watchtower: you can be god's friend! - 2000

8/20/2019 Watchtower: You Can Be God's Friend! - 2000

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YOU CAN BE

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God Invites You to Become His Friend 1

God Is the Best Friend You Could Ever Have 2

You Need to Learn About God 3

How You Can Learn About God 4

God’s Friends Will Live in Paradise 5 Paradise Is Near! 6

A Warning From the Past 7

Who Are God’s Enemies? 8

Who Are God’s Friends? 9

How to Find the True Religion 10

Reject False Religion! 11

What Happens at Death? 12

Magic and Witchcraft Are Bad 13 God’s Friends Avoid What Is Bad 14

God’s Friends Do What Is Good 15

Show Your Love for God 16

To Keep a Friend, You Must Be a Friend 17

Be God’s Friend Forever! 18

TABLE OF CONTENTS LESSON

˘ 2000Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society of Pennsylvania

PublishersWatchtower Bible and Tract Society of New York, Inc.

Brooklyn, New York, U.S.A.

January 2014 PrintingThis publication is not for sale.

It is provided as part of a worldwide Bible educationalwork supported by voluntary donations.

Unless otherwise indicated, Scripture quotations arefrom the modern-language New World Translation of

the Holy Scriptures—With References.

You Can Be God’s Friend!English ( gf -E)

Made in the United States of America

God wants you to be his friend. Have you ever thought tcould be a f riend of the greatest Person in the universe? Abwho lived long ago, was called God’s friend. (James 2:23)spoken of in the Bible also enjoyed God’s friendship and we

ly blessed. Today, people from all parts of the earth have friends of God. You too can be God’s friend.

Being a friend of God is better than being a friend of a ny human. God never disappointshis loyal friends. (Psalm 18:25) Being a friend of God is better than having riches. When a richperson dies, his money goes to others. However,those who enjoy friendship with Godhave a trea-sure that no one can take away.—Matthew 6:19.

Some people may try to stop you from learn-

ing about God. Even some of your friends andfamily may do this. (Matthew 10:36, 37) If oth-ers laugh at you or threaten you, ask yourself,‘Whom do I want to please—humans or God?’Think about this: If someone told you to stopeating, would you obey him? Of course not! Youneed food to live. But God can make you live for-ever! So never let anyone stop you from learninghow you can be a friend of God.—John 17:3.

L E S S O N

GOD INVITES Y OU TO BECOME HIS F


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Becoming God’s friend is the best thing that could ever happen to you. God will teach you how to behappy and secure; he will free youfrom many wrong beliefs and harm-ful practices. He will listen to yourprayers. He will help you to enjoy in-ner peace and confidence. (Psalm 71:5;73:28) God will support you duringtimes of trouble. (Psalm 18:18) AndGod offers you his gift of everlastinglife.—Romans 6:23.

As you draw close to God, you willdraw close to friends of God. They will become your friends too. In fact,they will be like brothers and sistersto you. They will be happy to teachyou about God and will helpyou andencourage you.

We are not equal to God. As youseek God’s friendship, you must un-derstand an important fact. Friend-ship with God is not a friendshipbetween equals. He is far older andwiser and is more powerful than we

are. He is our rightful Ruler. So if wewant to be his friend, we must listento him and do what he tells us to do.This will always work for our good.—Isaiah 48:18.

L E S S O N 2

GOD IS THE BEST F RIEND Y OU COULD E VER HAVE

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To be God’s friend, you need toabout him. Do your friends knoname and use it? They do. God wato know and use his name too. God

is Jehovah. (Psalm 83:18; Matthew 6must also learn what he likes and d You need to know who his friends who his enemies are. It takes timto know someone. The Bible says twise to set aside time to learn abou

vah.—Ephesians 5:15, 16.

God’s friends do what is pleasingThink about your friends. If you trebadly and do the things that they h

they continue to be your friends? Onot! In the same way, if you wanGod’s friend, you need to do what iing to him.—John 4:24.

Not all religions lead to friendshipwith God. Jesus, who is God’s closestfriend, spoke of two roads. One road iswide and is filled with people. That roadleads to destruction. The other road is

narrow and has few people traveling on it.That road leads to everlasting life. Thismeans that if you want to have God’sfriendship, you must learn the correctway to worship him.—Matthew 7:13, 14.

