Test the Spirits
Notes
Transcript
Opening Illustration
Opening Illustration
What do Americans believe about God, salvation, ethics, and the Bible?
That’s a very important question, Church.
So, Ligonier Ministries and LifeWay Research have partnered to find out.
Every two years, they take the theological temperature of the United States to help Christians better understand today’s culture and to equip the church with better insights for discipleship.
.......
Here are some of the the findings that was found this year:
53% of Americans believe the Bible is just another book with no divine authorship.
59% of American believe the Holy Spirit is a force but is not a personal being.
55% of Americans believe Jesus was created.
And 53% of Americans believe Jesus was not God.
.......
Well…You may be thinking that is America as a whole.
But, what about Evangelical Christians?
What do they believe?
.......
26% of Evangelicals believe the Bible is just another book with no divine authorship.
60% of Evangelicals believe the Holy Spirit is a force but is not a personal being.
The next one is crazy...
73% of Evangelicals believe Jesus was created.
And 43% of Evangelicals believe Jesus was not God.
.......
That is a big problem...
This is pure insanity, Church!
.......
By just looking at this survey we can conclude that at a minimum 3 of every 4 Evangelicals are not genuine born again believers...
That is not even accounting for the 1 in 4 Evangelical that do have a proper head knowledge but may not even believe this truth in their heart.
.......
So, how do we know that the nearly 75% of Evangelical are not true followers of Christ?
Well, you can’t believe in the Gospel message if you believe that Jesus was created or that Jesus is not God...
That kind of faith is a belief in a different Jesus and a different Gospel...
And based on the Word of God we know that kind of thinking is “anathema” or “cursed by God to Hell” as it says in Galatians.
.......
You see Church, proper belief in Jesus is not optional...
It is mandatory for salvation!
.......
So, please turn your Bibles to 1 John.
We will be conducting our study in Chapter 4 and focusing on verses 1 through 6.
Our message this morning is called, “Test the Spirits.”
.......
As you are finding your place in God’s Word, I want to share that today we will be focusing on how John made it clear that the kind of Jesus we are trusting in matters...
For not any kind of Jesus will do...
Not any kind of Jesus can save...
Only the biblical Jesus based on the Word of God can save you and me...
And that is why we are instructed to test the spirits and to see...
If the Jesus being presented to us is in fact the one true God...
Or just an imitation.
.......
So, figuratively speaking...
In a room full of all kinds of different versions of Jesus’...
We as His followers have to ask....
Will the real Jesus please stand up!
Because only faith in the real Jesus counts.
........
Opening Prayer
Opening Prayer
Before we consider our text, please join me in prayer...
.......
Let’s turn to our text for today:
Reading of the Text
Reading of the Text
1 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.
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, which you heard was coming and now is in the world already.
4 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.
5 They are from the world; therefore they speak from the world, and the world listens to them.
6 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, let’s look at our first point...
1) Warning of False Prophets
1) Warning of False Prophets
Verse 1: 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.
So, let’s start by looking at the the verb “test” which in ancient Greek is “dok-i-maz-ete”...
This a metallurgist’s term used for assaying metals to determine their purity and value.
The actual word means “to prove” or “to examine.”
So, this in in like manner to the testing of coins for genuineness and proper weight which was done often during ancient times.
In fact, this practice was something that was expected to be done on a continual basis to protect from fraud.
The testing of coins has carried over to our current practice of testing of larger paper bills.
At banks and stores you will often see tellers and cashiers either using a special marker or paying attention to the holograms on such bills to see if anything looks suspicious.
.......
In the same manner that our currency is tested...
Shouldn’t our theology be tested too.
.......
In fact, shouldn’t it be taken even more serious for the cost of believing in false doctrine is far greater than being scammed out of money...
Money that is so easily hear today and gone tomorrow...
Shouldn’t we be diligent and discerning in our testing of spirits...
To see if a particular teaching comes from God or Satan.
.......
Unfortunately, as we saw with the state of theology of not just America but even amongst Evangelicals...
This attention to testing of spirits is almost completely lost in our day and age...
But this is not a surprise...
Those who know the Word of God know of the warnings of such times...
