COMMENTS YOU WILL NOT HEAR AT THE 12-8-02 WT STUDY
OCTOBER 15, 2002 WT, PAGE 13
(
Red highlighted comments are WTS ; rest is mine other than titles and subtitles)
JEHOVAH CARES FOR YOU
(1 Peter 5:7)Introduction
"Jehovah and Satan are complete opposites. Any person who feels drawn to Jehovah can only be repulsed by the Devil."
Now I personally dont think this means that Jehovah and Satan are meant to be understood as equals when the WTS says this. But what the WTS presents is a black and white world; something is either all good or all bad. Good and bad are subjective terms dependent many times on the context or environment. Some things in nature are poisonous and are death dealing when eaten, but then when processed and taken into the body another way can be beneficial. Foxglove is like that, a deadly poison when ingested in its natural form but when processed it becomes digitalis, very helpful in treating heart ailments.
"Encyclopedia Britannica (1970)"
is used to quote an excerpt to support the concept that the Devil is seeking out humans to catch them doing bad but that God is the opposite. Yet the Bible account of Job is merely cited. Obviously, the secular source is being given more weight than the Bible."The book of Job reveals that Satan accused Jehovahs faithful servant of serving Him out of self-interest."
What about Jehovahs Witnesses today? In every article, their motivation is highlighted. Lets jump to the end of todays lesson.
"Thus we will keep ourselves in Gods love, while we are waiting for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ with everlasting life in view." Yes, the individuals everlasting life is highlighted as THE reward in almost every article, not the vindication of Gods sovereignty or the sanctification of his name, which are the weightier issues.
"Has Satan ceased accusing Gods faithful servants since the time of Job? No. The book of Revelation shows that in this time of the end, Satan continues to accuse Christs anointed brothers and assuredly also their faithful companions."
Can you read here "apostates" and the "lying media"? Is the WTS showing by their fruits that they are Christs anointed brothers? Does it matter that they distribute books and magazines but cover up the dirty deeds of pedophiles in their organization?
JEHOVAH SEEKS TO HELP US
"What a difference between Satans hateful scrutiny and Jehovahs loving care! Jehovah is not spying on us to catch our every fault and failing."
That is right, God does not have to spy on us, because there are self-appointed ones in the congregation, the elders and others in the congregation who are eager to catch others in errors, real and imagined.
I know of elders that drive by certain peoples home from the congregation hoping to catch them smoking, having a worldly person of the opposite sex over, etc., etc. I know of brothers who have staked out their ex-wifes house with another brother filming her "guests" and timing when they arrived and when they left. I know of elders that check out peoples CDs and videos when the "drop by for a visit." I suppose some of those reading this can add to my comments.
"Jehovah is willing to forgive our sins if we are truly repentant but it is sobering to realize that sins often bring dire consequences."
But God will not forgive us if the elders think we are not truly repentant because the elders say that they are appointed by God to make that determination. And if they are wrong, does that mean God is wrong?
And what about those
"dire consequences." What did the WTS say SHOULD BE dire consequences for a child molester? Yet, these are not carried out the congregation elders or other WTS representatives.
January 1, 1997 Watchtower pages 28-9 Let Us Abhor What Is Wicked
But nowhere does the Bible say that an adult Christian who sexually abuses a child whether incestuously or otherwisecannot be forgiven. Indeed, his sins can be washed clean if he repents sincerely from the heart and turns his conduct around. However, he may still have to struggle with the wrong fleshly impulses he cultivated. (Ephesians 1:7) And there may be consequences that he cannot avoid.
Depending on the law of the land where he lives, the molester may well have to serve a prison term or face other sanctions from the State. The congregation will not protect him from this. Moreover, the man has revealed a serious weakness that henceforth will have to be taken into account.
Yet he is allowed these privileges. If he seems to be repentant, he will be encouraged to make spiritual progress, share in the field service, even have parts in the Theocratic Ministry School and nonteaching parts in the Service Meeting. This does not mean, though, that he will qualify to serve in a position of responsibility in the congregation. (How do they decide that nonteaching parts in the Service Meeting or in the Theocratic Ministry School are not telling people in the congregation that he has qualified for congregational responsibilities?)
What are the Scriptural reasons for this?
For the protection of our children, a man known to have been a child molester does not qualify for a responsible position in the congregation. Moreover, he cannot be a pioneer or serve in any other special, full-time service
.Compare the principle at Exodus 21:28, 29. I wonder what "known" means? Known by whom and how?JEHOVAH DRAWS HIS PEOPLE TO HIM
"No man can come to me unless the Father, who sent me, draws him."
So we should be drawn to Jesus but not through the WTS. We pray through Jesus not the WTS. God through Jesus provided the ransom, not the WTS. We are Jesus footstep followers not the WTS followers.
"God did not wait for sinners to plead with him to provide some arrangement whereby they might find peace with him."
Yes, we do not have to bleat and bleat and bleat as injured sheep on a ledge hoping the shepherd hears us which refers to an illustration used by the WTS in a previous magazine this year. If some of you still attend, how did you feel when you read it. Did you think of this illustration instead and wonder?
