Pastor Phil Howard Sermon

Bethlehem Bible Church

Subscribe

Download

Share

00

00:12

Well, we have a real treat in store for you. Pastor Phil Howard is going to be here preaching in just a few moments

00:18

I just wanted to say thank you to Phil and for Carolyn to come and minister here with us We had a marriage conference yesterday if you weren't here yesterday

00:27

Okay, I better be nice because I'm in front of Phil You want to get those cassettes and those tapes and those VHS and those betas and everything else listen to those digital recordings

00:36

I think you'll be encouraged even if you're single or you've lost your spouse. It's really good to remember

00:43

Marriage reflecting the Lord Jesus and his church. And so you don't want to miss that from yesterday

00:50

Sometimes people say well don't pastors need a pastor that is someone to encourage them and pray for them and lift them up or Sometimes to get after them a little bit and I've said for a few years now that Pastor Phil is my pastor

01:03

And so Phil I'm very thankful for you and for your ministry One day,

01:08

I hope I can be more like you and grow up to be like you because there's so many things that the

01:14

Lord has done in your life that I Really? I really admire I'm often thinking of 2nd

01:23

Timothy chapter 2 Paul said to Timothy Remember Jesus Christ risen from the dead the offspring of David as he preached in my gospel

01:31

And one of the things I like about Phil is he wants to talk about the Lord Jesus and you can tell he's affected by Him and so I said to Phil on the phone

01:38

We were arranging this a couple months ago Phil, you know a couple marriage conferences Q &A this that and the other Sunday school

01:43

And then for the sermon, I'd love to have you preach and you know, make sure you talk about Jesus This is a Jesus preaching church and Phil got after me.

01:51

He's like I was preaching Jesus when you were still in diapers You don't need to be reminding me about preaching

01:58

Jesus, but I'll stand behind the scripture and say to you dear friend 2nd

02:04

Timothy to remember Jesus Christ. I lost my voice after preaching for many years and Screaming at my wife

02:17

And so I I have to have a mic,

02:23

I'm sorry Well, it has been a delight

02:28

To be with you. I've never preached in New England before I've heard all kinds of stories about you

02:39

I Just finished the Adams Chronicles and I didn't know if you'd be like John Adams.

02:46

I just read about the Wright brothers by John David McCullough But none of them will compare to this.

02:56

I love your pastor And pastors need to be encouraged and so do you

03:03

Hebrews 313 said we ought to encourage one another each day

03:09

Lest sin deceive us and our heart become hardened.

03:14

So It is a joy to encourage people that get encouraged.

03:21

I've never met an over encouraged Christian Are you one?

03:27

If you are pass it on pass it on Let's read

03:32

Revelation 2. I'm so glad you read Revelation 1. That's great I'm going to speak on the romance that became a rut

03:42

That happens in marriage and it happens in church life and we pick up in Revelation 2 to the angel of the church in Ephesus, right

03:56

This is the church of Acts 19 Acts 20

04:01

It's one of the most moving chapters in the Bible and they go down to the beach and weep as they say goodbye to Paul For they will never see him again moving moving narrative in Acts this is the church of Ephesians 1 you were chosen in Christ and That he prays for them chapter 2 if you were quickened when you were dead in your sins chapter 3

04:30

Jew and Gentile have been put together in one people

04:35

Chapter 4 how to behave the seven unities of the faith chapter 5

04:42

Flee immoral behavior and be happily married chapter 6

04:49

Beware of satanic attack. This is the one of the most marvelous

04:55

Epistles and now Christ in 90 AD says I want to talk to my churches and I'm starting with Ephesus listen to what he says to the angel of the church of Ephesus, right

05:11

The one who holds the seven stars in his right hand the one who walks among the seven golden lampstands says this

05:20

I know your deeds and Your toil and Perseverance and that you cannot endure evil men and you put to the test

05:34

Those who call themselves Apostles and they are not and you found them to be false and you have perseverance and have endured for my namesake and Have not grown weary But I have this against you

06:01

That you have left or fallen your first love

06:09

Remember therefore from where you have fallen and repent and do the deed you did at first or Else I am coming to you and will remove your lampstand out of its place

06:27

Unless you repent Yet this you do have

06:33

That you hate the need deeds of the Nicolaitans, which I also hate

06:40

He who has an ear let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches

06:46

To him who overcomes I will grant to eat of the tree of life

06:52

Which is in the paradise of God It's An amazing amazing

07:02

Commendation I wish to be commended like this church.

