Anchor of Truth

When writing to the Corinthian church Paul said that he had laid a foundation as a wise master builder. What was the foundation that Paul laid? If we are going to build properly we need to have a clear revelation of that foundation. We are continuing today on the subject of "Building in God" and are using the account of the beginning and growth of the Ephesian assembly as our outline. We have in the first three chapters of Paul's letter to the Ephesians the foundation of the gospel he preached and the revelation truth of the church as the structure within which God is building today. The foundation is Jesus Christ, but what does that mean? We want to try to answer that question in some degree.

• Jesus Christ as the foundation
  • Jesus is God revealed in a human body (Col. 1:15, 2:9)
  • Christ is the eternal Son of God (John 1:1-3)
  • God is uniting all things in Christ (Eph. 1:10)
• Jesus Christ is our life (John 5:26, Col. 3:4, I John 5:12)
• Jesus Christ is the Head of the church (Acts. 2:36, Eph. 1:22, Col. 1:18)
• The Foundation of our salvation is the work of Christ at Calvary
  • Our deliverance from sin (Rom. 6:5-11)
  • The basis of the indwelling God by the Spirit (John 16:7)
  • The basis of our walk of victory over sin, death, and the devil (I Cor. 15:56)
• Every further aspect of building must always be related to Christ and Calvary
• The reality is experienced as we abide in Christ (union) (Eph. 1:1-14)

• Additional resources at http://www.ntchurchsource.com/
• Theme song "Will Your Anchor Hold" sung by J. Ashley Milne
• Comments and questions welcome. Email [email protected]

The truth that we need is not always spelled out in the scriptures in a detailed outline. Many times it is given to us by the record of God's working in the past. The foundation and growth of the Ephesian church is an example of that. Let us learn from this account. We continue today on the subject of "Building in God" by considering the beginning and growth of the Ephesian assembly. In many ways, Paul's letter to the Ephesians is the most complete instruction that we have regarding the plan of God for achieving His eternal goal in our time. This letter was written from prison and is likely a summary of what he taught those believers for a period of three years when he laid the foundation. He had to condense three years into a relatively short letter, but our task is to "unpack" the truth in this letter and apply it to our situation by the enabling power of the Holy Spirit.

• The beginning (Acts 19)
  • Baptism
  • Receiving the Holy Spirit
  • The gospel demonstrated in power
• The cost of following Jesus
  • Persecution from religious men
  • Deeds of repentance
  • Persecution from the world
• The full counsel of God (Acts 20)
  • Three years of teaching night and day
  • The church led by elders
  • Commended unto the grace of God
• Prison ministry of Paul
  • Put in prison for the sake of the gospel
  • Accepting the place God puts us
  • God's wisdom (seeing beyond the immediate)

• Additional resources at http://www.ntchurchsource.com/
• Theme song "Will Your Anchor Hold" sung by J. Ashley Milne
• Comments and questions welcome. Email [email protected]

When writing to the Corinthians, Paul said that he had laid a foundation, and that those who followed him should be careful how they build. What does it mean to build in God? How do we know that we are building on the right foundation and that our building is approved by God? What it means to build in the natural is obvious, but spiritual building is more difficult to discern. There is much religious activity around us but not all of it is spiritual building according to God's plan. Today we want to look at what it means to "build in God." Building is more than just having meetings, preaching sermons, and associated religious activities. Spiritual building results in Christ being formed in each member and an expression of Christ in a gathering of believers.

