1 00:00:03,320 --> 00:00:05,960 Welcome to the Liberty Baptist Sermon Archives. 2 00:00:06,200 --> 00:00:09,040 The message you're about to hear was preached at Liberty Baptist 3 00:00:09,040 --> 00:00:13,040 Church in Easton, MA. You can find out more about us 4 00:00:13,040 --> 00:00:17,280 or contact us at my libertybaptist.org or just look 5 00:00:17,280 --> 00:00:19,760 us up on Facebook. And now we hope that this 6 00:00:19,760 --> 00:00:22,000 message from God's Word will be a blessing to you. 7 00:00:22,000 --> 00:00:25,880 See. You this morning, how about 8 00:00:25,880 --> 00:00:28,160 that? Going to be back in the Lord's 9 00:00:28,160 --> 00:00:31,320 house to be back with you. Had a wonderful vacation for the 10 00:00:31,320 --> 00:00:34,520 last week and 1/2 or so, but glad to be able to be back with 11 00:00:34,520 --> 00:00:37,760 you and ready to go as we continue our Sunday School 12 00:00:37,760 --> 00:00:40,320 series on world religions and cults. 13 00:00:40,320 --> 00:00:42,720 And a couple weeks ago, my last Sunday School with you, we 14 00:00:42,720 --> 00:00:44,240 introduced the Jehovah Witnesses. 15 00:00:44,520 --> 00:00:47,320 And today we're going to look at some of the fundamentals of this 16 00:00:47,320 --> 00:00:50,240 group that are called the Jehovah's Witnesses. 17 00:00:50,240 --> 00:00:53,080 And I will tell you there is a whole lot that we are going to 18 00:00:53,080 --> 00:00:55,000 look at. We certainly can't cover 19 00:00:55,000 --> 00:00:57,560 everything in one lesson, but we do want to give you a little bit 20 00:00:57,560 --> 00:00:59,840 of the background other than just knowing well that they are 21 00:00:59,840 --> 00:01:01,400 a cult. We want to know why they're a 22 00:01:01,400 --> 00:01:02,400 cult. We want to know what they 23 00:01:02,440 --> 00:01:05,120 believe and why they believe it. We want to know those things. 24 00:01:05,120 --> 00:01:08,600 So as we continue on in our series so that we're better able 25 00:01:08,600 --> 00:01:12,720 to be able to witness the grace of God to these people who were 26 00:01:12,720 --> 00:01:14,720 lost and they are so very, very lost. 27 00:01:14,720 --> 00:01:17,240 And I want to remind you is we talked about this a couple weeks 28 00:01:17,240 --> 00:01:20,000 ago and well, I know you've probably forgotten. 29 00:01:20,000 --> 00:01:22,160 It's been a couple weeks. I've forgotten a lot of things 30 00:01:22,160 --> 00:01:23,920 over the last couple weeks with all that rest that I've. 31 00:01:24,040 --> 00:01:26,920 But I do want to remind you that we see all of those folks that 32 00:01:26,920 --> 00:01:30,400 are out there in front of those Watchtower track racks that they 33 00:01:30,400 --> 00:01:32,280 have. And whether it's at a tea 34 00:01:32,280 --> 00:01:35,360 station or whether it's in the middle of downtown Brockton, 35 00:01:35,360 --> 00:01:39,240 Taunton, the Mansfield commuter rail station or going door to 36 00:01:39,240 --> 00:01:41,480 door. We see them all over the place. 37 00:01:41,480 --> 00:01:46,280 And they look like they are so joyous almost about the fact 38 00:01:46,280 --> 00:01:50,200 that they are wanting to be able to give out the word of God or 39 00:01:50,200 --> 00:01:51,720 at least what they believe is the word of God. 40 00:01:51,720 --> 00:01:54,280 But I want to remind you that a lot of what you see in those 41 00:01:54,280 --> 00:01:55,880 people that are out there is not really joy. 42 00:01:55,880 --> 00:01:59,920 It's obligation, duty, and a lot of fear as well. 43 00:01:59,920 --> 00:02:03,680 And the reason why is because they works based salvation that 44 00:02:03,680 --> 00:02:06,880 the only way that they will ever have a chance of going to heaven 45 00:02:06,880 --> 00:02:09,080 or to be part of the Kingdom, if you will. 46 00:02:09,680 --> 00:02:11,600 The only way that they'll be able to do that is that they 47 00:02:11,600 --> 00:02:14,400 have to be able to go out once a month and be a publisher to be 48 00:02:14,400 --> 00:02:16,160 able to go out and give the word of God. 49 00:02:16,160 --> 00:02:18,600 And that's why often times you will see that they're standing 50 00:02:18,600 --> 00:02:19,760 there, but they're not going to engage you. 51 00:02:20,280 --> 00:02:22,040 You can talk to them, but they're not going to talk to 52 00:02:22,040 --> 00:02:23,440 you. Often times if you see them 53 00:02:23,440 --> 00:02:26,240 going door to door down the street, they call it the 54 00:02:26,680 --> 00:02:28,920 shuffle, the fact that they'll walk down the road but they're 55 00:02:28,920 --> 00:02:32,240 not walking fast because they're trying to get their one hour 56 00:02:32,240 --> 00:02:34,560 done and then be done and they're trying to hit as few 57 00:02:34,560 --> 00:02:37,440 doors as possible. So they can say they did it, but 58 00:02:37,480 --> 00:02:39,960 not that they really had to talk to a lot of people. 59 00:02:40,320 --> 00:02:43,000 I don't know about you, but when I'm really thinking about things 60 00:02:43,000 --> 00:02:45,240 rightly, and I have to be careful how I say this when I'm 61 00:02:45,240 --> 00:02:46,880 thinking about things rightly because I'm not thinking 62 00:02:46,880 --> 00:02:48,640 rightly, I'm not paying attention to souls. 63 00:02:48,960 --> 00:02:51,920 But when I'm thinking rightly, I want to talk to people about the 64 00:02:51,920 --> 00:02:54,120 Lord. It's a Saturday morning, I'm 65 00:02:54,120 --> 00:02:55,520 hoping the people will answer their door. 66 00:02:55,520 --> 00:02:57,920 If I'm driving from house to house and knocking on someones 67 00:02:57,920 --> 00:03:01,000 door, I want them to be able to answer because I want them to 68 00:03:01,000 --> 00:03:03,680 know that Jesus Christ can change their life like it 69 00:03:03,680 --> 00:03:05,200 changed my life. But the Jehovah Witnesses don't 70 00:03:05,200 --> 00:03:07,440 have that hope. They don't have that assurance 71 00:03:07,440 --> 00:03:09,800 in any way, shape or form. And literally they're standing 72 00:03:09,800 --> 00:03:12,840 out there hoping and praying, one, that nobody will talk to 73 00:03:12,840 --> 00:03:17,560 them, but two, that this will be enough along with all of the 74 00:03:17,560 --> 00:03:20,280 other works so that they can be part of the Kingdom and be part 75 00:03:20,280 --> 00:03:24,760 of the 144,000 or those who are also part of the larger group 76 00:03:24,760 --> 00:03:26,680 that will be part of the Kingdom. 77 00:03:26,680 --> 00:03:29,880 And so today we're going to give you a lot of background about 78 00:03:29,880 --> 00:03:32,440 the Jehovah Witnesses and we're going to talk a lot about some 79 00:03:32,440 --> 00:03:35,240 different things about them them to help you understand more 80 00:03:35,240 --> 00:03:37,680 about them. Now they are the Watchtower 81 00:03:37,680 --> 00:03:42,200 Bible and Tract Society is often called the Jehovah Witnesses. 82 00:03:42,200 --> 00:03:44,840 Now they started as the Watchtower Bible and Tract 83 00:03:44,840 --> 00:03:47,720 Society, and the publishing arm is still called the Watchtower 84 00:03:47,720 --> 00:03:50,240 today. So oftentimes if you see those 85 00:03:50,240 --> 00:03:53,240 pamphlets, if you see those booklets, they're often just 86 00:03:53,240 --> 00:03:56,440 called the Watchtower. That's the item that they have. 87 00:03:56,440 --> 00:03:57,680 But that's not a different group. 88 00:03:57,680 --> 00:04:00,400 It's the same group that are the Jehovah Witnesses. 89 00:04:00,400 --> 00:04:03,960 And for many years, the Jehovah Witnesses were based in 90 00:04:03,960 --> 00:04:06,960 Brooklyn, NY. And one, a very, very large 91 00:04:06,960 --> 00:04:11,680 building that in many different areas is labeled as Watchtower. 92 00:04:11,720 --> 00:04:15,680 You see right there on the right and then also on the center to 93 00:04:15,680 --> 00:04:19,079 the left, you'll see the background of a very large sign 94 00:04:19,640 --> 00:04:22,640 that points out towards I believe the Hudson River that 95 00:04:22,640 --> 00:04:26,480 says the Watchtower. That was a conic building in 96 00:04:27,200 --> 00:04:31,440 Brooklyn for almost 100 years. And it was just recently, over 97 00:04:31,440 --> 00:04:33,120 the last few years that it's been sold. 98 00:04:33,960 --> 00:04:37,240 I can imagine prime real estate like that in Brooklyn and how 99 00:04:37,240 --> 00:04:39,560 much money they probably sold that for. 100 00:04:39,760 --> 00:04:42,200 And they have since moved to Warwick, NY. 101 00:04:42,200 --> 00:04:45,160 They are still based in New York, but no longer in New York 102 00:04:45,160 --> 00:04:47,760 City. And the name Jehovah Witnesses 103 00:04:48,160 --> 00:04:52,880 is derived from Isaiah chapter 43, verse 10, which says this Ye 104 00:04:52,880 --> 00:04:57,120 are my witnesses, sayeth the Lord and my servant, whom I have 105 00:04:57,120 --> 00:05:01,080 known, that ye may know and believe me and understand that I 106 00:05:01,080 --> 00:05:04,680 am he before me. There was no God formed, neither 107 00:05:04,680 --> 00:05:07,000 shall there be after me. And so the beginning of that 108 00:05:07,000 --> 00:05:09,240 verse says, ye are my witnesses, sayeth the Lord. 109 00:05:09,240 --> 00:05:11,960 Now I'll remind you that the Jehovah Witnesses have a 110 00:05:12,000 --> 00:05:13,960 different Bible. It's called the New World 111 00:05:13,960 --> 00:05:17,080 Translation and I want to be careful and how I present it 112 00:05:17,080 --> 00:05:20,040 because the New World World Translation is not a different 113 00:05:20,040 --> 00:05:23,200 translation of the Bible, is a different Bible all together. 