Good morning everyone…It is so good to be here this morning and see you all here. Hey kiddos, right now we get to send you off another amazing adventure where you get to learn about Scripture in a way that makes sense…now on your way out, be sure to high-five everyone you walk by with a big smile because you get to go do some pretty amazing things. We also want to welcome those of you joining us online this morning. We are excited that you have chosen to be a part of our extended spiritual family this morning and we hope and pray that one day we are all able to joining together under the same roof at the same time. Until that day though, we pray you are blessed by the online worship opportunities.

Now, we have been in the middle of a pretty interesting series…at least I think it’s interesting. We have been in a series called, Watch out for Wolves. We named the series this way because we are actively learning about what it means to watch out for wolves in sheep's clothing, or predators, or frankly…false teachers. That is what we are looking at through this series. We have looked at a few concepts so far and I hope that you are able to see the legitimate danger of false teachers and you are beginning to be rooted in God’s word as a way to protect yourself against these false teachers. Now, last week specifically I asked you all to make a commitment. I asked you to make a commitment to ensure your spiritual foundation is strong and it has been fortified against the attacks of false teachers. Listen, I cannot be more clear here…We are in the midst of a literal spiritual war that is waging all around us. We may not feel it every second of every day, but folks there are angels and demons all over that are fighting for you and they are fighting for your children and your families. That is why we need strong men…That is why the culture around us is trying to feminize men because without strong men, and fathers, the family is much easier to take…some of you know what I’m talking about because you have already been fighting to save your family because you were not being a strong man in the past, or maybe your father wasn’t a strong man and now you are trying to figure out what a strong man looks like. Listen, that’s exactly why we are having the Beast Feast THIS SATURDAY! Because, as a church, we want to help you be the strong men God has created you to be. So if you haven’t signed up, go ahead and sign up, the number is on the screen, and lets eat some good food and a great time together.

Now to talk about a wolf in sheep’s clothing, have you guys hear about the tech support scams that convince people to give them money. I told you a while back about those who would fall prey to various phone calls, well there is another version of the financial scammers out there. There are people who will call you and tell you they are from tech support, or Geek Squad or something like that. They will talk you into letting them get into your computer where they will work with your system memory to gain access to your bank account as well as other information that they can use to steal your identity. So they will call you up and ask what type of computer you have, and then they will let you know there has been a data breach and that they can help you re-secure your computer system and this is all for free. This is a service of the company that had the data breach and they will simply need you to allow them access to your computer briefly in order to make the necessary adjustments to your services. Of course while this is happening, they are gathering everything they need to completely wipe you out financially, and then they will immediately disconnect the phone line they were using, because it was a cloned line anyway, and you will be unable to track down these individuals, which are likely in another country and safe from US prosecution anyway. So…how do you know if this is a real thing? Like, how can you figure out if this is a real call or if this is a scam call…or some deceptive practice. Well, there are a couple of things I will just tell you real quick. Never give your information if someone calls you. If someone calls and says they are from the bank, then you call your bank back and see if it’s real. If someone says they are from some other company that you work with. You call that company back…don’t call the number they give you, call the number to your local branch of whatever company you are using. Make sense…Never trust someone else with your info, unless you initiated the call to a source you trust. Don’t just blindly answer questions…you have to be able to discern what is real and what it false...and that is what we are talking about with this series. How can we watch out and protect ourselves from the false teachers, and from those that are actively trying to harm us, spiritually. Today we are looking at how to discern the truth from lies. Specifically, I have titled today’s message

Testing the Spirits: discerning truth from deception...

So what does all of that mean, and what Scripture can we read that will teach us about this wisdom. Well, go ahead and grab your Bible and turn to 1 John…Listen, around here we open our Bibles to learn about what God says…that means you need a Bible for yourself, so, if you don’t have a Bible we have some in the back you are welcome to take home as our gift, if you just forgot your Bible you can grab one from the chair in front of you, or you can use your phone. We primarily recommend the You Version Bible app as there are so many different translations on there so that you can see what translation makes Scripture you can understand and comes alive for you. With all of that said, let’s take a look at

1 John 4:1–6 ESV

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.

So as we look at this passage together this morning, we should, as always, understand the context of what we are looking at. So who wrote 1 John and why did the author write this book. So, its a little interesting because we don’t actually know who the author of this letter is for sure. It is attributed to either John the son of Zebedee, or John the Elder who also followed Jesus. Now, whichever John this is, he is overseeing various house churches around Ephesus and it seems that there are large groups of people that are no longer acknowledge Jesus as the Messiah or even as the Son of God. This letter, or really sermon is written as a form of damage control as those leading these churches needed assistance in bringing their theology under control. John is reminding these Christians about what they already know and believe, specifically that Jesus is the Son of God, the long awaited Messiah of the Jews.

With all of that in mind, in this section John writes about testing some spirits and he is talking about prophets and it might seem a little confusing…so, let’s take a look together. We need to answer this question...

