Blessed Assurance 1 John 3:21-4:6

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The Holy Spirit is involved in everything God does. Listen this morning as watch as we find His involvement with the creatures of earth.

Psalm 104:24–33 NIV

24 How many are your works, Lord! In wisdom you made them all; the earth is full of your creatures. 25 There is the sea, vast and spacious, teeming with creatures beyond number— living things both large and small. 26 There the ships go to and fro, and Leviathan, which you formed to frolic there. 27 All creatures look to you to give them their food at the proper time. 28 When you give it to them, they gather it up; when you open your hand, they are satisfied with good things. 29 When you hide your face, they are terrified; when you take away their breath, they die and return to the dust. 30 When you send your Spirit, they are created, and you renew the face of the ground. 31 May the glory of the Lord endure forever; may the Lord rejoice in his works— 32 he who looks at the earth, and it trembles, who touches the mountains, and they smoke. 33 I will sing to the Lord all my life; I will sing praise to my God as long as I live.

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Blessed Assurance

A few short weeks ago, school was completed for the summer. The end of school always comes with a plethora of tests. It matters not if you are in grade school, middle school, high school, or college. They all end their year in the same way. With that in mind, I thought you may appreciate this humorous poem.

10,000 Sermon Illustrations And It Came to Pass

And It Came to Pass Early in the morning toward the last day of the semester There arose a great multitude smiting the books and wailing And there was much weeping and gnashing of teeth For the day of judgment was at hand.

And they were sore afraid for they had left undone Those things which they ought to have done. And they had done those things which They ought not to have done and there was no help for it.

And there were many abiding in the dorm Who had kept watch over their books by night, But it availed them naught.

But some were who rose peacefully, For they had prepared themselves the way And made straight paths of knowledge. And these were known as wise burners of the midnight oil. And to others they were known as “curve-raisers.” And the multitude arose and ate a hearty breakfast. And they came unto the appointed place And their hearts were heavy within them. And they had come to pass, but some to pass out. And some of them repented of their riotous living And bemoaned their fate. But they had not a prayer. And at the last hour there came among them One known as the instructor; And they feared exceedingly. He passed papers among them and went his way. And many and varied were the answers that were given, For some of his teachings had fallen among fertile minds, While other had fallen flat. And some they were who wrote for one hour, others for two; But some turned away sorrowfully, and many of these Offered up a little bull in hope of pacifying the instructor. Source unknown

Tests are a part of life. We often think they stop when we finish school, however, we quickly find that they continue in life. We occasionally need to take driver’s license tests. Employment agencies give tests. Employers at times require tests before they hire us.

Then there are the tests of life that come our way that reveal our strength or weakness of endurance and tests by doctors to do the same thing.

Yet another test we face, is the tests that come our way by people who wish to challenge our faith. In such times, we find we need to conduct our own test to determine spiritual veracity of the things they would have us believe. If we are to remain in relationship with God, we need to be able to discern what comes from Him and what does not.

I am going to back up a little in our text to give us a fuller perspective of the subject we will be discussing today.

1 John 3:21–4:6NASB95

21Beloved, if our heart does not condemn us, we have confidence before God; 22and whatever we ask we receive from Him, because we keep His commandments and do the things that are pleasing in His sight. 23 This is His commandment, that we believe in the name of His Son Jesus Christ, and love one another, just as He commanded us. 24 The one who keeps His commandments abides in Him, and He in him. We know by this that He abides in us, by the Spirit whom He has given us. 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. 4You 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.

The Word of God for the people of God. Thanks be to God!

I. Recognizing the Spirit of Truth 1 John 3:21-4:6

Young Susanna Wesley led a tough life. (Picture) Many of the places where her husband Samuel was a pastor, the people were not very friendly toward their pastor. In a day when many pastors preached to please their congregations, Samuel preached God’s truth and many people did not like that. They wanted to feel they had eternal security, but they did not want to feel any guilt.

Satan is a master of deception. He is good at taking a little truth and mixing it with just enough untruth, that it is not easily detected.

Take this picture for instance. How many of you see a young woman (who I have labeled Susanna Wesley)? How many of you were confused thinking it was a picture of an old woman? By suggesting this was a young Susanna Wesley, I suspect some of you saw the young woman instantly. However, after I mentioned the older woman, upon closer examination, you may have been able to identify her.

If you see the young woman, you see a delicate face looking away with a chocker around her neck and lace cap. To see the old woman, the chin of the young woman becomes a nose and what you thought was a choker is her mouth. The young woman’s ear is the old woman’s eye.

When it comes to discerning spiritual truth, we need to be critical in our thinking. We need to concentrate on what is being said and compare it with what we know from God’s Word. We also need the Holy Spirit to lead us.

But how can we know if the Spirit leading us is of God? There are some very important truths we can use to test if what we are seeing or hearing is from God. Look with me at the criteria for...