114 00:05:23,520 --> 00:05:26,560 And certainly we have things that we could say about 115 00:05:26,560 --> 00:05:29,920 different Bible translations and how they have perverted the word 116 00:05:29,920 --> 00:05:32,960 of God over the years. But the New World Translation is 117 00:05:32,960 --> 00:05:36,920 in a whole different category as they wholesale strip anything 118 00:05:36,920 --> 00:05:42,240 about Jesus Christ and his deity out of the word of God and 119 00:05:42,240 --> 00:05:45,600 without any type of thought about what the Greek or the 120 00:05:45,600 --> 00:05:48,280 Hebrew might say They don't like it, doesn't agree with doctrine, 121 00:05:48,440 --> 00:05:50,600 it's removed, it's just taken out. 122 00:05:50,960 --> 00:05:55,840 And so in Isaiah 43 verse 10, the New World Translation says 123 00:05:55,840 --> 00:05:57,880 ye are my witnesses, saith Jehovah. 124 00:05:57,880 --> 00:06:01,000 So actually take the name of the Lord and change it to Jehovah. 125 00:06:01,000 --> 00:06:05,560 And so we know that the Lord's name is Jehovah, but that's just 126 00:06:05,560 --> 00:06:08,720 a very minor change from the many major changes they take. 127 00:06:09,000 --> 00:06:11,360 But in saying all that, I'm saying that they are called not 128 00:06:11,360 --> 00:06:13,640 just the Watchtower, which they originally were. 129 00:06:13,800 --> 00:06:15,720 Now it's just the publishing arm that's called that. 130 00:06:16,000 --> 00:06:17,680 They are called Jehovah Witnesses. 131 00:06:17,680 --> 00:06:20,680 And as we talked about a couple weeks ago, you even find 132 00:06:20,680 --> 00:06:25,400 onlinejw.org is where you find all the information about the 133 00:06:25,400 --> 00:06:27,920 Jehovah Witnesses. Now I will say I have found a 134 00:06:27,920 --> 00:06:32,000 lot of conflicting information about how many Jehovah Witnesses 135 00:06:32,000 --> 00:06:34,680 there are in the world. And I've looked at Jehovah 136 00:06:34,680 --> 00:06:37,600 Witness numbers and I've also looked at other numbers as well. 137 00:06:38,000 --> 00:06:42,960 Numbers I have from 2014 all the way until 2000, I believe 21. 138 00:06:43,240 --> 00:06:46,600 And I will say that the number that I find is somewhere around 139 00:06:46,600 --> 00:06:50,440 20 million worldwide. But it's unclear if that's the 140 00:06:50,440 --> 00:06:53,520 amount of people that during a year have actually gone to a 141 00:06:53,520 --> 00:06:57,200 Jehovah Witness meeting, have gone to a Kingdom Hall or to one 142 00:06:57,200 --> 00:07:01,920 of their regional assemblies, compared to the number of 143 00:07:02,000 --> 00:07:03,840 publishers. And publishers are the people 144 00:07:03,840 --> 00:07:07,000 who go out, they're members, and they go out once a month to be 145 00:07:07,000 --> 00:07:10,040 able to give their version of the Word of God to people. 146 00:07:10,280 --> 00:07:13,720 It seems like there's probably somewhere around 20 million 147 00:07:13,720 --> 00:07:16,880 Jehovah Witnesses or those who have attended A Jehovah Witness 148 00:07:16,880 --> 00:07:20,320 meeting in a year's time. But probably 1/2 of those are 149 00:07:20,320 --> 00:07:24,520 regular attenders, members, publishers of Jehovah Witness 150 00:07:24,520 --> 00:07:26,600 doctrine. You know, what's amazing to me 151 00:07:26,760 --> 00:07:28,720 is that when I saw that number, I kind of thought it was a 152 00:07:28,720 --> 00:07:30,840 mistake. I thought there's got to be more 153 00:07:30,840 --> 00:07:33,600 of them than that because it seems like they're everywhere, 154 00:07:33,600 --> 00:07:37,040 doesn't it? But yet the numbers are 155 00:07:37,160 --> 00:07:40,960 minuscule compared to other world religions and cults that 156 00:07:40,960 --> 00:07:43,920 we'll look at. Certainly the Mormons would far 157 00:07:43,920 --> 00:07:46,800 outnumber the Jehovah Witnesses, but to me, it almost seems like 158 00:07:47,000 --> 00:07:49,000 like it's opposite from just what we see. 159 00:07:49,440 --> 00:07:52,000 But, and this isn't my message this morning, I don't want to 160 00:07:52,000 --> 00:07:55,360 get off into a different area, but, well, I guess I'm going to 161 00:07:55,400 --> 00:07:58,880 anyway. But it just reminds us a small 162 00:07:58,880 --> 00:08:00,480 group of people can make a big impact. 163 00:08:01,440 --> 00:08:02,840 Well, we know we're a small church. 164 00:08:02,840 --> 00:08:05,040 Yes, I know we're small church. People sometimes tell me I'm a 165 00:08:05,040 --> 00:08:07,080 small, we're a small church. Like I didn't know we're small. 166 00:08:07,080 --> 00:08:09,440 I know we're small. This building can only hold so 167 00:08:09,440 --> 00:08:12,920 many people, you know and, and I know, but listen, God does great 168 00:08:12,920 --> 00:08:14,200 things with small groups of people. 169 00:08:14,480 --> 00:08:19,200 God took 12 disciples. Well, 11 you consider one went 170 00:08:19,200 --> 00:08:23,120 out, but they put another one in. 12 disciples turn the world 171 00:08:23,120 --> 00:08:27,200 upside down by Acts chapter 20 And, and so yes, so we're a 172 00:08:27,200 --> 00:08:30,000 small group. God uses small groups regularly 173 00:08:30,000 --> 00:08:32,679 to do great things. And certainly this is not a 174 00:08:32,679 --> 00:08:34,120 group that is doing great things. 175 00:08:34,120 --> 00:08:37,280 But the idea is if they are doing this with falsehood, how 176 00:08:37,280 --> 00:08:39,880 much more can we with the Holy Spirit who lives inside of us, 177 00:08:39,919 --> 00:08:44,120 do great things for God? But anyway, they have about 20 178 00:08:44,120 --> 00:08:47,120 million a year that attend some sort of meeting at a Kingdom 179 00:08:47,120 --> 00:08:48,280 Hall. Now I'm going to show you a 180 00:08:48,280 --> 00:08:49,640 couple different videos this morning. 181 00:08:49,640 --> 00:08:53,080 It's been my habit during the series to show some videos, not 182 00:08:53,080 --> 00:08:56,960 videos from people that are on the outside looking into these 183 00:08:56,960 --> 00:09:00,520 groups, but rather people who are on the inside so that we can 184 00:09:00,520 --> 00:09:03,800 look at those types of things from their own lens and then be 185 00:09:03,800 --> 00:09:05,800 able to take those things apart and break them down a little 186 00:09:05,800 --> 00:09:07,400 bit. So the first video I want to 187 00:09:07,400 --> 00:09:10,800 show you here in just a moment is a video showing you what the 188 00:09:10,800 --> 00:09:13,640 experience is at a Kingdom Hall. So we got that queued up. 189 00:09:13,640 --> 00:09:21,360 Let's go ahead and watch. All around the world, people 190 00:09:21,360 --> 00:09:24,840 come together every week at places of worship called Kingdom 191 00:09:24,840 --> 00:09:31,000 Halls. Have you ever wondered what 192 00:09:31,000 --> 00:09:33,920 happens inside a Kingdom Hall of Jehovah's Witnesses? 193 00:09:36,280 --> 00:09:39,600 It's a place where Bible study programs and lectures are held 194 00:09:39,600 --> 00:09:45,080 each week. The first time I attended a 195 00:09:45,080 --> 00:09:48,680 meeting, I felt very happy. The atmosphere was so good. 196 00:09:48,840 --> 00:09:51,120 I've never seen anything like it anywhere else. 197 00:09:52,840 --> 00:09:59,040 The people are loving, orderly and show an interest in people. 198 00:10:01,760 --> 00:10:03,560 Every meeting is open to the public. 199 00:10:04,520 --> 00:10:07,120 Seats are free and no collections are ever taken. 200 00:10:08,680 --> 00:10:11,640 Families are invited to attend and learn together. 201 00:10:14,680 --> 00:10:18,080 All meetings begin and end with song and prayer. 202 00:10:20,480 --> 00:10:24,800 One meeting, usually held on the weekend, includes a 30 minute 203 00:10:24,800 --> 00:10:28,080 Bible discourse especially designed for the general public. 204 00:10:29,440 --> 00:10:32,640 After that, there's a question and answer discussion based on 205 00:10:32,640 --> 00:10:35,520 an article in the study edition of the Watchtower magazine. 206 00:10:36,280 --> 00:10:38,560 Participation is always voluntary. 207 00:10:39,840 --> 00:10:43,000 At one of the meetings during the week, we not only study the 208 00:10:43,000 --> 00:10:46,280 Bible but also receive training in public speaking. 209 00:10:50,840 --> 00:10:54,960 Everyone is invited to the Christian meetings, including 210 00:10:54,960 --> 00:10:56,800 those who are not Jehovah's Witnesses. 211 00:11:00,000 --> 00:11:04,760 You can go into any Kingdom Hall and receive the same program of 212 00:11:04,760 --> 00:11:10,120 Bible instruction. Bible education, upbuilding 213 00:11:10,120 --> 00:11:14,160 association, and the opportunity to praise God await you at 214 00:11:14,160 --> 00:11:16,520 Christian meetings of Jehovah's Witnesses. 215 00:11:21,040 --> 00:11:24,880 To find a Kingdom Hall near you, please visit the About Us 216 00:11:24,880 --> 00:11:28,440 section and fill in the Congregation meeting search. 217 00:11:35,160 --> 00:11:37,800 In many ways, I think it's more powerful me for me to show you 218 00:11:37,800 --> 00:11:39,640 videos by these groups themselves. 219 00:11:40,160 --> 00:11:43,120 If I was to show you something that was to debunk that, well, 220 00:11:43,160 --> 00:11:44,960 you might say that there was bias there. 