December 31, 2009 "Chappy's Corner" Daily Devotionals by : Rev. Stephen J. "Chappy" Fuller Why Should I love and not fear?"

1 John 4:18 (NKJV) "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."

Our relationship with God is the foundation for our relationship with other people. It also creates a prism by which we view Scripture, which in turn shapes our worldview of the past, present, and future, which in turn prioritizes our lives and propels us forward in time allows each of us to fulfill our purpose here on earth. We first experienced His love for us: then we return that love as reflectors, demonstrating the love of the Father to others of His children.

I love this verse! The best way to study all of the wisdom in this single verse is to break it up, interpret it, find out what it means, and then change our lives to model it. Incidentally, this is how the Word of God does the Work of God in us. To often, we try to make God and Scripture fit our lives, when in actuality, we need to do just the opposite. That is, we need to fit our lives into what God and Scripture tells us to live by.

1.) "There is no fear in love":
2 Timothy 1:7 "For God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power; and of love, and of a sound mind"

There are three kinds of fear: (1) reverent fear, (2) cautionary fear, (3) the fear that comes from Satan. Reverent fear is good, it is fear of the one true God, Our Father. It is reverence for our awesome God. This kind of fear is often mentioned in the Bible in the context of man recognizing the righteousness and power of God, and that man is but a vapor. Cautionary fear is a safety mechanism placed in our lives by God to protect us from the hazards of this world. This kind of fear is good because it preserves our lives for service in Him. All of the great men of the Bible experienced this fear, and acted in respect to its warning; Joseph when he took Mary and Jesus to Egypt to escape Herod; David fled from Saul; Paul when he fled Damascus; and, Jesus when he often left the presence of the scribes and pharisees because His time had not yet come. Fear from Satan is the type of fear which Satan uses in his attempt to take control of our lives. The symptoms of this kind of fear are often panic, lack of sleep, doubting God's promises, palpitation heart, sweating, and they come like a wave that appears for the moment to overwhelm us. He tries to effect this control of our lives by convincing us that his lie of fear is stronger than the power of God's promises; truth is however, the substance of this lie is no more than that of a balloon inflated by a child - 99.9% air, and .1% spit! (Proverbs 3:25) ""Be not afraid of sudden fear, neither of the desolation of the wicked, when it cometh"
God does not give to us a spirit of fear, nor does He lie. God cannot lie, it is impossible for Him to lie (Hebrews 6:18) "that by two immutable things, in which it was impossible for God to lie..." On the other hand, Satan has no truth in him , lying is as (John 8:44) says, "...his native language, for he is a liar and the father of lies". So, by the truth stated in the Word of God, we can be certain that the fear that comes from Satan has to be a lie. This kind of fear originates from Satan and therefore is Satan. In (1 John 4:16-17) it says, "And so we know and rely on the love God has for us. God is love. Whoever lives in love lives in God, and God in him. In this way, love is made complete among us so that we will have confidence on the day of judgment, because in this world we are like him." and love originates from God and therefore is God.

2.) "but perfect love casts out fear":
Matthew 8:30-32 (NIV) "Some distance from them a large herd of pigs was feeding. The demons begged Jesus, "If you drive us out, send us into the herd of pigs." He said to them, "Go!" So they came out and went into the pigs, and the whole herd rushed down the steep bank into the lake and died in the water."

