As a minister I’m not here to tell people what to do.  I’m here to preach the Spirit of the scriptures.  Everyday amongst everyone; everywhere I go, til Christ be fully formed in people, as the apostle Paul would say.  

1st John says herein is love.  Not that you love God but God loves you.  The question becomes how do we commune with Gods love for us?  How is it that we are rooted and grounded in the love of God.  What keeps us in the love of God?  What is it that persuades us we’re held in the arms of God always?  What keeps the newness from wearing off, so to speak.  

Last week we looked at God’s history with Israel, and with mankind.  The scriptures say both Israel and mankind forgot the Lord their God.  It says they committed adultery on God.  It says they played the harlot and went awhoring after other gods.  And the reason is they forgot their first love.  They werent mindful of their first love, and so they left their first love, and gave themselves over into the arms of another. 

This isnt something we only see in the Old Testament.  It’s something thats plagued mankind throughout their history with God.  Whether it be before Christ or after Christ.  Whether it be the church or unbelievers.   Jesus tells the church at Ephesus in revelation 2, they’ve left their first love.  He didnt pull those words out of thin air.  He’s drawing on language used throughout the scriptures to describe God’s history with mankind.  

If you arent mindful of your first love; if your mind is filled with your first love, you’ll have opportunity to end up in the arms of another.  We see it in human relationships all the time.  James 1:25 says But, whoso looks into the perfect law of liberty, and continues therein, he being not a forgetful hearer, but a doer of the work, this man shall be blessed in his deed.  

James is referencing something very specific to Israel’s history with God when he uses the words “forgetful hearer.  Remember James is talking to Jewish people here.  He begins his letter by saying to the 12 tribes scattered.  Moses gives an almost identical exhortation to the children of Israel when he says in Deut 8:11-14 “Take care lest you forget the LORD thy God, by not keeping his commandments, and his judgments, and his statutes, which I command thee this day: Lest when thou hast eaten and art full, and hast built goodly houses, and dwelt therein; And when thy herds and thy flocks multiply, and thy silver and thy gold is multiplied, and all that thou hast is multiplied; Then thine heart be lifted up, and thou forget the LORD thy God, which brought thee forth out of the land of Egypt, from the house of bondage;

I’ve been saying this alot but we’ve gotten so cold and mechanical in our understanding of the scriptures.  We read verses like these in Deuteronomy and in James, and we read them still seeing God as lord and master, task master, instead of ishi, or husband.  Your maker is your husband, and you want to ask yourself how do these verses look from the perspective of a husband and wife.  

This forgetting, is not a slip of the mind.  It’s not talking about your supposed to do something but you forgot to do it.  It’s not like forgetting to take out the garbage.  It’s an adulteration of the heart.  A forgetful hearer talks about an adulteration of the heart.  It’s something that happens in the heart, where you leave your first love for another because you’ve lost that loving feeling.  You’ve forgotten Gods love for you, and because you aren’t mindful of his love for you, you sought satisfaction in yourself, and in the world …. It’s when you are intimate with the strength in your hand, trying to bring about the life of God in the world, because you’ve forgotten the love of God; you’ve forgotten He’s brought your life forth from His incorruptible seed.  

In the Old Testament Israel was a forgetful hearer.  They left their first love.  They were like a woman who seeks affection in the arms of another because she doesnt know she’s loved by her husband.  

Why did they forget …. Why did they forsake God.  Was it because they’re just bad people?  Certainly Not.  They forsook God because they lost that loving feeling.  The newness wore off so to speak.  They didnt continue in the statutes and judgments that declared God’s love for them.  They werent doers of the word.  They didnt do the work of continuing to look into the word of God’s love for them, how He’s with them to pour Himself out for them; to beautify them in His life; to make them exceedingly fruitful.  

The statutes and judgments God gave Israel through the words of the law, were meant to keep Israel from leaving their first love.  They were meant to paint a picture of the wondrous works God performed in leading them out of Egypt, and into the promised land.  Thats why David says to God in psalm 119, “open my eyes that I may behold wondrous things out of thy law.”  

