The Antidote for Fear
Love is the antidote to fear. Perfect love casts out fear. This famous passage has a context. The context is the "day of judgment":
I John 4:17-18 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 this world. There is no fear in love; but perfect love casts out fear, because fear involves torment. But he who fears has not been made perfect in love.
"As He is, so are we"...this is the point of our generation: oneness. Jesus is "one"...one with the Father, one with the Spirit...He desires we be one with Him:
John 17:9-11 “I pray for them. I do not pray for the world but for those whom You have given Me, for they are Yours. And all Mine are Yours, and Yours are Mine, and I am glorified in them. Now I am no longer in the world, but these are in the world, and I come to You. Holy Father, keep through Your name those whom You have given Me, that they may be one as We are.
John 17:15-18 I do not pray that You should take them out of the world, but that You should keep them from the evil one. They are not of the world, just as I am not of the world. Sanctify them by Your truth. Your word is truth. As You sent Me into the world, I also have sent them into the world.
John 17:20-23 “I do not pray for these alone, but also for those who will believe in Me through their word; that they all may be one, as You, Father, are in Me, and I in You; that they also may be one in Us, that the world may believe that You sent Me. And the glory which You gave Me I have given them, that they may be one just as We are one: I in them, and You in Me; that they may be made perfect in one, and that the world may know that You have sent Me, and have loved them as You have loved Me.
"As He is, so are we"...in Jesus' time on earth, earth witnessed love conquer death. As He did, so are we to do. Jesus set His disciples...John, Peter, James...me, you...before the Father on this last evening of fellowship and called me one with Him, one with John...one with the Father...One with the God who caused love to conquer death. Jesus said the point was to know perfect love that WOULD cast out fear. This love must be learned...proved...in the testing...confidence in the "day of judgment." I, according to Jesus, have been sent into the world for this very purpose. Anyone who says "yes" to Jesus is sharing in this oneness, whether they want to enter into it is another question.
Because God has announced it, there is a "day." As soon as God spoke of a day of judgment, that day became guaranteed. It was spoken into being just like the ocean, or the trees, and this day began speeding toward us like a locomotive. God says "do not fear"...I will not take you out of the world, but rather I will keep you through it...you are One with John the Beloved...One with Peter...One with Messiah. Kept. Maybe to be struck but not abandoned, pressed but not destroyed:
II Corinthians 4:7-11 But we have this treasure in earthen vessels, that the excellence of the power may be of God and not of us. We are hard-pressed on every side, yet not crushed; we are perplexed, but not in despair; persecuted, but not forsaken; struck down, but not destroyed— always carrying about in the body the dying of the Lord Jesus, that the life of Jesus also may be manifested in our body. For we who live are always delivered to death for Jesus’ sake, that the life of Jesus also may be manifested in our mortal flesh.
But, Paul, don't you know Jesus is about love? Why Paul? Why didn't you teach a more "hopeful"...a more "loving" theology?
II Timothy 4:6-8 For I am already being poured out as a drink offering, and the time of my departure is at hand. I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. Finally, there is laid up for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will give to me on that Day, and not to me only but also to all who have loved His appearing.
This is perfect love. Anyone who tries to convince you of anything less than this...anything softer...doesn't agree with the Bible. Paul didn't presume to define love. He called Jesus' fight the good fight. So did John:
Revelation 1:9 I, John, both your brother and companion in the tribulation and kingdom and patience of Jesus Christ, was on the island that is called Patmos for the word of God and for the testimony of Jesus Christ.
The KINGDOM comes with the TRIBULATION and the PATIENCE of Jesus Christ. Try as you might, man will not ever separate what God has joined together. Anyone who preaches to you a different kingdom is preaching to you a different Jesus. If you want the kingdom, then you want the good fight.