• Building on the foundation (Christ)
• Building according to the plan of God
• In Christ (union)
• Living Stones
• Spiritual relationships (together)
• Christ as Head (authority)
• No mixture (natural and spiritual)
• Requires revelation
• With purpose in eternity

• Additional resources at http://www.ntchurchsource.com/
• Theme song "Will Your Anchor Hold" sung by J. Ashley Milne
• Comments and questions welcome. Email [email protected]

The last two months I was in Kenya with another brother visiting a number of small churches and conducting some intensive leadership training. It was a very rich time of fellowship and ministry. Today I want to share some of what took place. This past two months was an amazing experience of God's working and grace. The main focus of the trip was five weeks of leadership training for about 100 leaders from 50 different gatherings of various kinds. We normally met from 10am to 4pm with a one hour break for lunch and a couple of other shorter breaks. It was an intensive time of ministry and fellowship. Only God knows all that took place but we sought to leave brothers with Jesus and the word of His grace and pray that He will bring the increase as only He can.

• Additional resources at http://www.ntchurchsource.com/
• Theme song "Will Your Anchor Hold" sung by J. Ashley Milne
• Comments and questions welcome. Email [email protected]

Testimonies of brothers and sisters can be of great encouragement to us in our journey of faith. God is real and our experience of His grace is real. Today I want to share my personal testimony of God's faithfulness to His praise and glory. Over the past two and half years that I have been doing this podcast I have tried to minimize sharing of my personal experiences and instead focus on the scriptures and general truth that forms the foundation of God's building in our lives. Next week I am leaving for a two month trip to Kenya so will not be doing the podcast for a while. I thought I would take this opportunity to share a little more about my journey in the Lord. I pray that you will find encouragement in your own walk with the Lord and rejoice with me in God's faithfulness down through the years.

• Additional resources at http://www.ntchurchsource.com/
• Theme song "Will Your Anchor Hold" sung by J. Ashley Milne
• Comments and questions welcome. Email [email protected]

James speaks about the "Trial of our Faith." At one point or another I believe all of us have found ourselves in that place. How is our faith tried? What do we do when we find ourselves being tested? What is God after in our lives in this testing? Someone has said that faith is the currency in God's economy. Or in other words, without faith it is impossible to please God or draw upon His grace in our lives. I don't think we can overemphasize the working of faith and what is happening in our lives as we move in faith. Today we share some ministry on this subject given by Gordon Gentry in a home meeting in June 1999. It is our prayer that you will find this challenging and helpful in your walk of faith before God and be built up in your relationship with Him.

• Additional resources at http://www.ntchurchsource.com/
• Theme song "Will Your Anchor Hold" sung by J. Ashley Milne
• Comments and questions welcome. Email [email protected]

What are the causes of spiritual blindness? Jesus had some strong things to say about blind leaders seeking to lead blind men. He also gave a strong rebuke to the church of Laodicea regarding blindness. Is it possible for us to be blind and not know it? Spiritual vision is a great miracle that comes to us by the mercy and grace of God. The scriptures teach us that we are all born into this world blind to spiritual things and God must open our eyes to see the unseen and see all things properly as God sees them. Jesus came as a great light into a world of spiritual darkness. Today we want to look again at the issues surrounding spiritual vision and the causes of spiritual blindness.

• Spiritual vision is always a great miracle from God
  • Jesus came into a world of darkness (Matt. 4:16)
  • Blindness is a work of the enemy (2 Cor. 4:4)
  • Jesus is the light of the world (John 8:12)
• Spiritual vision is a continuous working from beginning to end
  • Those who have never seen (Matt. 15:13-14)
  • Those who have seen something but not clearly (Mark 8:22-26)
  • Those who have true vision but for whom a vast realm of divine thought waits for a fuller work of the Holy Spirit (Eph. 1:15-23)
  • Those who have seen, but have lost spiritual sight and are now blind but think they see (Rev. 3:14-23)
• Causes of spiritual blindness
  • Unbelief (2 Cor. 4:4)
  • Disobedience (2 Peter 1:5-9, I John 2:9-11)
  • Self-seeking in some way (Matt. 6:22-23)
  • Some scriptural examples of those whose eyes were opened
    • Isaiah (2 Chron. 26, Isaiah 6) "I saw the Lord"
    • Balaam (Num. 22-24, 22:31) "the Lord opened Balaam's eyes"
    • Man born blind (John 9)
    • Ethiopian eunuch (Acts 8:26-40)
    • Paul (Acts 9:3-8, 26:12-18)
  • Cure to spiritual blindness
    • Humility (John 9:41)
    • Honesty (I don't see clearly)
    • The veil is removed "in Christ" (2 Cor. 3:14)
    • Continually beholding God in the face of Jesus Christ (2 Cor. 3-4,esp. 3:18, 4:6)
  • Jesus is the light of life (John 1:4, 8:12)

