56 lines
5.3 KiB
Markdown
56 lines
5.3 KiB
Markdown
# Introduction
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Have you ever been proud of someone? Maybe a parent is proud of their child for standing up for themselves at school. Maybe friends are proud of each other for attaining some great accomplishment. We have many reasons to be proud of the people we support, but have you ever thought of being proud of our God? A bit of an interesting thought, isn't it. To be "proud" of Jehovah. Jehovah does not *need* our support for anything, he doesn't struggle to attain some difficult goal, so how can we be proud of Jehovah, our God?
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# Point 1
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To start with, lets take a look at our first scripture, found at Isa 25:9.
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> 9 In that day they will say:
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> “Look! This is our God!+
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> We have hoped in him,+
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> And he will save us.+
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> This is Jehovah!
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> We have hoped in him.
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> Let us be joyful and rejoice in the salvation by him.”+
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Did you catch what they were saying? "Look! This is our God!". Why so? The scripture continues "We have hoped in him, and he will save us." Instead of a parent being proud of their child, what about the reverse? Can a child be proud of their parent? Yes, of course. Have you ever seen a group of kids sitting together, watching one of their fathers do something cool, and one of the kids leans over says "yea, that's my dad". God’s worshippers have every reason to feel similarly about Jehovah. Jehovah has the ability, and the desire to save those hoping in him. Because of this, we as God's faithful people can exclaim: “Look! This is our God!”. We can be proud to call him our heavenly father.
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# Point 2
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Let's look a bit more that point how Jehovah will save us. What future does the bible promise us? Well it promises many wonderful things, but lets focus on one aspect here, by reading Isa 25:6.
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> In this mountain+ Jehovah of armies will make for all the peoples
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> A banquet of rich dishes,+
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> A banquet of fine wine,*
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> Of rich dishes filled with marrow,
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> Of fine, filtered wine.
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Lets take this scripture apart a bit. Looking at the second and third lines, it promises a "banquet" of rich dishes and fine wine. Not just a serving. Not just a meal. No, an entire banquet of these things. We can cross reference a different scripture found in Psalms 72:16, which says:
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> There will be an abundance of grain on the earth;+
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> On the top of the mountains it will overflow.
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> His fruit will flourish as in Lebʹa·non,+
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> And in the cities people will blossom like the vegetation of the earth.
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Do we get the picture? There will be an abundance of food. And what kind of food? Going back to our scripture in Isa 25:6, the 4th and 5th lines state that there will be rich dishes of marrow, and filtered wine. So not just an abundance of food, but an abundance of rich, nutritious, and satisfying food. Even more reason to be ever more proud of our God, Jehovah.
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# Point 3
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What about another way Jehovah will save his people. Lets take a look at Isa 25:7.
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> 7 In this mountain he will do away with the shroud that is enveloping all the peoples
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> And the covering that is woven over all the nations.
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> 8 He will swallow up* death forever,+
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> And the Sovereign Lord Jehovah will wipe away the tears from all faces.+
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> The reproach of his people he will take away from all the earth,
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> For Jehovah himself has spoken it.
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Wow, now there's a promise. Jehovah himself has spoken that death will be no more, tears and reproach will be taken away from all the earth. The past two weeks in our weekend watchtower study we've talked about ways to cope with living in this system of things. One of the main points that was brought out was that this life is temporary, and the real life is yet to come. These promises we're reading about right now are the real life that is to come. These are the very things we look forward for our futures.
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# Practical Value
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So yes, we have many reasons to be very proud that Jehovah God is our God and Father. What effect should that pride have on us? We can look to our exemplar, Jesus Christ for an answer. Please turn with me to our last scripture at John 14:31.
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> But for the world to know that I love the Father, I am doing just as the Father has commanded me to do.+ Get up, let us go from here.
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Yes, Jesus loved his Father, just as we do, and what did that motivate him to do? To do just as the Father has commanded him, and us, to do. We have the unique privilege of defending Jehovah's name as his faithful witnesses here on earth. We can of course do this in our ministry, but also just in our daily lives. Notice our image. The Caption that accompanies it says "ASK YOURSELF, ‘During my daily routine this week, whom could I tell about Jehovah’s promises?’". It looks like our brother here is wheelchair bound, maybe homebound, yet what is he doing? Sharing the many promises that we have from Jehovah with those he can. Let us do the same. Let us share with all who will listen about the wonderful promises that Jehovah has in store for the earth, and those who will live on it.
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In review, we learned that we have every reason to be proud that Jehovah is our God and Father. He promises many wonderful things for his faithful worshipers, including abundant, satisfying food, no more tears and reproach, and no more death. We can show our appreciation for these things right now by sharing these promises with others, and further sanctifying Jehovah's name. So, let us be just like our brother here in the image, and proudly proclaim “Look! This is our God!". |