Choose your Associates wisely — Transcript

Full transcript

1. 0:11good morning friends we welcome
2. 0:13everybody to our meeting this morning
3. 0:22we have been invited to be together to
4. 0:25enjoy the information that is going to
5. 0:28be presented and to start our meeting
6. 0:30this morning we invite you all to start
7. 0:34singing a song of presto Jehovah which
8. 0:37is song number 90.
9. 0:41encourage one another
10. 0:43and after the song we'll pray to Jehovah
11. 0:46song number 90. thank you
12. 0:54so we have been invited to
13. 0:57a public discourse that is going to be
14. 1:00presented by Brother Tony Walters from
15. 1:03bankstown congregation and the title of
16. 1:06the discussion is choose your Associates
17. 1:10wisely
18. 1:16foreign
19. 1:21[Music]
20. 1:26we all have to make choices
21. 1:30many of the decisions that we have to
22. 1:33make are only minor ones for instance
23. 1:36this morning we probably decided what we
24. 1:38were going to have for breakfast and
25. 1:41what we were going to wear to the
26. 1:42meeting
27. 1:44other decisions that we have to make
28. 1:47though are more important because they
29. 1:50have a lasting effect on our life
30. 1:53for instance it might be whether to
31. 1:55accept a new job offer or if we're
32. 1:58single whether or not to get married
33. 2:02but what about when it comes to our
34. 2:04choice of friends
35. 2:06how would we class that decision
36. 2:10many in the world might say that it's
37. 2:12just a minor decision after all in this
38. 2:16age of social media it's possible to
39. 2:20have hundreds or even thousands of
40. 2:22friends at just the Press of a baton
41. 2:26but what does God's word the Bible have
42. 2:29to say about our choice of friends
43. 2:32does our decision really matter
44. 2:36well please say take your Bibles with me
45. 2:39and let's turn to the Book of Proverbs
46. 2:42Proverbs Chapter 13 and verse 20.
47. 2:47and we'll see what the Bible has to say
48. 2:50about our choice of friends Proverbs 13
49. 2:54and verse 20.
50. 2:57the one walking with the wise will
51. 3:00become wise
52. 3:02but the one who has dealings with the
53. 3:04stupid welfare badly
54. 3:09this verse highlights that our friends
55. 3:11can have a powerful influence on us
56. 3:15if we have friends who are wise those
57. 3:18who love and worship Jehovah they can
58. 3:21help us to stay close to him and to make
59. 3:24good decisions
60. 3:27on the other hand if we were to have
61. 3:29close association with those who don't
62. 3:32worship Jehovah that could actually have
63. 3:35the opposite effects and draw us away
64. 3:38from him
65. 3:40it's true that applying the Bible's
66. 3:43Counsel on Association isn't always easy
67. 3:48but following it is the key to having a
68. 3:51close friendship with Jehovah God
69. 3:55so in our discussion this morning we're
70. 3:57going to focus on three important
71. 4:00questions
72. 4:01firstly why is it important for us to
73. 4:04have good friends who love Jehovah
74. 4:08secondly how can we avoid bad
75. 4:11Association
76. 4:13and finally how can we all Become
77. 4:16Jehovah's friends
78. 4:19so let's consider that first question
79. 4:21why is it important to have good friends
80. 4:24who love Jehovah
81. 4:28to answer that question let's consider
82. 4:31the example of the faithful angels
83. 4:34we know that if we were to go back in
84. 4:37time there was a period where Jehovah
85. 4:41was alone
86. 4:42now we know that Jehovah doesn't have
87. 4:44the limitations that we have he doesn't
88. 4:47get lonely
89. 4:49but even so Jehovah saw the value of
90. 4:53companionship with others
91. 4:55so he surrounded himself with hundreds
92. 4:58of millions of spirit Sons
93. 5:02these faithful Angels benefited from
94. 5:05friendship with Jehovah first hand they
95. 5:09could observe his qualities and his
96. 5:11personality and see how he accomplished
97. 5:15his purpose
98. 5:17one of the other blessings that the
99. 5:19Angels enjoyed is highlighted in Job
100. 5:22chapter 38. let's turn there together to
101. 5:27the Book of Job
102. 5:29and we'll read Verses 4 to 7 of chapter
103. 5:3338.
