Sermon 1 John 4

A Speaking Spirit;

Is It from Christ or Antichrist

God sent Holy Spirit to help us distinguish between Gods truth and the falsehood that is spoken through the False prophets who deny Jesus as the Christ. Thus they are antichrist of the antichrist spirit. They lack godly love and rebel at the acceptance of Jesus as Christ who was manifested in the flesh of human man. We know them as lacking Godly love and denying Jesus has come in the flesh. We know christian brothers by the facts that they exhibit ‘Agape Love’ toward God as a whole and ‘Agape Love’ towards the brothers of the Faith. If we are familiar with Holy Spirit and how He speaks to us, we will know these are false prophets, false teachers, or hirelings and liars in the pulpit. Remember, Gods Holy Bible is the Standard of Truth. Modern philosophy does not fit into a true Holy Theology based on Bible based context and thought processes. Why, much of it is lies and comes from a rebellious spirit, when scrutinized by Gods Holy Bible which is ours, from God, as the Standard of Truth.

John reminds us in the rest of this chapter IF we abide in LOVE we ABIDE IN GOD, he will abide in us in Love. Our common denominator is GODS LOVE (AGAPE) as described by our KJV scholars as a charitable love. Basically, it is giving a godly love away to a person and expecting nothing in return from that person this love was given to. It is like a worshipful act towards God and is the motivation of giving to some person Gods Love. To glow and abide in this Agape, we are in fellowship with God and He will use us and mature us while in this Agape. So much scripture comes to mind, “Love conquers all”, “ love covers a multitude of sins...”, ‘ Love never fails...”, … the greatest of these is Love”. Let us explore Chapter 4 in 1John. We are going to read about the antichrist spirit, abiding in God, and God abiding in us.

Spirit of God vs antichrist spirit. There are so many noises and voices in the world today. Most are totally Antichrist in nature, spoken content, and written prose. These antichrist musings are full of antichrist rhetoric. Antichrist are against Jesus as the son of God come in flesh. They deny that Jesus is savior of the world for those who believe Him to be exactly that. We know that there will be a very charismatic figure/leader in the end times who will blaspheme God and deny Jesus as the son of God and savior of the world. This same antichrist spirit will empower him to be a dictator and deceive many that he is actually the savior of the world not Jesus. What Apostle John speaks of is the lying spirit from Hell that is against Jesus and denies that Jesus came to be the suffering Jewish messiah. This antichrist spirit denies Jesus was what He claimed. The antichrist spirit also denies Jesus is the propitiation for the believers sin. Some who speak under this evil antichrist spirit deny Jesus came in the flesh, but was only a spirit or a vision of some sort. When we read this scripture it will make sense. 1John4:1-6 “Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits, whether they are of God; because many false prophets have gone out into the world. By this you know the Spirit of God: Every spirit that confesses that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is of God, and every spirit that does not confess that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is not of God. And this is the spirit of the Antichrist, which you have heard was coming, and is now already in the world. You are of God, little children, and have overcome them, because He who is in you is greater than he who is in the world. They are of the world. Therefore they speak as of the world, and the world hears them. We are of God. He who knows God hears us; he who is not of God does not hear us. By this we know the spirit of truth and the spirit of error.”

Gods love, is so very wonderful. We get to abide in Christ and we have all of God abiding in us and flows through us as this love of God. God so loved us that He manifested this love in that God sent His only begotten son into this world. God so loved us HE SENT His Son into this world to be a propitiation for sins . 1John4:7-16 “Beloved, let us love one another, for love is of God; and everyone who loves is born of God and knows God. He who does not love does not know God, for God is love. In this the love of God was manifested toward us, that God has sent His only begotten Son into the world, that we might live through Him. In this is love, not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son to be the propitiation for our sins. Beloved, if God so loved us, we also ought to love one another. No one has seen God at any time. If we love one another, God abides in us, and His love has been perfected in us. By this we know that we abide in Him, and He in us, because He has given us of His Spirit. And we have seen and testify that the Father has sent the Son as Savior of the world. Whoever confesses that Jesus is the Son of God, God abides in him, and he in God. And we have known and believed the love that God has for us. God is love, and he who abides in love abides in God, and God in him.” We have His Love abiding in us and we are abiding in Him. The Holy Spirit in us confirms this very fact. Remember that Holy Spirit brings the witness of eternal life into us through our spirit which is in Him. John is really showing us we are extremely loved and get to extremely love God back.

