The Imperative of Now: Building the Church Jesus is Returning For. | Rev. Elisha Satvinder

Morning, I want to talk about the imperative of now, kind of segue from last week. The thing that I want to look at is this: becoming the church Jesus is returning for. We all talk about the return of Jesus, the return of Christ, the second coming, the Dreadful Day. We talk about all the different things, the end times, but Jesus is not just coming back to judge the world but he’s coming back for his church. So, I want us to look at this scripture as we go into this thought this morning.

Matthew 16:18: Jesus speaking, saying this, “And I tell you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of Hades or the gates of hell will not overcome it.” When you look at this entity called the church, we are the church. You as a person are a church. This is our local church. It’s called New Covenant Community. If you walk down the road, you will see many other churches that have their own local name, right? So that we have that. There are so many divisions, so many methods, so-called methods of doing Church, philosophies of doing Church, how it’s expressed, different forms of worship, different forms of liturgy, different modes of preaching, how the service is conducted. Do you know there are over two billion people who call themselves Christians? So, if our world population is about eight billion and a bit more, eight billion, so 20% of the world’s population are Christians, whatever church they go to, whichever church they go to, whichever denomination. Talking about denominations, there are 45,000 denominations in the world. Yes, you heard me right, 45,000. Oh yeah, we only know Anglican, Methodist, Catholic. No, 45,000. Is God the author of it? Obviously not. 45,000. Crazy. And they kind of did a rough figure: there are 50 million church buildings in the world. 50 million church buildings. That’s a lot of cement and bricks. 50 million. Many leadership styles, different structures, different emphasis on what’s important. Are we not confused? Then we have the Middle East conflict, then you have the church conflict. We fight, we split, we go somewhere else, we get upset. All kinds of things, isn’t it? All kinds of things happening. Wow. This is what we call church. It’s not a Mother’s Day message, I’m sorry. This is what we call church. So, we see all this, we know all this, but have we ever stopped and asked this? Jesus. Asking Jesus, what is the church of your dreams? What’s the church of your dreams? See, you and I have dreams, you know, the job of my dreams, my dream job, my dream home, my dream vacation, you know, my dream this, my dream that, and sometimes it’s only a dream. So, we have all kinds of things, you know, my dream boyfriend, my dream girlfriend, my dream husband. We have all kinds of things. So, have we ever stopped and said, Jesus, what is the church of your dreams? Excuse me, what is the church that you are looking for? What are you expecting from us? See, we have an expectation of God, right? Is that not true? When we come on Sunday, we have an expectation, right? But he says, I will build my church. If it’s his church, that means it’s his expectation and not mine. Is that not true? But we have reversed it, isn’t it? We say, the way I want it. So, it’s a conflict of interest here, isn’t it? It’s a bit confused, isn’t it? So, what is this? What do you think, New Covenant Community? What do you think is God’s dream church? What do you think, Jesus? Your Lord, your Savior, the one who paid the price, the one you say, God, you got to give me this, you got to give me that. What is his desire of you, of me, or when we come together? What’s his desire? What is God wanting? So, let’s think of this as we tackle maybe one question: What is the church that Jesus is coming back for? We all know he’s returning, right? Amen? He’s coming. Thank goodness. Please come soon. Come back quickly, Lord, isn’t it? Honestly, this season, I’m like, Lord, come back quickly. Seriously. Oh dear, the world is in a mess. All these things, oh goodness. But most of us live in the now, or the near future, meaning, what do I need today? Tomorrow morning, when you wake up, your week begins, isn’t it? But actually, the week begins today. So, your week begins, okay, what do I need? What do I need to get done? Who do I need to see? Assignments that I need to finish? Business deals that I need to sew up? I’m thinking of all these different things. So, I’m kind of stuck with the now and a bit of a perspective of the future. Okay, so, how do I navigate the future? How do I navigate when I finish my studies? What do I want? How do I continue? Do I want to continue with another degree? What am I doing? Will I have enough money? That’s our concerns, right? Is that not true? If you don’t have that concern, you can give me all the money. I can happily tell you how I can use it. Will I get married? Will I stay married? Will I have children? What will my children do? Will I have a comfortable retirement? Will my children be successful? And many other