Comments You Will Not Hear at the 2-13-05 WT Study (Abbreviated)

blondie

Comments You Will Not Hear at the February 13, 2005 WT Study (January 1, 2005)

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TRAINED TO GIVE A THOROUGH WITNESS

"You will be witnesses of me both in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria and to the most distant part of the earth."?Acts 1:8 (NWT)

What you'll get is the Holy Spirit. And when the Holy Spirit comes on you, you will be able to be my witnesses in Jerusalem, all over Judea and Samaria, even to the ends of the world."?Acts 1:8 (Message Bible)

www.biblegateway.com /cgi-bin/bible

Opening Comments

START OF ARTICLE

Paragraphs 1,2

"Jesus who was from Nazareth?ordered us to preach to the people and to give a thorough witness that this is the One decreed by God to be judge of the living and the dead." (Acts 10:38,42)

Likely (buzzword meaning the Bible does not say, they are reading this into the scriptures)

, Peter was thinking of what the resurrected Jesus said just before he ascended to heaven?Acts 1:8.

Peter had known that as a disciple of Jesus, he would have to talk to others about his faith in Jesus.

But did that mean that he would go door to door? Note that in Acts 1:8 that Christians were witnesses of Jesus not JWs.

Three Years of Training

Paragraphs 3-5

"From now on you will be catching men alive."?Luke 5:4-10.

Jesus? disciples would give a thorough witness as Jesus did but on a much larger scale.

"all the nations"

"the conclusion of the system of things"

Note how the WTS strings along snippets from the scriptures.

We are living in "the conclusion of the system of things." (Matthew 24:3)

Is that what that scripture says?

While he was sitting upon the Mount of Olives, the disciples approached him privately, saying: "Tell us, When will these things be, and what will be the sign of your presence and of the conclusion of the system of things?" MATTHEW 24:3

Does this scripture prove that we are living in "the conclusion of the system of things"?

We cannot accompany Jesus and observe him preaching to people?by reading in the Bible?vital importance?the right attitude toward the preaching work.

Yes, the drop in hours and placements in the developed countries shows that the sheep do not have the right attitude toward the preaching.

http://www.jwic.com/stat.htm

w61 6/15 p. 373 Progressing Toward Maturity

Another way to progress toward maturity is to develop a proper mental attitude. Paul had the right attitude as expressed at Philippians 3:14, 15: "I am pursuing down toward the goal for the prize of the calling above and which God extends in Christ Jesus. Let us, then, as many of us as are mature, be of this mental attitude; and if you are mentally inclined otherwise in any respect, God will reveal the above attitude to you." Can you honestly say that you are pursuing the goal of everlasting life? Or are you pursuing the things of the old-world society? (1 John 2:16) What is your immediate goal? To buy a new automobile, or to buy out opportunities to serve Jehovah? (Eph. 5:16) To spend money on an expensive vacation, seeing the sights of the dying old world, or to become a vacation pioneer, locating new friends, yes, everlasting acquaintances to join with you in the New World society? To retire and settle down in a place where there is a ratio of one witness of Jehovah to less than one thousand of the population, or to serve where the need for Kingdom witnesses is really great? If you are really pursuing everlasting life, then your record of field ministry should indicate that. Do you spend at least ten hours each month preaching and teaching the Bible truth to others? Can you imagine Paul being contented with less than ten hours a month even when he found it necessary to work full time making tents? What do you suppose he was doing on weekends, evenings? Studying God?s Word, doing God?s work, or attending a contest between the gladiators in the local coliseum, saying he had no time for the ministry??Acts 18:3, 4.

A Concern for People

Paragraphs 6,7

Why did Jesus give such an effective (1) witness? One reason was his deep interest in and concern for people.

Even gross sinners sensed his concern and were drawn to him.

