Don't Believe Everything You Hear

14 Date: March 11th, 2018 Title: Don’t Believe Everything You Hear! Text: 1 John 4:1-6 Series: How Can I Know My Faith is Real Introduction: · I don’t typically like to think in hypotheticals, but for our purposes here this morning, please think with me on this for just a little while…What happens when people decide they don’t need to progress in their knowledge of their job? o For example…let’s consider the medical profession…Dr. Smith graduated from medical school in 1995. He decides that he has received enough education and knows all that he needs to know to diagnose and treat medical problems sufficiently…for some reason the good doctor decides he did not need to stay relevant with the new discoveries or technology that would help him be more effective in providing complete care for his patients…His view is “There really is nothing more I need to learn…I spent years learning what I needed to learn…if it was good enough then…it is good enough now.” o Would you want to have him for a doctor…someone who was only willing to treat your medical condition with 1995 knowledge and technology? · Let’s think about the implications of what could happen…What difference would it make to you, if in his knowledge of what was true, he discerned the discomfort and color of your big toe was evidence of gangrene setting in and you needed to have it amputated. You want to trust that doctor in his diagnosis…you want to believe he is correct, you want to believe he is doing his job effectively, therefore he must be right…so you schedule the surgery to have your big toe removed…surgery proceeds, your big toe is removed and you go back to his office a week later for a follow up. When you arrive at his office you are greeted by a completely different doctor who informs you that your present doctor decided to leave his practice, oh and by the way, we found a splinter in your surgically removed big toe. o You trusted that doctor, you listened to that doctor, you proceeded with the actions prescribed by that doctor only to discover that doctor was wrong because you now knew the truth of your discomfort. · What would or should you have done in that scenario to prevent the wrong action from taking place? You would have and should have received a 2nd or even 3rd opinion to discover the truth about your condition. Before you ever followed that 1st doctor’s instruction, you would have done some research on your own to discern what the best treatment should be for that pain and discomfort in your big toe. · If you know you would seek out the truth regarding your medical conditions, why then is there a contentment to be blinded to the truth of your spiritual condition? o With all that in mind, please turn to 1 John 4:1-6 Main Point: Genuine believers are to show discernment by learning how to recognize truth from error. Four questions that every believer must ask and answer that places them in the best position to discern truth from error 1. What is the source of their (and your) message? (1) a. Don’t believe everything you hear. · John wants his readers to know that there are two spiritual spheres in this world. o Domain of the Holy Spirit o Doman of Satan o According to what John says in 3:24 the domain of the Holy Spirit is in the children of God. o The spirit of the devil lives in false prophets who speak his name. · “Do not believe every spirit” o Of course we are not able to see a spirit, so how can we know? o Although you cannot see them, you can hear and understand the teachings of that spirit. o Spirit, as John uses it here, is equivalent to teaching. § It is a figure of speech that shows a relationship between two words that evoke one concept…metonymy. § Examples… “suit” for a business executive or “let me give you a hand” – let me help o Behind every prophet, behind every proclamation, there is one of two Spirits energizing them… § The Holy Spirt § The spirit of Satan § Your job is to be skeptical of them…even be skeptical of me…Bereans were skeptical of Paul · This is a churchwide, community responsibility! o Believe and test are imperatives (commands) that call for continuous action and vigilance. o Test carries the idea of putting something under a rigorous examination to discover its genuineness. § Both are written in the plural form. § We are all to be doctrine detectives…theological investigators…biblical error crime solvers. b. Not every spiritual teacher is a credible teacher. · “many false prophets have gone out into the world” o False prophets (pseudoprophetai) are everywhere… o There are spiritual deceivers and liars out there who work hard to earn your trust and allegiance. o The world is their lecture hall. o Our goal is to determine if these prophets are from God or if their origin is to be found somewhere else. § Everyone has a source of truth and they speak from that source of truth… c. Implications · You have the responsibility to evaluate the message and the messenger by the Word of God…the source of truth. o That necessitates you exerting efforts and energies into knowing the Word…that means you are going to take advantage of every opportunity you get, to know the Word better...as a pastor it concerns me that some of today’s believers, including some here at MBC, have become content with a lackadaisical approach to God’s Word that they don’t see a problem with it and are not going to be committed to learning it better. o We have to avoid the attitude that is indicative of a heart filled with pride that says I get enough of the Bible on Sunday AM worship, I don’t need to hear any more…I’ve got enough to get by this week… · God’s people should have the attitude of continual learning…how can I know God’s word more… · To the degree you are content in your lack of knowledge of God’s Word, to that degree you are content with MBC being weak and stagnant. o Because discerning truth from error is a collective effort…when you don’t take the responsibility to learn truth and discern truth and apply truth, you weaken the community of believers here who are committed to this. o When you as an individual buy into worldly philosophies because you didn’t know enough about God’s word to discern it as error, you have weakened the effectiveness of this body. § Ephesians 4:15-16 § The negative side to what Paul says here is that those who choose not to do what they are supposed to do cause the body not to grow the way God wants it to grow. § I can’t be there when you listen to someone on the radio or watch them on TV to tell you what to believe and not believe…you have the Holy Spirit indwelling you who will help you with that far better than I could…but you have to be discerning enough to recognize what the Holy Spirit is trying to teach you…that only comes by increasing your knowledge of the truth. There is always room for growth in our knowledge and application of God’s Word...don’t be so filled with pride to think you have enough of it…what steps are you going to take to live out 2 Tim. 2:15? (on screen) 2. Who is their (and your) Jesus? (2-3) a. Christianity is rooted and grounded in the “Christological question”: What do you believe about Jesus? · The world says… o