Spiritual Influences (Part A)

In this one paragraph.

The word world shows up six times.

John is making an emphasis by repeating the word again. The world's are those who have rejected the Lordship of Christ in the context of John is using it in most of the New Testament verses that speak of the world.

Not every single time. But most of the time in context the word spirit shows up seven times because their spiritual influences. This is a spiritual war.

Human beings are spiritual. This is cross reference radio with our pastor and teacher Rick Gaston.

Rick is the pastor of Calvary Chapel Mechanicsville. Pastor Rick is currently teaching through the book of first John, please stay with us after today's message to hear more information about cross reference radio, specifically how you can get a free copy of this teaching.let's join Pastor Rick in the book of first John chapter 4. As he begins a brand-new message called spiritual influences. We are in John's first letter. Chapter 4 if you have your Bibles please turn we will read in one moment verses one through six. Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits whether they are of God, because many false prophets have gone out into the world by this you know the spirit of God.

Every spirit that confesses that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is of God and every spirit that does not confess that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is not of God.

And this is the spirit of the antichrist, which you have heard was coming and now is already in the world you are of God, little children, and have overcome them because he who is in you is greater than he who is in the world. They are of the world. Therefore they speak as of the world and the world hears them.

We are of God, he who knows God hears us. He who is not of God does not hear us. By this we know the spirit of truth in the spirit of error.

Spiritual influences. That's what John is now talking about. There are invisible influences hard at work in the lives of people human beings.

Mankind however you want to say it, especially when they are confronted with the gospel.

The true message of the gospel. There is a lot of back to the spiritually speaking.

In those moments the question is from where where these spiritual influences coming from the Bible, of course, and only the Bible accurately answers this often to the inferior Asian of those under the influence of evil spiritual influences, Peter in his second letter said for prophecy never came by the will of man, but holy men of God spoke moved by the Holy Spirit. They were influenced by the Holy Spirit, spiritually influenced by the Holy Spirit.

John's going to end this letter and what we know is the fifth chapter and he is going to say for-profit apartment. He's going to say. We know that we are of God, and the whole world lies under the sway of the wicked one, so the influences either from God or from Satan. And if you are subjecting yourself to the world's influence and not God's influence in your under the sway of the wicked one like it or not. And of course if you are submitted to God than it is the Holy Spirit of God, who is your spiritual influence. Those who reject Jesus Christ subject themselves to the wrong kingdom.

Like it or not. This is how it is.

These are the terms that people are born into most want face it, they won't face the fact that there is a wicked one. A wicked source of influence that there are wicked springs and poisoned wells of knowledge. Many think that if you're learning something. It must be good.

Satan loves that kind of approach to life. Paul wrote, whatever things are true, whatever things are noble, whatever things are just, whatever things are pure, lovely, of good report, meditate on these things because the antithesis of those things is not from the father to meditate on those things which are a lie exposed those things that are not noble listings that are not just or the impure. She Satan wants us to dwell on those things and the time we live. And of course the Internet is really ramping this up. Helping that unrighteous influence even in the lives of the righteous Jeremiah in his day, it was all about it. It was Jeremiah against the world. It must've seemed to him. Most of the time. Of course there was a righteous remnant but what was a righteous remnant against so many people called to be God's people who could care less about what God wanted.

And here the prophet is saying listen.

The consequence of being influenced by hell is going to devastate the city.

No one would listen.

Outside of that remnant that small remnant but they suffer it to Jeremiah chapter 2 what he says to his people applies to this day, to all people. For my people have committed two evils. They have forsaken me, the fountain of living waters in human for themselves cisterns, broken cisterns that can hold no water so you you got rid of me that that wellspring of life to carve out for yourself another spring. The false gods that cannot sustain life. So the blessings of truth they are eternal and we who have come to Christ. We look forward to that. But some of the curses of error. They are eternal, to Jesus said that one does not die and so there very serious things that we human beings we people we have humanity are confronted with in this one paragraph. The word world shows up six times.

John is making an emphasis by repeating the word again.

The world is are the those who have rejected the Lordship of Christ in the context of John is using it in most of the New Testament verses that speak of the world. Not every single time. But most of the time and context.

The word spirit shows up seven times because their spiritual influences.

This is a spiritual war. Human beings are spiritual as well as physical word God eight times in this paragraph. See, the emphasis is God, the emphasis is on the spirit and the emphasis is on the world because this is the battleground from heaven's perspective, this world is a bombed out place it's ruined by spiritual influences that have exploded all over its surface.

God has always spiritually reached out to his people in spite of these things.

Hebrews chapter 7 we read, by faith, speaking of Moses. He forsook Egypt, not fearing the wrath of the king, for he endured as seeing him who is invisible. Moses saw beyond this life.

He saw beyond the physical besotted to the spiritual. Satan is always trying to get us to stop doing that.

