Test the spirits

Have your Bibles with you turn with me if you would first John chapter 4. Looking at verses one through six this evening. 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 by this you know the Spirit of God.

Every spirit that confesses that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh is from God, 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 little children, you are from God and have overcome them, for he was in you is greater than Hades in the world they are from the world.

Therefore they speak from the world and the world listens to them.

We are from God.

Whoever knows God listens to us. Whoever is not from God does not listen to us. By this we know that the spirit of truth and the spirit of error.

Spray heavenly father, we thank you for the apostle John to write this great letter that we call first John two explained to us the seriousness Lord of our faith. He is given us Lord test that we might determine whether we belong to Christ, or whether we don't is given us Lord just things that we need to discern and understand about things which we can fall into deep doctrinal error. Heavenly father, we thank you that you gave this kind of discernment to this man to the power of your Holy Spirit.

It might be passed down to us over a thousand years that we might know Jesus better that we might love Jesus more God and recklessly. This passage this evening. May Jesus be exalted through that which is said tonight.

May this congregation beatified and will ask this prayer in your holy and wonderful and precious name. Amen.

You may be seated.

First John chapter 3 ended with a test to help us determine whether we are true Christians are not in that verse in this. By this we know that he abides in us by the spirit which he has given us sounds a lot like Romans chapter 8 verse 16 that says, his spirit bears witness with our spirit that we are the children of God we say and what one of the greatest test that we have to determine if we truly belong to Christ were not is the indwelling Holy Spirit.

But it's interesting what John has to say immediately after he states that first John 324 needed to be said because that truth is absolutely essential, but he knows that when he states that truth. He's going to open up a can of worms because this idea of the indwelling Holy Spirit is not object if it is subjective and rest assured, John is already dealt with some wackos and some fruitcakes that he's had to deal with in his church and he knows that these are people who say off-the-wall stuff who do off-the-wall things who pronounce off-the-wall doctrines and then attributed to the Holy Spirit. So as a pastor I understand what he's feeling.

I understand his heart understand why so concerned he's dealt with these kind of people and he wants to be loving.

He desires to be a loving pastor the doesn't want to throat cold water on their spiritual zeal. He doesn't want to sound overly critical, he doesn't want to limit these people's freedom, but at the same time he sees danger. He knows what can happen when people are saying and doing things that they claim to be doing by the Holy Spirit is not the Holy Spirit. All false doctrine, manipulation, deception, even counterfeit miracles, John is seen it all and is a pastor. He knows that he's accountable for what goes on in the church and so we cannot take it lightly, so the next few words in that he has here he shares a warning therefore points I want to share with you tonight as we look at the six verses .1 is tasked to spirit of teachers look at verse one again. 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 how do you do that how do you test the spirit of the teacher pay it if we could just get into to look up a little piece of litmus paper and we could do it that way.

Have a pretty easy test or if we could prick his finger given a drop of blood put it under a mic microscope at be pretty easy test can't do it that way. Our method of testing is always one way and that is by the word of God. Hebrews 412 says says this for that word of God is quick, and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints of America and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart. In Matthew chapter 12 verse 34 Jesus said, out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks and in three verses down after they had in verse 37 he says this by your words. Are you justified, and by your words.

Are you condemned and what is that tell us it tells us that what is resonating down in your heart will eventually work its way up to your mouth and you're going to express what's really down in the heart.

False prophets may talk about Jesus, but they have an agenda and that agenda is pleasing sales and some of them are in such great deception if they don't even realize that that's what they're doing only give you a few descriptions from the word of God that describe what false prophets are like this will help you discern their spirit. Romans 16, verses 18 through 19. For such persons do not serve our Lord Jesus Christ, but their own appetites and by smooth talk and flattery they deceive the hearts of the naïve for your obedience is known to all so that I rejoice over you but I want you to be wise as to what is good and innocent as to what is evil.