221 00:11:44,960 --> 00:11:47,440 And of course, I think most of my lesson is to be able to 222 00:11:47,440 --> 00:11:49,840 debunk what we see, but to be able to hear them from their own 223 00:11:49,840 --> 00:11:51,280 mouths, to be able to hear what they say. 224 00:11:51,360 --> 00:11:53,160 There's a lot of different things that we could say about 225 00:11:53,160 --> 00:11:55,600 that. First of all, one gentleman 226 00:11:55,600 --> 00:11:57,920 called them Christian meetings. I want to remind you that the 227 00:11:57,920 --> 00:11:59,720 Jehovah Witnesses are not a Christian group. 228 00:11:59,720 --> 00:12:01,640 They're a cult. And the reason we say that is 229 00:12:01,640 --> 00:12:04,320 because they do not believe that Jesus Christ is God. 230 00:12:04,320 --> 00:12:07,480 Well, that would be primary number one. 231 00:12:07,480 --> 00:12:10,800 What would be a Christian doctrine would be that Jesus 232 00:12:10,800 --> 00:12:13,960 Christ is God, that God the Father, God the Son, God the 233 00:12:13,960 --> 00:12:19,360 Holy Spirit and the Trinity has been absolutely denied by the 234 00:12:19,360 --> 00:12:21,560 Jehovah Witnesses. I do find it interesting. 235 00:12:21,560 --> 00:12:23,840 They say no collections are made, but they say that there's 236 00:12:23,840 --> 00:12:26,280 a box in the back that I found and that everyone's expected to 237 00:12:26,280 --> 00:12:29,000 give on the way out. And so it would be like saying 238 00:12:29,000 --> 00:12:30,600 that at here at Liberty Baptist Church, we didn't have 239 00:12:30,600 --> 00:12:33,280 collections for three years because we had a box in the back 240 00:12:33,280 --> 00:12:35,320 during COVID. You know, it's of course we had 241 00:12:35,320 --> 00:12:37,520 collections. So there's some intellectual 242 00:12:37,520 --> 00:12:40,720 dishonesty even in some of the things that you hear from that. 243 00:12:41,680 --> 00:12:44,440 But I also heard this is that you could go to any Kingdom Hall 244 00:12:44,440 --> 00:12:47,560 and hear the exact same thing. Now, why would that be? 245 00:12:47,600 --> 00:12:50,760 Well, it's because really Bible study is not presented through 246 00:12:50,760 --> 00:12:53,640 the Bible, but it's all about the Watchtower. 247 00:12:53,680 --> 00:12:56,120 You saw a lot of those pamphlets being open. 248 00:12:56,560 --> 00:12:58,560 Now, if you were to go to Lighthouse Baptist Church this 249 00:12:58,560 --> 00:13:00,560 morning over in Holbrook, and by the way, please don't do that. 250 00:13:00,560 --> 00:13:03,720 We'd like you to stay here. But have you been watching? 251 00:13:03,840 --> 00:13:06,240 But no, we're thankful for them. But I will tell you this, 252 00:13:06,240 --> 00:13:08,080 whatever Pastor Crump is preaching this morning is 253 00:13:08,400 --> 00:13:09,760 probably not what I'm preaching this morning. 254 00:13:09,760 --> 00:13:11,720 And what he's preaching tonight is not what I'm preaching 255 00:13:11,720 --> 00:13:13,400 tonight. And if you go to other good 256 00:13:13,400 --> 00:13:16,040 Bible preaching church, what really, if you go to any Bible 257 00:13:16,040 --> 00:13:18,040 preaching church, it's going to be different, isn't it? 258 00:13:18,040 --> 00:13:22,120 Because we're we have autonomy, because we all are separate. 259 00:13:22,680 --> 00:13:25,320 We're all joined together by Christ, but yet we're individual 260 00:13:25,320 --> 00:13:27,920 bodies and that God leads each of us individually. 261 00:13:28,120 --> 00:13:31,560 There is none of that and that every single one has to follow 262 00:13:31,560 --> 00:13:33,520 the Watchtower. That's why it's not Bible study. 263 00:13:33,520 --> 00:13:41,720 It's really Watchtower pamphlet study more than anything because 264 00:13:41,720 --> 00:13:43,960 everyone is going to study the same thing every week. 265 00:13:44,200 --> 00:13:46,040 And you can't do that by just studying the Bible. 266 00:13:46,040 --> 00:13:48,520 You have to have some sort of program that's going to keep 267 00:13:48,560 --> 00:13:52,680 everything together and the study is all almost completely 268 00:13:52,680 --> 00:13:55,920 through the Watchtower. Now we understand that it's not 269 00:13:55,920 --> 00:13:59,280 just the fact that the Jehovah Witnesses do a great amount of 270 00:13:59,720 --> 00:14:02,600 public publishing of the Word of God. 271 00:14:02,600 --> 00:14:06,360 Again, that's what they call it, but they also also, excuse me, 272 00:14:06,560 --> 00:14:09,000 conduct many home Bible studies as well. 273 00:14:09,360 --> 00:14:13,640 And the numbers I have here from about 10 years ago was that they 274 00:14:13,640 --> 00:14:17,040 conduct somewhere around 9.2 million home Bible studies a 275 00:14:17,040 --> 00:14:19,720 year. Now I don't know if that's 9.2 276 00:14:19,720 --> 00:14:23,200 million people, individual people, or if it's 9.2 million 277 00:14:23,200 --> 00:14:27,440 Bible studies, maybe 10 for a person or 20 for this person. 278 00:14:27,480 --> 00:14:29,600 I, I don't know it that's not broken down that way. 279 00:14:29,720 --> 00:14:32,000 But I will say this, it's a significant amount of Bible 280 00:14:32,000 --> 00:14:33,960 studies. What they want you to do if they 281 00:14:34,040 --> 00:14:39,040 talk to you at a Watchtower track presentation or track rack 282 00:14:39,040 --> 00:14:42,600 presentation, what they want to do is to be able to have you let 283 00:14:42,600 --> 00:14:45,240 them into their, your home and to be able to talk to you more 284 00:14:45,360 --> 00:14:47,760 about the Watchtower. And So what does that look like? 285 00:14:47,760 --> 00:14:50,760 And I have another video from jw.org as well to show you that. 286 00:14:59,120 --> 00:15:05,360 Welcome to your Bible study. Millions around the world enjoy 287 00:15:05,360 --> 00:15:10,000 this interactive Bible course and we hope you will too. 288 00:15:12,840 --> 00:15:18,120 What will you learn how to have a happy family life? 289 00:15:23,640 --> 00:15:40,560 How to cope with anxiety, how to draw closer to God and why you 290 00:15:40,560 --> 00:15:47,840 can hope for a better future. What can you expect during a 291 00:15:47,840 --> 00:15:52,160 study session? Your teacher may begin the study 292 00:15:52,160 --> 00:15:57,720 with a brief prayer. Next, you will discuss the first 293 00:15:57,720 --> 00:16:03,920 page of the lesson, read a paragraph, and then discuss the 294 00:16:03,920 --> 00:16:07,960 question for that paragraph before reading the next. 295 00:16:11,160 --> 00:16:14,360 Most paragraphs have key Bible verses highlighted. 296 00:16:15,960 --> 00:16:19,520 Your teacher will also read and discuss with you other verses, 297 00:16:20,200 --> 00:16:26,200 especially those marked Read. Next, read and discuss the 298 00:16:26,200 --> 00:16:28,280 section. Dig deeper. 299 00:16:30,840 --> 00:16:35,280 By reading scriptures, discussing questions, and 300 00:16:35,280 --> 00:16:39,520 watching videos that are available to you, you will learn 301 00:16:39,520 --> 00:16:44,240 more about how the topic of the lesson can help you personally. 302 00:16:46,960 --> 00:16:51,400 Finally, after reviewing the lesson, your teacher may say a 303 00:16:51,400 --> 00:16:58,120 prayer to end the study session. How often do you need to have a 304 00:16:58,120 --> 00:17:01,880 study session, and how long should each session last? 305 00:17:03,200 --> 00:17:08,359 This is flexible, but to maximize the benefits of this 306 00:17:08,359 --> 00:17:12,920 course, we recommend covering at least one lesson per week. 307 00:17:17,680 --> 00:17:21,440 The Bible is the world's best guide to a happy life. 308 00:17:22,920 --> 00:17:27,079 Discover how it can help you in this interactive Bible course. 309 00:17:31,800 --> 00:17:35,000 It says the Bible is the key to a happy life, but what do you 310 00:17:35,000 --> 00:17:37,840 not see? A lot of the Bible, and it's a 311 00:17:37,840 --> 00:17:42,320 lot of the Bible closed and a lot of the materials being 312 00:17:42,320 --> 00:17:44,760 opened follow the materials. Now, I do want to say this 313 00:17:44,760 --> 00:17:46,880 because I want to be careful. You got listen, we want to what 314 00:17:46,880 --> 00:17:49,640 we don't want to be intellectually dishonest in how 315 00:17:49,640 --> 00:17:53,040 we present these things because I believe that Christianity wins 316 00:17:53,040 --> 00:17:54,040 on the merits. Amen. 317 00:17:54,040 --> 00:17:55,880 We don't have to be intellectually dishonest. 318 00:17:56,440 --> 00:17:58,600 There are times I teach discipleship here at Liberty 319 00:17:58,600 --> 00:18:00,520 Baptist Church that we use a curriculum as well. 320 00:18:01,040 --> 00:18:02,400 Pastor, don't you use a curriculum? 321 00:18:02,400 --> 00:18:05,440 Well, we do Dan Woodward here for many years taught the 322 00:18:05,600 --> 00:18:08,000 discipleship course and went through the ABC's of Christian 323 00:18:08,000 --> 00:18:10,120 growth. And I think he went through the 324 00:18:10,200 --> 00:18:12,440 AB CS 26 lessons he did in about three years. 325 00:18:12,680 --> 00:18:16,160 But man after my own heart. So it took him 150 weeks to get 326 00:18:16,160 --> 00:18:19,280 through 26 lessons. But there's a lot to cover, 327 00:18:19,280 --> 00:18:21,560 isn't there? But I would say this, and This 328 00:18:21,560 --> 00:18:24,320 is why it's so important and and it was really an admonishment to 329 00:18:24,320 --> 00:18:27,880 me and watching this is that we have discipleship that we are 330 00:18:27,880 --> 00:18:29,640 care. We have to be careful that even 331 00:18:29,640 --> 00:18:32,520 though there is a book that's open, the Bible has to be open 332 00:18:32,520 --> 00:18:35,360 as well that it's not just that we take for granted. 