L E S S O N

Y OU NEED TO L EARN ABOUT


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You can learn about Jehovah by read-ing the Bible. Long ago God picked cer-tain humans to write down his thoughts.Those writings are called the Bible. Today we learn about God by reading the Bi-ble. Because the Bible contains Jehovah’sword, or message, it is also called God’sWord. We can believe what the Bible saysbecause Jehovah never lies. “It is impossi-ble for God to lie.” (Hebrews 6:18) God’sWord contains the truth.—John 17:17.

The Bible is one of God’s most pre-cious gifts to us. It is like a letter from a loving father to his children. It tells usabout God’s promise to change the earthinto a wonderful place to live—a paradise.

It tells us what he has done in the past,what he is doing now, and what he will doin the future for his faithful children. Italso helps us to solve our problems and tofind happiness.—2 Timothy 3:16, 17.

L E S S O N 4

HOW Y OU CAN L EARN ABOUT GOD

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Je hovah ’s Witnesses are fr ieGod; they will help you undewhat the Bible teaches. Just tethat you want to study the Bibldo not charge money for this. (M10:8) In addition, you can attendtian meetings. These are held in pworship called Kingdom Halls. If

tend Christian meetings, you willgrow in your knowledge of God.

You can le ar n about God from th ethings he has made. For example, the Bi-ble says: “God created the heavens and theearth.” (Genesis 1:1) When Jehovah creat-ed “the heavens,” he made the sun. Now what does that tell us about God? It tellsus that Jehovah has great power. Only he

could make something as powerful as thesun. It also tells us that Jehovah is wise,since it required wisdom to make the sun,which gives out heat and light and neverburns out.

Jehovah’s creation shows t hat he lovesus. Think about all the different kindsof fruits that there are on earth. Jehovahcould have provided just one kind of fruitfor us—or none at all. Instead, Jehovah

gave us many types of fruit with a great variety of shapes, sizes, colors, and tastes.This shows that Jehovah is a God who isnot only loving but also very generous andthoughtful and kind.—Psalm 104:24.


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Paradise will not be like the world welive in now. God never wanted the earth tobe filled with trouble and sorrow, pain andsuffering. In the future, God will make theearth a paradise. What will Paradise be like?Let us see what the Bible says:

Good people. Paradise will be the home of God’s friends. They will do good things forone another. They will live according to therighteous ways of God.—Proverbs 2:21.

Plenty of food. In Paradise, there will be nohunger. The Bible says: “There will come tobe plenty of grain [or, food] on the earth.”—Psalm 72:16.

Fine houses and enjoyable work. On theParadise earth, every family will have a home of its own. Everyone will dowork that brings true happiness.—Isaiah65:21-23.

L E S S O N 5

GOD’S F RIENDS W ILL L IVE IN PARADISE

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Peace worldwide. No longer will peoplefight and die in war. God’s Word says:“[God] is making wars to cease.”—Psalm 46:8, 9.

Good health. The Bible promises: “No res-ident [of Paradise] will say: ‘I am sick.’ ” (Isa-iah 33:24) Also, no one will be lame or blind

or deaf or unable to talk.—Isaiah 35:5, 6.An end to pain, sorrow, and death. God’sWord says: “Death will be no more, neitherwill mourning nor outcry nor pain be any-more. The former things have passed away.”—Revelation 21:4.

Bad people will be gone. Jehovah promis-es: “The wicked . . . will be cut off from the

very earth; and as for the treacherous, they will be torn away from it.”—Proverbs 2:22.

People will love and respect one anoth-er. No longer will there be injustice, op-pression, greed, and hatred. People will beunited and will live in harmony with God’srighteous ways.—Isaiah 26:9.


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The bad things that are now happening on earth show that Paradise is near. The Bible said that we would see terrible times

just before the Paradise would come. We are living in such timesnow! Here aresome of thethings that theBible said would happen:

Great wars. “Nation will rise against na-tion and kingdom against kingdom.”(Matthew 24:7) This prophecy has cometrue. Since the year 1914, there have beentwo world wars and many smaller wars.Millions of people have died in them.

Widespread disease. There would be “inone place after another pestilences.” (Luke21:11) Has this come true? Yes. Cancer,heart disease, tuberculosis, malaria, AIDS,

and other diseases have killed millions of people.

A lack of food. Throughout the earththere are people who do not have enoughfood to eat. Millions of people die of hun-ger every year. This is another sign thatthe Paradise will soon be here. The Bi-ble says: “There will be food shortages.”—Mark 13:8.

