The Living Truth Fellowship

Spiritual Growth

There are a variety of opinions on what it means to be spiritual, but it’s God’s Word that teaches this idea most clearly? To be spiritual means to walk in step with God, to be in unity with him so we can hear his voice. It is a peaceable, easy walk with the father. But like any relationship, it requires time to cultivate.
 
So much of the Scriptures compares our spiritual growth to the growth cycle of a plant. As with the plant, we need food, light, water and patience for that plant to grow into a mature, fruit-bearing tree. In this teaching, Jon Touchstone shares the parable of the sower and the four categories of ground – the seed which fell 1) by the wayside, 2) upon the stony ground, 3) among the weeds, and 4) upon good ground. God is responsible for our growth, but it’s our choice of what kind of ground we are.

Maintaining A Thankful Heart

Ephesians 5:20 tells us to give thanks to God the Father always in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ. In this teaching, Jon Touchstone explains the benefits of maintaining a thankful heart towards God. Besides blessing God Himself, thankfulness guards our souls from an often hostile world. Being thankful fortifies us to stand against resentment, discontent, bitterness and unforgiveness. There are physiological blessings as well. Scripture teaches us that the posture of our hearts affects our health, both in blessing and cursing. Thankfulness clears our perceptions so that we are able to see things properly. Having a thankful heart is the true antidote to selfishness, one of the believer’s greatest enemies.

The Most Pernicious Lie in Christianity

In recent months, we have addressed the concept of Civil Government, and how God instituted it in Genesis 9 when Noah and his family came off the Ark and He delegated to mankind the governing of the earth. Romans 13 is the most quoted section of Scripture when it comes to civil government, but its context is often overlooked. We’ll see how misunderstanding its opening verses ties in to what I believe is the most harmful lie being promulgated in Christianity today.

God’s Word Is Not Negotiable

Diversity is an integral part of the Christian experience. When we consider God, we see His diversity in everything He creates, and since He created us in His image, and gave us freedom of will, our lives should reflect this diversity as well.

As Christians working alongside each other to do the Lord’s will, our diversity should be evident as we each carry out our specific functions within the Church. It is through our combined strengths that the Church is to stand in this dark age. And while differing opinions at times puts us in conflict with one another, we’re able to work things out with Scripture as our guide so that we can reach sound and truthful conclusions. We live in a time, however, when diversity has become an idol and is practiced for the sake of diversity. In this quest for relentless change, our culture has abandoned many of moral truisms that have given civilizations strength and longevity throughout history. In this crucial time Christians must stand for the non-negotiables of God’s Word.

Jon Touchstone expounds upon those non-negotiables that we, as followers of Christ, should be considering when heading to the voting polls: the sanctity of life, the sanctity of marriage, and religious freedom.

Isaiah Rebukes Judah

Throughout the centuries God has made his will clear and He has pointed out when Israel was being disobedient. Our God is patient, loving and forgiving as well as righteous. So deliberate disobedience will have consequences. In this teaching Jon Touchstone expounds the first few chapters of Isaiah rebuking Israel’s sinfulness. This is a good lesson for us today. God still wants obedience and He wants us to have the blessings that follow. What He does not want is superficial religious actions. 

Isaiah makes God’s heart clear on what He thinks about sinful behavior and warns us not to parade our disobedience due to the calamity it will bring upon us. A nation must be run by a clear set of Biblical principles in order to shut down evil and keep it from expanding.

The Redeemed Of The Lord

Redemption is a term we often hear in Christian circles, but what should it mean to the Christian? By definition, redemption is what God accomplished through his Son, our Redeemer Jesus Christ, when he laid down his life on the cross. For those of us who have called upon the blessed Name of Jesus Christ, our lives were purchased through his sacrifice, yet many Christians live their lives with little difference from the unredeemed of this world. Why is this?



God’s love for mankind is in full display through the story of redemption, and there is no better way to understand the accomplishment of Jesus Christ than to delve into what the Word of God says about it.

God’s Glory Versus Self Glory

In this teaching Jon Touchstone goes through Scripture to identify the kinds of glory. Glory is referred to in several instances throughout the Bible. We are encouraged to glorify God and not ourselves. Like the sun illuminates the moon, God illuminates Jesus Christ and now Jesus Christ illuminates us when we turn our face toward him.

