Brother Scott Guston will be giving us the talk do not be deceived by spiritism Brother guson ghosts witches zombies werewolves Voodoo priests vampires psychics fortune tellers Witch Doctors hypnotists tossel haired young men in circle glasses casting spells these aren't just the expected characters a person might think they'll see in a Halloween parade these are Things that figure quite prominently in various forms of spiritism that people engage in or try to entertain themselves with what actually is spiritism well spiritism is the practice of trying to communicate with Spirits either directly through a seance or a Ouija
board or taking drugs to try to get into a trance or indirectly through somebody else like a witch doctor or a psychic or a medium things like astrology divination Fortune magic superstitions witchcraft The occult psychic powers all these things are various forms of spiritism how does Jehovah feel about spiritism let's take a look in Deuteronomy 18 and verses 10-2 here we're going to get a really good idea of his feelings on the subject Deuteronomy 18 and notice in verse 10 it says there should not be found in any you in you anyone who makes his
son or his daughter pass through the fire will stop there just a second second Because this son or your daughter passed through the fire thing really kind of sets the tone for what's the rest in the in the list what is this concept basically it's a ancient euphemism for the false religious practice of live infant Human Sacrifice where cute cuddly little noorn babies were roasted alive in false religious sacrifice before Idols is that a gut-wrenchingly disgusting concept no what else Jehovah puts in the List anyone who employs divination anyone practicing magic anyone who looks for
Omens a sorcerer anyone binding others with a spell anyone who consults a spirit medium or a fortune teller or anyone who inquires of the Dead a lot of spiritistic practices for whoever does these things is detestable to Jehovah yes to Jehovah all these spiritistic practices are kind of on the same bucket as live infant human sacrifice So it seems Jehovah really supremely hates spiritism why well we note that in the Bible we're taught that Jehovah teaches us so that we can benefit ourselves or another way to put that is that Jehovah tells us what to
do and what not to do in order to keep us out of trouble so can we get into trouble by engaging in spiritism and if so how can we avoid spiritistic practices well Revelation 12:9 gives us A really good warning that there is actually a substantial number of malicious and wicked Spirits out there who hate Jehovah and who want to pull us away from a good relationship with him notice Revelation 12 and verse 9 see what it says so down the Great Dragon was hurled the original serpent the one called devil and Satan who's misleading
the entire inhabited Earth he was hurled down to the Earth and his angels were H Down with him so it's a bit to unpack in this verse who's being talked about well we see the devil and Satan we know familiar with him Satan the Devil he's called the original serpent this should take us back in our mind to the time of Adam and Eve when the snake was being used to try to get Eve to disobey Jehovah and eat the fruit that snake was getting used like a ventriloquist dummy by a rebellious Angel who had
disassociated himself from Jehovah that Bible calls that disassociated angel the rebellious Angel Satan the devil now as Revelation 129 says Satan has his angels too later on a substantial group of other of Jehovah's Angels also disassociated themselves from Jehovah by disobediently cominging down to live with and have sex with women on earth during the time of Noah and when After the flood these angels then returned to the spirit realm but they came under the control of Satan The Devil the Bible calls these these say Angels the demons it is Satan and the demons as the
verse says they want to mislead people into acting in a way that will take them away from Jehovah and bring them under Satan and the demons control Satan and the demons are the power behind spiritistic practices and humans of course being just so curious about the unusual and bizarre they get very curious about spiritistic power and so they desire to Learn more about these things and they come into the traps of Satan and get pulled away from Jehovah's truths now truth is a really important point about this concept because spiritism is actually based on a
lie spiritistic practices happen because people think that Spirits are actually dead humans who have continued to live after death commonly become ghosts they call them ghosts and these ghosts can still interact with people who are still Living this concept is a lie Ecclesiastes 9: 5 and 10 tells us the truth according to our creator Jehovah of what happens when a person dies Ecclesiastes 9 star in verse 5 notice it says there for living know that they will die but the dead know nothing nothing scroll on down to verse 10 whatever your hand finds to do
do with all your might for there is no work nor planning nor knowledge nor wisdom in The grave think about that the dead don't know anything they can't work on anything they can't plan on anything they're not wise the Bible says that a dead person's thoughts die too their love their hate their jealousy also perish they don't have anything to do anymore with what living people are involved in so what does that mean for us when a person dies they simply completely cease To exist the not a single part of a person physical or mental
that survives death and therefore the dead can't communicate with the living people they can't help us they can't harm us they can't appear to us and they can't haunt us Satan knows what the Bible says about this so he tries to keep on pushing his lie in a couple of different ways one get people to think that the problems they have in their lives are actually caused by dead people dead relatives Dead ancestors so on and so forth and that these dead people need to be plated somehow by sacrifices magic charms and other practices it
is true some people in various ways do get themselves possessed by demons not dead people demons and it's also true that a lot of people just end up getting and have trouble in their lives because they're in the wrong place at the wrong time or they simply have made a bad decision but there's one thing you can Be sure of the truth in the Bible says that dead people don't do anything therefore none of our problems are being caused by dead people dead people can't help us they can't harm us they can't communicate it with
us because they don't exist anymore now the devil turns around and tries to counter that by getting people to think that the Bible's wrong that they actually have seen their dead relatives alive by faking people out by Pretending to be dead relatives through dreams or visions or a spirit medium or other means but remember the Bible says dead people can't interact with living people because dead people can't think or do anything therefore these spirits that are being interacted with in these so-called Communications with dead people are actually demons so somebody goes to a medium to
call up their dead Great great grandmother it's not the grandmother they're talking to it's a demon somebody know the the grandmother isn't moving the hand thing around an ouija board it's a demon doing that Satan and the demons don't care about our welfare and safety and they want to ruin as many people as they can before Jehovah destroys Satan and the demons at the appropriate time isn't it actually clear that engaging in spiritistic practices is really hobnobbing with Jehovah's Archen enemy we got to reject any and all spiritistic practices if we're going to try to
get God's approval in fact in Galatians 5:19-21 it tells Christians that spirit people who practice spiritism will not be allowed in God's kingdom it's of interest that the ancient apostate Israelites back in their time some of them tried to do magic and worship Jehovah at the same time some clergy of well-known religions Try to do this today becoming familiar with spiritistic practices or engaging in cabalistic magic or thinking they can cast out demons by repeating the correct what seems to amount to Magic phrases also while claiming to know God but Jehovah chastised the ancient Israelites
for mixing uncanny practices with Jehovah's solemn assembly and in 1 Corinthians 10:21 Christians are told you cannot be taking the drinking the cup of Jehovah and the cup of demons you Can't partake of the table of Jehovah and the table of demons no the Bible says quit touching the unclean thing so we mustn't think that as long as we worship Jehovah that we can also dabble in spiritism as well it doesn't work we're going to lose our relationship with Jehovah if we try spiritistic practices so why is spiritism dangerous is because it brings us into
intimate association with the devil and the demons they hate everybody they want to Kill us Jehovah despises spiritism thinking it is rightfully as disgusting as roasting babies alive and in order to worship Jehovah acceptably we've got to stay completely away from anything related to spiritism so question is then how do we do that well James 4 and verse 7 gives us a very simple two-step process it's quite easy we can do it James 4:7 says therefore subject yourselves to God but oppose the devil and that's it what'll happen he'll flee from you two steps subject
ourselves to God and oppose the devil so how do we subject ourselves to God essentially this involves coming to know and to serve Jehovah as our best friend I mean think about what it means to have a good friend somebody you like to associate with somebody you like to hang out with talk with do things with That friend gets in trouble you're going to be there to help him you're going to try to help as much as you can that friend there will be in turn there to help you with your troubles as well Jehovah
wants us to be friends with them like that I mean imagine think about what a good friend would be you do all these things with them you could even invite him over to your house you could have a campfire open up a soda make some s'mores chitchat about the end Of the rest of the day that would be great to have a friend like that of course you know it's unfortunate we can't make Jehovah a s'more it would be really nice if we could but we can't but we can draw close to him we can
communicate with him in prayer we can let him talk back to us through the Bible and through his physical organization Psalm 14518 says Jehovah is near to all those calling on him in truth so that means we'd want to spend a Lot of time intimately talking with our best friend Jehovah want to tell them about our feelings and concerns Jehovah knows our feelings in fact he knows how to handle our feelings even better than we know how to handle them and he's eager to help if something he provides for us helps us out which it
