1 John 4:1-6 1Dear friends, 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.
2This is how you can recognize the Spirit of God:
Every spirit that acknowledges that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is from
God,
3but every spirit that does not acknowledge Jesus
is not from God. This is the spirit of the antichrist, which you have heard is
coming and even now is already in the world.
4You, dear children, are from God and have overcome
them, because the one who is in you is greater than the one who is in the
world.
5They are from the world and therefore speak from
the viewpoint of the world, and the world listens to them.
6We are from God, and whoever knows God listens to
us; but whoever is not from God does not listen to us. This is how we recognize
the Spirit of truth and the spirit of falsehood.
To achieve your goals you must foster the right attitudes,
following right example, and focusing on the right prize.
Staying on Course
Introduction, achieving your goals
1) Many set goals but never achieve them
2) Many get side-tracked on other things
3) To achieve goals you must stay on course
God has an upward call for you!
1) God has created you for a higher purpose
2) God has called you to salvation, service, to be Christ-like
John is warning his readers they
could be led off course by false teachers. They must be careful to maintain
their focus on Jesus and put every teacher to the test.
Let us look at John’s advice for
staying on course in the faith.
I. Don’t believe everything you hear that calls itself
Christian.
A. We are involved in a spiritual
conflict over the souls of men,
1. Satan, the enemy, has great power
and he even dared to attack Jesus: Matt. 4:1-11
2. I doubt he had power to give Jesus
the kingdoms of the world. He is a liar. However, he had enough power to take
Him to a pinnacle of the temple and to the top of a mountain and show Him all
the kingdoms of the world.
3. Satan wanted the soul of Jesus.
One compromise, one sin, and He would have surrendered his life and His deity.
B. The world is full of false
teachers. They are all motivated by the spirit of the antichrist: (Satan.)
1. Some say Jesus never really
existed. He is a mythological figure like superman, Santa, or the Easter Bunny.
2. Others take Him to be merely a
great teacher and leader whose time came and went.
3. Some believe Jesus to be God’s son
but one of many sons and we are sons of God like Jesus.
4. Some claim Him as Savior but
hardly give Him any importance. If there is nothing else to do and everyone
feels fine, if we don’t have company, if it’s not too cold or too hot, etc., we
might as well go to the church meeting.
C. The spirit of antichrist is at
work in this falsehood.
1. Antichrist is not just one
individual. It is the spirit of rebellion against God.
2. We are in conflict with
numerous spiritual powers of evil. Eph. 6:12. They are very active in our day.
3. There are many false teachers. We
should not believe everyone who claims to be Christian. We should certainly be
able to recognize the spirit of the antichrist and reject it.
II. First, make sure about Jesus: any teacher or leader who does
not give Him His proper place cannot be trusted.
A. He is the centerpiece of our
faith:
1. If someone says He is only one of
many ways to God, I believe Jesus, Who said, "I am the way, the truth, and
the life."
2. He is more than the radar that
will keep us on course. He is the One Who opened the way to Heaven for us. He
is the ship and the radar and the captain and the wide blue sea all in one.
3. If one claims to be led by the
spirit, we must ask what spirit. If they do not give Jesus His proper place,
they are not speaking from the Spirit of God. I John 4:2, 3
B. Who does John say He is:
1. Christ. The divine Messiah
promised in the Old Testament. The "seed of the woman" from Gen.
3:15. He is God.
2. Come in the flesh. Jesus - His
human name. A very common name among the Jews. It acknowledges the human side
of Him. He is Son of Man.
3. If He is not Son of God, then He
is not perfect and unable to atone for our sins. If He is not son of man, he
has no sacrifice to offer.
4. As God/man, He is our High Priest
to intercede between us and God. Heb. 4:14, 15
III. Remember Whose you are: 4-6
A. You are from God: therefore, you
must listen to God.
1. Does someone bring a different
book or a different Jesus to your door? He is antichrist.
2. Does someone try to lead you
astray into things you know are wrong? Perhaps drugs or alcohol or gang
activity. They are antichrist. Stay away.
3. Is someone telling you, "Everyone’s
doing it?" That’s reason enough to be suspicious.
4. Is someone saying, "The Bible
is outmoded? Modern people believe differently." they are antichrist.
B. They are from the world.
1. The world listens to them. They
get a greater hearing.
2. For example, all kind of falsehood
has been spread in the name of science and science has disproved many of its
own theories. evolution is a great falsehood most of the world believes.
3. The world refuses to hear us or
accept Creationism because it would not hear Him.
C. This is why the Church is so
important and love for one another is essential. If we can’t accept and love
one another, we will be very lonely in the world.
1. It is important we teach the Word
of God, so false teachers will be exposed.
2. no matter what the world may send
forth against us and no matter how good it may sound, we have God’s Word and if
we stay with it, we will triumph.
3. The best news in this passage:
"the one who is in you is greater than the one who is in the world." I
John 4:4
4. we must measure everything we hear
by the standard of God’s word. then we will stay on course.
CONC.: Tell the story of Saul and the
witch of Endor. Saul was led off course by false teaching and it cost him his
life and those of his sons as well.. I Sam. 28. I Chr. 10:13, 14
