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00:01 Well, dear brothers and sisters, it is my very great pleasure 00:05 to welcome you all to this graduation program 00:08 of the 142nd class 00:11 of the Watchtower Bible School of Gilead. 00:21 We have satellite locations tied in 00:23 across the United States branch territory, 00:26 as well as our dear brothers in Canada and, of course, in time, 00:29 we expect that this will also be shown 00:31 to our brothers via JW Broadcasting. 00:34 So, what a large audience will benefit 00:36 from our program today! 00:38 Well, you students are truly loved. 00:41 I checked with the Bethel Office just yesterday 00:43 and found out that guests have come 00:46 from 40 different countries 00:48 to be a part of this graduation program. 00:50 Isn’t that wonderful? 00:58 So we’re very much looking forward 01:01 to this spiritual feast that’s about to take place. 01:03 So now, if you’re able, let’s stand 01:05 and sing song number 54, 01:08 “This Is the Way,” and then following the song, 01:11 Brother Robert Butler, a helper 01:13 to the Publishing Committee of the Governing Body, 01:16 will offer our opening prayer, song 54. 03:52 Our marvelous God, Jehovah, 03:54 has the greatest and most far-reaching vision. 03:59 At Job 28:24, 04:03 we read: “For he looks to the ends of the earth, 04:08 and he sees everything under the heavens.” 04:12 Well, recognizing Jehovah’s almighty power 04:15 and his perfect penetrating vision, 04:19 it’s not surprising that the psalmist 04:22 prayed to Jehovah and expressed this 04:24 at Psalm 119:18. 04:29 Now, notice this very beautiful and heartfelt request 04:32 that the psalmist made. 04:34 He said: “Open my eyes 04:38 “so that I may see clearly 04:40 the wonderful things from your law.” 04:44 Well now, Jehovah 04:46 has truly fulfilled 04:48 this prayerful request. 04:50 In our day, 04:52 even though 2 Corinthians 4:4 04:55 tells us that Satan the Devil “has blinded 04:58 the minds of the unbelievers,” 05:00 Jehovah is opening up 05:03 the spiritual eyes of honesthearted ones 05:06 so that they can see the truth 05:09 that’s coming from his Word. 05:11 And it is truly amazing 05:13 to see how honesthearted ones 05:15 around this earth are receiving 05:17 spiritual sight from God. 05:19 Just take this one experience. 05:22 In May 2015, 05:25 a Lutheran priest visited 05:27 the Finland branch office with a pioneer couple. 05:31 At Bethel, she was deeply impressed 05:34 with the warm, loving atmosphere that she saw. 05:37 After a month, she attended 05:40 the “Imitate Jesus!” Convention from Friday to Sunday. 05:43 Her workmates at the church 05:46 asked her to take good notes of the program 05:48 and to share them —which she did. 05:51 In December 2015, 05:54 she visited the bishop 05:56 and resigned from her office 05:58 after 27 years 06:01 of service as an active priest. 06:04 The bishop started to cry 06:07 when she closed the door. 06:09 After resigning, she sent out this message: 06:12 “I have just resigned from the church. 06:15 “Now it is time for a new life 06:18 under Jehovah’s wise protection.” 06:21 In January of 2016, 06:24 she started serving as an unbaptized publisher, 06:27 and last year at the regional convention, 06:30 she was baptized. 06:32 She is now serving as an auxiliary pioneer 06:35 on a continuous basis, 06:37 and she says that she wants to have a share in public witnessing 06:40 with carts close to the church 06:43 where she served for decades. 06:46 Well now, isn’t this interesting though? 06:48 This is the last comment this dear sister made. 06:51 She said, “As a young girl, 06:54 “I made a promise to serve God, 06:56 “but it wasn’t until now 06:58 “that I actually realized how God 07:01 wanted to be served.” 07:03 Aren’t we glad to welcome this sister 07:05 into our worldwide brotherhood? 07:15 But going back to that Scriptural thought 07:17 in Psalm 119:18, 07:20 this is not simply the prayer 07:22 of honesthearted ones who are in the world. 07:25 Really, brothers, this is our prayer. 07:27 You see, we all want Jehovah 07:30 to open up our eyes 07:32 and help us to see his Word clearly. 07:36 Now, why is that so necessary for all of us? 07:39 Well, let’s just take one simple example from the Scriptures 07:43 of the faithful man Samuel. 07:46 Now, Samuel was obviously a very spiritual man; 07:49 he was a person who was used 07:52 throughout his life in Jehovah’s service. 07:54 But if you look at this account in 1 Samuel 07:56 chapter 16, 07:59 you’ll remember that here 08:01 Jehovah was sending Samuel to anoint 08:04 one of the sons of Jesse to become king. 08:07 Now, if you look at verse 7, 08:09 look at what Jehovah says to Samuel: 08:12 “Do not pay attention 08:14 “to his appearance 08:16 “and how tall he is, 08:18 “for I have rejected him. 08:21 “For the way man sees 08:24 “is not the way God sees, 08:26 “because mere man sees what appears to the eyes, 08:29 but Jehovah sees into the heart.” 08:33 Well now, do you see the point? 08:35 Do you see why we need to beg Jehovah to open our eyes 08:38 and help us to see clearly his Word? 08:41 You see, our imperfection 08:43 affects our vision, doesn’t it? 08:45 Our culture, the way we were raised, 08:48 our fleshly inclinations 08:50 can all distort our vision. 08:54 We so much need Jehovah God 08:57 to open our eyes and help us 09:00 so that we can see matters clearly. 09:03 Well, for the past 74 years, 09:06 Gilead School has been a wonderful tool 09:08 to help fine spiritual men and women 09:12 to focus and sharpen 09:14 their spiritual vision. 09:16 Now, during your five and a half months of schooling, 09:19 you’ve had the pleasure to study God’s Word. 09:22 Now, this has not been just a dry academic exercise. 09:27 But really, what you’ve done 09:29 is you’ve focused a light 09:31 upon God’s Word, the Bible. 09:33 Now, we’re not talking about a little flashlight; 09:36 we’re talking about a floodlight. 09:39 And what has happened as a result? 09:41 Well, Jehovah has helped 09:44 you to see yourself; 09:46 he’s helped you to see the Scriptures; 09:48 he’s helped you to see your brothers; 09:51 he’s helped you to see your assignments 09:54 much more clearly 09:56 through the enlightening influence 09:59 of his precious Word, the Bible. 10:01 Well, as a result of all of that, 10:03 you are no longer the people you were 10:06 when you arrived at Gilead. 10:08 You have changed. 10:10 But now, what are you going to do 10:14 with this wonderful gift 10:16 that you have been given by Jehovah, 10:18 this expanded spiritual vision 10:21 which has been extended to you? 10:23 Well, when you think about Gilead, 10:25 this school is something that is very close 10:29 to our hearts as Jehovah’s people. 10:32 It’s tied up with our spiritual parents, 10:35 our spiritual grandparents, 10:37 with the foundation of the work 10:41 in so many countries of this earth. 10:44 There is a wonderful spiritual legacy 10:47 associated with Gilead. 10:50 Well, what do you want to do? 10:52 You want to become a part of that legacy. 10:55 You want to take the gift that you have been given 10:58 by Jehovah and use it to strengthen 11:01 and stabilize the congregations, the fields, 11:04 the branch offices where you are going to serve. 11:08 And what a group you’re going to join! 11:10 Let me just give you some statistics. 11:12 At the present time, 11:14 Gilead graduates are serving in many fields of service. 