Your First Love
Your First Love
(Your First Love)
- David Wilkerson
Look at the list.
In fact, there’re 7 compliments that God gives this Ephesian-type Christian.
(Revelation 2:1-3,6)
(1) Your deeds, your hard work
(2) Your perseverance
(3) You cannot stand evil doers
(4) You have tested those who claim to be apostles and have found them false
(5) You have persevered and have endured hardships for my name
(6) You have not grown weary
(7) You hate the deeds of the Nicolaitans
“You have this just like I hate it.”
(Revelation 2:6)
“You’re one with me on this hatred against sin.”
“You have corruption, you hate fornication just as I do, that’s good.”
We’ve got an Ephesian Christian who’s got a servant’s heart.
He is a persevering man (woman).
He is not thinking of giving up faith.
He is holding precious name of Jesus.
The are doing many wonderful good Christian deeds, discerning, hating sin, hating compromise.
God said, “I’ve got something against you!”
That’s awesome to know that God can have something against you
when you hate sin, when you’re holding to His name, when you’re persevering,
when you’re not even weary.
God said, “I’ve got something against you!”
That’s awesome.
That hit me the other day.
God in the secret closet said, “I’ve got something against you.”
“Lord, how can you get against me?
I preached against sin at risk of my reputation.
I preached against sin.
I’m not weary. I love you.”
“In spite of all these good things, I can say about you. You have fallen.
You’re in need of repentance!”
It is not going back to your kind of love not to the zeal and enthusiasm you had
when you were first saved.
Many people are not even coming to the Lord getting sound salvation any more.
Majority of people getting saved today in the church of Jesus Christ are coming
at their selfish interests.
To avoid the wrath of God, ‘I don’t want to go to hell.’ to find happiness,
to heal your marriage, heal your body.
They are selfish interests.
Because of selfish interests we have not seen the cross.
It is not going back to something you had.
Let me read it in original Greek
maybe to come out a little clear.
“Here is what I have against you. You don’t love me as at first.
Remember how far you have fallen. Turn from your sins and do what was done at first.”
(Revelation 2:4-5)
“You have all the doctrines of the apostles.”
“You have all the hatred of sins that you are supposed to have.”
“You have all the making. You still do the deeds. You’re doing the things by works.
You’re doing all these things.”
“But, you have lost the love they had.”
If we have the love of Jesus Christ the apostles had, we will be on our face weeping,
there will be such an awe, there won’t be such a rubbish!
The Bible said the trumpet will sound.
He’s coming as a thief in the night in a twinkle with an eye.
When that is I don’t know.
But I know He said that we’re to watch.
We’re be expecting He’s coming.
That’s the hope.
The church’s losing that hope.
Is there anything in this world what to hold on to now in the light of that?
Is there anything your own worth taking your mind, your time, and you attention?
If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him
(1John 2:15)
The hope is not in you any more.
You have fallen from that expectancy.
Those disciples are expecting it at any moment.
They worked, they lived in the light of that, not in fear, but rather love His coming,
not afraid of hell.
No, they were saying, “Oh, I want to see Him, be with Him.”
Don’t you have that?
Are you losing that?
Go back to that.
Go back to that expectancy of the first church.
That kind of love for Me is the one that wanted to be with Me,
that expected Me at any moment.
If you don’t have this apostolic love for Jesus,
all the preaching to condemn you to read the Bible will not work.
If you’re not doing it, you’d better check your love.
If you’re not into this book hungry, if you’re not praying daily seeking His face,
you’d better check your love.
7 Ephesian complimentary things about you mean nothing.
Because you don’t love Him.
Because if you loved Him, you would be in His word, you would be talking to Him,
you would be with Him in His presence.
Wouldn’t you?
Have you read the Bible lately?
Have you been in prayer?
‘I just don’t feel like I can do that much any more.’
Do you really love Him?