A. Discerning the true “Spirit” 1 John 4:1-6

We live in a physical world, however, there is a spiritual world around us that we never see with our eyes. It is difficult to comprehend this since we never see it with our physical eyes. I really liked Frank Peretti’s two-book series, “This Present Darkness” and “Piercing the Darkness.” Of course, these books are fiction. They are imaginative renderings of how this spiritual world functions around us. I do not know if what he describes is close to the truth or not. However, these books do help to make us aware of this other world.

It is important to recognize that Satan’s forces, do have the power to communicate with us and to manifest miracles to a certain degree. Just because something is spiritual in nature does not make it automatically from God.

With this said, I would add that ALL religions, even atheism as that is a religion as well, are spiritually driven. The Christian faith is led by the Holy Spirit. It is a relationship, not a religion. However, the religions of this world are created and driven by Satan and his army. They have inspired all the religions of our world to draw people away from Christianity.

So, when people are talking about things of faith and various doctrines, how do we discern if what is said is from the Holy Spirit or Satan?

Jesus helps us a little with this in Matthew 12 & Luke 11. Here we find a conflict between Jesus and the Pharisees. Jesus healed a demon-possessed man who was blind and mute. The Pharisees believed that Jesus’ power did not come from God, but instead came from Beelzebub (another name for Satan). Jesus gave this reply.

Matthew 12:25–26 NIV

25 Jesus knew their thoughts and said to them, “Every kingdom divided against itself will be ruined, and every city or household divided against itself will not stand. 26 If Satan drives out Satan, he is divided against himself. How then can his kingdom stand?

If imposters from another army infiltrate our troops, they do not fight on the front line killing their own army. They work behind the scenes to destroy us by sabotaging our plans and creating chaos. Satan does the same thing.

John gives us a couple clues as well as a test to help us identify if something is truly from Him. These can help us quickly distinguish between something that is “Christian” or a “cult.” In John’s day, these quickly illuminated “Gnosticism” as a false doctrine. These keys to unlocking truth still work today.

The first key is that...

1. They must acknowledge that Jesus is God’s Son. 1 John 3:23; 4:3

We need to back up a bit for this one and think critically. Look back with me at 1 John 3:23.

1 John 3:23NIV

23 And this is his command: to believe in the name of his Son, Jesus Christ, and to love one another as he commanded us.

God has given the command that we believe in His Son. This is not something that can be compromised. Now, look at 1 John 4:3

1 John 4:3NASB95

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.

Satan seeks to undermine this truth so tries to provide doctrines that distort this truth or deny it completely. If he admits it to be true, he has just lost the battle. So, he will either outright deny it, or try to twist it in some way to distort the truth of it.

This truth is imperative to our faith considering that it is only through true faith in Jesus that we are saved.

John 14:6NIV

6 Jesus answered, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.

Romans 10:9NIV

9 If you declare with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.

John 3:16NIV

16 For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.

There are various religions that say they believe in Jesus, but some say he is a prophet. Some say he is one of God’s many sons. Others make him out just to be a wise man. But God’s Word makes it clear that He is the “one and only” Son of God.

Another clue that we see is that...

2. They must conform to Jesus’ teaching. 1 John 3:24

1 John 3:24NIV

24 The one who keeps God’s commands lives in him, and he in them. And this is how we know that he lives in us: We know it by the Spirit he gave us.

Basically, is the person talking to us living in obedience to Christ? Does the things he or she have to say conform to Jesus’ teachings? Jesus came to instruct us in how to be obedient to God’s commands and it is only through obedience to those that one is from God. If the answer to either one of those questions is “no,” then do not listen to them. They have nothing you need to hear. You have no obligation to listen to anything they say in such cases. And unless you are a great Bible scholar, it is just best to walk away. Otherwise, they will twist words and ideas and confuse you, as they are taught to do just that.

Now we come to the test John provides.

3. They must acknowledge that Jesus came in the flesh. 1 John 4:2

1 John 4:2NIV

2 This is how you can recognize the Spirit of God: Every spirit that acknowledges that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is from God,

This was critical in John’s argument since the Gnostics did not believe in the reality of this truth. However, a great deal of our faith stands on the truth of this matter. Look with me at what the consequences are of denying the incarnation of Christ (i.e. Jesus being born fully man with all the emotions, sensations and temptations of being so).

a. To deny Jesus’ humanity is to deny He could ever be our example . 1 Peter 2:21-24

Jesus came as a man, to experience everything we experience, therefore, He was able to be our example to show us the way to live. To deny Jesus was a man in the flesh undermines this basic truth taught in God’s Word.