11:17 For example, 915 are serving as Bethelites, 11:22 880 serve as field missionaries, 11:26 496 serve as circuit overseers 11:30 or wives of circuit overseers, 11:33 244 serve as members of Branch 11:37 or Country Committees, 11:39 4 serve as Governing Body helpers, 11:42 and 2 are members of the Governing Body. 11:46 Well, when you think of all of these individuals 11:50 who are working hard to advance Kingdom interests around the world, 11:54 how much we want to praise 11:57 our magnificent, our wonderful God, Jehovah, 12:00 for what he’s done by means of the Gilead School 12:03 and by means of his organization to open our eyes 12:07 and help us to see his Word clearly. 12:09 Don’t you agree, brothers? 12:20 Well, I’m sure that all of us are looking forward to hearing 12:23 where our students are going to be going. 12:25 But before we reach that part in our program, 12:28 it’s appropriate that we hear a number of talks 12:31 that are going to give words of counsel, 12:35 words of encouragement, even words of comfort 12:38 that will build up not only the students 12:41 but all of us who will hear this program. 12:43 First of all, we’re privileged to hear from a member of the Governing Body 12:47 Brother Stephen Lett. 12:49 He is going to speak to us this morning on the theme 12:53 “Imitate Jehovah’s Use of Memory,” Brother Lett. 13:06 As you know, Ephesians 5:1 13:10 tells us 13:12 to “become imitators of God, 13:15 as beloved children.” 13:17 And if we think about it, 13:19 absolutely everything 13:22 we can learn about Jehovah is worthy of imitation, 13:25 and that includes his use of memory, 13:28 as we will discuss during this talk. 13:32 But now first, we ask, What do we mean by memory? 13:36 Well, one encyclopedia says this: 13:39 “Memory is the faculty of the mind 13:43 “by which information is encoded, 13:46 stored, and retrieved.” 13:49 But, unfortunately, most of us struggle 13:53 with remembering things we want to remember 13:56 and not remembering things we would like to forget. 14:00 We remember what we want to forget; 14:04 we don’t remember what we want to remember. 14:07 It’s a struggle, isn’t it? 14:09 But if you think about it, to illustrate this: 14:13 I can’t remember where I left my glasses. 14:17 Where did I leave my glasses? 14:19 But I do remember in detail 14:22 how you offended me 20 years ago. 14:30 By the way, when someone comes up to me at a convention 14:33 or an assembly and says: “Do you remember my name?” 14:37 I say: “Well, Brother, 14:39 “I remember your first name, 14:44 “but I don’t remember your last name. 14:46 Your first name is Brother, right?” 14:54 Well, feel free to use that little trick if you want to. 15:00 But even though it is a real challenge for us 15:03 as imperfect humans with imperfect memories 15:07 to imitate Jehovah’s perfect use 15:09 of his perfect memory, 15:11 we should work hard to try to do so. 15:13 In fact, we’re going to discuss four ways 15:16 in which Jehovah uses his memory 15:20 that we would do well to imitate. 15:22 Now the first one, let’s identify what it is. 15:26 And you dear Gilead students, if you really work 15:29 in these four areas, it will help you in your assignments. 15:33 But now, go to Hebrews chapter 6, please, 15:38 and let’s read verse number 10. 15:41 It says: “For God is not unrighteous 15:44 “so as to forget your work 15:49 “and the love you showed for his name by ministering 15:53 and continuing to minister to the holy ones.” 15:57 So you notice according to this scripture, Jehovah does not forget. 16:01 He always remembers our love for him 16:05 and our hard work in behalf of Kingdom interests. 16:09 In fact, the Insight book said: 16:11 ‘An individual’s record of fine works 16:14 ‘are like riches deposited 16:17 with the Creator in heaven.’ 16:19 So if you think about it, 16:22 every time that you go out in the ministry, 16:25 attend a meeting, help build a Kingdom Hall, 16:28 unselfishly help someone in need, 16:30 it’s like you make a deposit 16:32 in that great heavenly bank 16:34 —Jehovah’s memory. 16:37 And he never forgets it. 16:39 And he shows his appreciation. 16:41 How so? 16:43 Well, he remembers to hear our prayers. 16:45 He remembers to give us holy spirit. 16:47 He remembers to rescue us 16:49 from anything that could harm us spiritually. 16:52 But now the question, How we can imitate 16:56 this first example of Jehovah’s use of memory? 16:59 Well, as Jehovah doesn’t forget our love for him 17:03 —our hard work— 17:05 we don’t want to forget Jehovah’s love for us 17:09 and his hard work in our behalf. 17:12 He works so tirelessly, you could say, 17:15 in our behalf, doesn’t he? 17:17 As we said, remembering our prayers, 17:19 giving us holy spirit, helping us. 17:21 We don’t want to forget that; especially, 17:24 we want to remember all the times Jehovah has helped us in the past. 17:27 And we know he’s not going to abandon us now. 17:30 He’s going to help us now. We want to be like David. 17:34 He said: “Jehovah, who rescued me 17:37 “from the claws of the lion and the bear, 17:39 “he is the one who will rescue me 17:43 from the hand of this Philistine.” 17:45 He remembered how Jehovah had always helped him. 17:48 He knew Jehovah would help him now. 17:50 An extended application: 17:53 We don’t want to take for granted the hard work and the love 17:56 that others are showing for Jehovah. 17:58 And we want to, from time to time, commend them 18:01 and support them —the hardworking elders, 18:04 hardworking ministerial servants and pioneers, 18:07 parents trying to raise their children properly, 18:10 children trying to keep their integrity to Jehovah. 18:14 See, take note of that, remember that, 18:16 commend and support. 18:18 But now let’s get a second way 18:20 that Jehovah uses his memory. 18:23 Let’s go to Luke chapter 20, 18:25 and verse 38. 18:30 It says: “He is a God, 18:34 “not of the dead, 18:36 “but of the living, 18:38 for they are all living to him.” 18:41 Now what do we learn? 18:43 Well, Jehovah completely remembers 18:45 faithful ones who have died. 18:48 They’re living in his memory, and appropriately, 18:52 these ones are referred to as being in the memorial tombs 18:55 because Jehovah’s memory is involved. 18:58 Now, how can we imitate this example 19:00 of Jehovah’s use of memory? 19:02 Well, we don’t want to forget these faithful ones 19:05 who have died either. 19:07 And we have a lot of life stories, for example, 19:11 in our publications to help us remember them and their good qualities. 19:15 They’re good examples that we can keep learning from 19:18 —for example, former members of the Governing Body, 19:21 such as Brother Klein; 19:24 other members of the anointed, 19:27 or ones of the anointed —Sister Gertrud Pötzinger, 19:31 Georg Lindal, Bennett Brickell; 19:34 ones that had the earthy hope, life stories about them 19:38 —Brothers George Couch, Max Larson, 19:40 Robert Wallen. 19:42 And, of course, the Bible, as you know, contains numerous examples, doesn’t it, 19:46 of ones who have died that we don’t want to forget? 19:50 We want to keep reading about them, 19:52 meditating on their examples 19:54 and learning from them. 19:56 Well, let’s get a third way, now, 19:59 that Jehovah uses his memory. 20:02 Let’s go to Joshua chapter 21, 20:06 and we’ll read verse 45, 20:09 Joshua 21:45: 20:14 “Not a promise failed 20:16 “out of all the good promises that Jehovah had made 20:20 “to the house of Israel; 20:22 all of them came true.” 20:25 Now, this scripture and several others show 20:27 that Jehovah never forgets his promises. 20:30 He remembers them, 20:32 and he fulfills all of his promises, doesn’t he? 20:36 In contrast, 20:38 speaking of politicians, 20:40 one writer made a comment: 20:42 “They promise the moon, 20:45 “but once they get into office, 20:47 they do well to deliver a moonbeam.” 