2020-06 JW Broadcasting

in ITALIAN

VIDEO

We welcome all of you to the June 2020 edition of JW Broadcasting®! The 148th class of the Watchtower Bible School of Gilead graduated on March 14, 2020. This was the exciting culmination of five months of intensive Bible instruction for the students. What parting words of encouragement would they receive from the Governing Body and other brothers? We’re very happy to share with you the first part of that graduation program. Enjoy!

The theme of my opening talk to you dear Gilead students, and really for all of us, is “Imitate Jesus’ Modesty.” Now, first we ask, What is modesty? Well, a common definition found in our publications is ‘being aware of our own limitations.’ And Jesus, of course, set a perfect example in always being aware of his own limitations. Undoubtedly, Jesus was very familiar with Jehovah’s thinking on this quality, such as is expressed at Micah 6:8, which was written about 700 years before Jesus came to the earth. So he certainly would have been familiar with this. But, if you recall, the question is asked, “What is Jehovah requiring of you?” And then part of the answer is “to walk in modesty with your God!” And there’s an exclamation point after that expression. Jehovah would not just like to see it in us; he’s requiring it. What is Jehovah requiring of you? Jesus knew it was not optional, but a requirement, that we be modest in walking with our God. Now, since Jesus is our perfect role model, let’s discuss four areas in which we can imitate his modesty. And we know that’ll be helpful to you dear students —really, for all of us. Number one, Jesus was always aware that he had authority limitations. Now, you remember the account in Matthew chapter 20, when James and John tried to use their mother to get some special positions in the Kingdom for them. And remember, they had her say to Jesus: “Give the word that these two sons of mine may sit down, “one at your right hand and one at your left, in your Kingdom.” Remember that? But what was Jesus’ answer? “To sit down at my right hand and my left “is not mine to give, “but it belongs to those for whom it has been prepared by my Father.” Now, that’s interesting. Jesus gave many gifts, didn’t he? He gave a lot of wine to a newly married couple at their wedding feast. He gave the gift of healing to thousands, probably. He fed thousands; he gave them food. He gave a widow her son back after he died. But Jesus knew to give away the second and third highest positions in the Kingdom was beyond the scope of his authority. And he acknowledged that very clearly, didn’t he? Well, that’s a fine lesson for us, isn’t it? There are many things that are within the scope of our authority, and we can go ahead and take the initiative and do those things. But there are many other things that are outside the scope of our authority. For example, you wives, you know there are many things in the family that have to be decided by the husband —not within your authority. You brothers know there are many decisions that are made in the congregation that can’t be made by you; it must be made by the body of elders. We all know that in our Bethel department there are many things that require permission from our overseer. If some of you brothers here in the class end up later serving on Branch Committees, then you’ll need to clearly learn the parameters of your authority —what you can handle and what really needs to be handled by the Branch Committee or maybe even taken to the Governing Body. In areas such as the foregoing, all of us need to carefully learn what falls within our authority and what falls outside of our authority. And if we’re in doubt, it’s better to check, isn’t it? It’s better to check if we’re in doubt. We don’t have the attitude that it’s easier to get forgiveness than permission. That’s not a good attitude, is it? Now, another aspect of Jesus having authority limitations— Open up to John chapter 12, and here’s an interesting thought that Jesus made. John 12:49 —he said: “For I have not spoken “of my own initiative, “but the Father who sent me “has himself given me a commandment about what to say and what to speak.” Now, you could say according to that that Jesus had speaking-authority limitations, didn’t he? He had no authority to go beyond what his Father had taught him. He had no authority to teach others things that originated in his own mind and heart. He wouldn’t go beyond that. He had authority limitations. Well, even more so, shouldn’t that be true of us? We have no authority to give our opinions on matters, but we have to make sure when we speak that what we say is solidly based on the Scriptures and what’s been provided by the faithful slave. But now let’s go to our second area where we can learn modesty from Jesus: He always remembered his lesser importance compared to Jehovah’s much greater importance. How unlike Satan the Devil! Now, you could say he has not one modest bone in his spirit body, figuratively speaking, of course —no modesty in Satan the Devil. Jesus refused to accept titles that belonged to Jehovah. “Why do you call me good? Nobody is good except one, God.” He always gave the credit —the glory—to Jehovah. He said: “The Son cannot do a single thing of his own initiative, but only what he sees the Father doing.” He never boasted. He was always willing to put Jehovah’s will ahead of his own will. He made the comment: “Father, if it is not possible “for this to pass away unless I drink it, let your will take place.” And think about this: He never tried to draw attention to himself by means of