Q4. First Love

[Pastor Ralph]

Q4. (Philippians 3:13; Revelation 2:4) What does it look like when a person “loses his first love”? Has this ever happened to you? How can you regain a personal intimacy with Christ? What might you need to repent of to restore this?

[JanMary]

On 8/28/2019 at 11:20 AM, Pastor Ralph said:

Q4. (Philippians 3:13; Revelation 2:4) What does it look like when a person “loses his first love”? Has this ever happened to you? How can you regain a personal intimacy with Christ? What might you need to repent of to restore this?

1.  I've observed several  who have, and it's very sad. From a vibrant relationship to a haphazard, willy-nilly one,  no longer pursuing Him, but chasing after wealth, or fame or being drawn back into the world, and what Jesus described as "luke warm" neither hot nor cold....useless in the Kingdom of God....unless/until He is able to draw them back to His love.

2. No, I haven't experienced this...and I thank God for keeping me close to His heart through trials and needing Him every moment!

3. I would say this requires repentance ….a complete turning around and prayer for a fresh beginning. Holy Spirit is our Helper....we can cry out to Him to bring us back to a white hot relationship with our Lord! We can ask for a renewed hunger for His Word. We can ask Him to help us deal with whatever drew us back into the world and away from our Savior!

4. Pride and arrogance, or disobedience, might be the cause, so those would need to be confessed and repentance of. Also, we still have a sin nature, and it's possible to fall or "jump" into an old pattern of sin, long believed "dead". I love that Jesus will leave the 99 to go bring back the one who has gone astray. The "picture" of Him carrying the wounded lamb on His shoulders, touches my heart! (I would think there would be no way to escape being wounded while going astray). He is our loving God and creator, who experienced living in a human body, temped in every way that we are...yet without sin!  He understands our weakness and doesn't stop loving us if we go astray and will never stop pursuing us!

[jesus]

(Philippians 3:13;Revelation 2:4)  A person who has "lost His first love' has a vibrant appearance, full of vitality but within looks like a hollow shell. 

Yes it has happened to me . My love for Jesus was not the same when I accepted Him because I became too familiar into thinking I know Jesus intimately. I got caught up in doing some good works and knowing some Scriptures here and there and thought I know Him well. I did not pursue Christ like Paul enjoying Him,walking with Him and seeking to know Him more  by loving and serving Him passionately as I should have. When I get comfortable in life, I go slack, disobedient and even lazy and do not seek Jesus and love Him as I should.

I can regain personal intimacy with Jesus by surrendering to Him my will and my ways and spend time in His presence and meditate His word and most importantly obey and do what He tells me to. He loves those who obey His commands. By seeking Him and not anyone or any thing and giving Him the first place in my life,I can regain the intimacy with Him.

I might need to repent of my sin of disobedience and walking away from seeking Him and other things that came my way of loving Him as I should. I must desire to have that close intimacy with Christ and press on towards the goal of knowing Him fully. Without this goal of wanting to know Jesus fully I may fail. 

[Nandita]

Q4. (Philippians 3:13; Revelation 2:4) What does it look like when a person "loses his first love"? 

When a person loses that first love and makes no effort to regain it, It looks and feels ritualistic—like the person is just going through the motions.

 

Has this ever happened to you? How can you regain a personal intimacy with Christ? 

Yes, there have been moments when I've been so caught up in my life that I've neglected God. And there have been moments when I've been so complacent with my religious attainment that I don't seek him further. I tell myself I have further to go without actually believing I need to go any further. And here I am truly blessed—God always arranges for that 'personal intimacy' to spring back into place. Sometimes it's in the form of a gentle reminder delivered directly by the Holy Spirit. At other times it is indirect—a word or incident I witness in somebody else's life. It's only if I ignore the gentle reminders that his arrangement to reestablish intimacy takes the form of discipline—he may put me in a situation where I'm stressed out, lonely, or scared so that I go running to him.