07:07

I Mean what they had going for them. He starts it. I know your works

07:16

It's amazing It's like the one bosses. How will we replace the man that just left?

07:23

He said no worry about it There's nothing to replace No works

07:31

Some people the fool is all talk according to Proverbs. He he's too lazy in the morning

07:37

It says he rolls on his bed like a door on hinges. He keeps saying there's a lion in the street

07:44

He does nothing but not this church This church is a working church as I imagine this churches

07:53

Let's see what he says, I know your deeds your toil and perseverance,

08:00

I mean energetic Consumed with the work set up the chairs make the coffee teach the children on and on You just you need to be in good health to belong to some churches

08:20

Because you're going to be working all the time So he says I commend you you're doing great on that score

08:30

And he goes on I I see a perseverance. I love this That they remain under pressure is the idea that that they're not easy to give up They stay with it.

08:44

They stay with it Everything doesn't happen just overnight

08:50

So he said I commend you You cannot endure evil men.

08:56

I Think of this church and his pastoral staff and the elders. I mean you're astute

09:02

Theologically and you're aware and they've taught you people Be on the lookout for error and men with bad motives bad

09:11

Doctrine bad practice. They're on it. They're not asleep. They're not dumb at all it goes on and he said you put to test those who say they are apostles and they are not and I found them to be false and you have persevered endured for my name and I'm not grown weary.

09:38

What a commendable Commendable word from the Lord Jesus. Thank of it

09:46

I've left you. I've been gone maybe 60 years and there's a church at Ephesus a wicked city founded in Acts 19 and This is what

09:57

I know. That's good about you It's wonderful. I mean you're in in a good style

10:06

I Can he say that about you in this church? Are you engaged in the work of this church?

10:14

Are you involved? Are you just passively watching the parade?

10:19

You know Christianity is not a spectator sport we usually watch a bunch of guys playing football and We're critical every time they drop the ball every time they don't score and you're sitting here at least 50 pounds overweight having another bud light and you're mad because you can't find the controls and And critical of those who are playing the game, but you've never got involved in the game

10:51

How involved are you in this church? Have you ever got to know

10:57

Christ enough that you'd work for him and you'd let him work through you

11:03

So he's commending them as we all want to be commended But then he moved to a heartbreaking thing

11:14

He says but I have this against you You don't love me like you did at the first And there must be a

11:27

Thousand love songs on that very thing. I Mean, sorry seems to be the hardest word

11:35

Are you don't love me like you used to? And there's a

11:41

Whitney singing I will always love you as the guy is walking out on her and is breaking the heart of the relationship

11:49

But I will always love you I'll still in my heart even if we part even if we break up even if I never see you again

11:59

I will always love you and then we need baby to write a song the thrills gone.

12:07

I'm still married, but the thrills gone We Still live together

12:16

We still do dishes together I still cut the lawn, but everything that brought us together's

12:23

Evaporated we don't talk to each other. I want I read one article where the couple they communicated to each other by their

12:32

Computer they didn't even talk. They just sent a message It totally silent

12:41

I've had so many women said my husband never talks He reads the newspaper

12:48

He watches the game and we have nothing to talk about. Oh that can't be.