Just take a look at passages like 2 Peter 2:2 that say:
2 And many will follow their sensuality, and because of them the way of truth will be blasphemed.
Paul warned of the same thing when we wrote his letter to Timothy in 1 Timothy 4:1–5 when he said:
1 Now the Spirit expressly says that in later times some will depart from the faith by devoting themselves to deceitful spirits and teachings of demons,
2 through the insincerity of liars whose consciences are seared,
3 who forbid marriage and require abstinence from foods that God created to be received with thanksgiving by those who believe and know the truth.
4 For everything created by God is good, and nothing is to be rejected if it is received with thanksgiving,
5 for it is made holy by the word of God and prayer.
And probably the most referenced verse on false teaching can be found in in Paul’s second letter to Timothy.
The fact that he had to keep repeating himself shows the seriousness of the warning...
And that verse is 2 Timothy 4:3 which says:
3 For the time is coming when people will not endure sound teaching, but having itching ears they will accumulate for themselves teachers to suit their own passions,
The Word of God warned us that in the future...
In our time...
The world would gather for themselves teachers that would teach in a matter they believe is acceptable and politically correct.
These teachings include not offending the majority of listeners and making them feel good about themselves.
But that kind of teaching leads men and women to Hell...
That kind of teaching is straight from the hottest pit of Hell...
.......
But this was not a new problem...
Clearly John is taking about the false teachers in his day...
And Paul warned of the influence of false teachers that where deciding those in the church of Galatia.
The whole letter to the Galatians is a warning about this but I want to share just a short passage to give you an idea of what I am talking about...
Look with me at Galatians 1:6–9 as Paul says:
6 I am astonished that you are so quickly deserting him who called you in the grace of Christ and are turning to a different gospel—
7 not that there is another one, but there are some who trouble you and want to distort the gospel of Christ.
8 But even if we or an angel from heaven should preach to you a gospel contrary to the one we preached to you, let him be accursed.
9 As we have said before, so now I say again: If anyone is preaching to you a gospel contrary to the one you received, let him be accursed.
The word “accursed” that Paul repeats is in the Greek “anathema” that we mentioned earlier which means “cursed by God to Hell.”
So, this is no small warning.
Of all the things in this whole world that you need to get right...
Nothing is more important or more vital to your eternity than the Gospel message of Jesus Christ.
.......
Many claim to present it.
But how is one to know the truth versus a clever lie?
Where does not turn to for guidance in this matter?
.......
Well the answer is the Word of God.
So, I encourage you...
Never just take the “pastor’s word” for it.
Never just take the “famous man of God’s opinion” on the matter.
Instead, turn to Scripture like the faith Bereans.
In Acts 17:11 Luke records this:
11 Now these Jews were more noble than those in Thessalonica; they received the word with all eagerness, examining the Scriptures daily to see if these things were so.
By examining the Scriptures...
One is able to confess not just any Jesus...
But they are able to confess the biblical Jesus...
And this takes us to our next point.
2) Confessing the Biblical Jesus
2) Confessing the Biblical Jesus
Verse 2: By this you know the Spirit of God: every spirit that confesses that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is from God,
The verb “acknowledges” or “confesses” is the ancient Greek term “homo-log-ei.”
This word indicates an unwavering confession...
And it denotes not just mere verbal acknowledgment but an open and forthright declaration of the message as one’s own position.
.......
For example demons acknowledge that Jesus truly is Lord but rebel against Him.
A genuine believer also acknowledged that Jesus truly is Lord and in addition declares to the world that Jesus is their personal Lord and that is their own position.
And that is why confessing Jesus has to do a lot more than with just a head knowledge of who He is.
True confession of Jesus has to do with the both the head and the heart.
.......
Regarding this verse, theologian Glenn Barker says this about the false prophets that John is referencing:
“The false prophets may well have believed that Christ was the Savior of the world, but they probably denied the connection between the divine Christ with Jesus of Nazareth.
At least they clearly denied that ‘the Christ’ ever had come ‘in the flesh.’
This denial makes them not only precursors of Gnosticism but also of Docetism.”
Gnosticism and Docetism are both some of the earliest and most rank heresies of the early church.
