“Discernment is not a matter of simply telling the difference between right and wrong; rather, it is telling the difference between right and almost right.” —Charles Spurgeon

“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 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. Little children, you are from God and have overcome them, for he who is in you is greater than he who is 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 the Spirit of truth and the spirit of error.” —1 John 4:1-6

Discernment Is

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The

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• “Do Not Believe Every Spirit” (v.1) - Not every spirit is from God.

• “Test the Spirits to see whether they are from God” - The truth is knowable. Spirits are either from God or they are deceptive. You need to know the difference.

• “For many false prophets have gone out into the world.”

Spirits speak through

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.
Spirits have an

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.
Spirits are

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.

• Discernment means we have to test the Spirits.

Don’t ignore them.
Don’t pretend they don’t exist.
Don’t

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them.

Truth Is Discovered By

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Sound

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• The test is knowing Jesus.

“That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we looked upon and have touched with our hands, concerning the word of life” —1 John 1:1

• “By This you know the Spirit of God” - John has to write this because of how he ended chapter 3, telling us how we can know we are saved, by trusting the Holy Spirit who God sent to us as confirmation of what we believe.

“Whoever keeps his commandments abides in God, and God in him. And by this we know that he abides in us, by the Spirit whom he has given us.” —1 John 3:24

• “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.” - - If they speak the truth, that Jesus has come in the flesh, that he wasn’t just a spirit or a ghost, but that he was a flesh and blood man, then they are true and trustworthy.

“Every Christian should have an insatiable appetite for sound doctrine.” —John Blanchard

• We need to

Him. Part of this points us to the idea that while it’s great to know about Jesus, it’s even better to know Him. John is able to spot this false doctrine because he knew Jesus personally.

• Jesus is the truth. Therefore, he points us toward the truth.

Discernment Means

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On The Holy Spirit

• “…He who is in you, is greater than he who is in the world.” - (v.4) We have the Holy Spirit in us and he will lead us into all truth. 1 John 2:27

• How Does the Holy Spirit lead us into all truth?

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Fasting
He speaks

• It Comes Down To Authority. We must decide who or what is going to be the authority of our lives.

• John gives an authority answer. He that is in you is greater…That means he should have the highest authority.

“Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make straight your paths.” —Proverbs 3:5-6

• We speak from the vine we are connected to. “They are from the world, therefore they speak from the world and the world listens to them.” (v.5)

Discernment Means

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To The

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• “Whoever knows God listens to us…” - This isn’t me telling you to only listen to me. That’s cultish. Don’t trust anyone who says that.

Take what I say and line it up to word of God.
Listening to us means the Apostles.
If someone preaches a new message, don’t believe it.

“But even if we or an angel from heaven should preach to you a gospel contrary to the one we preached to you, let him be accursed.” —Galatians 1:8

• “Whoever is not from God does not listen to us…” - People who do not listen to the apostles and do not trust in their gospel are false teachers. They are liars and deceptive.

“The man who is in the direct line from the Apostles is the man who preaches the doctrine of the Apostles, the man who has the spirit of the Apostles in him.” —D. Martyn Lloyd-Jones

• Teaching the Apostle’s doctrine - This is the heart of what John is saying at the end of this passage. If we are truly listening to the Apostles, we are listening to their message. Their message has been recorded for us in the Bible.

We Can

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it.
We Can Rest In It.
We Can

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It.