Second Corinthians 11 verse 13 through 15 for such manner, false apostles, deceitful workmen disguising themselves as apostles, Christ, and no wonder. Even Satan himself disguises himself as an angel of light. So it is no surprise if his servants also disguise themselves as servants of righteousness. Their end will correspond to their deeds. The key to understanding the heart of false teacher is that that use Jesus to their own end. I do not say that they have a lack of zeal or lack of commitment or even a lack of intelligence but you will find that with false prophets. The underlying thing with them is that it's all about me and Romans 1618 lace. It says that they serve not our Lord Jesus Christ with their own bellies or their own appetite. We see this vividly displayed in the prosperity teachers their teaching leads others to believe that God's main concern for us as his people is our temporary happiness and that that comes through financial prosperity through good health and through trouble-free living and I say that's what we should strive for the does that sound like what Jesus commanded us to do. It does not Jesus. If any man be my disciple, let him deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me. Paul said all the living live godly in Christ Jesus will suffer persecution. Yet countless thousands of professing Christians in America believe everything that Kenneth Copeland says out of his mouth. Now I know he's energetic, he's funny and he says things that are going to please our flash, but when you discern his spirit. He is a false prophet, Kenneth Copeland believes that we will become God's Kenneth Copeland believes that when Jesus died on the cross, his death on the cross did not fully pay for our sin debt that after Jesus died on the cross he had to go to hail and when he went to hail.

He did that in order that he might pay a ransom to the devil for our sins, he actually believes that it would seem to me that Christians should be able to discern that that man is not of God, that you should avoid him like the plague. And yet his ministry is worldwide how damaging this is false teaching today.

I was preaching in a pastor's conference in Nairobi Kenya in 2001 and when we got there, Kenneth Copeland had just left and it was absolutely amazing what was going on in the and in the Christian community. At that time. After they had heard Kenneth Copeland there was hopelessness and just absolute devastation among so many of those people. Larry Warren is the, the head of African leadership and Larry when he saw the hopelessness of the devastation that was taking place among the people that many of them that he had led to Christ and many of them who he had helped him and becoming pastors went when he saw that when he saw was going on. I'm in his heart just absolutely broke in her memory and gathering those pastors together and he says guys, I want you to know you have been in the presence of a false prophet and what he said to you with absolute lies for what had he said to them, he said hey listen guys, AAA said you live in in in mud huts and he said if you are living by faith you been living in the wonderful mansion he said look I see you riding on bicycles. They said if you live in by faith. You be run in a BMW and then he actually showed them pictures of where he Lee of the mansion that he lives in. In this fleet of BMWs Larry Warren looked at those guys. He said guys. He said your you may be living in a mud hut and you may never on this earth get out of that mud hut but he said I want you to know you can be living in a mansion in heaven and you might be suffering right now but he said I want you to know you will never suffer in heaven.

He said true happiness and true joy does not come from stuff it comes from a relationship and fellowship with the Lord Jesus Christ. I watch many of those pastors we and fall on their face in absolute repentance for even listening to Kenneth Copeland, Kenneth Copeland claims to be a spirit filled man, Lisa spirit filled man all right this not the Holy Spirit. John also says in verse one that many false prophets. Many false prophets have gone out in the world. We think will gather some false prophets out there, but not not really. Many as in the Jehovah witnesses and the Mormons and many reason but not really. So in in mainline denominations only tell you something in mainline denominations all across the Metro line area right now they are pastors who do not believe in the inerrancy of Scripture, they do not believe in the deity of Christ. I do not believe in the virgin birth of Christ. I do not believe that Jesus Christ is the only way, truth in life.

They believe there are other ways to get to heaven outside of Christ. I do not believe in the necessity of the shed blood for for our salvation. I do not believe in the in the bodily resurrection of Christ or in the visible glorious second coming of Christ are those peripheral issues now who those are the foundations the fundamentals of the Christian faith. And this is what John's upset about. That's why we have this command test the spirits. Make sure that your teachers are born again, I point to test the confession of these teachers verse two and three by this you know the Spirit of God. Every spirit that confesses that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is from God, 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. As we said before, the great heresy that John is having to deal with where he lives. They are in Ephesus is the heresy of Gnosticism and Gnosticism. One of its primary tenants was that Jesus Christ was fully God, but he was not fully man that he is bodily presence on earth was pretty much just an illusion that he was like a family more or a ghost, but not truly man, and John tells us flat out that if you don't believe in the full humanity of Christ that you been deceived by an antichrist spirit and that you are not a true believer when John is deal with the subject who belongs to Christ and who doesn't. He doesn't mention the peripheral issues he doesn't say that then get into the differences in what people believe about baptism, he doesn't get into the different millennial positions.

