The Three Pillars Of God’s Love Series

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.