Serve Jehovah Wey Be the God of Freedom

1, 2. (a) Why people for apostle Paul time know wetin e mean for person to be slave and for person to dey free? (b) Who Paul talk sey dey give real freedom?

FOR apostle time, many Christian dey stay for the place wey Rome dey rule. And Rome people like their law, the way dem dey judge matter, and the freedom wey dem get. Rome government get power well well that time. But na slave dem use do many things wey dem do. Slave many well well for the place wey Rome dey rule. E even get one time wey if you count 3 person for there, 1 for inside fit be slave. So, many people that time, and even the Christian for there, go don know wetin e mean for person to be slave and for person to dey free.

² Apostle Paul talk about freedom for the letter wey e write. Many people that time want make things change. But no be this one make Paul write those letter wey e write. Paul no think sey na human being or government go fit give person freedom. Instead, im and other Christian do wetin dem fit do to tell people about God Kingdom. And dem still help people know the better thing wey God do as e send Jesus come die for us. Paul tell the brothers and sisters about the Person wey dey give real freedom. E sey: “Jehovah na the Spirit, and where Jehovah spirit dey, freedom dey there.”—2 Cor. 3:17.

3, 4. (a) Wetin Paul talk before e talk wetin dey 2 Corinthians 3:17? (b) Wetin we go do to get the freedom wey Jehovah dey give and enjoy am?

³ Before Paul talk wetin dey 2 Corinthians 3:17, e first talk about how Moses face be after Jehovah angel talk to am for Mount Sinai. When Moses come down from the mountain, im face come dey shine like light. When the people see Moses, fear come dey catch dem. So dem come use cloth take cover Moses face. (Ex. 34:29, 30, 33; 2 Cor. 3:7, 13) But Paul talk sey, “when person come meet Jehovah, the cloth go comot.” (2 Cor. 3:16) Wetin Paul mean when e talk this one?

⁴ For the last topic, we learn sey na Jehovah be the only Person wey fit do anything wey e want, and wey get right to talk whether something good or bad. And na im make everything. Because of this one, we fit talk sey for where Jehovah dey, and for “where Jehovah spirit dey, freedom dey there.” For us to get the freedom wey Jehovah dey give, and enjoy am, we must be im tight friend. When Israel people dey wilderness, dem no see things the way Jehovah dey see am. E just be like sey dem use cloth take cover their mind and heart. As dem don free from Egypt people hand, dem see am as chance to do wetin dem like and to follow only wetin their body want.—Heb. 3:8-10.

5. (a) Which kind freedom Jehovah spirit dey give us? (b) How we take know sey person fit get the freedom wey Jehovah dey give, even if e dey prison or e be slave? (c) Which question we go talk about?

⁵ The freedom wey God spirit dey give pass the freedom wey person wey dem free as slave get. Jehovah spirit dey give freedom wey pass the kind freedom wey any person fit get. E fit free us from sin and death. E fit still free us from fake religion and the things wey dem dey do. (Rom. 6:23; 8:2) Na better freedom this one really be! Person fit enjoy this kind freedom even if e dey prison or dem dey use am as slave. (Gen. 39:20-23) The story of Sister Nancy Yuen and Brother Harold King show sey na true. Dem put two of dem for prison because dem no gree leave Jehovah. You fit see their story for JW Broadcasting. (Check under INTERVIEWS AND EXPERIENCES > ENDURING TRIALS.) E get two question wey we go talk about. (1) How we go take show sey we value the freedom wey Jehovah give us? (2) Wetin go help us use our freedom well?

SHOW SEY YOU VALUE THE FREEDOM WEY GOD GIVE YOU

6. How Israel people take show sey dem no value the freedom wey Jehovah give dem?

⁶ If person give us gift wey get value well well, we go show the person sey we value wetin e do for us. But Israel people no value wetin Jehovah do for dem as e free dem from slave life wey dem dey live for Egypt. E no tey, dem come dey think about the food wey dem dey chop before for Egypt. Dem come dey complain about the food wey Jehovah dey give dem, and dem even talk sey dem want go back to Egypt. Just think am, Israel people come like fish, cucumber, watermelon, leek, onion, and garlic pass the freedom wey Jehovah give dem to worship am. No wonder Jehovah vex for dem well well. (Num. 11:5, 6, 10; 14:3, 4) This na lesson for us!