L E S S O N 6

PARADISE IS NEAR!

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Earthquakes. “There will be . . . earthquakes in one place aother.” (Matthew 24:7) This also has come true in our tima million people have died in earthquakes since 1914.

Wicked people. People would be “lovers of money” and “lthemselves.” They would be “lovers of pleasures rather thers of God.” Children would be “disobedi-ent to parents.” (2 Timothy 3:1-5) Do you

not agree that there are many people likethat today? They have no respect for God,and theymake trouble for those who try tolearn about God.

Crime. There would also be an “increas-ing of lawlessness.” (Matthew 24:12) Like-ly you will agree that crime is worse than itwas yearsago. People everywhere areat riskof being robbed, cheated, or harmed.

All these things show that God’s King-

dom is near. The Bible says: “When yousee these things occurring, know that thekingdom of God is near.” (Luke 21:31)What is the Kingdom of God? It is God’sheavenly government that will bring Para-dise to this earth. God’s Kingdom will re-place human governments.—Daniel 2:44.


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Jehovah will not allow bad people toruin Paradise. Only his friends will livethere. What will happen to bad people?To learn the answer, consider the truestory of Noah. Noah lived thousands of years ago. He was a good man who al-ways tried hard to do Jehovah’s will. Buttheother people on earth did bad things.So Jehovah told Noah that He was goingto bring a flood to destroy all those wick-ed people. He told Noah to build an arkso that he and his family would not diewhen the Flood came.—Genesis 6:9-18.

Noah and his family built the ark.Noah warned people that the Flood wascoming, but they did not listen to him.They continued to do bad things. Afterthe ark was finished, Noah took animals

into the ark, and he and his family alsowent inside. Then Jehovah brought a great storm. Rain fell for 40 days and 40nights. The water flooded all the earth.—Genesis 7:7-12.

L E S S O N 7

A W ARNING F ROM THE PAST

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The wicked people lost their liNoah and his family were savhovah brought them safely throFlood into an earth cleansed of ness. (Genesis 7:22, 23) The Bithat once again the time is comin

Jehovah will destroy those who rdo what is right. Good people w

be destroyed. They will live forthe Paradise earth.—2 Peter 2:5,

Today many people do bad The world is full of trouble. J

sends his Witnesses again and awarn the people, yet most do nto listen to Jehovah’s words. Tnot want to change their ways. Tnot want to accept what God sayright and wrong. What will hathese people? Will they changday? Many will never change. Thcoming when wicked people wilstroyed and will never live again.92:7.

The earth will not be destroyedbe made into a paradise. Thobecome God’s friends will live fothe Paradise on earth.—Psalm 37


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God’s chief enemy is Satan the Dev-il. He is a spirit creature who rebelledagainst Jehovah. Satan continues tofight against God and causes great trou-ble for humans. Satan is evil. He is a liarand a murderer.—John 8:44.

Other spirit creatures joined Satan in his rebellion against God. The Biblecalls them demons. Like Satan, the de-mons are enemies of humans. They liketo hurt people. (Matthew 9:32, 33; 12:22) Jehovah will destroy Satan and hisdemons forever. They have only a shorttime left to make trouble for humans.—Revelation 12:12.

If you want to be God’s friend, youmust not do what Satan wants you todo. Satan and the demons hate Jehovah.They are enemies of God, and they wantto makeyou an enemy of God. You mustchoose whom you want to please—Satanor Jehovah. If you want everlasting life,you must choose to do God’s will. Satanhas many tricks and ways to deceive peo-ple. Most people are being fooled by

him.—Revelation 12:9.

L E S S O N 8

W HO ARE GOD’S ENEMIES?

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Jesus Christ is Jehovah’s Shis closest, dearest friend. Blived as a man on earth, Jesin heaven as a mighty spirture. (John 17:5) Then he cearth to teach people the trutGod. (John 18:37) He also ghuman life to save obedient hfrom sin and death. (Romanssus is now the King of Goddom, a heavenly government tbring Paradise to this earth.—tion 19:16.

Theangels are also God’s friends.The an-

gels did not begin their lives as humans onearth. They were created in heaven beforeGod made the earth. (Job 38:4-7) There aremillions of angels. (Daniel 7:10) These heav-enly friends of God want people to learnthetruth about Jehovah.—Revelation 14:6, 7.