What does it mean to test spirits? (V.1)

Yeah, John is talking about spirits and prophets and teachers, and then he talks about the antichrist…so what is goin on here? Ok, here is the deal…God has given his Spirit, the Holy Spirit when Jesus ascended into the Heavenly places…remember that? Jesus said he would send a helper, and that helper would empower the Christians, and then there was a big spectacle when the disciples were preaching and everyone understood every word they were teaching even if they didn’t speak that language…that was the entry of the Holy Spirit. I did a whole sermon on that, you can go back and watch that in our I Believe series.

Anyway, here is what John is saying basically…there are alot of things being said, and behind every single statement is a spirit…However, not every spirit is from God. In other words, don’t believe everything you hear! You see, God sent the Holy Spirit to lead and guide, and Satan has sent his unholy spirits to deceive and confuse. In this case, Satan has offered a counterfeit spirit to the Christians that John is writing to. John is telling us as the reader that we will need to test these spirits and discern if they are from God or from Satan…It really is that simple to be clear…Either a statement is of God, or it is of Satan. There is no halfway..we have talked about that before. You either serve God, or you serve Satan…period…full stop. The choice is yours which one you will serve.

So, John is telling Christians that they need to pay attention because there are false spirits that are out here in the world all around them. In other words there are spirits that will tell you that truth is fiction and lies are truth..what sounds familiar doesn’t it…Don’t believe your lying eyes…men really are women and men can give birth. I read an article the other day that talked about how this new family was upset because there is a mother and a father, but the mother was unable to breastfeed their new baby. Well, that is because the father is a woman who gave birth and the mother is a man who does not have the anatomy to breastfeed! Lies are truth and truth is fiction isn’t it…Oh, and if you don’t accept the current “reality” then it is because you are a hateful person.

Listen, we have people who are pastors, much like a man named Colby Martin who is a heterosexual man, but makes it his mission to make sure that those that are actively living a homosexual life realize that God does not condemn them…Colby has written the “guide for becoming a progressive christian” and claims you can be progressive and Christian at the same time…Well, that is about the same as saying you can be a man who thinks you are a woman and then gets upset when you can’t breastfeed…Listen, there is truth and there are lies…The culture around us, the schools our kids attend, the hospitals we count on, the government that is elected is made up of people who are living lies and telling you that it’s truth…That is why it is so important for you to rely more and more on Scripture every day. Listen, the ONLY truth you are going to get comes from Scripture…some of you know that because you have tried searching for truth away from Scripture and you’re having a hard time finding it.

Well, John had something to say about that here in this passage. John is telling these Christians that there are many false prophets who have been sent out into the world. Remember God sent the Holy Spirit and Satan sent the unholy spirits…Now we have to figure out who is being led by the Holy Spirit is and who is being led by Satan’s unholy spirit. It’s insane to think about to be honest with you,,,but there is a literal war going on all around us and it is our job to discern what is real, what is true, and what is deception.

Thankfully John did not stop at telling us we need to pay attention. No, John actually told us

What is the rule for testing spirits? (V.2-3)

Yeah…he actually gave us rules and guidelines to be able to learn how to discern what is good and true. I love this so much because John knew, really God knew because God gave these words for John to write down. But God knew that we needed some guidance to be able to do the job that we are called to do…We need a little training. Listen, Ive talked a little about when I went back to college and was trained as a pastor. There are some things that I was terrified of. To be honest, I chose to do the particular program that I did, in part, because there was not going to be a massive thesis statement that I would have to write. However, when I started classes I was told about all of the writing that I was going to have to do and about how there were some pretty big papers that would have to be written. Like, I struggled writing 8 pages, so there was no way I was gonna write 30 pages.

However, we did not start out writing these massive papers…We started writing paragraphs, and then we wrote pages, and my the time I had graduated I was writing about 100 pages of assignments and papers that were all due within the same week. Here’s the deal…I needed to be trained to write, so that I could do what I was going to need to do. I used to struggle coming up with a 15 minute sermon, now I struggle staying under 45 minutes, which I have only done a couple of times…See, I needed training, and so do you. So John gave us some pretty easy guidelines to be able to train us. Here is what he said to do.

Listen to what the spirit is saying. If the spirit confesses Jesus came in the flesh, then that is from God. If the spirit denies Jesus, that is not from God. It’s that easy. You see, at that time, the false teaching that was being said was that Jesus had not come in the flesh. These false prophets were saying that Jesus was not fully God and fully man, but that God had assumed a human form, but the divine left prior to crucifixion. In other words, there was a heresy that said Jesus was not from God. Therefore, John gives us, not only the reason for needing to test the spirit, or the teacher, but the way to test the spirit as well. This is a Christological test, meaning this is a test that is all about Christ, and nothing more...Ask what is thought about Jesus…that is it. If this is from God, then Jesus will be confessed…If this is from Satan, Jesus will be rejected. It’s that easy…and guess what. It’s still that easy!