We have already identified that the spirit of fear is Satan, and likewise love is God. When you take and give fear (Satan) and love (God) personal pronouns, this piece of scriptures tells us exactly how the power of God (love) casts our Satan (fear). "But God casts our fear"! That's pretty deep isn't is it! Now take this concept and apply it to the first commandment back in (Exodus 20:2-3) ""I am the LORD your God, who brought you out of Egypt, out of the land of slavery. "You shall have no other gods before [a] me." God has set the world up in one way, and one way only...He is on top! He is our hope. When you let "FEAR" rule your life in any amount, you have just broken the first commandment..."though shalt not have any other gods before me". We have identified Satan as fear, therefore, when you fear, you have authorized Satan to take a place before God...
Go back to the section we are studying, "but perfect love casts out fear"...God casts out Satan. Call on the name of the Lord and you will be saved...EVERY TIME! If you suffer from fear, you are suffering from an attack of Satan. Attack him back, don't give him authorization in your life to replace God in your life. The system is not set up for Satan, it is set up for God...who made the system in the first place. If you think about it, Satan is manageable, all he needs is your authorization, without it he can't work because the power of God is stronger than his lie! The power of perfect love greater than fear.

3.) "because fear involves torment. But he who fears has not been made perfect in love."
Matthew 25:14-46 (NIV) "Again, it will be like a man going on a journey, who called his servants and entrusted his property to them. To one he gave five talents[a] of money, to another two talents, and to another one talent, each according to his ability. Then he went on his journey. The man who had received the five talents went at once and put his money to work and gained five more. So also, the one with the two talents gained two more. But the man who had received the one talent went off, dug a hole in the ground and hid his master's money. "After a long time the master of those servants returned and settled accounts with them. The man who had received the five talents brought the other five. 'Master,' he said, 'you entrusted me with five talents. See, I have gained five more.' His master replied, 'Well done, good and faithful servant! You have been faithful with a few things; I will put you in charge of many things. Come and share your master's happiness!' The man with the two talents also came. 'Master,' he said, 'you entrusted me with two talents; see, I have gained two more.' "His master replied, 'Well done, good and faithful servant! You have been faithful with a few things; I will put you in charge of many things. Come and share your master's happiness!' Then the man who had received the one talent came. 'Master,' he said, 'I knew that you are a hard man, harvesting where you have not sown and gathering where you have not scattered seed. So I was afraid and went out and hid your talent in the ground. See, here is what belongs to you.' His master replied, 'You wicked, lazy servant! So you knew that I harvest where I have not sown and gather where I have not scattered seed? Well then, you should have put my money on deposit with the bankers, so that when I returned I would have received it back with interest. 'Take the talent from him and give it to the one who has the ten talents. For everyone who has will be given more, and he will have an abundance. Whoever does not have, even what he has will be taken from him. And throw that worthless servant outside, into the darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.'

There are at least two concepts here that I would like to bring forward: fear immobilizes; and love produces. The servant in this parable was afraid to the point where he could not and did not want to do anything with what he had. In essence, he was chained, bound up, imprisoned by fear (Satan). He was tormented by his fear (Satan). However, the other servants in this parable had allowed love (God) mature them which in turn produced more, and they received what we as Christians hope to receive from our Master when we are called home, "Well done good and faithful servant".

Conclusion:
A father burst into the bathroom one morning to find his three-year-old son playing with a straight razor. Thinking he might startle the boy and cause an accident if he cried out or moved quickly, the father simply reached into his pocket and pulled out a shiny quarter. "Son", he said softly, "if you'll give Dad that razor, I'll give you this brand new quarter." Immediately, the boy surrendered the dangerous tool and reached out for his promised reward. The exchanging and rewarding role of love in the Christian life has been called "the expulsive power of a new affection." Rather than demanding that His children give up their worldly "toys" and desires, our Lord places within us an overwhelming love, making us willing to put Him first. Even fear, so common to many people in this world, must succumb to the power of His love. This section contrasts love with fear. Fear has to do with judgment. Fear shows no confidence about eternity, but love reflects on our union with God through the Saviour.

Christians whose love has matured, need not to fear of the world now or the judgment of the future. As patient foster parents slowly change an abused and frightened orphan into a trusting family member, so the Father's love to us can make us productive and confident members of the household of faith. The substitution Christ made for us - His death instead of ours, His life sacrificed in place of our sin - stands as the timeless and ultimate demonstration of what love must be. Love as a habitual order of life comes to us modeled by the Father and the Son. - Chappy