God also has friends on the earth; hecalls them his witnesses. A witness incourt tells what he knows about someoneor something. Jehovah’s Witnesses tell oth-

ers what they know about Jehovah and hispurpose. (Isaiah 43:10) Like the angels, theWitnesses want to help you learn the truthabout Jehovah. They want you to be God’sfriend too.

L E S S O N

W HO ARE GOD’S F RI


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If you want to be a friend of God, youmust practice the religion that God approves. Jesus said that “the true wor-shipers” would worship God in harmo-ny with “truth.” (John 4:23, 24) Thereis only one correct way to worship God.(Ephesians 4:4-6) True religion leads toeverlasting life, and false religion leads todestruction.—Matthew 7:13, 14.

You can recognize true religion by watching the people who practice it.Since Jehovah is good, those who are histrue worshipers must be good people.

Just as a good orange tree produces fineoranges, the true religion produces finepeople.—Matthew 7:15-20.

Jehovah’s friends have deep respect for the Bible. They know that the Bi-ble is from God. They allow what it saysto guide their lives, to solve their prob-lems, and to help them learn about God.(2 Timothy 3:16) They try to practicewhat they preach.

L E SSO N 10

HOW TO F IND THE T RUE R ELIGION

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Jehovah’s friends show love fanother. Jesus showed love forby teaching them about God, bythose who were sick. Those who the true religion also show loveers. Like Jesus, they do not looon those who are poor or are of ent ethnic group. Jesus said that

would know hisdisciples by the lshow for one another.—John 13:3

God’s friends honor God’s nahovah. If someone refused to uname, would that person be youfriend? No! When we have a friuse his name and we say goodabout that friend to others. Swho wish to be God’s friends shohis name and talk about him to

Jehovah wants us to do that.—M

6:9; Romans 10:13, 14.Like Jesus, God’s friends teachabout God’s Kingdom. God’dom is the heavenly governmewill make the earth a paradisefriends share this good newsGod’s Kingdom with others.—M24:14.

Jehovah’s Witnesses try to be of God. They respect the Bible a

love among themselves. They aand honor God’s name and teachabout God’s Kingdom. Jehovahnesses practice the true religion otoday.


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Satan and his demons do not want youto serve God. They want to turn everyoneaway from God if theycan. How do they try to do this? One way is through false reli-gion. (2 Corinthians 11:13-15) A religion isfalse if it does not teach the truth fromthe Bible. False religion is like false money —it may look like the real thing, but it isworthless. It can cause you much trouble.

Religious falsehood can never please Je-hovah, the God of truth. When Jesuswas on earth, there was a religious groupwho wanted to kill him. They thought thattheir way of worship was the right way.They said: “We have one Father, God.” Did

Jesus agree? No! He said to them: “You arefrom your father the Devil.” (John 8:41,44) Today many people think that they areworshiping God, but they are really serv-ing Satan and his demons!—1 Corinthians10:20.

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R EJECT F ALSE R ELIGION!

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Just as a rotten tree produces bad fruit, false reli-gion produces people who do bad things. Theworld is full of trouble because of the bad thingspeople do. There is immorality, fighting, steal-ing, oppression, murder, and rape. Many who dothese bad things have a religion, but their re-ligion does not move them to practice whatis good. They cannot be God’s friends unless

they stop doing bad things.—Matthew 7:17, 18.False religion teaches people to pray toidols. God says not to pray to idols. This isreasonable. Would you like it if someone nev-er talked to you but only talked to your pic-ture? Could that person be your true friend?No, he could not. Jehovah wantspeople to talkto him, not to a statue or a picture, which hasno life.—Exodus 20:4, 5.

False religion teaches that it is all right to

kill others in time of war. Jesus said thatGod’s friends would have love among them-selves. We do not kill people we love. ( John 13:35) It is even wrong for us to kill bad people.When the enemies of Jesus came to arrest him,he didnot let hisdisciples fight to protect him.—Matthew 26:51, 52.

False religion teaches that the wicked willsuffer in hellfire. Yet, the Bible teaches thatsin leads to death. (Romans 6:23) Jehovah is a

Godof love. Would a loving God torment peo-ple forever? Of course not! In Paradise, therewill be only one religion, the one that Jehovahapproves. (Revelation 15:4) All religions basedon Satan’s lies will be gone.


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Death is the opposite of life. Death is like a deep sleep. (John11:11-14) The dead are unable to hear, see, speak, or think anything.(Ecclesiastes 9:5, 10) False religion teaches that the dead go to a spirit world to live with their ancestors. That is not what the Bible

teaches.

