Oh, Be Careful Little Ears What You Hear (1 John 4:1-6)

Oh, Be Careful Little Ears What You Hear

Oh be careful little…

ears what you hear

eyes what you see

hands what you do

feet where you go

mind what you think

heart love the Lord

For the Father up above is looking down with love, Oh be careful little…

what is good for children often times is good for us too!!!

lots of filth that we must avoid in this world (true!)

battle of the mind

Oh be careful little ears what you hear

our issue in America

we are drawn to popularity

a crowd draws a crowd

lots of tickets sold = movie must be good

filled a football stadium = singer/band must be good

church culture

just because someone can draw a crowd or has a big church

DOES NOT NECESSARILY MEAN THEY ARE PREACHING THE TRUTH

students can be susceptible at camp (camp preacher so important)

bookstores may have a bestseller list

but doesn’t mean author is providing the reader truth

popularity is not the determining factor if someone is proclaiming truth

Be careful what you are taught (4:1-3)

4:1-3 pew Bible # 1212

some of John’s readers accepted everything they heard as truth

do not believe everything you hear or read (4:1a)

do not believe every spirit (4:1)

context

before canonization of NT

until the NT was complete, local churches relied on teachers

some listeners were believing everyone who said they had a word from the Lord

how did they know what was true/false? cause Satan loves to imitate

unbelief (do not believe every spirit) can be as much a mark of spiritual maturity as belief

Christians are not to be gullible (believing everything)

not everyone claiming to speak in the name of God actually does

The Shack (2008)

popular book (20M copies)

made into a movie (2017)

creative storytelling (fiction)

meant to be like Pilgrim’s Progress, Chronicles of Narnia, Lord of the Rings

theology seemed suspicious

not faithful to Scriptures

Lies We Believe about God (2018)

Paul Young (author of The Shack)

nonfiction work

fully exposed as outside the bounds of Biblical fidelity

universalism (no need for Jesus because everyone goes to heaven)

but there are 2 extremes to avoid

1—superstition which believes everything

2—suspicion which believes nothing

false prophets appear to be genuine—Matt 7:15

by their false teaching they lead people away from the truth—2 Pet 2:1

???how are we to know what to believe???

test everything according to the Bible (4:1b-3a)

God has given the HS, but He is not the only spirit active in the world

we should not believe everything we hear

for John’s readers, he set out a doctrinal test (4:2-3a)

similar instruction as Paul 1 Thess 5:19-22

prior slide

every spirit that confesses that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is from God

not just acknowledgment like demons (demons in presence of Jesus)

not just recognition, but allegiance

affirm the eternal deity and humanity of Jesus (denial of Gnosticism)

Mormons do not

Jehovah’s Witness do not

John’s readers did not have the canonized Bible yet

if they did, John would have instructed to test according to the Bible

they didn’t have the Bible

we do (luxury in history)

Christians did not for centuries and more than a millennia

we must test everything according to the Bible

everything we believe & do must be based on the Word

chapter and verse

not how we think

not how we have done it

not how my parents did it

not what works (pragmatism)

but what does God say in His Word

chapter and verse

must be good Bereans (Acts 17:11)

we have no excuse (HAVE access to BIBLE)

do you test your devotionals, books, and FB posts with the Bible?

do you test your pastor’s teachings? SS teacher? small group leader?

is your primary reading God’s Word,

or someone writing about God’s Word?

if you accept everything as true, then shame on you

just because they quote Scripture or mention Jesus—does not mean trustworthy

not everything you hear or read will pass the doctrinal test (4:3)

every spirit that does not confess Jesus is not from God

only 2 kind of spirits behind teachers (no middle ground, yet again)

