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Weimar University

Don Mackintosh

Perfect Love- Cast Out All Fear

Kind of nice being out here in the fresh air, isn't it?

Kind of feels a little bit like Michigan, a little cool.

And That's why I have my little warmer jacket on today.

But we're going to talk about love today, God's love, as the Scripture re-indicates.

Father in heaven, thank you today that we can come to this time of worship, not because we're worthy, but because you're worthy.

And not because we're powerful, but because we need your power.

Forgive us of the things that come between us and you and others, and clear the pathway that we might be able to individually hear a word from you.

So love has been perfected among us in this, that we may have boldness in the judgment, because as He is so are we in this world.

And there's no fear in love, but perfect love casts out fear, because fear involves torment.

And he who fears has been made perfect in love.

As we see just in those verses, first 2 verses, if they're up there, I think they might be on the screen, I'm not sure.

But if you look there in those first 3 verses or 2 verses, the 2 verses we read, How many times was love mentioned in just those 2 short verses?

Love has been perfected among us, and that we may have boldness in the day of judgment, because as He is so are we in this world.

There is no fear in love, because perfect love casts out fear because fear involves torment.

But he who fears has not been made perfect in love.

We love him, for he first loved us." How many times?

I told some people last week how to study the Bible.

I was talking to a group and I said maybe the way to study a text is to say, what's the solution?

So, the solution in this verse is going to be love.

And the very first thing they sang, I mean, the very first satellite event that went to 500 countries, not 500 countries, 500 million people I think was the statistic in 1967 was that song.

That was the first time they used that satellite technology and they sang, all you need is love.

And we would agree partially with the Beatles.

Because our text is not just talking about love, It's talking about perfect love.

Most of the love that we hear about today is not perfect love.

And most of the reasons that we're having problems physically, mentally, emotionally, and spiritually is because our love is not perfect love.

It's just love or something masquerading as love, maybe lust.

George Valiant had a famous study in Harvard called the Harvard Grant Study.

And he said in that study, there are 2 pillars of happiness.

1 is love and the other is finding a way of coping with life that does not push love away.

Love and living in a way that doesn't push it away.

And in our text, it almost indicates that.

It says, love has been perfected among us in this, that we may have boldness in the day of judgment, because as he is, so are we in the world.

There is no fear in love, but perfect love casts out fear because fear involves torment.

So, our need is love, and it's gotta be a kind of love that's not judged by other people as a torment.

How many of you have been around some people that you loved, but they look at you as a torment to them?

And maybe even some in my current relationship with my wife, sometimes she might say, you torment me.

But the whole idea is here is that perfect love will not lead to fear, torment, which are both a what?

How many of you have ever had someone break up with you, reject you?

I remember when I was a kid there used to be a song, 50 ways to leave your lover.

Slip out the backjack, have a new plan, stand.

Don't need to be cory-roy, just listen to me.

So there's this idea of, you know, I need to get away.

But before that slipping out the back jack and having a new plan stand, there was a judgment that was made, yeah?

That this love was not perfect, so I'm heading on out.

Now in this text, then begs the question, we don't want fear, phobos, phobia, where we get our phobia, our word phobia from.

How many of you don't want to have a phobia-based love?

We don't want something that leads to torment.

So what's the difference between love and perfect love?

If we can figure that out, we might in fact do away with all depression, all anxiety, everything.

Well, That word here in this text, perfect, is teleo or teleos.

Have a full expression, not punctiliar in time, but over time.

It reveals itself more and more and more fully.

So perfection is not something, a point in time, it's actually a process.

So our love can become more perfect as we grow.

That may be in fact the purpose of marriage, right?

You're teaching him how to love more fully, aren't you?

Well, the fact is that marriage is, you're supposed to be both teaching each other.

In fact, the word for wife in Hebrew is isha, and the word for man or woman is isha, and the word for man is ish.

How many of you noticed that your spouse was kind of like that?

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Perfect Love- Cast Out All Fear

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