issues. Is that true, church? So, we are in the now. What I want, what’s needed. So, we think about that, but we miss one very important fact: we all have an expiry date, right? We all have an expiry date. That means we all die. And then, after that is eternal life. But that’s another thing as well, isn’t it? We also cannot take that for granted. So, more importantly, we will all face God. Is that not true? We will all face God. See, when we seek God for our daily lives, we just worshiped just now, “All my life you have been faithful.” And then we think of the scripture in Hebrews 4:16, you know, “Come before the throne of grace.” Hebrews 4:16 says, “Let us then approach God’s throne of grace with confidence so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need.” So, every day we are encouraged, I’ve encouraged you, scripture encourages us to what? To come before God, right? Amen? We come before God, we bring our needs, our concerns, our desires, our pain, our disappointments, whatever it is, we come before God in his throne of grace. And that’s a beautiful aspect of our relationship with him, isn’t it? That we are given this confidence that when we approach him confidently in our hearts, we know that he’s compassionate and he’s loving, and he pours out his grace. Amen? We know that. However, when I breathe my last, when I end my earthly journey, I will stand before a different throne. I actually stand before God in judgment. It’s a different aspect of his authority that we will encounter. He says, “A great white throne,” and Revelation 20 talks about this. He says, “Then I saw a great white throne and him who was seated on it. The earth and the heavens fled from his presence, and there was no place for them. And I saw the dead, great and small, standing before the throne.” Great and small. Okay, somebody is making a grand entrance. You know, both young and old. Okay, we see all this, the rich and the poor, famous and non-famous. Taylor Swift also has to go before God, and she’s not going to have a concert. And there’s no merit. The only merit is of what Christ has done. I want you to get a perspective, okay? So, all the big people, the rich, whether it’s Elon Musk, and the poorest of the poor, when you go and see the squatter people that you meet, you and I, whatever it is, big, rich people, small, everyone. And I saw the dead, great and small, standing before the throne. The multitude is unimaginable, isn’t it? All of us, black, white, yellow, blue, green, successful, failure, arrogant, humble, all there. What happens? The books were opened. Another book was opened. Two books. When I do that series, okay. Which is the Book of Life? The dead were judged according to what they had done as recorded in the books. We talking about church, right? Church, God’s dream. So we get so caught up with here, you gotta do this, you gotta do that. We gotta do this way. I don’t have to do this, I don’t have to do that. Why? Stop. Pause. Fast forward. All done. Next verse. The sea gave up the dead that were in it, and death and Hades gave up the dead that were in them. And each person was judged according to what they had done. So what I do matters, right? Yes? No? Then death and Hades were thrown into the lake of fire. The lake of fire is the second death. First, physical death. Then, after God finished dealing, there’s a second death. So we all talk about eternal life. Anyone whose name was not found written in the Book of Life was thrown into the lake of fire. No, please, stay here, stay there. The challenge is this: salvation matters. It’s not a cheap prayer. How I live matters. Because, you know, the young people have this accountability forum. I said, “Don’t make the word accountability look cheap.” That means I’m asking you for an account. Are you doing it or not? God says, “Whether you live 50 years, whether you live 90 years, whether you live 100 years, whether you live 70 years, I’m going to ask an account.” 45,000 denominations. God bothered with the denomination. God bothered with which Bible app you used. God bothered with which was the hot church, not hot church. God bothered with what I didn’t like or didn’t agree with. Not bothered. He’s going to say, “Hey, I gave you 70 years. Tell me, what did you do?” “I didn’t know what to do.” He says, “I gave you 55 versions of the Bible, and I gave you this annoying pastor every Sunday who reminded you of it.” You following me? The thing is this, we must see the different aspect of his authority, and God will demand accountability. So the thing is this, while both instances, the throne of grace and the throne of judgment, involve the coming of the Lord, us coming before God, they are distinct in nature and in purpose. Throne of grace, I love the throne of grace, but let me not take it for granted, because there’s a throne of judgment. So I know I’ve said it many times, I shiver sincerely with cheap preaching, because the crowds come. I frame this, what I’ve said at the beginning, into this: The throne of grace is where we find forgiveness and help in our earthly journey