Testing the Spirits

Introduction:

Good morning New Life family! How is doing okay this Lord’s Day? Another day in the house of The Lord Amen! There’s no place we’d rather be Amen! If you have been with us for a while you know that we have a couple of different sermon series going on right now. Pastor Love and Reverend Curtis is working through the Psalms of Ascent and Reverend Hardison is working through the book of Colossians. And we know that we I have been walking us through 1 John. So this morning we are picking up right where we left off in our series on 1 John last month. Last month we finished off chapter 3 and this month we begin a new chapter with chapter 4.

One of my favorite memories growing up and still is one of my favorite past times was always going to see the newest Marvel movie with my dad. More recently it has been watching some of our favorite Disney Plus shows. A few weeks ago my dad and I were watching the newest Marvel show called “Secret Invasion”. Some of you may know that i’m a big Marvel guy, as a matter of fact I think I got in trouble one time for leading worship service with my Spider-Man T-shirt on. But anyways, as I was watching this show with my dad I paused and began to take into account just how much our media and entertainment has affected us.

The reason I brought this story up was because everything we watch, everything we listen to, and everything we give our attention to has an affect upon us. Think about the world we live in espcially todays digital world. Its crazy to think about because social media has opened the door for both children and adults to all sorts of things, some good some bad, and some really bad. This influx of social media and entertainment has caused mass confusion in our world today.

Because of this wide spread access to media one of our biggest problems today is trying to figure out what to believe. Our text today comes from 1 John 4:1-6, and in this text John deals with the topic of “Testing the spirits”. John calls for his audience to use discernment in their Christian walk. Why? Because not everything people say is true. This is important today because social media bombardes us with information wether we know it or not. Yet the question still remains how much of it is true, and how can we know what people say on social media is true of not.

Well this morning there are 3 observations from our text that will equip in ways were we can discern wether or not those we listen to on social media or the internet is really of God. I call them “the three the’s” of discernment.

1.) The Teacher’s (1)

2.) The Teaching (2-3)

3.) The Testimony (4-6)

And as the illustrious Stephen Love in South Bend would say “You’ve heard a lot of thing’s over this past week, but hear the truth this morning New Life”. With all that being said please grab your Bibles and turn with me to 1 John 4:1-6.

“Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God, for 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 from God, and every spirit that does not confess Jesus is not from God. This is the spirit of the antichrist, which you heard was coming and now is in the world already. Little children, you are from God and have overcome them, for he who is in you is greater than he who is in the world. They are from the world; therefore they speak from the world, and the world listens to them. We are from God. Whoever knows God listens to us; whoever is not from God does not listen to us. By this we know the Spirit of truth and the spirit of error.” Let us pray!

The Teacher’s (Verse 1).

