This sermon emphasizes the transformative power of God's love to cast out fear, instill boldness, and bring security for the future. It calls for a deep understanding and reception of God's perfect love, leading to a profound change in perspective and a genuine love for others. The message highlights the importance of opening our hearts to God's love, allowing it to remove fear and empower us to walk in confidence and compassion.

I want to share my heart with you as a pastor this morning about the year 2011 and I've been in prayer and I what I feel the Lord speaking to me is going to be our future as a congregation this coming year. I have a message for you this morning entitled love will soon cast out fear. Love will soon cast out fear. I believe that God is going to do such a profound work of love in your heart that all the fears that we're facing right now, the fears that you're facing this morning, the fears that you're going to be facing tomorrow, all of these things are going to lose their power. First John chapter four, please if you'll go there in your Bibles. First John chapter four. My father, I come before you this morning and I thank you Lord for the anointing of your Holy Spirit. I thank you God for strength and power that is so far beyond any natural ability that any of us have to speak or to even hear. Lord, you are the initiator and the finisher of our faith. Everything comes from your hand. No God, we ask you in Jesus name. Lord, let the weight of your word sit upon this sanctuary today. Lord, open our hearts and open our ears and open our minds to eternal truth and reality. Help us to understand these things. Oh God, not just words on a page, but let the word find its place in our heart and in our minds. Thank you Jesus for New York City. Thank you for planting this church here at this time. Thank you that you're going to be merciful to this city and move it to prayer. Again Lord, we pray that every church in the city be filled to capacity with praying people. Lord, send a fresh anointing on every pastor who longs in any measure to preach truth. Oh Jesus, touch the city with mercy. Touch it with mercy God from end to end and side to side. Let the mercy of God touch New York City. Mercy triumphs over judgment. Lord, we thank you for these things God. Thank you Lord that no matter what comes we know that you'll be merciful because we ask you to be. Lord, we thank you for this. Bless this word today. Oh God, give me the power to speak it. I thank you for it in Jesus mighty name. First John chapter four beginning at verse 16 to verse 19. And we have known and believed the love that God has to us. God is love and he that dwells in love dwells in God and God in him. Herein is our love made perfect 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 has torment. He that fears is not made perfect in love. We love him because he first loved us. Our love is made perfect. Now the word perfect in the original text means simply mature, taken out of a place of childishness and brought into that place where God would have us to be. This is how we know that the love of God in us is perfected that in the day of judgment we have a boldness. We have a confidence. Now there's a day of judgment coming when you and I and everybody who ever lived will stand before the throne of God. We understand that day. But there are also times and seasons of judgment that come to this world. And there's a confidence that comes when the love of God is made mature in the hearts of those who know Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior. To have boldness, to have confidence no matter what comes our way because we have the same heart and the same spirit that is upon Jesus Christ. Now you and I live in a time when there seems to be so many reasons to give in to fear. World economies today seem to be teetering on the edge of meltdown in a way that most of us never dreamed we would have to experience in our lifetime. There's a fear of future provision and stability and it dominates much of the public media as well as much of our own inward thoughts throughout the day. If you're an honest person today you will say that these things are probably on the increase in your mind. How will I face tomorrow? How will I get through tomorrow? Will provision be there? Will I be able to keep my job? Will my house be there? Will I have clothing? Will I have food in my house? Day to day you and I are inundated now with statistics about the perilous deterioration of our planet. The fact that we're facing potential shortage of energy supplies. The media are constantly bombarding us with statistics about the global shortages of food. We're living in a time of seemingly unresolvable and terrifying prospects of war involving weapons of mass destruction. You know we delude ourselves as a society and as humanity in general in thinking that somehow we're different from those that have come before us. We can have these weapons and we will operate with them in restraint but of course you and I know that's a fallacy. We're facing the breakdown of the family. That very unit that God established in the earth to bring about stability and nurturing and order in the home in the nation. The nucleus actually of divine order is the family as God established it. And we're watching this