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God’s Perfect Love

INTRODUCTION

Is it really possible to overcome our fears, worries, and anxieties? Are these just given realities that we cannot escape? The apostle John tells us otherwise. According to him, we can overcome our fears, worries, and anxieties only through God’s perfect love. (1 John 4:17-19) How does that happen?

FOUR DIVINE ACTIONS RESULTING IN ASSURANCE

  1. God *initiates* His perfect love through Jesus. (1 John 4:7-10) – Thankfully, God’s perfect love does not start with us. while we were yet sinners, God initiated His perfect love for us by sending His only begotten Son, Jesus, to save us (see John 3:16 also). This is good news for us! This is perfect love. If it depended on us, we will always be afraid because we know how inconsistent we are.
  2. God *pours out* His perfect love through the Holy Spirit. (1 John 4:11-14) – We cannot generate this perfect will by an act of our will. It’s a gift. God pours out His Holy Spirit in our hearts so that we can experience His perfect love. His power gives us hope and assurance no matter what happens.
  3. God *reveals* His perfect love through His presence. (1 John 4:15-16) – Through His abiding presence, and as we walk with Him by faith each day, He reveals His perfect love to us. We get to know this love experientially in our daily lives as we draw near to Him in prayer and through His word. This gives us more assurance that He will never leave us nor forsake us.
  4. God *expresses* His perfect love through His people. (1 John 4:20-21) – Interestingly, it is through His people, and as we learn to express His kind of perfect love to one another, that we learn more about this kind of assurance. God’s love, when expressed in the body of Christ, becomes a visual manifestation of God’s presence, even though He is invisible. Because of this, we can overcome our fears, worries, and anxieties.

CONCLUSION

  1. “Only God’s *perfect love* can drive out our *worst fears*.”
  2. When we rely on God’s perfect love, we realize that nothing else can separate us from Him. Jesus has already delivered us from our worst fear (i.e. judgment). Therefore, we can be secure in His perfect love in the midst of all other fears in the world.
  3. This week, remind yourself and others about God’s perfect love.

DISCUSSION

  1. How does God give us complete assurance through his perfect love?
  2. Why do we often forget about God’s perfect love in times of fear, worry, and anxiety?
  3. How can we help each other be reminded of God’s perfect love always?

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