This is the difference between Esau and Jacob. The main difference. Esau saw what was right in front of him. Jacob saw into the spiritual Romans chapter 1 Paul speaking about what's going on here that first chapter he's writing from Corinth, he can look out of his window is returned from the marketplace. He's come from being surrounded by one way or another the influences of carnality in sin and godlessness and idolatry and debauchery and all the other things that Satan loves humanity to be preoccupied with and he comes back and he writes down this Roman letter, and he says for since the creation of the world his invisible attributes are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even his eternal power and Godhead, so that they are without excuse. Paul says God makes himself visible in some form. He shows himself to be true, to be present but they don't want to hear it because they're under a different influence, and so he calls them out. He says they are without excuse. Colossians dealing with the heresy. Actually, the Colossian letter has everything to do with John's letter though. There's this separated by decades in their writings, but they are located in the same area. John's central ministry had become emphasis the Lycos Valley because he was located not far from there.

This was a hotbed of wicked influence of the amalgamation of religions, the very thing Christianity stands against leaving Judaism stance against that Christianity ramped it all up, increased all that resistance took it to another level was just as tolerant and more than anybody else of mixing religions and yet we have those strutting around boasting today of ecumenical schism. Being able to just push aside the essential differences so that we can all feel good about each other as we thumb our nose in the face of God and his truth. That's the spirit of error. And it is a spiritually influence their knowledge and error of a first baseman who drops the ball.

This has eternal consequence is a writing to the church trying to deal with the heresy creeping into the church ecology pulses. He is the image of the invisible God, he's separating Christ from everybody else. All the fake idols. All of Gnosticism. All the other junk trying to take over the church. He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation. For by him all things pause there not firstborn as in origin. But as in the originator. He continues his thesis firstborn over all creation.

For by him all things were created that are in heaven and that are on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or principalities or powers. All things were created through him and for him. Why would he create the devil. We can create them as the devil, and he uses them as the devil, and he uses him to make the distinction of who is on God's side, and who is not will end message wherever get there. With that thought first Timothy chapter 1 Paul exalting the Lord now to the King eternal, immortal, invisible, to God who alone is wise beyond her and glory forever and ever.

Amen is saying is invisible. We have spiritual influence on our lives.

It is from this God, the God of Paul, the God of Abraham, God, that the Bible exalts, and that Satan likes to interfere with, and so when we say spiritual influences those verses have something to do with the invisible influence from the spiritual realm, but in the verses that I read they are from God we made use a couple of others as we move forward.

Now we look at verse one. Again, beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits whether they are of God, because many false prophets have gone out into the world. We have a reason to be aware. Be aware means watch out it's on this danger beware. Watch out for this beloved, do not believe every spirit.

Now why would he have to go say a thing like that to believe why must believers be told to watch out, spiritually speaking, you would think we come to Christ. We've got our discernment operating where making a distinction between that which is from heaven, and that which is not from heaven, even in the best churches there are those who exercise poor spiritual discernment, they are drawn to false ideas to emotional things. They seem to just gravitate instantly at the newest thing that comes out instead of watching out instead of not remembering that there are false spirits out there, they will gobble down anything and learn the hard way and create a lot of problems in the process get offended so easily when someone points out the truth to them. Well, if Christians are susceptible to false spirits which we are. That's why Paul says, beloved, do not believe it. We want susceptible it would be up this warning if Christians are susceptible going astray and becoming apostates how much more are unbelievers susceptible to spiritual influences. What are you going to do about is pointless to just say will look at them poor unbelievers. They have no excuse that's not enough were called to do more with call to do something about it.

We call to ready ourselves to be used by God.

That's why we come to the churches and build ourselves that we as we have a devotional time. We pray we do all the things were told to do in spite of all the things that come against us so that we can be useful to God because the consequences of rejecting God are eternal and we want to be part of the process.

But why should God use any church that insist on being unfit to be used by God because they will not discern same with every individual and so the faithful have for centuries been plugging themselves into the word of God into prayer to the spirit of God to try to be an instrument against hell for the kingdom, and some don't realize it seems that they are targets and victims of a God hating a man despising Bible attacking demonic hell, they don't seem to understand that that's that Satan hates our guts. The only thing he wants for us is destruction and misery. And if he can plug us out of the father's hand, which he cannot do, he would try to make us miserable while wearing their and that is going to cause that should cause us to sober up and engage the enemy and make him earn it. Make him earn it by being useful to God. Satan's going to hound me that I'm going to hound him back in the flesh is weak. Spirit is willing, so I give to God what I can muster. That's better than giving him nothing he says but test the spirits. Many churchgoers and since insist on never doing this they never test the spirits. They never question when something is out of line with Scripture just accepted because of the pastor said or some musician saying in a song and was so lovely John the apostle. In this letter remembers going at a dead brand. At this point of Gnosticism, the ascetic denial. That's what he when he says, test the spirits. These gnostics here with their mumbo-jumbo. In Christ name nonetheless was infecting the true believers even Paul writing to the Thessalonians. Many decades before he says test all things hold fast to what is good. First Thessalonians 521. Why would we have to test all things, because everything going to test us.

