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00:00:01 During this COVID-19 pandemic, 00:00:04 it’s not hard for negative feelings 00:00:07 to begin to form in our minds. 00:00:09 We may begin to think a lot 00:00:12 about things that we were able 00:00:14 to do in the past. 00:00:16 For us at Bethel, maybe it’s thinking about some of the speaking assignments 00:00:20 that we had in various congregations, 00:00:23 being with different brothers and sisters and getting to meet different ones. 00:00:27 Maybe we even think about when we served as Bethel representatives 00:00:32 at circuit assemblies or regional conventions 00:00:35 with large, large crowds of our brothers and sisters. 00:00:39 Elders in the field may think about the work that they did 00:00:43 for many, many years on convention committees 00:00:46 or in organizing large departments, 00:00:49 either at conventions or at assemblies. 00:00:52 Pioneers might be thinking about what they did 00:00:55 during the special metropolitan public witnessing program 00:01:00 or just in public witnessing in general. 00:01:03 And then, there are all of the pioneers 00:01:05 that have commuted to Bethel, 00:01:08 some for many years, to support our work. 00:01:11 Well, all of these involve different assignments, 00:01:16 but there’s one thing that they all have in common. 00:01:20 We all have had to hit the “pause button” 00:01:24 on all of these assignments that we love so much. 00:01:29 Well, sometimes we may begin to ask ourselves, 00:01:33 ‘Does the fact that I no longer 00:01:35 ‘can do these assignments that I loved so much 00:01:38 ‘mean that somehow I’ve lost value, 00:01:41 that I’m not as precious to Jehovah anymore?’ 00:01:46 Well, this is where our text can be so helpful to us. 00:01:49 Let’s read it again. 00:01:51 Let’s go in our Bibles to Philippians chapter 2, 00:01:56 and let’s read together verses 5 to 7. 00:02:00 Let’s read all three verses. 00:02:02 It says: “Keep this mental attitude in you 00:02:06 “that was also in Christ Jesus, 00:02:08 “who, although he was existing in God’s form, 00:02:12 “gave no consideration to a seizure, 00:02:15 “namely, that he should be equal to God. 00:02:18 “No, [but now let’s focus on this, No,] 00:02:22 “but he emptied himself 00:02:25 “and took a slave’s form 00:02:28 and became human.” 00:02:32 Well now, it’s just a few words there, 00:02:35 but can you imagine what was involved in that last expression: 00:02:39 “He emptied himself 00:02:42 and took a slave’s form”? 00:02:45 It’s really hard for us even to begin to imagine 00:02:49 the position that Jesus occupied 00:02:51 in the heavens before he came to earth. 00:02:53 Maybe we get a little glimpse of it if we go to our Bibles. 00:02:56 Let’s read together Colossians chapter 1, 00:03:03 and let’s look at verse 15. 00:03:06 Now speaking about Jesus, it says: 00:03:08 “He is the image of the invisible God, 00:03:12 “the firstborn of all creation; 00:03:15 “because by means of him 00:03:17 “all other things were created in the heavens and on the earth, 00:03:22 “the things visible and the things invisible, 00:03:25 “whether they are thrones or lordships or governments or authorities. 00:03:29 “All other things 00:03:31 “have been created through him and for him. 00:03:36 “Also, he is before all other things, 00:03:39 and by means of him all other things were made to exist.” 00:03:44 Well, yes, as the master worker, 00:03:47 Jesus was used by his Father 00:03:50 in the creation of the universe 00:03:53 and all of the things in it. 00:03:55 John 1:3 says: 00:03:58 “All things came into existence through him, 00:04:01 “and apart from him not even one thing 00:04:05 came into existence.” 00:04:07 What an amazing role Jesus played in heaven! 00:04:12 But Jesus was willing to give up that position in heaven 00:04:17 and accept the assignment 00:04:20 that Jehovah had for him here on the earth. 00:04:23 But now, what did accepting that assignment involve? 00:04:27 Now, let’s look at three different things. 00:04:31 We might be finding the lockdown challenging, 00:04:34 especially after seven months. 00:04:37 But consider this: 00:04:39 Jesus had to be in the womb of Mary 00:04:42 as a helpless embryo for nine months. 