1 JOHN 4
5 Outlines
1 John 4:1-6
INDENTIFYING FALSE
TEACHERS.
THERE IS A TEST Vs. 1
THERE IS A TESTIMONY Vs.
2
THERE IS TREACHERY Vss.
3, 5
THERE IS TRIUMPH Vss. 4,
6
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1 John 4:1-6
ON GUARD
We must be constantly on
guard against the doctrines of false teachers.
Here's how to make sure that you are not taken advantage of.
BE CAREFUL - Vss. 1,5
Just because a person
sounds good, it doesn't mean the person is right. We must be careful to test the spirits to
make sure we follow those teachers that are from God.
False teachers are of
the "world". Because they are
worldly, those who love the world want to hear them.
BE COGNIZANT - Vss. 2-3,
6
Be aware that only those
who believe that Jesus came in the flesh to the world are of God.
Be aware of the spirit
of anti-Christ that is in the world.
Be aware that those who
are not of God will not adhere to the true teachings of the Word of God.
BE CONFIDENT - Vs. 4
We can overcome false teachers
because "greater is he that is in you, than he that is in the world."
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1 John 4
LOVE
EXAMPLE OF LOVE – Vss. 8, 10
EXPRESSION OF LOVE – Vss. 7, 11, 19
EXCELLENCE OF LOVE – Vs. 18
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1 John 4:8, 10,11,18,19
HEREIN IS LOVE
Introduction - God is
love. Vs. 8
THE DESCRIPTION OF LOVE Vs.
10
THE DUTY OF LOVE Vs. 11
THE DISTINCTION OF LOVE
Vs. 18
"There is no fear in love..."
THE DELIGHT OF LOVE Vs.
19
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1 John 4:8 etc.
YOU ARE LOVED!
Lloyd Ogilvie is
Chaplain in the
"When (he) got good
grades, achieved, and was a success (he) felt acceptance from his
parents." His dad taught him to
fish and hunt and worked hard to provide for his family, but he rarely said,
"Lloyd, I love
you." His dad tried to show love by his actions and sometimes there was a
twinkle of affirmation in his dad's eyes. But Lloyd still felt empty.
When Ogilvie became a
Christian, he immediately got so involved in discipleship activities, that he
says, "I did not experience the profound healing of the grace I talked
about theoretically..."
Eventually Ogilvie
became a post-graduate student at the
Then one day, one of his
professors, a short energetic man named Dr. James Stewart, confronted him in a
corridor. Stewart knew exactly what
Lloyd Ogilvie's problem was. He looked
Ogilvie in the eye intensely. He smiled warmly, grabbed Ogilvie's coat lapels,
drew him down to within a few inches of his own face and said, "Dear Boy,
you are loved now!" ( Craig Bryan Larson, Contemporary Illustrations for
Preachers, Teachers and Writers, Copyright 1996 by the author, Published by
Baker Books, Grand Rapids, Michigan, page 132)
And I say to you this
morning, "YOU ARE LOVED NOW!"
You are loved by family.
You are loved by
friends.
You are loved by me.
But most of all, YOU ARE
LOVED BY GOD!
Oh how much happier you
would be if you realized that no matter what happens in your life today, God
still loves you!
No matter what losses
you experience, God still loves you.
No matter how badly you
fail, God still loves you.
No matter how badly you
feel, emotionally, Spiritually, or physically, God still loves you.
GOD'S LOVE FOR YOU IS
AUTHENTIC - 1 John 4:8
Not all love is true
love.
We say "I love
Pizza," or "I love steak."
That kind of love is just a personal preference.
Sometimes somebody will
tell you good news or do something nice to you and you might say, "I love
you man!" But that kind of love is not true love. It is a spur of the
moment, response of joy.
Many a guy has told many
a girl that he loves her, wanting her to do things that are only appropriate in
marriage. These guys will appeal to the
girls and say, "If you love me, you'll do this."
A great answer for the
girl to use to that kind of guy is "If you really love me, you'll wait
until we are married."
God's love is the real
deal. It is authentic.
1 John 4:8 - "He
that loveth not knoweth not God; for God is love."
