1 John Series: Test the Spirits

1 John 4:1-6

The pastor came into town, preaching revival meetings for the week and he was in need of a post office to mail a letter.

He saw a young man walking along, stopped him… and asked the young man to show him where the post office was.

The young man gave directions to the pastor, and was about to go on his way… until the pastor invited the young man to the church revival down the road.

“Young man… I will be telling everyone how to get to heaven… would you like to come and hear...?”

The young man said “no thanks.” “What do you mean? You do not want to know how to get to heaven young man...?”

The young person stopped and said, “Sir… you don’t even know how to get to the post office...”

Tonight we are looking at discernment:

Christians… we are called to discern.

Discernment is needed for Christian maturity.

Not every spirit is from God. Not every person is a Child of God, in a saving sense.

Therefore....

Verse 1 - Beloved Children of God… 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.

Christian… Dear Child of God... tests the spirits… do not believe all of them...

This sounds very similar to 1 Thessalonians 5:20-21 - Do not despise prophetic utterances… but examine everything carefully... (NASB).

There are a sea of voice around us. What are we to do with the sea of voices that surround us?

There are preachers and teachers on radio, on t.v., on YouTube, podcasts, there are conferences, sidewalk evangelists… all these voices around us today...

Christian: Do not accept everything you hear as truth. Be discerning. Be on guard. Be wise. Stand firm on the truth of God’s Word and do not move from it.

The need for Sound doctrine, sound teaching... is in view here. We are to know it and stick with it or else... we will be led astray.

Influencers will influence… False doctrine, false teaching... has forever been and forever will be a problem.

There are many warnings throughout Scripture pertaining to false teaching. In the Old Testament, false prophets would come along and tell people things they wanted to hear… and this would be a great benefit to them… and the false teachers/prophets would be loved for it.

They would tell the folks… “Peace, peace… God is pleased with you...”

But God never said those things… They were lying in God’s Name.

Instead of them truly prophesying… they were profiting-by-lying…

These false prophets and false teachers/dreamers were loved by the people… But God would say, “Woe to them who follow their own spirit and have seen nothing… They are prophesying lies in my name… I have not sent them… They are prophesying to you out of the delusions of their own minds...”

The New Testament is filled with warnings regarding this same issue:

Matthew 7:15 - Jesus said, Look out for the false prophets who will come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ravenous wolves… you will know them by their fruits...

Matthew 16 - Guard yourself from the teachings of the Religious Leaders...

Matthew 24 - False Christ’s will come and false prophets will come and will deceive… even Christians...

Jude Verse 19 - These mockers will cause divisions, be worldly minded, and will be devoid of the Spirit...

Therefore… We are to Be watchful and guard ourselves…

Guard your minds. Your thoughts are going to take you places. Satan will use people, to teach lies, to take you away from God and His Truth.

He will form strong holds in your mind and take you captive...

But we must take every thought captive to the obedience of Christ (2 Cor. 10:5).

How is that going to be possible? We must guard what goes into the mind and filter all things through the Truth of God’s Word. We must fill ourselves and surround ourselves with God’s truth.

Do not believe every spirit.

There is the Holy Spirit. There are demonic spirits. There is the Voice of Truth. There is the voice of the liar.

Every person has a spirit… But not every person has the Holy Spirit.

The Holy Spirit is going to point to Jesus Christ, the Son of God. The Holy Spirit is going to exalt Him. The Holy Spirit is not going to contradict Himself, but there will be a consistent message from God to the people of God.

And when another voice, another spirit, speaks a word contrary to that of God’s Word...

It will not be of God… And the Holy Spirit will let us know it. Warning signs will go off. Flags will start waving. Conviction will come upon us.

Again: What is key here? Romans 12:2 - Renewing our minds with the Word of God and being then being led by the Spirit of God. Do not, not, not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may prove what the will of God is, that which is good and acceptable and perfect.

Will all the voices around us… We need a Truth Filter for every day living.

What else does the Christian do? We listen and test the message as well as the messenger. We ask questions: Is this message consistent with the Gospel and God’s Word as a whole? Is this messenger seeking to glorify himself… or God? Is He pointing to himself or Jesus?

I love the example of the Bereans. Christians are to always act like the Bereans that we see in Acts 17:11 - These folks heard the message and examined the Scriptures daily to see whether these things were so… Therefore, many of them believed...