104. 5:37starting there in verse 4 it says
105. 5:40where were you when I founded the Earth
106. 5:44tell me if you think you understand
107. 5:46who set its measurements in case you
108. 5:50know or who stretched a measuring line
109. 5:52across it
110. 5:54into what were its pedestals sunk or who
111. 5:56laid its Cornerstone
112. 5:58when the morning stars or the Angels
113. 6:02joyfully cried out together and all the
114. 6:06sons of God began shouting in Applause
115. 6:11so the Angels were privileged to witness
116. 6:14the creation of the Earth the jewel of
117. 6:18Jehovah's creative works and this
118. 6:21brought them great joy
119. 6:23since then Jehovah has been using
120. 6:26faithful angels to help accomplish his
121. 6:28purpose and today we know that they're
122. 6:32directly involved in directing the
123. 6:35kingdom preaching work
124. 6:38but let's contrast that now with the
125. 6:42example of the angels in Noah's day who
126. 6:45chose to side with Satan the devil
127. 6:48how did this affect them
128. 6:51well let's turn over it to the book of
129. 6:55second Peter second Peter 2 and we'll
130. 6:59read together verse 4. and we'll see how
131. 7:03these Angels were affected by cutting
132. 7:06off association with Jehovah God
133. 7:10they're in verse 4 it says
134. 7:13certainly God did not refrain from
135. 7:17punishing the Angels who sinned
136. 7:20but through them into Tartarus putting
137. 7:23them in Chains of dense Darkness to be
138. 7:26reserved for judgment
139. 7:30so those angels that chose to associate
140. 7:33with Satan went from a position of
141. 7:36Freedom uh being in Jehovah's presence
142. 7:40to a degraded prison-like condition that
143. 7:44the Bible calls Tartarus
144. 7:46whereas before they had a place in
145. 7:49Jehovah's organization and could share
146. 7:52in accomplishing Jehovah's will and now
147. 7:55they're in a state of spiritual Darkness
148. 7:58concerning Jehovah's purposes
149. 8:01and even their future is dark because we
150. 8:05know that the Bible says that Armageddon
151. 8:08they'll be thrown into the abyss along
152. 8:11with Satan the devil and ultimately
153. 8:14they'll be destroyed
154. 8:17so for us
155. 8:19if we were to choose to have as our
156. 8:23close friends those who don't love
157. 8:25Jehovah we would also be siding with
158. 8:29Satan the devil and face the same
159. 8:31outcome as those Unfaithful angels
160. 8:36but in contrast association with those
161. 8:39who love Jehovah will serve as a
162. 8:42protection for us
163. 8:44it will protect us from being overcome
164. 8:47by negative feelings by doubts
165. 8:51and also protect us from falling prey to
166. 8:55Satan
167. 8:56we know that the Bible talks about Satan
168. 8:59as being like a roaring lion seeking to
169. 9:02devour someone
170. 9:04and we know that one tactic that a
171. 9:07literal lion will use when it's hunting
172. 9:10is to try to isolate an animal from the
173. 9:14rest of its herd and Satan tries to use
174. 9:17this tactic as well on us
175. 9:21he might try to take advantage of a
176. 9:25disagreement that we have with a fellow
177. 9:27believer or perhaps we've received some
178. 9:30new direction from Jehovah's
179. 9:32organization that we're struggling to
180. 9:35understand or to accept and this may
181. 9:39cause us to feel that we need to isolate
182. 9:43ourselves from the congregation
183. 9:47but if we were to do that we would
184. 9:49really be putting ourselves in a very
185. 9:52dangerous position
186. 9:55this point actually reminded me of a
187. 9:57real life experience of an Explorer are
188. 10:02called Richard bird
189. 10:04he was an explorer that led several
190. 10:06expeditions to the Antarctic in the
191. 10:091920s and 1930s and in 1934 he was part
192. 10:16of an expedition that involved being
193. 10:19stationed in a remote
194. 10:21observation post in the Antarctic
195. 10:26now
196. 10:27what was interesting about his
197. 10:29experience is he specifically asked that
198. 10:32he could be stationed in that Outpost
199. 10:35alone and when he was asked why he
200. 10:39explained that two men might be the best
201. 10:42of friends yet put them together in
202. 10:45close quarters forced them to sit
203. 10:48opposite each other and look at each
204. 10:50other in the face for a long time and
205. 10:53finally they will Tire of each other get
206. 10:56disgusted feel burdened with each other
207. 10:59and at last be unable to Bear the sight
208. 11:02and presence of each other