00:04:45 Can you imagine what a change that was for him? 00:04:49 Let’s consider a second thing: 00:04:51 Jesus had been the Spokesman for Jehovah in heaven, 00:04:55 but now Jesus would have to learn to speak 00:05:00 and be taught by imperfect humans. 00:05:03 Let’s consider a third one: 00:05:05 In heaven, his associates had been faithful, 00:05:09 powerful, heavenly spirit creatures. 00:05:12 But when on earth, who were his associates? 00:05:15 Fishermen, former prostitutes, 00:05:19 just the very common, simple, humble people 00:05:23 whom the Pharisees in John 7:49 00:05:28 called “accursed.” 00:05:30 Well, what do you think? 00:05:32 Was that a major change, for Jesus 00:05:35 to leave his heavenly position and come to the earth? 00:05:38 He truly “emptied himself,” 00:05:41 as Philippians 2:7 says. 00:05:44 But now, here’s the question, 00:05:46 Did Jesus feel that somehow he had lost value with Jehovah 00:05:51 because he had gone through such a huge change 00:05:54 in his assignment and now was a human on earth? 00:05:57 Not for a moment. 00:05:59 But why? 00:06:01 Well, will you open your Bibles? 00:06:03 Let’s read together this thought 00:06:05 in the book of John chapter 8, 00:06:11 and let’s look together here at verse 29. 00:06:16 Jesus said: “And the One who sent me 00:06:21 “is with me; 00:06:23 “he did not abandon me to myself, 00:06:27 because I always do the things pleasing to him.” 00:06:31 Isn’t that a beautiful verse? 00:06:33 You see, Jesus knew that the work that he was doing 00:06:37 was the work his Father had asked him to do. 00:06:41 It was not the same work that he had done when he was in heaven, 00:06:45 but he was still always doing 00:06:48 the things that were pleasing to his Father. 00:06:51 And for that reason, Jesus knew in his heart 00:06:55 that Jehovah God would certainly never abandon him. 00:07:00 He kept busy working hard 00:07:03 in his present assignment, not focusing 00:07:07 on what he had done in the past. 00:07:10 Well now, brothers and sisters, what do we learn from this? 00:07:14 We’ve all had some changes 00:07:17 (some of them even major changes) 00:07:19 in our assignments because of the pandemic. 00:07:22 But our primary goal has never changed. 00:07:25 Just like Jesus, we continually seek to do the things 00:07:30 pleasing to our heavenly Father, Jehovah. 00:07:33 Now, we can’t go from door to door right now. 00:07:36 And we can’t do public witnessing, 00:07:38 and we can’t meet at our Kingdom Halls or Assembly Halls, and so on. 00:07:43 But because we all love Jehovah, 00:07:47 we find ways, even in the midst of this pandemic, 00:07:51 to do things that please him. 00:07:53 Now, The Watchtower made an interesting comment. 00:07:56 The Watchtower of August 2020, 00:07:58 page 25—here’s what it said: 00:08:01 “Do you get discouraged 00:08:03 “because you currently do not have the same privileges 00:08:06 “of service that you had in the past? 00:08:09 “If so, you will be happier 00:08:12 “if you change your focus and concentrate 00:08:15 “on what you can do right now 00:08:18 “to serve Jehovah and your brothers. 00:08:21 “Stay busy, using your gifts and abilities to help others, 00:08:25 and you will find joy as you build up the congregation.” 00:08:30 Well, that’s what we’re all trying to do. 00:08:33 And Jehovah loves us because we’re trying, 00:08:37 and he blesses our efforts. 00:08:40 Now, take this experience that one sister had in the United States. 00:08:44 She had sent out some letters as a part of her ministry, 00:08:48 and imagine how surprised this dear sister was 00:08:51 to receive a letter from a lady that we’re going to call Mary. 00:08:56 Here’s what this letter said: 00:08:58 “Hello, my name is Mary, 00:09:01 “and I want to thank you for sending me a beautiful letter. 00:09:04 “I was a Jehovah’s Witness between the ages of 9 and 12. 00:09:09 “My mother was a full-time pioneer. 00:09:12 “We would go door to door daily. 00:09:16 “But as young as I was and already having the taste 00:09:19 “of birthdays and holidays, I left my mom to live with my dad. 00:09:24 “My mom pioneered for over 25 years. 00:09:27 “She died in 2007. 00:09:30 “Though at my young age I was not close to her, 00:09:33 “in my adult years, we became best friends. 00:09:36 “To her dying day, she would tell me, 00:09:38 “‘Mary, return to Jehovah.’ 