Good News! Our Anchor Will Hold
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Dear Friends,
Recently, a very astute pastoral friend of mine passed along this thought to me in an email, and I believe he is absolutely correct.
“We are heading into theologically and spiritually choppy waters. If the infallible and inerrant Word of God is not an anchor, then the only anchor we have is our own perspective and perception. In other words –
“My boat is not drifting; the land is moving.”
This is why it is more important than ever for believers to know God’s Word and follow the leading of the Holy Spirit, not drifting away with the mindset of the world. When we are faithful in these things, we are anchored securely on that which never moves.
It is difficult for me to fathom sometimes, how there can be such a widespread outpouring of the Holy Spirit worldwide, while here at home many believers, pastors, and churches are falling away from the firm foundation of the Word of God. It is God’s Word that these revivals in national churches overseas are based upon.
Unquestionably, every national church planting movement that Empower is partnering with holds firmly to the centrality of the Bible. This trust in its accuracy and dependability is the primary criteria for being part of the Empower Family internationally. And this firm belief in the truthfulness and credibility of the Bible is also why so many are receiving Christ personally around the globe. The Word of God is speaking to the fear and trepidation in the hearts of lost sinners, and they are hearing and accepting its complete message.
Every other world religion, philosophy or belief system is fraught with one major problem. The “instruction” books by which they live and in which they place their hope, do not possess the power, authority, or proven reliability that the Bible does. None of these other religious writings have these strengths: 1) the concise, rational, and understandable answers to matters of life and death, and 2) the internal witness to believers by God’s Holy Spirit as to its truthfulness.
Unquestionably, every national church planting movement that Empower is partnering with holds firmly to the centrality of the Bible.
In these countries where there is a powerful move of the Holy Spirit transpiring, the lost people who are blindly following empty religions are looking for “land that is not moving”, because they know they are adrift and looking for the Rock of their salvation. When they accept Christ, the love affair with the Bible begins. Massive changes take place in their lives, and overall, they are confident they have found the trustworthy spiritual map they were seeking. Other non-believers notice these changes in the newly born-again babes in Christ and ask for a copy of God’s Word for themselves. And the miracle of new birth begins again.
Possibly, we in the West are in a time when these verses from 2 Timothy 4:3 – 4 are being fulfilled:
For the time will come when they will not tolerate sound doctrine; but wanting to have their ears tickled, they will accumulate for themselves teachers in accordance with their own desires, and they will turn their ears away from the truth and will turn aside to myths.
It is so convenient these days for some Christians to take certain convicting, corrective or controversial portions of Scripture and draw a line through them or take a razor blade to them. This is done in an attempt to make the Word of God more compatible with — or less offensive to — modern society. And that is why I shudder when I hear statements from Christian leaders stating: “All of the Bible is not necessarily true, but God’s message to the world is in there somewhere, and I’ll be the one who will tell you where it is, what to believe, and what to discard.”
On the positive side, millions of lost souls, who are honestly searching for God, are uttering the words of Pontius Pilate when he was questioning Jesus at His trial. Out of his own bewilderment, he quite accurately asked mankind’s timeless question:
What is truth? (John 18:38)
This is why I am so encouraged when I witness and hear national believers answering Pilate’s question 2,000 years later, saying in simple and faith-filled words:
“The Bible is Truth! And we discovered the way to God in its pages!”
Brothers and Sisters… Our anchor is holding firm… Our ship is not moving… The Bible and Jesus will always be there as the stability that our souls crave.
And this is also why Empower Ministries International puts such an emphasis on supplying Bibles — free of charge— to those who are adrift.
His bondservant,
Ron
Ron Pearce
President/Founder