constant erosion of natural love and the seeming increase in random and senseless acts of violence. Nothing is safe anymore. No school is safe. No college is safe. No gathering is safe. No church is safe. We're living at a time when people are inwardly exploding. Now folks what a tragedy. We've raised a young generation. Told them there is no God. Taken Christ out of the schools. Don't teach the word of God. We've raised a generation on violent music. We've sat them down in front of media that I forget the statistic but most young people by the time they reach the age of 15 have seen thousands of acts of violence on television and then wonder why they acted out. Suddenly we're shocked and surprised that they've become what we've taught them to be and as a society have allowed them to be. And you add to all of this the mockery of Christ and his church. The nonstop pushing society to cast off all godly restraint to their behavior while they denigrate the truly godly as narrow, bigoted, out of touch, unworthy of any serious consideration. And even go so far in society sometimes as to consider the Christian church the source of all the problems. Now no wonder many of even God's servants are beginning to feel the effects of fear. Even the most godly among us are aware that something is happening in our generation. Things are changing so rapidly. We're so quickly spinning into something that it seems to be out of our control but thankfully it's never out of the control of the hand of God. Listen to what the psalmist said in Psalm 2. He says, Why do the heathen rage and the people imagine a vain thing? The kings of the earth set themselves and the rulers take counsel together against the Lord and against his anointed, saying, Let us break their bands asunder and cast away their cords from us. Let us push off the restraints. Let us get rid of this group of people who claim to belong to God, who have a book that they call the Bible that has a code of moral behavior. Let us break these bands. Let us cast away these cords from us. But verse 4 the psalmist said, He that sits in the heavens shall laugh and the Lord shall have them in derision. In other words all of these efforts are simply going to produce deeper confusion, deeper chaos, deeper a society that's spiraling more and more and more out of control. Psalm 112 the Lord speaks of the security as it is of those that are godly. This is one of my favorite psalms actually in the scriptures. It says, Praise the Lord. Verse 1, Blessed is the man that fears the Lord and delights greatly in his commandments. His seed, that means his children, shall be mighty upon the earth and the generation of the upright shall be blessed. There's a reason to walk with God folks. There's a reason to read this Bible. There's a reason to pray in the morning and at night. God says, I bless your children. Now listen to me fathers that have lost your children. You've lost your homes. Your families have disintegrated. I understand we deal with a lot of that today. But the promise still applies even to you. Even if your sons and daughters are not under the roof of your house. You start walking with God. You go into the prayer closet. You start doing what the scripture says. God is not limited as we are in our natural strength, in our natural mind. Your child, your son or daughter could be in Australia and God will still touch them when you begin to walk under the covering of the word of God. There's suddenly come into the heart this thought, I need to get right with God. I need to walk with God. It will happen folks. It will happen. We've heard the testimonies of it even in this house over and over again. Wealth and riches shall be in his house and his righteousness endures forever. Unto the upright there rises light and darkness. His grace is full of compassion and righteous. A good man shows favor and lends and he will guide his affairs with discretion. Surely he shall not be moved forever. The righteous shall be in everlasting remembrance. He shall not be afraid of evil tidings. His heart is fixed trusting in the Lord. He will not be afraid. He will not be afraid of whatever comes on the news tomorrow. He will not be afraid. His heart is fixed trusting in the Lord. His heart is established. He shall not be afraid until he sees his desire upon his enemies. He is dispersed. He's given to the poor. His righteousness endures forever. His horn shall be exalted with honor. The wicked shall see it and be grieved. He shall gnash with his teeth and melt away the desire of the wicked or actually that means the wicked one shall perish. There's a trust that God is going to put into the hearts of his people. That's you and me in this generation that we're living in. Now you legitimately asked me the question this morning how will God keep us from giving in to the power of fear in these times that we're living in. Now 1 John 18 where we began again in chapter 1 John chapter 4 and verse 18 says there is no fear in love but perfect love casts out fear because fear has torment. He that fears is not made perfect in love. Here's how God is going to keep us from fear. He's going to bring us to the full understanding that he loves us with a perfect love. A perfected love. A love that only belongs to God and in those to whom he chooses to share it. Verse 