right now, while the throne of judgment is where we face the consequences and the accountability of our actions. Inseparable. So the crucial thing is this, we understand that God’s character remains the same. It doesn’t change. It doesn’t change throughout both encounters. He remains the same. He is just and he’s merciful. He’s just. That means what is right. He’s just. He’s merciful. What does he do? He offers grace to those who seek him, but also at the same time, rendering judgment for righteousness. So the change lies in one, this application of his what we call his divine attribute, based on the context of what our relationship with him at each stage of our journey, based on our relationship with him. So it is clear. What is clear? That Christ expects us to live in a certain way. He expects us. He’s not a suggestion. Daily, he says, I want you to live it out because I’m coming back for you, Elisha. I’m coming back for you. And this is what I prescribe for you every day. Okay, live it out. Because when I come, I’m coming for you being ready. So know that he’s coming back to judge the living and the dead. So no matter what in this 45,000 denominations is being preached this weekend or the next weekend or before this or whenever, he is coming back and he’s saying, I want to know what you did. No matter what we preach, no matter who we mock, he’s coming back. And he’s going to come back where he said, hey, finally. And he says, true, true. Tell me. That after the book opens. So no matter what is being preached, no matter what my opinions may be, no matter what I say I believe or I don’t want to believe, he is returning. So I want us to look at this scripture here. Husbands, love your wives. I’m not preaching on marriage, okay? Okay, but I’m going to segue into something here. This is amazing. Anyway, the Bible is amazing. Husbands, love your wives, not as king of the jungle. Look at this, gentlemen. Those of you who want to get married, and those of us who are married, and those of you who need to be remembered, you’re married. Just in case you loop. Okay, husbands, love your wives. What is the criteria? Just as Christ loved the church. Church, not New Covenant Community, not somebody else, not denomination. Church meaning us, you, me, two billion Christians. Just as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her. I said, I’m not going to die for the woman, man. She can die for me. But think of that. Jesus is the same yesterday, today, forever. We are somebody before we get married, while we are dating, and after we get married, and after to have children. That was then, this is now. No, that’s Christ. So if you have the lovey-dovey then, and then you say, “Oh, already.” So if what God, if you come to God after 20 years of being a Christian, God says, “Already, huh? You still want to talk like this?” Hey, hello? Can we see the perspective here? Perspective. So now he’s going to push it a bit further. To do what? He says, “To love the church and give himself for her.” To do what? To make. Everybody say, “To make.” To make her holy, cleansing her by the washing of water and through the… It doesn’t take her to the washing machine. Just in case, just in case. It’s the word of God. It’s the word of God. It’s a mirror. It deals with us. It shapes us. And that’s why it’s so important for us to read the word of God and not to play games with the word of God. Don’t play games with the word of God. Don’t play tickum with the word of God. Don’t say, “You know, God knows I’m busy.” Stop it. There is a throne that you and I are going to go to. And please, this may sound… Church, get this basic right. Stop compromising, playing games. Stop. Stop. This is not popular. Like I always say, most of my messages are not popular, but it helps us. Husband, do we make our wives better believers or stressful believers? Do we help in compromise? Are we consistent with our word? Are we consistent with our principle? Or do we two up, hut, and we become, you know, cahoots, and we say, “Let’s lower God’s principle.” This is serious, guys. And to present her, meaning the church, meaning us. He calls us his bride as a what? A radiant church. 45,000 denominations, whoever. He’s not presenting you. He wants to present us to himself as a radiant church without what? Without stain or wrinkle or any other blemish, but holy and blameless. So if you look at… I’ll only say this one part here, and then I’ll carry on because it’s not a marriage session. Are you making your wife a better person following God? Or you say, “I can serve. You serve.” Think of the whole thing and think of the second throne. I move on, huh? You said, “Please, gladly carry on.” Anyway, you can move out too, okay? I want us to read it in the message. I like the message. He says, “Husbands, go all out in your love for your wives, exactly as Christ did for the church. A love marked by giving, not getting. Christ’s love makes the church whole. His words evoke her beauty. Everything he does and says is what? Is designed to bring the best out of her. Everything that Jesus speaks