Welcome back, my beautiful readers!
I am so so so glad you wanted to
keep learning!
Let's get back at
it, shall we?
Don't
forget...Picture yourself at the
local Kingdom Hall of Jehovah's Witnesses. A public discourse from
the Bible is about to be given. The speaker is a traveling overseer,
like those
of the 1st
century Christians
of the Bible, like the Apostle Paul for instance.
Previously:
Tragedy of this nature (the California shooting) can be avoided if humans simply force
themselves to do it God's way instead of their own. And that's why
our loving and wise creator has encouraged us to do it 'his way.' And
to help us to do it, he's invited us to get to know him, personally,
intimately, so that we can walk in his ways. Now some might say “Is
that even possible? Is it possible for imperfect humans to form a
relationship with a perfect God? Is that even possible?” Well, the
answer to that question is YES. The question is, “How do we do it?”
and
now, the conclusion...
Well, let me ask
you, “How does a human form a relationship with other humans?”
For example, you couples who are here today, and married, how did you
form an intimate relationship with the person that would become your
spouse? What did it all start with? Communication, right? Maybe long
hours on the phone, talking every day, maybe into the night. The
heart of a relationship is communication. So if that's true of two
humans, wouldn't that also be true of our relationship with Jehovah? 
Yes, at the heart of our relationship with Jehovah God is
communication. And that's why the first thing that is necessary to
form a relationship with God is daily Bible reading. Now you may
wonder, “What does Bible reading have to do with communication with
God?” Well, the reality is, every time a human picks up the Bible
and reads it, you know what they're acknowledging? That they want
Jehovah God to talk to them. That they want to hear his instruction,
his commands, his orders, and thus, Bible reading becomes a key
element in communicating with God, allowing him to talk with us. The
benefits of that can not be over stated.
For example: turn to
Jesus' words, found at John 17. Notice
how Jesus describes the benefits of Bible reading, and notice verse 3... According to Jesus, what is the Benefit of Bible
study? Well, you may quickly answer “Everlasting life is the
benefit; the blessing, of Bible study,” and you know, that is true.
Everlasting life is 'a' benefit, but it's not 'the'
benefit of Bible study. You know what everlasting life is?
Everlasting life is the cherry on top, that's all it is. The real
benefit of Bible study is what Jesus said following that, for he said
that humans can 'come to know the
true God.' Now just stop and think about that. Through a study
of the Bible, imperfect humans can come to know Jehovah God, the
sovereign of the universe, the creator, the life sustainer. Through a
study of the Bible, we can know intimately, our heavenly father, and
that's the real benefit of studying. But ya know, the beauty
is, if we study the Bible with the purpose of coming to know Jehovah
God, and we accomplish that objective, Jehovah promises to give us
the 'cherry on top'. He promises us everlasting life.
So the first element
of communication with God; Bible Study. What would be the second
element? Prayer. Now, while Jehovah God can talk to us through
a study of the Bible, the way humans talk to God is through prayer.
And the reality is, Jehovah God wants to hear from us. In fact, at
Psalm 62:8, Jehovah encourages us to
pour our hearts out before him in prayer. Jehovah wants to hear from
us. So the question is, “Are we talking to God in prayer? Are we
doing it every day? Are we lingering in prayer?” If so, then those
are excellent signs that our intimacy with Jehovah is increasing.
See, think about it
this way, you married couples here, do you remember those late
nights, talking to your future spouse on the telephone? Do you
remember how difficult it was to hang up? Did you ever find yourself
saying, “OK, you hang up first.” “No, you hang up first.” “On
three, let's both hang up together.” See, when it's hard to stop
communicating with the other person, well then, that's a good sign
that intimacy is increasing. So it is with us and God. When it's hard
for us to put down our Bibles, when it's hard for us to say 'Amen',
when it's hard for us to stop communicating with Jehovah, that is an
excellent sign that intimacy with him is increasing.
