Lesson 2 - How to Keep Your First Love
Homework: Turn in testimonies. Repeat memo verses. Memorize: Rev. 2:5 , Deut 8:10-11, Mark 12:30, Psalms 51:12 (Question 1) Intro. When you first got saved, the Spirit bore witness within you. Romans 8:16 The Spirit itself beareth witness with our spirit, that we are the children of God: Remember the excitement you felt - the intense love for God, the intense gratitude, the great hunger for spiritual things? (Question 2) Do you still feel that? Do you feel it as intensely? Do you feel it as often? Rev 2:2-5 I know thy works, and thy labour, and thy patience, and how thou canst not bear them which are evil: and thou hast tried them which say they are apostles, and are not, and hast found them liars: 3 And hast borne, and hast patience, and for my name's sake hast laboured, and hast not fainted. 4 Nevertheless I have [somewhat] against thee, because thou hast left thy first love. 5 Remember therefore from whence thou art fallen, and repent, and do the first works; or else I will come unto thee quickly, and will remove thy candlestick out of his place, except thou repent. (Question 3) I. How do we lose our first love? Is it a result of not working for God as we should? You can work for God and still lose your first love. Is it for lack of Bible study? You can even read the Word and still lose it. Is is a lack of prayer? Or from not witnessing? No. Even these activities may not make you feel any closer to God at times. These reasons would seem sure and simple, but are not always foolproof. To lose your first love is to lose your daily awareness of your need for God. (Question 4) Rev 3:17 Because thou sayest, I am rich, and increased with goods, and have need of nothing; and knowest not that thou art wretched, and miserable, and poor, and blind, and naked: When our needs are met and things are going well, we tend to feel we need nothing. Israel in the wilderness daily depended on God for guidance and food. But when they got into the Promised Land and their needs were met, they forgot God. And God had already warned them - Deut 8:11-14 Beware that thou forget not the LORD thy God, in not keeping his commandments, and his judgments, and his statutes, which I command thee this day: 12 Lest when thou hast eaten and art full, and hast built goodly houses, and dwelt therein; 13 And [when] thy herds and thy flocks multiply, and thy silver and thy gold is multiplied, and all that thou hast is multiplied; 14 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; Over and over God would send troubles to bring them back to Him, but as soon as they got comfortable again, they strayed.The danger here is not so much backsliding, but simply losing the enthusiasm of the Christian life - the zeal for spiritual things. The danger is to become too satisfied. The more we are aware of our needs, the more intence our prayer. The more aware we are of God's meeting those needs, the more genuine our thanksgiving. But when we are secure and well taken care of, we begin to lose our appreciation and fear of the Lord. We begin to lose our fear of the Lord and start thinking we can go it alone. Prov 30:8-9 Remove far from me vanity and lies: give me neither poverty nor riches; feed me with food convenient for me: 9 Lest I be full, and deny thee, and say, Who is the LORD? or lest I be poor, and steal, and take the name of my God in vain. Paul had mastered this dilemma: Phil 4:12-13 I know both how to be abased, and I know how to abound: every where and in all things I am instructed both to be full and to be hungry, both to abound and to suffer need. 13 I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me. The heart of the problem is that we fail to maintain our continual dependence upon God - we become independent. We begin to depend upon our own abilities, wisdom, strength, and resources. It is often not until we come against a setback or difficulty that we reach out in dependence upon God. That is idolatry; those things become our God. i.e. If money meets our need, then money can easily become the thing we look to for future deliverance and thus, becomes our God as we depend upon it. We tend to build our lives around what makes us secure. When something threatens our security, we experience fear. That is a good signal that our dependence has transferred from God to something or someone else. God sometimes has to remove things from us in order to make us again realize our need for Him. (Question 5) List 5 things that are very important to you. Have you committed each of these things to God? Could you live a contented life without these things? Twelve Evidences That I Have Left My First Love 1. When my delight in the Lord is no longer greater than my delight in other things. (Mark 12:30) 2. When my soul does not long for times of rich fellowship in God’s Word or prayer.