20:52 Well, others have what has been labeled as a selective memory, 20:56 or selective amnesia, it’s been labeled, 20:59 regarding promises they’ve made, but not Jehovah. 21:02 And, of course, as Jehovah’s children, we want to imitate him; 21:05 remember our promises. 21:07 What promise especially? 21:09 Our dedication promise. 21:11 In our dedication vow, 21:14 we promised to do Jehovah’s will 21:17 unreservedly. 21:19 We promised that we 21:21 would put Jehovah’s will ahead of our own will. 21:23 That’s what we promised. 21:25 And what is the duration of this promise, 21:29 this most important promise we ever made? 21:31 Well, forever. 21:33 What if we die; we’re resurrected? 21:36 Well, are you going to have to get rebaptized 21:39 when you are resurrected or rededicate your life to Jehovah? 21:42 No. 21:43 Your dedication and baptism 21:45 endure even death and resurrection. 21:48 So he expects us 21:50 to fulfill that promise we have made. 21:53 Now, those of us who are married, 21:55 he expects us to fulfill our marriage vows. 21:58 Maybe we’ve made other promises to Jehovah. 22:01 For example, here at Gilead School, 22:04 you may have made promises to Jehovah. 22:07 Well, he expects us to remember 22:09 and fulfill those promises. 22:13 But now, let’s get one more way —a fourth way—Jehovah uses his memory. 22:17 Let’s go to Isaiah 43, please, 22:20 and this scripture will help us identify it, 22:23 Isaiah 43:25, Jehovah says: 22:27 “I, I am the One 22:30 “who is blotting out your transgressions 22:33 “for my own sake, 22:35 “and I will not remember 22:39 your sins.” 22:41 Now, very interestingly, 22:43 when Jehovah forgives a sin, 22:45 he refuses to remember 22:47 —to recall it— 22:49 to ever hold that sin against the person. 22:52 He chooses not to remember that sin. 22:56 The Watchtower some years ago said that Jehovah 23:00 “will never call to mind 23:02 our forgiven sins.” 23:04 Now that’s amazing use of memory, isn’t it? 23:07 Truly amazing. 23:09 Why does Jehovah choose, 23:12 you could say, to delete our forgiven sins? 23:15 Well, is it because he wants to make more room in his memory? 23:21 No. Jehovah has unlimited memory, doesn’t he? 23:24 He calls all of the trillions 23:26 of stars by name. 23:29 I have a hard time calling by name the some 20 commenters 23:32 at the Monday night Bethel family Watchtower Study. 23:36 Jehovah remembers in full detail 23:39 the billions 23:41 who are in the memorial tombs. 23:44 So memory capacity is not the problem, is it? 23:47 Jehovah forgives and forgets 23:51 because of his love and mercy. 23:53 But now, how can we 23:55 imitate Jehovah here? 23:58 Well, we want to work hard 24:00 to freely forgive 24:02 as Jehovah does, but then we want to work hard 24:05 to try to delete that forgiven sin from our memories. 24:09 How do you delete something from your memory? 24:12 Well, you refuse to replay it, review it. 24:17 In contrast, if you want to remember something, 24:20 you do review it, don’t you? 24:22 If you want to remember someone’s name, 24:24 you keep repeating that to yourself 24:27 —you want to remember a scripture, 24:30 a word in a language you’re trying to learn. 24:33 On the other hand, if you don’t want to remember something, 24:36 you refuse to replay it —you dismiss that thought 24:39 like an immoral thought as an example. 24:41 The same way with forgiven sins, 24:44 we refuse to replay them. 24:46 We do our best, as 2 Corinthians 10:5 says, 24:50 to bring “every thought into captivity.” 24:53 “Make it obedient to the Christ.” 24:56 Well, we have four ways 24:58 Jehovah uses his memory there that we’ve now discussed. 25:01 Did you get them? 25:03 (1) He remembers our love for him and our hard work 25:07 in behalf of Kingdom interests. 25:09 We want to remember his love and hard work on our behalf, 25:12 and by extension, the love and hard work of others. 25:16 (2) He never forgets faithful ones who have died. 25:20 Well, we don’t want to forget them either. 25:22 By means of the Bible, by means of life stories, 25:25 we can remember these ones and learn from them. 25:28 (3) He always remembers 25:31 his promises and fulfills them. 25:34 We want to do the same. 25:36 (4) He chooses not to remember, 25:39 completely forgets, our forgiven sins. 25:42 We want to work hard to do the same thing. 25:45 May we remember to forget. 25:49 You have to think about that. 25:53 Well, likely you can think of other aspects of Jehovah’s use of memory 25:56 that would be worthy of imitation. 25:58 In fact, I’m going to give you students 26:00 that as a homework assignment. 26:03 Come up with some other examples of how Jehovah uses his memory 26:06 that we can imitate. 26:08 Now, I’ll get you started. 26:10 Psalm 103:14 26:12 says Jehovah remembers 26:15 that “we are dust.” 26:17 Now, how can we imitate that aspect of Jehovah’s memory? 26:21 Now, you’re used to homework assignments. 26:23 You’ve had them for five months. 26:25 Now you have another assignment. 26:28 But may Jehovah bless 26:30 each of you dear ones 26:33 as you strive, 26:35 with the help of holy spirit, 26:37 to imitate Jehovah’s use 26:40 of memory. 26:52 Well, we sincerely thank you, Brother Lett, 26:55 for that fine talk, and you can be certain 26:57 that we will remember it. 27:01 Well next, we’re privileged to hear from Brother Saki Marais, 27:04 a helper to the Writing Committee of the Governing Body. 27:07 Brother Marais is going to speak to us on the subject 27:10 “With the Measure That You Measure Out.” 27:19 We know that you as students 27:23 truly appreciated the privilege 27:27 to go through Gilead, to learn so many things. 27:31 And during this time, 27:33 you have been given 27:35 many things, many gifts, as it were. 27:39 And we know the scripture says 27:42 ‘every good 27:44 ‘and perfect gift 27:46 comes from Jehovah.’ 27:49 But now, how should we view this gift 27:53 that you have received? 27:55 The Bible helps us in a very interesting way 27:58 in Ephesians chapter 4, 28:02 Ephesians chapter 4, 28:06 and it says here in verse 7: 28:09 “Now undeserved kindness 28:12 “was given to each one of us 28:15 “according to how the Christ 28:18 measured out the free gift.” 28:20 So it is a free gift. 28:23 We didn’t earn it. 28:25 We didn’t deserve it. 28:27 But nevertheless, 28:29 it came from the Christ, 28:31 and he measured it out to us 28:34 —very kindly measured it out to us. 28:39 Now, what is the purpose of this gift? 28:43 Why did we get this gift? 28:46 He goes on to explain here 28:48 in chapter 4, 28:50 verse 8, 28:54 that he turns these individuals 28:59 who received these gifts 29:01 into gifts 29:03 —they become gifts of men. 29:06 And now, we look at verse 10. 29:09 What is the purpose? 29:11 It’s “so that he might give 29:14 fullness to all things.” 29:17 Now, Christ gives out this gift 29:20 in many different ways, 29:23 many different manifestations of his gift. 29:28 For instance, look at verse 11. 29:31 Some are apostles, prophets, evangelizers, 29:34 shepherds, and teachers. 29:36 The purpose? 29:38 That each of these gifts 29:40 will share what they have in order to help 29:45 every member of the congregation. 29:48 If you look here in verses 12 and 13, 29:51 we read from the last part of verse 12: 29:53 “To build up the body of the Christ, 29:56 “until we all attain 30:00 “to the oneness of the faith 30:02 “and of the accurate knowledge of the Son of God, 30:06 “to being a full-grown man, 30:09 “attaining the measure of stature 30:12 that belongs to the fullness of the Christ.” 