will then he's eager to hear how it has worked how the assistance he's given has helped us as his friend and of course we can talk to Jehovah about his concerns does God have problems Satan and the demons are big problems for him so we want to talk to him about his problems and try to help him out by getting his reputation well known in the community our best friend also happens to be our creator so he knows how things work he knows how to get the best out of life for us and how we
can avoid trouble this basically involves then that once we've talking with him we would also Listen to him talk back to us so we could pattern our lives and our actions according to Jehovah's teachings in the Bible and the guidance of Jehovah's physical organization that will demonstrate to Jehovah we really want to be his friend the Bible tells us also that Jehovah is eager to be our friend tells us we can draw close to God and he can draw close to us so to subject ourselves to God we really try to be Jehovah's Friend but
you know the interesting thing about that is our best friend also happens to be the Sovereign lord of the universe there's power there and in Proverbs 18:10 Jehovah tells us what we as his friends what he's going to do for us with his power Proverbs 18:10 notice it says there the name of Jehovah is a strong tower into it the righteous one runs and receives protection name of Jehovah is a strong Tower back in Israelite cities they used to have Towers in the middle of the city which would store supplies in it and then people
in the surrounding Countryside would run in and hide themselves in that Tower when an enemy would attack Jehovah promises to be that strong tower for us if Satan and demons try to do something to us so for example let's say first off you know how How does this work well it doesn't mean the God's personal name Jehovah is a strong tower doesn't mean God's personal name is some kind of good luck charm we don't think as long as I say the word Jehovah out loud that whatever it means about to do will succeed it doesn't
have cabalistic or other magical properties what it does mean is that people who truly Revere God who truly respect his name his position his reputation his power his skill And then truly try to live their best according to his standards truly try to have him as their friend we can then call on him for protection when demonic activity might be happening so say say perhaps we live in an area where witchcraft or Voodoo or some other spiritistic activity is openly practiced and we're out zealous talking about Jehovah our best friend we're Vis active in the
ministry and some spiritistic person gets upset with Us and says they're going to put a spell on us or use witchcraft on us do we need to be afraid no of course not our best friend is Jehovah so we turn to Jehovah for help and we keep zealous in the ministry we don't get swayed off by any such threats and Jehovah promises that the Demonic tricks won't work maybe we've accidentally come into possession of an item that used to belong to a practicer of spiritism Satan has used that kind of circumstance to Bother people at
times but we can ask our best friend Jehovah to help find the spiritistic thing and get rid of it and in turn Jehovah will help us because he doesn't want us to have it either perhaps we didn't properly discern the implication of a particular movie or some other form of entertainment that we involved ourselves in well we can beg Jehovah for forgiveness and protection P them out loud for protection study up on being More Discerning and turning around from bad choices and Jehovah will make whatever problems we happening stop as far as the devil and
the demons Jehovah is immensely more powerful than Satan and all all the demons combined in fact the Bible even says that the demons shudder in thinking of what Jehovah could do to them when he wants to so if we run to Jehovah our best friend for help at any time we put full Faith in Jehovah and we try as hard as possible to be his friend as 2 Thessalonians 3:3 says he will protect us from demonic activity verse says Lord's faithful he will strengthen us and protect us from the wicked one so that's how we
can subject ourselves to God try to be his best friend how do we in turn oppose the devil that involves avoiding any kind of contact with spiritism scripture in Leviticus says don't turn to the spirit mediums and do Not consult fortune tellers to be us to become unclean by them so here's some areas we could keep our eyes open so that we don't dirty ourselves with spiritism first get rid of objects related to spiritistic practices in Acts 19: 19 some new Christians face the question of what to do with their magic books when they came
into the truth Acts 19 and: 19 notice what they did indeed quite a number of those who practiced magical Arts brought their books Together and burned them up before everybody and they calculated their value and found them worth 50,000 pieces of silver that money might have been 137 years worth of wages for the average worker back then with no weekends off it's a lot of money did they turn around and sell these books to try to recoup the cost no because putting that would put some other poor soul in the clutches of the devil instead
they took a public stand And destroyed them in front of everybody thus getting themselves to have a first stand for Jehovah they would also trust that Jehovah would get rid of any uh spiritistic problems that might have been happening as well as help them through their daily needs that money they lost so the warning to us is get rid of anything we might have maybe we had it before we came into the truth maybe we don't realize we have it and come to learn it now that is related to The occult books movies video games
things that used to be possessed by a spiritistic person that fancy jewel encrusted statue from Uncle Joe who claimed to be a witch it's got to go amulets charms medals from Saints uh the great grandmother St Christopher medal things that people wear to or own to try to protect themselves did you know that in some cultures things that are Considered artwork to decorate our home or our office are actually in other cultures paraphernalia used to engage in spiritism would we actually voluntarily decorate our homes with something that somebody else used to talk to the devil
of course not and we also Note One Thing getting rid of is not selling on eBay as a new Christian would destroy such objects so should we as well Jehovah will help us to continue living despite any kind of financial loss we may have Occurred in getting these objects next to consider entertainment many movies and videos TV shows Games books websites feature demons magic psychic powers the supernatural a person could start thinking that there's no harm in entertaining ourselves watching a movie or getting on this website uh just as long long as they don't actually
practice what's being portrayed but could we imagine that Entertaining ourselves was something that Jehovah finds supremely disgusting is going to endear us to him no it'll be an insult to our best friend not only that but Satan and the demons can also watch us looking at what we desire see figure out what we desire and how we think by watching the things we entertain ourselves with and then they can craft specially designed traps to try to get us in and pull us away from Jehovah We need to be aware friends that some of the things
regularly used in movies and cartoons actually have a spiritistic background vampires werewolves zombies The Walking Dead they're all spiritistic there's no point in asking a person are you a good witch or a bad witch because there is no such thing as a good witch they're all bad there's no such thing as a Friendly Ghost and there's no that tossle haired guy no matter matter how good-natured he Seems to be he is deep into magic and doing spells if we entertain ourselves with things that Jehovah hates we're going to ruin our relationship with Jehovah and Satan
can draw us under his influence next place to take a look at is funeral Customs there are many funeral Customs based on the belief that the dead person is still alive somewhere and that has to be handled in some kind of Way so it's important therefore for us to consider what things might be done in any particular funeral we're about to go to and see if anything in that is spiritistic if we were to give in and go along with the crowd in doing these practices it would put us at odds with Jehovah so we
have to fight and make sure we don't engage in them of course in some communities how a funeral gets conducted is extremely heavily monitored by the community and some Christians Will get trouble by keeping away from these particular practices from non-Christian relatives or from members of the community Jesus did say being a Christian wasn't going to be easy but if a person holds steady and faithful and does their best to keep completely free of all spiritistic practices in regards to this funeral then Jehovah will see to it that in the end things will work out
for the person for a Christian another place to look at is medical Treatment perhaps we might choose to try an herbal or alternative or a traditional form of medicine instead of of the doctor Hospital blood test lab report kind of medicine or maybe traditional medicine is the only kind of healthc care that's available in the community where we live unfortunately many traditional healers also engage in spiritistic practices they try to make it seem that the healing qualities aren't in the Herbs and the oils and the seeds but in the magic they engage in the incantations
and the crystals the energy flows and all that well so if we're going to try to choose a traditional or alternative medicine Source we need to consider is the Healer known to practice spiritism or does he Foster esoteric religious ideas is the treatment actually based on the belief that the sickness or the death are caused by ancestral Spirits or offended gods or Former relatives or enemies who have employed witchcraft unbalanced energies are sacrifices incantations healing crystals other spiritistic rituals employed in preparing and using the medicine traditional and alternative medicine isn't bad in fact that se
the seeds and the oils and such have a lot of medicinal property to them just have to find a source that doesn't include spiritism in providing the Medicine but this doesn't of course mean that spiritistic healthc care is only found in communities where traditional medicine is common there are some forms of diagnostic activity engaged in by what you would call Western practitioners some of them that frankly look like magic what they're doing to try to figure out what's wrong in order to it's very important to carefully consider what's going to be done by the doctor
