Rekindling Our Passion: Returning to Our First Love

 

Summary

In this message, I shared a heartfelt call to return to our first love, emphasizing the importance of rekindling our passion and devotion to Jesus. As we navigate through life's challenges, it's easy to become distracted and lose sight of our spiritual priorities. This year, we are invited to realign our hearts and lives with God's purpose, seeking a deeper connection with Him. The message is rooted in Revelation 2, where Jesus commends the church of Ephesus for their perseverance but admonishes them for forsaking their first love. This serves as a reminder that while our actions and commitments are important, they should not overshadow our relationship with Christ.

The journey back to our first love involves three key steps: repentance, consecration, and experiencing times of refreshing. Repentance is not just about turning away from sin but also about realigning our priorities and actions with God's will. Consecration involves setting apart our time, resources, and lives for God's purposes, acknowledging that everything we have is a gift from Him. As we commit to these steps, we open ourselves to the promise of times of refreshing in the presence of the Lord, a season of spiritual renewal and rest.

This year, we are encouraged to evaluate our lives and make intentional changes to prioritize our relationship with God. Whether it's setting aside time for prayer and Bible reading, or re-evaluating how we use our resources, the call is to live a life fully devoted to God. As we do so, we can expect to experience a profound sense of peace and fulfillment, knowing that we are walking in alignment with God's will.

Key Takeaways:

1. Return to Your First Love: Our spiritual journey begins with a heartfelt return to our first love, Jesus. This involves rekindling our passion and devotion, ensuring that our relationship with Him remains the central focus of our lives. By doing so, we align ourselves with God's purpose and experience a deeper connection with Him. [55:13]

2. The Power of Repentance: Repentance is a transformative process that involves changing our minds and actions to align with God's will. It's not just about turning away from sin but also about realigning our priorities and actions with God's purpose. This step is crucial for experiencing spiritual renewal and growth. [01:24:11]

3. Consecration of Life and Resources: Consecration involves setting apart our time, resources, and lives for God's purposes. By acknowledging that everything we have is a gift from God, we commit to using our resources in ways that honor Him. This act of consecration is a powerful expression of our devotion and trust in God's provision. [01:28:34]

4. Experiencing Times of Refreshing: As we return to our first love and commit to repentance and consecration, we open ourselves to the promise of times of refreshing in the presence of the Lord. This season of spiritual renewal brings a profound sense of peace and fulfillment, allowing us to rest in God's presence and experience His joy. [01:36:33]

5. Living a Life of Alignment: The call to return to our first love is an invitation to live a life fully aligned with God's will. By prioritizing our relationship with Him and making intentional changes in our lives, we can experience the fullness of His blessings and walk in the peace and joy that comes from being in His presence. [01:43:06]

Youtube Chapters:

- [00:00] - Welcome
- [00:45] - Prayer for Israel and Inauguration
- [03:00] - Personal Story: Encounter with Javelina
- [06:30] - Vision 2025: Prophetic Vision
- [12:00] - The Importance of Prophetic Vision
- [18:00] - Church Mission: Discipling Families
- [24:00] - Vision for Church Growth
- [30:00] - Building Plans and Expansion
- [36:00] - Call to Return to First Love
- [42:00] - Repentance and Consecration
- [48:00] - Times of Refreshing
- [54:00] - Consecrating Time and Resources
- [01:00:00] - Encouragement for Families
- [01:06:00] - Experiencing God's Refreshing Presence
- [01:12:00] - Closing Prayer and Blessing

Study Guide

### Bible Study Discussion Guide

#### Bible Reading
- Revelation 2:1-7
- Acts 3:19-20
- Matthew 6:25-34

---

#### Observation Questions
1. In Revelation 2:1-7, what commendations does Jesus give to the church of Ephesus before addressing their shortcomings?
2. According to Acts 3:19-20, what are the steps that lead to experiencing "times of refreshing"?
3. What does Jesus emphasize about worry and provision in Matthew 6:25-34?
4. In the sermon, what personal story did the pastor share to illustrate the need for spiritual vigilance? [45:32]

---

#### Interpretation Questions
1. What does it mean to "return to your first love" as described in Revelation 2:4? How might this look in a believer's life today?
2. How does the concept of repentance in Acts 3:19-20 relate to the idea of spiritual renewal and growth mentioned in the sermon? [01:24:11]
3. In Matthew 6:25-34, Jesus speaks about not worrying. How does this teaching connect with the sermon’s call to live a life fully aligned with God's will? [01:43:06]
4. The sermon mentions the importance of consecration. How does setting apart time and resources for God reflect one's devotion and trust in Him? [01:28:34]

