Let’s glorify this King that is coming, let’s exalt His name, let’s magnify Him this morning. Say Father, indeed You are my Lord and my King because You are coming, I glorify Your name, You never fail, Father, You have promised to come back again, Father, we thank You because You keep your promise, glory be to Your name,You are worthy to be praised, You are worthy to be exalted. Thank You, Jesus, in Jesus name we have prayed.
There’s a song I would like us to sing, it’s a prophecy, it’s a confession
[Music]
Father, even as You have touched us, Your touch is in love, Father, we have come before You this morning asking that You touch us anew; today we come knowing that we come in the name of Jesus, covered with the blood of Jesus, let nothing hinder Your touch this morning, let nothing hinder the flow of Your love this morning, we have come to celebrate Jesus, let Your power be manifest. Holy Spirit, You said You are our helper, You are our comforter, You are our enabler, please come, take preeminence, in Jesus name we have prayed.
I want to thank God for this opportunity to learn of Him and to share, and thank God for our father in the Lord, Pastor Tunde Netufo, the pastorate for this opportunity. The Lord will bless our daddy, strengthen him and uphold the pastorate in Jesus name.
This month, the mission has focused on the Explosive Growth Drive which has to reinforce the vision of the church to become 40 million members by the year 2032. Now, this vision aligns with the great commission; the Bible says we should go and make disciples of all nations, so 40 million is nothing truly compared to the great commission, but the mission has to set a target and it’s not just to get people to fill the church, it’s to make disciples of nations. Praise the Lord.
Last week, we looked at thee topic that says Do Not Forsake Your First Love, and as I was sitting here last week, I didn’t know I’ll be here but God was telling me people don’t know this first love. He says don’t forsake your first love, go back to your first love, many people haven’t felt this love, they don’t understand this love.
Now the topic for today is “Return to Your First Love,” when it came up again that urge was reinforced, so while we will be doing the needful in addressing this topic, I want to particularly emphasize what the first love truly means. What is this first love? Why must I return to it? Praise the Lord.
Let’s read some scriptures, Revelations 2: 15, so hast thou also them that hold the doctrine of the Nicolaitanes, which things I hate. Praise the Lord. Next we’ll read Job 14: 7-9, for there is hope of a tree, if it be cut down, that it will sprout again, and that the tender branch thereof will not cease. 8Though the root thereof wax old in the earth, and the stock thereof die in the ground; 9yet through the scent of water it shall bud, and bring forth boughs like a plant. Praise the Lord.
The topic is Return to Your Love, and the first text we read in Revelations 2:15 speaks to a mixed multitude. So the church had people in it that believed in the doctrine that accepted lasciviousness, sexual immorality, yet you had holy people in the church. It was a mixed multitude and God doesn’t like that, and He says the church should either be hot or cold, and when the church binds together in the spirit and works as one, there is so much power released. Praise the Lord.
And our prayer today is that we will be that church that God will honor with His presence and His power in Jesus name.
Now the second passage we read just speaks to the fact that backsliders can be restored, it talks about even the root rotten, it says but at the whiff of water. My prayer for you and I today is that if there’s anyone in this place who perhaps had known the Lord before or as a church there are things we need to repent from, the Lord says today because His word is coming, we’ll be restored in Jesus name.
I wanted us to go back and see what are the characteristics of first love? What exactly did the church in Ephesus do that God asked them to go back to the first love? So just trying to understand what this first love is all about, there’s a long passage between Acts 18: 24 to Acts 19:20, (we will not read it for sake of time), we’ll just take snippets as we look at these characteristics.
The first one is that there was genuine salvation, Acts 19: 18-20, and many that believed came, and confessed, and showed their deeds. 19Many of them also which used curious arts brought their books together, and burned them before all men: and they counted the price of them, and found it fifty thousand pieces of silver. 20So mightily grew the word of God and prevailed. Praise the Lord.
