Those People

624.  "Those People"               October 9, 2012
1 John 4-Part 3      (verses 5-6)
Those people belong to this world, so they speak from the world's viewpoint, and the world listens to them. But we belong to God, and those who know God listen to us. If they do not belong to God, they do not listen to us. That is how we know if someone has the Spirit of truth or the spirit of deception.  1 John 4:5-6 NLT

LET IT GLOW

Look at those people. What are those people doing? Just listen to those people. Why are those people here? I can't stand those people. I may not have said it, but I have thought it. Those may not have been a group of people either, but one person. How do I react to them? Is it with compassion, love, humility, a heart of service? Or is it with jealousy, envy, strife, bitterness, resentfulness?
Perhaps I am one of those people to someone. How would I want them to treat me? I used to be one of those people which John is speaking of, an unbeliever in Jesus. Now I am one of those labeled as a believer in Jesus Christ. John contrasts the two groups of those.

What does John say about those who know and are of God, a believer?

• They hear us(apostles) because they know God. We willingly accept and listen to what the apostles in God's Word are saying.
• They cling to Jesus, who said, "I am the Truth." (John 14:6)
• They recognize that the Redeemer's kingdom is not of this world.
• They have and know the Spirit of Truth and proclaim the truth.
• They are not of this world, so the world does not know them. (1John 3:1) 

I want to be one of those people, don't you?

LET IT GROW

I contrast to the believers, John is speaking about the unbelievers of Jesus, the Antichrist's group, the Gnostics of his day.
What does John say about those people?

• They speak from the viewpoint of the world. The influence of the world is evident in their speech.
• Their conversatin, feelings, opinions are of this world.
• The world hears them. They are rich, proud, ambitious, sensual.
• The world doesn't reject them because they are friends with the world.
• They have the spirit of error, falsehood, deception.
• They are wholly influenced by the world.

[References: Barnes' Notes on the Bible; Matthew Henry's Bible Commentary;Guzik's Bible Commentary; Jameison, Fausset, Brown Bible Commentary]

I don't want to be like those people.

LET IT GO

Turn from the world's ways and turn to Jesus.

Act like a follower of Jesus, one of those.

Don't be one of those who don't beleive in Jesus and follow the world.

Make sure there is an obvious distinction as to to which group I am included.