REGAINING YOUR FIRST LOVE FOR JESUS
By Frank Eiklor and Cecilia Contreras
LESSON 28 Part 3
INTRODUCTION
This is the third and final part to our study on “First Love For Jesus”. This world is only the “dressing room” preparing us for the “main stage” which is eternity with the Lord. That’s why there is nothing more important than your relationship with Jesus Christ.
He desires to be—He deserves to be—the first love in every believer’s life. How can this happen? That’s what this lesson is all about—especially the ten points on establishing and maintaining a deeply intimate walk with God. In Part 2 (last lesson) we covered the first six points. Please go back and review them. Then these final four steps will complete the picture and help you live out new and exciting habits that will have Jesus as your number one love above all others.
7. Start To Hide God’s Word In Your Heart Through A Systematic Memory Program
A real “first love” is dependent upon your knowing the mind of your Lord. If the Lord Jesus walked with us physically, I don’t believe He would say anything to us today that He hasn’t already covered in His Word. So few Christians take time to memorize verses of Scripture. That’s why Satan can attack with greater force and deception.
The Holy Spirit generally uses that which you have taken time to learn. For example, a Christian student can cry out to God all year to help him pass the final exam. I guarantee you that with all that prayer, he will fail the exam unless he studies the material. God never does for us that which we must do for ourselves. When the angel freed Peter from prison he broke Peter’s shackles and even opened the massive gate to the city. What he didn’t do was dress Peter and put his shoes on. I love those practical words from the angel of the Lord, “Gird thyself, and bind on thy sandals” (Acts 12:8). He never did for Peter what Peter could do for himself.
Take time to memorize the Word of God. You’ll find that there are three simple secrets to keeping those verses in your memory—review, review and review. You’re literally speaking and quoting the words of God when you memorize and review Scripture. And since His Word is creative, you’ll find that creative force working in your life.
As you see special scriptures that speak in a unique way to your heart, take the time to make them part of your life through memory. You’ll never regret it. Psalm 119:11 says: “Thy word have I hid in mine heart, that I might not sin against thee.” When we face temptations, the Holy Spirit will bring that memorized scripture to our minds and hearts and we’ll find we can resist temptation by using the Word of God and standing on those promises.
Colossians 3:16 gives a positive reason for memorizing the Word, “Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom.” When I read, memorize and review the Word of God, I find a dimension of God’s power and love that I never knew existed. You’ll find the same.
8. Learn To Reach Out To Others
This involves not only words but actions. It’s going out of our way to do those little and big things for people that let them know we love them as ourselves. This keeps us from living only for self and keeps us fulfilling Matthew 22:37-39: to love the Lord with all of our heart, soul and mind and to love our neighbor as our self. We can measure our love for the Lord by how much or how little we think about others. People clothed in themselves freeze to death. Let the Holy Spirit fill you with agape love and then walk through your world as God’s love with skin on. Don’t do it with the idea of drawing attention to yourself but simply pass all the glory and thanks to the source of your love and power—Jesus.
Some Christians have thought that a first love for the Lord Jesus means paying attention to Him to the exclusion of all else. Not so. If such were the case, people who have hidden themselves in spiritual hideaways would be the happiest and godliest of all people. However, such is often not true. That’s why God always balances our love for Him with our love for others. In I John 3:17 we see this balance: “But whosoever has this world’s good, and sees his brother have need, and shuts up his bowels of compassion from him, how dwelleth the love of God in him.” There it is: we can measure our love for our Lord by our concern for others.
James adds, “If a brother or sister be naked, and destitute of daily food, And one of you say unto them, Depart in peace, be you warmed and filled; notwithstanding you give them not those things which are needful to the body; what doth it profit?...faith, if it hath not works is dead” (James 2:15-17).
9. Learn To Treasure Moments Of Silence And Meditation
We will hear God when we’re quiet, because He speaks in a still, small voice. It takes work to learn to sit still each day to just think on the Lord and meditate quietly over Scripture. But it’s when we’re quiet that we know He’s God (Psalm 46:10). Paul told Timothy that he would only be effective if he would “meditate on these things; give thyself wholly to them” (I Timothy 4:15).
The world is made for noise. Sadly, many Christians can’t tolerate silence. Some always have to have a radio, T.V. or cassette player going. Never be afraid of silence, but welcome those quiet moments as special treasures. As you think about Him, His Word, and His love for others, you’ll often feel the breath of the Spirit of God in fellowship together.
