The sermon transcript discusses the concept of God's love and how it is the foundation for our love for Him. The speaker emphasizes that those who truly love God are the ones who understand and believe in His love for them. The sermon references Romans 8:28 and highlights that nothing can separate us from the love of God, even in times of tribulation, distress, persecution, or hardship. The sermon also mentions a vision from the book of Revelation, where John sees a slaughtered lamb symbolizing the sacrifice of Jesus and the spread of salvation through the persecution of believers.

The spirit that cries out, Abba Father. Let's look at that in the fullest sense. Why do we fear? You could probably answer this question. Why do we fear? Why do any of us respond to anything we face in fear? Well, the scripture is even more specific than unbelief. Because there is a state where there is no fear. The Bible is very clear. It says, perfect love casts out fear. Therefore, you're admitting if you fear, you've not yet been made perfect in love. You've not yet been filled with the spirit of adoption. God sheds abroad His love in our hearts by the Holy Spirit. And when you're fearing, it's an indication that you have not yet been made perfect in love. And there's other indications that you've not yet been made perfect in love. And this is where all of you that said it's because of unbelief are correct as well. Because we know that faith worketh by love. And therefore, if you do not have faith, you are not going to be able to love. This, and if you'll backtrack this back down, if you respond in fear, it's an indication that you are not yet made perfect in love. Why do we love in the first place? Okay, so if it's clear that you have not yet been made perfect in love, what is it also clear? You do not fully understand the love of God yet. Are you seeing it? You think you know the love of God, you think God loves you, not if you fear. You do not yet fully know the love of God yet. And you know why you don't fully know the love of God yet? Because you have not accepted the love of God on the basis by which He fully displayed it. He does not display His love by giving you goosebumps. He does not display His love by making everything go well for you. He does not display His love by making your job great, and your boss wonderful, and your wife the sweetest, or your husband the nicest. How did God display His love? Through the Holy Spirit. Well, that's how He gives it. Nope, that's what He does because He loves us. He displayed it in that while we were yet sinners, Christ Jesus died for the ungodly. And do you realize, now you realize what you're saying? If you're reacting in fear, then you've not yet been made perfect in love. And the reason you've not yet been made perfect in love is because you have not yet fully believed by faith that God has given His Son for you. And that He did not send Him into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved. And you are still wrestling with the condemnation that Brian was speaking of because you have not fully believed. And not fully believing, you are not experiencing God's love. And not experiencing God's love, neither are you loving. We love because He first loved us. But if we're not yet made perfect in love, when our wife acts out, what do we act out of? Fear and unbelief. When we face difficulties and we're stressed, we act out of fear and unbelief because it's manifesting that our faith, which is of greater worth than gold, though refined by fire, it's not yet proven purely genuine. There's still dross mixed in your faith. And when God wants to take dross out of something, He sticks it in the fire. It's for your faith because unless you accept by faith that God demonstrates His love for us and that He gave His Son to die, you'll never know love. And never being made perfect in love, you will never be able to love like Christ loves. When Christ perfectly knew the love of the Father and when they spit in His face, He loved. When they mocked Him, He loved. When they ripped the hair from His face, He loved. When they put a purple robe upon Him and drove thorns into His head, He loved. He loved because He knew He was loved. And He knew that it pleased His Father to allow this to happen to Him. And He never gave way to fear. And He never acted out of that fear. He was the fullness. No wonder God had all His fullness dwell in Him bodily. He trusted the Father at every point. And until we come to know that, until we come to know a love like that, you'll always continue to give way to fear. And you know what fear hath? Fear hath torment. Are you tired of being tormented? Are you tired of acting out? Are you tired of fear causing you to act out of your flesh than out of faith? Wouldn't it be wonderful to live in the fullness of the love of God? To be abiding in God. And God abiding in you. So that you are so one with God that everything that happens to you, you respond to it out of God. You don't respond to it out of your human weakness. You don't respond to it out of the roots from Adam. You respond to it out of the divine nature being shed abroad in your hearts, because by faith Christ is dwelling there. And when Christ who came to destroy the works of the devil is abiding in you, it's not possible for you to go on sinning. Because God in His fullness is abiding in you. And you are rooted and established in love. It's love that even surpasses knowledge. And you begin to be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God. And when they hit you, love comes out. When they spit at you, love comes out. When they neglect you, love comes out. When they wrong you, love comes out. And when you begin to experience this love, I will fear no evil. I won't fear an evil thought. I won't fear an evil report. I won't fear an evil boss. I won't fear an evil people. I won't fear an evil government. I won't fear an evil terrorist. I won't fear an evil circumstances. I will not fear. Why? Because thou art with me and you love me. And if you're with me