An Open Door: First Love

Introduction:

1. As we’ve discussed over the past few weeks, there are unique “doorways” or behaviors found in the scriptures that can aid us in holding a stronger relationship with Jesus and others.

a. First, we taught about an open door of forgiveness and how releasing the hurt in your heart can bring healing and access to God's heart.

b. Then we taught about an open door of confidence, how you can find assurance in the righteous nature God has placed in you as a part of your salvation. With your God-empowered confidence, you can fulfill your eternal calling.

c. Finally, we taught how you can "go in" and "come out" of an open door of God's presence and how He can change you by His power. As you gain the truth of your identity in Jesus, you can push past the enemy's condemnation in your thoughts.

2. Today I want to talk with you about an open door or principle of “first love.”

3. The phrase “first love” is easy to define in the context of romantic love, but I want to talk to you about a deeper, eternal longing every man, woman, and child has to love and be loved by Jesus.

4. We are all born with an innocent and innate desire to be loved by God and to love Him.

a. As many of you know, I wasn’t born here in the US.

b. Thinking back to my first memories…

c. I knew I had a connection to God; the faith of my parents became my faith at a young age. I sensed God’s nearness.

5. Though many do not discover Jesus as a child, when they find Him, they know that they were created to love and to be loved by Him.

a. Story of the Iranian family (2017): “I always knew God was like this Father.”

6. Jesus speaks of this first love place that He must have in our lives.

a. He addresses this in an open vision to the Apostle John regarding the largest and most powerful church of the first century, Ephesus.

Revelations 2:1-7 “To the angel of the church of Ephesus write, ‘These things says He who holds the seven stars in His right hand, who walks in the midst of the seven golden lampstands:“I know your works, your labor, your patience, and that you cannot bear those who are evil. And you have tested those who say they are apostles and are not, and have found them liars; and you have persevered and have patience, and have labored for My name’s sake and have not become weary. Nevertheless I have this against you, that you have left your first love. Remember therefore from where you have fallen; repent and do the first works, or else I will come to you quickly and remove your lampstand from its place—unless you repent.

b. The church of Ephesus was a mature, patient, and hardworking church. Jesus, in his love for this church, admonished them that they had lost their first love. They had “stopped maintaining or insisting on Him as the first” in their lives.

7. How do you lose your first love devotion?

a. First love is lost to:

i. Desires of impulse

ii. Desires for what you see

iii. Desires of pride.

1 John 2:15-16 “Do not love the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world—the desires of the flesh and the desires of the eyes and pride of life—is not from the Father but is from the world.

b. First, love is lost when self-love is a priority.

Timothy 3:1-5 “But know this, that in the last days perilous times will come: For men will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy, unloving, unforgiving, slanderers, without self-control, brutal, despisers of good, traitors, headstrong, haughty, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God, having a form of godliness but denying its power.

i. The solution is not to hate yourself but to love Jesus and others more than yourself.

Romans 12:9-16 “Let love be without hypocrisy. Abhor what is evil. Cling to what is good. Be kindly affectionate to one another with brotherly love, in honor giving preference to one another; not lagging in diligence, fervent in spirit, serving the Lord; rejoicing in hope, patient in tribulation, continuing steadfastly in prayer; distributing to the needs of the saints, given to hospitality. Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse. Rejoice with those who rejoice, and weep with those who weep. Be of the same mind toward one another. Do not set your mind on high things, but associate with the humble. Do not be wise in your own opinion.

c. First love is lost when you feed a love for money.

1 Timothy 6:10 “For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil, for which some have strayed from the faith in their greediness, and pierced themselves through with many sorrows.”

d. First love is lost when you give into sensual desires.

1 Peter 2:11 “Beloved, I implore you as aliens and strangers and exiles [in this world] to abstain from the sensual urges (the evil desires, the passions of the flesh, your lower nature) that wage war against the soul.”

8. How do I rekindle the first love I once had or desire to have?

a. Rev. 2:5 “Repent (change the inner man to meet God’s will) and do the works you did previously [when first you knew the Lord]…”

9. The way to return to first Love is to make aggressive changes to your behavior. Putting Jesus first in these two areas.

a. Make your first thought about Jesus.

i. Before you iPhone, Facebook, or social media, check, have a discussion with Him first. (“Good morning Holy Spirit…”)

ii. Make the time to prepare yourself and then talk with Him. Start at 15 minutes a day.

b. Make Jesus the first one you ask.