He doesn't say anything about styles of worship.

He doesn't do that. He points them right to what to the person of Christ.

Good godly men differ in baptism good godly men have different millennial positions good godly men have different preferences on how a styles of worship, but all true godly men get the person of Jesus Christ.

Right if you deny the virgin birth of Christ.

If you deny the deity of Christ. You deny this, the necessity of the shed blood of Christ. You deny the bodily resurrection of Christ. If you deny the Trinity. You deny the visible glorious second coming of Christ, then you fall in the camp of heresy and why is that if you do not any of those truth and you deny the truth about God's son to believe in Jesus is to trust in Jesus, and to trust in Jesus is to trust in what the Bible says about Jesus.

This is exactly what Paul is talking about in second Corinthians 11 verse 134 living read that Paul said I wish you would bear with me and a little foolishness. Do bear with me for I feel a divine jealousy for you since I betrothed you to one husband to present you as a pure virgin to Christ, but I'm afraid that is the serpent deceived Eve by his cunning. Your thoughts will be led astray from a sincere and pure devotion to Christ, for someone comes and proclaims another Jesus and the one we proclaimed, or if you receive a different spirit from the one you received, or if you accept the different gospel from the one you accepted, you put up with it readily enough. What policy and here's extremely important. He said don't be deceived or corrupted and led astray from the simplicity, which is in Christ. In other words, the gospel is not cryptic.

The gospel is not missed hard to understand. In other words, the gospel is clear. It's understandable. Theologians call this perspicuity.

So is it clear that Jesus was born of a virgin to the Scripture absolutely clear. Is it clear that Jesus claimed to be God in Scripture absolutely clear.

Is it clear that the only way of salvation is through the shed blood of Christ. Absolutely clear. Is it clear that Jesus was raised in the day of bodily absolutely clear.

Is it clear that Jesus is going to come back one day, visibly, gloriously, to this earth. Absolutely clear that is the simplicity in Christ and both Paul and John are saying and don't let the smooth talking charlatans twisted Scripture around and calls you to embrace another Jesus who is not the true Jesus at all. David Jackman wrote the following is little commentary on first John, he said, so we are not to look for enlightenment or spiritual help from those who deny the deity of our Lord Jesus Christ or his full humanity.

Whether they are academic theologians or Jehovah witnesses on the doorstep. If we are to be biblically positive that Christ, we have to be negative about arrow. This is not an incentive to indulge in theological witchhunts, but to recognize where the scriptures draw the line between truth and error and to draw them.

They are our sales.

The spirit of antichrist is still abroad the spirit of our age with its mindset against allowing even for a moment that Christ claims could be true, it manifests itself not only in the media boardrooms but also in the Council of those Christian groups which refused to affirm the truth of God's revelation in Scripture and therefore to identify its denial is heresy. Interestingly enough, the battle today is in the same key area concerning the person of Christ, who is this Jesus is not only the central question for evangelism is by virtue of that fact. The central test of Christian orthodoxy is not the only test but it is the most critical thing on the most important things that he said there was this if we are to be biblically positive that Christ, we have to be negative about arrow. I wonder health apostle John was accused of being unloving how often you think that happened. I'll grant you the Gnostics pointed at John and said he is so negative why is he so negative. Why can't we just embrace each other and accept each other's little disagreements. Why can't we just get along. John was so deeply concerned about heresy, that he would even go into the same building with a Gnostic serenity, as was the the most well-known Gnostic in the whole area of Asia minor and it was stated one time that John was in a public bathing house.

And serenity is walked in and John jumped up and he got dressed real quickly and got out of there and and somebody asked to John why are you avoiding serenity is like this and he said serenity is as a heretic and he said I want to be in the same building with his I'm scared God will judge serenity us and destroy that build and I'll be in there people, it is impossible to embrace Jesus is Lord and embrace heretical era. At the same time .3 test yourself verse four little children, you are from God and have overcome them, for he was in you is greater than he is in the world.

One of the test to determine if you're truly born again believer is this, can you discern false teaching. What would a winsome smooth talking teacher begins to share principles and precepts that stand in opposition to the word of God or the person of Jesus. Do you pick up on it. The all of a sudden start staying warm and some wrong they are. You start seeing red flags pop up in your in your mind letting you know. Hey that's not truth. This verse is that the children of God overcame her overcome these false teachers.

