Test the spirits
January 9, 2005
1 John 4:1-4
Baptism of the Lord
Galena-Warwick United Methodist Charge
Warwick & Galena, Maryland
Rev. Dr. Lawrence D. Jameson
back to our church home page
1 John 4:1-4
1 Dear 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. 2
This is how you can recognize the Spirit of God: Every spirit that acknowledges
that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is from God, 3 but 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.
4 You, 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.
In 2005 I feel led to talk about miracles,
and how God uses signs and wonders, and works of power
to build up our faith in Jesus Christ.
The point of my sermon today
is to impress upon you
that not every miracle is from God.
We need discernment.
Discernment is a spiritual gift
that helps us figure out
the source of things.
In 1 John 4:1
the Bible says:
Dear 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.
I thank God for the gift of Christian discernment.
I believe the Lord has give me a tiny bit of that gift.
I would like to have a lot more.
I pray that God will give every member of our church
a triple dose of this important spiritual gift!
What does the gift of discernment do
for Christians?
Discernment is the special ability
that God gives to certain members of the body of Christ
to help us know with assurance
if a given behavior, situation, or experience
is in reality divine, human, or Satanic in origin.
There are only three sources for spiritual power.
If something is from God,
you know it is good.
If something is from the Devil,
you know it is bad.
If something is from people,
it can good, bad, or a mixture of both,
and usually, it’s a mixture.
Test the spirits.
That means, figure out where something is coming from.
When we are talking about miracles,
which always come with a “wow factor”,
it is possible for us to be bamboozled, tricked, and deceived.
We need discernment.
Demons
Last month I talked about
God’s messengers, the angels.
We enjoyed seeing beautiful pieces of art work
that our members brought to church
to decorate our sanctuary during the Christmas season.
I talked about how angels
helped get the world ready for the birth of Jesus Christ.
But there are fallen angels too.
What are they?
Fallen angels are demons.
Demons cannot die.
They are creatures that have amazing powers and abilities.
They can travel at the speed of thought.
They can appear and disappear.
They can do amazing, even miraculous things.
They joined with Satan in a rebellion against God
and they were kicked out of heaven.
Their minds are permanently set to oppose God.
They hate Christians.
They want to hurt us.
Demons are the trickiest, most wicked, vile,
and deceitful creatures that you can imagine.
Demons don’t want you to know
that they exist.
They want Christians to be unaware
of their presence, their powers, and their objectives.
This sermon is going to drive them crazy.
That’s OK.
Because in 1 John 4:4
the Bible says:
You, 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.
Spiritual Experiences
I want you to know
that everyone has spiritual experiences.
It doesn’t matter if you are Christian or non-Christian.
This cuts across culture and geography.
What do I mean by “spiritual experiences”?
I’ll share one that I had.
Years ago, when my sister was alive,
every now and then
one of us would feel compelled
to call the other person on the phone.
We just had a feeling that it was time to call.
Invariably, we would know when the other person needed to talk.
I have always loved my sister Jamie.
And I will always treasure her friendship.
My sister and I had a sort of connection
that lasted until she died in 1991.
The funny thing was,
we lived three thousand miles apart,
and the distance didn’t matter at all.
Everybody has a personal story of
mysterious and unexplained experiences.
Are those miracles?
Not always.
I call them spiritual experiences.
Are they from God?
Maybe. That takes the gift of discernment to determine.
The point I am trying to make
is that there are lots of amazing
spiritual experiences
that happen.
What we need to do
is to acknowledge the fact
that we don’t know everything.
That is OK!
But here is something we do know.
Jesus Christ was born in Bethlehem.
He was crucified on the cross in Jerusalem,
and that’s where he paid for your sins
and for mine.
On the third day, he arose.
If you confess your sins,
and accept Jesus into your life,
you will be made right with God.
Some day, Jesus is coming back to the earth,
and he is coming back for his church.
In 1 John 4:2
the Bible says:
This is how you can recognize
the Spirit of God:
Every spirit that acknowledges that
Jesus Christ has come in the flesh
is from God,
but every spirit that does not acknowledge Jesus
is not from God.
