JW subtitle extractor

Let’s consider together
the context of today’s text,
and from there we can extract
a key principle for all of us.
So let’s please read
1 Kings chapter 1 verse—
1 Kings chapter 2, (sorry).
And in verse 1, we have the setting
—notice 1 Kings 2:1, the setting:
“When the time
of David’s death drew near,
he gave his son Solomon
these instructions.”
So these are David’s parting words,
verse 2, which is today’s text:
“Be strong and prove yourself a man.”
But notice in verse 3,
there we’ll find a key principle.
So David goes on to say:
“You must keep your obligation
to Jehovah your God
“by walking in his ways
and by observing his statutes.”
And he went on.
So we can stop there.
So if we were to summarize thus far
what David said with one word,
what would it be?
Obedience.
So if Solomon was
(if Solomon was) obedient,
what would be the result?
Notice the latter part of verse 3.
David goes on to say:
“Then [the effect of obedience]
“you will succeed in everything you do
and everywhere you turn.”
Powerful.
So here’s our key principle then:
Obedience always
leads to success,
and that was true in the case of Solomon.
As long as he was obedient,
he was successful.
But now let’s apply this principle
in the life of Daniel
and see how it also
proved to be successful,
the principle applied in his life.
So let’s, please, turn to Daniel chapter 1.
We’ll apply the principle
in the context of Daniel arriving in Babylon.
And we’re also going to see
how Daniel’s actions
then can mirror the actions
of Hospital Liaison Committees worldwide.
So in Daniel chapter 1,
let’s see the principle again.
So in verse 8,
notice Daniel’s determination
to be obedient to Jehovah.
At Daniel 1:8, we read:
“But Daniel resolved in his heart
that he would not defile himself
with the king’s delicacies.”
Well, why did he not want to eat
the king’s delicacies?
Probably some of the meat
was not properly bled.
So Daniel wanted to obey
God’s law on blood.
The same with us.
We are determined to obey
Jehovah’s law on blood.
But in order for Daniel
to be resolved to be obedient,
he realized he would need assistance.
So, what did he do?
The verse goes on to say:
“So he asked the principal court official
for permission
not to defile himself in this way.”
And the same is true today.
In order to obey God’s law on blood,
we need assistance
from doctors who are able
and who are willing
to respect our stand on blood.
Now the verse says that “[Daniel]
asked the . . . court official.”
Do you think he asked only once?
Interestingly, the Reference Bible says
that Daniel “kept” asking—“kept” asking.
And the same is true today.
Because of the tireless efforts of the HLCs
to build and maintain
relationships with doctors,
the arrangement
has proved to be successful.
And that was also true
in the case of Daniel.
Notice in verse 9 what we read.
Verse 9 goes on to say:
“And the true God caused
“the principal court official
to show Daniel favor
[according to the footnote,
“kindness”] and mercy.”
Daniel was successful,
and sure enough
because of the hard work of HLCs
around the world for many years,
we now have upward
of over 100,000 doctors worldwide
who are willing to treat
Jehovah’s Witnesses
with respect on their stand on blood.
Now notice verse 10.
There is a change, though,
in verse 10.
Verse 10 says: “But the principal
court official said to Daniel:
‘I am afraid of my lord the king’”
—so a change of mind,
a change of his position.
And that happens to us today.
Sometimes doctors
may be hesitant to treat a Witness patient.
What could be the cause?
Well, it could be a lack of experience,
a lack of equipment,
or sometimes they just
want to stick to protocols
established by the administration.
It was similar in the case
of the court official
that said: ‘I don’t want to
disobey the king.’
Now, did Daniel just give up?
‘Well, Jehovah, I did my best
to be obedient, but what can I do?’
Well, he did not give up.
Please note what verse 11 says:
“But Daniel said to the guardian
whom the principal court official
had appointed.”
So he spoke to someone else.
