[0:00]We now invite brother Ernest Wilson to give a memorial talk entitled appreciate what God and Christ have done for us. Brother Wilson you have our attention.
[0:27]First of all, we'd like to welcome all to the memorial of Christ death. The reason why we're here, we're here to show our appreciation for the love shown by Jehovah God and his son Jesus Christ. On this date almost 2,000 years ago, Jesus gave his life to open the opportunity for us to gain everlasting life. And he asked one thing from us. Turn with me to Luke chapter 22. And we're going to take a look at the what what Jesus asked from us. Now, as we turn to Luke chapter 22, just imagine the setting. Jesus has just celebrated the Passover. Now the Passover is an annual celebration that the Jews had every year. So at this meal they had roasted lamb, bitter greens, unleven bread, and at his time, some red wine. Now, right after he celebrated the Passover, this annual event, he instituted something new. If you look at Luke chapter 22, and we're going to look at verse 19. It says, also he took a loaf, gave thanks, broke it, and gave it to them, saying, This means my body, which is to be given in your behalf. Now take note, keep doing this in remembrance of me. Also he did the same with the cup after they had the evening meal, saying, This cup means the new Covenant by virtue of my blood, which is to be poured out in your behalf. Yes, Jesus commanded his disciples to remember his loving act in a simple ceremony. 2,000 years ago. So in obedience to Jesus' command, millions around the world will observe the Lord's evening meal tonight. They will meet in Kingdom Halls. Right now, we have two congregations that meet at the Kingdom Hall, we normally meet at. There are Assembly Halls, at the Assembly Hall we normally go to, there are five congregations that will be meeting there. And private homes, we have some right within our congregation due to COVID protocols, they're at home, they're following the Memorial celebration. And rented facilities, that's where we are right now, at Roxboro Middle School. But even in prisons and open fields. It is so important to observe the memorial of Christ's death. In some countries where our work is banned, appreciative ones who are risk their freedom in order to obey Jesus' command. Last year, me, just tonight to be here, many of us had to make some sacrifices. It warms our heart when we look around the room and see some individuals that we haven't seen in two to three years. Why? Because of health problems. But they took this opportunity to be here, to be present. We have individuals right now on our Zoom who are in the hospital, a dear brother, a close brother of ours. He's in the hospital. But he felt the importance to be on Zoom, to be a part of this memorial. So many have made adjustments to be here. But last year, there were 19,721,762 who observed the Lord's evening meal worldwide. But tonight, as we observe the Lord's evening meal, we're going to consider four questions. Now, we're going to really hone in on these questions. The first question is, how does Jesus' death open the way to everlasting life? Who benefit from Jesus' loving sacrifice? Who should partake of the bread and the wine that's here before us? And then finally, besides attending this meeting, what else can we do to show our appreciation? So we're going to get right into that first question. How does Jesus' death open the way to everlasting life? Well, to understand, we have to go back in time. We have to go back all the way to the beginning of human creation, with the first man Adam. Now, when we think about Adam and his wife Eve, can you think about the prospects that was laid out before them? They had the prospects of living on this Earth in a paradise Earth forever under righteous conditions. His enjoyment of everlasting life only depended on one thing. It's just depending on human obedience to Jehovah. But unfortunately, Adam disobeyed. Now, notice what it cost us. If you open your Bibles, we can look at Romans chapter 5. In Romans chapter 5, and notice here in verse 12.