Perfect Love. 1John4:17-21 “Love has been perfected among us in this: 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 involves torment. But he who fears has not been made perfect in love. We love Him because He first loved us. If someone says, “I love God,” and hates his brother, he is a liar; for he who does not love his brother whom he has seen, how can he love God whom he has not seen? And this commandment we have from Him: that he who loves God must love his brother also.”

Love has been perfected so when we stand before Jesus it will be a time that our mutual love and covenant gives us confidence in Jesus as our Lord, Savior , King and Husband of the Covenant He has with all of us who believe and have faith in Him as our Messiah. We no longer live in fear of Hell because Jesus has delivered from that fate. Instead Jesus fills us with His love and overflows us with Holy Spirit by baptizing us into the Holy Spirt. God loves us faithfully. We can spend all our lives just experiencing it new and growing everyday as we live out John6: 29 “Jesus answered and said to them, “This is the work of God, that you believe in Him whom He sent.”” . So working on our relationship and love of Jesus, We do feel loved but even better we grow in faith to believe. This is the faith and relationship in and on Gods great love, promises, and our relationship.

Conclusion

The Holy Spirit in us will help us discern the spirits that are trying to communicate with us. Are they trying to lead us away from Jesus or strengthen our relationship with Jesus. What about prophetic words from Prophets or teacher or pastor that does not ring true with the Holy Spirit. The words given will not bear witness. There are many ways to tell they are false messages or antichrist messages is that they don’t lead us to Jesus. On the contrary, they lead you away from Jesus as savior and Messiah who came in the flesh. In other words, Jesus was manifested to us as Messiah in Human Flesh.

Pastoral Prayer Jesus, lead us into your love with it overflowing us as does your Holy Spirit. Keep us close, growing each day deeper in your great love. Let your Faith, Hope and Love arise with much spiritual fruit from our hearts as we abide in your AGAPE. Help us to do what Father God is doing in and with this great love. Doing Fathers will in the Kingdom of God producing lasting fruit is our our desire. Please help us stay on track in our growth and in our testings of these things. Thank you for destroying the works of the the evil ones who try to lead us away from you. Bless those who exhort and encourage us to turn to you and abide in you and your Agape.

Pastoral Blessing

May Jesus become so real to each of you who believe. May Jesus baptize you with the Holy Spirit. May you do works of Agape to worship our God. May you rest in the grace, peace, and love of God.

Sermon Text: 1 John 4 (NKJV)

Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits, whether they are of God; because many false prophets have gone out into the world. By this you know the Spirit of God: Every spirit that confesses that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is of God, and every spirit that does not confess that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is not of God. And this is the spirit of the Antichrist, which you have heard was coming, and is now already in the world. You are of God, little children, and have overcome them, because He who is in you is greater than he who is in the world. They are of the world. Therefore they speak as of the world, and the world hears them. We are of God. He who knows God hears us; he who is not of God does not hear us. By this we know the spirit of truth and the spirit of error. Beloved, let us love one another, for love is of God; and everyone who loves is born of God and knows God. He who does not love does not know God, for God is love. In this the love of God was manifested toward us, that God has sent His only begotten Son into the world, that we might live through Him. In this is love, not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son to be the propitiation for our sins. Beloved, if God so loved us, we also ought to love one another. No one has seen God at any time. If we love one another, God abides in us, and His love has been perfected in us. By this we know that we abide in Him, and He in us, because He has given us of His Spirit. And we have seen and testify that the Father has sent the Son as Savior of the world. Whoever confesses that Jesus is the Son of God, God abides in him, and he in God. And we have known and believed the love that God has for us. God is love, and he who abides in love abides in God, and God in him. Love has been perfected among us in this: 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 involves torment. But he who fears has not been made perfect in love. We love Him because He first loved us. If someone says, “I love God,” and hates his brother, he is a liar; for he who does not love his brother whom he has seen, how can he love God whom he has not seen? And this commandment we have from Him: that he who loves God must love his brother also.