00:09:41 “I just never felt I could live up to the standards. 00:09:45 “I didn’t want to be a hypocrite. 00:09:46 “That’s my big issue in not studying. 00:09:48 “You can’t keep one toe in. 00:09:50 “It’s all or nothing. 00:09:52 “After my mom died, at her memorial, 00:09:55 “she had a sister give me a Bible. 00:09:58 “And on the front of the Bible she inscribed: 00:10:00 “‘To Mary, from Mom. 00:10:03 “Return to me in Paradise.’ 00:10:07 “I want to see her so bad, 00:10:09 “and I know the only way to do so is to return to Jehovah, but I get scared. 00:10:14 “What if I can’t do it right? 00:10:16 “I don’t want to mess up. 00:10:18 “Every night, I say my prayers to Jehovah as I have done. 00:10:22 “But on August 19, 2020, I said my prayers, but this time I asked Jehovah: 00:10:27 “‘Jehovah, you know how I feel, and you know my heart. 00:10:31 “I want to connect to a church, or a religion, to praise you.’ 00:10:34 “I said: ‘Jehovah, you know me. 00:10:36 “It almost has to be a brick to hit me to understand what’s right.’ 00:10:41 “On August 20th, the very next day, 00:10:45 “I went to get the mail, and I received your letter. 00:10:48 “I could not believe it. 00:10:50 “I was so shocked that I actually sat down and thought: 00:10:53 “‘Wow! Now what do I do?’ 00:10:55 “Jehovah answered; now I need to follow through, and I’m nervous. 00:11:00 “I hope that you can help me take the steps I need to take. 00:11:04 “Again, I’m scared, but I hope that I can make the changes I need to make. 00:11:09 Sincerely, Mary.” 00:11:13 Well, that’s the power of one letter. 00:11:17 It’s true, we’ve had to press that “pause button” 00:11:21 on many of the assignments that we have just loved doing. 00:11:24 But does that mean that we’ve lost value with Jehovah? 00:11:28 Jehovah is still with us. 00:11:31 We have not lost any value with him, 00:11:34 and he is not going to abandon us. 00:11:37 So, what do we need to do? 00:11:39 Like Jesus, let’s not focus on what we used to do, 00:11:43 but instead, let’s do everything we can do right now 00:11:48 to do all the things pleasing 00:11:50 to our wonderful heavenly Father, Jehovah.
00:00:01 During this COVID-19 pandemic, 00:00:04 it’s not hard for negative feelings 00:00:07 to begin to form in our minds. 00:00:09 We may begin to think a lot 00:00:12 about things that we were able 00:00:14 to do in the past. 00:00:16 For us at Bethel, maybe it’s thinking about some of the speaking assignments 00:00:20 that we had in various congregations, 00:00:23 being with different brothers and sisters and getting to meet different ones. 00:00:27 Maybe we even think about when we served as Bethel representatives 00:00:32 at circuit assemblies or regional conventions 00:00:35 with large, large crowds of our brothers and sisters. 00:00:39 Elders in the field may think about the work that they did 00:00:43 for many, many years on convention committees 00:00:46 or in organizing large departments, 00:00:49 either at conventions or at assemblies. 00:00:52 Pioneers might be thinking about what they did 00:00:55 during the special metropolitan public witnessing program 00:01:00 or just in public witnessing in general. 00:01:03 And then, there are all of the pioneers 00:01:05 that have commuted to Bethel, 00:01:08 some for many years, to support our work. 00:01:11 Well, all of these involve different assignments, 00:01:16 but there’s one thing that they all have in common. 00:01:20 We all have had to hit the “pause button” 00:01:24 on all of these assignments that we love so much. 00:01:29 Well, sometimes we may begin to ask ourselves, 00:01:33 ‘Does the fact that I no longer 00:01:35 ‘can do these assignments that I loved so much 00:01:38 ‘mean that somehow I’ve lost value, 00:01:41 that I’m not as precious to Jehovah anymore?’ 00:01:46 Well, this is where our text can be so helpful to us. 00:01:49 Let’s read it again. 00:01:51 Let’s go in our Bibles to Philippians chapter 2, 00:01:56 and let’s read together verses 5 to 7. 00:02:00 Let’s read all three verses. 00:02:02 It says: “Keep this mental attitude in you 00:02:06 “that was also in Christ Jesus, 00:02:08 “who, although he was existing in God’s form, 00:02:12 “gave no consideration to a seizure, 00:02:15 “namely, that he should be equal to God. 00:02:18 “No, [but now let’s focus on this, No,] 00:02:22 “but he emptied himself 00:02:25 “and took a slave’s form 00:02:28 and became human.” 