So this was a place where people genuinely repented, there’s no half measure; when you come to Christ, you come to Christ, when you say, “I’m born again,” you are born again, this is the first characteristic of that first love. Do you love God enough to forsake the old things you used to do? You know that song that says, “The thing I used to do, I do them no more,” many of us will keep some of it; you know when push comes to shove you say do you know who I am? Because you’re going back to the flesh. Praise the Lord.
That first love must be such that sometimes you play the fool in the eyes of man because you know in whom you now belong. Have you truly repented? Are we truly born again? Have we forsaken the things of old? These guys brought their books with which they survived, things they consulted and they burnt them, have you burnt the old life? Praise the Lord.
Second, this church was spiritfilled and had the gifts of the Spirit at work among them. Let’s look at Galatians 5: 22-23, we know the fruit of the Spirit but it’s good to just recall them, and for me, it’s important that as a church, as we are the church in Lekki, for us to see and measure ourselves by the standard of God. But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith. 23Meekness, temperance: against such there is no law. Praise the Lord.
The fruit of the Spirit, not the fruits, so if you don’t have any one of these, that first love is not complete, you need to pray that the Spirit of God will manifest fully in you and I. When we have the fruit of the Spirit, we know the gifts of the Spirit, there’s prophecy, that is display, without the fruit of the Spirit, those things are used as business.
People take advantage of others because they don’t share the gifts in the fruit, they don’t use the fruit of the Spirit in manifesting the gifts because God gives them freely, He gives gifts to men, but then if love doesn’t exist, then people make money from those gifts.
Remember what we said, what are the characteristics of the first love? Genuine salvation, a church filled with the Spirit, has the gifts of the Spirit and it works amongst them, they use the gifts to edify the church, to lift others up, to be a blessing to the people. Praise the Lord.
Now the third one, some might not agree in the days of internet, in the days of social media; you know after COVID, some said they won’t come to church anymore but this church was committed to daily attendance at church. Now for two straight years they spent time changing their city, there was daily sharing, Acts 19: 9-10, it says but when divers were hardened, and believed not, but spake evil of that way before the multitude, he (that’s Paul) departed from them, and separated the disciples, disputing daily in the school of one Tyrannus. 10And this continued by the space of two years; so that all they which dwelt in Asia heard the word of Lord Jesus, both Jews and Greeks.
It is clear that Paul alone couldn’t have changed the nation, so he made disciples of people who then made disciples of others and the entire Asia heard the gospel. It came because they spent time daily learning and sharing and building themselves up. So you have a first love, you cannot ignore or neglect the assembly of brethren, you can’t say well, I’m the temple of Christ now so I’ll live alone, I’ll stay alone, I’ll go online, whatever I choose, you must commit to building the church. Praise the Lord.
You know there are times if you don’t see people’s faces you don’t know how they feel, the eyes is the window to the soul, physical contact remains critical, so when we come together we see the movement of somebody, the Holy Ghost could use that to actually reach out to the person through you, so do not neglect the assembly of the brethren.
Online is good, don’t get me wrong, but there are times to come together and it’s not just Sundays; on Tuesdays we have beautiful time here in Bible study, on Thursdays we pray, we pray for others too. Make time as God gives you grace, when you get determined, the Lord will back you up. Praise the Lord. Hallelujah!
Then finally the first love, this church was given to evangelism, they had the fire of evangelism. Why is that important? When an old man is dying, the last words are critical; as Christ was leaving, He gathered the disciples and says go ye and just teach everything I’ve taught you, baptizing them in the name of the Lord, and He says, lo, I am with you to the end of the world. He gave us a mandate, if you love me keep my commandment, that’s what the Bible says.
So that first love demands that you overcome those barriers that stop you from sharing the gospel, and sometimes it’s connected with selfworth, you think that you made yourself and if you change, then you are no longer who you used to be or you no longer wield the influence you used to wield, but that is not what God says, you have become a new creature, old things have passed away.