12:54

Oh, it's all over the place We're one of the loneliest cultures America has ever seen

13:01

Because we had so much entertainment around us Technology around us. I mean,

13:06

I have a bunch of grandchildren and it's something if there's seven grandchildren There'll be seven cell phones

13:13

And said hey, you're with your grandfather. I'm the one that sends you a birthday gift of money

13:20

Not your cell phone talk to me me me me me me and Technology has taken over talking around the table and in marriage and it happens in church life of the great things that started you out

13:44

You may have left behind you and he's he's saying I'm gonna talk to you about this matter a first love

13:52

Why have you left it and that word first is sometimes translated best the best love you left

14:00

Behind you listen to what he tells them to get over the problem Remember from where you have fallen

14:10

Remember from where you have fallen How was it when you first got saved

14:19

I just read again religious affections by a man that used to hang out in these woods named

14:27

Jonathan Edwards and And he said if you've never had religious affections that he defines where joy flooded your heart where a hope came into your heart where Compassion for people came into your heart when all of this came into you without the affections

14:48

You've never been born again, and the awakening was not all Emotionalism was not all fluff

14:55

It was not all being caught up with with field and there was fanaticism and there were

15:01

Emotions and the deus had plenty of criticism of the great awakening

15:06

But God raises up a genius a genius no greater mind in America.

15:12

He said let me tell you what I saw Those who were truly affected by the grace of God The affections the emotions the heart was gripped

15:23

They were moved they were illumined of truth They were not like those men that write a thesis on honey who had never tasted honey

15:34

They could tell you all about something Theoretically, but never had experienced it.

15:40

They really did experience a change of heart How do you know that Jonathan those that begin to love

15:49

God? begin to love people begin to have gratitude Compassion and you go through the affections

15:57

He names about 20 of them that I saw in those genuinely touched in the revival.

16:05

I Don't know about your background But so many people are nominal they're the

16:12

Christian in name only They grew up in a denomination. They were sprinkled as a baby and they say

16:20

I've got my religious Tag on I've got it made. Have you ever been born again?

16:28

Can you ever say I know? when the love of God was just abroad in my heart and I was delivered from what

16:37

I used to hate. I began to love I was saved on a Tuesday night 1958 and I was in a church with old ladies who had all their hair in buns

16:56

And and they had dresses that look like the Quakers and made

17:02

And and I hated to go to that church because it was an old people's church

17:08

But I went because my dad was bigger than me and so I Went but this

17:16

Tuesday night. I couldn't wait. I wanted to be there because I was under severe conviction of sin

17:24

It was amazing to me and when I think remember remember

17:30

Tuesday night prayer meeting no more than 50 people and most of them old

17:38

Old -fashioned I'm Buying Elvis records.

17:43

I'm listening to blue suede shoes heartbreak hotel and hound dogs And I'm going to church with folks that look like they got off of the

17:52

Mayflower What in the world am I doing here

17:59

But that night as I knelt to receive

18:05

Christ and I wept and wept because I thought

18:12

I was going to hell that night If God didn't hear me that night. I knew

18:17

I was lost And finally my father knelt by me and gave me a handkerchief and Said I'll be here until you're through and he said once he's through breaking your heart.

18:31

You'll be in the family And I got up as a 14 year old boy in a leather jacket and Dixie peach in my hair

18:40

And look like someone out of dirty dancing By the time

18:46

I got up I Hugged every one of those old ladies with their hair up there 70 80 nearly been missionary just Didn't know what lipstick looked like didn't know what a modern hairdo they were just the old folks ready to be put in the home and I immediately fell in love with them and As a teenage boy,

19:17

I hugged every one of them. Some of them had been Sunday school teachers Nobody taught me that nobody told me

19:23

I had to do that. That wasn't required for me to be saved. What happened? I Was born again

19:32

I never could fight anymore because I had no hate. I Had nothing to prove.

19:39

I No longer could use racial language. I Returned ball gloves that I'd stolen in grammar school.

19:47

I started returning things I'd stolen three years before The change that I had stolen to fight in a fight and said

19:56

I'm returning it for five years Even when I'm in Bible college, I'm returning things that stole from markets

20:04

Nobody told me I had to do that. I Remember, I remember what he did

20:13

Broke up with the girl that I was ready to be immoral with it's only 14 But in California they get started young broke up Couldn't date.