209. 11:04so please let me be posted here alone
210. 11:09well little did he realize that that was
211. 11:13a very dangerous decision to make
212. 11:16early on he began to suffer unexplained
213. 11:20symptoms of mental and physical illness
214. 11:24by the time he realized that he was
215. 11:27suffering from carbon monoxide poisoning
216. 11:29from a defective stove pipe
217. 11:33he was already in a desperate struggle
218. 11:36to save his life and preserve his sanity
219. 11:40fortunately the rest of his team kept in
220. 11:44contact with him by radio and when they
221. 11:47started to realize that something was
222. 11:50wrong they sent a team to rescue him and
223. 11:54happily they were able to save him just
224. 11:57in time
225. 11:59but how does the experience of
226. 12:03Richard bird relate to us today
227. 12:07well as we mentioned we may face a
228. 12:10situation where we feel that we want to
229. 12:13isolate ourselves from our brothers and
230. 12:15sisters
231. 12:17but really that's one of the worst
232. 12:20things that we could do because without
233. 12:22our fellow Believers it's so easy to be
234. 12:26overcome by the poisonous thinking of
235. 12:29Satan's world
236. 12:30we could become overwhelmed with
237. 12:33negative thoughts to the point that our
238. 12:35spiritual life is put at risk
239. 12:39how much better it is for us to follow
240. 12:41the advice in Hebrews chapter 10 and
241. 12:45verses 24 and 25. let's read those
242. 12:48verses together Hebrews chapter 10 and
243. 12:53verses 24 and 25.
244. 12:59and let us consider one another so as to
245. 13:03incite to love and find works not
246. 13:06forsaking our meeting together as some
247. 13:09have the custom but encouraging one
248. 13:12another and all the more so as you see
249. 13:16the day Drawing Near
250. 13:19so the Bible encourages us doesn't it
251. 13:21not to forsake meeting together and all
252. 13:25the more so as we see the end of this
253. 13:28system drawing near
254. 13:30interestingly the Jerusalem bible
255. 13:33renders this verse do not stay away from
256. 13:37the meetings
257. 13:39well in the congregation we can seek Out
258. 13:42friends who will build us up spiritually
259. 13:44and have a wholesome up-building
260. 13:48influence on us and our decisions
261. 13:51and at the same time if we work to
262. 13:54develop desirable qualities in ourselves
263. 13:57then our brothers and sisters will
264. 14:00naturally be drawn to us and will be
265. 14:03able to form strong lasting friendships
266. 14:06with one another
267. 14:09well that brings us now to our second
268. 14:12question how can we avoid bad
269. 14:15Association
270. 14:18we know that this can be a challenge
271. 14:20because many of us spend a large portion
272. 14:23of our time with people who aren't our
273. 14:26brothers and sisters whether it's at
274. 14:28work at school or in other settings
275. 14:32and sometimes we might feel that the
276. 14:35people that we spend time with aren't
277. 14:38really bad people
278. 14:40but when we think back to the scripture
279. 14:42in Proverbs that we read at the
280. 14:44beginning of our discussion we have to
281. 14:47ask ourselves are the people that I
282. 14:51associate with really wise people
283. 14:55it could be that they don't smoke they
284. 14:58don't use bad language and they live a
285. 15:00relatively clean moral life
286. 15:04but do they love Jehovah and look to his
287. 15:07word for Direction
288. 15:09they may even laugh at us for living our
289. 15:12life by Bible principles
290. 15:15so it's wise for us to avoid close
291. 15:19association with unbelievers
292. 15:21and our young ones are to be especially
293. 15:24commended for the stands that you take
294. 15:27when it comes to bad Association at
295. 15:30school even though we know it can be
296. 15:33very hard to say no to a parties and
297. 15:38other after-school activities
298. 15:41we know that Jehovah is so proud of you
299. 15:43for the stands that you take and we're
300. 15:47proud of you as well
301. 15:50all of us whether young or olds need to
302. 15:53keep in mind Christian principles when
303. 15:56it comes to attending things like work
304. 15:59functions School reunions or other
305. 16:02social events where we come in contact
306. 16:05with unbelievers
307. 16:08our choice of entertainment could also
308. 16:11become a form of bad Association
309. 16:15and this is particularly true when it
310. 16:17comes to things like soap operas