Similarly today, the HLC members
do not limit themselves
to just a few cooperative doctors.
They keep knocking on doors.
They keep searching for doctors
who are willing to treat us
with respect to Jehovah’s law.
And what was the result?
In verse 12, so Daniel, (verse 12)
notice what he tells the guardian.
It says: “Please, test your servants
for ten days.”
So Daniel is making a presentation
to this guardian, saying:
‘There’s a different approach.
Can we try something different?’
The same with the HLCs.
Can we try something different than blood,
a different modality, a different approach?
And what was the result?
In verse 13, the guardian
agreed to their proposal
and tested them for ten days.
Similarly, today, HLC members
are making presentations.
In fact, in recent years, (we have provided)
the organization has provided
a new PowerPoint presentation to the HLCs
to make presentations to doctors.
And we’ll show you
the first three slides of this presentation.
So slide number 1
is really a call to doctors:
“We want a collaborative approach.
“We want to avoid confrontation.
We want to foster cooperation.”
In slide number 2, at times,
the position of Witnesses and that of doctors
can seem to be on different sides.
But the purpose of the presentation,
the purpose of the arrangement,
is to bridge the gap
(next slide please, bridge the gap)
between doctors and Witness patients.
And we’re happy to say
this has really been very useful to the HLCs.
Thank you for the slides.
And in the U.S. branch territory alone,
in the past year, over 3,600 presentations
have been made to doctors
showing them a different approach
that they can use to treat Witness patients.
So it’s, it’s—
We saw the principle in the case of Daniel.
He was obedient,
and Jehovah blessed his obedience.
The same is true today.
Jehovah has blessed our obedience
to abstain from blood.
By means of the HLC arrangement,
their effort and tireless work
has yielded good results,
having doctors who are willing
to care for our needs.
Now, a question for you and for me:
How can we support
this beautiful arrangement,
this loving arrangement,
and this powerful arrangement
that Jehovah has put in place?
There are two things we can do.
Number one, we want to follow the direction
that the Governing Body provided to us
just over two years ago.
You remember the announcement
that was made in January 2023,
where we were encouraged
to contact the HLC as early as possible
when we face a medical situation,
even if we don’t think blood will be an issue
because earlier is better.
And we’re happy to see that worldwide
the friends are following this direction.
And the result is that
the number of emergencies has come down.
And that is so heartwarming.
We are saving lives.
We’re saving lives.
And this is particularly true
when it comes to pregnant sisters
because when you think of pregnancies,
not just one life is involved, but two lives.
So early consultation of HLC
has yielded good results.
One case we have is in Africa.
A sister, a pregnant sister,
and her husband contacted the HLC.
They were (they were) put in contact
with a cooperative doctor.
And sure enough, in the first trimester,
everything went well.
In the second trimester,
everything went well.
But in the third trimester,
the sister started to have complications,
and they contacted the doctor.
The doctor was on vacation,
but he left his vacation,
put an end to his vacation,
to come to take care of our dear sister.
And the doctor went on to say,
“It’s a good thing you contacted me
because your life
and that of the child was at risk.”
So it’s heartwarming to see
that this obedience
to Jehovah’s organization’s direction
is yielding good results.
So (1) How we can support?
Contact the HLC as early as possible.
And we want to encourage the friends
in our congregations to do so as well.
(2) Let’s pray for these brothers
and their families.
When you think about it,
how much would we pay someone
to be on call 24/7?
How much would we pay?
But this is a reality for HLC members.
So how we are grateful to Jehovah
and to these brothers and their families
for their self-sacrificing spirit
in helping us to obey God’s law on blood
which has yielded good results!
So we saw the principle
in the case of Daniel.
He was obedient and blessings resulted.
We are obedient today,
following Jehovah’s direction,
following his law,
and we are blessed.
So let’s remember this principle:
Obedience always leads to success.

Betty Georges: Obedience Always Leads to Success (1 Ki. 2:3)