Fundamentals of the Abundant Life in Jesus - 1st John - The Fundamentals of Testing Spirits

OPENING PRAYER

GREET AND INTRO

Good morning everyone!! Good morning on everyone worshiping this morning through live stream.

If I have not had a chance to meet you either in person or through live stream;  My name is Scott and I am a follower of Jesus and have the privilege of serving Him as the Lead Pastor among the people of Stonewater Fellowship. 

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LETS GRAB OUR BIBLES

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Open it to 1st John Chapter 4 as we will look at vs 1 through 6 this morning as we Continue in our Fall series understanding the Fundamentals of living the abundant life that Jesus came to give us - walking together through the 1 st letter of John the Apostle and very best friend of Jesus.

PRAYER TODAY

There are many time and in many places where we can so easily find our selves asking the Question of the Garden:

Anyone remember what the question of the Garden was?

Here is a small recap - Genesis Chapter 3 - Devil comes to Eve with Adam right there beside her and He proposes the question “Did God Really Say?”

And it seems that there are a growing number of people that claim to be Christian that place them selves in the category of being saved that are asking that very question about some fundamental things of the faith - Orthodox doctrines of Biblical and Historical Christianity.

And it is strange!

The prayer that I have prayed over this mornings message is that God would open our ears an open our eyes to such a great extent that we would not be tossed back and forth by every wave of doctrine - But that we would use the tool He gave us - through the giving of the Holy Spirit to live in a flourishing way in the abundance of Jesus.

With that desire before God for all of us - LET US LOOK AT OUR TEXT

TRUTH

1 John 4:1–6 NASB95

1 Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God, because many false prophets have gone out into the world. 2 By this you know the Spirit of God: every spirit that confesses that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is from God; 3 and every spirit that does not confess Jesus is not from God; this is the spirit of the antichrist, of which you have heard that it is coming, and now it is already in the world. 4 You are from God, little children, and have overcome them; because greater is He who is in you than he who is in the world. 5 They are from the world; therefore they speak as from the world, and the world listens to them. 6 We are from God; he who knows God listens to us; he who is not from God does not listen to us. By this we know the spirit of truth and the spirit of error.

ENGAGEMENT

If I said the word “Interpret” - What goes through your mind?

I wasn't actually sure I had ever though about the pure definition of the word and so I looked it up.

Here is what the Definition of the word Interpret means -

To explain or tell the meaning of information such as words or actions in understandable terms.

Like I though I knew that that is what it meant but I'm not sure I actually looked it up.

So how do we interpret?

Some of us are now thinking “well pastor” to interpret words we probably need to know two languages and then we can interpret between those languages.

So Yes that would be what you needed to interpret words used in two languages -

But here its the interesting thing - When we interpret words between two languages - We have a standard of those two languages - called dictionaries - that well us if we have interpreted one word in one language to the proper word in the other language.

Here is a bigger and i think at some level a more important question?

But let me ask you this - How do we interpret actions?

There are some actions that are obvious and easily interpreted -

Walking down the sidewalk - Guy grabs wallet or purse and runs - Easy Interpretation - Stealing

But what if it’s not so obvious -

There was one definition of Interpret when It came to definitions that used the context of “her self confidence often was interpreted as brashness”

When I read that it dawned on me that the interpretation of someone actions, when it is not overly obvious can come from the way we have interpreted other peoples experiences in the past -

And that is not a standard becasue different people will interpret the same actions differently. -

I think that most of the actions of people are hard to properly interpret - becasue you don't know why they are doing what they are doing -

Many Many times our interpretations of people actions are subjective — They are not Objective interpretations -

Most of the time we interpret those things by how we feel about them after they are over.

SO here is an even bigger question - If we interpret physical actions of other people that are subtle in a subjective way -

How do we interpret the actions or words that are spiritual in nature that we experience done or spoken in our own life or through the lives of others?

A lot of the times we use the same method - We use our past experiences or we determine if they fell good - if we have a pleasant experience - If it raises chill bumps or allisets a feeling that is what might be considered trancendent meaning the feeling went beyond the present time and place and surroundings.

