August 14, 2016
The Banishment of Fear
As sons of God we are freed from the wrath of God and have confidence before Him.
Scripture: 1 John 4:13-5:4
Sermon Notes:
- The banishment of fear is based on a true heart-understanding of the power and protection of God.
- People today live with fear of economic collapse, war, terror, sickness, loneliness, death, etc.
- We try to escape fear through entertainment, work, medication, drugs, etc.
- The testimony about the truth of gospel and our belonging to God comes directly from the Holy Spirit witnessing deep in our hearts.
- The incarnation of the Son is the basis of the gospel, and it is the basis of our transformation and ability to love one another.
- We need to pray continually for the work of the Holy Spirit in our lives transforming and enabling us.
- Belief and love are the evidence, not the condition, of the Holy Spirit living within us.
- The one who truly knows God receives confidence and deliverance from fear (2 Tim. 1:7; Ps. 112:7).
- John is not speaking about the fear of reverence and respect toward God; he’s speaking of a servile fear based on guilt and expectation of punishment.
- As we grow in experience we overcome childish fears. We fear what we do not understand and what we cannot control; we fear punishment of sin.
- People of the world fear because they have no moral and ethical starting point for their lives.
- Godless man savagely turns on God’s truth as a source of hatred.
- Rebellious man seeks death in the face of God’s judgment, a suppressed reality in his consciousness.
- Guilty people become moral cowards, unable to confront evil.
- As sons of God we’re freed from the wrath of God and have confidence before Him.
- Worldly people don’t enter the church, because they fear an encounter with God.
- When God’s love in Christ is perfected in us we can have boldness and confidence about the day of judgment.
- Whatever is born of God overcomes the world. We need to leave areas of faith and confidence in God’s hands.
- By the Holy Spirit we are enabled to love our brothers and sisters in Christ and obey God’s commandments.
- Preoccupation about worldly fears is a sin (Matt. 6:25-34).
- Our confidence in God’s love is the victory that overcomes the world.
Application Questions:
- What are common sources of fear and how does the world cope with them?
- What is the basis of the Christian’s experience of the banishment of fear?
- How is the fear of the Lord the antidote to human fear (cf. Ps. 34; 37)?
- Do we display lack of faith and confidence in Christ by holding onto our fears and worries?
- How can we minister the love of God to others if we are in the grip of our own fears?
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