1. Spirit of God (HS)

2. spirit of the antichrist

the content of the teaching is determining factor

in John’s day, the spirit of the antichrist loved to mix a little truth with falsehood

didn’t deny Jesus but denied that Jesus came in the flesh

problem: if Jesus didn’t become human, sacrifice didn't identify w/us

implication: the doctrine of Jesus is central

if there is any denial of Jesus or what He accomplished, then false

the aim of the antichrist is to deceive people

deception is rarely obvious (2 Cor 11:14)

prior slide

in our day, the spirit of the antichrist is still at work, mixing truth w/error

our doctrine must be Biblically sound

doctrine is collective teaching on a particular subject

1 verse ripped from rest of verses = dangerous territory —> heresy

cults deny deity and humanity of Jesus

Mormons; Jehovah’s Witness

take verses without considering whole Bible

use other texts (Book of Mormon, etc)

another deceptive teaching is…

Prosperity Gospel: huge problem in America and around the world

bad in Africa (poor places where people want material blessings…fatter bank accounts)

horrendous in America (people are infatuated with stuff and self)

health and wealth / word of faith

Jesus is about God rewarding you

God will bless you the more money you give to the church

God wants to prosper you financially

God wants to make you healthy and wealthy

what about looking to Jesus? how wealthy was He? no place to lay His head

what about Paul? beaten, stoned, shipwrecked

what about every. single. apostle? all persecuted

Oral Roberts, Kenneth Copeland, Jim and Tammy Faye Bakker, Benny Hinn, Pat Robertson, Robert Tilton

best-known today (twist the Scriptures)

Creflo Dollar, TD Jakes, Joel Osteen, Paula White, Joyce Meyer

not saying everything they say is untrue

but there is enough error mixed to make some of what they say untrue

ICE CREAM mixed with rat poison

is that how you want truth…mixed with a little error?

best way to know false gospel is to know the true gospel

the Bible should be your steady diet, even if need study Bible to help

John now turns from teachers & their message

to the audience which listens to them

Be careful what audience you are in (4:4-6)

4:4-6

verse 4 gives us great encouragement

the HS helps you reject heretical teaching (4:4)

comforting truth that God’s children are overcomers through Jesus

John 16:33 “In the world you will have tribulation. But take heart; I have overcome the world.”

how did John’s readers overcome them?

intellectually (not deceived) because greater is He who is in you than…

since true believers didn’t believe their falsehoods

the secessionists (false teachers) left (2:19)

they were not deceived because HS (who lives in ALL believers—expand GOSPEL implications)

illuminated the false teachings (even though the evil spirit was great)

comforting truth that Christians’ spiritual security depends on HS, not self

ability to overcome false teachers isn’t found in your smarts,

but HS’s power working in you

the world listens to the message of the world (4:5)

the world in the Bible means those who are not God’s children

Bible teaches that there are more in the world than God’s children

Matthew 7:13–14

Satan is at work to deceive as many as possible

get those on way to destruction to think they are on way to life

THEREFORE

if false teachers draw a large crowd (world) from world’s logic (sprinkled with some Bible)

prosperity gospel

who wouldn’t want to be rich and healthy?

but since when has the gospel of Jesus been about YOU?

I read that the gospel is about HIM

then it should not surprise us when droves of people flock to hear

2 Tim 4:3-4

thus 2 Timothy 4:2

those of God listen to and receive the gospel message (4:6)

Whoever knows God listens to us

well John, that’s a little self-serving!!! listens to US

but who is the full US??? John and who else?

must be referring to the true teachers (apostles)

Acts 2:42

we can tell the apostles’ message is God’s message

because God’s people listen and receive it

John 10:27–28

prior slide

there are 66 books in our Bible

39 OT books that we share with Jewish people

27 NT books

not determined in stuffy boardroom with overdressed theologians

but by different churches agreeing these books are God-breathed

some books didn’t make it

what crowd are you in?

do you want to hear what makes you feel good?

feel good now does not mean good for your eternal soul

do you want to hear the unadulterated truth?

the closer you are to the Scripture (chapter and verse)

you can rest assured you are in the right crowd

We are from God. Whoever knows God listens to us (4:6)

Oh, Be Careful Little Ears What You Hear

Be careful little ears what you hear

For the Father up above is looking down with love

use discernment

Satan is prowling around wanting to devour you

not as noticeable as lion

but can be a book, podcast, movie that gets you to question the Word

and be deceived

stay diligent

in the Word

HS is alive in you

GOSPEL