Series: 1 John
Week: 20
Passage: 1 John 4:17-18
Title: The Three Pillars of God’s Love
Focus: Fear
INTRODUCTION: Based on data taken from Google (and other popular search engines) the following indicates the top types of fear people are most looking for information on in our society. This list defines for us what people are most afraid of. They are; (1) Fear of flying (2) Fear of public speaking (3) Fear of heights (4) Fear of the dark (5) Fear of intimacy (6) Fear of death (7) Fear of failure (8) Fear of rejection (9) Fear of Spiders and (10) Fear of commitment.
The Bible tells us a lot about fear.
• Fear the Lord
o Proverbs 9:10 "The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom, and the knowledge of the Holy One is understanding.”
o Proverbs 3:7 “Do not be wise in your own eyes; Fear the LORD and depart from evil.”
• Fear Not
o Isaiah 41:10 “So do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.”
There is a healthy fear and an unhealthy fear. John tells us that the “one who fears is not made perfect in love” (1 John 4:18). This perfect love is a love from God that translates “telios” (“perfect”). “Telios” means, “fulfilling its purpose” or “made genuine”. This is either “well-formed or “not well-formed love”. For John we are again in black and white.
We strive for well-informed love because this form of love gives us a healthy fear of the Lord and proper knowledge of who we are in Christ. This is an assurance for all believers that empowers them to have confidence in the Lord as they extend God’s love to each other and to the ends of the world.
SCRIPTURE: “This is how love is made complete among us so that we will have confidence on the day of judgment: In this world we are like Jesus. There is no fear in love. But perfect love drives out fear, because fear has to do with punishment. The one who fears is not made perfect in love.” 1 John 4:17-18
TITLE: The Three Pillars of God’s Love (1 John 4:17-18)
POINT #1: God’s Love is a Warehouse of Assurance (1 John 4:17)
• Explanation: A warehouse is a place where raw materials or manufactured goods are stored before being distributed. John’s declares that we are “like Jesus”, and “that we will have confidence on the day of judgment”. Being confidence is the opposite of being afraid. What John is saying is when we are filled with God’s love we have confidence or assurance in God. What am I to do when I’m afraid? Have confidence. How do I have confidence?
o Seek the Lord:
• Psalm 34 “I sought the Lord and he answered me; he delivered me from all my fears.”
• KEY WORD: “I sought the Lord.” This is the starting point for living a life given to God and not pursuing our own agendas. You have to go into the building if you want the goods!
o Have Faith:
• Matthew 8:26 “But He said to them, "Why are you fearful, O you of little faith?"
• Jesus was angry because as he was with them they still lacked confidence even when He was present! If we are afraid of the future, eternity, or God’s judgment, we can remind ourselves of God’s love. We know…
o He loves us perfectly (Romans 8:38, 39).
o He can resolve our fears. (Psalm 56:3-4)
o He can give us confidence. (Hebrews 10:19)
• You must have faith that the product works!
• Illustration: Walmart’s food distribution center (warehouse) in Grandview started operations in 2004. The facility itself is massive.
o The property sits on 115 acres;
o The total warehouse Square Footage is 894,000 (Enough to fit 20 football fields)
o There are over 20 acres under roof
o Interior is approximately 31,500,000 cubic feet. It takes 9265 trailer loads (132 miles of trucks bumper to bumper) to fill the facility
o Temperatures ranges from over 100 F in the summer to -20F in the ice cream storage area
o The facility can ship 200,000-250,000 case of food per day
• If a Wal-Mart can house this much material I am sure they are confident that their stores across the country are not afraid they are going to be short on the store room shelves. There is confidence that people are going to be taken care of.
• Application: If Wal-Mart can be confident, the Christian can be flooded with assurance that Christ is all we need to continue to build the kingdom. John declares that we can have “confidence on the day of judgment” that the warehouse we go to is our assurance and hope to overcome the world! We are saved by faith, healed by faith, and called not to fear. Fear is a force that can go either direct.
o Perfect Love drives out fear! Go to God and be confident in His love!
POINT #2: God’s Love Empowers the Believer (1 John 4:18a)
• Explanation: John says, "He (GOD) has given us His Spirit" (4:12-13) to which Timothy would continue “not a spirit of fear, but of power and of love” (2 Timothy 1:7) There is NO FEAR in God’s perfect love! When you recognize that you have power (confidence), then fear cannot stay. Fear cannot coexist with confidence. There are numerous promises in the Bible reminding us that God will give us power so we don’t need to fear.
o When we are tormented by Fear: What is your focus on? Is it is self-centered or Christ-centered.
• Paul’s Financial Burden - “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.” Philippians 4:13
o When we are feeling weak or inadequate: Have you understood that the normal can do something supernatural with the power of God?
• “God is our refuge and strength, an ever-present help in trouble. Therefore we will not fear, though the earth give way and the mountains fall into the heart of the sea, though its waters roar and foam and the mountains quake with their surging.” Psalm 46:1-3
o When we feel miserable: Worry and fear can make our life miserable!