[5:56]It says, That is why just as through one man, that's Adam, sin entered into the world and death through sin. And so death spread to all men, because they had all sinned. Yes, because of Adam's disobedience, it caused a defect in humans. Now, we suffer with what? Sin and death. We inherited it. Just this morning, I had to go to the doctor, and when I went to the doctor, the doctor asked me all these questions. Not about me, but they want to know in your family, do they have diabetes? Do they have heart disease? Do they have these different things? And the reason why they wanted to ask me those questions is because they want to make sure I didn't inherit anything from my relative, because they want to treat me. They want to make sure that they cover all the tests. Well, they didn't have to test me for what? Sin and death, because right now, there was no cure for it. There's no cure. But man has come up with ways to help us to deal with things, but they don't have a cure for sin or death. But are we at a loss? Could honest, right-hearted individuals of Adam be rescued from this sad condition? Well, yes they could. But notice first in Romans chapter 5, yes they could. By two of the greatest acts of love. Now, when we think about the first greatest act of love, we think of the scripture at John 3:16. Where it says, God loved the world so much, he gave his only begotten son. So here, Jesus was with his Father Jehovah for eons of time. And Jehovah willingly gave up his son in our behalf. That's the first great act of love. Now the second greatest act of love is shown in John 15:13. Now these are Jesus' own words, where he says, No one has greater love than this, that someone should surrender his life in behalf of his friends. Now, when you think about a scripture like that, that makes what Jesus did for mankind a little bit more personal. Because at this point, when Jesus gave up his life for his friends, he's talking about who? He's talking about us as his friends. So Jehovah made the first provision so that we can have life. What Jesus gave was equal to what Adam had lost, a perfect human life. Adam sent his descendants to the path of destruction, but here, if you have kept your Bibles open in Romans chapter 5, notice in verse 19 what's highlighted here. Romans 5:19, For just as through the disobedience of the one man, many were made sinners. So also through the obedience of the one person, many will be made righteous. Now, isn't it a contrast to earlier what we read in Romans 5:12, through one man sent into the world and death through sin? Now, through one man, because of his act, we can be declared righteous. But we might ask ourselves, that's all good, but why did Jesus have to die? Well, the thing is with Jesus, he was different from us. Jesus didn't have any type of sin. He didn't die for any type of wrong that he committed. He was flawless. But Jesus, he took our place. He suffered death for us so that we could live forever. Don't it warm your heart to think that Jesus, in fact, changed places with us so that we can have life? It makes it more personal. But life where, in heaven or Earth? Well, before we get into next that question, that next part, we're going to review this first question. How does Jesus' death open the way to everlasting life? Jesus, in effect, changed places with us so that we can have life. That's the first part of growing our appreciation for what Christ has done for us. So now as we get into that second question, who benefit from Jesus' loving sacrifice? Well, the Bible describes two destinies for our hopes for faithful humans. A limited number will receive everlasting life in heaven. But the vast majority will enjoy life on a paradise Earth, according to God's original purpose for mankind. Isn't it wonderful that Jehovah's purpose for mankind never changed? But he has two provisions. In Revelation, if you turn with me, chapter 14, it talks about that limited number. In Revelation chapter 14, notice verse one. It says, Then I saw a look, the lamb standing on Mount Zion, and with him 144,000 who have his name and the name of his father written on their foreheads. Yes, the Bible tells us a number of that limited number. It says it will be 144,000, and these will rule with Jesus Christ in his heavenly kingdom. Now, how should we understand this? Well, when we think about a kingdom, we can compare kingdom to a government. And just like most governments, they have a fixed number of persons who share and rule with him. Just like us, we live in the United States, but all of us don't what? We don't share and rule. Well, we have representatives. Well, that's the same way with those who are part of the 144,000. They will represent individuals from the Earth in the heavens. So that tells us, last year there were 19 million people that was at the Memorial. So that tell us that the majority of the people that are at the Memorial last year does not have the heavenly hope. But are we without loss, those ones who have the hope for the for Earth? They look forward, we look forward to the blessings that God has in store. We're going to just take a couple of minutes and we're going to just meditate on some of those provisions that God has in store for us. We're going to look at two scriptures. The first one's found in Isaiah chapter 35.
[13:13]In Isaiah 35, try to imagine this scene. Look at verse five. It says, at that time, the eyes of the blind will be open, and the ears of the death will be unstopped. At that time, the lame will leap like the deer, and the tongue of the speechless will shout for joy. For waters will burst forth in the wilderness and streams in the desert plain. Now, can you get the big picture here? We're talking about a time period where there'll be no more hospitals, there'll be no more wars, there'll be no more uh blind centers. There'll be no more things that cause harm. And that later part in verse 6, where it says, waters will burst forth in the wilderness. For us in this audience, we have a wonderful provision. We can walk right out this auditorium, walk up to a water fountain and drink water, right? But in certain parts of the world, they can't do that. The water is only used for washing hands and clothes because if they drink that water, they will get sick. It will be deathly ill. But now, how can we bring this even closer? That's a big picture. How can the scripture when we meditate, how can we think of this in our personal life? Well, have you ever heard a person say, I don't remember when. What I mean by that? Well, let me give you an example. I remember when I used to could walk to the edge of this this stage and just jump down. But now I'm going to have to think about it. I'm going to really have to think about it. I know a brother in our congregation, he's he talks about how he could take a ball and and dunk the ball. But now, he can't even bend his arm. I know a gentleman who who I used to watch him use a sledgehammer, just bust up cement. But now he can't raise his arms over his head. We look forward to a time when we say, I remember when I couldn't do that, but look at me now. I remember when I didn't have to I used to have to wear glasses to see the back of the room. But now, I don't even have glasses. I remember what I used to wear a hearing aid, but I don't need them anymore. That's what Jehovah has in store for those who will possess the Earth. Now, let's look at it a little bit more. Turn to Isaiah 65.