.......
Additionally, Professor Daniel Akin says,
“The man Jesus is God’s Christ.
Upon this truth the Christian faith stands or falls.
The actuality of the incarnation is not secondary or optional.
It is essential.
The Spirit of God always gives honor to Jesus the Christ, the Son of God.
John’s concern with the mode of Christ’s coming again reveals that he is battling a Docetic Christology of the false prophets.
Jesus himself was the incarnate Christ, and ‘far from coming upon Jesus at the baptism and leaving him before the cross, the Christ actually came in the flesh and has never laid it aside.’
Therefore, no matter how convincing or eloquent the deceivers may be, they still must be judged by their own confession to Christ.
The confession is crucial.
It will affect every other aspect of one’s theology and worldview.
What one thinks about Jesus always has far-reaching ramifications.”
.......
The biblically illiterate world we live in today is proof of that.
Many have no problem accepting and trusting a phony Jesus because they have never really studied their own Bibles.
They come to church for entertainment or to socialize...
They are coming to worship a “god” of their own image...
But they are not coming to worship the one true God of the Bible.
.......
So, Church...
We have a responsibility...
We are to share the biblical Jesus with the world...
We are to confidently confess that Jesus is both God and part of the Trinity as it says in John 1:1:
1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.
And we are to confidently confess that Jesus became flesh and did in fact dwell among us as it says in John 1:14:
14 And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth.
And we are to confidently confess that Jesus voluntary humbled Himself to be obedient to the Father by sacrificing His life for us as it says in Philippians 2:6–8:
6 who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped,
7 but emptied himself, by taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men.
8 And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross.
Anyone who denies any of these truths is not from God and in line with the devil...
And that is where John will take us next in our study.
3) Spirit of the Antichrist
3) Spirit of the Antichrist
Verse 3: 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.
There is no greater crime one can commit that than to preach and teach a different Jesus and a different gospel.
The worst of dictators and homicidal maniacs of history...
Those that toke millions of lives...
They truly are evil and agents of Satan...
I do not lessen their ungodly and traumatic crimes...
.......
But it is the ones that deceive millions upon millions of people...
The ones who deceive billions upon billions of people with their false gospel and false saviors that commit the worst of crimes.
How many people has Muhammad deceived and led to Hell?
How many people has Joseph Smith deceived?
How many people have been deceived by Jehovah's Witness?
And how many people have been deceived by the Prosperity Gospel?
And how many people have been deceived and led to Hell because of wicked apostate churches?
.......
Be warned...
As Jesus said in Matthew 24:24:
24 For false christs and false prophets will arise and perform great signs and wonders, so as to lead astray, if possible, even the elect.
Many of these false christs and false prophets will perform signs and wonders...
But you must not believe them...
Performing signs and wonders does not mean one is from God.
.......
And the fact that some people will rise up from churches or denominations one trusted in the past does not mean they are from God...
Jude 4 says these deceivers will creep in and largely go unnoticed by the majority.
Jude says:
4 For certain people have crept in unnoticed who long ago were designated for this condemnation, ungodly people, who pervert the grace of our God into sensuality and deny our only Master and Lord, Jesus Christ.
But I do not want you to loose heart Church...
Not only do we have the Scriptures to guide us...
We have been gifted with the very One who wrote the Scriptures and Him ministry is to guide us into right understanding...
And this takes us to our next point.
4) He Who Is In You
4) He Who Is In You
Verse 4: 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.
The term “He who is in you” is a reference to the Holy Spirit.
And it is because one has the Holy Spirit that they are not deceived by these false prophets.
.......
I want to remind you of the mission of the Holy Spirit...
This is His ministry for believers as it is laid out in John 16:13–15:
13 When the Spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into all the truth, for he will not speak on his own authority, but whatever he hears he will speak, and he will declare to you the things that are to come.
14 He will glorify me, for he will take what is mine and declare it to you.
15 All that the Father has is mine; therefore I said that he will take what is mine and declare it to you.
.......
So, The Holy Spirit will guide us, the followers of Christ, into all truth that we need to know for our spiritual walk.