---

#### Application Questions
1. Reflect on your current spiritual journey. Are there areas where you feel you have "forsaken your first love"? What steps can you take to rekindle your passion for Jesus? [01:46:30]
2. The sermon emphasizes repentance as a change of mind leading to a change of action. Is there a specific area in your life where you need to realign your priorities with God's will? [01:24:11]
3. Consecration involves setting apart time and resources for God. What practical steps can you take this week to consecrate a portion of your time or resources to God’s purposes? [01:28:34]
4. Jesus teaches not to worry about everyday life in Matthew 6:25-34. What is one specific worry you can surrender to God this week, trusting in His provision? [01:42:04]
5. The sermon calls for a return to simple practices like prayer and Bible reading. How can you incorporate these practices into your daily routine to strengthen your relationship with God? [01:24:11]
6. Consider the idea of experiencing "times of refreshing" in the presence of the Lord. What changes can you make in your life to create space for these moments of spiritual renewal? [01:36:33]
7. The pastor shared a vision of living a life with less stress and more fulfillment. What is one practical change you can make to slow down and focus on what truly matters in your spiritual journey? [01:40:42]

Devotional

Day 1: Rekindle Your Passion for Jesus
In the hustle and bustle of life, it's easy to lose sight of our spiritual priorities. The call to return to our first love, Jesus, is a reminder to rekindle our passion and devotion to Him. This involves making our relationship with Christ the central focus of our lives, ensuring that our actions and commitments do not overshadow our connection with Him. By realigning our hearts with God's purpose, we open ourselves to a deeper, more fulfilling relationship with Him. This journey is not just about remembering our initial love for Jesus but actively nurturing it daily. [55:13]

"But I have this against you, that you have abandoned the love you had at first. Remember therefore from where you have fallen; repent, and do the works you did at first." (Revelation 2:4-5a, ESV)

Reflection: What specific steps can you take today to rekindle your passion for Jesus and make Him the central focus of your life?


Day 2: Embrace the Transformative Power of Repentance
Repentance is more than just turning away from sin; it is a transformative process that involves changing our minds and actions to align with God's will. It requires a conscious decision to realign our priorities and actions with God's purpose. This step is crucial for experiencing spiritual renewal and growth. By embracing repentance, we open ourselves to the possibility of a renewed relationship with God, one that is marked by spiritual vitality and growth. [01:24:11]

"Repent therefore, and turn back, that your sins may be blotted out, that times of refreshing may come from the presence of the Lord." (Acts 3:19-20a, ESV)

Reflection: What is one area of your life where you need to realign your priorities with God's will? How can you begin this process of repentance today?


Day 3: Consecrate Your Life and Resources to God
Consecration involves setting apart our time, resources, and lives for God's purposes. It is an acknowledgment that everything we have is a gift from God, and we are called to use our resources in ways that honor Him. This act of consecration is a powerful expression of our devotion and trust in God's provision. By dedicating our lives and resources to God, we demonstrate our commitment to living a life that reflects His love and grace. [01:28:34]

"Do not present your members to sin as instruments for unrighteousness, but present yourselves to God as those who have been brought from death to life, and your members to God as instruments for righteousness." (Romans 6:13, ESV)

Reflection: How can you consecrate your time and resources to God today? What changes can you make to ensure that your life reflects His purposes?


Day 4: Experience Times of Refreshing in God's Presence
As we return to our first love and commit to repentance and consecration, we open ourselves to the promise of times of refreshing in the presence of the Lord. This season of spiritual renewal brings a profound sense of peace and fulfillment, allowing us to rest in God's presence and experience His joy. It is a time to be rejuvenated spiritually, emotionally, and mentally, as we draw closer to God and experience His love and grace in new and profound ways. [01:36:33]

"For I will satisfy the weary soul, and every languishing soul I will replenish." (Jeremiah 31:25, ESV)

Reflection: What steps can you take to create space in your life for experiencing God's refreshing presence? How can you prioritize rest and renewal in Him today?


Day 5: Live a Life Fully Aligned with God's Will
The call to return to our first love is an invitation to live a life fully aligned with God's will. By prioritizing our relationship with Him and making intentional changes in our lives, we can experience the fullness of His blessings and walk in the peace and joy that comes from being in His presence. This alignment requires a daily commitment to seek God's guidance and to live in a way that reflects His love and grace to those around us. [01:43:06]

"Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make straight your paths." (Proverbs 3:5-6, ESV)

Reflection: What is one area of your life where you need to align more closely with God's will? How can you take a step towards this alignment today?