to us in his word is designed to make us better. But we think it’s miserable, dressing her in dazzling white silk, radiant with holiness.” So it says, “Husbands, love your wives just as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her.” Message says, “Husbands, go all out with your love for your wives.” So girls, when you choose, don’t choose the FL. Choose the right person. We also marry for the wrong reasons. Don’t ask your spouse why she or he may have married you right now then. Exactly as Christ did. You know, before, when we were dating, “I will be in church.” After that, “Ha! You know I cannot be in church.” Careful. If you read Psalms, it says, “Keep your vows before God.” That means when you turn around and tell God something, hey, he’s going to remind you. When? I don’t know. So this week I’ve been writing, “Lord, what have I been saying to you, and I have conveniently forgotten it because I need to make right.” It’s a frightful thing. Honestly, so in my devotions and my journal book, it’s a very painful journal right now. “Love marked by giving, not getting. Christ’s love makes the church whole. His words evoke her beauty. Everything he does and says is designed to bring the best out of her, dressing her in dazzling white silk, radiant holiness.” Wow. If he’s coming back for us, he’s coming back for a certain kind of people. What would that certain kind of people look like? If you look at Revelation chapter 2, it’s not on the slides, Revelation 2:3-22, the two chapters, he’s talking to seven churches. So it’s like Jesus speaking to the church in Malaysia. He’s not saying in Sentul or in Kepong or in, you know, Wangsa Maju, whatever it is. He’s saying, “The church in Malaysia, I’m speaking to you. I’m not speaking to a denomination. I’m not speaking to a group of churches. I’m speaking to you because you are my bride, all of you. I’m not divided by your denominations and your church names. You belong to me.” So Jesus is addressing, what is he looking for? He gives us a bit of a cue to this. If I ask you, “Where is Jesus right now?” Some say he’s in my heart. You sure? Not quite a lot of cholesterol there. I mean, yeah. We have in Romans, it says, “Jesus is making intercession for us right now, isn’t it?” He’s making, I believe it’s Romans 8:4, “Jesus making intercession on behalf of us.” But I want us to look at one scripture here, and also in Revelation, he says, “Here I am. I stand at the door and knock.” What does it sound like? You know? And what does he say? “If anyone hears my voice and opens the door.” Lord, when did we see you poor? When did we see you hungry? When did we see you naked? He said, “If you saw any of this, you see me.” If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in and eat with that person, and they with me. Eat is what? We Asians love to eat. What? Says, “Hey, that means commune with me. Talk with me. Let’s talk.” So the issue is this: he knocks. Right now, through my voice. He could be knocking when you listen to something at home or whatever Bible app. He could be knocking when you listen to a worship song. He could be knocking when you’re driving or in your quiet on your own and the thought comes from the Lord. He could be knocking when you’re praying with somebody. He could be knocking. He’s not going to come to your door and ding-dong, “Hey, hi, I’m here.” That’s not what it says here. That’s not what it’s talking about. I was telling the young people yesterday, I said, “We have 1,440 minutes a day.” I said, “If that 1,440 minutes, you can’t do 20 minutes. How long?” 1,440 minutes a day, 20 minutes. One week has about 10,100 minutes. You do the math. “And I can’t do 180 minutes?” So he could be knocking and I’m just like, “If I hear the voice, I open.” But sometimes I don’t want to open because he is invasive. I cannot allow God to take over my life. Adam heard the voice of God and he ran away. So Jesus is still knocking and he’s asking, “Can you hear me? Will you let me in?” And I think in this juncture, I’m prophetic, but I don’t call myself a prophet. But as you hear around the world what’s happening, I think we are in days we should all be alert and say, “Is the Lord’s return imminent? Is it close? If it’s close, am I prepared as his bride? If he’s preparing me, am I fighting it? Lord, I want to relook at my life. I want to relook at how I handle my family, my work, my studies. How am I handling your truth, Lord? Am I allowing you to shape me up? Am I allowing you to work in me, Lord? What’s happening with me?” I cannot every Sunday get upset with my pastor. I cannot be cocky and sarcastic about what I hear. So the thing is, he’s still knocking. He’s knocking this season. He’s knocking. We have needs. Yeah, the world events are crazy. But am I hearing his voice? Is it intimate time? Or God from the word go, “What are you doing for me? I need this. I need that.” So remember when he talks about husband and wife. Can you imagine every time a wife comes to you, it’s about what she wants and needs? Every time you hear your husband, it’s about his demands. But