The Four “R’s”

I like to call this the 4 “R’s”

Remember
Repent
Redo
Restored

Revelation 2:1-7

Unto the angel of the church of Ephesus write; These things saith he that holdeth the seven stars in his right hand, who walketh in the midst of the seven golden candlesticks; 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: And hast borne, and hast patience, and for my name’s sake hast laboured, and hast not fainted. Nevertheless I have somewhat against thee, because thou hast left thy first love. 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. But this thou hast, that thou hatest the deeds of the Nicolaitans, which I also hate. He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches; To him that overcometh will I give to eat of the tree of life, which is in the midst of the paradise of God.

You do not lose your first love, you LEAVE YOUR FIRST LOVE. You walked away from the relationship, though still functioning as if all was fine.

It is not the end though Jesus tells us, if you see yourself as this Church was, there is hope!!

First remember! Remember what you were like in the beginning when you first were born again remember the time you coveted with Jesus. Remember the excitement you had in sharing Him with others without shame or worry. Remember the hours spent praying, talking, and just resting in Him. Remember the time of song that you would sing outloud or in your spirit. Remember how you would wake up and a song was being sung in your very spirit from sleep. Oh, remember stir those true real desires back up.

After we remember, Jesus tells us to repent. Repent for being lax, repent for becoming more like a Pharisee and not a true servant. Repent for taking His goodness and grace for granted. Repent for being too busy and neglecting your relationship with Him. Repent.

Then He says do your first works over. Go back to the beginning and redo those things you once did. Spend time alone with Him. Spend time having Him teach you His Word and not YouTube videos. Rest in His holy presence, enjoy Him so when you do go out, His light will shine through you. Spend time so intense that when you go out into the world you shine as Moses and people will see a difference between you and them. Redo those first works again, as you do you will be a fruitful person that will be able to feed many.

He will restore you when you do exactly what He says! If you do not He will come quickly to you and remove the candlestick, the light. Who is the Light of the world? Who is the light of all men? That is frightening to think about. But if you do as He says, He will restore you He will hold you, teach you, and use you. In the end you will be given the Tree of Life in the Paradise of God!

Thinking about this I began to examine my own life.

Remember, I remember rising very early in order to spend real quality time with Jesus. I remember praying for hours. I remember being in the Word of God all day long, never out of duty but with an unquenchable thirst for Him. I was not concerned about head knowledge but I wanted to know Him who loved me when I was unlovable, who forgave the unforgivable that I had committed. I remember making songs up singing outloud alone. I remember going to Him for direction and guidance for everything in my life. I remember praying in the Spirit so fervently because He knew what to pray when I did not. I remember how I would cry for sin that remained in me and how I despised it greatly.

Yes I remember.

After going down memory lane, that stirred up repentance in my soul for becoming complacent, lax, and arrogant. Repent for taking my eyes off Him and onto others. Repent for listening to people say I read the Bible too much, so I quit. Repent for believing people who said I had a religious spirit, so I quit talking about Him. Repent for allowing fear to enter thinking I would die if I drew to close to Him because I took your Word to serious as others claimed. Repent for putting man and my feelings before God. Repent for not sleeping at night but during the day instead. I am a child of the Day not of the night.

Now as I sit here tonight, after I cried out in Godly sorrow which brought me to true repentance, it has prompted me to pray for others that have requested prayer. Not a fastfood prayer, but a sincere no distraction prayer for others. To write down things that He has given me to share, but did not because of being tired of being attacked for the Word of God. Prayed for awhile in the Holy Spirit asking to be refilled. Opening my eyes afterward I had three little dogs sitting at my feet quietly, as if protecting me as each one was steering straight ahead.

Lol what that was all about I have no idea.