of and deep compassion comforts
them in tribulation. Little flock to joy then yield
thee, Jacob's God will ever shield thee. Rest secure with this defender
at his will, Oh surrender what he takes or what he gives us. Okay. Thank you, Janaye. All right, go back to 1 John
chapter 4. 1 John 4. Sunday's message. If you were
here, you would know that it was full of warnings. There are many warnings throughout
Hebrews. And we all need them. Exhortations
to steadfastness. My pastor always said scriptures
are full of. Warnings less we presume. But
full of promises less we despair. Tonight's message is full of
promises. The Lord told John to write to
us over and over again that we may know. That we may know. That we're his children. We may know that we are born
of God, that we may know we have passed from death unto life.
Have you noticed that reading 1 John? How many times he says,
and we know, and we know, by this we know, by this we know. Well, how? How do you know? How do you know? Well, look at
verse 12. Verse 12 says, No man has seen
God at any time. Nobody I don't care who says
they have. I don't care. No man. We're all flesh. We're bound by the flesh. The
Lord knows that. We are earthbound creatures. One of those creatures if you
want to call him that took exception with being called a worm. Remember
that? He said, I hear us being called
worms. He said, I'm not a worm. Well, I got up after that and
quoted Jeremiah 41, 14, Isaiah 41, 14. Fear not thou worm, Jacob. Enough of that. Anyway, we're
worms. Worm is an earthbound creature.
We don't have any wings yet. He was talking about metamorphosis. He was talking about the new
birth. Well, we're not there yet, and until we're there, we're
earthbound creatures. Nobody's seen God. Nobody's heard
him speak out loud. We haven't seen any apparitions
or visions, anything like that, have we? God is spirit, and we're
flesh, and he said that. That which is flesh is flesh.
And aren't you glad he knows our prayer? That we're but dust. And he knows that. But he tells
us now. So he tells us here, we may know
nothing. We may know. How? Well, how do
we know God is? How do we know God lives, rules,
and many things? Heavens. Clare got glory the
firmament show his handiwork. Clearly saying things made by
God clearly saying his eternal power in God. God shows that
to his people over and over again all the time every day every
night day and the day of their speech night and the night knowledge
right the world doesn't see that hidden to them. God and his providence
God's good providence to his people you see his providence
to you don't Clearly. It's all a miracle. I say we
haven't seen any miracles. Yes, we have. But chief thing
being is his word, God's word. God shows himself, reveals himself
through his word. That's how God speaks, through
his word. And more than that, and we saw Sunday morning, the
word was made flesh and dwelt among us. Christ, God, was manifest
in the flesh. That's how we know God is, because
God came in God's faith. And we believe and are sure,
aren't we, that He's the Christ, the Son of the living God. Well, how do we know that we
know God, and God loves us, and we're one of His children, one
of His elect? How do we know? Look at verse 12. If we love
one another, God dwells in us, and His love is perfected in
us. If we love one another, read
on. And hereby know we that we dwell in him, and he in us, because
he's given us of his Spirit, his Holy Spirit. So these two
things he talks about that we may know. The Holy Spirit given. Remember Christ said that. Christ
said, I will not leave you comfortless. I'll send a comforter, another
comforter. He was their comforter. He said, I'll send another comforter.
He's my Spirit, the Spirit of Christ. He said, I will come.
I won't leave you. I'll come with you. Father son Holy Spirit
these three are one spirit of Christ the spirit of God well
the Holy Spirit. Is sent by God sent by Christ
and he dwells in God's people. And you know. You know what the
Holy Spirit does don't you. In John. Sixteen very clear and
fourteen. He tells us that the Holy Spirit
takes the things of Christ and shows them. He teaches us who
Christ is, the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit in John 16 verses
8 through 11 convinces us of sin, righteousness, and judgment. It convinces you. every believer
convinces them, convicts them, and convinces them, persuades
them beyond the shadow of a doubt of sin, righteousness, and judgment. And it all pertains to Christ.
And that's not my message, but the Holy Spirit is sent by Christ.
And this Spirit, over in Galatians chapter 5, it lists the fruit
of the Spirit, doesn't it? Or that is, whoever the Holy
Spirit lives in. They have this fruit of the Spirit. All right? What is the first
one mentioned in Galatians 5, 22? First one. Somebody said,
that's right. First one. So the Holy Spirit dwelling in
God's people. produces this love. And this
is what John is talking about here, okay? First of all, God's people love God. I mean, they really love God.