high-sounding vocabulary or even by means of his dress and grooming. See, if he would have had some unusual dress or grooming, would Judas have needed to kiss him to identify which one he was? He could’ve said, “The one you’re looking for is the only one in the group wearing a bright purple robe,” or “He’s the only one in the group that has a handlebar mustache.” He wouldn’t have had to kiss him to identify him. And if you look at the pictures in our publications with Jesus and the Twelve, it would be hard to describe which one he was. He modestly blended in with all of the others. Now, what a fine example for us! When others try to praise us, including our Bible students, we should modestly redirect that praise to where it belongs. We should always give credit to Jehovah for what we accomplish. I mean, we accomplish it, but we give Jehovah the credit. First Corinthians 4:7: “What do you have that you did not receive? “If, in fact, you did receive it, why do you boast as though you did not receive it?” And in harmony (or in the same vein) with that scripture, we try hard not to boast, remembering Proverbs 27:2: “Let someone else praise you, and not your own mouth.” We do our best to put Jehovah’s preferences ahead of our own preferences. We endeavor not to draw attention to ourselves by high-sounding vocabulary or even immodest dress and grooming. But now let’s go to a third area where we can learn modesty from Jesus: He knew there were some things he was not entitled to know, at least not at the time. Open up to Matthew chapter 24, please. And we’re familiar with this scripture, but at Matthew 24:36, notice Jesus’ words: “Concerning that day and hour nobody knows, “neither the angels of the heavens “nor the Son, but only the Father.” Now, think about it, if Jesus was content with having knowledge limitations concerning confidential things, then even more so shouldn’t that be the case with us? We should strive very hard not to ever try to get to know confidential things we’re not entitled to know. And we certainly shouldn’t reveal confidential things. And what a protection it is! I was thinking, for you dear wives of elders, if someone asked you about a certain confidential matter, “Do you know anything about this?” Now, if you know, which you shouldn’t, it’s very awkward, isn’t it? You either have to be untruthful or you have to reveal that your husband didn’t keep confidentiality. But if you don’t know, as should be the case, now with a clear conscience you can answer that question with a resounding no. “No, I do not know anything about that.” You dear elders would not try to obtain confidential information in the congregation or at Bethel you’re not entitled to know. Like Jesus, all of us should be content to wait for information to be revealed to us at the proper time. And if you think about it, in some cases, it may mean that we will have to be content to never know certain things. Now, let’s get to our last area, this fourth area we can learn modesty from Jesus, and that is: He was always aware of his need to fully rely on Jehovah. Even though he was perfect, he did not rely on his own strength. Open, please, to Hebrews chapter 5. This is a beautiful scripture about this perfect Son of God —what is said about him. Hebrews 5:7: “During his life on earth, “Christ offered up supplications “and also petitions, “[and notice] with strong outcries “and tears, “to the One who was able to save him out of death, and he was favorably heard for his godly fear.” Now, isn’t that interesting? “During his life on earth” (and it didn’t say just a few times or one or two times) —during his life, he petitioned, and it’s plural. And he gave supplication, again plural. And what were the intensities of those supplications and petitions? “With strong outcries and tears” he called for help from Jehovah, and Jehovah heard him. I mean, if you think of the word “outcry,” that means “a cry out loud” —doesn’t it?— a strong outcry, a very loud cry out loud. And then you add tears to that. It really indicates the intensity —how he really called on Jehovah to help him. That’s an interesting thought, isn’t it? Additionally, when Jehovah sent Jesus’ younger angelic brothers to come and help him in times of need, he didn’t say: “Well, I don’t need help. [pridefully] I’m OK. I’ve got this.” No, he knew he needed help. And he graciously accepted it and appreciated that help. Think about this: Even with Jehovah’s help, he was modestly realistic of what he expected of himself. Have you ever thought about that? With Jehovah’s help, he was still modestly realistic that he could only accomplish so much. As an example, during his three-and-a-half-year ministry, he knew there were only so many he could reach—only so many people. So, wisely, what did he do? He modestly trained and entrusted others to do the preaching work and even said about them as recorded at John 14:12 that they would ‘do works greater than his works.’ They would reach a greater number of people, a greater area, a greater period of time. Now, think about this, if the perfect Son of God feared to rely on his own strength, we should be scared to death to do that. We do not rely on our own strength. Never should we pridefully hold back from supplicating and petitioning Jehovah with strong outcries and tears. May we modestly accept the help Jehovah provides through our brothers and sisters. May we be modestly realistic of even what we expect of ourselves. If we imitate Jesus’ modesty, these four areas we’ve discussed, what a protection it will be! It will protect us from many snares of the Devil.

