Day 4 – Testing the Spirits: How to Recognize Them | Spirits That Transfer: Understanding Spiritual Influence and Alignment

We go straight to the Word of God as we unpack today’s teaching.

1 John 4:1–3 (NLT) says, “Dear friends, do not believe everyone who claims to speak by the Spirit. You must test them to see if the spirit they have comes from God. For there are many false prophets in the world. This is how we know if they have the Spirit of God: If a person claiming to be a prophet acknowledges that Jesus Christ came in a real body, that person has the Spirit of God. But if someone claims to be a prophet and does not acknowledge the truth about Jesus, that person is not from God.”

In this passage of scripture, John wasn’t writing to unbelievers — he was warning the church. 

From this, and from personal experience, we know that not everyone speaking spiritual things speaks from the Spirit of God. That is hard to distinguish if we are not spiritually minded, because the way some people mix a little lie with a whole lot of truth, they can deceive the very elect, if they’re not anchored in the Word.

Some voices sound so good, coming from pretty faces and well-put-together men, they sound so anointed, so deep — but they carry a different spirit. 

The enemy has always used half-truths to disguise deception. That’s why we don’t just listen for emotion; we test for alignment with Scripture and with the nature of Christ.

Jesus Himself gave this wisdom in Matthew 7:15–20 (NLT): “Beware of false prophets who come disguised as harmless sheep but are really vicious wolves. You can identify them by their fruit, that is, by the way they act. Can you pick grapes from thornbushes, or figs from thistles? A good tree produces good fruit, and a bad tree produces bad fruit. A good tree can’t produce bad fruit, and a bad tree can’t produce good fruit. Yes, just as you can identify a tree by its fruit, so you can identify people by their actions.”

Fruit doesn’t lie. Titles can, appearances can, platforms can — but fruit never lies. Be around them long enough and you will see.

The fruit of a person’s life, words, and relationships always reveals the spirit guiding them. If it produces love, peace, humility, and righteousness, that’s the Holy Spirit. If it produces division, pride, manipulation, and confusion, that’s another spirit.

Acts 16:16–18 (NKJV) gives a clear example. “Now it happened, as we went to prayer, that a certain slave girl possessed with a spirit of divination met us, who brought her masters much profit by fortune-telling. This girl followed Paul and us, and cried out, saying, ‘These men are the servants of the Most High God, who proclaim to us the way of salvation.’ And this she did for many days. But Paul, greatly annoyed, turned and said to the spirit, ‘I command you in the name of Jesus Christ to come out of her.’ And he came out that very hour.”

Notice here: the girl’s words sounded true! She was announcing that Paul and his team were servants of God. But the source of her declaration wasn’t the Holy Spirit. Her words were accurate, but her spirit was wrong. 

That’s why discernment must go beyond surface-level agreement. You test not just what is said but what spirit is saying it.

Discernment is not suspicion; it’s spiritual sensitivity guided by the Word and the Holy Spirit. 

Hebrews 5:14 (NKJV) says, “But solid food belongs to those who are of full age, that is, those who by reason of use have their senses exercised to discern both good and evil.” 

That means spiritual discernment develops through consistent practice — through prayer, the Word, and obedience. The more we walk with God, the clearer our spiritual senses become.

Romans 8:16 (NKJV) says, “The Spirit Himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God.” 

The Holy Spirit within us testifies to truth — that inward nudge, that quiet check in our hearts when something doesn’t sit right. 

We may not be able to explain it immediately, but peace leaves. That’s a sign to pause. Don’t rush past spiritual discomfort. Sometimes the Holy Spirit is warning us before our minds catch up.

In the Old Testament, the prophet Micaiah understood this well. When the false prophets told King Ahab what he wanted to hear, Micaiah stood alone and said, “As the Lord lives, whatever the Lord says to me, that I will speak” (1 Kings 22:14, NKJV). 

Truth isn’t always popular, and that’s why so-called friends leave, that’s why marriages break up. Truth is always powerful, though. False spirits thrive in flattery, but the Spirit of God thrives in truth.

2 Corinthians 11:3–4 (NLT) says, “But I fear that somehow your pure and undivided devotion to Christ will be corrupted, just as Eve was deceived by the cunning ways of the serpent. You happily put up with whatever anyone tells you, even if they preach a different Jesus than the one we preach, or a different kind of Spirit than the one you received, or a different kind of gospel than the one you believed.” 

Paul’s words still echo today. We must know our Jesus well enough that we can recognize a counterfeit when it shows up.

The key to discernment isn’t focusing on darkness; it’s being so familiar with light that darkness becomes obvious. 

A banker doesn’t study every counterfeit bill — they study the real one so well that anything else feels off in their hands. 

What are we saying here today, Family? The more we know God’s Word and spend time with His Spirit, the more easily we can tell when something doesn’t carry His scent.

We often say “something just didn’t feel right.” That’s discernment. Don’t dismiss it. It’s not paranoia — it’s protection. 

The Holy Spirit doesn’t expose people to embarrass them; He exposes deception to protect purity. Sometimes that exposure happens in our own hearts before it ever happens in public.

As we grow, Family, let’s remember this: discernment is not about finding fault; it’s about finding truth. The goal is not to prove others wrong but to keep our walk right.

So today, the question is — am I testing what I hear, see, and follow? Or am I letting anything spiritual-sounding take root in my life? 

Let’s decide that we will no longer be impressed by sound; we’ll be anchored by substance.

Let us pray this prayer today:“Holy Spirit, sharpen my discernment. Let me not be swayed by emotion, appearance, or popularity. Teach me to know Your peace, Your tone, and Your truth. Guard my ears and my heart so that I recognize what comes from You and what doesn’t. I don’t want to react in fear — I want to respond in wisdom.”

The thing is, when we can discern the spirit behind a thing, we will know whether to resist it, receive it, or release it.