30:16 This is wonderful, isn’t it? 30:19 Just to think 30:21 that Christ Jesus has given you 30:23 this wonderful gift, this ability 30:27 to build up the rest of the congregation 30:30 —that is your obligation and your responsibility. 30:36 At 1 Peter 4:10, 30:40 an additional aspect about this gift is given to us. 30:44 Let us read at 1 Peter 4:10, 30:49 it says: “To the extent that each one 30:52 “has received a gift, 30:55 “use it in ministering to one another 30:59 “as fine stewards of God’s undeserved kindness 31:04 that is expressed in various ways.” 31:08 So this is our opportunity 31:10 to use this gift 31:13 as a distributor, an administrator, 31:16 of God’s undeserved kindness. 31:19 But this gift is very different 31:21 from a normal gift that we would receive. 31:24 Why would this gift be different? 31:27 Normally, when you get a gift, what do you do? 31:29 You look at this gift and you think: ‘I wonder what’s in it. 31:34 ‘I wonder if I’m going to like it. 31:38 I wonder how I will use it.’ 31:41 That’s normally the case, but with this gift that we receive, 31:45 we receive the gift, 31:47 and we just simply give it on 31:49 without opening the gift. 31:53 This is our obligation with this gift that we’ve received. 31:57 Christ Jesus helps us to understand 31:59 how to administer this gift. 32:02 And we turn to Luke chapter 6, 32:04 verses 32-37, 32:08 Luke chapter 6, 32:21 starting with verse 32: 32:23 “If you love those loving you, 32:26 “of what credit is it to you? 32:28 “For even the sinners love those loving them. 32:31 “And if you do good to those doing good to you, 32:34 “of what credit is it to you? 32:36 “Even the sinners do the same. 32:39 “Also, if you lend to those 32:42 “from whom you expect repayment, 32:45 “of what credit is it to you? 32:47 “Even sinners lend to sinners 32:49 “so that they may get back as much. 32:53 “On the contrary, 32:55 “continue to love 32:57 “your enemies 33:00 “and to do good and to lend 33:03 “without hoping for anything back; 33:06 “and your reward will be great, 33:09 “and you will be 33:11 “sons of the Most High, 33:14 “for he is kind 33:17 “toward the unthankful and wicked. 33:21 “Continue being merciful, 33:24 “just as your Father is merciful. 33:26 “Moreover, stop judging, 33:30 “and you will by no means be judged; 33:32 “and stop condemning, 33:34 “and you will by no means be condemned. 33:36 “Keep on forgiving, 33:39 and you will be forgiven.” 33:45 So we cannot be judges 33:48 of those to whom we give the gift. 33:52 We are not judges; we are not condemning people. 33:56 Our whole purpose of administering this gift 34:00 that we’ve received is to do so without any prejudice. 34:06 We do not judge the worthiness of the recipient. 34:11 We only take on our responsibility, 34:14 our dignity that we have been given by Jehovah 34:17 —that of passing on the gift. 34:22 The second part, 34:24 apart from being completely unprejudiced, 34:27 the second part is that we must give freely and generously. 34:31 Now, we get to verse 37, 34:34 excuse me, verse 38: 34:36 “Practice giving, 34:39 “and people will give to you. 34:42 “They will pour into your laps a fine measure, 34:45 “pressed down, shaken together, 34:48 “and overflowing. 34:50 “For with the measure 34:53 “that you are measuring out, 34:56 “they will measure out 34:58 to you in return.” 35:00 So Jehovah God 35:02 is extremely generous. 35:05 He makes the sun shine 35:08 and the rain come upon righteous 35:10 and the unrighteous. 35:12 And as Paul says: “He himself 35:15 “gives . . . life 35:17 and breath and all things” 35:20 to everyone. 35:22 And Jehovah is very interested 35:25 in how we administer 35:27 the gifts given into our hands. 35:29 That’s why it says ‘with the measure 35:31 you measure out.’ 35:34 He is very interested to see whether we 35:37 do so very carefully. 35:40 This is like the example of parents 35:42 that train their children 35:45 to make a contribution at the Kingdom Hall. 35:47 They give the child a little bit of money and they 35:49 tell him to go put it in the contribution box. 35:51 Now, they expect the child to go and put it in the contribution box, 35:54 right, not to keep it for himself? 35:56 They also don’t expect the child to collect all the contributions 36:01 over a long period of time and then go make some big donation. 36:04 No, the parents are actually giving the contribution, 36:09 and they expect the child to do it the way they tell him. 36:11 Take it; go and put it in the contribution box now. 36:15 And so it is with Jehovah. 36:18 He is giving us this gift, 36:20 but we need to pass it on. 36:22 It is not for us to look 36:25 and to hold on to this gift. 36:27 So here’s the lesson: Be careful, 36:31 very careful, that you do not control 36:35 the gift that Jehovah gives you too closely. 36:39 Remember, the gift has to be passed on; 36:43 otherwise, we will lose Jehovah’s favor. 36:46 We cannot bury the talent 36:48 in the ground, as it were. 36:51 We receive it; we must spend it. 36:55 As much as we treasure it, we cannot hold on to it. 36:59 And so now we come to the key statement here: 37:02 “With the measure . . . you are measuring out,” 37:07 makes us sons of the Most High. 37:12 We cannot be more generous than Jehovah. 37:15 But does your generosity 37:18 match the generosity of Jehovah in your case? 37:23 Generosity has to become a habit for us, 37:26 a way of life. 37:28 And here is another very important aspect: 37:31 Jehovah is giving not just anything; 37:34 he gives the very best. 37:39 He doesn’t hold back; he gives us the very best. 37:43 Let us read these most profound words 37:46 at Romans chapter 8, 37:51 and in verse 32: 37:54 “Since he did not even spare his own Son 37:58 “but handed him over for us all, 38:01 “will he not also, along with him, 38:03 “kindly give us 38:05 all other things?” 38:09 So Jehovah gives it all. 38:11 The principle for us: 38:13 With the measure we measure out, 38:15 it will be measured out to us. 38:18 This is an eternal truth. 38:20 We can count on it. 38:22 You’ve been given much; don’t hold back. 38:25 Give it all. Give your best. 38:28 The benefit is not in using the gift; 38:32 the benefit is in giving the gift. 38:36 For with the measure 38:39 you measure out, it will be measured out to you. 38:54 And we thank you very much, Brother Marais, 38:56 for the beautiful gift that you gave us. 38:59 Now we’re looking forward to hearing 39:01 from another helper to the Writing Committee, Brother Robert Ciranko. 39:04 He’s going to speak to us today on the theme 39:07 “Is It All About You?” 39:15 It is a rare privilege to be invited to attend 39:18 the Watchtower Bible School of Gilead. 39:21 And in its 74-year history, only about 9,000 students 39:25 have graduated from this school. 39:28 Well, now at it’s current pace of two classes a year, 39:31 how long do you think it would take for all 67,000 special full-time servants 39:36 in the world to be able to attend Gilead? 39:40 Over 600 years. 39:43 So we rejoice with you students 39:45 for having been able to enjoy 39:48 this excellent privilege. 39:50 But now, we have to be cautious 39:53 when we think about the word “privilege.” 39:56 One dictionary says it is “a right 39:59 that is given to some people and not to others.” 40:02 So if not careful, we could wrongly assume that receiving this 40:06 or certain ther privileges in Jehovah’s organization 40:09 somehow elevates us above the rest 40:12 of Jehovah’s faithful servants. 