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00:00:01 Let’s go back to our Bibles 00:00:03 to Hebrews 13:5, 6 00:00:06 and see the context of today’s text. 00:00:09 Here, in Hebrews chapter 13, it says: 00:00:11 “Let your way of life be free 00:00:15 “of the love of money, while you are content 00:00:18 “with the present things. 00:00:20 “For he has said: ‘I will never leave you, 00:00:25 “and I will never abandon you.’ 00:00:30 “So that we may be of good courage and say: 00:00:32 “‘Jehovah is my helper; I will not be afraid. 00:00:36 What can man do to me?’” 00:00:39 Well, those are certainly encouraging words 00:00:42 in days of economic uncertainty. 00:00:46 We think about thousands of people 00:00:49 who are left homeless as a result of flooding 00:00:52 in such lands as the United States (in Texas and Louisiana), 00:00:56 but also in Sierra Leone (with massive landslides), 00:01:00 and our brothers in Colombia. 00:01:03 And we think about millions 00:01:05 who are still gripped by severe poverty 00:01:08 —people acting in desperation in Venezuela. 00:01:11 So this is a very key promise for Jehovah’s people. 00:01:14 Let’s take a closer look at it 00:01:16 and how it’s helping our brothers. 00:01:19 When was it issued? 00:01:20 Why was it needed? 00:01:21 Who wrote these words? 00:01:22 Well, evidence points to the apostle Paul. 00:01:25 And from where did he write, and when? 00:01:28 Here, look at chapter 13, verses 23 and 24: 00:01:33 “I want you to know that our brother Timothy 00:01:36 “has been released [“released”—so Paul was in prison]. 00:01:42 If he comes soon, I will be with him when I see you.” 00:01:46 So Paul was thinking he was at the end of his own prison term. 00:01:51 And then verse 24, the latter part: 00:01:54 “Those in Italy send you their greetings.” 00:01:57 So for these and other reasons, we conclude that Paul wrote Hebrews 00:02:01 in 61 C.E. right before he was released 00:02:05 from his first imprisonment in Rome. 00:02:08 How many times had Paul been in jail up to this point? 00:02:11 Well, you recall that he had been in jail 00:02:13 with Silas in Philippi back around 50 C.E. 00:02:17 That would’ve been during his second missionary journey. 00:02:19 Then, around 56 C. E., he spent two years in prison in Caesarea, 00:02:23 and then he went on to have his case heard in Rome. 00:02:27 And that took a boat; he was shipwrecked; 00:02:30 he went to Malta, eventually got on another boat, 00:02:32 and wound up in Rome, where he spent 00:02:34 another two years under house arrest, 00:02:38 which ended in 61 C.E. 00:02:41 And he would have been thrown in jail one more time before he was martyred. 00:02:44 Well, why mention all of that? 00:02:45 Because Paul could talk from experience about contentment. 00:02:49 He knew what it meant to follow Jehovah’s direction, 00:02:51 even if it meant being “low on provisions” at times. 00:02:54 He knew prison food. 00:02:56 He knew Philippi prison food; 00:02:58 he knew Caesarea prison food; he knew Rome prison food. 00:03:02 Paul wrote to the Philippians also 00:03:05 when he was under house arrest. 00:03:07 And to the Philippians, he wrote the words 00:03:09 that we find in chapter 4, verses 11 and 12: 00:03:13 “I have learned [how] to be self-sufficient 00:03:17 “regardless of my circumstances. 00:03:19 “I know how to be low on provisions 00:03:22 “and how to have an abundance. 00:03:26 “In everything and in all circumstances 00:03:28 “I have learned the secret of both 00:03:31 “how to be full and how to hunger, 00:03:34 both how to have an abundance and how to do without.” 00:03:39 Well, there is a secret, and Paul knew it. 00:03:43 Godly contentment is a twofold secret. 00:03:46 If we experience financial prosperity, 00:03:49 we need wisdom to know how to view that. 00:03:52 Some conclude, ‘Well, you know, if I can afford it, why not buy it?’ 00:03:58 But to those who know the secret, the question is not always, 00:04:02 Am I living within my means? 00:04:05 but rather, Is Jehovah part of my plans? 00:04:09 Paul knew not only 00:04:12 “how to have an abundance” but also “how to do without,” 00:04:14 how to be content with less. 00:04:16 And that means knowing 00:04:18 how to keep natural anxiety in perspective. 00:04:23 A content person will never overreact 00:04:26 as a result of financial loss. 00:04:28 So back to the Hebrews. 00:04:29 Why did the Hebrews need this counsel? 