"YOUR FIRST LOVE"
“YOUR FIRST LOVE”
Sunday, September 20, 2015, the Year of Our Lord
Pastor Carolyn Sissom
Has the first passion and fire of your early love for Jesus Christ cooled? Jesus spoke on Mount Olivet that “the love of many shall wax cold.” Where is the fire, fervor and devotion of our first love? Is God’s word by Jeremiah a bygone memory…”I remember you, the kindness of your youth, the love of your betrothals, when you went after Me in the wilderness, in a land that was not sown (Jer. 2:2).
On Tuesday I shared and posted about the Summit at Joy Mountain, North Carolina.
That the “voice of many waters” flowing from the different steams would became a river of life.”
On Saturday evening, Brother Duane brought forth a Word from Hosea about the bride. 2: 14-16: “I will allure her, and bring her into the wilderness and speak comfortably to her. I will give her vineyards from there, and the valley of Achor for a door of hope, and she shall sing there, as in the day when she came up out of the land of Egypt. It shall be at that day says the Lord, that you shall call me Ishi; and shall call me no more Baali”.
The point of his message using this scripture was three steps into the Kingdom which was excellent. However, when he reminded us that Ishi means husband and Baali means Lord. He pointed out that the Lord has elevated us as His Bride into the intimacy of the husband and wife.
The intimacy of “Ishi” is higher than Lord, Priest or King. For a King to choose his Bride to share his life with and become his equal is the highest honor given to anyone.
In Christ there is neither male nor female for we are all one in Christ Jesus (Gal. 3:28), so this is not gender sensitive.
In the place of intimacy with the husband and wife, no one should be included in that time. Of course, this does not have sexual implications and I don’t want anyone to read anything into this to make it weird. This call that in the wilderness we shall know him as Ishi (husband) and no more Baali (Lord) is a “calling” of the highest level of love to His Beloved.
2:19-20: “I will betroth you to Me forever; yea, I will betroth you to Me in righteousness, and in judgment, and in loving kindness, and in mercies. I will even betroth you to Me in faithfulness; and you shall know the Lord. It shall come to pass in that day, I will hear, says the Lord, I will hear the heavens, and they shall hear the earth.”
I know Christ as Pastor, Prophet, Priest and King. I know Him as Bishop of my Soul. I know him as Healer, Savior, Deliverer, Apostle, Teacher, and Friend. I know Him in the Word of God. I know Father God. I know the Holy Spirit. I have known Jesus in the Bride Groom’s Chamber. I know him as a Son of God. I know him as the Word of God. By vision I have known him in the birthing of the Man-child.
Of course, this is where the Lord is again gathering His Beloved into the Bride Groom’s Chamber. He had to lead all of us into the wilderness. It is the place where we will slow down and listen, just to be, and resting in Him.
Pastor Oscar Bowling (West Chester, Ohio) 1/30/12:
INTIMACY WITH GOD
Come away my love into an intimate place
Where I’ll show you the depths of my amazing grace
As you are wrapped in the warmth of my enfolding love
In the quietness and stillness you will rise above
And sit with me in that heavenly place
Where you will begin to see me face to face
And a change will happen as I give you my life
And a change of names as you become my wife
And my glory and love will break forth from your heart
Bringing all to repentance and even a new start
For surely as you spend precious time with me
I will show you my plan for eternity
For my Father expressed his wondrous love
When He sent Me his Song from above
For I have redeemed mankind from the wages of sin
That he might come into being, instead of to an end.
I am persuaded that we will not miss Christ, our destiny, or our purposes if we keep our hearts right with the Lord. If our heart is hungering after the Lord, even if we go off course, He will bring us back because we are seeking Him with our whole heart.
However, this is the key.
To the church at Ephesus – I know your works, your labor, and your patience under threat, persecution, and violence; your intolerance of doctrinal defection and inconsistent conduct. –“how You cannot bear them which are evil”; your rigid and impartial discipline exercised in the case of false apostles, false teachers and false brethren who were undermining the foundations of the faith. They were in the midst of scorn, public abuse, worldly loss, martyr-heroism and firmly enduring all for Jesus’ name sake. They had labored and not fainted. What a noble eulogy! What more could be said on their part? What more can be lacking on theirs? Yet, all they are doing right is followed with a “nevertheless”. “Nevertheless I have somewhat against you because you have left your first love.”
Jesus speaks of the church at Ephesus as “fallen”---fallen from a high eminence; ---like once-soaring eagles, now with wings collapsed struggling in the dust, their noble plumage soiled and ruffled---their glory gone!
From Paul’s language in his Epistle to the Ephesians, they were blessed with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ, and had been enabled to comprehend, as none other of His converts, “the breadth, length, depth, and height of the love of Christ.” This Church of glowing zeal and fervor he had afterwards committed to the special charge of his son, Timothy.
