If someone told me while growing up that today I would be a Pastor, I wouldn’t have believed it. But I read the scripture in Proverbs 16:9 that says, “A man’s heart plans his way, but the Lord directs his steps.” I lived the life of a normal person for many years, went to senior high school, and attended university. However, along the way, I got carried away by bad friends and picked up many bad habits, including smoking, watching pornography, and engaging in masturbation. But I had an encounter with the Lord in 2017/2018 that changed the course of my life. I have written about the encounter here.
Today, I want to speak about the process I went through and the valuable lessons I picked up transitioning from a normal, ambitious young entrepreneur to becoming a Pastor of a church. People rarely share their experiences, but I believe my story will answer many questions for those who sense the call of God in their lives.
My journey began when I became born again. The born-again experience involves giving your life to Jesus, repenting from your sins, and asking Jesus Christ to be the Lord and God over your life. Once I became born again and gave my life to Christ, an unusual appetite came upon me to desire the things of God, namely prayer, the Word of God, listening to sermons, gospel music, and doing anything in support of the work of God. This appetite is God-given and is what I term as first love. When you first fall in love with someone, you go out of your way to be with them, see them, talk to them, please them, and let everyone know about your feelings for them. You just want to be with them and spend every second with them. We see many instances in the Bible where people had encounters with God, leading to them going all out for the Lord.
In John Chapter 4, when the woman at the well had an encounter with Jesus, she immediately left her water pot, entered the city, and told everyone about her encounter. She was not told to do it by God, but her zeal led her to trumpet her experience to the whole city. She went to the length and breadth of the city with zeal to announce the experience she had had. John 4:28-30 says:
“28 The woman then left her waterpot, went her way into the city, and said to the men, 29 ‘Come, see a Man who told me all things that I ever did. Could this be the Christ?’ 30 Then they went out of the city and came to Him.”
In Acts 9, when Saul had an encounter with Jesus Christ and after being prayed for by Ananias, he immediately stepped out to preach about his encounter with Jesus. Acts 9:20-22 states:
“20 Immediately he preached the Christ in the synagogues, that He is the Son of God. 21 Then all who heard were amazed, and said, ‘Is this not he who destroyed those who called on this name in Jerusalem, and has come here for that purpose, so that he might bring them bound to the chief priests?’ 22 But Saul increased all the more in strength, and confounded the Jews who dwelt in Damascus, proving that this Jesus is the Christ.” He did not care about the repercussions; his love for Jesus was so strong that he kept moving from city to city to preach. He became one of the most influential apostles.
A first-time encounter with Jesus Christ is so strong and profound that all you think about is Jesus. I began to look for more information about Jesus Christ through the Bible (the Word of God), and sermons by my Pastor. This appetite grew stronger by the day. This first love is a gift from God, and it never goes away; you never lose it. John 15:16a says, “You did not choose Me, but I chose you and appointed you that you should go and bear fruit,” and also John 12:32 says, “And I, if I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all peoples to Myself.” This first love gift is God-given. It has been given to you, but you now need to feed this appetite yourself. You need to make a deliberate effort to keep doing the things you began to do when you encountered Jesus. The Bible says in 2 Timothy 1:6, “Therefore I remind you to stir up the gift of God which is in you through the laying on of my hands.” The stirring is done by you. You need to take charge after the love comes. Most people lose this first love because they stop feeding the appetite. They want it to continue to be supernatural, like the first time. The first love season is a season that God begins with you, but at some point, you must continue to fan it into flame. Many people can recall how they used to be great prayer warriors in their school days, but now the zeal is no longer there as it used to be. They only share past experiences and exploits in the Lord. Saul kept his first love till the end.
How do you keep your first love?
The first way is to make a conscious effort to keep doing what you used to do when you had an encounter with Jesus Christ. In my experience, I marvel at people’s supernatural encounters with Jesus and encounters about the end time (rapture and heavenly encounters). I spend a lot of my time reading about people’s encounters with Jesus, heaven, and the rapture. To this day, I keep looking for such encounters on the internet to read. I always make time to search for new encounters. People like Mary K. Baxter and Kenneth Hagin, whom I believe have had genuine physical encounters with Jesus and heaven, inspire me.
Secondly, you need to make time for God and your first love. Because the devil wants you to backslide and return to your former life, your schedule can suddenly become very busy, leaving you with no time to pray, read the Word, or listen to sermons. Find specific times during the day or night and dedicate them to your first love. You can call it time with my first love. Ensure that nothing interferes with this time.
Thirdly, seek companions who love Jesus, pray fervently, and share a passion for the things of God. Their unique experiences will help keep your first love fresh. In Daniel 1 and 2 we see that Daniel had Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego to confide in and pray with. Also, the disciples were always together, speaking about Jesus and the kingdom to come. They kept meeting until the end. You need Godly company to help sustain the fire. The Bible says in Proverbs 27:17, “As iron sharpens iron, so one person sharpens another.”
My first love is a love for fasting, prayer, reading the Word, and reading about people’s “Jesus encounters”. By the mercies of God, I have kept this from day one until today. The hunger grows with each passing year. The company I’ve kept around me are people who share similar interests, propelling my growth in the things of God. I will soon share insights into the role of fasting, mentorship, the Holy Spirit, dreams, and the church, and how they shaped my journey to becoming a man of God.
