Christ Isn't A Title

Beloved, believe not every spirit, but try the spirits whether they are of God: because many false prophets are gone out into the world.

1 John 4:1

Not everyone who speaks the name of Jesus is a true believer of the sacrifice that He made on Calvary… Not everyone who you see at church is a member of the body of Christ and today we are charged to “try the spirits whether they are of God…” We must not be fooled in our walk with the Lord, I once was told that Satan isn’t actually dwelling in the world but in the church; he tries to take up residence in the church because people in the world are already under his control… This verse is such a powerful one penned by John because often times it isn’t that we are led astray by the world but by imposters who are “wolves in sheep’s clothing…” If I am walking down a dark alley at 11 o’clock at night than I will be very vigilant and apprehensive; however, if I am walking through a park on a nice Saturday afternoon than I tend to lower my guard and my apprehension is non-existent… This same analogy applies to our lives as Christians, when we are in the dark alleys that are this world, we are on guard and our eyes are wide open to see traps and snares; however, when we are in the church we open ourselves up to those who we see and whom we meet expecting them to have our best interest at heart… This is why so many have fallen and have found themselves wondering how they ended up where they are today and this is the very reason why John says we must try the spirit “…because many false prophets are gone out into the world…” One of the biggest things that plague the path of a child of God is the deception that lies in wait and redirects our focus… Adam and Eve were placed in the Garden of Eden and it was the deception put forth by Satan that caused the original sin of mankind… They were deceived not only by Satan, but also by the comforts that surrounded them… Being in Eden can be likened to a church in that we are in God’s territory; however, we must be on guard everyday and every hour of our lives in order to refute and rebuke the snares the enemy may lay before us… Make no mistake about it, today, we too are faced with deception; however, one of the most deceptive places in today’s time is where we go to find comfort and peace of mind, the church… John says that we must test to spirit to make sure it is of God; we can’t take people at face value anymore, nor can we assume that what comes from the pulpit is the unadulterated word of God… This passage taken from 1^st John reminds us that there are many spirits in the world… Many deceptive and manipulative spirits that have caused many to stumble along the way! A lot of times we find ourselves in situations where we assume that things that are spoken to us are true without seeking the truth on our own… We can look at the world today and see many churches that have been led astray, many people that have accepted false doctrine and believed lies… I find it interesting how we have more Pastors’ with doctorates in this day and age, but more and more churches falling by the way side… We have become believers of men and their titles instead of believers of Christ… Today we are instructed that we must test the spirit, instead of assuming things, learn to pray about each and every situation; learn to focus your attention on God and be lead by Him and Him alone! To test something, it must be examined, scrutinized and inspected; in other words, it must endure a season of trials in order to gain the full scope of its abilities… Your testing of the spirit must be a thorough examination of those near you and the trials of this life will display the true intent and abilities of the aforementioned spirit…  The book of Acts tells us that when the word was brought forth that the people of the land went home and read it for themselves… Understand that no man can save you; no man can guarantee your salvation; if we come to know that, we will come to know that this walk must be completed by us in order to secure our salvation and heavenly dwelling place… If we recognize that man can’t save us than why would we live by and follow his every word…There are many false prophet in the world, be sure that you don’t follow or become attached to one! Your soul (spirit) is at stake!

GO ALL IN FOR CHRIST!