7. How Paul take follow the advice wey e give for 2 Corinthians 6:1, and how we go take copy im example?

⁷ Apostle Paul tell all Christian sey make dem no play with the freedom wey Jehovah don use Jesus give dem. (Read 2 Corinthians 6:1.) Remember how e pain Paul for body sey e be slave to sin and death. But e later talk sey: “I dey thank God through Jesus Christ wey be our Lord!” Wetin make am talk this one? E sey, “the law of the spirit wey dey give life together with Jesus Christ, don free you from the law of sin and death.” (Rom. 7:24, 25; 8:2) Make we self be like Paul. Make we no ever play with wetin Jehovah do for us as e free us from sin and death. Jesus death don make us get clean conscience as we dey serve God. And this one dey make us happy well well.—Ps. 40:8.

8, 9. (a) Which warning apostle Peter give us about how we go take use our freedom? (b) Which trap fit catch us today?

⁸ We need to show sey we value the freedom wey Jehovah give us. Apart from that one, we no go use our freedom anyhow. Apostle Peter warn us sey make we no use the freedom wey God give us as excuse to do bad things. (Read 1 Peter 2:16.) This thing wey apostle Peter talk no remind you of wetin happen to Israel people for wilderness? Wetin happen to Israel people fit still happen to us today. And maybe we even need to dey careful pass dem. Satan and the people for this world dey bring different different things come out. Some of this things na cloth, hairstyle, food, drink, and things wey people take dey enjoy theirself. People wey dey sell things dey use fine fine people take advertise wetin dem dey sell. Dem dey do this one so that people go dey buy am, even if dem no need am. If we no dey careful, we fit fall for their trap, and use our freedom anyhow.

⁹ Wetin apostle Peter talk still concern other matter wey serious pass the one wey we talk before. Some of dem na, the kind school wey we want go, the kind work wey we want do, and how we want do the work reach. Dem dey push many young people today to do everything wey dem fit do to get admission for better university. People dey tell dem sey if dem go school, dem go get better work. Dem go come get money, and people go dey respect dem. Dem fit still show dem things wey go make dem believe sey na person wey go university dem dey pay pass person wey go secondary school. This school matter dey enter young people eye, when dem want choose wetin dem go use their life do. But wetin e good make young people and their papa and mama get for mind?

10. Wetin we suppose get for mind when we want choose wetin we go do?

¹⁰ Na person go choose wetin e want do for this kind matter. So some people fit dey think sey dem fit choose anything wey dem like so far their conscience no worry dem. Dem fit dey think about wetin apostle Paul talk when e sey: “Why another person conscience go judge the freedom wey I get?” (1 Cor. 10:29) Na true sey we dey free to choose wetin we want do for school matter, and the kind work wey we want do. But e good make we remember sey our freedom get where e reach. And make we still get am for mind sey good thing or bad thing dey come out of anything wey we do. Na this one make apostle Paul talk sey: “We dey free to do anything, but no be everything good dey come out from. We dey free to do anything, but no be everything fit help other people.” (1 Cor. 10:23) This one really show sey e get other things wey matter pass wetin we like. And we need to put this one for mind when we dey choose anything wey we want do.

USE YOUR FREEDOM TAKE SERVE GOD

11. Wetin make God free us?

¹¹ When apostle Peter warn us sey make we no use our freedom anyhow, e still tell us the better thing wey we suppose use am do. E sey make we use our freedom “like person wey be God slave.” God use Jesus take free us from sin and death because e want make we use all our life take serve am.