TENSION

The problem that so many today can find ourselves in is that we can reduce the Spiritual experiences that are acted upon us from the spiritual re helm or spiritual words that have their origins in from the Spiritual places with the same method we can get deceived very quickly.

I had a mentor ask me this question: He was a guy that radically served Jesus for over 60 years. He asked me this question: DO you know if you were being deceived?

I brazenly said Yes:

He said: How can that be - that is the basis of deception - you wont know it.

When we evaluate our Spiritual Experiences by our past experiences, what others may say about similar experiences and maybe we add into the mix how the experience makes us feel - and we might even think of it as transcendent.

What we become seriously in danger of is we then begin to interpret the written word of God - The Bible - through the Spiritual lends of our experiences and the opinions we have formed based on our past, our feelings and the words of others.

When we do that in ever increasing small ways we begin to questions the difficult parts of our bibles - We do that long enough - We then begin to question the not so hard but firm things the Bible addresses - We do that long enough we then begin to question the Easy parts of the Bible -

We do all of that long enough we then begin to question the legitimacy of the bible, the Existence of God himself - And the voracity of the evidence of Jesus -

This is called de-construction of the faith - And it happens a little at a time over a long period of time and it has been happening to people for the last two thousand Millinina

This is exactly what John is addressing here in these 6 verses of text.

BEFORE

Before we unpack this text we need to make an observation of the surrounding texts so we don't end up in miss application of these verses.

In the previous 15 verses and in the following 15 verses the central thyme of those verses is Love - Love of god through obedience and Love of brother the way Jesus loved us.

So before we apply this we must take any application of Scripture and look at it though the lends of what Love IS and What Love Does - so that we don’t end up in a real mess -

Paul says it this way -

1 Corinthians 13:1–2 NASB95

1 If I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, but do not have love, I have become a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal. 2 If I have the gift of prophecy, and know all mysteries and all knowledge; and if I have all faith, so as to remove mountains, but do not have love, I am nothing.

We also must remember what John is and has been navigating and dealing with that has casued Him to write these letters -

Gnosicisism.

Gnostics were spreading the teaching that Jesus did not have a true physical body but only an appearance of one.

Among other things. So...

UNPACKING

Lets UN-Pack

John Begins with His audience and addresses them with a term of endearment - A term of Love - Beloved!

John then says - Do not believe Every Spirit -

Now when John uses the word Spirit - What He is referring to are actual spirits - beings that exist in the Spiritual rhelm - What is there? - Holy Spirit- That is God - Angels - Both Waring, Ark, Cherubic and Seraphic and Fallen - AS well as the Father and the Devil -

And there is small debate among in theology as to whether John is dealing with Spirit in the Spiritual places or with the Spirit of Man -

The Spirit of a Man is like their personality - You have all hear it - A lively energetic person having a a Lively Spirit - That is not referring to the spiritual beings that is referring to the disposition or emotional state of that person - the human spirit -

But this is not what John is referring to - John is referring to the spirits in the spiritual places and that they are not to be believed -

Well this is interesting -

Believed ? We would have to hear from them if they are not to be believed.

Here is what we must understand from the whole council of Scripture -

John and the Other new testament writers as well as some of the Old Testament guys - Believed that there are Words that are spoken and there are action that are taken by men that are as a result of the influence of Spiritual Beings in the Spirit Rhelm upon the physical world in words and actions -

What did Paul Say -

Ephesians 6:11–12 NASB95

11 Put on the full armor of God, so that you will be able to stand firm against the schemes of the devil. 12 For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the powers, against the world forces of this darkness, against the spiritual forces of wickedness in the heavenly places.

You see we don't fight against people - We fight against dark spiritual forces of wickedness that have power, of the world and exist in the heavenly places -

Were not in the heavenly places - Were in the Earthly places -

This is so important as we look at the fact that these six verses about Testing spirits - Are surrounded by 30 verses where the central thyme is love.