Some good ministry on this subject by T. Austin-Sparks:

http://www.austin-sparks.net/english/books/spiritual_sight.html

• Additional resources at http://www.ntchurchsource.com/
• Theme song "Will Your Anchor Hold" sung by J. Ashley Milne
• Comments and questions welcome. Email [email protected]

We all want to be used by God for His purpose and glory according to His grace. For this to happen, we must be prepared. Our lives must be a living letter, written by the Spirit of God. What are the essential elements of this preparation? How does this take place? To be effective in our service in God's Kingdom, the character of God must be manifested through our words and deeds. The resources for this to take place come from God Himself living in us by His Spirit. His life must take expression in our whole being so that our whole person is an expression of the character and nature of God. This does not happen overnight, but it does take place if we are diligent in our relationship with God and mature as sons of God as He has designed.

Today we share some ministry by Gordon Gentry on this subject. It was given in a home Bible study about 1995. His main text is 2 Peter 1:2-9. It is our prayer that God may use this teaching and exhortation in our lives to spur us on into the full purpose that God has for each one of us.

• Additional resources at http://www.ntchurchsource.com/
• Theme song "Will Your Anchor Hold" sung by J. Ashley Milne
• Comments and questions welcome. Email [email protected]

If our heart is to know God then we are looking for reality, not just words. Jesus came that we may have life and bring us into the reality of fellowship with God. To experience this fellowship we must be committed to this relationship in faith without compromise. So many times we are familiar with spiritual concepts but lack the reality of which the words speak. The gospel which so many of us have heard all of our lives leaves us with lofty spiritual ideas, but falls short of bringing us into the reality of the words. To stay in this condition is deception leading to disaster in one way or another. To be the spiritual men and women that we desire and God desires, God must be in control in all things.

Today we share a strong exhortation from Gordon Gentry on the way into the reality of God's provision for us in Christ Jesus. The ministry was given in a small home fellowship in 1998. Our prayer is that God may use this in all of our lives to make the pathway clearer, be stimulated into active faith, and experience the riches of God's grace for His purpose and glory.

• Additional resources at http://www.ntchurchsource.com/
• Theme song "Will Your Anchor Hold" sung by J. Ashley Milne
• Comments and questions welcome. Email [email protected]

When we first come to God the scripture describes the event as "being born again" whereby we are now alive with the life of God. Now the process of maturity begins as we abide in Christ. This requires a continual adjustment to His authority. Is this taking place in our lives? All of us need to be continually adjusted to the will of God. That is a life-long process. When we first come to God and are made alive in the Spirit it is a wonderful day. But that day is the beginning of a life of continual change "from glory to glory." In other words, each new step into God and experiencing of His grace is glorious, and that prepares us for the next step. It is continual growth in experience of the grace of God.

Today I want to share with you a testimony and encouragement from Chip Brogden that recently came to me. I was very blessed and encouraged by this and I want to share it with you. I will put the link to the written article on the show notes so you can read it for yourself. Let us be encouraged today as we let the Lord have His way in all things.

Transcript of today's program:

https://www.chipbrogden.com/adjustment-to-the-government-of-the-holy-spirit/

• Additional resources at http://www.ntchurchsource.com/
• Theme song "Will Your Anchor Hold" sung by J. Ashley Milne
• Comments and questions welcome. Email [email protected]