Observation number one is that we have the teachers. Why is knowing the teachers so important in discerning wether or not because what they say is true. Well that is because in verse 1b it says “Many false prophets have gone out into the world”. Pastor Love said this a few weeks ago, he said that everyone has their own notion. In other words everyone has something to say, escpically when it comes to religious settings. Thats why we need to be on red alert when we are listening to what other people say. This even more so when it comes to our defense of The Bible, because if we are not on guard we can easily find ourselves being led astray. If we were just to take a peak into the community that even we are planted in we so many religious sects, and they all have a certain notion. Kingdom Hall (Jehova witness) in North Chicago, Church of Jesus Christ to latter day saints (mourmonism) in Gurnee, Islam, Black Hebrew Israelites. They all have their own notions about Jesus. Some deny Jesus all together, some say Jesus was only a man and some say Jesus was only a prophet or a good person. But we know that is not what we believe about Jesus. What then do us Christians believe about Jesus? Well we know what Christians believe about Jesus because John already assured his readers about true knowledge about Jesus. That is that Jesus is our advocate and atoning sacrifice according to chapter 2. Remember in chapter 2 specifically in verses 1-2. That Jesus is our advocate and atoning sacrifice and because of this, God gives us the victory over our sin in Christ. This is what Christians believe and this is our notion. That Jesus is the Son of God, incarnate in the flesh. However not every teacher has this same notion and many of them will try to lead you astray. This is not a new thing by the way, false prophets trying to lead people away from the truth have been around before Jesus entered the scene. Even in the Old Testament look at what it says in Deuteronomy 13:1-5. ““If a prophet or a dreamer of dreams arises among you and gives you a sign or a wonder, and the sign or wonder that he tells you comes to pass, and if he says, ‘Let us go after other gods,’ which you have not known, ‘and let us serve them,’ you shall not listen to the words of that prophet or that dreamer of dreams. For the Lord your God is testing you, to know whether you love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul. You shall walk after the Lord your God and fear him and keep his commandments and obey his voice, and you shall serve him and hold fast to him. But that prophet or that dreamer of dreams shall be put to death, because he has taught rebellion against the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt and redeemed you out of the house of slavery, to make you leave the way in which the Lord your God commanded you to walk. So you shall purge the evil from your midst.”. God warned Israel about false prophets about even in OT, so we can be sure that many will arise and have false things to say about Jesus today. However, this wasn’t just God warning them it was God protecting them and we will see in observation number 3 just how God protects us from false teachings and prophets. But sticking with observation one, it is important to note that many people who claim to have something to say about God actually do have good intentions. Even in Christian circles, which is why I brought up social media in my introduction. Its been a common theme amongst Christians, and yes I am guilty of this too. Of wanting to post all the thing we think we know about Jesus on social media. Now, that is not to say that its wrong to post or talk about Christ centered things on social media, as long as you know what you’re talking about. Even Christians on social media are well intentioned, well some of them are, others of them are just.... well you know. What i’ve noticed is the cause of that being is due to a lack of proper Bible training, before going to social media. The reason I bring that up is because John uses a word in 4:1 that refers to activating on impulses that are not of God. These are very good well intended impulses from both sides Christians and those who are not. Yet as one expositor put it “They may be well intentioned but self-deceived human impulses that did not take God into account”. We will see later how we can take God into account in observation number two. However the key takeaway from verse one is not to believe everything everyone says. No matter how well intended they may be. Because as John says “Many false prophets have gone out into the world”.

The Teaching (verses 2-3).

Now, this bring’s us to our second observation and that it is the teaching. Now this point is arguably the most important point out of our three observations. Its important because of the content that these teachers are teaching. We will see in a little bit how what a person teaches is never separate from what one person believes. So here in verses 2-3 John make an emphasis on what one teaches. Even more so than what one teaches because not everyone Christian is called to be preacher or a teacher. However everyone who is a Christians must believe certain truth’s about The Bible. It is foundational that every believer must believe that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh according to verse 2. We know this, we went over that a little bit in verses one. But now John takes it a step further and says that everyone who doesn’t confess Jesus is not of God in verse 3. This is the most important thing that anyone can believe or teach, because Jesus having come in the flesh serves as the foundation for everything we believe when it comes to The Bible. I heard a story of a Christian pastor going to meet with someone who was of another religion. This guy sat down and told the pastor “well yeah I believe in OT and in the Holy Spirit”. So thing’s got quiet and the Pastor leaned in and said “I wont listen to a thing you say until I know what you have to say about Christ”. This is why it is so important that when we listen to people we have to be sure what they say about Jesus is correct because not everyone believes what The Bible teaches. Even amongst Christians, its imperative that we believe in the true Jesus. The one who is God incarnate. I was talking to a couple of my friend’s about relationships and church things. And they asked me “is it enough to just believe in some sort of God”. I.E. don’t all religions in some way lead to heaven? And thats a fair question because for some reason religious folks seem to think that, atheism is the worst of all of Gods enemies. But here John says something different he says that any religious sect that denies Jesus is God and has come in the flesh, not only are they wrong they are also of the antichrist. In other words they’re anti Jesus because they deny the truth about who he is and what he came to do. This is why its important to be equally yoked in our relationships, equally yoked in who we listen to, and equally yoked in the place we worship. Which is why Christians cannot act in multi-faith worship settings. Because Salvation is found only in one name, and that is when we confess that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh. Paul also made that clear in Acts 4:12 “And there is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved.”” And we know that every spirit that confesses that Jesus Christ is God has been born of God.

The Testimony (Verses 4-6).

