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!
I want to share something that may sound a little strange, but I believe that God’s love is NOT about people! No, it’s NOT about the people, but God’s love is ALL about the person!
God can and does love corporately, but His desire is to commune and have a personal relationship with all of His creation. When looking at Scripture we find God is far more interested in showing His love to the individual. God created us and I want you to know that you are of great worth to God!
We need to understand that we all matter to God. Every person is important to Him, and He loves each one. If you are white and live in an upscale neighborhood…or if you are black and live in an upscale neighborhood… If you are white, yellow, brown or whatever… God loves you because you are his creation.
We must understand that God is a personal loving God who has made His love available for His creation to experience and enjoy. God created this world and humanity turned our backs on God! We chose sin over serving Him…
However, God wanted to reconcile His creation to Himself… we see this unfolding in John 3:16 where Jesus proclaims the love of God to Nicademus.
[show John 3:16 here]
16“For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.
In a world where a majority of humanity had rejected Him, God sent His son to reveal His love for them… Not all rejected Him, but God makes it evident here that his love is NOT for a select few, but it is FOR ALL in this world…
This means when you feel alone…God is there and God loves you!
This means when you feel outnumbered…God is there and God loves you!
This means when you feel helpless and of NO worth…God is there and God loves you!
This means that when trouble and trial come your way, don’t hang your head because GOD LOVES YOU!
It does not matter who you are, or what you have done, God’s love is available for you and accessible TO you! This means that you are never out of the reach of God’s love!
Many people here today have a great deal with the fears crowding their minds… along with that anxiety… they feel alone, worthless and deceived by a world where they had placed their hope!
But my brothers and sisters this morning I want to assure you that although fear may seem to drive you today… fear cannot stand in the presence of God’s love! God’s love abounds in measure and is available to ALL who want to receive it…
When we learn to rest in the love of God, I can promise that the anxieties you face today will subside and all of your fears will begin to melt away! Where the world wants us to consume us with anxiety and fear, God’s wants to assure and comfort our soul!
However, not only is our fear driven out by the accessibility or availability of God’s love, but I can also see that God’s love is a love of ACTION!
God’s love is actionable love:
[show v10-11 here]
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.
Preacher what do you mean by a love of action? I mean that God’s love is a love that has demonstrated itself by the actions God has taken…
v.10 reveals that God loved us and sent His Son as the propitiation for our sin. This means that Jesus came willingly and out of love for God! His perfect love for the Father drives His actions! His actions reveal His love to us!
This world wants us to think that it has EVERYTHING we need… there are other religions in the world that have their own way of dealing with fear and living in this world… but we find that ONLY Christianity reveals God’s willingness… God’s ACTION on our behalf…
Take a look at this…as it reveals MUCH about the action of God’s love!
In our lives we all have pitfalls and HOLES where we find ourselves stuck… WE find the world offering all sorts of solutions to the fear we have in this hole!
1 – Some believe you can take to meditation and it will purify your own mind and in that rid you of your fear and get yourself OUT of the hole on your own! You may try this but the fear just does not cease…
2 – Some want you to believe that this life really doesn’t exist, and all things are meaningless and an illusion, but still you find fear overwhelming your spirit…
3 – Others will tell you that to overcome your fear you can and should do good deeds…that your good works will cleanse you of your fear…you do them, but yet the fear remains!
4 – Others say you have to abide by certain ritual and rules in your life to be delivered from the fear you suffer from… but no matter how much you follow the set rituals and rules, the fear remains!
5 – However, Jesus does not call on you to do ANYTHING to be delivered from this fear! He will deliver you, through His wisdom, His power and His ultimate love for you!
When we look at v10 we can see just how Jesus has shown ACTION in love toward us! In v.10 tells we are told that He loved us so much that He sent His son as a sacrifice for our sin!
In his letter to the Roman church, the apostle Paul said this about the love of God and the actions it took: [show Rom 5:8 here]8but God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.
The point is that when we could not help ourselves, when we were buried in a hole of fear, doubt and uncertainty, God made the choice to act on our behalf. God’s love moved Him to action for our salvation and paved the way for our redemption.
God’s love took action EVEN when we did not deserve it… Today that love remains just as accessible and available for all to have… God’s love is still in action today reaching into the hearts of the lost and saving them for all eternity!
You see if you have a fear today, God’s love can and will drive that fear out! But knowing God’s love is there is one thing… Knowing what God’s love want to happen is another thing… but I want to make a bold statement this morning…
God’s love does not know fear, will never cower to fear and in fact, will drive fear FAR from our lives! This is a TRUTH, this is an absolute… and that is my 3rd point this morning in that…
God’s love is an Absolute love:
[show v18-19 here]
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.
So many people are afraid of life and the pitfalls this life will throw their way…
So many people are afraid of death and whether or not there is something after this life OR if there is, that they are on the RIGHT side of things…
We have fears about things in THIS life…we have fear in the things of the next life… Fear abounds in the heart where God’s love does not dominate!
The “perfect love” mentioned in this verse does not mean we have to be perfect in OUR love, but that God IS perfect in HIS love! God’s love is ABSOLUTE in it rule over fear and dominance over sin!
Fear cannot abide where God’s love is… so John shares that the perfect love of God drives out any fear we may have in this world!
Now this perfect love is the love instilled in us when Jesus comes to abide in our heart! When the Holy Spirit indwells our soul…we experience a love we could NEVER know on our own!
John says just as much himself, look at v19 when he says,
[show v19 here]19We love because he first loved us... What John is saying is that without His love we could NOT know love, but IN His love we drive away all fear and serve Him with abandon!
Then John sets forth a measuring stick that reveals the absolute about the love of God… look at v20-21
[show v20-21 here]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 absolute truth of God’s love is that there is NO fear found in it, but also that there is no dissention, division or doubt either! John says when you have the love of God within you… you cannot hate your brother/sister/fellow human being!
If you say you love God who you cannot see…how in the world can you HATE someone you can see! But John emphasizes the command nature of this verse…
IF you are going to tell the world you LOVE God, then you are going to have to SHOW the world by loving the unlovable here in this world!
This is an absolute when it comes to the love of God! God does not play favorites…neither should we! God’s love is absolute for US and it is absolute for the sinner we are trying to reach!
Conclusion:
God’s love is available
God’s love is actionable, and
God’s love is absolute in that IT loves us in our weakness and it reveals how we are to love others!
As the old hymn says…
Great is Thy faithfulness, O God my Father;
There is no shadow of turning with Thee;
Thou changest not, Thy compassions (His love), fail not;
As Thou hast been, Thou forever will be.
There is no turning or wavering with God, his love and power are ABSOLUTE!
Do you want to live a life free of the fear the enemy wants to pile on your life?
Do you want to live a life free of the fear that this world can pile up on you… in everyday life?
Do you want to know deliverance from a fearful heart and a timid spirit?
God has not called us to a timid or weak spirit, but he has called us to live out our faith in POWER and in LOVE… and next week we will see just how we can live out our faith in Self Control…
Evangelistic Invitation
Believer Invitation