We today will be effective (2) if we show the same concern for people.

w65 3/15 p. 176 Our Own Twentieth-Century Generation and the Resurrection

The undedicated children of goatish people will not be spared from execution and being sentenced to Gehenna just because they are themselves minor, unresponsible children. This hard fact is illustrated in the orders that Jehovah God issued to his executioners when apostate Jerusalem was to be destroyed. To his executioners he said: "Pass through the city after him [the man who marked the ones to be spared] and strike. Let not your eye feel sorry, and do not feel any compassion. Old man, young man and virgin and little child and women you should kill off." And that is what they did, as illustrated in Jerusalem?s destruction, 607 B.C.E.-Ezek. 9:5-7.

w50 6/1 p. 176 Field Experience

While group witnessing in Pasadena, California, finding very little interest, I came to a house on the corner. A goatish woman at the door cared more for her religious fodder than for the bread of life, so I went to a small house in the rear,

Before sharing in the ministry, why not take a moment to reflect on how much people need the information you are taking to them?

Think of the problems they may have that only the Kingdom will solve.

Be resolved to be positive with everyone, since you do not know who will respond to the message.

Perhaps the next person you approach has been praying for someone like you to come and help him.

Yes, the drop in hours is the fault of the publishers?.not the fault of the WTS.

Motivated by Love

Paragraphs 8-10

Keep his integrity to the end and to give a thorough witness about the Kingdom?same motivation?diligent.

"Love of God means, that we observe his commandments," including the commandment to preach the good news and make disciples.

Love of Jesus should motivate us to witness about the truth (Love of Jesus only appears 17 times on the 2003 WT-CD) compared to the numerous times about love of "Jehovah."

Do you love me? Three times to Peter.

Motivate Peter to give a thorough witness, find Jesus "little sheep," and thereafter be a spiritual to them.

But what happens after a person is baptized?they are dropped like a hot potato since "time" can no longer be counted.

What about those who get lost? Who looks for them?

We demonstrate that we take Jesus? love for us seriously and that we love him in return by taking seriously the commission to give a thorough witness. (1 John 2:3-5)
Never want to adopt a casual approach to the preaching work.

Keeping the Right Focus

Paragraphs 11-15

Jesus allowed nothing to distract him from bearing witness to the truth.

Jews wanted to make him a king?his focus was on bearing witness to the truth.

Jesus was not distracted by a pursuit of riches?was Jesus? life a failure, then?

Yes, the rank and file are letting themselves be distracted by fame and riches.

Jesus opened the door for humble individuals (only JWs) to enjoy everlasting life in perfection (CARROT).

Christians (only JWs) who strive to imitate Jesus also refused to be distracted by the pursuit of wealth.

They acknowledge that riches can make life comfortable but they know that wealth does nothing for their everlasting future (CARROT).

km 4/94 p. 3 Serve Jehovah Without Distraction ***

Do you find yourself working longer hours secularly just to maintain the life-style to which you have become accustomed? Has this affected your service to Jehovah? Are your material possessions crowding out Kingdom interests?

Is your life becoming so crowded with social activities that spiritual matters are getting less and less attention?

Of course, wholesome entertainment and recreation are not wrong in themselves. But spending excessive time each week on such things as television, movies, videos, sports, secular reading, or hobbies may permit a treacherous heart to develop and pull us away from Jehovah. (Jer. 17:9; Heb. 3:12) How can that happen? During Christian meetings, you may find that your mind wanders; you may even wish the meeting would end so that you can get back to the pursuit of pleasures. Soon, you could find yourself looking for reasons to stay home rather than attend meetings or engage in field service. Now is the time to determine explicitly if these pursuits have become distractions in your life. (Luke 8:14) Could not some of the precious hours consumed by entertainment be better used for spiritual development?

Not Deterred by Opposition

Paragraphs 16-18

Opposition did not cause Jesus to lose his focus on bearing witness to the truth.

He was not troubled about what opponents thought of him.

Is the WTS concerned though?to the point of attacking and muddying the name of those who are helping victims/survivors of abuse in the WTS.

www.silentlambs.org

It can be wearying to face opposition or mockery day after day.
It can be tiring to keep resisting the allures of the world, perhaps to the disappointment of relatives who encourage us to "make something" of ourselves.

w78 2/1 pp. 16-17 Basis for a Purposeful Life ***

EVERY normal person would like to make something of his or her life. But many make the complaint that the system in which we live offers little to encourage real purpose.

These individuals point to the fact that a person may start out with a goal, spend years getting an education in his chosen field and then find that he cannot get employment. A good many college graduates are having to accept common labor for a livelihood.