00:04:33 Well, think of the timing—61 C.E. 00:04:37 What had occurred 20, 00:04:40 15 years prior to this 00:04:43 —41-54 C.E.? 00:04:46 The “great famine” —the “great famine” mentioned 00:04:48 at Acts 11:28, 29— 00:04:52 a famine so severe that Christians 00:04:55 from other parts of the world were sending relief supplies 00:04:58 to our brothers in Judea, a famine that lasted for years. 00:05:02 Had memories of this famine 00:05:05 made the brothers there in Judea, 00:05:07 the ones to whom Paul wrote the letter to the Hebrews, 00:05:10 concerned about money? 00:05:13 Might there be a lesson in that for us? 00:05:15 Well, no matter how poor we may be, we should never come to love money 00:05:20 or become so preoccupied with money. 00:05:23 Instead, we should concentrate on being rich toward Jehovah. 00:05:27 Do we have any recent examples of that 00:05:28 —examples of those who are showing how they’re “content with the present things” 00:05:33 and that they know “the secret of . . . how to do without” 00:05:36 —of people who are putting spiritual interests first? 00:05:40 Well, consider the situation of our brothers in Venezuela. 00:05:43 The International Monetary Fund projects 00:05:46 that inflation will soon exceed 2,000 percent 00:05:49 in Venezuela. 00:05:51 That means that something that you once paid $3.00 for, 00:05:55 you will soon pay $63.00 for. 00:05:58 Security, of course, is a major concern for our brothers. 00:06:02 People are acting in desperation. 00:06:04 Armed gangs will ransack any building 00:06:06 that they think has something of value inside. 00:06:10 An unexpected situation arose 00:06:12 because of the theme of this year’s convention, 00:06:14 “Don’t Give Up!,” which in Spanish is “¡No se rinda!” 00:06:17 And “¡No se rinda!” is the theme that has been adopted 00:06:20 by the opposition political party, coincidentally. 00:06:24 So the convention location in one of the cities had actually— 00:06:29 They canceled our contract when the administrator saw 00:06:33 what he presumed to be 00:06:35 the opposition party’s campaign slogan. 00:06:39 Well, it was only when a sister, 00:06:42 who gives private schooling to the state governor’s children, 00:06:46 explained our neutral stand to his wife 00:06:50 that the misunderstanding was clarified 00:06:52 and the convention went ahead as planned 00:06:55 —clear thinking in a time of panic 00:06:59 and in a time of economic uncertainty putting spiritual things first. 00:07:03 And all of our brothers benefited spiritually from her clear thinking. 00:07:07 Circuit overseers report on the generous spirit 00:07:10 of the congregations as the friends share what little they have. 00:07:14 In spite of all the chaos, the brothers are showing admirable resilience. 00:07:18 And the branch writes: “Spiritually, [this is a quote] 00:07:21 “we have never been so prosperous. 00:07:24 “Meeting attendance, field service activity, 00:07:26 “and the number of regular pioneers are on the increase. 00:07:30 “People who have shown little interest in the past have asked to study the Bible. 00:07:33 “New faces are seen at meetings, assemblies, and conventions. 00:07:36 “We hear many sincere expressions of appreciation 00:07:39 “for all the provisions to strengthen our faith. 00:07:42 The brothers are so happy to be in the truth” 00:07:45 —“content with the present things.” 00:07:49 Well, why did Paul’s advice in his letter 00:07:52 to the Hebrews prove to be timely? 00:07:54 Think of the timing—61 C.E. 00:07:59 What happened in 66 C.E.? 00:08:02 The Roman army of Cestius Gallus surrounded Jerusalem. 00:08:06 Jesus told his disciples what to watch for 00:08:09 and what to do when it finally happened. 00:08:11 Now their survival depended 00:08:14 not on the stability of their employment, 00:08:16 nor on the value of their material possessions, 00:08:21 but on their obedience. 00:08:23 Having kept their spirituality strong, 00:08:26 having maintained a rich condition toward Jehovah, 00:08:31 the obedient ones knew exactly what to do. 00:08:35 Well, we don’t know what the future will hold for us. 00:08:38 Habakkuk 3:17 says 00:08:41 that ‘the fields may not produce food’ 00:08:43 for more of us before the end comes. 00:08:46 But we can continue to see how Jehovah fulfills his promise: 00:08:50 “I will never leave you, . . . I will never abandon you.” 00:08:54 And when we understand that, then we can truly be 00:08:56 “content with the present things.”