333 00:18:35,360 --> 00:18:37,200 Look, you can trust me. I'm going to read the verse to 334 00:18:37,200 --> 00:18:38,480 you can trust me. I'm not going to lead you 335 00:18:38,480 --> 00:18:41,200 astray, but really it shouldn't be about trusting me. 336 00:18:41,200 --> 00:18:42,920 It should be about trusting the Bible. 337 00:18:43,360 --> 00:18:45,920 This is why it's so important that you bring your Bible to 338 00:18:45,920 --> 00:18:48,720 church. Have the copy of the word of God 339 00:18:48,720 --> 00:18:50,720 with you. Open it up while I'm preaching. 340 00:18:50,720 --> 00:18:53,920 When we say turn to such and such a place, turn there. 341 00:18:54,120 --> 00:18:56,760 There are many times because of the sake of time or because of 342 00:18:56,760 --> 00:18:58,360 how the verse fits with the message. 343 00:18:58,360 --> 00:19:01,200 I'll read the verse to you, but I find it more common. 344 00:19:01,200 --> 00:19:03,600 Even the verse that I preach, or rather the sermon I preached a 345 00:19:03,600 --> 00:19:06,840 couple weeks ago on the Davidic covenant on Sunday night. 346 00:19:07,080 --> 00:19:10,280 That's a pretty deep subject to be able to talk about. 347 00:19:10,520 --> 00:19:13,320 Well, we turned all over the Old Testament, the New Testament. 348 00:19:13,320 --> 00:19:16,640 The reason why is I want you to be able to see it. 349 00:19:16,880 --> 00:19:19,520 I want you to be able to see the word of God for yourself. 350 00:19:19,520 --> 00:19:21,560 Because listen, it's not about trusting me. 351 00:19:21,640 --> 00:19:25,480 Don't trust me, trust Him because his word and it's his 352 00:19:25,480 --> 00:19:27,200 way. And so I do want to be careful 353 00:19:27,200 --> 00:19:30,840 that we don't pound on them so much for not having the Bible 354 00:19:30,840 --> 00:19:33,800 open that we want to make sure that well, we have our Bibles 355 00:19:33,800 --> 00:19:36,920 open as much as we possibly can. Again, this is not trying to be 356 00:19:36,920 --> 00:19:40,480 unfair to them to say, well, they do that, but then we do the 357 00:19:40,480 --> 00:19:42,040 same thing. I do want to show you the 358 00:19:42,040 --> 00:19:45,520 difference in how maybe we can or I can do better and how I 359 00:19:45,520 --> 00:19:48,040 present some of those things too, because you need to know 360 00:19:48,040 --> 00:19:50,440 where these things are in the world of when the word of God. 361 00:19:50,720 --> 00:19:54,240 Well again given background of the Jehovah Witnesses is getting 362 00:19:54,240 --> 00:19:56,640 back to that. In the late 19th century in 363 00:19:56,640 --> 00:20:01,880 Pittsburgh, PA and 18 year old Charles Tays Russell, 18 years 364 00:20:01,880 --> 00:20:06,160 old, started a Bible class called the Millennial Dawn Bible 365 00:20:06,160 --> 00:20:09,960 Study in which he started to teach some of his heretical 366 00:20:09,960 --> 00:20:13,880 doctrines that would later become the core of Jehovah 367 00:20:13,880 --> 00:20:17,560 Witness theology. Intent on distributing his ideas 368 00:20:17,560 --> 00:20:21,040 as widely as possible, Russell published the first editions of 369 00:20:21,040 --> 00:20:24,840 the magazine's Watchtower and Herald of Christ Presence in 370 00:20:24,920 --> 00:20:28,440 July of 1879. And you'll remember, it was 371 00:20:28,440 --> 00:20:32,200 during those infancy years of the Jehovah Witnesses that many 372 00:20:32,200 --> 00:20:34,840 of those end times prophecies were first given. 373 00:20:34,840 --> 00:20:37,520 Do you remember? We read almost a dozen of them a 374 00:20:37,520 --> 00:20:40,320 couple weeks ago. We read 1 after another after 375 00:20:40,320 --> 00:20:44,640 another when they said that the world was going to end in 1914. 376 00:20:44,720 --> 00:20:48,160 Remember. And Charles Tays Russell was at 377 00:20:48,160 --> 00:20:51,040 the forefront of that teaching during that time. 378 00:20:51,440 --> 00:20:57,040 In 1881 he incorporated and created The Watchtower Attract 379 00:20:57,040 --> 00:21:02,240 Society and at that time it became again the infancy of what 380 00:21:02,240 --> 00:21:04,040 would later become the Jehovah Witnesses. 381 00:21:04,040 --> 00:21:08,520 Now Charles Tays Russell died in 1916, two years after his 382 00:21:08,520 --> 00:21:12,280 prophecy did not come true. However, there was one who took 383 00:21:12,280 --> 00:21:16,480 his place and his name is Joseph Franklin Rutherford, and he was 384 00:21:16,480 --> 00:21:20,240 the 2nd president and leader of the modern Jehovah Witnesses. 385 00:21:20,240 --> 00:21:23,880 And many of the things that we see today in the Jehovah 386 00:21:23,880 --> 00:21:26,840 Witnesses, many of the doctrines, many of the manners 387 00:21:26,840 --> 00:21:30,320 and practices were really crystallized during the time of 388 00:21:30,320 --> 00:21:33,320 his leadership beginning in 1916. 389 00:21:33,640 --> 00:21:37,200 However, there was a great deal of discontentment and turmoil 390 00:21:37,400 --> 00:21:39,320 within the Jehovah Witnesses that time. 391 00:21:39,320 --> 00:21:44,520 They have one seminary, and in 1930, about 3/4 of the seminary 392 00:21:44,520 --> 00:21:47,960 students had dropped out over the years because of 393 00:21:48,280 --> 00:21:51,360 disagreements with the direction of which they're going. 394 00:21:51,360 --> 00:21:54,960 Even the Jehovah Witnesses at that time said we can't sign up 395 00:21:54,960 --> 00:21:56,920 for this. We got to get out of this. 396 00:21:56,920 --> 00:22:01,880 And so 75% by 1930 had dropped out, citing conflicting 397 00:22:02,120 --> 00:22:04,600 doctrinal differences. It was during Rutherford's 398 00:22:04,600 --> 00:22:06,920 tenure that the Jehovah Witnesses were first called 399 00:22:07,200 --> 00:22:10,920 Jehovah Witnesses, not simply the Watchtower Bible Tract 400 00:22:10,920 --> 00:22:13,640 Society. And under Rutherford's watch, 401 00:22:13,840 --> 00:22:16,440 several of the group's distinctive doctrines appeared, 402 00:22:16,800 --> 00:22:19,360 including the idea that Jehovah Witnesses had replaced the 403 00:22:19,360 --> 00:22:23,080 Jewish people and the requirement, listen, that every 404 00:22:23,080 --> 00:22:26,760 Jehovah Witness distribute Jehovah Witness literature. 405 00:22:26,760 --> 00:22:30,280 This was all under the leadership of Joseph Franklin 406 00:22:30,360 --> 00:22:32,840 Rutherford. Now, the Jehovah Witnesses, as 407 00:22:32,840 --> 00:22:36,800 you saw in the first video, meet twice a week at places that are 408 00:22:36,800 --> 00:22:40,320 called Kingdom Halls. These are not churches. 409 00:22:40,320 --> 00:22:43,640 They are called Kingdom Halls. And while that might look like a 410 00:22:43,640 --> 00:22:46,800 cross that's there in the front, it's actually just the lectern. 411 00:22:47,000 --> 00:22:49,640 One of the things you'll find in a Jehovah Witness Kingdom Hall 412 00:22:49,640 --> 00:22:53,800 is there are no crosses inside. There are no pews. 413 00:22:53,800 --> 00:22:56,280 In fact, there are no stained glass windows. 414 00:22:56,280 --> 00:22:59,600 There are no candles. The Jehovah Witnesses believe 415 00:22:59,600 --> 00:23:04,480 whether a cross occupied or empty is a Pagan symbol because, 416 00:23:04,560 --> 00:23:07,560 again, they do not believe in the deity of Jesus Christ. 417 00:23:08,080 --> 00:23:10,400 Kingdom Halls have no choir, no organ. 418 00:23:10,600 --> 00:23:14,400 There's no baptistry, no altar or communion table. 419 00:23:14,400 --> 00:23:19,560 There is no type of liturgical garb whatsoever that you would 420 00:23:19,560 --> 00:23:23,960 see from other denominations. The hall is plain and 421 00:23:23,960 --> 00:23:26,080 functional. And you'll notice that many 422 00:23:26,080 --> 00:23:29,840 Kingdom Halls actually either one, don't have windows or two 423 00:23:30,120 --> 00:23:33,240 like you see right here, have windows that are frosted over so 424 00:23:33,480 --> 00:23:36,960 that there can be nobody from the inside that seeing outside 425 00:23:37,200 --> 00:23:39,320 or vice versa. And I've done a lot of research, 426 00:23:39,320 --> 00:23:41,600 or I've done a fair amount of research on why that is. 427 00:23:41,600 --> 00:23:45,240 And I found a lot of conflicting reasons for that and none that I 428 00:23:45,240 --> 00:23:48,640 could actually present to you as the fact of why it is. 429 00:23:48,640 --> 00:23:51,560 But you'll notice architectural in Kingdom Halls, there are very 430 00:23:51,560 --> 00:23:55,200 few windows or none or building codes require them. 431 00:23:55,360 --> 00:23:59,640 They are in the Kingdom Hall but then glazed over like that so 432 00:23:59,640 --> 00:24:01,320 nobody could see it. Now I would say as a preacher, 433 00:24:01,520 --> 00:24:03,840 sometimes I kind of wish those were glazed over so we couldn't 434 00:24:03,840 --> 00:24:07,240 see what was going on outside. But it is interesting that the 435 00:24:07,240 --> 00:24:09,360 sunlight is not allowed to come in. 436 00:24:09,360 --> 00:24:12,560 I think there's something symbolic about that is wall as 437 00:24:12,560 --> 00:24:14,360 well. The Jehovah Witnesses do not 438 00:24:14,360 --> 00:24:16,320 sing hymns as we would sing hymns. 