But now we’ll turn our attention to Brother Geoffrey Jackson of the Governing Body, and he will develop an intriguing theme. His theme is “Accept the Unexpected.” —Brother Jackson.

Expect the unexpected. Well, the unexpected has arrived, hasn’t it? None of us expected that this graduation program would need to be modified and changed as it is. And yet, what have you had to do? You’ve had to accept the unexpected. There’s not much you can do. And we’d like to commend you students, soon-to-be graduates of this class of Gilead, because you have accepted these changes in a fine, positive attitude. But it does highlight to us —doesn’t it?— that sometimes it can be disappointing when unexpected things occur. Now soon, you’ll be going to your assignments, whether back home or to a new assignment. And, no doubt, you are going to face some unexpected things as well. And we’d just like to discuss one aspect of this theme. If you’d like to take your Bibles and turn with me to Ecclesiastes chapter 10, Ecclesiastes 10:7, and here it describes something that is unexpected: “I have seen servants on horseback but princes walking on foot just like servants.” Well, you wouldn’t expect to see that, would you? Now, how are you going to see that? Well, The Watchtower made a very interesting comment about this verse that said: “Those who have great ability “do not always receive the recognition. “And those with less ability sometimes receive more honor.” So when you arrive back full of enthusiasm —you’ve enjoyed your Gilead training, and no doubt you’re thinking: ‘I’m a different person. I’ve changed.’ And we hope you have. Maybe you might expect that there will be certain privileges granted to you. And yet, at the same time, you may see that someone you don’t expect is given those privileges. They may even come up to you and say: “I’m so surprised! I’m shocked they’ve given me this privilege!” And outwardly you say, “Hmm,” but inwardly you’re saying: “I’m shocked too, “because I’m the one who is trained at Gilead. Surely I should get this privilege.” But when you think about it, remember that Jehovah is the one who is backing the work, and at times, he does the unexpected and, in this case, gives someone we don’t expect a privilege. Think about it for a few moments. When you first came here, we know and remember your introductions, and quite a number of you made the comment: “When we received that invitation to Gilead, we were shocked! “We were humbled. “We were amazed, numb all over, thinking why we were selected.” And maybe some of the people in your congregation and branch were also saying, “Why were they accepted?” You see, maybe that was an unexpected invitation. But now, here you are about to graduate. But it’s good to remember that sometimes others are surprised about privileges that we’re given. So, what can help us to accept the unexpected when it comes to others getting privileges? Well, let’s look at two principles in the Scriptures. The first one is at Ecclesiastes 6:9, Ecclesiastes 6:9: “Better to enjoy what the eyes see “than to wander after one’s desires. This too is futility, a chasing after the wind.” So, in other words, be satisfied with the privileges you do have. Don’t be looking for other privileges, just not satisfied with what you’ve already been given. Treasure the privileges you already have. Included in that is the privilege of coming here to Gilead and being trained. Now, the second principle we’d like to highlight is found in the book of Psalms, Psalm 119:31, 32: “I cling to your reminders. “O Jehovah, do not let me be disappointed. “I will eagerly pursue the way of your commandments because you make room for it in my heart.” What’s the point? Don’t be disappointed. Trust in Jehovah. Trust in his arrangement. It could be that Jehovah is saying to you: ‘Look, you’ve already had enough privileges. ‘You went to Gilead, remember? ‘Now be happy that I’m letting someone else have an unexpected privilege.’ Well, that can be a test. Another thing that will help us in a situation like that is to remember many of the accounts in the Scriptures. And one of those we like to refer to briefly is that of David killing Goliath. Let’s think for a few moments. If you were an Israelite soldier just before David offered himself to do this assignment, who would you have expected to take down this giant, Goliath? Well, probably, first of all, you would have thought about King Saul because, after all, he was head and shoulders taller than the average person and he was a man experienced in warfare. So you might have expected, ‘I think King Saul is the one who will take this on.’ Or maybe if you weren’t thinking of King Saul, you might be thinking of his son Jonathan. Why? Well, remember Jonathan was a national hero by this time. There was the case there at Michmash, where he and his attendant climbed up and boldly and bravely appeared before the Philistines. They killed about 20 of them, and that was the turning point in the battle. So if anyone is going to take on Goliath, probably you would expect that Jonathan would be able to do that. Now, let’s just assume that you were thinking, ‘Maybe the best way to do this would be with a sling and a stone.’ So now, who would you expect to actually do this? Probably Saul and Jonathan. Why? They were from the tribe of Benjamin. And what do you remember about the people from Benjamin? They were experts with using the sling. In fact, we’re told they could sling a stone to a hairbreadth and would not miss. And in fact, at 1 Chronicles 12:2, it says that the brothers of Saul were experts with the sling. So not knowing what Jehovah was going to do, probably each one of us, if we were there back then, would have thought that surely it would be King Saul or maybe Jonathan. They were the most qualified. But why wouldn’t you have expected David? Well, for a start, David was just a boy. He wasn’t a soldier. He didn’t have experience in warfare. Yes, he’d killed a lion and a bear, but he really didn’t know about fighting people in a war. Second, he wasn’t impressive in appearance. In fact, Goliath was shocked when he saw this young man coming toward him. And third, he wasn’t from the tribe of Benjamin. You see, he wasn’t one of these famous persons who could use the sling. The Watchtower made the comment that perhaps because David lived near where the tribe of Benjamin was, maybe that’s where he learned how to use the sling. But the bottom line is none of us would have expected that this young man David would have been used. It was an unexpected event. But now, let’s think for a moment about how others reacted. How did King Saul react? Well, initially, King Saul was very happy with the fact that David killed Goliath. But what happened later? That turned into jealousy —didn’t it?— even into a murderous desire to kill David. But, on the other hand, what about Jonathan? You see, Jonathan perhaps could have been jealous, but he wasn’t. He built a strong relationship and friendship with David. So, what can we learn from this account? You see, if you come across someone who gets that ideal privilege —that assignment that you always secretly have wanted and that you actually modestly think you deserve— what will you be? a Saul or a Jonathan? Yes, brothers and sisters, let’s always remember that Jehovah does the unexpected, and sometimes the unexpected is giving someone else you don’t expect a certain privilege. Don’t stand in the way of Jehovah when he uses someone else to glorify his name. Yes, rejoice in the fact that others are used, just like you are being used, in an unexpected way.

Well, thank you very much, Brother Jackson, for living up to our expectations. You gave, again, an excellent talk. We really appreciate it. But now we’re going to get to turn our attention to Brother James Mantz, who serves as a helper to the Writing Committee, and he has an interesting theme, “Do Privileges Make You Privileged?” Let me say that again. “Do Privileges Make You Privileged?” —Brother Mantz.

Before coming to Gilead, all of you students enjoyed many privileges of service. Maybe you served as a regular pioneer, as a special pioneer, as a construction worker, or as a field missionary. You may have served in the circuit work or at Bethel, and now you’ve enjoyed the additional privilege of having five months of intensive training here at Gilead School. And no doubt all of you have appreciated the fine direction you’ve received. Proverbs 28:20 says that “a faithful man will receive many blessings.” And no doubt all of you students feel richly blessed here on your graduation day. We’re very happy for you, and we’re certainly confident that there are many more blessings and privileges that await you as you go on to your assignments. But before you go, I’d just like to ask one question: Do privileges make you privileged? We ask this question because the answer will help you to have a proper view of your Gilead training and also whatever privileges you may receive as you go on to your assignment. And the answer will also help all of us to show modesty and humility in whatever assignment Jehovah sees fit to give us. So do privileges make us privileged? The simple answer is no. But in some languages, the word “privilege” can carry the wrong idea. For example, in English, “privilege” carries the meaning of entitlement. We may speak of a privileged class —people who because of their birth or because of their wealth have a higher place in society than others. A privilege that we receive in Jehovah’s organization could even be misunderstood as something given to us because we’re special or even better than others. The possibility of misunderstanding what is meant by the word “privilege” is even more pronounced in other languages. For example, in Japanese, for many years, we used the word tokken to translate the word “privilege.” And if you look in the dictionary, that’s the word that you should use. But many of us in the Japanese field felt a little bit uncomfortable using tokken because that word is formed by combining two Chinese characters: toku means “special,” and ken means “right.” So literally that would mean you have a special right to attend Gilead School. I have a special right to serve at Bethel. But we know that is not the case. So you can imagine our delight when we received study article 35 in the September 2019 issue of The Watchtower. It was entitled “Jehovah