He is just another enlightened religious teacher…He is permitted as one opinion, one option among many · The Scripture says… o He is the very incarnation of God…He is the only viable option for salvation amid the multitude of imposters. · If anyone says anything else about Jesus that is not consistent to the gospel as it is revealed in Scripture, they, along with their message are to be rejected as false. b. Christianity stands or falls on the perfect union of deity and humanity in the person of Jesus Christ. · This is how you know…recognize, come to understand…the Spirit of God and those who bear His gospel message. · Every genuine believer will confess that Jesus Christ is both human and divine and that Jesus is the Son of God, who came in the flesh. · The tense John uses here is the perfect tense, meaning Jesus not only came in human nature, but he continues to live in heaven with that same human nature. · We must hold fast to the belief in both the deity and humanity of Jesus…the Spirit will always honor Jesus, the Son of God…Jn. 16:14…if there is no glorifying of Jesus, the Spirit is not there. · Scripture teaches us that Jesus, the Christ, as our divine redeemer, shares our human nature…Heb. 2:14-15 Therefore, since the children share in flesh and blood, He Himself likewise also partook of the same, that through death He might render powerless him who had the power of death, that is, the devil, 15 and might free those who through fear of death were subject to slavery all their lives. · Anyone who separates the human nature of Jesus from the divine nature of Jesus is not from God…in fact they are antichrists. · In John’s day the church was plagued by people who did not believe the truth about Jesus…much like our time now. o Jesus was not then nor is He now viewed by world as the Savior o Jesus was not then nor is He now considered by the world as the perfect union of God and man. c. Implication of this question has enormous consequences. · Your eternal destiny hangs in the balance of what you think of Jesus. o If a person says they believe in Jesus then ask them who is the real Jesus? o If their Jesus is less than the Jesus of the Bible then they are not following Jesus at all. · If Jesus is your Savior then your life finds greater purpose when you choose to honor him as your Savior in the way you live…Eph. 4:14-21 (turn and read) 3. Do they (and you) possess the Spirit? (4) a. Genuine believers ought never to forget their heritage. · You, dear children…pronoun you stands in front for emphasis…you, yes you, are from God. · You are not only special people, born of God and called the children of God; you have overcome them…you do not have to listen to them because your heritage makes you different. o Them = false teachers o Have overcome = perfect tense = you have already done so by obeying God’s commands and honoring the teaching of His Word and you continue to be victorious over them. § Your identification with Jesus makes you an overcomer because He was the one who overcame the world…John 16:33…the battle has already been decided even if it isn’t over yet…you are already and continue to be victorious. b. Every human lives in one of two spiritual realms. · Realm of Satan is that world system that sets itself up against God and seeks to seduce us with its faulty worldviews that are driven by our own sinfulness and ultimately it will fail. · Realm of the Spirit is where God chooses to live within every believer where He seeks to conform us to the image of His Son by producing the fruit of the Holy Spirit that shouts the God of the universe has taken up residence in my life. · Greater is he that is in you. o Is the world strong…yes, but our God is infinitely stronger. o Are false teachers wise…yes, but our God is infinitely wiser o Is Satan a great foe…yes, but our God is infinitely greater…and the one who is infinitely stronger, wiser, greater has chosen to live forever in us. · The Scripture says that all humanity is born in the realm of Satan and the only way out of that realm is to be transplanted into the kingdom of light by the grace of God alone through faith alone in Jesus Christ alone…Col. 1:13-14 c. Implications · In whose realm are you living? (gospel) · If you are a believer, you are already victorious, so don’t live like a loser. o Please understand, I say that lovingly, because far too many believers allow the hardships of this life to defeat them from living with joy and strength in their Savior. o You need to remind yourself that greater is he that is in you…God himself lives in you…trust Him…you are already an overcomer, so take those thoughts captive and live like a victor, not the victim. 4. Who are they (and you) listening to? (5 & 6) a. Those who speak out of and listen to a worldview from Satan’s domain are completely opposed to God. · The false prophets derive their principles, zeal, goals, and existence from the world of hostility in which Satan rules – Jn. 12:31 · Their views are atheistic and antichristian…they are good at it because the world is persuaded by them…listens…by being persuaded they agree with what is said and stand in opposition to God…those enslaved to the world have no problem listening to those who speak their language. b. Those who have professed Jesus as God in the flesh, speak from and listen to a worldview that is concert with God and those who live in His domain. · John quietly expresses here the belief that God and his people are one. o WE = those who are God’s children o We all have the responsibility to proclaim the Word and when we do so, we all have the same responsibility to listen to it. § Jn. 8:47 – the one who is from God listens to God’s words. · When we stand on and proclaim the Scriptures, we are proclaiming God’s Word and there must be an acknowledgement that His Word has divine authority over us. Please hear this carefully, I stand before you today hoping you have not heard me, but you have heard from God… · Every week God’s people are to gather together for the purpose of worshipping Him in spirit and in truth…not to be just some social club… · When God’s people gather on Sunday, we are to have a heart that is ready to hear the truth spoken from God…When you discern that the Word of God is preached and taught as the truth from Him, regardless of whether you like the person, style or method, there must then be a recognition that something needs to be changed in some way because the divine authority of God’s Word says you are to be different than the world…“You be Holy for I am Holy”… o Your job is take what has been said week after week, measure it up to the whole counsel of God, and then discern how what you heard ought to impact your life and your worldview…because it either comes from God or it doesn’t…if it comes from God…then we have a responsibility to change.both our thinking and our actions. Implication…Who are you allowing to shape what you think? – take those thoughts captive… Life Lesson…Do Your Job! o Each of us must take up the mantle to know truth from error, to live victoriously over the worlds Satanic system, and find our strength by staying connected to God, the Word, our Savior, the Spirit, and His people.