or the practitioner pray about it Research on it try to see what our best friend Jehovah thinks and then be guided by what our best friend says and there's actually lots of ways spiritism can exist even in a secular Community probably pretty easy I haven't tried it but it's pretty easy I'll bet to Google up a fortune teller or a psychic and uh horoscopes come in the newspapers doing all these things is looking for Omens is spiritism we would never do those things but did you know That looking for signs of good luck oh I
found a fourleaf clover that must mean I'm going to have a good day today or trying to avoid signs of bad luck careful with that mirror sir seven years those are also looking for Omens it's spiritism person might engage in or submit to hypnotism perhaps a mental health practi ition might suggest it spiritism is binding somebody else with a spell it's it's spiritism I mean hypnotism is binding somebody else with A spell a medical practitioner might suggest yoga to help a person calm down take their blood pressure down or whatever yoga comes from a highly
spiritistic F false religion someone might feel the room it's got to get decorated in a certain way so all the energies are flowing fun sort of thing that's all spiritism it's where it comes from here's one you're going to drill a new well on a piece of property the well Company brings in their big rig with all their drills and their trucks and their pipes they also want to bring in a water dowser water dowsing is spiritism spiritism can sneak up on us without her even noticing it so we've got to rely on Jehovah to
keep our eyes open so we see it coming and stay away from it instead we need to build up and keep a very strong relationship with our friend Jehovah and he promises he will help us notice the spiritism so we don't get Involved and we can keep free from the Satan's tricks and that Satan he is a tricky character isn't he wouldn't it be nice if he wasn't around anymore trying to trick us well notice what Romans 16:20 says Jehovah feels the same way Romans 16:20 okay so it says there for his part the God
who gives peace will crush Satan under your feet shortly amen won't that be a wonderful Time when the devil's gone what could the Earth be like at that time take a look in second Peter chapter 3 and verse 13 notice what's going to happen 2 Peter 3:13 there it says but there are new heavens and a new Earth that we're awaiting according to his promise new new Heavens being a new government New World Government new Earth a new human society and in those things righteousness will dwell as Revelation 21:4 says Jehovah is going to take
away Death all our mourning all our pain our crying everything that causes us trouble in this system will be all gone just think of a world where we don't have to look suspiciously at what we're about to involve ourselves in to see if it's really pleasing to God because everything will be pleasing to God want to live in a world like that well we need to dra very close to Jehovah try to be his close friend make all our decisions in a way that is going To keep his friendship and then the same time oppose
the devil in all his tricks including rejecting spiritistic practices and will be able to enjoy friendship with our best friend Jehovah forever [Applause] thank you very much brother gipson we appreciate your delivery there well we have uh our Circuit Assembly next Saturday so we won't have our midweek meeting on Tuesday night we Would like to you're all invited back to our assembly if you can be there at the Newberg Assembly Hall now we'll have a study of the Bible by means of the Watchtower brother Layman would you conduct that for us please friends let's introduce
our Watchtower Lesson by standing and singing Together song number 123 it's entitled loyally submitting to Theocratic order extend a warm welcome to everyone To our Watchtower lesson this morning and what an interesting lesson it is it's a entitled help for those who are removed from the congregation the theme text is Luke 15:7 which says there will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents than over 99 righteous ones who have no need of repentance so as we're aware this is the fifth and final article in a series that we have been enjoying for
the last more Than a month now on Jehovah's arrangement to combat sin so what can we look forward to today in this lesson what specifically well he will answer this question primarily after an unrepentant sinner has been removed from the congregation how can the congregation continue to treat him in a loving and merciful way let's find out together our reader is brother Haynes follow along with our First two paragraphs Jehovah is not a permissive God he does not condone sin he requires that we respect his righteous standards which he has set forth for us in
his word of course Jehovah does not expect Perfection from imperfect people at the same time he does not tolerate ungodly men who turn his undeserved kindness into an excuse for Brazen conduct indeed the Bible speaks of the Destruction of the ungodly at God's war of Armageddon however Jehovah does not want anyone to suffer destruction as we discussed earlier in this series of Articles the Bible clearly states that he desires all to attain to repentance Christian Elders imitate Jehovah as they patiently try to help wrongdoers to change their ways and be restored to Jehovah's favor however
not all wrongdoers respond Favorably some continue in a wrong course despite the elders repeated efforts to lead them to repentance what is to be done in such a situation let's see how many scriptures we can incorporate in our answers in these first two introductory paragraphs here's our first question though how does Jehovah view willful sin we have a young hand right here in the front let's start with him Jehovah Jehovah does not tolerate falson that's exactly right thank you for being here today and contributing sister guer the scripture there in Psalm 130: 3 and 4
lets us know that Jehovah is not looking for Perfection because he knows that we make errors because no one would be able to stand but what he does not tolerate is something that is willful or done intentionally that's a great scripture sister Town say He doesn't expect uh Perfection from imperfect people that we are but he does expect us to respect his lawful standards yeah we can't forget that sister uh Richards in Psalm five brings out that Jehovah doesn't take pleasure and W wickedness and that an arrogant person can't stand in his presence and he
doesn't like those who behave wickedly that couldn't be clearer sister Crook and so because of that as Peter Brought out in 2 Peter 3:7 he's going to judge the ungodly he's going to destroy them so we don't want to be among that crowd we do not uh brother fiser and Jude 4 there that's cited illustrates the the balance there some were using Jehovah's undeserved kindness his love his Mercy as an excuse for Brazen conduct so we can see the balance that's needed for sure I see one more scripture that hasn't been commented on Yet sister
van duen I hope I was playing close enough as attention as I thought I was Revelation 1616 there would be the time when Jehovah would indeed bring um all those together to a place called Army gedon and U those with the um ungodly uh the destruction of The Godly would occur at that time we're on the same track let's look at our B question what is Jehovah's hope toward wrongdoers and let's go to zoom and sister Mahan it is clearly stated at second Peter 39 Jehovah is not slow concerning his promise as some people consider
slowness but he is patient with you because he does not desire anyone to be destroyed but desires all to attain to repentance that is so reassuring sister gusterson so in harmony with that scripture although a person may commit a serious sin his life is still precious to Jehovah so Jehovah comp Compassionately reaches out to help such ones return to him and Jehovah sincerely hopes that that person will choose to do so he does and just or brother Romain Jehovah hopes that all people around the world would repent so that they don't get destroyed exactly and
one final comment brother tacket even though that's true of Jehovah as we see in Isaiah 69 though uh not everybody will respond and so that's what going to touch on today in our Article how we as Elders can imitate Jehovah and help those it's a nice transition to our next paragraph with the subheading remove the wicked person when a wrongdoer is unrepentant the elders have no choice but to follow the direction found at 1 Corinthians 5:13 remove the wicked person from among yourselves in a sense the wrong has chosen that consequence he is reaping what
he has sown why can we say that because he has refused to respond to Repeated attempts by the elders to lead him to repentance his actions show that he has chosen not to abide by Jehovah's standards 3A what does the Bible say should be done with unrepentant Sinners let's start with our sister right here in the front row Elders have no choice but to follow what 1 Corinthians 5:13 tell us to remove the wicked person from among yourselves whenever the wrongdoers is unrepentant thank you and that sister Campbell okay good and is that sister Pitman
please and um this is actually a quote uh from the Mosaic law there um at First Corinthians a cross reference Prince brings about bring brings out that Jehovah himself did this with Adam and Eve when they um sinned against him he removed them from the garden of e of Eden and so this shows that this is something that Jehovah himself um is something he requires and it's something That he himself did with Adam and Eve yes for sure and uh sister Marte and that is because um in Galatians 6:7 it says that if he decides
um to to continue this this um progression or this this sin then he has reaped what he sown because um he has not listened to the elders yes let's build on that with the B question why can we say that in a sense the wrongdoer has chosen to be removed from the congregation and let's go back to zoom And Brother Rice and that scripture there in Deuteronomy 30 and verse 19 shows that each one has a choice to make and Jehovah says I will put before him life and death and going on to verse 20
shows the choice he has it's like he must listen to Jehovah's voice and stick to him and if he refuses to do that it's an indication that he has chosen to be removed from the congregation there's no other Choice that is sound reasoning sister uh Ramirez in the scripture there in um Second Kings it talks about Jehovah he kept warning them they refused that that uses that kind of terminology Jehovah always gave us free choice he told us the consequences of both of our actions and free choice does come with consequences so when we decide
