Love

Grace: How Perfect Love Casts out Fear

November 13, 2011 by Russ Pond

This week is the start of a new series of messages on grace. I believe grace has the power to cast out fear. As we grow in our knowledge of God’s perfect love towards us through grace, it will empower us to find freedom from anxiety, fear and panic attacks.

“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” (1 John 4:18).

I’ve always found this verse a bit cryptic and even condemning at times. The last part made me feel less loved: “…he who fears has not been made perfect in love.” I knew I loved God, and I knew he loved me, but I concluded (wrongly) that because I feared, I must have done something to push him away.

As I continue to grow in my walk with God, I’m learning everyday just how amazing and powerful grace is. So much of our thinking about God is just plain wrong. Here are three reasons why I believe our understanding of grace is inaccurate:

Wrong Education

As children, we’re often taught (directly and indirectly) that life is all about performance. Do good, and you’re rewarded. Do bad, and you’re punished. We’re constantly bombarded in the area of performance. Parents discipline their kids for bad behavior and reward good behavior. In school, students are graded on their performance. In the workplace, hard work and good decisions lead to promotion. Poor work and bad decisions lead to a dead-end job and possibly being fired. Our culture is one based on performance.

Sadly, most churches today just don’t teach the depth of God’s grace and what Christ has really done for us. Most messages from the pulpit mix grace with a list of “oughts and nots.” And, when we fail to “do good”, then God’s grace steps in brings us back to God. But, that’s not what the Bible says. As we dig deeper into grace and what it really means in our lives, we’ll learn that grace is a gift freely given and we can do nothing to earn it.

Wrong Conclusions

Way too often, we ask God for something, but when the answers don’t come, we quickly conclude that God has a different plan for our lives. Or, we conclude that our sin is hindering God’s working power in the situation. We pray for healing and it doesn’t come. So, we conclude that healing ended with the last book of the Bible. Or, we conclude that sin in our lives is keeping God from wanting to heal us. We pray for freedom from fear, but when the next panic attack hits, we start concluding that it’s our fault.

If I just had more faith…
If I could just overcome this weakness…
If I could just get past this hurt…
If I could just stop sinning…

My hope for this series on grace is to challenge these wrong conclusions. As you grow in your understanding of God’s grace, peace will flood your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.

We Have an Enemy

We can’t forget that there is an unseen enemy who is out to thwart our understanding of grace. The more he can confuse and disrupt our grasp of grace, the more he can keep us in bondage. John 10:10 says that the thief comes to steal, kill and destroy. I know first hand just how much fear steals my joy, kills my dreams and destroys my peace.

We should not fear the enemy. Jesus has disarmed him (Colossians 2:15) and has given us authority over Satan and his demons (Luke 10:19).

This week, I encourage you to start thinking about grace. What does it mean to you? How do you define it? How does it apply to your life? Hopefully, we can answer those questions in the weeks ahead.

Prayer: Father, help me understand more clearly what I believe about grace. Holy Spirit, teach me about grace and how to apply it to my life.

Perfect Love Casts out Fear

April 10, 2011 by Russ Pond

When I became a believer in 1991, I would asked people to pray for me about the consuming and terrifying fear that gripped my mind. And often, I would hear them pray something about love, and how perfect love casts out fear. They were referencing 1 John 4:18,

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.

That was 20 years ago, and today I’m still learning more and more about God’s perfect love. The depth of his love is never ending. The more I learn and experience his love, the greater the peace I experience.

I want to share a few points I’ve learned along the way about this “perfect love” that conquers fear.

1. What is Perfect Love

The word “perfect” in this scripture is teleios. It means completeness, to be completed in growth or labor. Perfect love is love that has been perfected and complete. It doesn’t mean you have to live a perfect life for God to love you. The more we surrender to God’s perfecting work in our life, the more complete we grow in God’s love.

Think of it this way: it’s not how perfect your love is towards God–it’s how perfect God’s love is towards you. When you come to know just how much God loves you, the fear is cast out.