40:15 And then by thinking that, we could start 40:17 to believe that it is all about us. 40:20 But is it? 40:22 The same dictionary says that “privilege” can also mean 40:24 “a special opportunity to do something,” 40:28 and that is what we need to focus on 40:31 whenever we receive a privilege in God’s service 40:34 —the opportunity it gives us to serve. 40:38 There was an incident with Jesus’ apostles that nicely illustrates this. 40:42 If you open your Bibles, please, to Matthew the 19th chapter, 40:46 Matthew chapter 19, and keep your Bibles open there. 40:50 It was the year 33 of our Common Era, 40:52 just days before Jesus’ life and ministry 40:55 would come to an abrupt end. 40:57 He and his disciples were traveling to Jerusalem for the Passover. 41:01 And a rich young ruler runs up to Jesus 41:04 and asks what he has to do to gain everlasting life, 41:07 and Jesus explained. 41:09 But the wealthy man was dismayed when he found out 41:11 that he would have to sell his belongings, give to the poor, 41:15 and follow Christ. 41:17 Well, taking this all in, one of Jesus’ apostles 41:20 pointed out that they had given up 41:23 their former vocations to follow Christ. 41:26 This is Matthew 19:27: 41:29 “Then Peter said in reply: ‘Look! 41:33 “‘We have left all things and followed you; 41:36 what, then, will there be for us?’” 41:40 In modern parlance, Peter was asking, 41:43 “What’s in it for us?” 41:45 Well, Jesus doesn’t leave them wondering because in verse 28, 41:49 he promises them that when he gets into his Kingdom, 41:52 they eventually will sit on thrones with him. 41:56 And you can be sure that that prospect really stuck in their minds, 42:00 and they must have dwelled on it as they continued on their journey 42:04 to Jerusalem. 42:06 But a short time later, look at what happens 42:08 at Matthew 20:20: 42:12 “Then the mother of the sons of Zebedee approached him with her sons, 42:16 “doing obeisance and asking for something from him. 42:20 “He said to her: ‘What do you want?’ 42:23 “She replied to him: 42:25 “‘Give the word that these two sons of mine may sit down, 42:29 one at your right hand and one at your left, in your Kingdom.’” 42:33 Well, James and John probably put their mother up to that, 42:37 and how clever they must have thought they were 42:40 that they got to Jesus with their request before Peter or the others did! 42:45 And what was the reaction of the rest? 42:47 Look at verse 24: “When the ten others heard about it, 42:50 they became indignant at the two brothers.” 42:53 They were upset with James and John 42:55 for trying to reserve for themselves 42:57 the best thrones in the Kingdom, 43:00 and they probably also wished 43:02 they had thought of the idea first. 43:05 Well, even before this, we know the apostles had argued 43:09 among themselves as to which one was the greatest. 43:12 So do you see what their problem was? 43:15 It was all about them. 43:18 These 12 men already enjoyed the special privilege 43:21 of having been chosen to be an apostle of Christ; 43:24 they were told of a future amazing privilege 43:27 to sit on thrones in the heavenly Kingdom; 43:30 and now they’re trying to secure something even more for themselves. 43:34 And what must have made this especially disheartening to Jesus 43:38 is what occurred just moments before. 43:41 Look at verse 17: 43:43 “While going up to Jerusalem, Jesus took the 12 disciples 43:47 “aside privately and said to them on the road: ‘Look! 43:50 “‘We are going up to Jerusalem, and the Son of man 43:53 “‘will be handed over to the chief priests and the scribes. 43:56 “‘They will condemn him to death 43:59 “‘and hand him over to men of the nations to be mocked 44:02 and scourged and executed on a stake.’” 44:07 With all that Jesus had on his mind 44:10 —preparing himself mentally and emotionally for what lay ahead— 44:13 the last thing he should have been troubled with 44:16 was the apostles posturing themselves 44:19 for some sort of greatness. 44:22 But Jesus patiently took them aside 44:25 to impress upon them the right attitude. 44:28 Verse 25: 44:30 “But Jesus called them to him and said: 44:33 “‘You know that the rulers of the nations lord it over them 44:36 “‘and the great men wield authority over them. 44:40 “‘This must not be the way among you; 44:43 “‘but whoever wants to become great 44:45 “‘among you must be your minister, 44:47 “‘and whoever wants to be first 44:49 “‘among you must be your slave. 44:51 “‘Just as the Son of man came, 44:53 “‘not to be ministered to, 44:55 “‘but to minister and to give his life as a ransom 44:59 in exchange for many.’” 45:02 Yes, when Jesus came to earth, it was to minister 45:05 —it was to serve others. 45:07 He was not aspiring to any positions 45:10 of honor or prestige, 45:12 and Jesus’ disciples needed that same disposition. 45:15 They needed to appreciate that the greatest person in the Kingdom 45:19 must be the one who humbly serves others. 45:23 You see, Jehovah bestows privileges on us, 45:27 not to give us some sense of entitlement, 45:30 but to create opportunities for us 45:33 to be more useful in our service to God. 45:38 To show that Jesus really meant what he said, 45:40 notice what happened next. 45:42 And by now, they are within a day’s journey of Jerusalem. 45:45 Verse 29: 45:47 “As they were going out of Jericho, a large crowd followed him. 45:50 “And look! two blind men sitting beside the road 45:54 “heard that Jesus was passing by and cried out: 45:57 “‘Lord, have mercy on us, Son of David!’ 46:01 “But the crowd rebuked them, 46:03 “telling them to keep silent; 46:06 “yet they cried all the louder, saying: 46:08 “‘Lord, have mercy on us, Son of David!’ 46:11 “So Jesus stopped, called them, and said: 46:15 “‘What do you want me to do for you?’ 46:18 “They said to him: ‘Lord, let our eyes be opened.’ 46:22 “Moved with pity, Jesus touched their eyes, 46:25 “and immediately they recovered their sight, 46:27 and they followed him.” 46:30 Imagine again how much 46:32 was weighing on Jesus’ heart at that very moment. 46:35 You see, he knew he was about to enter 46:38 the final week of his earthly life 46:40 —that intense suffering 46:43 and a cruel death awaited him and that his integrity 46:47 to God was going to be put on the line. 46:49 And yet he does not ignore 46:51 the insistent cries of these desperate men. 46:55 Did you notice in verse 32 what Jesus 46:57 asked the two blind men? 46:59 He said: “What do you want me 47:02 to do for you?” 47:04 Now, what might we be tempted to say 47:08 if we see someone approaching us 47:11 and wanting to ask a favor, 47:14 or our help, for something? 47:16 Well, if we suspect that their request will be too distasteful 47:20 or time-consuming to fulfill, we might want to reserve for ourselves 47:23 the opportunity to delegate the task to someone else. 47:26 So we might just say, “What do you want?” 47:29 But not Jesus. 47:31 And on ever so many occasions, he was deeply moved 47:34 to serve the needs of others because it was never all about him. 47:40 What a good lesson for us always to imitate. 47:43 You see, we can approach life 47:45 expecting to be a person of privilege 47:48 or, like Christ, we can use 47:50 the opportunities we are given 47:52 to serve in whatever capacity 47:54 we are allowed to do in Jehovah’s organization. 47:58 And for you dear members 48:00 of the 142nd class of Gilead, 48:03 we believe that you were already manifesting 48:05 that Christlike spirit 48:07 in your assignment, and that’s why you were chosen to attend 48:11 this 142nd class of Gilead. 48:13 Never lose that spirit. 48:15 Now soon, you’re going to go off with diploma in hand, aren’t you, 48:19 maybe to take on even more responsibility 48:21 than you had before? 