So if you want to truly live out this first love, you must be willing to make that switch, and as you are willing and obedient, the Bible says you’ll eat the good of the land, He will make provisions available to you beyond your imagination. People that have tried it have seen that the Lord is good. Praise the Lord!
So for those who need to be restored, perhaps you’ve experienced this level of commitment, love in the past, what do you need to do, for those who have experienced it? Many of us haven’t, hence I started with understanding what it is, but if you have been there before and you’ve strayed from the path, what do you have to do?
The first thing is to examine yourself. 2 Corinthians 13:5, examine yourselves, whether ye be in the faith; prove your own selves. Know ye not your own selves, how that Jesus Christ is in you, except ye be reprobates? What are reprobates? They are the rejects, people who have become so stonehearted that there’s no more conversion, they refuse to convert, they refuse to go back, they refuse to repent.
The Bible says daily examine yourself whether first of all you are in the faith; the word of God has come forth, it’s for every man to obey. There’s daily examination whether you are in the faith, then you prove your own selves whether Christ is in you. We know, our conscience bears us witness, so let there be a restoration. I remember our passage we read earlier in Job that no matter how bad it appears, no matter how far you have strayed, in Christ, there’s restoration and you’ll be restored in Jesus name.
Second is to acknowledge that you need to be restored. The worst thing a man can do is to remain in sin, it says must we continue in sin that grace may abound? God forbid. Sin is disobedience, sin is not just fornication, adultery, it’s disobedience; to a man who has known the first love, when you depart from it you are in sin. Praise the Lord.
Remember what the scripture says where we read in Revelations 19, it talks about accommodating the Nicolaitans, people who have the doctrine of the Nicolaitans; the fact that they accommodated them was sin, so let’s not begin to look at sin in the eyes of man, ‘oh, they kill somebody, that is sin,’ for a man that’s very close to God, sin is a very delicate thing; simple things like go to that door, you don’t go, it is sin. Praise the Lord.
Now what else you have to do? You must go to God in prayer. This church at Ephesus spent time praying, but beyond that let’s see what prayer does in Acts 4:29-32. When the disciples were threatened, the early church was threatened, see how they addressed it, it says, “And now, Lord, behold their threatenings: and grant unto thy servants, that with all boldness they may speak thy word. 30By stretching forth thine hand to heal; and that signs and wonders may be done by the name of thy Holy Child, Jesus.”
We can go on and on, you see when they prayed, the place was shaken, and they spoke the word with boldness. That first love when you bask in it and you pray for the power of God to come and accompany you, you are bold; the righteous is as bold as a lion, the boldness is not yours, remember righteousness is in Christ Jesus.
He has paid the price for you and that’s why on Calvary before He gave up the ghost, He said it is finished, your shame is finished, all the challenges of the enemy is finished, whatever he has used to hold you bound that has made you believe that you are inadequate, ‘oh I can’t preach the word, if I do I might not be able to back it up’, it is finished, so you are free indeed. He says he that the Son set free is free indeed, I am free indeed, I am free to live a life God has called me to live, I am free to be light of the world, I am free to change situations, I’m a solution to present issues. Praise the Lord. Hallelujah.
So let us go to Him in prayers, if you want to go back to your first love, take advantage of fellowship, we talked about it and with strong believers. Hebrews 10:24 & 25, and let us consider one another to provoke unto love and to good works: 25not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as the manner of some is, but exhorting one another: and so much the more, as ye see the day approaching. Praise the Lord.
Iron sharpeneth iron, Iron has to touch to sharpen iron, if you are too delicate to come to church because of how people will look at you, you are not ready. People will look at you funny, they are humans, we are imperfect beings serving a perfect God, we are being transformed. There are different levels of transformation in the church, so when you come and you bear grudge and – you’re just wasting time because you’re dealing with the flesh. Praise the Lord.