[16:06]Look at verses 21 and 22. It says, They will build houses and live in them, and they will plant vineyards and eat their fruitage. They would not build for someone else to inhabit, nor would they plant for others to eat. They would enjoy the full. Now, this prophecy, just think, there'll be a time where we don't have to worry about mortgage payments, rent, eviction notices. We'll have a time period where we're living in our own houses. We'll be able to design and build a house to our liking. One of the saddest things in the world is to watch a person spend 30 years on paying for a house, and they have a sense of pride, I own my house. Well, what happens to that house? It started to deteriorate. And then all of a sudden they have to invest more into the house. Then the next thing you know, if they don't watch it, the taxes increase. Then the next thing you know, they got to sell the house. But here, Jehovah says it will be yours. And then it says that your days of my people will be like the days of a tree. Now, I think about where I grew up and and where I grew up, this is tree, this is two houses down from my parents. Now that tree is a sycamore tree. But this tree, it just grows every year. Now I'm 52 years old. I have no idea how long that tree has been there. But I can guarantee you, 50 years from now, that tree will still be there. That's how people will look at us. They'll try to wonder, how long have you been here? That's the hope that God gave us. Those are true blessings that he gave for those that's on Earth. So we're not second class or we're at a loss if you don't have the heavenly hope. Jesus gave us a glimpse of what that life will be like. Because when he was on the Earth, what did Jesus do? He went around, he healed people, and he even raised the dead. So he showed us what this would look like, but eventually, what happened to those people? Well, they eventually got sick and they died. But under God's new Earth, that won't happen. A person will live forever. Jehovah, he longs to reverse the effects of Adam's sin on the human race. But the key is, Jehovah place no limit on those ones who will be there. If you turn with me to Revelation chapter 7, notice here in verse 9. Revelation 7 verse 9. It says, After this, I saw and look, a great crowd which no man was able to number of all nations and tribes and peoples and tongues, standing before the throne and before the lamb, dressed in white robes. And there were palm branches in their hands, and they keep shouting with a loud voice, saying, salvation, we owe to our God, who is seated on the throne, and to the lamb. That's unimaginable. The Bible describes that there will be a great crowd. But did you notice who will make up that great crowd? People from all races and cultures and walks of life. Jehovah is not partial. Those ones who are willing to serve him, that's a true blessing that they have. So those ones who have the Earthly hope, they are no way less important or less valuable to God. They are still precious to him. When I describe those things to you, is this your hope? Can you see yourself there? Can you see yourself living as a part of that new new Earth? Well, I hope so, because Jehovah wants you to be there. The key is, we can all decide whether or not we will serve God. But as where we will serve him in the future, it's up to him to decide. He is the one who will decide who will rule with Christ and those who will who will be on the Earth. Jehovah will determine the best place for us to serve. So when we think about that second question, who benefit from Jesus' loving sacrifice? A limited number will receive everlasting life in heaven, a total of 144,000. But the vast majority will enjoy life on a paradise Earth, according to God's original purpose for mankind. Isn't that a reason why we should have appreciation for what Jehovah and Jesus has done for us? So now we're going to move into our third question. We had this bread and wine before us. There's a bunch of us here. Who should partake of the bread and the wine? Well, we recognize that both those with the heavenly hope and those with the Earthly hope benefit from Jesus' sacrifice. They all benefit from it. However, those with the Earthly hope do not partake of the Emberals. But why not? Because we're all here. Well, the night that Jesus instituted that memorial of his death with those who with those, he made a Covenant or agreement or solemn promise with them for his heavenly kingdom. He wanted them to be a part of his ruling government. That's the ones and that is a limited amount of people to 144,000.