Quotes

"Every church, well, I shouldn't say every, many churches that I've been a part of and that I know around the nation have just a word over the year. I think it's a really important thing to do, actually. Proverbs 29, 18 says, Where there is no prophetic vision, the people cast off restraint. Now, we've talked about this a lot. That vision is what restrains us, right? So, like, if I'm going to run a marathon, which I'm not, anytime soon, not ever planning on doing one, but some of you guys love those things. And what is that? But if I were training for a marathon, it restrains me from eating certain things. I'm not going to be eating donuts every morning, right?" [00:48:27] (41 seconds)


"And as a church, we have a prophetic vision of an overarching prophetic vision over our life, over our church, our church mission statement is to disciple families. We believe that the whole family disciple families to love God, that means to lean into God, to have a relationship. With Jesus, to live whole, which, which, uh, Ben just talked about in his class as part of one of our things, but to live whole, we all need to get healed from the past hurts. We need to get freedom from stuff and to develop our gifts, to lead out, to step into our calling. And that's our, our, um, our overarching vision. Um, let me ask you, who is the church?" [00:50:27] (39 seconds)


"So if we take the average amount of people that are coming, uh, on, on a Sunday morning and with our kids, we have probably about room for about 30 more people. And that's it, um, before we are at total max capacity. And we, we can't. We can't handle any more people. And so, um, you know, that's not really, that's not a really vision for the harvest. We we've got to figure out something. So here's, here's the thing. We've got two options. We go to two services or we build. Okay. Everybody, everybody's okay. Well, great. I've got to change this whole message. I had, I had a whole, uh, I want to share just for a second. This is vision Sunday. You need to hear. I've shared this. I've shared this a lot, but you know, um, you've got to share some things lots of times to really make it, uh, understandable." [00:59:43] (52 seconds)


"guess let's just say um god has not called us at resonate to be a big mega church we've never felt that call a mega church is considered about 2 000 people and uh or more and um that's not the goal of our church there's nothing wrong with the church there's some great churches that are that have a lot of people but um we feel we have a unique calling to disciple families and a unique calling to model family and to be a family for those that that don't have a family and to help show what true community is we haven't arrived there but that's our goal and that's what we're trying to do and so in no way does this disparage other churches that are multiple services or growing large that's that has nothing to do with this it's just not our calling and um that's why we do things like family worship service and have all the kids in here because it's like it's important and and that's why we have on baptism sundays we let everybody share a lot a lot of places you just dunk them dunk them dunk and we want everybody to share because we feel like that shows family like hey we're all a part of this that's why we do things like god's stories where we're you know in two weeks and hey if you have a god story that means something god has done in your life in the last year i mean it doesn't have to be last year but really the last year over the fast provision and healing and deliverance or whatever god spoke to you what we do is we take all these in you send them in we've already got a couple but um it's on our i think it's on our website but it's definitely in my email and go go there and you just fill out a form and tell us what god's done in your life a few people we might have shared but most of them we just read them and anybody been apart we haven't had we didn't have one last year unfortunately i don't know what what happened just a schedule but man those are powerful sundays aren't they and we just let people testify of the good things that god has done but let me just say those things are hard to do in two services um because oh well you didn't hear that one you didn't hear this and those kind of things and so we feel that we're just not supposed to do that right now and um we feel that as a church that that our capacity at full percent full full capacity as a church would be about 1200 people max and that would be just completely completely packed um and so once we actually even near that number and right now our church is four to four to four hundred people 450 something like that on some sundays once we near that number we would actually start looking at other places to launch other works maybe farmersville maybe roy city those kind of places you know these are just concepts but i i just want to throw that out there and so um so every time i suggest two services i get the same uh response um and i do believe that it could change the makeup of our church and i i've i've always been in two service my whole life until i got here so it it's not a thing that scares me at all but um just not have felt the holy spirit tell us that we're supposed to do that and let me just say we don't follow exactly what the numbers say or what the experts say we listen to holy spirit and if he says don't do something we just go i don't know why but just don't do it and uh and i and i want to say yet because you know that could change and you know it could be a timing thing but we do feel we're supposed to build and so what we did was we put together a about 12 men i think that's the right number but of wives men and their wives and an expansion team and that have been meeting regularly to pray and discuss the next step and a few months ago we shared some of the initial ideas to our members gathering we've took some of that feedback and we've actually made some adjustments and we have a much bigger master plan than what i'm going to show you right now we have a master plan that we're going to create a a green space with play ground and some really cool things pickleball that kind of stuff we've got uh we want to build a multi -use center multi -purpose center with kids and youth and classroom space and and all that kind of stuff but what i'm going to share to with you today are things that we want to do immediately and when i say immediately i'm saying i'm hoping to be building by summer and um so uh we need so here's the thing we need space in our kids space and i don't think i mentioned this but we've got 80 kids that meet in there and i think the capacity i wouldn't know for sure but maybe 90 95 is really like very very uncomfortable so we have acts we can add about 15 more kids on a sunday so i mean it doesn't give us a lot of space to grow and not only that you need some space to worship i mean i don't like being like this either so um so anyway so we felt like we've got to do these simultaneously but we've got a problem i mean the cost involved in that is really big so so we came up with with an idea that that my dad has been helping us my dad i don't know if he's here today but he's an architect and he has just been such a blessing to uh this church just given us lots of free uh architectural plans and so as you know that could be very expensive so i want to give them a shout out but so what we're basically going to do and i think we got a picture here so um basically on the on the eat this is the west side we're going to add balcony chairs and we're gonna remodel the only one that i want to do is we're gonna go over the idea of theй we're gonna get a whole new seat at the home site which is the best experiment so the first is we're gonna level it that we're gonna come in on a a new portion of the city of london and we're gonna rotate it over the city a little bit on the east side over وجcha just and with the arts that the Lord has put on my heart. But so we're gonna add some more backstage so we can do some." [01:05:49] (0 seconds)