The church in Ephesus was filled with the Spirit, they operated in the Spirit, there was love, there was patience, you know those things I talked about, they are critical, and each man must aspire to have them because it’s only when you love you can preach to somebody genuinely, because even God knows when you are faking it. Praise the Lord.
You must take bold steps to begin to evangelize. The personal evangelism in today’s world is actually the most effective because your life reflects what you are, your character, your conduct, who you associate with, so when you embrace the first love we’re talking about, you must necessarily change your communication, people you deal with, old things have passed away.
You can’t continue in the house of harlotry and say I am transformed, you can’t continue in sin that grace may abound. So when people see the change, they will come ask you, you don’t have to say too much, then you will tell them of Jesus who you have met, that’s all, and the power of God will transform them in Jesus name.
You need to have a partner in evangelism. As I said, iron sharpens iron, this work isn’t a lone ranger work, get a partner, get a friend, get somebody who will tell you the truth, somebody who will prop you up when you are weak, the Bible says two are better than one because they have more reward for their labor, get a partner, if you don’t have, come to the church, as you spend time you will get a friend. Praise the Lord.
Watch and pray. The devil is going around like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour; 1st Peter 5:8, it says be sober, be vigilant, when you embrace this first love, the devil wants to let you know shey is you, we will see how long it will last, and that’s how some people fall; shey is you, you want to do business without giving bribe, we will see whether your business will survive; you want that job, you don’t want to bribe the oga, we’ll see.
The devil will throw these things at you but those who are in the Lord, who embrace the first love, the Lord is looking for them, He wants to show Himself mighty on their behalf, the Lord wants to show signs and wonders through you. Will you take the stand? Will you defend the gospel in your places of work, in your ministry, in your families? Praise the Lord.
Now, what are the benefits of holding on to your first love? You’ll be fruitful. John 15:4 says, abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, except it abide in the vine; no more can ye, except you abide in me; abiding is not just one day thing you get away, it’s a continuous thing.
Yesterday in the adult literacy program, one of our facilitators shared with the learners and he was talking about prayer; he was very pragmatic, he was saying the Bible says pray without ceasing, he said me and God we have conversations. He was in his car gesticulating and throwing his hand up and somebody say are you okay? He was actually praying, he was talking to God like he’s used to talking to God; he wakes up and he’ll say, “God, is it not too early? God, I’m still tired,” that’s the way he brought prayers to a level of conversation. Praise the Lord.
So, you need to get to the point where you abide, you and God are buddies just like Enoch, I love that story, it says God took him, this was before the commandments; he pleased God so much so that God took him. Can you walk with God like that? The Lord will give us grace to do that in Jesus name.
It says you’ll walk in the anointing because in Revelations 2:5 when Christ was speaking, He says, “Remember therefore from whence thou art fallen, and repent, and do the first works; or else I will come unto thee quickly, and will remove thy candlestick out of his place, except thou repent.” What’s the candlestick? The oil that lights the fire is the anointing of God.
There’s an anointing for you as you embrace the first love and the anointing breaks yokes, so by the anointing, every yoke in your life, in your family is broken in Jesus name.
It says God will use you massively as a vessel for signs and wonders. We know what happened to the disciples, we know of Peter who was afraid, who was a ‘coward,’ when the anointing came, he was transformed and he spoke boldly to the Sanhedrin and all the leaders of the temple.
They scolded him, he said no way, he had received power for signs and wonders, his shadow began to heal, hence, Christ said, the works that I do, ye shall do, and greater works than these because I go to my Father. The Lord is backing you up with power beyond your imagination, so let’s tap into it. Praise the Lord.
It says God will keep shining in your life, He will preserve you and make you relevant in your generation, He will make you relevant in this generation. Now you will experience joy, there’s a joy of salvation, I remember when I gave my life to Christ, I had so much joy because I was seeing things happen, I didn’t have wife or children, so it got to point I said if I go to heaven, I go to heaven because I knew I was enjoying my walk with God. when I now have children and wife, I say God, just wait, let me take care of my wife and my children. But truth be told, that for me is the first love, and by the grace of God, I’m trying to make sure I don’t let wife and children become a god, that is the point where there is so much joy in you.