Matthew 18:12-14
12 "What do YOU think? If a certain man comes to have a hundred sheep and one of them gets strayed, will he not leave the ninety-nine upon the mountains and set out on a search for the one that is straying? 13 And if he happens to find it, I certainly tell YOU , he rejoices more over it than over the ninety-nine that have not strayed. 14 Likewise it is not a desirable thing with my Father who is in heaven for one of these little ones to perish.Luke 15:3-7
3 Then he spoke this illustration to them, saying: 4 "What man of YOU with a hundred sheep, on losing one of them, will not leave the ninety-nine behind in the wilderness and go for the lost one until he finds it? 5 And when he has found it he puts it upon his shoulders and rejoices. 6 And when he gets home he calls his friends and his neighbors together, saying to them, Rejoice with me, because I have found my sheep that was lost. 7 I tell YOU that thus there will be more joy in heaven over one sinner that repents than over ninety-nine righteous ones who have no need of repentance. So, what do you think? Are the sheep held responsible for reaching out for help or are the shepherds supposed to be taking the lead in searching out the sheep?NEED FOR SEEKING JEHOVAH "Of course, Jehovah does not force us to come to him." "We must recognize Jehovahs right to call for our subjection." So we are to come to God, not the WTS. We must be subject to God, not the WTS. If we come to God and subject ourselves to him and the WTS does the same thing, then we will be at the same point. But we must decide what God wants from the Bible not from the publications of the WTS that are not inspired in anyway by their own statements. That way we will not be followers of humans. Lately, much has been discussed by people on this forum about this subject. "This means distancing ourselves from Satans wicked system of things." Things are either all good or all bad. People in the congregation are all good and people outside the congregation are all bad. Movies are either all bad or all good. Worldly relatives are all bad. Im sure you can think of other things. It ends up with Jehovahs Witnesses being social misfits inside and outside the congregation, unable to show real love because they cannot trust, because the elders are watching them to catch them in an error. "If we want to be Jehovahs friends, we must expect Satans world to hate us." Has anyone ever known of a JW that says they have Gods blessing because they are being persecuted at work or by their non-JW relatives only to find out that the brother or sister acts like an A-1 jerk at work, is lazy or late all the time, or is constantly shoving "the truth" down their relatives throats at every family function? The idea is that Christians are being persecuted in spite of doing kind and loving deeds. "This psalm (Psalm 145:18-20) shows that Jehovah can save us when we are tested individually and that he will save his people collectively at the time of the great tribulation." So can JWs count on individual protection? This will be expanded upon later but only "collectively" can we count on being saved. That implies that individuals can die but the majority will live. Which group do you want to be in?JEHOVAH MUST BE REAL TO US "Please God and obey him" "Follow Jehovah, fear him, obey him, and cling to him" "This precious, close relationship with Jehovah" Nowhere does this imply that we must go through a man-made organization to be close to God. We have his Word, the Bible, and he gives his Holy Spirit to help us understand. The only person that we go through to develop that relationship is Jesus Christ. ARE YOU AWARE OF JEHOVAHS CARE? "Jehovah is near to those that are broken at heart; and those who are crushed in spirit he saves." Some of us have lost the feeling that God cares about us because we are surrounded by people who talk about being the kind of people who reach out to those hurt and depressed in the congregation but do not DO what they say. It only means that these people do not represent or imitate God in this area not that God has failed. Love is not found in a building. "Are you convinced of Jehovahs saving power? Are you aware of his angelic protection?" Tell me, how do you discern angelic protection. One JW urban legend was about a JW woman who was going from door to door alone peddling her magazines. Unbeknownst to her, she called on the door of a serial rapist/murderer (depending on which version of the "true" story you hear). The visit went without any trouble, and shortly after she left, the police burst in on the man and took him away. When asked why he didn't attack the JW woman, he said two large men were standing behind her. "When was the last time that you were particularly conscious that Jehovah had been good to you." "wonderful conversation with the householder" "having the extra strength" to stay out in the ministry for that last house or in the bitter cold (my addition). "On the other hand, you may have trouble recalling some particular act of goodness" Why? It is your fault because you are not making a conscious effort to draw close to God. It is probably all those unkind actions and words showered on you by your "loving" brothers and sisters looking for those errors of yours. KEEP SEEKING JEHOVAH What do we need to understand the Bible? "We need the help of prayer and Holy Spirit to comprehend the deep things of God." Thats a good comment. But then they have to add. "We also need the guidance of the faithful and discreet slave to feed our minds with spiritual food given at the proper time." So if you had discerned before 1962 that superior authorities were really the secular governments and not Jesus and Jehovah, you would not have been revealing it at the proper time although before 1929 the WTS taught that the secular authorities were the superior authorities. "Through that channel, Jehovah has counseled us to read his Word daily, attend our Christian meetings regularly, and have a meaningful share in preaching the good news of the kingdom." Another trinity used often. Read Gods Word but not without the WTS publications. How many meetings did Jesus command his followers to attend? What is a meaningful share, 15 minutes, 1 hour, 2 hours, 10 hours, 50 or 70 hours? Who decides what your share should be? "Stay loyal to Jehovah" "Letting Gods Word guide us and staying active with his visible organization we can be sure that he will always be there to support us." How active do you think Isaiah and Jeremiah were with the corrupt priesthood and temple of their time? Were they able to stay true to God without participating in the Baal worship in their community or being stained by the false worship at the temple? And as was brought out in the beginning, the motivation for too many JWs is "everlasting life" Picture on page 16Young black woman talking to an older balding white man fishing off the beach. (She has a leather backpack rather than a book bag, and she has the lowest neckline on a sister I have seen in a magazine for over 10 years) She is sharing a brochure with him and a Bible is not visible. Caption: Daily Bible reading, regular attendance at Christian meetings, and zealous participation in the preaching work remind us that Jehovah cares for usPictures on page 17Upper Asian congregation at a Kingdom Hall. The chairs have a little shelf that drops down to use to set your books on and write on. Lower A young man reading the Bible as he lays on his bed (interestingly, the WT has given counsel not to read sitting or laying on a bed but on a chair at a desk.)
Edited by - Blondie on 5 December 2002 0:56:43