Several years ago I was making a return trip back from Colorado in our motor home. I was taking a different route that included many miles southward in eastern Colorado, down a lengthy stretch of a two-lane highway, and was just sailing smoothly along when I crossed the state line into the panhandle of Oklahoma. I don’t mean to disrespect that state, but I’m telling you my RV rattled and shook the entire time, letting me know where every loose dish or unfastened door was...until I crossed over into Texas. The change was dramatic... as a peaceful calm resumed in my drive as I made my way home.

I share that to illustrate what happens to us when we begin our walk with the Lord, and then we ‘sin’. You will know it immediately. “How”, you ask? That’s an easy one: you lose your peace. That’s how God lets you know when you veered ‘out of His lane’. And the best piece of advice I can share with you here is you would do well to ‘get back in your lane’ as quickly as possible; which is usually done through getting before God as you confess and repent from whatever it was you did to lose that peace.

Over the years, I have heard every conceivable antidote trying to explain to new converts what happens when they lose their joy/peace...and most of it is counterproductive. I’ve heard things like “God just is pulling the rug out from under your feet to test you” or “there’s a reason for everything but we just won’t always know... so just trust God”.

I don’t want to try and oversimplify here what this ‘walking in the Spirit’ life is like...but friends, it’s not rocket science either. God makes it pretty clear in His word so that even a young child will understand what’s happening (Matt. 18:3). Paul expressed concerns that we might corrupt the ‘simplicity’ that is found in Christ (2 Cor. 11:3) and we do that when we stray from, or ‘water down His word’ by introducing man-made doctrines and teachings that can then actually nullify God’s word (Mark 7:13)

This walk of faith...this abiding in Jesus (John 15:1-8) is a walk of peace; a peace, we are told, that ‘passes all understanding’ (Phil. 4:7). We learn that it’s a ‘perfect peace’ that we enjoy when our minds are stayed on Him’ (Isa. 26:3). Take a look at Luke 1:79 as we read the prophesy given by Zacharias describing what Jesus was coming to do: “to give light to those who sit in darkness and the shadow of death, and to guide our feet into the way of peace.” Paul would later write that sadly, what we are most familiar with was ‘destruction and misery’ (Rom.3:16) (that comes from a lack of you-know-what-Hosea 4:6)... and that the ‘way of peace we have not known’ (17)

Where am I going with all this today? It’s my follow up to yesterday’s message as we examine the biggest reason why many sincere ‘believers’ lose their peace, and it’s a result of ‘losing their first love’ for Jesus (Rev. 2:4). It actually involves a ‘falling away’, as we read there, and it’s a term most in the church world should be familiar with too (2 Thess. 2:3). When this occurred with the believers in Ephesus, Jesus had a remedy to put things back in the right order- He said “repent...and do the first works”, which is really taking us back to when we first came to Him with all our hearts and were enveloped in His peace and love.

He intended for us to stay...in that ‘place’ which is a result of ‘abiding in Him’. That means ‘continue’ or ‘remain’ in Him. And we know that “in His presence there is fullness of joy” (Ps. 16:11; Acts 2:28). So if you no longer ‘feel close to God....guess who moved”?

So what are those ‘first works’ He advises we do in repenting? I believe we can understand those better by looking at four questions that we have on record where God Himself ...was asking the questions. We’ll wade into the first two now and finish up with the other two tomorrow, Lord willing.

The very first two questions we ever hear God asking are found in Genesis 3 and they came on the heels of Adam and Eve sinning, by eating off a tree they were told not to. And the moment they did sin and eat of the forbidden fruit, they knew immediately something very wrong had just happened (6-7). Both were aware of their ‘nakedness’, and feeling exposed, so they attempted to cover up their nakedness by ‘sewing fig leaves together’. Then...they ‘heard the sound of God walking in the garden’, and instead of running to God, they went the other direction and tried to hide from Him. Talk about being deceived...to think we can ‘hide from God’.

Then came the first question: “Where are you?”

Would you take a moment and just redirect that question as if God was asking YOU...that very thing? Where are you ...today, when it comes to your walk and relationship with Him? Are you where you want to be, where you should be, where you need to be ...? And if not, then that is probably why God is directing that inquiry to you. “Examine yourselves...(2 Cor. 13:5). I would submit to you that the reason you are struggling to ‘find your way back’ most likely is because somewhere along the way...you ‘zigged’...when He ‘zagged’ and you chose another path. Whether it was deliberate, or maybe you were deceived, like Eve was, can be examined later. But instead of trying to hide from God, like Adam and Eve did, just come to Him and be honest and real; You are not going to shock God by being honest with Him; trust me.

The second question that God asked of them, which I think is one of the most profound questions ever asked by God, was in response to what came out of Adam’s mouth. God just flat out asked Adam: “Who told you that?” (Gen. 3:11)

Now Eve was quick to admit that she was indeed ‘deceived by the serpent’ (13). Which then leads me to repeat God’s question, especially when it comes to what I hear come out of the mouths of so many people today when I share that ‘whoever abides in Jesus no longer sins’ (1 John 3:6;9; 5:18; 1 Pet. 4:1-2).

Care to guess what that response usually is? “Nobody can live a sinless life”; or “everyone is going to sin on this side of heaven”...”We are flawed humans, wretched sinners and nobody can be perfect!”

Who. Told. You. That?