A third step in
gaining intimacy with God is mentioned for us again back in the book
of Psalm, this time, Psalm 105, and lets
see if we can discern the 3rd way that a human can grow
close to God. Verse 1... Now, according
to this, what is the third way that a human can draw close to God? By
telling other humans about him. Now that is really only
natural when you stop and think about it.
For example, when
one human falls in love with another, isn't it only natural to tell
others about the person we love? Isn't it only natural to want to
tell people their name, what their qualities are like, what their
personality is like? Did you ever find yourself just showing people a
picture of your boyfriend or girlfriend? Nobody asked, but you just
wanted to show it to them. Why? Well, because you were in love with
that person. So it is today, when a human falls in love with their
creator, Jehovah God, it is only natural for us to want to tell
people about him, what his name is, what his qualities are, what his
personality is like. It's why Jehovah's Witnesses are known the world
over as those who go to other peoples' homes and knock on their
doors, take our Bibles, and show them little 'snapshots' of what
Jehovah looks like. People don't ask us to do that, but they don't
need to, because we've fallen in love with our creator and we want
others to do the same. Now, that not only brings us closer to God,
but it brings God closer to us, because the reality is, Jehovah knows
those who are talking to others about him, and Jehovah knows those
who choose not to do that. He takes
that seriously.
For example... let's
say you're in a close, intimate relationship with another person,
however, that other person hasn't told anyone else that they are in a
relationship with you. They haven't told anyone anything about you.
Would that raise a few red flags?
See, when we are in a relationship with someone but we won't want to
talk to anyone else about them, that is a real bad sign, isn't it? So
it is with our relationship with God. If a human does not want to
talk to others about God, might it be that that human needs to grow
in their love for Jehovah as a person?
Finally... strong
faith in God, and works that evidence that faith is
necessary to draw close to him. In human relationship, trust and
faith is vital. Without it, and without evidencing it, relationships
eventually wither and die. So it is with our relationship with
Jehovah. A human must both have faith in Jehovah, but they must also
evidence the faith by their works, by the way they live their life.
And that's why, when we are doing what we are doing this morning,
gathering here together at our congregation meetings, it is such an
important thing to do. Because this is a way that we evidence that we
have faith in Jehovah God. It is an important step in coming to know
him.
For example... the
Bible calls what you see this morning, this is the congregation, the
household of God. So this, in essence, is Jehovah's family. And that
is why when Jehovah God chooses to extend an invitation for us to
come here to the Kingdom Hall. In essence, Jehovah is inviting us to
come to meet, and come to love his family. And that is why coming to
the meetings is such an important step in building a relationship
with God.
See, think about it
this way, imagine you're in a relationship with someone, and that
person tells you that they love you, that they trust you, but they
never want to meet your family. If fact, on a weekly basis, you
extent an invitation 'Come on over, have a family meal with us' but
they repeatedly beg off and give you one flimsy excuse after another
why they can't come, eventually, what might you conclude about that
person? Similarly, what might Jehovah conclude about a person who
doesn't want to come here and meet, and love his family? By coming to
the meetings, we not only prove our love for Jehovah, but also our
love for those that he has chosen to love, the family. And that is
why, if you are not regularly coming to the Kingdom Hall here, for
our meetings, we warmly invite you to start attending.
If you're having
challenges in studying the Bible, in praying to God, and expressing
your faith to others, allow us to help you to do those things
necessary to come to know God so that you can walk in his ways.
Frankly, now is not the time to walk in our 'own ways' or just choose
to do it like the world does it, because a person who makes that
decision has just destined themselves to a miserable life, filled
with unhappiness. Conversely, a person who chooses to do it
'Jehovah's way' has destined themselves to happiness, satisfaction,
and success.
Oh it true, the 'my
way' mentality so popular in the world today; it does make for a very
very catchy song, but it also make for a very very miserable way of
life. And thus, the encouragement we offer you, reject the 'my way'
mentality, and choose instead to allow Jehovah God to chart your
course and each step you take along the byway, so that in the finally
analysis, your record my show that you hoped in Jehovah and did it
'his way.'
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