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00:00:01 What do you need? 00:00:03 What do you want? 00:00:06 There’s a big difference between things 00:00:08 that are absolutely necessary 00:00:10 and things that we might enjoy 00:00:12 or things that would make our life 00:00:14 a little more comfortable, even though they’re not essential. 00:00:19 In 1956, a newspaper columnist made an interesting observation. 00:00:24 He estimated that 100 years earlier, in 1856, 00:00:28 man basically had 72 wants, 00:00:31 of which only 16 were necessities, 00:00:35 and men of that day were being urged by advertisers 00:00:38 to buy about 200 items. 00:00:41 But by 1956, 00:00:44 the number of wants had grown to 474, 00:00:48 of which 94 were viewed as necessities, 00:00:52 and men were being bombarded with ads 00:00:54 to buy about 32,000 articles. 00:00:58 The columnist’s conclusion: 00:01:01 Man’s necessities are few; 00:01:04 his wants, infinite. 00:01:07 Now, if he’d made the same estimates today, 00:01:10 I’m sure the figures would be a lot higher. 00:01:12 The commercial world constantly pressures us 00:01:15 not only to buy things but to view as necessities 00:01:20 things that should really be classified as wants. 00:01:24 Seeing the clear difference between our needs and our wants 00:01:29 is a key to avoiding the snare of materialism, 00:01:34 and we appreciate the frequent reminders 00:01:38 that we receive from “the faithful and discreet slave.” 00:01:41 These help us to have the proper view of material things. 00:01:45 For example, the text today is taken from an article 00:01:48 that had the very clear title “Seek the Kingdom, Not Things.” 00:01:53 And the theme scripture was Luke 12:31, where it says: 00:01:58 “Keep seeking his Kingdom, and these things will be added to you.” 00:02:04 It’s essential that we have faith in those words. 00:02:08 We fully trust that Jehovah is going to provide 00:02:12 for our physical needs 00:02:14 as long as we put his worship first in our lives. 00:02:18 There was a simple definition of materialism in the study article; 00:02:22 it’s found in paragraph 3. 00:02:24 Now, it didn’t say that materialism is having a large bank account, 00:02:27 living in a big house, or driving a fancy automobile. 00:02:31 Rather, it said: 00:02:33 ‘Materialism is the preoccupation 00:02:37 ‘with material things 00:02:39 rather than with spiritual riches.’ 00:02:42 So materialism really is a condition 00:02:46 of our mind and our heart. 00:02:49 So it’s good to ask ourselves: 00:02:51 ‘What am I constantly thinking about? 00:02:54 When I get together with my friends, what is the subject of our conversation?’ 00:02:59 As our commenters pointed out, 00:03:01 the spirit of materialism can infect anyone 00:03:04 —even pioneers, even Bethelites. 00:03:08 It infected Christians in the first century. 00:03:11 Please open your Bibles to Revelation chapter 3, 00:03:14 and we’ll notice here that apparently many in the congregation 00:03:18 had become contaminated by the materialistic environment 00:03:23 in the city of Laodicea. 00:03:25 And notice the strong counsel that Jesus gave 00:03:29 to those who were putting their trust in material riches. 00:03:34 Revelation 3:17 says: 00:03:37 “Because you say, 00:03:39 “‘I am rich and have acquired riches and do not need anything at all,’ 00:03:44 “but you do not know that you are miserable 00:03:48 and pitiful and poor and blind and naked.” 00:03:53 Now, were these Christians materially rich? 00:03:55 Yes. 00:03:57 But Jesus said they were in spiritual poverty. 00:04:00 Did they wear fine clothing? 00:04:02 No doubt. 00:04:04 But in Jesus’ eyes, they were naked, 00:04:10 so we can see that they were in a bad spiritual state. 00:04:15 Was there any cure for the Laodicean’s spiritual sickness? 00:04:19 Yes. 00:04:20 Look back at chapter 3 and the first part of verse 18. 00:04:23 Interestingly, Jesus told them that the remedy 00:04:27 for trusting in riches was to ‘buy gold.’ 00:04:31 But what kind of gold? 00:04:33 He said: “I advise you 00:04:35 “to buy from me gold refined by fire 00:04:40 so that you may become rich.” 00:04:42 Yes, spiritual riches are what are important. 00:04:47 Only spiritual treasures are lasting. 00:04:50 Material possessions are merely a means to an end. 00:04:53 We need them to keep on living, 00:04:55 and we need them to carry out our worship of Jehovah. 00:04:58 So we need to ask ourselves: 00:05:00 ‘What are my priorities? 00:05:03 Where is my focus?’ 00:05:06 Sally and I found ourselves asking these questions 00:05:09 during a recent branch visit. 00:05:11 We met brothers in countries 00:05:13 where the Kingdom work is under various degrees of restriction. 00:05:17 They have no witnessing carts. 00:05:19 They can’t offer literature door to door. 00:05:22 In one country, brothers can be arrested 00:05:24 and fined the equivalent of six weeks’ wages 00:05:28 just for witnessing in public. 