But I have this against you, that you have left your first love. Therefore remember from where you have fallen, and repent and do the deeds you did at first; or else I am coming to you and will remove your lampstand out of its place—unless you repent. Ephesians 2:4-6.
Today your LORD (יהוה) God says:
Solomon left his first love. At first his life was all about Me and seeking My input into his life. All he did was to give Me glory. Later his heart turned from Me and his life became all about himself. And it all turned into vanity.
If you have left your first love, then you went from looking at Me to looking at yourself. It was all about Me but then suddenly it became all about you. I was no longer enough for you.
You have left your first love when your feelings begin to block out your delight in Me. Your own happiness based on whether you feel your life is fulfilling, feel like you have accomplished great things, and these become bigger in your life than Me. Even when you think you are doing all for Me if whether you have done great things become as obstacle to your joy in Me, then your heart is no longer focused on Me but on self—how you feel, about who you are, about your reputation, about your achievements or lack of them. You lose your confidence in your relationship with Me.
Leaving your first love is throwing away your confidence in My unconditional love for you. It is throwing aside your confidence in coming with boldness knowing you are welcome and honored by Me at My throne of grace to receive mercy and obtain grace just when you need it. Hebrews 4:16.
Paul describes the danger of leaving you first love in this manner, “But remember the former days, when, after being enlightened, you endured a great conflict of sufferings, partly by being made a public spectacle through reproaches and tribulations, and partly by becoming sharers with those who were so treated. For you showed sympathy to the prisoners and accepted joyfully the seizure of your property, knowing that you have for yourselves a better possession and a lasting one. Therefore, do not throw away your confidence, which has a great reward. For you have need of endurance, so that when you have done the will of God, you may receive what was promised. For yet in a very little while, He who is coming will come, and will not delay. But My righteous one shall live by faith; and if he shrinks back, My soul has no pleasure in him. But we are not of those who shrink back to destruction, but of those who have faith to the preserving of the soul. Hebrews 10:32-39.
First love is walking with Me with your eyes on Me for all you need and having a relationship with Me, knowing you have better possession and a lasting one than all other things the world has to offer.
Leaving your first love is determining your level of confidence in Me by your own works. But it is the finished work of Jesus that should determine your level of confidence in My love for you.
First love you look at Me for your happiness, when you leave your first love, you look at yourself for your happiness.
When what people are saying or the threats of people and things become bigger in your life than what I am saying then you have left your first love. You have thrown aside your confidence. You have lost heart.
Do not lose heart.
Leaving first love in the thorns choking off your love and making it grown cold. In the parable My Son told you about the sower going out to sow seed. He tells you the seed is the Word. Among other types of ground, Jesus told you that there was seed that fell among the thorns, and the thorns came up and choked it, and it yielded no crop. And He explained what He meant about the seed sown among the thorns, “these are the ones who have heard the word, but the worries of the world, and the deceitfulness of riches, and the desires for other things enter in and choke the word, and it becomes unfruitful.” Mark 4:18-19. The thorns choke off first love and make it grow cold that turn your heart from Me for strength to yourself.
What is the solution? When a fire is dying out you feed it into flame. You stir up the embers and put more fuel on it. Paul told Timothy, “For this reason I remind you to fan into flame (kindle anew) the gift of God, which is in you through the laying on of my hands.” 2 Timothy 1:6. What happened from the laying on of hands? I tell you that then they received the gift of the Holy Spirit when Peter and John laid their hands on the people of Samaria. It is the gift of tongues. Pray in tongues and it will fan your love into flame.
Do you remember the day Pentecost was fulfilled and My Holy Spirit was poured out onto and into the hearts of the believers waiting in the upper room at the directions of Jesus? A flame rested upon each of them individually. And they were filled with Holy Spirit. And what happened? They gave utterance in other tongues. They spoke in tongues. And it made the crowd think they were drunk with wine. Paul confirmed this when he said do not get drunk with wine but be filled with the Holy Spirit, and how do you get filled? By addressing yourselves and one another in psalms, hymns, and songs of the Spirit.
And you fan your love into flame by thanksgiving and praise. “Devote yourselves to prayer, keeping alert in it with thanksgiving.” Colossians 4:2. For you will go out with joy and be led forth with peace; the mountains and the hills will break forth into songs of joy before you, and all the trees of the field will clap their hands. Instead of the thorn bush the cypress will come up, and instead of the nettle the myrtle will come up, and it will be a memorial to the LORD, for an everlasting sign which will not be cut off. Isaiah 55:12-13.