311. 16:20the goal of the writers of these
312. 16:23programs is to get viewers to become
313. 16:26emotionally involved with the characters
314. 16:29one viewer explains you build up a
315. 16:33relationship with a character on the
316. 16:35show because you see him almost daily
317. 16:38the more I learned about him the more I
318. 16:41wanted to know it was something very
319. 16:44natural
320. 16:47but what kinds of characters are often
321. 16:50portrayed on these programs
322. 16:53aren't they generally people that live
323. 16:56unclean and often immoral lifestyles
324. 17:00and this can gradually start to affect
325. 17:03our thinking
326. 17:05at one sister wrote that for 13 years
327. 17:08she was a soap opera addict
328. 17:12I thought that I was safe simply by
329. 17:14attending Christian meetings and being
330. 17:17semi-regular in the field service
331. 17:20but I adopted the worldly soap opera
332. 17:23attitude that if your husband mistreats
333. 17:26you or you feel unloved adultery is
334. 17:30justifiable he brought it on himself
335. 17:34and so when I felt Justified I took this
336. 17:38bad course and sinned against Jehovah
337. 17:41and my mate
338. 17:43as a result this sister was later
339. 17:45disfellowshipped
340. 17:47but happily she eventually came to her
341. 17:51senses was reinstated and was able to
342. 17:55return to Jehovah
343. 17:58but we can really see the importance
344. 18:00can't we of being alert to the subtle
345. 18:03dangers that entertainment composed when
346. 18:07it comes to our association
347. 18:12another danger that we need to be
348. 18:14especially wary of is highlighted for us
349. 18:18in second Corinthians chapter 11. please
350. 18:22turn there with me to Second Corinthians
351. 18:25chapter 11.
352. 18:27and we'll have a look at verse three
353. 18:33there the Apostle Paul wrote
354. 18:36but I am afraid that somehow as the
355. 18:39serpent seduced Eve by its canning your
356. 18:43minds might be corrupted away from the
357. 18:47sincerity and the Chastity the dejew the
358. 18:50Christ
359. 18:52what could corrupt our minds away from
360. 18:56the truth
361. 18:57it does apostasy come to your mind
362. 19:02an apostate's goal is to poison our
363. 19:05Thinking by planting doubts in our minds
364. 19:08in an effort to draw us away from the
365. 19:11truth
366. 19:13how important it is that we avoid all
367. 19:15association with apostates whether it's
368. 19:18in person or over the internet
369. 19:22sadly though some of our brothers and
370. 19:25sisters have allowed curiosity to get
371. 19:27the better of them
372. 19:29they felt that they wouldn't be affected
373. 19:32by the material that they read that they
374. 19:36were strong in the truth and besides if
375. 19:39we really have the truth we don't have
376. 19:42anything to be afraid of the truth will
377. 19:45stand the test
378. 19:47well is is that really good reasoning
379. 19:52um perhaps we feel that we can help
380. 19:55someone that has apostate ideas
381. 19:59but let's just consider an illustration
382. 20:03um to consider this point imagine if we
383. 20:06had a friend that came up to you and
384. 20:08with a bottle and it had a big label on
385. 20:11the bottle marked poison
386. 20:14now let's imagine that our friend told
387. 20:16us that he was going to try some of the
388. 20:19poison because he'd always wondered what
389. 20:22it would taste like
390. 20:24what would you say to your friends if
391. 20:27they were to say that to you
392. 20:29but then they say well it's okay I'm in
393. 20:32good health I go to the gym every day
394. 20:35I'm fit and strong I can take it
395. 20:39would would that change our view of our
396. 20:42friends
397. 20:42consuming what's in this bottle well no
398. 20:46of course not
399. 20:48well similarly just as we can't consume
400. 20:51poison and expect not to be affected by
401. 20:54it
402. 20:55similarly we can't take in apostate
403. 20:58thinking and expect that it won't affect
404. 21:01us spiritually
405. 21:04so let's be resolved to reject apostate
406. 21:07material in all of its forms
407. 21:12well now we've come to our final
408. 21:14question that we were going to consider
409. 21:17today and that is how can we all Become
410. 21:20Jehovah's friends
411. 21:23while we enjoy having friendships with
412. 21:26fellow humans the greatest privilege
413. 21:29that any of us can have is to be a
414. 21:32friend of Jehovah God isn't it
415. 21:35but is it really possible for us to have