19 says he we love him because he first loved us. He loved us before we even knew or cared that he was there. When you were clubbing, when you were stealing, when you were lying, when you were cheating, when you were cursing, when you were gambling, when you were speeding, when you were violent, when you were raising your fist at every driver that cut you off in New York City he loved you. He loved you. You clap like you almost believe that. He loved you. He loved you. Before you and I knew that he was there. When I was a young cop and I'd be sitting at the table gambling at noontime and I'd be cursing the name of Christ he loved me. He loved me with a perfect love. An everlasting love Isaiah calls it. Jeremiah chapter 31 verse 3 says yea I've loved thee with an everlasting love therefore with loving kindness have I drawn thee. In other words he drew us to himself because he wanted to be kind to us. Not that we loved him but that he loved us the scripture says. That's first love. I've loved you with an everlasting love. His love brings incredible hope and change. The prodigal son got up that's a son that had been given life and he just went very far away from his father and all of us did that at one point. And as he got up to come home instead of being condemned he found a father that was running down the road towards him. One of the most pure and graphic illustrations of the love of God in the entire New Testament other than the cross of Jesus Christ. This is red letter in my Bible that means it's coming from the actual mouth of Jesus Christ. He's describing the love of God for every son every daughter. Now this son made a mess this son was feeding pigs in a field and for a Jewish boy that was about as low as you could get. Pigs were considered unclean and he was actually feeding them and allowing them to live. When the whole of his religion would have taught him that these things are the lowest creatures technically on the face of the earth and many of us fed things and did things and allowed things to live by our very actions. You know if people didn't go to uh if people didn't watch pornography the pornographers would be out of business tomorrow. And it's people feed things and allow them to exist and this boy was doing that but one day he just decided to get up and come home. He got sick of the way he was living. It was his father's love that was drawing him. Pastor Williams said at one time and I agree with him the father must have been sending messengers to him once in a while just little messages about how good it was at home. About how much food there was there. About how all the servants were because how did he know he'd been away for so long but says he came to himself and he said in my father's house even the servants have a lot of food and I perish with hunger. Well how did he know that? I think there's little messages coming and I even when we are feeding things that we shouldn't be feeding these messages of God's love keep coming to us. These messages, these invitations come home, come home, come home my son, come home my daughter. And as he came down the road to his father he's not met with a reluctant savior. He's met with a God who literally came running down the road to embrace him just as Christ came from heaven to earth because in his heart he loved you. He was waiting for you to come home and for me to come home. And this love brings covering. This love brings empowerment. This love brings an invitation to join God on his journey of redemption throughout the earth. It's incredible love. I'm overwhelmed daily now at the incredible love of God. The humility of God that he would even stand me here this morning to speak on his behalf is the incredible humility of God that he would use us, that he would partner with us. He is so infinitely other than we are. So much more pure, so much more holy, so much more intelligence, so much more integrity and yet he partners with us. How do we understand this love of God? It's like you and I going into the city and finding the most deranged disadvantaged individual that New York City has to offer and saying from this day forward you and I are partners. We're going to walk together. You ever need me I'll be there. You need resources I'll give it to you. You can brag about me everywhere you go. I'll never deny you. I'll tell them that we're brothers. If anyone should ask I'll tell them and that is closer than the bridge that God made to come to us and he did it because he loves us. The cross was not a legal obligation on God's part to redeem us. The cross was the love of God in its purest expression. He was not willing that any should perish. He was not willing to lose you. I don't it doesn't matter how you're living or or where you come from or what your parentage is like or what kind of a family you have or don't have or your education or what you've been doing with your life. You have to know this morning that he loves you. He loves you with a passionate love. He loves you with a love that sent him to a cross to get you back again. His love brings the genuine believer into an incredible feeling of security about the future. In John chapter 10 verses 27 to 29 Jesus said these words. My sheep hear my voice and I know them and they follow me and I give unto them eternal life and they shall never