Testing the Spirits (1 John 4:1-6, NASB)

1 Beloved, 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 By this you know the Spirit of God: every spirit that confesses that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is from God; ³ and every spirit that does not confess Jesus is not from God; this is the spirit of the antichrist, which you have heard is coming, and now it is already in the world. ⁴ You are from God, little children, and have overcome them; because greater is He who is in you than he who is in the world. ⁵ They are from the world, therefore they speak as from the world, and the world listens to them. ⁶ We are from God. The one who knows God listens to us; the one who is not from God does not listen to us. By this we know the spirit of truth and the spirit of error.

Sermon Title: “The Heart of a Pastor”

Text: 1 John 4:1-6

Outline:

The Heart of a Pastor longs for you to:

1. Test false spirits (v 1)
2. Know the Holy Spirit (v 2)
3. Stand firm in the truth (v 3)
4. Overcome the world (v 4)
5. Not listen to the world (v. 5)
6. Listen to God (v. 6)