20:27

I wanted to be pure. I'm going to be right Started a prayer covenant with God when

20:36

I was 15 I prayed three hours a day going through high school ninth to twelfth because I wanted to be

20:44

Clean I wanted to be right. I remember I prayed more going through high school than I prayed as a pastor

20:54

Stayed in church all the time learned to play guitar so we could sing by the way.

20:59

I loved the music I loved it and all hail the power of the way you sing it. That's our alma mater song from Dallas You ought to hear a chapel full of about 500 men sing that song.

21:11

I Just wanted to weep when I heard it brought back memories Remember remember

21:19

Do you love him like you did at the first? Or has it become a old hat?

21:28

Is everything just a definition? I read so many books I've been books all my life reading preparing sermons

21:37

Reading preparing sermons pray five minutes study ten hours Study and you've studied yourself till you dry out you get so dry and what's lacking so much preaching

21:50

It's so dry because the guy hasn't waited long enough for God to ignite him.

21:56

It comes from above Because we pretty soon we know how to have church we know how to the machinery works

22:04

We know how this works that work, but something missing and what's missing is the presence of God Doing a work that a book won't do

22:17

Book won't change To revive you to stir you

22:26

Remember from where you've fallen I ask you do you pray like you used to or maybe you never started

22:35

What do you not do today that you did when you first probably singing a lot when you first got saved

22:42

He puts a song in your heart. He doesn't mean you put the tune in your heart.

22:48

You still can't sing maybe Musically But but that's not the test

22:54

We've got to wait to get to heaven and have a glorified body. Some of you will be able to carry a tune

23:01

In my family, it was scary to sing because they are good and oh man,

23:06

Philip, when you gonna learn? Yeah, I'm just singing to the Lord. He's the only one that wants to hear it

23:16

Remember Remember from where you came from. I was preaching

23:27

At Dallas Seminary a Christian life conference for I preached every day for a week the chapels were 20 minutes long and So you had to get up Kenneth Gangle was the

23:47

Dean and he was strict Hush up the bell goes off. We've got to get to class

23:53

The head of the homiletics department had me for dinner on Thursday And he said

23:58

Phil when are you gonna call us to do something? When are you gonna ask us to respond?

24:04

I said there's no time to respond. I Said I've got 20 minutes or I'm gonna get chewed out

24:16

He said I'm telling you as the head of the homiletics to Call the students to do something the

24:24

Spirit of God is working among the student body So I listened to him that next day

24:35

I read this passage and I asked him a question.

24:41

I Say in chapel that day. There's 500 primarily in those days men

24:48

When I went there it was mainly all men not very many women I Asked them on that day

24:59

Have you lost your first love I Said you're so busy learning

25:04

Hebrew and Greek That you don't even go to church anymore.

25:10

He's always getting ready for another exam. I Signed up I want to go to seminary.

25:22

I want to go you've come here guys were getting divorced while they were in seminary

25:30

Guys could going to church They quit praying But man, they could parse verbs.

25:38

I Asked them how many of you guys Don't go to church anymore disaster in the chapel hands going up all over I said how many of you are up on BDB?

25:55

Hebrew lexicon But you don't love the Shepherd You you now know what it says in Hebrew, but you don't love him like you did in the beginning

26:05

You're just becoming an egghead you like academics, but you don't love the Savior You're just going to get a doctorate.

26:13

You're going to get a degree, but you're losing your temperature while you're doing it Because you're not being changed you're backsliding while you're studying theology

26:26

I Said bow your heads and they believe me. They don't do this. This is a

26:32

Presbyterian kind of school when I went to it. I Said bow your heads how many of you feel like You slid back that you don't love the

26:43

Savior anymore. I was amazed to see about 300 hands go up. I Thought they they misunderstand.

26:51

I I didn't say it right. Maybe it was a trick question I don't want to trick him into a response.

26:58

I said how many maybe you don't understand. I want you to stand If you've lost your first love, but you're in seminary 300 men stood and many of them with tears on their cheeks and Bill Brian and I I said

27:19

Bill Brian was the chaplain I said we will stand right up here in the front and We will pray with every man that wants someone to pray with him

27:30

The bell went off and we went another hour to two hours Just praying with broken men.