00:00:01 Let’s go back to our Bibles 00:00:03 to Hebrews 13:5, 6 00:00:06 and see the context of today’s text. 00:00:09 Here, in Hebrews chapter 13, it says: 00:00:11 “Let your way of life be free 00:00:15 “of the love of money, while you are content 00:00:18 “with the present things. 00:00:20 “For he has said: ‘I will never leave you, 00:00:25 “and I will never abandon you.’ 00:00:30 “So that we may be of good courage and say: 00:00:32 “‘Jehovah is my helper; I will not be afraid. 00:00:36 What can man do to me?’” 00:00:39 Well, those are certainly encouraging words 00:00:42 in days of economic uncertainty. 00:00:46 We think about thousands of people 00:00:49 who are left homeless as a result of flooding 00:00:52 in such lands as the United States (in Texas and Louisiana), 00:00:56 but also in Sierra Leone (with massive landslides), 00:01:00 and our brothers in Colombia. 00:01:03 And we think about millions 00:01:05 who are still gripped by severe poverty 00:01:08 —people acting in desperation in Venezuela. 00:01:11 So this is a very key promise for Jehovah’s people. 00:01:14 Let’s take a closer look at it 00:01:16 and how it’s helping our brothers. 00:01:19 When was it issued? 00:01:20 Why was it needed? 00:01:21 Who wrote these words? 00:01:22 Well, evidence points to the apostle Paul. 00:01:25 And from where did he write, and when? 00:01:28 Here, look at chapter 13, verses 23 and 24: 00:01:33 “I want you to know that our brother Timothy 00:01:36 “has been released [“released”—so Paul was in prison]. 00:01:42 If he comes soon, I will be with him when I see you.” 00:01:46 So Paul was thinking he was at the end of his own prison term. 00:01:51 And then verse 24, the latter part: 00:01:54 “Those in Italy send you their greetings.” 00:01:57 So for these and other reasons, we conclude that Paul wrote Hebrews 00:02:01 in 61 C.E. right before he was released 00:02:05 from his first imprisonment in Rome. 00:02:08 How many times had Paul been in jail up to this point? 00:02:11 Well, you recall that he had been in jail 00:02:13 with Silas in Philippi back around 50 C.E. 00:02:17 That would’ve been during his second missionary journey. 00:02:19 Then, around 56 C. E., he spent two years in prison in Caesarea, 00:02:23 and then he went on to have his case heard in Rome. 00:02:27 And that took a boat; he was shipwrecked; 00:02:30 he went to Malta, eventually got on another boat, 00:02:32 and wound up in Rome, where he spent 00:02:34 another two years under house arrest, 00:02:38 which ended in 61 C.E. 00:02:41 And he would have been thrown in jail one more time before he was martyred. 00:02:44 Well, why mention all of that? 00:02:45 Because Paul could talk from experience about contentment. 00:02:49 He knew what it meant to follow Jehovah’s direction, 00:02:51 even if it meant being “low on provisions” at times. 00:02:54 He knew prison food. 00:02:56 He knew Philippi prison food; 00:02:58 he knew Caesarea prison food; he knew Rome prison food. 00:03:02 Paul wrote to the Philippians also 00:03:05 when he was under house arrest. 00:03:07 And to the Philippians, he wrote the words 00:03:09 that we find in chapter 4, verses 11 and 12: 00:03:13 “I have learned [how] to be self-sufficient 00:03:17 “regardless of my circumstances. 00:03:19 “I know how to be low on provisions 00:03:22 “and how to have an abundance. 00:03:26 “In everything and in all circumstances 00:03:28 “I have learned the secret of both 00:03:31 “how to be full and how to hunger, 00:03:34 both how to have an abundance and how to do without.” 00:03:39 Well, there is a secret, and Paul knew it. 00:03:43 Godly contentment is a twofold secret. 00:03:46 If we experience financial prosperity, 00:03:49 we need wisdom to know how to view that. 00:03:52 Some conclude, ‘Well, you know, if I can afford it, why not buy it?’ 00:03:58 But to those who know the secret, the question is not always, 00:04:02 Am I living within my means? 00:04:05 but rather, Is Jehovah part of my plans? 00:04:09 Paul knew not only 00:04:12 “how to have an abundance” but also “how to do without,” 00:04:14 how to be content with less. 00:04:16 And that means knowing 00:04:18 how to keep natural anxiety in perspective. 00:04:23 A content person will never overreact 00:04:26 as a result of financial loss. 00:04:28 So back to the Hebrews. 00:04:29 Why did the Hebrews need this counsel? 