TREASURES OF THE BIBLE, Week of February 12 to 18, 2024, Be loyal to Jehovah no matter what others do, Prepared Speech.

TREASURES OF THE BIBLE, February 12-18, 2024, Be loyal to Jehovah no matter what others do, Prepared Speech. 

Be loyal to Jehovah no matter what others do (10 mins.)

"Loyalty" is an expression that has been talked about a lot, both in its meaning and in the way it is demonstrated. The insight book regarding this expression says that there does not seem to be any English word that accurately and fully expresses the meaning in the corresponding terms in Hebrew and Greek, but it can be translated as fidelity, duty, love, obligation and devotion.

During the development of this Bible Treasures talk with the title: “Let us be loyal to Jehovah no matter what others do,” we will talk about all these facets or aspects of loyalty, Since despite all the effort we can do to be loyal, let's remember that what others do can affect the person who wants to be Loyal. However, all living beings, both heavenly and on Earth, must be loyal.

Now, not only must we be loyal, Jehovah has also shown us loyalty, even though he has had to endure what Satan has done, the devil and many people have spoken against God, accusing him and complaining about his laws or his authority. He still remains loyal. And this word loyalty has to do with adhesion, firm attachment, not wanting to detach yourself from someone or a defined purpose just as Jehovah does.

As true Christians, we know that we must be loyal to God. However, we are also reasonable and understand that what those around us do will affect us. For example, in our environment, it could be our spouse, family, very dear friends, brothers in the congregation or any other person for whom we appreciate and respect. If we are not careful, our loyalty may waver to the point of wanting to stop clinging to Jehovah.

For example, King David was a man who from a very young age showed how much he loved Jehovah. And of course, Jehovah knew that he had excellent qualities to the point that, from a very young age, he chose him for an impressive position, such as being Jehovah's representative on earth and, of course, he even became the ancestor of the Messiah. King David, being so loving and loyal to God, was affected by what others did. If we examine Psalm 6:67 he expressed the following…. 

LET'S READ PSALMS 6:6,7.

I have exhausted myself from sighing so much; All night I soak my bed with tears; With my tears I flood my bed. 7 My eyes grow weak with sadness; They have lost their shine because of all those who harass me.

Examining these words we understand the emotions, strong emotions that David had due to the pressure of those who harassed him. Analyzing this text we can understand that this harassment, if it came from a person who had no feelings with David, could not affect him. He would simply ignore the situation, but here we are talking about people who had great ties with David, perhaps his children, people very close to him who were putting pressure on him. 

The point was that David was making him Jehovah. And that lack of loyalty on the part of human beings towards life was affecting the relationship with God, and that is why he was not begging for help. However, I could not think, what others do does not matter to me, I am Loyal to Jehovah and that's it.

But it's not like that. Feelings will always be affected, and there has been no loyal servant of God, none who has not been affected by the current feeling or words of another who also has knowledge of God or serves Jehovah. 

Let's think about the case of the Lord Jesus Christ. Someone who affected his feelings, without a doubt, was Satan the devil. Satan and Jesus were well known, they were in the same place Living for countless years. 

And when Satan makes his overtures, Jesus handled them excellently. But think about the last proposal that Satan makes to you, that you perform an act of worship. That must have affected him a lot, that must have reached the point of filling him today, but it must have affected him, that's why he always said, enough. They were situations or expressions that indicated how far we have come. 

And all servants of God at some point had family, friends, acquaintances, wives, husbands, who affected their feelings as happened in the case of David. And we return to the point that if this situation of harassment comes from people we do not know, perhaps in preaching or at any moment in our life, perhaps that moment we feel a little bad, but then it passes.

But, if you see the photograph in the activity guide, what happens if the one who is harassing, bothering, insulting, saying things that are false comes from another servant of God, the truth is that it affects much more there. That is the situation that one has to face and that is where one has to think and be loyal to Jehovah no matter what others do. 

What to do in these cases, in which a brother can be a precursor, an elder, a ministerial servant, even any brother who has privileges in the congregation or in the organization tells us something that hurts us. How to act? To do? Well, what did King David do? If we look at Psalm 6:2 and then 9 says that he did it…….. 

LET'S READ PSALMS 6:2-9.

Grant me your favor, O Jehovah, for I am growing weak. Heal me, O Lord, for my bones tremble.

The Lord will hear my plea; Jehovah will accept my prayer.

Reviewing verse 2, we can understand that when we turn to Jehovah in these times of such emotional pressure, we must express to Jehovah how we feel. But notice that in the verse it said because I am getting weak, Heal me because my bones are shaking. That is to say, David was very specific in what he was saying.

Returning to the activity guide, here this sister is praying to Jehovah. One can literally tell Jehovah who hurt him or who accused him of something or who affected him in some way. Jehovah knows, but we want to tell him to express it how we feel. and of course, as verse 9 said, having confidence that Jehovah will hear our prayer, that is what the sister does, here in this photograph she prays to Jehovah about the specific problem. 

It is interesting that in the definition of the word loyalty it not only speaks of adhesion, that is, attachment nothing more, because one can be with a person there, very, very close, very attached, but what if something happens that They scare both of them and they get out of that attachment, they distance themselves from each other. 

Loyalty is not only attachment, loyalty is also resistance to wanting to detach ourselves from what we have, that is what we must do with Jehovah no matter what happens, our decision is to be with him in whatever it is no matter what. happen around us, in Psalm 6:10 David said: 

LET'S READ PSALMS 6:10.  

All my enemies will be ashamed and terrified; With sudden shame they will draw back.

We want to have confidence that Jehovah is by our side. Jehovah is also Loyal, he does not want to separate himself from us and he does not want us to do so either. That is why the question contained in the activity guide is, Am I developing the faith that is needed to remain loyal to Jehovah, even when others do bad things?

Let us remember that loyalty is not only attachment to Jehovah, loyalty is also resisting to not stop being with him, and the strongest blows to stop being by Jehovah's side or attached to Jehovah always come from known people. people we love who have feelings for us or them. Like David, we want to be loyal to Jehovah no matter what others do.