you know, if that’s the place and say, “How can I, hey wife, how can I make you better? How can I facilitate this where you love God more?” So my wife was, you know, they’re doing all the statistics. They’re saying women will take key leading roles by the year 2030. The book, if you want to read it, you should read it. Challenging book, 2030. So they said the universities have taken a shift. Women leadership, women taking all the prominent places. So they said the majority of CEOs 2030 will be women. So in talking, and I think Sophia was there, I said, “Yeah, but I said, Pet, the difference is this: men in their ego and their stupidity can say a lot of dumb things and then lead wrongly.” But I said, “There is also a place where women become too feministic in their view and also become very aggressive.” I said, “Both are wrong. Both are wrong. Both need to take their rightful position in God. Then we see restoration.” And that’s a challenge. If I don’t let him in, I will not change. I won’t change. I refuse to change. It’s a fearful thing for pastors, leaders, church leaders. We can become so mechanical that we refuse to change, that we don’t set godly examples, that we ourselves are not engaging and seeking God for our lives. So it works both ways. It’s easy for me to stand here, but let me tell you, the greater judgment in James is me. He says, “Those of you who teach, you have a higher response to God because God’s really going to ask you. You thought about it? Okay, how did you live?” So we look at one church, the Church of Ephesus. Of course, I want to connect Ephesians 2, Ephesians 5, and a bit of Revelation, but this is a great connection, actually. So the Church of Ephesus, Revelation 2:1-7, he says to the angel of the Church in Ephesus, “Write.” And the word “angelos” here is actually speaking to the leader of the church. So in one sense, whether it’s the fellow wants to be called bishop, pastor, whatever it is, in that sense, okay. “These are the words of him who holds the seven stars in his right hand and walks among the seven golden lampstands.” Okay, the language all speaks very differently, but he’s speaking about the Lord here. Verse 2 is amazing. You’re going to see something amazing about this church. He says, “I know your deeds.” I know your deeds. Just now we read chapter 20. He said, “I know your deeds. I know exactly what you do. I know what you think. Hey, I’m taking account.” He said, “I know your deeds, your hard work, your perseverance.” I would be very happy if God says, “I know you. I know your deeds. Hey, you, your hard work, your perseverance.” You feel good, isn’t it? You feel good when God says, “I know your hard work. I know you cannot tolerate wicked people.” That sounds like a good character, right? And that you have tested those who claim to be apostles. We have too many running around with their names, their titles. Too many. God have mercy that you have tested those who claim to be apostles just a side thing because this is itch for you. They have not paid the price for anything, but they want to be called apostles. And everybody says, “Call me apostle. Call me apostle. Seriously, walk away. Don’t be so stupid, church. Oh, this joker, apostle, apostle. Sorry, those are my irritating points. I really get irritated with this. Oh, the titles that they want. They do squat for you. That you have tested those who claim to be apostles but are not and have found them false.” He says, “Look, you’ve got an amazing character.” He’s speaking to the church. He says, “You work hard. You persevere. You don’t like what is false.” And he says, “You have persevered and have endured hardships for my name, have not grown weary. You have not grown weary.” And you know, actually, the Church of Ephesus was fantastic in their service to the Lord. They were amazing. They were there doing all the various things as a local church would do. Being there, reaching out to people, whatever that may have been, getting involved, doing church. They were on it, didn’t like anything that was going wrong. And then verse 4, all of a sudden, it switches. The word “yet,” some of the versions say “but,” but if you look in the original text, it’s a very strong, conclusive word. He is saying, “Hey, great.” He said, “But I want you to listen to this now.” It’s still God’s word. He said, “But,” and it’s not like “but.” He said, “Hey, yet.” He’s saying, “Look, all this is great, but what I want to say next to you is more important than all the good things that you have done. I hold this against you. You have forsaken the love you had at first.” When I read the scripture from Ephesians 5, people say, “We fall out of love.” Marriage goes cold. “How we loved each other no longer there.” You say, “Yeah, you grow old.” Listen here. I thought love was supposed to get better or weaker. So young people, when you think of love, ask yourself, “Foolish love? Lustful love? What kind of love? What is the love?” Stop. Ask yourself hard questions so that you build a good home, a marriage based on God. We all struggle. Yeah, we do that, but we keep the perspective. He says, “But,” he says, “one thing. I just hold this one thing against you. You have forsaken your love.” And he didn’t say, “You know, you,” he comes to this, he said, “You have forsaken your love.” And then when he says, “Hey, I miss you,” you know, “Consider how far you have fallen.” So he says, “God is not saying, ‘I’m just telling you, you have drifted in your love for me.’ Now he says, ‘Now I want you to pause and I want you to consider how did you get here?'” So if we take stock of marriage, you ask yourself, “How did we get here after all these years? How did we end up like that?” “Oh, we just grew out of love.” That’s a cheap answer. That’s a lustful answer. That’s an irresponsible answer because both made very conscious decisions and took very conscious actions. You become rude and cutting, you’re demanding, disconnect. “No, no, my time is not over. Please put on silent. Consider how far you have fallen.” And he says, “Repent and do the things you did at first.” Repent and do the things you did at first. How was that when you first got excited about God? Do you remember? He’s saying, “What is he saying here?” Literally, he says, “I miss that part.” Come on, put it in simple terms here, isn’t it? But he’s saying, “This matters to me.” Repent and do the same things you did at first. If you do not repent, I will come to you and remove your lampstand from its place. So, you know, the challenging part of this is this: God is saying, “I’ve let you known this. Now I’m going to hold you responsible for how you act. If you don’t act, I have an action waiting for you.” “Oh, but God is full of grace.” There are two thrones. Can we please turn that down? There are two thrones. Okay, I’m going to give… Can I wait for 30 seconds for you to switch that off, whoever that is, in the name of Jesus? Okay, I mean, come on, please. Please, it is very distracting and disruptive. Please, please don’t do that. Okay, so God is saying, “I expect an accountability.” So, again, coming back to the young people, I said, “Don’t use the word accountability cheaply.” So whether it’s young adults, your time, your habits, husband and wife, hey, don’t use it cheaply. If it’s accountable, then we say, “Hey, let’s prepare for the Lord.” But you have this in favor, he said, “You hate the practice of the Nicolaitans. It’s only once it’s used here, this word.” And again, this is for another time, but these are the people who pervert truth, water down God’s truth. Which is also which I also hate. Verse 7, “Whoever has ears,” remember, “If somebody knocks, I need an ear to hear, right? Let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. To the one who is victorious, I will give the right to eat from the tree of life, which is the paradise of God.” He gives them an affirmation, he tells them the compromise, he said there is an outcome for the correction. I want us to consider this and I want to draw this to a close because I realize my time is also pretty much up. What was God dealing with the Ephesians and maybe what could he be speaking to us? There’s a place of neglect of intimacy with Christ. So, my daughter, come, come, come, opposite as my daughter, so come on, come on. So, just, I’m not your father right now. So, okay, wow, we want intimacy. Hold hand like, go home, put plastic, smell, do you want to wash? I put your perfume so I can remember you through the night, you know. Okay, oh, the closeness. Oh, wait, I picture, my you-po, I know, good lawyer, friends, when we first got to know the Lord, Lord, oh, his word is, oh, Lord, I love you, Lord. Then after some time, want to hold hand, hot love, hot, why so close? Then I, no, but before, pass around, but we can laugh at ourselves, isn’t it? We become professional Christians. Then if it’s relationship, a husband and wife, what happens? Thank you. Intimacy. God is desperate for that. We need a move of God, yes, but our hearts need to be moved first. That’s important. Our relationship with him is a personal relationship, personal. Have I drifted away from spending time? Lord, did we not cast demons away from me? I really don’t know you. See, we easily can drift. Easily. Why? The things around us, the things that we ask God for, are the things that distract us. Then I’ve lost my zeal and passion. Worship, reading the Bible, church, all become mechanical. It becomes routine. Mechanical. Routine. Worship is mechanical. “Hey, lift up your hands.” “I quite, Pastor.” “Lift up your hands.” You’re not lifting hands to me. You’re lifting hands to your Savior. You are singing to your Savior, the one you love. You’re not singing to me. You know what I mean? You’re not singing. You’re coming to church not to please us. You’re coming to honor God, his word, community. He’s coming back for his bride. What kind of a bride is he coming back for? If you’re going for your bride and she says, “Hey, you came so fast already,” see, we can look at it, but the issue is, how am I treating God? God, where are you? Trouble, the demons are chasing me. The same place I was still waiting for you, knocking on your door. Then we have misconceptions of intimacy. We think of it as physical intimacy. Brain jam already. But the heart delights in God. Does my heart delight in the one who loves me? Busyness and distractions, lack of time and priorities, we know that we’ve done this. Fear of vulnerability. We’re afraid to be who we are before. And that’s why I said, read the Psalms. Read the Psalms. It’s a raw feeling of the heart. Anger, frustration, fear, love, everything is there. And did not God say, “David, a man after my heart”? Intimacy. And you see what I’m saying? Let’s draw into God’s presence and intimacy. Personally. 