1 Peter 2:21–24NIV

21 To this you were called, because Christ suffered for you, leaving you an example, that you should follow in his steps. 22 “He committed no sin, and no deceit was found in his mouth.” 23 When they hurled their insults at him, he did not retaliate; when he suffered, he made no threats. Instead, he entrusted himself to him who judges justly. 24“He himself bore our sins” in his body on the cross, so that we might die to sins and live for righteousness; “by his wounds you have been healed.”

If Jesus had only been divine and not been fully human, it would have proved nothing to us. He would not have been an example for us to follow because we are not gods. We are human with all the weaknesses of the flesh. The power of what Jesus did was that He did it with all the same weaknesses we face.

b. To deny Jesus’ humanity is to deny Him as our high priest who opens the way to God. Hebrews 4:14-15

Hebrews 4:14–15NIV

14 Therefore, since we have a great high priest who has ascended into heaven, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold firmly to the faith we profess. 15 For we do not have a high priest who is unable to empathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are—yet he did not sin.

Just as the Levitical high priest stood before God as a representative of his people, so Jesus stands before God as our high priest representing us. He can do this since He stands before God as one of us.

c. To deny Jesus’ humanity is to deny Him as our Savior . 1 Peter 2:24

Look again at 1 Peter 2:24

1 Peter 2:24NIV

24 “He himself bore our sins” in his body on the cross, so that we might die to sins and live for righteousness; “by his wounds you have been healed.”

Jesus laid down His divinity and became like us. He experienced everything we experience, yet He never sinned. Because He never sinned, He was able to take our sin upon Himself, therefore providing the perfect sacrifice for us. This provides the avenue by which each of us can be saved if we so choose. To undermine the reality of Jesus humanity, is to deny He could do this for us. But there is yet more.

d. To deny Jesus’ humanity is to deny the salvation of the body . 1 Corinthians 6:19-20

We are not only saved spiritually, but our bodies are saved. Because of this physical salvation, we now can become the temple of the Holy Spirit. Literally, God living within us.

1 Corinthians 6:19–20 NIV

19 Do you not know that your bodies are temples of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own; 20you were bought at a price. Therefore honor God with your bodies.

And finally,

e. To deny Jesus’ humanity is to deny any real union between God and man. Romans 6:1-7

The Gnostics believed that the spirit was good, but the body was evil, therefore, it did not matter what the body did. It could never be saved, so sin of the body had no real issue for the spirit. However, if this were true, our bodies could never become a temple for the Holy Spirit. There would be no true union between God and people as God can not unite with sin in any way. The very fact that His Spirit lives within us is only possible if our body is cleansed of sin.

Romans 6:1–7NIV

1 What shall we say, then? Shall we go on sinning so that grace may increase? 2 By no means! We are those who have died to sin; how can we live in it any longer? 3 Or don’t you know that all of us who were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? 4We were therefore buried with him through baptism into death in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, we too may live a new life. 5 For if we have been united with him in a death like his, we will certainly also be united with him in a resurrection like his. 6 For we know that our old self was crucified with him so that the body ruled by sin might be done away with, that we should no longer be slaves to sin—7 because anyone who has died has been set free from sin.

Conclusion

We live in a day when people elevate “spirituality.” I keep hearing people say, “I’m spiritual!” They believe this means they are saved. However, just because something is spiritual does not mean it is of God. It is imperative that we test the spirits. That is, we test any teaching, doctrine, activity, event, or supernatural experience against the written doctrine of God’s Word. That means studying God’s Word so we know what is there and when someone shares something that is contrary to it, we can identify the false statements.

Occasionally, I will hear someone preach or say something. It may seem right on one hand, but somehow, I just feel a restlessness in my spirit. When I take time to think on it, I often notice one small turn of words that is not quite right with God’s Word. That is the Holy Spirit at work in my life to identify the spirit of the antichrist in our world trying to mislead those who are not careful or who have not taken time to know what God’s Word really says.

The spirit of antichrist is all around us. John keeps warning us of this.

1 John 4:4–6NIV

4 You, dear children, are from God and have overcome them, because the one who is in you is greater than the one who is in the world. 5They are from the world and therefore speak from the viewpoint of the world, and the world listens to them. 6 We are from God, and whoever knows God listens to us; but whoever is not from God does not listen to us. This is how we recognize the Spirit of truth and the spirit of falsehood.

Peter also cautions us.

1 Peter 5:8–9NIV

8 Be alert and of sober mind. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour. 9 Resist him, standing firm in the faith, because you know that the family of believers throughout the world is undergoing the same kind of sufferings.

Just like the old lady hidden in the picture of the young, beautiful woman, this world seeks to undermine our faith. But you have no need to fear for you have something they do not. That is the Holy Spirit. He is better than a Brinks Home alarm system, working 24/7/365 to keep you safe. When we abide in Christ, the Holy Spirit has full control to protect us from the mischief of the enemy.

This morning as I pray, ask the Holy Spirit to direct and guide you. Take time to thank Him for all He does for you every day.

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