They don't go around telling everybody that. They don't go
around bragging about it, because they're ashamed of their people's
love, what they do. Let me ask you, let me test your
love for God. How do you like it when a man
gets up here and just exalts God? Can a man get up and exalt
God too highly for you? Can anybody preach God too sovereign
for you? Is that not about your favorite
subject to hear on earth? Nearly everybody in here is smiling
and nodding their head. The world doesn't. You're in a minority, people.
A man can stand up and exalt God and preach Him high and lift
it up as Lord and Sovereign, and the world will gnash their
teeth at it. And you know it's tough. You run into them. You
tell them. So who loves God? It's those who love God as God.
It's those who love God being God and won't let anybody bring
him down from there. Do you? Can you say from the
bottom of your heart, and that's where it is, that you love God
as God? Don't be afraid to nod your head,
Peter did. That's love. That's not of yourself. out of yourself and we read there
you know he read verse nineteen you read with me we love him.
We do. Why? Because. If you love God as God it's because
he loves you. That's pretty good proof isn't
it? God said that. You can go ahead and bust out
if you feel like it. Jeanette's trying to contain
herself. Go ahead. How do you know God
loves you? Because he said, those that love
him, he loves. Christ said that in John 16,
27. Let me read this to you. John 16, 27, Christ said, The Father himself loveth you
because you love me and have believed that I came out from
God. Let me ask you another question. Do you love Christ being all
in salvation? Do you love him being the only
mediator? Would you rather him and Saint Christopher or Saint
John or Saint Peter, would you rather somebody else share his
glory? Not on your life. You call them
anti-Christ, you believe that, don't you? Anybody, anything
that shares Christ's glory or brings Christ down from all His
glory, all His glory, as that prophet, that priest, that king
of kings, is anti-Christ to you, isn't it? Do you love Christ
as being Christ? The only one? Do you love Him
being the only way, truth, and life? Your only hope, your only
wisdom, righteousness? The world doesn't love that.
The world doesn't need Christ to be their wisdom. World doesn't
need Christ to be their righteousness. Do you? Smile. God loves you. You wouldn't know
that had he not revealed it to you. You wouldn't love, you'd
be a rank Arminian, hatin' God as God and Christ as imputed
righteousness just like everybody else, if but God. If God hadn't
set his love on you. Chosen to what? To see his glory. To see his glory. Let me ask
you this, do you hate yourself? The world doesn't hate themselves.
Over in 2 Timothy 3 it says there are lovers of sound, lovers of
pleasure more than lovers of God. Let me ask you from the
bottom of your heart, what is it when God enables you? Is not the worship of Christ
about your greatest pleasure on earth? Can you say that? Barbara, you tell me that all
the time. I believe it is. Now, that's not of the flesh.
That's not natural. Not natural at all. It was years
when I didn't want to be here. I was forced to be here. I don't
mean... I mean when I was young. I was
forced to be... I didn't want to be there. But
now there's no place I'd rather be. That's not natural. That's the love of God shed abroad
in the heart. Now let me ask you another question. Do you love these people? Do you love Stan Anderson? He's a lovable fellow, isn't
he? I stand and embarrass I'm talking about that he thinks
he's. He thinks he's on the left. So that they can thank you thank
you thank you. You love that. John she's. Is there anybody. That's not natural. That's not
natural. See as a redneck from Franklin
County. More right now I'm. Nobody I'd
rather be you know with the redneck. You know I mean go I am one man. I want. The soul of all walks a lot different
every way. Of. God brought us together,
and now who are our choice companions? I mean those we choose to be
with. We could be with anybody. I,
David said, am a companion of them that fear thee. I just, I don't even like to
be around anybody yet. Not very long enough. I really
don't. That's not me. I used to avoid
church folk. Thank you, Kevin. I used to avoid
them. I'm trying to avoid the world. Why is it happening? It's not nothing. It's the love
of God that carries on in your heart. The love of God. Where am I? I had a bunch of
notes here. OK, let's look back at the picture. So he said, if
we love one another, God dwelleth in us and his love is perfected
in us. Now, we don't think we love God
much at all. We're ashamed of it. We don't
think we love Christ. We don't talk about it. God's
people just don't talk about their love for God or their love
for Christ or their love for the bread. They don't do that
because they're unloved. That's a mark of God's true people.