Additionally, He will declare to us not just what happened in the past but also what will happen in the future.
.......
But that is not all.
.......
The Holy Spirit contently points to Christ.
He glorifies the Son of God and will take the teaching of Christ and make sure His followers know them.
.......
But that is not all.
.......
Once the Holy Spirit lives in us then you can be confident that we are as John says in this verse, “overcomers”...
So, we are are victorious and we are more than conquerors as it says in Romans 8:37:
37 No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us.
So, it is not due to our own intelligence of skill that we are protected from deception...
We have to thank God because it is only by His grace that we are not mislead like the rest of the world.
For the false teachers are speaking from their nature...
They are of the world...
So they speak like the world...
And the world has no problem accepting their worldly message for it is what they already believe.
And this takes us to our next point.
5) From The World
5) From The World
Verse 5: They are from the world; therefore they speak from the world, and the world listens to them.
I love this note that I came across in my study this week in the the Expositor’s Bible Commentary of the Epistles of John which says that,
“In contrast to the ‘dear children’ who ‘are from God’ are the false teachers who ‘are from the world.’
The false teachers are successful ‘in the world’ because their thinking, their theology, is accomodated to the world’s beliefs.
So their teaching is philosophically congenial to the prevailing currents of the day.
Naturally the world hears such teachers gladly.”
In other parts of Scripture we find similar warnings...
For example in Colossians 2:8 the Word of God says:
8 See to it that no one takes you captive by philosophy and empty deceit, according to human tradition, according to the elemental spirits of the world, and not according to Christ.
So, do not be captivated by slick talkers and those the world adores.
If they speak in a very charismatic fashion and seem thrive by the audiences applause...
That should be a red flag.
If they rarely quote Scripture or often twist a verses meaning...
That should be a red flag.
If they seem more like entertainers than theologians...
That should be a red flag.
If they sound like motivational speakers...
That should be a red flag.
.......
And if the world loves them...
That should be a red flag.
.......
For Jesus Himself made it clear that the world will hate us like it hated Him.
All you have to do is look at John 15:18–19 which says:
18 “If the world hates you, know that it has hated me before it hated you.
19 If you were of the world, the world would love you as its own; but because you are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world, therefore the world hates you.
So, don’t look to the world for acceptance...
The applause of the world should be like nails on the chalkboard for the ones of God.
But when someone teaches and preaches biblical truth...
Fellow brothers and sisters in Christ are able to recognize that truth...
And this takes us to our final point.
6) From God
6) From God
Verse 6: 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.
If one speaks with the Spirit of truth...
If one speaks with the Holy Spirit...
Others with the Holy Spirit will recognize and acknowledge that that kind of preaching and teaching originates from the Word of God.
Later in John’s letter he will reiterate this truth as seen in 1 John 5:19 when he said:
19 We know that we are from God, and the whole world lies in the power of the evil one.
In fact, those who are not of God don’t even have the ability to hear the truth...
They think the truth is foolishness.
John 8:47 makes this point clear when it says:
47 Whoever is of God hears the words of God. The reason why you do not hear them is that you are not of God.”
So, praise God if you understand truth for it is a gift from God...
And pray that those lost will have their hearts softened so they to can hear the truth and understand it.
But know this...
Only God can change hearts so it is only God we can go to to make these requests.
Closing Illustration
Closing Illustration
As this message comes to a close I want to share this bit of information with you:
Remember when we started this message and I shared with you that 75% of Evangelicals don’t believe in the Gospel message...
Of all the Evangelicals who where surveyed, 99% believed the Bible is the highest authority for what they believe.
Believing in the Bible without the Holy Spirit living in you to guide you is a recipe for disaster.
Having a head knowledge is not enough...
We need a heart knowledge too.
That means believing in Jesus as Lord will not save you if you only know that and believe that in your head...
You have to surrender your life to the biblical Jesus and truly surrender to Him as Lord in your life.
Only then will one be justified in the eyes of God...
Only then will one be given the Holy Spirit to live in them and guide them...
And only then will one truly value the sacrifice the Christ did on the cross at Calvary...
.......
And it is now about the remembrance of that great sacrifice of our great Savior that we bring our attention to.