00:02:32 Well now, it’s just a few words there, 00:02:35 but can you imagine what was involved in that last expression: 00:02:39 “He emptied himself 00:02:42 and took a slave’s form”? 00:02:45 It’s really hard for us even to begin to imagine 00:02:49 the position that Jesus occupied 00:02:51 in the heavens before he came to earth. 00:02:53 Maybe we get a little glimpse of it if we go to our Bibles. 00:02:56 Let’s read together Colossians chapter 1, 00:03:03 and let’s look at verse 15. 00:03:06 Now speaking about Jesus, it says: 00:03:08 “He is the image of the invisible God, 00:03:12 “the firstborn of all creation; 00:03:15 “because by means of him 00:03:17 “all other things were created in the heavens and on the earth, 00:03:22 “the things visible and the things invisible, 00:03:25 “whether they are thrones or lordships or governments or authorities. 00:03:29 “All other things 00:03:31 “have been created through him and for him. 00:03:36 “Also, he is before all other things, 00:03:39 and by means of him all other things were made to exist.” 00:03:44 Well, yes, as the master worker, 00:03:47 Jesus was used by his Father 00:03:50 in the creation of the universe 00:03:53 and all of the things in it. 00:03:55 John 1:3 says: 00:03:58 “All things came into existence through him, 00:04:01 “and apart from him not even one thing 00:04:05 came into existence.” 00:04:07 What an amazing role Jesus played in heaven! 00:04:12 But Jesus was willing to give up that position in heaven 00:04:17 and accept the assignment 00:04:20 that Jehovah had for him here on the earth. 00:04:23 But now, what did accepting that assignment involve? 00:04:27 Now, let’s look at three different things. 00:04:31 We might be finding the lockdown challenging, 00:04:34 especially after seven months. 00:04:37 But consider this: 00:04:39 Jesus had to be in the womb of Mary 00:04:42 as a helpless embryo for nine months. 00:04:45 Can you imagine what a change that was for him? 00:04:49 Let’s consider a second thing: 00:04:51 Jesus had been the Spokesman for Jehovah in heaven, 00:04:55 but now Jesus would have to learn to speak 00:05:00 and be taught by imperfect humans. 00:05:03 Let’s consider a third one: 00:05:05 In heaven, his associates had been faithful, 00:05:09 powerful, heavenly spirit creatures. 00:05:12 But when on earth, who were his associates? 00:05:15 Fishermen, former prostitutes, 00:05:19 just the very common, simple, humble people 00:05:23 whom the Pharisees in John 7:49 00:05:28 called “accursed.” 00:05:30 Well, what do you think? 00:05:32 Was that a major change, for Jesus 00:05:35 to leave his heavenly position and come to the earth? 00:05:38 He truly “emptied himself,” 00:05:41 as Philippians 2:7 says. 00:05:44 But now, here’s the question, 00:05:46 Did Jesus feel that somehow he had lost value with Jehovah 00:05:51 because he had gone through such a huge change 00:05:54 in his assignment and now was a human on earth? 00:05:57 Not for a moment. 00:05:59 But why? 00:06:01 Well, will you open your Bibles? 00:06:03 Let’s read together this thought 00:06:05 in the book of John chapter 8, 00:06:11 and let’s look together here at verse 29. 00:06:16 Jesus said: “And the One who sent me 00:06:21 “is with me; 00:06:23 “he did not abandon me to myself, 00:06:27 because I always do the things pleasing to him.” 00:06:31 Isn’t that a beautiful verse? 00:06:33 You see, Jesus knew that the work that he was doing 00:06:37 was the work his Father had asked him to do. 00:06:41 It was not the same work that he had done when he was in heaven, 00:06:45 but he was still always doing 00:06:48 the things that were pleasing to his Father. 00:06:51 And for that reason, Jesus knew in his heart 00:06:55 that Jehovah God would certainly never abandon him. 00:07:00 He kept busy working hard 00:07:03 in his present assignment, not focusing 00:07:07 on what he had done in the past. 00:07:10 Well now, brothers and sisters, what do we learn from this? 00:07:14 We’ve all had some changes 00:07:17 (some of them even major changes) 00:07:19 in our assignments because of the pandemic. 00:07:22 But our primary goal has never changed. 