Does the teacher you are listening to confess the Jesus of the Bible…or something else? For instance, the Jesus that Colby Martin talks about isn’t the Jesus from the Bible…it is something from his imagination, or his desires…but it is not a Biblical Jesus. So…we know that what Colby teaches is a false teaching because he does not confess Jesus as the perfect, sinless Son of God, nor does he confess that Scripture is the Word of God. That would be a false teacher relying on a false spirit. Of course then it gets really interesting. You see, right here we see that the spirit of the AntiChrist is already in the world. We do not know who that spirit will lead, but we know that spirit already is in the world…That is why we must be on guard and we must test the spirit that leads those who teach…That’s not all though…Next we need to ask...

What is the process for testing the spirits? (V.4-6)

We know we need to test. We know the question, so how do we discern as we ask this question? Well first of all we see very clearly that there is a distinct difference between you and those who would rely on an unholy spirit. You see you, assuming you have surrendered to the Lord, are from God…meaning you are in God’s family and there is a pretty big feud going on in the spiritual realm. See there is God’s family, and there is Satan’s family. Well, you, as a believer, are a part of Gods family. However, those who reject Jesus, are part of Satan’s family…and these two families don’t get along very well. There is a really cool thing that can happen though.

See, you actually were in Satan’s family, but you made a switch…You get one switch, you switched to be in God’s family, which means you have already beaten the hold of the unholy spirits. You have already won…some of you just don’t realize it yet. Here is what is amazing about testing the spirits, and testing the teachers…You have the Holy Spirit on your side walking with you every step of the way. They don’t…Listen, let’s get practical for just a minute here. How can we test the spirits? Well…what did John say? Ask about Jesus…in other words, 1. Scripture as the ultimate standard. That means that everything that i or anyone else, had better line up with Scripture, and if I say something that is against the clear teaching of Scripture, I better correct myself immediately. 2. Seeking guidance from mature and wise believers. Of course to do that you have to associate with other believers. If you are a guy, a perfect place to start doing that is at the beast Feast this Sat. 3. Discerning through prayer and meditation. Yeah, you have to actually have a conversation with the Lord. Actually, I prefer to have an ongoing conversation with God, meaning you never hang up the phone. Remember when you were a teenager and you were on the phone with your boyfriend or girlfriend, and you would just sit silently on the phone incase the other person wanted to say something. I remember falling asleep on the phone so many times as a teenager because no one wanted to hang up the phone. So, yeah…sit silently on the phone with the Lord in case he needs to talk to you. Finally, 4. Evaluating the fruits of the spirit in people's lives. The lives of those that are following the Holy Spirit will look like the Holy Spirit. The lives of those following an unholy spirit will look like the world...

But...

How do you live it out?

Like, how do you actually apply this stuff that we talked about today, or any other day? What can we do practically in order from here to there? If you are like me it is so helpful to have a list of steps or instructions to follow so that I can grow, and if you are the same way, then I hope to provide that for you today.

1. Regular Bible study and prayer. I know I’ve said it, but you’re still not doing it…so Im gonna keep saying it. This really is the foundation that you need to be able to do anything else. Some of you are calling me up or emailing me and asking how to do better, or how to deal with some struggles you are having and you still aren’t doing this…This is always the #1 thing you can do…this will always be the first thing we start working on together. Call me, but be prepared for that question...

2. Active involvement in a Bible-believing community. In other words…be a part of LRBC. We have Sunday School every single Sunday…there is no reason you can’t stay an extra hour in order to help you grow spiritually so you don’t fall into the trap of Satan. We have stuff for men and women. Listen, men…where have you been? We’ve been having men’s breakfast since before I came to LRBC and earlier this month it was the same 5 guys that showed up…Where are you? Outside of here is the world, the world is not your home…the church is. The world follows the unholy spirits, the church follows the Holy Spirit.

3. Develop a sensitive ear to the leading of the Holy Spirit. Of course the only way you can accomplish this one is if you start with one and two. This comes from your prayer and study. This comes from knowing the truth because you actually read the Bible. This comes from having a relationship with the Lord and other Christians

Listen, I know we have all fallen short of all of this. I don’t mean to sound to harsh, but you have to realize we are in the middle of a war! So, if you are like me, you have failed every single day in one of more of these areas…but your story isn’t over. You see, God actually loves you enough to not give up on you. God actually sent his Son Jesus to die for you because he already knew you were gonna mess up…Listen, some of you here today or joining online need a savior. You need to give your life to God through his son Jesus Christ. Jesus is God…that is important. That’s what the false teachers were denying here. Jesus lived a perfect life without sin. Then he died in our place for our sin. Jesus experienced everything we have experienced and on the cross he traded places with you. Jesus died so you could live! He was separated from the father so you could be reconciled with the Father. Then three days later he rose from the dead conquering Satan, sin, death, and hell so you wouldn’t have to experience any of that. Listen we have all sinned…we have all messed up, but there is forgiveness for everything you have ever done…That forgiveness is through Jesus. As others have said, Jesus is our plan A and we have no plan B. Have you placed your trust, your life into his loving and forgiving hands ? If not…please do not get up until you have done that. If you have, pray for your neighbor as I close us in prayer today.

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