If you don't "feel like" you want the good fight, that is ok, you just need to be honest about it...tell Jesus about it. This is how readiness begins! "Jesus, I love you, but the good fight sounds too hard"...He will make you ready. This is how you get ready: know the plan and start talking to Jesus about how intense it is! He knows it is intense. That is why He said "be ready"...You MUST be ready:
Matthew 25:10-13 And while they went to buy, the bridegroom came, and those who were ready went in with him to the wedding; and the door was shut. “Afterward the other virgins came also, saying, ‘Lord, Lord, open to us!’ But he answered and said, ‘Assuredly, I say to you, I do not know you.’ “Watch therefore, for you know neither the day nor the hour in which the Son of Man is coming.
If you are not ready, you will not enter in. Few are teaching this, but that doesn't diminish the truth of it. You are responsible to get you and others ready.
Jesus isn't saying you need to be ready to die or to be raptured. Neither dying or being raptured require any readiness on your part, both of these are entirely outside of your control. You need to be ready to ENDURE the greatest testing that will ever touch earth...not just endure, but to joyfully bring in the harvest while the rest of the world gropes for answers to the trouble.
Jesus warned His disciples about falling away because of offense. Offense happens when your expectations do not line up with what Paul called "the good fight." If you are expecting that Jesus is mostly interested in your comfort, you WILL be greatly offended. Jesus came to set a fire. He is coming back into His garden...anyone who hasn't defined their lives as participating in this good fight will be greatly offended...but there is still a little time...the sooner you enter into tribulation, the easier tribulation is on you...the more you try to hold it off, the more offensive it becomes to you:
Matthew 24:3, 9-14 Now as He sat on the Mount of Olives, the disciples came to Him privately, saying, “Tell us, when will these things be? And what will be the sign of Your coming, and of the end of the age?”... “Then they will deliver you up to tribulation and kill you, and you will be hated by all nations for My name’s sake. And then many will be offended, will betray one another, and will hate one another. Then many false prophets will rise up and deceive many. And because lawlessness will abound, the love of many will grow cold. But he who endures to the end shall be saved. And this gospel of the kingdom will be preached in all the world as a witness to all the nations, and then the end will come.
Luke 7:23 And blessed is he who is not offended because of Me.”
Offense is avoided by knowing, watching, praying, and becoming ready. The tribulation is JESUS' tribulation. It isn't catching Him by surprise! Jesus is the one that will release the seals that start the great tribulation! It is Jesus' angels that blow the trumpets of judgment!
Revelation 6:1 Now I saw when the Lamb opened one of the seals; and I heard one of the four living creatures saying with a voice like thunder, “Come and see.”
This is the Lamb's tribulation. To agree with Jesus...to avoid offense...is to agree with Him that His judgments ARE his love. Agreeing with HIS definition of perfect love removes the fear. Man-based thinking says "don't talk about scary things." Jesus says: KNOW my plan is love and fear disappears. If I avoid talking about the calamity, or pretend it won't touch me...if I teach others this old lie, it will be painful for me and them, because God says SURELY these things will happen:
Amos 9:9-10 “For surely I will command, And will sift the house of Israel among all nations, As grain is sifted in a sieve; Yet not the smallest grain shall fall to the ground. All the sinners of My people shall die by the sword, Who say, ‘The calamity shall not overtake nor confront us.’
God is love. The Revelation of Jesus Christ is the greatest revelation of perfect love. Knowing and trusting this destroys fear so that I can move into it and agree with Jesus about the kingdom!
If I am "one" with Jesus then I am one in His desire that none should be lost on THAT day. That means I need to get ready to fight the good fight like brother Paul and brother John. That means I need to be ready to not just endure, but to preach truth to the world while the world is being "hemmed in"...clarity is not increasing in these days...confusion is what will increase. If I don't step into tribulation now, make sense of the judgments, and get ready to take my place in the good fight...well then, I am just adding to the noise of confusion. If man doesn't preach in clarity, peace, and LOVE in these days, none will be saved.
Romans 10:13-15 For “whoever calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved.” How then shall they call on Him in whom they have not believed? And how shall they believe in Him of whom they have not heard? And how shall they hear without a preacher? And how shall they preach unless they are sent? As it is written: “How beautiful are the feet of those who preach the gospel of peace, Who bring glad tidings of good things!”
