56 you can get emotionally attached to the characters in the show. 05:00 So here’s what one wrote: 05:03 “I had grown up watching this one soap opera 05:05 “and the character ‘Julie’ was just like my ‘friend.’ . . . 05:10 “One day ‘Julie’ had an accident 05:12 “that left her beautiful face badly scarred . . . 05:16 “I was in front of the TV set every day 05:19 “to make sure she was going to pull through. 05:22 “That night as I was saying my prayers, 05:26 “before I even thought what I was saying, 05:28 I prayed, ‘And Jehovah, please bless Julie.’” 05:35 Well, she admits: “‘I was shocked. 05:37 “‘[She should’ve been.] 05:40 “‘This plea to Jehovah for Julie had come from my heart!’ 05:45 “Realizing how involved she had become, 05:48 “she stopped watching these programs. 05:50 “She wrote: ‘If all readers 05:52 “‘will take your article on TV serials to heart, 05:56 “‘they will feel a real sense of freedom, 05:59 since our own everyday problems are enough to cope with.’” 06:03 So, you see, our sister had the proper view of discipline, 06:07 and she was able to keep close to Jehovah. 06:11 Now, another one, after expressing appreciation, wrote: 06:15 “I realized that I was ‘addicted’ to soap operas, 06:18 “and that I had to do something about it. 06:20 “I wondered, too, if my relationship with Jehovah could be affected. 06:25 “How could I have ‘them’ as friends 06:28 “and also be a friend to Jehovah? 06:30 “I had to quit all at once 06:32 —it was the only way, and how hard it was!” she admits. 06:36 So, what did she have to do to break free? 06:39 She had to unplug her TV. 06:41 She’d go outdoors and work in the garden, call somebody 06:45 —anything to stay busy so that she wouldn’t go back 06:48 to watching those soap operas. 06:51 She took time for personal Bible study 06:53 —that’ll keep you close to Jehovah— 06:55 preparing for her meetings, and other spiritual things. 06:59 And then she confesses: “How much better I felt! 07:03 “It has been over two years now [from this last writing] 07:07 “since I have seen those so-called friends. 07:10 “I must admit that at times I still wonder 07:12 “what is going on with them, but I fight it. . . . 07:16 Perhaps many others who have not yet broken free will now.” 07:20 She says: ‘Thank you, Jehovah and you brothers, 07:25 for exposing this “good-for-nothing thing.”’ 07:28 Then, finally, this third one says: 07:31 “I cried when I read the articles, 07:34 “for I discovered that my heart was no longer complete toward Jehovah. 07:39 “I promised my God 07:40 “that I would no longer be a slave to these serials 07:43 “and asked him to help me to get out of my home 07:46 “on the day of the program. . . . 07:49 “Two days later, I was invited to attend a Bible study 07:52 “on the very day and time of ‘my’ serial. 07:56 “I happily accepted. . . . 07:58 “[and notice] I now feel closer to Jehovah, 08:02 “and my relationship with him is more intimate. 08:05 How good Jehovah is to discipline us through his Word!” 08:09 Yes, she had the proper view of discipline. 08:13 Now, finally, let’s look in Hebrews chapter 12, 08:19 and we appreciate these sincere comments 08:22 and the counsel there certainly applies. 08:25 Any kind of entertainment 08:27 that has that corrupting influence 08:30 would be avoided by a true Christian. 08:34 So here at Hebrews chapter 12, 08:37 notice verse 11: 08:39 “True, no discipline seems for the present to be joyous, 08:43 “but it is painful; 08:45 “yet afterward, it yields the peaceable fruit of righteousness 08:49 to those who have been trained by it.” 08:51 So discipline is painful, 08:54 but “the peaceable fruit of righteousness” 08:56 makes it worth it to have a proper view of the discipline 09:01 and to accept it humbly 09:03 so that we can remain close to our precious Father, Jehovah.