00:07:25 Just like Jesus, we continually seek to do the things 00:07:30 pleasing to our heavenly Father, Jehovah. 00:07:33 Now, we can’t go from door to door right now. 00:07:36 And we can’t do public witnessing, 00:07:38 and we can’t meet at our Kingdom Halls or Assembly Halls, and so on. 00:07:43 But because we all love Jehovah, 00:07:47 we find ways, even in the midst of this pandemic, 00:07:51 to do things that please him. 00:07:53 Now, The Watchtower made an interesting comment. 00:07:56 The Watchtower of August 2020, 00:07:58 page 25—here’s what it said: 00:08:01 “Do you get discouraged 00:08:03 “because you currently do not have the same privileges 00:08:06 “of service that you had in the past? 00:08:09 “If so, you will be happier 00:08:12 “if you change your focus and concentrate 00:08:15 “on what you can do right now 00:08:18 “to serve Jehovah and your brothers. 00:08:21 “Stay busy, using your gifts and abilities to help others, 00:08:25 and you will find joy as you build up the congregation.” 00:08:30 Well, that’s what we’re all trying to do. 00:08:33 And Jehovah loves us because we’re trying, 00:08:37 and he blesses our efforts. 00:08:40 Now, take this experience that one sister had in the United States. 00:08:44 She had sent out some letters as a part of her ministry, 00:08:48 and imagine how surprised this dear sister was 00:08:51 to receive a letter from a lady that we’re going to call Mary. 00:08:56 Here’s what this letter said: 00:08:58 “Hello, my name is Mary, 00:09:01 “and I want to thank you for sending me a beautiful letter. 00:09:04 “I was a Jehovah’s Witness between the ages of 9 and 12. 00:09:09 “My mother was a full-time pioneer. 00:09:12 “We would go door to door daily. 00:09:16 “But as young as I was and already having the taste 00:09:19 “of birthdays and holidays, I left my mom to live with my dad. 00:09:24 “My mom pioneered for over 25 years. 00:09:27 “She died in 2007. 00:09:30 “Though at my young age I was not close to her, 00:09:33 “in my adult years, we became best friends. 00:09:36 “To her dying day, she would tell me, 00:09:38 “‘Mary, return to Jehovah.’ 00:09:41 “I just never felt I could live up to the standards. 00:09:45 “I didn’t want to be a hypocrite. 00:09:46 “That’s my big issue in not studying. 00:09:48 “You can’t keep one toe in. 00:09:50 “It’s all or nothing. 00:09:52 “After my mom died, at her memorial, 00:09:55 “she had a sister give me a Bible. 00:09:58 “And on the front of the Bible she inscribed: 00:10:00 “‘To Mary, from Mom. 00:10:03 “Return to me in Paradise.’ 00:10:07 “I want to see her so bad, 00:10:09 “and I know the only way to do so is to return to Jehovah, but I get scared. 00:10:14 “What if I can’t do it right? 00:10:16 “I don’t want to mess up. 00:10:18 “Every night, I say my prayers to Jehovah as I have done. 00:10:22 “But on August 19, 2020, I said my prayers, but this time I asked Jehovah: 00:10:27 “‘Jehovah, you know how I feel, and you know my heart. 00:10:31 “I want to connect to a church, or a religion, to praise you.’ 00:10:34 “I said: ‘Jehovah, you know me. 00:10:36 “It almost has to be a brick to hit me to understand what’s right.’ 00:10:41 “On August 20th, the very next day, 00:10:45 “I went to get the mail, and I received your letter. 00:10:48 “I could not believe it. 00:10:50 “I was so shocked that I actually sat down and thought: 00:10:53 “‘Wow! Now what do I do?’ 00:10:55 “Jehovah answered; now I need to follow through, and I’m nervous. 00:11:00 “I hope that you can help me take the steps I need to take. 00:11:04 “Again, I’m scared, but I hope that I can make the changes I need to make. 00:11:09 Sincerely, Mary.” 00:11:13 Well, that’s the power of one letter. 00:11:17 It’s true, we’ve had to press that “pause button” 00:11:21 on many of the assignments that we have just loved doing. 00:11:24 But does that mean that we’ve lost value with Jehovah? 00:11:28 Jehovah is still with us. 00:11:31 We have not lost any value with him, 00:11:34 and he is not going to abandon us. 00:11:37 So, what do we need to do? 00:11:39 Like Jesus, let’s not focus on what we used to do, 00:11:43 but instead, let’s do everything we can do right now 00:11:48 to do all the things pleasing 00:11:50 to our wonderful heavenly Father, Jehovah.
