"But I have this against you,
that you have left your first love." Revelations
2:4
1. When your
delight in the Lord is no longer as great as your delight in something else, you
have left your "first love".
[Jesus teaching] "'Truly
I say to you, this generation will not pass away until all these things take
place.'" Mark 13:30
2. When your
soul does not long for times of rich fellowship in God's Word and/ or in
prayer, you have left your "first love".
"And one of the
scribes came and heard them arguing, and recognising that He had answered them
well, asked Him, 'What commandment is the foremost of all?'
"Jesus Answered,
'The foremost is, 'Hear, O Israel! The
Lord our God is one Lord; and you shall love the Lord your God with all your
heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind, and with all your
strength.'" Mark
12:30
3. When your
thoughts during leisure moments do not reflect upon the Lord, you have left
your "first love".
"Jesus said,
'Truly I say to you, there is no one who has left house or brothers or sisters
or mother or father or children of farms, for My sake and for the Gospel's
sake, but that he shall receive a hundred times as much now in the present age,
houses and brothers and sisters and mothers and children and farms, along with
persecutions;; and in the age to come, eternal life.'" Mark 10:30
"The wicked, in
the haughtiness of his countenance, does not seek Him. All his thoughts are, 'There is no
God.'" Psalm 10:4
4. When you
claim to be "only human", and when you easily give in to those things
which you know displeases the Lord, you have left your "first
love".
See Mark 12:30 at point 2
[Jesus teaching] "'Or
what woman, if she has ten silver coins and loses one coin, does not light a
lamp and sweep the house and search carefully until she finds it? And when she has found it, she calls together
her friends and neighbours, saying, 'Rejoice with me, for I have found the coin
which I had lost!' In the same way, I
tell you, there is joy in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner who
repents.'" John 15:8-10
"And when one of
those who were reclining at the table with Him heard this, he said to Him, 'Blessed is everyone who shall eat bread in
the kingdom of God!" John 14:15 Be sure to read from verse 7-24 for context.
5. When you
do not willingly and cheerfully give to God's work or to the needs of others, you
have left your "first love".
"But whoever has
the word's goods and beholds his brother in need and closes his heart against
him, how does the love of God abide in him?" I John 3:17
6. When you
cease to treat every Christian as I would the Lord, you have left your
"first love".
[Jesus teaching] "'And
the King will answer and say to them, 'Truly I say to you, to the extent that
you did it to one of these brothers of Mine, even the least of them, you did it
to Me.'" Matthew 25:40
[Jesus teaching] "'A
new commandment I give to you, that you love one another, even as I have loved
you, that you also love one another. By
this all men will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one
another.'" John 13:34
7. when you
view the commands of Christ as restrictions to your happiness rather than
expressions of His love, you have left your "first love".
[Jesus teaching] "'He
who has My commandments and keeps them, he it is who loves Me; and he who loves
Me shall be loved by My Father, and I will love him, and will disclose Myself
to him.'" John 14:21
8. When you
inwardly strive for the acclaim of this world rather than the approval of the
Lord, you have left your "first love".
"Do not love the
world, nor the things in the world. If
anyone loves the world the love of the Father is not in Him." I John 2:15
[Jesus teaching] "'If
you were of the world, the world would love its own; but because you are no of
the world, but I chose you out of the world, therefore the world hates you.'"
John 15:19
9. When you
fail to make Christ or His Words known because you fear rejection, you have
left your "first love".
[Jesus teaching] "'Remember
the Word that I said to you, 'A slave is not greater than his master.' If they persecuted Me, they will also
persecute you; if they kept My word, they will keep yours also.'" John
15:20
10. When you
refuse to give up an activity which you know is offending a weaker brother, you
have left your "first love".
"For if because of
food your brother is hurt, you are no longer walking according to love. Do not destroy with your food him for whom
Christ died.'" Romans
14:15
11. When you
become complacent to sinful conditions around you, you have left your
"first love".
[Jesus teaching] "'You
brood of vipers, how can you, being evil, speak what is good? For the mouth speaks out of that which fills
the heart.'" Matthew 12:34
12. When you
are unable to forgive another for offending you, you have left your "first
love".
"If someone says,
'I love God,' and hates his brother, he is a liar, for the one who does not
love his brother whom he has seen, cannot love God whom he has not seen." I John 4:20
No comments:
Post a Comment