and you love me, I need nothing else. I don't need to be understood by my wife. I don't need to be understood by my husband. I don't need to be understood by my children. I don't need to be understood by my boss. My Father loves me and He's not left me alone. He's with me. And when I go to the fire, He's allowed it to come upon me. He's with me. And when I go to the water and the enemy comes in like a flood, He's allowed him. And He's with me. You know what faith is in this sense? Maybe we can see it in the opposite. You know what fear is? Fear is being more consciousness of something else than you are of God. When you are more conscience of God than anything else in any circumstances, you know what consciousness of God produces? Confidence in God. Consciousness of God produces confidence in God. With God, I can advance against a troop. With God, I can scale a wall. With God at my right hand, a thousand may fall at my left side. Ten thousand may fall at my right hand, but it will not come near me. You know why? God is with me. He is at my right hand. He upholdeth me in His right hand. And if God is for me, who can be against me? He who loved me so much that He spared not His only begotten Son for me. For me. He gave His all for me. His all. His very best. All the glory of God He gave for me. How shall He not also graciously give us all things? He gave His very best first. And will He be reluctant with anything else? We are an unbelieving people. We are an immature people when we fear. We have not yet grown up in the faith. Look with me in a beautiful passage. In this light, you should understand this. Romans chapter 8. Start in verse 28. And we know now to the ones loving God. That's the first thing. Now who are the ones loving God? Mmm, yeah, yes, yes. That's a good description and it's an accurate description. But here's what I want to say about that. We love because He first loved. The ones loving God are the ones that have the real knowledge that God loves them. There are some right here in this room that do not know God loves them even though they could say it. You know how you know? They're not loving. And you know how you know they're not loving God? Because if any man loves the world or the things of the world, the love of the Father is not in him. And there's no one here who loves the world that the love of the Father is in him. Even if you know all about God's love in your mind. The one who is loving God is the person responding out of the same degree that he's receiving the love of God. The spirit of adoption is flowing into him. He suddenly is coming into a knowledge of his Father. And it's rushing out of him into, I want my Father. I want to know my Father. I'm tired of the guardians and the tutors. I'm tired of thou shalt not and thou shalt. I'm tired of going to the classroom. I want to be with my Father. I want to spend time with Him. I want to walk with Him. I don't want to go back to those beggarly principles. I want my Father. These promises are to such a person. Okay, that's who we're talking about in verse 28. We know now to the ones loving God, all things work together under good. If you're not loving God, all things don't work together under good. You're being deceived by things. You're in bondage by things. You're being corrupted by things. You can't claim this promise just because you quote you love God. If you're genuinely receiving the love of God. If God is your highest desire, if nothing on earth compares to being with Him, all things work together for good for you. If you're not that, everything is a distraction to you. It's bondage to you. It's corruption to you. You can't even claim this promise. You don't know it. And you know how you can tell you don't know it or you're not perfected in it? You're giving in to fear. You don't react out of love. You don't know these things. Verse 29, Because whom He foreknew, He predestined to be conformed to the image of His Son, that He would be the firstborn among many brothers. And whom He predestined, these He called, these He called, He justified. And these He justified, these also He glorified. So what should we say to these things? This is true. If God loved us so much that He did not spare His only begotten Son, the one thing in the universe that pleased Him more than anything, if He loved us so much that He did not even spare His own Son but gave Him up for us all. And if we're loving Him and He's able to cause every single thing to work to good for us, because He's predestined us, He's foreknown us, He's called us, He's justified us, and He's going to glorify us, what should we say to these things? If God is for us, who? Who can be against us? How can we fear mortal man? If we know that God is for us. How can you even care what a man thinks about you? What does it matter? What do they know? Who are they? They're a vapor that's here today and gone tomorrow. Jesus said, I don't receive glory from them. I don't need it. I don't need their testimony. I know what's in a man. The testimony that Jesus received was the witness of His Father saying, Thou art my Son. With thee I'm well pleased. If God is for us, who can be against us? He indeed who did not spare His own Son, but gave Him up for us all. How shall He not also with Him graciously give us all things? So who's going to bring a charge against someone God has chosen? Who? Satan? A friend? A man? A woman? A church? A group? A company? Who? Who? Who? Who? God is the one who's justifying. And if God is justifying you, who's going to condemn you? You see that? Who? Me? Alan Martin? What if I don't think you're walking well? And you're abiding in God. Who am I? Why would you even waste a thought fearing that? A person filled with the love of God has no one to condemn them. Those abiding in Jesus Christ have no one to condemn them. Because Christ is the one having died and also, more than that, been raised from the dead. He is at the very right hand of God interceding for me. Can you imagine the foolishness of Jason Bradshaw trying to stand by