That's why it has to be a response to these things now. Sometimes our responses limited to prayer and personal obedience. Other times God gives us a mouth to speak with we are to engage the enemy's lies with the truth. He says in verse one, whether they are of God, well, because the devil is in the business of hunting humans so we have to determine this influences it from God or is it from hell. Because the consequence of it being from hell is not just a look at that as a delegate that you little devil you consequence is again eternal separation from God and all the pain that's bundled into that too many make it easy for the devil. Every teaching about Christ originates from the spiritual source there are foul and erroneous teachings and there are solid teachings. Just because something is spiritual does not mean it is from God, the devil has the power to influence spiritually.

This is illustrated for us in Exodus when Moses serpent gobbled up the servants of Pharaoh what's illustrated for us is that Satan has spiritual influence, but God is greater. That's what he's going to say that verse that we all love so much greater is he was in you than he was in the world were Satan can't really get to you. Not the way he'd like to we can harass, cause pain, but he cannot snatch you from the father's hand but still, the whole purpose of Satan is to deceive as many as he can in the human race. He continues in verse one, because many false prophets have gone into the world like bats out of hell they've gone into the world. Truly, like a flying out of a K to influence the damn souls. John's dealing with this is not ignoring it Asia. As I mentioned in this is Asia minor. It's got that name from the Romans when they divvied up the land. Just a long story how it got to be cold as we think of Asia. We think of the Orient within China and Japan and things that places like that, we come to the Bible and succumb the turkey and as we find it called Asia minor. We scratch our heads out to get what I've talked too much about that anyway. Syncretism was at work that is that is again the mixing of religion just was there a hotbed for that broad mindedness wrong love that again Ron solution was you all all gods are welcome long as you remember, Caesar is a God to they wanted everybody to play fairly with one another in there for God world and the Christians came along. Of course said no were not doing so when Paul writes to the Ephesian elders in this part of the world, he says, also from among yourselves, men will rise up, speaking perverse things, to draw away the disciples after themselves. He's talking to the Ephesian elders to the pastors of that church and he saying to them, listen, this is a prophecy.

This is not speculation, I'm telling you this is going to happen. Coming into your church will be Gentiles.

They will get saved. Some of them. Many of but there will also be those that are wolves and they will try to consume you. They will bring an evil influence in you better watch out for them because they going after the disciples to draw them away for their own purposes. He also wrote this Timothy this you know that all those in Asia have turned away from me. They were getting away with it. There were those that were coming to the church listen to Pres. Depaul loving M's message of them being swayed away is a real risk to Moses bogey God is not giving you the spirit of fear is no time for that of love and of power and of sound mind will love the power and I love that sound mind that love thing well without it, you get nothing you cannot have the love and and and the sound mind and be pleasing to God. Lord said look I don't care if you martyred you got more moderate. He said this to Paul. I don't get you give your life to be burned for me. If you don't love anybody them was the difference between you and them because unbelievers get martyred for their causes. I need you to be a martyr of love says my flesh, my spirit is never disagreed with a single thing coming from the word of God from God that is this of course in Scripture there's things that come from the enemy we hear the voice of the devil in Scripture. For example, but the carnal man that old nature must be engaged must be defeated well because they depart from Christ because they follow a spirit of error. It doesn't stop them from continuing to use than the Lord's name. We see this today in the cults that are around. They continue to talk about Jesus Christ but is not the Jesus Christ of Scripture is a Jesus Christ that they have sought to embellish to make better. This is of course Jehovah witnesses and Mormons. Another groups like that, why would Christian scientists even associate the name of Christianity with them when they have nothing to do with Christianity totally against Christianity. There's nothing about Christian science that we sit with this and certainly not science. You would think this would be a basic part of reasoning, and it's not because the spiritual influences override the system when someone false prophets now in the when someone says I have the gift of prophecy.

They probably don't because you don't need to announce that the outcome will do that for you or disqualify you know Mulligan's okay for those of you don't know golf your Geico steps up to the baldheaded and goes off in the woods. He slices Hitler gutted is a little over, and the fees with the guys really don't care too much or go right ahead. Those golf zealots though they'll never give your Mulliken you Mulligan all right anyway when this gift of prophecy.

As I mentioned, is exercised in truth, there are two things that always go with it the outcome matches the prophecy and it matches Scripture because Satan can pull off foretelling from time to time, but he doesn't match the Scripture, the antichrist will be known because he will be such an unrighteous character. Well anyway, this is illustrated for us in that story with Ahab became such a wicked king and all the prophets all the false prophets going up seashore king will do whatever you want.

Yahweh is when you course, Jehoshaphat, the good king always found himself wrong agents that they just gravitated one is a bad boy hi Mickey, you may be a friend and he is in trouble numerous times God bailed them out. Thanks for tuning in to cross reference rate cross reference is a ministry pastor Rick Gaston of Calvary Chapel Mechanicsville in Virginia. If you'd like to learn more about this ministry, we invite you to visit our website cross reference radio.com find a number of teachings from Pastor Rick available there. We also encourage you to subscribe to our podcast you subscribe will be notified of new editions of cross reference radio. Just search for cross reference radio iTunes Google play music or your favorite podcast apps. You can also follow the links@crossreferenceradio.com. We're glad we were able to spend time with you today to the next time to continue learning from the book of first John pastor here cross reference