"it feels kind of down no this is exciting stuff i i i'm really excited about it i can't wait to see what um what's going to happen so all right here we go we're going to switch gears but that is a part of the vision and i'm really excited about it uh so what we do every year when it comes to these words we we just we reach out to the elders and prophetic voices and intercessory team and our pastors on staff we say hey what is the lord speaking to you this year and of course i pray i get away fast um and um this isn't a jeff thing okay so i want to hear this is a lot of people in our church that are leaders that have spoken into this and what was wild is everybody was coming back with the same thing isn't that weird how the holy spirit works it's like and it was and what it what it is is very simple so i've talked about the holy spirit a little bit but it's also like you know unique what i'm what i'm about to share with you um but they were all coming back with the same thing i mean maybe worded a little bit differently but the same heart and the ideas behind it so we only have one word over this year but it has three parts and the word over this year is return to your first love okay return to your first love aka come back here as as uh brian ming said which is i like has a double meaning come back to the lord and the lord will give you the glory and he will give you the is going to bring some things back to us this year well i want to read the obvious verse connected to this um revelation 2. so the angel of the church in ephesus write the one who holds the seven stars in his right hand the one who walks among the seven gold lampstands says this now this is a letter from jesus through the apostle john to the church of ephesus and he's about to say hey i'm about to give you a report card how you doing how how are you doing as a church and here's what he says i know your deeds and your toil and your perseverance and you can't tolerate evil men and you put to test those who call themselves apostles and they are not and you found them to be false you have perseverance and have endured for my namesake and have not grown weary i mean that sounds like some really cool things that that i mean to jesus tell you hey you're doing a good job here you are you're fighting for for uh the cause of christ you're standing up against evil that's what he's saying but i have this against you you've 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 that lampstand represents the the the power and the anointing of the holy spirit in the church that's a that's a sobering word unless you repent yet you do have this that you hate the nicolations you see how jesus kind of have you heard of the sandwich theory you know how you you good on the front bad in the middle and good at the bottom that's what jesus is doing he's like you're doing great i have this against you but i'm also very happy that you hate the deeds of the nicolations which i also hate he who has an ear let him hear what the spirit says to the churches to him overcomes i will grant the eat of the tree of life which is in the paradise of god so jesus is talking to this church he's giving a report card he's telling them these are the things i'm concerned about these are things you're doing really really good and um but he says the thing that you're lacking is you've kind of forsaken your first love um meaning you're not connected to me like you used to be you've kind of kind of strayed off a little bit it's almost like jesus is saying to us i'm so proud of you you voted the right way you're standing up against moral decay you're calling out hypocrisy on facebook and the perversion of the world you're teaching your children good morals you're you're bringing them to church you're serving i love all those things you do in church but this one thing that i'm i'm concerned about you're missing is my heart and my love my passion for knowing me and loving me that's what i feel like the lord's speaking to us this year and i and i feel like when we talk about repenting and we'll get into repenting and just in a second because that's actually one of the words we it's not a deep sin all the time and and if it is a deep sin in your life well then repent of those but most the time it's just little little compromises little strain from the path little you know i'm not really getting up and reading my word anymore i'm not i'm really kind of being okay with some of the things that i'm watching or um and so as i asked the leaders and elders to pray we heard these these are some of the words that came back a call to make sure we're not just going through the motions but that we've surrendered our hearts and minds to him a call for purity you know a pure heart what does that mean it means an undivided heart means you're not divided between two worlds your heart is fully on on jesus i heard jesus 101 we're supposed to get back to jesus 101 a call to prayer let's just get back to praying simple stuff carolyn shared a word carolyn dunnigan's one of prophetic voices in the in the house and she said she felt the lord said i love your devotionals i love all your journaling and all those kind of things but the lord's saying this is the year to just get back to reading the word yeah just read it just read it meditate on it several years ago um gosh 15 years ago i think" [01:11:13] (0 seconds)