One of the best ways to enjoy silence and meditation is to take a walk alone with the Lord. This can be a wonderful tranquilizer. Walking with God worked wonders for Enoch. Noah, too (Genesis 5:24; 6:9). Try taking a short or long walk saying, “Lord, I dedicate this walk just to you. I love you and I treasure our relationship.” You may hear a tender sigh of gratitude from your precious heavenly Father who desires the love of His child.
10. Pay The Price To Keep A Clean, Transparent Conscience
If you’re going to regain your first love for Jesus you’ll find that relationship is dependent upon no walls between God and you. You will never experience a first-love intimacy with the Lord if you embrace sin in your life.
Some people have a clear conscience only because they have a poor memory. The Lord has told us that if we hold iniquity in our hearts He won’t hear us. But then He gives a wonderful invitation to “Come now, and let us reason together” with Him—and a promise to cleanse those horrible sins and make our hearts whiter than snow (Isaiah 1:18).
Tell the Lord that you’re serious about learning to love what He loves and to hate what He hates (Romans 12:9). Any time you know something is wrong, correct it immediately through confession and, if necessary, an apology you may have to make to other people. Once you’ve made a good confession, move on and don’t allow guilt feelings to hold you back from God’s next step.
If you’ll take time to let the Holy Spirit search and know your heart daily (Psalm 139:23, 24), you won’t have big accounts to deal with in a crisis situation. It’s important to be honest with the Lord. We all know what it is to enjoy a certain sin—only confessing it when our heart so hurts that we want some relief. We then go right back and commit the same sin, thinking God will forgive us again since He’s a God of love. When that happens, the Lord Jesus isn’t our first love—we are—in our own deceived desires.
An honest prayer to make is: “Lord, I not only confess this sin as evil and wrong, but I ask you to help me to hate it like you do.” As you quietly live in His Word and wait before God, you’ll find yourself aware of any pride, resentment, lust, jealousy, anger, bitterness, selfishness, greed or those thousand and one serpents that will try to force their way into your heart and take the place of your first love for Jesus. The apostle Paul said, “… I exercise myself, to have always a conscience void of offense toward God and toward men (Acts 24:16). Vertical and horizontal purity. There is no substitute.
CONCLUSION
These are ten practical secrets I’ve learned over the years in either maintaining or regaining that first love for Jesus. You’ll find it’s easy to get discouraged. Don’t get under bondage in trying to follow each step to the letter—they’re only meant as guidelines for you to travel that wonderful road with your Lord as you let Him know that you’re serious about Jesus being your first love.
First love! What beautiful words. And when that first love for Jesus is in our hearts, we’ll find a life of walking in fellowship, praise and worship with Him throughout the day and sometimes into the night. New and fresh dimensions will be added to every area of our Christian lives. We’ll go from glory to glory and finally end up walking right into the Kingdom of God. Maranatha! What a way to go!
TESTING YOUR KNOWLEDGE IN LESSON 28
1) The love of God protects me from: (Part 1 Page 1)
a) Sin.
b) Temptation.
c) Fear.
d) All of the above.
2) Why does Jesus Christ deserve to be our “First Love”? (Part 1 Page 2)
a) He loved us before we were born.
b) He loved us while we were still sinners.
c) He loves us unconditionally though we fall away.
d) All of the above.
3) What is the value of seeing with the eyes of our hearts? (Part 1 Page 3)
a) We understand the mysteries of God.
b) We learn to believe in the “invisible” as if it were visible.
c) We can anticipate the direction and leading of the Holy Spirit.
d) All of the above.
4) God our Father is a spiritual being. So how do we worship Him? (Part 1 Page 3)
a) Spirit.
b) Faith.
c) Truth.
d) A and C.
5) Who is our Heavenly Father seeking after to enter His Kingdom? (Part 1 Page 4)
a) Lost sheep.
b) True worshippers.
c) Faithful disciples.
d) A and B.
6) Is God our Father personally concerned about you? (Part 2 Page 1)
a) Yes, when He thinks of me.
b) No.
c) Sometimes.
d) Always and in every circumstance.
7) When you wake in the morning, who deserves your first attention? (Part 2 Page 1
a) Your family.
b) Your finances.
c) Your troubles.
d) Your Heavenly Father.
8) Why is it important to memorize verses of scripture? (Part 3—Point 7)
9) Why is it important to find times when you can be alone and quiet? (Part 3—Point 9)
10) What does Satan use to prevent us from having a first love relationship with Jesus? (Part 3—Point 10)