Observing the statutes and judgment in the law were supposed to be like date night.  They were supposed to be a relationship selfie, a momento of their courtship with God.  Where they gathered together with God, reminiscing about their lives together ….. Deuteronomy 30 tells us the statutes and judgments were meant to keep them looking to God as their husband. They were meant to keep them in the love of God so they wouldnt offer their bodies to other gods.  The words of the law were meant to circumcise their hearts; to keep their hands clean; to keep them from looking for love in all the wrong places.  To remind them how God grabbed them by the hand, betrothing Himself to them, leading them into the promised land.  Providing a lamb to bring forth their life from the death in Egypt.  Parting the Red Sea; bringing forth water from the rock when they were thirsty; making the bitter waters sweet so they could drink it; pouring out His life for them, giving them Manna from heaven.  Making His home with them, leading them by cloud in the day, and by fire at night.  Giving them a land that flowed with milk and honey.  A land with homes they didnt make, building they didnt build, and vineyards they didnt plant.  

But, they weren’t doers of the word.  They didn’t do the work of looking into the wondrous works of God.  And because they didnt consider the wondrous works of God, they forgot the Lord their God; they left their first love … they didnt look to the word of their deliverance from Egypt …. And because of that they began to hear the song “what have you done for me lately” playing in their hearts.  If you aren’t mindful of the love wherewith God has loved you, then you will have opportunity to leave your first love.  

Deu 30:6  And the LORD thy God will circumcise thine heart, and the heart of thy seed, to love the LORD thy God with all thine heart, and with all thy soul, that thou mayest live. 

Fast forward to you and I …. We dont have statutes and judgments, we have Jesus.  Jesus is our relationship selfie with God.  Hebrews 6 tells us the statutes and judgments in the law were an introduction to the doctrine that would later be revealed in Christ.  Jesus is the rock the water flowed from.  His cross is the wood that made the bitter water sweet.  He’s the manna from heaven.  He’s the lamb that caused death to pass over the Hebrews in Egypt …. Our life with God doesnt consist of observing statutes ands judgments, or days or moons, or feasts.  Our lives consist of looking to Jesus the author and perfecter of faith.  

There’s a word; that will keep you from leaving your first love.  There’s a faith that will keep you from presenting your body to another god.  Theres a faith that will keep your hands clean; that will keep you from fornicating with the world and the strength in your hand.  Theres a faith that will keep you from going awhoring after other gods.  Theres a faith that will keep you in the love of God.  Where the newness never wears off.  

The faith revealed in Jesus continuously reminds us of the love of God.  We see Jesus, and we see the work of God.  We see Jesus.  We consider Jesus, and we see God providing Himself as the lamb.  We see Jesus and we see God with us emptying Himself to serve us with life.  We see Jesus, and we see God bringing forth our lives out of the grave.  We see Jesus, and we see God overcoming death in the flesh.  We see Jesus, and we see God pouring out His life to deliver us from the corruption in the world.  We see Jesus shedding His blood.  Pouring Himself out for us, delivering our lives from being held by this world, and that keeps us from forgetting our first love.  Looking unto the faith revealed in Jesus keeps us from offering up our bodies to this world and its wisdom.  It keeps our hands clean.  It keeps us from looking to our own hands to try and be exalted unto life.  Looking unto the faith revealed in Jesus satisfies us with long life.  It makes us single eyed.  It keeps us mindful of the faithfulness of God. 

Hearing the faith revealed in Jesus is like date night with God.  It serves as a continuous reminder to us of Gods love and faithfulness towards our lives.  It fosters intimacy with God by keeping His work and His life always before our eyes.  The faith revealed in Jesus is like unto a love letter, that serves as continuous reminder of our first love …. 

I wrote Beckie a lot of love letters …… when she reads them …. 

James says whosoever  continues looking into the perfect law of liberty, they are doers of the word.  He says they have done the works of God.  There’s a work that keeps you in the love of God; theres a word that will keep you from forgetting your first love.  Hebrews says labor to enter Gods rest.  The word labor talks about doing a work.  Gods rest is found in what He’s done in Jesus to perfect your life from the corruption in the world, once for all time.  If we do the work of considering what was done in Jesus.  If we do the work of continuously looking unto the faith revealed in Jesus, the love of God will be perfected in our hearts.  

The apostle Paul says not to grow weary in well doing, for you shall reap in due season if you faint not.  The well doing Paul talks about is the hearing of faith.  Faith comes by hearing.  The love of God comes by hearing.  

Hebrews says to consider Jesus.  Look unto the faith revealed in Jesus, lest you faint and grow weary in your mind, and fail of the grace of God.  James says whoever continues looking into the perfect law of liberty will be blessed in their deed.  The deed that blesses people is to continuously consider what is revealed in Jesus.  Everyone who does the work of considering the faith revealed in Jesus, and does not grow weary in doing that work, will be blessed in their deed.  They will be rooted and grounded in the love of God, not offering their bodies to the world, not being a forgetful hearer, but a doer of the word. 

Prayer