on what we're doing we also decide on the consequences of it so it is our choice so true uh brother Rabinowski and just uh going back to that uh 1 Corinthians 15:33 um it's interesting that this is only one way street because the proverb says who walking with a wise is going to be wise so if we preserve somebody would he become wise just staying in the congregation not no the Bible say the other way he will corrupt the the rest and why is that why is it only one way well because of our inclination
to do bad so uh our uh adamic sin it's so Powerful that we can't associate with somebody who went the other way because our natural inclination going to go wrong way that would be dangerous uh sister Smith so just as Jehovah sent prophets to the ancient Israelites and pleaded for them to come back our loving Elders do the same there is more than one attempt made to look for repentance and so this is something we have to recognize when we consider someone who's Been removed it's a beautiful arrangement isn't it sister Rodriguez and an article
in referencing Deuteronomy 30:20 mentioned that this offer to choose life would be meaningless even cruel if we lacked Free Will so it really brings out the point how loving it is that Jehovah puts between us the two offers but really it does come down to an individual choice of choosing to live by Jehovah's standards that's a gem of a point our Brother right here in the front yes if the wrongdoer doesn't listen then whatever else happen happens is in the sinner's hands most of what we do is to focus on the efforts we make to
honor Jehovah not necessarily the outcome exactly we need to move on to paragraph four when an unrepentant wrongdoer is removed from the congregation an announcement is made to inform the congregation that he is no longer one of Jehovah's Witnesses the purpose of that announcement is not to humiliate the wrongdoer rather it is made so that the congregation can follow the scriptural ad to stop keeping company with that person not even eating with him that direction is given for good reason the Apostle Paul wrote A little leaven ferments the whole batch of dough unrepentant wrongdoers can
weaken the determination of those who are striving to live by Jehovah's righteous standards in this paragraph we'd like to have someone comment on the footnote but let's get the question first why is an announcement made when an unrepentant wrongdoer is remov moved from the congregation our visiting sister right here the per the purpose of it is not to embarrass and humiliate the wrongdoer but rather so that the congregation can follow the scriptural council at 1 Corinthians 59 and 11 through 11 to stop Keeping company with the unrepentant centner that's the point and brother gusterson similar
to if uh someone you know gets sick with a bad contagious disease what would you do well naturally you would advise others to keep their distance from this individual so they don't catch what the person has and you would do the same so that's really a courtesy on your behalf and so that with this announcement the elders are basically letting everyone in the Congregation know that this person is spiritually sick and it's being quarantined until the infection subsides so basically means to socially distance yourselves from them until further notice that's a good illustration uh sister
Rivera and if this happens to someone that we love it's sometimes easy to make those excuses that well they do love Jehovah they're going to try to come back and but at the end of the day it's Going to weaken our determination because even if it's not necessarily them saying well don't serve Jehovah we're losing our patience we're losing our self-control and really we're losing those Christian qualities yes so true brother Shaw Proverbs 13:22 makes a very powerful point it says that an unrepentant wrongdoer can actually draw us away from living up to God's righteous
standards whereas those Who love Jehovah can help all of us to stay close to him indeed brother a Divine the footnote helps us to realize that for those removed we're no longer going to use the term disfellowshipped uh remove is a a word actually used in the scriptures disfellowship is not so it brings us even closer in harmony with the spirit of uh the scriptures where Paul said to remove the wicked man so we'll now say They were removed from the congregation isn't that understandable sister the Francis I think all of us who grew up
in the truth boy we knew first Corinthians 15:33 by heart do not be misled bad Association can spoil useful habits so again we just have to remember that those wrongdoers can weaken the determination of those who are trying to live by Jehovah's standards so again we have to watch that Association thank you for taking us back To our youth let's get one more comment this young sister right here in the front please keep your hand up and throughout history Jehovah has never wanted his people to be shamed it brought him pain um to see Pharaoh
humiliating and hurting the Israelites and that's just one of the many examples in the Bible of how Jehovah instead of wanting um us to be shamed he wants us to flourish and thrive in his Organization and so he helps us to guard our hearts and walk with the wise so we could become wise that is a beautiful point Thank you paragraph five how then should we view a fellow believer who is removed from the congregation although we do not socialize it with him we should view him as a lost sheep not a lost cause a
sheep that has strayed from the fold May well return remember that lost sheep dedicated himself to Jehovah sadly he is Not living up to that dedication at present and that puts him in a dangerous position nevertheless as long as Jehovah's Mercy is of available there is hope that the person will return how do the elders reflect that hope even toward a wrongo who has been removed from the congregation paragraph five how should we view a person who has been removed from the congregation and why brother Roma we should view him as a lost sheep That
has strayed from the fold May well return exactly and sister do on I got baptized with my best friend and uh there after she did get this Fellowship so I I still had love for this girl um but I didn't keep contact with her 30 years later she did come back into the truth and I had kept pictures of her all those years because I knew that someday she might return and so that's how we should feel about them that they're not a lost cause and that They may come back back one day that is
a beautiful Point uh brother uh lucies yeah this this paragraph helps us tie in with last week's lesson in the world we're so used to seeing crime and punishment that's what's bet portrayed for us and that's uh part of Satan's evil system of things but here we're learning Jehovah's way sin and spiritual restoration we talked about it last week can hear again talking about it in a similar vein that these ones can be Restored back to the and that's Jehovah's desire so how how awesome it is that we're discussing these things and we're getting the
mind of Jehovah on something that the world is so far away from the contrast could not be greater could it let's see uh brother Lopez we must always remember the extent that Jehovah is willing to go to to reconcile wrongdoers to himself and so we never want to rule out somebody as a lost cause whom Jehovah still extends Mercy To because he still loves that person and wants them to come back to him that's Jehovah's Viewpoint we'll get one last comment brother Rodriguez I appreciate how it said that remember that lost sheep dedicated himself to
Jehovah so if someone is removed from the congregation it doesn't mean that if they ever came back they have to dedicate themselves again no Jehovah still views them as dedicated but right now they're just not living up To that dedication so he's always wanting that person to come back and that Mercy if it's still available yes that's a strong point our next subheading is how the elders assist those who are removed is the individual who has been removed from the congregation a abandoned left completely on his own to find his way back to Jehovah by
no means when informing an unrepented wrongdoer that he will be Removed from the congregation the committee of Elders will explain to him what steps he can take to return to the congregation but the elders will do even more in most cases they will tell the wrongdoer that they would like to meet with him again after a few months have passed to see if he has had a change of heart if the wrongdoer is willing to meet with them again the elders will at that subsequent meeting make a warm appeal for him to repent and Return
even if he has not had a change of heart at that time the elders will make periodic efforts to contact him in the future paragraph six what steps will the elders take to assist one who has been removed from the congregation sister Gerson one thing that never changes um is Jehovah's love but a human does not stay the same and Jehovah knows that so even when a person has made that Decision that leads up to them being removed from the congregation Jehovah lets them know through the elders how his love will continue to be expressed
and that's um through the elders letting them know what steps they can take to return and also they're making concerted efforts to meet with that person in a few months time to see how their spiritual condition is yes how loving and brother Bradley and this is such a an amazing Arrangement that Jehovah doesn't want individuals to feel that they are abandoned and left on their own just because they have been removed from the congregation it's nice to know that it mentions even in most cases the brothers will let them know that they like to meet
with them again after a few months to see if there is a change of heart so hopefully the wrongdoer is willing to meet with them again then they will make subsequent appeals to get to individual To return to the flock and so even if he hasn't had a change of heart at that time what a loving Arrangement that the brothers will still try to make periodic contacts to get in touch with an individual in the future so an individual just is so special to Jehovah he doesn't want them to feel that even if they're not
at the right heart space at that time there still can be opportunity in the future just just remarkable yeah it's heartwarming isn't It and our dear sister in the back we may have heard of a common expression that's used in a world of no man Left Behind well Jehovah definitely takes the steps to make sure of that um even though a person may have at this particular time due to wrongdoing um has left the court so to speak well Jehovah doesn't say okay well you have to stop coming to the Kingdom Hall you're not allowed