(Mark 12:30) 3. When my thoughts during leisure moments do not reflect upon the Lord. (Mark 12:30; Ps 10:4) 4. When I claim to be ‘only human’, and when I easily give in to things I know displease the Lord. (Mark 12:30; John 15:10; 14:15) 5. When I do not willingly and cheerfully give to God’s work or the needs of others. (1 John 3:17) 6. When I cease to treat every Christian as I would the Lord. (Matt. 25:40; John 13:34) 7. When I view the commands of Christ as restrictions to my happiness rather than expressions of His love. (John 14:21) 8. When I inwardly strive for the acclaim of this world rather than the approval of the Lord. (1 John 2:15; John 15:19) 9. When I fail to make Christ or His words known because I fear rejection. (John 15:20; Rom. 1:16) 10. When I refuse to give up an activity which I know is offending a weaker brother. (Rom. 14:15) 11. When I become complacent to sinful conditions around me. (Matt. 24:12) 12. When I am unable to forgive another for offending me. (1 John 4:20) III. Doing the "First Works". 1. Prayer Petitions Confession Thanksgiving Intercession 2. Bible Study 3. Giving Tithes Offerings 4. Fasting 5. Serving
Student Questions
Memorize Revelation 2:5, Deuteronomy 8:11, Mark 12:30, and Psalms 51:12 Do you remember when you first were saved? Read Romans 8:16. Do you still feel the excitement of salvation? Do you feel it with the same intensity? Do you feel it as often? How do you think we lose our first love? Do you have a daily awareness of the presence of God in your life? When was the last time you felt His presence? List five things that are very important to you. Have you committed these things to God? Could you live a contented life without these things? List the 'Twelve evidences that I have left my "first love" ' as they are given in class. Evidence Scripture 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10. 11. 12. Doing The First Works: 1. Prayer 2. Bible Study 3. Giving 4. Fasting 5. Christian Service
Study Guide For "What The Bible Is All About"
by Henrietta Mears
Chapter 2 Understanding Genesis
1. What does Genesis mean? _______________________ 2. What two phrases best describe Satan? _________________ & _________________ 3. Genesis is a book of ____________. List eight things that began in Genesis. _________________, _________________, _________________, _________________, _________________, _________________, _________________, _________________. 4. Genesis is a history of man’s _______________, and from that point on, the story of man’s ___________________. 5. The Hebrew, or Jewish race, began with what famous Bible character? ____________ 6. What was the purpose of the founding of this nation.? _______________ 7. Genesis answers what 6 great questions of the soul? _______________________, ______________________, _______________________, _______________________, ______________________, _______________________. 8. What three words give us a general outline of Genesis? _______, ________, _______ 9. Name six prophetic types, or pictures we see of Jesus in the book of Genesis. _______________________, ______________________, _______________________, _______________________, ______________________, _______________________. 10. Name the first covenant between God and man and tell what it consisted of. ___________ - __________________________________________________________ 11. How many parallels are there between the life of Joseph and the life of Jesus? ______ 12. Who wrote Genesis? _______________ 13. How did God create the material universe? _________________________ 14. God created man for what purpose? _______________________________ What problem developed to hinder that plan? ______________________ What must happen to restore that original plan? __________________ 15. Adam and Eve were created in a state of ________, but with the power of ________. 16. How did sin enter into the world? ________________________________ 17. What three things resulted from sin’s entrance? __________________, __________________________________, ___________________________________ 18. Where do we find the first promise of redemption in the bible? _________________ 19. What was the purpose of sacrifices? ______________________________ 20. What three ordinances existed before the Law? ________, __________, _________ 21. Why did judgment come upon man by the Flood? (Genesis 6:5-7) ______________________________________________________________________ 22. What had happened to temptation since the days of Adam and Eve and before the Flood? ___________________________________ 23. Where do the events of Genesis take place? ______________________ 24. What was the purpose behind the building of the Tower of Babel? ____________________________________________________________________ 25. Where did the descendants of the sons of Noah settle when mankind dispersed? Shem - ______________, Ham - ________________, Japheth - ________________ 26. For what three purposes did God want a chosen people? _______________. ______________________________, _____________________________________ 27. Jacob’s name was changed to what? ____________ What did that name mean? ____________________ What was the occasion of changing his name? (ch. 32:22-32) ______________ 28. Jacob’s family was transplanted to Egypt through what man? __________ 29. In Jacob’s dying prophecy to his sons, who is named as the descendant of the Messiah? _______________________