In the first epistle of John,
chapter 4, he tells the people of God, he calls them beloved,
and he says, Believe not every spirit, but try the spirits,
whether they are of God, because many false prophets are gone
out into the world. And what John says to God's people
to test the preachers, that is, I say this morning to everyone,
I wish that everyone would put all so-called preachers to the
test. He says try the spirits. Try them. Why doesn't he call
them preachers? Why does he say spirits? Because
a preacher is either of an evil spirit or good spirit. Because
there are spiritual things taking place. in this matter of preaching. Spiritual forces at work. The Holy Spirit of God or the
evil spirit. He says try them. Try these spirits
whether they are of God. Try or put them to the test.
Put them to the test whether they are of God. How? How are
we to try these spirits? Well, we first of all try them,
test them by God's word. Isaiah 8.20 says, To the law
and to the testimony, if they speak not according to my word,
it is because there is no light in them. We are to put preachers
to the test by God's word. We are to hear them and go home
and search the scripture. like the Bereans of old, those
Jewish Bereans who were more noble than others. And they would
listen to the apostles and go home and search the scriptures
to see if what they were saying was so, was true from God's word. We are to try the spirits by
God's word. We are to try them by the message
that they preach. The Apostle Paul said, Woe is
unto me if I preach not the gospel." A preacher of the gospel is just
that, a preacher of the gospel. He is not a socializer, an organizer
into politics and this and that and the other. His ministry is
the preaching of the gospel, and the gospel is what he preaches.
The gospel is the news, the good news, the message of Jesus Christ
and Him crucified. It's not a social gospel, but
a bloody gospel. It's not a gospel of man's works,
but of God's sovereign grace in the Lord Jesus Christ. The
gospel is His message. Christ and Him crucified is His
message. How often Every time. Every time. We're to try or put
them to the test by their methods. If one preaches the gospel, that's
what they'll do. Their methods will be in keeping
with the message and God's Word. They'll do nothing more and nothing
less than what God's Word tells them to do. We should try not
only preachers, but those places that are called churches, by
their methods, go in and see, listen and watch and see if what
they are doing and how they are doing it and what they are saying
is in keeping with God's Word. In other words, we should be
able to judge these places. by what they
are doing, whether or not it is in keeping with the way things
were done in God's Word, the New Testament church. If we are doing things the way
God's Word tells us, then the Apostle Paul or Peter could come
in and say, this is the way worship should be conducted. There are
only three basic things that are involved. in worship services,
and that is for the preaching of God's Word, the reading of
God's Word, prayer, and the singing of hymns. Anything else is not
scriptural. So we try them by their methods.
We try them by their fruit. An evil tree brings forth evil. Bad fruit cannot bring forth
good fruit. and vice versa. And those who
hear those preachers, are they true believers in the Lord Jesus
Christ? Or are they playing religion?
There is no profession on earth with more frauds and fakes in
it than this thing of preachers. And yet there are less restrictions,
qualifications, and guidelines. None, really. None. except in God's Word. There are
many restrictions, qualifications, and guidelines from God's Word.
And there's no profession more dangerous than this thing of
preaching. You don't let people practice
medicine or law without having some credence. Well, they
do religion, though, and billions of people follow these spirits
implicitly, and the consequences are great. Well, he says, Hereby
you may know. Hereby you may know the Spirit
of God, the Holy Spirit of God. Hereby you may know one who teaches
or preaches God's Word, you may know whether or not he is sent
by God the Holy Spirit or not. And the Holy Spirit is the one
who teaches and equips and leads and guides and speaks to and
through the true preacher of God. They are not trained up
in some school. That's not biblical. The school
that the apostles went to was the school of Jesus Christ and
the Holy Spirit. The Lord said many false prophets
are gone out into the world. Many. Now, if there were many
2,000 years ago when this was written, how many more are there
now? So here he says in verse 2, here
is the chief way you may know. He said, Every spirit, preacher,
that confesseth that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh is of God. Every spirit that confesses that
Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is of God, and every spirit
that confesses not that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh
is not of God. And this is that spirit of Antichrist. Well, you have heard that it
should come, and even now already is it in the world. Back then,
two thousand years ago. What is meant by this? Every
spirit that confesses Jesus Christ is coming to fled. Every spirit
that confesses not. Well, don't all so-called preachers
and so-called Christian religion or churches say that
Jesus was born in Bethlehem years ago. He is the Lord Jesus Christ. Don't all say that. Don't they
all believe and tell about the birth and life of Jesus Christ? Certainly they do. But then all
of them are sent by God? No. That's not what this is saying. It's much deeper than that. Now, listen to me very carefully.