1,440 minutes, 20 minutes a day. Cannot? Laugh. 20 minutes. You love somebody, dating time? Oh, yo, 5 o’clock also daring. I’ll be there. Think about it. I’m asking us to push the envelope here. I’m pushing the envelope with you. Vulnerability. Be vulnerable because he is the lover of your soul. He’s preparing you for him. Then the fear of rejection and judgment. Because we get rejected in relationships, but God doesn’t do that. But this is where we are shaped and God molds us. Then we may have legalistic or performance-based mindsets. We always think we have to do something. God says, “No, you don’t have to earn my love. I give you my love.” Sometimes it’s us who struggle to receive his love. Judgment, legalistic performance versus mindsets. Earn and receive love. Stop there. So what are the practical steps we can take to pursue and come back to our first love? What can we do? Honestly. Are you ready for the greatest revelation of your life? Seriously. Are you ready for the greatest revelation of your life? And this is no offering collected for it. But I tell you one thing now. I’m very serious. It will change us. It will change us. Because the truth lies in this. We all know what to do. Is that not true? We all know what to do. Come on, gospel. We all know what to do. It’s not as though we don’t know what to do. We know it. The 21 days was very intentionally done. Not because I got no work to do. And I’m preparing another 21 days after a break to say, “Come on. Let’s get into the presence of God. Let’s start with our day with Him. Let’s start in the Word. Let’s draw back. Let’s water our dry hearts. Let’s water our dry hearts. We all know what to do.” Devotion can become so lukewarm, lacking passion, lacking love. So how do we connect this? Ephesians 2:25-27: “Husband, love your wives as Christ loved the church. He’s coming. He does all this for you, washing you in the Word, not just the Church of Ephesus, but the two chapters in Revelation, chapter 2, chapter 3. The first thing is this: we return to our first love. Return to our first love.” So the 21 days is just simple saying: 20 minutes. 20 minutes out of 1,440 minutes a day. I think I can give Him 20 minutes. You think we can give Him 20 minutes? Yes? Can we return to our first love? You said, “Oh, but I prayed one hour, two hours. God bless you. But is that one hour, two hours all about your needs and other things, or is it quieting down, looking at His Word and saying, ‘Lord, I love your voice?'” The next thing we do is this: allow His Word and Spirit to shape us. It was the church in Laodicea, chapter 3 onwards. He says, “Come and buy gold from me, gold refined in fire.” He’s talking about the purity of what He gives us. The third one is transformation and holiness. Again, He speaks to the church in Sardis because at one, the word used there, He says, “Your clothes have not been soiled. Your garments have not been soiled.” We do endeavor to keep our lives right, accountable, to what we watch over this and our laptops. Do things that stop you from messing up the relationship. If I’m married, do I really want to look at another woman? Come on. Will I be happy if my wife is looking at another man? She will meet Jesus very quickly. Isn’t it? Will I be happy if she’s doing that? I mean, you know how annoying that is going to be when we blur the lines? He’s our lover, but we’ve got so many other loves. So many other loves. The preparation for His return. And we stand, we read the last word, last slide together. Jesus is preparing the church, His bride, not denominations, not local churches, believers, you and me, His bride. Jesus is preparing the church, His bride, for what? For His glorious return. He corrects. We don’t like that, isn’t it? He corrects, He affirms, He promises. Look at the churches in Revelation. He says, “You do this, you do that, but I, you know, there’s one thing that you’re doing that’s, ah, come on. All with the aim of what? Sanctifying and purifying His people. What? To prepare us, to present us, so that we may be, I should have changed that word, so that we may be ready to meet Him as a radiant and blameless bride. Can we shift gears, New Covenant Community? Yes. Can you as the bride and me as the bride say, “God, I want to return to my first love. I want to return to my first love. Lord, this is not a compromise. This is not a bargain. God, you love me. Lord, I love you. God, I want to honor you with my life.”