Values His Humble Servants.” And in a section that was discussing the need for humility when others receive privileges of service, the Japanese translators applied the principle of meaning-based translation. Instead of using the dictionary meaning and calling the privileges special rights, they call them hoshinokikai —opportunities to serve. We were elated. Privileges are not given as a special right. Rather, they give us additional opportunities to be of service to Jehovah and to our brothers. So does that mean we should stop using the word “privilege”? Not necessarily. But we do need to have a correct understanding of its meaning in the spiritual setting. One way to gain a proper understanding is to examine how the word “privilege” is used in the New World Translation. For example, at Luke 1:43, Elizabeth described a visit from Mary, the mother of her Lord, as a “privilege.” Now, did Elizabeth mean that she had a special right to have Mary enter her home? No. Rather, she viewed the visit as a blessing from Jehovah. Acts 7:46 speaks of David asking God “for the privilege of providing a dwelling place for the God of Jacob.” And at 2 Corinthians 8:4, Paul spoke of Christians who ‘kept earnestly begging us ‘for the privilege of having a share in the relief ministry for the holy ones.’ David and Paul were not talking about any special right. Rather, they were describing an opportunity to work in service to Jehovah and to their brothers. So let’s not be misled by the meaning that the world generally attaches to the word “privilege.” The direction found at Luke 17:10 will help us. Please open to that verse. And whenever we receive a privilege, or an opportunity to serve, let’s remember these words and this counsel of Jesus —Luke 17:10. He said: “Likewise, when you have done all the things assigned to you, “say: ‘We are good-for-nothing slaves. What we have done is what we ought to have done.’” Now, of course, this doesn’t mean that we should view ourselves as useless, or worthless. A note in the Study Bible explains that ‘according to the context, ‘“good-for-nothing” conveys the idea ‘that the slave would view himself modestly, not as deserving of some special credit or praise.’ And that is how we view ourselves when we receive privileges of service. Now let’s consider another aspect of privileges. The English dictionary defines privilege as “a right attached specifically to a position or office.” However, not all privileges of service involve a specific assignment or a position. The number of positions in Jehovah’s organization is limited. The opportunities to serve are endless. Please open to Matthew chapter 20; we’ll read verses 25 to 27 because here Jesus clarified the importance of serving over position. Now, Brother Lett already explained the setting: It’s when the mother of James and John asked Jesus to give her sons special positions in the Kingdom. In verses 25 to 27, this is what Jesus said: “But Jesus called them to him and said: “‘You know that the rulers of the nations “‘lord it over them and the great men wield authority over them. “‘This must not be the way among you; “‘but whoever wants to become great among you must be your minister, and whoever wants to be first among you must be your slave.’” Yes, instead of seeking a high position of authority, Christians reach out to minister to the needs of others —to serve as humble slaves. Interestingly, 1 Timothy 3:1 used to describe a man who “is reaching out for an office of overseer.” But the revised edition of The New World Translation reads: “If a man is reaching out to be an overseer, he is desirous of a fine work.” This puts the emphasis not on the office or position but on the qualifications that are needed by one who exerts himself to be of service to others. There are many opportunities of service that do not involve a special appointment or position. Think of Bible examples of hardworking Christian men and women. Dorcas “abounded in good deeds and gifts of mercy”; Joanna, Susanna, and many other women ministered to Jesus from their belongings; and while Paul was in prison, Tychicus served as his personal messenger; Mark helped Paul in practical ways, perhaps delivering food to him. So as you go on to your assignment, remember, privileges do not make you privileged and whether your privileges come with an official assignment or not, humbly carry them out as opportunities to “slave for Jehovah” and to serve our brothers more fully.

I’m going to bring all these Gilead students on my speaking assignments. They really know how to applaud. Well, thank you very much, Brother Mantz, for the “privilege” of hearing that talk. But please be assured we’re not going to let that privilege make us feel privileged in the sense you discussed. Really, these privileges, as you mentioned, are undeserved kindnesses from Jehovah. But now we turn our attention to Brother James Cauthon, one of our Gilead instructors. And he spent a lot of time with you dear ones during the last five months. You’ve gotten to know each other quite well, but he’ll only have one more chance to talk to you. And he’s going to speak on the intriguing theme “In the Shadows.” We’ll be interested to see how he develops that.