[22:10]So you remember how it started in 1914 33 CE, started with 11. So between there and now, that's where the 144,000 came from. So that number has dwindled. It's gotten smaller each year. We understand how that works. Because for us, sometimes we are just observers of other things. Like for example, if you go to a wedding, only the couple is involved in the vows. But what happens to the rest of us? We're joyful observers, we're celebrating. That's the same way we are with those ones who have the heavenly hope. We're joyful observers. So we give them there their support. But how does someone know whether he or she has been chosen by God for heavenly life? Do we ask someone? Do we have just a a feeling? Does someone just kind of tell us, hey, you look like you should be a part of the 144,000? Well, it's a lot deeper than it. Notice here in Romans chapter 8. It's wonderful that the Bible gives us clear answers to these things. Romans chapter 8, and notice here in verse 15. It says, For you did not receive a spirit of slavery causing fear again. But you received a spirit of adoption as sons by which spirit we cry out Abba, Father. The spirit itself bears witness with our spirit that we are God's children. If then we are children of God, but joint heirs with Christ, provided we suffer together so that we may also be glorified together. The answer is clear here. How does a person know? God's Holy Spirit, his powerful Holy Spirit will notify that person that they are part of the 144,000. So it's not just a feeling. It's not where someone thinks that a person should qualify to be a part of the 144,000. We can't work our way to that room. It's Jehovah's choosing. He chooses and he uses his Holy Spirit to notify a person. How serious is that? Well, we're going to go back in time. We're going to go back to the days of Moses and and Aaron. Now, when Moses walked the Earth, Jehovah set aside Aaron and his sons as the priest in Israel. But other people felt that they were just as spiritual. That they should have been able, hey, we know just as much as Aaron. So these ones were presumptuous, and they says, hey, we want that that the the priesthood. Well, what did Jehovah do? Unfortunately, those ones lost their lives directly by Jehovah for trying to take something that wasn't theirs. Well, that's the same way when it comes to the heavenly hope. We don't guess, we don't look for a person to tell us, if we even have an inkling of whether or not whether or not we have a heavenly hope or not, then that means that we're not part of the heavenly hope. But you sat there, if you heard those scriptures that we were in Isaiah 35, five and six, and you can close your eyes and you can imagine yourself in that new Earth. And that's your hope. That's the hope, and it's a wonderful hope for us. So, the question again, on on this is, when the question is, who should partake of the bread and the wine? Those who partake of the bread and the wine tonight should be only the few remaining ones of that number who will rule with Christ in heaven. Now this is going to be really important, because soon when Jesus comes during the Great Tribulation, he will gather his remaining chosen ones to heaven. And the the observance of the Memorial will cease. It will no longer occur. Could this be the last Memorial? I don't know, so don't I'm not saying anything. But the thing is, we don't know. Well, eventually, one of these memorials that we are at will be the last one. When Jesus will pull those last remaining of the 144,000 to heaven with him when he bring judgment on the Earth. So that's the reason why this is a very serious matter when it comes to who should partake of the bread and the wine. So now, it comes to a pivotal point in the evening. We have the opportunity to observe the memorial of Christ's death. Now, the way we're going to do it, we're going to follow the same pattern Jesus said for observing the Memorial. And for those who are new, this is what's going to happen. We're going to read the scriptures that describes what Jesus did that night. And we're going to follow the same pattern. We're going to ask brothers to say a prayer over the bread, and then we're going to say a prayer over the wine, and we're going to pass the wine. So to get into this, please turn with me to 1st Corinthians chapter 11. And you can leave your Bibles open here.
[28:11]First Corinthians chapter 11, verse 23 and 24. It says, For I received from the Lord what I also handed on to you, that the Lord Jesus on the night on which he was going to be betrayed, took a loaf. And after giving thanks, he broke it and said, This means my body, which is in your behalf. Keep doing this in remembrance of me. So similar to Jesus, he offered a prayer, and he passed his bread to his 11 faithful apostles. Now this bread, this unleven bread, it represents Jesus' sinless body. And then he said a prayer. So now we're going to invite brother Leroy Williams to offer a prayer, and then we're going to follow the same steps as they did.