27:37

I fell out of love with the one I'm studying about. I fell out of love with Christ While preparing to be a pastor and I think there's so many people in church

27:56

That they don't love him like they used to He The world gets our attention and he says you can't love the

28:06

Father and the world at the same time Evil keeps waxing.

28:12

It looks so good. It's advertising For our hearts all the time you need to buy this you need to lust after that You need this and we're so full of stuff stuff.

28:24

You talk to people about their prayer life Tell me about your prayer life. Don't even ask a pastor's group.

28:30

How's your prayer life? No, not just study life I don't want to say how big your library is, which

28:35

I am impressed Do you have a prayer life we've hired guys on our staff

28:43

Just got their master's in theology and I told one young man got it

28:48

Down in Southern, California Came back. I said you won't be worth spit until you learn how to pray.

28:57

I Said I'm not impressed I went to school with the guys had sheepskins all over the place and they were as dry as last year's bird nest

29:08

Then because because they're not in love with the God they're preaching about they don't love him

29:14

They're hoping to make a paycheck off of call it vocational ministry all baloney

29:23

It'd be good if you could love the Christ you preach about. Oh That we would be in love with Christ to you who love him his commandments are not burdensome

29:38

His yoke is easy He's a wonderful Savior He here he's everything there's no disappointments in Jesus Preachers can fall preachers can fail churches can explode

29:58

I Went to a seminary that they got into a fight with one another in the seminary exploded

30:06

But there's no disappointments in Jesus And at that school

30:13

As I left the school After those men had repented the president said had me sit down.

30:22

He was stern with me I was getting ready to fly back to California. He made me sit down in his office.

30:28

He said Phil We're not used to what happened today sit down Now that oh, no,

30:34

I'm gonna get chewed out He said this is exactly what we needed

30:40

For we've dried up We've lost the first love You broke all the rules, but God broke our heart and remade us

30:51

What about you he goes on to tell them I want you to go back remember

31:02

From where you've fallen. I want you to repent

31:08

Change your mind the direction of your life and Then I want you to do the deeds you did at the first Many times as a pastor my heart was drawing cold even when

31:24

I was in school. I We used to walk the streets of San Pablo Avenue and where I live

31:31

What San Pablo Avenue ran all the way into Berkeley, Oakland and all

31:38

Places not known for God. I'd walk those streets and pray give me a burden for the people of this place

31:45

Give me a burden none of the theology books were giving me a burden for people

31:51

None of the books was able to take me and make me put up with the hippie

31:56

That was strung out on drugs and strung out in immorality only God can make me love people

32:04

Read me a book all day. You can't change my heart It's only the

32:10

God of Calvary that will make you love people enough to serve. I Said warm my heart.

32:18

I'm drying out. I'm drying out listen to lectures every day every day

32:25

He said do what you did at the first. I said my lord. I prayed a lot. He said pray a lot again

32:31

Well at the first I used to go to church a lot go to church more be with the

32:37

Saints Get with people who sing God's praises get with the people that exhort you you can't afford to run with very draining people

32:48

You've got to be with people who keep pointing you to the celestial city Don't get bogged down with negative people

32:57

Get with people that will stimulate you for God get back

33:02

Get back do the deeds you did at first For I'm coming and if you don't repent if you don't go back

33:12

I'm going to remove you and That is astounding The devil gets blamed for every church that's shut down and Christ is shutting as many as the devil

33:26

This church is worthless to God if it refuses to fall in love with God The thing you want to contend for is not just being right because you can be dead right

33:41

You Say I loved all Christians until I started running with Christians all the time

33:47

And I started going to schools that were separatists They were very strict

33:56

Fundamental, but they taught me to be suspicious when I would meet you I had about ten questions to ask you and if you answered them, right?