48:23 And Jehovah has reserved a place for you 48:26 to serve him in his organization. 48:28 We are confident that you will remember 48:30 that it has not been all about you. 48:33 Rather, it has been about how you will use the fine education 48:36 you have received now at Gilead as an opportunity 48:40 to continually and humbly serve others, 48:44 and for that, Jehovah will richly bless you. 48:56 We thank you very much, Brother Ciranko, 48:59 for those very heartwarming and very meaningful thoughts. 49:03 Well, now we’re going to begin to hear some comments 49:06 and thoughts from the instructors of the Gilead School. 49:10 First, we’re going to hear from Brother William Samuelson. 49:13 He’s going to speak to us on the subject 49:15 “Perfected Into One.” 49:20 Some years ago, back in the 1700’s, 49:24 Thomas Paine, an American writer, said: 49:27 “It’s not in numbers 49:30 “but in unity 49:32 that great strength lies.” 49:34 Well, that reminded me 49:36 of a medical emergency that arose 49:38 at a district convention some years ago. 49:41 A brother leaving the stadium 49:44 got to the sidewalk and fell 49:46 to the ground, or to the sidewalk, 49:49 apparently with a heart attack 49:51 or possibly a stroke. 49:53 Two ambulances eventually arrived, 49:57 and the two drivers got into a heated argument 50:00 over who had the authority, or jurisdiction, 50:03 to transport our brother 50:05 to the nearest emergency ward. 50:08 Well, what was it that kept 50:10 these two drivers 50:12 from being effective at their job? 50:15 It was a lack of unity. 50:17 So I was thinking, ‘How can you 50:20 ‘promote unity in your job, 50:23 in your assignment, that you’ll be going to?’ 50:26 Well, there are any number of ways. 50:28 And the list that I’m going to give you, is just three, 50:32 and it is by no means exhaustive 50:35 —good communication; 50:37 avoid promoting a personal agenda; 50:41 and if given oversight, 50:43 work within the boundaries 50:46 of the assignment and work hard 50:49 to be skilled at it. 50:51 Good communication. 50:53 At the time of the emergency that I just mentioned, 50:58 an unauthorized person 51:00 called 911. 51:02 Now, that lack of communication 51:05 —the unauthorized person 51:08 really should have communicated 51:10 with the attendants already on duty 51:12 and assigned to that particular job. 51:15 There were EMTs there, 51:17 but he saw what he thought was a serious situation 51:20 and called 911. 51:22 Now, that resulted in 911 51:27 sending the second ambulance. 51:29 We’ll talk about that a little later. 51:31 I got to thinking about a Bible account 51:34 —a huge project 51:36 that failed because of lack of communication. 51:40 Now, you probably can think of any number, 51:44 and the one I’m going to talk about we usually think of in a negative way. 51:48 But turn to Genesis chapter 11, 51:50 and we’re going to look at verses 6 through 8 in particular, 51:54 and we won’t read all of it, but just a few little excerpts from it. 51:58 In verse 5: “Jehovah went down to see the city 52:02 and the tower,” the city and Tower of Babel. 52:05 They had a project. “Jehovah then said: ‘Look! 52:09 They are one people,’” they’re united, 52:12 “‘with one language, and this is what they have started to do. 52:16 “‘Now there is nothing that they may have in mind to do 52:19 that will be impossible for them.’” 52:21 Because they had communication, 52:24 they were able to understand each other. 52:26 So Jehovah confused their languages. 52:29 But now, notice in verse 8, 52:31 he ‘scattered them over the entire face of the earth, 52:34 and they gradually left off building the tower.’ 52:39 Because they couldn’t communicate, 52:41 the project failed. 52:44 Well, when we examine 52:49 our own situation, 52:51 the Scriptures tell us— 52:53 Paul wrote to the Philippians: “Look out 52:56 “not only for your own interests, 52:59 but also for the interests of others.” 53:01 How will you know 53:03 what is in the best interests of others 53:06 if you don’t communicate with them? 53:08 if you don’t talk to them? 53:10 if you don’t find out what their preferences are? 53:12 their thinking? their abilities? 53:14 And once you find out what these are, 53:17 then you act in harmony 53:20 with that and you look for their interests 53:24 rather than your own. 53:26 The second point: 53:29 Avoid promoting a personal agenda. 53:32 Personal agenda 53:34 was defined this way in one publication: 53:37 “An ambitious scheme or plan of action 53:41 “designed to make things work out for your benefit 53:45 “or your convenience 53:47 or so that you can gain control.” 53:52 Control seems to sometimes be a dominant thing. 53:55 Well, in our initial illustration, 53:58 or example, our two drivers, 54:00 both had a personal agenda. 54:02 The first ambulance 54:04 had been radioed for and was on-site 54:08 because it had been employed by the convention. 54:11 It was there for just such an emergency, 54:14 and obviously that driver felt that he had jurisdiction. 54:18 But you remember our unauthorized brother 54:21 called 911. 54:24 Now, 911 dispatched an ambulance, 54:27 and our brother had collapsed on the sidewalk. 54:30 So he felt because it wasn’t inside the stadium, 54:33 it was on the sidewalk, and because he 54:36 had been dispatched by 911, 54:38 he had jurisdiction. 54:40 So the two of them had their own agenda. 54:44 Of course, our poor brother is laying here 54:46 not knowing what’s happening to him. 54:48 Well, I got to thinking 54:50 about others in the Bible 54:52 that have gone out for their own agenda. 54:55 Satan obviously tops the list. 54:56 He had an agenda. He wanted worship. 54:58 But what about Korah, Dathan, Abiram? 55:02 Turn to Numbers 55:04 chapter 16, 55:08 verses 8 through 11, but we’re not going to read all of that. 55:12 You remember the account. 55:14 In fact, I think you studied it in detail. 55:17 But in verse 8: 55:20 “Moses then said to Korah: ‘Listen, please, 55:23 “‘you sons of Levi. 55:25 “‘Does it seem to you such a little thing 55:28 “‘that the God of Israel 55:30 “‘has separated you from the assembly of Israel 55:33 “‘and allowed you to approach him in order to perform 55:37 “‘the service of Jehovah’s tabernacle 55:39 and to stand before the assembly?’” 55:41 In other words, you’ve been given a special privilege. 55:44 Now, does that seem like such a little thing to you? 55:48 In verse 10, he said: 55:50 “Must you also try to secure the priesthood?” 55:54 Well, if you think about this matter of a personal agenda, 55:57 in your assignments, you can contribute much 56:01 to the unity of the group you’re with, 56:04 the branch, the department. 56:06 But if you start thinking about how this is going to give 56:09 honor and glory to you, 56:11 you could start thinking about getting 56:13 as much responsibility as you can 56:15 —working for your own interests 56:18 rather than the interests of others, 56:20 getting or developing 56:22 a personal agenda. 56:24 So in addition to the special privileges you have 56:27 in full-time service, must you also 56:30 try to get something else? try to get something greater? 56:34 Two others that fell victim to this 56:38 were James and John. 56:40 Turn to the book of Mark, 56:44 and again we’re just going to glance 56:47 at a couple of the scriptures, a couple of the verses. 56:49 Here, you remember —and Brother Ciranko 56:51 already commented on this account —James and John. 56:55 One account said they got their mother to do it, 56:57 but they knew, Jesus knew. 57:00 He answered them, and they said: “Teacher,” 57:03 verse 35, chapter 10, “Teacher, 57:06 we want you to do for us whatever we ask of you.” 57:09 ‘We’ve got a personal agenda. 