perish neither shall any man pluck them out of my hand. My father which gave them to me is greater than all and no man is able to pluck them out of my father's hand. And then the next verse verse 30 says I and my father are one. In other words the full strength of God is committed to bringing you and I safely home. The full strength of God. He seals us in the hand of God when you come to Christ. Now he's talking about the genuine believer. Are you the strongest? No. Are you without flaw? No. Do you are you without struggle? No. But are you an honest believer in Jesus Christ? Yes. Have you trusted in Christ for your salvation? Absolutely. Do you want to walk with God? Yes without any doubt. He says not only do I cover you but I put you in my father's hand and you're we're going to go together we're going to walk together through flood we're going to walk through fire we're going to walk through trial but you're in the hand loving hand of God. And one day the Lord says I'm just going to open my hand and just drop you at the throne of almighty God in heaven and we will have walked this thing together and it is the love of God that will have brought you through. Hallelujah to the Lamb of God. When we get to the throne of God what do you think what do you think our song is going to be? What are we going to be talking about when we finally see the holiness of God the absolute otherness of God when we see the perfection of God's creation and understand what he did on the cross for us. All glory to God. Thank you for loving me Jesus. That's all we're going to be able to say. Thank you God. My purest attempts to be holy amounts strength were only filthy rags in your sight. My God my God it's been love that redeemed me love that carried me love that strengthened me love that gave me the power. Hallelujah. The mature understanding of how purely and completely we're loved of God will open our hearts to the correction of our father as he sees we need it. For whom the Lord loves Hebrews chapter 12 verse 6 he chastens and scourges actually it says every son that he receives. When you and I know we are loved we're not afraid of reproof. We're not afraid that our father might open this book and say I've got something to speak to you today. You're walking in a way that is going to hurt your future or hurt the future of others. We're not afraid of this book. This book has no fear to me whatsoever. I fear more not knowing this book or not having this book examine my heart than having it examine my heart. You remember on the road to Emmaus in the book of Luke there are disciples that are walking and they've they've lost heart they've lost hope they they knew the word they had proximity to Christ but they've seen him crucified and they got to this place of fear that we're talking about today. And suddenly Jesus the scripture says came up and started to walk with them in the midst of their struggle in the midst of their dilemma that they're facing in their minds and in their hearts and they they were at the verge of losing hope. And there were the type of people who say Lord would you give me a word today. Now some of you came here today say oh God I need a word you have to speak to me. Oh God I'm afraid of the future I'm losing heart I'm losing hope I I don't even want to be alive in this generation. Speak to me oh God. And so he opens his mouth and says oh fools and slow of heart to believe all that the prophets have spoken. How'd you like a word like that delivered to you today? Speak to me oh God oh fool and slow of heart to believe. Slow of heart to know that I died for you because I love you. Slow of heart to believe that I am able to keep everything that's committed into my hand and bring it through every struggle and trial and difficulty that you're ever going to face. Oh slow of heart to believe. We are lastly secure in his love and with the power of Jesus love alive in us will no longer fear the future or the faces of people. First John 4 18 says there's no fear in love but perfect love casts out fear. There is no fear in love. We are going to in 2011 become more aware of the love of God than we ever have before. We're going to become aware that his love will keep us. The devil has no right to condemn us that our future is secure. Fear not little flock he says it is your father's good pleasure to give you the kingdom. Don't let your heart be troubled he said don't let it be afraid in my father's house are many mansions. I go to prepare a place for you that where I am there you may be also. If it were not so I would have told you. Don't be afraid we have to go through a little season of struggle in this earth and in this world but when this season is over it is only the beginning of forever in a place of such wonderment that our minds can't contain it. If we could see a picture of it today on the screen we wouldn't be able to comprehend it because it's too much for the natural mind to understand. In my father's house where do you think that is there's a universe out there where we don't we don't we don't even remotely grasp what heaven is going to be like. The incredible awesomeness of it and God promises to keep us. What did the apostle Paul say I'm I'm persuaded that he's able to keep that which I've entrusted to him against that day. I've given him my heart