"Consecrate your heart means this. Lord, my will is not my will. It's your will. I bow my will to your will. Some of you guys are fighting the will of the Lord all the time about stuff. He's like, go here. No, I don't want to do that. Go do this. And you feel something is not right. You don't feel at peace, but you push forward anyway. And it's saying, Lord, I want to do this. Lord, whatever you ask of me, I will obey. If it means I need to forgive when I don't want to forgive, it means I need to confess when I don't want to confess. It means saying yes to Jesus and no to the world. This is consecration in our lives. Consecrate our life. Number two, consecrate our resources. I feel like the Lord said this. Your money and the gifts that the Lord's given you. You're saying, Lord, my money is from you. You know, the Bible says we're stewards of the money. It's not our money. We're stewards of it. We don't want to do that. Sometimes we want to take it all and say, well, no, this is mine. No, the Lord says, no." [01:26:01] (64 seconds)


"Set aside some time and consecrate it to the Lord. Maybe some of you need to consecrate your morning unto the Lord and say, this is holy time. I'm putting aside this time for the Lord to speak to me. You might need to get up earlier. As a family with kids and all kinds of sports and extracurricular activities and theater and all this stuff, I want you to ask, should I consecrate some time in my schedule so that I can spend time with my family? Should I consecrate some time so that we can have family devotion, for we can serve others as a family? Look, I need to create space in my life for relationships. Ask yourself this question. Do I even have time in my life for mentorship? Do I have time for godly people pouring in me? Do I have time for even friendships of godly people in my life? Do I have the time or am I completely out of time? So the Lord's saying, I want you to take some time and set it aside. Think about it like this. Think about time as consecration, as like a bank account, a savings account, okay? And so I don't know if you have an emergency fund or a savings account. You put that savings account, money in that savings account, and it's not supposed to be touched. It's actually, you could call it holy. It's set apart, right? And it's only used for emergencies." [01:30:06] (86 seconds)


"Consecrate a day of rest in worship, meaning you set aside a day as the Lord says, Sabbath. You set aside a day and you call it holy and say nothing's gonna touch this. And just like that bank account, you're saying, unless it's emergency, unless it's something special, I don't go into that because that day is holy and set aside apart for the Lord. And it's real easy to say, well, you know, work is light this week, I guess I can go to church. Or we have no kids games or there's nothing more fun to do. I'll go to church. Or maybe there's not a good game on. I'll go to church. But a day of the Lord has to be a day of priority to you. And Hebrews tells us, let us hold tightly without wavering to the hope we affirm. For God can be trusted to keep his promise. Let us think of ways to motivate one another to acts of love and good works and let us not neglect our meeting together as some people do, but encourage one another, especially now that the day of his return is drawing near. When we set aside a day, it actually allows us to fulfill this verse, encouraging one another, meeting together, worshiping together." [01:31:38] (75 seconds)


"Seek the kingdom of God above all else. That's return to your first love. Live righteously, that's repent. And he will give you everything you need. Don't worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will bring its own worries. Today's trouble is enough for today. I have the worship team come forward. We're gonna end here. I think there is a tendency, this is a very simple word, I was talking to Sarah, it's not a power. Come on, we're gonna take the city and all this kinda stuff. The year of breakthrough, I get it, I get it. This is a year of breakthrough. I'm telling you, this is the Word of the Lord for this year." [01:43:04] (49 seconds)


Chatbot

  • I'm an AI bot trained specifically on the sermon from Jan 19, 2025. Do you have any questions about it?

Transcript
What was the most surprising thing in this sermon?
Were there any personal stories shared?