God and say, But Alan did this, but Alan said that. And Jesus Christ, my personal defense lawyer, is saying, Father, I don't care what Jason says. He's interceding with God for me. Am I going to fear Jason? With Jesus Christ interceding with God for me? No. Unless I don't believe. Unless I'm not yet made perfect in love. Unless I don't believe that Jesus Christ is at the right hand of God. And you know why I wouldn't believe Jesus? You know what's a good sign that you don't believe that Jesus Christ is at the right hand of God? Your heart's not there. Because if Jesus is your heart's desire, that's where He is. You're constantly thinking on things above. Because wherever a man's treasure is, there will his heart be also. And if you really believe that Jesus is at the right hand of God, your mind and your thought is going to be constantly fixed there. That's how you know this. So, here's the question. If you know by faith, if you've come to a strong, what I would call, the full assurance of faith that God loves you in Jesus Christ. Look at verse 35. Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? I mean, who can get between the Father loving you and you? I mean, Vince, you're just a man. And if I were to attack Isabella, you'd forget who I am and you'd be all over me. You're just a man and it would happen. And who can separate us from the love of God? Nothing can separate us from the love of God. Look what it says. Shall tribulation make God stop loving you? What about distress? If you get into deep distress, is it going to make God stop loving you? What about persecution? What if they start persecuting you? Is God going to stop loving you? What about famine? What if you lose your job and your house is going bankrupt? You're going back to the bank. Is God going to stop loving you if you know His love? What about nakedness? Or danger? Or sword? Are any of these things going to be able to separate us from the love of God? No, for look at this next verse. For just as it is written. Have you ever noticed this? For your sake we die all the day. Does that though you occur? Does that though you occur? I just said what shall separate us from the love of God? Nothing. But what's actually written is for your sake we die all day long. You know why we die all day long? Because of the next part. Don't you know what you are? You're slaughter sheep. That's how God sees you. It's the word accounted. It's the same word for it was accounted unto Abraham his righteousness. You know what God has accounted you? You're a slaughter sheep. This whole flock, everyone here that is in Jesus Christ has been set aside as one flock to be slaughtered. Amen. Just determine which sheep God wants to slaughter at a time. That's it. Does that trouble you? That that for His sake every one of you is just, you live to be slaughtered for His sake. Does that bother you? It wouldn't bother me. I wonder why I should be showing this and be so excited about it. But you know our Father is very wise. Do you remember John in the Revelation saying, Behold in Revelation a throne and 24 elders round about the throne and four beasts with wings covered with eyes continually crying out, Worthy, worthy, worthy art thou God, Him who lives forevermore for you're worthy of thanksgiving and honor and glory. And every time they give praise to the one sitting on the throne, the four and 20 elders fall down and they give praise and glory and honor as well. And they cast their crowns there. John was in the midst of this scene when he suddenly, he noticed a book, a scroll in the hand of the one on the throne. And he saw that it was written on the inside and the outside all over. And he saw that it was sealed with seven seals. And all this was going on and John heard, no he said he saw, suddenly he saw a great angel. I guess there's lesser angels. But he saw a great angel and this great angel cried out in a loud voice, Who is worthy to open the seals? So they looked in heaven, found no one. So they looked upon the earth, they found no one. Then they looked underneath the earth and they found no one. And John began to weep profusely. But one of the elders stopped him and said, Stop weeping. Behold, the Lion of Judah, of the root of David, he hath overcome and he has opened the seal. And John turned around to see the Lion of Judah and he saw standing in the midst of the throne a slaughter lay out. That's what he saw. Same word. They slaughtered our Lord and salvation came to the world. They slaughtered the early Christians and salvation came to Rome. They slaughtered the believers on continents and they scattered the gospel to other continents. And God has been spreading His kingdom to the slaughter lambs for 2,000 years. We had nothing to fear. He's not going to spare us the sword. He's not going to spare us being despised. He didn't spare His own Son from being despised and rejected. A person from whom men hide their faces. If you want to be well looked upon in the world, you'll never be a servant of Christ. Paul said, If I am even attempting to please men, I am not even a servant of Jesus Christ. This is the gospel. And if it pleases my Father that I'm a slaughter lamb, I'm going to be the happiest slaughter lamb there ever was. And I'm going to rejoice when it's my turn. And when that person in my life does me wrong, it's just preparation for my slaughter time. I am going to learn to stand as a lamb, quiet, while they shear me of my honor. I'm not going to act out of fear. My Father loves me. My Father is with me. He didn't spare the chief ram, the chief slaughter ram himself. I am going to be like Him. I will not defend myself. I will not act out of fear. I will count it an honor to be slaughtered, to be abused. I will bless those who curse me. I will do good to those that hate me. I will pray for those who despitefully use me. Because I want to be like my Father in heaven. I want to be perfect. This is the gospel. This is what you've been called to. Being confident of the love of God will free you from all fear. Let's pray.