I've given him my life I've given him my future I've given him all that I have and he is going to keep me until that day. Paul didn't need to be walking on a pathway of ease he didn't need to understand he just said I know whom I believed. I've had a direct encounter with the love of God. Paul had come to this revelation to the point where he could say that if this love is not in me no matter what I do it falls sore to the glory of God. This incredible love of God this incredible revelation of God's love. In 2011 we're going to be aware of this love more and more and more because that's how God is going to keep his people and it's going to manifest itself in loving one another. Now I'm not talking about tolerating one another I'm not talking about Sunday morning smiling at one another I'm talking about absolutely loving one another in the power of God seeing one another as God sees us caring as God cares. You know on the marquee of this church when it was established by pastor David in 1987 87 they put on the marquee the church that love is building it doesn't say the church that loves it's building the church that love is building. I believe that was prophetic. I believe God put that when he established this church because in this congregation are over 100 nations represented from around the world and there is a genuine love here that you won't find anywhere in the world in any any gathering that's similar to this but the Lord is going to take us deeper than we've ever known before there's going to be a care and a compassion one for another pastor David once told me said Carter he said in the in the coming days the fellowship in this church is going to be so sweet it's going to be an absolute taste of heaven no matter how difficult it gets out there it's going to be kinder in the house of God there's going to be a care there's going to be a compassion the walls are going to come down we're going to genuinely love one another in Jesus Christ our prayer meetings are going to be powerful praise God thank God for this there are people here today that can say Lord Jesus I'm afraid sometimes even to open up my heart to the fullness of your love I don't want to face the future fearful and discouraged I don't want to be foolish and slow of heart to believe I open my heart to your love and all that this means for my future I open my heart to your love Lord Jesus I receive your love it's hard isn't it believe it or not that that is often one of the hardest things to receive from God is his love because in our hearts we somehow know that we really don't deserve it and we tend to see God the way we would act if we were God I'm very thankful I'm not God aren't you today I'm very very thankful we are incapable of unconditionally loving like God does but once we open our hearts to the love of God and we instinctively know that open our heart to the love of God means we have to open our hearts to people we have to see people the way God sees other people that means barriers have to break down that means our borders of our tents have to expand and include other people other races other cultures other classes that means we have to get out of our comfort zone and allow God to stretch us and to be the people on this earth that he's called us to be but I want to remind you that this kind of perfected love this mature love casts out fear suddenly you'll find yourself not afraid of the threatenings of whomever you're not afraid of the faces of people anymore and that is the promise of the scripture that this perfected love casts out fear you're not afraid of people you're not afraid of tomorrow you're not afraid of being vulnerable you're not afraid of giving you're not afraid of stopping on the Jericho road and helping somebody that needs help this is gone this this fear is gone the love of God now is shed abroad in your heart and the scripture says that's why we can have boldness in the day of judgment because as he is so are we in this world as he is as as he loves we are allowing him to love through us what he is doing we are doing praise be to God my elder call this morning is very simple for 2011 Lord Jesus Christ I open my heart to your love and all that this means for my future I open my heart to it I don't know how to do this but I open my heart to it show me how much you love me instead of opening the and being condemned all the time God I want to know how much you love me show me how much you love me and let that love begin to flow through me now this is a supernatural thing you can't do this we can't work this up it doesn't work that way this is something that God has to do and he's going to have to take some of us through the valley of the shadow of death because there are things in us that don't want this we we we like the measure of God that we understand we like our life the way it is and we don't want to be stretched and so something in us is going to have to die and God is going to take us to that place we're going to have to love this city folks because this city is going to be a difficult place in a short time we're going to have to love this the people of the city I'm not talking about the buildings talking about the people and that love has got to begin here in the house of God it's got to begin in your heart and in mine we're not going to win