Proverbs 3:5-8 Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and lean not on your own understanding; In all your ways acknowledge Him,and He shall direct your paths. Do not be wise in your own eyes; Fear the Lord and depart from evil. It will be health to your flesh (entire structure) and strength to your bones.

b. Give the first (of your income) to Jesus.

i. Why is my money important to God? Because where you give your treasure (money), your heart & thoughts will follow.

Matthew 6:19-21 “Do not gather and heap up and store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust and worm consume and destroy, and where thieves break through and steal. But gather and heap up and store for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust nor worm consume and destroy, and where thieves do not break through and steal; For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.”

ii. Ways to give first to God- Return the tithe & give a first fruits offering.

iii. You return the first 10% of your income to the Lord because it belongs to Him.

iv. When you give your tithe, you are saying, Lord, I’m returning to you what is yours and honoring Your command to make You first.

1. The tithe is what leaves your hand first.

2. Don’t make returning the tithe to the Lord a condemning thing; make it a matter of honor and worship.

v. This is not a superstition, a tradition; Tithing and giving of first fruits are discplines that foster humility when there’s an opportunity for pride.

1. Dad’s response to the rich doctor when our church was in a financially tough time. The Dr. requested that dad not preach in such a way against sin and threatened to withdraw his financial support. Dad: “It is the Lord, not you, who called me into the ministry. It is the Lord who will sustain this Church, not you.”

Proverbs 3:5-6 Honor the Lord with your possessions, and with the first fruits of all your increase; So your barns will be filled with plenty, And your vats will overflow with new wine. My son, do not despise the chastening of the Lord, Nor detest His correction; For whom the Lord loves He corrects, Just as a father the son in whom he delights.

vi. Giving God the first of your finances reminds you of where you came from and sets a precedent among your children to honor the Lord in their wealth and success.

Exodus 13:11-16 “And it shall be, when the Lord brings you into the land of the Canaanites, as He swore to you and your fathers, and gives it to you, that you shall set apart to the Lordall that open the womb, that is, every firstborn that comes from an animal which you have; the males shall be the Lord’s. But every firstborn of a donkey (unclean)you shall redeem with a lamb (clean); and if you will not redeem it, then you shall break its neck. And all the firstborn of man among your sons you shall redeem(with a lamb). So it shall be, when your son asks you in time to come, saying, ‘What is this?’ that you shall say to him, ‘By strength of hand the Lord brought us out of Egypt, out of the house of bondage. And it came to pass, when Pharaoh was stubborn about letting us go, that the Lord killed all the firstborn in the land of Egypt, both the firstborn of man and the firstborn of beast. Therefore I sacrifice to the Lord all males that open the womb, but all the firstborn of my sons I redeem.’ It shall be as a sign on your hand and as frontlets between your eyes, for by strength of hand the Lord brought us out of Egypt.”

vii. In following this principle, we, as a church, yearly set aside a “first fruits offering.” This free-will offering, in correspondence to a time of fasting and prayer, is to cumulatively make Jesus first in our personal life, calendar year, and finances. This is done not in obligation as in the Old Testament but out of love and honor to God’s command to make Him first.

viii. We’ve set aside January 28th as the day for this sacrificial offering. Ask the Holy Spirit how you can give to honor Him. Maybe you should decide by saying, “Lord, I’d like to do this…”

1. Don’t give what you don’t have.

2. Yes, it is a sacrifice, but give out of your ability.

10. This returning to first love begins with repentance.

11. Returning to your first love means redirecting your affections to Jesus, by making Him first. It is about opening the door to God’s favor and blessings in your time, health, finances, and family.

12. As we close, maybe the Holy Spirit is speaking to you about making Him your first love again.

a. Story of McDonald’s.

· 1997, As a 19-year-old college student and youth pastor, I applied for a job.

· In an interview, I said, “I want your job,” to the manager.

· She smiled and said ok. What hours can you work? I gave her my college schedule and then said I couldn’t work Sundays and Wednesday evenings.

· She said, well, you’ll never be a manager without being able to have a flexible schedule.

· I tithed every paycheck, worked as unto the Lord, and in exactly one year, went through 7 pay raises and became the youngest manager of a McDonald’s in Texas. I managed two stores and was offered a scholarship to continue on in becoming a part of the McDonald's franchise.

· God honors those who honor Him.

· I had to make a choice, and some of us today need to make the same choice.

· Repent (change your mind), and return to your first love by making Him first.