John Says - When you hear these spirits speak or see these spirits act - Test them -

Test means in the original language of the new testament to Anaylize them - Prove them out - judge Them - are they worth wile or not -

Here is what you are trying to disciover as you analize and prove out the actions and words of the Spirit rhelm that come to you from you or through other people

Is it from God -

John Then gives you a reason - Because Many false prophets are out in the world -

This is not a new thing today - This was not a new then then and this was not even a new thing when the Old Testament was written -

False Prophets are everywhere - And there is a spirit that influences and speaks to and speaks from false prophets -

Lets understand prophet and false prophet - A Prophet both in the old and the New Testament is one who speaks the words of God -

Now God may give some one the specific things that will occur in future events - How ever it is God that Gives them. There are also prophets that speak the promises or cammandments o God that God gives them to speak or give -

We believe that all of those are recorded for us in the 66 books of the new and the old testaments-

We believe that the Bible is the Complete written revelation of God to man - That Means that God is not revealing NEw things to people.

The gnostics of John day believed that not only was God still speaking but that He was speaking secret things that only a small number of people cold know and understand -

Jeremiah 14:14 NASB95

14 Then the Lord said to me, “The prophets are prophesying falsehood in My name. I have neither sent them nor commanded them nor spoken to them; they are prophesying to you a false vision, divination, futility and the deception of their own minds.

Ezekiel 13:1–3 NASB95

1 Then the word of the Lord came to me saying, 2 “Son of man, prophesy against the prophets of Israel who prophesy, and say to those who prophesy from their own inspiration, ‘Listen to the word of the Lord! 3 ‘Thus says the Lord God, “Woe to the foolish prophets who are following their own spirit and have seen nothing.

Al the way back in Jeremiahs Day God told Jeremiah that False Prophets were speaking then -

In Verse 2 and Thee John then Lays the test strip out to place the test material on -

He places the petree dish if you will to see if the organism grows or not -

By This you know the spirit of God - By This test -

Every Spirit who confesses that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is form God -

Every spirit in the Spirit rhelms that Confesses - That Agrees with God - Confesses does not mean to admit - It means to agree with or to bear witness to judisously make a statement.

Every Spirit that agrees and bears witness to the fact that Jesus Christ Came in the Flesh is of the holy Spirit -

vs 3 the converse - Every Spirit - not some spirits not most Spirit but Every Spirit -

Everyone say Every Spirit -

Every Spirit that does not agree and bear witness that Jesus came in the flesh is not from God - John Then Labels that Spirit - He gives this kind of Spiritual Entity a Name The Spirit of Antichrist -

John then says - you heard this is coming - and it is now in the world -

I think it is possible that John is implying that they should not be surprised -

I think many times we can be surprised at the level of unbelief in the world and the level of sin that bring out in our humanity -

But we are not to be surprised we are to know what it is and fight in the spiritual places where the battle really is.

VS 4 - John the consumate church leader knowing that his assistance is not coing to be comfortable with this - Affirms them - Encourages them - Lifts them and gives them a word -

You are from God - and you have over come them - What is the “Them” that John says these people have over come - It is the anti christ spirits that are in the world - John Says you have over come them -

HOW???

because the Holy Spirit of God is in you and the Holy Spirit of God is greater than any other spiritual being and it is the very power of God that dwells in you - and it is ore powerful and ore dynamic than the spirit of anti christ that is in the world.

Ephesians 3:20–21 NASB95

20 Now to Him who is able to do far more abundantly beyond all that we ask or think, according to the power that works within us, 21 to Him be the glory in the church and in Christ Jesus to all generations forever and ever. Amen.

VS 5 John then says THEY - These Antichrist Spirits are from the world - They Speak of the things of this world - and the world listens to them -

The reality is that The Spirit of Anti Christ is alive and well and it is speaking of the things and from the things that they fallen world is based on and unit make sense to the world - So what happens is that the world listens to these Anti Christs Spirits that Speak false Hoods through that john calls False Prophets -

This is exactly why Paul says :

Colossians 2:8 NASB95

8 See to it that no one takes you captive through philosophy and empty deception, according to the tradition of men, according to the elementary principles of the world, rather than according to Christ.