439 00:24:16,320 --> 00:24:19,560 However, they do have their own hymn if you will, called the 440 00:24:19,560 --> 00:24:23,160 Kingdom Songbook and each meeting starts and ends with a 441 00:24:23,160 --> 00:24:27,640 prayer to Jehovah, asked in Jesus name but prayed to Jehovah 442 00:24:27,640 --> 00:24:32,000 distinct specifically. Now, there's many distinctive 443 00:24:32,000 --> 00:24:34,680 doctrines that the Jehovah Witnesses hold to, and we're 444 00:24:34,680 --> 00:24:37,360 going to go through a lot of them in rapid fire fashion. 445 00:24:37,360 --> 00:24:40,160 I can't promise you that. We'll talk about each and every 446 00:24:40,160 --> 00:24:42,000 one of them. Again, we're going to make some 447 00:24:42,000 --> 00:24:45,680 comparisons to Christianity here in the next few weeks, but I 448 00:24:45,680 --> 00:24:48,280 want to just give you some of the background here to at least 449 00:24:48,280 --> 00:24:51,520 keep you familiar with some of these things this morning as we 450 00:24:51,520 --> 00:24:54,560 look at the fundamentals of the Jehovah Witnesses. 451 00:24:55,280 --> 00:24:58,760 First of all, their own translation of the Bible, which 452 00:24:58,760 --> 00:25:01,960 is called the New World Translation is the only version 453 00:25:02,000 --> 00:25:05,520 that can be trusted. All other Bible versions have 454 00:25:05,520 --> 00:25:08,280 been corrupted. Now this is important because if 455 00:25:08,280 --> 00:25:12,720 you were to have a conversation with someone about the Bible and 456 00:25:12,720 --> 00:25:16,120 their Jehovah Witness, they are going to out of hand reject 457 00:25:16,320 --> 00:25:20,160 everything that you say because you have a corrupted version of 458 00:25:20,160 --> 00:25:22,800 the Bible. I've talked before with Jehovah 459 00:25:22,800 --> 00:25:25,120 Witnesses and one of the first things that I, I like to talk to 460 00:25:25,120 --> 00:25:28,400 them about is what do you think about Thomas? 461 00:25:28,400 --> 00:25:30,520 And they're like, what do you, what do you mean about Thomas? 462 00:25:30,520 --> 00:25:34,120 I said, well, you know, Thomas said when he saw Jesus, do you 463 00:25:34,120 --> 00:25:37,840 remember doubting Thomas? And you know, I, I, I, unless I 464 00:25:37,840 --> 00:25:41,360 put my hands, you know, in a finger in his hand and then his 465 00:25:41,360 --> 00:25:42,560 side, you know, I don't believe it. 466 00:25:42,920 --> 00:25:48,480 But when Thomas saw Jesus, he exclaimed, My Lord and my God. 467 00:25:48,480 --> 00:25:51,560 Now that's one of the very important verses in the New 468 00:25:51,560 --> 00:25:53,360 Testament showing the deity of Christ. 469 00:25:53,360 --> 00:25:56,520 It's one of the most simplest verses that any of us can share 470 00:25:56,520 --> 00:25:58,080 with anybody. You don't even need to know the 471 00:25:58,080 --> 00:26:00,840 address of where it is in the Bible because pretty much 472 00:26:00,840 --> 00:26:03,960 everyone has heard of Doubting Thomas before in the Bible or 473 00:26:03,960 --> 00:26:05,520 not. They may not even know who he 474 00:26:05,520 --> 00:26:07,480 is, but they've heard of doubting Thomas before. 475 00:26:07,840 --> 00:26:11,120 So to be able to present him as my Lord and my God, it's 476 00:26:11,120 --> 00:26:13,400 something to be helpful. But the problem is in the New 477 00:26:13,400 --> 00:26:16,280 World Translation, that verse as it is doesn't exist. 478 00:26:17,040 --> 00:26:18,840 No, it's there. It just doesn't say my Lord and 479 00:26:18,840 --> 00:26:20,760 my God. And So what do you do? 480 00:26:20,760 --> 00:26:22,480 You have to come from a different tact. 481 00:26:22,480 --> 00:26:24,040 And we'll talk more about that in a few weeks. 482 00:26:24,360 --> 00:26:27,440 But we're we're almost talking two different languages. 483 00:26:27,440 --> 00:26:30,600 And that's what makes it so very difficult with the New World 484 00:26:30,600 --> 00:26:32,240 Translation. We're going to go much deeper 485 00:26:32,240 --> 00:26:34,800 into the New World Translation next week. 486 00:26:35,320 --> 00:26:39,040 Jesus was created by Jehovah as a spirit creature named Michael 487 00:26:39,040 --> 00:26:42,040 the Archangel. So a confusion between Jesus and 488 00:26:42,040 --> 00:26:44,760 Michael. Jesus is not divine, has always 489 00:26:44,760 --> 00:26:47,240 been subordinate to his heavenly Father, Jehovah. 490 00:26:47,960 --> 00:26:50,640 And I've had conversations, I think Vince, and I've had 491 00:26:50,640 --> 00:26:52,640 conversations before with Jehovah Witnesses where they 492 00:26:52,640 --> 00:26:59,320 fixated on the fact that Jesus was lower than God the Father. 493 00:26:59,840 --> 00:27:03,720 And we have made the point, and I'm sure you have as well, if 494 00:27:03,720 --> 00:27:06,320 you've had a conversation with Jehovah Witness, was that Jesus 495 00:27:06,320 --> 00:27:10,800 submitted himself under the Father during his life here on 496 00:27:10,800 --> 00:27:13,720 earth, that Jesus willingly submitted himself. 497 00:27:13,720 --> 00:27:17,920 But that was an assignment of that time and it wasn't a 498 00:27:18,080 --> 00:27:22,080 lessening of his deity because he's 100% God and 100% man 499 00:27:22,480 --> 00:27:25,560 during that time. He said I am my father or what? 500 00:27:26,240 --> 00:27:30,400 There's no way that he was trying to say that that he was 501 00:27:30,400 --> 00:27:34,280 lesser than, but just that in that mission that he had, God 502 00:27:34,280 --> 00:27:38,200 the Father sent the Son Christ to die on the cross for sins. 503 00:27:38,920 --> 00:27:41,680 Jesus was a perfect man, but he could have sinned and failed in 504 00:27:41,680 --> 00:27:44,080 his mission. Jesus only became the Son of 505 00:27:44,080 --> 00:27:45,240 God. It is baptism. 506 00:27:45,600 --> 00:27:48,720 Since he is not God, Jesus must be worshipped or prayed. 507 00:27:48,880 --> 00:27:50,800 Must not be boy. That's a big difference. 508 00:27:50,800 --> 00:27:53,520 Let me say that right must not be worshipped or prayed to. 509 00:27:54,040 --> 00:27:58,040 Jesus died to atone only for the sin of Adam, the inherited sin. 510 00:27:58,640 --> 00:28:01,240 Jesus was raised from the dead as a spirit creature. 511 00:28:01,400 --> 00:28:04,320 His body disappeared. Jesus started ruling God's 512 00:28:04,320 --> 00:28:07,440 Kingdom invisibly from heaven in October 1914. 513 00:28:07,440 --> 00:28:10,040 You remember we saw that video about that a couple weeks ago 514 00:28:10,040 --> 00:28:13,720 about how once it was an incorrect prophecy that they 515 00:28:13,720 --> 00:28:16,120 changed and said, oh, did we mention that it was be Invisible 516 00:28:16,120 --> 00:28:18,600 Kingdom, even though they're talking about a real Armageddon 517 00:28:18,800 --> 00:28:21,200 and a real end of the world? Then they said, oh, well, since 518 00:28:21,200 --> 00:28:23,680 that didn't happen, we've got to change that up. 519 00:28:23,760 --> 00:28:28,360 And they have taken great pains to be able to reconfigure a 520 00:28:28,360 --> 00:28:31,920 prophecy that obviously went wrong because we're still here. 521 00:28:32,160 --> 00:28:36,880 So next Jesus chose Jehovah Witnesses to be Jehovah's 522 00:28:36,880 --> 00:28:40,960 earthly organization in 1919. Joe Witnesses have replaced 523 00:28:40,960 --> 00:28:45,760 Israel and 144,000 mentioned in Revelation 14 verse one are 524 00:28:45,760 --> 00:28:48,880 spiritual Jews. And really, you can't get around 525 00:28:48,880 --> 00:28:53,280 the fact by going to Revelation chapter number 14 that that 526 00:28:53,280 --> 00:28:57,480 those who you find that are listed are actual Jews. 527 00:28:57,480 --> 00:29:00,280 I don't see a way around it when all 12 tribes are mentioned. 528 00:29:00,280 --> 00:29:02,080 I don't know any way else around it. 529 00:29:02,080 --> 00:29:05,200 There are many who get caught up with wrong doctrine about that. 530 00:29:05,560 --> 00:29:09,480 Only 144,000 persons since the time of Jesus can't enter the 531 00:29:09,480 --> 00:29:12,280 new covenant and go to heaven there to rule with Jesus. 532 00:29:12,280 --> 00:29:16,440 Only 144,000 persons needed to be born again or anointed with 533 00:29:16,440 --> 00:29:18,520 Jehovah's impersonal Holy Spirit. 534 00:29:18,840 --> 00:29:23,560 Listen, the Trinity is Pagan theistic teaching meaning this 535 00:29:23,560 --> 00:29:27,400 that they would say that we as Christians not their type of 536 00:29:27,400 --> 00:29:29,240 Christians even though they use the term Christians. 537 00:29:29,240 --> 00:29:32,520 They would say for them that Father, Son and Holy Ghost are 538 00:29:32,520 --> 00:29:37,600 three different gods and that we are serving a polytheistic group 539 00:29:37,600 --> 00:29:40,160 of gods. And for us, we know that the 540 00:29:40,160 --> 00:29:43,560 Godhead, as it's called in our King James Bible is 3 and one 541 00:29:43,560 --> 00:29:47,520 and one and three, that there is not three separate gods, that 542 00:29:47,720 --> 00:29:51,040 they are all one God. And again Jesus said I and my 543 00:29:51,040 --> 00:29:55,800 father are one. And so that is is certainly 544 00:29:55,800 --> 00:29:58,040 blasphemous. There is no such thing as an 545 00:29:58,040 --> 00:30:00,200 immortal soul. The dead know nothing. 546 00:30:00,200 --> 00:30:03,400 A doctor related to soul sleep and annihilationism, basically. 547 00:30:04,040 --> 00:30:05,320 But when you're gone, you're gone. 548 00:30:05,320 --> 00:30:09,040 There is nothing else if you are to receive judgment. 