Today we continue our series entitled, “God Loves You”, under the overall theme for the year of, “Supernatural Manifestation.” We have been learning about the love of God from the Apostle of Love, John. While John emphasized the love of God in the Gospel that bears his name, that document was written shortly after Jesus’ death. Decades later, when John was in his 90s, after having decades to meditate and medicate on God’s love, he wrote three letters that contain some of the richest teaching in the Bible on the topic. Today we will look at a passage in 1 John 4, where in the middle of teaching on God’s love, John warns us about false prophets and the spirit of deception. Even in this, we can see the love of God. This is what John said:
“My dear friends, don’t believe everything you hear. Carefully weigh and examine what people tell you. Not everyone who talks about God comes from God. There are a lot of lying preachers loose in the world. Here’s how you test for the genuine Spirit of God. Everyone who confesses openly his faith in Jesus Christ—the Son of God, who came as an actual flesh-and-blood person—comes from God and belongs to God. And everyone who refuses to confess faith in Jesus has nothing in common with God. This is the spirit of antichrist that you heard was coming. Well, here it is, sooner than we thought!
My dear children, you come from God and belong to God. You have already won a big victory over those false teachers, for the Spirit in you is far stronger than anything in the world. These people belong to the Christ-denying world. They talk the world’s language and the world eats it up. But we come from God and belong to God. Anyone who knows God understands us and listens. The person who has nothing to do with God will, of course, not listen to us. This is another test for telling the Spirit of Truth from the spirit of deception.” (1 John 4:1-6 MSG)
So what does this mean to you today? There is obviously a great deal to cover in this passage. For the purposes of today’s message, I will simply seek to glean a few nuggets.
1. There are false spirits and false teachers in this world.
a) Don’t be naive enough to think that everything and everyone is from God. Not everyone who is WITH you is FOR you.
b) Those who openly confess Jesus as Lord, who unashamedly acknowledging Him to be the Son of God who came in the flesh to die for our sin, are of God and belong to God. Those who do not, are not.
c) I know it’s not popular today to ‘draw lines in the sand’, but the Bible is crystal clear. Either you accept Jesus, and along with Him, accept eternal life IN him, or you don’t. If you accept Jesus, you belong to the Father. If you don’t accept Jesus, you don’t… at least not yet. Which is why we must draw the lost with God’s love.
2. Those of us who are Born-Again belong to God.
a) You must know that you belong to God. You are not your own. You were bought with a price. That price was the blood of Jesus!
b) Knowing you are IN God and God is IN you, gives you a peace that cannot be shaken.
3. The Spirit of God is greater than any other spirit, so we have nothing to fear.
a) We have already won the victory, because we are IN CHRIST and He already won the victory!
b) Greater is He [God] who is in us, than he [satan] who is in the world.
c) When you know God is IN you, ON you, WITH you and FOR you, you have nothing to fear!
4. Faith works best in rest.
a) When you KNOW you are In Christ and Christ is IN you, and you know God will never turn His back on you because He loves you, you can rest and faith does it’s best work in REST.
b) Resting in the love of God fuels your faith and starves your doubts. This is how you tap into the supernatural.
Closing Confession: Father, this is a year of Great Victory for me. I know You love me. Jesus loved me enough to die for me. I have accepted Jesus as my Lord. I belong to You. I am IN You and You are IN me. Greater is the Spirit IN me (the Holy Spirit), than any spirit of this world. You already won the victory. I have nothing to fear. I know You love me, so I enter into Your rest. I live by faith and my faith is fueled by Your unending love for me! I declare this by faith. In Jesus’ name. Amen.
This is Today’s Word! Apply it and Prosper.