 

It's truly wonderful knowing that God cares for me to that extent. He doesn't just care for me because he loves all humans and I belong to that category. He cares for me, individually, as a person. Sometimes just trying to understand that can make my brain freeze in place. Why would such a great and glorious, pure and perfect Being trouble to establish and reestablish a relationship with me?

 

What might you need to repent of to restore this? 

'The Lord is close to the brokenhearted' is a verse I've seen illustrated many times in my life. It's when I'm frightened, worried, alone, and lost that I find myself truly surrendering to God. This is because it is in those moments of brokenness that I can let go of myself. Sometimes it's laziness that leads me astray. At others it's pride, complacency, or selfishness. Whatever it is that lured me away God always, always calls me back.

 

I may not be as far along the race as Paul is but through his discipline and the promptings of the Spirit in my heart God makes sure I never stop running! Thank you, Jesus!

[Travis81]

Q4. (Philippians 3:13; Revelation 2:4) What does it look like when a person "loses his first love"?

 

That’s difficult to truly answer, perhaps any response/answers would be subjection; I believe only through self-examination can an individual answer this question. However from a spiritual perspective I KNOW that God knows when a person has forsaken the covenant love bond.  

 

Yet I hold this against you: You have forsaken the love you had at first. NIV

But I have this [charge] against you, that you have left your first love [you have lost the depth of love that you first had for Me]. AMP

 

But I have this against you: you have let go of the love you had at first. CEB

 

But this is what I have against you: you do not love me now as you did at first. GNT

 

Revelation 2:2-4 if I could sum up this pronouncement by Christ the Ephesians were still churchy but their actions were more routine than relational. I like something I heard some time ago, I believe it to be applicable “Love” – we will be known as we hold true to the words Christ spoke regarding the Greatest & New Commandment [Matthew 22:36-40/ Luke 10:27 “The Greatest Commandment / New Commandment John 13:34-35; 1 John 4:20, 1 John 3:14] Love - God asks this of us; we cannot give more; He cannot take less” Norman Macleod.

 

Has this ever happened to you?

I am ashamed to say yes but at the same time happy for the testimony!

As God brought this to my attention I was able to turn again. GLORY! SO glad He’s not like man, His patience is genuine, as is His love, grace and mercy.  SOOOO glad He gave me the measure of faith necessary to continue in the walk as He would have me to walk. SOOOO glad I humble myself to His Voice/Calling.  

Id like to add something I heard from a daily devotional segment: "

All of us feel closer to God more at one time than another. But it’s just a feeling. The truth is, sometimes I feel closer to my wife than other times, but that doesn’t mean I’m any less married at some times than others. I usually feel closer to her after we’ve enjoyed a fun time together, been especially intimate, or gone through a struggle where we’ve locked arms and walked through it together.

It’s not that much different in my relationship with God. I might feel closer to Him when we’ve had a good time together (as in worship), been especially intimate spiritually (as in a morning quiet time), or gone through a struggle where we’ve locked arms and walked through the difficulty together (as in mourning the death of a loved one).

But just because I feel closer to God in a particular moment doesn’t mean that I am. It’s still just a feeling.

We will always feel far from God when we ignore Him, live independently from Him or rush about expecting Him to tag along. And while our humanness falters between spiritual times of plenty and times of want, feeling near to God is always just a whisper away as we acknowledge His presence with us.

Yes, what a joy and a comfort to know that there is nowhere we can go that is away from God’s presence. He will never leave us or forsake us. The fact that we live in His presence makes every moment of life meaningful. He is in our moments and our moodiness, our days and our dalliances, our weeks and our weaknesses.

There is no place we can go that is away from God’s presence. And today, I am thankful that He is with you."

 

How can you regain a personal intimacy with Christ?

Surrender/Service/Love/Obedience - Life Through the Spirit

 

What might you need to repent of to restore this?