You need a good diet of praise and worship, praying and singing in the Spirit, to keep your first love into flames. Remember when the household of Cornelius received salvation and the gift of the Holy Spirit fell on them? They spoke in tongues and what were they doing? “While Peter was still speaking these words, the Holy Spirit fell upon all those who were listening to the message (that all their sins were forgiven in Jesus). All the circumcised believers who came with Peter were amazed, because the gift of the Holy Spirit had been poured out on the Gentiles also. For they were hearing them speaking with tongues and exalting God.” Acts 10:44-46. And remember how they described Stephen as man filled with faith and the Holy Spirit? Faith comes by hearing My Word and you are filled with the Holy Spirit by speaking in psalms, hymns, and spirit songs. You edify, build yourself up, by speaking in tongues. You speak mysteries.
And how do you know that you left your first love? When you have no joy. In My presence is fullness of joy and Christ is in you and He is anointed with the oil of joy. Check your joy level. If it is low, you have left My presence, though I am there, and turned your heart to other things so that you no longer are aware of Christ in you. And if you have no joy, you have no love. But if you get filled with the Holy Spirit you cannot help but overflow with joy. It is a fruit of the Spirit in you.
Paul wrote from prison that he was overflowing with joy. How could that be? What was he doing? You know. Have you not read Acts 16? He and Silas were lying chained to the floor in the inner prison and they were singing songs of praise and worship. It released them from their chains and opened the prison gates. And they learned this from My servant David. He sang praise in dark caves as he fled for his life from Saul and it changed everything. And he tells you about it: “I will bless the LORD at all times; His praise shall continually be in my mouth. My soul will make its boast in the LORD. The humble will hear it and rejoice. O magnify the LORD with me, and let us exalt His name together. I sought the Lord, and He answered me, and delivered me from all my fears. They looked to Him and were radiant, and their faces will never be ashamed. This poor man cried, and the LORD heard him and saved him out of all his troubles.” Psalm 34:1-6.
The praise cure. Use it now on the current virus threat. But this is the time to gather, not scatter, My flock, united together you can block this threat of the enemy, but alone without a strong shepherd prey you will be to the world and its fear and the lies of the enemy. Have you never read His command to the Church in Hebrews 10? “Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for He who promised is faithful (and I promised I am the LORD your healer, Exodus 15:26, no weapon formed against you will prosper, Isaiah 54:17, that I heal all your diseases, Psalm 103:3, and that in Me you find refuge and perfect protection from pestilence and every work of the enemy, Psalm 91, and I have given you authority to tread on serpents and scorpions, and over ALL the power of the enemy; and nothing will injure you, Luke 10:19, and the authority in Jesus’ Name to cast out demons, lay your hands on the sick and they recover, Mark 16:17-18; that I have given men dominion over the creeping things, Genesis 1:26, that My Words are life to all who find them and healing to all their flesh, Proverbs 4:22, that you can bind on earth what is bound in Heaven (and sickness is bound in Heaven, there is no sickness or pain there, Rev. 21:4), Matthew 18:18, and where you gather in Jesus’ Name, He, the healer, is in your midst, Matthew 18:20, and the power to heal is there, Luke 5:17, Jesus redeemed you from the curse which includes poverty, sickness, and eternal death, Galatians 3:13-14; Deuteronomy 28:14-68, 61; and you have resurrection power, the Holy Spirit, living in you Who gives life to your mortal bodies and that power working in you can do far more than you can even ask or think, Romans 8:11, Ephesians 1:19-23, Ephesians 3:20, and I, the LORD, will create over your assemblies of grace (Zion) a shelter and a refuge and protection, the glory cloud, Isaiah 4:5-6) “and let us consider how to stimulate one another to love and good deeds, NOT FORSAKING our assembling together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see that DAY drawing near.” Hebrews 10:23-25. Without faith it is impossible to please Me. Hebrews 11:6. And unless your faith is firm, you cannot stand firm, if you will not believe, you surely shall not last. Isaiah 7:9.
A trial like this, which I did not send (Satan is sifting you like wheat), will show whether you stand or whether you bend. A trial shows who you really are, whose side of the fence you are on and which master you serve. Who is pure gold? The one who is bold and speaks My Words and not of the world. It is time to stand up and turn this around, open your mouth and rebuke the enemy in Jesus’ Name, cast out this demonic virus as Jesus told you to do who believe in His Name. And then ask restoration and healing in Jesus’ Name with thanksgiving. Move the mountain and then ask for good things. Mark 11: 22-25. And do not neglect assembling together to pray united and be built together into My dwelling in the Spirit. Ephesians 2:22.
I love you and it is always first love with Me.