God has various
attributes or qualities that are part of His nature.
One of those qualities
is love.
Notice from 1 John 4:8
that one can not know real love unless they know God. It is God who is the source and originator of
true love.
GOD'S LOVE FOR YOU IS
ATONING - 1 John
We said that God's love
is an attribute or quality of God.
But it is not the only
attribute of God.
God has many attributes.
God is not only love,
but He is holy. Leviticus 11:44, Psalm 99:3, Isaiah 40:25
Not only is holiness an
attribute of God but so is righteousness.
Righteousness is closely
related to holiness. God is separate
from sin and that's holiness. God demands justice for sin. That's
righteousness. Psalm 11:7,
God's holiness and
righteousness holds you accountable for your sin. Ezekiel 18:4, Romans 6:23
You deserve to die. You
deserve the punishment of hell.
But this is where God's
wonderful atoning love comes into play.
God in His love sent His
Son to earth. Being perfect, without
sin, Jesus could have condemned us all!
He could have condemned us because He was righteous and we are not. He
was sinless and we are not! John 3:17
So what did Jesus do to
save the world?
God in His justice
demanded that someone pay for our sins.
God in His love sent the
sinless Lord Jesus to die in our place.
That is God's atoning
love! Man could not pay for or atone for his own sins. He needed help. And God
in His love sent the Lord Jesus. 1 John 4:10
GOD'S LOVE FOR YOU IS
AVAILABLE
Jesus has died for your
sins.
Jesus has risen from the
dead.
As God, Jesus is present
now.
And through His Spirit
He says, "Come".
"Come, and accept
my forgiveness."
"Come, and put your
trust in me."
"Come, and accept
my love."
My friend, Jesus did all
that was necessary for you to be forgiven of your sins. There is only one thing he wants from you,
and he will not do this for you.
All the Lord Jesus wants
is for you to place your faith in Him.
Loving forgiveness for
all your sins is available if you but trust Him as your Savior, as your
forgiveness from sin. Ephesians 2:8-9, John 3:16
God's love for you is
available, but it is you who must decide.
You may have been
attending church all your life, but if you have not made a personal decision to
trust Christ, you have not accepted God's available love. You have rejected it.
If you continue to reject it, the outlook is bleak. John 3:36
God's love was available
to you for salvation.
God's love is available
for you on a daily basis.
He loves you still and
wants you to avail yourself of that love.
There was a great Old
Testament saint by the name of Enoch.
It is said of Enoch that
he walked with God.
Enoch talked to God all
day. Enoch listened to God all day.
As he talked to God and
listened to God he made himself available to the love of God.
Christian, God wants you
to feel His love.
Christian, God wants you
to enjoy His love.
Christian, God wants you
to accept His love on a daily basis.
How do we accept His love?
By abiding, remaining close to Him, just as Enoch did. John 15:4-5,
John 15:7
Christian, God's love is
available to you.
When you hurt, come to
Him. Matthew 11:28
When you have sinned,
come to Him. 1 John 1:9
When you need peace,
come to Him. John 14:27
When you don't know
which way to turn, turn to Him. Psalm 32:8
When you need a friend,
come to Him. - He's the friend that sticks closer than a brother.
When you are
disappointed come to Him. 1 Peter 5:7
GOD'S LOVE FOR YOU IS
ABIDING
Christian, God does stop
loving you.
To me, one of the
greatest verses in all Scripture is Ephesians 1:6 - "To the praise of the
glory of his grace, wherein he hath made us accepted in the beloved."
If you are a born again
Christian, you are accepted by God.
What more can you ask
for.
Friends and Family might
not always accept you.
Your enemies will not
accept you.
Your government, your
employer and perhaps even your church may not always accept you.
But you are always
accepted in Christ!
Oh God does not accept
your sin. You need to confess that.
But God does accept you
as His child in Christ.
And this kind of love is
an abiding love.
One of my favorite
passages that shows this abiding love is Psalm 121. This Psalm uses the idea of
God's keeping power as the expression of God's love. (I closed this message by
reading Psalm 121 as the congregation listened with their eyes closed.)
YOU ARE LOVED BY GOD!
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