When did they believe? When they sought the Lord for themselves and examined the Scriptures daily.

John 4:39-45 - The woman of Samaria went back to the city and testified… which brought many to see and to hear from Jesus… Then after a few days of hearing from Jesus personally… many came to believe in Him... because they heard from Jesus themselves.

Christians must practice a healthy skepticism regarding any teaching. We should not be easily influenced or persuaded. We are to be a thinking people. We are to use our minds.

Often times we only view skepticism as being something that is only negative. Sometimes we only see skeptical people as always doubting… even when the evidence is clear. Sometimes we may call these people “close-minded,” because they will not even consider something.

But a “healthy skeptic” will listen, ask questions, research for themselves, look for evidence, use their minds and think through information before just accepting it as truth.

This is good.

We should listen, pass the information through the Truth Filter, think, and discern wisely.

But someone may say:

“But the teacher said this.” We say... “Take it to the Word. “

“But the pastor said it.” We say… “Take it to the Word.”

We, as Christians, should not be easily convinced by anyone and everyone.

Unless it is your husband… and your parents...

Someone will look at the great speaker, and they will say:

“But brother… But look at their smile… Everyone just loves them...”

It does not matter if they have the smile that parts the heavens, or a personality that fills you will laughter and or tears...

You must ask: What are they saying? Is it true or not? Does it align with Scripture or not? Is that verse in the Bible or not? Did Jesus say that or not?

And… Be careful not to always just nod along...

Test them...

The wording here draws a picture of testing metals to determine their purity and value. We are to throw every teaching into the Word of God to check it for it’s content, its purity, and value.

“Give me a 1, 2, 3… Check-off list.” Yes sir...

What does this person say about Jesus? He is the only begotten Son of God. Born of a virgin. He came in the flesh, was crucified, dead and buried… and on the third day… He was resurrected. He ascended and is at the right hand of the Father.

Jesus is the second Person of the Godhead: God the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.

Does the person agree with this and the teachings of Christ? If this Person says Jesus is not the Son of God, He didn’t come in the flesh, He didn’t die for sinners, He was not resurrected for the grave on the third day, ascending to the right hand of the Father...

If they come at you with an unbiblical Jesus… and if they will disagree with Jesus’ teachings...

Run for your life… Or … Confront them head-on.

2. Does the teacher teach or preach the real Gospel? Is Jesus the only way to the Father? Is Jesus the only Way to eternal life in heaven? Can you be saved by your works or is it by Jesus’ work alone? Is the emphasis of the Gospel message, repentance of sins and faith in Christ… or is it “you just need to try harder and do better...”? Is he saying that you need to add works on top of believing in Christ? Are they saying that Jesus will make them millionaires...?

If anyone adds or takes away from the Gospel… they are not from God.

If they say, “Jesus is a way… You need Jesus plus works… Jesus gives us the grace to work for our salvation… He was only a good prophet… And Jesus only came to give us an example of how we are to love one another...

Run for your life… or Confront them head-on with the truth.

In our context: Good ol’ religious folks, will say - “Do good... speak well, and that will keep you out of hell. That is another Gospel and you are trying to play Jesus. This is wrong!

The Social Justice gospel - Christianity is all about social concerns… not spiritual. It’s all about humanitarian effort, feeding people, educating people… and that is all.

Jehovah's Witness - They have a created Jesus who is the Archangel Michael, and you must work for your salvation. This is the wrong Jesus and the wrong Gospel.

Mormons (LDS) - God became God through righteous living. God has flesh and bones. Jesus is a god among many gods… and you can become a god too. God gives us grace to work for our salvation. You have a different God, different Jesus, and a different Gospel.

As Christians… take these people to the Person and Work of Christ.

What do they say about Jesus? 2. What are they saying about the Gospel?

3. Does the teacher himself/herself have qualities that glorify the Lord? Are they all about themselves? Are they all about money and greed? Is the person marked by humility or a life of pride? Do they take the Word of God seriously? Are they trying to live out what they are teaching? Are they using people and working to manipulate people for his or her own gain?

Run for your life, protect your wallet… and or confront them head on...

Now: Does it or Will this take time, to observe them… to get to know them? Yes it takes time.

This is true out there...

And this is true for in here… in the church...

Church: We do not rush into filling teaching or preaching positions. We must know who labors among us. We must allow for a time of examination and observation. We do not want anyone and or everyone filling pulpits, and or positions of influence.

