Virtual Church: Getting Spiritually Fed During COVID-19
Over the past few years, churches have been making their services available online through various platforms such as Facebook, IGTV, and YouTube which has made church accessible without leaving home. Especially with COVID-19 forcing social distancing, and staying home is encouraged to limit spreading of the disease. Although this is happening, this does not mean praising God, hearing the Word, and spiritual growth has to stop. Virtual options are available more than ever, and God has placed others out there to make sure you don’t get led astray during this time.
However now that multiple churches are now available online, there is a higher chance for misleading information to be shared. What you may have thought to be a biblically sound church is actually one of the churches that Paul warned about in Revelation. *Ouch*
Here’s a guide on how to recognize a biblically sound sermon, prophesy, movie, or song for you on your Christian walk which comes directly from 1 John 4.
1. “Test The Spirit”
Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits, whether they are of God; because many false prophets have gone out into the world.
1 John 4:1 NKJV
The internet has A LOT of information embedded on it. Some provide facts while others spread false information. And Christian churches are not exempt from this either, especially during these times. I don’t know if your YouTube Homepage or your TikTok “For You” page looks like mine but there are a bunch of different recommendations based on my view history and some of which seem pretty questionable in terms of accuracy and being biblically sound.
Just by searching “Christian Church” you’ll get a million or more hits from different churches around the world. You can have a church service in the matter of a second just by clicking on one. Also more recently, I have been seeing a trend of testimonies and “prophecies” being shared on these platforms. And they are growing by the second. This is great for the Church, but also this calls for us to be very watchful and to “test the spirit” behind the content being shared.
1 John 4:1 lets us know that many false prophets are out in the world currently. Not tomorrow. Not two weeks from today. But false prophets are out here in these streets right now and have been around for a very long time.
This scripture serves as a warning to us: to not get too comfortable by blindly following and listening to content that seem “spiritual” or is labeled as “Christian.”
Test EVERY Spirit.
2. Compare Messages
“By this you know the Spirit of God: Every spirit that confesses that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is of God,”
1 John 4:2 NKJV
The way in which you must test spirits is by identifying and comparing what they confess and believe to be true: ‘that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is of God.’
Churches have their own mission statements, beliefs, and purposes which can be most times found explicitly stated on their websites. You can also find their beliefs, missions, and purposes in their sermons, if you listen very intentionally. Questions to ask the Holy Spirit as you are listening are: What are they saying about Jesus and who He is? Is what they are saying aligning with the Word? Does it contradict? What is the Holy Spirit saying?
You may not know immediately what is going on, but the Lord will always reveal the things you need to know. You are a child of God. You have access to the same wisdom that your pastors have. It says in Jeremiah 33:3, “Call to Me, and I will answer you, and show you great and mighty things, which you do not know” (NKJV). Your pastor cannot pass their relationship with God to you. You have to learn about who God is and build a relationship with Him for yourself.
3. The Spirit of Who?
And every spirit that does not confess that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is not of God. And this is the spirit of the Antichrist, which you have heard was coming, and is now already in the world.
1 John 4:3 NKJV
Ya’ll, there are so many spirits out here. Ephesians 6:12 says, “For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places” (NKJV). All of these spirits are tied to the Antichrist.
Everything that we see happening in front of us has a spiritual explanation.
Once you are able to determine the spirit that is behind the content or message that you are receiving, make the choice if it something that can be digested or rejected for the health of your spirit. If you are unsure, you can always ask a trusted friend who is also on this walk with you. God’s grace is always with us, and He will redirect you.
I saw a post on Instagram from @brokentopeace that outlined pretty well the differences between spirits:
Girl, what we not about to do during this pandemic is fall astray and become enslaved to Satan’s games. But what we are about to do is grow closer to God, walk it out with Jesus, and follow the Holy Spirit. God loves you and he has placed churches out here that will feed you and encourage you to grow spiritually even during a pandemic.
With Love,
Crystal J.
P.S. - I also found a blog post by The Biblically Sound Woman, “5 Things to Look For When Listening to a Sermon” which provides further guidance on discerning biblically sound content.