Submit unto the Refiner - Deny Self –  Mortify Carnality 

Romans 7:21-25

²¹ So I find this law at work: Although I want to do good, evil is right there with me. ²² For in my inner being I delight in God’s law; ²³ but I see another law at work in me, waging war against the law of my mind and making me a prisoner of the law of sin at work within me. ²⁴ What a wretched man I am! Who will rescue me from this body that is subject to death? ²⁵ Thanks be to God, who delivers me through Jesus Christ our Lord!

So then, I myself in my mind am a slave to God’s law, but in my sinful naturea slave to the law of sin.

When I come up against the Law I want to do good, but in practice I do evil. My conscious mind whole-heartedly endorses the Law, yet I observe an entirely different principle at work in my nature. This is in continual conflict with my conscious attitude, and makes me an unwilling prisoner to the law of sin and death. In my mind I am God’s willing servant, but in my own nature I am bound fast, as I say, to the law of sin and death. It is an agonising situation, and who on earth can set me free from the clutches of my sinful nature? I thank God there is a way out through Jesus Christ our Lord.

 

 

[haar]

Q4. (Philippians 3:13; Revelation 2:4)

Q. What does it look like when a person "loses his first love"?

A. It means one is more occupied with activities while the love for Christ declines.  

Q. Has this ever happened to you?

A. Yes.

Q. How can you regain a personal intimacy with Christ?

A. Through quiet time with Him at set times, then be passionate in walking with Him and also working for Him.

Q.What might you need to repent of to restore this?

A. Luke warmness

 

[garymerkel]

Agreeing with comments...When something or things or situations come between you and your personal, intimate, love relationship with Christ...and it can happen quickly or it can "slide" in, but few, if any Christian, can stay in a 100%, pure and righteous relationship with Christ 100% of the time, BUT, a "lapse" does NOT have to be long.  You don't have to "wallow" in sin.  The key is asking God to keep you highly sensitive to His voice, His Word, His prompting and then taking time to seek Him and be consciously aware of His presence.  Brother Lawrence "practiced the presence of Christ".  

I believe it is helpful to take various times and concentrate on and focus on how incredible it is to have a love relationship with God through our matchless Savior and Lord.  Intimacy with Christ comes from living in a spirit of humility, spirit of repentance, spirit of receptiveness, spirit of quick response to the conviction of the Holy Spirit.  

Repent from pride #1.  Repent from lukewarmness which comes from pride.  Stay in God's Word...Psalm 1 - meditate in it day and night...allowing God's Word to saturate your mind.  Psalm 103 - place no unclean thing before your eyes...obviously, as much as possible - usually = little TV.  

Can it happen to me?  To you?  YES!  And it can happen from time to time...not on purpose, like getting up one day and saying, "I'm going to focus on selfish desires."  No, our busyness can sidetrack us.  The tyranny of the urgent can distract us.  But we should never excuse it.  At the same time, don't live under the cloud of legalism.  Christ came to set us FREE.  FREE to be and become all God desires... which means living surrendered to Him... which takes all the pressure off of us.  

Just go through the 12 step process from time to time....obviously, CHRIST is the "higher power".  Simply admitting and agreeing with God over number 1 is gigantic..."I admit I am powerless to change and to change my situation..."  "I need YOU, LORD."  This is very liberating and totally refocuses your life.

[Godswriter]

Q4. (Philippians 3:13; Revelation 2:4) What does it look like when a person “loses his first love”? Has this ever happened to you? How can you regain a personal intimacy with Christ? What might you need to repent of to restore this?

I believe it means that the person loves worldly things more than Christ and doesn't realize it. The person is fully engaged in them and is even mixing beliefs with Christianity as well. Yes it has when I was younger. I would have to repent of anything that blocks fellowship with me and Him. 

[Queen Mc Daniel]

Q4. (Philippians 3:13; Revelation 2:4) What does it look like when a person "loses his first love"?