to come to the Kingdom Hall turn in all your Publications you can't Benefit from the broadcast but they can still do that and as a matter of fact that's probably encouraged for them to do so that they can get themselves better get themselves to be able to at the time when the uh Committee of Elders meet with them that they can see the steps that they're taking and to help them to continue surely uh brother Allison I was thinking what a a nice attitude check uh for elders because oftentimes When we look at these articles
that we've had before when an elder has put that much time and effort into an individual to try to get them to repent and then it goes bad it's easy to feel like well I've done my best I can't do anymore but yet this paragraph helps us to see know Jehovah is asking you to to do even more to go the extra mile don't give up even if you have to meet with him again and even it might take years that you have to do That but that's still Jehovah's loving attitude that we need to
try to reflect yeah what an perfect example let's go to paragraph seven the elders strive to reflect Jehovah's compassion as they deal with someone who has been removed from the congregation for example Jehovah did not wait for his Wayward people in ancient Israel to take the first step rather he took the initiative to reach out to them even before they showed any signs of Repentance as noted in the second article in the series Jehovah Illustrated his compassion by telling the prophet Hosea to offer reconciliation to his wife who was still sinning in Imitation of Jehovah
Christian Elders genuinely want the wrongdoer to return and they do not make it difficult for him to do so we have a read scripture on this paragraph who'd like to share Jeremiah 3:12 with Us uh sister maresi go and Proclaim these words to the north return o Renegade Israel declares Jehovah I will not look down angrily on you for I am loyal declares Jehovah I will not stay resentful forever thank you for the good reading our question is how do the elders reflect Jehovah's compassion pass when dealing with a person who has been removed from
the congregation brother Jong Please we see in this scripture in Jeremiah that Jehovah really reaches out and he takes the initiative to do so um even before they show signs of repentance so Elders would show the same idea that's the point and our brother right here in the front I was going to give a similar comment he won't look down on him angry and won't stay resentful and a key thing that stood out to me is the last sentence by not making it difficult for him to do so That is a powerful Point sister creger
the paragraph was pointing to the um Prophet HOSA who went and asked his wife to return while she was still sinning and said points out if we have Jehovah's mindset that um the elders are not waiting for people to always change first that offer reconciliation and you know josea himself must have felt hurt maybe there was frustration there and so there's going to be natural feelings maybe even from the body of Elders with Um the one that has aired but we can see that Jehovah um wants us to reach out to those people and be
loving and kind that way it makes it easy for them to return and thank you for applying that scripture our visiting brother right here in the center here brother Yao um as Jehovah says in Jeremiah 3:12 return o Renegade Israel I will not stay resent for forever so if someone does end up getting removed they aren't Gone Forever They can come back if they can actually come back if they so desire and that is in the end what Jehovah wants and if they you Jehovah and the elders will genuinely welcome the remove one back if
they have the right attitude that's how it works brother clag the elders can imitate Jehovah by being realistic about what how bad the sin was we hate the practice but it's just like um Jehovah keeps the sin in it in its relative place over the big Picture of things he's the blood of his son is worth more than the sin that they've committed he wants them back and the brothers we do well to remember that even keeping our own sins in mind when we are trying to assist others that we're not really above them that's
the overview isn't it uh brother Divine in Jeremiah 3:12 I love the expression I will not look angry down angry on you for I am loyal so when we dedicate ourselves to Jehovah he assumes A responsibility toward us and he doesn't forget that even ones who are removed from the congregation He Still Remains loyal to that person and to their dedication if they're willing to come back Jehovah will gladly accept them that is that is so touching isn't it then sister Hawkins I was thinking the same thing because the scripture in HOSA 3:1 Jehovah tells
him to go once again love the woman who is loved by another man so It's not an anger or resentment that um brothers are reaching out to these that have um shown themselves to not listen to Jehovah's standards but they in love want them to return because that's how Jehovah feels he said in um Malachi 3:7 return to me and I will return to you that is the pattern isn't it uh brother Tong please for all of us we when we go out in service when we find somebody interested we make repeated calls Because we
want them to come into the truth but this friends that were removed they are dedicated Servants of Jehovah and if they show some interest coming back we how much more so we need to make return visits nice illustration paragraph 8 recall Jesus parable of the lost son as discussed in the second article in this series when catching sight of the son returning home the father ran and embraced him and Tenderly kissed him Notice that the father did not wait for the son to beg for forgiveness rather he took the initiative as any loving father would
the elders strive to show a similar attitude toward those who have strayed they want these lost sheep to come back home there is joy in heaven when a sinner repents and there is Joy on Earth as well we have a read scripture in fact it is our theme scripture who'd like to read that for us uh sister Wolf I tell you that in the same way there is more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents than over 99 righteous ones who have no need of repentance thank you for the good reading our question how
does jesus' parable of the lost son offer further insight into Jehovah's compassion and mercy sister tuosto it's interesting that it's highlighting the part of the parable where the father catches sight of his son returning home And he immediately takes action to welcome him home he could have made the choice to have him get all the way home and beg for forgiveness but he recognized that it took a lot of effort for him to come home and so Jehovah recognizes that too when a sinner return turns that it took a lot of effort and so in
Imitation of Jehovah that individual needs to be welcomed paints a beautiful picture doesn't it uh sister Bradley and Jesus wanted it to be clear How he and the angels and Jehovah felt about those who repented and came back to Jehovah um the a little background on the scripture is that the Pharisees had been complaining about Sinners who were uh tax collectors and who were attracted to Jesus and Jesus was saying in here basically this is not how how you see them is not how we see them if someone is repentant they're welcomed and uh they
are rejoiced over when they return that's a nice extra research let's go to Zoom and sister Winslow I was looking at the as everyone is looking at the theme scripture that there is more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents than over 99 righteous ones who who don't need to repent um and I was thinking it is not saying that Jehovah and those with him are not joyous over all the time about the faithfulness of 99 or the whole congregation or congregations they are joyful over those there's just more joy When a lost sheep
return turns it's added Joy to the joy that the faithful are giving Jehovah that's a fine point paragraph nine please from what we have considered so far it is clear that Jehovah does not condone unrepentant wrongdoing however he does not turn his back on wrongdoers he wants them to return Jehovah's feelings toward repentant wrongdoers are expressed at Hosea 144 I will heal their unfaithfulness I will love them of my own free will because my anger has turned away what a strong incentive for elders to respond to any sign of repentance and what a strong incentive
for those who have left Jehovah to return without delay number nine how does Jehovah warmly appeal to Sinners sister de Francis well Jehovah never turns his back on the Wrongdoers in fact he's always willing to welcome the wrongdoer with open arms if they are repentant that is a strong point isn't it and uh our visiting brother over here on the wall and the last sentence is so interesting that it puts the incentive uh on the one that has left Jehovah looking at the read scriptures from the preceding two parag paragraphs and and this scripture here
in HOSA we see these beautiful qualities these beautiful Promises that Jehovah is offering to extend uh to a wrongdoer uh so really that should be a strong incentive strong motivation for a wrongdoer to take Jehovah up not uh test his qualities but to quickly take Jehovah up on these uh this opportunity to return yes it should and uh sister boule so it's a beautiful statement Jehovah does not turn his back on wrongdoers he wants them to return and the fact that he's even provided a beautiful brochure Entitled return to Jehovah for these such ones that
describes how much Jehovah loves them and wants them back thank you for pointing that out brother Duhan it's nice that it's on public record here much of this information shared with us all continues to have the message incentive for elders its instructions for we Elders to remember how to handle this uh Jehovah loves his children on the earth including people out in the world but ones who have been In his spiritual family and then gotten estranged he really wants them to come back and the elders get to serve in the role if you will to
help Jehovah to that end and to convey that love that he desires to have them back so it's sober but it's uh nice to know that Jehovah instructs us how to do it thank you for pulling the curtain back a little bit Bill Edwards please Jehovah is not a vengeful God to those who Repent that says it all doesn't it and at our console panel back there I can't see the face is that brother Morales yeah um I really appreciate how Jehovah says that I will heal heal their unfaithfulness because those who have left Jehovah