Communion
Communion
.......
As we begin our communion service I want to invite every genuinely born-again believe in the room to partake in this act together.
If you do not yet know the Lord and don not have a relationship with Him or if you are under church discipline from this church or another church then I will ask that you wait until you have resolved your issue before participating.
.......
As you came in you should have picked up a communion packet if you are joining us.
This has both the bread and juice in a convenient package.
.......
If you have not recieved one of these please raise your hand and someone will get you one.
.......
Before we join in communion together I want to take time and remember the anguish and burden our Savior felt as He was preparing to take our place and be crushed by the Father for our sins.
Turn your copy of God’s Word to Luke 22:39-46 and read with me as it says:
39 And he came out and went, as was his custom, to the Mount of Olives, and the disciples followed him.
40 And when he came to the place, he said to them, “Pray that you may not enter into temptation.”
41 And he withdrew from them about a stone’s throw, and knelt down and prayed,
42 saying, “Father, if you are willing, remove this cup from me. Nevertheless, not my will, but yours, be done.”
43 And there appeared to him an angel from heaven, strengthening him.
44 And being in agony he prayed more earnestly; and his sweat became like great drops of blood falling down to the ground.
45 And when he rose from prayer, he came to the disciples and found them sleeping for sorrow,
46 and he said to them, “Why are you sleeping? Rise and pray that you may not enter into temptation.”
Look again as it said that “His sweat become like great drops of blood.”
I want you to understand what happened here.
This was not symbolic language being used here.
This was very much literal.
In fact, the “National Library of Medicine” had this to say about it:
“‘Hema-to-hid-ros-is’ is a rare condition in which a human being sweats blood.
Leonardo Da Vinci described a soldier who sweated blood before battle.
Jesus Christ [too] experienced ‘hema-to-hid-ros-is’ while praying in the garden of Gethsemane.
.......
You see church this rare clinical phenomena is caused by the most intense form of agony.
Jesus understood very well what we was about to do at Calvary...
And yet He did not walk away...
He literally carried His cross and suffered unspeakably for your sins and my sins.
.......
The Gospel of Mark also records this prayer and it is helpful to look at this account too.
Mark 14:32-42 says:
32 And they went to a place called Gethsemane. And he said to his disciples, “Sit here while I pray.”
33 And he took with him Peter and James and John, and began to be greatly distressed and troubled.
34 And he said to them, “My soul is very sorrowful, even to death. Remain here and watch.”
35 And going a little farther, he fell on the ground and prayed that, if it were possible, the hour might pass from him.
36 And he said, “Abba, Father, all things are possible for you. Remove this cup from me. Yet not what I will, but what you will.”
37 And he came and found them sleeping, and he said to Peter, “Simon, are you asleep? Could you not watch one hour?
38 Watch and pray that you may not enter into temptation. The spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak.”
39 And again he went away and prayed, saying the same words.
40 And again he came and found them sleeping, for their eyes were very heavy, and they did not know what to answer him.
41 And he came the third time and said to them, “Are you still sleeping and taking your rest? It is enough; the hour has come. The Son of Man is betrayed into the hands of sinners.
42 Rise, let us be going; see, my betrayer is at hand.”
.......
At the time our Lord and Savior experienced the worst agony anyone could face...
His closest students slept...
But the Son of Man did not run.
He stood with courage even as His own creation and His own disciple betrayed Him.
.......
Let us thank Him continually for His precious sacrifice on our behalf.
.......
Tom will you pray before we partake in the bread:
.......
The Word of God says in Luke 22:19:
19 And he took bread, and when he had given thanks, he broke it and gave it to them, saying, “This is my body, which is given for you. Do this in remembrance of me.”
(TAKE THE BREAD)
Adrian will you pray before we partake in the cup:
.......
The Word of the God says in Luke 22:20:
20 And likewise the cup after they had eaten, saying, “This cup that is poured out for you is the new covenant in my blood.
(TAKE THE CUP)
.......
To God be all the glory.
Amen.
.......
With that we conclude the communion portion of our service.
Please join us for one more song from the Praise Band.
ADVERTISEMENT