It looks like, they are Putting self and their own affairs first, such as, church programs, services, ministries, fellowship; they seem more attach to the church than to Christ. No feeling of warmth and tenderness for Christ, nor the sensitivity to Christ, or fellow shipping and communing nor praying and sharing with Christ as they did when they first converted. Theirs’s a failure to walk in a consciousness and an awareness of Christ’s presence with joy and rejoicing in Him throughout the day.

 Has this ever happened to you? How can you regain a personal intimacy with Christ?

In my early youth. I was able to regain a personal intimacy with Christ through his word, prayer and singing.

 What might you need to repent of to restore this?

Any pass sins. ^“ If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” 1 John 1:9 (NKJV)

[hanks]

Q4. (Philippians 3:13; Revelation 2:4) 
What does it look like when a person "loses his first love"? 
Has this ever happened to you? 
How can you regain a personal intimacy with Christ? 
What might you need to repent of to restore this? 
We start to “lose our first love” when there is a gradual shift of focus away from our Lord Jesus. Life becomes very busy, and although we still serve the Lord, it’s not with the same enthusiasm or motive. We start to drift into the loss of our first love. The visible symptoms will be the loss of the joy and glow we had in our Christian life – it all becomes humdrum and routine. Church services become dull and drab; we seem to have heard it all already. We become more and more important. What will please the Lord becomes less and less important, we begin to think of what we want and what will please us. Self-centeredness sets in and we focus on ourselves, our comfort, and our pleasures. 
Yes, I regret to say I’ve been there. After a while I get a feeling of emptiness and an uneasiness about my backsliding. I needed to ask my Heavenly Father for forgiveness for neglecting Him. I had to again find my love for my Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. The same love I first felt for Jesus when I came to know Him. When my heart went out to Him in gratitude and thanksgiving. 
“Amazing love, how can it be
That Thou My God should die for me!”
 

[Old Jerry]

When a person “loses his first love” he just wanders around from here to there to find what is missing and they can’t find it. This did happen to me and I regained a personal intimacy with Christ because and I had somebody care about me and talked some sense into me.

[Uncle Dave]

Q4. (Philippians 3:13; Revelation 2:4)

1.     What does it look like when a person "loses his first love"?

When one loses that first love, he/she has gone astray from the narrow path they should be running on and gets caught up in the ways of the world. If left unchecked, the lure of the world’s attractions becomes stronger and more enticing. This is dangerous ground and only leads to a spiritual quicksand. If God has called you and you don’t attempt to get things in order, God will do it for you and that usually means hitting the “bottom” and like Nebuchadnezzar being lowered to the point of eating grass like a wild animal. God will never give up on you, but you must respond.

2.     Has this ever happened to you?

Yes, this has happened to me. It was a seemingly long drawn out process, and painful at times. It took my admitting how fallen I had become but until I was truly sincere, the chastisement continued its work (Hebrews 12:5-11).

3.     How can you regain a personal intimacy with Christ?

Much time spent in the Word, even more time (in my case anyway) one on one with Christ and coming to praising God always for everything and constant prayer (communicating).

4.     What might you need to repent of to restore this?

Although I have restored my connection with Christ, every day I find something I need to repent of. Hard to believe there are so many things a person could do wrong. On the outside I might look like a “good person” but there is only one who is good and until I am resurrected with a total transplant (heart), I will continue to find things, regardless of how small or great. I might control what my hands do or where my feet take me but Satan attacks from the inside and so the war rages.

[Eldress]

When a person losses his first love they lose the zeal for God.  The time once spent in pray, fasting, and studying the word of God lessen,  They no longer possess the desire to gather with other believer that once have and if they are present it is in body only for the mind is else where.They have more desire for the things of this world than for the things of God.  They not longer desire to let the world see Christ in then but speak, act, and look more like the world.  Instead of coming out from among them they fit in with them (you can see no difference).

You can regain personal intimacy with God when we heed the Holy Spirit's warning that we have strayed away and repent  Like David, when we realize our sin we must ask God to forgive us of our sin and to create within us a clean heart and renew us with a right spirit.