416. 21:38a close relationship with God since
417. 21:40after all he is an invisible Spirit
418. 21:44creature
419. 21:45well the answer is yes because through
420. 21:50the pages of the Bible Jehovah has
421. 21:53revealed his personality to us
422. 21:55we learn how to draw close to God and
423. 21:59how he shows his tender care for us
424. 22:03the Bible also contains accounts of
425. 22:06faithful men and women in the past who
426. 22:09also had a close relationship with
427. 22:11Jehovah
428. 22:13one of those examples was Joseph
429. 22:16he left at a time when there was no
430. 22:19written record of Jehovah's feelings
431. 22:22but he knew Jehovah so well that when he
432. 22:26was tempted to commit a sin he knew
433. 22:29exactly how Jehovah would feel if he
434. 22:31gave in to that temptation
435. 22:34and that helped him to remain faithful
436. 22:38what about Moses
437. 22:40he saw Jehovah's guidance so clearly
438. 22:43that the Bible says that he continued
439. 22:45steadfast as seeing the one who is
440. 22:49invisible
441. 22:51and King David spoke of Jehovah as being
442. 22:54at his right hand so that he would never
443. 22:57be shaken
444. 23:00so it is possible for us to enjoy a
445. 23:03close relationship with Jehovah and he
446. 23:06guarantees that if we draw close to him
447. 23:09then he will draw close to us
448. 23:14Jehovah also wants his friends to become
449. 23:17our friends
450. 23:19and here in the congregation we can find
451. 23:22modern day examples of those who enjoy a
452. 23:25close relationship with Jehovah God and
453. 23:28who Endeavor to display the fruitage of
454. 23:31his holy spirit in their lives
455. 23:34so all of us I can ask ourselves do I
456. 23:39take advantage of the opportunities I
457. 23:42have to associate with my brothers and
458. 23:45sisters whether it's here at the meeting
459. 23:47or at our upcoming assemblies and
460. 23:51conventions
461. 23:53let's turn back now in our Bibles to the
462. 23:56book of Hebrews chapter 10
463. 24:00and we'll go back to verse 24 which we
464. 24:03read earlier in our discussion but we'll
465. 24:06have a look at this verse from a
466. 24:08slightly different angle this time
467. 24:11there in Hebrews chapter 10 and verse 24
468. 24:15what benefits do we receive from being
469. 24:18together with our brothers and sisters
470. 24:22there it says and let us consider or as
471. 24:26the footnote says be concerned about pay
472. 24:30attention to one another
473. 24:33so as to incite or to motivate stir up
474. 24:37to love and find works
475. 24:41yes when we associate with our brothers
476. 24:44and sisters regularly and when we listen
477. 24:47to their expressions of faith in their
478. 24:50comments it motivates us to show love to
479. 24:54one another and we're also moved to
480. 24:57share in fine works such as preaching
481. 25:00the Good News of the Kingdom
482. 25:03truly those whose Expressions can do
483. 25:06that for us our good friends aren't they
484. 25:11but our brothers and sisters also need
485. 25:13encouragement
486. 25:15so when we take the initiative to be a
487. 25:18good friend
488. 25:19by building others up and helping them
489. 25:23to stay busy and active in Jehovah's
490. 25:26service
491. 25:27we can also enjoy many blessings
492. 25:31so aren't we grateful for the privilege
493. 25:33that we have to be part of Jehovah's
494. 25:36organization today
495. 25:39as we mentioned at the outset of our
496. 25:42discussion every day we all make choices
497. 25:47and as we've seen one of the most
498. 25:50important decisions that we can make is
499. 25:53deciding who we will have as our close
500. 25:56friends because that decision will also
501. 25:59affect our relationship with our
502. 26:02heavenly father Jehovah God
503. 26:05in our discussion we've seen how
504. 26:08following the Bible's wise counsel can
505. 26:11help us to avoid isolating ourselves and
506. 26:15from being exposed to bad Association
507. 26:17whether that's at work at school through
508. 26:21our entertainment or through apostate
509. 26:24thinking
510. 26:25and we've seen how we can find true
511. 26:28friends here in the Christian
512. 26:30congregation
513. 26:32so may we be determined to choose our
514. 26:36Associates wisely by having us our close
515. 26:39friends those who love and worship
516. 26:42Jehovah
517. 26:44if we do we can enjoy close friendships
518. 26:47that won't only last a lifetime but
519. 26:51forever
520. 26:53[Applause]