12. Wetin we learn from the example of Noah and im family?

¹² The best way to use our freedom na to dey use our time and power take serve Jehovah well. This one go help us no put hand for things wey people for this world dey pursue, and wey dem like. (Gal. 5:16) Think about wetin Noah and im family do. The people for their time dey put hand for sex matter wey bad for God eye, and katakata full everywhere. But Noah and im family no put hand for the things wey people dey do that time. Wetin help dem? Dem put body for the work wey Jehovah give dem. Dem build the ark, gather food for theirself and the animal, and tell people wetin God talk. Bible tell us sey: “Noah come do all the things wey God command am. Na so e just do.” (Gen. 6:22) Na this one make Noah and im family survive when Jehovah destroy the bad people that time.—Heb. 11:7.

13. Which work Jehovah give Jesus wey Jesus still give us?

¹³ Wetin God sey make we do today? As people wey dey follow Jesus, we know sey Jehovah send Jesus to preach and Jesus still tell us sey make we go preach. (Read Luke 4:18, 19.) Today, Satan don cover plenty people eye. Dem no know sey dem be slave to fake religion and money. Satan still dey make dem dey follow how people dey do things for their community, and dem dey try to change how things be. (2 Cor. 4:4) Like Jesus, we dey help people know Jehovah and serve am. This one na really better work wey the God of freedom don give us. (Matt. 28:19, 20) This work no easy, and we dey face wahala as we dey do am. For some place, people no want hear anything about God, and some dey vex when we go preach to dem. The question wey we need to ask ourself na, ‘I go fit use my freedom take do more for Jehovah work?’

14, 15. Wetin many brothers and sisters dey do to preach more? (Go check the first picture.)

¹⁴ Plenty people wey dey serve Jehovah don really see sey this world go soon end, and dem dey live simple life so that dem go fit pioneer. This one dey make us happy. (1 Cor. 9:19, 23) Some dey serve as pioneer for their congregation, and some dey pack go where dem need more people to preach. Since five years now, e don pass 250,000 people wey don start to dey pioneer. And the number of regular pioneer don pass 1,100,000. We happy well well sey this people dey use their freedom to serve Jehovah like this.—Ps. 110:3.

¹⁵ Wetin help this brothers and sisters to use their freedom well? Make we talk about one brother and sister wey be husband and wife. Their name na John and Judith. For 30 years wey don pass, dem don travel go do Jehovah work for different country. Dem remember when Pioneer School start for 1977. That time, dem dey tell pioneer for the school sey make dem try go area wey dem need more people to preach. This husband and wife follow this advice. The husband change work many times to make sure sey dem continue to live simple life. Later dem pack go another country. But e get some things wey no easy for dem like, to learn new language, how people for there dey do things, and the weather. Wetin help dem? Dem pray to Jehovah and trust am sey e go help dem. Better thing come out from the time wey dem spend for Jehovah work? The husband sey: “I don see sey wetin better pass na for person to put body for Jehovah work. And I don really see sey Jehovah love me like papa wey love im pikin. I don understand wetin dey James 4:8 pass before. That place talk sey: ‘Make una come near God and im go near una.’ I don see wetin go make me happy for life and na wetin I don dey find be this.”

16. Wetin some brothers and sisters do wey show sey dem dey use their freedom well?

¹⁶ No be everybody dey fit pioneer for many years like John and Judith. Some people dey only get chance to pioneer for some time. Many brothers and sisters dey join build place like Kingdom Hall for different part of the world. For example, when dem dey build our headquarter for Warwick, wey dey New York, na about 27,000 brothers and sisters join hand do the work. Some work for like two weeks, some months, one year, and some even work pass one year. This brothers and sisters leave wetin dem dey do before to join the work. All of dem na better example of people wey use their freedom take praise Jehovah!

17. Wetin we go gain for front if we dey use our freedom well?

¹⁷ We happy well well sey we dey serve Jehovah, and we dey enjoy the freedom wey e give us. Make wetin we dey choose show sey we value the freedom wey Jehovah give us. Make we no use am anyhow or use am do wetin no good. Instead, make we look for how we go take use our freedom take give Jehovah our best. If we do this one, wetin God promise us for Romans 8:21 go reach our hand. That place talk sey: “The things wey God don make go free from sin come get the freedom wey God pikin dem get.”