34:04

Well, maybe I could love you Before that I could embrace you because I was just a

34:10

Christian and It wasn't my business to straighten you out. I Thought God did the straightening out

34:18

Now I'm going to tell you the truth But only God changes our hearts.

34:24

Is that not right? Because where I come from most people are fairly hard -headed, but I know you folks aren't that way

34:35

You Prove it prove it show me said

34:43

May the Lord Jesus If he was to take out his report card on this precious church

34:53

How would he be grading us? I'm scared to death of his appraisal because I know

35:00

I As the pastor sure did not did not I'd had to repent more than I would my life has been a life of repentance and Confession I'm Desperately dependent all the time and I'm thinking when do

35:18

I graduate from this? There's no graduation Until you see him face to face

35:26

If you don't like the life of dependence and you're the Independent self -made man.

35:33

May you rot in your success For unless you abide in me you can do nothing

35:42

That is of any worth. I Thought as we went to the antique show the things people paid for made

35:54

Painted and kept up wind up for sale and It's all perishing.

36:01

What are you spending your life? Hey, you know, do you have time to pray? Do you have time to just worship the

36:08

Lord? To tell him you love him. Do you do that around here? Do you just say

36:14

Lord? I love you Interesting that's all he wanted to know Peter didn't chew him out for denying it

36:21

He didn't even bring it up in John 21, hey, by the way, you denied me three times

36:28

You liar You said in John 13 there will everybody leave you you can count on me

36:36

That's what he said Now they all abandoned him, but they didn't all make that boast

36:44

But when he meets him at the sea he never once brought up his failure

36:49

He brought up one question I Wonder Peter do you love me?

36:56

Because I've got some plans to use you on the day of Pentecost and all I want to know is do you love me?

37:03

Not do you know how? Not are you the best? Not it. Did you graduate?

37:10

No, I wouldn't ask Peter Do you love me the biggest question in front of all of you today

37:17

Above all other questions. I don't want to know if you're this kind of a

37:23

View you're on this view that view You see when I knew far less at times.

37:31

I believe I loved him far more When I grew up, I didn't know

37:38

I Didn't know a tenth of The theology and truth that I hold to today and I was wrong about so many views

37:49

But you you you won't say this. You don't you don't know me. Don't you act like you do?

37:56

But I loved him I loved him he changed my the whole course of my life

38:08

Changed Took me from a thief took me from a lot of stuff just as a kid

38:16

And on my worst day my worst views I said Jesus You read

38:23

Isaiah 53 to me twice I'll need my handkerchief out. I can't

38:29

I Used to tell my daughters your dad's not a great Christian but Calvary conquered my heart

38:38

I Am a conquered man, I'm not a great man

38:44

Have no ambitions of being great, but Calvary Calvary love conquered my heart

38:51

Oh Ephesus Ephesus Do what you did at the beginning

38:58

Or I will remove you. I know you hate the deeds of the Nicolaitans Which I also hate and they're hard to get a handle on Some make them they corrupted other churches into immorality and Idolatry, so they're a terrible body of men

39:21

Corrupting the churches of Asia Minor and he says you hate what they're doing. I do too

39:27

Hear what the Spirit says to the churches To him who overcomes

39:33

I will grant to eat of the tree of life Which is in the paradise of God Oh Beloved Saints as I thought of the marriage conference

39:48

I just thought of You couples if you think of your marriage

39:57

Did it used to be better than it is now Did you used to have time for each other?

40:04

Did you talk to each other? You've raised children You survived economic hard times

40:19

There's nothing you can do that will make up for not being there for her or for him

40:25

You know, I'm just saying that the group I was so blessed for years because Carolyn her love language was time

40:34

Time to get she didn't care if we were driving across the desert if we were just together

40:41

Because I was consumed with people I'm a people person and with people is always running with young men wanting to train for ministry

40:51

Always consumed. I left her facing the wall many times at conventions and different I I was terrible because I knew preachers and I'm talking and she's over here

41:06

Terrible mistakes But as we kept living together

41:13

Her love language has now become money And we're in need of counsel if anyone would be willing to either make us alone or counsel

41:26

I don't need your time anymore, but I would like a ring that would be beautiful What does it take to cultivate your marriage talk

41:40

Remember the good times not all the spats We look back now we talk about oh, we had a spat there and this is amazing

41:49

We remember we had the spat but we forgot what we spat about That's bad

41:55

English, but that's mine What were we having the debate about we don't know

42:03

What have you done since put off put on? And I just think in light of our marriages and in light of our churches the most important thing we could do for our wife or husband is

42:18

Do you love them? And are you willing to humble yourself to convey that message?