He wasn’t the most extraordinary among the apostles. For example, he didn’t walk on water. He didn’t receive “the keys of the Kingdom.” He wasn’t one of the “Sons of Thunder.” He didn’t see the transfiguration. He didn’t write a Bible book. In fact, all together he’s only mentioned 12 times in the Scriptures, and that’s mostly when the list of all the apostles is given. Who are we talking about? That would be Andrew. See, Andrew was best known as the brother of Peter. That’s what he was famous for primarily. Peter is mentioned some 150 times in the Scriptures. And it seems that Peter was always in the limelight, whereas Andrew always seemed to be in the shadows. Peter was extraordinary; Andrew was ordinary. Like Andrew, most of us view ourselves as just ordinary. We’re not the valedictorian. We’re not the greatest speaker. We’re not “Miss Congeniality.” We’re just in the shadows. But is that how Jehovah sees us? Is that how he saw Andrew? Let’s look at Andrew the person for just a minute. Open your Bibles, if you would, to John chapter 1, please, John chapter 1. And if you begin just following along with me in verse 35, we see that Andrew was a disciple of John the Baptizer. And one day when he was with John the Baptizer and John said: “See, the Lamb of God!” what is it that Andrew did immediately? He immediately left following John to follow Jesus. Now, we don’t have a lot of time for this talk, but what is it—? What did Jehovah see in Andrew at that point? He must have seen that Andrew wanted to draw close to God and that he would be adaptable and that he would be willing to change in order to be able to draw closer to Jehovah and do his will. Jehovah must have loved Andrew for that attitude. If you follow along in verses 38 and 39, notice that it says: ‘Then Jesus turned, and saw them following him.’ And do you notice what Jesus said? He said: “What are you looking for?” Now, how did Andrew respond to that? Did Andrew say: ‘Well, you know, Lord, ‘I’d like to have a better assignment, ‘something that brings a little prestige, maybe some accolades. ‘And along with that, if I had a bigger room, one with a view . . . ’? But he didn’t. What he said was: ‘Lord, where are you staying?’ And the Bible shows us that Andrew then went with Jesus and stayed with him till about four o’clock in the afternoon. Now, that was interesting because he was really showing that he valued spiritual things over the mundane things. But then after that time, verses 40 and 41 say that Andrew ran to find his brother Peter. And he said five words —five words that would change their lives forever: “We have found the Messiah.” “We have found the Messiah.” Now, how did Andrew know that? Well, Andrew must have been a man who loved God’s Word. He must have been familiar with it. And so in that time that he was with Jesus, he could take what he’d read in the Scriptures and compare them with the man in front of him, and he came to that conclusion. He was a spiritual man. He loved God’s Word. And as a result of his zeal, he brought his brother Peter to Jesus. Well, now, that’s a little bit about what we know about Andrew the person. What about Andrew the apostle? Well, let’s go over to John chapter 6 now, John chapter 6, and we’ll look at verses 40 and 41. Oh, excuse me, John 6:5-9, and here we see a large crowd of people now that are gathering to see Jesus, and Jesus wants to feed them. You remember the account. And so he says to Philip: ‘You know, I want to feed these people.’ Philip says: ‘Lord, that’s impossible. Two hundred denarii wouldn’t feed them all.’ So there were probably over 5,000 people there. But now, while he, Philip, is talking to Jesus, trying to reason with him, what is Andrew doing? Andrew goes through the crowd, he finds a little boy that has some fish and some bread, and he brings that little child to Jesus. Now, did Andrew have any idea what Jesus was going to do? He couldn’t have known. There’s no way he could have known. But he must have thought— He must have seen enough to know that Jesus could do something, and, of course, he did. But what was the lesson? Well, while Philip saw the problem, Andrew was looking for a solution. And you may notice again that as usual Andrew is bringing people to Jesus. Just as a side point, what do you think that little boy would be talking about when he became my age, yeah, after that miracle he saw? It must have really been an impactful one. Now, let’s go to John chapter 12, John chapter 12, and look down at verses 20 through 22 because now we have a group of Greeks who come to worship at the festival. And they approach Philip, and what do they want to do? They want to see Jesus. What does Philip do? Philip goes to Andrew. What does Andrew do? Andrew takes Philip, and they go to Jesus. Now, two things. Number one: Andrew recognized the channel. He didn’t try to circumvent it. He didn’t try to make the decision. He recognized the channel. And second, Andrew was a friend because now he would be a mentor to Philip and teach him to go to the channel as well. Well, the Bible doesn’t say much about Andrew, but we can see that Andrew didn’t think it was all about him. He always had the desire to help others. So in this brief discussion, is there anything really ordinary about Andrew? Not in Jehovah’s eyes. So while it’s true that Andrew never walked on water, he never wrote a Bible book, he also never denied Christ, he never got his mom to ask for special favors, he was never known for being a “doubting Andrew,” and he never ever was called Satan, he was a force for good for those around him. Now, the lessons for the class: Be adaptable. Be adaptable to the leanings of Jehovah’s organization, even if you don’t fully understand them. Number two: Don’t get tripped up by the desire for the mundane things. Remember the question that Jesus asked Andrew: “What are you looking for?” That’s a good reset question for all of us from time to time. What are we looking for? Number three: Remember that Jehovah is not limited in how he can work out problems. Give him the chance to show what he can do for you, and you may find the answer comes in some very unexpected ways. And finally, in your assignment, don’t be quick to pass over the seemingly ordinary people. Look for the “Andrews.” They’re in all the congregations. They’re in all the Bethels. They’re like the hidden gems that are all around us. Acknowledge them; encourage them; see what they’re contributing, and say something about it. And those hidden gems will begin to come out of the shadows, and they will shine in the light of appreciation. So in the days to come, be a steadying force for good. Show loving kindness to all. Give Jehovah your best, and give the friends your best, and give it with love. And you will never ever be in the shadow in Jehovah’s eyes.