It is in Ephesus, after John’s release from Patmos, where John spent his last days, wrote the Gospel of John, and was buried.
Jesus who was seen in the vision simply “in the midst of the golden candlesticks” announces Himself, as walking in their midst---going about to and fro from church to church, ---from congregation to congregation; ---from soul to soul. We under-shepherds may sleep, but He that keeps Israel does not slumber.
Jesus is the true “Watchman of the house” (Ez. 3:17). Blessed be God, no church, no individual, is depending on priest or minister. The presence and sustaining grace of Christ are the secret of all life and light. We are “kept” by the power of God.”
Rev. 2: 1-7: “To the angel of the church of Ephesus write; These things says He that holds the seven stars in His right hand, who walks in the midst of the seven golden candlesticks; I know your works, and your labor, and your patience, and how you can not bear them which are evil; and you have tried them which say they are apostles, and are not, and I have found them liars; And have borne, and have patience, and for My name’s sake have labored and have not fainted. Nevertheless I have somewhat against you, because you have left your first love.
All this speaks of a gigantic and prolonged struggle; in a city where cultured Greek, subtle Oriental, libertine Roman and intolerant Jew, combined with the worship of Diana were in uncompromising hostility to the faith of Jesus.
The Elders at Ephesus when they met Paul at Miletus had been forewarned by him (in his touching address) of the grievous wolves who would come in to divide the fold and scatter the sheep.
This righteous upbraiding rests today on many churches, and many hearts in the United States of America and the Christian Church universal.
We too have been through two years of trial, testing, rejection, abuse, judgment and criticism. Not just this congregation, but the glorious church universally. We can say like the church at Ephesus, We have been faithful in works, labor, patience, preaching, truth, exposing evil, calling out false apostles, prophets and teachers. We have borne with patience for Jesus’ Name and we have not fainted.
However, as we battled faithfully fighting the good fight of faith, worshiping and enduring as good soldiers, I ask you glorious church of the United States, “Have you left your first love”? Are you on fire like you were when you were born again and received the Baptism of the Holy Spirit? Are you fighting for Jesus, Christianity, the soul of our nation, souls; --- and in the battle experiencing the intimacy of just “being” in the presence of the Lord --- “Our Time”?
Has the love of the world or the love of sin, ---has the neglect of prayer and of the means of grace, dulled and deadened spiritual life---caused the church to lose its fire? “Remember therefore from whence you have fallen, and repent and do the first works.” “Turn ye”, he seems to say, not by rekindling a mere fitful glow of ardent emotion, but by doing “the first works”---the true tests and exponents of a genuine revival of love.
“Except you repent” trembles on the lips of Jesus. If a church, instead of going from strength to strength, degenerates from weakness to weakness---the long-deferred sentence must go forth. What happened to the glorious Ephesian church? She knew not the time of her visitation. The grievous wolves completed the havoc of the fold---the waning love gradually lessened---the once-bright candle was quenched in darkness.
Van Tanner spoke a word on Sunday morning that should be sounded as a trumpet: “There will be one more test before we are catapulted into the next wave of glory. If we don’t bail out in the midst of that test, then there will be no turning back and we will be in the promised glory and authority of the triumphant overcoming church.” (paraphrased)
“The book of Revelation is a trumpet call for those who have cried out to know the fullness of Christ, whose hearts have ached with desire for the intimacy of a consuming relationship with God, whose spirits have hungered for living water to flood through them as a river of righteousness. God has been waiting since the Garden for a generation of people who would lose themselves utterly in a relationship with Him, so that they could be restored unto Him as sons and daughters. David was called a “man after God’s own heart” not because he was without sin, but because of his steadfast desire to know and please his Lord. Like David, this chosen generation of sold out Christians, consumed by a desire to follow Him, is being called to fulfill God’s plan to bring His people back into intimate fellowship with Him….the book of Revelation is a deeply spiritual book, one that must become a part of the reader (“eaten” Rev. 10:9) if it is to be understood, and its precious promises are to be fulfilled.
“God is raising up a generation of overcomers, the like of which the world has never before seen. They will be so completely in love with the Lord that their very presence will speak of Jesus, thus, they are called the Sons of God….These chosen sons have been preordained to “sound the trumpet” by bringing forth a message that lets everyone know that the Day of the Lord is upon us. They will declare a time of great tribulation for those whose hearts are bound by the deception and blindness of their own desires. Yet they will also bring a time of unparalleled liberation through a revelation of hope with the power to set the world free. These Elect messengers of God, transformed by the power of Christ, will show us the way into the Glory.” (The Seven Thunders of God by: Van Tanner, Hope of Glory Ministries)
“He that has an ear let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches; To him that overcomes will I give to eat of the tree of life which is in the midst of the paradise of God.”