1 Timothy 3 and Titus 1 - Elders (Pastors) and Deacons… What do we see? Look for character… character… character… Look at their lives… look at their family.

Yes, Pastor/Teachers must be apt to teach and must know the truth, teach the truth and must be able to confront false teaching...

The main focus is on looking at the person’s character… Not preaching or teaching style.

“Pastor… Pastor… Wait… wait… but this person that related to so and so… and they are close with so and so… and they gave this much money to that fund.… and... they really want to be a pastor or a deacon?”

Then let them be examined for a time, and let us not be hasty in laying our hands on this person and share in their sin...

“Pastor, pastor… Wait… Wait… The well know preacher is coming to town...”

Ok, What do you know about him? What does he believe? What does he teach? What is his character? What do you know? Have you called his church to see if he is in good standing?

We do not throw out Scripture, God’s commands… Because a famous preacher is coming to town. Your soul and your family’s soul is at stake.

Discern and make wise judgments…

Now someone is saying… “But Matthew 7 says, “Judge Not… or Don’t Judge people...” So, how are we to make these judgments if we cannot judge… people?

Listen: We cannot live without making judgment calls. This verse is speaking of harsh, self-righteous, hypocritical, unfair judgments. This is an ungodly attitude and action that is fueled by pride and not exercised through humility.

We must be discerning and we must make wise judgments.

Please keep reading Matthew 7… Verse 6 - Do not give what is holy to dogs or to the swine… Jesus is talking not talking out real animals… He is talking about people. He is talking about making judgment calls about certain people before or as you are giving them God’s Holy Truths.

Dogs and pigs were unclean animals… So people who were rejecting the Truth, mocking the truth, and hating the truth… These were the dogs and swine...

Believer, wisely discern the spirit of the person and respond accordingly.

At some point… You are going to have to make a judgement call when you are sharing the message of Jesus.

We are going to watch and listen… and make a judgement call. And Jesus tells us to do this.

Go on down to verse 15-29 of Matthew 7 - You will know false prophets and teachers by their fruits, by their lives, by their character, by their message… By their lifestyle...

You will have to listen and watch… be discerning… test the spirits… and make a judgement call.

Use the Word of God, the Spirit or God and your mind...

Do NOT believe every spirit… every person… Do NOT! Do Not! Do Not!

Listen to message. Watch the messenger. And practice a discerning lifestyle.

Protect yourselves and your family. Protect yourselves and the church family.

Do not let your feelings lead you… Let the Word of God lead you.

Test the spirits.

“Brother, this is scary stuff… This is intimidating...”

Verse 4 - The Holy Spirit is going to help you throughout this process. You are going to delight yourself in the Word of God and the Spirit of God is going to apply it. Your are going to read and pray… and the Holy Spirit is going to make you more sensitive and more discerning...

You do not have to be afraid… The One inside of you is greater the he who is in the world.

Satan is a deceiver. And he is good at what he does.

But the Holy Spirit inside of you will bear witness. He will help you. He will convict you. He will prick your hearts and move you to respond the way that you should.

The Holy Spirit will bring to mind and memory the Word of God and He will give you a green light or a red light signal… “This is of Me” or “this is not of Me.”

You may have to walk away, leave the room, turn the channel, click on another podcast… Or you may be led to confront what was just said by the person.

“Can real Christians be deceived and be led astray?” Yes. I believe that it may be possible to lead a true Christian astray… at least for a little while. Especially a baby Christian… or Christians that have been hurt...

But this is also something that I believe: The Holy Spirit is still in that believer and I believe that God will work in that believer, surround that believer with other believers, lead that precious child of God around until they are back where they need to be...

You will overcome… The Holy Spirit will bring you back to where you need to be… and He will use other believers to get this don as well.

Do Not Be Afraid...

Greater is He Who is in you… than he who is in the world.

Satan cannot and will not over come you.

(Song) Our God is Greater… Our God is Stronger… Our God is higher than any other...

God is the Author and Finisher of our faith. He who began a good work will complete it.

God is going to persevere in your life if you belong to Him… His not going to give up on you.

You are going to overcome… You have and you will overcome… Because, greater is He who is in you than he who is in the world.

God is going to persevere in you! And that is wonderful news.

Test the spirits.

Overcome by the Spirit of the Living God in you.

Pray and Close.