I John 4:17-18 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 this world. There is no fear in love; but perfect love casts out fear, because fear involves torment. But he who fears has not been made perfect in love.
"As He is, so are we"...this is the point of our generation: oneness. Jesus is "one"...one with the Father, one with the Spirit...He desires we be one with Him:
John 17:9-11 “I pray for them. I do not pray for the world but for those whom You have given Me, for they are Yours. And all Mine are Yours, and Yours are Mine, and I am glorified in them. Now I am no longer in the world, but these are in the world, and I come to You. Holy Father, keep through Your name those whom You have given Me, that they may be one as We are.
John 17:15-18 I do not pray that You should take them out of the world, but that You should keep them from the evil one. They are not of the world, just as I am not of the world. Sanctify them by Your truth. Your word is truth. As You sent Me into the world, I also have sent them into the world.
John 17:20-23 “I do not pray for these alone, but also for those who will believe in Me through their word; that they all may be one, as You, Father, are in Me, and I in You; that they also may be one in Us, that the world may believe that You sent Me. And the glory which You gave Me I have given them, that they may be one just as We are one: I in them, and You in Me; that they may be made perfect in one, and that the world may know that You have sent Me, and have loved them as You have loved Me.
"As He is, so are we"...in Jesus' time on earth, earth witnessed love conquer death. As He did, so are we to do. Jesus set His disciples...John, Peter, James...me, you...before the Father on this last evening of fellowship and called me one with Him, one with John...one with the Father...One with the God who caused love to conquer death. Jesus said the point was to know perfect love that WOULD cast out fear. This love must be learned...proved...in the testing...confidence in the "day of judgment." I, according to Jesus, have been sent into the world for this very purpose. Anyone who says "yes" to Jesus is sharing in this oneness, whether they want to enter into it is another question.
Because God has announced it, there is a "day." As soon as God spoke of a day of judgment, that day became guaranteed. It was spoken into being just like the ocean, or the trees, and this day began speeding toward us like a locomotive. God says "do not fear"...I will not take you out of the world, but rather I will keep you through it...you are One with John the Beloved...One with Peter...One with Messiah. Kept. Maybe to be struck but not abandoned, pressed but not destroyed:
II Corinthians 4:7-11 But we have this treasure in earthen vessels, that the excellence of the power may be of God and not of us. We are hard-pressed on every side, yet not crushed; we are perplexed, but not in despair; persecuted, but not forsaken; struck down, but not destroyed— always carrying about in the body the dying of the Lord Jesus, that the life of Jesus also may be manifested in our body. For we who live are always delivered to death for Jesus’ sake, that the life of Jesus also may be manifested in our mortal flesh.
But, Paul, don't you know Jesus is about love? Why Paul? Why didn't you teach a more "hopeful"...a more "loving" theology?
II Timothy 4:6-8 For I am already being poured out as a drink offering, and the time of my departure is at hand. I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. Finally, there is laid up for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will give to me on that Day, and not to me only but also to all who have loved His appearing.
This is perfect love. Anyone who tries to convince you of anything less than this...anything softer...doesn't agree with the Bible. Paul didn't presume to define love. He called Jesus' fight the good fight. So did John:
Revelation 1:9 I, John, both your brother and companion in the tribulation and kingdom and patience of Jesus Christ, was on the island that is called Patmos for the word of God and for the testimony of Jesus Christ.
The KINGDOM comes with the TRIBULATION and the PATIENCE of Jesus Christ. Try as you might, man will not ever separate what God has joined together. Anyone who preaches to you a different kingdom is preaching to you a different Jesus. If you want the kingdom, then you want the good fight.