549 00:30:09,280 --> 00:30:11,200 And again, that's a damnable heresy. 550 00:30:11,680 --> 00:30:15,000 Next, Jehovah would never punish people for eternity. 551 00:30:15,280 --> 00:30:18,080 There is no such place as hell or the lake of fire. 552 00:30:18,520 --> 00:30:20,680 Jehovah exercises selective foreknowledge. 553 00:30:20,680 --> 00:30:23,000 He chose not to know that Adam and Eve would sin. 554 00:30:23,280 --> 00:30:25,600 And there's nothing in the Word of God that would suggest some 555 00:30:25,600 --> 00:30:30,240 sort of selective foreknowledge that that God chooses to not 556 00:30:30,240 --> 00:30:33,280 know certain things, that God knows the beginning from the end 557 00:30:33,280 --> 00:30:35,240 and has known the beginning from the end since before the 558 00:30:35,240 --> 00:30:37,360 beginning. And that sounds like I made a 559 00:30:37,360 --> 00:30:39,920 mistake there, but I didn't believe it or not, that he knew 560 00:30:39,920 --> 00:30:42,400 the beginning from the end before the beginning, that 561 00:30:42,400 --> 00:30:45,800 before time even began, before Genesis 11, God knew how 562 00:30:45,800 --> 00:30:48,280 everything would play out. And he always has. 563 00:30:48,280 --> 00:30:49,560 You say, I don't understand that. 564 00:30:49,560 --> 00:30:51,560 I don't know that I completely do either, because we're linear 565 00:30:51,560 --> 00:30:53,520 people. We see things in the beginning 566 00:30:53,520 --> 00:30:55,040 and end. But the Bible says, and it's 567 00:30:55,040 --> 00:30:58,360 true, just because you and I can't fully grasp it in the 568 00:30:58,360 --> 00:31:00,480 limited mind that we have doesn't mean that it's any less 569 00:31:00,480 --> 00:31:03,280 wrong. Listen, if you can understand 570 00:31:03,280 --> 00:31:04,560 your God, you don't have much of A God. 571 00:31:05,480 --> 00:31:09,040 I mean fully understand him. God has given us understanding 572 00:31:09,040 --> 00:31:12,120 in these 66 books. But I'll say, if you can 573 00:31:12,120 --> 00:31:14,600 understand every nook and cranny of your God, then you don't have 574 00:31:14,600 --> 00:31:17,440 much of A God. No, our God is infinite. 575 00:31:17,760 --> 00:31:19,680 He is all knowing. He is all powerful. 576 00:31:19,680 --> 00:31:22,600 He's omnipresent. No, no, I don't know. 577 00:31:22,600 --> 00:31:25,280 But I do know what he says. I believe it because He said it, 578 00:31:26,000 --> 00:31:26,880 by the way. There's something, there's a 579 00:31:26,880 --> 00:31:30,600 word for that faith, the substance of things hoped for, 580 00:31:30,600 --> 00:31:34,680 the evidence of things not seen. Death acquits a person of his 581 00:31:34,680 --> 00:31:37,040 personal sin. After Armageddon, the dead will 582 00:31:37,040 --> 00:31:39,520 be physically resurrected to live on the earth, not the 583 00:31:39,520 --> 00:31:41,520 Armageddon that was supposed to happen in 1914. 584 00:31:41,520 --> 00:31:44,080 Apparently after the resurrection, the unsaved dead 585 00:31:44,080 --> 00:31:46,800 will get a second chance to be saved and live forever in a 586 00:31:46,800 --> 00:31:49,400 paradise on earth. Salvation depends upon works and 587 00:31:49,400 --> 00:31:51,320 being faithful and obedient to the end. 588 00:31:51,760 --> 00:31:54,720 There is no salvation apart from membership in the Jehovah 589 00:31:54,720 --> 00:31:57,560 Witness organization. Now listen, that's a cult, if 590 00:31:57,560 --> 00:31:59,880 there ever was one, to be able to say that you cannot be saved 591 00:31:59,880 --> 00:32:03,680 unless you're part of this church that only existed for 592 00:32:03,680 --> 00:32:07,640 basically the last 150 years. There are so many flaws with 593 00:32:07,640 --> 00:32:10,680 that thinking it's unbelievable. Now listen, could you imagine me 594 00:32:10,680 --> 00:32:12,560 saying that the only people who are going to get saved are the 595 00:32:12,560 --> 00:32:16,000 people for Independent Baptist? Could you imagine me saying 596 00:32:16,000 --> 00:32:17,920 that? And I think there may be some 597 00:32:17,920 --> 00:32:19,160 men Baptists believe that's true. 598 00:32:19,160 --> 00:32:21,360 I don't know, but I don't think they think it's true. 599 00:32:21,360 --> 00:32:23,360 But they might be surprised when they meet other people in heaven 600 00:32:23,520 --> 00:32:26,200 other than independent Baptists. But I will say this all joking 601 00:32:26,200 --> 00:32:29,920 aside, I know that there are people from other denominations 602 00:32:29,920 --> 00:32:33,280 that are saved and that love God and that although we have 603 00:32:33,280 --> 00:32:35,880 fundamental disagreements about the word of God and we're not 604 00:32:35,880 --> 00:32:38,040 trying to pretend that we don't, we will say this. 605 00:32:38,040 --> 00:32:41,240 They do know Jesus Christ their Savior, and we get to heaven. 606 00:32:41,240 --> 00:32:43,040 It's not just going to be independent Baptists that are 607 00:32:43,560 --> 00:32:45,200 there. The the bond between US and 608 00:32:45,200 --> 00:32:47,000 heaven is not going to be denominational. 609 00:32:47,360 --> 00:32:49,680 The bond between US and heaven will be the blood of Jesus 610 00:32:49,680 --> 00:32:51,600 Christ. That's what it will be. 611 00:32:51,880 --> 00:32:54,320 And to be able to say that you're only from this group, you 612 00:32:54,320 --> 00:32:58,040 can be saved is again, absolute rank heresy. 613 00:32:58,720 --> 00:33:01,440 Next, there is no assurance of salvation, even for those with 614 00:33:01,440 --> 00:33:03,320 the heavenly hope. Again, you got to keep working. 615 00:33:03,320 --> 00:33:05,520 You got to keep going. You got to keep doing. 616 00:33:05,920 --> 00:33:09,520 Jehovah's relationship, or revelation rather, to his chosen 617 00:33:09,520 --> 00:33:12,160 representatives is progressive. The light keeps getting 618 00:33:12,160 --> 00:33:14,120 brighter. This accounts for changes made 619 00:33:14,120 --> 00:33:16,080 to previously held interpretations regarding the 620 00:33:16,080 --> 00:33:18,040 end times. Whenever those in the Governing 621 00:33:18,040 --> 00:33:21,400 Body modify a form of belief, they attribute the charge or the 622 00:33:21,400 --> 00:33:25,800 change to increase light. We saw a couple weeks ago that 623 00:33:25,800 --> 00:33:29,600 there were somewhere over a dozen different changes that 624 00:33:29,600 --> 00:33:32,760 were made to the doctrine of blood transfusions and what 625 00:33:32,760 --> 00:33:34,080 could be made and what couldn't be. 626 00:33:34,080 --> 00:33:36,680 And you and I look at that and say, how could somebody be so 627 00:33:36,680 --> 00:33:39,440 wrong? And still people follow them. 628 00:33:39,840 --> 00:33:42,160 But the answer is that they have this doctrine of increased 629 00:33:42,160 --> 00:33:43,920 light. Well, over time, we're going to 630 00:33:43,920 --> 00:33:45,400 learn more and we're going to understand more. 631 00:33:45,560 --> 00:33:47,640 And we made mistakes more, but we got it right this time. 632 00:33:48,360 --> 00:33:50,200 But could you imagine saying, well, we got it right this time, 633 00:33:50,200 --> 00:33:52,920 You're still wrong, But no, this time we got it right, you're 634 00:33:52,920 --> 00:33:53,640 still wrong. No, no. 635 00:33:53,680 --> 00:33:55,320 But this time, no. We really got it right this 636 00:33:55,320 --> 00:33:56,720 time. No, no, but no, but, but this 637 00:33:56,720 --> 00:33:58,480 time, no. Trust me, we really got it right 638 00:33:58,480 --> 00:34:00,760 this time. Again. 639 00:34:01,320 --> 00:34:06,080 Ignorance is so important in this system because people 640 00:34:06,080 --> 00:34:08,520 really can't know how many times they have been wrong about the 641 00:34:08,520 --> 00:34:13,360 end times or about the patriarchs walking the earth who 642 00:34:13,560 --> 00:34:17,719 are not, or about blood transfusions or about any of 643 00:34:17,719 --> 00:34:20,639 these types of things. But this idea of increased light 644 00:34:20,639 --> 00:34:23,560 just basically means this. Listen, we can be wrong as much 645 00:34:23,560 --> 00:34:26,040 as we want, but eventually, one day we'll get it right. 646 00:34:27,080 --> 00:34:29,679 Now the theme of this is the governing body. 647 00:34:29,679 --> 00:34:31,400 Do you see that? The governing body? 648 00:34:32,120 --> 00:34:35,000 Keep that in mind because we're going to look at that more in a 649 00:34:35,000 --> 00:34:37,080 second. Now, the Jehovah Witnesses 650 00:34:37,080 --> 00:34:39,639 claimed their authority comes from the Bible, divinely 651 00:34:39,639 --> 00:34:42,920 inspired Word of God. However, listen, the Bible can 652 00:34:42,920 --> 00:34:46,560 only be properly interpreted and applied with the help of 653 00:34:46,560 --> 00:34:49,560 publications prepared by the Watchtower Society. 654 00:34:51,360 --> 00:34:54,280 They can only be properly interpreted and applied with the 655 00:34:54,280 --> 00:34:58,080 help of publications prepared by the Watchtower Society or as 656 00:34:58,080 --> 00:35:01,240 they call themselves, Listen the faithful and discreet slave. 657 00:35:02,040 --> 00:35:06,000 They say that they are the slave of Jehovah and that they are to 658 00:35:06,000 --> 00:35:09,280 be faithful and discreet, and as such they are the only ones who 659 00:35:09,280 --> 00:35:12,880 are able to properly interpret Bible doctrine. 