Back 2,000 years ago, the Jews, when you would ask a Jew of the
Christ, who is the Christ, they knew that the Christ, they believed
that the Christ, based on Scripture, that the Christ was none other
than God Almighty. who would come to this earth.
That's right. They believed that the Christ
was God who would come to this earth. And in Isaiah 25, I read
to you, Isaiah 25, 9, which is a prophecy of the Christ, the
coming Christ. It said, It shall be said in
that day, Lo, this is our God We have waited for him, and he
will save us. This is the Lord, capital L,
capital O, capital R, capital D. That's Jehovah. It shall be
said in that day, this is our God. We have waited for him.
He will save us. This is Jehovah. We have waited
for him. We will be glad and rejoice in
his salvation. Over in Isaiah 35, it says in
verse 4, Be strong, fear not, behold, your God will come with
vengeance, even God with a recompense. He will come and save you. The
eyes of the blind shall be opened, the ears of the deaf shall be
stopped. It doesn't say, Son of God. It says, God. Jesus of Nazareth is none other
than God Almighty manifest in the flesh. That's what the Scripture
says. Anybody that says he is less
than God is anti-Christ. That's right. In Isaiah 9, verse 6, it says,
unto us, a child is born, a son is given, a government shall
be upon his shoulder, his name shall be called Wonderful Counselor,
the Mighty God, the Everlasting Father. That child that was born
was the eternal Son that is given and is none other than God Almighty,
Father. You say, I don't understand how
he can be Father and Son. Of course you can't. He is God.
He came in the flesh. God, scripture says, was manifest
in the flesh. Great is the mystery of Godliness.
God was manifest in the flesh. The Jews didn't believe him when
he came. When he came, Jesus, the Christ, they didn't believe
he was the Christ. And they don't now. Jews don't
believe he's the Christ now, because they don't believe he
was God then. And neither do Jehovah's Witnesses. They don't believe Jesus is Jehovah,
that he is Lord. Neither do the Mormons. Neither
do the Muslims, Hindus. So based on this scripture, they
are anti-Christ. Since Jesus is the Christ, anyone
who claims that he is not God is anti-Christ. All right? There is much more to this. Anyone
who denies the work of Christ is not of God. It says, He that
believeth Jesus Christ is come in the flesh. He is not of God.
Why He came? That is, He came to this earth.
Sent by God. Christ says this over and over
again in John's Gospel. I am sent of the Father. Sent
with a job to do. Well, back there in Isaiah 25
again it says, This is our God. He will save us. He, not we, not him and I, not
Jesus tried and I finish it. He will, not He's done all He
can do and now the rest is up to you. Will. Call His name Jesus,
for He shall. Scriptures are full of the shalls
and God's will. God's will is not like ours.
That is, we want to do something. We try to do something. That's
not God's will. He said, I will work. Isaiah
43, 13, He will work. And who shall let it or prevent
it? He will save. It doesn't say He will make an
attempt to save. It doesn't say He will make salvation
possible. He will save us. Who is He? Us. God's people. from our sins. Jesus Christ is
God. That's who He is. And He came
to earth sent by the Father to do a job. What's that? To save
His people. To save His people. Anyone that
confesses anything less than that is not of God. It's anti-Christ. Anti-Christ. Well, try these preachers. See whether they're of God. Because
many false prophets are going out into the world. Until next
Sunday, may the Lord give you ears to hear. Amen.