00:05:31 In some places, police would confiscate your phone or your tablet 00:05:34 if they found that it contained the JW Library® app. 00:05:39 In another country, when police would find JW Library® on your device, 00:05:43 they would just erase the app 00:05:45 and then give the device back to the publisher. 00:05:48 But in spite of these obstacles and threats, 00:05:52 our brothers are finding true joy in serving Jehovah. 00:05:56 And you can imagine, it was inspiring 00:05:59 to be able to work with them during this time. 00:06:02 In one country, we met with circuit overseers 00:06:04 from three different language groups. 00:06:06 I asked them the question, “What do our brothers need most?” 00:06:11 In unison, they immediately replied, “Armageddon.” 00:06:19 That really put things in perspective for me. 00:06:22 These brothers are not preoccupied with material things. 00:06:27 For them, every day is a matter of spiritual survival. 00:06:33 Stay faithful, meet regularly, and preach informally 00:06:38 —these are the most important things, the things that really matter. 00:06:43 So how fitting is the reminder at Proverbs 11:4, where it says: 00:06:48 “Wealth will be of no benefit on the day of fury, 00:06:51 but righteousness is what will rescue from death”! 00:06:55 Yes, we may have some possessions that we view as very valuable. 00:06:59 We may treasure them. 00:07:01 Maybe it’s something we received as a family heirloom, 00:07:04 but we should not expect that any of our possessions, 00:07:07 regardless of how treasured or how valuable they may be, 00:07:11 will survive with us through the great tribulation. 00:07:15 Please open your Bibles to Jeremiah chapter 45. 00:07:20 We’re going to read verse 5, 00:07:22 and this scripture will help us to maintain the proper viewpoint 00:07:26 of material things. 00:07:28 These are words that were directed to Jeremiah’s secretary, Baruch. 00:07:33 Jeremiah 45:5 says: 00:07:35 “‘But you are seeking great things for yourself. 00:07:38 “‘Stop seeking such things. 00:07:41 “For I am about to bring a calamity on all flesh,’ 00:07:44 “declares Jehovah, 00:07:46 “‘and wherever you may go, 00:07:48 I will grant you your life as a spoil.’” 00:07:53 Whether these “great things” Baruch was seeking 00:07:55 were material possessions, we do not know. 00:07:59 What we do know is that when the great tribulation breaks out, 00:08:04 all of us will be grateful to come out of that tribulation 00:08:08 with our “life as a spoil.” 00:08:11 And whether we survive that great tribulation or not, 00:08:15 could very well depend on how we answer these two questions right now: 00:08:20 What do I want? 00:08:22 What do I need?
00:00:01 What do you need? 00:00:03 What do you want? 00:00:06 There’s a big difference between things 00:00:08 that are absolutely necessary 00:00:10 and things that we might enjoy 00:00:12 or things that would make our life 00:00:14 a little more comfortable, even though they’re not essential. 00:00:19 In 1956, a newspaper columnist made an interesting observation. 00:00:24 He estimated that 100 years earlier, in 1856, 00:00:28 man basically had 72 wants, 00:00:31 of which only 16 were necessities, 00:00:35 and men of that day were being urged by advertisers 00:00:38 to buy about 200 items. 00:00:41 But by 1956, 00:00:44 the number of wants had grown to 474, 00:00:48 of which 94 were viewed as necessities, 00:00:52 and men were being bombarded with ads 00:00:54 to buy about 32,000 articles. 00:00:58 The columnist’s conclusion: 00:01:01 Man’s necessities are few; 00:01:04 his wants, infinite. 00:01:07 Now, if he’d made the same estimates today, 00:01:10 I’m sure the figures would be a lot higher. 00:01:12 The commercial world constantly pressures us 00:01:15 not only to buy things but to view as necessities 00:01:20 things that should really be classified as wants. 00:01:24 Seeing the clear difference between our needs and our wants 00:01:29 is a key to avoiding the snare of materialism, 00:01:34 and we appreciate the frequent reminders 00:01:38 that we receive from “the faithful and discreet slave.” 00:01:41 These help us to have the proper view of material things. 00:01:45 For example, the text today is taken from an article 00:01:48 that had the very clear title “Seek the Kingdom, Not Things.” 00:01:53 And the theme scripture was Luke 12:31, where it says: 00:01:58 “Keep seeking his Kingdom, and these things will be added to you.” 00:02:04 It’s essential that we have faith in those words. 00:02:08 We fully trust that Jehovah is going to provide 00:02:12 for our physical needs 00:02:14 as long as we put his worship first in our lives. 00:02:18 There was a simple definition of materialism in the study article; 00:02:22 it’s found in paragraph 3. 00:02:24 Now, it didn’t say that materialism is having a large bank account, 00:02:27 living in a big house, or driving a fancy automobile. 00:02:31 Rather, it said: 00:02:33 ‘Materialism is the preoccupation 00:02:37 ‘with material things 00:02:39 rather than with spiritual riches.’ 00:02:42 So materialism really is a condition 00:02:46 of our mind and our heart. 00:02:49 So it’s good to ask ourselves: 00:02:51 ‘What am I constantly thinking about? 