1John 4:18 “…There is no fear in love; but perfect love casteth out fear: because fear hath torment. He that feareth is not made perfect in love.
The last phrase in this construction says… He that feareth is not made perfect in love or He who lives in fear has not yet had his love perfected. In other words “he who is afraid has not reached the full maturity of love.”
Having raised several children, including four of my own, I can tell you that babies have two natural fears: the fear of falling and the fear of loud noises.
This assertion is corroborated by experts who recently conducted a study on fear on 500 adults of different ages, backgrounds and lifestyles.
Their finding showed that the adults shared some 7,000 different fears. This means that they must have learnt 6,998 fears since they were born. That is a lot of fears!
But fear is not of God. In reality, man is designed for faith. Fear was foreign to man until Adam transgressed against God. For the first time, he became acquainted with fear, the law of sin and death came into operation in man and he hid from God, saying. I heard your voice… I was afraid… I hid myself. (Genesis 3:10)
Since then, man has been living in the realm of fear — fear of the future, fear of what others might say or do, fear of diseases, fear of flying, fear of abandonment, fear of the unknown…
You see, every fear stems from or is born out of the feeling of being cut off from God.
That’s why when you become born again, the Holy Spirit comes into your human spirit, recreates it – spilled the love of God, which is the antidote for fear, in your heart…And hope maketh not ashamed; because the love of God is shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Ghost which is given unto us (Romans 5:5).
Antidote means “given against”. For instance, when someone has a snake bite, they are administered an anti-venom, an antidote, which is used to counteract poison produced by snake and other venomous animals.
This antidote acts against the venom in order to reduce its force or neutralise it.
That is what Agape is, an antidote to fear. God wants you to be efficient; He wants you to be confident.
Remember our opening text says “There is no fear in love” or “there is no room in love for fear”. In other words, love that spilled in your heart does not contain fear”. It also says …“Perfect love casteth out fear”; which means fully developed love throws out or flushes out fear”.
Romans 8:15 say,…For ye have not received the spirit of bondage again to fear; but ye have received the Spirit of adoption, whereby we cry, Abba, Father.
From this text, you can see that fear is something that has to be received from the outside and it brings with it the spirit of bondage. It is not a characteristic of the born again spirit. Second – 2ND Timothy 1:7… “God has not given us the spirit of fear,but of love, boldness and of sound mind, with which we are to govern our lives.
What is the meaning of bondage? Webster dictionary defines bondage as the condition of being involuntarily subject to a power, force or influence. This is what happens when you yield to fear. But, as new creation, you have a sure antidote to fear. The apostle John says that “perfect love casts out fear”.
You see, God loves, values and appreciate you so much that He gave His Son to take your beating; he took every punishment that was due to you, so that you can take His blessings… Isaiah 53:5… But because of our sins he was wounded, beaten because of the evil we did. We are healed by the punishment he suffered, made whole by the blows he received.
God so loves you that at the cross, Jesus was rejected so that you could become God’s beloved.
You see, it was not the nails that kept Jesus on the cross. It was His love for you … “for the joy that set before endured the cross despising the shame” – what was this joy? That you may become children of God –
1John 3:1 affirms see what great love the father has lavished on us that we should be called the sons of God.
This is a marvellous love that the father has extended to us, It is an incredible love to be called the children of God, because it put you in God’s class and make all the resources of heaven available to you, confers on a you a right standing and peace with God, meaning God is not mad at you, thus you have unfettered access to Him and can approach him with confidence.
It puts all the angels of God at your beck and call- they become your servant – spirit- who do your bidding, meaning angels begins to work for you.
It confers on you all authority in heaven and on earth – Now, no harm can be fall you because you are heirs of soteria, heirs of safety, deliverance, preservation. It puts you in union with God –“He that is joined to the Lord is one spirit.
Being a son put God on your side forever. You have become a carrier of his life and love.
Today, when you hear His voice, you will hear Him say, “You are My beloved child, in you I am well pleased.” You are my dearly loved child, who brings me great Joy – You are the Apple of my eyes, The delight of my life. Hallelujah !!!
Pastor Emmanuel Asiwe, Joint Heirs International,#441 Cresecent, Brockton MA 02302 : Worship Hours: Sunday 10a.m, Wednesday 7p.m, Saturday 6a.m : Email : info@Jointheirsint.org