This teaching expounds on biblical records dealing with glory, and will enrich your life and increase your understanding.

The Voice Of Truth

Each of us daily is confronted with a variety of voices that call out for our attention - voices of seduction and pleasure, voice of anger and accusation, voices worldly is philosophies and political ideologies. They entice us with promises of freedom and wisdom to live our lives as we so choose. All these voices cry out for our submission. In this teaching Jon Touchstone discusses that contrary to these voices, there is only one Voice of genuine Truth. Real truth is supernatural, transcending ages and causes. Truth comes to us from its author – God. We as Christians must once again declare that true wisdom comes from above, and that it’s this vital truth that results in the fresh breath of God’s redemption and goodness on this dying world.

“The Gloves Are Off!”

For those with eyes to see and ears to hear, it is crystal clear that our Adversary has racheted up his assault on mankind on a worldwide scale perhaps unlike anything the world has seen since Genesis 11. Actually, his target is the Word of God, as it has been since Genesis 3. In boxing, gloves are now used to lessen the injuries caused by the original bare-knuckle fighting. In the context of current events, to say that the “gloves are off” means that those opposing God, Christ, and us are going all out to hurt us—and we must meet their evil aggression with aggressive faith, i.e., trust in our great big wonderful God.

YOU DO NOT WANT TO MISS this presentation of what God has to say about how and why we followers of Jesus Christ are persecuted, and how we should respond. Now more than ever, we Christians who know the depths of God’s Truth need one another. No doubt you’ve heard the burning coals analogy: if one is separated from the others, it rather quickly loses its heat, and its purpose. How on fire are you?

Moral Strength and Moral Courage

In this teaching Jon Touchstone delves into the subject of morality showing us the law of God being the standard for moral strength – what is right and what is wrong. God wants us to know what is right and then have the discipline and courage to do it.

God’s Word warns us about the danger of keeping bad company because it corrupts good morals and good character. We look at examples of how cowardice can take the place of moral courage as it did with Adam and later King Saul, and how King David showed moral courage when he deliberately chose to fight Goliath. 

We hope you'll find this teaching powerful and encouraging.

Dealing with a Culture Addicted to Offense

We live in a culture that’s addicted to offense. Even comedy is suffering because of so much sensitivity, and self-pity. 

The Bible tells us that love is not easily provoked, it is not easily offended. In this teaching, Jon Touchstone covers a wealth a Truths in God’s Word that teaches us how to deal with offense, rather than being offended.

God instructs us to live in harmony, and to live honorably with our fellow man. We are to love our enemies and allow God to take vengeance where it is due. Many more wonderful truths are dealt with in this amazing teaching. We hope it will inspire you to deal with today’s culture of offense.

The Answer to Anarchy

Ephesians 6 encourages Christians to put on the whole armor of God so that we may be able to stand against the “wiles” (methods) of the Devil.  As a spirit being, Satan does not directly attack people, but rather he works through worldly systems promulgated by humans. Humans who have bought into the Devil’s systems promote his methods, which are designed to confuse, discourage, and ultimately enslave humanity.  Ephesians explains the role and purpose of the ministries in the Body of Christ is to equip believers so they are no longer tossed about by these worldly systems of men.   

Presently, we are witnessing an all-out assault on humanity through a scheme or system of anarchy. Anarchists promote the idea of “no government,” which appeals to the baser instincts of humanity. However, history shows that anarchy generally devolves into slavery and oppression, for at the end of the day, “He with the biggest stick wins.”

The Book of Judges is a narrative of what humanity can expect to see if anarchy continues. The stories of deception, treachery, and ungodly behavior are shocking, yet the book does offer hope. Ultimately, Judges shows that the ONLY hope for humanity is the government of God where truth, righteousness, and judgment rule the day. Rather than that which is right in our own eyes! 

Genesis: The Solution For Our Culture

Since culture is primarily the way in which people choose to conduct their lives – then where do we find in the Bible where God shows us His order for culture? The answer is: Genesis.

We all know there are some strange and unusual cultural ideas being embraced today. Genesis has a lot to say about how we as humans are to live and behave in society. Our duty as followers of Christ is to lead people to an understanding of what God has declared, not go along with the whims of man. In the very first book of the Bible is the where God lays out the foundations of truth on this matter.