660 00:35:13,240 --> 00:35:16,040 The Watchtower. According to Watchtower Society, 661 00:35:16,040 --> 00:35:19,680 a mature Christian does not advocate or insist on personal 662 00:35:19,680 --> 00:35:22,720 opinions or harbor private ideas when it comes to Bible 663 00:35:22,720 --> 00:35:24,680 understanding. Rather, he has complete 664 00:35:24,680 --> 00:35:27,640 confidence in the truth as is revealed by Jehovah through his 665 00:35:27,640 --> 00:35:31,720 Son Jesus Christ and the faithful and discreet slave, 666 00:35:32,640 --> 00:35:37,160 meaning that the real revelation comes from God through Jesus to 667 00:35:37,160 --> 00:35:40,040 the Watchtower Society. And you cannot have any personal 668 00:35:40,040 --> 00:35:43,720 opinions of your own whatsoever. Now, this is what's taught. 669 00:35:44,080 --> 00:35:47,160 Now could you admit? Listen, it's obvious that when I 670 00:35:47,160 --> 00:35:49,680 preach the Word of God, I want you to believe what I believe. 671 00:35:50,240 --> 00:35:53,360 I mean, if I didn't believe that, then I wouldn't be very 672 00:35:53,880 --> 00:35:55,280 earnest about what I was doing, would I? 673 00:35:55,280 --> 00:35:57,400 In fact, I'd be a charlatan if I didn't want you to believe it. 674 00:35:58,160 --> 00:35:59,800 And I want you to believe it not because I believe it. 675 00:35:59,800 --> 00:36:01,520 I want you to believe it because I believe that's what the Word 676 00:36:01,520 --> 00:36:03,800 of God says. But in the end, one of the Bible 677 00:36:03,800 --> 00:36:05,560 truths, one of the Bible principles, one of the things 678 00:36:05,560 --> 00:36:07,440 that's fundamental about being a Baptist is something called 679 00:36:07,440 --> 00:36:09,200 individual soul liberty, which means this. 680 00:36:09,840 --> 00:36:11,320 We're all individually accountable to God. 681 00:36:12,160 --> 00:36:14,200 You may believe one thing, I may believe something else. 682 00:36:14,400 --> 00:36:17,400 We all have to believe what the Word of God says, but in the 683 00:36:17,400 --> 00:36:19,560 end, let God be true with every man a liar. 684 00:36:19,600 --> 00:36:22,720 That's what it comes down to. And so no, I'm not minimizing 685 00:36:22,720 --> 00:36:25,480 Bible doctrine whatsoever. I'm not saying, well, you have 686 00:36:25,480 --> 00:36:28,040 your truth and I have my that's the garbage that's out there in 687 00:36:28,040 --> 00:36:30,600 the world today that's being propagated by all these 688 00:36:30,600 --> 00:36:32,000 different thoughts. There's no truth. 689 00:36:32,000 --> 00:36:34,760 It's just wishy washy. You have your truth and I have 690 00:36:34,760 --> 00:36:36,160 my truth. And listen, that's that's 691 00:36:36,240 --> 00:36:40,080 absolutely let me use a non Bible term for that hogwash. 692 00:36:41,640 --> 00:36:44,760 That's that's what it is. But I will say this, that the, 693 00:36:44,880 --> 00:36:48,080 that we understand as Baptist that, well, there are going to 694 00:36:48,080 --> 00:36:50,320 be people who look at things differently and we're going to 695 00:36:50,320 --> 00:36:52,040 have to just give it all to the Lord. 696 00:36:52,320 --> 00:36:55,080 And that if you don't look at everything exactly the way that 697 00:36:55,080 --> 00:36:58,080 I do, you're out because you are a rebellious independent 698 00:36:58,080 --> 00:37:00,920 Baptist. It's not supposed to work that 699 00:37:00,920 --> 00:37:03,360 way. Now, again, are there doctrines 700 00:37:03,360 --> 00:37:06,200 that we would look at and say, well, yeah, these are important, 701 00:37:06,200 --> 00:37:08,400 that, well, every doctor is important, But you understand 702 00:37:08,400 --> 00:37:10,480 what I'm saying, That they, that if someone came in here and 703 00:37:10,480 --> 00:37:12,320 said, well, I'm a member of Liberty Baptist Church, but I 704 00:37:12,320 --> 00:37:14,760 don't believe in the deity of Christ, we'd have a problem, 705 00:37:14,760 --> 00:37:17,240 wouldn't we? But there are some other issues 706 00:37:17,240 --> 00:37:20,480 that we would look at and say, well, we're going to all do the 707 00:37:20,480 --> 00:37:22,920 best we can to be able to love one another and be able to do 708 00:37:22,920 --> 00:37:24,920 right by one another. And then we just give it to 709 00:37:24,960 --> 00:37:27,320 Jesus Christ. But a cult would literally say 710 00:37:27,320 --> 00:37:31,680 you do what we do down to the NTH degree or you're out. 711 00:37:32,440 --> 00:37:35,880 And that's what it says here. Now, who decides these things? 712 00:37:35,880 --> 00:37:40,040 That's an interesting question. According to an April 15th, 2013 713 00:37:40,040 --> 00:37:43,440 Watchtower publication, the earthly part of Jehovah's 714 00:37:43,440 --> 00:37:45,360 organization is structured in this way. 715 00:37:45,680 --> 00:37:47,320 What's that first group, the Governing Body? 716 00:37:47,320 --> 00:37:50,880 This is about 9 men who meet together in New York. 717 00:37:51,200 --> 00:37:54,320 They are the ones who make all of the decisions for the Jehovah 718 00:37:54,320 --> 00:37:56,800 Witnesses, including at the end times. 719 00:37:56,800 --> 00:37:59,640 When the end times are commencing, literally everyone. 720 00:37:59,640 --> 00:38:02,960 Is Jehovah Witnesses supposed to wait for what the Governing Body 721 00:38:02,960 --> 00:38:05,520 tells them to do? Nobody to do anything until the 722 00:38:05,520 --> 00:38:07,600 Governing Body tells them what the plan is. 723 00:38:08,120 --> 00:38:10,480 And so from there it goes to the branch committees, the traveling 724 00:38:10,480 --> 00:38:12,960 overseers, the bodies of elders, congregations. 725 00:38:12,960 --> 00:38:15,720 Those congregations are the Kingdom Halls, and finally the 726 00:38:15,720 --> 00:38:18,040 individual publishers. And again, the publishers are 727 00:38:18,040 --> 00:38:20,880 those who personally distribute the literature. 728 00:38:20,880 --> 00:38:24,480 That is the hierarchy that's there, such as the power and 729 00:38:24,480 --> 00:38:27,760 authority of the men who make up the Governing Body, that no 730 00:38:27,760 --> 00:38:30,080 witness dares challenge or question them. 731 00:38:30,080 --> 00:38:34,360 You cannot challenge, you cannot question a Jehovah Witness 732 00:38:34,760 --> 00:38:37,680 Governing Body member. They are perceived as Jehovah's 733 00:38:37,680 --> 00:38:40,720 representatives here on earth. A Jehovah Witness cannot 734 00:38:40,720 --> 00:38:44,120 disagree with what he is told. He must accept the published 735 00:38:44,120 --> 00:38:47,640 literature and the word of the elders whose job it is to 736 00:38:47,640 --> 00:38:51,760 enforce loyalty. And again, unity is good. 737 00:38:52,520 --> 00:38:55,440 I think we'd all agree unity within a church is a wonderful 738 00:38:55,440 --> 00:38:56,720 thing. We should be united about the 739 00:38:56,720 --> 00:38:59,640 word of God, shouldn't we? But unity with threats is 740 00:38:59,640 --> 00:39:01,800 coercion. It's not real unity. 741 00:39:02,600 --> 00:39:05,280 And to be able to say that, you have to believe every single 742 00:39:05,280 --> 00:39:07,440 thing that this Watchtower publication says. 743 00:39:07,440 --> 00:39:10,280 And if you don't, then you are not loyal to the group and you 744 00:39:10,280 --> 00:39:12,120 can be expelled. You said, do they really expel 745 00:39:12,120 --> 00:39:15,080 people? Well, if someone agrees, 746 00:39:15,400 --> 00:39:17,960 disagrees, and makes their objection known, they will be 747 00:39:17,960 --> 00:39:20,160 disciplined. And the ultimate fellowship or 748 00:39:20,240 --> 00:39:22,800 ultimate punishment is to be disfellowshipped. 749 00:39:22,800 --> 00:39:25,400 And some of you here have known people in the past and you've 750 00:39:25,400 --> 00:39:28,160 been at our church who have been disfellowshipped from Jehovah 751 00:39:28,160 --> 00:39:29,440 Witnesses. I don't want to name people 752 00:39:29,440 --> 00:39:32,080 without their permission, but some of you are familiar with at 753 00:39:32,080 --> 00:39:33,960 least one gentleman who's been here before with it was 754 00:39:33,960 --> 00:39:38,440 disfellowship, disfellowship by the Jehovah Witnesses because he 755 00:39:38,440 --> 00:39:41,600 expressed opinions that were different from the Watchtower. 756 00:39:41,920 --> 00:39:46,200 Now supposedly now this doesn't always play out, but what is 757 00:39:46,200 --> 00:39:48,720 supposed to happen is a disfellowship member is shunned 758 00:39:48,720 --> 00:39:51,960 by all witness, friends and family, sometimes resulting in 759 00:39:51,960 --> 00:39:55,400 decades of estrangement. Those still in the organization 760 00:39:55,400 --> 00:39:57,200 or advised not to have anything to do with the shunned 761 00:39:57,200 --> 00:40:01,520 individuals, Watchtower materials say do not look for 762 00:40:01,520 --> 00:40:04,800 excuses to associate with a disfellowshipped family member. 763 00:40:05,160 --> 00:40:08,000 Now, we'll say this because I know several, and we have 764 00:40:08,000 --> 00:40:11,000 several who have been part of this world either through 765 00:40:11,000 --> 00:40:12,440 themselves or through their family in the past. 766 00:40:12,720 --> 00:40:15,280 Not every family follows that. Not every family is going to 767 00:40:15,280 --> 00:40:17,920 disfellowship a family member because they believe something 768 00:40:17,920 --> 00:40:21,400 different about the Word of God. Thank the Lord for those who at 769 00:40:21,560 --> 00:40:24,160 least have the sense to be able to do that. 770 00:40:24,440 --> 00:40:29,040 But the. Actual doctrinal teaching from 771 00:40:29,040 --> 00:40:31,320 the Watchtower is this is what's to happen. 