Podcast Summary: "The Holy Spirit Isn't the Only Spirit"

Fresh Life Church – Host: Pastor Levi Lusko
Date: September 15, 2025

Overview

In this sermon, Pastor Levi Lusko tackles the theme of spiritual discernment, drawing from 1 John Chapter 4. He urges listeners to recognize that, while the Holy Spirit is real and at work in believers' lives, not all spirits or teachings encountered in the world are from God. The message challenges the church to cultivate spiritual discernment amidst a culture rife with counterfeit influences—spiritual and otherwise—emphasizing fidelity to Christ, humility, and community. Pastor Levi provides practical tests for evaluating spiritual truth and protecting the church against deception, all while preserving a posture of openness to the genuine work of God's Spirit.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. The Need for Discernment in a Deceptive World

(00:00–11:30)

• Opening Illustration: Pastor Levi shares a study about vicarious PTSD after the Boston Marathon bombing, highlighting how our souls are not designed to endlessly absorb negative stimuli from screens.
• Point: We must "touch grass" and reconnect with God's truth in scripture, distinguishing real spiritual substance from noise and deception.
  • “Our souls were not built to be glued to a screen about destructive, horrible things. … So if there was ever a moment in time when we needed to touch grass, ladies and gentlemen... it is right now to open up Scripture to let God connect us and ground us with truth.” (03:05)

2. Genuineness & Testing the Spirits

(11:31–23:00)

• Scripture Focus: 1 John 4:1–12—John instructs believers not to "believe every spirit but test the spirits."

• Counterfeit Christians & Spirits: Even among early Christians, false teachers abounded. What seems spiritually right on the surface might be a “counterfeit,” like a knockoff watch.

  • Pastor Levi’s “Rolex” story humorously reveals how counterfeits can look convincing but ultimately lack true substance.

• Key Takeaway:

  • “Beloved, do not believe every spirit. Test the spirits to see whether they are from God.” (12:18)
  • The word “test” (dokimazo) comes from metallurgy—discerning real gold from fool’s gold.

3. The Devourer’s Five D’s & Biblical Warnings

(23:01–33:30)

• Satan’s Five D’s: Deception, Division, Denial, Distortion, Distraction.
• Scripture Cross-references:
  • Deuteronomy 13, Matthew 7, 2 Peter 2.1, and 2 Corinthians 11:14—warnings against false prophets and teachers, often appearing as “angels of light.”
  • “Satan likes to transform himself … into an angel of light. Beware any angel of light that shows up.” (31:05)

4. Balance: Openness to the Spirit & the Need to Test

(33:31–38:24)

• Avoid an overreaction of total skepticism.
• “Do not quench the Spirit; do not despise prophecies. … Test all things, hold fast to what is good.” (1 Thessalonians 5:19–21)
• Analogy: “Don’t swear off fish. Chew the meat and spit the bones.” (36:19)
• The church should not become so jaded or rigid that it rejects the genuine work of the Holy Spirit.

5. Scriptural Grid: Five Tests for Spiritual Truth

(38:25–1:09:15)

Pastor Levi presents a five-point filter for evaluating spiritual teaching—summed up as:
Fidelity, Humility, Victory, Charity, and Community.

1. Fidelity (38:25–52:10)

• Is the teaching faithful to historic Christianity and to what Jesus taught?
• Reference to heresies, like the Cerinthian heresy, and modern examples (e.g., Mormonism, Jehovah’s Witnesses).