Why, because greater is he that is in you than he that is in the world. That means the Holy Spirit in you will guide you to see the deception of the evil one.

That doesn't mean that true believers don't ever fall into a false teachers trap that can happen, but what what it does mean is that if you've heard that false teaching that you're not gonna stay in that trap that the Holy Spirit in you is going to deal with you and's in and give you wisdom and give you discernment's a jerk and a seat that's era that's not truth. I can't keep listen to this is, as these red flags of the Holy Spirit sends up in your life to let you know this is false. This is era and I can't live with it. We had a man in this church. Years ago you went to church in Charlotte to visit one day and this particular church was teaching something that just caught them off guard. He had no idea it was that kind of church and he was absolutely shocked the church was teaching a a doctrine called localism and that's not a new doctrine that goes all the way back to the first century was heresy then it's heresy nail but it was a doctrine that says there is no real true trick Trinity.

They said that that there is the father the son and the Holy Spirit, but it's not three persons is not one God to manifest himself in three persons, it's really just Jesus that Jesus is the father that Jesus is the son that Jesus is the Holy Spirit is not three different distinct persons in the Godhead that just one is just Jesus teaches when a different hat is called a different name is localism in its absolute heresy.

That man got up and he walked out a set can't listen to this. I don't know if you ever seen TD Jakes on on television. These are TV preacher, but he is a mud list. He believes that same heresy. First Corinthians 214 says for the natural man receive is not the things of the spirit of God for their foolishness in the him, neither can he know them, for they are spiritually discerned.

There are there good people in that church probably are there sincere people at church. No doubt, are there people who really believe what's being taught in that church absolutely does that make it all right yeah I and eat you go to it. Think about the Moslem religion for just a minute.

I think there probably some good moral people that are Moslems going to the mosque are they sincere yeah do they believe what they're saying absolutely.

They do that I going to a mosque to worship with them.

Absolutely not, why not because it's idolatry. It's a false God, and we are told to stay away from it is a way to test yourself.

Can you sit under a false teacher and live with it. Can you embrace a person or a church that is dead wrong about the person of Christ.

Verse forces.

This note, if you're a child of God, you will overcome false teaching. You won't buy into it, you won't put up with it and once again I'm not talking about peripheral issues here with the person of Christ is foundational. If you're wrong about Jesus. If you're wrong about the gospel you're in deep trouble voice in chapter 1 verse eight, nine, says this, but if we are an angel from heaven, preach any other gospel to you than that which we have preached to you, let him be accursed.

As we have said before, so now I say again, if anyone preaches any other gospel to you than that which you have received, let him be accursed. That word means condemned or dampened fourth point is to test the followers of teachers verse five and six. They are from the world. Therefore they speak from the world and the world listens to them. 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 in the spirit of error.

You can look at people who follow a teacher and tell whether a teachers fault for not have to be careful here because I'm not saying that everybody that goes to a particular church is going to practice the that the doctrine and the practice of that church. I know that sometimes that doesn't happen and there are different levels of spiritual maturity in the church. So that's not always the case I'm in. When I was pastoring the Southside Baptist Church. I had been witnessing to a guy that was a in the and outlaw motorcycle gang and then sharing the gospel with Eamon and he didn't come to Christ. But he asked me to come to church yeah would love for you to come to church and he did when a stuffed softball team in our church and and he asked me said to cannot play on the softball team cemented the great would love that he plans on faulting forgot his Southside Baptist baseball And we played softball had a good time. Everything went fine until one day he got mad. One night, and he beat his wife and they called the police out the police guarding the cooking. The jail and and I went to visit him in jail. I went into his jail sale, and there he was sitting there with his Southside Baptist And I Can Remember Saying to Him That Thing Out Of Your Head.

That's Not What We Stand for. That's Not What We Stand for. So Realize That All the Are Attending a Church Are Not Going to Follow the Teachings of the Church, Even Jesus Had a Disciple Named Judas Who Is Not True Disciple. Although the Claim to Be Versus Five and Six Is a General Statement Here. If You Talk to the Followers of Kenneth Copeland.