2. Casting out Fear

The Greek word for “casts out” is ballo, which means to violently fling, throw or thrust out. Other versions translate this as “expels” or “drives out”. Perfect love expels, drives out, and violently thrusts away fear. It’s not a gentle pushing or nudging. It is violently smashed by God’s perfect love.

3. Righteousness, your Right Standing with God

What is righteousness? What does it mean to be righteous?

Righteousness is “right standing with God”. It’s a state of being worthy, qualified, and declared right.

Many of us look at our mistakes and sin, and we let it define who we are. But, that’s not how God defines us. If we have received Christ, God looks at us differently. If you have confessed with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God raised him from dead, then you will be saved (Romans 10:9) and declared righteous, holy and justified.

In Christ, you are perfect in God’s eyes. God is not angry with you nor disappointed with you. You are fully qualified, fully justified, and fully righteous in Christ.

Jesus (who was sinless) was punished so that we (who are sinners) are free from God’s punishment. It’s the great Exchange!

In Christ, you are completely and totally accepted by God right now, today. God is pleased with you. He loves you so much and he longs to spend time with you. He pursues us continually, unashamedly, and passionately. God cherishes his time with you every moment of every day.

This week, take some time to experience God’s love, his unconditional, unhindered, perfect love. And when you do, fear will be expelled, cast out, driven away, in Jesus’ name!

Prayer: Father, help me experience all of your love for me.

The Love of God: Summary

January 22, 2011 by Russ Pond

This week, we wrap up our series on “The Love of God“. The reason I wanted to share this series was to help people understand that God’s perfect love casts out all fear:

“There is no fear in love. But perfect love drives out fear, because fear has to do with punishment. The one who fears is not made perfect in love” (1 John 4:18).

The more we learn about how much God really loves us, the more peace we can experience.

First, we talked about how God is pleased with us. We are pleasing to him not because of what we do, but because of who we are in Christ. We are his children. We often pull away from God because we feel dirty, sinful and unholy, but in Christ, we are none of those. We can come to God’s throne in our time of need.

Next, we learned about his character. His love is patient, kind, gentle–like a parent with a newborn baby. He knows our thoughts, our intentions, our mistakes, and yet he still chooses to love us.

Then, we dove into his unconditional love. Nothing can separate us from this love. “For I am persuaded that neither death nor life, nor angels nor principalities nor powers, nor things present nor things to come, nor height nor depth, nor any other created thing, shall be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord” (Romans 8:38, 39).

God’s love is giving. “For God so loved the world, that he gave…” He gives and gives, expecting nothing in return. His love compels him to give to us, his children.

And, there is great power in God’s love. The same power that raised Jesus from dead lives inside of us (Ephesians 1:19-20). We carry the power of God in us, and that power gives us strength over the enemy to conquer fear, anxiety and torment.

Then, during Christmas, we experienced God’s peace towards us. The price was paid, and the punishment was inflicted upon Christ on our behalf. We can now have peace with God, a peace that passes all understanding.

We can also experience God’s glory, his life-changing, all-encompassing, powerful glory. As his children, we are given such incredible gifts and privileges.

We can experience true righteousness and rest in his love. Because of the finished work of the cross, we no longer need to strive to please God. We please him by placing our trust in Christ.

Finally, we are made whole by grace through faith, according to Ephesians 2:8. Complete freedom and wholeness is available to those who believe. It’s a free gift, given in grace.

Thanks again for joining me on this series. If you have some ideas on a topic for our next series, please let me know.