New York City with an argument now we're going to win this city with the love of God in us hallelujah it's the deepest cry of every person in this city is to be loved and when that love of Christ finds an expression through your heart and through mine you will see a harvest like your your mind never thought was possible start to come into the house of the Lord now father I thank you Lord for the simple word but God Almighty it's profound it's powerful Lord I want to love this way I want it with all my heart and whatever you have to do to take me there I'm asking you to do it I'm asking you Lord Jesus Christ to so baptize this church in your love that we'd not be afraid of God or people we'd not be afraid of the reproof of your word we would simply not be afraid we'd not be afraid of evil tidings because our hearts and minds are fixed on the promises that you've made to us especially that perfect love casts out fear Jesus son of God help us as a congregation in this Lord we ask it in your precious name now I want to give an altar call for those who have a hard time to receive love you don't trust it you have a hard time with it but God is calling you deeper and farther than this than you've ever gone before would you just get out of your seat please make your way down here as we stand main sanctuary in the balcony and we're going to pray and believe God for an absolute miracle if there's a prison door in your heart that's causing you not to be able to receive the love of God we're going to believe God that that door is going to open today just slip out in the balcony go to either exit in the annex you can step between the screens if you would please and we're going to worship for just a moment and as we do make your way here please for those that have difficulty receiving the love of God you're afraid of the future and you're afraid of people please just come and I love you love you love you Jesus and praise your holy name I love you, love you, love you, Jesus. Praise your holy name. You are the Alpha and the Beta. You're the first and the last to stay. You let them hang you on the tree. You died for sinners just like me. I raised my voice up in the crowd. I raised my hands to cry out. You let them hang you on the tree. You died for sinners just like me. I raised my voice up in the crowd. I raised my hands to cry out. I love you, love you, love you, Jesus. Praise your holy name. You are the Alpha and the Beta. You're the first and the last to stay. You let them hang you on the tree. You died for sinners just like me. I raised my voice up in the crowd. I raised my hands to cry out. You died for sinners just like me. I raised my voice up in the crowd. I raised my hands to cry out. I raised my hands to cry out. You know the Bible doesn't say that perfect repentance casts out fear. Thank God for repentance, that's a good thing, but it doesn't say that. Perfect love casts out fear. When you know how much, and I know how much we are loved of God, the fear of tomorrow is gone, the fear of failure is gone, the fear of rejection is gone, the fear of not finishing the course is gone. It's all gone. And you'd be amazed how quickly you begin to grow in grace. You'd be amazed how much the power of God comes into your life and how you change. It really wasn't in my life, I can honestly tell you. I love the Scriptures, I've studied the Scriptures, I've sat in some of the most profound preaching conferences over the years, but it was the love of God that changed my life. It was the love. Lord, I just pray for these that have come to this altar today, that we would all have a heart to receive your love. It's that simple. Your love comes with protection and correction. Your love comes with everything. An understanding of our security in Christ, an understanding of the cross, an understanding of even the fear of God. It all comes through your love. I pray, Lord, that you open every prison door at this altar. Heal every wounded heart. Give every blinded eye sight. Lord, do what only you can do and do it supernaturally, Lord, at this altar. Just take everyone at this altar from one place to another place and do it by the power of the Holy Spirit. It can't be done by natural argument, it can't be done by human effort, but it will be done by the Spirit of Almighty God. Take us as a congregation, Lord, into what we've heard this morning. Take us into the depth of that love, one for another and for you, Almighty God. Lord, you said that on these two things, everything the law and the prophets have spoken is fulfilled. Hallelujah to the Lamb of God. Thank you for this, O Jesus. Let this be a house of love. Baptize this house with your love, Lord. Baptize this church, every hallway, every corridor, every office, every classroom, every ministry, let it be baptized in the love of Almighty God. Everywhere we go, everything we share, everywhere we walk. Lord, as we go to our apartment buildings today, as we go to our offices on Monday, as we go to our place of employment or non-employment, let the love of God be in us. Give us the eyes to see people around us the way you see them. Give us that heart, O God, for the people in this city. Father, we thank you for this. We praise you for it. We bless you for it in the mighty and holy name of Jesus. Hallelujah. Hallelujah, Lamb of God.