“Exercises” to Help us Return to our First Love?
Intro: Tuesday, July 2, you will receive a text message with a link to our podcast that corresponds to this short “exercise.” I pray that it will help guide you back to your first love, Jesus Christ! This grew out of my time with the Lord. Just meditating on my previous message and what I know from His Word about returning to Christ, my First Love, (Bro. Jono):
Obedience! We often need to return to basic obedience to Christ. Often, we need to repent of some area of disobedience and begin obeying in that area again. Christ equates obedience with love for Him:
“If ye love me, keep my commandments” (John 14:15)
“He that hath my commandments, and keepeth them, he it is that loveth me: and he that loveth me shall be loved of my Father, and I will love him, and will manifest myself to him.” (John 14:21)
“If ye keep my commandments, ye shall abide in my love; even as I have kept my Father’s commandments, and abide in his love.” (John 15:10)
So, often returning to sincere love for Jesus begins with repentance from sin and return to obedience:
“Nevertheless I have somewhat against thee, because thou hast left thy first love. Remember therefore from whence thou art fallen, and repent, and do the first works; or else I will come unto thee quickly, and will remove thy candlestick out of his place, except thou repent.” (Rev.2:4-5)
We must remember, repent, and do the first works!
Giving Christ First Place in Love: This means intentionally, with effort, and with determination, putting Christ first in all your affections:
“And thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind, and with all thy strength: this is the first commandment.” (Mark 12:30)
There is “overlap” in all these things but combined they speak of the totality of our humanity as a saved person. “all” would be the qualifying word of all these different words!
- Love – agape, this is the highest form of love. It is the love of sacrifice and dedication.
- Lord – kurios, it means to love Christ’s Lordship over your life. It is to love and submit to His rule in your life as revealed in His Word.
- Heart – Kardia, the control center of your life. Thoughts, emotions, feelings. “The inward life…the hidden man…that which lies deep within” – Vines
- Soul – psyche, “your very breath” -Vines. Your feelings, desires, and affections.
- Mind – dianoia, the understanding, our capacity as humans to know God, perceive Him. It is “moral reflection” – Vines. It is in your thoughts, meditation, reasonings.
- Strength – ischys, with all your bodily powers…abilities. It means our ability to grasp something and hold to it.
All these words combine to help us understand that with all we are as redeemed people we are to love His Lordship supremely and obediently submit to Him daily. This is the key to loving him fervently!
Feeding the flock. This is getting back to what Christ has called you to do. In Peter’s case (in my case as a pastor) it is to “feed my sheep.” Love is returning to your post and being a faithful to what He has called and commissioned to do. There is no greater display of love to Christ than being faithful to tend to, care for, love, and nourish His flock that He died for!
This is a loving reminder that we are to be faithful to assemble with His sheep at our local church. To love and serve each other and feed each other the Word of the Lord! Thirty years after Jesus told Peter three times to “feed my sheep” Peter was still faithfully doing this (See 1 Peter 5:1-6)
Remember the Love of God in Romans:
“And not only so, but we glory in tribulations also: knowing that tribulation worketh patience;
And patience, experience; and experience, hope: And hope maketh not ashamed; because the love of God is shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Ghost which is given unto us.” (Romans 5:3-5)
“Tribulation, persecution, and suffering are graces given from Christ to restore us to fervent love for Him…these things are very real grace.” – Jason Johns.
“Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword? As it is written, For thy sake we are killed all the day long; we are accounted as sheep for the slaughter. Nay, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him that loved us. For I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, Nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.” (Rom.8:35-39)
Know that Sincere Love for Jesus is the Grace of God:
“Peace be to the brethren, and love with faith, from God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.
Grace be with all them that love our Lord Jesus Christ in sincerity. Amen.” (Eph.6:23-24)
This love comes to us from God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ in grace. And with it comes
- Peace
- Faith
- Sincerity
- More grace – grace be with them all that love our Lord Jesus Christ