Well, thank you very much. We really appreciate that talk, Brother Cauthon, helping us all to be like Andrew. We’re very happy to serve quietly in the background not striving to be in the limelight. We really appreciate it —very practical. But now we’re going to turn our attention to Brother Mark Noumair. He’s a helper to the Teaching Committee but also one of our Gilead instructors. You spent a lot of time with him also. But he has a booming theme, “Will You Thunder for Jehovah?”

And now from Andrew to John —the apostle John; he was living at a most critical time —the last surviving apostle. He was helping to hold back a tidal wave of worldly influence and apostate thinking that was already eroding the Christian congregation. Under divine inspiration, John wrote a most vigorous letter to his brothers. We can still sense in him that fiery enthusiasm that earned him his name, “Son of Thunder.” And that letter, the letter that we’re going to look at right now, will show you how you like John can thunder for Jehovah. Well, how can you do that? Let’s find out. We’re going to open up now to 1 John chapter 1. We’re going to read verses 1 and 3, and watch how John makes very clear his objective right from the outset. First John 1:1: “That which was from the beginning, “[now, the beginning was Christ Jesus in his prehuman existence; “he was the firstborn of all creation] “which we have heard, “which we have seen with our eyes, which we have observed and our hands have felt [him].” And notice that John right away wants to grab the attention of the brothers and to say: ‘Look! We heard him. ‘We’ve seen him with our eyes. We’ve observed him. ‘I’ve felt him. I touched him. I laid my head in his chest.’ Did John even hear his heartbeat? Well, the fact is that these messages were so clear to John, and he wanted to make it known. Notice verse 3: “That which we have seen and heard,” again John repeats this. ‘His teachings, I saw them—I heard them. I’m so convinced that God’s powers are operating through him,’ that there in verse 3, John says: “We are reporting also to you.” ‘I’m reporting this to you,’ John said. John had such good reason to thunder. He was a living link to Christ. The brothers alive at that time did not have the privilege that John had to walk and to touch and to be taught by Jesus personally. But John did, and he was so moved by these experiences that he wanted to report these real-life experiences about Christ. But why? To protect his brothers —to protect his beloved brothers from the false teachers at that time who were trying to draw them away from the truth. You see, John spoke up against lies that the apostates and the other false teachers were spreading in his day. They were telling disgusting lies about God and Jesus. They craftily constructed speeches designed to corrupt the teachings of Christ. John knew that. He felt it. They even claimed to have secret revelations and superior knowledge. And they boasted that they were the correctors of the apostles. Liars! And John could not stomach liars. And it is of interest: Out of the 15 times the Bible used the word “liar,” he used the word eight times. You see, John continued to thunder, defend, and speak out for the truth because he loved the truth, he loved Christ Jesus, and he loved the Father, Jehovah. Similarly today, lies and false reports against the truth abound. And enemies of the truth use any means to try to smear the reputation of Christ’s brothers. But, now, what’s the point? Your time here at world headquarters, your time with the Governing Body, your time with the responsible brothers from world headquarters convinces you firsthand that any negative reports that you hear about the organization are lies. And now you can thunder for Jehovah by defending the truth about those whom Christ appointed to take the lead in his organization. And look what you’ve been able to do. You can say just like John: ‘Look, I’ve heard. I’ve seen. ‘I’ve observed. I’ve felt. That is me. I’ve had a close-up view.’ This is an even closer look than you can have on JW Broadcasting. This is one-on-one in the flesh. And you can say: ‘I’ve had a close-up view of God’s spirit-directed organization. ‘And now I am reporting to you, my beloved brothers and sisters,’ in the assignments that you have. That’s what you can do now —‘what I’ve seen and I’ve heard.’ And, in this way, imagine what you can do to strengthen, stabilize, and build confidence in your brothers! This is your responsibility now. This wasn’t coming here to school just to have a good time. I know you did have a good time, but that wasn’t the objective. The objective is now that you go out and you serve your brothers —all of you, each and every one of you, brother, sister, single, married; it doesn’t matter. Your brothers and sisters now deserve a Gilead graduate’s reward. And you’re going to give it to them. And you thunder in doing that. Now let’s go back to the apostle John. John’s thunder never diminished to a low rumble. Think about it. What did John do when he was released from prison on the island of Patmos at nearly 100 years old? What did he do? I mean, did he say: ‘I’m a weak, old man. There’s nothing I can do anymore’? No, no, no. You see, he knew the apostasy was coming and that oppressive wolves were already misleading the brothers. But John said, ‘Not on my watch.’ And he would continue to thunder for Jehovah by using every fiber of his being to help his brothers right down to his dying breath. How did he do that? He wrote four Bible books, including the portion that we just read here in 1 John chapter 1. He didn’t retire. He was still full of fiery enthusiasm, wanting to help his brothers because he loved the truth. But what helped John to keep the thunder rolling? What helped him? He knew the final outcome. You see, in 96 C.E. before his release, he received that unexpected flash of light —the Revelation, a vision of 144,000 Kingdom conquerors who will rule with Jesus in heaven. He got that. Then he was told about an integrity-keeping “great crowd . . . out of all [the] nations” that would worship God in truth. He got that. Can you imagine how that strengthened his conviction? In spite of the apostasy, he said true worship would not be extinguished. So think about it. If a prophetic vision of the great crowd encouraged John to continue to fight and defend the truth, what about you —you who see not a vision but the reality of its fulfillment? Now, John is seeing the reality from heaven —true— but you have a front-row seat right here on earth as you witness the greatest preaching effort in history and you watch Jehovah perform a modern-day miracle by gathering ‘a great crowd from all the nations.’ No matter what we face now or in the future, keep the thunder rolling. Why? Because you know the final outcome. You see it already developing. John continued to thunder for Jehovah, but he mellowed through the years of faithful service. His fiery enthusiasm is now on display in perfect balance. A man who once wanted to call down fire from heaven to get results now uses a force much stronger and more effective. What is it? Love. In fact, at 1 John 2:14, notice what he says here. And just sense the love that he has when he writes verse 14: “I write you, fathers, “because you have come to know him who is from the beginning. “I write you, young men, because you are strong “and the word of God remains in you and you have conquered the wicked one.” Can you sense the love? John is saying, ‘Look, the word of God remains in you.’ He used the powerful force of love to commend his readers because they never lost their heartfelt appreciation for the truth. Can you see yourself doing that? You see, thunder without love is just noise. But be determined to lovingly commend your brothers for their endurance. Thank them for their integrity. Commend them for their unselfish love. Touch their hearts when you speak with them. Our brothers need encouragement, not criticism. Well, as I look at each one of you, I have a lot of thoughts going through my mind. I do. I mean, here you are— I mean, all the memories are flooding through my mind, flooding through my heart. It’s amazing as I look at you! I can still hear your comments. But you know what else I can hear? I can hear each day (when you came to class) how you thundered into that classroom. You did. We have never seen such a thunderous class. There you were each morning hugging each other, clapping for the morning worship comments, commending each other. It’s as if you hadn’t seen each other in three months; it was just last night you saw each other. But, oh no, you thundered in appreciation for divine truth and for the privilege to be here at school and for each other’s integrity-keeping course. Now, as you leave, what do we want you to remember? We want you to remember how you can keep the thunder rolling. How can you do that? I’m going to give you three ways. One, defend the truth. Don’t allow false reports and lies about the organization that you love —the organization that you love and cherish, the very organization that brought you to these seats. Never allow lies and false reports to stop you from reporting what you have seen and heard firsthand. Two, remember the final outcome. True worship will prevail. You already see it doing so. And three, use the powerful force of love. Use love to commend and fortify your brothers. Encourage them. Build them up. Use love. And like John, with all your might, with all your ability, thunder for Jehovah.

That was thunderous applause. You followed his theme right on through. Very good. And we really did appreciate that talk helping us to be like the apostle John and seeing how he never lost his enthusiasm but he balanced it even more so in later years with love. So we want to never lose our enthusiasm —our love— for Jehovah, Jesus, the Kingdom, and spiritual things.

What an inspiring program! And there’s more to come! Look for Parts 2 and 3 on jw.org®. They’ll be released in the coming weeks. From the World Headquarters of Jehovah’s Witnesses, this is JW Broadcasting.