Racism in the World Today

One of the most misguided judgments ever made is to judge by appearance (John 7:24). Judging by wrong standards will never lead to a godly perspective of how God sees the different races of people in the world. All humanity is created equal in the eyes of God and we all bear the image of God, however the whole world is a prisoner of sin. So as we are equal in sin – we are also equal in salvation. The world draws distinctions, comparisons, and man-made theologies, but God says Christ is all and in all that believe. His desire is for us to live in perfect unity.

Christ: The Treasure of Wisdom and Knowledge

In this teaching Jon Touchstone begins in Colossians 2 where we learn that wisdom of the world offers fine sounding arguments, but in Christ are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge. Flattery and smooth sounding speech is used by those promoting the wisdom of the world, but God states He reveals His thoughts to those who have the spirit and love God.

 

This is a timely teaching that sheds light on current issues including social justice, identity politics, call out culture, cancel culture, and the power of accusation. It warns us not to get entangled with worldly thinking. God delights in how orderly we are, how firm our faith in Christ is, and to be spiritually preceptive to avoid elemental philosophies and doctrines of devils.

Five Types of Government

We know from Scripture that there are two spiritual kingdoms: the kingdom of God and the kingdom of Satan. Both kingdoms rely upon authority, but use it in very different ways. God is not a God of disorder, but peace. Therefore His authority, which we find in self-government, the government of the family, church government, civil government, and within God’s kingdom, are all given to man to bless him and order his reality. Satan, on the other hand, uses his authority to tyrannize and oppress.

God’s principles are clear from a societal point of view. As Christians, we believe in strong and consistent authority. We support strong personal responsibility, and strong families. We support strong faith and spiritual affiliation. We support just laws, and we support strong and just law enforcement. In this very timely teaching, given the current state of our nation and the world, Jon Touchstone takes us into the Word of God and looks at His intention for Civil Government.

Love and the Antichrist: A Study of First John

In this study we continue the theme of our Research Night of understanding Love and the Manifestations of the holy spirit. Love is much more than a sentiment. It energizes our faith. In First John, we learn that we are able to love because God first loved us by giving his son up to death on the cross. We first love God, and then we love one another. In fact, the love we have for one another is really an extension of our love for God, because we are actually loving those whom God loves. 

We learn from Matthew 24, however, that because of an increase of lawlessness in the world, the love of many will grow cold. We look into the nature of the person, called the man of lawlessness; otherwise known as the antichrist. This person figures prominently in First John and stands in stark opposition to Christ.

Civil Government

We know from scripture that there are two spiritual kingdoms – the Kingdom of God, and the Kingdom of Satan. Both Kingdoms rely upon authority, but use it in very different ways. Since God is not a God of disorder but peace, His authority, which we find in self-governance, in the government of the family, the civil government and within his kingdom overall, are all given to man to bless him and order his reality. Satan, on the other hand, uses his authority to tyrannize and oppress.

As a Christian the principles are clear from a societal point of view. We believe in strong and consistent authority. We support strong personal responsibility. We support strong families. We support strong faith and spiritual affiliation. We support just laws, and we support strong and just law enforcement. In this teaching Jon takes a look in the Bible at Civil Government.

The Significance of Pentecost

Jon Touchstone teaches on Pentecost, the birth of the Church as recorded in Acts 1 and 2. A time when God gave those who believed in His Son the ability to fluently speak one or more languages they had never learned. This teaching also looks at the power that Pentecost brought to mankind – and asks the question, “why don’t we see that kind of power today in the Church?”

Waiting Well

The current state of our nation, and the world, has given us more than the usual number of unwanted opportunities to WAIT, as follows: to leave the house, for a new job, for a restaurant to open, to shake hands, to hug someone, to see people’s smiles, for baseball to begin, and for sure to wait in line while only so many patrons are allowed into an establishment. These things have been added to everything else for which life requires us to wait.

One of the apostle Paul’s most encouraging—and remarkable—statements is: “I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation.” And he certainly endured some challenging situations, to say the least. What does he mean by “content”? That sounds quite passive. The dictionary says that “to wait” means “to remain inactive or in a state of repose until something expected happens,” but God defines it differently, as we will see.