 

 

[Stanley Tavaziva]

Paul said that his goal was to know Christ, to be like Christ, and to be all Christ had in mind for him. This goal took all of Paul’s energies. This is a helpful example for us. We should not let anything take our eyes off our goal—knowing Christ. With the single-mindedness of an athlete in training, we must lay aside everything harmful and forsake anything that may distract us from being effective Christians. What is holding you back?

Paul had reason to forget the past—he had held the coats of those who stoned Stephen, Paul was called Saul that time. We have all done things for which we are ashamed, and we live in the tension of what we have been and what we want to be. Because our hope is in Christ, however, we can let go of past guilt and look forward to what God will help us become. Don’t dwell on your past. Instead, grow in the knowledge of God by concentrating on your relationship with him now. Realize that you are forgiven, and then move on to a life of faith and obedience. Look forward to a fuller and more meaningful life because of your hope in Christ.

[lighthouse2014]

On 8/28/2019 at 1:20 PM, Pastor Ralph said:

Q4. (Philippians 3:13; Revelation 2:4) What does it look like when a person “loses his first love”? Has this ever happened to you? How can you regain a personal intimacy with Christ? What might you need to repent of to restore this?

A person who loses "his first love" in Christ is a person who claims to be a Christian but slowly drifts back into the worldly ways while all the time maintaining his Christian appearance or surrade.

A person can regain his personal relationship with Christ by repenting asking the Lord for forgiveness.

One may have to share his mistakes that caused him to lose his relationship with Christ by going to a pastor or a close friend that can be his confident. Praying together and helping one another is possibility the only way to get our relationship back to the Lord. 

[rosegarden]

On 8/28/2019 at 2:20 PM, Pastor Ralph said:

Q4. (Philippians 3:13; Revelation 2:4) What does it look like when a person “loses his first love”? Has this ever happened to you? How can you regain a personal intimacy with Christ? What might you need to repent of to restore this?

a. When a person loses his first love, they have become cold, with no joy, peace, or witness.

b. Yes, when life goes on and you tend to get cold and neglect the Word.  Wanting to get back I started to search for this and that, buy this book and that and the Lord impressed on me that His Holy Spirit lives inside me and He is all Wisdom, Knowledge, Understanding, Power and Might and has all my answers and that I just need to spend time with Him and get to know Him.

c. Repent, not spend time on things that are useless, but spending time with the Lord and feeding on Him, the Well of Living Water.

[Lottie]

Q4. (Philippians 3:13; Revelation 2:4) What does it look like when a person "loses his first love"? Has this ever happened to you? How can you regain a personal intimacy with Christ? What might you need to repent of to restore this?

It means that we lose interest in getting to know Him more. We focus more on doing good works than on spending time with Him. We lose sight of what our greatest goal should be and end up becoming cold. Our heart is no longer on fire for Him as it once was and we put other things before Him.We lose interest in Bible studies or witnessing.

Yes, it has I became focused on worldly things and forgot about Him. I know I can spend more time in His word and praying. More time listening to what He has to say to me.I need to repent of spending time on things that are less important and ask His forgiveness. 

[Maggz]

I think that it is inevitable that the Christian life, like any other great enterprise, will have peaks and valleys.   Anything new is attacked with great enthusiasm, but, like the runner, we have to maintain that enthusiasm to the end.   Exciting moments may be triggered by a sermon, a retreat, a book and we are once again on top of the mountain.  But intimacy with Christ is something that we have to work on throughout our Christian life, never faltering or becoming complacent.   Richard of Chichester summed it up so well:

"That I may love Him more dearly, follow Him more nearly and see Him more clearly." - an ongoing process.

We need to guard against a feeling that we have "arrived" - that we can be complacent in our Christian walk.   