Those who have died cannot help us,and they cannot harm us. It is commonfor people to perform rituals and sacri-fices that they believe will please thosewho have died. This is displeasing to Godbecause it is based on one of Satan’s lies.It cannot please the dead either, since they are lifeless. We should not fear or worshipthe dead. We should worship only God.—Matthew 4:10.

The dead will live again. Jehovah willawaken the dead to life on a paradiseearth. That time is yet future. ( John 5:28,29; Acts 24:15) God can awaken those whohave died just as surely as you can awak-en a person from sleep.—Mark 5:22, 23,41, 42.

The idea that we do not die is a liespread by Satan the Devil. Satan and hisdemons make people think that spirits of

the dead are alive and cause sickness andother problems. Satan deceives people, attimes through dreams and visions. Jeho-

vah condemns those who try to talk to thedead.—Deuteronomy 18:10-12.

L E S SO N 12

W HAT HAPPENS AT DEATH?

Satan wants you to practice magic.Many make sacrifices to ancestors orspirits to protect themselves from harm.They do this because they fear the pow-ers of the spirit world. They wear magi-cal rings or bracelets. They drink or rubon their bodies “medicines” that are sup-posed to have magical power. In theirhomes or in the ground, some peoplehide articles believed to have protectivepowers. Others use magical “medicine”because they believe it will bring successin business, school exams, or courtship.

Your best protection against Satan isto have Jehovah as your friend. JehovahGod and his angels are far more power-ful than Satan and his demons. (James 2:19; Revelation 12:9) Jehovah is eager toshow his strength in behalf of his friends—those who are completely loyal to him.—2 Chronicles 16:9.

God’s Word says: “You must not prac-tice magic.” Jehovah condemns magicand witchcraft because those practicescan put one directly under the power of Satan the Devil.—Leviticus 19:26.

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MAGIC AND W ITCHCRAFT ARE BAD


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Satan tempts people to do bad things. A person who wants to beGod’s friend needs to hate what Je-hovah hates. (Psalm 97:10) Here aresome things that God’s friends avoid:

Sexual sins. “You must notcommit adultery.” (Exodus 20:14) Having sex before marriageis also wrong.—1 Corinthians6:18.

Drunkenness. “Drunkards . . .will [not] inherit God’s king-dom.”—1 Corinthians 6:10.

Murder, Abortion. “You mustnot murder.”—Exodus 20:13.

Theft. “You must not steal.”—Exodus 20:15.

Lying. Jehovah hates “a falsetongue.”—Proverbs 6:17.

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GOD’S F RIENDS A VOID W HAT IS BAD

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Violence and Uncontrolled Angeone loving violence [Jehovah] cehates.” (Psalm 11:5) “Theworks of t[include] . . . fits of anger.”—Gala19, 20.

Gambling. “Quit mixing in compaanyone . . . that is a . . . greedy p—1 Corinthians 5:11.

Racial and Ethnic Hatreds. “Conloveyour enemies andto prayfor thsecuting you.”—Matthew 5:43, 44.

The things God tells us are for ou

It is not always easy to avoid doithings. With Jehovah’s help and whelp of his Witnesses, you can avoithe things that displease God.—Is17; Philippians 4:13; Hebrews 10:24


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When you have a friend whom you ad-mire and respect, you try to be likehim. “Good and upright is Jehovah,”says the Bible. (Psalm 25:8) To be God’sfriend, wemustbe good andupright. TheBible says: “Become imitators of God, asbeloved children, and go on walking inlove.” (Ephesians 5:1, 2) Here are someways to do that:

Be helpful to others. “Let us work whatis good toward all.”—Galatians 6:10.

Work hard. “Let the stealer steal nomore, but rather let him do hard work,doingwith hishands what is good work.”

—Ephesians 4:28.Keep physically and morally clean. “Letus cleanse ourselves of every defilementof flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness inGod’s fear.”—2 Corinthians 7:1.

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GOD’S F RIENDS DO W HAT IS GOOD

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Treat your family members withlove and respect. “Let each one of you . . . love his wife as he does him-self; on the other hand, the wifeshould have deep respect for herhusband. Children, be obedient toyour parents.”—Ephesians 5:33–6:1.