00:02:54 When I get together with my friends, what is the subject of our conversation?’ 00:02:59 As our commenters pointed out, 00:03:01 the spirit of materialism can infect anyone 00:03:04 —even pioneers, even Bethelites. 00:03:08 It infected Christians in the first century. 00:03:11 Please open your Bibles to Revelation chapter 3, 00:03:14 and we’ll notice here that apparently many in the congregation 00:03:18 had become contaminated by the materialistic environment 00:03:23 in the city of Laodicea. 00:03:25 And notice the strong counsel that Jesus gave 00:03:29 to those who were putting their trust in material riches. 00:03:34 Revelation 3:17 says: 00:03:37 “Because you say, 00:03:39 “‘I am rich and have acquired riches and do not need anything at all,’ 00:03:44 “but you do not know that you are miserable 00:03:48 and pitiful and poor and blind and naked.” 00:03:53 Now, were these Christians materially rich? 00:03:55 Yes. 00:03:57 But Jesus said they were in spiritual poverty. 00:04:00 Did they wear fine clothing? 00:04:02 No doubt. 00:04:04 But in Jesus’ eyes, they were naked, 00:04:10 so we can see that they were in a bad spiritual state. 00:04:15 Was there any cure for the Laodicean’s spiritual sickness? 00:04:19 Yes. 00:04:20 Look back at chapter 3 and the first part of verse 18. 00:04:23 Interestingly, Jesus told them that the remedy 00:04:27 for trusting in riches was to ‘buy gold.’ 00:04:31 But what kind of gold? 00:04:33 He said: “I advise you 00:04:35 “to buy from me gold refined by fire 00:04:40 so that you may become rich.” 00:04:42 Yes, spiritual riches are what are important. 00:04:47 Only spiritual treasures are lasting. 00:04:50 Material possessions are merely a means to an end. 00:04:53 We need them to keep on living, 00:04:55 and we need them to carry out our worship of Jehovah. 00:04:58 So we need to ask ourselves: 00:05:00 ‘What are my priorities? 00:05:03 Where is my focus?’ 00:05:06 Sally and I found ourselves asking these questions 00:05:09 during a recent branch visit. 00:05:11 We met brothers in countries 00:05:13 where the Kingdom work is under various degrees of restriction. 00:05:17 They have no witnessing carts. 00:05:19 They can’t offer literature door to door. 00:05:22 In one country, brothers can be arrested 00:05:24 and fined the equivalent of six weeks’ wages 00:05:28 just for witnessing in public. 00:05:31 In some places, police would confiscate your phone or your tablet 00:05:34 if they found that it contained the JW Library® app. 00:05:39 In another country, when police would find JW Library® on your device, 00:05:43 they would just erase the app 00:05:45 and then give the device back to the publisher. 00:05:48 But in spite of these obstacles and threats, 00:05:52 our brothers are finding true joy in serving Jehovah. 00:05:56 And you can imagine, it was inspiring 00:05:59 to be able to work with them during this time. 00:06:02 In one country, we met with circuit overseers 00:06:04 from three different language groups. 00:06:06 I asked them the question, “What do our brothers need most?” 00:06:11 In unison, they immediately replied, “Armageddon.” 00:06:19 That really put things in perspective for me. 00:06:22 These brothers are not preoccupied with material things. 00:06:27 For them, every day is a matter of spiritual survival. 00:06:33 Stay faithful, meet regularly, and preach informally 00:06:38 —these are the most important things, the things that really matter. 00:06:43 So how fitting is the reminder at Proverbs 11:4, where it says: 00:06:48 “Wealth will be of no benefit on the day of fury, 00:06:51 but righteousness is what will rescue from death”! 00:06:55 Yes, we may have some possessions that we view as very valuable. 00:06:59 We may treasure them. 00:07:01 Maybe it’s something we received as a family heirloom, 00:07:04 but we should not expect that any of our possessions, 00:07:07 regardless of how treasured or how valuable they may be, 00:07:11 will survive with us through the great tribulation. 00:07:15 Please open your Bibles to Jeremiah chapter 45. 00:07:20 We’re going to read verse 5, 00:07:22 and this scripture will help us to maintain the proper viewpoint 00:07:26 of material things. 00:07:28 These are words that were directed to Jeremiah’s secretary, Baruch. 00:07:33 Jeremiah 45:5 says: 00:07:35 “‘But you are seeking great things for yourself. 00:07:38 “‘Stop seeking such things. 00:07:41 “For I am about to bring a calamity on all flesh,’ 00:07:44 “declares Jehovah, 00:07:46 “‘and wherever you may go, 00:07:48 I will grant you your life as a spoil.’” 00:07:53 Whether these “great things” Baruch was seeking 00:07:55 were material possessions, we do not know. 00:07:59 What we do know is that when the great tribulation breaks out, 00:08:04 all of us will be grateful to come out of that tribulation 00:08:08 with our “life as a spoil.” 00:08:11 And whether we survive that great tribulation or not, 00:08:15 could very well depend on how we answer these two questions right now: 00:08:20 What do I want? 00:08:22 What do I need?