On the other hand, those who have achieved financial success know that a war or other calamity can quickly wipe out all that they have gained. And the death of a loved one can doom them to a life of loneliness.

Jesus refusal to be distracted was demonstrated when?Peter encouraged Jesus to "be kind" to himself?reject men?s thoughts?guided by God?s thoughts.

Yes, the rank and file are pursuing wealth, being disheartened by the information on abuse, the UN, and blood that they find on the Internet.

Bringing Real Benefits

Paragraphs 19-21

But Jesus did not come to earth merely to do a social work. He came to bear witness to the truth?.any material benefits he provided were temporary?.only by bearing witness to the truth could he help some to gain everlasting life (CARROT).

Today, some individuals try to imitate Jesus? good works by opening hospitals or performing other services among the poor. In some cases, they do this at great personal cost, and their sincerity is commendable:
But

Any relief they supply is temporary at best.

Then why do we eat. We know we just have to eat again and that it is temporary?

Only the Kingdom will bring permanent relief. Hence, Jehovah?s Witnesses concentrate, as Jesus did, on bearing witness to the truth.

But even Jesus knew he could not witness to hungry people and so he fed them.

In times of crisis or when someone is in need (when judged so by the elders), we do not hesitate to "work what is good" to our neighbors or our Christian brothers.

But JWs come first and foremost and non-JWs only get the leftovers if there are any.

Learn from Jesus? Example

Paragraphs 22-24

He (Paul) was not casual about the good news because preaching it meant life for himself (CARROT) and his hearers. (1 Timothy 4:16)

We want to help our neighbors. We want to show our love for Jehovah. We want to prove (through works) our love for Jesus.

We do not lose our focus when others mock us or angrily reject our message (or is it the WTS lies they reject?)

We see that if we obey Jesus and, so to speak, let down our nets even in seemingly unproductive waters, our fishing might produce results.

Yes, the rank and file are tired of not finding anyone home to talk to.

Others have been able to move?

We know that Jesus has not yet declared the preaching work finished in any part of the earth.

Is it going to be declared piecemeal? You have it here that the great tribulation has not started yet.

That report will demonstrate Jehovah?s rich blessing on the preaching work.

Does it?

http://www.jwic.com/stat.htm

May we continue to give a thorough witness until Jehovah says the work is finished.

(We know that Jesus has not yet declared the preaching work finished in any part of the earth.)

Concluding Comments

Yes, despite any claims to the contrary, the WTS is concerned about the downward trend. The rank and file are being distracted, are not being thorough, are not concerned about people, and have forgotten that their own everlasting life depends on the slips they turn in every month.

Are you a token JW?

w03 5/15 p. 20 Listen to What the Spirit Says! ***

These last days are no time for complacency, materialism, or anything else that might cause us to render mere token service to God.

w98 5/15 pp. 18-19 The Quality of Your Faith?Tested Now ***

We are also tested in connection with the privilege and requirement to engage regularly in the field ministry. For us to pass this test, we must realize that having a full share in the ministry involves more than a minimal, or token, amount of preaching.

w94 12/1 pp. 11-12 The Rightful Place of Jehovah?s Worship in Our Lives ***

As an international brotherhood, Jehovah?s Witnesses are well-known for their zeal in preaching the Kingdom. Their worship is no mere token religion, reserved for an hour or so a week. No, it is their whole way of life.

Love, Blondie

ezekiel3

Are you a token JW?

Yes, and worse than that even. But all the "strong" JWs consider themselves so because they perform the ritual of meetings and field service. There is no sense of urgency, even in the core of the congregation.

So in that sense most, if not all JWs are token followers. They can't help it, the JW creed is formulaic:

(5 x Meetings) + National Average Service Hours = Everlasting Life

tenrats

nice post blondie, i liked this part( locating new friends, yes, everlasting acquaintances to join with you in the New World society) ahhh, so now going door to door is a way to find new friends is it?-----------(But spending excessive time each week on such things as television, movies, videos, sports, secular reading, or hobbies may permit (...) i notice no mention of the INTERNET. Now how do i get rid of this blue type?

willyloman

As an international brotherhood, Jehovah?s Witnesses are well-known for their zeal in preaching the Kingdom.