57:12 ‘We want to sit on your right hand and your left. 57:14 ‘We want to have honor; we want to have authority. 57:17 You see, we want this.’ 57:19 Well, without doing all of the details here, 57:22 verse 41, what did it do to the unity 57:26 of the group of the 12? 57:29 Verse 41: “When the ten others heard about it, 57:32 “they became indignant 57:35 at James and John.” 57:37 It didn’t help the unity of the group 57:40 with a personal agenda. 57:42 And so it is with you. 57:45 If you promote a personal agenda, 57:48 it’s not going to help the unity of the department 57:52 or the branch that you’re serving with. 57:56 We might think, in conclusion, 58:00 of an illustration 58:02 of an orchestra. 58:04 Before a performance, 58:06 all of the instruments in an orchestra 58:08 generally adjust 58:11 to a single pitch 58:13 —one generated sometimes 58:15 by an electronic tone generator. 58:18 Now, once they have been tuned to a single tone, 58:21 all of the instruments are automatically 58:24 tuned to each other. 58:26 And so it is if you listen to the one tone, 58:30 you will all be tuned together. 58:32 You remember Jesus in his prayer 58:36 to his Father in John 17 before his death. 58:40 He prayed that they would be in union, 58:43 that they would be together as one. 58:46 If you turn to John 17:21, 58:51 he said: “So that they may all be one,” in his prayer to his Father, 58:55 “just as you, Father, are in union with me,” in other words, 58:58 united, one, 59:01 “. . . that they also may be in union with us, 59:04 so that the world may believe that you sent me.” 59:07 But now, drop down to verse 23: 59:12 “In union with them and you—” 59:14 “I in union with them and you in union with me, 59:19 in order that they may be perfected into one.” 59:23 Now, notice the footnote on “perfected into one.” 59:28 It says: “Or ‘be completely unified.’” 59:33 So for stability in the branch, the department, 59:37 whatever your assignment is, 59:39 unity is a must; it has to be. 59:43 Just as you’ve done for the past 20 weeks, 59:46 we encourage you to continue 59:48 to work together, united 59:51 —perfectly, completely united— 59:53 perfected into one. 59:56 As Gilead graduates, make sure you do your part 1:00:00 to help your brothers and sisters 1:00:02 become perfected into one. 1:00:15 We thank you very much, Brother Samuelson, 1:00:17 for those very practical comments. 1:00:20 I know the students are going to benefit from them. 1:00:22 Well, now we’re looking forward to hearing a talk 1:00:25 from another of our Gilead instructors, Brother Mark Noumair. 1:00:29 His theme for us today is “See the Cause.” 1:00:34 Well, this is a time of great change 1:00:37 for Jehovah’s people, 1:00:39 and you students have seen it firsthand 1:00:42 by being invited to Gilead. 1:00:44 In fact, some of you 1:00:46 will receive a change of assignment 1:00:49 after Gilead. 1:00:51 And still others might receive a change 1:00:54 in their circumstances once they get back 1:00:57 to their branch territory. 1:00:59 So change will be a part of your life. 1:01:03 And although change can be good, 1:01:05 many find unexpected change 1:01:08 stressful or even unsettling. 1:01:10 We may find ourselves asking, 1:01:12 ‘Why me?’ 1:01:14 And that question is not a sign of weak faith. 1:01:18 Rather, it is healthy to ask why 1:01:21 because when you ask the question why, 1:01:25 you usually begin to explore the cause 1:01:30 behind the change. 1:01:33 Now, a careful study of Bible history 1:01:36 reveals that Jehovah God is a Master of change. 1:01:40 He loves change. 1:01:42 In fact, when we studied the New World Translation, 1:01:45 Appendix A-4, what did we learn? 1:01:48 We learned that Jehovah causes, 1:01:51 or sets in motion, 1:01:55 anything he wants to happen in order to fulfill his purpose. 1:02:01 Now, we might accept that Jehovah permits this or that 1:02:05 when it comes to problems 1:02:07 in this imperfect system of things 1:02:09 and, perhaps, situations 1:02:12 that one goes through because of imperfection. 1:02:15 True. 1:02:16 But what about when adjustments are made 1:02:20 within Jehovah’s theocratic organization? 1:02:24 Now what? 1:02:26 If we have a difficult time 1:02:28 adjusting to a change 1:02:30 because it doesn’t match our thinking, 1:02:34 should we automatically conclude that Jehovah 1:02:37 is simply permitting this change? 1:02:41 Or is he, in fact, 1:02:43 causing it to happen? 1:02:47 Well, I want to consider two Bible accounts with you 1:02:50 that are going to help answer that question. 1:02:52 First one, 2 Chronicles chapter 11. 1:02:59 The setting is when the ten tribes 1:03:02 withdrew their support from Rehoboam. 1:03:05 They made Jeroboam their king. 1:03:08 Rehoboam wanted those ten tribes back, 1:03:12 no doubt thinking: ‘They have no right to break away. 1:03:15 ‘Who do they think they are? 1:03:17 ‘In fact, breaking away, 1:03:19 ‘or splitting, the 12 tribes 1:03:21 ‘will only create an abrupt change 1:03:24 ‘to a stable arrangement which originated with God 1:03:28 ‘since the days of Moses. 1:03:30 I want them back.’ 1:03:32 This was unexpected, unsettling for Rehoboam. 1:03:35 And then Jehovah God 1:03:39 sends his prophet Shemaiah 1:03:41 to Rehoboam. 1:03:43 Second Chronicles 11, let’s read verse 4: 1:03:48 “This is what Jehovah says: 1:03:50 “‘You must not go up 1:03:53 “‘and fight against your [Rehoboam’s] brothers. 1:03:55 “‘Each of you return to his house, 1:03:57 “‘for I [Jehovah] 1:04:00 “‘have caused this 1:04:02 to happen.’” 1:04:04 ‘I have caused 1:04:07 ‘this split to happen, Rehoboam. 1:04:10 ‘I caused it. 1:04:11 ‘And anything that I cause can only have good results. 1:04:15 ‘It’s going to be good. 1:04:17 I cause it; it’s going to be good.’ 1:04:19 And we too can discern 1:04:22 the possible benefits of this split. 1:04:25 Think about it: 1:04:27 Individual Israelites in either kingdom now 1:04:30 would have an opportunity to demonstrate 1:04:32 if they would personally uphold true worship 1:04:35 at the temple, regardless of which king was ruling 1:04:38 and regardless of which territory they lived in. 1:04:41 Jehovah’s patience, his mercy, 1:04:45 his protection would be magnified 1:04:48 as he now dealt with two kingdoms 1:04:51 instead of one. 1:04:53 But we may wonder, 1:04:55 ‘Since Jehovah caused this, 1:04:58 why did the apostasy occur afterwards?’ 1:05:02 Well, Jehovah intended this split 1:05:06 to be a mere governmental division, 1:05:09 an organizational adjustment, 1:05:11 not a departure from true worship 1:05:13 as centered at the temple in Jerusalem. 1:05:16 If Jeroboam had continued faithful, 1:05:20 that separate kingdom of Israel 1:05:23 would have continued right alongside the kingdom of Judah. 1:05:27 They would have worked together to honor and praise Jehovah God. 1:05:30 That would have been wonderful. Jehovah would have made sure of that. 1:05:34 So Jehovah didn’t cause 1:05:37 the apostasy. 1:05:39 These problems, or human flaws, 1:05:42 resulted when Rehoboam and Jeroboam failed to see 1:05:47 that Jehovah expected obedience 1:05:49 no matter where they lived. 1:05:53 That’s the point: They failed to cooperate 1:05:56 with the new reality and reap the benefits 1:06:00 from what Jehovah was causing to happen. 1:06:05 So, what first lesson do we want you to think about, 1:06:08 to learn, to have etched into your memory? 1:06:12 When Jehovah causes a change, it can only be for the good. 1:06:18 All we need to do is cooperate with the change 1:06:21 and see the cause, or see 1:06:25 what Jehovah is setting in motion, 1:06:29 and then look to him for a blessing on the outcome. 