In wrath the Lord remembers mercy. In that apostate Church there were doubtless a few still faithful---still glowing with the old fervor of pristine love---a few olive berries still on the top of the wintry boughs. It is to such He addresses the closing promise. “To those who hold fast their faith and patience to the end, He would give to eat of the tree of life in the celestial Paradise.”
We have a glimpse of that Tree of Life within the earthly Eden; but its gates close and the mysterious object vanishes from our sight. But a fairer Eden and Paradise is revealed where sin dare not enter, where no angel sword guards the way.
In the vision of the water of life---“on either side of the river was there the tree of life, which bare twelve manner of fruits, and yielded her fruit every month, and the leaves of the tree were for the healing of the nations.” Whatever was forfeited in the Fall will be more than compensated in Redemption. “Behold,” says He who sits on the throne, “I make all things new” (Rev. 21:5)!
Church as we are coming out of many battles, How stands it with us as churches? How stands it with us as individuals? Have we become so battle weary that we forgot our first love? Are the symptoms of decay and declension too painfully visible among us? Is the spiritual death-chill upon us?
American church are we drifting farther and farther out to the great sea of darkness? Many are falling away in despair. Many pastors though they have stood and fought the good fight of faith are weary as they watch the great falling away. The migrant church continues to look to be entertained. Where is the next great singer, or prophet who will tickle my ears? What if the Lord is calling you to prepare and equip the next generation of ministers? If we do not love the Lord with all our heart, soul and mind, then the selfishness of the Church will cause us to become castaways and the Lord will say he never knew us.
Whether it be worldliness, pride or sensuality, or like these Nicolaitans, turning the grace of God into lasciviousness---a vaunting profession with an inconsistent and immoral life,---whatever has enfeebled the moral courage, and caused the Church to leave its first love, let us return.
“To him that overcomes” reminds His people of fighting the good fight of faith as the condition of victory. We cannot say the Book of Revelation was written to the martyrs of Domitian’s dungeons and Nero’s lions. It is upon us. The Islamist Jihadists want to kill us. Our government is not protecting us. Lawlessness abounds and is given place by a corrupt government.
All churches are being tested. Oh their buildings may stand, but the lamp stand will be removed. Jesus who moves in the midst of His candlesticks will never be without a Church. He will never be stripped of faithful witnesses to His name and cause. His churches may be transferred---but they can never, like the candle of the wicked be put out. The place of the faithless will be supplied by the faithful.
If we refuse to shine for Him, others will; ---if these should hold their peace, the stones will cry out. We must not cease to fulfill our mission. “Remember from where you have fallen”. Remember! It is a word of rebuke; but it is also a word of quickening and revival.
It is the sharp blast of the trumpet ---calling upon us to rekindle the torch dropped from the hands of those who have fainted.
“Turn us again, O Lord God of hosts; cause your face to shine and we shall be saved.” (Psa. 80:7).
“Remember therefore from where you have fallen, and repent and do the first works; or else I will come to you quickly, and will remove your candlestick out of its place, except you repent.”
Ephesus had many good works to its credit. It was sound doctrinally, but had cooled toward Jesus, having forsaken intimacy with Him. No amount of good works or sound doctrine---can take the place of agape in a Christian community.
What’s more, the church was plagued with those claiming to be apostles. After building a following, these false teachers would exploit their followers for personal advantage. This is going on in the universal church today. There are many who claim the title of Apostle, who are false Apostles. If the Lord has ordained one as an apostle or prophet, we won’t have to announce who we are.
Until the Lord states His charge, one would think this Ephesian church was perfect. but there is a major flaw, they substituted works for love. If they do not repent, the Lord will remove their candlestick (His Presence).
After a stinging accusation of this church’s sin, the Lord adds a comforting word of praise. He says in effect, “at least you hate the Nicolaitanes”. Once the Lord spoke to me about a church that had the doctrine of the Nicolaitanes. Theologians tend to lean toward the doctrine of the Nicolaitanes as “believers have a right to participate in immoral heathen practices with the Blood of Jesus covering all sin. They preached lawlessness as an acceptable way of life”. The church the Lord spoke to me about didn’t advocate immorality, but were very self-righteous, judgmental and condemning. The word “Nicolaitanes” is also, used for “make believe Christians”.
Pastor Carolyn Sissom
Eastgate Ministries, Inc.
Scripture from K.J.V. Text paraphrased from F. F. Bruce Bible Commentary, by F. F. Bruce; The Seven Thunders of God by: Van Tanner; Lovett’s Lights on Revelation by C. S. Lovett; John Ross Macduff, Memories of Patmos (1871). Teachings on Revelation by: Carolyn Sissom www.eastgateministries.com. Comments and conclusions are my own and not meant to reflect the views of those from whom I have gleaned.