[Ckh]

Yes it has happened to me. And I lost the JOY that passes all understanding.  My husband told me he was in love with another woman with whom he worked. Instead of turning to my Jesus, I wanted revenge and was ready to turn cartwheels when she was fired!  It wasn't a physical affair because she only let it go that far. I have since repented for my sins and drawn closer to my Lord. People need to guard their hearts and minds. 

[Irmela]

Philippians 3:13; Revelation 2:4) What does it look like when a person "loses his first love"?

Has this ever happened to you?

How can you regain a personal intimacy with Christ?

What might you need to repent of to restore this?

Enthusiasm and joy is lost, eagerness to serve Christ or be alone with Him is gone. 

To regain the desire you need to look at your life and see what has taken that place and repent of it. Turn away from it and replace it again with time with God. Time in His Word. Time in prayer and worship. 

Watch out for the "little foxes" which so easily take our attention away from Christ. 

I can only say thank You  God for Your Grace, Your Mercy, Kindness and Forgiveness, for Your Love. 

[Krissi]

Most people who are divorced or have been deeply jilted know what it is like to lose love, even if it's not the first love. Losing love takes away the innocence and trust that that love once engendered. It also makes it more difficult to love again -- one's heart scars, just as flesh scars. Scars are tough. They don't stretch as they used to; they're not pliable and soft, but tough and protective. 

After losing the first love, I still craved love but was too distrusting and distant to receive it. I couldn't quite grasp love even though it was in front of me -- I was too afraid.

This also happened between me and Jesus. In fact, it's happening now. I trust Jesus to a point, but beyond that point I'm afraid He'll let me down, that He won't be there and won't truly love me as a Father. 

And so, as Pastor Ralph wrote, I need to "regain a personal intimacy" with Christ, which is happening, though slowly and imperfectly. I have to "forget what is behind." This, for me, means forgetting an important prayer NOT answered and the great suffering that resulted. Forgetting is hard to do. Yet I know that without forgetting I'll never be able to trust Him to answer future prayers. I must overcome the idea that If God let me down once, why not twice? In my mind, I know God has a plan and can bring good out of evil but only if I forget that He didn't deal with the evil in the first place, as I had so earnestly prayed.

It's not good works or being "churchy" that pulls me away from Christ, but my fear of His non-involvement and non-willingness to rescue and help me. To restore this, I'm starting again. Taking these courses is part of redoing/relearning first principles such as the character of Christ that we learned in the last lesson. I'm learning, again, that God IS love, and trying to have that truth sink into my scarred soul.

I have to repent of faithlessness, of not trusting Him, and of not thinking correctly about Him. I have to repent of my anger and sense of betrayal. I have to repent of my fear of trusting Him again. Yes, it is sin to think God has let me down. He is sovereign. All things are under His control and manipulation. He simply chose to let me suffer unjustly and had His own reasons for doing so. I need to trust Him in spite of this.

This is why I fear martyrdom -- to be a martyr is the epitome of being abandoned at the greatest time of need, which is exactly what Christ thought/said on the cross. WHY HAVE YOU FORSAKEN ME?

Perhaps my experience is unusual, though as I age, I've learned I'm not "special" and that most people have experiences similar to my own. Other believers, too, have experienced a deep sense of God's betrayal which shallow bromides spoken at church were unable to help. I feel horrible confessing this.

God has lessons for us to learn which He repeats until we learn them. Then, we "level up" and start the process again. Very few deep lessons can be learned without pain and suffering, at least in my experience. This seems to be God's way. The hot crucible burns off the dross. 

A.W. Tozer once wrote, “It is doubtful whether God can use a man greatly, until he has first hurt him significantly.” I pray to be used greatly.

To be used greatly, I pray to learn what He wants to teach me quickly, not slowly, that the heat of teh crucible is reduced if not eliminated, that joy returns and the sun rises again in my soul. I pray to be able to sincerely and passionately praise Him for who He is. True praise would mark the return of love. When I desire -- not fear -- to come to Him with my problems, small or large, and believe -- not fear -- that He will surely answer my prayers, then I will have learned to love again.