Show loveto others. “Lettinue loving one another, love is from God.”—1 John

Obey the laws of the lanevery soul be in subjectio[government] . . . Rendetheir dues, to him who cthetax, the tax.”—Roman


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To keep a friend, you need to talk withhim. You listen to him, and he listens toyou. You also say good things about yourfriend to others. It is the same with beinga friend of God. Consider what the Bible

says about this:

Talk to Jehovah regularly in prayer.“Persevere in prayer.”—Romans 12:12.

Read God’s Word, the Bible. “All Scrip-ture is inspired of God and beneficial forteaching, for reproving, for setting thingsstraight.”—2 Timothy 3:16.

Teach others about God. “Go thereforeand make disciples of people of all the

nations, . . . teaching them to observeall the things I have commanded you.”—Matthew 28:19, 20.

L E SSO N 16

SHOW Y OUR L OVE FOR GOD

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Draw close to God’s friends. “He thatis walking with wise persons will be-come wise.”—Proverbs 13:20.

Attend meetings at the KingdomHall. “Let us consider one another toincite to love and fine works, . . . en-couraging one another.”—Hebrews 10:24, 25.

Help support the Kingdom work.“Let each one [give] just as he has re-solved in his heart, not grudgingly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver.”—2 Corinthians 9:7.

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Friendship is based on love. The moreyou learn about Jehovah, the greater willbe your love for him. As your love for Godgrows, your desire to serve him will alsogrow. This will move you to become a

disciple of Jesus Christ. (Matthew 28:19)By joining the happy family of Jehovah’sWitnesses, you can experience God’sfriendship forever. What must you do?

You must show your love for God by obeying his laws. “This is what the loveof God means, that we observe his com-mandments; and yet his commandmentsare not burdensome.”—1 John 5:3.

Apply what you learn. Jesus told a story that illustrates this. A wise manbuilt his house on rock. A foolishman built his house on sand. When a great storm came, the house built onrock did not cave in, but the housebuilt on sand fell with a great crash.

Jesus said that those who hear histeachings and do them are like thewise man who built on rock. But

those who listen to his teachings anddo not do them are like the foolishman who built on sand. Which mando you want to be like?—Matthew 7:24-27.

L E SSO N 17

T O K EEP A F RIEND, Y OU MUST BE A F RIEND

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Dedication. This means that yo Jehovah in prayer and tell him twant to do his will forever. Doinwill shows that you are a disciple Christ.—Matthew 11:29.

Baptism. “Get baptized and wasins away by your calling upname.”—Acts 22:16.

Become fully involved in servin“Whatever you are doing, wowhole-souled as to Jehovah, andmen.”—Colossians 3:23.


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It takes effort to make a friend; it takes effort to keep a friend. Your ef-forts to become and remain a friend of God will be richly blessed. Jesus said tothose who believed in him: “The truth

will set you free.” (John 8:32) Whatdoes that mean?

You can enjoy freedom now. You canbe free from the false teachings and liesthat have been spread by Satan. Youcan be free from the hopelessness thatfills the lives of millions of people whodo not know Jehovah. (Romans 8:22)God’s friends are even free from the“fear of death.”—Hebrews 2:14, 15.

You can enjoy freedom in God’s new world. What marvelous freedom youcan enjoy in the future! In the Para-dise earth, there will be freedom fromwar, sickness, and crime. Freedom frompoverty and hunger. Freedom from oldage and death. Freedom from fear, op-pression, and injustice. The Bible saysof God: “You are opening your handand satisfying the desire of every living

thing.”—Psalm 145:16.

L E SSO N 18

BE GOD’S F RIEND F OREVER!God’s friends will live forever.Everlasting life is a precious giftthat God will give to all who seekhis friendship. (Romans 6:23) Justthink of what endless life wouldmean for you!

You will have time to do many things. Perhaps you would like tolearn how to play a musical instru-ment. Or maybe you want to learn topaint pictures or to be a carpenter.

You might like to learn about ani-mals or plants. Or possibly you wantto travel and see different lands andpeoples. Having everlasting life willmake all these things possible!

You will have time to make many friends. Living forever will make it

possible to get to know many oth-ers who have become God’s friends.

You will come to know their talentsand fine qualities, and they will beyour friends too. You will love them,and they will love you. (1 Corinthi-ans 13:8) Having endless life will giveyou the time to befriend everyoneon earth! Best of all, your friendshipwith Jehovah will grow ever stronger

as the centuries pass. May you beGod’s friend forever!

watchtower: you can be god's friend! - 2000

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