00:04:33 Well, think of the timing—61 C.E. 00:04:37 What had occurred 20, 00:04:40 15 years prior to this 00:04:43 —41-54 C.E.? 00:04:46 The “great famine” —the “great famine” mentioned 00:04:48 at Acts 11:28, 29— 00:04:52 a famine so severe that Christians 00:04:55 from other parts of the world were sending relief supplies 00:04:58 to our brothers in Judea, a famine that lasted for years. 00:05:02 Had memories of this famine 00:05:05 made the brothers there in Judea, 00:05:07 the ones to whom Paul wrote the letter to the Hebrews, 00:05:10 concerned about money? 00:05:13 Might there be a lesson in that for us? 00:05:15 Well, no matter how poor we may be, we should never come to love money 00:05:20 or become so preoccupied with money. 00:05:23 Instead, we should concentrate on being rich toward Jehovah. 00:05:27 Do we have any recent examples of that 00:05:28 —examples of those who are showing how they’re “content with the present things” 00:05:33 and that they know “the secret of . . . how to do without” 00:05:36 —of people who are putting spiritual interests first? 00:05:40 Well, consider the situation of our brothers in Venezuela. 00:05:43 The International Monetary Fund projects 00:05:46 that inflation will soon exceed 2,000 percent 00:05:49 in Venezuela. 00:05:51 That means that something that you once paid $3.00 for, 00:05:55 you will soon pay $63.00 for. 00:05:58 Security, of course, is a major concern for our brothers. 00:06:02 People are acting in desperation. 00:06:04 Armed gangs will ransack any building 00:06:06 that they think has something of value inside. 00:06:10 An unexpected situation arose 00:06:12 because of the theme of this year’s convention, 00:06:14 “Don’t Give Up!,” which in Spanish is “¡No se rinda!” 00:06:17 And “¡No se rinda!” is the theme that has been adopted 00:06:20 by the opposition political party, coincidentally. 00:06:24 So the convention location in one of the cities had actually— 00:06:29 They canceled our contract when the administrator saw 00:06:33 what he presumed to be 00:06:35 the opposition party’s campaign slogan. 00:06:39 Well, it was only when a sister, 00:06:42 who gives private schooling to the state governor’s children, 00:06:46 explained our neutral stand to his wife 00:06:50 that the misunderstanding was clarified 00:06:52 and the convention went ahead as planned 00:06:55 —clear thinking in a time of panic 00:06:59 and in a time of economic uncertainty putting spiritual things first. 00:07:03 And all of our brothers benefited spiritually from her clear thinking. 00:07:07 Circuit overseers report on the generous spirit 00:07:10 of the congregations as the friends share what little they have. 00:07:14 In spite of all the chaos, the brothers are showing admirable resilience. 00:07:18 And the branch writes: “Spiritually, [this is a quote] 00:07:21 “we have never been so prosperous. 00:07:24 “Meeting attendance, field service activity, 00:07:26 “and the number of regular pioneers are on the increase. 00:07:30 “People who have shown little interest in the past have asked to study the Bible. 00:07:33 “New faces are seen at meetings, assemblies, and conventions. 00:07:36 “We hear many sincere expressions of appreciation 00:07:39 “for all the provisions to strengthen our faith. 00:07:42 The brothers are so happy to be in the truth” 00:07:45 —“content with the present things.” 00:07:49 Well, why did Paul’s advice in his letter 00:07:52 to the Hebrews prove to be timely? 00:07:54 Think of the timing—61 C.E. 00:07:59 What happened in 66 C.E.? 00:08:02 The Roman army of Cestius Gallus surrounded Jerusalem. 00:08:06 Jesus told his disciples what to watch for 00:08:09 and what to do when it finally happened. 00:08:11 Now their survival depended 00:08:14 not on the stability of their employment, 00:08:16 nor on the value of their material possessions, 00:08:21 but on their obedience. 00:08:23 Having kept their spirituality strong, 00:08:26 having maintained a rich condition toward Jehovah, 00:08:31 the obedient ones knew exactly what to do. 00:08:35 Well, we don’t know what the future will hold for us. 00:08:38 Habakkuk 3:17 says 00:08:41 that ‘the fields may not produce food’ 00:08:43 for more of us before the end comes. 00:08:46 But we can continue to see how Jehovah fulfills his promise: 00:08:50 “I will never leave you, . . . I will never abandon you.” 00:08:54 And when we understand that, then we can truly be 00:08:56 “content with the present things.”
