True or False?

Dear friends, 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. This is how you can recognize the Spirit of God: Every spirit that acknowledges that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is from God, but every spirit that does not acknowledge Jesus is not from God. This is the spirit of the antichrist, which you have heard is coming and even now is already in the world."
1 John 4:1-3

The world is a very mixed up place. Everyone is influenced in one way or another, by the many voices in the world. These voices come in various packages. We are influenced by the news media, the entertainment industry, politicians, big business, sports, and more. All of these vie for our attention. They will always attempt to change the way we think and act. Why, when there is a hurricane, does the news media use reporters who are standing on a beach, dressed in full rain gear, leaning with all their might against the forceful winds, while attempting to speak into the microphone to deliver to us his limited perspective of the storm? Because they know that this is dramatic. It will tug at our hearts. It will raise ratings because people want to see the full impact of the storm. There are many voices in the world. Not many of them honor God.
    The entertainment industry will often talk about God. It is not uncommon at all to watch a movie in which people openly talk about God and their belief in him. The filmmakers are simply displaying the reality that the vast majority of humans alive today, believe in God in one form or another. They may talk abut God, but it is quite a different story for them to speak about Jesus. John the apostle, wants us to know that it is important to discern between spirits. We are to judge the things that we are allowing to enter our minds. We do this, not by judging the people who are speaking, but by judging the spirits that are behind the voices. Anything or anyone who speaks the name of Jesus and proclaims that he, being God, came to earth and became flesh, is speaking from the Spirit of God. This brings honor and praise to God and that is the mission of the Holy Spirit. But when Christ is conveniently left out of the story, other spirits may be at work.
    The Apostle John uses strong words when he speaks of these other spirits. He boldly says that if a spirit will not acknowledge that Christ is from God, it is the spirit of the antichrist. This is serious. As Christians today, we must be able to discern the spiritual influences that are being brought into our homes. We are living in the last days and we are closer to the advent of the antichrist than we have ever been. Even now, the spirit of that antichrist is in the world. We must discern it and weed it out of our lives.
    The influences of this antichrist spirit are subtle. If we are not paying attention, if we are not alert, we will settle into a compromise. Phrases like: "It's not that bad," or "It's just part of the story," creep into our vocabularies. Then the seed of compromise has then been planted in our lives. I am simply saying this: Be alert. Pay attention to the Holy Spirit as he warns you. Engage the Godly discernment that all of us have. Flee from what is evil and run to that which is good. This can mean only one thing; We must run to God. He is truth, and he will show us what is false.