1 John 4: 1-11 (12-21)
Remember: Greater is He who is in you than he who is in the world.
One day Sara Jones woke up and felt completely lost. For weeks she was heading down a path full of sorrow, loneliness and ultimate insecurity but, up until this day she was able to hold onto some sort of strength; some semblance of hope. That strength and hope was dashed when what she suspected came true. Her husband of twenty years found someone else and he wanted a divorce. This news coupled with a letter stating that her job is cutting back due to the economy and she was one of those that had to go.
Sara just lay their in her bed, that Sunday morning. She had no energy; no desires to even get up, she just felt numb. Time just ticked away until her doorbell rang. It was her friend Joan, doing as she has always done. She was here to drive her friend to church.
Sara mustered the strength to get out of bed, put on her robe, and go down stairs to the door. She tried to think of excuses for why she did not want to go to church but, she could find none; none that is, that would not reveal her true despair. Yet inwardly she also reflected on how she could not possibly worship God who has allowed for all this pain to fall on her at once. Sara was normally a very active member of the church! She attended Bible Study, served on the mission board and was as much involved with the church as anyone could be, and this is how God repays her? The door opened, a fake smile found its mark and Sara said, “I am running behind, give me a minute.”
If this were you, what could you expect to gain by going to church or by opening up the Word of God? Would attending church get your job back? Would your spouse suddenly have a change of heart and come back to you? So often in this world, we find ourselves owning a sense of being totally lost, especially when we are conscious of our weakness, our pain and our awareness of a potential long and difficult road ahead.
During such times it is quite difficult to look upon the Lord God in the same way that we do when all is well with our soul. We can feel as uncomfortable with God as we would with someone with which we owe a huge debt while asking for more money. Some might question, during times of great sorrow, if they really ever really knew and trusted in the Lord God Almighty. Oh sure they loved God when all was well but, as soon as trouble comes they can’t find the desire to worship or pray or study God’s Word. It’s like a numbness that takes over your spirit and this numbness can get the better of any Christian soul…for a time.
And so the question comes to mind, “How do we know the Spirit?” How can we be so certain that we are Christ’s, even when we don’t feel like we belong to anyone; much less the Holy Lamb of God? This is where the chapter title for today’s reading in 1 John 4 comes into play. The chapter title in most Bibles says, “Testing the Spirits”. It comes into play because today’s reading pretty- much guides us into knowing what we should do and reflect upon when troubled times come our way.
I would therefore like to read to you the first verse again, only this time, listen to it as if you were Sara and you were dealing with all those issues, that is…the loss of a job, a potential divorce and a lack of desire to worship. Verse one says, “Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God…” Can you already see how this verse can be a great help to you? When you are hurting; when you are in a funk the way Sara was in our story, what sort of spirit do you believe you are entertaining? In Sara’s case, it certainly was not a spirit of joy or peace nor was it a spirit that praised Jesus. This then would be a proper time for Sara not to believe every spirit, which includes the ones that might whisper to her that she is a failure or that she owns no hope or even that Jesus is somehow against her. Instead it would be a good time to entertain the hope that she was able to cling to in the good times.
Of course this text first and foremost refers to men that are preaching falsely. John here refers to the anti-Christ mentioned in 1 John 2:19. These are they that pretend to have the Spirit of God or claim to be moved by Him bringing God’s true Word but they do nothing of the kind. However, the voice that whispers failure, hopelessness or even that Jesus is angry with them often comes from the ultimate false prophet, the Devil. Therefore it is well to test every spirit so that right away you can know which comes from God and which comes from the anti-Christ.
Yes, it is quite difficult to suddenly pop out of your funk and perform proper theology. Just as a depressed person cannot suddenly decide to snap out of a depression, neither can a Christian suddenly snap out of self doubt, despair and hopelessness. Thus the need for Church! We need God’s external source of LIFE to restore us and make us whole, because there is no way that we can do this on our own. .
R.C.H Lenski says, “Every person reveals what kind of personality or spirit he is by his word and his action. Proper testing therefore will penetrate the deception, will show whether what is in his spirit or heart is derived from God or for some ungodly anti-Christian source. If the source, the spring, is divine and pure, one may drink. If the source is otherwise, it is poison.” Going to church and receiving God’s Word’s and Gifts is just what we need to help us with proper testing as to which source we are currently drinking from.