I just said that what one believes and what one teaches is never separate from the way one lives or behaves right? Well that comes from verses 4-6. John moves from talking about what one person believes and teaches and transitions to how that teaching or belief directly affects they way you live. I know I jumped past verse 4, but ill come back to that in a minuet. But look at what it says in verse 5 “They are from the world. Therefore what they say is from the world, and the world listens to them”. A major way to discern wether someone is genuine about what they teach, is by the way they act. Or in Johns case they look and act like the rest of the world. Now yes, Christians can have seasons of backsliding, seasons of struggle however on some level change and being set apart is still there. If we truly believe in what we teach, then what we teach should affect the way we live. I heard a guy say that “Jesus never talked about a belief he talked about what you do”. However if that were the case all of us would have to suffer God’s wrath. His argument was that what you do determines what you believe, however thats not accurate. As a matter of fact we tend to filp flop the two. In reality its what believe that determines what you do. Not the other way around. The reason why there are so many false spirits out there today is because a lot of them don’t listen to what the Bible has to say. Let’s look at verse 6, I think I mentioned this when I we went through the previous chapter but John writes this epistle under something called apostolic authority, in other words his writings were divinely inspired by God through the Holy Spirit. Which is why at the bottom of that verse he can say anyone who is not from God does not listen to us. A lot of people don’t want to take in ALL of what the Bible says. Its because they don’t believe it or better yet they don’t want to believe it. In some of the talks i’ve had with people about the Bible (with other Christians by the way). I brought up Paul and some of his writings and you may or may not have heard of this argument but they said “Paul said that not Jesus”. I said so you mean to tell me that you don’t believe certain parts of the Bible because it was written by other people and not spoken by Jesus? When in 2 Timothy 3:16-17 “All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work.”. You see everything the Bible says is true not just the stuff we want to be true. And honestly this is a very scary thing brothers and sisters which is why we have no choice but to be on high alert when it comes to what and who we listen to. Because like Jesus said there are many false prophets who outwardly they look like sheep but inwardly they are ravaging wolves. However there is hope for us, because now we can look into verse 4, where it says “You are from God, little children, and you have conquered them because the one who is in you is greater than the one in the world”. Brother’s and sisters this how we can be on guard against those false spirits and false prophets. It is God’s very own spirit that lives inside of us that protects us from all heresies and all false spirits. This is the role that the spirit plays in the life of the believer. Not only does the spirit illuminate our minds to come to Christ, the spirit also protects us from falling away wether it be into unbelief or heresy. The spirit protects and guides. As I have heard one guy say “That if you’re really really following after God, you wont have to find the truth because the truth will come to you”. And that is so because we don’t search for God he searches for us, and his spirit always leads us to the truth one way or another. And the truth will set you free brothers and sisters. And as it finishes off in verse 6b “this is how we know the spirit of truth and the spirit of deception”. May what we believe have such an influence it causes us to have a Christ-like testimony.

Conclusion:

There was a lot to unpack in these first six verses of chapter 4. Yet all of it is vital if want to grow in our walks with Christ. We went over how in verse one we talked about our guard against certain teachers, even those who seem well intentioned. In verses 2-3 we talked about being on guard against what certain people teach. In verses 4-6 we talked about the importance of a Christ-like testimony. However there is one question that still remains. Its not secret that Jesus often asked a lot of questions, he asked questions to his disciples, he asked questions to the crowds that followed him, as a matter of fact Jesus even perplexed the teaches in the snyagouge at age 12. However I believe the most profound question comes from John chapter 11 verses 25. This was after a friend of Jesus has died and was already buried. Yet the response Jesus has to the death of his friend always amazed me, at first Jesus told those who where weeping “I am the resurrection and the life. The one who believes in me, even if he dies, will live. Everyone who lives and believes in me will never die”. Then Jesus takes it one step further and responds to Lazarus’s death by asking a simple question “Do you believe this?” And thats the age old question that still remains today. Do you believe this? Then let our belief move us to test every spirit, move us teach and proclaim Christ faithfully, and move us away from the world to having a good testimony. And all of this only happens once we believe in the resurrected Lord. The there may be some of you who don’t believe, the good news is that Jesus invites you to believe in him. Once you do you the truth will set you free Amen!