The Bible says you leap over a wall, you break through barriers, there’s the joy of salvation. The Bible says Philippians 4:1, “Therefore, my brethren dearly beloved and longed for, my joy and crown, so stand fast in the Lord, my dearly beloved;” 1 Thessalonians 2:19, “For what is our hope, our joy, or crown of rejoicing? Are not even ye in the presence of our Lord Jesus Christ at His coming?”
He’s basically saying that as you evangelize, as you reach out, your joy is increased. So let’s not forget, this whole vision 2032, it’s a good thing for us because as you reach out to others, as you bless others, there’s so much joy that you get; people that give of themselves, they know what I’m talking about, when you see others lifted up because God used you, it’s amazing feeling beyond imagination. I pray that every one of us will experience this first love in Jesus name.
Now you’ll not lose your crown. There is a crown, the Bible says in Revelation 22:12, “Behold, I come quickly, and my reward is with me, to give every man according as his works shall be;” there is an accounting, you know the song the choir sang, there’s a part that says, “A sad day, sad day’, many people kept quiet, nobody wants a sad day, but for sinners, for those who are disobedient, who are on the left side of God, it’s a sad day. But for you and I, it’s a day of joy, it’s a day of joy when we continue in Him, when we do His will and please Him.
Now in conclusion, the scripture (is like the ministry knows I love this scripture), Philippians 3:10-14, this is Apostle Paul just giving us a summary of the thing that drove him. He says, that I may know him, and the power of his resurrection, and the fellowship of his sufferings, being made conformable unto his death. 11If by any means I might attain unto the resurrection of the dead. 12Not as though I had already attained, either we’re already perfect: but I follow after, if that I may apprehend that for which also I’m apprehended of Christ Jesus.
13Brethren, I count not myself to have apprehended: but this one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind, and reaching forth unto those things which are before, 14I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus.
The reason so many believers find it easy to lose their first love is that they were satisfied too early. You achieve a little and you are satisfied even though there’s still so much more God wants to do through you, we get comfortable because of past successes, they quickly forget to keep running and to keep laboring. Please remind yourself there’s more to be done, we cannot relent and we cannot slow down, let the fire of love of God in your heart keep burning.
Now I remember I started by saying some people don’t know what the first love is, but Christ gave us a snippet into it, He said come unto me all ye that labor and are heavy laden and I will give you rest for your soul. So God even gives you rest before you begin to understand it, and this morning by the grace of God, I present that same message.
If you are in this place and you don’t know what the first love is, you have not experienced the power of being a bornagain Christian, please take this step of faith, give your life to Christ, start this journey today, He says today is the day of salvation. Remember the song the choir sang, there will be judgment, every man will give account of what he has done.
If you are in this place, you’re not born again, if you’re in this place you want to become a new creature and old things will be passed away, you want to give your life to Christ…
[Altar call]
For the rest of us, let’s just stand up quickly and begin to thank God for loving you, for loving me, and for saving your soul. Say Father, please help me to love the things that You love, to love my neighbor as myself, please Lord God, help me to experience love for You anew. Renew Your love in my life, renew Your love in my heart, help me to live out my love for You in evangelism, in shining as light in this generation.
Father, let this church become the citadel of Your love for souls, Your love for one another. Father, make me fruitful, make our church fruitful, make RCCG fruitful, and please Lord, grant that all the souls that come in will abide, and Father, we just thank You today, we give You praise, we give You honor, we exalt You.
Thank You for Your first love, thank You for the love that transcends understanding, as we go forth, go before us today, repair every broken wall. In any way we need help, please help us, give us the grace to do as You have commanded, in Jesus name we’ve prayed.