But you see the spirit of Anti Christ Speaks though people Philosophies and deceptions that are based on the traditions of men They also speak on what is perceived as Elementary Principles of the world - and the world likes it - the spirits that are of the world will love it and the effect will be that it feels comfortable - It will somehow make sense - It will seem principled -

and in vs 6 John says this and He is using an all inclusive statement -

WE - meaning you and me and us- We are from God - Anyone who know God listens to US -

He then draws a contrast - Those that do not know God will not listen to us -

John then not only draws a conclusion He then Identifies Two Spirits by name in the Spiritual Rhelm -

The Conclusion - Because we are from God and those who know God will listen to us - And those that are not will not - This is how we know is we are walking in the Spirit of Truth or the Spirit of Error - if the world listens and applauds - Spirit of Error - Those that know God applaud - Spirit of Truth -

STICKY POINT

There are 3 things that God would have Stick to us as we leave the company of each other today - Three things that He would have Stick with us through lunch and into this afternoon.

1st - Remember who that fight is with - Its not against flesh and blood but Spiritual Dark forces - We dont fight against People - We fight against the Spirital beings that influance thought and policy and beliefs - If you remember who the fight is against this will allow you to love people in the flesh and bllod like Jesus loved them -

2 - Becasue our battle is in the Spirit Rehlm - Pray, in Jesus name, against the Spirit if Antichrist and against the Spirit of Error - When the Spirit of Truth speaks - act upon it - and as you pray know that Jesus said what you bind on earth will be bound in heaven - So Bind the Spirit of Error that is effecting your loved ones and the people whom you are taking the Gospel Too! and Pray that the Holy Spirit would be Loosed upon them and Do what they Holy Spirit Does -

3rd- As you take the Gospel to those around you - Lean on this promise that there are those who know God and they will listen to us - They will listen to you - So Halloween team - Know that there will be people who will listen to us as we proclaim the Gospel to the world tomorrow night -

INSPIRATION -

I want you to imagine with me the confidence and powerful and peaceful and how much love we would all have in this world if we fought the fight where the fight is -

I want to end with this - as Emannuella and her team come to lead us in music worship once again.

There is no coincidence that this message was planned over a year ago for today - I didn't plan this to come up but when the spirit of truth speak we must act -

The Elders and I are in agreement on this and placing this before you all as a congregation -

There is a Spirit of Anti Christ - A Spirit of Error that has been loosed on this nation and on our culture - That evil Spirit has influenced people including some who claim Jesus as Lord - To affirm the practice of Abortion -

Church I want to say two things clearly, and I want you to hear them absolutely with extreme clarity - And I believe that the two things I am going to tell you are from the Holy Spirit oF God =

1st is that is you have had an abortion or participated in someone getting an abortion or been on the medical side an provided or been a part of providing abortions to terminate pregnancies in any way - God Loves you! You have been or can be completely and totally forgiven and your guilt ad sin completely washed away - The Blood of Jesus took it ALL away - Not like a white board eraser where you can still see it a little but like a brand new white board it is gone and you are white as snow -

2nd things I want you to hear church is we are in election season - You may or may not be a one issue voter but I want you to hear me - Abortion is murder and it is from the one who comes to Kill Steal and destroy - It Kills the Baby - It steals the life potential that God has granted and it destroys countless numbers of women in their minds and hearts -

Abortion has been politicized but it is not a political issue it is a moral one -

We are in voting season - This might be the only time you hear democrat or republican come from this pulpit - so Here it goes - The Democratic platform is a platform for unrestricted abortion - The Democratic party is the party of death - The republican party of the party of Life - AS you vote this voting season - You need to ask the Holy Spirit compel you to vote for life -

Roe vs wade was sent to the states and no longer considered a “constitutional right” but the states are in control now - Although Texas has does a great Job the fight for the unborn is not over and we must protect the grown that has already been won by LIFE

AS out prayer team comes PRAYER TEAM!

NEW MEMBERS -

Brent and Becky Straum

Chuck and Kay Little