• “You will surely forget your trouble, recalling it only as waters gone by.” Job 11:16
o When we feel ineffective: Many times we do not share our faith with someone because of fear. What will they think of me? What if I turn them off? What if I confused? They probably won’t listen to me anyway!
• “His divine power has given us everything we need for life and godliness through our knowledge of him who called us by his own glory and goodness.” 2 Peter 1:3
o When we feel insignificant: Sometimes we don’t get involved in service because of fear- I can’t teach a class, I can’t sing, I can’t help in the church. I could never be a pastor, missionary, etc.
• “I am happy, not because you were made sorry, but because your sorrow led you to repentance. For you became sorrowful as God intended and so were not harmed in any way by us. Godly sorrow brings repentance that leads to salvation and leaves no regret, but worldly sorrow brings death.” 2 Corinthians 7:9-10
• Fear can keep us from serving God. Satan is a master at using our fears to stop us, to bind us, and to rob us!
• Illustration: Drs. Marilyn S. Cebelin of Cleveland and Charles S. Hirsch of Cincinnati state that acute stress can provoke changes in the heart that may lead to death. The two doctors recently identified 15 cases in which people died after a physical assault, although the injuries alone would not have been enough to kill them. Eleven of the 15 cases showed a type of heart-cell death called myofibrillar degeneration, similar to a reaction in experimental animals who are helpless to anticipate or avoid danger.
• Application: God has not given us the "spirit of fear", So that He rebukes us for fearing. To fear is as if we have forgotten who we are in Christ!
o Matthew 8:26 “But He said to them, "Why are you fearful, O you of little faith?"
• We will face trouble, pressures, and trials but be confident and place your faith in the LORD! As they come, ask Christ to strengthen you!
POINT #3: God’s Love is a Declaration of Confidence (1 John 4:18B)
• Explanation:
John’s reveals the opposite of the fruit of the Spirit. The one who fears OBVIOUSLY does not know the love of God and therefore cannot be perfected by the process of sanctification (see notes below). On the flip side, if we know God and His perfect love, if we abide in Him and He in us then He (being perfect in love) will cast out all fear as we rest in Him and take confidence in his sovereignty.
John says "but" perfect love drives out fear. The conjunction "BUT" gives us confidence that God’s love can and will drive out fear. One area that many people fear is a fear within their minds. Paul said “the Spirit God gave us does not make us timid, but gives us power, love and self-discipline.” (2 Timothy 1:7). Therefore we are to have a sound mind. A sound mind handles fear.
o How do I have a sound mind? Have confidence in the one who gives out perfect love!
• Illustration: Everyone put your hand out. Imagine with me that you have a lemon in your hand. Feel how cold it is since you just took it out of the refrigerator. Feel the two knobs on the ends? Ok, now take a knife and cut the lemon in half. Careful! Don’t cut yourself. Oh, look at the juice run down over the sides. Now, put one half down and just hold the other half of the lemon. Now, look at the inside of the cut lemon. Lean down and smell the lemon. Get a good full sense of the lemon fresh scent of the just cut lemon. Ok, now squeeze the lemon. See the juice ooze up and cover the surface of the cut lemon? Now - lick the lemon. That’s right! Lick the lemon. Ok, who feels like you have more saliva than you did a minute a go? How can that be? It was only pretend! The reason is because your body reacts to that which your mind thinks about.
• Application: What you think, that you are! Jesus said, "Men’s heart’s will fail them for fear." Without courage in the mind there can be no courage in the actions. This is an unpopular stance in western Christianity. We are supposed to be weak, lose battles, etc. This is not so…
o See Isaiah: "Whoever flees at the sound of terror will fall into a pit." (Isaiah 24:18).
o See Gideon: God told Gideon to send home all the men who feared. God knows that fear will bring failures. It’s time that you purpose to live fear-free. Whenever you notice fear in your life, then resist it by quoting the Word of God.
o See the Unknown: “So we may boldly say: "The LORD is my helper; I will not fear. What can man do to me?" (Hebrews 13:6)
o See Jesus: “In the world there are tribulations, but be of good cheer for I have overcome the world.” (John 16:33)
• Fear is destructive. Fear can paralyze our minds, reduce our decision making process lose our attention and destroy our self-confidence! FEAR NOT!
CONCLUSION: “There is no fear in love. But perfect love drives out fear, because fear has to do with punishment. The one who fears is not made perfect in love.” (I John 4:18)
Our way out is Christ’s perfect love!
• “I sought the Lord and he answered me; he delivered me from all my fears.” Psalm 34:4
• “Nothing in all creation is able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus.” Romans 8:39
• "Love (CHRIST’S LOVE) never fails...it bears all things, believes all things, endures all things." 1 Corinthians 13:7
Go to the warehouse, get empowered and have confidence to make the declaration that you will not be afraid!