They Can Be Talking like Kenneth Copeland or They Can Be Talking about Are Going to Be Talking about Financial Prosperity, Physical Health, and Trouble-Free Living to Talk to the Disciples of John Piper Which You Can Hear You Hear about Joy You Hear about the Glory of God. Even Here about Dying to Self. You Can Hear about Loving the Lord so Much That You Don't Waste Your Life on Worldly Things.

Verse Five Says That Those Who Follow False Teachers or Worldly. They Talk about Worldly Things in the World Is Is in Tune with Them, but True Followers of True Teachers Are Enamored with Christ. My Uncle Percy Belies One This Strongest Christians That I've Ever Known. He and His Wife Sarah Smiled. Dad, Sister Were on the Mission Field in Brazil for 45 Years He Lived at Age 91 He Died 15 Years Ago and I Just I Love You My Love Be in Rounding. He Love the Lord God.

He Was a Psalm One Guy, He Just Meditated on the Word Day and Night and He Died by Caucus. It 15 Years Ago, but He Taught Sunday School until He Is 91 and Taught Sunday School till Two Weeks Right before He Died. He Was a Man Who Would Witness to Anybody Who Would Give Him an Ear Love to Share the Gospel. But My Feel Who's His Son-In-Law Took Him out on Friday Evening.

One Night to a Nice Restaurant in Fayette Where They Lived and They Went out and Sat down in the Restaurant There Was in the Restaurant Had a Restaurant to Build Him a Restaurant Part in the Front of the Building in a Bar in the Back of the Building and My Uncle Right in the Middle of the Meal Said Need Use Restroom and See Got up to Go Away Back to the Back to Go to the Restaurant Half Hour Later He He Hadn't Come Back and Side of My Feel so While I Better Go Check on and so He Went to Go Check on Eamon and There Was My Uncle at the Bar with His New Testament Laid out on the Counter Sharing the Gospel with the Bartender and That Bartender Came to Christ and Then He He Went and Joined the Church That Percy Was a Part of That Percy's Funeral. I Saw the Bartender and I Got to Talk with and I Got to Find That a Little Bit about Me and the Bartender Said We Taste Something. He Was Weeping, He Said, Your Uncle Not Only Share the Gospel with Me but He Said He Also Took Me under His Wing and Disciple Me Is That on the Bartender Anymore. He Said I'm up in a Bible School Here in Inflatable and I'm of the Missionary at That Same Funeral It Percy's Funeral. My Brother Was with Me and My Brother Saw a Guy That He Had Seen in 20 Years. It Was One of His Roommates in College and This Guy Had Been a Party or Is It Just a Crazy Wild Guy and He Said Installing at the Funeral and Cinnamon. 20 Years Said He Walked up to Them Said What in the World Are You Doing Here and He Said Several Years Ago Percy Share the Gospel with Me. I Came to Christ, He Said.

Now the Deacon Here in This Church Said That's While Here I Still Love Your Uncle, and Now Love Jesus.

That's What This Verse Is Talking about.

If Your True Disciple of a Godly Teacher in Your Walk with the Lord.

If You're Disciple of a False Teacher, Then Your Walk with the World. John Said Test the Spirit. Lissa Is Probably Heavenly Father We Thank You for Your Instruction Here in This Great Chapter, We Pray Heavenly Father That You Would Help Us Lord, That We Might Understand the Gravity of This That Lord We Might Not Take This Lightly, That Lord We Might Be Seriously Testing the Spirit Father in the World in Which We Are Living the Day with Her so Much Apostasy Going on in and so Much False Doctrine, and so Much Silly Teaching Would Ask Heavenly Father That She Open Her Eyes and Give Us Wisdom Give Us Direction Give Us Insight Give Us Discernment so That We Might Test the Spirits in a Way That Would Bring Honor and Glory to You and Help to Our Own Souls. Lord I Thank You for This Congregation and for Their Love for Jesus for Their Love for the Word of God.

But This Is Not a Congregation to Be Easily Deceived. I've Been Here, Lord, When People Said Wrong Things in the Pulpit and the Congregation Immediately Sees Red Flags Going up and They Not Only Question It with a They Deal with It and I Praise You for That Help Us, Lord, That We Might Be More and More Discerning That We Might Be a People Who Obey the Command of John and Test the Spirit We Love You Lord, Thank You and Praise You for Your Goodness and Love to Us, We Assess Prayer Now in Your Holy and Wonderful and Precious Name. Amen