• “If Jesus is just a good prophet, good teacher, or in some of these cults, he's purported to be the brother of Lucifer… not gonna build my life on that. Only upon Jesus Christ, who came in the flesh, who died on the cross, who rose from the dead…” (49:22)

• Tim Keller quote: “Before Christmas was a spirit, it was a doctrine... that God became man, that He put skin on…”

2. Humility (52:11–58:10)

• Accept the teaching of the apostles and resist the arrogance of “new truth.”
• “If it's new, it's not true. If it's true, it's not new.” (57:40)
• Story of John the Apostle refusing to share a bathhouse with the heretic Cerinthus.
  • Paul: “Even if we or an angel from heaven preach any other gospel to you... let him be accursed.” (Galatians 1:8, quoted at 56:25)

3. Victory (58:11–1:02:30)

• Are we striving for victory or living from the victory that Christ has already won?
  • “Greater is he that is in you than he who is in the world.” (1:00:10)
• “Religion tells you you have to do something to be something. The gospel tells us we are something because He did something.” (1:00:34)

4. Charity (Love in Action) (1:02:31–1:06:08)

• True doctrine leads to love in our lives—not just correctness but kindness and broken-heartedness for others.
  • “Love in your life proves Jesus is in your heart.” (1:04:48)
• Witty personal story about sitting next to Jason Momoa (“I don’t know Jason Momoa … I don’t have a relationship with Jason. And it shows.”) as an illustration of knowing about versus actually knowing someone.

5. Community (1:06:09–1:09:15)

• Loneliness is on the rise; genuine Christian community is the antidote.
  • Referencing an Atlantic article on “the Anti-Social Century” (Americans are spending more time alone than ever).
  • “The church is the answer. … One of the only remaining entities in the world where you can be guaranteed to walk in and talk to someone.” (1:08:21)

6. Final Encouragements & Memorable Quotes

(1:09:16–end)

• Eugene Peterson paraphrase: “Don’t believe everything you hear. Carefully weigh and examine what people tell you. Not everyone who talks about God comes from God. There are a lot of lying preachers loose in the world.” (1:09:59)

• Gospel Invitation:

  • “God says, I did something for you. I sent a code. … The ultimate verification code [is] the cross, where the handwriting of requirements was canceled out.” (1:10:30)

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• “Our souls were not built to be glued to a screen about destructive, horrible things.” (03:05 – Levi Lusko)
• “Beloved, do not believe every spirit. Test the spirits to see whether they are from God.” (12:18 – quoting 1 John 4)
• “Beware any angel of light that shows up. … Satan transforms himself into an angel of light.” (31:05 – Levi Lusko)
• “Don’t swear off fish. Chew the meat and spit the bones.” (36:19 – Levi Lusko)
• “If it’s new, it’s not true. If it’s true, it’s not new.” (57:40 – Levi Lusko)
• “Religion tells you you have to do something to be something. The gospel tells us we are something because He did something.” (1:00:34 – Levi Lusko)
• “Love in your life proves Jesus is in your heart.” (1:04:48 – Levi Lusko)
• “The church is the answer. … One of the only remaining entities in the world where you can be guaranteed to walk in and talk to someone.” (1:08:21 – Levi Lusko)

Timestamps & Key Segments

• 00:00–03:30: Introduction, vicarious trauma via screens; need to ground in truth
• 11:31–23:00: 1 John 4 Exposition, counterfeit spirits, Rolex anecdote
• 23:01–33:30: Five D’s of deception, biblical warnings, Satan’s tactics
• 33:31–38:24: Balancing openness to Spirit vs. discernment; test all things
• 38:25–1:09:15: Five-point grid (Fidelity, Humility, Victory, Charity, Community)
• 1:09:16–end: Peterson quote, closing gospel invitation, prayer

Structure to Evaluate Spiritual Teaching

Five Tests for Authenticity:

1. Fidelity: Is it faithful to Christ’s message and the historic gospel?
2. Humility: Does it receive the apostolic witness, or chase novelty?
3. Victory: Is it rooted in Christ’s finished work—victory given, not earned?
4. Charity: Does it result in love in action?
5. Community: Does it build up real community, or encourage isolation?

Conclusion

Pastor Levi calls listeners to apply these tests to any spiritual message or experience—especially in an age of digital “traveling preachers.” The Holy Spirit empowers and liberates, but not everything spiritual is from God. “Test the spirits,” lean into historic faith, humility and love, and stay plugged into Christian community for spiritual safety and growth.

[End of summary]