This is bull. JWs are well known for not celebrating holidays and fighting with doctors over conventional medical procedures. Nothing else. Not one person in a thousand would be able to tell you how much preaching the dubs do or what they preach about, despite all the big numbers the WTS throws around (billions of hours of "field service," books "placed").

Also: The title of the WT article, "Trained" to be preachers.... is more manure. The average dub is not well trained and would be speechless if challenged intellectually at the door. But you see what the WTS is doing? "Repetition for emphasis," or, if we keep saying this, it will be true.

JeffT

I would get in so much trouble in the Hall over this. Jesus said we would be Witnesses of HIM. Of course the braindead don't have to think about what he actually said.

wordlywife

The undedicated children of goatish people will not be spared from execution and being sentenced to Gehenna just because they are themselves minor, unresponsible children. This hard fact is illustrated in the orders that Jehovah God issued to his executioners when apostate Jerusalem was to be destroyed. To his executioners he said: "Pass through the city after him [the man who marked the ones to be spared] and strike. Let not your eye feel sorry, and do not feel any compassion. Old man, young man and virgin and little child and women you should kill off." And that is what they did, as illustrated in Jerusalem?s destruction, 607 B.C.E.-Ezek. 9:5-7.

This is precisely why I don't think God is the God spoken of in the bible. Killing off innocent children, how barbaric. Didn't Jeus say let the little children come to me? Ugh....

ww

cyber-sista

But Jesus did not come to earth merely to do a social work. He came to bear witness to the truth?.any material benefits he provided were temporary?.only by bearing witness to the truth could he help some to gain everlasting life (CARROT).
Today, some individuals try to imitate Jesus? good works by opening hospitals or performing other services among the poor. In some cases, they do this at great personal cost, and their sincerity is commendable:
But
Any relief they supply is temporary at best.

Underlying message here is: Giving money to or being involved in charity organizations is fruitless--give your time and money to the WT Org only.

Thanks Blondie,

cybs

Liberty II

It is amazing that this exact crap is almost word for word what I heard/read at the last Watchtower studies I attended over 25 years ago. Even back then I'd already heard it all over & over again. Instead of being unassociated with Watchtowerism for a quarter century, it feels like I just stepped out for a moment to use the toilet and popped back in again having missed virtually nothing. Do they just copy the same old stuff from an archive and rewrite it with the approriate "New Light" modifications? I swear Fred Franz could have written this stuff himself if he hadn't been dead for years now already.

If we followed this idiotic advice 25 years ago ( 50 or 75 years ago for that matter) wouldn't we still be at the same place any one who follows it today will be, with everyone of these promises unfullfilled? An empty Ministry that has accomplished nothing. Lives, hopes, dreams, families all sacrificed for absolutely nothing. What an enormous waste. The good news is that obviously many JWs are not taking this crap too seriously, otherwise these proddings wouldn't be repeated so often. Hopefully the big "A" which never comes and the "New Light" that "this generation" is now unlimited has taken its toll on even the most "spiritual" of this over beaten flock.

GetBusyLiving

: Killing off inocent children, how barbaric.

I remember a speaker at a district convention two summers ago mentioning something about this. He talked about how some people found it hard to fathom that God could 'bring an end to' (KILL) children in the upcoming Armageddon. To convince the audience that this was not really inhumane he related a recent news story of some ten year old kid that shot his parents to death. He then said that as the world continues to get worse in these 'last days' we could expect to see the madness and evil in children continue to get worse.

I couldnt believe what I was hearing. I looked over at the couple I was sitting with with a shocked expression on my face, mouth gaping open. They were just placidly staring ahead, soaking it all in.

Doubtfully Yours

I won't be attending that meeting, for sure. I'm sure I've heard the public talk many times over, and the article of the magazine doesn't interest me because I dislike preaching altogether. So, no, I just won't attend.

I wish he grew a spine and left me once and for all, even if I suffered a little because I do love him. At least he won't be as miserable because he'd have a better chance at privileges within the WTBTS.

Poor, poor guy.

DY

Comments You Will Not Hear at the 2-13-05 WT Study (Abbreviated)

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