This is a simple test
that comes from the Bible.
This test points us to Jesus Christ.
It doesn’t point us to Ouija boards, or Tarot cards,
or to a seance.
The Bible is really clear about
how those activities are forbidden
for Christian disciples.
(See Deuteronomy 18:9-13)
Can you figure out why they are forbidden?
Think about this.
Demons are real. They are tricky. And they lie.
They can impersonate, deceive, and suck you in with half-truths.
Participation in the occult
is forbidden for Christians
precisely because demons are real.
God forbids Christians
from dabbling in the occult
because he wants to protect us
from dangerous territory.
We all have “spiritual experiences”
but not every experience comes from God.
Because I am a Christian pastor,
people often seek me out
and tell me about
a time when they saw a ghost,
or had a dream that came true,
or had a premonition that turned into something significant,
or witnessed some strange turn of events that were related to
the death of a loved one.
They ask if they have sinned,
and I say,
“Did you ask for a ghost?”
“Did you ask for a dream that came true?”
“Did you ask for a premonition?”
The answer is almost always no.
We are not responsible for
the spiritual experiences that happen to us.
But we are responsible
for what we do with our experiences.
If we can give the glory to God,
and live our lives in submission to Jesus Christ,
that’s all we need to do.
Christians don’t seek “spiritual experiences”.
We seek the LORD.
Spiritual Warfare
Dear ones,
living a Christian life is not easy.
It’s spiritual warfare.
In Ephesians 6:12-13
the Bible says
For our struggle is not against flesh and blood,
but against the rulers, against the authorities,
against the powers of this dark world
and against the spiritual forces of evil
in the heavenly realms.
Therefore put on the full armor of God,
so that when the day of evil comes,
you may be able to stand your ground,
and after you have done everything, to stand.
This is a key verse
if we are going to correctly understand
miracles.
Miracles are victories
in the battlefield.
Miracles will always point beyond themselves
to glorify Jesus Christ.
Objections
Secular people often object
to the whole idea of demons, and spiritual warfare.
That’s OK.
It is intellectually understandable,
because demons are
by their very nature
covert and deceitful.
There is no scientific test to apply here.
Christians can readily admit that we might sound
goofy,
or paranoid,
or unrealistic.
But that doesn’t change the objective fact
that the Bible is true.
Modern science
has not disproved or ruled out the claims of
God’s Word, the Bible.
Just the opposite.
Archeology, and secular historical research
have confirmed the facts of the Bible
hundreds of times.
The bottom line is this:
if we are going to believe the Gospel
and live a victorious Christian life
we need to adopt a Biblical world view.
Miracles make sense
only when we see them through the eyes of faith,
in terms of our relationship with God,
and in terms of
an amazing invisible battle that is raging around us.
Practical Stuff
Here are some practical things to help you Test the Spirits.
1) REPENT
If you are into any occult practices,
you need to repent. There are five steps to repentance.
Confess to God what you have done.
Tell God you are sorry for breaking his law.
Ask him to forgive you.
Next, say “thank you” for forgiveness (even if you don’t feel it).
It takes faith to thank God for what you don’t feel.
Faith always pleases God!
Finally, get support from a Christian you can trust.
2) AVOID THE EXTREMES
Don’t obsess about demons. That will do no good.
And neither should you pretend they don’t exist.
Adopt the healthy attitude described by 1 John 4:4
“the one who is in you
is greater than the one who is in the world”
3) PRAY A LOT MORE
Be aware of what Spiritual Warfare is.
Take time to pray a lot before you try to do anything
significant for God.
Prayer is key to getting the victory in every area
of Christian life.
4) STUDY THE BIBLE
The Bible is the best way
to discover what God’s will is for your life.
God wants you to Test the Spirits
with a mind and heart
that has been deeply influenced by Scriptural truth.
5) NOT EVERY MARVEL IS A MIRACLE
Remember that everyone has “Spiritual Experiences”
but that not every unusual experience is a miracle.
Sometimes we are given discernment about the source,
and sometimes we just don’t know.
The key is to be humble about these things.
Simply share what you experience, and give the glory to God.