772 00:40:31,320 --> 00:40:34,640 It's very similar to an Amish shunning that it's like someone 773 00:40:34,640 --> 00:40:36,160 doesn't exist. Now again, does that always 774 00:40:36,160 --> 00:40:37,920 happen? No, it does not always happen. 775 00:40:38,080 --> 00:40:40,320 But this is what is taught is supposed to happen. 776 00:40:40,520 --> 00:40:42,240 And I think the Jehovah Witnesses realize it doesn't 777 00:40:42,240 --> 00:40:45,240 always happen, which is why the Watchtower makes such a big deal 778 00:40:45,240 --> 00:40:47,640 about it in different times and occasions. 779 00:40:48,280 --> 00:40:51,760 So the Jehovah Witnesses maintain a high level of control 780 00:40:52,080 --> 00:40:53,600 over what their congregations learn. 781 00:40:53,880 --> 00:40:56,880 Independent study is anathema. That's why you saw, hey, 782 00:40:57,000 --> 00:40:59,320 whatever, whatever king of Hall you go to, we're all going to be 783 00:40:59,320 --> 00:41:01,760 learning the same thing because they're all in the same week of 784 00:41:01,760 --> 00:41:03,440 materials. They're all following the same 785 00:41:03,440 --> 00:41:06,360 thing. Because independent study is not 786 00:41:06,360 --> 00:41:11,000 only not encouraged, it is told it cannot happen. 787 00:41:11,400 --> 00:41:14,240 Listen, this is a quote from, again, the Watchtower. 788 00:41:14,520 --> 00:41:17,720 All who want to understand the Bible should appreciate that the 789 00:41:17,720 --> 00:41:21,000 greatly diversified wisdom of God can be known only through 790 00:41:21,000 --> 00:41:24,040 Jehovah's channel of communication, the faithful and 791 00:41:24,040 --> 00:41:27,360 discreet slave. I'm going to read that again. 792 00:41:27,360 --> 00:41:30,520 All who want to understand the Bible should appreciate that the 793 00:41:30,520 --> 00:41:34,680 greatly diversified wisdom of God can only become known 794 00:41:35,040 --> 00:41:38,440 through Jehovah's channel of communication, the faithful and 795 00:41:38,440 --> 00:41:40,640 discreet slave, which is the Watchtower Society. 796 00:41:41,640 --> 00:41:45,200 That means this. You can't know the Bible without 797 00:41:45,200 --> 00:41:48,440 them. You can't understand the Bible 798 00:41:48,440 --> 00:41:51,360 without them telling you what the Bible says, and you can't 799 00:41:51,360 --> 00:41:55,240 study it for yourself. Now listen, has God-given us as 800 00:41:55,240 --> 00:41:56,920 a church leadership? Yes. 801 00:41:57,320 --> 00:42:01,960 You're a pastor or a Sunday school teacher or or even others 802 00:42:01,960 --> 00:42:05,440 that will teach the Word of God and preach and model the Word of 803 00:42:05,440 --> 00:42:06,680 God. He absolutely has. 804 00:42:06,680 --> 00:42:09,400 There's no doubt about it. We're thankful for the 805 00:42:09,400 --> 00:42:12,840 leadership that God has put in place in his churches, not just 806 00:42:12,840 --> 00:42:14,520 here at Liberty Baptist Church. And it seems kind of 807 00:42:14,520 --> 00:42:16,320 self-serving to say that because, well, I'm the leader, 808 00:42:16,560 --> 00:42:18,840 but really the Lord's the leader, but he's given us human 809 00:42:18,840 --> 00:42:21,960 leadership as well. But listen, you know what I 810 00:42:21,960 --> 00:42:23,520 really want you to do during the week? 811 00:42:24,000 --> 00:42:25,640 I want you to study your Bible without me. 812 00:42:25,640 --> 00:42:29,600 Now, if you want to call me and ask me a question, that's fine. 813 00:42:29,600 --> 00:42:31,280 Hey, pastor, I read this. What do you think about this? 814 00:42:31,280 --> 00:42:33,160 Or, or if you want to read the Bible together with me, Hey, 815 00:42:33,160 --> 00:42:35,640 that's great. But listen, the end goal is to 816 00:42:35,640 --> 00:42:39,040 get you to read your Bible on your own every day. 817 00:42:39,560 --> 00:42:41,680 Do you know why? Because I may be your teacher, 818 00:42:41,680 --> 00:42:44,320 but I believe it was John who made clear in one of his 819 00:42:44,320 --> 00:42:47,920 epistles that there's a teacher that's inside of you and that's 820 00:42:47,920 --> 00:42:51,440 the Holy Spirit, that the Holy Spirit ought to be your teacher 821 00:42:51,640 --> 00:42:53,560 and your guide. And listen, I want to be able to 822 00:42:53,560 --> 00:42:54,680 teach you. I want to be able to guide you. 823 00:42:54,680 --> 00:42:56,600 I want to be able to help you that this guy's calling upon my 824 00:42:56,600 --> 00:42:59,800 life and I'm thankful for. But listen, if all the teaching 825 00:42:59,800 --> 00:43:02,560 and guidance you get from the Word of God is just here on 826 00:43:02,560 --> 00:43:04,920 Sunday morning and maybe even Sunday night and Wednesday night 827 00:43:04,920 --> 00:43:08,160 and Sunday school, praise the Lord, that's four hours. 828 00:43:08,680 --> 00:43:09,800 That's not even taking 4 hours to teach. 829 00:43:09,800 --> 00:43:11,880 That's just 4 hours of service. Well, if it's services, maybe a 830 00:43:11,880 --> 00:43:14,080 little bit more than that. But anyway, you understand what 831 00:43:14,080 --> 00:43:17,520 I'm saying. The idea is this, You need to be 832 00:43:17,520 --> 00:43:20,960 in the Bible every day, by the way, you need to be able to do 833 00:43:20,960 --> 00:43:24,520 it yourself, to read and have the Holy Spirit speak to you. 834 00:43:24,520 --> 00:43:29,160 And not just take what I have prepared, but be able to say the 835 00:43:29,160 --> 00:43:31,920 Holy Spirit will allow me to and help me to prepare something on 836 00:43:31,920 --> 00:43:37,160 my own and teach me and help me. Dan Woodward. 837 00:43:37,160 --> 00:43:38,920 I keep quoting him this morning because I keep looking at him 838 00:43:38,960 --> 00:43:41,800 out of my, my left eye here. But he says if I, if I just got, 839 00:43:42,480 --> 00:43:44,320 got food when I came to church, I'd starve. 840 00:43:44,320 --> 00:43:46,120 He said, I come to church for dessert, right. 841 00:43:46,240 --> 00:43:48,120 I want to get a little bit something extra. 842 00:43:48,120 --> 00:43:49,960 And again, the thought process is this. 843 00:43:49,960 --> 00:43:52,880 If you just ate three times a week, you'd starve. 844 00:43:55,240 --> 00:43:56,760 You got a feast on this every day. 845 00:43:57,240 --> 00:43:58,240 And by the way, here's the good news. 846 00:43:58,240 --> 00:43:59,960 He wants us to feast on it every day. 847 00:44:00,160 --> 00:44:03,400 He desires to meet with us and desires to grow with us. 848 00:44:03,800 --> 00:44:06,240 And next week, by God's grace, I want to look at the New World 849 00:44:06,240 --> 00:44:08,080 Translation. I've had a copy in my office for 850 00:44:08,080 --> 00:44:10,960 several years, and I want to look at some comparisons of 851 00:44:10,960 --> 00:44:12,800 verses. I want us to be able to see why 852 00:44:12,800 --> 00:44:16,800 is the New World Translation so different from the Bible. 853 00:44:16,800 --> 00:44:19,400 And we're going to explain why that is and why it makes it so 854 00:44:19,400 --> 00:44:21,000 hard to be able to talk with Jehovah Witness. 855 00:44:21,240 --> 00:44:23,440 But then we are going to talk about how we can win them to 856 00:44:23,440 --> 00:44:24,480 Christ. I want to leave you with this 857 00:44:24,480 --> 00:44:26,080 and I'm going to be done because I'm going to remind you this, 858 00:44:26,280 --> 00:44:28,600 and I've said this almost every week and I will continue to say 859 00:44:28,600 --> 00:44:30,440 this every week. It is so vitally important. 860 00:44:30,880 --> 00:44:33,480 Are we attacking the adherence of any of these religions and 861 00:44:33,480 --> 00:44:34,520 cults? We are not. 862 00:44:34,880 --> 00:44:37,960 We are attacking the authorities and we're attacking the articles 863 00:44:37,960 --> 00:44:41,240 of faith because those people, those adherents are the ones 864 00:44:41,240 --> 00:44:43,440 that we need to love to Jesus Christ. 865 00:44:43,920 --> 00:44:46,040 They are the ones that are out there that are standing there 866 00:44:46,360 --> 00:44:49,200 and they might have those nice clothes on and they might be 867 00:44:49,200 --> 00:44:53,280 smiling, but in the inside they're wondering, am I going to 868 00:44:53,280 --> 00:44:55,480 make it? Have I done enough? 869 00:44:56,720 --> 00:45:00,440 Well, I get to the Kingdom, and what they deserve is not listen, 870 00:45:00,440 --> 00:45:03,960 not our anger that they're out there peddling false doctrine. 871 00:45:04,640 --> 00:45:06,800 And listen. I understand a righteous sense, 872 00:45:06,800 --> 00:45:09,160 some of that. But with deserve, even more than 873 00:45:09,160 --> 00:45:13,920 that is our pity and compassion. And that compassion and pity 874 00:45:13,920 --> 00:45:17,440 ought to move us to be able to share the gospel with them. 875 00:45:18,800 --> 00:45:21,480 Thank you for listening to the sermon from the pulpit of 876 00:45:21,480 --> 00:45:24,360 Liberty Baptist Church. If this message was a blessing 877 00:45:24,360 --> 00:45:27,840 to you, or if there's any way we can serve you, please let us 878 00:45:27,840 --> 00:45:32,440 know by contacting us at info@mylibertybaptist.org. 879 00:45:32,720 --> 00:45:37,240 Or you can visit us this Sunday at 800 Washington St. in Easton, 880 00:45:37,240 --> 00:45:40,080 MA. May the Lord bless you as you 881 00:45:40,080 --> 00:45:41,280 grow in His Word.