They're humble. They're self-effacing, self-abasing. Like John, who's the greatest
man born of woman. John! And he said, he wouldn't
even tell them his name, and he said, he must increase, I
must decrease. And that's what every one of
God's people feel. They truly hate themselves and
esteem others better than themselves. True child of God believes that
they're the chief of center and if anybody falls away to be them. I know you know that. But. And so but this love is
growing. Love is perfected the word perfected
did you notice with me who read it said that three or four I
didn't count them. Quite a few times, didn't I?
Love made perfect. Love perfected. That's the title
of this message. Love perfected. Now this love
grows, becomes more mature, more complete, more abiding. Those you've been with several
years now, your love is is being perfected. You love these people. I don't have to say it more now
than you did then. We love them, but it's just being
perfected. Read on. Hereby know we that
we dwell in him and he in us because he's given us the spirit.
And we've seen We've seen and do testify that the father sent
the son to be the savior of the world. You know. John, look back
at first, this is a good companion verse for John three sixteen
John first John four nine and ten says in this was manifested
the love of God toward us. Because that God sent his only
begotten son into the world. Now, John's epistle is to everyone
in general, not unbelievers, but the church in general, to
us. OK? Our Lord was talking to a Jew
named Nicodemus. Remember? In John 3. Jews believed
that God loved Jews and nobody else. Right? They were the most bigoted, people
on earth. Still are. That's why people
hate Jews so much. Part of the reason. They believe
that they're God's people and nobody else. Well, they're kind
of right. Jews, spiritual Jews, are God's
people. Elect. At any rate, the Lord
was talking to a Jew who believed that God only loved you. And
Christ said, God so loved me that He did. But the emphasis
in that verse is God so. Or the way in which God showed
his love, not to just Jews, but Gentiles, the people out of every
tribe, kindred, nation, tongue, and heaven. Is that as Moses
lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so the Son of
Man was lifted up. God so, or in that way, loved
the people out of every tribe, Not just Jews, but a world of
people. Here it says, God sent his only
begotten son into the world that we might live. Are you catching
that, Barbara? You see, this is a good companion
verse. Here is love, not that we love God, but that he loved
us. Us, us, us, us, us. And he talks about the world
as something separate, doesn't he? See that? And John goes on
to say over in verse 19 of chapter five, we are of God and the whole
world live in wicked. And that's not my text either,
but that's a good, if you want a verse to go with John 3, 16,
that's one. That's a good one. Like 1 John 2, 15, love not the
world. A man loved the world, the love
of the Father is not end. I thought God loved the world. So you see,
you can't take one verse alone like the world does. That's what
the world does. God's people don't. Okay, where
are we? It says He sent the Son to be
the Savior of the world. What's that mean? Christ didn't
save every single human being in the world. There are people
in hell right now. What does that mean? It means He's sent
Him to be the Savior not just of Jews, but Gentiles. Not white
people. The black man. Out of every... In the Revelation
it says, Thou hast redeemed us out of every tribe, kindred,
nation, tongue under heaven. So in that sense, that's what
that means. Savior, not just Jews, but the world. The world
of people. Verse 15, Whosoever shall confess
that Jesus is the Son of God, God dwelleth in him, and he in
God. We saw what that means, didn't we? How that Christ is
come in the flesh. Son of God. God will. Verse 16. We have known and believed the
love that God has to us. How's that? By what he did to his son on
Calvary. Greater love hath no man than
this. Right? He laid down his life. That's
how we know. That's how we know. We know and
believe that God The love that God hath to us, he proved it.
God is love. Verse 16. Once again, this is
one of those, that's just part of a verse, isn't it, that the
world takes and uses. That's all they quote. But God
is love. God is love. And he that dwelleth
in love dwelleth in God, and God in him. He that dwelleth
in love. Oh, God is love. Any true love
has to come from God. I hate any comparisons, comparing
God to anybody or anything. I hate that. Don't you? When
they compare God to something else, like God's love is like
a mother's love. Don't you hate that? No, if a
mother loves her child, And she should, sacrificially. That's
like God's love. Not Burton. Not even close, but
it's something like that. God is love. All true love has
to come from Him, if God is love. He that dwelleth in love well within God and God in him
dwelleth was at me. And about your back it's something
that's there it's living it's about it continual in dwelling
well within in dwelling. Love in dwelling. All right. Now we've already talked about
love a little bit that love is not a thing you go trying to
find Are you audition for. Them show
the bachelor present. You love is not a thing you try
to find. Love is not a thing you audition
for. Love is not a thing you audition for. Love is not a thing you audition for.