The Love of God: It Restores Glory

January 2, 2011 by Russ Pond

This weekend, I read this message from Joseph Prince that really touched my heart. It has been very true in my own life, and I want to share this message with you, because it’s yet another beautiful demonstration of God’s love towards us:

“And the glory which You gave Me I have given them, that they may be one just as We are one” (John 17:22).
When God made man, the Bible says that God crowned him with glory and honor. (Psalm 8:5) The word “crowned” here means to encompass or to surround like a glorious circle. The glory of God was therefore man’s clothing. In other words, Adam’s whole being was gloriously radiant.
When man sinned against God, he forfeited the glory of God. (Romans 3:23) But when Jesus Christ was born, the glory of God came down. (Luke 2:9) And many years later, Jesus, before He died, said to His Father, “The glory which You gave Me I have given them, that they may be one just as We are one.”
So the glory of God which man forfeited has now been restored to him because Jesus has come. When He died on the cross, He took our shame, gave us His righteousness and restored the glory of God to us.
But what exactly is the glory of God? Doxa, the Greek word for “glory” here, means having a good opinion concerning one that results in praise, honor and glory. This means that in restoring to us His glory, God wants us to have the sense that we are praiseworthy, honorable and glorious because of His constant good opinion of us!
Beloved, because God’s glory is on you, there is a weightiness about you. People don’t know why, but their spirits are lifted when they are in your presence. There is something about you that impacts them even if they have only been with you for a short while. When you talk, they listen because there is substance in what you say.
Also, because God’s glory is on you, you can expect it to touch every aspect of your life — your finances, relationships, work and health. Your body, for example, will glow with divine health.
So my friend, because Jesus has come and restored the glory of God to you, be conscious of God’s constant good opinion of you. Know that there is a weightiness about you and arise, shine!
Thought Of The Day
When Jesus died on the cross, He took our shame, gave us His righteousness and restored the glory of God to us.
All scripture quotations, unless otherwise indicated, are taken from the New King James Version ®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
© Copyright Joseph Prince, 2009

Original Article can be found here on Facebook.

The Love of God: A Child is Born

December 25, 2010 by Russ Pond

That night some shepherds were in the fields outside the village, guarding their flocks of sheep. Suddenly, an angel of the Lord appeared among them, and the radiance of the Lord’s glory surrounded them.

They were terribly frightened, but the angel reassured them. “Don’t be afraid!” he said. “I bring you good news of great joy for everyone! The Savior–yes, the Messiah, the Lord–has been born tonight in Bethlehem, the city of David! And this is how you will recognize him: You will find a baby lying in a manger, wrapped snugly in strips of cloth!”

Suddenly, the angel was joined by a vast host of others–the armies of heaven–praising God: “Glory to God in the highest heaven, and peace on earth to all whom God favors.”

When the angels had returned to heaven, the shepherds said to each other, “Come on, let’s go to Bethlehem! Let’s see this wonderful thing that has happened, which the Lord has told us about.”

They ran to the village and found Mary and Joseph. And there was the baby, lying in the manger. Then the shepherds told everyone what had happened and what the angel had said to them about this child. All who heard the shepherds’ story were astonished, but Mary quietly treasured these things in her heart and thought about them often. The shepherds went back to their fields and flocks, glorifying and praising God for what the angels had told them, and because they had seen the child, just as the angel had said (Luke 2:8-20).

When I think about this story, I often overlook Mary’s response to all of this. In this story, the shepherds were amazed at this “wonderful thing”. And when the shepherds told the others, they too were “astonished”. There was an incredible atmosphere in Bethlehem. Heaven had touched earth.

And, when we read about how Mary responded, we learn that she “quietly treasured these things in her heart and thought about them often.” Her heart was filled with thoughts of the Messiah, thoughts of Jesus.

It reminds of the carol we sing at this time of year. The carol declares:

Joy to the world! The Lord is come:
let earth receive her King!
Let every heart prepare him room,
and heaven and nature sing.

I love that line, “Let every heart prepare him room.” Is your heart open for the King? Have you prepared him room in your heart? If not, let me encourage you this Christmas week to slow down. Take a break from your hectic schedule of last-minute shopping, wrapping presents, cooking big meals and whatever has so consumed your time.

Prepare room in your heart for him. Take some time as Mary did to quietly treasure this incredible event. Think about it often as she did. Let your heart rejoice at the true meaning of Christmas–Christ was born to redeem your life from destruction.

And when you do, let’s join the angels in declaration: “Glory to God in the highest heaven!”

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