and are out in the world they get beat up they get bruised um often times they get stuck into unclean practices that perhaps they want to break free from and just seem they that they can't but Jehovah is saying I will Heal you and the elders the congregation we see that sheep that's beat up we want them to come back and we want them to get that healing to be freed from the the difficulty that they brought upon themselves yes indeed and brother tacket appreciated to this statement talking about a strong incentive for elders to
respond to any signs of repentance sometimes if you're sitting on a committee and a person re repentant It's truly obvious I mean they're truly sorrowful but at other times maybe not so it's a good attit attitude check for us as Elders to remember what are we looking for any sign of repentance because that's what Jehovah is looking for and we're trying to imitate his example so important and a final comment our brother right in the center please yeah this paragraph really uh really warmed my heart and really puts In perspective of Jehovah's love for all
those that have loved uh Jehovah there in Hosea 144 he makes mention that he will heal their unfaithfulness and it's a it's a nice thought that Jehovah does not look at the fact that the individual is offensive to him but rather it's the act that the individual has affected Jehovah offended him so in this instance it shows him as being a loving one that wants to mend him and be and heal him and come back to him so as Elders when we meditate on that we too can offer that that love from Jehovah to them
it's a loving Viewpoint isn't it next two parag please what about individuals who in the past were removed from the congregation perhaps many years ago such individuals may no longer be practicing the sin for which they were removed in some situations they may not even recall what they were why they were removed whatever the case the elders will try to locate And visit these individuals during such visits the elders will even offer to pray with them and make a warm appeal for them to return to the congregation of course if a person has been away
from the congregation for many years he would no doubt be very weak spiritually therefore if he indicates that he wants to return to the congregation the elders might arrange for someone to conduct a Bible study With him even though he has not yet been reinstated in all cases the elders would be the ones to arrange for the Bible study in Imitation of Jehovah's compassion the elders want to reach out and help as many people as many as possible to know that the door is open for them to come back when a sinner manifests repentance and
abandons his wrong course he can be reinstated without delay 10 and 11 how will the elders try To help those who in the past were removed from the congregation our brother in the back there please well we can see that the elders will try to make concertive effort to locate uh these ones and uh once found uh they will uh pray with them and also offer them a warm appeal to return back to the congregation and uh if they're agreeable to this then the elders will make arrangements for someone uh to Study with them for
sure and uh sister young it's so beautiful that the elders will pray with them because that person might not have prayed for a very long long time so the elders praying for them might be the first step in restoring their relationship with Jehovah that's powerful Direction isn't it uh sister uh Roma I was just thinking about um brother gon's um comment from earlier about um being physically sick and you would quarantine that person and I was Just thinking that um these individuals who've been away for years they are spiritually sick and that's why um Jehovah
is so loving to um be offering now um for the elders to possibly have a study with them and say a prayer with them and it just shows how many that there are so many layers to Jehovah's love and he is so eager for those ones to return yeah that illustration fits doesn't it sister uh Medina and the scriptures there in 2 Corinthians 26-8 um admon es us and the elders to confirm our love for the individuals so we wouldn't just assume that the person would know that they would love them we would have to
demonstrate to the individuals by action that we love and want them to return that's a fine observation uh sister lucies and that same scripture in 2 Corinthians 26-8 gives us a little bit of insight into the the time frame um so It says that we would not want these ones to be overwhelmed by excessive sadness so um uh someone who has left the congregation many many years ago and demonstrates repentance uh would be able to be reinstated in a pretty timely manner good we need to move on paragraph 12 in certain circumstances the elders need
to be especially careful before reinstating someone for example if a person was guilty of child abuse or apostasy or if he schemed to end a Marriage the elders would want to be sure that he is truly repentant they must protect the flock at the same time we need to realize that Jehovah will accept back any wrongdoer who shows genuine repentance and stops engaging in wrong conduct so although the elders exercise due caution with those who have dealt treacherously with others they should not go so far as to say that certain types of Sinners can never
receive Jehovah's Mercy 12a what situations require Elders to be especially careful let's come down front here well the elders would want to be sure that the person is truly repentant that's first starters and our brother visiting right here in the center certain sins uh cause a lot of harm to others and not just the sinner themselves those would be like child abuse of hosty or those that are Scheming to end in marriage so the elders would want to be especially careful to protect the flock when they're dealing with these individuals that's serious indeed let's look
at the B question why should we not feel that it is impossible for certain types of Sinners to receive Jehovah's mercy and it does ask us to look at the footnote also but let's get the question first sister Pernell well Jehovah is a merciful god So it only makes sense that he will accept back any wrongdoer who um is truly genuinely repentant and stops wrong conduct and mentioned in First Peter to verse 10 um now you are God's people once you had not been show Mercy but now you have received mercy so this applies to
all who are truly repentant in Jehovah's eyes very very good uh brother gusterson the footnote there discuss is an unforgivable sin something that Perhaps some pondering has been made on at various times what this sin is but it isn't a kind of sin it's the attitude that goes with the sin if a person has a really hardened attitude and is permanently opposed to God that Jehovah might think that's an unforgivable sin of course it's up to Jehovah to decide it's not up to us to decide so we leave the Jehovah deciding whether a person's committed
an unforgivable sin or not that is powerful isn't it and brother Boogas this paragraph really helps us to see the beauty of Jehovah's balance because he does want us to reach out and and welcome ones back who are repentant but as Elders he also expects us to continue to protect the flock so we see this beautiful balance where we don't assume that anyone is beyond Jehovah's reach but we also take great care to make sure that the rest of the flock is protected that is the point exactly isn't it let's go to our next subheading
Which is what the congregation can do as disc in the preceding article sometimes an announcement is made that a person has been reproved in such a case we can continue to associate with him knowing that he repented and abandoned his wrong course he is still part of the congregation and needs the encouragement that comes from associating with fellow Believers however the situation is quite different when a person who has been removed from the Congregation we stop keeping company with that person not even eating with such a man paragraph 13 what is the difference between the
way we treat someone who has been removed by the elders and the way we treat someone who has been removed from the congregation a sister Campbell I remember when I was growing up it was announced that someone in the congregation was reproved and I had Never heard that before so I leaned over to my mom and asked what does that mean and she said it means that they need encouragement and it's true um reproved ones are part of the coration and would benefit from the good Association of the friends mentioned at uh like it's mentioned
at Hebrews 10:24 and it's okay cuz they're truly repented of the wrong they committed as opposed to how we treat those who are removed where we would not associate with them at all yes Well said brother Morales whereas go uh going along with that comment somebody who is reproved they need encouragement and we we should be there to encourage them but when somebody is removed from the congregation it's not our duty to encourage them we leave that to the elders and they can help them come back and repent yes you've got the point brother uh
Ramirez and as um 1 Corinthians 5:11 Brings out we go as far as to not keep company with them um especially outside of the Kingdom Hall the congregations we do not uh entertain the idea of being around them that's scriptural brother Costa so this subject can be a very debatable by individuals that we talk to so in service before uh talking to people of various religions they've brought this up that Jehovah's Witnesses do this or that but it's interesting out of their own Bible whenever you show Them these two scriptures 1 Timothy 5:20 regarding being
reproved or 1 Corinthians 5:11 regarding being removed and then you just ask them what would what is the Bible telling us to do as people and it's very clear and then they come up with the same answer it was very interesting for me to hear that answer from people of other religions well that's what the Bible says I'm just like okay we're just trying to follow that but I love how It's So scripturally Based good feel service point so let's go to our paragraph 14 does what we have considered mean that we would completely ignore
a person who has been removed from the congregation not necessarily certainly we would not socialize with him but Christians can use their Bible trained conscience in deciding whether to invite a person who was removed from the congregation perhaps a relative or someone they were Close to previously to attend a congregation meeting if what if he attends in the past we would not greet such a person here again each Christian needs to use his Bible trained conscience in this matter some may feel comfortable with greeting or welcoming the person to the meeting however we would not