If you don't "feel like" you want the good fight, that is ok, you just need to be honest about it...tell Jesus about it. This is how readiness begins! "Jesus, I love you, but the good fight sounds too hard"...He will make you ready. This is how you get ready: know the plan and start talking to Jesus about how intense it is! He knows it is intense. That is why He said "be ready"...You MUST be ready:
Matthew 25:10-13 And while they went to buy, the bridegroom came, and those who were ready went in with him to the wedding; and the door was shut. “Afterward the other virgins came also, saying, ‘Lord, Lord, open to us!’ But he answered and said, ‘Assuredly, I say to you, I do not know you.’ “Watch therefore, for you know neither the day nor the hour in which the Son of Man is coming.
If you are not ready, you will not enter in. Few are teaching this, but that doesn't diminish the truth of it. You are responsible to get you and others ready.
Jesus isn't saying you need to be ready to die or to be raptured. Neither dying or being raptured require any readiness on your part, both of these are entirely outside of your control. You need to be ready to ENDURE the greatest testing that will ever touch earth...not just endure, but to joyfully bring in the harvest while the rest of the world gropes for answers to the trouble.
Jesus warned His disciples about falling away because of offense. Offense happens when your expectations do not line up with what Paul called "the good fight." If you are expecting that Jesus is mostly interested in your comfort, you WILL be greatly offended. Jesus came to set a fire. He is coming back into His garden...anyone who hasn't defined their lives as participating in this good fight will be greatly offended...but there is still a little time...the sooner you enter into tribulation, the easier tribulation is on you...the more you try to hold it off, the more offensive it becomes to you:
Matthew 24:3, 9-14 Now as He sat on the Mount of Olives, the disciples came to Him privately, saying, “Tell us, when will these things be? And what will be the sign of Your coming, and of the end of the age?”... “Then they will deliver you up to tribulation and kill you, and you will be hated by all nations for My name’s sake. And then many will be offended, will betray one another, and will hate one another. Then many false prophets will rise up and deceive many. And because lawlessness will abound, the love of many will grow cold. But he who endures to the end shall be saved. And this gospel of the kingdom will be preached in all the world as a witness to all the nations, and then the end will come.
Luke 7:23 And blessed is he who is not offended because of Me.”
Offense is avoided by knowing, watching, praying, and becoming ready. The tribulation is JESUS' tribulation. It isn't catching Him by surprise! Jesus is the one that will release the seals that start the great tribulation! It is Jesus' angels that blow the trumpets of judgment!
Revelation 6:1 Now I saw when the Lamb opened one of the seals; and I heard one of the four living creatures saying with a voice like thunder, “Come and see.”
This is the Lamb's tribulation. To agree with Jesus...to avoid offense...is to agree with Him that His judgments ARE his love. Agreeing with HIS definition of perfect love removes the fear. Man-based thinking says "don't talk about scary things." Jesus says: KNOW my plan is love and fear disappears. If I avoid talking about the calamity, or pretend it won't touch me...if I teach others this old lie, it will be painful for me and them, because God says SURELY these things will happen:
Amos 9:9-10 “For surely I will command, And will sift the house of Israel among all nations, As grain is sifted in a sieve; Yet not the smallest grain shall fall to the ground. All the sinners of My people shall die by the sword, Who say, ‘The calamity shall not overtake nor confront us.’
God is love. The Revelation of Jesus Christ is the greatest revelation of perfect love. Knowing and trusting this destroys fear so that I can move into it and agree with Jesus about the kingdom!
If I am "one" with Jesus then I am one in His desire that none should be lost on THAT day. That means I need to get ready to fight the good fight like brother Paul and brother John. That means I need to be ready to not just endure, but to preach truth to the world while the world is being "hemmed in"...clarity is not increasing in these days...confusion is what will increase. If I don't step into tribulation now, make sense of the judgments, and get ready to take my place in the good fight...well then, I am just adding to the noise of confusion. If man doesn't preach in clarity, peace, and LOVE in these days, none will be saved.
Romans 10:13-15 For “whoever calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved.” How then shall they call on Him in whom they have not believed? And how shall they believe in Him of whom they have not heard? And how shall they hear without a preacher? And how shall they preach unless they are sent? As it is written: “How beautiful are the feet of those who preach the gospel of peace, Who bring glad tidings of good things!”
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