42:26

Don't stubbornly set on it, you know, if you love me and you don't tell me

42:32

It does me no good Do you ever see people like in the church? Well, I love those people.

42:38

I love the Saints. Do you ever tell them? Oh, no, that's private But that's like winking at your girlfriend in the dark

42:47

Do a bit of good We just speak up and weak in the daylight

42:53

So we could see it if you love the Saints tell the Saints if you love your husband love your wife tell them

43:00

I Know some of you just got locked jaw, but that's too bad God heals

43:07

Tell them tell them Convey love we sure do we don't have locked jaw when it comes to criticism

43:16

Well, we'll tell everything we don't like what about what we love and The main theme of your life ought not to be the

43:25

Patriots. It ought to be Christ and Don't tell me about Trump or Biden.

43:30

We're desperate on both cases It's Christ it's

43:36

Christ I pray God will let you drink deeply of the affections of first love and Just start there if you fall out of love and you're just in the rut

43:50

You're going through the routine you read your Bible, but you never get illumined You never have any emotion because you're just too brilliant to be that that puny and desperate

44:04

Well, you're more spiritual in Jeremiah who wept as he warned

44:09

Israel turn back to God You know I'll end with just the movie story when

44:16

I first read Ezekiel 16 When he tells Israel when I found you

44:22

You were like a baby that was dying in the afterbirth.

44:27

You were drowning in the blood of your mother. I Walked upon you in the wilderness.

44:35

I saw you and I pulled you out of the afterbirth and I worse you

44:40

I cleaned you up. I took you as my own

44:46

I Clothed you I put ointment on you as You started growing up and you came into puberty and you came into the time of love

44:59

He became a beautiful young lady. I Dressed you fine.

45:05

I Took care of you and when you came to the age to give me reciprocal love and To love me back you decided to sleep with all the gods of the nations and You took my gold you took my perfume.

45:24

You took my garments and You poured it out on foreign lovers. I was not good enough to love

45:33

It's a heart -rending Description of their love for idols as I've read

45:39

Chronicles even when they would defeat another army They would take their gods back with them having defeated the

45:47

Edomites then they would adopt their gods I hope the idols of your heart could be crushed

45:54

So that you could get to the one who rescued you There's only one that rescued you our father

46:06

We're living in a cold age We crave revival we crave awakening

46:16

We crave to not backslide with truth in our mouth

46:23

With Church life all around us and yet grow cold

46:33

I'm exciting and become bored With the things that ought to ignite our heart.

46:43

Oh Lord heal me of my backsliding's heal me of the lost affections.

46:50

Oh, I crave So many of those experiences that I remember prayer meetings

47:01

Meetings Where we sang till our lungs nearly caved in we couldn't sing your praises loud enough or long enough

47:11

How simple how uncomplicated and how glorious it was

47:16

Oh bless Bethlehem Church Guard its leadership

47:24

And this people from becoming cold And untouched by the great truths that they daily traffic in and handle they're hearing such truths that I Had to wait for years and go to college before I ever ever ever heard them

47:50

I Didn't know how rich I was. I thank you

47:55

Lord Jesus. You've never quit loving us We just want to reciprocate

48:03

We want to love him who first loved us. Oh, let us be a bride that loves you back

48:11

Loves you back. Oh Lord Jesus, I love you.

48:17

I Hope to obey you and I hope to bring you pleasure

48:22

For you are worthy of our devotion Help us to get back to our first love in Jesus name and the church said