Sermon Central
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Overcoming Fear Thru The Love Of God Series
Contributed by Bobby Stults on Jan 19, 2015 (message contributor)
Summary: Paul instructed Timothy that in his Christian 'toolbelt' he had 3 tools by which he could overcome fear in his walk with Christ. The 1st of those tools we heard last week, it is the POWER of God! This morning we will look at the 2nd tool, the LOVE of God.
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SERMON BRIEF
Date Written: January 17, 2015
Date Preached: January 18, 2015
Church: OPBC (AM) Sunday
FOUNDATIONAL ELEMENTS
Title: Love Overcomes Fear
Text: 1 John 4:10-19 (ESV)
ETS: Scripture makes it clear that fear and love do not coexist.
ESS: Today’s passage is clear to the believer today, if you believe and have rec’d Jesus, His love indwells you and HIS love drives away all fear… so fret not about this world, because greater is He that is in YOU than He that is in the world.
Introduction:
Here we are Jan 18th & looking ahead to what’s left of 2015… its week 3 now, how are you doing? Have you allowed God to cleanse your fear?
2 weeks ago, you heard how God’s plan for the believer was NOT fear, but to learn about Him and share Him with the world!
Last week we looked at one particular tool we can use as believers and that to rely on the power of God in our lives! The same power that created the universe abides in our hearts… rest in that power and you won’t find yourself fearing….
Today I want us to look at the 2nd tool in our tool belt for battling fear and overcoming anxiety in the kingdom. That tool is LOVE! Paul speaks about love being the all-important thing here in our walk with Christ!
If we are going to live in this world and overcome the fear this world brings to our doorstep…we have to FIRST allow the POWER of God to flow through our lives, but we also must cover and immerse ourselves in God’s love!
This morning we are going to look at the love of God and how it is an effective tool in overcoming fear! Any fear this world or the Enemy can throw our way… God’s love can and will help us to overcome that fear…
Turn with me to the letter of 1st John and I want us to read a few verses from chapter 4…v7-21 [show verses now].
7Beloved, let us love one another, for love is from God, and whoever loves has been born of God and knows God. 8Anyone who does not love does not know God, because God is love. 9In this the love of God was made manifest among us, that God sent his only Son into the world, so that we might live through him. 10In this is love, not that we have loved God but that he loved us and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins. 11Beloved, if God so loved us, we also ought to love one another. 12No one has ever seen God; if we love one another, God abides in us and his love is perfected in us.
13By this we know that we abide in him and he in us, because he has given us of his Spirit. 14And we have seen and testify that the Father has sent his Son to be the Savior of the world. 15Whoever confesses that Jesus is the Son of God, God abides in him, and he in God. 16So we have come to know and to believe the love that God has for us. God is love, and whoever abides in love abides in God, and God abides in him. 17By this is love perfected with us, so that we may have confidence for the day of judgment, because as he is so also are we in this world.
Now here comes the really super cool part about God’s love that we ALL need to know and understand! John says,
18There is no fear in love, but perfect love casts out fear. For fear has to do with punishment, and whoever fears has not been perfected in love. 19We love because he first loved us. 20If anyone says, “I love God,” and hates his brother, he is a liar; for he who does not love his brother whom he has seen cannot love God whom he has not seen. 21And this commandment we have from him: whoever loves God must also love his brother.
The love of God drives fear out of our minds, our hearts and our lives! And this morning I want us to look at how love drives out fear…
Using this Scripture as our launching pad for God’s love, let’s explore what the Bible has to say about God’s love and how it relates to the fear that tries to overwhelm us in this life!
God’s love is accessible or available to all – v9:
[show v9 here]
9In this the love of God was made manifest among us, that God sent his only Son into the world, so that we might live through him.
God’s love has been made manifest to the world since the Creation… God has made himself known and made His love known in so many ways… and He does so because he wants us to LIVE in and thru Him!