Yet testing something is one thing, knowing what to look for is something else. I know how to test the electrical wires in my house but, outside of a power indicator I would not have a clue as to what else to look for. That sort of thing comes with training. We too need the sort of training that comes with being in the Word of God. Because the more we are in God’s Word, the easier we will be able to test every spirit. That is why every pastor you will ever meet will urge you to attend regular Bible Study. It should not even need to be a request, it should be a demand from all Christians, a rite if you will, so that you can be trained to know what to look for as you test the spirits, with every bit of wisdom you gain from personal study of God’s Word.
Let’s get back to Sara for a moment and put into practice how God’s Word can help. Since she begrudgingly came to church what do you believe she would need to look for in order to be lifted up?
Verse 2 of our reading says these words, “By this you know the Spirit of God: every spirit that confesses that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is from God.” Therefore to comfort any doubts that Sara is indeed a Christian, she need only ask herself if she truly believes that Jesus is her Messiah. Why do you think we speak the words of the Apostles or Nicene Creed each Sunday? It is to remind us that what we truly believe in is what saves us, what makes us different than those in this world and who truly offers us peace. If after speaking the Creed you can say to yourself, “Yes I believe in the Creator, the Redeemer and the Sanctifier, then right away you know you are not alone and that you are trusting in the perfection, Holiness and Divine Love and Purpose of Almighty God.
If Sara belonged to our congregation and she was sitting here in these pews this morning, sort of just playing the part of being a good Christian, we could only hope and pray that the Holy Spirit would speak to her by way of Word and Sacrament. So if Sara were here today she would have heard these words of Scripture that would certainly lift her up. Verse 4 says, “You are from God, little children, and have overcome them…”. WOW! Do not those words immediately speak to one of her concerns, that being, that God is somehow against her and that she is alone, possibly questioning her faith? Here God’s Word says, “You are from God”, in other words not only do you have purpose in God’s plan but, that you are a saved child of God; one who is not of this world but of God. Here too does our Lord remind us of our victory in Christ as John says, “And (you) have overcome them”! Here is a reminder to look back in the past and remember past trials and how God has helped you to be victorious over them. God has helped you to find greater strength of spirit as a result of those past encounters that hurt you. The efforts of those “spirits” that attack you, have left you firmer than ever. Look at Martin Luther and how all of those personal attacks against him and against his life, created a more determined and resolute man of faith.
Scripture furthermore says these words, “Greater is he (God) who is in you than he who is in the world (the devil),” Now John reminds us all that God has made his dwelling place in us. Father, Son and Holy Spirit now dwell in us (place scripture verse here) so, how can anyone of us truly be alone? How can anyone of us believe that God has abandoned us? For as long as we can confess the truth that Jesus is our Savior and that His death and resurrection has restored to us our relationship with God unto all eternity, we will know for sure that we are not alone and certainly not set aside to fend for ourselves.
Greater is God, lesser is Satan! Greater is God’s plan; Greater is God’s purpose than anything Satan or his demons can throw at us. So even if the world falls apart at our feet, God’s purpose in our life will be greater, stronger and certainly eternal.
Again John says in verse 6 the same words heard in verse 4, that is, “We are from God”. John repeats these words to remind all hearers that since we are from God, we Christians alone know him. “My Sheep hear my voice and they answer me.” These words also remind us that Jesus has promised to leave behind the 99 safe sheep so that he can go after the one that is lost. When you are feeling lost, it must be soothing to know that Jesus is seeking you out so that you can once again receive the security and certainty that you have indeed been found.
After Sara heard these words from God, by way of the Pen of John, she knew she was glad she went to church. Maybe God’s plan of having her friend Joan pick her up regularly was set in motion so long ago, so that now, when she needed God’s Word the most, there would be one ready to take her to Church.
Sara walked away from worship that day, still a bit numb. She still had upon the back of her thoughts the possible divorce and the difficult days ahead of trying to find another job in this tough economy. Yet, she also knew something inside her has been awakened. She was reminded that she did indeed still belong to Jesus and that in the scheme of this world, God is greater than any trial that will come her way. Sara prayed that day that the Lord would reach her husband and that God would bless her in her job search. The trial before her would be difficult and would still give her pause in the days ahead but then again, the Word of God would be with her, to strengthen her, guide her and truly lift her up on her feet to meet all the challenges ahead.
This is a story of the power of God’s Word and how deeply we need that Word. Amen.
Illustration and Sermon by Pastor Doug Koehler 2009