1:06:35 See, this divine precedent teaches us 1:06:37 that it is vital 1:06:39 for you, for me, 1:06:42 vital to distinguish 1:06:44 the perfect cause 1:06:46 of Jehovah 1:06:49 from the imperfect flaws 1:06:51 of humans 1:06:53 who fail to cooperate 1:06:55 with what Jehovah God is doing. 1:06:59 That’s point number one. 1:07:01 Let’s go on to our second example. 1:07:03 This one has to do with Joseph. 1:07:06 The setting is when Joseph was in Egypt, 1:07:10 and he’s making himself known to his brothers. 1:07:13 Genesis chapter 45, let’s open our Bibles there. 1:07:22 Chapter 45, verse 7, 1:07:26 notice what Joseph says to his brothers, how he words this: 1:07:30 “But God sent me ahead of you,” 1:07:35 sent me ahead of you, 1:07:37 “in order to preserve for you a remnant,” 1:07:39 there was a purpose, “on the earth 1:07:42 and to keep you alive by a great deliverance.” 1:07:45 Do we see that? 1:07:47 Jehovah didn’t merely permit him to go to Egypt, 1:07:50 but he caused Joseph to go to Egypt. 1:07:52 ‘I sent you; I caused you to go ahead 1:07:55 to preserve a remnant.’ 1:07:57 You see, Joseph’s arrival in Egypt 1:08:00 was part of Jehovah’s purpose 1:08:02 in creating the conditions 1:08:04 that would result in preserving the offspring 1:08:07 that would lead to the Messiah. 1:08:09 However, 1:08:12 Jehovah causing a change, 1:08:15 at times, 1:08:17 the consequences of that change 1:08:19 are not what we expect. 1:08:22 And that’s what we have to think about. 1:08:24 He causes the change, but the consequences 1:08:27 might not be what we expect. 1:08:29 For example, think about Joseph. 1:08:32 He becomes a slave. He didn’t expect that. 1:08:35 He went to prison. ‘I don’t expect this. 1:08:38 ‘I’m initially— I’m treated severely. 1:08:41 I didn’t like that.’ 1:08:43 See, Joseph suffered many human injustices 1:08:46 or flaws along the way. 1:08:51 He could have easily resisted, 1:08:53 proudly reasoned: ‘Now, hold on here. 1:08:55 ‘Me? A slave? A slave? 1:08:57 ‘The prophetic dreams I received as a young man 1:09:01 ‘indicated that others would bow down to me. 1:09:04 ‘I don’t see anyone bowing down to me. 1:09:07 ‘I’m bowing down to others as a slave. This doesn’t make sense. 1:09:10 ‘This is not turning out the way I have expected 1:09:13 or preferred.’ 1:09:15 In fact, some 13 years would pass 1:09:18 before Joseph would experience relief. 1:09:22 The changes in his life were unexpected, 1:09:25 unclear, and unsettling. 1:09:28 But he didn’t ask: “Jehovah, 1:09:30 what are you doing to me?” 1:09:32 Rather, he humbly asked, 1:09:35 “What are you doing with me?” 1:09:38 See, unlike proud Rehoboam and Jeroboam, 1:09:41 Joseph could see the cause 1:09:45 —what Jehovah was setting in motion— 1:09:47 not the human flaws. 1:09:49 He could discern the special work 1:09:52 to which he had been appointed. 1:09:54 Why, he even reassured his brothers 1:09:56 that Jehovah had directed 1:09:58 and caused his relocation to Egypt, 1:10:01 and it served for the preservation 1:10:03 of his family and for all families of the earth. 1:10:05 He got that. 1:10:07 And what’s the lesson 1:10:09 that you really need to think about? 1:10:12 Our personal response 1:10:15 —personal response— to what Jehovah causes 1:10:18 reveals a lot 1:10:20 about our humility and our patience. 1:10:24 Our attitude, our response 1:10:27 can lead to a spiritual fall 1:10:30 or success. 1:10:32 Now, let’s get specific with you. 1:10:35 How can you apply this? 1:10:39 There may be a time when organizational adjustments 1:10:42 make it seem that Jehovah 1:10:44 has handcuffed your talents, 1:10:48 clipped your wings. 1:10:50 And maybe this adjustment that you’re undergoing, 1:10:53 it just doesn’t match your thinking. 1:10:56 What are you going to do then? Now what happens? 1:10:59 Don’t let pride get in the way. 1:11:01 If you let pride get in the way, you could actually delay 1:11:05 the fruitage of organizational decisions. 1:11:08 And that’s not what you’ve been trained to do at Gilead. 1:11:11 It’s just the opposite. 1:11:13 We’ve talked for months about how you need to get on board 1:11:16 with the organizational direction. 1:11:19 But now, imagine if you begin to doubt 1:11:22 that instruction from headquarters. 1:11:24 “It doesn’t really apply to our country. 1:11:27 “Oh, these instructions, they won’t work here. 1:11:30 “We’re different. We do things differently. 1:11:33 “The brothers in New York, they’re really not— 1:11:35 “They don’t understand our circumstances. 1:11:37 We should apply it in a different way.” 1:11:39 You see, what have you just done? 1:11:42 If that type of thinking begins to take root, 1:11:46 you will only hesitate to implement 1:11:49 or halfheartedly support 1:11:52 the direction received. 1:11:54 And that’s not what you’ve been trained to do. 1:11:59 So do you understand how this might apply in the future? 1:12:02 And voicing such doubts can only create 1:12:05 an unhealthy spirit and weaken your brothers. 1:12:08 Instead, try to see what Jehovah 1:12:12 is really causing to happen. 1:12:14 What is he causing to happen? 1:12:16 Jehovah God is training you to better refine 1:12:20 such qualities as obedience and patience and loyalty 1:12:23 so that you can be used that much more 1:12:26 for Jehovah’s purpose, honor, and glory. 1:12:31 For your spiritual health, 1:12:33 you want to view decisions as from Jehovah, 1:12:36 causing his will to take place, 1:12:39 even if it is not convenient 1:12:41 or you don’t immediately discern the real benefits. 1:12:44 There is no spiritual risk 1:12:48 in wholeheartedly supporting decisions made 1:12:51 by Jehovah’s spirit-directed organization. 1:12:55 See the cause, 1:12:58 not the flaws. 1:13:00 There are plenty of human flaws to concentrate on. 1:13:03 Get away from that. 1:13:05 See what Jehovah is setting in motion. 1:13:07 Once you see it, help others to see it. 1:13:10 Like Joseph, use your words 1:13:12 to reassure and strengthen your brothers. 1:13:14 And then do you know what you will become part of? 1:13:16 What will you become a part of? 1:13:18 As Brother Sanderson said: 1:13:20 The Gilead legacy. 1:13:23 So stay with that understanding. 1:13:26 Stay with that attitude. Stay with that motive. 1:13:30 Let’s distill our discussion down to three points: 1:13:34 (1) 1:13:36 Be careful not to assume that Jehovah is permitting, 1:13:40 just permitting an organizational adjustment, 1:13:42 when in reality he is far more likely causing it to happen. 1:13:47 (2) When Jehovah causes a change, 1:13:51 it can only be for good, 1:13:54 and (3) don’t be quick to see the human flaws. 1:13:59 It takes patience and humility 1:14:02 to work along with Jehovah God as he progressively causes 1:14:06 his purpose to go forward. 1:14:10 Your maturity, your love for Jehovah God 1:14:14 and his way of doing things has been clearly manifest 1:14:17 while you’ve attended Gilead School, and that’s why Jehovah God loves you. 1:14:21 That’s why we love you. 1:14:23 So maintain this spirit as you work 1:14:26 along with God’s unfolding purpose. 1:14:31 For it is this attitude 1:14:33 that will lead to your spiritual success. 1:14:36 It is this attitude that will help you 1:14:39 to continue to see the cause. 1:14:56 Well, we thank you very much, Brother Noumair, 1:14:58 for that excellent discourse. 1:15:00 Well, now you have an opportunity to participate in the program. 1:15:03 If you’d like to stand, if you’re able, 1:15:05 we’re going to sing song number 84 1:15:08 which is entitled “Reaching Out,” 1:15:10 song 84.