have an extended conversation or socialize with the individual let's make sure we understand this point in this paragraph but let's Put the picture up that's associated with it on our monitor here's our question how can Christians use their Bible trained conscience in dealing with those who have been removed from the congregation our visiting sister please I like how the par paragraph mentions a Bible trained conscience because everyone really has a conscience that inner voice or that inner thought process that tells you between right and Wrong but here it takes it a step further about using
our Bible trained conscience because we're using Bible principles to guard our actions so as far as showing respect for Jehovah's arrangement we want to be careful and we're not really associating but how it's the new arrangement of how greeting you let your conscience guide you whether or not you're going to greet a person you don't have to know what the situation is and it was also a fine Point that I remember years ago we would Applause when someone came back to the congregation then we stopped doing it and then now we were applauding again and
so that's a loving arrangement cuz in recently seeing a person's expression on his face when he was reinstated when we applaud that he was back it was so heartfelt that he felt so welcomed by his fellow brothers and sisters thank you uh brother def Francis and we see this uh well Illustrated in the in the picture um the sister it her conscience allowed her to reach out to maybe a family member and invite her to a congregation meeting and then at that meeting greeted her now she's not having an extended conversation with her she's not
getting you like how are the kids how are you doing how's your job she just welcoming her uh to the to the meeting and and giving her that spiritual encouragement yeah that captures it doesn't it uh Sister Smith also what I noticed was when she's making that phone call she's holding her hand to her chest so it's somebody was very dear to her and when she did come to the hall she grasped her with both hands letting her know and touching her we love you you're welcome that's a good catch uh sister Layman might be
an additional thought to uh preserve this copy of the Watchtower or perhaps send it electronically to Anyone that we know and love brother bogz so this series of Articles has helped us to uh realize that Jehovah never changes and this is how Jehovah has always felt about those who had to be removed from his congregation and now we're being given the opportunity to bring our thinking into harmony with his and so now we see this availability to uh extend Jehovah's feelings of Mercy towards those who we may know whove been Removed thank you for pointing
that out brother Ramirez and I know for me this has been the part that's made a big impact as well to know that when these individuals are coming back to the Kingdom Hall they're making Jehovah proud they're making Jehovah happy at that moment so I like it because I get to share in that moment as well by smiling at them by shaking their hand and of course that's that's my feeling on this uh to be able to see Them that they're again making taking those steps to be right with Jehovah again is be for most
of us all of us brother Duhan just a quick one it'll be nice to see the effectiveness of what we see portrayed there in a congregation I was in in the south for the special talk it was exactly the week that this change in understanding took place at the special talk in this Hall two disfellowship persons showed up as we called them at That time uh alone but we noticed once go up and talk to them the following week at the time of the memorial they were were there each with a companion uh showing a
good response and if we see that around the globe happening there's going to be something very nice happening obviously Jehovah's blessing our sister over here please a dear friend of mine just recently sent me a picture of a sister who had been away for 50 years so this Really is an indication of how Jehovah's Mercy is working in action as we are living through it right now he never forgets does he I enjoyed the audio description of this picture I had to play it twice but it shows the sister warmly greeting this person that she's
grasping by the hand a warm greeting not socializing but a warm greeting what a what a beautiful thing to contemplate number 15 please some may wonder doesn't the bible Say that a Christian who says a greeting to such a person becomes a sharer in his Wicked works the context of this scripture shows that this direction refers to apostates and others who actively promote wrong conduct therefore if a person is actively promoting apostate teachings or other wrongdoing the elders would not arrange to visit him of course there is hope that he will come to his Senses
until that happens though we would neither greet such a person nor invite him to attend a congregation meeting paragraph 15 invites us to comment on the Box on the previous page so please do our question what type of Sinners are described at 2 John 9 through 11 sister creger people who are sharing a py information yes so let's confirm that let's read 2 John 9 through1 who'd like to volunteer for that brother wolf please everyone who pushes ahead and does not remain in the teaching of the Christ does not have God the one who does
remain in this teaching is the one who has both the father and the son if anyone comes to you and does not bring this teaching do not receive him into your homes or say a greeting to him for the one who says are greeting to him is a sharer in his Wicked Works thank you so how are we to understand those verses sister tuosto here it's being spoken of individuals like apostates who also try to influence other people to follow them so we would never have anything to do with them at all we wouldn't even
say a greeting to them so this is definitely a different kind of person than what Paul was speaking of Rises to a different level brother Too and so earlier we learned that Elders would visit uh those uh who were removed from the congregation but in this case if they as was mentioned the Pates or those who actively promote what's wrong they will not be visited until they come to their senses and desire to be helped that's the point of clarification sister Vickers and I really appreciate this study because it's helped us to truly see the
beauty and love and how Jehovah Is keeping the congregation clean and caring for it we see that in how Jehovah deals with each of these different um situations of wrongdoing if someone's dealt treacherously with some with others in the past then Elders have to be cautious so it's not unwittingly put the Sheep In Harm's Way if someone's not repentant saying a greeting to them might help move them to repent but we wouldn't want to associate with themc or because we could put ourselves in danger But it would be okay for the elders to reach out
to that one however if someone is actively promoting wrongdoing even saying agreeing to them is not safe and while Jehovah wants them to repent he's not going to put anyone in danger even the elders to bring them back that hits all the key points thank you and sister Gerson and even greeting someone um who is an apostate would give him just that opportunity he's been looking for made Me think of like an aggressive salesperson who you avoid even eye contact with because you know that you're going to be just a barrage with sales pitches and
things so you think about these apostates they've been brimming over with resentment toward theorganization or Twisted reasonings that they've been stewing on for years they just need an ear that's receptive to that and they will dump it they will dump it right on you so even negotiating With them on on social media or their posts that's greeting them that's that's letting them in so we wouldn't do that there's a difference though between an apostate and a disfellowship person who's just dealing with something in their personal life their attitude dictates how we interact with them you
burned that illustration in my mind here uh brother rabinowski the reason why we would do that it's not because uh maybe we feel That they can you know we can convince them or not convince them whatever we feel we we know we have the truth and the real reason why we're not doing it because Jehovah asked us not to it's in the scriptures and out of obedience of Jehovah to Jehovah not of fear that they may convince us nothing can convince us we know we have the truth but we want to stay obedient of Jehovah
that is the bottom line let's go to our last subheading now Imitating Jehovah's compassion and mercy the last two paragraphs what have we learned in this five-part series Jehovah does not want anyone to be destroyed he wants Sinners to be reconciled to him that is why throughout history Jehovah has repeatedly urged his Wayward people as well as Wayward individuals to repent and return to him congregation Elders are privileged to be fellow workers with Jehovah as they strive to lead Wrongdoers to repentance imagine imagine the joy in heaven when Sinners repent our heavenly father Jehovah personally
experiences that joy every time one of his lost sheep returns to the congregation our love for Jehovah continues to deepen as we meditate on his compassion mercy and undeserved kindness thank you brother Haynes we really appreciate your strong clear reading 16 and 17A what does Jehovah Want Sinners to do let's see sister velia as Ezekiel 18:32 says he wants them to turn back and live and as 2 Corinthians there says that he is begging he is begging them to become reconciled with him beautiful in fact let's read that read scripture who'd like to share Ezekiel
18:32 see our visiting sister right here yes just keep your hand up yeah thank you I do not take any pleasure in the Death of anyone declares The Sovereign Lord Jehovah so turn back and live couldn't be said more clearly could it our B question how can Elders show themselves to be fellow workers with Jehovah when trying to help wrongdoers sister Harris um they can continue to um look for the repentant ones to show any signs of repentance and uh work with them not making it difficult for them to return um and that way they
show that they're They work they're working with Jehovah and that they want um them to be reconciled with them if they show if they show repentance yes all important points and uh our visiting brother right in the center here yes and at the end of paragraph 17 it encourages us well of us but especially the the elders to meditate on what Jehovah has done for us and how he's demonstrated compassion and mercy in our lives or to those around us and then uh Help others to feel that from us so share that along and and
really uh follow his example yeah we'll put it into action let's get some more of your comments with our review questions as we wrap up this lesson our first question is why do some need to be removed from the congregation sister burst while Jehovah does not expect Perfection from us he also doesn't condone sin so when a wrongdoer doesn't Respond to the elders attempts to help them and remains unrepentant then they must need then they need to be removed from the congregation in order to protect the rest of the flock yes thank you our second
