Anchor: Resting in the Promises of God
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Hebrews 6:19 (ESV)
19 We have this as a sure and steadfast anchor of the soul...
Over the next few weeks I want to discuss anchoring ourselves in the promises of God and this flows right in line with trusting God. Now that we understand that trusting God is different than faith and that we need to push deeper into our relationship with God in order to further our trust we can rest in that trust.
We can rest in the the promises of God.
So what is an anchor, this is the only place in the Bible that uses the term anchor metaphorically and interestingly enough it’s tied to Abraham’s promise of many Children. It’s tied to the creation of Israel and linked through it the promise of Jesus and the saving of the world.
An Anchor is simply a heavy device with two teeth or flukes which was typically found in both the front and back of the boat.
These would drag on the ocean’s bottom until it grabbed something that would stop the boat from moving. In our terms, for those who don’t sail, it’s like the breaks on your car. The only reason we have them is to stop us and to hold us secure in one position.
So we know that Jesus is the anchor Paul is referencing because if we read
Hebrews 6:18–20 (ESV)
18 so that by two unchangeable things, in which it is impossible for God to lie, we who have fled for refuge might have strong encouragement to hold fast to the hope set before us.
19 We have this as a sure and steadfast anchor of the soul, a hope that enters into the inner place behind the curtain,
20 where Jesus has gone as a forerunner on our behalf, having become a high priest forever after the order of Melchizedek.
Paul sets two unchangeable tings before us. Over the next few weeks we are going t dive into both but one thing is for sure Paul makes a very clear connection between the anchor and Christ and specifically Christ’s action of going behind the curtain- which symbolizes atonement for our sin- Calling Christ the forerunner meaning we too can enter the presence of God.
1) An Anchor for our Soul
“Hope accomplishes for the soul the same thing which an anchor does for a ship. It makes it fast and secure. An anchor preserves a ship when the waves beat and the wind blows, and as long as the anchor holds, so long the ship is safe, and the mariner apprehends no danger. So with the soul of the Christian. In the tempests and trials of life, his mind is calm as long as his hope of heaven is firm. If that gives way, he feels that all is lost.”
Through this series we are going to reaching for our promises, but as we reach we have to secured into something because there will be times when we feel like we are going to slip and fall. There will be times when the world attempts to over throw our boat. There will be times when the sea rages, but if we are anchored appropriately than we an trust in God who will keep us secure and not in the world around us.
My mother in law said something to my wife and I that I have been chewing on. There continue to be many struggles in the saga of my house and in those struggles to obtain what I believe god has promised to us we have fought hard and long. Some of you know the story, others may not, but as yet another battle came our way she said:
When God promises something the world tries to stop it. Do whatever it takes to get past the world.
My mind immediately went to rock climbing. I used to climb rocks 10 years and 100 pounds ago and I remembered something. There were rocks I weren’t prepared for. I didn’t have the right equipment. I couldn’t climb them, but when you have the proper rock anchor and that anchor was secure and you trusted that anchor you took risks that you would have never taken other wise. If there was an obstacle in the way that you couldn’t overcome you jumped to a better position on the rock. Your hands and feet left the safety of the rock, why because you knew that if you failed you would fall 3 feet the anchor would catch you then you repositioned and tried again.
Listen: When your soul is properly anchored and the world puts an obstacle in your way that you can’t overcome take the leap. Find a better position and continue to scale. Don’t be the foolish Christian who refuses to reposition themselves just because things didn’t go as planned. You have the safety net you have the anchor that is in Christ Jesus. There is nothing you can loose.
13 Brothers, I do not consider that I have made it my own. But one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead,
14 I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.
Paul wrote the entire Philippine letter while he was in a Roman jail cell in a sewer. The world attempted to thwart God’s promise, but Paul never refused to reposition. He never refused to move forward. He never refused lost track of the promise. thats’ why he urges you to strain forward. The picture is to reach beyond your reach. How do you reach that which you cannot reach. You jump. You reposition. You trust that God has your back and that he isn’t going to let you fail. He isn’t going to let you fall. He isn’t going to leave you.
2.) A hope that Leads the way
Many of us quote the I will never leave you nor forsake you verse that’s found in Deut 31:8, but do we know the beginning of that verse
Deuteronomy 31:8 (ESV)
8 It is the Lord who goes before you. He will be with you; he will not leave you or forsake you. Do not fear or be dismayed.”
And what does he do up there:
2 “I will go before you and level the exalted places, I will break in pieces the doors of bronze and cut through the bars of iron,
3 I will give you the treasures of darkness and the hoards in secret places, that you may know that it is I, the Lord, the God of Israel, who call you by your name.
He goes to make a way through the obstacles. The promise isn’t that there would be no obstacle. If there weren’t obstacles God wouldn’t have to go before us. He wouldn’t have sent Jesus as a Forerunner in our journey.
A forerunner is one who goes before, they clear the obstacles and they announce the coming of. Your promise already knows you’re coming. It’s waiting. You’ve been announced. The promises is waiting for you to show up. The promise is waiting your arrival. You just have to overcome the world to get to your promise.
If it’s one thing God has shown me is that though I may not understand everything at the moment I desire to understand it everything happens for a reason and NO your world isn’t fallings apart.
It’s falling into place…maybe just a little differently than you pictured it, but the pieces are coming together the question is do you trust God? Are you anchored well?
3) Be secured
38 For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers,
39 nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.
There is a lot of debate around our security in Christ and whether we can lose our salvation and I don’t have time this morning to walk you through all that debate entails, but one thing I know for sure is this: When we take the time to nurture our relaitonship and grow in our relationship with Christ nothing can separate us from God. When we walk in faith there is nothing the world can through at us that will rip our anchor out of the security God has given us.
When you are tethered to Christ you cannot fail.