(Be blessed by this post by guest blogger, Luc Niebergall)

Holy Spirit spoke to me one day recently, saying, “Luc, when you get to the church I want you to head up to the upper room. I am going to meet you there.” When I arrived at the church, I headed upstairs to the upper room and popped in my head phones.

As I worshipped God, a cloud of glory began filling the room. This wasn’t something that you needed to see by faith with your spiritual eyes; there was a literal cloud that filled the room. Basking in the presence of Jesus, I took a seat on one of the chairs in the room when I was taken into an encounter.

I was suddenly in the heavenly courts (Daniel 7). Around me were hundreds of thousands of leaders in the church. I recognized a few of the leaders, since some were extremely well known throughout the world. Each of us looked around at one another wondering why we were summoned to this particular meeting in the courts of heaven.

Suddenly Jesus stepped onto the stage before us. He carried such authority that His very presence demanded silence. He stood quietly for a time. Then suddenly He reached behind His back and pulled something forth. What He now held out in front for us to see was a mantle.

Jesus then spoke: “This was the mantle of a great man of God who led thousands into the kingdom in his lifetime.” Jesus went on sharing with all of us all of the great feats that this man had while he was on the earth for the gospel. Then, Jesus said something which caught us all off guard, “Yet, this man only completed 80% of his ministry. The reason why is because he forgot his first love, therefore didn’t complete his mandate.”

Everyone looked at one another, wondering why Jesus was sharing information such as this. Jesus then continued, “Since my word cannot come back void, who here is willing to pick up this mantle to complete his mandate?”

Silence reigned in the atmosphere for a time, when a woman stepped up to the stage and allowed Jesus to place the mantle on her shoulders.

When she left the stage, Jesus pulled another mantle out from behind his back. “This was the mantle of a great woman of God. She led hundreds into the kingdom in her lifetime. Yet, she only completed 20% of her ministry because she forgot her first love. My word cannot come back void, so who will pick up her mantle?”

We waited again in silence until someone came up to take on the incomplete mandate. Jesus did this with numerous mantles throughout the course of this meeting.

When my encounter was finished, I was back in the upper room still enshrouded in the cloud of glory. Holy Spirit then spoke to me saying, “The most important test that any believer will face in their lifetime is this question, ‘Do you remember your first love?’”

God is raising up a generation whose greatest desire will be Him. He is calling His people into the secret place to walk in intimacy with Him. We need to allow God to stir a deep passion inside of us for Jesus. We need to remember our first love.

Pray this with me: “My God, lead me into the depths of Your heart. Consume me in each moment. I lay down any shame which may hold me back from receiving your love. I lay down my fears of rejection. I choose You. I choose Life. Teach me what it means to be Your friend. Teach me what it means to be vulnerable with You. Share with me the secrets of Your heart. Share with me the feelings of Your heart. I will not forsake You, because you are my first love.”

(Luc Niebergall lives in Calgary, Alberta with his wife Eline where he ministers as the assistant pastor of Imagine Church. Luc has a passion for revival and to see heaven invade earth across the world. You will be greatly blessed by his book: Reigning as Kings and Queens in the Inner Land, which you can order here.)