question how can Elders reflect Jehovah's compassion brother Campbell by viewing ones wrongdoers uhu not as uh laws cost but as law sheep and um striving to lead them toward repentance puts a whole different light On things doesn't it uh sister white and like like Jehovah the elders don't wait for the wrongo to come to them but they take the initiative to help um and like Jehovah the elders they long for that wrongdoer to return and they won't turn their back on them so important and sister uh Ramirez I appreciate this understanding of going back to
an individual and speaking with them maybe letting some emotions cool down a little bit cuz Whereas like I've never been before a committee meeting but I've had really bad attitudes about things sometimes and um it's taken a while for me to work through those attitudes so I can only imagine how heightened the emotions are when somebody has is sitting before a committee meeting and maybe they have the wrong attitude but maybe with some time those things have changed and for me that I just it makes me feel really good about our organization and the Elders
and those taking the lead of amongst us yes it recognizes real it doesn't it our last question how can individuals in the congregation use their Bible trained conscience when dealing with those who have been removed our sister right here well if our Bible train conscience allows it was um the illustration was it's appropriate for us to call a dear friend or a relative maybe and invite them to the Kingdom Hall and then if we Do have the opportunity to see them not socialize with them but to give a warm welcome we saw in the video
demonstrated the sister said it is so good to see you here so it's hard to believe that we spent five weeks on this one subject it went quickly didn't it but doesn't it draw us to our god Jehovah and tell us what we need to do individually and as a congregation so aren't we thankful to the faithful slave for providing this kind of information for us so that Brings our meeting to a close today and thank you for your wonderful comments we'll ask brother Guff to to say our closing prayer before that let's stand and
sing together the closing song 111 our reasons for Joy friends I tell you that in the same way there will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents than over 99 righteous people who do not need to repent these words spoken by Jesus offer a unique perspective on how Jehovah and The angels perceive each person they reveal a fundamental aspect of Jehovah's personality his deep love and mercy especially for those who recognize their mistakes and desire to return to him this expression is part of the parable of the lost sheep where Jesus describes
the figure of a Shepherd who has 100 sheep and loses one instead of ignoring the absence of a single sheep the shepherd leaves the 99 to search for the one that is Lost this may seem illogical from a practical standpoint as the 99 are safe and the loss of one sheep might be considered insignificant however Jesus uses this Parable to show us how much Jehovah values each of his servants it teaches us that for Jehovah every life is unique and precious and that he cares deeply for those who stray this Parable reminds us that even
if someone goes astray stray they are Never worthless in Jehovah's eyes when Jesus explains this Parable he says that when the shepherd finds the lost sheep he carries it on his shoulders and returns with it filled with joy not only does he recover the Sheep but he experiences a joy that compels him to share this happiness with others this is how Jehovah feels when a sinner repents and returns to him far from condemning or rejecting Jehovah Celebrates the decision of each person to come back to his love and Direction This Joy in heaven is not
only Jehovah's but also that of the Angels who Rejoice at seeing repentance and transformation in each individual this concept of heavenly Joy is powerful and unique it shows us that when someone repents it is not only a personal experience of transformation it is an event that generates a joy that resonates in heaven It reminds us that Jehovah does not Delight in punishment but in restoration his goal is always for his servants to stay close to him and for those who have strayed to return to better understand this compassion of Jehovah we can analyze other biblical
texts that reflect this Same Spirit for example in Ezekiel 18:23 Jehovah asks do I take any pleasure in the death of the wicked is it not rather that he should turn from his ways and Live this verse reinforces the idea that Jehovah does not seek to punish or destroy but to give life and hope to those who repent his greatest desire is for all to return to him leaving behind a wrong path and taking a new course similarly in Psalm 10313 to14 we read as a father shows Mercy to his children Jehovah shows Mercy to
those who fear Him for he knows how we are formed he remembers that we are Dust this verse is comforting because it shows us that Jehovah understands our imperfection and our struggles his patience and understanding encourage us not to give up knowing that he understands our weaknesses and helps us overcome them the parable of the lost sheep also reminds us that just like the shepherd Jehovah takes the initiative to search for those who have gone astray in Romans 5:8 it says but God commends his own love toward us in that while we were Still sinners
Christ died for us this act of love the sacrifice of his son shows that Jehovah had already planned a way of reconciliation for all of us he did not wait for us to be perfect but offered us a means to draw near to him even in our imperfection this example of the shepherd searching for the Sheep teaches us a fundamental lesson about our attitude toward others it reminds us that as imitators Of Jehovah we must also seek and encourage those who may have strayed or are struggling spiritually how can we apply this lesson in our
lives the letter to the Galatians gives us excellent instruction when it says bear with one another and forgive each other freely if anyone has a complaint against another Colossians 3:13 here we are urged to be patient and understanding with our brothers helping Them bear their burdens rather than judging or condemning them in doing so we show The Same Spirit of compassion that Jehovah shows toward us another Parable that complements the message of Luke 15:7 is that of The Prodigal Son which is also part of the accounts in Luke 15 in this Parable a son leaves
his father's house and wastes his inheritance living recklessly however when he finds himself In a desperate situation he decides to return to his father the father not only accepts him but runs to receive him and Embraces him showing immense joy for his return this illustrates Jehovah's willingness to forgive and receive with love those who sincerely repent no matter how far someone has gone there is always a way back the Apostle Peter also offers an encouraging perspective on repentance And Jehovah's patience in 2 Peter 3:9 he says Jehovah is not slow in fulfilling his promise he
is patient with you because he does not want anyone to be destroyed but rather that all reach repentance this verse highlights Jehovah's desire for everyone to find their way to him Jehovah's patience teaches us that it is never too late to return that we can always find his love And forgiveness if we approach him sincerely just as the Shepherd in the parable of the lost sheep each of us can contribute to this mission of rescuing and encouraging those going through spiritual difficulties Jehovah invites us to be a source of support for our brothers and sisters
by imitating his love and compassion we can help others feel the joy of returning to Jehovah for us the lesson of Luke 15:7 is clear Jehovah desires that all his servants return to him and stay close it shows us that there is no limit to his love and that we should never think that we have gone too far to be forgiven every step we take toward him is cause for joy in heaven it is a reminder that we are valuable and that when we choose to repent there is a true spiritual celebration in conclusion Luke
157 gives us a moving view of Jehovah's love and Patience through this Parable Jesus teaches us that Jehova not only expects us to return but rejoices deeply when we do this joy in heaven is a demonstration of how much he loves and values each one of us may we never lose sight of this truth and always remember that no matter our mistakes or our history Jehovah is willing to receive us with open arms this account reminds us that Jehovah does not focus on our past wrongs but on our desire to Change many times people who
have drifted from the faith may feel Unworthy of returning thinking that Jehovah will only remember their mistakes however the Bible shows that Jehovah rejoices and forgets the sins of those who repent wholeheartedly as Isaiah 1:18 says Jehovah promises though your sins are like Scarlet they will be as white as snow this image of Purity shows that Jehovah Does not hold grudges but sees sincere repentance as an opportunity to restore the relationship with his servants moreover the joy in heaven mentioned in Luke 15:7 helps us understand that our sincere repentance has an impact that goes beyond
ourselves it not only benefits us spiritually but it becomes a source of joy for the Angels who serve and observe Jehovah's Justice job 38:7 describes the angels as those who shout for Joy when they see Jehovah's Works their emotion at our repentance reminds us that we are part of something much greater a spiritual family where each of us is important in this sense the parable also invites us to reflect on how we treat those who may have drifted away Jehovah shows us that he does not focus on how far someone has gone but on the
willingness of their heart to return rather than judging or condemning as imperfect humans tend to do we should Learn to see the potential for change in every person in Galatians 6:1 Paul encourages us to be understanding saying if someone is caught in a fault you who are spiritual restore him with a spirit of meekness in other words we should not see anyone as lost forever instead with humility and love we should be a support to those seeking to return to Jehovah Jehovah also teaches us through this Parable that sincere repentance Involves action it is not
enough to feel remorse it requires a genuine change of conduct and attitude in Isaiah 55:7 we are encouraged let the wicked forsake his way and the unrighteous man his thoughts let him return turn to Jehovah who will have mercy on him
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