Love is not a thing you audition for. Love is not a thing you audition for. Love is not a thing you
audition for. Love is not a thing you audition
for. Love is not a thing you audition
for. Love is not a thing you audition for. Love is not a thing
you audition for. Love is not a thing you audition for. Love is not a thing you audition for.
Love is not a thing you audition for. Love is not a thing you audition for. Love is not a thing
you audition for. Love is not a thing you audition for. Love is not a thing you audition for. Love
is not a thing you audition for. Love is not a thing you audition
for. Love is not a thing you audition for. Love is not a thing you audition for. Love is not
a thing you audition for. Love is not a thing you audition for. Love is not a thing
you audition for. Love is not a thing you audition for And. Try God, they say. Go ahead, it won't work. But God can make you love him.
That's the only way you will. Isn't it? That's the only way
you will. God does. God makes us love him.
And God gives us a new nature. To love the truth, as we say.
Love the truth. Some of you used to hate it.
Used to hate it. Loved holiness, used to love
sin, hate holiness. Loved Christ, loved his people. God is love. Well, neither dwelleth
in love, dwelleth, it lives, it abides there, this true love
for God. His word, his people, God dwelleth
in him, and love dwelleth in him, and God, he dwelleth in
love, dwelleth in God, and God in him. Verse 17, and herein
is our love made perfect. Herein is our love made perfect.
Love with us. Now keep it in context. All right? We're going to look at this two-way,
but in context. He's talking about our love. Love perfected. Our love. Love in us. Love with us. Made
perfect. Love with us. Love in us. Growing,
maturing, more complete. And he says we may have boldness
in the day of judgment. Hebrews talks about that. We
can come freely. Come with boldness. Why is that?
Love. Love. Who's love? Well, God's love
first. If we know and believe that God
loves us, we can come boldly to the throne of grace. Yes,
we can. We can come boldly. No fear. Look down at verse 18. It says there's no fear in love.
If we know God is our Father and loves us, we don't fear Him
in the sense that He's going to kick us out of the family.
There's no fear in being cast out, perfect love cast without
fear of being cast out. No matter what I did as a child,
and I could be pretty bad, I never feared that dad was going to
kick me out of the family. Why? It had nothing to do with
me. Because I knew my dad loved me. I knew he did. He proved
it over and over again. And that cast out all fear. Cast
out fear. Well, look at verse 17. This
is good. You remember Brother Scott preaching
on this. It says, Because as He is, so are we in
His Word. Now, let's look at this two ways,
alright? Let's look at it first spiritually. As God is holy,
so are we. Not will be. right now in this
world. Beloved, now are we the sons
of God. How's that? Holy, unblamable,
unreprovable in God's sight. How can you say that I didn't?
God did. Didn't He? Ah boy, that'll make you
love God. That'll make your love grow. That'll perfect your love. And literally, as God is love,
his people are loving. God is merciful, his people are
merciful. He that hath obtained mercy is merciful. That's true.
The Beatitudes, blessed are the merciful, blessed are the peacemakers,
blessed are the poor in spirit, is not blessed are those who
should be or will be or can or ought to be, blessed are, blessed
are, blessed are. God's people are merciful. God's
people are gracious. God's people are forward-spirited.
