How "Church" Takes Us Away From Our First Love
We can't get to the second step if we missed the first.
Back to our first love. We have drifted so far away without noticing it. Our wrong priorities have enticed us so much and brought us to things we thought were God's next but weren't. Instead, our wrong direction brought us nearer mystery Babylon than the Kingdom of God without realizing it. And we think we're on the right track. This is why Jesus warned us about being deceived in the last days.
Yup, we really think we are on the right track.
Photo by Kristine Weilert on Unsplash.
In many ways, we're all like the church in Ephesus (I mean we, the church, in general). We work so hard in ministry and persevere. We go on planting more churches and never giving up no matter the cost. We're equipped with our denominational doctrines and theologies and earn as many titles and degrees on them. We're not easy to fool or be persuaded to another religion. We attack sin and ungodliness. We never tire of our usual ministry routine, year in and year out, remaining loyal to our church goals and traditions.
All God Sees in Us
And that's exactly how we abandoned our first love.
I know your deeds, your hard work and your perseverance. I know that you cannot tolerate wicked people, that you have tested those who claim to be apostles but are not, and have found them false. 3 You have persevered and have endured hardships for my name, and have not grown weary. 4 Yet I hold this against you: You have forsaken the love you had at first. [Revelation 2]
All God sees are our own deeds. We think we please him with our works and accomplishments. These priorities made us fall big-time without feeling or realizing it. Not that these things are bad. They're good. But we replaced God's best for us with what we thought was best for him. Like how Martha rejected the only thing needed but Mary chose what was better, which was God's best for her. We know the story and yet we never get it. We still behave like the church in Ephesus. We're full of work and hard work at that.
Consider how far you have fallen! Repent and do the things you did at first.
Why Back to First Love?
Wrong focus on hard work and achievements can develop into heart idolatry and start making us abandon our first love, Jesus. In some instances, we even develop hatred for Jesus without realizing it. I've seen it happen in many churches. Doctrines going against what Jesus or God said in the bible, being selective about what parts of the bible they'd take in as doctrine, or manipulating bible passages in favor of their doctrines. These are tantamount to hating Jesus, because HE is the Word of God.
Another abandonment of your first love is preferring human theology and hermeneutics to the supernatural revelation of the Holy Spirit which almost no one believes in today. They mock the idea of relying on the Holy Spirit alone for correct Word interpretation and glorify hermeneutics or how titled and degreed "bible experts" understand God's Word taught them by their bible schools and seminaries. Jesus prophesied this and it's coming to pass today.
..the Spirit of truth. The world cannot accept him, because it neither sees him nor knows him. [John 14.17]
Jesus never had in mind any human institution for learning when he taught about understanding Scriptures. He merely said, "The Holy Spirit will teach you all things." I'd like to stress that--"all things."
But the Advocate, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you all things and will remind you of everything I have said to you. [John 14.26]
If you love Jesus as your first love you'd take his words and instructions seriously and stick with it to the end, no matter what. You'd hate anything to the contrary. But if you claim to believe in Jesus and yet listen to "experts" who say contrary things, you have deserted your first love and gone after other "lovers."
Among God's Next moves is to frustrate churches that run after their lovers. Yes, they'd do and accomplish a lot of things "for God" but will always be disappointed with their results. It will all be empty. Even mainline and mega churches today are big-time failures today because as long as they pursue after people, they fail. Jesus never pursued people. People desperately went to him. That's the standard. These failures are designed to get them pursuing after Jesus again in the last days, returning to their first love.
She will chase after her lovers but not catch them; she will look for them but not find them. Then she will say, ‘I will go back to my husband as at first, for then I was better off than now.’ [Hosea 2]
It will happen first to the Jews, then to the gentile church. Gentile believers are no longer treated as strangers by God. They have Abraham as their father in faith, too. In Christ, there's no more difference. No more Jews or gentiles. No more nationalities. In fact, no more denominations.
How First Love Looks Like
First love is simple--just watch Mary and Martha. Martha worked hard to accomplish things for Jesus but the Lord was not impressed. While all Mary did was to seat at Jesus' feet gripped and dazzled, listening to his every Word. Jesus said she opted for the "one thing that is needed." That's first love. If you fail to have this, you must see "the height from which you have fallen," says Revelation 2.
Jesus never did anything except what he saw and heard from the Father. He didn't have his own plan or program. He was led solely by the Holy Spirit and understood Scriptures only from the Spirit's viewpoint.
By myself I can do nothing; I judge only as I hear, and my judgment is just, for I seek not to please myself but him who sent me. [John 5.30]
Jesus gave them this answer: “Very truly I tell you, the Son can do nothing by himself; he can do only what he sees his Father doing, because whatever the Father does the Son also does. [John 5.19]
The Spirit of the Lord will rest on him—
the Spirit of wisdom and of understanding,
the Spirit of counsel and of might,
the Spirit of the knowledge and fear of the Lord—
3 and he will delight in the fear of the Lord.
He will not judge by what he sees with his eyes,
or decide by what he hears with his ears; [Isaiah 11]
Now in the church at Antioch there were prophets and teachers: Barnabas, Simeon called Niger, Lucius of Cyrene, Manaen (who had been brought up with Herod the tetrarch) and Saul. 2 While they were worshiping the Lord and fasting, the Holy Spirit said, “Set apart for me Barnabas and Saul for the work to which I have called them.” 3 So after they had fasted and prayed, they placed their hands on them and sent them off. [Acts 13]
Ministry should be done this way from beginning to end. It should be done by Jesus in us (we no longer live but Christ live in us) through the supernatural revelation and leading of the Holy Spirit. It's NOT through man's ways or wisdom.
Jesus' First Love
Jesus' first love was the Father, so he did everything "exactly" as the Father instructed him supernaturally. He demonstrated his love for the Father, not by doing what he thought was best for the Father's glory, but by doing only what the Father told him to do.
"...but the Holy Spirit comes so that the world may learn that I love the Father and do exactly what my Father has commanded me." [John 14.31]
Jesus equated love for God with "doing exactly" as God commands in his Word. First love then is seriously listening to the spoken Word straight from the Father's mouth and doing only that, all by the revelation and power of the Holy Spirit.
- It's all supernatural, God doing everything through us.
- Nothing is through human ways, systems, or understanding.
- Teaching is not through bible schools or seminaries. It's through Jesus' discipleship alone (how he did discipleship) through the supernatural work and power of the Holy Spirit.
- Understanding and interpreting God's Word in the bible is through the revelation of the Holy Spirit alone.
- The church should be taught the supernatural ways of God and how to be led by the Holy Spirit.
- Church should learn how to hear God's spoken Word and his voice.
- Church must believe the entire Word of God in the bible and take everything as sound doctrine.
LEARN MORE ABOUT GOD's NEXT MOVES!
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