God doesn't have any people that aren't forward-spirited. God
doesn't have any people that aren't merciful. This is exactly
what John's talking about. He that doesn't love in some
degree like God does, how does the love of God live in that
person? All right, this speaks of Christ,
too, as He is. So are we in this world. As Christ
is God's elect, so are we. So are we. As Christ is accepted,
completely accepted by God, justified, so are we in this world. He prayed to the Father, didn't
He? Father, keep them. They're not of this world. as
I am not of this world. Didn't it? I sure feel like it. Christ said you weren't. That
ought to cast out fear. And literally speaking, Christ
is meek and lowly. So are his people. They're Christ-like. They're Christ-like. Christ is
hated and persecuted by the world. So are his people. Christ is
Christ went through trial and tribulation, so did he. As he is, so are we. Christ was
tempted by Satan. As he is, so are we. There is no love, no fear in
love, no fear in love. God's perfect love to us casts
out fear of being cast out. And God's love in us keeps us from being envious,
jealous of one another. But the only thing that will. Because where fear is, there's
torment. Of course we're talking we're
talking about the table about. And we have a lot of pretty women
in this church. You mean all of you have married
to. Know that. You better nod your
head everyone. And. The game I was talking about
walking through a mall or something and other men looking at our
wife. And I do. I feel. I feel. That I'm not worried. I'm not
a bit worried. Unless George Clooney came by
now. No, I'm still not worried. What? I know she loves me. Her fear is torment. Jealousy. And it's the same way
between brothers and sisters. What do you mean by that? She's
trying to get at me. Love believeth all things. Hopeth all things. Doesn't rejoice
in anything. It rejoices in it. Let's get
to the bottom of it. What did she admit? He didn't admit that. Love. Perfect love. Or love that's being perfected.
True love. Cast out fear. Cast out fear. We may do each other wrong, but
we'll repent of it and be sorry for it and come asking for forgiveness. Because as He is, so is He. And that's not us. He says we
love Him because We're like that because he wouldn't be like that
if this love wasn't there. Take comfort from that. And I like this. This is the
best illustration of this verse of all. Peter. Oh, Peter. Perfect love cast out fear. Peter
loved the Lord, didn't he? But he denied him. He was a coward,
and he should have been bowed. Denied the Lord. Failed terribly. Well, when it was all over, when
the Lord was calling His disciples back, He said, You tell Peter. Did Peter hesitate to come? Did
Peter say, He didn't mean that. The Lord didn't mean that. He
couldn't have meant me. No way. I'm not coming. I'm afraid. He was the first out of the boat.
In spite of his terrible denial of the Lord, in spite of his
worst sin he ever committed, he dove out of the boat to get
to the Lord. What perfect love cast out fear. And, wait a minute, sitting around
the fire, and the Lord said, looked at Peter. He didn't ask
anybody anything but Peter. Simon, son of Jonas, love us,
bow me. What is that? Yes, Lord. Now know that. Can you say that? What I've seen that three times
till finally Peter was upset. Yes, Lord, Lord, you know all
things. And I'm not ashamed. Or hesitant to say, yes, I do
love you. Forgive me for how I acted. Acted
like I didn't love you, but you know I love you. Why? Because
you put it there. You put it there. That casts
out fear. Well, if a man say I love God
and hates his brother, he's a liar. Can't love God you haven't seen. Not love the brother whom you
have seen. And this commandment we have from him no. Over and
over again our Lord tells us this is his commandment and he
that loveth God loveth his brother also. How has Christ loved us? God so loved us rather than we
ought also to love one another. Well it is, it's been perfected.
There was one of those so-called preachers down there, got up
and started And preachers do this all the time. They get up
and they've got real problems in the place they're pastor of,
and they get up and start telling everybody all the problems in
their church and all the people they're disciplining and all
this and that and the other. Start telling them every time. And
preaching against it, don't they miss it? Start preaching against
it and all that. And, you know, mean and... And I commented to somebody,
I said, I wish you'd come to Rocky Mountain. We just don't
have those problems up there. Maybe the problem's not in the
people. Maybe it's in the pulpit. I know that's so. I know that's
so. God's people love one another.
They really do. Exemplary, they're salty. God,
Christ said that. They're the salt of the earth.
The light of the world. And they are. God's people are.
They love the world. They ought to. Yeah, they ought
to. And they do. I take issue with these people.
Maybe theirs don't, but ours do. God's people. There's no perfect church, but
if there ever was one, this is it. Okay, stand with me. Our Lord, thank you so much for
your word. It comforts us as well as convicts
us. But thank you, Lord, that you
point us to yourself continually. Point us to yourself with perfect
love to cast out all fear. And Lord, perfect this love in
us, we pray, we ask. We ask that you would Cause. Us to love the brethren as you've
loved us. In Christ's name we pray. Amen. You're dismissed.